CLASSES AND ADVANCED STUDIES IN YEAR 2

[goosemods]

Certain classes have minimum grade requirements going into junior/senior year. If your character was unable to meet that minimum letter grade, they were not allowed to continue in that class. If your character was unable to maintain a C average going into junior/senior year, they probably flunked out. Obviously, we’re not going to force anyone to drop classes or leave Gooseberry, but it is something to keep in mind as you’re picking out your new class schedules. Stay true to your concepts!

Any given character must take at least 3 core classes, no fewer than 5 classes total, and no more than 9. Most should take about 7. Keep in mind, nine classes is a ridiculously large load, and should only be done if your character is an overachiever who hates themselves and doesn’t fully understand the concept of time.

As for Advanced Studies, all of these classes now come with a unique in-world benefit. Please note these when selecting what you want for your character(s)!

If my character didn’t take [insert class here] last year, can they pick it up junior/senior year?
This depends on the class and teacher. In general, the answer should be no… but we don’t want to kill dreams and we didn’t know there was going to be a Year 2 when we made this game. If your character is in good academic standing, you can ask for special permission or a retcon HERE. We might decline if it really makes no sense. For instance, if Reid wanted to pick up Hermeticism senior year when it’s well established he’s not a great student, we would decline.

If my character doesn’t meet the requirements for the Advanced Study I want them to take, can I sign them up it anyway?
No. There are only three advanced studies courses with prerequisite classes, and waiving them makes no sense. If your character is not in Transfiguration, they can’t take Animagus Studies. If your character is not in DADA, they can’t take Occlumency. Pre-Healer Studies has several prerequisites, and it’s designed to feel challenging/exclusive, so your character does need to meet requirements. If you want to retcon that your character has the prerequisites, please comment HERE and we’ll see if we can help you out.

Can my character take two Advanced Studies at once?
No. These classes have limited space, and we want to let as many people as possible get into one because they come with special privileges, plots and abilities.

Can I have two characters in [insert Advanced Study here]?
No. Each player can only have one character in each Advanced Study. So if you play Arthur, Betty and Carl, Arthur can be in Divination, Betty can be in Music, and Carl can be in Animagus Studies, but Arthur and Carl can’t both be in Animagus Studies.

If my character has already mastered their Animagus form, can they drop out so I can have a second Animagus student?
No. We only want one Animagus per player at any given time. If your Animagus character was dropped over the summer or graduated, only then can you sign up a new character for a second Animagus. Animagus transformations will begin happening in November or December, and will be announced at the beginning of each month, just like last time. If your character mastered their form last year, they may drop out of the class to take something else or ease their class load, although Animagus Studies continues to instruct students on advanced Transfiguration theory and Animagus laws. They won’t be sitting around twiddling their thumbs.

If I want to switch Advanced Studies, can I?
Yes. If you found you weren’t really enjoying your choice in Advanced Study, or you think one of the new ones suits your character better, you can say in your app that they switched for whatever IC reason you decide upon. Keep in mind: Animagus Studies is still a one time thing. You can have your Animagus decide to go for Pre-Healer instead, but you can never have a second Animagi.

How many available spots are there in [insert Advanced Study here]?
GOOD QUESTION. We don’t know yet. At a glance, some will only have a few opening up, others will have 8-10. Just like before, these are first come first serve, but this time we are requiring justification for why your character deserves the spot. Just wanting to be a cute animal won’t cut it. We ask everyone to, as always, be courteous. Don’t sign up for an Advanced Study simply because you can. If it doesn’t add to your character or you can’t explain their interest, don’t do it.

Animagus Studies and Occlumency usually fill up fast, and we anticipate Pre-Healer and Muggle Tech will as well. We currently have no way of knowing what will be available when you start sending in applications, but we included estimates below based on graduation and summer drops.

PRE-HEALER STUDIES

Taught by Healer Mufferaw, Pre-Healer studies is an intensive course with as much hands-on work as there is detailed textbook learning. He’s no-nonsense and doesn’t tolerate any goofing off during class time. As per his usual M.O., he’s not impressed by any of you, and if you think you’re hot shit, he’ll show you the door. Lessons alternate weekly between lectures and demonstrations. Once a month, students are taken off-campus to various magical hospitals for guest lectures from practicing Healers.

Prerequisites: Herbology (B or higher), Charms (B or higher), Potions (B or higher). C average in all other classes. Healer Mufferaw doesn’t find you insufferable.
Grade: Juniors & Seniors
Benefits: Students in Pre-Healer studies will learn first aid and healing spells, and may go on field trips to magical hospitals. Only characters in Pre-Healer Studies can cast healing spells. Every month we’ll update you on what was learned this month. Pre-Healer students will eventually be able to mend cuts and simple fractures.
15/15 spots available.

MUGGLE TECHNOLOGY STUDIES: Advanced or Beginner

Taught by Mr. Merrill in the brand new computer lab, where the school boasts internet access! It’s admittedly not the best connection, and adult sites are blocked, but the school is quite proud. It was a project spearheaded by several Gooseberry graduates from several years ago. The class is divided into two categories:

ADVANCED: Students who are experienced in muggle technology should sign up for the advanced course, where they get high school level introductions to computer science, coding and engineering. Students are also allowed to work on self-guided personal projects between lectures, with Mr. Merrill offering guidance and helping them to get the supplies they need. At the end of the year, seniors will sit down for a section on how to apply to muggle universities. The legal process for transferring records can be daunting.
BEGINNER: For students who have little to no familiarity with muggle technology, Mr. Merrill teaches them how to understand and operate modern muggle devices. Sections include typing, internet use, cell phones, and understanding the basic science behind some of the greatest muggle inventions.

Prerequisites: C average.
Grade: Sophomores, juniors and seniors.
Benefits: Internet access. Only Muggle Tech students have access to the computer lab, which is open during class times and for four hours on Sunday, 1:00-4:00 PM. Mr. Merrill supervises at all times.
20/20 spots available. Please indicate which section your character is in.

DIVINATION

Up until this year, Divination was the newest Advanced Study at Gooseberry. This will be its third year. While time is devoted to learning fortune-telling methods, the class is mostly designed to help students who think they are, or hope they might be, Seers. Most classes are spent talking about the history of divination and Seers, and the theories behind how Prophecies work. There are sections on meditation and reducing stress to clear the mind. Divination is in one of the lodge's high towers, and looks more like a comfortable sitting room than a classroom. The shelves are stocked with several different types of divination tools, many of them antiques. Students of Divination can visit at any time, and seniors may even be granted a key for when Mr. Chettri is hiding absent.

Prerequisites: Permission from Mr. Chettri.
Grade: Sophomores, juniors and seniors.
Benefits: Sign-up opportunities to accurately predict plot calendar events every month. This will not count as their monthly plot calendar spot.
7/15 spots available.

MUSIC

The music room (on the ground floor, next to the auditorium) is open to all students, but the actual music course is considered an advanced study program. During this class, students work on their original compositions with the oversight of a teacher. It's especially useful for students whose senior projects revolve around music. The music room is one of the more modern rooms in the lodge, and sits near the auditorium. It was completely remodeled to improve the acoustics, and so it could accommodate electric instruments and recording equipment of both the magical and muggle variety. There's a large assortment of loaner instruments students can check out.

Prerequisites: Permission from Ms. Thrussell
Grade: Sophomores, juniors and seniors.
Benefits: Participation in concerts, opportunities to headline at school dances, bonus to RNG score at the talent show and similar competitions.
10/15 spots available.

ANIMAGUS STUDIES

Becoming an Animagi is a long, difficult road, but Gooseberry does offer an advanced course where students can begin to learn how to transform into an animal. Success is not guaranteed, and a complete transformation is not necessary to get a good grade. Many students do master it before graduation, though.

Prerequisites: B or higher in Transfiguration, C average in all other classes.
Grade: Juniors and seniors.
Benefits: Transformation into an animal of your choice, as determined upon applying.
8/15 spots available.

OCCLUMENCY

Occlumency is the ancient skill of shielding one's mind from Legilimency. It's difficult to master, especially for teenagers, because the key is to empty your head of emotions. However, for students that are determined, they can pursue this Advanced Study course. They must be invited by Ms. Lilywhite, who also uses this class as an opportunity to prep those who intend to pursue a career as an Auror or Hit-Wizard.

Prerequisites: B or higher in Defense Against the Dark Arts, C average in all other classes.
Grade: Juniors and seniors.
Benefits: Advanced duelling skills (bonus in duelling RNG tournaments), guaranteed success learning to cast a Patronus when that lesson takes place, immunity to certain emotion-affecting events.
9/15 spots available.

Comments

RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[goosemods]

If you would like to request that a prerequisite be waived or a retcon, comment here. Please note character name, what you want waived or what you want to retcon (i.e. that Susan was tooootally in Herbology as a sophomore), and why.

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[destructobot]

Oh man. I was actually just thinking about this the other day whilst going over App stuff --

Is it cool to retcon that Wilde's always been in Hermeticism, if that's an option?
I have no idea why I didn't put him in there initially when it's right up his alley/relevant to his interests&strengths.
He's also dropping Magical Rudiments for Senior year, so he wouldn't be in like... too too many classes.

If not, maybe this is his first year taking it for realsies and it's been a side interest/he's done independent reading in it?
He's definitely in good standing.

Whatever makes sense! Also if neither does, that's cool too. ♥ It's all good w me.

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[magitechnically]

I'd like Essie to take DADA again starting this year. She stopped taking it once she came to Gooseberry, but after everything that happened in the endgame, she's very motivated to pick it up again. She's a strong practical caster and has her patronus already thanks to Ms. Lilywhite's workshop, soooo. Anyway she can get back into DADA would be excellent, even if it's just sitting in on Freshmen classes. ♥

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[browbeats]

No matter what I do re: Advanced Study, can I retcon Rosy as being all up in that Charms class this whole time? I really should have fixed all her classes ages ago, but there's no reason she wouldn't be taking a hella practical class like that.

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[professionalcorpse]

I was actually planning on asking about this re:Bash, because what the fuck even WERE his classes last year, Jackie. (Outdoor anything. Haha, what. But him just dropping the hell out of that next year is totally cool. Live and learn and stay inside where you belong, Sebastien.) I think I tried too hard not to cross him over too much with myself and so I have no idea why he wasn't in Charms or Artificing.

Because I feel like if he were to ever organize thoughts about a senior project, they'd lean heavily toward figuring out how to better integrate a magic/no-maj household.

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[puphart]

how would our darling karim react to kurt asking to enrol in potions? he wasn't from the beginning because of ??? (aka: my bad choices), but his super-fun junior ranger experience will give him a heightened appreciation for trying new things with magic, and for the first time he'll try to take a class because he thinks it will be beneficial for him as a wizard in the real world, and not just because he wants to/thinks he'll do alright in it. :x he's already into herbology and gardening club, and he finds the idea of using some ingredients he grows himself to modify potions to be AN EXCITING ONE INDEED. he can find a tutor if he needs to.

all that being said, it's totally cool if he's not let into potions! :) but i thought it couldn't hurt to ask 👏

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[un_kept]

Retcon request:

I'm not sure why I didn't put Isabelle in Herbology. I guess I didn't want to keep repeating classes. But given her aspirations for doing stuff for mental-health etc, Pre-Healer studies would make sense and she is a good student. So if we could, can we retcon that she was always in Herbology? It would have been in addition to:

Charms, Hermeticism, Potions, Transfiguration, Aestethic Magic, Astronomy, DADA, and Divination

I know that's a lot, but considering I'd like her in pre-healer studies, I think she'd drop Divination and maybe Astronomy, to continue Herbology and take Pre-Healer studies? Or I'm happy to retcon that she was never in Divination.


ALSO, For Samantha:

Not necessarily a retcon - but is it possible to say that Sam failed her first time taking OE and takes it JR year for a second time? I think she pulled C's this last year with her focus on passing the last half of the semester & scraped a B- in DADA, because she'd really like to add occlumency to her schedule next year.

♥

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[quickbuck]

On second thought I actually do wanna retcon some stuff because apparently... I have no idea what classes my own characters are in or what I was thinking when I put them there...

REECE: Retcon him out of astronomy and into DADA. I think I maybe put him in astronomy originally because he was supposed to be good at ???math??? but I don't think I've ever brought it up IC and I had totally forgotten I had him in there. And I want to put him into DADA because... woods cop... but no, I had originally conceived of him as kind of a genius slacker and now I think he's more of a perfectionist procrastinator so I want to stick another challenging class on his roster and I feel like DADA does work best like... theme-wise... for protectiveness and strong moral principles reasons

CLEM: oh my god, i put her in wizard lit?? she does not have time for that. she's never read a book in her goddamn life. I would like for her to have never been in wizard lit and instead be in magical rudiments, because she does stuff like bake and knit in her free time and she definitely needs someone to teach her how to do her taxes because she was raised by an off-the-grid libertarian

TODD: I want to drop magical rudiments for him, which I definitely put him in bc he's a muggleborn. But he's very adaptive and a quick learner and he would've gotten bored with this class after freshman year. That'll take his total down to 5 (or maybe 6 if he ends up in an advanced study) so I'd also like to retcon that he's been in hermeticism this whole time to keep him at a non-loser courseload level.

TL;DR a lot of nitpicky fixes on my part, doesn't really affect anything, i'm sorry for how i am

1 more retcon

[ferdie]

Hiii so. I apparently didn't know what I was doing when signing my juniors up for classes because they're each only in six...what. This makes sense for Addy's arc, but I've always thought of Ferdie as a very hard working if not the stellar-est student and I don't know quite what past me was doing putting him in only 6 classes. (Probably I was trying to avoid overlap but seriously...)

So that being said- he totally would have kept up with Charms. He's in hermeticism and artificing and I kind of see all those as playing into each other so it would make more sense to me that he be in that too. This obviously a picky little change so no worries if not but if he could be retconned on in there I would appreciate it so much, thank you!!! ❤️

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[lilwitchhazel]

Can I retcon Hazel out of Artificing and into Transfig? I'm not sure what on earth I was thinking... thanks ♥

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[sunsoutgunsout]

could i please retcon casey into magical rudiments? he's canonically decent with the tasks it entails and he likes working with his hands, i can't actually imagine him not taking it. & riley's going to try to make clothes for him. we need this beautiful travesty to happen. please.

thanks! 💜

ETA: NEVER MIND ABOUT THE HERBOLOGY THING, i forgot about the min. 3 core classes requirement. your gramps won't let you drop plant class, casey. deal with it.

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[riledup]

OK SO I've been going through Riley's classes. She's only in six, and one of them is OE, which she would drop in a hot second if that was an option, but I don't want her to only have five classes, and I don't want her to join an academic class at the last minute.

SO is it cool if I just say she was in History of Magic last year (which I'll have her drop this year for some made up reason) and NOT OE, and then she has to take her year of OE this year? I didn't have her complain about OE last year and I really think that was a missed opportunity.

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[cecaelian]

I'm retconning Ursula taking OE during her junior year so she can suffer during senior year and I won't forget her suffering this time!!!

She was in plenty of other classes, so no other flipping needed.

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[cmdrchloe]

Can I say that Chloe was in astrology all along? Tbh, I don't know why she wasn't except that I was dumb when I picked classes?

Re: RETCONS/EXCEPTIONS

[magitechnically]

I was naughty and buried my second request, but here it is, please!

QUESTIONS

[goosemods]

Re: QUESTIONS

[untarnish]

Not retconning exactly but I'm changing Ari's schedule pretty significantly for Y2. She would've picked her new schedule with guidance from Ms. Rhee.

She's dropping: history of magic, potions, DADA and divination.
She's picking up: outdoor education, aesthetic magic, and wizard lit. (And hopefully muggle tech studies.)

Is that all alright? I'm also assuming she definitely managed to get that C average since we don't want her flunking out anyway.

PLOTTING

[goosemods]

If you guys want to discuss what you want for who you can do it here, but this does not guarantee you the spot you want.

Katie's Plotting!

[colemoss]

Oooh. This is so exciting! :O

Obviously, nothing is set in stone here, but currently, I'm...

• Planning to keep Casper in Occlumency. He was in Occlumency last year and did fine academically but never felt like he had a solid enough grasp on it. He'll be getting one-on-one instruction from one of his mother's former colleagues over the summer to improve his ability going into Y2. He wants to get to the top of the class but he might still struggle because of his temper.


• Hoping to get Cole into Animagus Studies. His primary motivation for wanting to do this is the opportunity to experience the world from a new perspective and incorporate that into his artwork. He assumes (correctly) that his Animagus form would be a spider because that's what his Patronus is and, after it occurred to him how different everything would look and sound and feel as a small, eight-eyed arachnid that can climb on walls and ceilings, he decided he was all about this class. He also thinks making webs sounds like an excellent new project. It's not the most practical of reasons, but he's quite passionate about it and has good marks in Transfiguration, so he's hoping.


• Considerig putting my Year 2 Soph into Divination. Essentially, I'd like to use it as a way to have a mediocre student who isn't an athlete or an artist that still has a legitimate reason to be at Gooseberry. It's a natural talent that they'd have and it'd be about all that makes them at all exceptional. I'm also just excited about the mechanic! Obviously, I can adjust my concept if people are really interested in those spots, though.


• Not planning to put Lachaln in anything. He just wants to focus on getting strong marks in the core and elective classes and being a balanced, capable wizard. None of the advanced classes really suit him.

Re: PLOTTING

[puphart]

i'm a big SHRUGMOJI!

kurt is obviously going to stay in animagus studies. as a sidenote, i love that i changed his form to a herding dog, and now he's going to be a prefect? finding people after grotto parties is going to be a whole new ballgame next year.

casey, as i said below, does not fit into any advanced studies. he should not be in any of them. a world where he IS in one is a world nobody should be subjected to.

and it is my hope that my unnamed, incorporeal y2 soph ends up in music because her parents are has-been musicians trying to live vicariously through the successes of their children. :( she may have been in a terrible family band as a child. if she was, it was... THE WORST. but either way, she'll be a musical kid. so there's that.

Re: PLOTTING

[evercreep]

Reid will be sticking with Animagus Studies. I have no reason for him to leave besides to free up a spot for someone else, and I can't really justify it IC. It's keeping his GPA up.

Calvin will be heading into Pre-Healer studies because Quinn and Ravi were really nice to him and inspired him. :'(

Kenzie is switching from Divination to Music ???? because... she never had the Sight and everyone knew it. She does have some pipes, though. I don't really want to take a spot in music from someone since it's not her PASSION so we'll see.

Ehhhhhhhh I don't know if my new boys will end up in Advanced Studies or not. TBD. My lack of strong feelings suggests they won't.

Freshsoph needs to get into Muggle Tech because he's a pureblood whose sole experience with cell phones was stealing someone's last year and taking it apart to see how it worked. He did not learn anything useful, just that it's full of smaller pieces of plastic and metal??? What the hell???

Re: PLOTTING

[neattrick]

my hopes are

Ari is taking muggle tech studies. BEGINNER LEVEL!
Todd might go into animagus studies but this is the one I have the least energy on so if it's looking overbooked I might skip it
Freshsoph will be in music!

and my beloved juniorolds will continue to be non advanced study under-achievers

Lyss and some garbage

[ferdie]

Ferdie is actually going to be Very Into his Divination studies next year thanks to his endgame predictive headaches! so he's staying in that for sure.

Addy...ok quite frankly I did not put Addy in enough classes originally and I was trying for comical but now I'm not laughing. But I think she will probably try for Muggle Tech to help her learn technology to help her in her business! To help Entrepreneur Addy fully emerge at the end of this year! This could work!

Jade REVISING because I made this choice when I went to get wine 3 seconds ago. NO ADVANCED STUDIES FOR HER because her strengths lie in stage acting not really singing anyway, and I don't think she'd want to dedicate an entire block of her life to that. So she'll be focusing on on the classes she has already and that is ENOUGH frankly.

marin finally posting to one of these things

[threatens]

Iliya is staying in Music because music is literally the only reason he goes to this school. That and FRIENDSHIP i guess

Micah is headed to Muggle Tech because he wants to go to muggle university. :( and see if he's allowed to torrent movies on the school connection lmao PROBABLY NOT

Sy miiight go into Occlumency depending on whether or not I feel like I can sufficiently justify it. :( He'll be way behind everyone else in the class though.

And my freshsoph is tentatively slated for Divination but we'll see!

OTHER CHATTER/REACTIONS

[goosemods]

Re: OTHER CHATTER/REACTIONS

[knightly]

thanks to meggie for being a mod while i lie dead on the floor