Killian Row
July 09, 2023 10:49 PM
Tumbleweed Trip by Killian Row
Killian was on clipboard duty today. He did try to take any jobs he could off of the deputy headmistress'/his boss'/his basically mother-in-law's hands and clipboard duty seemed like a small thing to take but it was time consuming. He had run through the usual spiel - those who were comfortable and wished to do so could travel to Tumbleweed by portkey, others were welcome to use the enchanted vehicles which could fit too many students and drive too fast and suddenly warp into Tumbleweed - and was now waiting to check off names and shout over heads to ensure no one snuck off on their own."Please know that shop owners have been forewarned of our trip today and any reports back to the school of inappropriate behavior will be taken seriously," he had reminded students before they warped away and now that they were arriving, many of them horribly motion sick, he was glad he hadn't waited until they arrived. He was only reminding them periodically of things like "stay with a buddy," and "there will be staff and faculty around town if you need any help."
The town of Tumbleweed was unplottable because it physically didn't exist any singular place, but Killian would have sworn that the actual layout of the town was unplottable too. An ice cream shop that had been there a few decades previously was a coffeeshop now, and the old Quidditch store had moved up the lane a ways. Robes and gowns were glimmering in the windows of an apparel store and cauldrons gleamed even brighter beneath hang-drying herbs in the window of the apothecary. A man with a hippogriff on a lead was making his way through town when he caught sight of the students, stopped quickly, and led the hippogriff away from any possible people for it to bite.
Students would have to use their own funding to supply any Ball accoutrements, although there were usually a few odd relics around the school if anyone truly had no way to acquire something suitable. Class supplies were abundantly available at the school but some students preferred higher quality or less worn versions and he was sure the apothecary and bookstore both would be earning their coin today.
The Quidditch pitch was empty today, no exhibit or game occuring, but there was always the possibility of a pick-up game if enough people were interested. In fact, Killian had even seen wizards and witches in towns like these take up games of foot Quidditch - functionally the same as football except they punched each other since they didn't have bludgers and the snitch was a guy in his skivvies running away from the seeker - but he doubted that would happen today with so many minors about. At least he hoped not. Merlin, if he saw a single pair of skivvies today...
He returned to checking off names on the clipboard, doing his best to make his boss/basically mother-in-law/friend proud.
Subthreads: Tagging Hans by Liesl Brockert with Hansel Hexenmeister
Shooting my shot (tag Iris) by Henry Spellman with Iris Cobb
I'm not here, do not look at me. by Winston Randall with Xavier Lundstrom
Shall we? (Tag Charlotte) by Quillan Arcadius with Charlotte O'Malley, Ursula Arcadius
Let's make the best of it. by Claire Osbrook with Verdillia Scurlock, Lydia Priory
Tumbling into Tumbleweed [Tag Misty] by Donovan Peters with Misty Brockert
Options, or lack thereof by Ian Malone with Tommy Jamison
*sigh* (Tag Alexei) by Amethyst Brockert
At least we haave today (Rosalynn and Lorena) by Isla Brockert with Lorena Abernathy
Can't be bothered to think of a clever title by Christopher Brockert
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Killian Row
Tumbleweed Trip
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Quillan Arcadius
July 21, 2023 3:38 AM
Shall we? (Tag Charlotte) by Quillan Arcadius
Quillan was curious about the Tumbleweed trip. He had also quickly realised that some of the things his father had taught him about society were already coming true, in that it was complicated. Or maybe he just had too many people he’d like to spend time with. His initial idea had been to ask Charlotte. That had seemed really smart because not only would he get to spend time with her, but he could ask Ursula to join them so that it didn’t seem inappropriate. That meant Ursula got supervised into the bargain, and she and Charlotte got to know each other. Multiple snidgets with one stone.Except, he wondered if his roommates expected him. They often did things together as ‘the guys.’ He knew Nicholas and Alexander would be fine for company if he didn’t join them, as they could go off together. But that left Desmond. Was it rude of Quillan to leave Desmond alone, either to Desmond himself, or did it mean that he would end up joining up with Alexander and Nicholas, and would they blame Quillan for disrupting their twin time by failing to provide a partner for Desmond? Also, what if they had a load of fun without him and suddenly ended up slightly-more-best-friends with Desmond than they were with him?
The best compromise he’d come up with was to make his plans well known in advance. He had written to Charlotte asking for her company, and explaining that Ursula would join them. Then, once she had confirmed, he had informed his roommates, but added the suggestion that perhaps they could all meet at a certain point for refreshments, so at least he might not be left out entirely.
As they arrived in Tumbleweed, he didn’t have to scramble to find his partner, which was lucky, as his main priority was looking after Ursula. She had never liked portkeys and, while she wasn’t sick thanks to medicines, she never felt quite right after taking them. He sent her to sit in the shade, procuring a bottle of water from one of the teachers and bringing it to her. He stood, keeping an eye on the group, and let her lean against his legs whilst she sipped and recovered herself. When he caught sight of Charlotte, he waved her over.
“Hello. Urs doesn’t much like Portkeys, so I think icecreams and things might be best saved for later.” Perhaps around the middle of the trip, so they weren’t too close to the departure time either. “But we can do whatever you both like until then.” He really hoped they didn’t choose the museum. He would rather trail them around shops smiling and nodding that things he had no opinion on were very nice than go to the museum, though he had no objection to some of the living history elements. They reminded him more of the ways Ms. Faulk had taught him. “I’d like to see some of the duelling displays or talk to the ghosts, but if there are any places you want to go, we can do those first.”
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Quillan Arcadius
Shall we? (Tag Charlotte)
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Charlotte O'Malley
July 27, 2023 2:59 AM
We shall by Charlotte O'Malley
Charlotte was so excited to go hang out with Quillan and his sister Ursula in Tumbleweed today! Aside from her family, the Aladren was probably the person she liked best at Sonora. And she was looking forward to getting to know his sister too, especially since the younger girl was a fellow Teppenpaw.She did feel a little guilty though for leaving Violet to find another partner. Piper had her friends of course, and obviously Tommy would prefer to hang out with his girlfriend Rosalynn with or without her friends or even with his roommate or something rather than her but Violet? Charlotte was a little less sure about her ability to make friends. Not that she was even sure her cousin cared that much about doing so but nobody was really supposed to wander around on their own.
It was just that…well, Charlotte needed to be able to have her own friends and her own life too. Not that she would never hang out with her cousin, but there had to be balance. Still, maybe she should have asked Violet to come with them today, since Ursula was and everything. It wasn’t as if Charlotte and Quillan were hanging out just the two of them, after all.
Which, to be honest, she would have enjoyed.It would never occur to her that it might be inappropriate for a girl to hang out with a boy just the two of them. Her parents really didn’t enforce such ideals. They had spent all sorts of time together just the two of them when they were the same age that Charlotte and Quillan were. Although, obviously, eventually, that led to things that would be the sort of things that chaperones were meant to prevent, that had not happened until much much later.
So she assumed that the reason that the other second year invited his sister to hang out with him was because he was a good big brother who wanted to help his younger sister make friends or that they just happened to be siblings close in age who enjoyed spending time with each other. Which Charlotte could understand. Although her brothers were six years older than her and her sister was twelve years younger, she loved spending time with them. She couldn’t imagine how awful it would be to not get on with your sibling like her dad and the aunt they didn’t talk to or about and she was happy that her dad was close to his other siblings even though aside from Aunt Peyton, they weren’t actually biologically related and were Grandma Jamie’s children from her first marriage. Blood was not the be all and end all when it came to family.
Anyway, Charlotte was happy that Quillan was such a good big brother, and it only made her like him more. In fact, when they arrived in Tumbleweed, she spotted him giving the younger Teppenpaw a bottle of water and it warmed her heart. Then he waved Charlotte over and she walked over to the Arcadius siblings with a huge smile on her face. Hello.” She greeted them and continued “Sure. I can certainly wait for an ice cream. And talking to the ghosts might be fun.” She looked back at Ursula. “Is there anything you’re especially interested in?” Charlotte knew that a lot of people were probably going to look for things to wear to the ball, but the odds were that Quillan would be bored doing so.
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Charlotte O'Malley
We shall
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Ursula Arcadius
August 10, 2023 6:14 AM
All together then! by Ursula Arcadius
Ursula was excited for the trip to Tumbleweed. The town itself sounded moderately appealing - she would rarely turn down a day out, and she was sure the ghosts were all very fascinating, but she mostly judged places by their shops and and their flowers and wasn't getting her hopes up for a little dustbowl town that was more theme park than anything else.But she was excited about spending time with Charlotte. Quillan’s friend. Quillian’s friend who was a girl. Quillan had denied wanting to marry her, but using the flimsy excuse that they were only in second year, which was absolutely not the same as saying he didn’t want to. And yes, whilst they could technically hang out at school, it was more interesting doing so on the school trip, and acting as Quillan’s chaperone. Or translator. Maybe he liked Charlotte but just didn’t know how to speak girl? He could be dense sometimes when it came to intuiting what Ursula wanted, though she was happy to make it obvious by spelling it out for him.
The necessity of taking a portkey was putting a dent in her enthusiasm—there were things that were worth the ride, but the appeal of Tumbleweed failed to balance out the displeasure of a churning stomach. She took a bit of a break, trying to regroup, and had mostly managed it when Charlotte came to join them.
“It might be fun to hit a few of the shops, just to see what they’re like,” she answered, when Charlotte asked her what she wanted to do. “I read that there’s quite an interesting antiques store. The ghost there tells good stories about about the pieces. Are there any other good stores?”
OOC: Happy to alternate which sibling I post, and just take turns with you - so Charlotte would be next
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Ursula Arcadius
All together then!
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Charlotte O'Malley
August 27, 2023 3:52 AM
Off we go then! by Charlotte O'Malley
OOC: CW-Brief mention of psychological abuse BIC:
“That sounds great!” Charlotte replied enthusiastically. “I like antique stores and if you get to hear the history of a piece, that’s even more fun.” Honestly, brand new stuff was overrated in some ways. Antiques often had more…character. There was history attached. Of course, the Teppenpaw came from the sort of family that had heirlooms , so arguably it wasn’t abnormal for her to be surrounded by history filled antiques.
Also, antique stores were full of items that weren’t made any more. So, you could get things that were collectible items, like those that were made when her parents and other relatives were children. Charlotte knew that both her dad and his cousins, Amity and Chaslyn had not had…good childhoods. Her biological grandmother had not…really wanted her dad to have anything nice, while spoiling her aunt rotten-and rotten, she apparently truly was-though he’d had toys that he kept at his grandparents’ house. As for Amity and Chaslyn, well, they had lots of toys, they never had a chance to actually play with them. This led to Amity being particularly interested in reclaiming her childhood by collecting American Witch dolls and vintage items from when she was a kid. Although she still had her actual childhood toys were pretty much in mint condition.
However, more importantly regarding the antique store, was that it meant that at a bare minimum, Charlotte shared an interest with Ursula, and possibly Quillan too since he mentioned talking to the ghosts. Which was still history. Still, as much as she wanted to…become better friends with the Aladren, and common interests were a way to do that-even though her own parents were proof that opposites could attract, so having the same interests wasn’t everything or one hundred percent necessary, it was still nice for it to happen-Charlotte was absolutely interested in befriending Urusla too. It would be nice to have a good female friend that she wasn’t related to. Although, to be fair, Misty was not a close relative, and the Teppenpaw hoped to become closer to her too, she had enjoyed sharing a tent with her and hanging out at the museum. Furthermore, most people would also consider Piper a distant relative being that she was actually Dad’s first cousin, and therefore Charlotte’s second cousin but in the complex spread out family that they had, that was a relatively-pun not intended-close relation. Also, if people wanted to be super picky, Violet was her step cousin, but to the Teppenpaw, that was a distinction she tended not to make. Dad considered Uncle Arnold his brother and the lack of shared biology did not matter- literally nobody understood this concept better than her dad- and Charlotte had been raised to not make such a distinction.
Although come to think of it, maybe female/same-sex friendship wasn’t the be all and end all either. Mom and Dad had obviously been closer to each other than anyone else the entire time they’d known each other, although Dad had been friends with another guy in his class and Mom had been friends with Misty’s aunt, Hope. Still, they liked each other most. Also, Lavender’s friendship with Val had certainly been…incredibly complicated, largely due to the fact that Lavender did not get on with her friend’s girlfriend, and often felt…neglected while Lavender’s friendship with Graham seemed considerably more…stable. Truth be told, while Val-who was also dating Charlotte’s brother, Wally-was incredibly sweet and nice, her relationships seemed extremely complicated in general, especially for a person who liked and got on with everyone-although, really, considering what the second year had heard about her biological grandma and aunt, she was pretty sure that if Val ever met them, that would no longer be true. As much as Lavender thought Val either had a high tolerance for or was completely oblivious to toxic people, Charlotte really doubted that Bonabelle had anything on either her dad’s biological mother or his full sibling.
That said, she still wanted to at least get on well with Ursula since she was an important enough person to Quillan that he actually wanted to spend time with her. The fact that she was also a Teppenpaw was a good sign that she was nice and to have something in common-as being in the same house, even Teppenpaw was not an indicator that people did. Mom had nothing in common with her roommate at Sonora and obviously, Crotali seemed to encompass a wide variety of personalities as Dad and Aunt Peyton had nothing in common with that other aunt. And the other first year Aladren, Mathias, was…different. As for Teppenpaws,while they all shared the trait of being nice people, that did not mean they liked the same things. Their new prefect, Liesl, another of her myriad of relatives, was…well, Charlotte didn’t know of any other Teppenpaw that was into creepy things.Except maybe Hans, with his snake.
Not that she was criticizing them. It actually proved that just because someone was interested in the dark and creepy side of life that they could still be good and kind people, she just meant it was an example of how people in the same house did not necessarily like the same things.
Basically, Charlotte was just overall glad to have a place to go off to bond with the younger Teppenpaw. Plus, it would be easier on Quillan if they got on and easier overall for their afternoon plans.
“Well, there’s a nice book store and some boutiques and souvenir shops. Also there’s a store where you can buy crafts that other people have made.” There was a difference between that and a store where you can buy supplies to make your own. Charlotte happened to enjoy both. “I haven’t actually been here since we didn’t come last year but I heard about some stuff from my family.”
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Charlotte O'Malley
Off we go then!
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