Gooseberry High (OOC)

as though kas playing kurt, quinn, and casey weren't confusing enough...

hey there, relatively well-adjusted siblings of gooseberry! your terrorless reign is over: meet kazim raza. that's right, saira's older brother. AKA ebonhide's keeper. AKA that guy who hurt his arm on sunday. AKA one of the missing senior ebongents. AKA isaiah's heretofore unnamed ex.


( all about kazim! )

so LET'S DO THIS. he needs friends, especially those of the close variety and the can-follow-to-bad-ideas-territory variety! fellow musicians! it's plausible that he had a second relationship in the past that would have been short-lived and secretive! has your character been mean to saira? because they have a target on their back! i don't exactly know how people could hate him, but enemies may also apply!

here's his application and dropbox!

p.s. wilde i'm so sorry

( if you have a non-azurcrest character with a cat/owl/raven-sized familiar who would help stash contraband, this post is for you! )

hello!

i recently made some changes to the activity tracker.

• there was an error in "TOTALS" where minor activity requirements for players petitioning for a fifth didn't raise to "2"; it's fixed
• activity requirements are updated
• sections vital for the formulas are outlined in red so you DON'T TOUCH THEM
• i added a changelog
• ... i think that's it?

the latest version (2.1) is here. i hope it makes sense? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ lmk if anything's unclear, or if you have suggestions on how to make it ~better!~

instructions for moving from the old version to the new are in the first sheet under "4. Changing from old to new versions."

for an example of the tracker in use, here's mine.

(for reference: original announcement & 1.2 update)

( The champions of Lake Gooseberry Shinny's second season are... )
AAAAAAND THAT'S A WRAP!

r.i.p. shinny league, ya been swell.

superlatives-style awards will also be given out sometime this week but not for a few days, sorry. :x

don't worry, this is the last one!

the FINAL pick-up hockey game is next sunday (12)! if the character(s) you want involved were signed up for the last game and nothing has to change, disregard this post!

but! if you:
- have a new character you want to add,
- have a character who didn't join before but has now,
- have a character who has dropped out and will NOT be playing (either for this single game or the rest of the season), or
- want to change the badge level for your character...

... then please comment over here before 11:59PM MST on friday! changes to existing characters can just be added as replies to their original comments. & if you have made a new character and want to handwave that they were at the first game and/or the previous season, that's totally fine!

game 3 will feature... something special although i have no idea what!!!

if you're like "wtf? hockey?", check out the first game. and if you're curious about stats (kas, literally nobody is, it's just you (shut up i don't care i made a table anyways just be glad it's not a spreadsheet yet)) they're here.

& & & if you have any input about how the league/games are run, please share it with me! here, dropbox, email, w/e. i would love to know if there are player-side improvements i can make!

guys my city is currently covering itself in ice and i hate it

( The winners of the second Lake Gooseberry Shinny game are... )
since not everybody tracks posts, ta-da!

there might be 1-2 more games, depending on if they fit into the pcal! more magic for the next one, maybe the same colours but higher stakes (more of a chance to mess it up & the goal going to the other team if you do). maybe something else. IDK GUYS, THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS~ if you have any suggestions, hit up quinn's dropbox!

the injuries will also be ... slightly lessened. too many concussions and broken collarbones, boys and girls, how???

eta: i accidentally gave ferris a goal. and then i didn't put it on the score. I'M HONOURING IT but oops.

hi world!

the second pick-up hockey game is next sunday (22)! if the character(s) you want involved were signed up for the last game and nothing has to change, disregard this post!

but! if you:
- have a new character you want to add,
- have a character who didn't join before but has now,
- have a character who has dropped out and will NOT be playing (either for this single game or the rest of the season), or
- want to change the badge level for your character...

... then please comment over here before 11:59PM MST on friday! changes to existing characters can just be added as replies to their original comments. & if you have made a new character and want to handwave that they were at the first game and/or the previous season, that's totally fine!

game 2 will feature ... new captains! possibly rebalanced teams! slightly more interesting pinnies! an updated injuries generator! hockey fights!! and since this is magic school i'm going to try and make the hockey A LITTLE MAGICAL. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW AT THIS MOMENT IN TIME BUT I'LL FIGURE SOMETHING OUT.

if you're like "wtf? hockey?", check out the first game. and if you're curious about stats (kas, literally nobody is, it's just you (shut up i don't care i made a table anyways just be glad it's not a spreadsheet yet)) they're here.

edit: & & & if you have any input about how the league/games are run, please share it with me! here, dropbox, email, w/e. i would love to know if there are player-side improvements i can make!

so. um. I made tic-tac-toe for when characters are really bored. It started out as a little thing for Quinn's Friday the 13th journal entry and kind of ballooned ~blossomed,~ so now I'm sharing it in case anybody wants to make use of it.

When it's all filled out it can look like this:

O	X	O
X	O	X
O	X	X

I'm sorry that I can't do Marin-level apps to make this easier! :( I did try to make the instructions as easy to understand as possible but I don't think I did the best job, so please ask questions if you have them! Everything is here: http://qnnc.insanejournal.com/7062.html

EDIT: WE LOVE MARIN, YES WE DO! WE LOVE MARIN, HOW 'BOUT YOU?

Marin made an awesome app for the game! It's so much easier! It's so spectacular!

https://baisemain.neocities.org/gb/tictactoe/index.html

BASK IN ITS GLORY!

The only thing you need to know is that you'll have to input all previous moves when you're making a new one. It only takes five seconds!

YASSS LOCK-IN HERE WE COME.

( FAMILY TIME~ )

( 'What breed of dog would my character be? Are you serious?' Deadly. )

i'll be posting about this with quinn tomorrow or wednesday but it's something that could impact more than a few characters so if you'd like some material to post with, this was a thing that happened!

in 2013 there was a pretty wicked ice storm in some of central/western canada/USA. (i BSed those regions.)
- it started on the 19th, for more places it started on the 20th, and by the 23rd it was pretty much over.
- lots of people lost power (hi, i did, it hardcore sucked)
- areas affected include: southern ontario, ottawa, upstate new york, probably some more places but you'd have to look into it yourself
- (i mean, these kids are wizards so it's not like all hope is lost.)

( i'm only a little bitter towards alex about her ice storm situation. )

I made a new version of the Activity Tracker! It has been baptized "version 1.2" electric boogaloo.

This one incorporates fifth characters and changes activity requirements based on how many characters you have/want. There are also instructions on how to migrate from the first version to this one.

Here is the link: http://bit.ly/2h3WGEt (THIS IS AN ENITRELY NEW/DIFFERENT GOOGLE DRIVE FILE FROM LAST TIME.)

If you want an example of the sheet in action, here's mine: http://bit.ly/2h2ZzD5 I haven't input activity in a coupe of weeks so the pieces of activity themselves will look out of date.

For the next version (which will be in this file and not a new one, I promise) I'm going to try and get it to automatically generate the HTML for monthly activity checks. We'll see how it goes.

As with last time, I'm here to answer any questions! I'm also open to suggestions about ways to make it more useful.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

This weekend we had a D&D session on my birthday. When we originally made our characters we each rolled on a 'random hat table,' which means that every character has their own special hat. Since it was my birthday I made it House Law that we all had to wear party hats to help us get IC. I made the hats during our session.

Except... one of my friends' characters has antlers on his hat. Which means that I accidentally made a Spoopy Gooseberry Anon hat. WATCH OUT, WES CARPENTER. (My friend's head is much larger than mine so it didn't fit too well for the photo.)

( Gratuitous hat photo under cut. )

are you sick of hearing about hockey? TOO BAD. but i promise i'll be quick.

i've got to do the final balance for sunday's teams, so if anybody has a character they still want to sign up please do it by 7am MST friday! form is here -> http://asylums.insanejournal.com/gooseberry/127530.html

characters can sign up to play (or drop out) at any point in the season but please don't do so after the friday mornings before games so that i can try to keep teams as balanced as possible. i don't know why keeping them balanced is so important to me, it just is. (actually, i do know: it means i get to play with spreadsheets! this beauty ain't gonna balance herself.)

okbyeeee

let's ignore everything else i should have been doing and focus on what i did do.

i made a google spreadsheet for tracking your characters' activity and i really hope it doesn't suck.

activity tracking spreadsheet
(this link only lets you comment on it. to make your own copy, go to file > make a copy).

i also really hope the instructions make sense. PLEEEEASE lmk if anything is unclear and i will make sure to fix it! comment here, dropbox me, email, w/e.

it does activity for both 1-to-4-character players and those aiming for a fifth.

here's one where i filled out some of quinn's activity so you can see how it works:
example spreadsheet (only quinn is filled out, casey and kurt aren't.)

IMPORTANT EDIT: if you got to the sheet early enough to have both the "TOTALS" and "TOTALS (5)" sheets, I suggest re-copying "INTRO" and "TOTALS" and deleting "TOTALS (5)." I figured out how to make the totals sheet work for all players so (5) is now redundant.
--- to copy a sheet from inside one spreadsheet document to another, go to the bottom tabs and select the arrow beside the sheet's name. then select "Copy to..." and select your own activity sheet.

HELLO, GOOSEBERRY. Kas here! I usually play Kurt and Quinn and I wanted to round out all possible hard "K" sounds with my third character.

Say hello to Casey G. Patterson. Coppertale. Junior. Cheer Squad. Douchebro. He is 1/2 of Gooseberry's most ultimate, and most excellent, bromance.

• Concept: "Dancer-turned-Dungeon Master seeks control, good time, shirtless existence, beer pong."
• From New Beacon Hill, Seattle, WA. Went to Lake Union Prep. Was an asshole there to many people.
• Casey likes to be IN CONTROL. He will push buttons to get there, he will throw out gossip to get there, and he will try very hard to stay there. But he's also not very bright, which is good news for the rest of pretty much the entire world.
• Came to Gooseberry to BE THE ALPHA MALE. Within a year was deferring to Sy. Claims he is mostly okay with it. He is not mostly okay with it.
• He's a contemporary dancer learning to Stop Worrying And Love The (Ballet) Barre. Will pester Ty to incorporate all dance movez/skillz possible into routines. Is gunning for Captain next year.
• Party animal, loves beer pong, will always do dares, will dance and/or/and flirt with anything that moves.
• Uhhhhhhh despite his brotastic personality, he is an enthusiastic Dungeon Master for Gaming's Dungeons & Dragons group. He no longer tries to control the PCs and likes the challenge of building a campaign to accommodate them.
• Tries to take his shirt off as much as humanly possible, and then keeps trying.
• Not very book smart. Short attention span for written words. Likes to work with his hands.
• Middle child of 5, upper-middle class son of Quodpot broom startup power couple, partly raised by Irish grandfather, guilty (read: extremely selective) Catholic
• Has a massive ragdoll cat named Hugo that acts like a dog. Fetch included.

He takes Charms, Herbology, Outdoor Education, Artificing, Aesthetic Magic, and Wizard Literature. (Timetable.)
He's in Cheer, Gaming (only for D&D), Duelling & Fencing, and Drama (only to do movement, never acting.) (Profile.)
I am open for ALL OF THE PLOTS except for #1 ultimate bro-friends-4ever because sry but J snatched that spot up real quick. (Dropbox.)

• Friends. Pals. Party-only friends.
• Exes (Casey will hit on anything that seems to be human and is definitely hot; has never been in a monogamous relationship; has only ever slept with/"banged" anyone)
• People Casey bullied that have now made peace with the fact that he isn't the Worst Bully anymore, and simply a douchebag
• People Casey bullied who are like, so over him
• RIVALS OF SOME SORT?
• EVERYTHIIIING

ok so I got the accepted email while I was brushing my teeth so I'm gonna post this, post his first post that I already had written maybe and hit the hay.

( oh man oh man i posted without the obligatory sacrifice, edited now and here it is )

I'm making an OOC award and I'm giving it to Aleena and Cheryl. And also to Ali, for inspiring such masterpieces.

shortest slowaitus message ever: my presence will be scant if not completely absent this weekend. thanksgiving + out of town + may not have cell service + many works

back in business by wednesday!

Helloooo Gooseberry!

This is Kas, player of Kurt Wolfhart. I bring you cancon by way of Azurcrest senior and sports fan, Quinn Cunningham!

( Quinn facts! )
I made up a cooky school for her to have gone to previously so she probably doesn't know anybody from there, but I am looking for as many lines as possible! This includes:

• Pals! BFFs! Azurcrest seniors especially, since they're her Peeps. When she was made prefect (in sophomore year) she way overdid it and was close to losing most of her friends. When she realized the errors of her ways~ she dedicated herself to patching and maintaining those relationships.
• Academic rivals! Quinn is EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE about her Healer Dreams. She would never sabotage the competition, but she is hyper-aware of how her 'rivals' do at Gooseberry (for instance, by asking them or others how they did on assignments.) If they seem to be doing better than her, she will hit the books even harder.
• Exes! She dated a forthcoming Coppertale from sophomore to junior year, and last year tried to date around and "have a good time," which she had been told is a wise thing to do. So far she's pretty much heterosexual, so this is likely to be guys, but she doesn't rule out possible experimentation — she just also hasn't sought it out.
• Prefect pals!
• Study group compadres! Quinn runs regular study groups for all of her classes that are focused on her year, but open to quiet and respectful younger students, as well.
• A Herbology tutor! Quinn needs Herbology to be a healer, but she is so. so. so. bad at it. Last year she gave in and "hired" one of her peers to tutor her regularly. Said tutelage is paid for through the barter system; we can talk about what it might be. (Personal training? Tutoring in something else? One of her parents' special recreational strains plants?)
• Other lines that you think might be fun!!

She's in 8 classes, Event Committee, and Archery. Here is her profile, here is her timetable, and here is the dropbox!

hey there upper east siders!

a few of us have characters that live that in Wizarding Country Club Life (ex. new england) and/or Urban Wizarding High-Society Life (ex. manhattan). because kurt is involved in both of those via his parents, i am being selfish this morning and seeing if anybody would like to collaborate on what that actually means. what is it like for our students to go home and attend stupid holiday parties? what is it like when the parents sequester the kids into a different room? or when they're, god forbid, allowed to mingle?

if you have any ideas, post them here! i'll also try to edit this post with a running list of things from the comments. i'm posting this now, but pledge that this evening i will watch at least one episode of gossip girl, and at least one of gilmore girls, to help my brain contribute. i am also not trying to steamroll anybody's ideas of what either of these lifestyles is like; i thought it might be cool to have something common to pull from, but this (a) DOES NOT need to be gooseberry canon in any way! (b) is also a place where, if you have deviating ideas about it, you should absolutely share!, and (c) don't ever feel like you need to live by the things set out in this post.

also begging for way catchier names for them than the aforementioned WCCL & UWH-SL (which are 99% not the serious choices.) the works-in-progress so far include...

THIS GOT PRETTY BIG ALREADY. i'm going to condense it into a google document later instead of constantly updating this post. UPDATES TO COME.

edit: okay, i stuck everything onto a google doc! here's a link. with that you can comment but not edit; if you'd like to edit, you can request it and i'll add you in!

i just realized that i haven't said anything on here: dear world, i am on a slowatus this week! i have a huge pile of work things that, in tru gad school fashion, expand far past reasonable working hours. i'll be a person again on the weekend!

& since i haven't logged with anyone (THIS INCLUDES IN THE LAST 7 YEARS OR WHATEVER), would anybody like to do one next week? i'm asking now so that i don't forget. i've got a dropbox here, or you can email/gtalk hi.its.kas@gmail.com. if you do send me something and i don't respond to you for a few days, it is only bc of the above-mentioned Crazy Life Stuff and i will get back to you once it's calm again! i promise~