lionellovelace: (pic#13607228)
lionel lovelace (ben) ([personal profile] lionellovelace) wrote in [community profile] peckenpaugh2019-11-26 10:56 am

Secret Poetry Gathering



SECRET POETRY GATHERING

On Monday night, Peckenpaugh's owls make a second round of deliveries to those who were invited to the first meeting of the Secret Society of Poets & Dangerous Thinkers. This time, the owls drop off a small package. Inside, students find a silk mask. It's black except for gold circles over the eyes and a gold keyhole over the mouth. They're able to be pulled over your head and cover your hair. When worn, the masks even disguise the wearer's voice. There's also a note: "Tomorrow. 10:30pm. The stone stables. Bring mask, robe, and poem."

On Tuesday night, students who choose to attend, sneak out of their dorms and make their way to the western part of campus. There, in the woods, not far from the Astronomy Tower, they come upon an old semi-derelict stone stable. It used to house a magical menagerie, but tonight it plays home to a gathering of intellectuals and romantics (and a few people who are confused as to why they've been invited). Candles and the overgrown plants that now live here work in tandem to cast long shadows on the walls.

Upon arrival, Lionel (identity hidden) gives everyone a brief history of secret societies and outlines his hopes for the group. He wants everyone here to be a free-thinking revolutionary who shapes their society's future. The first step, he explains, is learning to express themselves. They will read and react to poetry together. They'll converse with one another. Open up. Share freely that which they're thinking and feeling and puzzling over. And lastly, he explains the importance of anonymity: it gives people the safety to lay their hearts and minds bare. Embarrassingly, he means everything he's saying.

HOW THIS WORKS

  • Lionel is a secret society fanboy who wants to create his own with those he believes are curious, passionate, intellectual, and/or dangerous.

  • Students sneak out and show up in robes, the provided mask, and a poem of their choosing -- one they've written or one they picked out for the occasion.

  • There will be poetry sharing and opportunities to mingle. Light eating, drinking, and smoking options will be provided.

  • Zadie brewed a potion that makes you go mute if you mention the gathering. The length of mute-ness is tied to how much you divulge. A chalice with the potion is passed around (the potion is explained). Do you drink it?

  • The masks are designed to protect your identity, but that doesn't stop you from wearing a robe or an accessory that outs you.

  • Lionel is going to great lengths to provide and protect anonymity, but that doesn't mean you or your characters need to respect that. It's entirely up to you.

INVITEES
Viola
Holland
Uriah
Val
Audrey
Jupiter
Xenia
Armani
Elijah
Zadie
Costanza
Willow*

*a last minute addition after much agonizing

» WHAT'S UP?: First of all, did you even attend or were you like, nah I think I'll stay in tonight. If you did come, what's your robe? Do you think this is cool? Weird? Definitely a cult? How well is your identity concealed and/or how discrete and secretive are you being? Do you drink from the secrecy potion chalice as instructed? Oh! Also! Your mask disguises your voice! How has it been altered? If you want, you can request that I give you a voice modification (accent, affectation, etc.) by asking "What do I sound like?"

» POETRY CIRCLE: Fallen tree trunks have been cut and repurposed as stools and arranged in a circle. One at a time, students stand and read the poem they brought. Give yourself your own header and a brief description of how your read goes -- nerves, delivery, preface, etc. If it's a real poem, link it, and if it's something original, feel free to just describe it (or write it, if you're so inclined). Others should feel free to tag in and react to the poems.

» MINGLING: Many revolutionary ideas were hatched during clandestine conversations in candle-lit rooms. (Probably?) Lionel has provided food (pomegranates, figs, cheese), drink (whiskey, water), and smoke (hand-rolled cigarettes). There is, uh, NO rule that people need to discuss controversial takes or revolutionary ideas. This is mostly a space for "anonymous" scenes and conversations to take place.

» END OF THE NIGHT: People exit at five minute intervals and walk back to their dorms. This is a space for reflections on the night. Scenes with roommates upon returning. Or whatever else your heart fancies. (Note: the mods have said that tonight's event went undiscovered by the teachers, but you have the option to opt-in to seeing if you were caught on your way home. Tag in here and the mods will roll to see if you got back undetected or if you lost points!)

» OOC - Discussion Thank you for indulging me.

tristfully: (108)

WHAT'S UP, Viola?

[personal profile] tristfully 2019-11-27 05:30 am (UTC)(link)
The timing of the invitation aligning with Viola's investigations into the untimely death of Mr. Qualls casts an ominous shadow over these festivities. Which is all the more exciting, really. She wants to believe that this something more than just a group of teenagers stroking their own egos. She takes careful precautions not to be seen as she heads up to the stables and wears an innocuous dark heather gray robe to preserve her identity. Buying into the anonymity simultaneously puts her curiosity on edge and her emotions at ease.

Perhaps she is taking this more seriously than the others because she pauses for a long time before drinking from the chalice. She's made a liar out of herself and will have to live with that.

As people begin to read their poetry, Viola's body language visibly changes. She's clearly enraptured and focuses all of her attention on each reader. Afterward, she's eager to talk to everyone and is far less careful with her words than she typically is when unmasked. Her altered voice—a clipped, rhythmic transatlantic cadence—lends itself to getting carried away.

Viola falls head over heels at least fifty times and drinks enough whisky to give herself a splitting headache the next day.