Mary Brooding-Hawthorne

March 27, 2020 1:19 PM
The second and last trip to Tumbleweed for the term was upon them. The weather was perfect for such a trip, and the bustling about the mansion provided a sort of eager energy that lingered in the air and made everything seem that much more exciting. Since there was no Quidditch match this time, students had a little more flexibility in how they spent their time. This had been done intentionally in case any of them wished to purchase anything for the Ball, just a few weeks ahead, or if they simply needed a break from studying. It wasn’t a mandatory trip – it couldn’t be since consent forms were required from parents and guardians – but it was strongly encouraged for those who were allowed to go.

Staff was assigned different areas of the town to monitor, as they had the last time, and students were expected to stay in groups of two or more, and to check in with a staff member before moving between areas in the town. There was enough flexibility built into that schedule that staff members could also enjoy the trip during their breaks, and that they could be available for students who may want to talk more privately than while they were on duty. Since travel in and out of Tumbleweed was only possible from designated travel points, there was little concern over anyone being able to sneak out or else sneak in. Still, staff would be positioned there as well.

Mary gave the temperature report this time, as she had volunteered to take over some of the coordination of the trip from Selina. It was good to have something to do and something to keep her mind busy. As they had last time, they would be leaving for Tumbleweed after lunch and students could choose to get there either by Floo or by magicked car-like thing. Mary thought it wasn’t very much like a car because the extent of her experiences with the Muggle transportation could be described as “cramped” but that was not important. Student comfort was the priority and if students were more comfortable in a magically expanded, self-driving car thing, then that was just as well.

Mary chose the Floo option and arrived with the students who had done the same. She helped sort of herd them while they waited for the other half of the students to arrive and everyone could pair up. Last time, having students go in pairs or groups seemed to work just fine, and the system of having students check in with staff before switching or leaving an area was not too difficult considering the saturation of staff around town.

Tumbleweed was less boisterous than it had been last time, as the residents – ghosts and otherwise – were less interested in coming to see students shop and eat ice cream than they were in coming to see a flight exhibit. Still, it was clear that the town was expecting a big day for businesses as every single one of them was opened and eager. The main area, with the most touristy shops and a saloon, was seeming a bit more reflective of everyday life in Tumbleweed now. Ghosts went about their reenactments still, but they also went about their errands. Many of them did work as actors in the street performances, or in the more historical performances within theatres and museums, so life in Tumbleweed was never quite as “everyday” as everyday life in other towns. Still, this was an unusual day for students, and some of them would undoubtedly be interested in the dress and robe shops available there.

The sports pitch was empty today, except a few odd groups of folks who would make their way there to practice Quidditch, soccer, or whatever other sport had caught their interest, magical or Muggle. The number of vendors around the pitch was massively reduced today and it was too large an area for staff to monitor effectively so it was closed off to students this time around.

The Town Hall was open again, though, with walking tours leaving every half hour or so, and various other civic sources of entertainment available within. Brochures advertising the various historical sites, scavenger hunts, and other attractions were available inside, as well as a map which would help students navigate the town. The area immediately surrounding Town Hall was the most historical, which always made it a popular draw for some students.

Finally, there was the pop up market. Previously, vendors and booths had set up at the sports pitch. With no real event happening this time, they had set themselves up in a Saturday Market type formation in an open area near Town Hall. More of them were selling fruit and snacks than novelty items, but both were available. Booths were set up in rows and winding through them all could take an hour or more on its own. Ghosts and other residents meandered through, so the conversations and negotiations there were boisterous, not unlike the students themselves.


OOC – Welcome to Tumbleweed! We are hosting this on the gardens as we are still working on an ‘out of school’ space. The trip takes place over several hours so your character is certainly free to explore more than one location in that time. There are limits to how badly wrong the staff would let anything go, so if you’re thinking of causing trouble or getting into any, please run it by us.
Great big thank you to Selina and other authors who have been around to help with Tumbleweed and this post. And also because I mostly borrowed this OOC and parts of the text from the fabulous Selina Skies.
Subthreads:

Main Street

Town Hall

Saturday Market
22 Mary Brooding-Hawthorne Tumbleweed Trip 1424 1 5

Parker Fitzgerald

April 08, 2020 4:03 PM
The last time Parker had gone to Tumbleweed he was in full sports mode, which meant he was fairly focused on what was in front of him and the event itself. He hadn’t actually had time to explore, or hadn’t remembered it afterwards if he had. But he did remember some of the ghosts floating by and staring, and Lyssa had enjoyed walking through the townhall so much that she talked about it all the time during break. So when another trip to Tumbleweed was called, Parker jumped at the chance. Luckily, his mom had signed the waivers before so Lyssa could go and Parker could “play sports” as his mom called it.

Maybe there would be a girl he could get to meet before the Ball or if not that, something fun to distract him from not having Quidditch. Either way, Parker was excited to jump into this adventure and hoped that at least someone he knew, besides his sister, would join him.

He had woken up early to exercise and get ready before breakfast the day of. Making sure his hair looked nice, but also like he hadn’t spent a lot of effort on it, he had spent longer than usual in the bathroom and felt like he looked great. He wanted to look his best. He didn’t know what might happen and he wanted to make a good first or possibly second impression, if he’d met someone before when he was more… focused. Before he left his room he gave his cactus a bit of water and smiled as the little guy waved.

Parker had decided this time to take the Floo. He’d not taken one before as most of his travel was for Quidditch or going home. Using the Floo though was what normal wizards seemed to do, and if he was going to fully embrace this world once and for all, he might as well step into it. His stomach, upon arrival, disagreed with this notion and emptied its contents on the ground right outside the arrival point.

“I’m so sorry,” he said as he rushed outside holding up his hand to his mouth. He could feel his cheeks burn from embarrassment and his ab muscles working to help him equalize as he took deep breaths.

So much for looking good, was all Parker could think as he leaned against the wall next to the floo building.

As he regained his composure he ran his tongue across his teeth and decided he needed to buy toothbrush and toothpaste or chewing gum. Before he could do that though, he took one more deep breath of fresh air and headed back in looking for something to help clean up inside with.
41 Parker Fitzgerald Looking Good for my first Floo 1402 0 5

Beau Tate

April 10, 2020 12:31 PM
Beau was unsure what he was going to do today in Tumbleweed.Last time he'd gone off to the pitch to play with some of the games and stuff that had been there as even though Beau was not into playing Quidditch for the school team and having to submit to rules and practices, he still thought some of that stuff was fun. Like the climbing wall and the ropes course. However, the pitch would be closed to them today and he was not that into shopping,which was for girls,or museums, which were for nerds.

He supposed he could have stayed back and hung out in MARS or something, but the Pecari was not about to give up a chance to get off campus. Sometimes, a person just needed to get out. Beau would say that he was looking forward to the summer break, and doing what he wanted all the time, but then he remembered his sister was getting married and that she was likely to be more awful than usual. It was going to be all about Arianna.

On the plus side, maybe that would be good since Beau was not expecting to do more than adequate on his CATS. He knew he was supposed to be studying more but he just plain couldn't. He felt he could do fine on the practical but the theoretical side of magic bored him to tears. (Not literal tears, of course, that would be wimpy. He was a man and men didn't cry.) Who cared how magic worked? Honestly, breaking it down to some boring thing made it all the less special to have. And Beau had always believed having magic was better than not as well as in his own specialness.

Still, he would be happy to be spared any lectures about not trying his best or anything. Because, unlike Arianna, his parents did not believe he was stupid-and they were right but even any desire to prove his sister wrong did not stand up in the face of the boring-ness of Transfiguration theory.

Beau flooed into Tumbleweed without any mishaps. He had grown up with magic and was thus experienced with floo riding. He could not, however, say the same for Parker Fitzgerald who had no sooner arrived than he proceeded to ditch his entire stomach contents. Beau jumped back as he did not want to get his shoes full of vomit. After all, these were expensive shoes and he did not need them ruined. He looked down and checked to make sure they were puke-free and was relieved to see that they were clean.

Of course, the right thing to do was to see if the other boy was okay. Even though the fifth year was shallow and vain, he was not lacking in compassion, considering the vomit had missed his shoes. Besides, Beau needed someone to hang out with today anyway. He followed the older Pecari into the floo building. "Are you all right?" He asked. If Parker was sick and needed to go back to school, he might have to find another companion.
11 Beau Tate Yeah, vomit is so attractive 1416 0 5

Parker Fitzgerald

April 11, 2020 9:56 AM
As Parker came in to clean up a bit of his vomit he was startled by a voice. It was Beau, who Parker new from the Quidditch team. After catching his breath a bit he nodded his head.

“Hey. Ya, I’m fine. Still not 100% used to being a Wizard I guess. Either that or I ate something bad at breakfast.”

Parker turned to face Beau quickly looking him over “You’re free and clear ya?”

Parker wanted to make sure he hadn’t gotten any on Beau, cause though they were both on the same team, Beau seemed like the stereotype jock character in Muggle movies. Worried about his masculinity, needing to prove himself without showing he was trying, while also more than just a whiff of entitlement. So, Parker imagined, this might actually want to fight. Still, the boy had come back to check on him, so he wasn’t all bad.

Parker turned back around and waved his wand, “'Scourgify.” And suddenly the vomit was no more. More importantly though, the smell had dissipated as well.

“So damn helpful that spell,” Parker said, putting his wand back into his jacket. He’d learnt it in his third year and used it so often that he probably did it in his dream. Usually to get mud and dirt off of his clothes or objects. Still, he wondered where it all went. Especially now as his vomit poofed away into nothingness.

He looked over at Beau standing there. “You need a partner, partner?” Parker asked, putting on a fake western accent and hoping that Westerns were a thing. Either way, Parker thought, he’ll either laugh and be my partner for the day or decide not to be my partner and I’ll just find someone else.

“If so, let's mozy on over to a place I can get some chewing gum.”
41 Parker Fitzgerald But so easy to clean 1402 0 5

Beau Tate

April 12, 2020 2:40 PM
"Oh, well that's good then." Beau replied. He meant it too.The fifth year really did not wish people pain and misery and sickness. Well, except maybe his sister to a degree but she was generally a terrible person. There were times that she had made him miserable and he tended to respond in kind. People said that when they got older they'd stop hating each other the way Mother tolerated Aunt Nina and Uncle Adam now and vice versa. Sort of an absence made the heart grow fonder thing.....in that fonder meant going from total hatred to a grudging tolerance of each other.

Beau really did not see this happening with him and Arianna though.

He also did not quite understand how Parker wasn't used to being a wizard by now. For one thing, the older Pecari had technically always been one. For another, well, he was a sixth year, he should have learned magical ways by now. Still, he did sort of understand where Parker was coming from. "Yeah, Floo is not the most pleasant way to travel, but I've been using it all my life so I'm rather used to it now." Magical transportation sort of sucked somewhat but on the plus side, it was efficient.

"Yup, it's all good." Beau replied. He was relieved to see Parker use scourgify. Clearly the elder Pecari had at least picked up something. "Oh yeah, spells just make life so much easier." Not that he knew anything different. To him, living without magic sounded just terrible. Like going back to prehistoric times practically. Without magic, people just spent so much time having to do things like cleaning and looking for things whereas wizards and witches could use charms like Scougify to clean-especially bad things like vomit, if Parker's puke had gotten on his shoes and this was the Muggle world, his shoes would have been ruined and he would have been in a far less generous mood towards the other boy-or Accio to summon lost items to you. Of course, for menial labor, his family just used house-elves.

"I sure do." Beau responded. Parker was as good a partner as any, probably better than some. A fellow Pecari would probably have similar ideas of fun. "And that sounds like a good idea." He could not imagine going around all day with barf breath. "Maybe the candy store sells some?" A candy store actually seemed like a fun place to shop as he did like sweets.
11 Beau Tate Isn't magic great? 1416 0 5

Parker Fitzgerald

April 13, 2020 3:13 PM
“Candy store it is then.” Then remembering what his dad used to say to get them all in the car he added, “Let’s hitch 'em up and move ‘em out.”

As they walked through the dusty street Parker looked around at the other students going about their business. Many looking to get ready for the ball and it struck Parker that Beau might be of some use for a problem Parker was having. Mainly, he was realizing that others might know something that he didn’t in terms of getting a date. Parker looked over at Beau and scrunched his mouth up as he thought. Ya, Beau may be many things, but he probably had enough wits about him to be able to answer some questions if broached subtly.

“Hey Beau,” Parker said turning to his partner for the day, “I wanna ask you something and it’s mainly because the only person I have to ask is my sister, who is… well my sister.”

Parker was trying to figure out how to ask and had already killed the subtlety of it all. So he might as well ask straight ahead.

“Look you seem good with the ladies,” Parker lied. He honestly had no idea how Beau did with the ladies (and assumed that even if he liked men he'd hide it behind a player personality), but he also figured flattery might get him an answer he could use.

“How do you do it? How do you get someone to go on a date with you? I can't put a spell on them ... or I guess I'd like a different way to do it.”

Parker was a bit nervous that Beau would say something stupid or laugh at him, and if he did Parker would just ignore it or try to make it into a joke. But you never know, as he always heard his mom say, “Even fools and kids can speak truths.” And Beau seemed a bit of both, so maybe he had some truths.
41 Parker Fitzgerald It is, but it does lessen my favorite adjective 1402 0 5

Beau Tate

April 17, 2020 1:18 PM
"Awesome." Beau replied. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Parker seemed to be getting really into this Old West thing which was quite dorky, something that Pecaris generally weren't supposed to be. Pecaris were supposed to be the cool kids. However, the fifth year didn't want Parker to decide not to partner with him and have to go find someone else to hang out with.

Also, being rude to the older boy for his dorkiness was what Arianna would do and Beau wanted to make an effort not to be like his sister. "Ever been to magical candy store before? Like some of the sweets have interesting effects."

He was admittedly surprised when Parker said he had a question to ask him. "All right"

Beau beamed when Parker said he seemed good with the ladies. That was fairly true, whether or not the sixth year actually knew it to be. There weren't a lot of options here and most of the proper pureblood girls were related to him somehow, but outside of his school, Beau certainly had his pick.

Still, even though Parker had zero way of knowing that, Beau did his best to project that image. He was glad to see that he'd been successful.

However, the fact that Parker was asking for his advice seemed...well, it wasn't something that happened much, to be honest. Even though Beau couldn't fathom why not. "Well, first of all, you have to be confident." The fifth year told the older boy. "Looking good also helps. " He could see that the older boy had put some effort into his appearance today. "But don't look like you care too much or are trying too hard. And no matter what, do not beg or look otherwise undignified." Dignity was very important in the fifth year's world. "No girl is worth that." He thought of his future brother-in-law who seemed dignified on the surface, but to be with Arianna, obviously he must have given that up. "The sort who'll make you give that up is the sort you want to stay away from."

"And technically, you could dose them with love potion, but I would not recommend it. I mean, wouldn't you rather have them...want to go with you because they wanted to not because you drugged them?" Beau was personally much too proud to use love potions and besides, he didn't think he needed them. It was enough that he was good looking, rich and important.
11 Beau Tate Which is? 1416 0 5

Parker Fitzgerald

April 17, 2020 2:28 PM
Parker was hiding his surprised face well, but he was still surprised because Beau had given him some solid advice. Like roundly solid advice. It seemed to be coming from pride, but he had solid advice.

Confidence. Looking good. Don’t beg. Don’t drug people. The last part was a bit sad that anyone had to say, but Parker hadn’t even thought about love potions and how they were real. He wondered if love potions would actually work with Cleo, her being half-veela. Parker actually wondered if one took an antidote for love potions if the veela thing would still work. He’d have to look that up when he got back to school.

“Thanks man that’s really helpful. I don’t have the example of high end parties like you do and there are markedly few students at this school that I’d feel comfortable even asking out, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. So I do appreciate it.”

Parker kept walking a bit down the dirt path towards the candy story fingering his money in his pocket. One of the odder parts of being a wizard was that Parker had gotten surprisingly good at quick math because he was constantly converting things from Muggle to Wizarding, be it money, amounts or sometimes whole words.

“Now, I may not have been to any of the high end Wizard parties, but the Wizard candy stores I’ve definitely enjoyed. What’s your go to? It’s on me for the advice.”
41 Parker Fitzgerald Magical. Just has different meaning now. 1402 0 5

Beau Tate

April 19, 2020 3:56 PM
Beau nodded. "You're welcome." Honestly, his advice was simply common sense. Contrary to probably popular belief-or at least contrary to Arianna's beliefs-he was not an idiot. He was capable of logic. Of course, Beau himself tended to portray himself as a cool guy and was in a house not associated with brains. Not that Pecaris were stupid per se-though he sometimes wondered about the fourth years in his house-but usually one associated them with being "cool" while Aladrens were the brainy nerds. Although, Beau's cousin Connor was a nerd too and he was a Crotalus.

He guessed house designations weren't everything. Connor and Arianna were quite different, for example. Even though he was a major nerd, Connor was a good guy. He was kind and helpful to people. He embodied the "down-to-earth" part of the Crotalus description. Meanwhile, his sister was....basically every negative stereotype people had about the house. Which he knew weren't fair to people like Connor or Uncle Adam or Sapphire, his distant cousin whom he'd worked with during the Challenges. Crotali did seem to have the widest variety of personalities. Beau didn't really think his uncle or Sapphire were really like Connor either.

"Yeah, it's weirdly short on girls. My class has like two and then a bunch of boys. Usually it's the other way around." Which sucked. Especially since Sylvia was way too much like Arianna for his tastes. Parker's class was actually pretty even though. Unfortunately, some of those girls wouldn't want to dance with the sixth year Pecari. The only one who might was Jasmine and she was going with Connor's friend Gary, "But you're friends with Cleo, right? Maybe she'd at least dance the opening dance with you since you're both prefects."

Ah, the advantages of not being prefect. He didn't have to do the opening dance and also, less work. Mikey could have it. Of course, if some pureblood girl needed a partner-or if Jasmine had needed one- he'd be willing to help. So long as the girl wasn't a relative, because that would be creepy and start terrible rumors that would reflect poorly on their family.

"Awesome. I am all about the Dragon Claws." Okay, Beau's real favorite was the Fizzy-Wizzies but they had such a silly name that he didn't want to admit it. Dragon Claws were a close second. "Thanks, man."
11 Beau Tate I suppose it would 1416 0 5