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ph_logs2024-06-08 10:59 pm
pumpkinhollow) wrote in ph_logs2024-06-08 10:59 pm
June Event - Cukey-Scary [The Cucumber Festival]
**Plain text version here.
Almost as abundant as the attendees are, the stalls and booths set up with cucumber-centric meals are easily found. much of it is cheap, even free in many cases, and scattered with them are other booths peddling artisan goods.
The Whirling Wyvern is a ride that stands shortly behind a neat arrangement of picnic tables. Rope fences wind around the ride, giving it a safe distance from any bystanders, and the surrounding area is littered with flour bags, densely stuffed to offer padding.
Watching it even briefly makes it very clear why the padding is needed: the platform, raised about two feet off the ground in the middle, begins to spin its seated riders, rotating faster and faster until they topple, roll, and fall off the sides, into the padding below. People can often be heard nearby making bets with friends to see who can stay on the longest. (It's not a recommended ride for anyone who's been drinking!)
Bumpermobiles is another ride, operating on enchantment instead of electricity and a switch, that may look familiar to some of Pumpkin Hollow's residents from more modern times! Though they lack the distinctive roofed building in favor of a section of paved road closed off with wooden beams, the small carts of the bumpermobiles resemble automobiles of the current time, outfitted with wide-edges to brace the impact they'll inevitably have on one-another! Each one seats two, but are able to be driven on their own, if you'd prefer to focus your conversations on heckling your fellow driver.
Hot Air Balloons are set up not on the Green, but just outside of it, taking a spot just off to the side that's unoccupied by booths or frequent foot-traffic. Each ride carries a maximum of three, not counting the operator, and gives any rider an impressive view of marrow isle for thirty minutes.
The Carousel stands in the center of the Festival Green, chiming cheerful music from the pillar in the center. Horses are joined by the addition of shimmering unicorns, beaked pegasi, and colorfully painted pony-drawn carts (which are crafted to be seats, for those who cannot climb on one of the other mounts).
The Wheel of Chance is a vertical wheel, perched between artisan's booths, offering low-stake prizes for a small payment! 5 Brass allows you to spin the wheel, offering one of ten available prizes:
The Cucumber Festival's Raffle is one of the most coveted opportunities to spend a small sum of brass and win one of the many prizes donated by the community, with all contributions going into community services and upkeep.
Each ticket costs 20 Brass, and each person may purchase up to 5 tickets. There will be three drawings total, granting a small prize, a medium prize, and a grand prize to each winner. One person cannot win more than one prize; if the same person draws a second prize after their first, it will be re-rolled.
To purchase a raffle ticket, please reply to the Pumpkin Hollow mod account comment with RAFFLE TICKETS as the title, also linked here, stating how many tickets your character will be buying. On JUNE 14TH, ticket purchasing will be closed, and the prizes will be rolled!
The prizes are as follows:
The Cucumber Growing Competition is a celebration of the farmers who made all this possible, as well as a flexing of gardening prowess. Each cucumber is measured in weight, length, and color! The prize for the best cucumber in show is simply a ribbon, but among the Pumpkin Hollow farmers, it's quite a statement to have. Career farmers, hobby gardeners, and onlookers alike gather to see the town's farmers' handiwork!
The Cooking Competition follows directly after the Cucumber Growing Competition. While the larger of the vegetables don't make for very good foods, sacrificing flavor for size, the rest of the entries are cut up and used for a variety of dishes. Chefs of all varieties are encouraged to participate to show their culinary prowess!
The Great Turnip Smash-Off is a cheeky jab at the prior year's failed festival. Wielding any tools they like, including but not limited to one's hands themselves, each contestant is allotted three minutes to destroy as many turnips as they possibly can. The prize for the cucumber festival's first annual turnip slayer is a small trophy for bragging rights!
The Water Walk is a fun sport for all ages! Lined up in rows with metal spoons full of water, the participants must walk carefully to the end of the "racetrack" to a small glass of water, with a line denoted on the side at the middle. The first person to fill their glass to or above that mark wins!
The Variety Show occurs throughout the week, offering the stage to many people of assorted talents. The first day is booked up for magicians (sleight of hand, specifically - mages are politely requested to refrain from participation), and on the following Monday, a "feat of strength" competition will showcase the might of those strongest in Pumpkin Hollow! The other days are yet to be filled, and several festival attendants are waiting with clipboards to accept submissions. Many newcomers have talents they've never seen before, so new submissions of the musical, magical, or other remarkable talent alike are not only welcome, but strongly encouraged!
CUKEY-SCARY
Come one, come all!
The long-awaited festival to enjoy vegetables and welcome in the summer months has finally arrived - and this time, completely uninhibited by curses!
Pumpkin Hollow's streets are bright and bustling, adorned with green ribbons, baskets of flowers, and freshly arranged shop stalls to market their goods to the festival-goers as they mill about the streets surrounding the Festival Green. Cheering crowds watch performers perched upon stages, jaunty music played by thoroughly energized bands fills the air, and the smell of freshly-cut cucumbers is carried on the breeze.
Welcome to the Cucumber Festival, a sorely-missed holiday held exclusively on Marrow Isle. It is a festival begun at the town's inception to encourage the newly-established farming community, which was rapidly embraced from then on. Many smaller-scale gardeners dedicate vast amounts of energy in joining farmers to make the festival possible, and this year is more abundant than ever, thanks to the efforts of the new arrivals taking up the farming mantles. The merriment sprawls all over the Festival Green, and even further into the town.
One question yet remains: where to begin?
Pumpkin Hollow's streets are bright and bustling, adorned with green ribbons, baskets of flowers, and freshly arranged shop stalls to market their goods to the festival-goers as they mill about the streets surrounding the Festival Green. Cheering crowds watch performers perched upon stages, jaunty music played by thoroughly energized bands fills the air, and the smell of freshly-cut cucumbers is carried on the breeze.
Welcome to the Cucumber Festival, a sorely-missed holiday held exclusively on Marrow Isle. It is a festival begun at the town's inception to encourage the newly-established farming community, which was rapidly embraced from then on. Many smaller-scale gardeners dedicate vast amounts of energy in joining farmers to make the festival possible, and this year is more abundant than ever, thanks to the efforts of the new arrivals taking up the farming mantles. The merriment sprawls all over the Festival Green, and even further into the town.
One question yet remains: where to begin?
Cucumber Celebrations Commence!
Copious Cucumber Cuisine
With the cucumber harvest more bountiful this year than it'd ever been, the booths have a wide assortment of offerings - cucumber chips, fried pickles, bowls of salad, breads with chunks of vegetable in them, fritters, among the wide tide of other culinary delights. If you can make it with a cucumber, these people have!Almost as abundant as the attendees are, the stalls and booths set up with cucumber-centric meals are easily found. much of it is cheap, even free in many cases, and scattered with them are other booths peddling artisan goods.
Challenges of Chance and Cheer
As much as Hollowites enjoy their food, there's rarely an opportunity that they pass up to incorporate games or rides into festivities, and the Cucumber Festival has an extremely wide variety to offer!The Whirling Wyvern is a ride that stands shortly behind a neat arrangement of picnic tables. Rope fences wind around the ride, giving it a safe distance from any bystanders, and the surrounding area is littered with flour bags, densely stuffed to offer padding.
Watching it even briefly makes it very clear why the padding is needed: the platform, raised about two feet off the ground in the middle, begins to spin its seated riders, rotating faster and faster until they topple, roll, and fall off the sides, into the padding below. People can often be heard nearby making bets with friends to see who can stay on the longest. (It's not a recommended ride for anyone who's been drinking!)
Bumpermobiles is another ride, operating on enchantment instead of electricity and a switch, that may look familiar to some of Pumpkin Hollow's residents from more modern times! Though they lack the distinctive roofed building in favor of a section of paved road closed off with wooden beams, the small carts of the bumpermobiles resemble automobiles of the current time, outfitted with wide-edges to brace the impact they'll inevitably have on one-another! Each one seats two, but are able to be driven on their own, if you'd prefer to focus your conversations on heckling your fellow driver.
Hot Air Balloons are set up not on the Green, but just outside of it, taking a spot just off to the side that's unoccupied by booths or frequent foot-traffic. Each ride carries a maximum of three, not counting the operator, and gives any rider an impressive view of marrow isle for thirty minutes.
The Carousel stands in the center of the Festival Green, chiming cheerful music from the pillar in the center. Horses are joined by the addition of shimmering unicorns, beaked pegasi, and colorfully painted pony-drawn carts (which are crafted to be seats, for those who cannot climb on one of the other mounts).
The Wheel of Chance is a vertical wheel, perched between artisan's booths, offering low-stake prizes for a small payment! 5 Brass allows you to spin the wheel, offering one of ten available prizes:
- a cucumber, covered in batter and fried, on a stick.
- a goldfish in a decorative bowl.
- a pair of pants, with several varieties to choose from.
- a deck of playing cards.
- a fine leather-bound notebook.
- a set of six shot glasses.
- a bottle of wine.
- a basket of assorted fruits.
- a glass-blown animal native to Marrow Isle, palm-sized, in assorted species and colors.
- 10 Brass. Double your money!
The Cucumber Festival's Raffle is one of the most coveted opportunities to spend a small sum of brass and win one of the many prizes donated by the community, with all contributions going into community services and upkeep.
Each ticket costs 20 Brass, and each person may purchase up to 5 tickets. There will be three drawings total, granting a small prize, a medium prize, and a grand prize to each winner. One person cannot win more than one prize; if the same person draws a second prize after their first, it will be re-rolled.
To purchase a raffle ticket, please reply to the Pumpkin Hollow mod account comment with RAFFLE TICKETS as the title, also linked here, stating how many tickets your character will be buying. On JUNE 14TH, ticket purchasing will be closed, and the prizes will be rolled!
The prizes are as follows:
- 1st (small): a telescope, with elegant engravings in the metal, donated by Elias Coldwood.
- 2nd (medium): a set of two enchanted tea puppies, one glass and one metal, donated by Neil West.
- 3rd (grand prize): a basket-hilt sword, well-weighted, masterfully crafted, and delightfully ornate, donated by Dahlia Leeds.
Contestants Convene for Competition
Of course, what's a festival without a little bit of friendly competition! Over the week of celebrations, the Cucumber Festival hosts the following activities for any and all participants interested in joining in the fun.The Cucumber Growing Competition is a celebration of the farmers who made all this possible, as well as a flexing of gardening prowess. Each cucumber is measured in weight, length, and color! The prize for the best cucumber in show is simply a ribbon, but among the Pumpkin Hollow farmers, it's quite a statement to have. Career farmers, hobby gardeners, and onlookers alike gather to see the town's farmers' handiwork!
The Cooking Competition follows directly after the Cucumber Growing Competition. While the larger of the vegetables don't make for very good foods, sacrificing flavor for size, the rest of the entries are cut up and used for a variety of dishes. Chefs of all varieties are encouraged to participate to show their culinary prowess!
The Great Turnip Smash-Off is a cheeky jab at the prior year's failed festival. Wielding any tools they like, including but not limited to one's hands themselves, each contestant is allotted three minutes to destroy as many turnips as they possibly can. The prize for the cucumber festival's first annual turnip slayer is a small trophy for bragging rights!
The Water Walk is a fun sport for all ages! Lined up in rows with metal spoons full of water, the participants must walk carefully to the end of the "racetrack" to a small glass of water, with a line denoted on the side at the middle. The first person to fill their glass to or above that mark wins!
The Variety Show occurs throughout the week, offering the stage to many people of assorted talents. The first day is booked up for magicians (sleight of hand, specifically - mages are politely requested to refrain from participation), and on the following Monday, a "feat of strength" competition will showcase the might of those strongest in Pumpkin Hollow! The other days are yet to be filled, and several festival attendants are waiting with clipboards to accept submissions. Many newcomers have talents they've never seen before, so new submissions of the musical, magical, or other remarkable talent alike are not only welcome, but strongly encouraged!
Carnival Complications
Of course, not all things can go entirely peacefully in Pumpkin Hollow's festivities, and the Cucumber Festival has never been exempt from this. Though the prior years' incident was far more disruptive to the festival's celebrations, several things begin to crop up over the span of the week.
The Whack-a-Mole Game, during the first night, becomes the first item to start experiencing a mild haunting. Though the specters only make themselves known when the participant is alone, there's a distinct feeling of guilt that comes with each smack, not unlike stepping on a cat's tail without realizing it. Instead of the triumphant jingle that the machine lets out when the game is complete, a stark silence settles in, as though the entire festival has frozen in time. Only then does a whisper, no louder than a breeze, brush past your ear.
Rolling a D3, the spirits haunting the whack-a-mole machine will tell you the following:
(Mod Note: the information given is always going to be about someone nearby. When tagging into someone's top-level with the Whack-a-Mole Game who's got secrets or gossip, provide a piece of information about your character that the spirits might've said! Additionally, feel free to request a piece of information about an NPC, major or minor. For a lie, anything goes. Have fun with it!)
The Candle-Shooting Game is the next to become haunted, though the haunting is significantly more straightforward. In an act of simple mischief, the flame will occasionally withstand blasts from the water gun that should have surely snuffed it, or the flame will go out just as you line your shot up. These spirits are aiming to ruin this particular game, but not your night.
There is a sign on the double doors that make up the entrance, which reads, "Admission is free, but you must enter in pairs." And true to its word, the doors will not open unless two different people take each door's handle. Otherwise it is definitively locked.
So, choose a companion and go explore! What's the worst that could happen? All you have to do is open the door.
Capricious Crashers
As the festival goes on, it seems that some poltergeists have seen fit to invite themselves to the party. Two games are affected, with varying results.The Whack-a-Mole Game, during the first night, becomes the first item to start experiencing a mild haunting. Though the specters only make themselves known when the participant is alone, there's a distinct feeling of guilt that comes with each smack, not unlike stepping on a cat's tail without realizing it. Instead of the triumphant jingle that the machine lets out when the game is complete, a stark silence settles in, as though the entire festival has frozen in time. Only then does a whisper, no louder than a breeze, brush past your ear.
Rolling a D3, the spirits haunting the whack-a-mole machine will tell you the following:
- a secret that isn't yours to have about someone in town.
- a piece of gossip, a shocking recent happening that may or may not be getting around in whispers.
- a lie, carefully crafted to impact the way you see one of your fellow townsfolk.
(Mod Note: the information given is always going to be about someone nearby. When tagging into someone's top-level with the Whack-a-Mole Game who's got secrets or gossip, provide a piece of information about your character that the spirits might've said! Additionally, feel free to request a piece of information about an NPC, major or minor. For a lie, anything goes. Have fun with it!)
The Candle-Shooting Game is the next to become haunted, though the haunting is significantly more straightforward. In an act of simple mischief, the flame will occasionally withstand blasts from the water gun that should have surely snuffed it, or the flame will go out just as you line your shot up. These spirits are aiming to ruin this particular game, but not your night.
Cards and Consequences
On the outskirts of the festival, there is a strange building set up. Just a small shack, decorated with celestial trappings and a mysterious air. Above the door, a sign painted black with gold lettering says "HOUSE OF CARDS". Is it a funhouse? A fortune teller? No one's sure who set it up. Perhaps another effort of Captain Tuttle or something.There is a sign on the double doors that make up the entrance, which reads, "Admission is free, but you must enter in pairs." And true to its word, the doors will not open unless two different people take each door's handle. Otherwise it is definitively locked.
So, choose a companion and go explore! What's the worst that could happen? All you have to do is open the door.
| CONTENT WARNINGS: mild manipulation, unreality, snakes, possible character death. |
no subject
"You know, I've seen pairs coming out of the same place here and there, but three is rare. You're lucky. Or not, considering how we got here, but it's nice not being alone." He turns away to look ahead. "I'm sure he could use the company, too. We had it pretty rough, and he's not different."
no subject
Hawk gestures for Phil to follow him a stall or two down, to one of the booths with a couple of teddy bears hanging up as prizes.
"I'm doing what I can for him. Did back home, too. That's just what you do for a friend. Speaking of, if I pay do you think you could knock a couple of bottles down? I have this old shoulder injury from my football days in college- y'know, comes and goes, and if I throw anything heavier than the towel in, it acts up."
And also, he's lazy and doesn't really want to exert himself.
"But uh- Radar had to leave his teddy behind in Korea, I think a replacement would really cheer him up."
no subject
He turns to look over the stall and the minigame and the teddies. They look like they're of good craft, so they're worth winning for the kid.
"I'll throw, but I just want you to be aware that you're asking the cyclops. The dog ate my depth perception."
no subject
Hawk fishes in his pocket to pay for the game, and then leans up against the table as the attendant brings the balls around.
"Between the two of us, we're one functioning person. First bottles are at 12-o clock, just try and aim straight."
no subject
He shuts his bad eye and reels back. He has to swivel his head a few times and shift left to right slightly to make up for the lack of depth, but one clean lob and he’s got the bottles knocked off.
“It’s distance that’ll kill me, Hawk, not direction. My sight’s not that bad yet. I could read a clipboard from 50 yards off.”
no subject
"I can't take all the credit, it was my Grandpa Sparky Pierce's idea. Course my first pick for the sport was golf, but there was no money in it. I might have actually played at all if it had been."
An impressed whistle, and Hawk glances up at Phil's face with a smile playing at his mouth.
"Nice arm, slugger. Remind me to be on your team if we end up bringing baseball to the Marrow Isles. Think you got another couple in you?"
no subject
"We're gonna win that bear, aren't we?"
As he's lining up the next shot, still bobbing slightly as he tries to get a bead on the distance, he asks, "First Hawkeye, now Sparky. Got a family history of nicknames. Did you tell me where yours came from?"
no subject
A small up-nod with his chin in Phil's direction, "what about you- any nicknames? Figure Phil is pretty hard to get a nickname from."
no subject
He chucks another ball, and the bottles go down clean, although one takes its damn sweet time rolling off the pedestal.
"But nah, none of those were serious. It's just Phil."
no subject
"She sounds like a funny lady," he offers, trying desperately to not make the whole thing weird for a second time.
"But you're right, we need some better material for that. Let's see- can't nickname you after the owl in Winnie the Pooh, his name's just Owl. Same as Owl Jolson actually. And Professor Owl. Not a lot of notably named owls out there. Maybe a different approach- hm."
He taps his fingers on the table.
"How about P.A.? Not terribly original but I think it can work. You just need an official nickname anyway for my purposes, it doesn't have to stick."
no subject
Funny, he's not used to hearing "P.A." without also hearing "Punx" in front of it. Alright, last shot, last stack of bottles. Phil takes his time lining up this one.
"What's P.A. stand for, anyway? It's not just because I'm from Pennsylvania, is it?"
no subject
It absolutely is yeah.
"Ask me again the next time we get coffee and I might tell you," he teases as he sets up to watch Phil's last throw.
no subject
He chucks the ball, which collides clean through last stack, and Phil makes a fingergun and blows on it like there's smoke. Nobody tell Hawk he developed his aim from the last year of actual battle training.
"I don't know the kid, so you're gonna have to do the picking here. They really let him take a teddy to Korea?"
no subject
"Nice shooting, Lone Ranger. I'll have flowers sent to the bottles families," he continues, picking over the array of stuffed animals. Now Radar's was kinda brown and soft, and it had a molded face-
"Let him? The army never let Radar do anything. That kid mailed his folks home a souvenir in the form of a jeep sent piece by piece. He could open a drawer and show me the lost kingdom of Atlantis and I wouldn't ask how he got it. Here-" he picks a sweet-faced looking bear with a ribbon around its neck and tucks it under his arm, bidding a brief thanks to the person running the stall.
"He's gonna love it, I can't thank you enough."
no subject
Phil pays his own thanks to the vendor, then sticks his hands in his pockets as they keep walking.
"Ahhh, hey, don't sweat it. I'm always happy to do something nice for someone. Besides, it's a stressful thing to be here, just uproot your whole life like that in a place like this. I'm just glad to give the kid a little relief, and that you were thoughtful enough to think of him, ehn?"
no subject
Braces himself to be punched in the arm again.
"If his dear Aunt Hawkeye isn't going to think of him, who will? It's the least I can do. When I was his age I was still working out if I wanted to be a doctor or a fireman, and he's dealing with the war and all of this magic crud. It just doesn't seem fair."
no subject
"Of course it's not." You'd think, and yet. "Still, it's good you're looking out for him."
Phil hums quietly. Doctor or fireman, huh.
"You're sweet, y'know. You're considerate and thoughtful. Not that others aren't, in fact I'd say most people are, but you really go the extra mile. You're not even giving the kid that much side-eye for his bear. Even if it's war. Or especially since it's war, depending on how you look at it." A very soft breath through his nose. "All this stuff probably seems so obvious to you, like it's the only thing to do, but it really isn't to everybody. Good on you."
no subject
It's pretty clear he's not being serious by the mischief in his look.
"And hey, you helped. A victory lap for both of us for being good Samaritans."
no subject
Which is throw a ball real good to knock over some bottles, apparently.
“… He really mailed a jeep home?”
no subject
Hawk comes to something of a stop in his wandering, the prickle of nerves in his gut kicking in just a little again. This wasn't a date, did not resemble a date, but there's a sort of sweet innocence to walking around a carnival and winning him a prize that makes his heart go funny. Like he's a teenager again back home with some girl in his class, dazzling her with wit he doesn't feel confident in spinning yet.
"Hey uh- when will I see you again, after this?" he asks, trying to keep his expectations low. Light. Casual, he's just probing the waters. Going slow, really. He can do that.
"Because if you want you could come over sometime and I could pass off some food I got from somewhere else as my own cooking. I'm warning you now so you can pretend to be impressed when it happens."
no subject
Every time he talks to him it’s a whole lot of chatter and patter and jokes to entertain, like he can’t get kicked offstage if he’s always acting on. He babbles like the brook and always has something to say about anything, anyone.
The moment Phil met him he gave him a headache, then dared him to take his eye out if it meant stopping the bleeding. He misses home. Got the kid his bear. Doctor or fireman. It’s a dizzying, neverending pattern. They say Mozart was crazy, batshit, he hears, but the music is balanced, it’s nimble, it’s crystalline clear.
Hawk’s baffling pass at the hot springs still sits in the back of his head, but he’s been well behaved so far, so—
“Sure. I’ll come over. Just tell me when?”
no subject
Maybe it's his physicality and charming face and being good with kids, but more likely it's the feeling Hawk gets being near Phil, like his smile doesn't quite go all the way to his eyes, like this guy has been out in the cold and needs to warm himself by the fire. He probably blew his chances at the hot spring, but he still wants to flit around him like a gadfly stinging him with lines until he can get a smile Phil means out of him. To be some comfort. To make him really, genuinely happy. To make being happy easy for him again.
"Let me check my books and I'll let you know," he says so that your humble author doesn't need to acknowledge the existence of time, "turns out when you put 'doctor' on your door, patients tend to show up and book in appointments. It's awful, I have no time to read through my medical journals. I've been having to skip straight to the funnies."
no subject
Phil feels himself standing on the dock of a great northern lake. The sky is beautiful and the birds won't stop chattering, but he's staring into the water.
That one gets a hmm-hmm of a chuckle out of him. "Let's hope my company's better than the funnies. I'll bring wine."
He dives in.
no subject
"So long as you remember to bring yourself, it's a deal. Say hi to your kid for me," he gives Phil a small wave and extracts the fragment of his excitement before it can hit an artery again. As he leaves, he does a dancey little shuffle step, solely because he just can't help himself. Ah, it's good to be Hawkeye Pierce again.