MISTLETOE

[goosemods]

MISTLETOE

Casey Patterson spots a familiar, funny little plant on the side of the trail, and recognizes it as last year's magical mistletoe. Whether they love to smooch or were hoping to cause some chaos and miss classes, Casey sneaks the plant into the lodge. With the help of a little magical miracle-gro, the building is soon infested once again.

By lunchtime, mistletoe has sprouted all over the Lodge. Anyone who is unlucky enough to walk underneath a sprig of it is trapped in place with their feet rooted to the ground. This is inconvenient enough, but the only way to free a trapped student is with a kiss.

HOW THIS WORKS

• Mistletoe is growing like vines throughout the lodge, hanging from the ceiling, apparently attempting to position itself to "trap" students.
  


• By noon, it's widespread enough that it's become a serious inconvenience. Classes are not cancelled, but under the circumstances, students are forgiven for tardiness.


• If your character walks under a sprig of mistletoe, their feet are rooted to the spot.


• The only thing that will free them is a kiss. Cheek kisses or a kiss to the back of the hand are sufficient. So is a kiss on the lips, but chances are, most people will opt for something more chaste.


• Mr. Hightower is busy all day, and cancels Herbology until he can get a handle on this, but he knows what to do after last year's debacle. Jonathan Wilde is excused from classes to help him. The mistletoe is highly resistant to being cut, hexed, set on fire, or exposed to magical weed killer. (Also, please don't set things on fire in the lodge???)
  


• The lodge is not as large as Hogwarts castle, but it's still spacious with plenty of corridors to get lost in if you want to get your character stranded.


• Post your character to a location below if they got stuck. If you're waiting for someone in particular, indicate who's going to free your character in the subject line. Otherwise, comments are considered open for a random rescuer.


• The mistletoe will be gone by curfew.

» Atrium: The busy sitting area of the Lodge. There's lots of mistletoe, but just as many people to save you.

» Cafeteria: Bustling at mealtimes, quiet for the rest of the day.

» First Floor Halls & Balconies: Winding corridors with windows that look out into the woods.

» Second Floor Halls & Balconies: Long hallways, some of which overlook the atrium and the students below.

» Third Floor Halls & Balconies: These balconies have a stunning view of the lake and surrounding forests. They are also the least populated.

» Classrooms: Some are in use, some are empty.

» Library: Is nowhere sacred?! Ms. Petrichor is incensed at the mistletoe in her library. Every time she finds a new sprig, she marks the floor with an angry X.

» OOC - QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

Comments

ATRIUM

[goosemods]

Juniper and OPEN, kicking it off

[junipercrane]

As cheerful as always, Juniper heads through the doors into the atrium. She is feeling on point today; her uniform as crisp as always, her hair curled just so, and the side effect of so many poor souls in need of breakout cream meant she could sneak some new cosmetics into her spa order. Yes, things are looking good for this little Jay.

That is, until she gets halfway across the atrium and her feet suddenly get jerked to a stop. She drops a book in front of her, and she can bend to pick it up but she can't move any further. "Um...some help?" she calls out, looking around for a sympathetic face....or for the person who thought it would be funny to hex her in the first place.

Issy

[cant_even]

It's just before lunch but she figured a head start never hurt anyone and she was going to read a bit anyway. It would be nice to be in the cafeteria while it was quiet and she didn't have to worry about anything. Unfortunately for her, as she entered into the Atrium and was just almost towards the cafeteria, her stride comes to a halting stop. Oh, no! She's stuck. Completely stuck, feet rooted to the floor. "What the -- " Several long moments pass as she's trying to tug her feet out when realizes hits and her eyes shoot up.

"Mistletoe!" A groan escapes her, and she can feel the panic rising. People would be here soon, how embarrassing was this going to be? Her cheeks were already almost as red as her hair as she stands there, digging her book out of her bag and shoving her face into it. Totally actually natural, nothing wrong here!

Spencer & Ira

[bitterlysweet]

Spencer bounces impatiently as he scans the atrium for someone to wave down. He's stuck again, which is keeping his fidgeting to a minimum. He'd pace if he could. Being trapped isn't a feeling he deals with gracefully. But then he spots a familiar face, and his frustration evaporates. Time to get the hell out of here. "Ira!"

London

[beansontoast]

"Oh, gosh," London says when a bit of magical mistletoe winds its way around one of her ankles, and then the other. "What an inconvenience!" She doesn't actually sound particularly inconvenienced.

Juniper and OPEN again

[junipercrane]

Once Oz was safely long gone (and couldn't see that this next time was going to be on purpose), Junie sneaks free of her class and skirts around the edge of the atrium. It's for show; she's already mapped out the thick areas with the fellow sophomores, but she had to make it look like there is some effort. She wants an out of the way spot but to remain in a decently trafficked area.

Thankfully, she doesn't have to pretend to be snagged; the magic works quickly and she is unceremoniously jerked to a stop somewhere near the stairs. "Aw, come on," she moans, sounding genuinely frustrated and forlorn, even though she is anything but. She sneaks out her wand; Balthazar had a great idea for camouflaging some of the mistletoe and she does not turn down a good idea. Making it look like she's trying to free herself, she manages to color change some of the plant so that it blends into the ceiling. And mentally, she marks this spot.

"This really sucks," she pouted, scanning for a sympathetic cutie. Come on, there were plenty at this school to choose from.

Nia & Addy

[heyitsnia]

As though there wasn't already enough at this school to worry about, the sight of students rooted in place is familiar enough to Nia that she spends the morning cautiously snaking around to avoid getting trapped, herself. And, yes, maybe she should be focused on helping solve the problem - or any of the school's myriad problems - right now, but this is also a great excuse to get a smooch from a cute girl.

So rather than hide in the music room, Nia spends her free time in the atrium, loitering until she spots her target. And then, once she sees Addy, she jumps, rather dramatically, beneath a sprig of mistletoe and is immediately rooted in place.

"Oh woe is me!" She wails dramatically. Draping an arm over her forehead. "I need a hero!"

A freshman walking by pauses, looking hopeful.

"Not you." She says to him, flat.

Cole

[colemoss]

Cole is one of the least observant people in the junior class. He might be the most unobservant person in the junior class. So the fact that he's spent much of today getting stuck under various sprigs of mistletoe in various places probably wouldn't surprise anyone. Last year he was lucky, this year he's not. But it's fine. Apparently resigned to his new life in the middle of the Atrium, he's taken a seat on the floor and pulled out his sketchbook and started to draw. He's not even trying to stop anyone and ask for help anymore.

Essie & Open to Multiple

[magitechnically]

Essie's not a hypervigilant kid.. ever. She gets caught by the mistletoe multiple times while running around the lodge throughout the day. Sometimes by the exact same plant. Good job, Essie.

Considering kissing is kind of SUPER EMBARRASSING, she really could have done better.

Riley & Open to Multiple

[riledup]

Ah, Riley has earned this. After selflessly helping the lepers stricken with the Pimple Plague, then working very hard to prepare for cheer tryouts, Riley deserves a good kissing playground right now.

A fresh tube of lipstick in her bag, Riley spritzes some breath freshener in her mouth, then steps directly under her little plant friend. Gross people will be rudely shooed away.

Reece & open to multiple

[peanutbuttercup]

Reece has... a lot of reading to do for History of Magic that he's been putting off, and he spends most of the early morning wandering around with his nose in a book. You'd think he'd be a little more vigilant once he became aware of the mistletoe, but... five chapters to go.

Rupert

[somethingwick_ed]

It's legitimately hard to tell if Rupert is stuck or not; he's definitely not asking for help because he's too frustrated with himself for being caught by the mistletoe. The Ribbonfin stands, very still, off to the side of the atrium, his arms crossed and a horribly, horribly offended expression on his face. This isn't actually uncommon, though.

Antigone & Open to Multiple

[nightandday]

Antigone's been careful. She's been paying attention to where she walks, has been looking upward enough to both be safe plant-wise and to politely avoid collisions. But this plant. This very specific, particular plant. It moved. There's no way it hadn't moved.

So she's very busily glaring up at it, arms crossed over her chest and lips pulled to the side.

Kiss a Coyote

[quickbuck]

Todd clearly missed last year's turtle fiasco, because sometime after lunch he decides to find out if mistletoe works on coyotes.

Surprise! It totally does.

Concerningly, he finds that all four of his paws are stuck to the ground, and he has the moment presence of mind to wonder what would happen if he untransformed like this. He definitely can't touch his toes, so he'd be in trouble if he ended up with his hands stuck to the ground right in front of his human feet. Luckily, there are plenty of people in the Atrium, so he just yelps for help. Someone take this bullet and free him.

Iliya + OPEN to multiple

[iliya]

Iliya is here and not wearing a paper bag, although it's not because his skin is completely clear and unblemished. But his personal vanity can only go so far, and he refuses to spackle on makeup and admit he cares that much about he looks.

He spent most of the morning with his head down, trying to avoid anyone's eyes. Which also happens to be an excellent way to not see where all the mistletoe is. Iliya sighs. This is his punishment for trying to do well at school.

CAFETERIA

[goosemods]

London

[beansontoast]

London had just finished her lunch when the magical mistletoe roots her feet to the spot. "Oh, n- wait, hold on," she says, taking a compact mirror out of her bag. She had salad for lunch, so she checks her teeth for any wayward greens. "All good," she says, taking a moment to apply a layer of pink tinted lip gloss while she has the mirror out. "Now where was I? Oh, no!"

Hero

[victimless]

Hero is caught early in the chaos as he takes two steps into the cafeteria and finds his shoes won't move anymore. Or, for that matter, his feet inside of his shoes. "What...?"

It takes another minute before he thinks to look up at the ceiling, for the very off-season green-and-red mistletoe above his head. "Oh, f— Honestly."

Todd

[quickbuck]

Normally Todd would be all over any kind of excuse to kiss or be kissed during school hours, but he's still recovering from his acne attack. Fortunately, between potions and pre-healer studies friends, he's mostly back to normal. Enough so that he can deal with just a light concealer and not being a coyote. But he's still not at peak confidence levels, so he's been carefully avoiding mistletoe all morning and only helping out people he can get away with hand-kissing. Which is weird and formal. It's honestly almost worse to do a hand-kiss than a mouth-kiss.

But he loses his laser-sharp mistletoe avoiding focus for a second when he heads into the cafeteria for lunch. If there's one thing that can distract him INSTANTLY, it's the promise of cheesy potatoes. He gets stuck halfway to his food goal and wobbles a little against the force of his feet becoming stuck. "Aw come on," he says loudly. "Someone kiss me?"

FIRST FLOOR HALLS & BALCONIES

[goosemods]

Spencer

[bitterlysweet]

This is, perhaps, the only time Spencer's seen the merit of the "no running in the halls" rule. As he passes under a doorway, his feet are rooted to the ground, but the rest of him isn't. Thanks, physics. He toppled forward, catching himself with his hands.

"Motherfucker!" Which is only the first in a long string of overly loud curses as he rights himself into a standing position.

SECOND FLOOR HALLS & BALCONIES

[goosemods]

Quentin and Miguel

[taxation_is_theft]

Nobody looks up when they’re walking. Or running. In the halls. When Quentin runs under a mistle toe, his momentum keeps going and he sprawls across the floor, his books going flying. But his first thought is that this bullshit feels like s good way to get out of class, so he makes himself comfortable.

His second thought comes half an hour later, and he’s not proud of it. His second thought is that he’s so bored he would’ve preferred to go to class. And then he sees Miguel in the distance, and he scrambles back to his feet.

THIRD FLOOR HALLS & BALCONIES

[goosemods]

Avery & Open (to multiple!)

[un_kept]

Not again! Apparently, they had not seen the last of the magical mistletoe from last year. Avery never had been sure where it came from in the first place, but here it was again this year trapping her for a second time. At least last time she was in the middle of a trafficky area - up here, not so much.

Letting out a long sigh, Avery tosses her books and bag down - ready for the long wait until someone passes by. At least the view is nice.

CLASSROOMS

[goosemods]

Concordia

[cheer_leader]

Well this is totally awesome! The plague is in full swing already and people are getting stuck and right. Dia, however, is totally the best and most aware and hasn't been caught all day. She's very proud of this, and talks about all the people she's helped release to anyone who will listen.

That is, until she knocks over half her stuff at the end of magical rudiments and needs to clean it up. Soon she's the only left in the classroom and as she's heading out the door suddenly she... can't. She can't head out the door, her feet are rooted to the spot and she looks above her with a curse. "YOU WERE NOT THERE FIVE MINUTES AGO. WHAT THE HECK, MISTLETOE!" She yells at it, because that's like another effective way to get rid of it, right?

LIBRARY

[goosemods]

Lachlan

[lachlangalbraith]

Trying to fit working out and practicing for cheer into his already tight schedule of academic overachievement hasn't been easy and Lachlan's got a lot to do today if he wants to stay on track. So he's been careful, looking up more than forward while walking from class to class and spending most of his time planted in the library studying. When he finally gets up from his table to head to lunch, though, he realizes his mistake.

He hadn't looked up before standing and some of the mistletoe had sprung up above him while he'd been reading. Getting stuck when he tried to leave had been almost inevitable. Suddenly and unexpectedly cemented in place, he glances at the other chair he'd dropped his bag into. It's now quite out of reach. And that's where his journal is. He groans quietly and turns to look around the library, now empty. At least in his immediate area.

He hesitates. But it's not like Ms. Petrichor can throw him out for raising his voice. Not unless she wants to kiss him first, anyway. There's a thought. He tugs uselessly at his feet and, exasperated, calls out hesitantly, "Hello? Is anyone else here? I..."

OOC 💋 QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

[goosemods]

Re: OOC 💋 QUESTIONS/DISCUSSION

[websterknox]

Have the Pimple Plague victims recovered yet??

Stuck kids see us coming and are like, "No no. That's okay. I'll wait for the next person. I'm actually really comfortable here."