I suppose I'd better... on Cascade Hall

Coach Kinsell

January 18, 2019 2:40 PM

Quidditch Sign-ups! by Coach Kinsell

Timothy was back, resuming his old position as Quidditch Coach at Sonora, which he had held briefly four years ago before having to take time off due to ill health. Some of the older students may remember him, although he hadn’t really got to know anyone besides his first year flying class - they would be fifth years now.

Timothy was interested to find that Sonora now had their own school team and played against other schools, rather than having house teams within the school which played against each other. It was a shame that the school could no longer manage to field house teams and Timothy hoped this would change. However, having a school team was arguably more fun for him as it allowed him to take a more involved role as a coach and was probably more helpful for the particularly talented players (who had a potential future in the sport).

Tim was excited to see what talent there was amongst the students this year. Despite being a small school, Sonora had produced a reasonable amount of professional Quidditch players in the past and he hoped that he might get the opportunity to help any students with such ambitions.

The returned Quidditch Coach had written up a simple sign-up sheet and pinned it up on the board in Cascade Hall after the Opening Feast. The heading was in large, bold writing so the students wouldn’t miss it when they got their breakfast the next morning.

Sign up for the School Quidditch Team here!

Tryouts will be held on the Quidditch Pitch this Saturday at noon. All student are welcome to try out for the team.

If you are interested, please write your name, year, house and preferred position below.

Any questions, speak to Coach Kinsell.

Subthreads:

I am signing up! by Winston Pierce

Why am I still here? by Jozua Sparks

Zwei mehr by Hilda and Heinrich Hexenmeister

Beyond ready for this! by Beatriz Couthon

You can count me in. by Luke Powell

For the first time ever... by Isaac Song

Ich kan helfen! by Johana Leonie Zauberhexen

Count me in by Ness McLeod

Keeping interesting company by Jeremy Mordue

I suppose I'd better... by Malikhi Hill

Here we go again! by Evelyn Stones, Pecari

School is not the same without Quidditch. by Lily Spencer

Skating in late. by Simon Mordue

Family loyalty. by Nathaniel Mordue

I've been waiting for this by Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari

8 Coach Kinsell Quidditch Sign-ups! 1445 Coach Kinsell 1 5

Winston Pierce

January 18, 2019 9:35 PM

I am signing up! by Winston Pierce

Winston was up early for the first day of classes. This was mostly due to the fact that the East Coast - where he had spent his summer at home in New Hampshire - was a couple of time zones ahead of Arizona so what felt, to him, like sleeping in, was actually getting up early enough to meet the Cascade Hall as it opened its doors. Plus, it did him no harm at all to be seen as an early-riser and go-getter, ready to face the new year with eager enthusiasm.

An additional perk was that the Quidditch sign-up sheet was already posted, so the early start meant his name could lead the list, which would surely put him in a favorable light.

Winston Pierce, 6th Year, Crotalus, Seeker (or Chaser)

He frowned at the sheet for a moment after adding his name, irritated that there was no mention of team captain this year. He couldn't imagine there wouldn't be one, so presumably it just meant everyone was in the running whereas last year they had to opt in, but neither was it stated that it would be determined by merit rather than seniority.

Well, if it was seniority, it better well go to Lily Spencer and not Jozua Sparks. But it would be best, really, if Winston got it, even if he was a year younger than they were.

1 Winston Pierce I am signing up! 370 Winston Pierce 0 5

Jozua Sparks

January 18, 2019 10:09 PM

Why am I still here? by Jozua Sparks

Quidditch last year wasn't terrible. Well it was, but only because the first string Keeper and the reserve Keeper kept taking Keeper from him during practice matches, which meant he got stuck playing Beater, and he hated playing Beater. And Lily had seemed to love playing at the away games, seeing new schools and sights, and he couldn't go with her on those trips because he'd signed up as a non-competitive player who could fill out practice teams, but didn't want to play matches.

He kind of regretted that after a while. He actually wasn't a terrible Keeper, really. He might have even been better than Tatiana who got first string. He was taller than her at any rate, with better reach. He still wasn't sure he wouldn't freeze in a real game, or hate it more when there was a match that actually mattered to people, where he felt like he was failing his friends, his team, his school, if he let a Quaffle through to score against them, but . . . he didn't think he wanted another year of getting shuffled around to all the worst positions (ie, beater and chaser) when there was really only one he was any good at at all.

So this year, he had a choice. He could sign-up and really play for the Sonora team, or he could quit the team all together.

The latter was kind of tempting. He didn't actually like Quidditch all that much. He'd joined because Teppenpaw had needed bodies when he was a first year. He'd stayed for the same reason until Joe had the dumb idea of making him assistant captain, and then he stayed out of obligation to Joe. Then last year happened, and he'd decided to be a practice-only player so he could hang out with Lily, and . . . well, he'd already gone over how that turned out.

So he almost didn't sign up. There were other things he could do with Lily than sit on a broom and have nothing to do with each other on the pitch because nobody was stupid enough to make him Beat against Lily, and neither were they stupid enough to assign him guarding her either (unless she was Seeker that game) because then all the other Chasers on the team were at risk. Best case scenario, he was Keeper and she was Chaser, which meant either she was successfully keeping him bored, or he and his girlfriend were in direct conflict where one would be a winner and the other a loser for every exchange between them.

On the other hand, he'd been on the Quidditch team for six long years. It felt kind of like abandonment to stop now, in his seventh year, just when he might actually be almost close to competent. And he kind of did want to go on those trips to other schools with Lily.

So there it was. His name on the sign-up sheet. Again. For the last time. For his last year.

Jozua Sparks, 7th Year, Teppenpaw, Keeper

1 Jozua Sparks Why am I still here? 348 Jozua Sparks 0 5

Hilda and Heinrich Hexenmeister

January 18, 2019 10:30 PM

Zwei mehr by Hilda and Heinrich Hexenmeister

"Did you see the Quidditch sign-ups?" Heinrich asked in German over breakfast. It was their first morning together at Sonora, and Hilda had chosen to sit with her brother at the Aladren table in order to ask him about some of the questions she'd collected the previous day and didn't know who else to go to with them who might be able to provide answers in a language she could understand. Some were as simple as 'what does this word mean?' while others were more complicated like 'What does my schedule say and how to I get to each of my classes?'

Heinrich had already answered most of those and added German notations to her map, schedule, and school rules for her to reference as needed later. Now they were just eating and chatting together.

"What? Where?"

"That bulletin board," Heinrich said, pointing it out. "Are you going to join? Do you need me to read it to you?"

"Of course I'm joining!" she declared, baffled that this was even a question. Though his offer to read the sign-up sheet did raise a concern. Who was going to translate for her during practice? Practice wasn't like class. She couldn't spend most of the period flipping back and forth through a German-English dictionary. Her eyes narrowed at him. "You should join, too."

"What? No."

"Heinrich please. Just this year. Until I learn enough English to get through practice without help."

Heinrich groaned and slumped a little bit in his seat. Hilda smiled. Yes. That was defeat in her brother's entire bearing. He was going to do it.

Later, when they left the Hall, two more names adorned the sign-up sheet, both penned in the same neat hand:

Hilda Hexenmeister, Year 1, Pecari, Beater
Heinrich Hexenmeister, Year 3, Aladren, Chaser

1 Hilda and Heinrich Hexenmeister Zwei mehr 1414 Hilda and Heinrich Hexenmeister 0 5

Beatriz Couthon

January 18, 2019 10:46 PM

Beyond ready for this! by Beatriz Couthon

Beatriz couldn’t wait for the Quidditch tryouts and she spotted the sign-up sheet straight away as she entered Cascade Hall for breakfast. Immediately she was scrambling for a quill, eager to get her name inked onto the list.

Beatriz Couthon, 1st year, Pecari, Chaser

She knew that the Chaser position tended to be pretty popular, but there were three spots to fill so in that sense it was less competitive. Beatriz wasn’t worried about the tryouts and fancied her chances. She doubted there were many other students who had dedicated as many hours to honing their Quidditch skills as she had. It was a small school after all - how many of them were likely to be future Quidditch stars? Admittedly at this point in time Beatriz couldn’t actually know whether she would become a future world star but she knew from competing with her team back at home that she was good, and she would do anything it took to achieve her Quidditch dreams.

Beatriz couldn’t wait to get down to the Quidditch pitch for the tryouts and show off her talents but what she really had to look forward to were the matches. Although it was a shame that there weren’t going to be house teams, she was excited at the idea of playing other schools and this likely meant there would be a higher standard of playing. There was no way she wasn’t getting on the team, even if this narrowed her chances. Not getting on the school team would be very disappointing and something that had the potential to make her transfer to her brother’s school in Québec. It might seem an extreme reaction but even at the young age of eleven, Beatriz knew that Quidditch was her future and there was no way she was going to achieve that if she only got to play in the holidays. Obviously she trained regularly by herself but to really make improvements she needed others to practise with and play against.

8 Beatriz Couthon Beyond ready for this! 1437 Beatriz Couthon 0 5

Luke Powell

January 18, 2019 10:55 PM

You can count me in. by Luke Powell

Surfing was Luke’s passion, first and foremost, but he was an athletic boy and liked a lot of sports. Since joining the Pecari Quidditch team in first year, his natural flying skills had improved even more and he had missed not playing in more recent years. It was a shame that Sonora seemed to struggle to find enough interest from all houses to make four full teams every year but Luke understood it wasn’t the biggest school and it was odd that they didn’t play Quodpot, which had always seemed a lot more popular in his neck of the woods.

He didn’t have much longer left at the school now that he was entering his sixth year so Luke hoped that he could make the cut for the school team in the Beater position, which he had always preferred to his old position as Keeper anyway. It would be a good way to let off steam as he studied, or struggled to study, for his “oh-so-important” RATS. When one dreamt of becoming a professional surfer, RATS exams were really not all that important but, as always, he wanted to make his mother proud. Luke knew that once he left Sonora it would be unlikely that he got to play Quidditch properly again so if they could get a good team together that would be good.

He spotted the sign-up sheet pinned up on the noticeboard when he went for his first Sonora breakfast of the year and signed his name up. He was likely to be one of the older players on the team now, which was an odd thought, so with his age (and therefore strength and size) and skill, he was confident that he’d suit his favoured position well.

Luke Powell, 6th year, Pecari, Beater

8 Luke Powell You can count me in. 374 Luke Powell 0 5

Isaac Song

January 18, 2019 11:19 PM

For the first time ever... by Isaac Song

For a long time, Isaac had avoided the Quidditch signups. Even though he liked sports, playing Quidditch had always intimidated him. He loved going to games and watching other people play, but he wasn't so confident in his own flying abilities. It wasn't like any of his family members really cared about whether or not he joined the Quidditch team anyway. Lauren and Maia had never played Quidditch, at least on a real team, and his parents didn't play it either. According to his family, he was on the right track.

But regardless, every year Isaac told himself that he'd sign up and try out when he was older and better at flying.

Now he was his sixth year, and this was his last chance to finally do it. Next year was still up in the air, so to speak, since he'd be crazy busy with RATS and all of his advanced classes. At least right now he didn't have to worry too much about those exams yet. It would be cool to be a part of the Pecari team too and provide another body for the field... or the bench.

Honestly, he wouldn't be too disappointed with either option as long as he got to practice with them and stay in shape.

On his way to breakfast, he saw the sign-up sheet and had a quill ready for it. This year he'd do something that made him nervous, and Isaac sure hoped he got good at it without injuring himself. It was weird to see his name their in ink afterwards, and made his stomach knot up. He couldn't tell if he was more excited or more nervous that he was actually doing it.

Isaac Song, 6th year, Pecari, Keeper

19 Isaac Song For the first time ever... 375 Isaac Song 0 5

Johana Leonie Zauberhexen

January 19, 2019 1:56 AM

Ich kan helfen! by Johana Leonie Zauberhexen

Johana Leonie was not particularly comfortable with the idea of playing Quidditch at Sonora. While she'd spent plenty of time on a broom at home, she had never played any organized sport and doubted this was the time to give it a shot. Instead, she'd approached the coach privately and stumbled through a conversation with him.

That aside, she'd gone to all her available resources. Bugging Hilda, Heinrich, and multiple books to figure out what she needed to do exactly, Johana Leonie was finally ready to add her name to the sign-ups. The fact that the Hexenmeisters were also on the sign-ups made her more comfortable and she just hoped she wouldn't screw up her opportunity to get involved superficially.

Standing in front of the sign-ups longer than she really needed to to get the job done, Johana Leonie was aware of the fact that she was stalling. She was usually pretty willing to try new things, but this was different. This was . . . good. It was easy. Nothing had been easy since coming to Sonora, and she doubted it could be so simple.

With a sigh, she resigned herself to finding out the hard way.

Johana Leonie Zauberhexen, 1, Teppenpaw, Helper

22 Johana Leonie Zauberhexen Ich kan helfen! 1432 Johana Leonie Zauberhexen 0 5

Ness McLeod

January 20, 2019 1:48 AM

Count me in by Ness McLeod

Ness was excited for the start of Quidditch again. It was usually possible to get some kind of practise over the summer - both the more informal side of things and being packed off to holiday activities whilst their parents worked which usually included a fair amount of Quidditch stuff. But school with its real games and real team was way better, especially as Evelyn was on the team too. Sure, it also included That Inconvenient Boy and Those Horrid Crotali, but even they were not enough to dampen Ness’ spirits. They all had to at least be moderately civil and pretend they were willing to talk to the second year Aladren because they were supposed to be a team.

It was disappointing that Coach Reilly was gone. Ness had liked her, and she had been good, and it had been nice to have a female Quidditch coach. Still, Ness had an inherent faith in the school system and could not imagine them hiring anyone bad, and Ness thought the name Coach Kinsell even rang a bell, though what bell or why, the second year couldn’t be sure of.

The first morning of the sign up sheet appearing in the hall, Ness’ name was on it.

Ness McLeod, 2nd year Aladren, Beater/Chaser.

13 Ness McLeod Count me in 1419 Ness McLeod 0 5

Jeremy Mordue

January 20, 2019 3:33 AM

Keeping interesting company by Jeremy Mordue

(CW - misogyny and body shaming. Jeremy is awful)

IC
Jeremy surveyed the Quidditch sign ups with interest. He had (at his own insistence) had detailed reports from Nathaniel and Simon about the subject of Sonora’s Quidditch team and its various players, in order to know as much as possible about them from a tactical point of view both in the sports and the social sense.

His cousin and brother had, of course, been quick to point out the undesirables on the team whom he should avoid. However, there were a number of names on the list he didn’t know. Luke Powell and Isaac Song had not been mentioned previously, though both were Pecari, which said rather a lot about them. There were also a number of his fellow first years signed up. Annoyingly, all girls. Jeremy was a generation too young to care at all about the notion of girls in Quidditch from any allegedly political standpoint. However, his main exposure to the female of the species was via his mother, his Aunt Avery, and his cousin Sylvia - all highly decorative women, and two out of three of whom he harboured something of a grudge against; mother for being terrible enough to drive father away and for playing favourites with Nathaniel, and Sylvia for always taking his brother away and for virtually ignoring him. In his opinion, girls were good for doing all the things that he, as a man, was going to be too busy and important to do. House stuff. Girl stuff. He didn’t really want them cluttering up his Quidditch Pitch. He was amused to see one of them had also put herself down at Beater, when everyone knew that boys were stronger. That said, he recalled a rather hefty girl at orientation. He supposed if she’d been cursed with misfortune of a porcine face and a body to match, perhaps the best she could do was make good use of it. It wasn’t like she probably had that many prospects otherwise.

Still, in spite of the presence of undesirables and girls, there was no way that Jeremy would be missing out on Quidditch. He added his details to the list.

Jeremy Mordue, first year, Crotalus, Seeker.

13 Jeremy Mordue Keeping interesting company 1443 Jeremy Mordue 0 5

Malikhi Hill

January 24, 2019 10:27 AM

I suppose I'd better... by Malikhi Hill

Malikhi stood and stared at the sign-up sheet for a long time before even making a move towards making a mark on it. He didn't feel anything. Not about the sport or signing up and he didn't feel any flicker of anticipation that he could make the team. It was a very odd feeling, considering that whenever he had thought about Quidditch in the past, the thoughts had been accompanied with an uncontrollable excitement.

He was a good Quidditch player. Or, at least, he had been. The last time he had gotten on a broom had been here at Sonora. He hadn't even bothered attempting to fly over the summer. What was the point? His number one fan, his father, was no longer there to see him fly. It had been the one part of the wizarding world that Malikhi and his father had been able to share a love for - the sport. It was the one thing that didn't require a wand or funny incantations or any kind of understanding of magic. All his father had needed to know were the rules. That connection was gone, lost forever.

Malikhi felt his eyes beginning to sting, the telltale sign of tears threatening to spill and trail down his cheeks. He bit his lip. He didn't want to cry in front of the sign up sheet in Cascade Hall in the middle of broad daylight. That would be a surefire way to be branded as a nutter. He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself.

After another long look at the sign up sheet and another internal debate, Malikhi sniffed and pulled a quill from his bag. There was another moment's hesitation before he scribbled:

Malikhi Hill, second year Pecari, Chaser

He took a step back and took one final look at the page.

I'm only doing this for you, Dad...

20 Malikhi Hill I suppose I'd better... 1423 Malikhi Hill 0 5

Evelyn Stones, Pecari

January 28, 2019 12:33 AM

Here we go again! by Evelyn Stones, Pecari

Evelyn waited until she was sure that both Ness and Malikhi had signed up before signing up herself. She knew she needed to be ready to support either or both of her friends and wanted to make sure there was a proper serving of adventure to go with that. When both the Aladren and her fellow Pecari had signed up for Quidditch, Evelyn took it in stride to do the same.

She considered her experiences last year and the signups of her friends before picking a position. She hadn't particularly enjoyed chaser, there was too much cooperation and thinking involved, but she also hadn't minded. Her tryout had actually been for seeker, a position which she hadn't gotten, and that left her mouth feeling sour. Still, it wasn't bad to try. Seeker would also keep her eyes off Malikhi's sad face and give them something to talk about after practices or games since they wouldn't be doing the same thing.

Although she had grown a fair amount over the summer, she was still small for her age, and thought she might have a fair shot at it with the weight of doom off her shoulders. With all this in mind, she added her name to the signups.

Evelyn Stones, 2nd year, Pecari, Seeker

22 Evelyn Stones, Pecari Here we go again! 1422 Evelyn Stones, Pecari 0 5

Lily Spencer

January 29, 2019 3:50 PM

School is not the same without Quidditch. by Lily Spencer

There were a lot of feelings going on with Lily these days. Coming back to Sonora had been difficult for her this year. Her beloved retriever, Tod, had died this past summer from old age. She had cried for weeks and had kept to her room for almost a month hardly eating and without seeing anyone but her siblings. She and Tod had always been inseparable; there wasn't a single moment in her childhood without him. Now, everything seemed meaningless, even school. She hadn't even been at home when he'd died.

Her siblings and Freddie had helped her readjust to life without Tod, but Lily's motivation to do well in school had dwindled greatly. It was her last year, but she didn't know what she wanted to do afterwards. She hadn't thought about it all summer, and now she'd resolved not to think about it until school was completely finished. She'd never been one to think too far ahead anyhow, especially when she had heavy feelings to process at the present moment.

Lily wasn't crying at random moments during the day anymore, to say the least, but her lack of focus had made her miss the Quidditch signup sheet for at least a week. When she finally noticed, loads of people had already signed up. Quidditch would be a brilliant distraction for her, and she put her name down quickly. She remembered Coach Kinsell, however vaguely, and was glad they wouldn't have an entirely new coach for her last year of school. This would be something to look forward to, she hoped, if Pecari and the other houses could form adequate teams to play against each other. She felt a bit better seeing her name there, even a little hungrier now that she knew she needed to rebuild her stamina for the sport.

Luckily, she'd dodged the honour of Head Girl, but she desperately hoped she wouldn't be passed over for Captain.

Lily Spencer, 6th year, Pecari, Chaser

40 Lily Spencer School is not the same without Quidditch. 357 Lily Spencer 0 5

Simon Mordue

February 10, 2019 9:08 PM

Skating in late. by Simon Mordue

Simon was not a particularly talented Quidditch player, in the broad view of things. He did not see a future for himself in the sport, and thought he would have been unlikely to pursue one even if he had had the requisite skill set. There was nothing inherently wrong with doing that as a job, of course, some perfectly respectable people did, but it seemed beneath the dignity of the heir to the Mordue family. It would be a very long time – hopefully a very, very long time indeed – before that meant anything, on a practical level, for Simon’s life, but it still informed everything, especially since the Incident with Uncle Nicky. The scandal had faded, of course, but it was still something that could so easily be revived if any one of them made one wrong move. It had not been that long.

Despite the likely lack of relevance to his life, however, Simon still felt obliged to sign up for Quidditch. This had nothing to do with his cousin Jeremy, who was a talented Seeker and might have some kind of future with the sport, and everything to do with his roommate. Anything Winston could do, Simon could do at least as well. It was how their relationship had remained perfectly cordial for five years and counting. Upsetting a system which worked so well was not in Simon’s nature. It seemed, in fact, frankly irresponsible. So he signed up.

Simon Mordue, Sixth Year, Chaser or Beater

16 Simon Mordue Skating in late. 369 Simon Mordue 0 5

Nathaniel Mordue

February 10, 2019 10:25 PM

Family loyalty. by Nathaniel Mordue

The more he played it, the more Nathaniel thought that he didn’t really, if he was to be honest, enjoy Quidditch all that much, at least in the long game, competitive, season-consuming form. It was one more thing to do, one where he had little chance of distinguishing himself but had to try, because… his cousin had been a captain? He wanted to be a captain someday, or at least to have a chance for the prestige? Because it was just what proper young men did? He had joined in the first place because he had been asked and had been too polite to refuse. He was not sure exactly how that had him coming along to the sign-up sheet now.

However, his cousin and his brother were both on the list, and that was important. The second part was more important than the first part, but Simon was important too. His cousin was going to be head of the family someday and as the older of Simon’s two cousins, it would be Nate’s responsibility to be Simon’s right-hand man, since Simon didn’t have a brother. Having a Sylvia was just as good as having a brother, of course (or even, a part of him he felt guilty about having thought sometimes, even better than having a brother), but Sylvia would get married someday and have other things to do, which would leave it up to Nathaniel to step up to the role.

None of this, of course, really meant much in terms of the Quidditch team, but this did not really occur to him. It was something where Simon was important and therefore Nathaniel was obliged to support it. End of story.

Nathaniel Mordue, Third Year, Teppenpaw, Keeper

16 Nathaniel Mordue Family loyalty. 1412 Nathaniel Mordue 0 5

Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari

February 11, 2019 1:03 PM

I've been waiting for this by Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari

It had been a long summer. One in which he’d found he was growing for the first time in what seemed like a long time. It was also one that found him more uncomfortable being at home, but mainly because it seemed his parents were more uncomfortable with him being there. Or maybe he’d just imagined it.

So he’d found himself more and more working out in some fashion. His brother was surprisingly helpful in this. It seemed like his brother could see Parker’s weaknesses, and instead of exploiting them like he’d done before, he would help Parker improve. It felt weird to have that. He couldn’t remember what it felt like to have an older brother really, but he appreciated the help.

Still, he was always in his head, and part of that was because he couldn’t fly.

He assumed at least that he couldn’t fly. So when he saw the Quidditch signups on the wall he raced towards them. He was momentarily halted by the new coaches name. It seemed to him every year he’d been there something new was happening with Quidditch. Still, he could feel the need to get out and do something more than he’d literally ever felt before.

Had the quill hovering over the parchment for a while.
He could get the first three parts. His name, his year, and the fact that he was a Pecari. It was more a question of what position he wanted to play.
He remembered being reserve beater last year. He felt he’d been good in practice, though rarely played. Still it seemed to him that he wanted be a chaser. There was something exhilarating about it.
Then again, he’d not been able to practice on a broom all summer so he knew he’d not be as good as some of the other students. Still, maybe he could be?

Parker Fitzgerald
Year 4
Pecari
Chaser

He stood back looking at the other people who’d signed up. This was hopefully going to be a good year. He turned around to try to find Cleo and congratulate her.

41 Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari I've been waiting for this 1402 Parker Fitzgerald, Pecari 0 5