Move-In Day!

[peckishmods]

Move-In Day!

WELCOME BACK PECKENPAUGH!

The sizzling drone of late August’s cicadas can mean just one thing: summer’s finally over. Pack up your quills and grab your familiar because it’s time to get going. Whether you’re a hometown darling or coming from somewhere farther away, today, these country roads will take you home to Peckenpaugh School of Magic. Hope you had a great summer vacation!

Yeehawls pick up the furthest students starting at 9am, speeding magically through big cities and little towns undetected, past dense forests and over rivers, up into the hills of Appalachia, and then back down into our little holler. The very last Yeehawls drop off their charges around 1:00 PM, but all throughout the early afternoon, there’s a steady stream of students filing out of Payless Portkeys, hopping off overloaded Bruums, and trying to act too cool for goodbye kisses.

Lunch is ready for everyone whenever they happen to make it in, courtesy of Bruno and Zippy of Pizza Pi(e)rates and The Zippy Dip. It’s hot, sunny, and pretty darned windy. Holding onto those paper plates and waffle cones proves to be something of a challenge. Try not to spill on anything on your nice clean shirts. After filling up on pizza and ice cream, students are free to roam the campus or the town—or take a nap until tonight’s convocation if they really want. It’s your last day of true freedom, kids! Savor it!

visuals!

volunteer slots!

[CHARACTER A] heads into town for that Zippy Dip rootbeer float they've been craving all summer. Ex-Mayor T-Bone serves it up with minimal cat hair garnish. Thanks?

While strolling down the Riverwalk, Merlin Pletcher is pulled away from their friends by the sound of someone crying. They find a girl who's lost her kite in a tree. Merlin climbs up and fetches the kite with ease, but when they drop back down to the ground, the girl is gone. The only trace of her is a long kite tail made from lace.

Wyatt Webberley is greeted on campus by Bonifacius, the groundskeeper's loyal and massive hound. Boni's glad to see them, and even brought a stick to play with, which he gingerly places in Wyatt's hands. Wyatt winds up to throw it and realizes only too late that it's not a stick but a bowtruckle. The little creature goes flying, seemingly somewhere between terrified and glad to be free, and Bonifacius huffs in annoyance at Wyatt.

locations!

⬦ WHAT'S UP?: Briefly describe what your character got up to today here! Were they wearing something in particular? Are they bummed to be back or super excited? Were they hanging out in a particular spot? Stopping freshmen from shoplifting from the Dis 'n' Dat? Use this section for quick check-ins, so you can link up and thread elsewhere or talk on the journals.

⬦ BAGGAGE BUNGLE: Oh no, it looks like something got into your luggage! Some magical mischief maker with poor boundaries messed with your things. Comment here to find out what went wrong.

⬦ THE YEEHAWL: Well, I’ll be, if it ain’t that time of year again. Climb on board, pardner, and this wagon train’ll get you where you’re goin’ safe and sound. Please don’t tease your driver about their ten-gallon hat, it’s required dress code.

⬦ AROUND CAMPUS: Drop your stuff off in your dorm and have a look around! Climb a tree at Thorntrail! Take a dip in Lake Peckenpaugh! The Moody Muscheron are curious to see you, and Mr. Zahidi’s pretty busy right now, so maybe you can get a minute alone with that heartbreaker Timotheye.

⬦ IN ELFLOCK FALLS: Fallers are out and about all day today watching the chaos unfold, so there’s plenty to do in town. Pizza Pi(e)rates may be shut up for move-in, but the Zippy Dip’s doors are still wide open. Although it seems only ex-mayor T-bone is in there. Is...she in charge… ??? If you’re not hungry, the Dis ‘n’ Dat is selling kites on their sidewalk, and Spellunking has put out a rack of windbreakers that are definitely from the 1980s and not just made to look like they are.

⬦ CONVOCATION: Ah, the first assembly of the year! Everyone gathers in the auditorium that evening. Following a brief but enthusiastic welcome from Administrator Kwan, students feast on grilled goodies and watch as freshmen and new transfers are sorted into their new houses. Loud cheers meet each newly sorted student as they emerge from the path. Mothgarden, in particular, makes a mess by showering their newbies in magical flower petals from their wands.

⬦ EVENING: After convocation, students head back to their dorms with their Housemates new and old. Ms. Altizer and Mr. Berzelius trade a few barbs over which House looks best for the cup this year as they gather their charges.

⬦ OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Comments

WHAT'S UP?

[peckishmods]

WHAT'S UP, JUPITER?

[gasgiant]

Jupiter makes a game on the Yeehawl of mixing gross shit together and daring friends to drink it. Once at school, it takes her just three hours to get her stuff to her dorm and track down Mr. Youngblood to personally ruin his day. She receives a detention for her troubles, but seems undeterred, and will spend the rest of the day causing more mayhem with pals. She takes Eddy Waxweiler's detention as a personal affront and challenge to her authority as Quidditch captain. ARE YOU TRYING TO USURP HER, ELVIS?

WHAT'S UP, OLIVER?

[goodglyph]

Oliver's dressed to impress today in bright clothes and his signature messy hair. He arrives at school early, eager to fulfill his role as Student Council VP by helping students get around. Mostly he'll stick to campus, too nervous to eat and lightheaded by late afternoon, but he can be coaxed away from school for fun shenanigans by friends!

WHAT'S UP, LASZLO?

[notpoison]

Laszlo's a local now, so move-in day is a lot less work. His mother is there, and she stays with him until some staff member assures her Laszlo will be fine. His largest trunk is dedicated to his plants, which he spends a lot of time carefully arranging around his dorm room. He gets there first so his roommates don't have a chance to object. Once that's done, he immediately seeks out the twins or some other friendly face to shadow them around campus.

WHAT'S UP, AUDREY?

[andpoke]

Audrey spends her Yeehawl trek from Nevada very carefully (and non-permanently) inscribing a picture on her left wrist. It's an eyeball behind an open door, for those who care to snoop. When she finally arrives at school, she does hugs at her friends first before spending time in her dorm setting up. Once that's finally done, likely in the evening, she'll head down to Spellunking to chide Kyle for the state of the shelves without her help. But really they probably look fine, she's just there to say hi and ask if she can have a discount windbreaker.

WHAT'S UP, FITZ?

[suflex]

As the newly-minted Mothgarden Cheer Captain, and despite sorting still being hours away, Fitz takes it upon himself to spend his first hour at Peckenpaugh welcoming every new freshman to Mothgarden. He'll have a 25% success rate!

He pretty much chucks his stuff on his bed, lets Sergio out of his cage, and then runs out the door to find as many people to fist-bump or hug as he can. According to him, everybody looks "FIT'N'LIT AS FUCK," and his own neon, floral tank top shows off his shitty GOoD VIBEs bicep tattoo. Look what happens when he flexes! (It looks even more questionable.)

WHAT'S UP, FREYA?

[freyanorris]

Freya packed too many books for her relatively short journey on the Yeehawl, and she's happy to lend one to whoever ends up sitting near her. Once at school, she dumps her stuff in her dorm without bothering to unpack -- it's far more important to find all her friends and say hello! She's super chatty and affectionate; everyone is getting hugs and kisses. Second most important is FOOD. It's not until later in the afternoon that she finally gets around to opening her bag and discovers a ~mysterious~ plush niffler. (It's not that mysterious.) Time to find the owner!

(Outfit!)

WHAT'S UP, ZADIE?

[zadielovelace]

Despite knowing about her new TA position for a while, being back on campus has made that !so exciting! to Zadie all over again. Rather than spending her first day back with friends or swimming in the lake as she normally might, she instead gets her belongings (meticulously) organized in her room and heads for the Potions classroom to get a jumpstart on things! If Mr. Berzelius is there, she's eager to ask questions and talk shop and maybe make him regret his choice. If Mr. Berzelius isn't there, that's okay, there's still work to do and thoughts to get in order!

After being a ghost for the first part of the day, though, she'll circle back to say her hellos.

WHAT'S UP, CHANEL?

[necrodanseuse]

Chanel arrives with Armani in matching outfits (these have capes!) just like they've done since preschool. There's a bit of kerfuffle with Malstrom and Eddy and her twin, and by the end of the day she'll have sworn a blood debt to Eddy and declared war with their rival school. But also, and after all that, she passes out study binders to everyone in Arithletes. Welcome back. Have a trivia.

WHAT'S UP, VAL?

[sugarnspite]

Val shows up in her typical printed shawls and crystal jewelry. She'll tell anyone that this week, the sun is in Virgo, which means it's a great time to get organized and ready for the school year. Not only that, but the moon is waxing which is a sign that it's time to start new things. According to principles of timing with the Moon, a window of opportunity occurs from Tuesday, September 3rd, at approximately 7:20 AM, until Wednesday, September 4th, at approximately 6:55 AM, while the Moon is in Scorpio.

She's quick to descend upon the Quodpot team. This is their year, she's been studying the heavens all summer.

WHAT'S UP, PRESLEY?

[infamously]

Presley spends most of the trip with his head bent over a book, and only the ceaseless tapping of his foot suggests that he's impatient to return to Peckenpaugh. At some point, he starts humming a song to himself, and breaks off abruptly when he realizes it's Bob Dylan.

He's wearing his nicest clothes, which means he looks a bit like he dressed up for a job interview at an exceptionally boring summer office. Given his new responsibilities this year, maybe Presley should be making an effort to greet all of his classmates, but also ugh. There'll be plenty of time for that during convocation.

WHAT'S UP, EDDY?

[quidditched]

Eddy arrives alongside Wyatt, having long since wiped his mama's lipstick off his face. His edgy bad boy look is going strong, but it's really just the first clothes off the laundry pile. Good thing black matches so well with black. He dumps his stuff off on the corner bunk - near people, but not quite in the thick of things - before heading off to hover around friends. Then the afternoon takes an unexpectedly eventful turn, exchanging fists with some Malstrom goons who were giving shit to Armani and Ramona, and earning himself the first detention of the year and a blood debt from Chanel. Oh, and a study binder. Cool.

WHAT'S UP, MERLIN?

[merlinpletcher]

Every year, Merlin arrives at Peckenpaugh via portkey and accompanied by at least one older sibling. This year, it's Kes! She is affectionate toward him but constantly fixing his clothes or smoothing his hair -- even though it's all fine, KES -- like he might one of the mannequins in her seamstress shop. He, predictably, gets a bit riled by this, especially when there are witnesses. Regardless, she helps him get his room set up in record time, makes pleasant small-talk with his roommates, and even gives each of the Mothgarden senior boys a small gift before leaving.

Just go already!

Once his sister is gone, he'll spend some time with his roommates and other housemates before heading out to wander around campus and Elflock Falls for a while until the ceremony. Friends are welcome to come with and listen to him get irritated about the kite he rescued but couldn't return to the owner.

His hair is pink today. Is this house pride or a coincidence?

WHAT'S UP, FRED?

[ohwormhole]

A new year of adventures await!!! Who cares if they're practically in Fred's backyard? The morning starts off with an animated discussion between her and her dad over whether Zippy's ever served spaghetti, which morphs into a lecture about zoodles being better for her dad's health and finally takes a turn for the embarrassing when he insists on taking lots of photos of her final First Day of School. ("I'm not a baby anymore, Dad!" "Exactly, Schnickelfritz.")

A cacophony of accessories as always, she dumps her belongings on her bed and is OFF to catch up with all the faces she's been missing all summer. She only barely manages to shoo her dad away once they gather for lunch, and even then he insists he's allowed to stick around and chat with his own friends. Insert lots of teenaged eyerolls.

Everyone involved with The Peculiar Perils can expect to be gifted with LOTS of new scripts that she's been working on, and she's very eager to welcome back A/V Club comrades, band comrades, and all other friends alike.

WHAT'S UP, TONY?

[fratsquatch]

Tony arrives at Peckenpaugh via Payless Portkey. He's a little sick to his stomach for the first hour or so; portkeys don't treat him well. Normally, he would ride the Yeehawl but Joe used to arrange the children's pickup and this summer nobody in the De Witt-Butts household had thought to. You wouldn't be able to tell that anything is even remotely amiss in Tony's household or tummy—he's all smiles and jovial greetings.

After dumping his duffels on his bed, Tony spends the rest of the day wandering campus and catching up with his classmates and teachers. (Yes, he remembered that your niece's bat mitzvah was in July and, yes, he would like to see pictures.) He is front and center at Convocation, blasting rose petals from his wand while whooping and hollering. He hoists any willing Baby Mothgardener onto his shoulders for a victory lap.

When the campus quiets down, he's got a prank planned. Calling all Moths to the flame?

WHAT'S UP, PAX?

[wildchild]

Pax rolls up to school with a terrifyingly large Pumpkin Spice Latte (they're BACK guys), and her energy level suggests she's pretty far through it when she arrives. She spends most of the day bothering everyone she knows (and some she doesn't) all over the place, and, like, maybe won't actually unpack for another few days.

She's also got a basket of apples that are unrealistically shiny and taste too good to be true.

WHAT'S UP, KERMIT?

[maledictorian]

Kermit is P U M P E D to be headed back to school, and loudly sings the same five lines from "Take Me Home, Country Roads" for most of the Yeehawl trip. Every friend that he sees gets an overly performative bear hug and he demands to know how your summer went. He's also dressed Party Nugget in her finest costume and set her loose on the campus. Go catch a bug, baby, and be one with the woods.

As soon as he's unpacked, he books it on down to the thrift store to check out what WIZARD WARES OF WONDER have populated these shelves since last June.

WHAT'S UP, MARY GRACE?

[crowhop]

Mary Grace has a real fucking swagger when she hops off the bus. Oh, hello, did you hear that she's the new Wildgulch cheer captain? Yes, she's very excited about it. She'll have to balance it with all her other duties, but she can manage. How was your summer? She doesn't care, but she can't wait to tell you all about how great her summer was and all the great plans she has for a great year ahead.

BAGGAGE BUNGLE

[peckishmods]

Comment here to get an RNG'd random item in your luggage. Does this belong to someone else? Or was it something belonging to one of last year's seniors? Players can feel free to claim items as belonging to their characters. Use this as a reason to scene with other people!

BAGGAGE BUNGLE - Freya Norris

[freyanorris]

The mysterious appearance of an unknown item? Yes please!

THE YEEHAWL

[peckishmods]

Jupiter & Open

[gasgiant]

What even is sarsaparilla anyway? It's like...ginger ale root beer? Some kinda dirt plant soda. Although, all plants are dirt plants. Hm. Anyway, a pointless digression. The rumble of the Yeehawl bus is barely audible over the saloon's player piano as it zips across the east coast picking up Peckenpaugh students. Jupiter pours some pepper, some katsup, and a few shakes of soy sauce and malt vinegar both into the remaining third of her sarsaparilla and stirs it up with a spoon.

She holds the vile concoction out for passersby and demands, "Drink this."

AROUND CAMPUS

[peckishmods]

AROUND CAMPUS: Crystals for Quodpot

[sugarnspite]

Val calls together all the Quodpot players, because she has presents for them. Specifically, water bottles. Water bottles that have a large crystal inside, attached to the bottom. Cute, right???

• Edgar gets agate for stability, strength, and maybe growing a little more self-confidence? It's going to sooth anger issues that might result in fighting Malstrol students on the first day of school.
  
• Anthony gets sunstone for joy, sweetness and self-love. It helps with knowing limitations, saying 'no', self-empowerment and independence.
  
• Felicity gets amber, which pulls disease from the body, so maybe it'll help with hangovers? It encourages patience and good decisions, too!
  
• Wyatt gets celestite, which is calming, relieves tension and anxiety, and teaches balance. It also encourages flexibility and responsibility.
  
• And all the unplayed characters got one too but I'll assign their crystal when they actually exist.

IN ELFLOCK FALLS

[peckishmods]

SPELLUNKING: Kermie & Open

[maledictorian]

Kermit stands by the door of Spellunking, holding up two near-identical windbreakers. They're both at least three sizes too small for him.

"Which one brings out my eyes?" he asks the beleaguered Kyle behind the counter, whose stare goes right past him, into the void he clearly wishes to jump in right now. Kermit waits a full thirty seconds, watching Kyle's face the whole time, before turning to the next person in the store with his windbreakers.

"Which one brings out my teeth?"

CONVOCATION

[peckishmods]

MOTHGARDEN, EMPHASIS ON "GARDEN"

[suflex]

Every time Mothgarden makes a mess with flower petals, Fitz enthusiastically hollers "IT'S FERTILIZER NOW!" and tries to catch Ms. Treetops' eye, after which he gives her an exaggerated wink & finger-guns combo. Yes, every time.

EVENING

[peckishmods]

EVENING: Laszlo & Open+++

[notpoison]

It's nearly curfew, but someone's not in their dorm just yet. Laszlo walks through the corridors of the school building, alone, and periodically tries a door handle. If it opens, he writes it in a notebook, and then moves on. Not much has changed since last year, but Laszlo makes it his business to know if anything has. He doesn't have any plans for the year (not yet, anyway) but you never know when you need to remember which teachers leave their classroom doors unlocked. He'll have to update the information after he checks again in a month.

Because things are still chaotic. No one's really settled into their routines yet. So even though Laszlo is good at going unnoticed, it's not that unexpected when someone catches him with his hand on a doorknob to a place he really doesn't need to be. He still jumps a little, though.

"Hi." He knows it looks suspicious. And it's not not genuinely suspicious to be out with a satchel and a notebook skulking around at night. "I was—" (Pause.) "—making sure it was locked."

OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[peckishmods]

FIRST IC/OOC!!

Re: OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

[gasgiant]

I'm going to get myself some coffee and let my brain congeal and will post some opens here shortly. I wrote too many dreams. If you would like a thread with Oliver or Jupiter specifically, I'm down!