gooseberryhigh | ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARTY

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ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARTY

ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARTY

It’s St. Patrick’s Day, and everyone’s Irish tonight!

The Grotto has been decorated with crude but brilliantly colored green sparkling charms, making the still-bare trees around the clearing light up with emerald lights. The crowning achievement is a beautiful glowing rainbow that passes right over the fire. The “pot of gold" at the end of this particular rainbow is where an exceptionally generous accumulation of alcohol is being kept.

[Herbology Student Volunteer] somehow managed to get the Grotto to basically explode with mounds of bright green clovers. Regrettably, they’ll all die in a couple days, but for now it’s soft and comfortable to lie on them and enjoy a drink.

Atop a stump rests the crown for the new King/Queen of St. Patrick’s Day: an impressive green crown of silk leaves and gold. It was created by Isabelle Sargent just for the occasion. At the end of the night, Levi Kramer*, the previous king, is supposed to crown the new king. As he’s decided to skip out on the party, Levi gives that responsibility to Gavin & Garrett Ogletree.

(* In the case that Levi will be attending after all, Ali, just let us know in the OOC section and we’ll let him crown the winner personally!)

There are bright green shamrock pins you can take from a basket by the fire. These indicate that your character agrees to the annual kissing competition. The pins track how many different people gave your character a smooch (hands and cheeks count), and at the end of the night, the person who got the most kisses can demand a kiss from any party guest! (Assuming OOC consent is given.)

RULES

You must use your new character journals to participate in this IC/OOC.

The party starts at 7:00, and runs until 12:00. The prefects are still strictly enforcing curfew.

Prefects: assume the system of on- and off-duty prefects is still in place. You may choose if your prefect is on or off duty, or if they’re going to show up at 12:30 AM to write up curfew breakers.

It’s warm out now! These terrible children can put fashion over function once again.(It’s actually supposed to rain in Utah today but I’m going to give you all yesterday’s weather instead: slightly cloudy and 68 F in the day, dipping down to 55 F in the late evening.)

Speaking of: you should consider wearing green, or you might get pinched.

The King/Queen of St. Patrick’s Day will be announced Saturday at noon, Mountain Time. This will hopefully give everyone a chance to play, but will allow your characters to react to the winner in a timely fashion.

Tomorrow there will be a mini follow-up IC/OOC, popularly called the St. Patrick’s Day Pity Party. It’s tradition that the next day, everyone who drank too much gathers around the fields of Coppertale to recover and whine about their hangovers.

Regarding the Hunger Games: you may not kill anyone in the Grotto or along the secret trail leading to it.

If you signed your character up for either Spin The Bottle or Seven Minutes In Heaven, find their partners below:

Roxanne Barringer STB #1: Iliya STB #2: Damon	Sybilla Borgin STB #1: Xavier STB #2: Gabi 7MIH: Wilde	Cameron Carney STB #1: Casper STB #2: Joanna 7MIH: Antonia	Jaime Castillo STB #1: Damon STB #2: Kazim 7MIH: Joanna
Avery Davenport STB #1: Milo STB #2: Reid 7MIH: Casper	Reece Downing STB #1: Addy STB #2: Bianca	Bianca Dubois STB #1: Ari STB #2: Reece	Mercedes Estrada STB #1: Marilyn STB #2: Ennis
Damon Evercreech STB #1: Reid STB #2: Vee STB #3: Jaime STB #4: Roxie 7MIH: Ivy	Marilyn Fairchild STB #1: Mercedes STB #2: Etta 7MIH: Fern	Ariadne Flint STB #1: Bianca STB #2: Garrett 7MIH: Kenzie	Gabriela Flores STB #1: Riley STB #2: Sylla 7MIH: Isabelle
Adeline Foster-Hayes STB #1: Reece STB #2: Laurel 7MIH: Iliya	Henrietta Gray STB #1: Ivy STB #2: Marilyn 7MIH: Tess	Milo Greer STB #1: Avery STB #2: Bash	Ennis Harper STB #1: Casey STB #2: Mercedes
Regan Hobbs STB #1: Hazel STB #2: Casey 7MIH: Ana	Hazel Keating STB #1: Ree STB #2: Isabelle	Casper Kim STB #1: Cameron STB #2: Ulysses 7MIH: Avery	Iliya Krum STB #1: Roxie STB #2: Fern 7MIH: Addy
Sebastien Lacroix STB #1: Garrett STB #2: Milo	Xavier Lewis STB #1: Sylla STB #2: Riley 7MIH: Reid	Ursula de Luca STB #1: Antonia STB #2: Tess 7MIH: Penny	Joanna May STB #1: Wilde STB #2: Cameron 7MIH: Jaime
Jesse McBride STB #1: Kenzie STB #2: Penny 7MIH: Vee	Fern Mufferaw STB #1: Isabelle STB #2: Iliya 7MIH: Marilyn	Theresa Noble STB #1: Penny STB #2: Ursula 7MIH: Etta	Garrett Ogletree STB #1: Bash STB #2: Ari
Gavin Ogletree STB #1: Ana STB #2: Antonia	Antonia Papadakis STB #1: Ursula STB #2: Gavin 7MIH: Cameron	Casey Patterson STB #1: Ennis STB #2: Ree 7MIH: Ulysses	Veronica Powers STB #1: Kazim STB #2: Damon 7MIH: Jesse
Mackenzie Prince STB #1: Jesse STB #2: Ivy 7MIH: Ari	Ulysses Quayle STB #1: Laurel STB #2: Casper 7MIH: Casey	Kazim Raza STB #1: Vee STB #2: Jaime	Isabelle Sargent STB #1: Fern STB #2: Hazel 7MIH: Gabi
Riley Stamper STB #1: Gabi STB #2: Xavier 7MIH: Laurel	Laurel Templeton STB #1: Ulysses STB #2: Addy 7MIH: Riley	Ivy Templeton STB #1: Etta STB #2: Kenzie 7MIH: Damon	Penelope Vargas STB #1: Tess STB #2: Jesse 7MIH: Ursula
Susana Velasquez STB #1: Gavin STB #2: Wilde 7MIH: Ree	Reid Wainwright STB #1: Damon STB #2: Avery 7MIH: Xavier	Jonathan Wilde STB #1: Joanna STB #2: Ana 7MIH: Sylla

RULES

Teen peer pressure (and player sadism) aside, no one is obligated to do anything they don't want to. Characters doing Seven Minutes In Heaven can spend the time just talking or staring awkwardly at each other, and characters playing Spin The Bottle can opt out of a kiss (although people will probably boo).

If characters get up to anything more racy than PG-13, please fade to black on that! This includes sexually explicit conversations. Many people track IC/OOC posts, so please have consideration for your fellow players. Talking about sex is fine (and part of the flavour of a teen game), but there's no need to get into detailed descriptions of anatomy or sex acts.

If you'd like to say two characters were partners in STB or 7MIH in addition to what's been rolled, go ahead! Obviously, get the permission of all involved characters first.

» Before the Party: The St. Patrick’s Day celebration is always a big one, even compared to other Grotto parties! Prep your outfits, grab your friends, and maybe hold off on pregaming if you want to show the school how much alcohol you can consume in one sitting.

» Around the Fire: The large bonfire is warm and romantic. Pull up a log and grab a blanket, make some s'mores, or dance to the party music. There's a karaoke setup for anyone who feels bold enough to sing along. If you don't care for music, there's beer and soda in the ice chests, along with bins for empty bottles and cans. Don't litter. This isn't your home. Some bold students are even doing body shots as the temperature is continuing to rise, and lifting your shirt is no longer going to result in freezing to death.

» Drinking Competition: At the end of the night, the heartiest drinker will be named King or Queen of St. Patrick’s Day. There’s a crown on the line, and the winner will be carried back to their cabin by the remaining drunken survivors at the end of the night. (Yes, they’ll probably be dropped at least once.) People who participated in the drinking games (and anyone else who wants to play along) are expected to refer to them as “Your Highness" for the next week and bow when they enter the room.

There are drinking games taking place all over the party, in addition to just regular old drinking without a game involved at all. Gooseberry’s on the lookout for the heartiest drinker this year!

Start a thread for your character under this comment and fill out the form below to be part of the competition.

Each time you comment to your thread with the form, you will get a roll to add to your character’s drinking score. You may request up to three rolls in one comment.

The goal is to get as close to 200 as you can without going over. After you go over 200, your character either passes out, vomits, or is simply too unwell to continue. They’re effectively disqualified.

In the case of a tie at the end of the night, we’ll roll a tiebreaker.

As your score increases, we’ll inform you how drunk your character is becoming.

There’s an option to indicate your character has low alcohol tolerance. This means that every roll gets a +5 modifier. Your character will get drunker faster, but they’re more likely to go over 200.

» Other Games:

Pinching: Did your character forget to wear green? If so, comment here, and other character may come along and give your character a pinch.

Kiss me, I’m (pretending to be) Irish: Those shamrock pins being offered around the fire? They’re a cue that you’re open to receiving random pecks from strangers. These are assumed to be cute platonic kisses, not mouth kisses. If your character is participating, comment here for drive by smooches. Your character’s pin will then magically keep track of how many times they’re kissed. The character that receives the most kisses by midnight can request a kiss from any party attendant! (You must receive OOC permission, and the type of kiss is chosen by the person your character selected. The winner will be announced at the same time as the king/queen, both IC and OOC, and the kiss will take place in front of the crowd of revellers.)

» Inside the Building:

» Kissing Games:

Spin The Bottle: Everyone sits in a circle and takes turns spinning the bottle to find their partner. Anyone who squeezes in (or happens to be accidentally standing behind a gap in the circle) gets a shot at a kiss. People can leave and enter the game at any time. Participants will be encouraged by their drunken classmates to kiss on the mouth.

Seven Minutes in Heaven: "Heaven" is a narrow, closet-sized room adjacent to the main party, and is dark except for some cracks of light from the door. (The "door" being a heavy wooden board that's propped against the doorway and magically "locked" for seven minutes.) You can use your wand to get more light, but really, you two should be making out.

» The Woods: The prefects probably won’t let you wander too far in, but why would you want to anyway?

» After the Party: At midnight, prefects will be clearing the party and guiding everyone home. Don't walk back alone! Anyone left at 12:30 AM when the second wave of prefects hits the Grotto will be written up for punishment. As it’s St. Patrick’s day, the prefects might be anticipating more passed out classmates than normal.

» OOC: QUESTIONS, COMMENTS & CONCERNS

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Oh. My. God.

Oh my god

ohmygod

It's that kid. The one who creeped on him earlier today. The one who glares at ~~him~~ everyone, apparently. Not like Zav's special or anything. Why would he be special? Why would he care? Shit. This is going to be so terrible.

Okay. No. Stop. This totally could've been worse. Xavier's first ever attempt at 7 Minutes in Heaven could've been with like ... Isaiah or Asher or Ravi. At least with Wainwright it's reasonable to assume that they'll just stand there in the dark, silent and awkward for seven straight minutes and then never speak of it. Because they never speak.

"Allright!" Xavier says, like a person trying to act excited that they're about to take a baseball bat to the gut.

Reid nods mutely, but spares one glance at the crowd. He doesn't look excited. He can't even fake excitement at this turn of events. If he were like anyone else, he'd be super fucking happy right now, but he's not, and he hates it.

Not even able to glare anymore, Reid avoids Xavier's line of sight as he walks in a straight like towards the closet. If he can just pretend to be normal for seven minutes this'll be fine. What do people usually do in here if they don't want to make out? Talk?

Fuck, fucking shit. Goddamn it. Reid can't talk. He can't even have a conversation when he's sober.

He should have refused. That would be less humiliating. Instead, he's standing in the shadows of the closet, waiting for Xavier Lewis to follow him inside. He chews on one of his fingernails as he waits, expression set in an uncomfortable, apprehensive stare.

Reid's reaction - or, rather, the complete lack of one - ruffles the hell out of Xavier's feathers. That it even bothers him to begin with makes it all the worse. He takes back his earlier assessment; anything would've been better than a reaction like that.

Feeling a bit like he just swallowed a firecracker, Xavier stalks into the closet behind Reid and pulls the board shut behind him a bit more harshly than intended. It's cool. Whatever. He's drunk. Accident. Maybe.

He wishes he had the room to cross his arms over his chest. Instead he stands there with his hands at his sides, silent, jaw working, frown deepening. He tries to think of something to say. To lighten the mood. Unfortunately, alcohol has lubricated the conveyor belt between his brain and his vocal cords this evening and the first thing on his mind is the first thing out of his mouth.

"What is your problem with me?"

Edited (lol fucking icon browser) 2017-03-18 01:27 (UTC)

There's a moment of long, uncomfortable silence where Reid stares at Xavier's handsome, angry face. Reid's heart stops in his chest, then sinks as he realizes he's the one making Xavier so angry. Xavier, a nice guy who everyone likes. Xavier who doesn't like him at all when he's not a swan or safely anonymous. Reid suddenly looks at the floor, dark hair falling in his eyes. This is so much worse than talking. If there's anything Reid's worse at than talking, it's arguing.

"I don't have one," he says stubbornly, which is a lie. It's not Xavier's fault, though. Reid's expression scrunches up with some unnamed emotion. "Sorry."

Reid's response takes the wind out of Xavier's sails pretty quickly. At first, all he can do is stare. At the way Reid's hair falls into his eyes. At that look on his face. The only thing Xavier knows about Reid Wainwright is that he has a talent for scowling, and, still, seeing him like this makes Xavier's chest tighten and his heart's cadence double. This is not a Ribbonfin built for sustained anger. It all rushes out at once. A heavy, shuddering sigh. Oh, great. How embarrassing. Now this kid thinks he's going to cry. Don't fucking cry, Xavier. Do literally anything else.

The narrowness of their tiny shared space is starting to squeeze Xavier's head. Even if he'd come into this sober, his thoughts would still be slipping away from him. He's stuck here with this guy who - what? Hates him? Is repulsed by him? That's not it.

By Zav's count, there's still about five and a half awful, terrible minutes left in this shitty closet. Xavier's head is stuck on how long five minutes can feel. Skipping, like a record. Over and over. He has to stop it. Desperate, he leans in, placing one unsure hand on Reid's waist - how the stranger at the dance had held him - and tries to kiss him.

Edited (I am having SERIOUS ICON PROBLEMS) 2017-03-18 04:55 (UTC)

Reid looks up when Xavier touches his waist, surprised. It's nothing compared to the shock that hits him when Xavier kisses him, though.

His mind goes blank, but muscle memory kicks in. It's half of why he's even half-decent at Quidditch or kissing. Nothing needs to be going on upstairs for him to act. His hands raise to Xavier's shoulders, and he leans into the kiss hungrily. It's easy to just go for it when he's wanted to do this again for weeks. When his thoughts finally start to catch up with reality, they're torn. He really wants this. He really wants him. How many times does he have to remind himself he'll fuck this up before it sticks? It hasn't been enough yet, apparently, because Reid's arms are now around Xavier's shoulders.

Xavier is just as surprised. Honestly, he'd expected to get shoved away or cursed at and the awkward start has him feeling nervous and uncomfortable. No good. His brain journeys toward a crisis about forcing Reid into something he doesn't want. Xavier isn't even sure if he wants this. He almost pulls away, but then Reid leans into it and it's like he's flipped a switch.

As Reid drapes his arms over Xavier's shoulders, Zav's free hand finds Reid's hip. He pulls Reid closer and experiments with deepening the kiss. He's much less a natural at this, but he moves with eager curiosity. He also does not fail to notice how very familiar this all is, though in the moment it doesn't matter.

Yes, Xavier definitely wants this. Him. Reid.

Reid pushes forward, backing Xavier up against the rough brick wall of the closet. He braces an elbow against the stone so he can stop focusing so much on standing upright. Then, anchored by the wall, Reid opens his mouth into Xavier's, tossing out any illusion that this was going to be a chaste kiss between strangers. Being drunk isn't such an obstacle anymore. In fact, it's an asset in some ways, because Reid doesn't second guess social norms as his body presses against Xavier's. The world is no longer swaying, and the closet feels suddenly very, very warm.

When Reid backs him up against the wall, Xavier inhales sharply, but he meets the other boy’s open mouth enthusiastically, his own lips parted and ready. Any worry about the quality of his kissing is subsumed by an intense need to be closer. To experience and explore. Body electrified, Xavier’s grip on Reid’s waist tightens, pulling him in, while the hand on Reid’s hip, shaking, slides up his torso.

Made bold by alcohol, Xavier’s mouth drifts away from Reid’s, down that ridiculous jawline of his to the dip where it meets his neck. He breathes in deeply, committing the taste and smell to memory as he kisses just below Reid’s ear. It hadn't occurred to him until now just how aware of the details of Reid's face he was. Maybe he’ll go for those cheekbones next.

Reid shivers as Xavier's mouth travels across his jaw. They're close now, but could be closer.

That thought's insidious, and Reid's already forgotten where they are. When Xavier's lips connect with his neck, it's all the encouragement Reid's drunken brain needs. He adjusts his legs so one of them presses between Xavier's. Their hips connect, with his thigh putting pressure places it probably shouldn't. Meanwhile, one hand slides up into Xavier's hair, and Reid pulls up a memory with surprising clarity. When he'd been staring at Zav, he'd watched as he let his long hair out of its ponytail. He'd shaken it out, and then smiled at someone. A friend, probably. Reid can't remember who it was. He hadn't been paying attention.

Reid sighs audibly, appreciatively.

A low, soft groan escapes Xavier’s throat and he arches his back toward Reid involuntarily. It surprises him, but isn’t enough to interrupt his quest to find Reid’s mouth again with his own. As their lips reconnect, Xavier’s hand flutters near the hem of Reid’s t-shirt. He wants to keep going – whatever that entails – but he’s become rapidly aware of his own body. To the point of distraction. That’s not too unusual, but the feeling of desire behind it is new and slightly alarming.

Heart thundering in his chest, Xavier plants one more kiss on the corner of Reid’s mouth and then draws back to search his face, breathing heavily. He can’t see anything in the dark. Shit. It may as well be the masquerade all over again – well, the masquerade times ten.

"I..."

The silence falls over them, heavy and terrifying. All Reid can hear is Xavier's breathing and his own heartbeat. Reid finally exhales, but reluctantly. They're still so close, practically face to face, and he can't talk like this.

Reid turns away and bows his head, so his face is even more hidden, even in the dark. A few more inches and he could rest it on Xavier's shoulder, but he won't. At least this way, he doesn't have to look at the vague shadowed shapes of Xavier's face, or struggle to maintain eye contact. "Sorry," he says, nearly right into Xavier's ear. He only means to apologize for this kiss, but as soon as he says it, he knows there's a lot more he's sorry for.

Xavier winces, heartbeat ringing in his ears. The rightness of the preceding minutes is gone. He regrets stopping with every part of himself. Tilting his head, he rests his temple lightly on Reid’s crown, wanting just a moment’s more contact with this near stranger who makes him feel completely crazy – a crazy he doesn't hate, at least.

More than anything, Xavier wishes he understood. Why apologize? Why all the staring? For god’s sake, why won’t Reid just speak to him? It's infuriating and disheartening. He wants to tell Reid that this was amazing. That no one’s ever made him feel this way. But the mere thought of saying something so dramatic and embarrassing puts his stomach into knots. So he’s silent. And in the silence, his brain sets to work, thinking and thinking.

His thoughts take him to the masquerade again. They tell him this is just an extension of the prank: fuck with Xavier Lewis, the dumb kid who can't figure out human feelings. Logically, he knows it's pretty elaborate for a "joke" but the dark part of Xavier's head seems to be dominating the conversation.

To cut through the rambling of his own mind, Xavier finds his words, "You're the one from the dance, right? At least--at least, tell me if this is a joke."

"Wasn't a joke," Reid says, quick and sharp.

Although he's not sure what it was. Some stupid selfish whim, basically.

"I just..." What? What did you 'just'? Reid's thoughts start and stop as he looks for something to say that'll fix this. He finally steps back from Xavier, his head still hung low. Someone will come interrupt them any second now. "Shouldn't have done that. Or this. You were just nice, so I, like—" He stops, realizing too late that the only times before the dance that Xavier was nice to him, Reid had been a lot smaller and more avian. "You were nice at the dance," he 'corrects' awkwardly.

It's too dark and too dense and too hot in this closet. Xavier's head is a useless snarl of questions and he opens and closest his mouth several times trying to jump start words that won't come. He can't even think of what to do with his body. Putting his hands on Reid seemed so easy just seconds ago, and now, even separated, he feels far too close - and at the same time, miles farther than he'd like to be. Xavier runs both hands over his head, pushing his hair forward and then back. He sighs heavily in frustration.

"Listen, this wasn't a mistake. I--" Whatever he was about to say is lost in the air. The board sealing them in the closet finally gives way. Light pours in. Xavier's voice falters. "I have to go. Sorry."

He shoves past whoever it was that peeled the makeshift door away and disappears into the crowd, head down. Shit. Shitshitshit. Idiot.

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ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARTY

Reid & Xavier

Reid & Xavier

Reid & Xavier

Reid & Xavier

Reid & Xavier

Reid & Xavier

Reid & Xavier

Reid & Xavier - just straight up making out.

Reid & Xavier - and away we go

Reid & Xavier - getting lightly racy :x

Reid & Xavier

Reid & Xavier

Re: Reid & Xavier

Reid & Xavier

Reid & Xavier