Gooseberry High

( quidditch spoilers be here )

CHRIS PARK:

dude you're so lucky i was going to have you sit out saturday practice anyway or i'd be losing it right now

are you dead?? are you gonna be good to play on sunday?

GOOSEBERRY QUIDDITCH:

ALRIGHT, GOSLINGS. We're in the home stretch.

I'm proud of you and we're all doing super well. Reid, Ana, Chris, Sy, you all did great in the last game. I know everyone's nervous about TALENT SCOUTS but you don't have any reason to be because me and Leo lost that game and we still looked GOOD AS HELL doing it. Anybody's gonna be impressed with us and we're gonna set a standard for Gooseberry going forward.

Going into the game I want everyone to reflect on our biggest strengths and weaknesses as a team. HERE'S MINE: there's no way they care more about winning than we do. I know you assholes and you're some of the most passionate people I've ever had the pleasure of throwing quaffles at in my life. keep that fire in your bellies FOREVER or at the VERY LEAST until sunday

One of the biggest drawbacks for us is that we don't know how Ilvermorny plays like we know how each other play. A few of us have worked with the coach at Ilvermorny or played with or against some candidates for their school team, but they let their captains have as much strategic control over their teams as we do here and it's been long enough that that won't mean much. The best thing we can do for this is 1) Go in STRONG and throw them off their game before they can do that to us and 2) BE PREPARED TO CHANGE OUR TACK WHENEVER, so REVIEW YOUR PLAYBOOKS. We're not going to have any time for confusion or clarification once the clock starts.

[ A full schedule of practices is included here. Sorry, it might step on some of your guys' clubs. Complain at your own risk, because Clem has helpfully titled this timetable There's no crying in Quidditch! in sparkly purple ink. ]

( cut for clementine's rapid descent into madness. sorry, guys. )

( MASQUERADE )

( wards: susana, zoey & jeffy, quinn, reid, henrietta, and levi )

CONGRATULATIONS to RUSSELL HOLLAND DECOURT, my brother, who did an excellent job being born this weekend (February 18!!). My parents sent me a picture but honestly he looks like he needed to spend a little more time in the oven before coming out so I'm not putting it in here. I'll show you guys one after he gets cuter.

WARDED TO CHRIS PARK:

dude what happened

WARDED TO SY STOKER:

got a minute?

After receiving multiple student complaints, Mr. Thorn requests that Christopher Park and Levi Kramer come see him in his office after classes end. It's immediately apparent that the normally upbeat Quidditch coach is in no laughing mood when he tells the boys that if they want to skip this chat, they can consider themselves removed from the school team.

"We talk a lot about pro scouts and showing up Ilvermorny, but Team Gooseberry is meant to represent the school, first and foremost. Bullying and harassment aren't qualities we want Gooseberry to be known for, and they're definitely not what I want associated with the person I've trusted to lead. Being on this team is a privilege. If you don't think so, there are a dozen kids who'll take your spots. And sorry, gentlemen, but I hold my players to a higher standard than Vector or Merrill do.

"Chris, you're no longer captain. Levi, if you're serious about wanting to play pro, then you should learn to show respect and restraint. Attitude can mean the difference between first string or staying on the reserve bench." Thorn crosses his arms, looking at Chris and Levi in turn to make it clear that his next words are addressed to them both. "If I hear about another incident like this again, you're off the team. Consider this your one chance." He dismisses them with that warning.

Before junior bonding begins, Mr. Thorn tracks down Clementine Decourt for a talk.

He gets right to the point. "Clem, I'm making you the new captain of the school team. Roster's the same otherwise. Game against Ilvermorny's on March 12. That's three weeks. Plenty of time to get settled." Thorn pauses a moment, his demeanour softening. "If you need help, I'm here, but I know Fiori and Stoker respect you and will offer advice." He laughs. "Not that you're forced to listen to them. I'm more than confident you can handle this."

[Warded to Ebonhide Quidditch]

We're playing on Saturday. Ribbonfin: Known for high scoring and excellent Chasers. They're seamless, so we need to break that up. Not just Casper and I. Chasers, they can't be in sync if they don't have the Quaffle. Get between them. Mess up their pattern, like we've been simulating in practice. They also have a great keeper; Davenport and I were on the same team in school. Between us, a lot of teams didn't get a lot of points in. But she can't be watching everywhere at once, so again, it's everyone's job to make sure she doesn't see everything at once. As far as Beaters, let's not underestimate Fanning and Delgado,sophomores or not. Sophomores are almost Juniors now, and they're kind of sneaky.
And Dahlia still needs to grow longer arms.

Last game, we weren't ahead by enough before the snitch was caught. (Almost is not enough.) I guess Score as Often as Possible is a stupid thing to say; but I'd like to make this the first game that's won primarily by Quaffle points, not because of the Snitch. Prove you can, Chasers. (We should also catch the Snitch.) If there's any strategies you want to see or have questions on, now's your turn to bring it to the table.

Remaining extra practices are tomorrow and Saturday. We're starting half an hour early on Saturday because I want the full two hours. I'll beg an elf to save us an entire thing of coffee at breakfast. It'll be fine.

I know there's a lot going on; I'm swamped, too. Thank you for making this a priority.I will, too.

That said. Our performance this time will absolutely determine your social life in the next two weeks. The March 5 match is against Coppertale. Team secret: That day is possibly my birthday. So we're not losing that. I refuse. If we lose this week, we'll be in practice a lot more than we have been already. Your life will go by my playbook too. You will all be me. Save yourself from that, and win this week. We can do that.

SHOUTOUT to my two favorite blondes MARILYN & SYLLA for being the hottest new power couple of 2014. as marilyn's ex-fiancee (possibly current fiancee? we never officially broke it off) i bless this union and wish you both many, many years of happiness and perfect hair days

WARDED TO THE BETTING RING

guess what time of year it is

( place your bets under this fake cut )

WARDED TO SY STOKER

so now that the next match you're playing is against ebonhide, can we still be friends?

WARDED TO ZOEY AND JEFFY

HEY GUYS. are we still gonna do extra chaser practice?? trust exercises? have a deep soulful conversation to get to know each other?

PARTY RULES: AN UPDATE

• Tomorrow night (2/3/14) the party will begin at 7:00 PM, and will last until 12:00 AM.
  
  
  
  • Walk to the Grotto in pairs or groups. Do not walk to the Grotto or leave the Grotto alone after dark. Stay on the trails at all times.
  
  
  • The 12:00 AM curfew is strict. Anyone found at the Grotto at 12:30 AM will be written up by a second wave of prefects.
  
  
  • If you do not have someone to walk with, find a prefect.
  
  
  • There will be prefects present to help you home if it is needed.


• Two prefects from each House have volunteered to be chaperones. This means they will be abstaining from getting drunk, and will be on duty keeping an eye on the party. Please be respectful and do not try to interfere with their responsibilities, tempt them, or harass them. If you are in need of help, you may ask them. They are:
  
  
  • Azurcrest: Cecil & Quinn
  
  
  • Coppertale: Dom & Olivia
  
  
  • Ebonhide: Casper & Antonia*
  
  
  • Ribbonfin: Ravi & Rosy
  
  
• Stay away from the tree line, do not go into the forest. Prefects will be encouraging people of all sobriety levels to stay in the Grotto.


• As always: no fighting, no hard drugs, no disrespecting your peers, no climbing things, no playing with the bonfire, no fireworks, no weapons, clean up after yourselves.

( Warded to Leo )

[ * NPC-ed. ]

[ scribbled kinda sideways across the page. he's exhausted and still a little out of it, but he knows people are worried/curious. mostly curious. sorry if he [or i, happy 5am] falls asleep. ]

'm ok. thank you leo

yeah i was in the woods

At least they're feeding us so Clem's cannibalism worries won't become reality.

Time to see how high we can really stack ourselves.

who wants to tutor me in transfiguration

EBONHIDE JUNIOR GIRLS:

a) i had the WEIRDEST day yesterday, you guys
b) i refuse to return to the cabin until our campsite is 100% certified mistletoe free
c) guess who asked me to the dance

EBONHIDE QUIDDITCH AND CHEER (MINUS SOLOMON AND DAHLIA):

Solomon's birthday is tomorrow and Dahlia's is over break. Should we do something for them before we leave?

This is the THIRD time I've gotten stuck today so from here on out I'm gonna need a dedicated KISS BUDDY who follows me everywhere and kisses me whenever. Thanks

once again i have to say that its DEEPLY unjust that i grew up in a sawmill and i'm still being denied use of a simple handaxe. next year. next year is my time. i've had my eye on a specific tree since freshman year and i've been whispering threats to it every time we do this. 2014: the final showdown

EBONHIDE QUIDDITCH TEAM:

I HAVE TWO FULLY FUNCTIONAL ARMS AND A CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH. put me in, coach

INNOCENT QUESTION: has anyone ever tried to decorate the ornery oak for christmas??

EBONHIDE QUIDDITCH TEAM:

hey boss. not to bite the hand that feeds, but... can i miss practice this saturday? i wanna go on the camping trip

JUST SO YOU ALL KNOW.

There's going to be a wedding. A BEAUTIFUL wedding. With the MOST BEAUTIFUL of beautiful brides. (By that I mean Clementine because I'm not really sure if we're both brides in this case or if there's a term or what!)

Anyway, as you might have guessed, CLEM AND I ARE GETTING MARRIED.

I'm writing the owl to mom and dad as we speak. Clem, do I need to ask your parents first? For your hand?

ROSY
a haiku by CASEY
rosy your hair’s brown
rosy your eyes are brown too
they are all real good