System
November 07, 2021 4:25 PM
Mortimer Brockert
November 07, 2021 4:25 PM
Returning Feast by Mortimer Brockert
Back in late November, Mortimer's daughter-in-law, Helena, had given birth to his newest grandchild, Honora. This was something he had never expected to happen. He had honestly thought right up to the last minute that Helena would have another miscarriage or a stillbirth. While, of course, he was glad that hadn't happened-contrary to popular belief, Mortimer was not completely heartless and this was his grandchild after all-he still kind of thought that Eustace having a child was not a good thing. He was going to be an even worse father than Opal was a mother.And the way he was behaving was only proving that theory correct. Unsurprisingly to,oh, everyone besides possibly Helena herself-who probably should have known better too-Eustace was about as pleased about having a daughter as Mortimer was about the constant socializing of the holidays. Eustace was furious with Helena because she'd had a girl instead of a boy, as if she could control it, and it had made the holidays even more unpleasant than usual.
To be honest, Mortimer sort of wanted to take his son and shake him. Here he finally had a child, a beautiful healthy little girl, after all the issues Helena had had and this was how he acted? It was truly disgusting.
And Mortimer was sure that he would want to try for another one. He would not put it past Eustace to keep trying until he got a boy the way Zeke and Opal had. Except that he and Helena did not have that luxury considering the amount of miscarriages she'd had. Mortimer would have said that her actually giving birth to a living, healthy baby was a miracle, except that he didn't believe in them.
The students filed in and Mortimer rose and put the Sonorus Charm on himself. "Welcome back. I hope you all had a nice break." He wondered if anyone actually believed that he meant that. He didn't actually care either way.
Subthreads:Crotalus
Happy New Year! by Verdillia Scurlock with Christopher Brockert
The last chapter of the first book. by Felipe De Matteo with Iris Cobb
Aladren
First Year, Part II by Phil Carson with Eben Sosna
Green is not a flattering colour by Ellie Alperton with Sophia Priory
Teppenpaw
Pecari
Staff
11
Mortimer Brockert
Returning Feast
6
1
5
System
November 07, 2021 4:25 PM
System
November 07, 2021 4:25 PM
System
November 07, 2021 4:25 PM
System
November 07, 2021 4:25 PM
Verdillia Scurlock
November 11, 2021 6:43 AM
Happy New Year! by Verdillia Scurlock
Christmas had been what it always was. There had been a pre-Christmas trip to London to see the decorations in Diagon Alley, see the free elves caroling, and to stop off at one of the big country houses just outside the capital which offered outdoor ice skating. Then it had been back to Wales for a traditional family Christmas with her grandparents. For New Year, they had taken a trip to Vienna for one of the famous New Year concerts where the orchestra played itself and the dancers' dresses changed right in front of your eyes. That had really been the highlight of the whole holidays. It was a little disappointing not to have been invited to any fabulous parties by her classmates but she understood that took time. They probably needed to be both closer and older. She hoped that was what it was, and not that they'd all got together without her.She took a seat at the Crotalus table, even though the returning feast was more relaxed. Her house was full of excellent people, most of whom she didn't know as well as she would like, and anyone who was seeking an upgrade in company would surely come here too. She stifled a yawn. There had been so much to pack into the holidays that she hadn't got back to America until the day before school started, and her body was still a bit confused as to what time it was. She helped herself to pasta, seeing as she hadn't had much of that during the holidays.
"Happy New Year!" she smiled at the person next to her. "How was your break?"
13
Verdillia Scurlock
Happy New Year!
1541
0
5
Valentine Duell
November 12, 2021 11:01 AM
Onwards! by Valentine Duell
Valentine was downright gleeful as she returned to school. She had the most cutest baby cousin ever and she wanted to tell people about her! She sat at the Teppenpaw table and listened to the Headmaster's traditionally short 'welcome back' speech with eager anticipation. Not for anything in the speech, but just so that she would be sure to know when it was over. He hadn't mentioned anything about the ball, so she assumed that meant things were gong as planned and they weren't canceling it. That was good. She still needed to meet up with Wally sometime and have a good talk with him.She'd like to think that there just hadn't been a good time to meet up with him for the necessary conversation, and time had been tight, but she knew that she could have found some for him if she'd tried. She hadn't. Something about having that sort of a conversation worried her. Did he really want to go with her, or did he just want to not go to the ball alone? Maybe Bonabelle was right, maybe she'd misinterpreted something... but what if she hadn't? What if they talked and Wally said that he only wanted someone to go with, but didn't want anything more to do with her? Still... there was always the chance that he really did want to go with her, and maybe more than just a ball date and Bonabelle did just get the wrong impression. Anyway she'd promised her girlfriend to talk to her potential boyfriend... and she hadn't done it yet. She would do it. Soon.
He was stuck at the Crotalus table right now and she was here at Teppenpaw, so there was nothing to be done about it right now. Plus there were lots and lots of people around, she'd prefer fewer... just in case. So, when the food appeared, she completely ignored it and turned to the person next to her with enthusiasm. "Hi! I got a new baby cousin over break! She's adorable and only a few weeks old. My Aunt brought her over to visit for New Year's and I got to hold her and everything! She is so cute!" Val finally stopped to take a breath, "How was your break?"
2
Valentine Duell
Onwards!
1490
0
5
Phil Carson
November 12, 2021 11:45 AM
First Year, Part II by Phil Carson
He had returned home to Montana to find that Mom and Dad had agreed to rework his custody agreement. This made sense, because Phil wasn't going to school in Helena anymore, and the agreement had been kind of based around Dad actually having easy access to a public school, and Mom getting visits when he had longer breaks. Now that he boarding schooled in Arizona, that kind of messed up their equilibrium.He had actually sat in the same room as both of his parents for the first time in . . . he wasn't sure how long . . . and got to offer his opinion on who he lived with, and the lawyers actually listened to him. It was kind of weird and a little bit scary, having a say, and not just being told where he was living.
He didn't have a problem with either of his parents. He didn't really remember the divorce; he'd only been around four or five when it happened. The blurry memories he did have were just that 'Mommy is moving closer to work and we're staying here. You'll get to visit her lots, okay, buddy? She still loves you so much.' The word 'divorce' hadn't really popped up until he was older and by then it was a done deal and just how his life had been since before Kindergarten. He still didn't know if it was just because Mom preferred a quiet remote cabin in the woods and Dad was a city guy through and through, or if there had been other problems, but they'd done a good job of not putting him in the middle of their disagreements or making him take sides.
Dad had been given primary custody because it would be easier for him to get Phil onto a bus in the mornings to go to school, and that both worked for and against him now. On the one hand Phil was accustomed to mostly living with Dad (and Tanya and Loki). On the other hand, visits with Mom had always been much more fun to spend time with since there usually hadn't been much homework or other ordinary stressors that came with day-to-day living.
He had been sorely tempted to pick Mom to have primary custody now, both because her place had more consistently good memories, and because he wouldn't have to share a house with a kid approaching her terrible twos. But on the other hand, Helena had a lot more to do, and Mom wouldn't be taking off work the entire time he visited like he was used to. He suspected he'd get lonely and bored if he spent most of the summer there.
So he'd agreed to an even split. Half the time with Mom, half the time with Dad. Midterm was short, so they'd split it into first half with Mom, second half with Dad. That would alternate in future years: who got Christmas and who got New Years, but it was easy enough. The summer was a much longer chunk of time, and Phil decided he wanted to split it into smaller chunks, and between the three of them they came to a compromise of a switch every three weeks. This was long enough that his parents didn't feel like they were constantly ferrying him back and forth, and short enough that Phil didn't think he'd get bored of the woods or overwhelmed by a two year old with no sense of boundaries.
After just a few days with Loki before returning to Sonora, he hoped he hadn't overestimated his whelming capacity, and he was glad to be among people for whom logic and reason was understood and appreciated again.
He turned with a smile to his neighbor as Headmaster Brockert finished welcoming them back and the food began to appear. "Happy New Year!"
1
Phil Carson
First Year, Part II
1536
0
5
Billy Cobb
November 13, 2021 9:45 AM
This is good I guess. by Billy Cobb
Billy had never been quite so happy for school to start again. Not that it was a high bar to reach. Still, as the other students arrived back that weird empty feeling the school had had went away again. Part of him suspected that once he got outta this place and became a world traveling explorer, he'd have to deal with that feeling a bunch. So part of him argued that it'd been good practice. Most of him was glad to be done with it though.Ma had written back to tell them all about what had happened back home and why she and Pa thought it best if they stayed at the school over break. Apparently Tommy had been dumb enough to go back exploring where they'd found that Galleon, probably to see if he could find more. He hadn't, he'd found that horrible bear that lives in that section of the forest, or rather the bear had found him. Tommy had at least had sense enough to bring Jake with him, and between the two of them they'd managed to escape, but not unscathed. Very not unscathed.
The men then took this as a mission to finally go deal with that bear, and things didn't go so good neither. After that they claimed it was some sort of demon bear and made the whole area completely off-limits for everyone. While everyone was gettin' patched up again somehow this had all become Billy's fault and Iris' by extension that they were away all the time doing unexplained things. Everyone was pressuring Ma and Pa for more details and they couldn't give any. It didn't sound like anyone believed the story about them getting selected for a new type of perfectly ordinary school the government was experimenting with. No great surprise since no one back home thought much of the 'government' as a whole to start with.
This was all Tommy's fault, Billy couldn't help but think his cousin was dumber than a sack of rocks. Still, it was all over now and things could be normal again. He sat at the Pecari table and and grinned at the activity in the hall once more, his eye was looking for at least one person in particular. When the food appeared the dove in with gusto as normal. "It's good to have everyone back. This place was just weird over break without no one here." He said to whomever was close.
2
Billy Cobb
This is good I guess.
1519
0
5
Philippe Delachene
November 13, 2021 9:14 PM
Heya, Val! by Philippe Delachene
Philippe was glad to be back at school, mostly because it meant he got to see Freddie and his other friends again. Home was good, Sonora was good, holidays were good, getting back into his routine was good. Philippe was just good all around. He even had his robes for the ball picked out and waiting for him.He'd gone shopping with his sisters and Ellie over midterm, and that had been fun, even though he was completely outnumbered by the girls. He really hadn't minded though. To be entirely honest, he thought he enjoyed the entire expedition way more than Anya had. He'd kind of had fun, trying on dozens of suits and dress robes and having Ellie and Jasmine offer compliments and critiques until he found the one he was sure was just right for this year's midsummer ball. And he'd had fun doing the same with Jasmine for Ellie when she had tried on a variety gowns and dresses. (Anya had picked her own dress quickly, and spent the rest of the time either looking bored, saying 'that looks nice, too!' with varying levels of enthusiasm to everything anyone tried on, or vanishing entirely. Philippe had initially mistaken her amount of enthusiasm as an indicator of her level of approval for the item in question but he later decided it was far more influenced by how well she rolled on her 'pretending to be interested' check that round.)
As he wandered along the Teppenpaw table, he spotted Valentine before Freddie, and took a seat near his friend, who he realized a bit belatedly he'd kind of been ignoring since he started dating. (This realization did not stop him from saving a spot for Freddie in case he wanted to join them.)
"Heya, Val! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, belated!" he greeted cheerfully as he sat down.
The Headmaster gave his traditionally short speech (if you could call it that, which Philippe wasn't sure you could) and then smiled when Val immediately launched into telling him about her new cousin.
"That's great!" Philippe enthused back, though his cousins were all rather older than babies at this point. A couple of cousins belonging to Uncle Luke even had small ones of their own, and those were small enough that he felt he could relate, even if he only ever saw them at Christmas and he was usually catching up with Aunt Molly's kids (who were pretty close in age to him) too much to bother with the babies.
"My break was pretty neutral good," he answered with a grin. "The chaotic good holidays with the Greer-Nash-Burbridge-Everyone-Else clan balanced out with the lawful good visit with the Delachenes." Dad was an only child, and so holidays with Granmere and Granpere were pretty low-key, aside from whatever Anya could get up to, which was much less than it used to be these days now that she was sixteen. This year, there had been a rousing game of Wizard's Rummy, and the time when the Jack of Hearts switched sides unexpectedly and gave the game to Grandmere was the height of this year's excitement.
OOC: Note 1: Ellie's participation in the shopping trip approved by her author, with the caveat that Philippe is somewhat oblivious to some things going on.
Note 2: I have no idea what wizard's rummy would play like. Maybe the cards occasionally change suits?
1
Philippe Delachene
Heya, Val!
1489
0
5
Ellie Alperton
November 13, 2021 10:38 PM
Green is not a flattering colour by Ellie Alperton
Dress shopping with Jasmine had not been the holiday highlight Ellie had hoped it would be. Sure, it had been fun. It had been sparkly. It had involved Jasmine, and gingerbread lattes, and Philippe. Of course, he was Jasmine’s brother, and Ellie was not exactly pro gender segregating activities, but was it too much to ask that he… What? Didn’t come shopping with his own family in his hometown? It probably was. The fact that she knew her jealousy and annoyance towards him was irrational and unfair didn’t make it any better. It didn’t make it easier to let go of, and it just meant there was a meta layer of crappiness as her brain repeatedly pointed out what a terrible person she was being for feeling that way towards him.The worst part was, she was sure he must be noticing by now. She had watched him twirling around in various outfits, and all she could think of was being sidelined whilst he took her best friend away - about how he had everything she wanted for this ball. She could keep on smiling around the hard knot of resentment in her chest, but surely it must be looking as tight as it felt. Her feedback for his outfits had been barely more helpful than Anya’s. She’d mostly let Jasmine go first and then chimed in with agreement, or something generic about trends or timelessness.
There had been brief moments of reprise. She had never thought she would be glad for gendered changing rooms. But when they were in those, she could talk to Jasmine for real about how she was feeling. Not about Philippe, but about how it was all fun to dress up and everything (because something about feminist principles and dressing for herself) but it was sucky not to have a prince of her own to go with. Then she’d turn the smiles back on so that she wasn’t bringing anyone else down.
Shopping was also always a gauntlet because it was hard not to be aware of your own body when repeatedly undressing and staring at yourself in a mirror. Things there were not great, but not awful. It felt like a load she’d got used to bearing. It was there, because of course it was there, but at this point she suspected she would notice the weight more once it was removed.
The rest of Christmas had been nice, she had done all the usual things with her family. She had considered whether she should send a card to Dathan, or even get him a Christmas gift. She wasn’t sure they were that level of friends though, and it would probably be weird.
She took a seat in the Cascade Hall, facing the Teppenpaw table. She could tell herself it was so she might make eye contact with Dathan, or look at and appreciate him. But really, it was to torture herself. It was to watch Freddie and Philippe in their cosy little bubble (she assumed they’d sit together), and to think about how she wasn’t part of that with anyone.
She was still lost in these thoughts when someone spoke to her.
13
Ellie Alperton
Green is not a flattering colour
1456
0
5
Christopher Brockert
November 15, 2021 2:37 AM
Same to you by Christopher Brockert
OOC: CW-Misogyny, emotional abuse. Just your typical holiday with Uncle Eustace BIC:
Midterm had been horrible . Well, okay, not all of it. The parts where Chris was just with his parents and Alma were pleasant and of course, he'd gotten some nice presents. However, he had completely dreaded the larger family events with Uncle Eustace. And Topaz too, of course, but she wasn't the main issue. At least not this time.
Not that this wasn't how the Crotalus usually felt about anything having to do with his uncle, but this time had been worse and not just because Chris had gotten used to being away from the man. Ever since Honora had been born, the idea of being anywhere in the vicinity of Uncle Eustace had made him feel like he was suffocating. He hadn't even wanted to go home for midterm because of it, but of course, he'd had to anyway. There was no way his parents would have been okay with him not coming home for the holidays after being away for the first time. And Chris did miss them and Alma and everyone else in his family who wasn't around him at school, with the obvious exceptions, of course.
Still, despite his fondness for most of his relatives, being in larger family settings had been even worse than the first year had expected. It had been so incredibly tense that Christopher had felt like he couldn't breathe and him being him, he had escaped the moment he could.
And he was pretty sure he wasn't the only one who had felt it either. In fact, the only one who didn't was probably Honora. Although she had been incredibly fussy during the time the Crotalus had been around before going off to hide. He probably knew the best places to hide in his grandparents' house better than anyone else.
Of course, Honora, the baby girl that her horrid chauvinist of a father didn't want, being crying and fussy was not something that made matters any better. Not that it was her fault obviously, babies cried. They ate, slept, pooped and cried. However, it still made things worse, but more because of how Uncle Eustace acted about it than the actual crying. Not that that was pleasant either but Uncle Eustace had gotten mad and yelled at Aunt Helena about "shutting her little *expletive* brat up" and insisting that if Honora was a boy she wouldn't cry so much because "no son of his would carry on so much" Never mind that Chris was pretty sure that Honora was crying because her dad was yelling and being a jerk. A baby might not understand his words but she could probably feel the tone and definitely the volume.
He was honestly scared for the poor child and for his aunt. He was pretty sure everyone but the smallest children who were too young to think about things like that and were just scared of Uncle Eustace themselves, and Topaz, who was incapable of empathy, felt the same way that he did.
Of course,being in that situation, being around his uncle who was so furious that he had a daughter and not a son and whom was a rotten excuse for a human being anyway, Chris couldn't help but want to put himself first, and his number one priority had been escape. He couldn't handle conflict and that situation was nothing but. He literally had wanted to puke the entire time.
So, of course, Christopher was thrilled to be back at school, even though he was still not terribly comfortable with any of his classmates, even Liesl really. Still, none of them had given him any indication that they were like Uncle Eustace (or Topaz) and that made it an improvement.
After Grandfather had finished greeting-it was definitely more of a greeting than a speech-them, the Crotalus reached for the cheese bread, grabbing one as Verdillia greeted him. "Happy New Year to you too." He replied, biting off a piece and considering how to answer the question about his break. His housemate was okay, although she came on a little strong at times in his opinion. Still, one didn't respond to that question by pouring out the truth. That he'd spent parts of his break in a state of intense anxiety because of his horrible uncle and the fact that said uncle was being even worse than usual because he'd had a daughter instead of a son.
Nope, it was best to lie. Chris didn't like lying but sometimes, a lie of omission was necessary. This was one of those times. He swallowed his cheese bread and replied. "It was nice, I got to see my family and I had a great time with my parents and sister and got some nice presents." All that was true, after all. "How was yours?"
11
Christopher Brockert
Same to you
1539
0
5
Verdillia Scurlock
November 15, 2021 5:44 PM
Thank you by Verdillia Scurlock
Christopher Brockert was sitting next to her, which meant the year was off to a very good start. Besides being a Brockert, he was in her house, and very polite. At least, she hoped that was it. He was on the quiet side, and she wasn't sure if that was just how he was, or whether he was disinterested in her. Liesl was much more overtly friendly, but also noticeably a bit odd. Verdillia hoped that Liesl's willingness to befriend her wasn't related to that oddity, as she wanted people like Chris to like her too.He did, at least, seem happy to chat about his break. She smiled as he talked, even though he didn't say much. At least he didn't list a whole host of parties she hadn't been invited to, so that was good. Unless he was not saying much because that was what his break had been filled with and he wanted to spare her feelings...
"That sounds nice," she smiled. She considered her follow up questions... She already knew what his sister was called and how old she was because she'd learnt her classmates' family trees. However, she wasn't sure if it was still polite to ask, as if she didn't know, for the sake of conversation, or whether that made her look ignorant. "What presents did you get?" she asked instead, even though she feared that was skating dangerously close to money-talk.
"My break was lovely. We did some Christmas events down in London, then spent the actual holiday with my grandparents. Then we went to Vienna for the New Year Concerts." She hesitated, deciding not to point out for now that the concerts were famous, wondering whether that was true outside of Europe too.
13
Verdillia Scurlock
Thank you
1541
0
5
Felipe De Matteo
November 23, 2021 10:00 PM
The last chapter of the first book. by Felipe De Matteo
OOC: I'm assuming Felipe visited Zara for the holidays but am happy to edit if that's not the case. BIC:
Felipe was going to get married. Leonor probably was too. Over winter break, it had been made abundantly clear to him that those two facts held very different weights to his family. Leonor, presented as the heir to the De Matteo estate and future mother to future heirs, was lauded as the Christmas queen, a symbol to light candles to for the people of Ciudad de Matteo. That being said, the people were hesitant that their queen to be was marrying a white man who didn't speak Spanish and who had not exactly made his presence clear to them. He was the only non-Mexican person many of them had met and now their future heir would be half-white? Meanwhile Felipe was marrying for love, marrying a young woman who had visited many times and who had gotten through conversations with some of them even though her Spanish was minimal. It was an important difference to the people of Ciudad de Matteo and tales were already being spun about the prince who gave up his crown for his love, and the princess who gave up love for the crown. Both could be spun as the hero or villain of the story and the people took sides. With Felipe being the generally more pleasant of the two, he had more people on his side automatically.
And therefore, he'd spent the majority of his break - as soon as this popularity contest had become clear to the De Matteo patriarch - either on his own at the estate or at Zara's. He spent most of that time researching places to live in the United States, learning about muggles, learning about landscaping, and otherwise preparing for the life he'd be leading after graduation. It was becoming painfully clear to him that whatever that life looked like, it would not include Los Jardines de Plata.
Regardless, it was nice to know that it would certainly include Zara and that he would have the distinct honor of being her husband. He had been thinking more of Felipe Jackson and trying to practice saying it in case that's what Zara decided she'd like best. As he understood it, one spouse taking the other spouse's last name and dropping their own entirely was the most conventional approach in the United States.
Talk of the Ball brought him back to the moment - though his thoughts still naturally lingered on Zara and their upcoming date to said Ball - and he turned to focus on the meal as it appeared. Serving himself a small portion of fruit and vegetables, and a still smaller portion of stew with meat and potatoes, Felipe looked at the nearest student who wasn't already engaged in conversation.
"Hard to believe we are halfway to the end of the year already," he acknowledged to them.
22
Felipe De Matteo
The last chapter of the first book.
1434
0
5
Freddie Zauberhexen
November 23, 2021 10:45 PM
I am here! by Freddie Zauberhexen
Freddie was late to the feast, darting in as quietly as he could just after the actual feast part had begun. Of course, since it was Freddie, that wasn't really very quiet at all. He'd only missed clattering in and interrupting the headmaster's speech because he'd had a moment's foresight long enough to realize that everyone eating would be louder and thus make his entrance less noticeable. He didn't want to embarrass anyone, or lose points for his house if that was a thing he could lose points for.Most seats were already taken, although there was always room for a bit of shuffling, except that Philippe had held a seat open for him. Freddie sat down in it with a grin, oblivious to whether or not Valentine actually wanted him there because he and Valentine were sort of friends so he just assumed she did because he would want her there if the situation was reversed. He hadn't really hung out with her and Bonabelle but he was pretty sure they were all playing for the same team and thus were basically best friends. Plus, a friend of Freddie's boyfriend was a friend of Freddie's.
He did satisfy himself with a happy snuggle into Philippe's shoulder before quietly scooping food onto his plate - well, not really 'scooping' as he went first for a burger and then for a corndog - so as not to interrupt. He was feeling giddy because the reason he'd been late in the first place was that he'd been trying on his gown for the ball. He'd had it made over break and after talking about it with Philippe and his parents, had decided on a more slim, robe-like silhouette that still featured the flare, skirt, and fitted sleeves of a gown. It also had a wide neck and was a sparkling periwinkle blue color. He knew it fit - it had, after all, been made for him - but he still wanted to try it on again. Philippe hadn't yet seen it and he was excited to surprise him for the Ball.
"Hallo," he interjected when the conversation had enough of a pause to make such a greeting appropriate. He nodded his head to Val, grinning at his housemate, and wove the fingers of his free hand between Philippe's under the table. His other hand was occupied with holding the corndog in biting distance so that he could munch the heck out of it as soon as polite greetings were done.
22
Freddie Zauberhexen
I am here!
1452
0
5
Valentine Duell
November 24, 2021 9:07 PM
Welcome! by Valentine Duell
Valentine giggled lightly as Freddie snuck to his seat at the table as she was listening to Philippe describe his vacation. His description was delightful and more mirth bubble from her as a result. "That sneaky Jack!" She accused the playing card. She wasn't sure if she'd ever actually played Wizard's Rummy before. As much as she liked games, card games like that weren't super high on her list. Not that she wouldn't play it if a game broke out and there were fun people involved.She felt the tiniest bit of longing as Freddie snuggled up with Philippe, her own girlfriend was at a different table, and her other date to the ball was at a completely different table than either of them. Although she still hadn't gotten that chance to talk with Wally, and she really, really needed to. She wasn't even sure if he'd want to cuddle up during a meal. She wouldn't mind it. Bonabelle liked to snuggle as well.
"Hi!" she responded to Freddie cheerily. "Did you have anything exciting happen over break?" She took notice that only one of Freddie's hands was visible and she wondered just a bit what his other hand was doing under the table... next to his boyfriend. Actually... Philippe only had one hand visible as well. Hmm... "Are you two all ready for the ball?" She asked with a voice filled with sweet innocence.
2
Valentine Duell
Welcome!
1490
0
5
Philippe Delachene
November 26, 2021 11:44 AM
Hallo, mein boyfriend! by Philippe Delachene
Philippe smiled and leaned back against Freddie when he slipped into the seat Philippe had saved for him. "I know, right?" he complained about the Jack's betrayal when Val jokingly commiserated with him about the tale, but he was smiling too, and it was clear there were no lingering hard feelings toward the playing card."Hi!" he returned when Freddie offered his greetings into a brief lull in the conversation. "Happy New Year!"
Val took the opportunity to ask Freddie about his break and Philippe nodded in eager interest to hear how he'd spent the time apart. Philippe had, of course, sent him a card with a picture of himself and his siblings standing around their Christmas tree, a few updates about the first day or two of the break, but they hadn't really had a chance to catch up yet.
Philippe squeezed his boyfriend's hand back as their fingers entwined, and he smiled happily at the opportunity to be close enough to touch again. He'd missed Freddie's easy presence and casual (and sometimes not-so-casual) touches while they'd been apart. Not wanting to let go, he used his left hand to take a sip of his pumpkin juice, before nodding in answer to the question Valentine turned toward the both of them.
"Jasmine, Ellie, and Anya helped me pick out an outfit," he confirmed, but didn't offer too many details, because he wanted to keep some surprises for Freddie for the ball. But he didn't want to sound like he didn't want to talk with them by being too closemouthed, so he added, "Jasmine's super good at that sort of thing. She's my oldest sister," he added to Valentine, who might not remember Jasmine, as she was quite a bit older than them.
1
Philippe Delachene
Hallo, mein boyfriend!
1489
0
5
Iris Cobb
November 28, 2021 7:11 PM
Was it a good book? by Iris Cobb
Iris was so very thankful to have people back at the school again. Break had been just terrible, stuck here with just Billy and Xavier. She hadn't felt particularly inclined to spend much time with either of them, so it had been an awfully boring 'break'. It had all been Billy's fault as well. She had corresponded with Ma, and from what she had heard it might have been good that they'd stayed at the school, but that didn't mean she had to like it. It also made her wonder what this summer was going to be like. Ma claimed things will be calmed down by that point, and Iris certainly hoped she was right. In the meantime, there wasn't much she could do about it... well, other than to try and convince Billy to stop being stupid when he was at home. That was a lost cause though.She sat at the Crotalus table and reveled in the sights and sounds of a full school once again. The headmaster welcomed them back, and nice familiar routine took over once more. It was lovely. Once the food appeared, Iris selected some of her favorites. It wasn't Ma's, but it was still good. As she set about to eating, still soaking in the renewed atmosphere, Felipe spoke to her.
Iris bobbled her head in a friendly 'I guess so' sort of way. "It'd be harder to believe if I hadn't spend all of break here." That had made it seem like a very long year so far. Another thought did strike her though and her expression fell. "I'd better enjoy this last half. It was only this year, and my fifth year where I won't be stuck in class with my stupid brother." Why Ma couldn't have waited just a bit longer she'd never know. One more year apart and she'd only have been stuck with him in class for her third year. Oh well. That wasn't the best for proper conversation, "Do you have anything you're looking forward to yet this year?"
2
Iris Cobb
Was it a good book?
1526
0
5
Sophia Priory
November 29, 2021 2:13 PM
And yet, they make us wear it every day by Sophia Priory
Although she would never show it, Sophia was worried about the ball. Hilda had suggested a group dance, which would have been wonderful, because then the Aladren would be off the hook for finding a partner for a tradition that was, quite frankly, completely unfair. However, other people didn't want that and if they had their way, she was going to be completely humiliated.They were being so selfish! Doing a group dance wasn't everyone's cup of tea but it was no more humiliating than the regular dance. You still had to dance in front of the entire school. Which was why Hilda's idea hadn't been a solution for Mab. And, yes,Sophia knew that some people had non-prefect dates but Professor Skies had said they could be included. Although the thought of Martin Crosby V joining in with such a thing was slightly amusing.
And she knew people could opt out, but that was humiliating too. Doing so meant that basically the entire school was aware of how nobody wanted to dance with you or go to the ball with you. It made you look like a loser, like nobody liked you. It was one thing for Mab to opt out, because that had been her choice. She didn't dance. People might think that about her too, but Sophia didn't think the Pecari cared while she personally did . There was nothing worse than being in a position to be mocked and laughed at.
She could, if they went with the regular partner dance, try to frame opting out as a protest against an inherently unfair tradition. After all, it never worked out that there were enough dates to go around. Someone was always put in the humiliating position that she found herself in now, not to mention what happened last time with Dorian having a non-student date when nobody else got to.
It was a stupid tradition, way stupider and more unfair than having one male and one female Head Student, something that promoted equality between genders as well as making sure there people in student leadership that both boys and girls could go to with sensitive issues. Yet, that had been done away with, but Head Students and prefects still had to dance in front of the whole school which meant finding partners and if you couldn't find one and opted out, you'd end up being a laughingstock. Having Head Student the way it was before hadn't turned anyone into an object of ridicule, this tradition did. So if they could change that, why not this?
Still, even if Sophia framed it as a protest, it wouldn't make things any different. It wouldn't stop anyone from thinking that she was just a loser that nobody wanted to dance with or go to the ball with. And, aside from Mab, who claimed that she just didn't dance, and probably didn't care if people thought otherwise, she'd be the only one too. Even Ellie could probably borrow Freddie for the opening dance if need be, Sophia literally had no options.
She sighed to herself as Headmaster Brockert welcomed them back and scanned the table for what she wanted to eat. Spying some mashed potatoes next to Ellie, the older Aladren asked. "Could you pass me the mashed potatoes please?"
11
Sophia Priory
And yet, they make us wear it every day
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Christopher Brockert
December 03, 2021 11:21 AM
You're welcome. by Christopher Brockert
OOC: CW-Toxic masculinity, mentions of rigid gender roles and emotional abuse BIC:
Okay, now he had to figure out what presents it was okay to tell others that he got without them judging him. Crap. Even this amount of opening up to someone, answering a simple question, was difficult. At the moment, Chris hated himself for it because he was never going to make close friends if he couldn't let people get to know him. He so desperately wanted them, but his need to protect himself from conflict and criticism was strong.
Though, actually, the Crotalus shouldn't hate himself or beat himself up, even though he was generally inclined to do just that. He should-and did-hate Uncle Eustace. For a lot of reasons and this was another one. It was because of his uncle that he was so adverse to conflict and felt the need to put up walls and not let anyone in. Uncle Eustace's criticism-well,okay, abuse , he might as well call it what it was-of him as well as the man's general rage and jerkish behavior that ruined holidays and traumatized small children-and not just himself and Jasper, Miles was, quite reasonably, terrified of Uncle Eustace and Chris was just sure that once Honora was old enough to understand things, her father would do a number on her too-had made the first year quite wary of any sort of....negative interaction with anyone.
And Topaz, of course, didn't help matters, but again, Uncle Eustace was the bigger issue.
He shrugged. "Some clothes and some books. Colored pencils and paper so I can sketch my ideas for buildings. I want to be an architect when I grow up. " He'd always been good at making things out of blocks as a kid, like huge complicated detailed structures that took a long time to build, and had actually gotten blocks too, but he didn't want to tell Verdillia that because she might think he was a baby for still getting toys at his age.
However, being an architect was a perfectly respectable thing.Unless, of course, you were a toxic alpha male type like Uncle Eustace, but Verdillia wasn't, or at least he didn't think she was. For one thing, she wasn't male, so therefore she couldn't be an alpha male. Still, Christopher's uncle was like, an extreme example with very rigid ideas of gender roles and what " a real man" should be. What the first year's uncle thought was that boys who were into artsy stuff were "sissies"-and that was one of tamer words he used- and boys who were intellectual types, like Olaf, were nerds which was meant as an insult. Despite the fact that Olaf basically embraced that label.
Honestly, Chris admired his younger cousin for that so much. Of all the boys, he seemed the least affected by Uncle Eustace's verbal abuse. His brother, Uriah, was the one second least bothered, despite Uncle Eustace fat shaming the five year old all the time. Still, it probably spoke to something Uncle Ben was instilling in his sons that his own father hadn't in him.
To be honest,Christopher's dad could be sort of....a pushover when it came to Uncle Eustace, who was his fraternal twin. Not that the Crotalus had a lot of room to talk and he could totally understand where Dad was coming from. Dad had grown up being dominated by his twin, having to go along with what he wanted, doing his bidding, being his sidekick, while also being bullied by him. So, while Chris very much wished his Dad could be more like Uncle Ben and tell Uncle Eustace off and stand up to him for Chris, and basically instill that same confidence in him that Uncle Ben did in his sons, he completely and totally understood why his dad was not like that.
Besides, when Uncle Ben mouthed off to Uncle Eustace, it usually made matters worse. Which was why Chris, like his father, kept his mouth shut and, unlike his father, usually ran away-or technically snuck out of the room quietly-and hid somewhere.
Anyway, he had to try and assume that Verdillia was a reasonable, rational human being who would think that it was a respectable career choice. Because it was out there, he had mentioned it and couldn't un-mention it. So he had to hope for the best. "That sounds nice." Chris replied, regarding the other Crotalus's holiday break.
11
Christopher Brockert
You're welcome.
1539
0
5
Freddie Zauberhexen
December 17, 2021 12:37 AM
I am still here, I promise. by Freddie Zauberhexen
"Ja," Freddie replied, resisting the urge to smirk at Philippe when he confirmed that his break had been exciting. Of course, it hadn't actually been very exciting since he hadn't gotten to see Philippe but family time was important to him and it was nice to get to spend time at home in Germany, not trying to use English so much. While his family made them practice over the longer summer holidays, winter break was considered more for spending time together in their shared language than trying to keep up on academic things. Except for Hana, who was always trying to keep up on academic things because she was ambitious like that. "I got my clothing for the Ball," he added, being vague. Philippe knew he was going to be wearing a dress and people like Valentine who frequented the LBT-- LG-- GB-- Ellie's club also saw him in dresses and skirts often enough not to be surprised, but he didn't want to ruin the surprise nonetheless."You and Bonabelle go?" he added, smiling at her. "We should all four go," he suggested, glancing at Philippe to make sure the younger boy didn't mind. "Not for all the things. But someone dances are fun boy-girl too, ja? Especially with good friend," he smiled at valentine. She really had been a great friend to him and it was nice knowing that there were only a few openly same-sex couples in the school and Valentine was half of one of the other pairs. Actually, Freddie couldn't think of any other pairs besides him and Philippe off the top of his head . . . perhaps that was small of him, but he really didn't that much attention to school gossip. Mostly because he could only understand about half of it anyway.
Freddie nodded along with his boyfriend, agreeing that Jasmine was indeed very good at such things. Hana knew enough about her in fact that she'd even suggested the girl might wish to see him if she'd had the choice, so Freddie had gone so far as to send her pictures of himself, his hair (when it wasn't dyed, although he included a note with his intentions to dye it), his skin tone, his eye color . . . all of it was provided. Whether or not Jasmine actually wanted any of that information and whether or not she was going to spoil it and actually tell Philippe he'd done such a thing was another matter.
"Hana has no date," he added sadly. "Is my oldest sister," he said by way of clarification as to how he'd suddenly turned towards the subject of Johana Leonie. "Maybe she go with Hilda but I know she want go with boy."
22
Freddie Zauberhexen
I am still here, I promise.
1452
0
5
Valentine Duell
December 19, 2021 5:57 PM
I'm glad to hear! by Valentine Duell
Valentine nodded at Philippe's comment about his older sister. She had a vague memory of Jasmine from her first year. Gary had brought her up a time or two she thought. It didn't really matter to much at the moment, Philippe and Freddie were being super cute talking about their ball plans without really saying anything to ruin what she guessed were supposed to be surprises.She smiled back at Freddy when he asked if she and Bonabelle were going and was about to confirm his question when he added another suggestion onto it. How to respond to that? Part of her mind reminded her that they had been being super cute a moment ago. "Well," She started off slowly, "I am going with Bonabelle, but..." she hesitated a bit before deciding to just come out with it. "Well, I'm also going with Wally. I think." That last bit had slipped out unintentionally. "I mean, he said he would go with me along with Bonabelle. She is also going with Stanley. I think." Ugh, there it was again. "I need to talk to them some more and make sure everyone is sure they know what is going on and is okay with things and..." her voice trailed off. "I'm pretty sure they do though, but talking is never a bad thing to do."
"Still," she continued, "I'm not opposed to dancing with either of you a time or two if you'd like to take a girl for a spin around the dance floor." She was pretty sure she was safe from anyone getting the idea that either Philippe or Freddie would have any sort of romantic thoughts about her, but you never knew. "As good friends." She confirmed with Freddie.
Freddie's comment about his sister left her with that greedy, guilty feeling again. Was this what Lavender had been talking about? She didn't think the seventh year Johana Leonie wanted to go with a fourth year boy, but still. "You sister wouldn't have wanted a fourth year boy, would she?" Val asked, with a tentative air.
2
Valentine Duell
I'm glad to hear!
1490
0
5
Eben Sosna
December 28, 2021 9:13 AM
Think it'll be weirder or less weird than the first half? by Eben Sosna
Eben had known, of course, that his brother had missed him while he was away, because he'd missed his brother. He had not, however, guessed just how much Euan apparently hated solitude. Euan nearly knocking him over barrelling into him halfway through the front door could have been written off as normal, but then Eben had found that his bed was actually still usable, not covered six layers deep in stuff Euan had thrown onto it because he couldn't be bothered to put the stuff up. That, from his brother, was a show of consideration on a massive scale, especially since Eben knew the whole family well enough to know that it wouldn't have really occurred to Mom to tell Euan to clean things up if he had.His parents had been less obvious about it, mostly because they'd been at work all the time as per usual, but he thought they might have missed him, too. For one thing, not only had he been allowed to use the TV to watch Ancient Aliens and Ghost Hunters marathons, he'd also once gotten so into one that it had only been later that he'd realized he'd watched it straight through the evening news slot, which was normally practically a point of religious observance for his father. So that had been cool, too.
Leaving had been kind of sad again, but getting back to school didn't feel strange again, which he wasn't quite sure how to feel about. Home had felt really more like visiting somewhere, whereas coming back to school...maybe it would sink in tomorrow, but right now, it felt more like dragging back into the house, sort of worn out, after a round of going to see people. Which was kind of the opposite of how it was supposed to be.
At least the headmaster was as taciturn now as at the beginning of the year. The food was always good here, and after the traveling and stuff, Eben was very clear on how interested he was in eating it.
"Happy New Year," he echoed Phil as the food in question appeared. "And happy back-to-food-just-materializing day," he added. "It got weird at home, having to go get food and put it on the table and stuff. My brother said I had to be making this part - " he gestured to the table - "up, but I think maybe he was just jealous."
16
Eben Sosna
Think it'll be weirder or less weird than the first half?
1538
0
5