Selina Skies
October 01, 2021 10:11 AM
Tumbleweed Trip by Selina Skies
The posters announcing the first trip to Tumbleweed had gone up shortly after the beginning of term. Parent/guardian signatures for such trips were gathered at enrollment, though a notification informing of the trip had also been sent out. It was not the ideal time for dress shopping, given that many of the students were likely to shoot up like they’d put in growth potion before the ball, and Selina had been sure to stress that they would have more opportunities to buy outfits. However, it wasn’t a bad opportunity, and certainly if they saw something they liked, they could take a note of the store and owl them for an accurate size later in the year.Ill-fitted dresses and robes were the lesser developmental concern, compared to the fact that many students hadn’t outgrown their tendencies to be stupid or impulsive—a process which took a long time in most people, and which she suspect would be a perpetual state of affairs for some students. Whilst warnings had been issued that bad behaviour might result in suspension from future trips, she knew that teenage brains were spectacularly bad at reasoning the logical thing to do in the face of temptation. She would be keeping a closer eye on some than others.
Once they had travelled to town—by Floo for those who were used to it, and by a borrowed, self-driving car-ish type thing for those who were not—she gathered the students in front of the small tourist office.
“Alright, welcome to Tumbleweed! As we discussed at school, this is an old west ghost town. The main draw of coming here is to learn about life in a different era, from those who really lived it. As well as the town museum, you can visit any of the buildings, and chat with the resident ghosts. Today, there’s also a market in the town hall.” This was the main reason they’d chosen this weekend, as it added a potential source of ball outfits, snacks, and curios, over the usual ghost-themed souvenirs of the town. She'd also heard tell of there being a pet shop with, fortunately, live animals on the edge of the town.
“You will need to stick with a partner or group throughout the day. You are free to visit wherever you like in the town, but each area or attraction will have a designated staff member. Please check in with them on your way in or out of an area, so that we can keep track of you.” As she spoke, she passed out some town maps, which showed who the person responsible for each area was.
“Any questions? Everyone got a map and a partner? Alright, off you go, and have a good day.”
OOC: Welcome to Tumbleweed. This is a literal ghost town with an old west theme. Known places inlcude a saloon, which acts an all-ages-friendly refreshment spot, a museum, and town hall. The ghosts staff the towns and do historical re-enactment. You are free to invent buildings, ghosts or things that are occurring within the town, so long as they are reasonable and on-theme. It's primarily a tourist destination, so the ghosts are very used to people and are there to put on a show.
Any questions, ask in chatzy.
Subthreads: Happy happy fun times! by Xavier Lundstrom with Hansel Hexenmeister
Outside the shops [Alexi] by Iris Cobb with Alexei Vorontsov
Spirits and shops! by Verdillia Scurlock with Lydia Priory
Looking to have some fun! by Anya Delachene with Ellie Alperton
Bro time! (tag Henry) by Oz Spellman with Henry Spellman
Double trouble by Stanley O'Malley with Wally O'Malley, Bonabelle Row
Hanging out [Lavender] by Valentine Duell with Lavender Brockert
This is less lame than most stuff. [Billy] by Reighleigh Mae Thorn with Billy Cobb
Ghosts of the past (tag Professor Brooding-Hawthorne) by Dorian Montoir with Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
Ann & Ann Apparel by Annabelle Pierce with Mara Morales, Morgan Garrett
Alexander, all the twins are pairing off and we’re siblings in the same grade, too by Mab with Alexander Pierce-Beales
I did the thing. [Val] by Bonabelle Row with Valentine Duell
Let's find some puppets! And museums! (Rosalynn and Lorena) by Isla Brockert
Want to hang? (Jezebel) by Bridget Ferguson with Jezebel Reed-Fischer
Of badges and babies... by Esme Brockert
Get in, cool people, we're going shopping. by Jessica Hayles
13
Selina Skies
Tumbleweed Trip
26
1
5
Xavier Lundstrom
October 01, 2021 10:35 PM
Happy happy fun times! by Xavier Lundstrom
A literal ghost town. Of people who had presumably died normal deaths, not exploded in pent up clouds of magical angriness. Many points of his conversation with Professor Wright had stuck in Xavier’s mind, but a particularly prominent one had been the realness of the soul, and that some people’s hung around. The former point was, of course, something he’d always believed. The latter was a little more challenging to process, as he wondered whether it was possible to incorporate this knowledge into his own view of the afterlife without completely breaking it. Not everyone became ghosts, of course. But still, ghosts were very literally real and that just didn’t go with what he’d been raised to believe. And only wizards could become ghosts. Did that mean wizards’ souls were different? He hadn’t really been worried about that when he’d found out about magic. His family weren’t Bible-thumping ‘fantasy novels are the work of Satan’ extremists. Confronting actual ghosts though was… a bit weird.He would have to be careful to keep that thought to himself though. Or write it down and burn it later. Everything in wizardland was the bestest and if he smiled and said so, then maybe they’d let him go back to his family at Christmas.
He didn’t quite manage to plaster a smile on his face as they arrived in Tumbleweed. He was too busy leaning against a wall trying not to feel dizzy and sick from taking the Floo (because he was totally acclimating like a good little wizard boy). And because his default expression since the start of term had just been kind of blank. He was managing not to be sad or angry on the surface, but he couldn’t find it in himself to fake actual happiness. His mind was so busy on things that were not the here and now that it wiped his face of its emotions.
So, basically he had a perpetual case of resting b...ored face, probably, to add to all his other social stigmas.
He managed to feel a little less shaken by the end of Professor Skies’ speech. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but he had to do it with someone. He tried to dig down far enough to find the part that cared about who he spent the day with. He guessed someone he kind of knew was better than someone he didn’t. Anyone who’d come to his birthday, or anyone from the LGBTQIA+ cafe was a pretty good bet. Anyone except Billy, who was honestly just… a lot. A lot of what, Xavier wasn’t quite sure. But he was a lot, and a lot felt like something he really couldn’t deal with right now. Seeing someone who met his requirements, he walked over, a ghost of his former smile on his face.
“Hey. Wanna hang out? I don’t really mind what we do,” he shrugged, hoping that made him an amenable option for a partner.
13
Xavier Lundstrom
Happy happy fun times!
1529
0
5
Outside the shops [Alexi] by Iris Cobb
Iris did not like Tumbleweed. She had known she wouldn't, but she had come anyway because it was a school trip and she was at the school so she went on the school trip. That was how that worked. The town itself was fine, but it was filled with ghosts. Iris did not like ghosts, there was just something terribly unnerving about them that she just did not like. It was irrational and stupid, most of them seemed nice enough, but that rationalization didn't help one bit when she was confronted with one.... or a whole town of them.The other objective of the day was to see the dresses that Amethyst had talked about. She was still on the fence on what she was going to do about that. Most likely she would accept one to borrow for the ball from one of Amethysts relatives if they didn't mind, but that was still incurring quite a debt. From the sounds of things, the dress she might be borrowing would have cost way more than anything in the stores here, however since she was only borrowing it for one night maybe that might be about the same as buying a less impressive one here? She wanted to know how much these cost, just so she had some frame of reference. She just had to get past the ghosts.
Finding a group of students heading for the shops wasn't difficult, she tagged along with them, sticking close and watching the ground at her feet. If she couldn't see the ghosts, they weren't there. They reached the shops and she started browsing the dresses. Her heart sunk a bit more. Billy's stupid coin definitely wasn't going to cover these. She was going to need a bunch more of them. Maybe she could find some that were not quite as expensive? There were some, they were also quite a bit less impressive as well. She was doomed.
It was shortly after this realization that she made the observation that the group she had come in here with, wasn't here any more. Oh no! Professor Skies had been very explicit that they were to stay with someone or a group! Iris burst from the store hoping to find some of her group. However, as she looked about for them, she instead saw quite a few ghosts. Her eyes went wide and her legs went weak as she stumbled back against the wall of the store. Movement from beside her distracted her enough to tear her gaze away from the translucent figures. Someone was coming along the stores, Alexi! A wave of relief washed over her, he wasn't a ghost and she wasn't breaking the rules anymore! "Hi!" She managed to squeak out to him, "I lost my group, can I join you?"
2
Iris Cobb
Outside the shops [Alexi]
1526
0
5
Verdillia Scurlock
October 01, 2021 11:29 PM
Spirits and shops! by Verdillia Scurlock
Verdillia liked ghosts an exactly normal amount. She had been raised around enough magic that she knew it was very silly to be scared of them, and she most definitely wasn’t. Not really, anyway. Not more than was reasonable, in that she didn’t want them to brush through her because that was the unpleasant sort of surprise and it was natural to be a little jumpy around that, kind of like how one might fear getting hit in the head with a Quaffle when people were playing catch. She also didn’t find them endlessly fascinating. Her family had taken her to plenty of historical sites and houses, and many of those had resident ghosts who would tell stories about the past. It was more interesting than reading information panels, but less interesting than looking at the display cases of jewellery and clothes and all the ornately decorated rooms. Her sister seemed to find the ghosts endlessly fascinating, and would have talked them to death had that not been impossible. Verdillia was of the opinion that most ghosts had one to two good stories, tops, and after that, it was time to move on before they got dull and repetitive. Of course, she would be polite to deceased magical elders, but she didn’t want to spend all afternoon with them.She thought the proper thing to do was probably split her time about evenly between history and shopping. She did love learning about the magical world, and this was a time and a place she had very little knowledge of. It wouldn’t do to look unappreciative or uninterested. Perhaps a quick whip around the main sites, and then some shopping? Of course, they’d been promised many trips here, so she would have time to do the sights another day if needed. The most important part of the day was really having a good partner. By now, she had a fairly clear idea of who in class was proper, both in terms of bloodline and in how they behaved themselves. The latter was the most important factor, though the former made the neatly piped icing on the refined little cake.
“Hello,” she smiled, approaching someone fitting. “Would you like to partner up? It seems like we’d be able to get most of the main things done whilst we’re here, don’t you think?”
13
Verdillia Scurlock
Spirits and shops!
1541
0
5
Anya Delachene
October 02, 2021 10:35 PM
Looking to have some fun! by Anya Delachene
Anya was excited about the first Tumbleweed trip of the year. It was always nice to get out of the school grounds and take in some new scenery. Away games for Quidditch were good for that too, but Jeremy hogged most of those and she generally had to wait for him to get sick before she could take his place as the reserve Seeker. She was certain she had never - quite literally - wished someone ill as many times as she had Jeremy Mordue, particularly in days leading up to away games.Fortunately, her trip to Tumbleweed was dependent upon a signed note from her parents rather than anyone's poor health, and that had already been submitted in a timely manner. So here she was, stepping out of the floo, and breathing air that wasn't Sonora's. She'd need a partner but did not anticipate having any trouble locating one. She had quite a few options open to her. She was friends with Freddie (though she suspected he would prefer her brother's company today), Ellie, Theo, Stanley, and of course, her own boyfriend, Alexander.
She walked around the milling students, trying to spot any of those (though she figured she probably ought to give Alexander first dibs) and tried to decide what she wanted to do today. Probably not dress shopping. She wanted to have some fun today and that was the opposite of fun. It was un-fun. Besides, Mom would probably make her get something to wear to the ball over midterm anyway (ideally something less horrendous than what she'd been sent to Sonora with four years ago; which it should be because Anya might actually cooperate with her mom this time since she presumably had a date and a required prefect dance). So that wasn't on today's agenda at least.
Maybe an ice cream at the saloon. That was always fun and tasty. Perhaps do one of the ghost shows that had some audience participation.
"Hey!" she greeted with a smile as she spotted one of the people she'd be happy to spend the day with. "Excited to get out of school for the day?"
1
Anya Delachene
Looking to have some fun!
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0
5
Ellie Alperton
October 03, 2021 12:30 AM
Yes! That! by Ellie Alperton
Ellie wasn't that excited for the day in Tumbleweed. She had seen enough of the ghost shows and historical buildings to know what they entailed. She had fond memories of dress shopping here, but that had been with Jasmine. She suspected she was going to be more lonely this time. Both her best friends had boyfriends they would probably rather spend the day with. She would probably end up with a choice between being a third wheel, a fifth wheel, or a left over. If she got any choice at all.Anya was slightly less awful than Freddie for needing to spend all her time with her boyfriend. Freddie had joined gaming club just because Philippe did it, thus reducing his available free time even further. Anya wasn't so co-dependent with Alexander, but she also had a generally loose and chaotic approach to measuring time, which didn't make her the most consistent friend. And Ellie could have asked before the trip. She could have got in there before they made plans with their boyfriends. But she didn't just want to hang out. She wanted them to want to hang out. To choose her over them.
She choose the drive rather than the Floo. Even after all these years, she felt like she would rather only do it when strictly necessary. She wondered whether that was another thing that separated her from her friends, and whether it meant they would be all paired up by the time she got there...
Thankfully, that didn't seem to have happened. And when Professor Skies told them to pair up, Anya came bouncing right over!
"Yes!" she beamed, when Anya asked if she was excited, more because her heart was bouncing at the fact that one of her friends had chosen her. Well, maybe. Anya hadn't actually asked her to be partners. Maybe this was just a quick check in before she ditched her. "Were you looking for me?" she nudged hoepfully.
OOC: Ellie's views on how her friends are behaving to be taken with a pinch of salt. Let me know if anything crosses a line in terms of god-modding.
13
Ellie Alperton
Yes! That!
1456
0
5
Oz Spellman
October 03, 2021 1:45 AM
Bro time! (tag Henry) by Oz Spellman
They were leaving school! They got to jump in a fire! There were gonna be ghosts! Oz was bouncing off the walls by the time they got the go ahead. The fire thing was properly wild, even more than any of the roller coasters they’d been on at Martian Land. Oz very definitely fell in a dizzy and slightly nauseous heap as it spat him out at the other end. In fact, he was pretty sure he’d banged his elbow so hard he’d scraped the skin off, either on the way there or when he’d hit the floor at the end. He checked, and yes! He was bleeding! Not like, actual dripping blood, but he had taken the skin off and red was visible. He had sustained a war wound. Cool!Just about as soon as he’d had time to admire it, someone magicked it better. Which was sort of cool, because that wasn’t really a thing where he’d come from, but he hadn’t exactly minded, and maybe it would have scabbed and then he’d have been able to have fun picking it. Did wizard kids never get to know the joy of picking at a scab? Man, sucked to be them.
Professor Skies reminded them of the rules (he kneeeewww. Gawd. They’d said it like fifty times before letting them leave!). He’d had his partner picked out for a while anyway. It was sort of obvious that he and Henry would stick together in a situation like this. First off, shopping had been mentioned, and even if Mom had sent them some money so they could get an ice cream or something, it wasn’t a lot, and he wasn’t even sure about spending it. He had no desire to be humiliated if everyone else planned to shop and do fancy stuff that cost money. At his old school, it had been the default assumption that everyone was broke all the time, so it didn’t make you stand out. But if there was anyone else here as broke as him and Henry, they did a good job hiding it. Except Billy, but he spent plenty of time with him at Sonora.
More than that though, he just wanted to be with Henry. And Henry wanted to be with him. And they could just hang out, and be bros, and it would be totally dope.
“Hey!” he beamed, bouncing at Henry, leaning on his shoulder in a way that wasn’t a hug so wasn’t unacceptably uncool. “I saw there’s these ghost shows out in the streets, and they act out fights and stuff. Let’s go! Can you imagine, ghosts smashing the crap out of each other? Sick, right?” Right…? Except could ghosts do that, given that they were ghosts? But they were ghosts dealing with other ghosts. “Do you reckon ghosts can touch other ghosts? Either way, it’s either gonna be really cool, or some totally weirdo ghost mime fest. Let’s go!”
13
Oz Spellman
Bro time! (tag Henry)
1514
0
5
Stanley O'Malley
October 03, 2021 12:05 PM
Double trouble by Stanley O'Malley
It took a long time, but things were finally okay again. Like, a really long time. Stanley was surprised how long Wally stayed mad at him. Almost as surprised as he had been when Wally literally punched him in the face. At first, Stanley didn’t understand why, so his only reaction was to be mad too. So for the first time in their lives, the twins didn’t really talk much or spend time together for a while. But then Stanley got over it - he tended to get over things pretty quickly - but Wally didn’t. And that just didn’t make any sense. He had to remember that Wally felt things very deeply, and while Stanley wasn’t sure why he felt the things he did, Wally was deeply affected by them. It was stuff like that where he was reminded how different they were. Sometimes Stanley just thought of Wally like another Stanley, because they were twins and they did almost everything together. But they were different.Then, eventually, he found out why Wally was so upset about the way Stanley had treated Valentine. Then Stanley felt bad. Really bad. Between that and how clearly pissed off Bonabelle had been after he and Val broke up, it made Stanley do some thinking about stuff. He tended not to like to do that kind of thinking, because it just made you sad, but this time, he had to do it. And he felt bad, but he deserved it.
But some time had passed now, and things seemed to be okay. Valentine and Bonabelle seemed to be… doing well, so he supposed things were fine, although he did wonder what Wally thought about that but didn’t dare ask him, afraid to bring something bad back up again. Today, it was just fun times with his favorite twin brother. “Got the map?” he asked with a very Stanley smile.
12
Stanley O'Malley
Double trouble
1491
0
5
Wally O'Malley
October 03, 2021 12:05 PM
Trouble may be right by Wally O'Malley
It took a long time, but things were finally okay again. Wally didn’t like the way Stanley had treated Valentine - or the way Stanley had dated Valentine - but he couldn’t hold onto that grudge forever. Yes, he still had an enormous crush on Valentine, but Stanley was the only brother he was ever going to get, so he forgave him. It just took him a while. At least after he had finally explained why exactly he had been so upset, Stanley seemed to get it. There was a lot of emotional stuff that Stanley just didn’t seem to understand, but he was sharp enough to at least process what you told him. He just didn’t do well to pick it up on his own. And that was okay, because Wally knew that and was used to it. They might have the same parents and the same birthday, but the two boys were not the same by any stretch of the imagination.They agreed to hang out for the Tumbleweed trip, so that was something. It had been a pretty long time since they did anything just the two of them. Even now that they were hanging out again, they often had Tommy or Theo or some combination, or Gabriel, or they asked Henry and Oz to hang out sometimes as well. So they figured a brothers’ day was overdue.
They were just about set to go, when Stanley asked Wally if he had the map. The Crotalus blinked. “You said you were grabbing one. When Professor Skies passed them out, you told me not to grab one.” He hadn’t actually verbally said it, because the professor was talking, but Stanley had put an arm in front of Wally and taken one himself. “What did you do with the map?”
12
Wally O'Malley
Trouble may be right
1492
0
5
Stanley O'Malley
October 03, 2021 12:11 PM
Nononono by Stanley O'Malley
At first, Wally only blinked, and Stanley blinked right back. He had forgotten all about that interaction his brother described, but in any case, his hands were now empty, completely devoid of map. “Ah. Right,” he admitted, glancing around at his feet in case he had dropped it and not realized. That wasn’t a great start to his day with his brother. Wally had told him when they talked that he needed Stanley to be less careless, and he wasn’t doing a great job at that so far.“Ummm…” he fumbled, trying to fill time. He could feel Wally getting annoyed at him. Or maybe he was just imagining it. He wasn’t great at picking up on nonverbal cues, but since he and Wally had their big talk, he was trying to be more aware and felt himself growing (comparatively) hyper vigilant. He really was trying, but sometimes Stanley was just…. Stanley. Forgetful and inconsiderate and dumb. Wally did say there was a difference between “careless” and “carefree” and that Stanley was both and one of them was admirable. But the Pecari wasn’t really sure if he understood the difference. He needed to get it figured out.
“W-well, it’s fine!” he chirped, forcing a grin back to his face as he ran his hand once through his smooth brown hair. “We’ll just wing it, huh?” That was carefree, right? “We totally got this. We don’t need a map. Come on!” And with that, he grabbed Wally by the arm and led the way to their adventure.
12
Stanley O'Malley
Nononono
1491
0
5
Wally O'Malley
October 03, 2021 12:24 PM
You're alright... for now. by Wally O'Malley
Wally suppressed a sigh. This was very Stanley behavior, and he supposed he should have come to expect it by now, so really maybe the fault was partially on him for not just taking a map anyway. Wally had the clearer head, and usually, the times they got into trouble were when he did what Stanley said.He tried not to be visibly frustrated, knowing how hard Stanley was trying. Or should have been trying, anyway, since they had a big, honest conversation. They were growing up now, and there were things that they had to get worked out in their habits before they cemented into their adult personalities. Wally loved his brother dearly, but he really hoped he could figure out some common sense in the next couple years. Stanley wasn’t an idiot or anything, but he often stayed in his own little world and didn’t consider how his actions might affect others. A pretty typical young boy trait, in Wally’s opinion, that he had somehow skipped. Maybe Stanley just got all of it in the womb.
He was about to suggest they go back to Professor Skies and grab another copy, but Stanley was already gung-ho to go and grabbing his arm. Wally was physically led forward, and he supposed that meant their adventure was afoot. Hopefully they wouldn’t be able to get too lost, since there would be other students and Sonora staff around Tumbleweed as well. So he supposed it would be okay, although he did wish they had a map.
“Where do you want to go first?” Wally asked as they wandered. Mom was going to take them shopping for the Ball over midterm break, so they didn’t really need to look at dress robes or suits or anything like that, so most likely they would just be wandering around or getting food today. Probably both, many times.
12
Wally O'Malley
You're alright... for now.
1492
0
5
Stanley O'Malley
October 03, 2021 12:31 PM
Phew! by Stanley O'Malley
Stanley grinned, happy to find that Wally was not (at least, as far as he could tell) getting mad at him yet. That was good. He needed to be good, and be a good brother. He hated not having Wally by his side - it was already lame enough that they had to be in separate Houses, so not having him to hang around with the rest of the time too was total crap. Stanley loved his brother. He wanted to do better.“Not sure,” the Pecari replied. He hadn’t thought that far ahead, as often was his way. “We could just wander around for a bit, then maybe get some lunch?” Stanley suggested, unbeknownst to him of Wally’s exact train of thought providing the same answer.
“Hey, this ball thing,” Stanley mentioned with an attempt at being casual. “Have you thought much about it? I mean, it’s probably gonna be pretty lame and whatever, but it is the only one we get to go to.” The midsummer events rotated every four years, which meant there had been a ball before they came and there would be one after they graduated. “As students, I mean,” he added. They had come to one or two before when they were little tiny people, back when Mom was on staff. Stanley didn’t remember too much about it other than a lot of bright colors and swishy dresses. But the balls were apparently pretty special, since Mom and Dad had gotten together officially at one of theirs.
“What do you want to do for that? I mean, are you thinking about asking anyone, or do you wanna go stag and loiter?”
12
Stanley O'Malley
Phew!
1491
0
5
Wally O'Malley
October 03, 2021 12:37 PM
Yes, phew. by Wally O'Malley
Wally cringed internally at the question. Did he want to go to the Ball - their only Ball - with any particular girl? Well, yeah, duh. But Valentine was probably not on the market for a date, especially not a date with him. For one thing, he was the brother of the boy who dumped her. And two, she had, like, a girlfriend apparently now. From what Wally could tell, Valentine and Bonabelle were, like, dating now. And of course, Wally had no problem with girls liking girls - Mom had a cousin who was a boy who liked boys - but when that particular girl was dating a girl, it was sort of a problem for his own personal dating game. (Which, side note, he hated that phrase. Dating wasn’t a “game”, but he didn’t know a better way to think of it. His odds, maybe?)“I don’t know,” he mumbled, thinking he didn’t really need to say the obvious. “Tommy’s definitely gonna go with Rosalynn, so I had the thought that maybe we could take her roommates so we could all just hang out? But there’s only two of them, so that leaves either you, me, or Theo out, and also one of them is a Brockert.” Wally was a little better at it than Stanley, but he could never remember how closely related they were to whom. Dad’s biological mom (not Grandma Jamie) was a Brockert. “I’m not sure what Theo will want to do though - I haven’t talked to him about it yet.” Maybe the best case scenario was for Stanley to take Lorena, Theo to take Isla, and Wally go hide in bed until the whole darn thing was over so he didn’t have to see Valentine dancing with Bonabelle instead of him.
12
Wally O'Malley
Yes, phew.
1492
0
5
Stanley O'Malley
October 03, 2021 12:45 PM
Still not super sure about this, though by Stanley O'Malley
Stanley thought for a moment, listening to Wally weigh their options. He talked about it so pragmatically that for a second, Stanley almost forgot all that stuff he was thinking earlier about how deeply and personally Wally felt everything. This was a discussion about love! Kinda. But it was about dates to a school dance! So that was sort of like love, at least when you were fourteen anyway.“Maybe Theo could take Lavender?” Stanley suggested. “And then we… hope it’s not weird to take Isla. Or we could ask Dad.” That would be a weird conversation to have. Hey Dad, am I distantly enough related to this girl to take her to the ball? But it wasn’t like they had actual romantic interests in her, Stanley and Wally were just trying to find the best way for their group to hang out without anybody being left out of a pair. Was that weird? It was maybe still weird.
They had been walking for a while now, making some sort of crooked or broken loop. Stanley thought they should have gotten back to the same spot they had left from by now, but that was not the case. “Uhhh, do you know where we are now?” he asked Wally nervously. Just then, his stomach gurgled loudly to announce its presence. “Maybe we should try to find a snack. I’d kill for a grilled cheese or something.”
12
Stanley O'Malley
Still not super sure about this, though
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0
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Wally O'Malley
October 03, 2021 12:50 PM
Now there may be trouble [TAG: Anyone!] by Wally O'Malley
Wally considered what Stanley said. His brother had a good idea, and it was nice to find a way to include Lavender, although she might want to hang out more with her friend Bonabelle than with them, and then that meant Bonabelle and Valentine might come join their group, and then things just got messy for a thousand and seven different reasons. Plus, it was in fact probably weird for one of them to take Isla. Distant or not, being knowingly related to your date was a bit of an off-putter for an evening.Stanley stopped walking somewhat abruptly, and Wally narrowly avoided his shoulder colliding with Stanley’s. They had at last wandered enough that Stanley, mapless, did not know where they were anymore. Well, that was quicker than expected. But to be fair, looking around, Wally wasn’t exactly sure either. He combed one nervous hand through his messy black hair and glanced around, although his gaze was stolen back to Stanley when his stomach rumbled so loud that Wally practically felt it. Or maybe that was the twin thing. Wait, was he hungry now too? Ugh.
Wally looked around for something that might point them in the direction of food, but he didn’t see any helpful signs. What he did see was a familiar face from Sonora. Wally’s own stomach now echoed Stanley's stomach’s sentiment. Well, he hated to be the one to approach someone, but he was getting pretty hungry, and he just wanted to find the food as soon as possible. “Come on,” he said to Stanley, heading in the person’s direction.
“Excuse me,” he said very politely. “Can you help us find the food area? We lost our map.”
12
Wally O'Malley
Now there may be trouble [TAG: Anyone!]
1492
0
5
Valentine Duell
October 03, 2021 3:40 PM
Hanging out [Lavender] by Valentine Duell
Valentine didn't have any great plans for the trip to Tumbleweed, well at least she didn't have any strong objectives in mind that had to be accomplished while she was there. She and Mama had already went shopping and had found the perfect one. She also had a wonderful girlfriend, now she just needed a boyfriend yet to take to the ball and she'd be good to go. Well, there were always a few accessories and such that would be nice if she could find some, so she'd be looking out for some of those, but they weren't critical.The main focus of today was to spend some time with Lavender. Val felt really bad, between girlfriend time and clubs and schoolwork(which honestly overlapped quite a bit with girlfriend time) and boyfriend hunting, she hadn't had a lot of spare time for her other friends, and Lavender in particular. So, she had made arrangements to hang out with Lavender a bunch today. That was the main objective, anything else that got accomplished was just a bonus.
Val met up with Lavender before they left and traveled to the Ghost Town with her. She listened to Professor Skies attentively before turning to her friend. She gave Lavender a wide smile, "I don't really have anything that needs to be done, maybe look for some earrings for the ball, possibly find a boy to take to it." She shrugged, "Is there anything you'd like to do here in particular?" She stopped frozen for a moment, "I almost forgot," she resumed. "Ice cream is on the list. At some point we will need to get ice cream."
2
Valentine Duell
Hanging out [Lavender]
1490
0
5
Bonabelle Row
October 03, 2021 8:28 PM
I'm looking for trouble. by Bonabelle Row
Bonabelle was left basically alone for today's trip, which she thought was really lame. Of all the times Val could have chosen to hang out with someone other than Bonabelle, she picked the weekend they were going on a trip and could have an ice cream parlor date? Of course, they were still planning to meet up later and Val had not-so-subtly suggested that Bonabelle might be able to use this time boy-hunting (she hadn't said it like that but Bonabelle thought it was an accurate metaphor) so she wasn't supposed to really be alone for long but still. She followed a group of students with no particular group as they headed into town, occasionally splitting off to join other friends they passed by or meeting up with someone else in the loner group. She was stretching herself up from the back of the group, looking around to see if there was anyone she might be able to split off with, when Wally approached her.She was surprised by the touch but the fact that he was hungry suddenly made a lot more sense. She wondered whether the fact that her normally spiraling hair was not tumbling around her shoulders today but instead pinned up into a bun, meant to protect it from the sudden shift to desert temperatures and humidities. It would also, she thought, give her a better sense of what sort of dresses looked good on her since she thought she'd probably wear her hair up for that. She still wasn't sure if she was actually going to wear a dress but thought she probably would and this was a good time to look, although she hoped Ema might go shopping with her properly over the break.
"I can show you," she told Wally, swallowing a mouthful of nerves and trying to keep a cool expression as she glanced back to the nearest professor to get the nod of approval indicating she could make her way off with the smaller group. She then turned back to the twins, pointed vaguely in the direction she had in mind (having been here before to meet her uncle the first time, she was familiar with some of the town's setup), and led the way. With her nerves well and truly swallowed, she set her mind into a more logical position and focused on the task she had been set: find a boy or boys. Valentine had had mixed thoughts on Stanley but he was one of the only boys Bonabelle actually spoke to so he seemed an easier choice than some. "So, are you both single?"
22
Bonabelle Row
I'm looking for trouble.
1488
0
5
Henry Spellman
October 03, 2021 8:59 PM
Brooooo! by Henry Spellman
Henry had been very much in favor of taking the car things but Oz wanted to do floo travel. Since Henry was pretty sure wizards would be bad car mechanics, he wasn't hard to convince and followed after his brother. There was a thrill that rushed through him as he swirled through literal flames and then appeared in a new place but he wasn't sure he could admit to it over the rising feeling of nausea that threatened to come out instead. He satisfied himself with a weak, mildly green smile at his brother before Professor Skies started talking. Henry listened because he was supposed to and because Oz might forget, but he was pretty sure it was all standard stuff anyway.He smiled as Oz literally bounced around, bumping into him like he'd always done. The idea of ghosts fighting was less appealing than the idea of ghosts reenacting historically significant events from the area . . . he supposed this might actually be one activity that both of the twins could be equally excited about, if for entirely different reasons, and he nodded eagerly.
"I need a brochure thing though," he said, gesturing at one of the tourist boards where there were always like a dozen different ones and he grabbed one titled Battle in Tumbleweed before turning back to his brother. "Can we get something to eat first? I don't feel so good after that," he gestured. He was confident that they were on the same page about not spending the little bit of money they had on anything for the ball, or on any sort of knick knacks that could get stolen or broken or lost or . . . no. Money should be spent on things that were worth spending money on. Speaking of the ball though . . . "Hey . . . are you gonna ask anyone to the ball?"
22
Henry Spellman
Brooooo!
1513
0
5
Reighleigh Mae Thorn
October 03, 2021 9:38 PM
This is less lame than most stuff. [Billy] by Reighleigh Mae Thorn
It would have been impossible for Ray not to know that the ball was on almost everyone's mind as they prepared to go to the first Tumbleweed trip of the year. She was pretty sure a stupid dance shouldn't have been the only thing that ever got them out of the school but that's how it worked so that's what they did. She dressed in one of the outfits she always liked to wear but which was usually hidden under her robes - black skull tights under a lace black skater skirt and a purple ACDC shirt, with a black cardigan and yellow converse - and packed a small sling bag with the money her mom had sent her for the trip. Her mother had made it very clear that she was not to use the money on a dress for the ball since she didn't trust that Ray would pick out an appropriate one (which she wouldn't have, by her mother's standards) but that didn't bother her; she had every intention of ruining whatever dress her mother picked out and this meant that she could spend money on more interesting things. She was also pretty sure that Billy basically wouldn't have any money at all so she was happy that she'd have the freedom to buy him stuff or buy them food or something. They'd agreed to meet up - she wasn't totally clear on whether Gus or Oz or anything would be there too maybe - and she was excited to spend time with him outside of the academic world. They were absolutely going to cause trouble and she might even show him how to steal stuff, although his poker face was terrible.She took the floo (of course) and didn't listen to Professor Skies much (of course) and then found Billy and greeted him with the usual arm punch.
"You ready for this thing?" she asked. "I'm buying, so we're getting food and then we're going to see how you look in bowties and vests because I'm pretty sure it's going to be hilarious. Anything else you'd like to accomplish while we're out?"
22
Reighleigh Mae Thorn
This is less lame than most stuff. [Billy]
1525
0
5
Billy Cobb
October 03, 2021 10:10 PM
Around here, or in general over all? by Billy Cobb
Billy was ready for this trip. It was gunna be his first official adventure! Even if it was going to be overseen by teachers and people. Still, he was going to get to leave the school and go somewhere that wasn't back home! He was gunna see some other part of the world, finally! As a bonus he was gunna do it with Ray. This was gunna be a blast! He wasn't entirely sure what the appropriate adventuring attire was, so he stuck with his tried and true overalls and some boots that were only slightly to big by now. They should fit proper soon. Since this was a fancy occasion he figured he should wear a shirt as well, the mostly white one didn't look to bad. He almost forgot to stick his galleon into his pocket. Rumor was that there was stores there.He debated for a moment or two between the floo and the car. Figuring this was a day for new experiences he chose the floo. He landed on the other side and shook his head to clear it, that'd been a ride alright. He was definitely doing that again! The Professor talked some about stuff and while he was then looking around for Ray, she punched him in the shoulder again. He was starting to wonder if she liked him. "Heck yeah!" he replied with a wider than normal grin. She looked different without the school robes on, something inside him approved. Despite his surroundings, he found it a bit difficult to pull his eyes away from her for some reason.
"You're buyin'? I got money to ya know." He flashed his single galleon that he'd already shown her plenty of times so far. Food sounded great, but her next bit confused him. "Bowties and vests?" He tried to picture it in his head and had to agree, she was probably right. Still, turnabout was fair play. "Alright, I'm game, but..." he paused and everything about him got that mischievous look about him, "We'll have to try you in some dresses as well then." Wait.. wait... wait a minute. That was dance stuff, wasn't it? The mischievous look slid off his face to one of slight confusion. Was? Were they? "Which way is the food?" He finally asked, followed fairly quickly with a question that for some reason seemed to have a hint of hope in it, "We going to the dance thing?"
2
Billy Cobb
Around here, or in general over all?
1519
0
5
Oz Spellman
October 03, 2021 10:23 PM
What do male ghost siblings say? by Oz Spellman
“Nerd,” Oz rolled his eyes, grinning and giving the word an affectionate emphasis as Henry collected a pamphlet to explain exactly why the ghosts were hitting the unliving snot out of each other.Henry suggested food first, which was surprising, because outside food was a treat but the kind of food that ‘settled your stomach’ probably wasn’t ice cream. Buying boring snacks was definitely a waste of money.
“I have an apple. Or bread rolls,” he offered. There had been something about lunch being available at school after the trip, but that meant it was a late lunch, and Oz was basically permanently hungry. This had helped the habit of stuffing food into his pockets to never quite die out, and the idea of going to a tourist trap (where you absolutely did not buy Sustenance Food) had kicked it up a gear. “Sorry, wizards still haven’t worked out packets of salted pretzels,” he shrugged, knowing those were Henry’s favourite. “I would guess ancient wizard ghost dudes are even less likely to have them… Though maybe they have the big squishy kind like in the mall?” The kind that always gave out free samples. Those were good people…
He followed Henry’s lead on direction and food, staring at the town around them. It was weird. It was like, super old and full of ghosts. His head jerked back to Henry though when he asked a surprising question.
“Like-” Like a girl? Except Xavier was in his line of sight, and mom said stuff about not assuming often enough that he was able to quickly switch. “-on a date?” He tried to think about it for a minute but his brain just didn’t want to. “Probably not,” he shrugged. “Are you? Hey, if someone likes you, does that mean they like me too?” He pulled a face. He was all for them being bros again but there were some things he didn’t want to share. “That’s gonna be weird.”
13
Oz Spellman
What do male ghost siblings say?
1514
0
5
Reighleigh Mae Thorn
October 03, 2021 10:23 PM
Both. by Reighleigh Mae Thorn
Billy looked at her different, she thought. Or maybe he just looked different. Or maybe she was crazy, but since she definitely wasn't crazy, it must be him. Boys were so weird. Wait . . . Billy was a boy . . .?She cocked an eyebrow at the idea of trying on dresses for him and wondered what his tastes would be in girls' clothes. Probably not the same as hers. She had a sudden horrifying mental image of a black overall dress with a plaid shirt underneath. It was satisfying to imagine how much her mom would hate it.
"Food's that way," she answered, pointing at random in a direction where a lot of people were going because that seemed likely to be accurate. She hadn't been paying attention and she definitely hadn't grabbed a map. They might have started walking then if Billy hadn't continued. She wasn't entirely sure what he meant to be asking though. This wasn't exactly how she'd imagined being asked to a ball but then, she hadn't really ever imagined going to one. She hadn't even really imagined being friends with someone like Billy. "I think everyone is going, right? Or . . . hey, what do you mean?" she asked, grinning mischievously and raising an eyebrow again to show that she was totally not freaking out because she wasn't.
22
Reighleigh Mae Thorn
Both.
1525
0
5
Dorian Montoir
October 03, 2021 11:23 PM
Ghosts of the past (tag Professor Brooding-Hawthorne) by Dorian Montoir
Tumbleweed was… small. It was amazing how, when he had been at Sonora, it had seemed like venturing out into the wide world. Now, having actually done that (in a way where he totally still lived with his school roommate, and had painted as many walls as possible bright yellow—but still), the town had shrunk.It was a little harder than he had realised it would be to keep the ghosts here at bay. Not the literal ones, who - whilst they did try to attract his attention to come to their establishments or see their shows - seemed content to mind their own business, but his own personal ones. There were a lot of memories of a particular person tied to this place. One who wasn’t in his life any more. Dorian couldn’t say it had been a bad decision, or the wrong one. He felt like he had two families now, or maybe more. He’d finally settled into believing that he was not one misstep away from earning Lilac’s displeasure. His relationship with his Mama and Émilie was… well, not the same as when he’d lived at home, nor when he’d been at school. But it felt like the difference was down to where he was in life, not what he was. He saw them often. His dad sometimes too. And he had Vlad. Vlad suited him much better than Jean-Loup ever had. He just wished he could have got to that point without hurting someone good, or could know that it had worked out for the best for both of them… He liked to think that if he’d never dated Jean-Loup, then Jean-Loup wouldn’t have broken out of the rigid role set down by his parents. He liked to think he was better off having done that. But sometimes he felt like he’d pulled him away from the life he had only to abandon him.
Dorian also had Professor Brooding-Hawthorne. He’d seen her a number of times since graduating, but he wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity to do it again. It was a challenge, when she spent so much of her life in a boarding school. Even if she was technically freer to leave than the students, it wasn’t always that easy.
She had flood him to tell him about where in town she’d be assigned, and he waited there, having snagged a bench in the shade. Next to him, sat a tea tray. It was the large, boxy kind used in gongfu tea culture, with an inbuilt box for draining the excess water into. Of course, he could vanish the water, and would do so afterwards, but the aesthetic and the movements were part of the experience.
He leapt up with all the usual excitement when Professor Brooding-Hawthorne (no, he was not going to ever relax into calling her by her personal name, though he would settle on an affectionate ‘Prof’ for short) appeared.
“It’s good to see you!” he grinned, hugging her and bouncing at the same time. “How are you? Tea?” he offered, gesturing back at his seat. He levitated the tray with his wand to make space for both of them to sit. “You tell me your news whilst I make it.” He began conducting with his wand, first pouring boiling water into the pot, and then having it tip itself into the cups to warm everything up, before adding the tea. There was another brief splash of water, to awaken the tea leaves, and this too was poured away, before he really put the water in to steep with. Occasionally, he caught a passing student who he recognised glancing his way, and he gave them a smile or a nod. He did not often feel like he was very grown up. Legally, he was a grown up. But he wasn’t like… a grown up grown up. However, sitting looking at the students, and conducting rather complex and fancy magic like it was just an act of every day life, he felt a little bit like one.
“Et voila—ni de chá,” he said, passing a small steaming cup of bright, clear greenish-yellow liquid to Professor Brooding-Hawthorne.
13
Dorian Montoir
Ghosts of the past (tag Professor Brooding-Hawthorne)
1401
0
5
Stanley O'Malley
October 04, 2021 5:08 PM
I think we've all found it! by Stanley O'Malley
At first, Stanley was a little miffed at Wally because he was super lame, and Stanley was a manly man who did not ask for directions. He wasn’t sure why, but he’d seen it on enough Muggle TV shows when he’d had the chance, and the stereotype had ingrained itself in his young, impressionable brain. But then - “Wally, don’t!” he urged through his teeth - he realized who exactly his brother had, clearly without intention, approached.To be fair, Bonabelle had been facing the other way, and she had her hair up, which she didn’t really do very often. Actually, it looked kinda cute. But that was besides the point, because Stanley was maybe slightly afraid of her. He didn’t really think Bonabelle would ever do anything to him, but after being as mad as she had been when he and Valentine broke up, he was pretty sure that if anything did ever happen to him, she’d be the number one suspect. On his most paranoid days, he carried a note in his pocket that said Bonabelle did it, just in case he ever turned up floating in the MARS water room.
Surprisingly, she was pretty cool about showing them the way, and she started to turn to lead them. Then, she dropped a nuke.
Had Stanley already acquired a beverage and snack, one or both of them would have likely flown out his nose at that question. “Wha-!” he half-shrieked before he could compose himself. He could see Wally too had gone stiff, and looked even paler than usual. “I, uh, yeah, we are?” And then Idiot Stanley returned, and before he could help it, he asked, “Why?”
OOC: I can go again if you want, but I think it probably makes more sense to do one post per author back and forth, and I'll just trade off on who's the perspective character as it flows. If you want Wally to do something next, though, let me know in Chatzy.
12
Stanley O'Malley
I think we've all found it!
1491
0
5
Billy Cobb
October 04, 2021 9:02 PM
Am I included in that? by Billy Cobb
"Great!" Billy exclaimed when Ray pointed the way to the food and took a few steps in the direction before he realized Ray was answering his other question, but not moving at all. He turned back to face her with a bit of a confused look on his face. He hadn't really been listening to the announcements and all of the talk since then hadn't really focused on whether or not attendance was mandatory. Frankly, other than the fact that it was happening, he hadn't given it much thought. She had that smile again though. That usually meant fun times and probably trouble. He mirrored it back to her."Well," he drawled out a bit slowly, "If everyone's gotta go, I can't really think of anyone else better to go with than you." He gave her a wink. "It could mebbe be fun, you jus' never know." Now his mind was beginning to churn, what sort of shenanigans could they pull off at a fancy dance party thing? He'd bet his galleon that Ray already had some ideas. "How 'bout we go find that food, and figgure out some details?" He waggled his own eyebrows at her. "Then I guess we'd better see about what sort o' fancy duds we can find."
Wearing fancy stuff didn't really sound like the most exciting thing in the world, but if they were going to go to the thing, and maybe cause some trouble, it'd be best if they blended in somewhat. Plus, if Ray was wearing one of them big floofy dresses that the storybook pictures had of balls, who knows what they might be able to get into the dance unnoticed! There was probably all sorts of space under there! This might just be fun after all.
2
Billy Cobb
Am I included in that?
1519
0
5
Annabelle Pierce
October 05, 2021 10:24 AM
Ann & Ann Apparel by Annabelle Pierce
In Tumbleweed's town hall, a variety of vendors had set up shop in an impromptu market. Ann & Ann Apparel had rented one of the booths for the day. This wasn't exactly one of their main venues (high end fashion not generally being associated with ghost town frontiers), but it was ball year for Sonora, and once they heard the school was planning a trip down for that weekend, they'd hurried to secure a spot. Ball years were always good for business, and this year it was particularly important to get out and be seen.Annette wasn't showing yet, so Annabelle hadn't been required to do anything to prove they were two proper young ladies who were very definitely Not Pregnant. The only concession they'd had to make was that one of the water bottles they kept behind their table for hydration in the desert heat was subtly marked and actually contained an anti-nausea potion that Annette would take a sip from every now and then. They also had a bowl of crackers set on their table, ostensibly to draw in hungry potential customers looking for a free snack, but also giving Annette something to munch on if she got peckish. Annabelle enjoyed a few as well.
The stall's banner advertised their business as Ann & Ann Apparel, and they had photographs of some of the dresses and robes and jewelry they had designed and sold for past balls. A few dresses and jewelry items were also on display to give an idea of the range of products they sold. They primary catered to the wealthy elite, but especially with the simpler jewelry, they did try to offer items that the middle classes could afford as well. They had a well developed line of simple silver and gold chains that could be used as either necklaces or bracelets, depending on length, and a wide selection of charms to add to them: monograms, a whole name, a favorite animal, a heart shaped locket, or a semi-precious gem.
The two women behind the table had the same face, but weren't hard to tell apart. Annabelle herself was dressed in one of the more simple looking dresses they had for sale, her hair done up in a fancy updo, and an emerald necklace hugging close to her throat that accented the Sonora green of her dress very nicely. She was going for an understated elegant look, and felt she was pulling off very nicely.
Annette looked much more professional in a brown skirt and a white blouse. A fitted green blazer that matched Annabelle's dress brought them together as a pair visually without sacrificing their individual styles. Annette's brown hair fell to her shoulders, loose and straight. She wore less make-up than Annabelle had and her necklace was just a simple gold chain with the letter A on it.
"Hello," Annabelle called out, as one of the Sonora students approached their booth. "Looking for something to wear to the ball this year, or perhaps an accessory? We do custom designs, so if you don't see exactly what you are looking for on display, we can probably accommodate you."
1
Annabelle Pierce
Ann & Ann Apparel
246
0
7
Reighleigh Mae Thorn
October 05, 2021 1:36 PM
I guess you're not too lame. by Reighleigh Mae Thorn
OOC: Time jump approved by Billy's author. BIC:
So Ray was going to the ball with Billy and it was kind of by default because he couldn't think of anyone else to go with. It wasn't too offensive to think about because she couldn't think of anyone she'd rather go with either, if she was going to go with anyone at all. They were going to go shopping together now and that was a weird thought. She'd been way more careful with food than usual as a result, not wanting sticky fingers as she sorted through items.
They'd picked a shop with a selection of items for all genders. There were an annoying number of classmates here and Ray made a point of glaring at anyone who made her feel self-conscious, just to make sure they knew to knock it off. Most of the dresses here were the sort that would make her mom especially happy and she grimaced at the idea until she realized she could make it into a joke. Grabbing a pink one with a high neck and flowy sleeves, Ray held it up in front of her.
"What do you think? Do I look ridiculous yet? My mom would love it," she snickered. Then, noticing the nearby items, she grabbed a pink bowtie and held it up to Billy's neck. "Hmm, I'm not sure that's your color." But maybe if it were blue or green . . . well, he wouldn't look awful in a bowtie. "What do you actually want to wear?" she said like she didn't care at all. "If we're going to go together, we should probably sell it and match or something, right?"
22
Reighleigh Mae Thorn
I guess you're not too lame.
1525
0
5
Bonabelle Row
October 05, 2021 2:10 PM
Perfect! by Bonabelle Row
Bonabelle raised her eyebrow at Stanley. Okay, so they weren't best friends, but it didn't seem like she'd asked a question that was so next level weird that he should freak out about it. Perhaps it was just his stupid tendency to want all the attention ever. He seemed to recover with a surprising degree of intelligence as he followed up with a better question and Bonabelle sighed to herself, relieved that she'd have a chance to explain herself."Valentine and I would like to date a boy, together or each. For the ball at least." She shrugged, not wanting to push it beyond that since she suspected they'd need a moment to think. "I'm supposed to be trying to find candidates." She wrinkled her nose then though, thinking that Val probably would have preferred she ask it differently. "She's the romantic one, obviously," she huffed.
Out of the corner of her eye, she considered Stanley. Wally had never been particularly interesting, although he wasn't all bad and certainly more pleasant than his brother, but Stanley drew her attention without her having any say in that happening. She stopped outside the first food place they got to and gestured at it.
"I haven't kissed a boy but I think I could if we needed to test that out before you agree to go with us, if you want to," she decided.
OOC: If you want Stanley or Wally to say anything between Bonabelle's comments, let me know and I can edit.
22
Bonabelle Row
Perfect!
1488
0
5
Stanley O'Malley
October 05, 2021 7:31 PM
Perfect, huh? by Stanley O'Malley
There were plenty of opportunities to interject - and in fact, Stanley was usually the king of interruption - but this time, he remained silent. He was absolutely and completely dumbstruck. Date a boy? Together or each? Look, Stanley knew a couple people who were not straight, so he wasn’t too shocked that Valentine and Bonabelle were dating each other. But he had definitely never heard of dating a boy while dating a girl. That raised some questions. What was considered cheating? Did you get to have one boyfriend and one girlfriend and everything was square?Bonabelle spoke about boys (“candidates” she called them) and kissing so clinically that it almost didn’t sound fun anymore. Still, the Pecari had to admit, he did kinda like the idea of kissing her. He didn’t like it as much as he feared her, though.
Then he had another thought. If Bonabelle and Val both wanted to date boys - and it didn’t have to be one boy between them - then maybe this could work out. If Stanley dated Bonabelle, then the easiest and best solution to fill things out was that Wally would get to date Valentine!
A grin broke out onto his face. “Okay!” he said. Then he grabbed her, and in the next moment, unless she broke away, Bonabelle would find herself being dipped and kissed, perhaps a bit clumsily, by a boy who (among other things) did so to help his brother get to kiss a cute little blonde.
12
Stanley O'Malley
Perfect, huh?
1491
0
5
Alexei Vorontsov
October 05, 2021 10:08 PM
I am also outside the shops. by Alexei Vorontsov
Tumbleweed was, in Alexei's opinion, a fun word to say. Tumble-weed. Tummm-bull-weeed. Tummlewed? It was two words made into one, with sounds that sort of tumbled around in one's mouth like smooth stones.It also, it turned out, had a meaning beyond either 'a town name' and 'a mashup of two other words' - it also meant something like 'broken-off dry plant...stuff that forms into a ball in the wind and rolls around.' This seemed to Alexei to be a very, very specific term to have, which made him wonder just how many of those things were in this area, and how many he might see while he was outside of the school.
Setting foot in Tumbleweed the town, he didn't immediately spot any tumbleweeds the ground things, though he was admittedly distracted for a moment by concern for his roommate, who looked like the Floo had not agreed with him. "All okay, Xavier?" he said mildly. "Floo is very dizzy, no?"
Professor Skies had things to say, which meant Alexei had things to listen politely to, his grey eyes fixed on her, smiling faintly to look like he enjoyed listening. He was actually fairly neutral on the topic, but Katya and Tatya agreed that sometimes Americans might think someone was sullen or absent-minded just for looking neutral. Tatya, however, had shrugged this off more than Katya; he thought it was something to do with how Katya's English was better than Tatiana's, so she could focus on her face and listening at the same time. Alexei was even better, he thought, than Katya, but he remembered too Tatya's advice for going out into the world: if you have trouble, Alyosha, just blame stupid English.
He wasn't sure it would work as well for him as for Tatiana, since he did put in the effort to speak and write correctly instead of just comprehensibly, but it came to mind along with Tatiana herself as he looked around: some of the lady ghosts floating around had hats and ornaments that reminded him of his sister, though he had a feeling, somehow, that some of theirs might have been more...brassy...than his sister's when their owners had still been alive. It was hard to say why when everything was hardly more than tinted air, but he had spent his whole life around women who glittered when they walked, so he trusted his instincts on these things.
They were released into the world, and he floated after other people more than with them, listening particularly to historical ghosts, to the extent he understood them. Some of them spoke with accents he wasn't familiar with, or with old-fashioned English vocabulary he didn't know. Eventually, however, he determined he ought to float along with other people, lest he get in trouble; easy enough to talk his way out of it probably by being very enthusiastic about American history, but easier to avoid it.
He was interested, he supposed, in seeing what American shopping was like, too, but only mildly so. He didn't need to buy robes, and it never would have occurred to him to look at clothes just for pleasure, so he might have wandered right past that shop had he not suddenly heard his name coming from in front of it.
"Iris," he said, remembering just in time to pronounce it in a way that felt wrong. The flower, in Russian, was ee-ris, not ai-ris, but she wasn't a Russian flower, was she? She was not, and therefore ought to have her name pronounced as closely to how she said it as he could get his mouth around. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't ee-ris, either, which he felt was...better than nothing, anyway. "Hello. Uh - yes, if you want?" He was surprised by the inquiry. "Would you want help to find them? Who do we look for?"
16
Alexei Vorontsov
I am also outside the shops.
1531
0
5
That does make this easier by Iris Cobb
The irrational wash of panic subsided when Alexi agreed to be her partner. Iris was with somebody now, and that was how it was supposed to be. Now she just needed to continue to pretend that there weren't swarms of ghosts all around them. Right, well she had Alexi that she could now focus on and just forget there was anything else going on in this town. It was all fine now. Perfectly fine.She gave him a friendly smile that was definitely tinged with relief. "Thanks," she semi-drawled out, still working to master her own pronunciation. Alexi had an accent to deal with as well, as well as an entirely different language. So she didn't say anything about his way of saying her name, it was pretty darn good. Heaven only knows what he thought of her saying his name. "We don't have ta go lookin'... looking for anyone." She answered his question with some minor correction. "I was just following a group that was going shopping and they wandered off again without me. They probably didn't realize I was with 'em…. them."
While talking Iris shifted around a little to face less of the street where there was absolutely nothing happening that she needed to worry about. There certainly weren't any ghosts parading up and down the street incessantly. "Do you have any plans?" That sounded a bit open ended, he might think she was asking… Wait! This was Alexi! She had a promise to keep to Amethyst, and this might be the perfect opportunity! The question was how to go about this without it sounding like she wanted him to ask her instead of Amethyst? This would be easier if she already had a date. She could pretend perhaps. Or…. Another idea struck her.
"I should probably find Amethyst though," she continued, "Could you help me look for her please?"
2
Iris Cobb
That does make this easier
1526
0
5
Bonabelle Row
October 06, 2021 8:59 PM
Well, it was. by Bonabelle Row
Bonabelle was pretty sure that not everyone had gotten the same lessons on consent that she had from her uncle, although he'd certainly covered the topic in ways during the lessons he taught at Sonora, so she wasn't sure what was up with everyone. At least when val had kissed her, it had been a thing she'd known Bonabelle wanted to do before and there was an element of consent in that, even if it wasn't perfect. She'd gone and asked if the O'Malley twins needed to kiss for science but she hadn't expected such a response, particularly from Stanley and particularly without any sort of warm up or discussion. She certainly hadn't meant that experimentation should happen right here in front of ghosts and everyone.That all being said, she wasn't a particularly physically minded person and her defenses usually were limited to magical ones and intellectual ones. Since her mouth was occupied with Stanley's and she wasn't any good at non-verbal magic just yet, neither option was available to her and only a small squeak escaped through the kiss itself. It was the first time she'd ever kissed a boy, only the second person she'd ever kissed at all, and she was very sure she liked kissing Val more than Stanley. It wasn't all bad though; while she didn't quite manage to find it in herself to kiss him back, her arms did go naturally to his shoulders for fear of being dropped and she found that it wasn't the worst experience of her life either. It was hard to say whether she didn't like kissing boys, didn't like kissing Stanley, or just didn't like being kissed by people she hadn't been trying to get kisses from.
When they returned to a proper standing position, detached from each other's mouths, Bonabelle wasn't sure whether she was supposed to thank him or yell at him for kissing her without permission. Since she'd already established that he was perfectly stupid and that that wasn't the worst thing to be, she chose neither, settling on a bit of a glare but nothing too offensive.
"You'll do," she decided with a shrug. Her lips tasted like Stanley and she resisted the urge to run her tongue over them. "But let me know first next time," she added, giving in a bit more to a glower before turning to Wally. She found that, now that she'd established that consent was important for future, she actually sort of wanted to smile a bit. She tried to resist the urge, instead only glancing back at Stanley. He was stupid and terrible and not at all interesting, but she found that she did actually sort of want to see what he'd do if she kissed him like that. "If Valentine doesn't mind," she added to him before looking once more at Wally. "So do you want to go with her? Do you uh . . . need to kiss too?" she added, only barely managing not to grimace. She wasn't sure why but the idea of kissing Wally was much less pleasant. That didn't mean Stanley was special though.
22
Bonabelle Row
Well, it was.
1488
0
5
Henry Spellman
October 06, 2021 9:11 PM
I think the question goes before the punchline? Unless this is jeopardy. by Henry Spellman
"Bread," Henry decided, preferring the more plain item of the two choices. He had figured they'd split an elephant ear or something as a way to both get something solid in his system and to enjoy a treat, but he knew Oz was right; such expenditures were a waste of money, however he might try to justify it to himself. "I didn't get breakfast," he added dully as he accepted the snack from his brother. "I woke up late."Truth was, he hadn't been sleeping well. He rarely slept well at Sonora because he slept alone but it had only gotten worse since his reconciliation (for lack of a better word) with Oz because now sleeping was the only time he was properly alone and it was lonely as heck. And cold, although he suspected that was partly a metaphorical experience as the room was temperature controlled really well on the whole.
Oz seemed open to food, even suggesting mall pretzels and earning a smile for the call back, so Henry led the way, following his nose and the map to the place that sounded most likely to have cheap snacks. Bar food, their mom had explained before, was mostly meant to be salty, greasy, heavy, and cheap; the more someone drank, the more they wanted to eat, and the more they spent on food, the less they'd have to spend on drinks. Although Professor Skies had assured them that the saloon was for all ages, Henry figured it was at least a good place to start and led the way there.
Henry rolled his eyes at his brother's comment about them both being liked, although he laughed too. "If someone likes me, it's not because of our big stinkin' forehead and pointy chin," he said. "I like to think they'd like me for my personality," he added with a hand on his chest to show off just how fancy and dapper he was. Dropping his hand and his tone, he became more serious. "I don't know if anyone likes me though. I don't really like anyone I don't think. But sometimes girls talk to me and I swear I understand all the words they're using but I don't understand what they're saying at all. Do you like any of the girls here?" he asked, not considering that his brother could ever like anyone else, because they were cut from the same cloth and Henry's corner of that cloth was definitely into girls. His eyes, following one of the older students as she walked by, agreed with him.
22
Henry Spellman
I think the question goes before the punchline? Unless this is jeopardy.
1513
0
5
Oz Spellman
October 07, 2021 8:38 AM
Yeah, you really messed that up by Oz Spellman
OOC: CW - passing mention of vomit. BIC:
“You probably would have just barfed it back up anyway,” Oz shrugged, when Henry said he hadn’t had breakfast. Admittedly, the trip was quite a bit after breakfast time, perhaps to avoid that risk, but the floo had been intense. He passed over the bread roll.
Oz had been having more trouble sleeping lately. He wasn’t sure whether it was a growing thing, a ‘Xavier told me a bunch of really heavy things’ thing, or a twin thing. When something wasn’t right with Henry, he knew, even without being told. All that stuff people said about identical twins having a basically psychic bond had to be amplified by them being wizards, right? Were they actually psychic? Like, in a way other wizards and other non-wizard twins weren’t? He tried to beam the thought to Henry that they should get ice cream later to test it out.
“What?” Oz frowned, as Henry criticised their face. It had been the one thing Oz had never been able to take a shot at - he could make fun of Henry for being a nerd, or a murder documentary freak, or any of his other weird personality-based things, but he couldn’t exactly tell him he was ugly. Okay, he pretended sometimes that their face was slightly better on himself. Even though, actually, he thought their old haircut was better, and that maybe Henry had the real edge on being cuter. He was definitely never going to say so though. He grabbed Henry’s face, turning it to use as a mirror. “Our chin isn’t pointy. At least, not more than other chins. Chins are pointy. That’s their job. You’re such a weirdo,” he rolled his eyes and let go of Henry’s face.
“You hear words? That’s impressive. I just hear blah blah blah or fart noises, especially when Rae’s talking.” He considered Henry’s question. His eyes followed the same student as Henry’s, then he wondered what would happen if they ended up liking the same people. They’d never really agreed on many other favourites so it seemed much less of a risk than someone finding both of them cute. Or no one finding either of them cute. “The Teppenpaw prefect girl is hot,” he said, because she was one of those older girls that you could tell was actually girl shaped even when they had to wear the stupid school uniforms. And when they didn’t… Dang. “Not sure she’ll go to the ball with me though.” For one thing, she was always Frenching that boy from Henry’s house. Second, he didn’t actually know her name, which was probably a very bare minimum that girls expected, and probably a heck of a lot more.
“Do you think we have to?” he asked. If someone wanted to make out with him, he couldn’t deny being curious, but the ball just sounded like sitting around in posh clothes being bored. Being with one of the boring girls in their year would only make it even more boring. “Like, if we just hang out with each other or our friends, are we gonna look like losers, or gay, or like… gay losers? I mean, not that I’m judging, but,” he shrugged. Everyone else might.
13
Oz Spellman
Yeah, you really messed that up
1514
0
5
Alexander, all the twins are pairing off and we’re siblings in the same grade, too by Mab
Mab stepped through the floo and felt only marginally disoriented. Since they moved to the new apartment that was equipped with a floo connection, she’d gotten some practice using that form of transportation when moving between the Boston Pierce residences, but she honestly wasn’t sure she’d ever like it. Still, it was better and also quicker than the car like abomination that she found more than a little creepy because it broke car-physics. That was the kind of thing that resulted when fey tried to pretend to be mortal and failed. It was probably riddled with hidden fey pacts to entrap the unwary.So she took the floo, because the floo was at least designed for fey use and therefore left its dangers open to the incompetent rather than the ignorant. She pretended it didn’t leave her dizzy, and took only a moment to reclaim her balance on the other side. As she stepped out of the way, and watched the next person come through, she felt reassured that she had handled the effects better than they had, if nothing else.
With that boost of confidence she moved deeper into the crowd, finding her way in front of the tourist office where they were gathering, all the while looking for her brother. Tumbleweed was where they met, Tumbleweed was where they first bonded. This place was theirs.
She paused in her search as Professor Skies made her announcements, and collected one of the maps as they were passed around.
Ah! There was Alexander! She spotted him just as the speech was wrapping up and made her way over to him. “Hey, Pardner,” she greeted in a very bad approximation of a western drawl. “Some outlaw has gone stole my cowboy hat.” His name was Reilly, and he’d lost it when he’d worn it on one of the family trips to the skate park. She still wasn’t sure which of them had been more upset about it. Reilly had cried more, but she’d held the grudge longer. “Think you can help me replace it?”
1
Mab
Alexander, all the twins are pairing off and we’re siblings in the same grade, too
1473
0
5
Billy Cobb
October 07, 2021 5:17 PM
That's good to hear. Your not to bad either. by Billy Cobb
This was turnin' out pretty fun. Well, as much fun as eatin' and shoppin' could get. Eating was usually something he didn't complain about needing to do, 'specially if it was with someone fun. That was usually the case when Ray was around. Shopping on the other hand, wasn't something he'd ever done much of, and it never made it very high on his list of 'things he sought out to do'. Most time he'd done it in the past it'd been with Pa, and occasionally Ma as well.When he entered the shop behind Ray and saw the place full of clothes, he groaned silently to himself. But, this was the plan and maybe it wouldn't be to bad. He watched Ray since he figured she had more experience at this than him, and she was fun to watch. She was glaring at everyone else and grimacing. He could do that! While he was trying to shop correctly, Ray darted off quick and flashed a very pink dress in his direction.
It looked… odd in front of his friend. He honestly wasn't sure what to make of it. That dress had to be one of the most un-Ray things he'd ever seen. It did look ridiculous, yet still… her snicker and comment pulled him from his daze. "Yeah," he agreed in a tone that he hope conveyed his complete and utter agreement with her, "Ridiculous."
When she held something pink up to his neck, he'd mostly recovered. Billy gave her a 'mature and sophisticated' grin while waggling his eyebrows at her. He did crinkle his nose at the pink comment. "Yeah, can't say imma huge fan of pink", despite the fact that that dress hadn't looked terrible with Ray. "I dunno though," he responded to her question about what he wanted to wear as he looked about the shop with a lost expression. "I ain't never worn much stuff that was fancier than our school stuff." He gave Ray another grin, "I guess I'm pretty much at yer mercy here." He wasn't sure if he'd like that for anyone else, but whatever Ray decided to do, it'd probably be great.
2
Billy Cobb
That's good to hear. Your not to bad either.
1519
0
5
Lydia Priory
October 08, 2021 4:20 PM
Fears and anxieties! by Lydia Priory
Lydia bit her lip as she looked around Tumbleweed for Iris. She really wanted to hang out with the other second year, but didn't see her anywhere. She was probably with Amethyst. Sometimes, the Teppenpaw felt that Iris liked her roommate better than she did Lydia.Which was super disappointing but she couldn't exactly blame the Crotalus. Amethyst was...well, pretty much the image of a proper pureblood girl. Although, Lydia was also very proper, but she lacked her distant cousin's...confidence. She was...babyish and afraid of most things. She was probably needier and more high maintenance than Amethyst was. Her sister certainly seemed to think that Lydia was those things-although Sophia wouldn't, of course, know in comparison with the other second year, the Teppenpaw was simply assuming that Amethyst was less so since the Crotalus seemed rather sophisticated and mature. Exactly what Lydia wasn't.
And it was...well, she was worried that Iris would find her annoying, the way Sophia tended to. It was bad enough when your older sister felt that way about you but it was even worse if someone that you hoped was your friend felt like that. Not that Lydia knew that for a fact. Iris might not find her at all irritating or clingy, but just liked the more glamorous Amethyst more than her.
It might very well just be that Iris and Amethyst were roommates and therefore spent more time together than Lydia did with Iris. It was completely unfair because the Teppenpaw didn't even have a roommate so she was at a distinct disadvantage in that way. She didn't have a chance for a ready made best friend but like, lots of people in her family weren't best friends with their roommates, in fact other than Uncle Evan and Peyton, her soon to be sister-in-law, she couldn't think of any of her relatives who had been close with theirs.
Unfortunately, Iris was or seemed to be and that sort of left Lydia out in the cold. Especially given that the Teppenpaw was sort of intimidated by the other girls in their class. Ray totally scared her and Connie's intellect also made her feel...inferior. There was Val too but the older Tepp had lots of other friends. And the third year girls were roommates and a trio. Maybe Lydia could be friends with one of the first years. Although they were all paired into roommates too. Though she didn't know if any of them were the kind of roommates that were friends. Maybe they were the kind of roommates like Mommy or Uncle Adam had been with theirs where they weren't especially close at all.
And right now, it was sort of a problem since Lydia both wasn't allowed to and didn't want to walk around by herself. It wasn't just that it wouldn't be much fun to do so, she was scared to do so. Weirdly enough, she actually wasn't all that scared of ghosts, at least not any more than she was scared of living people. Though she was actually scared of living people quite a bit. Well, to varying degrees. Mommy, Daddy and Connor didn't scare her at all but Ray scared her a lot. Amethyst and Connie scared her some but not as much as Ray. Iris didn't scare her much but more than her mom, dad, and brother did. Sophia scared her more than the rest of her close relatives, other than Arianna and Aunt Chelsea. Her baby cousin Belinda didn't scare her, for now. Hans didn't really scare her on his own but his snake did. Liesl, the first year girl in her house who was her distant cousin and seemed to like skulls, scared her a little. The only person that Lydia found scarier than Ray was Great Uncle Liam, who was pretty much the boogeyman.
It would have probably been more accurate to say that ghosts didn't scare her because they happened to be dead.
Anyway, what scared her about being on her own in Tumbleweed-besides the fact that she'd get in trouble if caught-was that she might get lost. Also, nobody wanting to hang out with her was not all that great for Lydia's self-esteem, which wasn't all that great to begin with.
Fortunately, before she could fret too much, one of the first years-Verdillia, the first years had very memorable names for the most part and the remaining ones stood out for how ordinary they were when surrounded by the rest-asked. "Sure!" Lydia replied, happy not to be left on her own.
Even though Verdillia was arguably the scariest first year besides Liesl and the Pecaris.
11
Lydia Priory
Fears and anxieties!
1533
0
5
Verdillia Scurlock
October 09, 2021 5:17 AM
Those don't sound as much fun by Verdillia Scurlock
Sure!The single word was not a lot to go off, but it was at least a positive. It had also been pronounced with intensity, and that was the same as enthusiasm, right? An accpetance was certainly the opposite of a rejection, so Verdillia smiled brightly.
The girl who had accepted was Lydia Priory of the Wisconsin Priories. However, she herself had not pointed that out, and it seemed odd for Verdillia to do it on her behalf. Presumaby, Lydia knew her own name and where she came from, and Verdillia would probably look like a creeper for telling her. It was far enough into the school year that everyone knew everyone's names from the register (or 'roll call' as it seemed to be known here. She wasn't sure if that was an American thing or a magical thing - what with writing on parchment, their names were quite literally called from a roll...). So, maybe introductions were start of term thing. She took a mental note, though that wasn't really the important thing right now. The important thing was that she now had a partner, a partner who was a somebody.
"Have you been here before?" she asked. "What do you think we should do first?"
13
Verdillia Scurlock
Those don't sound as much fun
1541
0
5
Wally O'Malley
October 09, 2021 5:32 PM
My eyes!!! by Wally O'Malley
Everything just happened so fast. Wally felt like his brain had whiplash from trying to keep up. Where had it all gone wrong? Oh, right, he went up to someone to ask for help… but that someone was Bonabelle. He should have known not to ask her, but she looked so different from behind with her hair up like that. But then she was surprisingly helpful, and then she was talking about wanting boyfriends while she and Valentine both had each other as girlfriends too, and then Stanley was kissing her?! Oh, jeez!Watching them kiss was uncomfortable for a number of reasons. One, that was his brother, so, y’know, yuck. Second, he was pretty sure Bonabelle was going to murder him as soon as they stopped. And three, quietly, a little voice in the back of his mind had to wonder whether or not Stanley had ever kissed Valentine like that, even though that voice was also afraid of the answer. He did his best not to listen to it and just be horrified on the first two counts.
Admittedly, “You’ll do” was just about the funniest response Bonabelle could have possibly had, but then she turned and looked at Wally, and he felt every ounce of blood drain away from his face. It quickly came back, all rushing to his cheeks at her questions for him.
“Yes!” he said, a little too quickly, referring exclusively to the part about Valentine. “I mean, no!” he added equally quickly, for the… other part. “I-I mean… I’ll go with Valentine. But nobody has to-... I mean, it’s fine to not-.... Y-yeah, I’ll go with her,” Wally fumbled weakly. Nothing personal, but he had no particular interest in kissing Bonabelle, especially not when she probably still had Stanley essence all over her face. But Valentine hadn’t kissed Stanley in a long time if at all (Stanley said they did, not Wally wasn’t sure if he believed his brother or not). And her, he kinda wanted to kiss. But not like that. And only if she wanted to.
12
Wally O'Malley
My eyes!!!
1492
0
5
Anya Delachene
October 09, 2021 9:10 PM
Great! by Anya Delachene
Anya beamed back at Ellie's excited response, forgetting completely in the face of Ellie's enthusiasm that she had thought she might give Alexander first dibs. And it was entirely true that she had been looking for Ellie, so her answer was absolute. "I was! Yes! Both for today, and because Jasmine told me to tell you that she's helping me and Philippe get ball stuff over midterm, and she wants to know if you want to come shopping with us, too?" Anya really hoped Ellie did, so that Jasmine could squee over ball gowns with Ellie and leave Anya alone to find a nice sundress that wasn't absolutely horrendous to try to wear. It was much easier to shop with Jasmine if there were more people who actually liked clothes involved to distract her."And since we're doing that at midterm, we don't need to think about dresses today," she added in relief. "So what do we want to do?" Last time she'd been here, they'd had a scavenger hunt to do and the time before that there was the whole the Quidditch expo thing, and this time had none of that. Of course, that did mean she hadn't done a lot of the normal touristy things. "Have you see any of the ghost shows before?"
She happened to look around and saw Alexander standing with his sister, and she felt a brief moment of relief that he had someone to spend the day with who wasn't her, since she was already booked with Ellie now.
1
Anya Delachene
Great!
1453
0
5
Lavender Brockert
October 11, 2021 6:43 PM
Let's make the most of it. by Lavender Brockert
Lavender was super excited. Not only was she going to Tumbleweed, which was great because well, it was fun to go places when you were stuck at school for nine months and never went anywhere else, she was going to hang out with Val! Just Val.Well, at least for a little while anyway. It seemed as if the Teppenpaw was going to end up meeting with Bonabelle later, much to Lavender's complete and utter dismay. Couldn't the other fourth year just once find someone else to hang out with? Why was the Crotalus always the one who had to figure something else out? Why couldn't Bonabelle be the one who had to make sacrifices for once?
Oh yes, because apparently it was Bonabelle's world and the rest of them were just living in it. Lavender's feelings could have been totally irrational but she was starting to feel like they really weren't.
It was just that, when someone did a lot of things and was constantly busy, something had to give. With Chaslyn, it had been things like sleeping, eating and her general well-being and sanity. With Amity, it had been any desire to do anything productive at all and any sort of positive feelings towards her mother. And with Val, it seemed to be time with other friends that weren't Bonabelle. Lavender didn't blame her friend for the situation at all, the Aladren just needed to be less, well, totally and completely selfish.
After all, what was the Crotalus supposed to do today when Val left to hang out with Bonabelle,for example? Who was she supposed to hang out with? Did people just assume Lavender could hang out with her relatives? Some of them weren't that closely related, even though they had the same last name. She didn't really know Esme or Isla that well. She really only knew the boys who, for all Lavender knew,had other plans.
She supposed she should just be happy and enjoy what she got but still why should she have to be the one to beg for scraps all the time? It was as if Val's time was a pie, things like school and clubs and stuff one had to do got their obligatory pieces, and Bonabelle hogged the rest while Lavender got crumbs, a small sliver if she was lucky.
The Crotalus vowed that when and if she got a boyfriend,she would make time for others in her life. That it wouldn't be fair for him to monopolize her. Except, that said boyfriend wouldn't be at school with her and aside from her family, there really weren't any others because Bonabelle was monopolizing Val all the time so really, the comparison didn't really pan out.
Still, Lavender was happy to be there with Val now. Much as she shouldn't have to fight fo crumbs and scraps and slivers, and then be grateful for them, she was. Pathetically, she was. And she hated herself for it. For being so pathetic. And for not being capable of making more friends so she wouldn't be in this situation.
Then Val said something that brought her out of her self-loathing and resentment of Bonabelle. "Wait, what?" The Crotalus frowned."Why do you need a boy to take you to the ball if you have a girlfriend? It's not like people aren't allowed to go with those of the same gender." Dorian had, after all, danced with his then boyfriend at the last one, and while he shouldn't have been allowed to have a date who wasn't a student when nobody else was, the gender of said date wasn't the issue.
Besides, it wouldn't be fair for someone to have two dates, especially when Lavender and others wouldn't even have one . In fact, some people didn't even have friends to hang out with, because either they didn't have them to start with or because all their friends had dates. That had happened to Amity although she had gotten lucky and made new friends. Still, the Crotalus was pretty sure she would be in that group and might not have her cousin's good fortune.
Also, if Val did also find a boy to go with her, said boy would likely take a back seat to Bonabelle too and that wouldn't be fair either.
OOC: Val's plans with Bonabelle assumed from what was said in Bonabelle's post and Lavender's paranoid psyche
11
Lavender Brockert
Let's make the most of it.
1504
0
5
Valentine Duell
October 11, 2021 10:13 PM
That's an excellent plan! by Valentine Duell
Valentine Duell was not one to be oblivious to the moods of her friends. She got the feeling that something was bothering Lavender, but she wasn’t quite sure what. It was her own fault she knew for not spending more time with Lavender, if she had, she’d probably have a much better idea of what it was. Oh… a thought struck Val, maybe that was the problem. Maybe Lavender was upset with her because she hadn’t been spending a lot of time with her? Was she being a bad friend? She quickly tried to assess the situation, were things different this year than last in that area? It was true that she had dropped most of the clubs this year, but that time had mostly been taken up by schoolwork. That had been the main scheduling change, maybe Lavender wanted to have some more time with her since she wasn’t doing clubs? That might be possible.. The only other ‘change’ this year was that she was now dating Bonabelle instead of ‘dating’ Bonabelle. That really wasn’t much of a change though, was it? Then again, maybe she’d imagined it, but had there been the slightest extra tone in Lavender’s voice when she had said ‘girlfriend’?” No… probably not. Although she knew that Lavender and Bonabelle had never quite hit it off as she wished they would have.With an apologetic smile, Val responded to Lavender's question, “I think we need to do some catching up… and I’m sorry that we need to do that catching up. We’ll need to fix that.” She would definitely need to find some more time somewhere in her schedule to spend more time with Lavender again. “Let’s find somewhere better to chat,” her expression turned a bit more hopeful, “Ice-cream!” In an instant, she had Lavender’s hand in hers and was leading the way into town towards the ice cream parlor.
A few minutes later found them sitting in a booth, Valentine eyeing up her chocolate sundae. She couldn’t resist, she took a bite before diving into the conversation. It would be a terrible crime to let it melt completely after all. “Mmmm.. that’s good.” she commented before turning her attention back to her friend. “But… to actually answer your question about finding a boy for the dance…” She trailed off a bit while she actually processed the question. Where to start? Why not just dive right into the heart of it? “Well,” she started up with a minor blush, “I love Bonabelle, but in the end, I also want to be a mother someday and well... Bonabelle can’t really help with that.” She assumed that Lavender knew something of that process. Her face softened, “It’s not just that though, I want... “ words seemed to fail her. “I’m still not entirely sure. Bonabelle is wonderful and lovely, but I look around at some of the boys and I feel drawn to them as well.” She paused again, “It’s hard to explain. Sometimes it does feel like I’m being greedy though.” Her eyes dropped from Lavender’s to the table.
“How about you?” Val finally asked in return. “Do you have any plans for the ball? Can I help at all?” She knew that as a Brockert, Lavender had some extra conditions on who was ‘suitable’ to take her to the ball. Personally Val thought that was kind of silly, Lavender should be able to go with whomever she wanted to.
OOC: Scene shift approved by Lavender's author
2
Valentine Duell
That's an excellent plan!
1490
0
5
Bonabelle Row
October 12, 2021 12:02 PM
My brain! by Bonabelle Row
Wally wasn't normally a squeaky sort of person but he seemed a bit squeaky now. It was almost laughable to think that there had been a time when Val thought that Wally liked Bonabelle. Perhaps she still thought that. Did that mean this was weird? Were they doing tradesies? That seemed weird, but not any weirder than finding boys for you and your girlfriend to go on a date with. Ugh. Bonabelle's eyebrows came together with mild confusion at Wally's equal parts eagerness and apparent disinterest, and she nodded, confirming that she understood. She didn't really understand the situation at all but she understood all the words and that was good enough for her. This wasn't a pair of people she was particularly interested in continuing to chat with."Great," she agreed. "Valentine is wearing pink," she told Wally, "and I'm probably wearing blue. I've been told you might be interested to know that," she said, hiding her grimace at the thought. She couldn't help glancing Stanley's way again though. Surely it was just because he was part of the conversation. She looked back at Wally. "I'll let her know that you'll go with her but aren't comfortable kissing," she said with a nod before turning and walking away, off to find either the group of misfits she'd started with or Val herself. Boys were weird.
22
Bonabelle Row
My brain!
1488
0
5
Wally O'Malley
October 12, 2021 9:17 PM
My dignity! by Wally O'Malley
Wally immediately committed the girls’ colors to memory. Both of them, in fact, because he knew Stanley sure wouldn’t remember. Best case scenario, he recalled the colors themselves but flip flopped on who was wearing what. This was, Wally had learned, something that mattered to girls. When you were their date, you had to match their color schemes. In fact, as the ball approached, he might do a little more investigating to find out what shade of pink and blue (respectively) the girls planned to wear, because lord help them if they were in the wrong shade. The thought passed through Wally’s mind briefly that maybe he should lie to Stanley about what shade to wear and see if Bonabelle freaked out on him. The evening was sure to be a hot mess anyway, so maybe a little fun at his brother’s expense would redeem it. It was altogether not a very Wally-like thought, although it proved that he definitely did in fact have a little bit of his mother in him."I'll let her know that you'll go with her but aren't comfortable kissing.”
“NO, that’s not what I-” but Bonabelle had already turned and begun to walk away, and probably didn’t hear him at all. Wally hung his head. How was he ever supposed to get a girl to like him like this? Any girl, but especially Valentine?
The Crotalus felt Stanley’s hand rest itself on his shoulder, as if to comfort, and he heard his brother’s voice: “Dude? Yikes.”
Wally’s shoulder raised, knocking off Stanley’s hand, and his hand connected with the back of Stanley’s head with a solid whack. It was deserved, so there was no complaint or retaliation. “Come on,” Wally grumbled, still growing ever hungrier. “Let’s look for food this way.” And he started walking, not waiting for Stanley but allowing him to catch up. They would have to wing it now, because they were absolutely not asking anyone else for directions.
12
Wally O'Malley
My dignity!
1492
0
5
Ellie Alperton
October 15, 2021 11:01 PM
Yay! by Ellie Alperton
“Oh my gosh, yes!” Ellie beamed, as Anya extended a Christmas holiday shopping trip invitation. That would be so much fun! There were totally going to be gingerbread spiced lattes involved! Shopping with Jasmine was like the best combination of magical and non-magical culture. Ellie thoroughly trusted her to make it feel like they were the cool kids in a Disney channel movie, but with the added benefit of knowing literally magical stores. Maybe her dress for this year would be even better, even if her date situation wouldn’t be.She laughed as Anya said that got them out of dress browsing for the day, though it was a laugh that fully said it was funny because she knew she wasn’t joking.
“The only other ball prep I have to do is finding a date, and I don’t think Tumbleweed stocks those,” she grimaced. She glanced around for Dathan, not that she wanted to spend the day with him when she had Anya, but to see if he was spending it with anyone else. She didn’t spot him though. He was probably already making out with Sadie somewhere…
“No, not really,” she answered about the ghost shows. She’d sort of seen some bits in passing, as it was hard to avoid when they were providing street theatre, but she had never really fully watched one. She had been interested in the town’s history, but had followed that up in the form of going to the museum and doing extra detailed reading of the info plaques on the town trail during her previous visits. The ghost shows were definitely interesting, but they were also something she’d felt a slight need to build up to. “Ghost show and then ice cream sounds good,” she said, linking her arm with Anya’s happily.
13
Ellie Alperton
Yay!
1456
0
5
Hansel Hexenmeister
October 16, 2021 7:16 PM
Sounds like it! by Hansel Hexenmeister
Hansel was looking forward to the trip to Tumbleweed. Heinrich and Hilda had both told him about the place, but this was his first trip out. He took the 'car' thing as a novelty trip (and also to keep his sister company because she didn't trust her accent on the floo, and honestly, Hansel had an accent too, even if he was as fluent as a native speaker, and he wasn't entirely trusting that the floo would account for his either) but then gathered up with everyone else in front of the tourist center. After Professor Skies' speech (he helped his sister with the couple of English words she hadn't gotten on her own), Hilda bid farewell and went to hang out with some of her friends, leaving him to find one of his own. There were a few people he was willing to extend that label to by now, though he wouldn't call himself super close to any of them yet. There was potential now, though, and that helped him feel like he might actually be a passable Teppenpaw.One such person approached, and Hansel smiled back at Xavier. "Sure," he agreed. "No preference here either," he put out there, in case Xavier had a weak idea he hadn't wanted to venture in case Hansel had a whole itinerary planned already. "I thought maybe snacks at the saloon?" he suggested tentatively, because it was equally possible that Xavier actually didn't have any plans at all either. Snacks seemed safe. They were delicious and wouldn't take up a whole lot of time in case there was something else they wanted to do.
Well there was one way it might pose a problem. "I think I've got enough money for an ice cream." He checked his coin pouch to make sure he remembered to bring some money, and saw at least two galleons in there in the tumble of coins, so that should be plenty. "Yup. Do you? I can spot you if you need it." 'Spot you' was an idiom he'd read in books, not one he'd ever heard used in real life, given that he (a) lived with German immigrants who didn't use a lot of slang, and (b) had never needed to lend or borrow money before. Suddenly uncertain, he checked, "Did I say that right? I've been speaking English for as long as I can remember, but the people I learned it from aren't native speakers themselves."
1
Hansel Hexenmeister
Sounds like it!
1524
0
5
Xavier Lundstrom
October 17, 2021 2:39 AM
I'll try my best by Xavier Lundstrom
Hansel was to be his partner. Xavier's main feeling about that was a slight twist of discomfort, in case Hilda's promise not to tell had not extended to members of her own family. There was also what he knew about Hans' own history which... wasn't really relevant. It wasn't like he could say anything about it, or it was likely to come up on this trip. It was just sort of there, in his head, when he looked at Hansel. Which meant a similar feeling was probably there in Hilda and Oz (and Henry?) and all the teachers' heads when they looked at him.He vaguely remembered thinking Hans was kind of cute, or could be if he was formally introduced to a hairbrush, but that thought felt like it had belonged to someone else from a long time ago. Raging hormones did not seem, for now, to have joined the great big party of issues in his life, so his interest had only ever been vague and abstract, and it had been easily quashed under the weight of so many other problems.
Hans suggested snacks, which was as reasonable a plan as any. Although he then extended the offer of paying, and Xavier wondered why. He was pretty sure he didn't look poor. Was Hans just being nice, because he was nice by default, or did he have reasons to susepct that Xavier might struggle with magical money?
"Oh, uh, yes, you did," he confirmed, when Hans voiced his own self-doubt. Hans never seemed to have difficulty in English, and had used the phrase so casually that Xavier would never have thought he was worried about it. "Thanks. I'll probably be alright, but good to know. Thanks," he reiterated. He had planned to do his school shopping at the end of summer, which meant it had been in the part of his life that had got turned upside down. The center had helped ensure he had school supplies, not that many of them needed updating - mostly just potions refills. He had had some wizard money left from his first year, as his parents had made sure he had gone off with some in case he needed it for anything. He largely hadn't. He'd tested out a couple of owl order services, tried to work out how to send birthday presents, but mostly just asked Joel to buy chocolate on his behalf with a promise to pay him back during summer. It hadn't felt like he had made a big dent in his money until there had been a new year ahead, with a school trip which revolved around buying stuff. He was sure his parents would have gladly sent him spending money, but they literally couldn't see the wizard bank unless he pointed it out, and practically pushed them through the doorway. He wasn't sure if Tumbleweed had an exchange point, and he wasn't about to suggest they sent Muggle money anyway - or indeed even mention the bank issue - not when all their letters were being read and judged for anti-magic sentiments.
"It's still so weird to me that we're allowed to hang out in a saloon," he said, as they pushed the doors - literally, the little swingy half doors like you saw in movies and cartoons - open. Though he had to say, the whole place did feel more like a movie set or a theme restaraunt, and given the cheerful chalk sign with the words 'Ice cream!' it felt much less like an over twenty-ones setting. He jumped slightly as a ghost drifted through the wall, suggesting that the saloon wasn't the only element out of his comfort zone, but he wasn't about to say anything against ghosts.
13
Xavier Lundstrom
I'll try my best
1529
0
5
Mara Morales
October 17, 2021 9:11 PM
I'm...intrigued. by Mara Morales
Mara was, she had to admit, more than a little intrigued by the concept of Tumbleweed. A town with no roots - how did that even work, both literally and in terms of businesses? Did a literal ghost town have an economy? If so, did that mean money had a ghost? Did businesses count as persons in wizarding law in the way they did in regular law, and if so, did businesses have ghosts? And, less (she thought) frivolously, what weaknesses and flaws in her comprehension of how magical stuff worked in general did this place's accessibility reveal?Part of one of her questions was at least partially answered pretty quickly: a lot of the businesses had a distinctly temporary look. Some were still quite professional-looking, though, and her eyes were quickly drawn to one of those which happened to be at least adjacent to beauty.
The display was nice, she had to admit, but she had to question the branding. Ann and Ann? It would, she was pretty sure, be incredibly easy to trip over the words and run them together until it sounded like their business' name was actually other languages' word for a pineapple. Though, if the two women standing in the display were the proprietors of the business, there might be a kinda awful explanation....
"Hey," she said with a quick smile when Slightly-Over-Styled made the beginning of a pitch to her. "I'll keep that in mind. Are you two are Ann and Ann?" she asked, looking between S-O-S and Prep School Golf Instructor. She took care to pronounce both of the Anns distinctly, and separately from the 'and'. Definitely not ananás. She wasn't even thinking it.
16
Mara Morales
I'm...intrigued.
1472
0
5
Alexei Vorontsov
October 20, 2021 10:05 PM
How worried should I be about what 'this' is? by Alexei Vorontsov
Em-them. Was that a word he didn't know? Alexei felt pretty sure it was just an English spoken pause noise which had taken place between the words 'with' and 'them,' but he'd noticed that Iris spoke English with a strong accent, at least compared to how, say, Xavier talked, or most of the professors, or his English teachers at home. Her sentences also had a different...beat, or rhythm, or something to them than a lot of people's did; he couldn't point to the specific things about the way she put words together that made him think it was different, but he was fairly confident that specific things were nonetheless there. Maybe it was something only an outsider would notice, maybe it was not, but he was pretty sure it was there.It was possible, then, that she'd meant something other than just-plain-'them'. The grammar still made him believe that 'em' had just been a spoken pause, but a corner of his brain braced itself for the possibility of Miscommunication anyway, just in case.
"No," he said, mildly surprised when he was asked if he had plans. "I also just follow others around until now," he admitted with a smile.
Alexei was just about to suggest that the two of them go and do something, then, since two people would have more freedom of movement than people following a group and since they were both here anyway, when Iris suddenly reconsidered her response to his initial offer. He tried not to look too disappointed as he nodded. "Ok," he said. "I will help you. I know Amethyst some. You and her, you are friends?"
16
Alexei Vorontsov
How worried should I be about what 'this' is?
1531
0
5
Anya Delachene
October 21, 2021 11:23 AM
Woot! by Anya Delachene
Anya nodded and grimaced slightly in sympathy to Ellie's predicament with the date issue. "Pretty sure they don't," she confirmed Tumbleweed's lack of market stalls for that particular commodity. "If it comes down to it, I'm sure Philippe wouldn't mind lending you Freddie for the prefect dance, but you probably want one for the whole night, right? Me and Alexander are pretty casual," the difference between hanging out with Alexander and hanging out with Freddie was basically that she called it 'hanging out' with Freddie and 'a date' with Alexander, "so I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind you hanging with us, worst case scenario. We could group dance on the fast songs, and I'm not really into slow dances, so we'd sit those out anyway. You two could even go out together if you wanted to give it a spin, and he's all right with it."Hoping it came across as interest in her friend rather than gossip (which is definitely how she intended it), Anya asked, "Did you have anyone in mind as a date?"
Then they started walking, arm in arm, toward where her program said one of the ghost shows was going to be starting soon. (This, honestly, was about as date-y as anything she'd ever done with Alexander, and she hoped he was okay with that. Not that she thought he would be, or should be, jealous of Ellie, but rather she hoped he wasn't hoping for anything more than this from Anya.)
1
Anya Delachene
Woot!
1453
0
5
Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
October 21, 2021 4:10 PMMary Brooding-Hawthorne
StaffSubject: Potions
Written by: Turtle
Age in Post: 35
Birthday: August 19
The recent and distant. by Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
Mary was eager to see Dorian because this time, for the first time in a long time, she came with news. Usually, it didn't seem like she had anything to say. It was always that she had something to ask, something to learn about, something to encourage, and only a quick 'yep, all still good here' for Dorian."It's good to see you!" Mary squealed, hugging her young friend with delight before taking a seat and accepting the tea with an eager nod. She'd actually learned to enjoy the drink, and even missed know that Dorian was gone; Tabitha mostly drank the pot by herself these days. "I'm good," she added with a smile. "Same as always." At least that was the truth. It was hard to be honest that no, not everything was good. Things were looking up though. "Tabitha's research is almost done," she said with a much more excited smile. Hopefully, that meant the Defense professor (not that she'd been doing much of that) would be back to her normal, mostly-attentive self. There had been a time when she'd been a great wife, and it was hard to go through phases where that wasn't the case. Zeus missed her too and Mary would be hard-pressed to say that Tabitha's absence hadn't taken a toll on their family, and their relationship. She hadn't yet shared that with Tabitha, though, as the woman was busy enough that Mary didn't want to add on to anything. Since she'd kept it from her spouse, it only seemed right to keep it from everyone else too. Hopefully, with Tabitha's ventures coming to an end, things would return to normal soon. Then all Mary had to do was pretend it had always been fine.
She waited until Dorian had prepared their tea and opened up the part where they drank it - she still wasn't sure how these rituals went and he was saying words that she didn't know but that he knew she didn't know so she figured she wasn't meant to know - before bringing what she wanted to say to the table.
"That's delicious," she began, setting her cup down after her first drink, though she kept her hands on it because it really was good and she definitely was going to be drinking the rest. "I want to hear all about everything, but I have news I want to share first if that's okay?" she asked, raising an eyebrow to make sure it was fine before continuing. "Zeus hasn't told Tabitha yet, so don't tell anyone, but . . . he wants to change his last name," she said, with a beaming grin. "He's still trying to decide exactly what he wants to change it to - I don't know if he knows if he wants to keep his birth name still or not, because that's a very long name if he does - but I'm very excited. He asked me not to tell Tabitha though. I think he wants to do it himself," she grinned, so proud of her son. "He misses you," she added. "We both do."
22
Mary Brooding-Hawthorne
The recent and distant.
1424
0
5
Reighleigh Mae Thorn
October 21, 2021 5:22 PM
Gee thanks. by Reighleigh Mae Thorn
Ray laughed, mostly because she was pretty sure Billy didn't like pink because it was a girl color, and she didn't like pink on him because the orange tones in his hair and skin didn't seem to sit too well with the rosy golds of the pink she'd selected for him and the result was a horrible parody of cupid. Since her brain's programming was stuck in pageant mode for a moment, she decided not to reveal the full thought process and just nod, reracking the items she'd picked out."If I pick, we're wearing all black, fishnets, spider patterns, the whole Gothic nine yards," she pointed out, imagining him wearing Gene Simmons-esque makeup. The thought actually put her off more than she expected; it wasn't fair to ever want someone like Billy to change and he wouldn't be better for being more like her. "What do fancy people wear where you live?" she asked. "It's all ballgowns and tuxedos where in my mom's circle of friends. And those are expensive," she pointed out, holding up the tag on one of the pricier items she saw as she browsed. "My mom's going to pick for me anyway," she added with a grumble. "What if you wear the dress she picks out and I wear this one?" she practically cackled, holding up the worst combination of pleather and sequins she'd ever seen in her life.
"You're not going to regret this, right?" A rare moment of vulnerability for Ray, and one she hoped she wouldn't be angry she'd allowed, made her suddenly worried. "Like, what if there's some super pretty girl you wanna ask out and now you're stuck with me?"
22
Reighleigh Mae Thorn
Gee thanks.
1525
0
5
Alexander Pierce-Beales
October 21, 2021 6:27 PM
Well, then let us pair up! In the sibling way! Because that is what we are! And it is not hard for me to wrap my head around that at all! by Alexander Pierce-Beales
Alexander assumed he and Anya were going to the ball (any doubt on that subject only was because he had a hard time believing she'd still be interested in him that far along from now) but it was nice to know that they were still cool doing their own things. Anya had friends that Alexander wasn't friends with, and Alexander wanted to hang out with Mab. He did wonder sometimes how Anya felt about that, but it wasn't something that was really open to discussion if he was honest. His family was his own business. Besides, Anya, he knew, understood being adopted, if in a different scenario than his own.He arrived to Tumbleweed by floo (mostly because he'd traveled in the cars Bel made go and he did not at all like the way she made them go, so his trust for wizard cars was basically zero) and was looking around for Mab when she found him first. He grinned at her - an expression reserved almost solely for her - and picked up his own terrible accent.
"Well howdy-doo, missy. I do indeed think I can help you replace your hat. I even think I can do it myself this time," he added.
Grateful as he was to Professor Brooding-Hawthorne (the potions one) for transfiguring the hats for him before, he'd mostly accepted that this was the real deal and he was a wizard now, and he was a wizard who could transfigure a paper map into a cowboy hat. It was definitely one of the harder transfigurations for him, although the level of animation (none) and basic color (mostly earthy tones and not exciting colors) was the same, so he managed it after only a few quick tries. The only give away was the Welcome to Tumbleweed header that seemed to have satisfied itself with wrapping around the brim of the hat instead. He passed Mab's to her and donned his own, keeping the lesser quality one for himself.
"I hear there's a nostalgic little ice cream place in these parts," he added, extending an arm to his sister. "Might a couple cowboys make their way there?"
22
Alexander Pierce-Beales
Well, then let us pair up! In the sibling way! Because that is what we are! And it is not hard for me to wrap my head around that at all!
1475
0
5
Bonabelle Row
October 21, 2021 7:48 PM
I did the thing. [Val] by Bonabelle Row
Bonabelle was having a lot of very mixed feelings as she set about finding her girlfriend. For one, she was pretty sure she was technically breaking a rule because they were supposed to remain in pairs, but there were enough folks wandering around that she felt comfortable overage from one amorphous group to the next as she looked for a familiar blonde head. For two, she had just been kissed by a boy. It was the first time she'd ever been kissed by a boy, only the second person she'd ever kissed, and it was Stupidhead Stanley. It was her girlfriend's ex-boyfriend. It was her secondary date to the ball. For three, she had to tell Valentine that her prince charming fantasy wasn't going to be coming true very well. She had been wracking her brain trying to think of any way she might've misunderstood Wally and she'd come to the conclusion that he perhaps had meant that he didn't want to kiss Bonabelle but wouldn't mind kissing Val, but he hadn't said that at all. It seemed like a big leap to take such a vehement negative as a middle-ground type feeling. He did seem excited about going with Val though, so that was good.Right?
Bonabelle found Valentine without Lavender and took advantage of the opportunity to appear in the girl's line of sight.
"Hi, beautiful," Bonabelle smiled nervously, leaning in to plant a gentle peck on Val's cheek. "I found us dates for the ball. But . . . well, I sort of left it up to chance?" She gave a quick recap of Wally having asked for directions and her having asked if they were single. "They were game to go to the ball with us. Wally was really excited to go with you, but he said he wasn't comfortable kissing. I think that's what he meant? You can probably ask him too." She tried to imagine Val having that conversation with Wally and decided that was unlikely to occur. She wasn't sure how she felt about that; on one hand, she wasn't at all disappointed if Val didn't kiss other people than her, but on the other, it felt disappointing for Val. "Stanley seemed excited to go with me . . . I said that you and me were fine with kissing if they wanted and he kissed me." She decided that the details of being dipped in proper prince charming style were best left out. "How . . . do you feel about all that?"
22
Bonabelle Row
I did the thing. [Val]
1488
0
5
Nothing to worry about at all. by Iris Cobb
Iris smiled brightly at Alexi's agreement to help her find Amethyst. Yes, this plan was coming along perfectly! Now all they had to do was stroll around a bit while she extolled her friend's virtues and then find her. Once that was done she'd find some excuse to slip away and let them have a fun time at Tumbleweed and he'd naturally then ask her to go to the ball! What could possibly go wrong?“Thanks!” She responded enthusiastically. She held out her hand to Alexi, she didn’t want to risk losing him as they wandered about. “Amethyst is a good friend,” she confirmed, “I reckon you’d like her a lot as well. She’s really nice.” Iris knew she couldn’t lay it on too heavy or he might get suspicious. Her eyes scanned the streets looking for her friend, and she was immediately reminded that this was in fact a ghost town. She’d momentarily forgotten. Her eyes dropped to the nice safe ground that wasn’t a ghost, and she unconsciously moved closer to Alexi. This might make looking for Amethyst a little difficult. Plus there was that other factor.
“I’m not sure where to look for her though,” she said while still gazing at the lovely dirt of Tumbleweed. “Maybe we should look inside some of the shops?” There were usually at least less ghosts inside the shops at any given point. Maybe this was another good chance to get in some good words for her. “Amethyst is one of the Brockerts,” she hinted at Alexi, “So maybe one of the nicer shops?”
2
Iris Cobb
Nothing to worry about at all.
1526
0
5
Billy Cobb
October 21, 2021 8:56 PM
Yer most welcome. by Billy Cobb
Ray’s laugh was great. Billy loved to hear it. She then thankfully put the terrible pink thing back where it came from. Whew, that was close. Still he wondered, if that's what she had wanted him to wear, would he have? Maybe. Probably. The most likely all too familiar expression of muddled confusion crossed Billy’s face as she described the outfits they’d be wearing if she had her choice. Black was fine, he could handle black. Spider patterns could be neat. “Fishnets?” He asked out loud because that was just how his brain and mouth worked. “There gunna be fishing at the ball?” That wasn’t how he’d imagined the fancy dance thing, but some of these people were a little odd.Her next question really made him think. “Fancy people..” he murmured aloud. His eyes rolled to look upwards as he thought. Who were the ‘fancy people’ at home? She was continuing on about ballgowns and tuxedos and them things costing lots of money. Well, that was probably why there weren’t none of them back home. He grimaced at the tag she had shown him. His galleon wasn’t going to cover that. “I dunno, we don’t really got ‘fancy folk’ back home. The best lookin’ clothes we got there are the ones fresh from town ‘fore they get handed down a bunch of times.” He was starting to wonder if this ball thing wasn’t a bad idea. Ray most likely wanted someone way more fancy than he was. He’d never seen anything like most of the things in this store that she was lookin’ at. She’d probably be better off with someone else.
Then she sprang a question on him while holding out something like he’d never ever seen before. Him wear a dress? He laughed, then stopped himself. Was that what she wanted? No way that’d have happened before coming to the school. The image of him prancing about in one of Iris flowery dresses at home was just absurd. But… “You think she’d pick somethin’ that’d fit me?” There was a definite look of uncertainty in his countenance, “Before school I’d have said ‘Heck no!’ But… they’ve been making me wear a dress since day one at this place.” He grumbled, at least everyone was forced to wear a dress here, though it still bothered him. “It’d probably look a lot better on you though. At least…” he squinted at the myriad of lights bouncing off of the whatever it was that she was holding, “It’d have to look better than that thing.”
Even Billy couldn’t miss the change in Ray’s voice as she wondered if he was going to regret this. At first he thought she was asking about him letting her take the lead on dressing him up. Then she asked an utterly ridiculous question. He couldn’t help but bark out another laugh, mirth filled his eyes. “Ray, I was just wonderin’ why some pretty, fancy girl even wanted to go with me. You sure you don’ want some higher class feller for this?”
2
Billy Cobb
Yer most welcome.
1519
0
5
Valentine Duell
October 21, 2021 9:39 PM
You did! Excellent! by Valentine Duell
Valentine smiled radiantly when her girlfriend appeared before her. Bonabelle’s own smile seemed a little hesitant, but she got a soft kiss which sent a warm glow through her. “Hi yourself, beautiful.” She briefly wrapped her arms around her girlfriend when she was close, but released her again to make conversation easier. Bonabelle sounded a bit uncertain of her news, but Valentine was excited and all ears. She listened intently, though her heart slowly sank though the telling."Oh… okay," Valentine didn't bother to hide the disappointment in her voice. She gave her girlfriend a half-hearted smile. "Still, he wants to go to the dance with me, so that's good, right?" He didn't want to kiss her though. Well, that was alright, wasn't it? She didn't want to go around just kissing any boy. Still… she let out a sigh.
Wally was one of the boys she thought that… well…. A small thrill went through her as she thought about him. Wally had always been nice to her, if not quiet and a bit distant. He'd even come over to talk to her after… well, after Stanley had been Stanley. But, apparently from the sounds of it, he just wanted a date to the ball and not much else? She wanted at least the potential for something more. Wally apparently wasn't interested. Now what was she to do? The plan had been a wonderful romantic ball to launch them all towards 'happily ever after'. Now that wasn't going to happen? There was no way she could drop Wally and find someone else that might be more interested, that would be heartless, which meant the thought never even crossed her mind. They would go to the ball, have a lovely time and then they would go their separate ways. She would then be back at square one without having a fancy ball to help her.
Amidst this melancholy, Bonabelle’s reported results with Stanley felt something like a gunshot. “He…?” was all that she managed to get out initially. Of course he had, he was Stanley. Bonabelle had already gotten a kiss and she wouldn’t at all? Well, she had gotten kisses from Stanley, sort of. Little cheek pecks like the one that Bonabelle had just given her. Where hers had made Val feel wonderful and loved, Stanley’s hadn’t really. They’d just seemed awkward and strange. Maybe it would have been different now, had she made a mistake? She could easily believe that Stanley would most likely have tried to sweep her off her feet… but she wasn’t convinced she would have enjoyed that. Somewhere, deep down, she knew that it wouldn’t work out with Stanley. Still, it didn’t quite seem fair. Still if that was what Bonabelle wanted, she wanted that as well.
Bonabelle was looking for an answer from her, and she wasn’t sure what to give. She supposed the only thing she could give her best friend, her girlfriend, the truth. “I feel a lot. Some sadness and disappointment, some excitement for you, and…” she hesitated, grimacing slightly, “a touch of jealousy.” She tried to give her wonderful girlfriend a smile that came out mostly apologetic. “I’m sorry. How do you feel about it? If you are excited about it, I want to be as well for you.” She decided against asking for details, she wasn’t sure she actually wanted any. “If you like Stanley then I’m happy for you,” she sighed, “Even if I’ll have to start over once the ball is done.”
2
Valentine Duell
You did! Excellent!
1490
0
5
Morgan Garrett
October 21, 2021 9:41 PM
I'm so doomed, but I'm enthusiastic about it. by Morgan Garrett
In the moment, surprised and delighted at someone actually asking her to go to the Midsummer Ball, Morgan had impulsively accepted Gabriel's invitation and had fallen almost immediately into daydreams about ballgowns and hairdos and glamour in general - all those things previously only associated with 'Grace Wilkes,' the movie star persona she had made up for herself when she was little. It had been a long time since she had pulled Grace off the shelf; it was kind of like meeting an old friend after a long separation, plus it had been just an absolute thrill to imagine actually being Grace, just for one evening....Soon enough, though, reality had given her a call to remind her that it, too, still existed. Forget her family and its ideas about how she should dress - even if they all somehow magically came to agree about what the perfect dress and perfect shoes and perfect everything would be, there would still be a problem. Specifically, none of the various sub-units within the dysfunctional collection of humans Morgan called her family could afford to dress Grace Wilkes, not even for just one evening.
And she'd just agreed to dance in Very Public with a boy who was...pretty sure wasn't lower middle class.
Her best bet, she reckoned, was to do what Jackie had done when meeting that one head of state's wife, the one covered literally head to toe in jewels: wear something painfully simple, with just maybe a single show-stealing accessory to underline the simplicity. Not really her usual way - she tended to go more toward being loud to draw attention to things other than her appearance - but it was probably her one chance to not end up looking like a mule at the starting line of the Run for the Roses. It was still maybe a long shot, too, because of the matter of fabrics and sewing and things. Walmart clothes had improved a lot since Morgan was little, but she was still pretty sure that nothing she could ever afford in her life would be mistaken for anything even vaguely associated with Givenchy or Cassini. Not even if she went to one the Macy's in Lexington or the Belk in Elizabethtown, neither of which she was likely to get to go to anyway.
Logic said it was, therefore, incredibly stupid and pointless to go to a fancy rich people's clothing thing in Tumbleweed, too, but logic had never been Morgan's strong suit. When Ann and Ann Apparel caught her eye, she stuck to Mara and tried to discreetly look at the rich people stuff while her roommate inadvertently was a distraction, praying all the while that she wouldn't immediately be spotted for exactly what she was and booted out by security before she could contaminate the rich people stuff.
I am not just some working class girl, though, she tried to tell herself. I am Grace Wilkes, filmstar circa 1955. She straightened her back, lifted her head in what she fondly imagined was a low-key regal fashion, and looked at dresses with her hands folded demurely at her waist, that last one totally because it was dignified or something, not to make sure everyone could clearly see she wasn't touching the rich people stuff. She definitely wasn't someone who would squeak with terror if spoken to while trying to figure out what cuts and colors were the thing and how she could remotely approximate them.
16
Morgan Garrett
I'm so doomed, but I'm enthusiastic about it.
1470
0
5
Isla Brockert
October 22, 2021 2:32 AM
Let's find some puppets! And museums! (Rosalynn and Lorena) by Isla Brockert
Isla was extremely excited about going to Tumbleweed! The whole town was basically a living history museum. Although as it was populated by ghosts,living might not have been exactly the right word. Still, it totally sounded like a great time to explore the historical aspects of the town.In all honesty, she was more interested in this than shopping for ball gowns. The ball actually interested her very little. Isla wasn't all that interested in fashion and boys and make-up yet. She might never be very interested in dresses and cosmetics, actually. That kind of stuff actually was pretty boring to her. Also, there weren't really very many options for dates for her anyway. Even if one ignored pureblood stuff, her choices were lacking. Of course, if anyone asked her, she would probably say yes, as Isla wouldn't want to hurt someone's feelings and there wasn't anyone that she found truly awful.
Although, on the other hand, if Isla had a date, that would leave Lorena on her own for the evening since Rosalynn was going with Tommy, of course and the third year would honestly rather not do that to her roommate. After all, Isla wouldn't want to be that person either. The one who had nobody to hang out with because all her friends had dates and she didn't. Being on her own with nobody to hang out with at an event that wasn't all that interesting to her to begin with sounded truly terrible. Being that person wouldn't make her a loser-after all, Ruby had been that person and she was definitely was not a loser-but it would probably make her look like one.
And not only did Isla not want to be that person who looked like an awkward loser in front of everyone at school, it would be exceedingly, unbearably boring. She really didn't want to put Lorena in that position either. Although she wouldn't want to deny the other Aladren a chance at a date or even a boyfriend either. Of course,if Lorena found a boyfriend, then Isla would also feel the pressure to find one, despite the fact that there wasn't anyone at school who could be-as she obviously did not want something that inevitably ended up being temporary-her parents wouldn't let her yet and she didn't really feel ready anyway. Isla honestly did not want to be the odd one out. It was one thing to be just odd overall, it was different if your friends had something in common and you were the one that was left out. Even if she had a boyfriend outside of school, as Ruby had,and her friends were both with guys who were here, it still wouldn't be the same.
Still, she would want Lorena to be happy, as Rosalynn was. And she probably would be someday, she hoped. Someday in the future. Isla supposed for the time being, she wasn't allowed to date and could blame her parents if she ended up in that unpleasant situation where she was the only one of the three of them without a boyfriend. And she could also blame the fact that there were no suitable pureblood boys at school. Well, Isla supposed there was Alexei or Hans since she didn't mind someone younger than her, but Amethyst seemed to have her eye on the former. And she didn't really think she'd be able to compete with her cousin, to be honest. The second year was so much more of a normal pureblood girl than she was.
Maybe if someone asked Lorena, the Aladren would do what Olaf would do anyway, and bring a book to the ball. Yes, she'd look like a huge dork, but at least it would be something to do.
Still, that was the ball, today they were in Tumbleweed and Isla was going to hang out with her friends and have a lot of fun. "So what do you guys want to do first? I really want to see a lot of the historical stuff." They were all Aladrens so they should all be into that, right? "And I want to see if there's any place that sells puppets, either in the regular gift shops or at the market." As far as Isla was concerned, she could never have too many puppets. One of the worst things about the ball was that there was no way to incorporate them.
11
Isla Brockert
Let's find some puppets! And museums! (Rosalynn and Lorena)
1521
0
5
Ellie Alperton
October 24, 2021 7:17 PM
I may struggle to deliver the requisite amount of woo by Ellie Alperton
Ellie twisted her face into a smile, even as her stomach twisted at Anya's words. She could be loaned Freddie. He wasn't a frigging library book! He was one of her best friends! And he had been her date last time! And now... Now Philippe obviously had a bigger claim, in a romantic setting, and on all Freddie's time in general, and she was reduced to the status of borrowing him back for a dance. She couldn't even complain about it to her only other close friend, because she too was someone Philippe had a greater claim to. She had always thought of him vaguely like a little brother. She supposed it made sense then that he was frustrating to have to share with, though she had never imagined boys and friends being the subjects of her quarrels with Seth."Ideally," she shrugged about wanting a date for the whole night. "But at this stage, settling for not being humiliated during the opening dance seems to be about as much fairytale as I can hope for." She allowed herself to sound exactly as bitter as she felt about this. It wasn't specific to Anya or Freddie or Philippe, so it wasn't mean to be upset. She was pretty sure she was entitled to sulk over not getting a fairytale.
"Thanks," Ellie nodded, as Anya then further underlined that she wasn't even properly dating Alexander, and thus could have been just as happy with Theo, who she already hung out with.
"I'm pretty sure my 'choices' are Dathan," she said, emphasasing the word in a way that made it clear it would have had air quotes if her arms hadn't been busy being linked with Anya's. "I keep going back and forth, feeling like maybe I like him, and maybe I'm only telling myself I like him. Though, given that he is literally the last boy left on the planet, maybe that shouldn't matter. Except that seems like a horrible reason to go out with someone. And I kind of think he likes someone else. So then, maybe I should ask instead of sitting around, waiting to be passed over. But it would be nice to be asked, and to know that the person really wants to go with me, and didn't just say 'yes' because I put them on the spot. Except do people really say 'yes' for that reason, and if he doesn't want to go with me, isn't he more likely to just reject me? So then, big no thank you on the asking front. And... I mean, I feel like I've been open enough about the trans thing that surely everyone knows now? But it's not like he and I have ever sat down and had a conversation where I'm like 'hey, just checking in that you're not a massive bigot.' The only person I really, truly have that security with is Freddie. I mean, and you, and the club members but like... Date-potential-wise. Except he isn't."
13
Ellie Alperton
I may struggle to deliver the requisite amount of woo
1456
0
5
Bridget Ferguson
October 26, 2021 8:54 PMBridget Ferguson
AlumnusHouse: Teppenpaw
Written by: Allegra Brockert
Age in Post: 17
Birthday: December 26
Want to hang? (Jezebel) by Bridget Ferguson
OOC: CW-Discusses adult beverages and alludes to other illicit things BIC:
Bridget was really hoping to hang out with Jezebel today in Tumbleweed. She really didn't have anyone else to do things with to be honest, as Sophia would inevitably hang out with her other friends and Zara would probably do something with Felipe, while Johana Leonie was included with the Aladren's group. Besides, the sixth year was probably her closest friend, even though it seemed like Jezebel was now closer to Martin of all people.
Not that Bridget really had anything against the other seventh year. It was just that he was so...apathetic and serious. Although she supposed Jezebel was also the serious type, and the Teppenpaw often tended to be too, at least while at school and unable to truly unwind and escape like she did over the summer. And she could be apathetic about anything not concerning her own issues, like school drama. Okay, apparently Jezebel had a type that she picked for friends.
And she felt like it was her own fault that the sixth year was hanging out with Martin more than her. Bridget felt like she'd been a crappy friend, though it was still slightly unfathomable that the other seventh year was a better one. Still, she'd been self-centered and focused on her mom's health problems, rather than on her friend.
Maybe Bridget had pushed her away, because, on a sub-conscious level, she didn't want to burden Jezebel-or anyone else-with her problems, she was always mopey and depressed. And maybe, on some level she didn't feel she was good enough, that she didn't really deserve friends. The Teppenpaw felt that she was freakish and odd because of her dysfunctional family. Plus, there was the way Bridget acted away from school, which she so needed and wasn't exactly discouraged from doing, but what she worried that Jezebel, a nice studious girl from a religious family, would judge her for.
Of course, the seventh year knew she needed to be careful. Judgement from her peers wasn't the only consequence that she might face. After all, she would not want to become like her father. Though she couldn't say she didn't understand him and his extensive use of alcohol. It made one feel...great, at least to a point, as did other things, and Bridget had been told that she was a happy drunk. And, as she didn't usually feel happy normally...well, she totally understood her dad's thought process. Why he was how he was. However, she still didn't want to become like him.
On the plus side, Bridget wasn't all that worried about pureblood society judging her quite as much for the good times she had during the summer since well, everyone around her was also part of society, including a good many of her own relatives-Great Grandpa Frank was just known for his tendency to....relax and have a good time- so there was a fair amount of discretion going on. Besides, the seventh year wasn't sure she was even fully accepted in the pureblood world anyway.
Once Professor Skies finished setting down rules and explanations for the day, Bridget found Jezebel. "Do you want to hang out?" She asked the younger girl.
11
Bridget Ferguson
Want to hang? (Jezebel)
1448
0
5
Esme Brockert
October 27, 2021 4:53 PM
Of badges and babies... by Esme Brockert
OOC: CW-Some privilege going on, as well as mentions of Eustace BIC:
At beginning of the year, Esme had been rather surprised and maybe just a tad disappointed that she had not gotten prefect. She was mature and responsible, which in her mind were ideal qualities for the job. And, she was more outgoing than Sadie. While the fifth year honestly didn't think this should matter when picking prefects, it often did.
That being said, she supposed it was a nice step for the rights of the introverted and shy. And possibly, there were other reasons that Esme wasn't picked. Like that the staff members didn't want to give it to a proper pureblood. While Topaz's theory about gay people being favored was completely ridiculous-though she could see how the Brooding-Hawthornes might do that, at least the potions one- the Crotalus could see how the staff, other than Grandfather of course, would favor allegedly "progressive" ideals. Which would be fine, if it meant that they just weren't using being gay or muggleborn against someone, instead of using that as a favorable point over purebloods.
However, there were two problems with that theory. One was that it was nothing new, statistically and really, members of her family actually did better now than they had at one point historically. There had been like, twenty years or something between Angus Brockert getting Head Boy and his son, Duncan getting the same honor, with only two Brockert relatives getting it in between.
The other problem with it was that Gabriel Wilson, a white, pureblood, presumably straight, boy , ie the picture of privilege had gotten over two non-pureblood girls, one of whom was a Latina. So, really, it was just that somehow Esme had been found lacking, a fact that did not make her very happy. She admittedly had a lot of pride and this was sort of a blow to it.
Still, she tried to be happy for Sadie, who she was sure would do just fine and in reality, was a perfectly good candidate. There were definitely worse people who'd won it, although of the two she was thinking of off the top of her head,one was by default and one had beaten someone even worse.
Besides, at least now Esme didn't have to worry about getting a date for the ball since she literally had no options.
Anyway, she had other things on her mind now. She had gotten a letter from Allegra yesterday telling her that Aunt Helena had given birth.....to a nice healthy baby girl named Honora Alexis Brockert. The Crotalus was horrified. Not that there was nothing wrong with having a baby girl...unless, of course, Uncle Eustace was the father. Her sister's letter had said that their uncle was completely enraged and she felt geniunely scared for little Honora and Aunt Helena both. And Chris claimed that he was now debating staying at school for midterm though Esme doubted he actually would. She knew Uncle Gene and Aunt Amanda wouldn't allow it.
Of course, both Jasper and Chris didn't think it would be that much better if Honora had been a boy, in the long run. Yeah, it wouldn't be so horrid right now but considering how Uncle Eustace was towards his nephews....Esme had to concur that the boys were probably right. Maybe her uncle would ignore his daughter like he did his nieces. Not that that was good parenting either. Look how negligent Aunt Opal was.
Still, despite all that was wrong at the moment, part of Esme, the part that wasn't terrified for the safety of her aunt and cousin,was very happy that her aunt finally had a healthy child. She just wanted it to stay that way.
Right now though, she just had to find a partner for the day. Looking around, the fifth year found someone suitable. "Hey, do you want to be partners?" Esme asked them. " I need to find a gift for my new baby cousin but we can do other things as well."
11
Esme Brockert
Of badges and babies...
1479
0
5
Jessica Hayles
October 28, 2021 11:34 PMJessica Hayles
AlumnusHouse: Crotalus
Written by: Grayson Wright
Age in Post: 17
Birthday: February 3
Get in, cool people, we're going shopping. by Jessica Hayles
Jessica always felt a little stupid when she wore her sunglasses with her school robes. Somehow, it just seemed incongruous - as though she was a semi-incompetent time traveler who was about to either cause a paradox that would get her thrown into time prison for life squared, or else turn into an allegedly-rare instance of someone being burned as a witch who was actually really a witch, regardless of how involuntary and, even now, somewhat unwelcome her abilities were. The areas where wizards were centuries behind versus ones where they had almost caught up were uneven and unpredictable, and she knew she wasn't the only person who owned a pair of sunglasses, but it just felt out of place with the robes, somehow. Maybe it was something to do with how at home, a robe meant she wasn't dressed properly, and she therefore wouldn't go far enough outside to need sunglasses like that?Despite all that, though, Jessica had put her sunglasses in her small handbag before setting off for Tumbleweed. Once through the fire, she took out her compact, opened it, and touched up her tinted balm. That done, she put those things away and took out the sunglasses. Between the gestures of wielding a compact and a slim tube of color and the gesture of raising her sunglasses up to cover her eyes, she felt almost like herself, as long as she didn't think about what she was wearing.
She still wasn't entirely sure what she was going to wear while defying the Midsummer Ball's slow-dance traditions, in terms of whether it would be a pretty dress or dress robes, but while it might help her decide that matter, Jessica didn't really consider decisions the purpose of the trip. For the most part, Jessica was hoping to just...chill. To go shopping with her girlfriends like a normal person. Sort of like the person she might have been in a different world, one where almost her entire poetic output for the first half of her senior year of high school wasn't made up of dreary reflections on how she didn't belong anywhere anymore and still kinda hadn't gotten over how much that sucked....
Skies stopped talking. Jessica turned to the friends she'd recruited for this expedition with a broad smile.
"Shall we, ladies?" she asked.
16
Jessica Hayles
Get in, cool people, we're going shopping.
1442
0
5
Jezebel Reed-Fischer
November 08, 2021 4:02 PM
Absolutely I do! by Jezebel Reed-Fischer
Jezebel was surprised and happy to find that Bridget wanted to hang out with her. She'd considered spending the Tumbleweed trip with Martin, and she'd considered spending it with Augustine and Patience, but she hadn't really considered that Bridget might want to hang out. The older girl had seemed a bit in her own world and Jezebel wasn't about to impose herself on anyone, especially not someone as off-limits as Bridget. She did give a quick glance around for Martin, and she'd like to meet up with him at some point if he was here, but she didn't expect that he'd necessarily want that. Of course, there was the question of whether he actually liked her, and that's why he'd asked her to the ball; she still wasn't totally clear on that. In any case, Bridget was here and Jezebel smiled at her friend."I'd like that a lot," she said sincerely. "Do you have anything in mind that you'd like to do today? I'd love to look at dresses but I don't think I'm going to buy anything here." Truth be told, she wasn't sure whether it was more embarrassing to pick out a dress with a friend or with her mom, but at least her mom would get the right sort of vibes upon hearing that Jezebel was going with a boy. She just needed to find out what wizarding world fashion looked like before they made a day trip to JC Penney's or something. "You probably have better taste in clothes than me," she added with a small laugh.
22
Jezebel Reed-Fischer
Absolutely I do!
1454
0
5
Bonabelle Row
November 08, 2021 4:09 PM
Not very excellent. by Bonabelle Row
Bonabelle thought it was really stupid that this was happening in a way that made Valentine jealous when Bonabelle was the one who hadn't wanted any of this anyway and had started out jealous. Truth be told, she was even a little jealous of the fact that Valentine wouldn't have to do any kissing at the ball and now she might. She wouldn't have thought that Stanley would have wanted that from her . . . she was pretty sure she'd spent the duration of his relationship with Valentine being skeptical and the period since being irritated. Still, somewhere in all of that, they'd spent enough time together that maybe he considered her a friend? Or something else? That was sort of a horrifying thought."You should absolutely not take my word for any of it," Bonabelle pointed out, taking Val's hand. "I am notoriously terrible at reading people. Please just ask him. He was excited to go with you - maybe he meant something else. I dunno. Don't let me misunderstanding something possibly be the reason you're unhappy." She frowned as she ran the backs of her fingers along Val's cheek.
She sighed and looked down at her shoes, feeling embarrassed. "I'm not sure if I like Stanley. I spent a long time not liking him at all," she said with a shrug. "I just figured it would be better than asking him to go with you. I can take one for the team," she said with a small smile. "Which means I can also tell them both to go away if that's what you want because I know you're too nice to do that," she smirked.
22
Bonabelle Row
Not very excellent.
1488
0
5
Valentine Duell
November 08, 2021 8:49 PM
Doing the thing was excellent, actual results may vary by Valentine Duell
Val gave Bonabelle an impish smile. "I'm not sure about that." Most of the sadness had left her voice. Her girlfriend had done a wondrous thing for her and for that she was delighted regardless of the results. "I know at least one person you're pretty good at reading." She took hold of Bonabelle's hands as her fingers ran along her cheek. Val held the fingers there for a moment, closing her eyes and relishing the touch. Then she opened her eyes again to gaze into Bonabelle's. "I'll talk to him, I promise," she assured her girlfriend. She wasn't quite sure when with her schedule, sometime in class would be easiest, but it didn't really sound like a good conversation to have in a classroom setting. "Thank-you again for asking them.""No." She responded, hooking her finger under Bonabelle's chin and pulling her downcast eyes back up, "Well, at least not on my account." She sighed. This was way more strange and difficult than the idealized, fairy-tale version that had played out in her head. Weird. "I can understand why you may not like Stanley, he's... he's..." she faltered for the appropriate descriptor, "Well, he's Stanley. Believe me when I tell you that I do not want you to 'take one for the team'." She made sure she was once again looking into Bonabelle's beautiful eyes. "If you do not want to go with Stanley, call it off. If you need to call it off with both of them," she shrugged, "Then so be it. I want you to be happy as well."
Val pulled Bonabelle into a quick hug then pulled back again. "Maybe you should talk with Stanley as well. As for Wally and I?" She shook her head gently, "I'm not sure. I could maybe see things working out, but honestly I don't know him all that well. He's always been nice, but rather withdrawn from me." She giggled gently, "For a while I thought you liked him, so I didn't want to get in your way at all."
2
Valentine Duell
Doing the thing was excellent, actual results may vary
1490
0
5
Lavender Brockert
November 15, 2021 5:29 AM
Indeed by Lavender Brockert
Lavender nodded. "I'd really like that." She replied. What else was she supposed to say? And it was what she wanted. More time with Val....or another friend. She wondered who else she could be friends with. Maybe Morgan or Sadie? She didn't know if they'd be interested but they seemed nice. Nor would it kill her to get to know Isla or Esme better though she'd probably do that down on the island over the summer.The thing was, even if they would want to be friends with her, that didn't really change the fact that Lavender valued her friendship with Val. All having another friend would do is keep her from being lonely when the Tepp was too busy with her precious Bonabelle. Of course, Lavender would value and treasure that friendship too, on it's own merits.
And maybe over the summer she'd make friends even though they wouldn't be at school with her. However, they could be pen pals. It wasn't what the Crotalus truly wanted or needed but it would be something.
They got to the ice cream parlor and Lavender ordered cookies and cream ice cream in a waffle cone. She sat in a booth with her friend and licked her cone as Val began to speak. To tell the truth, her friend's reasoning didn't necessarily make sense to her. However, as she was already worried about things, she didn't want to say that, hurt Val and push her away. Lavender was terrified of losing Val's friendship just because they didn't spend as much time together as the Crotalus would like.
Still though, sometimes Val was...pretty naive and innocent.Which kind of reminded her of her mother actually. However, she wasn't entirely sure that her friend truly understood things. "Well, I assume you don't want to be a mother now and become one at the ball!" Lavender replied. "And even if you want to be with Bonabelle, you guys could adopt and you'd be a mother then." Of course, she didn't agree with Val's assessment of the Aladren but she was trying her very best to be supportive. She was certain she would be completely supportive if it was a different girl, who wasn't a time sucking black hole pie hog Val hog.
She thought for a moment. "Well, I suppose that hormones and stuff make you like...see people and feel attraction to them. Also, you can like or love different people in different ways. Like my parents don't love each other the same way they love me. There's like...love for family or friends and that's different from romantic love like my parents share. And you like and care about lots of different people." Despite the fact that you have little time for them thanks to Her. "That doesn't mean you want to date them. I care about you and-no offense-don't want to date you because I like boys." But you are my best friend and I want to spend more time with you .
Lavender continued. "And, I don't want to hurt you by saying this, and I hope you won't be mad."Or stop being my friend. 'But yes, it is greedy and unfair. Some people won't have a date at all. I probably won't." Which answered Val's question about her plans for the ball. "And it's not fair to the dates either to have to share. It would be one thing to go in a group of friends and then like take turns dancing with each other. However, to have multiple dates or partners isn't fair. It's like....I mean, you said you want a boy so you can have a baby which I would hope you weren't planning to do at the ball. However, how do you think they'd feel being used to make a baby when you also have Bonabelle? Not to mention how much time that would take up." And I'm sure that would be the time you'd otherwise spend with me, because Merlin knows that Bonabelle wouldn't give up any of hers.
She sighed. "No, I don't have plans for the ball. Who would I go with? Even taking out the pureblood thing, who is there? Wally, Stanley and Jasper are my cousins as is Gabriel whose taking Morgan. Alexander is with Anya, Phillipe is with Freddie, I doubt Quincy or Bertie would be interested in me . So I suppose that leaves Graham or Theo. I suppose I wouldn't mind either of them and Theo is even close with Wally and Stanley." She never did remember how the Pecari was related to her cousins. It was hard enough to remember how people in her own family were related.
Anyway Lavender wouldn't even have someone to hang out with, Val would be busy as would Gabriel. She didn't know the twins' plan yet but she was certain she was going to be the friendless loser all by herself at the ball.
11
Lavender Brockert
Indeed
1504
0
5
Valentine Duell
November 15, 2021 9:48 PM
Is it working? by Valentine Duell
Valentine let out a giggle as Lavender joked about becoming a mother at the ball, while she shook her head. Goodness no, that would be weird and from what she understood, quite awkward. As Lavender continued to talk, Val became less certain that she was joking. She sat in confused and worried silence as her friend practically gushed out a tirade? A rant? No.. she didn't like those terms, an impassioned speech. Sure. Valentine wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but some of that had hurt. She poked her sundae for a moment after it seemed like Lavender had finished."No." Valentine Duell stated in a flat tone, "I don't want to be a mother right now, or at the ball." Someday though she did want to, and those relationships took time to build. "Am I not allowed to like boys?" She asked, the flat tone seemed to have gotten the hint of an edge to it. There were feelings inside her rolling around that she didn't like; confusion, hurt, and... anger? She was having difficulty saying anything without them emerging. "Can I not have children of my own someday?" What did Lavender want from her? She tried to be open and honest with her friend and as a response she gets 'You made your choice, stay away from the boys, that's just hormones'?
"Eros, Storge," Val commented coolly trying to focus on something else. "That is what you are referring to. The Greeks had a few different terms for different types of love; Philia, Ludus, Pragma, Philautia, Agape." Her family had after all spend a chunk of their lives in Greece, even if she'd been to young to remember it. The things they had learned had carried on. "I thought we had Philia," she murmured.
A level certainty snapped into place, "Fine, I'm being greedy." The words came out a bit sharp. "I don't plan on tricking anyone into anything. They'll know the situation and can decide for themselves what they want to do or if it is 'fair'. On my end, it doesn't matter how much I might like someone, if they can't accept me for who I am then..." she paused as some of that hurt and anger slid away to reveal the fear below it, "... then it wouldn't work out anyway... and..." her eyes suddenly fearful gazed at Lavender's. What if Lavender couldn't? This was some of what Ellie's Cafe was about after all, the difficulties that 'different' people had when dealing with the mainstream. She had figured out by now that she was bi... but she hadn't really run into any problems because of it. Was this one? It had sounded to her that everything Lavender had said was along the lines of 'go be with Bonabelle, adopt kids and leave the boys to the rest of us.'
Was that really what she was saying? She tried to remember Lavender's words but couldn't get them back exactly enough to try and analyze them. Her last comments stuck well enough though, she didn't have plans for the ball, she had no one other than possibly Theo or Graham. It wasn't just that simple, it never was, still... it might be a big factor. "Lavender, I'm sorry." Val's voice had returned to it's more common softness. "I'm sorry for everything. Enough about me for now though, tell me what you really want to tell me. Something is wrong, how can I help?"
2
Valentine Duell
Is it working?
1490
0
5
Oz Spellman
November 19, 2021 9:57 PM
Bros before... girls
by Oz Spellman
Co-written With: Henry Spellman
OOC: CW - mild homophobia BIC:
"I mean... We look enough alike that I doubt anyone would think we are gay if we hung out," Henry said, cringing at the idea of that sort of mistake being made about the two of them. He didn't really want anyone thinking he was gay either, not because there was anything wrong with it but because he definitely wasn't. "But probably losers, yeah," he added with a grimace. "And some girls will probably be sad since there's like five students in the school, so if not everyone pairs up... Does this mean we have to go with girls?"
Oz hadn’t been exactly assuming that anyone would assume that he and Henry were dating because ew and obviously not and EW again. That was why he had phrased it as two very distinct questions. So, Henry’s reassurance was far from reassuring, given that all it did was address something he hadn’t thought would happen anyway, and put really gross thoughts in his head. The other part of his response wasn’t encouraging either. They didn’t have to do anything, or they shouldn’t have anyway.
"I don't wanna go with a girl just cos they're trying to make me,” he frowned, not bothering, even mentally, to assign an actual referent for who ‘they’ were. “If we hung out as a group, it would be obvious it wasn't a date, right? Even if it was with Xavier,” he added, kind of anxiously. On the ‘not doing gay stuff’ list of things to avoid, hanging out with an openly gay kid was probably fairly high up there. But he knew Xav was having a rough time this year and… and he just wanted to. He knew him better than any of the stupid girls, he was definitely fun, and he and Henry were the two people he wanted most to be around.
"Yeah, I guess that's true…” Henry considered Oz’s friends. Oz’s many, many friends, who he seemed to blow hot and cold on Henry being allowed anywhere near. He tried not to huff and point that out because Oz seemed to be in a ‘being buddies’ mood. Plus there was all that deep, weird stuff they’d hit over summer where Oz seemed just as messed up and insecure about things as he was, but it was probably definitely easier to avoid that. “But does that mean you wanna go with Billy and Gus? I bet Billy is gonna go with Ray."
Oz shrugged. Gus and Billy hadn’t really been where his mind was at. Like Henry said, Billy was probably going to hang out with Ray (vom). Gus seemed kind of happy doing his own thing most of the time.
"I mean, I'm not gonna stop Gus if he tries to hang with us,” he said. “But do you think it's safer to have an odd number so it doesn't look like a double or triple or whatever date?" he queried.
Henry contemplated the offer. Gus was probably the least offensive option. He and Oz seemed to agree that Billy was a pain, and best tolerated only in small doses. Oz just had take more of it, seeing as they lived together. And there was still some part of him that was jealous over that. Over the casual, easy, stupid relationship that Oz had the luxury of chucking away. Gus seemed to sit, chill, and stay out of people’s drama, from what Henry knew. He wasn’t sure how he’d landed in Pecari, but if he was going to be forced to play third wheel to Oz and a friend, Gus was probably the least horrible option. It wasn’t what Oz seemed to be angling for though.
"So.. what, you, me, and Xavier?" he asked. He tried not to make a face, because making faces was a guaranteed way to start an argument but he wasn’t sure he was entirely successful.
"You, me and whoever,” Oz shrugged. “The you and me stops it looking like a date, and the whoever stops us looking like losers.” He was pretty sure that, for once, his logic was sound. “Why'd you make a face?"
"Does anyone want to non-date-third-wheel with twins? I dunno. I wasn't doing so good at his party. I don't think he wants to hang out with me." Or that he wanted to hang out and be side-show to the Oz-and-Xavier party. Oz couldn’t have it both ways—couldn’t push him out, and then not let him call he’s-your-friend-not-mine.
Oz’s stomach squirmed. He thought he’d explained that stuff to Henry over the summer. He’d only ever pushed him out to protect him. And at the stupid party, he’d told him to hang out with Xav because he was nice. It wasn’t his fault if Henry hadn’t listened. If Henry hadn’t made any effort to get to know Xavier, it wasn’t exactly Oz’s fault if he didn’t feel like he knew him. Except it kind of was…
"I feel like you mostly ended up hanging out with Billy and Rae at the party,” he said, trying to delicately extract the element of Xavier from the car crash that had been Xavier’s party. He liked Xav. He was pretty sure he was going to be hanging out with him a lot. Henry wanting to be around his friends had been an issue when they’d been jerks that wanted to beat him up. Henry not wanting to be around someone he genuinely liked also sucked. “Who, like you said, wouldn't be there. What do you wanna do about the whole ball thing then?" he asked, a small amount of annoyance creeping into his tone.
"Yeah, I guess," Henry shrugged. "I dunno. I guess it might be kind of fun to go with a girl.” That was supposed to be what they wanted, wasn’t it? If Oz was so fricking concerned with being normal and not thought of as ‘gay losers’ that was the easiest solution, especially given the abundance of options at Sonora. They were way less likely to get rejected than they would have been under normal circumstances. Well, he was. Oz would probably have done fine for himself under normal circumstances. Even though they had the same face, and even though people could be irritatingly shallow, Henry had this horrible feeling that personality would actually start mattering just enough for it to be very clear that his was the problem. “Good practice for later I guess?" he said, to further convince Oz, his eyes tracking a female student who was heading in the opposite direction. "What do you think mom would tell us to do?"
"Not get anyone pregnant,” Oz replied promptly. Mom had been giving them safety lectures since way before they were likely to need them. Or, him at least. He suspected Henry had had a lot fewer ‘don’t be young, stupid, and impulsive’ lectures than he had. “I mean, going with a girl could be fun if any of the girls here were fun. Can you think of any who are?"
"Do they have to be fun?" Henry asked, imagining the volume level that Oz undoubtedly thought went with the word. "Can they be like.. pleasant? And pretty?" A lot of the girls were definitely the second one. They would probably keep being that, but the ball gave them an excuse to be that in much closer proximity to him. He wasn’t sure why Oz was so against it.
"I guess... “ Oz shrugged, as Henry offered up the most boring descriptive word. ‘Pleasant.’ A lot of the girls here were suuuper pleasant. Way too pleasant to actually get down and dirty with the likes of them. He couldn’t really see the point of hanging out just to have someone be polite about fruit punch at him, or whatever it was boring posh people did at parties. “But it'd be better if they were into kissing and stuff."
"Oh, yeah, that kind of fun is fine. I thought you meant... I dunno,” Henry shrugged off the thought, finding that he and Oz were on the same page after all, but one he didn’t really want to think about Oz doing too much. “But I bet some of them are into kissing.” They couldn’t all be against it, right? “What if we picked at random? The next single girl our age that we see? Or the first one that says hi or something?"
Oz glanced around, clocking the girls that were in range. Most of them were older, so he wasn’t in imminent danger if he agreed to this plan. Still, it sounded stupid.
"Give me two examples of girls our age who you think would be a good idea to ask out,” he challenged.
"Aladren is all girls and they're not totally awful. What about Billy's sister? That's maybe off limits for you but I could ask her."
"Rosalynn is already dating Tommy, and one of them's related to the headmaster,” Oz said. That left one, who he supposed he could ask out, seeing as Henry had come up with another option. “You wanna ask Iris?" he asked, returning the grimace Henry had given him for Xavier.
"I dunno. Billy looks like a dog's butt but Iris isn't bad," Henry shrugged.
Oz couldn’t see that. He could see his roommate’s sister, who had all the personality of a wet blanket. Though maybe that was Henry’s type. Gross. It did leave Lorena for him though. He was still pretty sure he’d have way more fun hanging out with Xavier, but he wasn’t sure he could argue that in the face of Henry finding passable girls for them both to go with.
“So, I ask Lorena and you ask Iris?” he checked. “I guess.”
13
Oz Spellman
Bros before... girls
1514
0
6
Henry Spellman
Lavender Brockert
November 24, 2021 12:05 PM
I am not sure by Lavender Brockert
Tears pricked at the corners of Lavender's eyes. She had been honest about how she felt-at least about some things-and made things worse . Now Val was going to hate her and she was going to have no friends at all."It's fine if you like both boys and girls but it's unfair to be with both Bonabelle and some boy at the same time, to everyone involved." Including me . Also, Lavender didn't really care about things being fair to the Aladren. In fact, Val having to give Bonabelle less attention would actually be fair.Still, three people was a bad enough dynamic in a friendship, she couldn't imagine it in a romantic relationship. First of all, as the Crotalus knew full well from personal experience, there was never enough time to go around for everyone equally. Secondly, there was the fact that, well....nobody was ever going to be loved equally either. You would always be worrying that the person you were with liked their other partner better.
Honestly, the thought of having a boyfriend and having to share him with another girl (or boy) made Lavender sick to her stomach. In fact, the sort of guys who'd do that were not the sort of guys she would want to be with because they weren't the sort who were good boyfriends. If they wanted to be with someone else, then they didn't really love her. And maybe that would hurt, but then again, if someone wanted that, well, then the Crotalus would probably not like them any more anyway.
And here was Val, her best friend , saying that she wanted to be with a guy, so some day she could have her own baby....but also to be with Bonabelle. Which would not be that different from a guy wanting to have lots of different girlfriends at once. Which would make him a pig-and she definitely didn't want to think of her friend doing that. In fact, it was even insulting to pigs to compare them to that sort of guy. Anyway, how could Lavender condemn that sort of guy but be okay with Val doing the same thing?Just because the Tepp was female? Because she was bisexual? It still wouldn't be fair this hypothetical guy. (Or Bonabelle, but Lavender actually cared more about this guy's feelings. And he was hypothetical.)
Wait, did that mean that the other fourth year wasn't really in love with Bonabelle because if she was she obviously wouldn't want to be with anyone else? That was what happened when you found The One so if Val liked other people too, than that might mean that the Aladren wasn't her true love. Now, Lavender couldn't deny that that didn't make her happy,just a tiny bit. Because Val deserved someone less overall toxic-and, of course, the Crotalus wanted more time with her friend.
If they were even still friends. She felt even worse when Val rattled off a bunch of Greek words that were apparently different types of love. Lavender hadn't meant to be condescending, especially given she didn't know what each kind of love some of those words meant-and she also shouldn't have called her friend greedy, even though the Teppenpaw had specifically said she felt like she was being so and imply that Val would trick someone . Lavender should have just told her what she wanted to hear. "True, accepting someone for who they are is necessary in a relationship. The thing is, if a guy told me that he wanted to be with me but also date others, well, I'd feel like he didn't care about me and that I didn't matter to him. That I was somehow not enough, not even adequate, let alone special to him. "
She paused, blushing. "Of course, those are the sort of guys who'd be just happy to do...that thing who that makes babies and not have a relationship, but I don't know why anyone would want to be with that sort of guy." She took a deep breath. "I don't really think Bonabelle would honestly be all that thrilled with you being with some guy either. She didn't seem very happy or supportive when you were with Stanley."
Lavender could see Val was upset, and not just angry upset and that made her feel even worse. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been condescending. Or said you were greedy or made you feel like I don't accept you." She considered her friend's words and sighed. "Even though you tried to cut back on clubs and stuff, I still feel like I rarely ever get to spend time with you. And I don't have any other friends. It doesn't come as easily to everyone as it does to you. Also, I really don't want to stand around by myself at the ball feeling like a loser. Even if I hang out with you and Bonabelle and this date, I'll just feel like...the odd one out."
11
Lavender Brockert
I am not sure
1504
0
5
Valentine Duell
November 24, 2021 8:43 PM
It could be worse, right? by Valentine Duell
Valentine couldn't stand it. In a moment she had abandoned her seat and her ice cream in order to take up a position next to Lavender and wrap her in a big hug. She had hurt her friend, and she felt awful. That wasn't the way this day was supposed to have gone. Val was going her best to listen closely now and try to understand her friend. She didn't necessarily agree that it was inherently unfair to have Bonabelle and a boy at the same time, everyone was allowed to decided for themselves what was or wasn't fair for them. Bonabelle had said she was okay with it, even though Val suspected that her girlfriend might be happier if it wasn't an issue. But it she was relieved to hear that Lavender at least didn't mind that she was bi. She'd been using that identifier for a little bit now and it still seemed a little odd to her, as if someone's biological configuration mattered at all when determining who you loved. Although to be completely fair and honest, she had admittedly started noticing that some people's biological configurations were rather pleasant to admire.Val pulled back from Lavender with a very apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for everything. I am sorry for not making more time for you." It felt like the best place to start. Her mind tried to figure out her schedule, tried to find some more time to squeeze out of it for Lavender, but there was really only one solution that she could come up with. "All of that club time that I cut back on pretty much went into study session." She sighed, her school work had never been fantastic and she had trouble with a lot of it. "I may make friends easier than you," she commented with a sad smile, "but I'm not so good at the learning we're supposed to be doing around here. You are more than welcome to join in on study sessions!" Somehow Val thought this wasn't what Lavender had in mind though, which did only leave her with the one remaining option. "I'll just drop another club, that will give us some time together." She wasn't sure which, she was in charge of the gaming club, so that wasn't really an option. Other than that she was only in Bonabelle's debate club and the Duelling club. That decision would take some consideration.
"As for the relationship stuff," Val looked across the table at her slowly melting ice cream. She reached over, pulled it to her new seat and took a bite. "I can understand that feeling, of not being enough if someone wanted another person along with you. I just..." she paused and thought, "I just don't see it like that. Everyone is unique and wonderful in their own way, and it seems a little unfair to me to expect one person to perfectly fulfill every one of someone else's needs or desires. That doesn't mean that they aren't special or not loved. You are right though, and that's where things get tricky." She sighed again, "I want to be in a loving relationship with the father of my children. I want... I want family, lots of family." Then almost in a whisper, "All the family that I haven't had yet." Then, in a normal voice to Lavender and not so much to herself she added, "That sort of relationship takes time to build. So no, I don't plan on making babies at the dance, but I would like to start building that relationship... or at least try to see if I could find one."
"But I can worry about that later. What can I do to help you? You do know that no matter how it may feel, you are not a loser." She placed her hand on Lavender's. "If you still want me as a friend, I am here for you." She thought back to a few moments earlier. "Would you like to go with either Theo or Graham? I can try to help you with that, I can't make any promises, but I will absolutely do what I can." She gave Lavender a hopeful smile.
2
Valentine Duell
It could be worse, right?
1490
0
5