Valentine Duell
March 29, 2021 6:53 PM
Games of all sorts [Ness] by Valentine Duell
The weather was terrible, so it looked like it was going to be another MARS training day. That was fine, MARS was good for training. Valentine didn't have to worry about excessive wind gusts if she didn't want to. She knew she needed to learn to deal with them, but for now she was still focused on figuring out how best to get her broom to go the direction she wanted it to without external forces acting upon it.She arrived and found her training buddy already here. After last year's 'incident' Mama had made her promise not to do any extra Quidditch practicing alone. On the plus side, she had an excellent excuse to hang out with people! On the down side, she couldn't just take ten minutes here and there where she could find them to do some quick work-outs. Things needed to be scheduled and planned out. Scheduling was beginning to become her nemesis. She still wasn't sure what she was going to do with her clubs, but things weren't looking promising. Oh! This would work out, she could talk to Ness.
Valentine greeted her training buddy as cheerily as always, "Hi Ness! Thanks again for helping me with this, you are the best!" As she walked into the MARS sports room she noticed it looked a lot like it had the first time she'd met Ness. That made her smile more, it'd been two years ago now and had been her introduction to the gaming group and gotten her in good with the Quidditch team as well! Ness was awesome.
"Before we get started, there was something I wanted to ask you." Val hesitated a moment trying to figure out the best way of asking her question without sounding... silly? "I... I was thinking about applying for the gaming club thing. I'm just..." she paused again and twisted her face around a little trying to figure out the best words. "I have a lot of things I'm doing, I think I'd like to do it," then added quickly, "If no one else has their heart set on it. But, I'm not sure what all the job entails?" She ended that as a definite question for the older student. "How much time does presidenting take?"
OOC: Marissa actions approved by her author. Ness training buddy approval from their author.
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Valentine Duell
Games of all sorts [Ness]
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Ness McLeod
April 01, 2021 3:38 AM
Are we about to break out the chequers? by Ness McLeod
Ness headed over to MARS, trying not to feel too nervous. Whenever Ness and Val practised together, Ness was the responsible older student who was meant to make sure Val stayed safe and unsplatted. That had always seemed like a very hypothetical responsibility, until Val had gone splat last year. Luckily, not whilst under Ness' watch. Ness knew that was a horrible way to think about it because obviously it was, in general, better to splat yourself in front of someone so they could go get help. Still, Ness was glad to have not been that someone, and to not have to feel responsible for the incident.Val had been thrown off by one of the memories appearing very suddenly. Whilst Ness understood that that was surprising, Quidditch was full of surprises. Being surprised by things and not dying was kind of Quidditch 101. Given that Val constantly told everyone everything, the idea that there might have been more to it than that hadn't really occurred to Ness, especially as when scanning the poster, the memory under which Val's name had appeared had looked thoroughly innocuous - just some birds.
It was just one splat in a long history of not going splat. Maybe it had taught Val to be more cautious. Ness repeated these mantras a few times on the way to MARS.
"No worries," Ness grinned, whilst worrying some, offering Val a cheerful fist bump. Val was weird, and so many things that Ness just wasn't. She sometimes made Ness feel cynical, or old, or anti-social, but then she would look up to Ness like the Aladren was super awesome. It was fun, after always being the younger sibling, to get to be the cool older student.
Before they got to training though, there was another thing on Val's mind. Ness pondered the question. The honest answer was that Val was already doing half the work of the president. The honest answer didn't make Ness feel good or like a cool older student. It was pretty tempting to make it sound like more than it was... Logic said that Val would easily find out about that, but logic wasn't, for once, the main thing that stopped Ness. There was something in being looked up to by someone like Val that made you want to be a good role-model, the kind who lived up to expectations. That probably meant being honest, even if you looked less cool as a result.
"I'd say you're already kinda acting as deputy president," Ness admitted. "When Gary ran things, he just... did everything. He ran all the games cos he was the only one who knew how. But then we learnt in time to take over, but at the same time, you came along, and you already knew what to do. He ran himself pretty ragged trying to do all the games and his exams and advanced classes." And Ness suspected Gary was much quicker at planning than Ness, given his experience.
"I guess, as president, you're ultimately responsible for making sure there's a game each week, however that happens - writing it, delegating - and for setting a schedule, and being a final say if anyone wants to fight about what it should be." That hadn't really been an issue, but it could become one if people couldn't agree what mix of games they wanted or who got what character. Luckily, there were always dice to resolve those kind of disputes.
"Oh, and you gotta keep Mr. Fox-Reynolds on side. I guess there is a tradition of club presidents being in Aladren, so you might have to switch houses," Ness winked.
OOC: Mentions of what Val shared approved by her author.
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Ness McLeod
Are we about to break out the chequers?
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Valentine Duell
April 02, 2021 6:25 PM
We could! Or maybe Forbidden Island! by Valentine Duell
Valentine was 'already kinda acting as deputy president'? She was bit surprised by that statement, all she had done last year was run a few games here or there. There was something in Ness' voice though that sounded odd as the current president talked about Gary's transition out of school and the club. She'd known something a little odd was going on her first year in the gaming club, but by the way Ness was making it sound, Gary hadn't really thought ahead at all about what what would happen to the gaming club once he was gone.Naturally he probably hadn't done it on purpose, if Ness was right and had been doing everything along with classes and examines... and that was starting to sound a bit like her own predicament. But that wasn't the problem right now. She was pretty sure something was bothering Ness and that was the most important thing. Ness had been one of the more experienced gamers in the club, but still only learning how to run games as time was running out... and along came a little first-year that knew about gaming, and Gary decided to.... and then Ness would have felt like... Understanding flooded through Val as her heart sank. Oh.. what had she done?
More importantly, what could she do now? She was pretty sure the Aladren didn't want weeping apologies from her. Perhaps commiseration? Valentine gave Ness an understanding smile, "Gary may have made a few mistakes along the way, but at least he got one thing right. He put you in charge." She wanted to give Ness a hug, but she wasn't quite sure if it was a good time. Ness knew that hugs were always available if they were wanted.
Most of the rest of the job description did sound like things that she already did, or could do without to much trouble. Maybe Ness was right, was she already acting as a 'deputy president'? Well, until Ness remembered a few other things. She hadn't really interacted to much with the librarian past the normal exchange of books. He was the club's sponsor. Maybe she should go talk to him sometime, get to know him better. There were snack taxes to pay him after all at the very least. As for Ness' last comment... "Oh," Val voiced in her most sweet, innocent voice she could muster, "I don't know about that... should I talk to Professor Skies about changing houses? Is that a difficult process? I don't know that I've heard of anyone doing it before." There was a slight chance Ness might possibly notice the minor, and very small slight quirk upwards of the corners of her mouth.
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Valentine Duell
We could! Or maybe Forbidden Island!
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Ness McLeod
April 26, 2021 9:30 PM
Or chess by Ness McLeod
"Thanks," Ness smiled, as Val offered an utterly heartfelt endorsement of Ness' presidency. Val rarely did anything with a mood other than 'utterly heartfelt' but it felt good to be on the receiving end of it. The tiny Teppenpaw had looked a little serious and worried right before that, but it had passed. Presumably she was just processing the presidential duties, though really she had no reason to be worried by them."Thanks. You've been a kick-butt unofficial deputy," Ness assured Val, reaching out to offer a side hug. Maybe Ness had felt threatened at first, but having Val was undeniably what was best for the club. There was something deep in there about growing and learning and sharing - or that it took all kinds to successfully raid a dungeon.
Val was looking sweet and innocent as she answered Ness' question. But Val looked superficially sweet and innocent before unleashing hellspawn on them. She had got much better at not giggling before doing that, but as she had improved, so had Ness' ability to read her. The seventh year was pretty sure Val was playing along.
"Maybe. But smiling nicely and rolling high on charisma might work in Tepp, but I'm pretty sure there'll be a written test to transfer to Aladren. It's that or win a chess match against Professor Wright. At least, that's what I heard," Ness said, adding a little extra grinniness to the grin, just to be on the safe side.
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Ness McLeod
Or chess
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Valentine Duell
May 01, 2021 12:53 PM
That could be fun. by Valentine Duell
Ness hug! Valentine returned the older student's half side hug thing with a proper one. She thought she would need to do more for Ness. Ooo… a party! A big surprise party for Ness. Maybe something at the end of the year to celebrate Ness' reign as president before graduating and passing on the responsibility to whomever takes up the job. She would need help with that though, she would need to talk to someone who knew Ness the best. Yes… she would need to talk to Evelyn.Val pulled away from Ness as she seemed to consider her options. "A written examination or a game of chess?" She put some worry into her voice. Ness was obviously having some fun and it would be rude not to play along. Plus, it was fun. She put on her sweetest expression and fluttered her eyelashes, "I think you may underestimate us Teppenpaws, some of us could be great bards and with good enough charisma rolls…" her voice drifted off suddenly and her expression fell.
The old joke about bards being able to 'convince' anyone of anything had suddenly ran into her recent experience on the way to school this year. Val thought she had adequately crushed those feelings away… apparently they were back. "S… sorry," she apologized. Stanley didn't like her, so Professor Wright wouldn't let her into Aladren, so she couldn't run the gaming club. No, that wasn't right. Ness and her were just joking.
"Anyway," she tried to continue.. to pickup somewhere where they had left off, her smile not quite as bright as it had been before, "You may need to teach me how to play chess then?"
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Valentine Duell
That could be fun.
1490
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5