Coach Olivers
February 13, 2015 7:20 PM
Quidditch Game I: Pecari vs. Teppalus by Coach Olivers
The grass was freshly cut, the air was fresh, and the sky was a beautiful blue canvas with splashes of white here and there. At least, that’s what Florence had dreamt before waking up to the torrent outside her window. She hadn’t expected it to rain so hard like this in the fall, but it didn’t look like it was going to stop anytime soon. Once she was dressed and covered by her raincoat, dark purple rainboots, and with a clear umbrella over her head, she stood under the stands half an hour before the players were expected to arrive, waiting for a clap of thunder or a glimpse of lightening. Any lightening and the match would have to be canceled. But, though thunder sounded, there was no lightening around the Quidditch pitch and Florence deemed it safe enough to play. Despite the very heavy rain, of course. The spectators would be hard-pressed to see everything that went on.This year there weren’t enough players for Teppenpaw and Crotalus to form individual teams, so Pecari would be playing against a combined team today. Florence wasn’t sure how the players felt about it, but she was sure that for some students it didn’t matter as long as they were able to play. As for Pecari’s team, she was glad to see that the same team from last year was playing this year. She had wondered briefly if Rupert was going to change any players in since there were quite a few reserves on their team this time around, but it didn’t look like he had. For quite a few of them, this was going to be their last chance to play competitively on a serious Quidditch team unless they decided to go professional.
The Quidditch scouts had deigned to come another day when it wasn’t raining so hard, so today it was purely going to be fun and games for these kids. As the players made their way onto the sopping pitch, she handed them goggles that were charmed to stay clear and dry. “Make sure you put these on tight around your head,” she told them, wearing a pair herself. “It will be very difficult to see without them.” If it wasn’t for her rain gear, she would be completely soaked already. She felt a little sorry for the players, but they had chosen to play no matter what the weather. There was luckily a tent over the benches on the side of the pitch where the reserves were going to be. They wouldn’t have to worry about getting wet unless they were called in to play. Florence hadn’t yet seen the first-years play the sport, though she had seen them on a broom during Flying Class, and she was looking forward to seeing them eventually in action.
Once the hour for the game arrived, Florence charmed her voice and gestured to the stands. “Welcome to the first Quidditch match of the year,” she said, her voice echoing through the stadium, “and thank you to all who decided to support your houses in this weather. Here we have Pecari, led by Captain Rupert Princeton, playing against the combined Crotalus and Teppenpaw team led by co-captains Alistair Johnson from Crotalus and Liac Reinhardt from Teppenpaw. Captains, if you will please shake hands.” When the captains came together, she nodded at them, her throat already feeling scratchy again. It was odd, seeing two against one. “When I blow my whistle, the game begins. The game ends when the Snitch is caught. Players, please take your positions.”
She waited for the Keepers to fly up to their posts and the others to mount their brooms. As they did so, Florence released the Snitch and picked up the Quaffle. She would set the bludgers loose once the Quaffle was tossed. She put the silver whistle into her mouth, the umbrella tilted slightly so there would be no danger of it interfering with the Quaffle, and made eye-contact with the Chasers. After a curt nod, she blew her whistle and threw the Quaffle into the air, eager to get back under the tents to watch the game progress.
OOC: Welcome to Quidditch! As per posting rules, two paragraphs minimum are expected, but creative, detailed, and realistic posts will earn more points for your team. Have their skill level be on par with their age. Reserves are encouraged to post as well—your contribution will count as points for your team. Make sure your names are colored according to your house color as well as according to the rules. In addition, no one should be falling from their broom to their deaths/injury. Florence will intervene before anyone crashes to the ground. If you have any questions, tag Coach Olivers on the OOC board. Have fun!
Subthreads: And we are off to a wet but good start by <font color=tan>Annette Pierce, Chaser</font> with <font color=tan>Adam Spencer, Chaser</font>, <font color="orange">Andrew Carey, Chaser</font>, <font color='orange'>Ali Johnson, Chaser</font>, <font color=orange>Ginger Pierce, Keeper</font>
Life hates me. Quidditch hates me. Weather charms hate me. by <font color=tan>Annabelle Pierce, Seeker</font>
Finally, some action. by <font color=tan>Rupert Princeton, Beater</font>
Eagerly in reserve by <font color='tan'>Anna Clarissa C-F</font>
I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore... by <font color="orange">T. Reinhardt, Beater</font> with <font color='orange'>Uzume Shinohara,Seeker</font>, <font color=tan>Annabelle Pierce, Seeker</font>, Coach Olivers
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Coach Olivers
Quidditch Game I: Pecari vs. Teppalus
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Coach Olivers
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<font color="orange">T. Reinhardt, Beater</font>
February 20, 2015 12:40 PM
I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore... by <font color="orange">T. Reinhardt, Beater</font>
Tobi groaned as he got dressed for the match that day against Pecari. It wasn't that he minded the rainstorm that was sieging the school and it’s surrounding areas. In fact, he wished that he would be doing something else rather than getting ready to play Quidditch of all things in the rain. Something else, anything else—playing lacrosse, going for a walk, looking for birds hiding themselves under bushes or in trees to keep their wings dry, climbing said trees. Wait, no, he didn’t want to do that last one since the rainstorm could turn into a thunder-and-lightning storm and Tobi didn’t really want to be struck by lightning because he was sitting in a tree. And, by that logic, he didn’t really want to be flying either in case that made him a target for lightning too. After thinking about it some more, however, Tobi came to the conclusion that the school wouldn’t let them play if they thought it was dangerous so there probably wasn’t a risk of there being a lightning storm anyway. But then, when he thought about it even more, the school was allowing for eleven year olds to face off seventeen year olds in a game where magically charmed metal objects raced around trying to knock people off their brooms. And not only that, he had actually chosen to participate in the barbaric activity because he loved his cousin so much and not only that, but he had also tried out for the position of batting around those crazy things to hit people off their brooms.He slouched down on his bed and groaned. Just perfect, he thought as he ran his hand through his dark hair. He had fastened it in a neat, small braid so that it wouldn’t get in his eyes but his hands had just messed that up. With another groan, he ripped the hair band out. It was annoying, sometimes, having long hair, but he did enjoy it and Arne had cut his hair off so as to differentiate himself from Tobi so he didn’t really feel like he ought to copy his younger brother since that might have upset him further. Besides, having long hair was sometimes nice like when he went swimming he could feel the water actually running through every part of his body which was quite a nice feeling indeed.
Tobi sat back up to redo his braid, letting his fingers automatically weave his dark hair together while he talked to Liac. “How do you think today’s going to go? Co-captaining a pep talk, I mean?” It was both interesting and nice that Skies and Xavier had chosen a team captain from each house and all in all he thought a combined house team was a good idea—interhouse unity and all that, and besides he was proud that out of all five Teppenpaws his cousin had been recognized and chosen to be one of the captains.
But, as he hovered in the air waiting around for a bludger to come his way, he realized that despite his reluctance to play he was not having a bad time--the walk to the Pitch had been fairly nice despite the rain because he and Liac had walked over together and they never ran out of things to talk about. And Tobi had been perfectly happy to do whatever it was either Liac or Alistair asked him to do because that’s what he was there for as a team, so when he was assigned to protect Shinohara from the bludgers he had nodded his head even if he didn’t like the way Alistair was acting as though he were the only captain. He'd given Shinohara a friendly smile, trying not to show that he was too intimidated. Frankly, his year mate kind of frightened him. He liked that she had spunk because it reminded him of his younger sister, but he also felt nervous around her—like how he acted around an animal that spooked easy. He didn’t really know what to expect out of her.
The Pecari captain got the first bludger that was released which brought Tobi back to that moment. But since it was for a Chaser who was closer to Liac than it was himself he let his cousin handle that one, waiting instead for the next bludger to be released. He was positioned close enough to Shinohara that he could protect her from on-coming bludgers but far enough away that she had enough room to maneuver in case she saw the Snitch. Tobi did realize that it was probably far too early in the game for the Snitch to even be released, but he wanted to be prepared just in case the Snitch wasn’t out yet, so he figured Shinohara wouldn’t be in too much danger and he could probably manage to get the second bludger going in the direction of a Pecari player. While he waited, he scanned the field for a Pecari player that was slightly off from the Pecari beaters. It was sort of like looking for someone to pass the ball to in lacrosse only instead of passing a harmless rubber ball in a net to a teammate, he was looking for an opposing player to hit a possessed metal ball intent on doing damage. Boy, it was going to take some getting used to lacrosse again when he went home.
OOC: Conversation with Liac okayed by his author. Also, sorry for the weird name-- character limit :/
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<font color="orange">T. Reinhardt, Beater</font>
I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore...
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<font color="orange">T. Reinhardt, Beater</font>
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<font color='orange'>Uzume Shinohara,Seeker</font>
February 21, 2015 7:25 PM
...Nor Japan. by <font color='orange'>Uzume Shinohara,Seeker</font>
Uzu walked to the Quidditch pitch in a huff, still feeling rather dazed after the incident in the bathroom. She thought she was past that stage…he wasn’t supposed to be there anymore. He was gone, out of the picture, and she was supposed to be focusing on herself, not on him. But seeing his face again brought up everything she was supposed to have forgotten, everything she was supposed to have put behind her and everything she was, in actuality, far from forgetting…"Uzume, who was rather fed up with her long hair, had reach her last nerve once she saw the heavy storm from outside her window. Her wooden hair combs, which had previously served her so well, could never withstand the heavy rains, and Uzume groaned to think that she was actually in need of Makenzie’s, or Kamo no Yasunori-forbid, Araceli’s assistance with her hair. As a result she decided to take things into her own hands, tradition aside. Grabbing a pair of scissors, Uzume headed to the washroom.
As she approached the mirror she carefully studied how much she would cut. After finding a suitable amount, she pulled the hair back with her hand into a ponytail, ready to cut-off the excess, until she saw the eyes of another in the mirror. Uzu stood dumbfounded, shocked by the image reflected in the glass. It didn't happen often, but when it did it left her speechless. Her eyes were locked on the face of her twin brother—his eyes in turn, remained emotionless as he looked on from the other side. If not for the light tapping of the rain against the windowpane, she surely would have become lost in the gaze of her own warped reflection. A low rumble echoed in the distance, forcing her attention to leave the mirror for a moment to check for any lightning. Just one flash would mean the cancelation of the game, and time to find an alternate solution to her problem. However, her efforts were in vain, for nothing broke through the clouds except for another boom of thunder, thus signaling the storm wouldn’t be stopping anytime soon.
Glancing sheepishly back to the mirror, she caught the sight of her own reflection. Shinohara Uzume, 12 years old, Crotalus Seeker. Jun on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. She hated that about him, just when she thought he was really gone, he would seep back into her life and give her all these mixed feelings. She gripped her hair tighter, her scissors pushed up against it. Uzu took a breath, ready to cut it all away. She tried and failed one last time, before she released the handful of hair.
Going back to her original plan of braiding her hair, she tried her best to copy the motions she’d observed from other girls. The twisted strands of hair felt incredibly awkward between her fingers as she worked her way down the braid so that the end result looked more like a rat’s nest than an actual hairstyle. She grimaced at her reflection for a moment before beginning her work of detangling the thick strands. Taking a koshi-himo tie that she usually used for her yukata, she tried again to tie her hair back. Despite the tie fighting with her the entire time; she managed to get it into a loose ponytail. Tugging it to check its hold, the hairstyle seemed firm enough to suffice for now.
Looking back to her reflection, she tried to find a small bit of Jun in herself. Of course she looked like him, she was Jun after all, but her reflection now wasn’t the same as before. It was just like him, to come and go as he pleased. Of course he would have wanted to see her off to the game, seeing as it was one of his many pastimes. Still unable to find him in the mirror and spurred by a mixture of anger and anxiety, she raised her wand, casting a sloppy attempt at one of the charms she had been taught in her dancing—a spell she had not yet been allowed to try. However, instead of removing her reflection like she had originally intended, the spell created a black cloud that made it near impossible to see anything clearly. After momentarily looking over the results of her failed attempt, the young girl shrugged and turned her back on the mess, perfectly content leaving it for someone else to cleanup. After all, she had a snitch to catch. "
Uzume tuned back in as the “Captain” speech began but soon wished she hadn’t—it was anything but uplifting. In fact, she barely listened to the rambling of the ‘Captains’ or whatever they had fancied to call themselves. The fact that her ‘captain’, her ‘taichou’ was a koukai, a younger student, infuriated her. A younger inexperienced student trying to tell her how to do her job, how she ought to behave made her blood boil. At least Reinhardt had the good sense to show modesty in his leadership and not try to belittle the older students like Johnson was. The mere fact that he thought he had the right to tell those older than him what to do was preposterous. In Japan that never would have flown. Though, in Japan, it would have been the Teppalus reserve or the other Crotalus player who would have been the captains seeing as they were the eldest students on the team.
Her beating out Manger only showed just how odd this school system was. The fact that she, a younger, and therefore, less respectable player (in terms of age, not skill) was permitted to represent the Teppulas team was totally confusing. When she had first heard the news, she almost thought it was a practical joke Jamie had coaxed the older students into playing on her. However, as fate would have it, she had managed to steal the position from her Senpai, someone older than her who had tried out for the team before and therefore was more worthy to receive the starting position—even if she believed she was a better Seeker than he. Manger was older, he had seniority, and that’s what mattered. She continued to think about the situation as she mounted her broom, glancing every now and then to Manger-Senpai in the reserves’ tent, a mixture of shame and triumph flowing through her as she kicked off to start the match.
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<font color='orange'>Uzume Shinohara,Seeker</font>
...Nor Japan.
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<font color='orange'>Uzume Shinohara,Seeker</font>
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<font color=tan>Annabelle Pierce, Seeker</font>
February 26, 2015 7:47 PM
Welcome to Sonora. by <font color=tan>Annabelle Pierce, Seeker</font>
After a few sweeps through the rain-soaked pitch, Annabelle decided that if she was going to be miserable and unlucky, she was going to be miserable and unlucky close to the younger Seeker to share the misery and unluckiness. The advantage would be two-fold.First, it would make it riskier for the Teppenpaw-Crotalus beater to try to knock a bludger at her without endangering his own Seeker. She trusted Atlas well enough to look after her, and he did have both age and experience on the other team's beaters, but she had never been up against the Reinhardts before. Better not to take too much risk with an unknown quantity on the field. And the rain made sound weird today; it could muffle the crack of bat meeting bludger which would make it harder to know when to dodge.
Second, and perhaps more to point, it would make it much easier to keep an on the other Seeker and know if she spotted the Snitch before Annabelle did. If the other girl didn't get too much of a head start, Annabelle was sure she could out-fly the less experienced player and get her hands on the snitch first. Keeping close would make it much harder for the second year to get the kind of lead Clark Dill had taken advantage of twice last year.
Of course, if meant she wouldn't have any kind of lead either, if she spotted it first, but that hadn't happened yet, so Annabelle wasn't going to worry about that one too much. She was still confident of her ability to fly faster and more precisely than the Crotalus, so it didn't much matter anyway. Her broom was a very high quality one, still in excellent condition despite not being brand new anymore, and she'd been flying it long enough now that she knew it like an extension of herself.
This was going to be her game.
And, if she was really lucky, which she didn't count on at this point at all, maybe Uzume Shinohara would find Annabelle's hovering presence annoying and distracting.
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<font color=tan>Annabelle Pierce, Seeker</font>
Welcome to Sonora.
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<font color=tan>Annabelle Pierce, Seeker</font>
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<font color=tan>Annabelle Pierce, Seeker</font>
March 01, 2015 8:29 PM
Oh, thank Merlin, it's over. by <font color=tan>Annabelle Pierce, Seeker</font>
Annabelle tagged after Uzume Shinohara for a little while, but the younger girl seemed to be having no better luck than Annabelle herself in spotting even a faint glimmer in the driving rain. Then, as she was getting bored with the shadowing anyway, she thought . . . maybe . . . she might have seen something off to the Pecari side of the pitch. Trying to just seem irritated with her current strategy's lack of success, Annabelle slowly started flying her broom over toward where she might have seen the snitch (or where she might have just seen some wind blow the rain around and she was just chasing ghosts).For the first minute, as she got closer to the area, she thought she must have imagined the whole thing because nothing was there. Then she spotted it. Down near the bottom of the left Pecari hoop, there it was. The snitch, flitting about as if mocking her for not seeing it sooner.
Annabelle dove, not checking behind her to see where Miss Shinohara was, or even where the beaters and bludgers were. This was the first time in her seeking career she had been in a good position to actually catch it first and nothing else mattered. She was single-mindedly focused on that tiny ball of gold. It was going to be hers this time. She was not sure she could survive the disgrace if she lost again to a second year. She pushed her broom faster than was probably safe in this weather but she didn't care.
It was getting closer and no upstart Aladren was in her way. Even when it darted up and more toward the middle of the pitch, she changed direction seamlessly and followed after its new trajectory. Soon it was nearly in reach and she extended her hand. Her fingers reached out. They closed around it.
She had it! She'd won! Pecari had won!
She squealed in delight, waving the snitch over her head, and slowed her broom and leveled it out. For the first time this match, she forgot how miserable the weather was and, laughing, did a quick triumphant loop in the air.
Of course, on the upshoot, she got a face-full of rain that left her spluttering, so then she swiftly headed down to the ground after that, once again eager to get this whole thing over with so she could dry off and celebrate Pecari's win properly without risking death by drowning.
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<font color=tan>Annabelle Pierce, Seeker</font>
Oh, thank Merlin, it's over.
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<font color=tan>Annabelle Pierce, Seeker</font>
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Coach Olivers
March 02, 2015 2:29 AM
Pecari wins! 170 - 0 (nm) by Coach Olivers
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Coach Olivers
Pecari wins! 170 - 0 (nm)
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Coach Olivers
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