Let's start this show off with a bang! on Quidditch Pitch

Prof. Isis Carter

May 04, 2017 11:50 PM

Quidditch Match 1: Pecari vs. Teppenpaw. by Prof. Isis Carter

As always, Isis sighed. Once again, she was officiating the day’s Quidditch match. It was a good day for the game - decent weather, perhaps a bit cool for the spectators but just perfect for being physically active - but as someone who was, to put it mildly, less than a fan of the game, her morning schedule was less than ideal. At least she didn’t have to spend time this morning sending word to Liac Reinhardt and Joella Curtis, the captains involved in the match, about weather precautions. In this instance, no news was good news.

She mustered all the enthusiasm she could as the teams arrived, smiling between the approaching players and the spectators in the stands. “Welcome to the first match of the year!” Isis announced before having the captains shake hands, as was custom. They didn’t need much guidance, she imagined, as both were experienced captains. It was only Aladren, who was not in this game, who was under new leadership this time around. (And that whole affair had already been a headache, but then again, what did one expect when they asked the school substitute to play coach and suggest an assistant captain? She hardly knew the rosters!)

In any case, these captains, the ones for Teppenpaw and Pecari, respectively, seemed to her to be ready for the brutal athletic display ahead of them. Why anyone enjoyed this barbaric game was simply beyond her comprehension, but obviously, it was still widely popular. Isis glanced between the captains for a moment before turning to the balls behind her. She freed the Bludgers and the Snitch and grabbed the Quaffle. Isis sent the red orb ascending as the shrill whistle bounced off all obstacles, and the game was under way, leaving her to watch carefully and pray that nobody got hurt.

OOC: Standard rules, as well as Quidditch rules apply. Have fun!

Subthreads:

Let's start this show off with a bang! by AC Sammy Meeks, Beater with Jozua Sparks, Beater, Lily Spencer, Seeker, Eden Manger, Seeker , Prof. Isis Carter

A belated entrance. by Joe Umland, Chaser with Ginger Pierce, Keeper

12 Prof. Isis Carter Quidditch Match 1: Pecari vs. Teppenpaw. 31 Prof. Isis Carter 1 5

AC Sammy Meeks, Beater

May 05, 2017 2:27 AM

Let's start this show off with a bang! by AC Sammy Meeks, Beater

Finally, at last, it was Sammy’s favorite day of the year: game day. She had always worked hard, and she worked even harder as Assistant Captain than before she had been given the title, and this was the day when all of her hardwork was to pay off. All of the team’s hard work, too; she certainly wasn’t going out there alone today.

She was pleased - and maybe a bit too loud (sorry, Sutton) - to report the dream she had the night before to any available ears she could find. The details were sketchy, blowing away like leaves on the wind as she woke up more and more, but the end result remained emblazoned into her psyche: it was a dream about Quidditch, about Pecari coming out on top.

Of course, in the dream, she was pretty sure they were playing Aladren, and also Clark Dill was still there, and he was flying on a magical floating dolphin, but she had basically already forgotten that part, so it didn’t really count against her. The point remained. It was a sign.

In the locker room, she jostled her little Beater buddy Ben (heh, try to say that five times fast) playfully. “You ready?” she asked rhetorically. Of course he was. The whole Pecari team was tight and awesome, but Sammy had taken a solid liking to this kid. She was glad to have him riding the airwaves with her, swinging bats, kicking ass, and taking names.

When it was finally time to roll, Sammy kicked off, and suddenly she was in the sky. Like, literally suddenly. She had kicked way harder than she meant to, and the sudden shift in her location made her head spin for a moment. But the sixth year shook it off and set her eyes on the prize, immediately making contact with a Bludger and sending it in the direction of Teppenpaw’s tiny new Seeker.

12 AC Sammy Meeks, Beater Let's start this show off with a bang! 310 AC Sammy Meeks, Beater 0 5

Jozua Sparks, Beater

May 05, 2017 10:47 AM

I hate you. by Jozua Sparks, Beater

The day Jozua had been dreading more than anything else in his life was here. There were many things wrong with what was about to happen. The first was that he was not on the bench. He liked the bench. It was a nice bench. Very uncomfortable, badly positioned so it gave him a crick in his neck from looking up all the time, and only minimally protected from the elements. On second consideration, he hated the bench, actually, but it was better than the broom he was currently holding.

To be fair, it was a good broom. Not quite top of the line, there was no need for that kind of expense for him, but better than middling. The Sparks were financially comfortable and Mom came from a family that was even wealthier; so Jozua never wanted for material goods. The broom flew faster than he was comfortable flying it, could turn faster than he could stay on it when it did, and had a comfy cushioning charm for a seat, so it fulfilled all his needs in a Quidditch broom and then some. And he had begun to enjoy flying it for fun through the Gardens lately. So really, the broom was fine.

What was not fine was the beater's bat in his hand. What was worse was the brown robes of the opposite team.

He had slowly come around to accept his position on the team as the Seeker's Beater. He would never like it, but he'd accepted its necessity. He was fine with the idea of protecting his team's Seeker. This was good, something he could really get passionate about. The defense part of the position he'd come close to approving.

The problem was the offense part of it, and going up against Pecari first was probably the worst case scenario because Pecari's Seeker was none other than his very best friend.

There was basically no chance he was constitutionally capable of hitting a bludger that could in any way endanger Lily.

Happening to catch the Pecari Seeker's eye just then, he gave his best friend a weak smile and a thumbs up for luck.

Then he deliberately turned his attention back to his own Seeker. "We're going total defense this game," he told Eden, accepting this truth while the captains shook hands. "Whenever a bludger comes near it, I'm just going to whack it as far out of play as I can get it." If Sammy Meeks wanted to make it hard for them, she was going to have to do a lot of bludger chasing and that would at least buy some time in between attacks. As the captain returned, he added with a smile, "Good luck, Eden, you'll do great."

Of course, no more than a minute or two after the starting whistle, there came Sammy and a bludger. "Incoming!" he warned in case Eden hadn't seen it and flew to get in its way. That part he managed without straining himself. He'd been flying in what he had come to mentally call his 'bodyguard position', which was just a broom length behind and slightly to the side, so he really didn't have to go far to intercept.

The block itself though was awkward, with the bludger coming in on his bat side, so his swing was kind of backhanded, and he glanced it sideways instead smacking it solid. It was enough to knock it off course, but not so good to send it careening far away. He followed it, which wasn't too hard; he'd killed most of its momentum with his first hit. Lining up for a good hit this time, he got in a full swing and knocked it far away from everyone.

If Sammy wanted that one again, she was going to have to either leave Lily unprotected (a course of action Jozua would frown very deeply upon) or wait for it to wander back into play on its own. Either way, Eden had survived her first bludger encounter and he gave her a grin of victory. "No need for daisies today," he told her, and settled back into bodyguard position.

1 Jozua Sparks, Beater I hate you. 348 Jozua Sparks, Beater 0 5

Lily Spencer, Seeker

May 06, 2017 7:53 AM

But I like you. by Lily Spencer, Seeker

Changing to a new position on the team was thrilling. Lily, with her small stature, was perfect to be the new Seeker in her opinion. She had literally jumped for joy upon seeing the roster and since then had worked very hard to practise outside of the pitch. She would miss working with the other Chasers - there was a thrill in that as well - but a solo, glorious position was rather brilliant. Of course, in preparing herself for this new role, she was also neglecting her studies more than usual. She hoped they wouldn't mark her too far down, but she'd promised herself that she would make it up as soon as the first match was over.

Unless they lost, but that wasn't an option.

Lily was excited to play with her friends again and wished Jozua the best as a Beater. She was slightly worried when she saw that he was going to be guarding the Seeker. It wasn't going to be easy for him, attempting to knock her off her broom, or for her to constantly dodge his bludgers. Right now, she was very glad she wasn't the one wielding the bat.

On the pitch, she returned his good luck sign with a wave and a big smile, hoping to communicate that whatever happened she wouldn't hold it against him. It was just part of the game, like when Geoff and his mates lightly injured each other during rugby or football matches.

Lily felt like her skin was tingling. There was so much excitement today with the first match of the year. As she stood with her team-mates and waited for the match to commence, she imagined how the match might go. Though this was going to be loads of fun and different from chasing, the Seeker had loads of responsibility. She couldn't muck it up or hope someone else would cover for her. The weight of this position suddenly became real, and her heart started racing as she waited anxiously for the whistle to sound.

Once it did, she mounted her broom and rose into the welcome sky, eyes peeled for the glint of gold somewhere - anywhere. She saw Sammy smack the bludger towards the Teppenpaw Seeker and found herself focused on seeing how Jozua would respond. Would he really send the bludger towards her?

Instead, he deflected it and hit it the other way, far from any of the players. Lily released her breath and grinned to herself as she flew far away from her best friend.

Practising in the gardens or the sports room was very different from trying to find a speck of gold in a high-adrenaline match. She couldn't decide if she ought to keep moving or stay in one place to see if she could spot it. She decided to move around the pitch, hoping to see something, and glancing here and there at the Teppenpaw Seeker.

40 Lily Spencer, Seeker But I like you. 299 Lily Spencer, Seeker 0 5

Joe Umland, Chaser

May 13, 2017 2:46 PM

A belated entrance. by Joe Umland, Chaser

Joe didn’t know if he was relieved that their first opponent was Pecari or not. On one hand, Pecari meant not playing against his brother, which decreased the chances he’d ever get to beat John’s team, which had been a goal of his for several years now. On the other hand, he had formed that goal in happier times under the pressures of normal brotherly rivalry. Now….

Technically, they weren’t fighting about anything at the moment. This was possibly because they weren’t really communicating about anything at the moment. Joe was occasionally called upon to play owl and deliver messages from the family and Joanie, a job he performed even though he had gathered John wasn’t answering anyone, and the two of them were stiffly polite to each other during those exchanges, but that was it. Joe had thought he might try to patch it up on John’s birthday, but John had not, as far as Joe could tell, deigned to come out in public that day at all. So committed was John, in fact, to not being the first to apologize that he seemed to have ceased coming to meals on Sundays altogether.

The more he thought about it, the more Joe realized it had always been this way, that Julian had, as much as he hated to admit it, been right. They had always been the ones to make it right, one way or another – Joe himself had even encouraged Julian to do so – and John no doubt expected they were going to go out of their way to do so again this time. Except, why should they? He was the one who’d broken the law, refused to so much as admit this might have been a stupid thing to do afterward, and then run away from home, sending Mom into a near-nervous breakdown and turning Joe into an owl and all the rest of it. It seemed only right (when Joe forgot he honestly thought his brother was a little crazy, anyway) that John should be the one to come begging forgiveness.

Maybe he would do so at Christmas. Joe hoped so. In any case, though, dealing with each other in an inherently violent context at the moment seemed…inadvisable. Maybe in the Championships, if they could beat Pecari.

He reminded himself that Pecari had a new Seeker, but when he contemplated Jozua and Eden, that…was less reassuring than Joe might have liked. Especially since Sammy Meeks was still around. John didn’t think much of Pecaris as a group, but he respected that one as a Beater. He was not sure anyone respected poor Jozua as…anything, really, not on the Pitch. Great guy, but not out here. He’d improved, of course, but Joe really, really missed Tobi and Gabe just now.

He grinned at his fellow Chasers as though he did not. Displaying one’s real feelings, as he had learned so well at the beginning of the year, was not always a good idea. “I think this might be the best weather I’ve ever played Quidditch here in,” he remarked. “Maybe that’s a good sign.”

He was joking, but to his surprise, he actually came out of the Chaser scramble with the Quaffle in his own hands. Maybe this was going to be a good day. Trying to feel optimistic and cheerful, he flew toward the Pecari goals, ducking around brown robes until the field sorted itself and then flying in close and passing quickly toward one of his fellow Teppenpaws.

16 Joe Umland, Chaser A belated entrance. 329 Joe Umland, Chaser 0 5

Ginger Pierce, Keeper

May 19, 2017 8:57 PM

Better late than never! by Ginger Pierce, Keeper

Ginger felt kind of bad about sticking Jozua into Beater when he had clearly expressed his desire to not be given that spot, but she really thought it was the best arrangement, short of putting him in Keeper and playing Beater herself. Maybe it made her a bad leader that she was making one of the players do something she didn't want to do, but she was a much better Keeper than he was, so she didn't really think too many people thought she was abusing her position as Assistant Captain in that respect.

Where she might have fudged the roster a little to her own favor, though, was in putting Jake's little sister in Seeker instead of the older Jozua who actually wasn't awful in that position. But she'd had arguments to back up her choice and even Jozua hadn't dispute them too heavily. After all, Jozua was a middleclassman and a bit pudgy, so anyone would agree he just looked more like a beater and less like a Seeker than a little first year girl.

Of course, Teppenpaw wasn't exactly the kind of house that attracted Beaters - they'd gotten lucky with the Reinhardts - so even with his passion for Dueling and the extra practices she knew he'd been putting in, Jozua didn't exactly inspire confidence and she found herself throwing out a silent prayer for Eden's safety today as Carter released the bludgers.

After the whistle, she hurriedly flew to her post in front of the Teppenpaw goals, looking back only to see which way the Quaffle was going. "Yes!" she cheered when she saw Joe had it. She didn't slacken her pace as she continued to fly toward her goals, but the urgency to outpace the Quaffle no longer dogged her broom tail.

She'd just reached her spot and begun to look around to see how everyone was doing so far when she saw Jozua successfully defend their seeker. "Whoo!" she yelled, with maybe too much surprise and elation but at this distance, nobody would hear her anyway.

1 Ginger Pierce, Keeper Better late than never! 302 Ginger Pierce, Keeper 0 5

Eden Manger, Seeker

May 19, 2017 9:40 PM

I like this! by Eden Manger, Seeker

Eden tugged at the still unfamiliar ponytail on top of her head, a hair choice she’d only picked up for sporting events, as she made her way down to the Quidditch Pitch. It was her first game in any sort of athletics, and after some practice - and with Jozua seeming to calm down on the whole “you might die” thing when he realized it had actually scared her - she felt some type of way that resembled readiness, but didn’t quite make it all the way there. The blonde was still very, very nervous.

It showed, too, in the shakiness of her broom as she took to the skies. Eden wobbled into the air and was disheartened to see herself as the first Bludger target of the match. Fortunately Jozua was there to protect her; that older Pecari girl looked like she would hit hard, and she wasn’t really interested in getting smashed to bits in her very first game. Or ever, actually.

“No need for daisies today.” Okay, this time, it was kinda funny, and Eden even managed to smile back, steadying herself. He sent the Bludger away from everybody, which was better, in her opinion. She thought this game would be a lot better without the Beaters and Bludgers at all; who took pleasure in hurting people, anyway? Who wanted to be a Beater? And while technically, strategy said it would be good if Jozua hit Pecari’s Seeker - Lily, she thought her name was - Eden would have felt bad if the girl got hurt, especially if it was done on her behalf.

The game was pretty uneventful, at least for her. She alternated between tailing Lily and going off on her own, not really sure what was the best approach. Eventually, a flickering shiny ball caught her attention, and, hoping Lily hadn’t seen it, she branched off to the side. The Snitch wasn’t as fast as her broom - Jake had given it to her when he found out she would be playing - and she got closer and closer, her small, painted fingers reaching for it. She felt the wings tickling her palm, and she quickly grasped her hand around it. Surprised by her success, she nearly fell off her broom as she slowed her speed and held up a clenched fist containing the Snitch. “I got it!” she called, giddy with delight.

12 Eden Manger, Seeker I like this! 385 Eden Manger, Seeker 0 5

Prof. Isis Carter

May 19, 2017 9:41 PM

Game over! Tepp wins! 150-0! (nm) by Prof. Isis Carter

12 Prof. Isis Carter Game over! Tepp wins! 150-0! (nm) 31 Prof. Isis Carter 0 5

Prof. Isis Carter

Quidditch Match 1: Pecari vs. Teppenpaw. by Prof. Isis Carter

<font color='tan'>AC Sammy Meeks, Beater</font>

Let's start this show off with a bang! by <font color='tan'>AC Sammy Meeks, Beater</font>

<font color=yellow>Jozua Sparks, Beater</font>

I hate you. by <font color=yellow>Jozua Sparks, Beater</font>

<font color=tan>Lily Spencer, Seeker</font>

But I like you. by <font color=tan>Lily Spencer, Seeker</font>

<font color="yellow">Joe Umland, Chaser</font>

A belated entrance. by <font color="yellow">Joe Umland, Chaser</font>

<font color=yellow>Ginger Pierce, Keeper</font>

Better late than never! by <font color=yellow>Ginger Pierce, Keeper</font>

<font color='yellow'>Eden Manger, Seeker </font>

I like <em>this</em>! by <font color='yellow'>Eden Manger, Seeker </font>

Prof. Isis Carter

Game over! Tepp wins! 150-0! (nm) by Prof. Isis Carter