10 YEAR REUNION

[goosemods]

10 YEAR REUNION

Headmistress Bloom as since retired, and the school has been handed over to Ms. Vector officially. She greets students with... well, what passes for warmth from Ms. Vector. It's much closer to pride, to be honest. She commends them all on their accomplishments, and speaks of Gooseberry's tradition of turning out the brightest witches and wizards. Gooseberry graduates shape the future of the magical world. [Captain/Prefect Volunteer A] was approached by the school a while ago, and gives a speech to the class about everyone's accomplishments.

The Lodge is decorated with photographs of all the graduates from their high school years. It highlights accomplishments, bonding activities, prom dates over the years, etc.

There are two goals to the reunion: catching up with your old friends, and getting roped into helping the school. The staff are very interested in seeing if some more enterprising students would like to bring their projects to Gooseberry, or potentially join the staff. [Volunteer B] gets into a very serious conversation with their old Head of House about their feelings on teaching for a year or two in their advanced field of study.

During the party, a very drunk [Volunteer C] gives another speech, which is somewhat less professional or coherent than the earlier one.

HOW THIS WORKS:

• Only graduating seniors and their romantic partners may post in this IC/OOC.


• Even if you didn't fill out the planning meme, you can still participate!


• You may NPC spouses and children!


• If you would like to "update" your PB to reflect their new age you may, but it's not required. Keep in mind that if you change your PB for this event, the new adult PB isn't officially reserved forever. That actor/actress could be used for future NPCs, or a younger version of them could be used for a student.


• The festivities start at 6:00 PM, and there's a buffet dinner. Guests may choose to stay overnight in the lodge if they wish.


• At 10:00 PM there will be a party outside on the lake shore & docks that's 21+. Children are not allowed to attend, and if they show up their parents will be asked to take them back to bed. There's an open bar, so feel free to get drunk on Gooseberry's dime.


• Assume there are house elves, staff, etc. who will watch your kids. We just don't want your fake babies at the raunchy party.


• If you want your characters to go elsewhere on campus besides the lake and the lodge, just note it in the subject line. There are some restrictions:
  • While you can visit campsites, all the cabins and washrooms are locked.
  
  
  • All classrooms and storage rooms in the lodge are locked.
  
  
  • You can no longer find the Grotto. It's as though it doesn't exist. The small path you used to take when you were a kid is a very boring, non-magical feeling loop. It makes you feel wistful, though, like thinking about an old toy you lost...


• Everyone who stayed overnight will have a light breakfast before going home at 10:00 AM

» MEET & GREET: Everyone arrives in the atrium of the lodge, which has been decorated with a large banner reading WELCOME BACK, CLASS OF 2014. Everyone's yearbook photos have been displayed proudly in 11x7" on the walls.

» PARTY: The children have all been sent to bed, and the adults head out to the lake shore. There's an open bar and a bonfire, with plenty of seating. Party music that was popular back in 2012-2014 is playing.

» DRINKING GAMES: If you would like to play some drinking games, post them here with the rules! Get these responsible young adults wasted!

» LATE AT NIGHT: If there's anything going on after the partying, be it in your rooms or elsewhere, put it here.

» OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS & CONCERNS

Comments

MEET & GREET

[goosemods]

Re: MEET & GREET

[caritasmitis]

Tabitha Bird arrives with her husband, and more notably to those who haven't seen them in a while, with 18 month old Joshua on her hip. She is clearly an adoring and doting mother, and carries him around the area to show him the photos, pointing and cooing. It's pretty adorable.

Re: MEET & GREET

[birdbrainy]

"It kind of feels weird here, you know?" Nate says, always just a step or two behind Tabitha and Joshua. "Like I should have twenty pounds of books on my back when I come in—maybe I should throw Joshy on my back to balance me out?" He throws Tabs a crooked smirk and puts an arm around her shoulder.

Re: MEET & GREET

[caritasmitis]

Tabitha rolls her eyes and stage whispers to the baby, who looks up at his mother with wide eyes.

"Your dad used to work FAR too hard, honey. He's lucky he had time for me at all!"

Re: MEET & GREET

[duelled]

Ivy hasn't seen Joshua in awhile, so of course she's gotta coo over how big he is. If Tabitha ever wants to mingle without holding a baby, she'll definitely take him off of her hands.

Re: MEET & GREET

[caritasmitis]

Tabitha definitely approves of the cooing and borrowing!

(Does Ivy want a godmother spot?)

Ty & Quinn & Open?

[tyhawkeswood]

Ty's been looking forward to the reunion and to getting back to the old alma mater, so he's all smiles when he walks into the atrium with Quinn. That smile is one of the few recognizable things about him for those that haven't seen him in a while. Since he's let his short bleached hair return to its natural chestnut brown and grow long and wavy or since he joined Quinn in her workout regimen and put on an almost ridiculous amount of muscle for a rare book dealer. Oh well. If they really can't place him, he can always turn into a squirrel or bust out an old Coppertale cheer to get the point across.

For now, he grins and slips his arm through his wife's. "So. Do you feel old yet?" he teases warmly, "I feel old."

Ty & Quinn & Open?

[quinning]

"Old," Quinn confirms with a smile, entwining her fingers with Ty's. "Old and... tall?" She gestures at the atrium's windows, a little perplexed. She doesn't look that different, perhaps more put together, and she's certainly not any taller than she was when they left, but... "Everything seems so much smaller than I remember. Do you suppose enrolment dropped and they had to reducio to reduce the hydro bill?"

Ty & Quinn & Open?

[tyhawkeswood]

"Oh, definitely," Ty agrees, nodding quite sagely. Just as if this is entirely possible and just as if this feeling of minor disorientation isn't the passage of time and changing perspective getting the better of them. He shakes his head and looks at the chipper decorations and says, "These must be dark days...oh!"

Abruptly, he pulls her toward one of the walls covered with photographs and points. It's a picture of the Azurcrests, apparently taken freshman year when Cecil and Levi were already a head or more taller than everyone else but certainly before Quinn's days of being five feet and seven inches tall. He taps the frame. "Or it could also just be this." They all look very young and she's no exception. Now he actually does feel old and he laughs, "Or both?"

GODDAMN ROBIN & WHOEVER

[hisshiss]

Robin is not a man who enters a room quietly. He never has been. He slams the door open when he comes in, it kind of seems like he kicked it in?? Fuck, who does that? This is a school, it's not like anything weird and dangerous is happening in there.

Oh, you know who does that? Robin Maverick Youngblood, that's fucking who.

He strides into the Atrium like he's ready to take on whoever's waiting to fuck him up, and doesn't relax when he walks in and it's just a regular ass fucking school.

There's a girl next to him, small and, when you do your double take because who the fuck goes anywhere with Robin, you realize it's not Tess (aka the only person who the fuck goes anywhere with Robin). It's Iris Shacklebolt? Are they... are they here together, or did they just show up at the same time? He looks over at her, revealing a disturbingly large burn that seems to have covered a large part of his left side, from ear to arm. His left ear looks like a well done slice of bacon. His left nostril is, like, gone.

Robin nods at Iris. There might have been some information imparted in this nod. There might not have been. She might also be confused. Who even knows.

Cecil & Open

[choneychurch]

Cecil's younger sisters went to Gooseberry Alternative High School for four years after he graduated and he never missed a chance to come visit, so it hasn't actually been an entire decade since he's been back here. It's been a long time, though, and he takes the place in with unmistakable fondness and nostalgia as soon as he walks inside. Despite everything that happened here, this school means a lot to him and the people that he met here mean even more.

Accompanied tonight by his husband, Levi (who has wandered off...somewhere?), and by his adopted daughter, Abigail, he looks every bit like the loving husband and the doting father everyone had likely assumed he would be by now. The cute, dark-haired tot in his arms and the obscenely bee-themed diaper bag on his shoulder make looking any other way basically impossible. He splits his attention between his former-classmates and little Abby, easily keeping up conversations with anyone that wants to catch up and making sure the little girl has a smile on her face while they mingle. She seems like a happy baby and one that likes being cooed over by strangers. Maybe she learned that from her other daddy?

Cecil & Chris

[bambae]

Chris is preceded by the excited shriek of "My baby!" As Kit ambles up to Cecil like a goddamn gazelle. Kit is seven now, but she looks younger due to her height, which is noticeably smaller than most seven year olds. Her hair is thick and blond and braided back. She looks starkingly like Chris. As she ambles up to Cecil, her cape flows behind her because yes - she insisted on wearing a Batman suit.

Kit stops just short of Cecil, and cranes her head back to peer up at him. "It's a baby, Uncle Honeybee," she informs him as if he's not aware that he's in possession of a baby. Chris is several feet behind her. He doesn't look even remotely like a doting father, unless you look close and squint.

Kit leans close and lowers her voice and whispers like she's sharing a secret. "Uncle honeybee, Uncle Blood has an owie on his face that only heals faster if you kiss it. He got exploded because he's a dumbass," she tells him confidentially, very seriously. Chris cleverly covers his laugh by coughing. Nobody even noticed it probably. It was very discrete to anybody that can't hear.

Cecil & Chris

[choneychurch]

Someday, when Abby's a little older, Cecil's going to have to have a talk with Chris about words he'd rather Kit didn't use in front of his daughter. Fortunately, today's not that day and he smiles down at the girl with affection, giving his head a little shake. "Robin wasn't dumb, Kit. It was just...an accident." He doesn't know how else to explain Robin's job to a seven-year-old and he figures that's close enough.

He pauses to look at Abby and give her a gentle little bounce and tell her to say hello to Kit, before looking back at the little girl and asking in a warm tone, "Did you and Chris give him lots of kisses, then? And are you enjoying the party?"

Cecil & Diego

[indiefolk]

"Cecil!!!" Diego is no taller than he was ten years ago, but nor is he any less energetic. He quickly crosses the room, aiming straight for Cecil, arms outstretched.

It's not as though he doesn't find plenty of excuses to visit the Honeychurch-Kramer household, but sometimes it's hard to tell. Diego has a way of making it sound like this is the first time he's seen Cecil in years every time they're reunited, even if he'd been by last month. "There you are! How's the altitude treating you? And—" Diego finally notices the baby and gasps. "—oh! You've got the baby!"

Cecil & Diego

[choneychurch]

The fact that Cecil and Diego see each other often doesn't make Cecil any less excited to see his best friend now and he turns at the sound of his voice, smiling broadly, "Diego!" There are no outstretched arms here, though. There's still baby Abby to think about. He glances down at his daughter and places a gentle kiss on the top of her head before looking back at the other man. Abigail looks at him too. Her big, dark eyes show recognition and she burbles happily.

"I couldn't let her miss the whole party," he agrees, teasing warmly, "She'd know. She'd cry for days. When did you get here?" While he talks, he shifts the baby carefully into one arm so he can finally give that overdue hug. "Ravi's with you? Levi's here somewhere. You know him."

Re: Cecil & Open

[caritasmitis]

"Now there's a kid you can tell is coparented by Levi," Tabitha laughs, deciding to approach Cecil with Joshua on her hip after she's been grinning and making faces at Abby from across the room, receiving giggles in response. She gives Cecil a kiss on the cheek as she reaches him, hoisting her son up a little before he starts wriggling. "How've you been?"

Cecil & Levi

[gdilevi]

"Cecil Honeychurch, is that you?" Levi feigns shock as he approaches his husband, a plate of pastries plucked from the buffet balanced in his hand as he goes in for a one-armed hug. "It feels like I haven't seen you in... ten years!" It's been thirty minutes. Thirty whole minutes off on his own. "Why, you're even handsomer than I remember!"

Ten years later and Levi still can't let go of the theatrics. His lips spread into a goofy grin and he offers out the plate of pastries, wanting to make a trade for Abby. There's already a baby bjorn strapped to the front of his chest, ready to go. He had mindlessly walked off with it earlier.

"I got this for you. Are you impressed by my hunting and gathering ability?"

Xavier & Reid & Open??

[solveforx]

Xavier stole Euclid's nose before they left Chicago and has forgotten to give it back. The tiny boy looks personally offended, dark eyes full of trauma as he clings to his betrayer's shoulder. His life will never be the same. He'll never trust again.

Zav doesn't notice. He's too busy fondly examining photographs.

"Too bad we probably won't be able to find the Grotto," Xavier quips to Reid as he leans heavily into his shoulder. Seems like a good night as any to make out in a crappy, narrow closet.

Xavier & Reid & Open??

[cygninae]

Reid hums in agreement and adjusts the position of the little girl in his arms to get closer to Zav. Ada's resting on his hip, arms around his neck, and Reid doesn't seem to care (or notice) that she's drooling slightly on his shoulder. She passed out in his arms sometime during the long ride out, but Reid suspects she's merely storing up energy for an early evening rebellion right before bed.

"Weird to think about." He stares at a picture of eighteen year old Xavier posing with his Quidditch team, then back at the grown man next to him. "I kinda miss your long hair sometimes."

Xavier & Reid & Open??

[solveforx]

"Yeah?" He looks Reid up and down. At some point, Zav had come to appreciate not spending an hour and a half on his hair every morning and just letting those innumerable cow licks do whatever they wanted. His eighteen-year-old self be, just, appalled.

It'd be a lie to say that, looking at Reid, he didn't immediately think growing his hair back out was a great idea and 100% worth the effort. "Me, too." He settles on bouncing the baby in his arms and wearing a contained smile. "Shame I never got a chance to knock you off your broom."

Leo and (Rafael?!) and (Open!?)

[ninjaleo]

The last time they were all in this Atrium, they were being interviewed by Aurors. Maybe it's pessimistic to remember that now. He's had many arguably more dangerous nights since then. Still, Leo finds himself stepping closer to his boyfriend-fiance now,that's better- as they make their way through the Atrium. He tries to look something other than distinctly uncomfortable while confronted by this familiar place that still somehow doesn't feel the same as it had.

"This is how that dream I get starts." He confides, ostensibly to Rafael, though he's aware enough to speak in English in public. They're here to socialize. "Ms. Rhee's gonna come over here any second to announce a Transfiguration pop quiz worth half the grade, and I won't know where the textbook is."

Leo & Rafael

[firstposition]

It's grown unfamiliar to speak to Leo in English. For years it's been Spanish, sometimes Italian as Rafael worked to return the favor of trading languages. It almost feels as though they're performing for their old classmates, demonstrating to them how he and Leo are still as in step with one another as ever.

Or perhaps Rafael is just slowly turning into his parents.

"You would get a perfect score anyway," he says with casual conviction.

Tess + Open

[noblewon]

It feels weird being back after so long. The last time she was here, they were rushed off in buses and a MACUSA agent had escorted her and Frankie home to panic stricken family.

She tries not to focus on that, though, because those aren’t the memories they’re here to reminisce on. They’re here to look back on the good times, celebrate each other’s accomplishments, and be nosy about each other’s lives so they can gossip later.

Isaiah (&Jacob if Manx feels like it) & Open

[pianississimo]

Isaiah waffled about coming. It's not that he didn't like most...well, okay, some...well, okay, a select few...of his classmates, or that he doesn't to this day fiercely love the weird little school in the woods. It's just...look, he's grown up and into himself somewhat since graduation, he's less awkward and uncomfortable in his own skin, but he is still definitely an introvert. And he has no idea what he's going to say to most of these people, and the ones he does have things to say to, he still keeps in regular touch with.

But. Ultimately, it's Gooseberry, and he learned in his senior year that Gooseberry parties are never as bad as he thinks they're going to be. So here he is.

He stops and stares at the yearbook photos for a good long time. Merlin. At least none of the (former) freshmen are here to deface his when they find out who he's (still) with (again.)

He hopes.

Isaiah And Chris

[bambae]

Chris seems to be continually preceded by Kit who dictated who he ended up speaking to. She sticks predominately to people she already knows, people Chris already speaks to on a regular basis. He speaks to Isaiah on a semi regular basis, usually dictated by whenever he specifically feels like it. Chris tends to be the one to initiate that, but Isaiah's changed in the last ten years. He's harder to embarrass. It's still hard to define this as friends. Chris is annoying and Isaiah seems very nonplussed during most of their interaction. But it's hard to not just categorize him as a friend when he's babysat Kit and Chris had walked him through how not to fuck up the start of a real relationship with Jacob. To be fair, Chris wouldn't easily categorize Robin as a friend either, and he's lived with the asshole for basically fourteen years now.

Chris isn't preceded by his child this time. She's run off to pester Quinn about the babies.

Chris comes up to Isaiah from behind, easily invading his personal space while he's looking at the pictures. He claps Isaiah on the shoulders and leans in. "Look at that adorable smile, you're practically glowing," Chris says, nodding toward Isaiah's year book picture, the one in which he is definitely not smiling or glowing. He looks as Unapproachable in that picture as ever. It's fucking adorable.