BIG BIRDIES' BYE-BYE BBQ BEACH BASH

[quinning]

BIG BIRDIES' BYE-BYE BBQ BEACH BASH

It's a hot and sunny afternoon as students in swimwear and sun hats begin to arrive at the clearing behind the lodge. Let the annual Azurcrest Parting Party begin!

Each year's senior Azurcrest class holds a (staff-approved) "Parting Party" for the student body to celebrate all the adventures they've had and friends they've made at Gooseberry High. It's also tradition for them to outdo the previous class' efforts. Last year's theme was The Mighty Jungle; the rope-swing course over Lake Gooseberry was legendary!

This year, though, the big blue jays think they have a strong contender. Sand is laid over the whole clearing to expand the modest beach. Umbrellas and lounge chairs evocative of a resort dot the 'beach' and the summer-ready tunes of DJ Levi Kramer pump across the party. At one point, "You Reposted in the Wrong Neighbourhood" begins to blare over the speakers—disaster is in the air, but Oscar Zabinsky saves the day and skips to the next track before any teachers hear the questionable chorus.

The Azurcrests are throwing a...
BARBECUE BEACH BASH!

A Slippery Surprise

The first thing students see as they round the corner of the lodge is very large and very blue: it's A GIANT SLIP 'N SLIDE! Starting atop a hill behind the lodge, it ends with a small ramp to launch adventurous teens into Lake Gooseberry.

In true Gooseberry fashion, [Volunteer B] starts a competition to find out who can shoot the furthest off the Slip 'N Slide. Meanwile, [Volunteer C] tries to impress [The Apple of Their Eye] by sailing off the ramp and catching a beachball mid-air... but it's intercepted by Goosey, who punts it back to shore with her tail! Whoa! Apparently even lake monsters wanna have fun.

While swimming in the lake under the bright summer sun is fun, especially after a ride on a giant Slip 'n Slide, isn't life even more fun with a little competition? At some point, Susana Velasquez climbs up onto Antonia Papadakis' shoulders and challenges nearby classmates to a game of CHICKEN! The game quickly catches on and students are soon cheering and whooping while their peers try to knock each other into the water.

Cookout & Bonfire

After a cookout dinner grilled by the seniors and a few enthusiastic staff (in thematic aprons!), the party heads up the hill to Azurcrest to end as it always does: with a bonfire.

Wyatt Winslow's improvised song about the Gooseberry houses, to the tune of [Song of Their Choice], is an instant hit.

The final ballad of the night is also the final tradition of the day—a heart-wrenching rendition of [A Song Suggested by the OOC Studio Audience, Please Take Pity on Me, This Is a Very Long Post] performed by the Parting Party seniors. Although not a senior, Jefferson Key joins with such gusto that they're ushered in to finish the song with the rest of the pack. The crooning of Mercedes Estrada and Quinn Cunningham lead some to question whether or not they actually practiced like they insist they did. (They did, but they're... just that bad.)

When curfew falls and it's time to go home, house groups gather and walk back to their camps while the graduates-to-be clean up the evidence from their final Parting Party.

RULES

• The whole school is invited! The Parting Party happens every June and characters will already know what & when it is.


• Summer clothing and swimwear is recommended but there is no dress code. Clean Azurcrest gym shirts are available for those who prefer to wear them when swimming or sliding.


• The party begins at 3:00 PM.


• Dinner is served at 6:30 PM.


• The beach segment packs up and moves to Azurcrest for a bonfire when the sun begins to set at 8:00 PM.


• The evening concludes at 9:45 PM. Students gather into prefect-led house groups and walk back to their respective camps.


• All contraband is contrabanned. Yes, even though this is an Azurcrest fête.

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RULES: SLIP 'N SLIDE

• The Slip 'N Slide is safe! This isn't another extreme sledding incident. There are charms to keep students from veering off of the slide and everything has been triple-checked by staff.


• More charms keep the slide wet at all times.


• Only one person on the slide at a time.


• No animagus forms allowed. (You have claws, children.)


• You only have one chance to compete. You can now compete twice! Feel free to fill out the form more than once twice, but don't expect a score for extra runs!


• Your highest score will count toward the competition and the house sums.


• No magic use is allowed in the competition.


• There's no prize for the winner; consider it a metaphor for adulthood.


• The winner will be decided Sunday, June 4 at 5:00 pm MST.

» Before the Party: Set-up time for the senior Azurcrests is primp 'n preen time for the rest of Gooseberry!

» Beach & Lake: Whether students want to relax, chat, or play, there's plenty to do! Beachy ambiance is provided by picnic tables, beach chairs and chaises, large towels, and colourful beach umbrellas to provide shade (and modest privacy). Nets for volleyball and badminton are set up, and when in doubt... you can always swim in the lake or build sand castles on the shore!

» Chicken! Post a comment with the first team's names (ex. Ty & Hazel vs. ???), stating which is the vehicle (the person on the bottom) and which is the attacker (the person on top). Then another team can claim the match à la beer pong (ex. Ty & Hazel vs. Casey & Riley), stating who fills the same roles. Katie and Rin will roll your results!

» Slip 'N Slide: The bright blue plastic runs down a steep hill behind the lodge and ends with a small ramp that launches adventurous teens into Lake Gooseberry.

• Slip 'N Slide rules can be found under Rules.


• Sliders compete to find out who can fly the furthest off the ramp!


• Post the below form on the Slip 'N Slide thread to receive your score! You can only compete once You can compete twice, but if you are not competing, you can post as many times as you like and don't need to use the form! :)

<b>Character Name:</b> <b>House:</b> <b>Their slidin' style:</b> Do they do the classic 'stomach or bust,' or do they try something more adventurous like holding a pose, beginning with a cartwheel, or going down backwards? (This has no bearing on RNG. Probably. Unless I get Inspired.) <b>Anything Else?:</b>

Azurcrest	Coppertale	Ebonhide	Ribbonfin
333'10"	263'2"	143'1"	225'1"

Longest Distance: Samantha Sweeney @ 47'6"!
Their flight was 7.5ch long.

Totals were last updated after Fern Mufferaw's first attempt.
» Cookout: The evening's chefs—the ten seniors and a handful of generous staff members (Mr. Merrill, Mr. Elmasry, Ms. Thrussell, and Ambrosia)—slip on puntastic aprons in Azurcrest blue and grill up some grub! The menu consists of hot dogs, hamburgers, and corn on the cob. As always, meat-free alternatives are available and cooked on uncontaminated barbecues. (The less competent cooks have been given less vital tasks.)

Toward the end of the meal, a cake of monstrous proportion is brought outside and students are forced invited to sing "Happy Birthday" to birthday twins Laurel and Ivy Templeton!

Ambrosia:	FEELING PECKISH?	Henrietta:	Eagle-eyed
Mr. Elmasry:	Eggcellent chef	Jesse:	Hawkward!
Mr. Merrill:	TOUCAN SAY THAT AGAIN	Laurel:	Shake a tail feather
Ms. Thrussell:	Songbirds duet better	Levi:	BIRD IS THE WORD
Cecil:	PAPA BIRD	Mercedes:	Free as a bird
Diego:	Cheep and cheerful	Quinn:	FLYING THE COOP
Drusilla:	MIGRATING SOUTH	Ryan:	Trick or tweet

» Bonfire: Parting Parties always end with a large bonfire back at camp. Songs, s'mores, and stories are exchanged as friends snuggle up under blankets and swat away the season's first mosquitoes.

» End of the Night: When curfew falls and it's time to go home, house groups gather and walk back to their camps while the graduates-to-be clean the campsite. Azurcrest non-seniors are welcome to stick around and lend a hand.

» OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

Comments

Lucas & Bash

[professionalcorpse]

"Me too," he agrees, words muffled slightly and gaze caught on the line of Lucas' shoulders. Cause, somewhere, he most definitely fucked up. He's aware of it. All of the Lost in Space klaxons in his head are, like, full volume blaring a very clear 'You done fucked up, son.' and he should probably get up and maybe walk into the forest and get eaten by something - but he also doesn't want to?

So instead he reaches forward for the suntan lotion, hovers, then stills himself - all dimly unfocused like someone having a particularly heated cellphone conversation. Just, y'know, minus the cellphone. (Because that's back in his room. And also useless. Though, really, could there possibly be a more vital time for the ability to Google 'i have no idea how to talk to humans that i like, help me' pretty much ever?) So, really, it's just a second of mentally yelling at himself. But the other way of saying it makes the whole thing seem a bit more evocative and a bit less stunted.

"M'sorry." One eye squints itself closed, like he's looking through a particularly fuzzy viewfinder and the hand not clutching the tube of lotion reaches back to pull on the brim of his cap. "That was weird? The -" His teeth pull at his lower lip. "Um, the everything after I ruined a perfectly nice conversation about theoretical real estate? I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable?"

Lucas & Bash

[bubblewrapped]

"Oh, um," the last few seconds catch up with him and Lucas exhales heavily, deflating, defeated, his shoulders sagging. He's quick to pick up and carry on, explaining himself like a person explains why their dog tore up the neighbor's flower bed. "It's okay. I'm pretty much the Incredible Hulk of discomfort. That's my secret: I'm always uncomfortable." Squinting, he shoves a hand into his curls and tugs his fingers through, muttering, exasperated, "The Uncomfortable Hulk." Leaving a trail of cringing innocents in his wake.

After a beat, he takes a breath, puffing himself up. "Don't worry about it." Lucas hesitates, "Really. I, um, like you. I'm just..." He isn't sure what he is. So he shrugs and says, "Bleh."

Lucas & Bash

[professionalcorpse]

"You -" The word comes out a bit bewildered, like somebody pretty much dropped a statistical impossibility in his lap. He clears his throat, but the pause does very little to stop him from blurting out an emphatic: "No."

His fingers flex, curl back in tight against his palm.

"Look you - You're funny and nice and smart, so I - I want to sound smart and be funny when I'm with you?" It's a visible effort to put his words in order, jitters breaking out all over his skin - knee bouncing and the heel of his hand forcibly pushing it down. "But I get - I end up at mostly stupid and too touchy and incoherent?" A little puff of air leaves him. "Wasn't you being - I get too -" Bash manages a smile, crooked and small and looking halfway to a panic attack. "You're great. Who wouldn't like you?"

That's - yeah. That works. Those were words.

A little bit wavery, almost like it's an afterthought, "I'd read that comic, though?"

Lucas & Bash

[bubblewrapped]

The "No" hits him like an air cannon and Lucas crosses his arms tight, fingers gripping his sides. His gaze darts from Bash's mouth to his hands and knees. The bouncing makes him more nervous. The words, giddy. He can feel his breath coming in shorter than it should.

As soon as Bash finishes his last thought, Lucas is up and leaning forward. "Okay, first of all," he sounds a bit out of breath as he unwraps himself. One hand, he places on Bash's knee to try and steady it, for the both of them. The other reaches into the side pocket of his shorts and produces an inhaler. "No. That comic would be terrible," utter surety, despite the wheezing. "It'd be Bruce Banner with asthma instead of an indestructible green alter ego." For emphasis, Lucas raises his inhaler to his mouth. "'You wouldn't like me when I'm,'" he depresses the canister, inhales, and after a full ten seconds, says, "'Uncomfortable.'"

"Lame, right?" Nice prioritizing on the conversation, Lucas. Nerd. "Next," He pockets the inhaler again, sounding a bit like he could use a glass of water. It's at this point that he notices his hand, still on Bash's knee. Whoops. He stumbles through the rest of his thought, "Um, you are smart and funny? And I don't think you're incoherent." Lucas sits back, again, and knots his fingers together in his lap.

Lucas & Bash

[professionalcorpse]

His leg judders to a jerky stop at the first brush of Lucas' fingers, and he feels the contact all the way through to his fingertips. Kind of like the fizzy sort of sensation a person gets in their stomach when they drink Coca Cola while eating Pop Rocks - but somebody's gone and put a top on him. Strange, but kind of exciting. All bottled up and brimming with something.

Something which is, apparently, some odd mixture of worry and hysterics - a laugh strangling itself in his throat and fingers tightening around the suntan lotion, head tipped in concern as he ticks off the seconds, counting backward in his head. (Which, honestly, sort of helps with managing the urge to giggle. It's a good joke. Well, he thinks it's a good joke. But Lucas successfully breathing is way more important.)

"Nah. I'd go to the store for that every week," he admits, chin tucked slightly and skin suddenly gone a bit cold. "And then I'd buy it again in trade."

Lucas & Bash

[bubblewrapped]

After a deep breath, Lucas laughs. An up-and-down chuckle that tumbles out of him as he shakes his head. He keeps his elbows tucked tight against his sides, but his shoulders finally relax. "Man," he says, leaning forward and biting back against a grin. "That's completely unacceptable."

Lucas & Bash

[professionalcorpse]

His heart's sort of thrumming but the keyed-up knot in his stomach eases, grin soft and small and sort of fascinated. Cause shit, man. That's a nice laugh?

"No way." He protests, leaning forward himself, elbow propped up on his knee again. "That's impeccable taste in reading materials."

Lucas & Bash

[bubblewrapped]

That grin is too much. Again Lucas loses in the fight against his own smile. "I've gotta disagree."

Unthinking, he unwinds his fingers and lets his hand drift up. And then he becomes acutely aware of what is happening. Where they are. That there are, just, an actual ton of people around. He snaps his hand back, ducking his head and running his palm over the back of his neck. More energetic laughter follows.

Lucas & Bash

[professionalcorpse]

At the suddenness of the motion, Bash jolts a little bit, like he's been electrocuted, eyes darting to the side. Oh yeah. Wow. Super in public right about now. That's cool.

His nose twitches, legs stretching out in front of him and shoes scraping long divots into the sand.

"I jumps mean, you can. If you really want," he shrugs, not exactly nonchalantly shifting himself and leaning back onto his palms, one hand planting itself a dangerously small amount of inches away from Lucas' thigh. "You'd be wrong. But you totally can."

Lucas & Bash

[bubblewrapped]

Letting his head rock to one side, Lucas eyes Bash as he moves, gaze lingering on the where his hand lands in the sand. "Yeah, yeah," he says, trying to sound dismissive as he lets his own hand slide back down into his lap. "I'm cool with being wrong, I guess..."

Lucas rolls his shoulders and does a couple more fidgety things that are not what he wants to be doing at this moment. Cracks his knuckles. Brushes a bit of invisible sand off his pant leg. All the while internally shouting himself to just do it. With effort, and without any finesse, Lucas lets his hand fall into the sand, then slides his fingers up and over the back of Bash's palm.

Lucas & Bash

[professionalcorpse]

Bash tilts his chin up, eyes squinting shut under the excuse of excess sunshine, and bites down hard on one half of a grin. Which, ultimately, does very little to stop it from curling itself up on the other side. But that's - Yeah, that's okay. It's a grinning sort of moment, even if it isn't quite an eye-contact sort of moment.

"It ain't that bad," he replies, managing to poorly hook his pinkie finger over Lucas' thumb. "I do it all the time."