SKI WEEKEND! Day 1

[peckishmods]

to helvetia!

what's up?

It’s frigidly cold this morning when students gather in town to load onto buses for the big ski trip this weekend. After boarding and a final head count, everyone is off, chased by a light snow that ramps up the higher into the mountains they climb. Out of the holler and headed southward, Peckenpaugh’s students are in for a bit of a bumpy ride as flurries give way to a total white out. It’s two hours of wintry driving before the buses arrive in the magical half of Helvetia, West Virginia.

The view is gorgeous, a winter wonderland spilling out across the hills. A shop-lined cobblestone street winds up into the hills to the main resort, a tiny hamlet of swiss chalet houses unto itself. Around all that? Acres and acres of hills, slopes and even ramps for winter recreation. Snow-capped and decorated for the season, Helvetia is so breathtaking, it takes a minute to realize: the seniors never arrived...

visuals!

volunteer slots!

While unpacking Uriah Hatfield opens a drawer and a dang boggart pops out, revealing their greatest fear to their roommates. Great start to the trip (Happy Friday the 13th). Their roommate/chalet-mate 💯 Presley Mondragon steps in and banishes the creature with an expert Riddikulus. Mr. Purcell hears about the fiasco later and awards Presley with 5 points to their house.

💯 Tony and 💯 Adrian each lose 5 Points for their House(s) for decorating the balcony of their chalet with an anatomically correct snow person. Honestly worth it.

Well, Elflock Liquor might’ve been closed, but thank god the wizards out here in Helvetia have a liquor store, too. This evening Wyatt Webberley and [CHARACTER F] head on down to stock up at the liquor store. The moment they walk in, an age line at the door causes them both to grow beards, but Wyatt kind of works it. (If they can get a thread to six replies, consider the trip, somehow, a huge success.)

roommates list!

CHALET 1

• Adrian
• Eddy
• Skip
• Tony
• Wyatt

• Armani
• Chanel
• Honey
• Laszlo

• Elijah
• Harrison
• Lionel
• Nico

• Desmond
• Patrice
• Presley
• Uriah

CHALET 2

• Claudia
• Holland
• Maisy
• Merlin
• Val

• Felicity
• Fiona
• Lydia
• Pax
• Scarlett

• Constanza
• Echo
• Magnolia
• Ramona

CHALET 3

• Bijou
• Cedar
• Hawthorne
• Willow

• Mary Grace
• Trudy
• Xenia
• Zadie

• Atlas
• Gideon
• Josh

CHALET 4

• Audrey
• Freya
• Fred
• Jupiter
• Kermit

• Imogen
• Poppy
• Viola
• Winter

• Aristotle
• Fitz
• Maverick
• Tybalt

how this works!

⬥ Students left Peckenpaugh bound for magical Helvetia, West Virginia at 10AM. With the snow, the bus ride should take about two hours.

⬥ Juniors and sophomores (and freshmen) arrive at the resort at ~12:00 PM. They're able to settle into their rooms, claim a bed, and explore a little bit!

⬥ The first day of the ski trip leaves most of the afternoon and evening open for students to explore the grounds. After you've gotten your stuff set in, get some skiing and sledding in if you want, hit the shops or grab a bite to eat.

⬥ A second post will go up on Saturday featuring a day on the slopes (with RNG games for sledding/skiing and more emphasis on that portion of the resort, so don't worry if you want to get up to some serious winter sport threading) and then a cozy evening party with an ugly sweater contest. Day three is our return trip, plus another surprise.

⬥ Curfew is 10:30PM so get back to your assigned chalet by then! Head counts are done shortly after that.

⬥ What about the seniors?! The seniors will get to the lodge eventually! After a spot of bad luck on the ride in (Happy Friday the 13th), the senior class is currently stranded on the side of the road and needs to figure out how to get out of this jam.

• No matter what, seniors will arrive safe and sound, just a few hours later than everyone else!


• This is a bonding experience! We’ve split the senior class into groups and given each group a prompt. This prompt is not a puzzle or task that needs to be solved/completed, but rather something specific for your characters to thread or discuss over the journals.


• The group that has the most activity relating to the senior stranding by Monday, December 16th will be awarded with a spook in the pcal in January. How are we calculating activity? Well…
  • Throughout this weekend, any narrative tags made under the Trouble header on this IC/OOC by seniors within their group will be worth 5 points.
  
  
  • For Friday, December 13th only, any journal posts made by a senior, pertaining to the senior stranding and tagged with "* event: senior stranding" are worth 5 points.
  
  
  • Throughout the weekend, any comments made by seniors on a seniors stranding tagged post will count for 1/2 point. Reaction icon comments will not count for points.
  
  
  • We'll tally the numbers up next week and announce a winning group.
• Click here for groups and prompts!

  GROUP 1: Fred, Freya, Josh, Kermit, Maisy, Tony
  PROMPT: Group 1, you're on tire duty! Staff needs help digging the bus out of the snowbank. Listen to Mr. Stirling curse under his breath as he fiddles with the engine. Watch Ms. Kwan find it highly amusing.
  
  GROUP 2: Elijah, Imogen, Mags, Merlin, Val
  PROMPT: Mr. Trullinger's taking Group 2 out on a "nature hike" to figure out just where they are. Turns out, y'all are in Lepidopterite country. There's a settlement nearby — that explains the anti-apparition. The Lepidopterites are not open to outsiders, so Mr. Trullinger leaves the kids outside the town to go in and ask for assistance.
  
  GROUP 3: Claudia, Constanza, Echo, Harrison, Nico, Trudy
  PROMPT: Group 3 fixates on survival, gathering blankets, casting warming charms, accounting for food. They're in the middle of discussing where to find water and build a camp fire when Ms. Kwan wanders over and suggests that it'll only be an hour or two at most, why don't you kids quiz your friends on their upcoming midterms?
  
  GROUP 4: Audrey, Holland, Jup, Lionel, Xenia
  PROMPT: Group 4 swears they just saw something HUGE moving in the forest! Ms. Dorkins won't let them investigate any further. Maybe they can distract her and sneak past. Maybe they can convince her to join them.
  
  
  

locations!

⬦ PACKING & BUS RIDE: Peckenpaugh is using four standard magic buses to move its kids from Elflock Falls to Helvetia, one for each year. These enchanted vehicles move a bit faster than normal, passing by muggle traffic with ease, but with the weather it still takes about two hours for the first buses to arrive at their destination. Rows of seats comfortably sit two to three students, and the back of the bus is always wilder than the front. Grab a window seat if you can, the snow and scenery on the drive is lovely.

⬦ SENIOR STRANDING: Elflock Falls is barely out of the rear view when the snow starts to really pick up and before long it's dumping on them. For the most part, aided by magic, this just means it's slow going, but the senior bus hits a patch of bad luck and black ice. The magic school bus swerves right off the road and into a big fluffy snow bank. Thankfully, everyone is unharmed, but with no cell service, no GPS, and (as Mr. Stirling learns the hard way) finding themselves in an unknown Anti-Apparition zone, everyone's going to have to pitch in or sit tight to get this bus back on the road.

⬦ THE LODGE: The centerpiece of magical Helvetia’s ski resort is its lodge, a massive wood structure with Swiss-influenced architecture. Upon entry, visitors find themselves in a warm and warmly lit lobby decorated with boughs of pine and wintry garlands of berries, fitted with furniture fashioned from old ski lift parts. The front desk is alternately staffed by a harried-looking college aged witch and an extremely low key sasquatch throughout the weekend, both of them happy to help with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Adjoining the main lobby is a restaurant and bar — you can spot the staff at the bar in the evenings, but you have to be over 21 to sit there. Sorry kids! Beyond the restaurant is a cozy reception room with tall windows and a fenced-in balcony overlooking the slopes and an absolutely massive fireplace fashioned from copper, iron and stone. There’s a basic amenities shop, in case you forgot deodorant, and a heated indoor pool, hot tub and sauna also host to a fantastic view of the mountains.

⬦ CHALETS: Four chalets have been reserved for students, large wood-and-stone buildings in the Swiss style with wrap around balconies on the second and third floors. Each one is decorated in Peckenpaugh colors with string lights and large banners welcoming the teenage guests to their homes for the weekend. The interiors are all roughly the same, three floors with five total bedrooms (each with its own bathroom!), vintage and antique alpine furniture and ski lodge equipment repurposed into more modern furniture and decor. The common area on the first floor of each chalet features a comfortable, cozy seating area with fireplace, kitchen and dining area.

⬦ THE SLOPES: Helvetia's magical ski resort spills out across acres and acres of tree-dotted hills and mountains. It features slopes rated green circle (easy) to the expert-level double black diamond. Magical ski lifts lit by bobbing magical lanterns carry skiers up from the bottom of the slopes. There's even a fenced in area specifically for large donut-shaped sleds that seat up to four. Once you ride to the bottom of this sled hill, the sleds are enchanted to carry you right back up again for another go.

⬦ AROUND HELVETIA: The magical side of Helvetia is a great deal bigger than its teeny tiny muggle counterpart, but it’s still comparable to Elflock Falls. The area is considerably more upscale than Peckenpaugh’s home town, with expensive outdoor supply shops, a couture boutique and a couple of very fancy looking restaurants. Not the sorts of places that like teenagers poking around, but there’s still plenty for students to do and see! Magical Helvetia has many shops that are kid friendly, a chocolatier/cafe, a restaurant known for its raclette dinner and street carts peddling warm rosti. Roads are cleanly shoveled and the streets are lit by both lanterns and string lights. Despite the cold, a live goblin band is playing outside one of the taverns, filling the tiny town with music. The snow has slowed to a light flurry by late afternoon, and the big fluffy flakes hold steady well into the night.

⬦ OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

Comments

THE LODGE

[peckishmods]

THE HOT TUBS: Armani... is Armani (Open++)

[teratophilia]

Armani feels very Cool and Sexy. He sits at the edge of the hot tub, posing beautifully with a breathtaking view of the mountains as his backdrop. He nurses his Welch's 100% Grape Juice out of his silicone wine glass (no glass in the pool area please!) and gazes out at the view, but only in a way that makes him appear serene and... dare he say? Adult.

THE HOT TUBS: Armani... has his aesthetic ruined by his roommates

[numerologest]

"Armawni," is how Adrian says his roommates name, calling it loudly. Adrian himself only ever feels like a teenager: sort of inexplicably angry and disgusting at all times, but in a cool way, he supposes. Although, coolness is frankly up for debate, considering his choice in swimwear.

Not that he's thinking about it much. No running in the pool, but like an untrained puppy, Adrian's running anyway. He vaults himself cleanly over the side of the hot tub, then immediately slips on its slick floor and disappears below the bubbling surface as the water swirls about. A second later, he pops over the side, draping his shoulders on the rim next to Armani. "Didn't get you wet, did I?"

THE HOT TUBS: Armani... has his aesthetic ruined by his roommates

[quidditched]

Any illusions about Eddy's coolness are shattered within about five minutes of knowing him, and Armani and Adrian have known him a lot of minutes at this point. Maybe if he talked less, and worked more on looking brooding instead of suffering from indigestion.

He slinks in after Adrian, looking as unfestive as ever in a pair of black trunks and a simple black tee to keep the blindingly pale skin at a minimum. No effort is made to avoid Adrian's splash zone, but he does enter the tub at a far more tempered pace, shirt immediately ballooning from the jets, which he fights to press down. "Hope you weren't expecting Mothman," he comments wryly, having seen Armani sit around posing beautifully plenty of times before.

THE HOT TUBS: Armani... has his aesthetic ruined by his roommates

[teratophilia]

Armani sees him coming and only covers the mouth of his drink to protect it from the splash. The golden sheen of body lava begins to melt from his shoulders, down his arms.

He swipes his leg through the water to splash Adrian in retaliation. "I would've settled for Mothlad, but I suppose you two will have to do," he responds teasingly, rubbing at his arms to try to blend in the product. "Did I at least look good while it lasted?"

THE HOT TUBS: Armani... has his aesthetic ruined by his roommates

[numerologest]

"Oh, you're melting," Adrian observes with a wide, ridiculous smile, sure to bobbles his head up and down in the affirmative after, adding, "But in a totally hot way."

Peckenpaugh's Quodpot defensive captain remains drooped over the side of the hot tub looking up at Armani like some background character in a classic painting. "Oh, absolutely flaw free," he affirms before his grin tugs up high on one side, "Looking wistful for any particular reason?"

THE HOT TUBS: Armani... has his aesthetic ruined by his roommates

[quidditched]

"No way Mothlad could've resisted you," Eddy agrees, still by far the least picturesque one here as he fusses with his shirt. He's not actually sure what Mothman or Mothlad are supposed to be into, but gestures to Armani's melting-ness, helpfully adding, "All shiny like. A light bulb. Very.. moth-hot."

THE HOT TUBS: Armani... has his aesthetic ruined by his roommates

[teratophilia]

Armani leans down and swipes a shimmery finger along the bridge of Adrian's nose to highlight it, booping it at the tip. "I was going for serene yet ethereal." He nods toward Eddy. "I'll accept moth-hot, though, thank you."

"Although, to tell you the truth..." He shyly lowers his gaze, tucking a curl behind his ear. This coy act is just a show to try to wind them up for the piece of hot goss he's getting ready to drop. But he has to bait them into asking about it first. "I've been a little more preoccupied with wizards lately. There's one in particular, but..." He shakes his head. "I don't know."

THE LODGE: Presley and Patrice

[shoulderdevil]

By some miracle, Patrice has been sort of behaving for a few hours - but that can't last. Despite new surroundings that are beautiful and have amenities they definitely don't have at school, he's bored. He doesn't want to study, he doesn't want to wander around, he just wants... something? He's not sure what. But it's probably a bit of attention at least. That's pretty easy to get, at least. He's crawled onto one of the couches near the fireplace and, spotting Presley, lobs a few tiny balls of paper from a nearby notepad at his roommate.

THE LODGE: Presley and Patrice

[infamously]

Presley's notes and books are spread out on the table in front of him, showing off neat handwriting and complicated Hermetic diagrams. He's made up a schedule of exactly how many hours he should spend reviewing each class to ensure it's all memorized, and he's not about to slack just because they're in cozy ski chalet surroundings.

The first paper ball lands on his notebook. One of Presley's eyebrows does a funny twitch but he stays focused on his task, knowing better than to give whoever it is any attention. On the third and fourth paper balls, however— "Tang," Presley says through gritted teeth, having finally looked up to see his second least-favorite roommate. "If you don't stop, I'm going to curse your face."

THE LODGE: Presley and Patrice

[shoulderdevil]

Patrice looks like he's won something when Presley looks up and says his name, even though the other boy clearly isn't pleased. Logically he knows being a pain in the ass is probably not the best way to go about these things, especially with Presley... but he can't help himself.

"Mondragon," he starts, mimicking his friend's voice, though given that he's practically upside down now on his couch, head lolling off one of the cushions, it doesn't quite have the same effect. "Cursing faces is unbecoming. Stop studying and do something with me."

THE LODGE: Presley and Patrice

[infamously]

Patrice Tang shouldn't look so handsome while hanging upside-down and messing up his hair, especially when he used to be a goofy-looking seven-year-old who let Presley boss him around. It all just irritates Presley further.

"You have to pass midterms too, you know." Which Patrice will surely do, without looking at his notes once. Presley's pen stabs the page with unusual force as he scribbles out a formula. "And maybe you're fine with coasting, but some of us actually want a 4.0 GPA."

THE LODGE: Presley and Patrice

[shoulderdevil]

Shimmying down so he's hanging even more off the couch, Patrice gives a thoughtful 'hmmm' that, while convincing, is completely feigned. Add top-notch actor to his list of skills!

"There's plenty of time to study." Not that he's going to use it, and not that there actually is. "And coasting is a noble art. Look, after your heroics earlier you deserve a break. You've clearly got a lot of tension going on with how hard you're writing."

THE LODGE: Presley and Patrice

[infamously]

"Good. The only time my spine relaxes is in the dance studio, and this—" Presley twirls his pen in the air, in a wide circle. "—is hardly an occasion for dancing." This apparently being a cozy, scenic winter ski trip with all of his friends.

He stares down at his worksheet with a look of critical distaste. His handwriting's gotten almost sloppy in the past five minutes. Ugh. "Surely one of your other roommates would be willing to humor you."

POOL: Tybalt Does a Tradition(Open++)

[princeofcat]

He may not do this to every body of water he is in.
But the boy probably wasn't raised right, so he does this to most bodies of water he is in.

It's too late to ski, so he has to flit about entertaining himself in other ways. And there's a pool. This is either a christening or a compulsion, but as soon as he gets into the room, Tybalt flings himself into it, a graceful leap, enjoying the way the water bursts up around his ears, and he lets out a loud laugh. He'd tried to pick a people-free place, but he sends a large enough splash that he sits under the water for a few seconds. If people think he's drowned, maybe they'll forgive the noise.

POOL: Tybalt Does a Tradition, Uriah Witnesses

[negligently]

When Tybalt surfaces, Uriah's standing at the edge of the pool, fully clothed but barefoot.

See, Uriah'd also been looking for a people-free place. Settling into his chalet hadn't been the peaceful evening he'd imagined, and he'd just needed to take off for a bit. Be alone. Avoid whatever was going on in Presley's head, although if anyone was going to get a look at his fears, Presley's a good enough choice. He doesn't give a shit, or he's too busy pretending he doesn't to dig any further.

"If I steal your clothes, do you have to stay with me forever?" He holds up Tybalt's shirt, like he's considering the prospect. "I heard a myth like that. When you find a pretty stranger swimming at night. Might even be real, who knows."

POOL: Tybalt Does a Tradition, Uriah Witnesses

[princeofcat]

He bobs to the surface, and his grin is immediate, bright and embarrassing. Tybalt pushes his hair out of his face into an impossibly wet rat's nest of curls. He's not so well-versed in Uriah's mannerisms to notice if anything's wrong, but he does note that he's inappropriately overdressed. That could be fixed. But maybe not yet. He leans his head on his arms, eyes upward. "You could try." He raises an impish eyebrow, which helps turn the myth into a dare, "But if it stuck, it'd be your curse, eventually."

If it's self-deprecation, it's very casual. And just true. Forever is a long time.

POOL: Tybalt Does a Tradition, Uriah Witnesses

[negligently]

Uriah throws the shirt over his shoulder and lets it drape there as he analyzes Tybalt. He's unusually serious and he knows it, and even his smile has something heavy behind it. He doesn't want to bring this into his thing with Tybalt, which is why he's not going to say anything real.

"But you see, it usually goes like this." Uriah shifts his weight to the other leg. "You get sick of bein' tied down, and you find where I hid your skin. You go on back to the ocean and that's that. Sound right?"

POOL: Tybalt Does a Tradition, Uriah Witnesses

[princeofcat]

Now that Tybalt's stilled for a moment, and taken time to meet Uriah's eyes, he can see there's some weight behind them. His movements are a little slower. And he wonders what's going on. But it's not for him to ask. And pity is not the thing that bleeds into his own eyes now, nor is it concern, that milder but still annoying cousin. Curiosity. That's all. And just a little bit. He kicks up his legs, carefree as ever.

"Usually." He agrees. There's no point in not. His chin raises, beckoning the other boy closer. "But all the other humans' hiding places have sucked."

FRONT DESK: Bijou is a Menace (Open)

[wrencredible]

"And where would I find the hot tub?"

"By the pool."

"And where would I find that?"

"Over there."

"Would you mind–" Before Bijou can finish chirping her question, the front desk squatch points a hairy arm across the lobby. They've been going in circles like this for about five minutes now. It seems Bijou just can't wrap her head around any of the geography here!

"Ooooooh, thank you," her eyes light up, making a show of looking in the gestured direction. Then she turns her attention back to the lodge brochure in her hands, "Now can you tell me where I would find–"

FRONT DESK: Sophomores are a Menace

[circuitree]

Don't worry Desquatch, you're about to have a whole new set of problems. There's a tha-thunk from the front door. Then another. Then the door flies open, slamming into the brochure stand and sending it crashing onto its back.

"SORRY, I—the door was stuck!!" Cedar squeals, stumbling into the lobby. "I DIDN'T MEAN T—OH HEY." Familiar face spotted, they've already forgotten about the brochures now decorating the lobby floor. That's your problem now, Desquatch.

FRONT DESK: Sophomores are a Menace

[wrencredible]

Bijou yelps at the sudden racket in a way that is not remotely heroic, and it's like WizViz is all make-believe or something. She does at least make a semi-impressive hop over some brochures headed her way and doesn't land on any of them, though the ensuing skating around the lobby would have been a fun gag.

Desquatch seems nonplussed about the whole thing. At least he doesn't have to keep flexing for a thirsty sixteen year old anymore.

"Cedar! Hi! Are you- um-" (There's really only one top concern whenever Cedar appears.) "alone?"

FRONT DESK: Sophomores are a Menace

[circuitree]

Cedar assumes Bijou means they are very much not alone and spins to check over their shoulder, but they spin too hard and stumble right onto a stack of brochures. There's a loud yelp as the stack slips out from under them and they land on their back, one foot up, in a pratfall that would make Buster Keaton worry.

They lay there, perfectly still, for just a second.

"Yup," they cough and look up toward Bijou. "Was lookin' for Cheese 'n' Bill to go 'round the shops if you wanna come." The shopkeepers have no clue what's coming for them.

FRONT DESK: Sophomores are a Menace

[wrencredible]

Everything happens too quickly and Cedar's on their back before Bijou can try to help them. Seems Wren Credible's fast reflexes are also the result of WizViz editing magic. Bijou winces and makes a quick mental note to add 'helmet' to the list of potential Christmas gifts for the triplets.

"Oh, I haven't seen them since we got off the bus," she says, offering a hand to pull Cedar up and accepting whatever risk may be involved in that act. None of the chalets appear to be on fire, so they probably haven't made it to their room yet either. "The shops sound nice, though," she adds, pushing any and all nearby brochures away with her foot.

FRONT DESK: Sophomores are a Menace

[artistree]

"Seen who?" ask Hawthorne, who is fetching a cup of courtesy cucumber water from a stand nearby. He's watching Bijou and Cedar while he does it, so the moment he lifts the nozzle, it snaps and lightly flavored vegetable water gushes out of the fancy plastic jar that was holding it, spilling across the floor.

Hawthorne looks at the mess and just says, "Oh."