InsaneJournal

Students get on their buses and head to Gooseberry! Everyone arrives in the afternoon (except the juniors, who are an hour late due to weather in Oregon) and they have a few hours to grab a sack lunch provided by staff, and settle into their cabins. Freshmen and new exchange students are taken straight to the lodge.

• Diego Morales is arranging an illicit booze run that needs fake IDs. Unfortunately, this plan needs someone who’s a little more deft at Transfiguration than he is. Luckily, Anuhea Alapai steps up to help create something convincing.


• That night, everyone gathers at the Sorting Cave. Headmistress Bloom welcomes everyone back, and one by one, the new students are sent in to be sorted. Azurcrest and Coppertale whoop loudly every time someone is sent to their House.

Freshmen and new exchange students receive orientation, as directed by prefects. Ravinder Dhaliwal takes the shortcut off Rattlesnake Trail while giving a tour, and somehow ends up getting turned around on the path, with a dozen freshmen in tow. They wander lost in the forest for several minutes before bumping into Nathaniel Bird, who helps them find their way back.

It’s time for the liquor store run! Fake IDs in hand, Diego Morales, Katya Ivanova, and Riley Stamper go on a hike that takes them outside the anti-Apparition zone. A quick teleport over to the nearby muggle town of Logan gets them what they need, but they almost return too late because Riley wandered off to flirt with some cute muggles.

That evening, all interested students sneak out to the Grotto after curfew for the back-to-school party.

• There will be a game of Spin the Bottle and Seven Minutes in Heaven. If your character would like to participate, please sign up below.

While students are filing into the lodge for breakfast, Sylvester Stoker catches Calvin Evercreech off guard and shoves him into the lake. Calvin attends breakfast soaking wet and seething.

First day of classes. Sofia Delgado tries to argue that they shouldn't have to go to class, since it's No-Maj Labor Day and they deserve the day off too.

Every senior-level class begins with the reminder that they need to start thinking about their final projects. (Juniors get a version of this speech with the word “soon” tacked on.) By dinner, everyone’s sick of the words “don’t leave it until the last minute!”

It’s a Ribbonfin start-of-year tradition to hold a paper boat race in the stream that weaves through their campsite. Gabriela Flores takes the prize, and is rewarded with a potted violet from Mr. Hightower. Philippa Nightingale’s boat sinks pathetically only a few seconds into the race. Kurt Wolfhart’s boat… wait, where did it go? It never made it to the finish line, and no one can find it along the banks.

Regan Hobbs wakes up before everyone else, and goes outside to get the day started. There, they see that the Azurcrest campground is covered in dozens of ravens, all holding very still and being remarkably quiet. The ravens all stare at Regan in unison before abruptly taking off.

Quidditch/Cheer Tryouts today!

• Reid Wainwright, assured of their place on the team, spends more time performing broom tricks than doing what their captain asks for.


• Roxanne Barringer gets too enthusiastic during tryouts and nails a freshman so hard with a Bludger that the kid falls off their broom. Oops.


• Addy Foster-Hayes attends just to (platonically) flirt with the Quidditch players and cheerleaders, and gets kicked out by Mr. Thorn for being distracting.


• Beatrix Armstrong tries out for the cheer squad. Their powerful high kick nails Ty Hawkeswood in the head. It was a pretty impressive kick, though, so it doesn’t disqualify them. Nice!

High on Quidditch tryouts, Levi Kramer reveals they have a duffel bag full of a special surprise for Ebonhide, their rival house. A number of Azurcrest students sneak out after curfew to deliver it.

Ebonhide students wake up to find their campground covered in neon blue craft store feathers. It’s a complete mess. Ms. Rhee immediately knows who to blame, but Mr. Merrill and Mr. Elmasry vehemently defend Azurcrest’s students. It’s just a harmless prank anyway, right? Ms. Rhee demands that Azurcrest be made to clean up the mess. Mr. Merrill isn’t budging.

Ms. Rhee refuses to let any Ebonhide students touch the feathers. They’re starting to get pretty gross and muddy…

Mrs. Bloom decrees that the entirety of Azurcrest should clean up the Ebonhide campsite. Azurcrest students all hike down to Ebonhide after class and spend the evening collecting feathers. Ulysses Quayle and Cameron Carney (NPC) take the opportunity to kick up their feet, pour some lemonade, and tease the laboring Azurcrests.

🌕 HARVEST MOON

Quidditch and cheer squad rosters are posted in the lodge. A freshman went down the list before anyone else got there and rated the players and cheerleaders on “Cuteness Factor.” It’s on an “adorbz” to “wowie” scale, and no one can make sense of who is actually ranked high or low.

Happy birthday, Clementine Decourt!

Most students agree that the path from the lodge to Ebonhide, which passes through some very thick trees that overhang the path, makes them feel watched. Tonight, Bailey Hartman feels it so strongly on their way home from late-night studying that they’re compelled to run back to their cabin.

Happy birthday, Ulysses Quayle!

Happy birthday, Beatrix Armstrong and Kurt Wolfhart!

All of Coppertale wakes up to find their shoes have been filled with wildflowers picked from the fields outside, with Faye Turner receiving the most flowers by far. They're positively overflowing all over the floor. Is this a weird prank or a sweet gesture?

Chloe Shepherd gets the idea to chain a bunch of power strips in the lodge so everyone can charge their phones and laptops at once. It works great at first, and then there’s a sudden POP, and the lights all across camp go out.

Happy birthday, Dominic Tremblay!

Still no electricity. Teachers announce that repairs are being looked into, but the camp may need to go a couple days without electricity. Everyone practice their lighting charms!

In the middle of the night, Laurel Templeton spots a shadowy figure outside their cabin window. The figure is standing very still and look as though they have antlers. (Or could those be tree branches?) People freak out, but later the culprit appears to be some freshman who was out after curfew. (The freshman stubbornly protests their innocence.)

Another day trapped in darkness? While out on a walk, Dominic Tremblay sees the lodge’s exterior lights illuminate. The lights all start blinking in a rapid but irregular pattern before suddenly extinguishing again. A passing Mr. Oakes confirms that the electricity is still out, but oddly refuses to speculate about what was behind those lights...

During dinner, Veronica Powers is reassuring their friend that power will come back "any second now," and bam! The lights all turn on. Could they be a Seer?

Finally, power is restored, much to everyone’s relief. Welcome back to the 21st century, Gooseberry students! There’s a mad scramble to get to an available outlet, and at 9 PM, Henrietta Gray is kicked out of the lodge by Ms. Vector before all of their electronic devices have been charged.

Zoey Valentine and Christopher Park are on the same trail when they hear a strange noise. The source gets closer and closer, only to reveal it’s about a dozen deer running down the trail at full speed! Zoey and Chris cling to one another behind a tree (romantic?) until the deer pass.

During breakfast, Mr. Calderon-Boot entreats all students to ignore any new posts which come up tomorrow. He ends up arguing with Mr. Merrill, who insists the students only want some harmless fun. Ms. Rhee jumps in to take Calderon-Boot's side.

🌑 NEW MOON

The Anonymous Writer should post tonight...