Gooseberry High

[Warded to Ravi and Diego]
So, I know you have the wedding to go to at the end of Spring Break, but I’m planning a road trip down the coast of California for the first part of it; if you’re free and interested in having a Ton of Fun™ with me (and Casper, I’m dragging him whether he wants to go or not) it’d be awesome if you could come. The plan is to start in San Francisco and drive down to San Diego, with a few things to do along the way (city adventures, red woods, camping by the beach, jumping in the ocean, etc.). I have maaaybe already planned the whole thing out, so if you want literally all you need to do is show up and then put up with Casper and me for a few days of exciting ~*male bonding*~. Casper will be a million times happier when we’re out there I think I'm not averse to switching up the plans, though, if anything along the way sounds better.

Diego is invited too (I'd actually really like him to come), but I figured I'd run this by you before going to him to see what your feelings were on that. Speaking of Diego... do you think you'll ask him to go with you to the wedding? Have you actually already secretly asked him? I think it'd be good you’d enjoy having him with you, and I’m sure he’d really enjoy going with you.

[Warded to Casper]
Hey... are you feeling any bet

Hey, California road trip over Spring Break? San Francisco to San Diego (down PCH, obviously). Ravi and Diego are invited too – should be ~*fun*~! I didn’t even super over plan – the idea is just messing around in the cities, eating things, and hanging out at the beach. Kind of a last h

We’d have wifi again, Casper. And street food. And a car.

I’m giving you my best pathetic Asher face to get you to agree. I’ll deliver it in person if needed.

I'm glad all my friends are so supportive of me getting cat high. Although, did you know it's a myth that only a single nucleotide polymorphism is responsible for whether or not a cat is affected by catnip? ...did anyone know that that was a thing people thought to begin with?

[Warded to Casper]
I didn't exactly react well either - I'm not really sure why I got so defensive. Well, I am sure, but it was...whatever. I'm sorry too. I promise to not make stupid decisions, at least to the best of my abilities. Let's just put this behind us. If it will be in any way cathartic to you feel free to burn the letter, if you haven't already. I'm not going to write her back.

I'll try to be less reactive in the future. However, I am going back to crossing out a ton of shit. blah blah blah blah just like this, take that Casper I am an adult and I cross out whatever I want But I'll try to keep it at a minimum.

Thanks for the presents. And for the apology. And for signing the letter 'your friend' you weirdo.

[...]

I'm really excited about this book.

[Warded to Ravi]
Got a note from Casper today so things are smoothed over, I think. I know sometimes it takes a little bit for everything to go back to normal, but... I think it's going to be fine. I guess you knew it would be. Anyways, not the worst birthday present, huh?

Speaking of, tiny coffee cups of catnip? Amazing. I'll share a bit with Bridgette to see if Cat Asher can win her over a bit more. The notebook is equally amazing, of course - seems like it'll survive anything. On that front... you can rest easy for a year, at least. I'm going to... wait a bit before I run off into extreme danger for the sake of journalism. I will, however, always take you up on coffee.

Thank you for being such a wonderful friend. Your letter would have made me tear up but given that I'm so manly (just like you, of course), I just gave it a serious nod of approval and a fist bump.

( Left on Asher's desk this morning. )

( A gift is left on Asher's desk. )

[Warded to Casper]

[Warded to Ravi]
I feel like shit. Casper and I had a fight because Seraphina sent me a letter and I dropped it and Casper found it and now I just feel stupid and horrible and I don't know what to do. What the hell is wrong with me?

[Warded to Senior Ribbonfin Boys]
Hey guys, I'm not feeling great so I'm turning in early tonight, but please don't worry about tiptoeing around the cabin. Also, I promise I'm not patient zero of yet another Gooseberry plague - you're safe!

Zav, are all the poptarts really gone? I could use a poptart.

( A letter from a certain ex-girlfriend, Seraphina, that arrived by owl a day ago )

Annnnd here we go again. Newsletter, it's here, it's a thing.

As always, please feel free to speak your mind about the newsletter and offer up guest columns. Thanks for all your help and support!

( January Issue of The Goosey Globe )

[Warded to Casper]
Hey do you want to Dude I kind of aspidgnapsdig
Let me know if you want to hang out any tonight - I have ~*free time*~ now that the newsletter is out (finally).

A certain someone (it was Ty) in Animagus Studies has threatened to tell everyone if I didn't since it's been about two weeks and I've still been avoiding broadcasting this but - I can turn into a cat now! A pretty one, apparently. So if you see a random grey cat stalking around, it's probably me. Feel free to come say hi - I enjoy salmon flavored treats and scratches behind the ear (please don't actually provide either of those things).

[Warded to Casper]
Want to come be super cool and ~*hang out with me*~? I've put the 'rents into Aiden's care which means I finally have some down time.

( A small package wrapped in sparkly red paper and tied with a green bow is delivered by Asher's cat Bridgette to Avery )

( A letter sent via owl to Casper at his Aunt's home )

The paper is out! You'll find hard copies in the atrium, but I've also replicated it here for those that don't want a paper copy or who want to be able to comment on anything. Thanks for all your help and support! Have at it!

( December Issue of The Goosey Globe )

I hope everyone had a good time last night! Happy Birthday to the two birthday boys. And, uh. Sorry for anyone I danced with. I feel like I'm dying right now so maybe that's my punishment for being ridiculous.

This is just a friendly reminder that if you'd like to submit some advice, the clock is ticking! Submit by Saturday night to have your advice included since papers are going out (finally) on Sunday. Better late than never right?

And break a leg tomorrow for anyone in the play! It's going to be great!

More Advice Column Shenanigans

Below are the questions I received, as promised (a little late). I was impressed at the lack of troll comments… so I’m giving you the gift of question #1. It’s not going to be published except in this form – feel free to answer publicly.

I've set up separate sections to respond for each question to keep the replies warded to me so I can select what should be published. Remember that responses will, ultimately, NOT be anonymous. I was planning on having a smaller column but I was also anticipating less serious questions so – let’s just go with everything I received.

On a side note... I hope everyone is recovering alright from yesterday.

I'm closing the advice box Wednesday morning to give time for advice givers, so final call for any questions you might anonymously want to ask your classmates!

[Warded to Ravi]
Should I ask how you got those spots
Feeling ok? I heard it's just the 'freckles' and not anything else, right?

It's happening, guys. The much desired advice column.

Now that my deadline is fast approaching which I didn’t even realize until today, I’m going to start collecting any advice you’d like to give or receive. I’ve decided that those seeking advice will be anonymous but responders will be identifiable, to keep everyone accountable but still give all of you the chance to ask questions you might not otherwise ask. I’ve set up a box for you to anonymously submit your advice needs to in the atrium over by the fireplace – as I collect them I’ll post a filtered subset to my journal, where anyone can then respond (though I’ll request that you ward your responses to me). I will then filter those responses because I don’t trust you guys at all for the most useful and they’ll be included in the newsletter.

If you have any general advice to give, please feel free submit it right here (warded to me please, can't let everyone see what I'm sure will be amazing nuggets of knowledge before they're officially published)!

Alright. I was going to leave a piece about bullying to the newsletter, but after this debacle I think there are some time-sensitive, relevant things I want to say. First, I want to say thank you to all the teachers and students who helped keep the damage at a minimum. It could have been a lot worse. As for the real message, here we go.

Be compassionate to your fellow students. Yesterday, while on the surface may seem funny, was not. We're talking about losing control of one's self thanks to the actions of another person. And while I'm sure this happened not due to malicious intent and was instead brought about by, to put it bluntly, raging stupidity, that doesn't mean what happened wasn't traumatic for certain people. Some of you, some of your friends, might be able to laugh it off. But just remember that some of your classmates might not be able to, so do your best to remember to treat them with sensitivity and understanding. Don't minimize someone else's experiences just because you yourself feel fine. A lot of things, both true and false, were said last night that no one wanted to say or hear.

If you mock someone for what they said or did last night, you're a bully. If you dismiss someone's distress over the events, you're a bully. Don't be a bully. Don't let others around you bully. Even if it's someone you don't like, or someone who has been an ass to you in the past, just be a better person.

TL;DR
Don't be an asshole about this. A lot of people are upset.

Avery I love you so much you are the most
Shit I meant to put this in my notebook why am I still writing

I hope everyone can get some sleep tonight
Fuck it

[Warded to Casper]

Dude I'm totally over Ms. Ex-girlfriend Seraphina and it is the best thing ever. Who knew things could get this much better this fast!? Love is the best. You are the best.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! I’m thankful for family, friends, and the never-ending mysteries of the human psyche.

Speaking of, I think one of the best ways to begin documenting those mysteries is, of course, with a newsletter. That’s right, the Gooseberry Newsletter is back after its hiatus! That means that I need YOU to:

+ Give me your opinions (either as an opinion piece or just to tell me things that you care about or don’t care about)!
+ Submit stories and/or pictures!
+ Help me name this thing! (Immediate veto of Gooseberry Gazette for various reasons)
+ Talk to me about things in the form of an interview
+ Think of future issue theme ideas!

I’m aiming for a release of mid-December (and ideally once a month after), and honestly will be taking submissions up to a day or two before. I’ll update you all on a hard deadline once I have a better idea of the content.