...There goes what was left of my right mind. on Quidditch Pitch

Prof. Isis Carter

June 03, 2017 12:39 AM

Quidditch Scrimmage! by Prof. Isis Carter

While the first match had gone fairly successfully, it became quickly apparent that a full Quidditch season was not in the cards for this year. Isis was fine with that; not a proponent of the game, she was rather hoping that meant a total cancellation. Unfortunately, though hardly to her surprise, she was wrong in this regard, and a system of pick-up games was announced and created.

It was a first come, first serve position basis, which had to be worked out among the students themselves, with informal captaincies and unofficial allegiances. The students were given special t-shirts to wear to the scrimmages, and upon stepping onto the pitch, their shirts, ordinary white, would turn either green or purple to differentiate the team they were on for the day. Simple enough, she supposed.

Having no formal leaders meant no pre-match handshake, so once all the starting players were on the field, she simply asked, “Ready?” Gleaming some kind of confirmation, she followed the usual pre-game routine, releasing the Snitch and the Bludgers and, at last, tossing the Quaffle into the air with a shrill, piercing blow of the whistle. Isis sighed. The game always seemed like such needless violence, the Beaters and Bludgers in particular. Maybe - hopefully - they wouldn’t go as hard since there was no real stakes.

Isis sighed a second time. Probably not.

OOC: So basically how this works is whoever is first to post for a position has claim on it for the game. They can swap out with someone else if they want to/every position fills up but more people seem to want in. You are also free to pick which color team your character is on. Please still use the color code on your name so that it will be easier to award points, and then mark in the title line which team you are on. For example:

Sammy Meeks, Green Beater
Eden Manger, Purple Keeper

Hopefully this system makes sense. If you have any questions, leave them on the OOC board or find me or Professor Skies’s author on chatzy. We’re currently signing in under Makenzie Newell and Araceli Arbon, respectively. Have fun!

Subthreads:

...There goes what was left of my right mind. by Simon M, Green Chaser with Ben Pierce, Green Beater, Ginger, Purple Keeper, Winston, Green Chaser, Ingrid W, Purple Chaser, Jozua, Green Keeper, Sammy M, purple beater

Seeking, seeking.... by Amelia L, Purple Seeker with Joe U, Green Beater, John U, Purple Beater, Eden M, Green Seeker, Prof. Isis Carter

12 Prof. Isis Carter Quidditch Scrimmage! 31 Prof. Isis Carter 1 5

Simon M, Green Chaser

June 09, 2017 3:15 PM

...There goes what was left of my right mind. by Simon M, Green Chaser

Simon had not wanted to play Quidditch. Quidditch was violent and chaotic. Simon did not like violence or chaos. Therefore, Simon did not much like Quidditch, particularly when he was not in a comfortable box, but instead perched on an uncomfortable broom with people trying to hit him with Bludgers. He played it, yes, but that was only because of the social status which went with doing so and, of course, the desire not to let his roommate one-up him.

This was why Simon was very confused on the day of the Quidditch scrimmage. Since the House games had been cancelled for the rest of the year, he did not have to be here. He would lose no face if he sat in the stands, or even if he did not show up at all. He could, he knew, sit quietly inside and read all day. Instead, though, he was wearing a strange, uncomfortable pull-over shirt that had just abruptly turned green, standing around with some people he didn’t even know and wondering what in the world was wrong with him.

It’s official. I have lost my mind.

He did not like Quidditch, and he really, really did not like disorganization. Without orderly rosters and captains and a clear chain of command put into place by people well above him, everyone had to argue for their own desires. It was messy, uncivilized, even – a civilized society was one which was ordered, where everyone knew his or her place. Simon had been forced to just announce that he was going to be a Chaser and hope that he wasn’t violently overruled by some Muggleborn. It was quite distressing and he wanted to abandon the project altogether, but he would lose face if he retreated now that he was here, and Unc – a person called Nicholas who might or might not even still be alive, Simon really had no idea, had already somehow, Simon hadn’t been told the specifics, shamed the family enough for one lifetime without Simon giving him any help. He had to seem confident and assertive with everyone just so they wouldn’t think too much about Uncle Nicky. So he stayed, feeling as though his insides were doing the nervous dance his outsides were being held back from and trying to distract himself from this by trying to figure out a way this could be considered Winston’s fault.

It didn’t work very well.

He felt as though he were in a peculiar nightmare as he kicked off amidst an unfamiliar team, with everyone in unfamiliar colors. He knew he was in green, but he felt all wrong that way – he was supposed to be wearing red and surrounded by other Crotali. Maybe the others were just as confused, because to his surprise, he ended up the first person with the Quaffle.

Oh, no.

He fled the scene in haste, listening for Bludgers, trying to distinguish their whistle from that of the wind going past his ears, and hoping he was going in the right direction. Luckily, the person he was flying toward did appear to be wearing purple. He still didn’t waste any time, though, in trying to pass off the Quaffle, then hoping that whoever he threw it to was someone who was reasonably compatible with the way the Crotalus Chasers were used to working together.

16 Simon M, Green Chaser ...There goes what was left of my right mind. 369 Simon M, Green Chaser 0 5

Amelia L, Purple Seeker

June 09, 2017 3:49 PM

Seeking, seeking.... by Amelia L, Purple Seeker

Amelia had been disappointed when she’d heard that Quidditch was off for the year, but strangely not moved particularly far in any emotional direction by the announcement that it was being resurrected in a slightly different format than they were accustomed to. She had not even known if she was going to go or not until her captain (did John, as an outgoing seventh year, even still count as a captain now that there were no more real games? Privately, Amelia wondered this, but publicly, he was a seventh year of some standing and she was a second year of no outstanding talents whatsoever, so she kept her wondering to herself) approached her and informed her they were both going to do so.

Amelia was honestly mostly surprised that John had taken the initiative there. She didn’t know the details – she probably spent more time around him than most people did because of Quidditch, but they were hardly friends and she couldn’t begin to imagine him using her as a confidante – but it was patently obvious that he was getting rather stretched thin between obligation. Amelia had already quietly resolved not to attempt nearly so many things at once when she was older and hang Granddad if he didn’t like it. Adding something extra when he had been handed a free pass out of something mandatory seemed like the kind of thing that ought to be mentioned when evaluating John’s mental health, and mentioned by the prosecution at that. Nevertheless, she couldn’t say she didn’t need the practice, so she dutifully showed up to Seek for Team Purple on the official unofficial game day.

She looked over Team Green as Coach Carter (a distinct entity from Professor Carter, who taught everything) made the requisite opening comments, but apart from the Beaters, it was hard to guess who she’d be playing against. Accordingly, as she kicked off, she could see where the Green Beaters were and used them to try to pick out her opponent as she rose up into the air. She didn’t spend too much time on that, though, because there was still a Snitch to catch and she did not want to go back to Aladren without it. Maybe it wouldn’t matter – for one thing it wasn’t a House match, and for another, Clark had lost and nobody had killed him – but…well. She wasn’t, by any possible stretch of the imagination, Clark.

16 Amelia L, Purple Seeker Seeking, seeking.... 360 Amelia L, Purple Seeker 0 5

Joe U, Green Beater

June 09, 2017 4:12 PM

Adapting, I suppose. by Joe U, Green Beater

All Joe’s life, he thought meditatively as everyone got together for this strange sort of Quidditch match, he had been part of a group of three. When he’d been born, he’d been the youngest of Sam’s three sons. Slightly later, he’d become the third member of the Three Js – or, as he’d seen J1 write it in her diary, ‘we three’: S&P went to the cinema while we three had lessons in the garden or breakfast 3 with Dad – Mom took the Bigs to summer camp. When he’d started at Sonora, there had been three of them in the dorm, him and Arthur and Gabe, and when the Quidditch teams had gotten themselves sorted out, he and Gabe and Nat had collectively become the three Teppenpaw Chasers. He even supposed he could claim three parents, at a stretch. Three was something of an arc number for him, so the most logical thing for him to do when it came time to pick a spot on Team Green was, of course, to volunteer as Chaser.

Instead, he said, “I’ll be a Beater.”

His main motive was to somehow, even under these unexpected conditions, to try to show up his brother, but he had to admit it made sense. The most important groups of three for him were, after all, the ones he’d occupied with his two biological brothers and the brother and sister whose names were close to his in the alphabet, and since John had left home, neither of those groups really existed anymore. Oh, John was still their brother – they were not purebloods, to pretend someone was dead just because they were angry with him, or because he refused to participate in family life normally – but to say ‘we three’ in any context would be strange now. It was just ‘we two’ all around – Joe and Paul, Joe and Julian. A position with only two players per team suited him now, he supposed.

It was only when the whistle blew and they all kicked off that it occurred to him that he hadn’t picked up a Beater’s bat in at least a year. That thought, once had, was hard to un-have, but as it was too late to do anything about it, he took to the air, balancing the bat only a tad awkwardly, and began looking for a Bludger.

It was not, he reassured himself, as though he’d never hit one before. John had hit him with Bludgers a lot more times than he’d let Joe take aim at him with one, but his brother had taught him the basics of the craft, back in those halcyon days when they’d been on good terms and never imagined life as it was now coming to pass. And sure enough, when he saw one, he approached it with minimal fear and managed to give it a good whack, right toward Amelia Layne’s purple back. Maybe, he thought as it sailed away, he could learn to manage as half of a set of two after all.

16 Joe U, Green Beater Adapting, I suppose. 329 Joe U, Green Beater 0 5

John U, Purple Beater

June 09, 2017 4:31 PM

Not very well, I take it. by John U, Purple Beater

John had had mixed feelings about the decision to cancel Quidditch. On one hand, he really did need the item off his plate – he had been having to schedule partial-team practices and rely heavily on his minions mainly because his schedule was finally taking a toll even on him and he could not always make the times which worked best for the largest number of people without allowing his food and sleep intakes to fall below the levels necessary for minimal functioning or leaving other tasks undone. On the other hand, though, this was his one and only year as captain and he hadn’t gotten to prove that, despite everything, he could win. This annoyed him, so when he heard of the pick-up games, he informed Amelia they were going to participate in it.

The second year had looked surprised, but had offered no objection and, to his relief (as he could not exactly go knock on her door or shout at her effectively in the dorms, the other side of the hallway being an area he couldn’t access), she actually showed up. Less fortunately, the tradeoff he ended up making for the positions he wanted was ending up on Team Purple. Half of his brain had no objection to this, pointing out that if it was a color good enough for Marcus Aurelius then it was certainly a color good enough for him, but the other half had been raised this century and regarded it as distinctly feminine. He told that half it was significantly closer to Aladren blue than that shade of green was, and then just told that half to shut up, he was not playing Keeper and he absolutely was not playing Chaser. He’d played Chaser in his first year and had been very bad at it and had no desire whatsoever to leave on that note.

He had made no effort to nominate himself for captain, as he did not consider captaining relevant to his interests anymore. He’d already noted it on university applications and now, his job was just to essentially give Amelia a chance to play as Seeker in something approximating a game. Captains were mainly for Chasers and stuff, and he, as previously established, lacked talent in that arena. He was good at Beating and so that was what he was going to do.

His brother was not a Beater, but to his surprise, John saw Joe taking experimental swings with a bat over on Team Green. Interesting, and somehow, John kind of doubted Ginger had ordered him to do it. It wasn’t impossible – Joe had probably horrified his Housemates with his display of violent tendencies earlier in the year, but if Julian and Joe were not utter freaks and misfits in their House, then Ginger might well be practical enough to consider that said violent tendencies were, when she wasn’t too busy being disgusted by them, put to good use next year – but somehow, he doubted it anyway. He rather, in fact, thought this had nothing to do with the future and everything to do with their currently messed up relationship.

This was as good as confirmed when they took to the air and the first thing he saw was Joe attempting to kill Amelia. Amelia was, as far as John knew, the sworn enemy of no-one, much less Joe, so this, too, was personal. So much for acting like grown-ups and just ignoring each other, he supposed. He flew to intercept the Bludger and deflect it away from his girl, counting on greater experience to settle this squabble in his favor no matter which one of them was in the right morally. He was used to flying with no hands and hitting the Bludger at the same time, whereas Joe was used to throwing the ball and having done. The dynamics were all different.

16 John U, Purple Beater Not very well, I take it. 285 John U, Purple Beater 0 5

Ben Pierce, Green Beater

June 09, 2017 8:45 PM

So is what was right of your left mind still here? by Ben Pierce, Green Beater

Ben was bummed that the normal Quidditch season had been canceled for the rest of the year, in that it meant Sonora Quidditch was falling apart again. On the other hand, since Pecari had lost its first match, he wouldn't have been playing any more this season anyway, so for Ben personally, it was working out to mean more games, which he was totally okay with in the short term.

On the day of the first pick-up match, he grabbed his bat and headed down to the Pitch, claiming one of the Beater slots on the Green team. He was paired with Joe Umland for it, which was fine. Joe was a good guy, even if Ben couldn't recall him playing beater before. Hadn't that been Jozua and Liac last game? And Ben did kind of miss being teamed with Sammy.

That was not important. There was the whistle. He kicked off the ground and saw Joe going for the Seeker. All right, that meant he had Chasers, which he was cool with. The Chaser arena was more interesting in his opinion anyway. More options, more flexibility.

He cheered as a second year with one of the green shirts got the Quaffle and diverted a bludger heading in toward the boy. Ben kept control of it a few extra seconds, which paid off as he saw the kid going to pass and a purple player moving in for an intercept. He whacked his bat against the bludger, sending it in toward the would be interloper and hopefully securing a solid pass for the green team.

1 Ben Pierce, Green Beater So is what was right of your left mind still here? 339 Ben Pierce, Green Beater 0 5

Ginger, Purple Keeper

June 09, 2017 9:05 PM

Now my whole mind is confused by Ginger, Purple Keeper

Ginger had seriously considered not going to the pick-up game. She honestly wasn't really all that into Quidditch and Sonora games were generally more competitive than she cared for. However, this wasn't really like a normal Sonora game. House honor was no longer at stake. This was just a pick-up game with inter-House teams. Maybe it would be more fun than normal Quidditch.

Plus, well, she was the anticipated Captain-to-Be for Teppenpaw next year, and they'd won their only game this year. They were something almost like the year's champions, though Aladren hadn't really had an opportunity to put in a showing, so that wasn't a totally fair assessment. At any rate, she should probably put in an appearance at least, and if she was going to go to the game she may as well play in it.

So here she was. She made no attempt to claim captain since John Umland was an actual captain with no games under his belt with that title and an upcoming graduation and he was wearing a purple shirt, too, but he didn't seem interested either. "I'll be captain if no one else wants it," she offered when it became obvious he wasn't going to claim it. "And I definitely want Keeper," she added, in case there was any doubt there. She didn't expect argument on that point. She was the longest standing Keeper Sonora had right now.

As the whistle blew, she flew off to guard her goals and turned around to see that Green had the Quaffle. She'd made good time, so they still had a little ways to go yet, but she made ready to defend her territory.

Teppenpaw's honor might not be on the line, but hers still was.

1 Ginger, Purple Keeper Now my whole mind is confused 302 Ginger, Purple Keeper 0 5

Winston, Green Chaser

June 09, 2017 9:36 PM

I'm as split as Simon's mind. by Winston, Green Chaser

Winston had decided to join the pick up game to represent Crotalus and prove that just because their House's inability to field a full team was a part of why Quidditch had dissolved this year, it was still an integral part of Sonora Quidditch. That Simon had come to similar conclusions pleased him as he saw he was teamed with his roommate again. This was good. They played well together and may give Green the advantage this game, having two Chasers from the same team, even if they were both still beginners.

Of less delight was that it appeared The Boston Pierce was also teamed up with him. This was an unfortunate happenstance, though The California Pierce was on the purple team, and he honestly wasn't sure which was worse, so he'd have been doomed either way. What would have been ideal would be for the two of them to be on the same team so Winston could play on the other team and win and prove soundly the superiority of New Hampshire Pierces over all other branches that shared his name and Derwent the Original's heredity.

Unfortunately, that had not come to pass, and he was stuck with Boston. He gave the older boy a wide berth and was irritated when he chose to not go off and play with the Seekers.

However, this irritation lessened considerably when the guy hit a bludger at a purple chaser and let Winston catch Simon's pass cleanly.

He pushed on toward the purple goals and was irritated again when he saw the Keeper he was approaching was California. Bloody Merlin, he was surrounded by inconvenient blood relatives he'd rather not exist.

At least this one was an opponent he could get the best of. He flew toward her, trying to look like he was going for the left hoop, but shortly before he got there, he passed again to a green teammate, hoping they could get the drop on California before she realized she was now threatened from a different direction.

1 Winston, Green Chaser I'm as split as Simon's mind. 370 Winston, Green Chaser 0 5

Simon the Green Chaser

June 11, 2017 12:21 PM

Let's get it together, folks. by Simon the Green Chaser

Simon heard the crack of bats on Bludgers and started to pull away, but calmed down slightly when he realized that the person hitting the Bludger wearing a shirt the same color as his own. Slightly. The Bludger seemed to be aimed at a Purple who had started to get too close to the Quaffle for comfort, so something going terribly wrong and Simon getting hit instead of the presumably intended target was a possibility.

Luckily, however, it was a possibility that did not become an actuality. He didn’t see if the Purple got hit or not, but he did quickly establish that he had not been hit, that Winston had the ball, and that Winston did not seem to have been hit, either. With unfamiliar people around, people Simon didn’t know they could really trust, that was all Simon required to decide the game was going well so far. It was strange, this working together with people he didn’t know and hadn’t had many practices to get used to working with, but maybe it would go all right.

The Purple Keeper was someone he didn’t know personally, but did recognize as one of the Teppenpaws. She was one of the Pierces who…were not part of society, he thought, and he was so absorbed with the horrifying image of Uncle Nicky’s mad decision to leave the family turning into multiple branches of Mordues who the rest of them had to go to school with and share a name with that he almost missed the return pass Winston sent his way as they drew up to the goals. He fumbled it, and while he didn’t drop it, he was certain his fumbling blew any advantage of surprise they might have had.

Silently heaping abuse on himself, Uncle Nicky, the various bits of the family Pierce, and life in general, Simon turned sharply toward the right and threw the Quaffle as hard as he could. If it worked, it would be by a matter of seconds, he thought, but sometimes…sometimes that was enough.

16 Simon the Green Chaser Let's get it together, folks. 369 Simon the Green Chaser 0 5

Joe, Green Beater

June 12, 2017 2:52 PM

No idea what you're talking about. by Joe, Green Beater

John (a seventh year who’d been playing Beater since he was twelve) got in the way of Joe’s attempt to hit Amelia with a Bludger. The reasonable thing for Joe to do was just try to keep the now loose Bludger away from the Green Seeker and wait until John was distracted (a thing John would inevitably become) and then go after the girl again, at least unless it started looking like she might have a shot at the Snitch. Since she didn’t look like she saw it right this second, that meant Joe did not have to engage directly with a more skilled Beater right now and risk wearing himself out or at least looking kind of stupid.

Naturally, his response to carefully considering this reasoning was to go after the Bludger again and try to hit Amelia again.

John’s attention would waver. This was almost certainly a fact. John had two modes: so intently focused on one thing that he wouldn’t notice if a Bludger hit him in the head, and as easily distracted as a magpie in a diamond shop. Given the atmosphere of Quidditch, the latter mode seemed more likely, so all Joe had to do was keep him jumping…he wondered if he could signal Ben Pierce up here for help with that. Two of them at once would confuse him for sure; that had been his complaint about the Reinhardts before Tobi had quit school and left them high and dry. He and Ben probably wouldn’t work that smoothly together, but they could probably get the job done. Pity he hadn’t thought of that earlier….

16 Joe, Green Beater No idea what you're talking about. 329 Joe, Green Beater 0 5

John, Purple Beater

June 12, 2017 3:11 PM

Your statement is unclear. Who has no idea, you or me? by John, Purple Beater

If he had been asked, John supposed he would have had to admit that he was surprised when Joe, seemingly undeterred by his failure and John’s proximity to him and Amelia, went for the Bludger again. John, mildly irritated, deflected it once more, making sure to hit it away from his brother this time.

“What the hell was that?” he shouted at Joe. “I taught you better strategy than that!”

He didn’t think, in retrospect, he had meant to say that. It had just come out naturally. It was, however, the first thing other than ‘thank you’ (when Joe shoved mail from home at him) that he’d said to his brother in months.

Not relevant. Focus on Amelia. You can talk to Joe about strategy later. No! No, you can’t. No, don’t think about that. Not relevant. Focus on Mouse. Mouse has to win the game. Joe is not Joe, he is just the other Beater. He grudgingly resigned himself to pretending that he could talk to Joe later and criticize his brother’s faulty strategy. He couldn’t, he had made up his mind about that, it would be selfish to talk to Joe because John was the only one who stood any chance of benefiting from doing so, but he could pretend for now.

16 John, Purple Beater Your statement is unclear. Who has no idea, you or me? 285 John, Purple Beater 0 5

Ginger, Purple Keeper

June 14, 2017 11:45 AM

I was already all together. by Ginger, Purple Keeper

Ginger saw them coming, a pair of Chasers in green shirts. Second years, she thought. First one had the Quaffle, then the other. Both from Crotalus unless she was very much mistaken, which meant they had worked together before and had been trained under Alistair.

Yes, definitely so. She recognized the second one now that he was getting closer. Winston Pierce of the New Hampshire Pierces. He was enough younger than her that she had never needed to interact with him much, but she'd know him anywhere. He had The Pierce Look. It was fairly diluted on the California side of the family, as Saul's immediate family was just about the only ones who still had it - Ginger's own brown hair was much too light to qualify - but both of Sonora's other Pierces had it.

Winston kept looking at the goal to her right which meant he was either unintentionally telegraphing his intentions or setting up a fake out. He had trained with Alistair for over a year now though, so she would more readily believe the later. She had too much respect for Alistair's Quidditch and coaching skills to believe otherwise. But in case it was a double fake out, she edged over toward that side.

No, he was too close now for a fake. He was committed, so she committed as well.

He threw, but not at the goal hoop. If the other Crotalus hadn't fumbled his catch, she might not have had time to uncommit to her defense of that one goal, but he did, and it gave her just enough time to move away and from there she was just able to stretch her arms enough to get her fingertips in the way and divert it just enough to bounce it off the edge of the far goal instead of letting it go through.

Whew. That had been a close one. Had she been any slower, any shorter, that wouldn't have worked, even with the fumble. She silently thanked Merlin for her recent growth spurt and the Cabal of Keepers for the extra practice. But she'd gotten it and she collected the Quaffle from its rebounding fall with a wide proud grin.

After regaining normal altitude, she looked for a good opening among her temporary teammates, then threw it toward one of the purple chasers and back into play.

1 Ginger, Purple Keeper I was already all together. 302 Ginger, Purple Keeper 0 5

Eden M, Green Seeker

June 15, 2017 1:15 AM

Me, probably. by Eden M, Green Seeker

Eden had not had a particularly athletic upbringing. She’d been on a broom a handful of times, mostly at the beckoning of her older sister, who had more affection for physical activity and had a naturally athletic build, but before Sonora, the Teppenpaw had never done much of her own free will. But then she got here, and her House’s Quidditch team needed a player, and it was Jake’s position that was open, and his girlfriend was the assistant captain… so she did it.

Never in a hundred years did she expect to actually be good. Eden didn’t think she was the greatest by any means, but she was forced to face the fact that apparently, she was at least decent. After all, she won a game. That was… fun. She liked the way people were so happy after the game. And she really, really liked the way her dad - somehow - was proud of her.

With her new broom in hand, she was ready for the scrimmage. Eden ended up on the Green team, not feeling a strong attachment to either it or purple and just taking whichever was presented to her. It did feel a little odd as the realization hit that she wasn’t on Ginger’s team, but it seemed like the combinations were going to be in flux, so maybe next time.

Eden took her place among the ranks of those in green and prepared for the match. Immediately after taking off, two boy Beaters - one of whom was Joe, from Teppenpaw, who hadn’t played that position before - were exchanging a Bludger, with Joe somewhat targeting the purple Seeker, Amelia, she thought her name was. Eden decided to trust Joe (and the Ben kid who was their other Beater today) and did her best to block out all the comings and goings of the Bludgers, instead looking for a hint of gold to flicker through the sky. For the time being, she followed a path quite similar to Amelia’s, not exactly following her, but also clearly putting some faith in the other girl’s pursuit patterns. Hopefully, if the Snitch did turn up, Eden could zoom ahead and grab it.

12 Eden M, Green Seeker Me, probably. 385 Eden M, Green Seeker 0 5

Ingrid W, Purple Chaser

June 15, 2017 9:46 AM

I'm with you by Ingrid W, Purple Chaser

Skill or society… Ingrid weighed up the teams for about half a second before opting firmly for the former. Sonora was a weird enough not-so-strict zone at the best of times, and Quidditch was a renegade space within that, so she was pretty sure most people weren’t judging her as a Muggle-lover for teaming up with John and Ginger. The society people on the other team were such little kids that she was never going to realistically hang out with them, so she thought it would do very little for her social standing to be on an informal team with them one time. Besides which, she was used to being the baby. It was a feeling that was lessening, as she moved through the school, and as she now had players who were junior to her on the Pecari team, but it was a well ingrained feeling. Even though one of them didn’t play, and she’d rather have beaten the other one soundly than joined forces with him, it was sort of nice to have a substitute-Jemima and substitute-Theodore around her. He wasn’t actually totally awful, when he was working with her instead of exercising the advantages of being older…

Even though they were younger, the society boys got the Quaffle at the start, and seemed to have some advantage born of playing together previously, as they made short work of getting it up the pitch - something that was helped by Ben sending a Bludger towards her (one that she nearly forgot to duck because it was Ben, and he was supposed to be her ally).

She was ready in position after their failed goal, and tried to give Ginger a look that both said ‘good on you,’ and ‘sorry, won’t happen again,’ mostly communicated by serious eyebrows and a curt nod, as she caught the ball and set off, aiming to put as much distance between her and the goals as possible. She chanced giving it a bit extra time that she might have otherwise, on the grounds that she was pretty sure she knew Ben’s tactics. Not that that was necessarily a great advantage - she was pretty sure he was going to be aiming a heavy metal ball at her, as anyone else would be - and she threw in some swerves to try to mess with his aim. She’d covered over a third of the distance before she looked for a purple player and passed.

13 Ingrid W, Purple Chaser I'm with you 322 Ingrid W, Purple Chaser 0 5

Jozua, Green Keeper

June 15, 2017 12:14 PM

The things you do for love by Jozua, Green Keeper

Jozua had joined Quidditch for the sole reason that Lily liked it and he thought that maybe she'd like him more if he played, too. Unfortunately, due to shortage of numbers, he'd been unable to continue bench-warming this year. (And he had played far too often for his own taste even before that.)

In theory then, the cancellation of the remainder of the Quidditch Season should have been a reprieve for him, an opportunity to quietly bow out without it reflecting on his status of A Guy Who Plays Quidditch.

Unfortunately this was not actually the case. In fact, this was probably the only chance Lily and he would have to play on the same team. So playing with Teppenpaw's team but not with Lily seemed kind of counter productive to his whole reason for playing in the first place which was to have something more in common to do together.

So here he was. At the pick up game. He'd left his beater gloves up in his room, hoping to avoid that position this time. Seeker was quickly claimed by two younger girls and he glanced over at Lily to see what she wanted to do now.

Her teammate Ingrid had already chosen purple but Ginger was there, too, which meant Jozua would not be playing Keeper on that team today either. "Green?" he suggested hopefully because as bad as he was a beater, Chaser was far worse. "But if you want to play with Ingrid, you can," he offered self-sacrificingly. "We can maybe get on the same team next time. But I can't play Chaser."

Then he trotted off to claim Green Keeper before someone else did and he'd have no other option but to play Chaser.

Fortunately, as the game started, the green chasers took the ball far away from him.

But then Ginger made her save and Ingrid started bringing it back in his direction. Not good. His hands began to sweat. His heart began to pound. His legs began to twitch.

Oh, Merlin, why was he doing this again? He hated the pressure of team sports.

Oh, right. Because he was an idiot and a sucker for peer pressure, that was why.

"C'mon," he muttered under his breath, "c'mon Greens, turn it around. Give me a boring game."

1 Jozua, Green Keeper The things you do for love 348 Jozua, Green Keeper 0 5

Sammy M, purple beater

June 15, 2017 4:28 PM

Don't get me started. by Sammy M, purple beater

As one might imagine, Sammy Meeks was not fond of the cancellation of Quidditch. Sports Club was nice, but there just wasn’t enough for her to do without the formal league. She was grateful, at least, that some pickup games were scheduled, although she was finally feeling like she was in the swing of being Assistant Captain, and with her planned Captaincy just a year away now, she certainly hoped the formal league was reinstated soon. She had worked too hard for too long to lose that recognition now.

Still, in the meantime, it was nice just to have an opportunity to play. Above all else, it was about the game and how awesome it was. Sammy ended up playing for purple today, which in and of itself was fine. She glanced around to see who was on what team and was strategically pleased to see she had Ginger Pierce, who was objectively the most practiced Keeper. Ben was on green, though, she was unfortunate. She’d gotten used to playing with him and felt that they made a solid team. Ah well. Time to go hardcore and use that familiarity him.

The sixth year kicked off fiercely into the sky, intentionally getting a bit higher up than the Chaser action so she could keep an eye on it. It wasn’t terrifically exciting, at least so far, but she did notice Ben deflect a Bludger from a young Chaser boy she was pretty sure usually played or Crotalus. Sammy smiled. Time to run drills.

She caught up to the Bludger, although not in time to redirect it from Ingrid’s path. (Fortunately she managed to avoid it.) Sammy just got a hold of it after it went passed. She decided to send it back at that Chaser - Simon something, maybe? - just to see what Ben did with it. She figured either way would be good for her, because if he failed then it was convenient for the game, and if he succeeded she could be all proud and claim she taught him everything. A real win-win.

12 Sammy M, purple beater Don't get me started. 310 Sammy M, purple beater 0 5

Amelia L, Purple Seeker

June 15, 2017 4:28 PM

I don't know what their problems are, either. by Amelia L, Purple Seeker

Amelia flinched when she began hearing a lot of really loud cracks of bat on Bludger, but not so much that she broke off from her search for the Snitch. John was not the most approachable person she’d ever met, she had always wondered how someone as nice and cheerful as Clark had ended up with him as an apparent best friend, but she did trust him to have her back.

…For the most part. Hearing him shout did make her look over her shoulder, and then processing what she heard of what he’d said made her frown in confusion. What in the world was he carrying on about, and why was he shouting it at the other Beater? The guy definitely wasn’t an Aladren, much less on the Quidditch team, so why would John have taught him anything?

Oh, well. At least she wasn’t currently falling down toward the ground with a broken arm. Looking over her shoulder had also brought the other Seeker, the little Teppenpaw girl who had won the last proper game before midterm, into her line of sight, so Amelia smiled and waved to her. She was glad to see another Beginner girl out here, for one thing – made her feel less like people were going to think she was completely out of place on the Pitch – and for another…well, she certainly didn’t mean it that way, but if it messed with the other girl’s head, that was very possibly a good thing for Amelia.

16 Amelia L, Purple Seeker I don't know what their problems are, either. 360 Amelia L, Purple Seeker 0 5

Ben Pierce, Green Beater

June 15, 2017 8:47 PM

Can you best an accidental marriage proposal? by Ben Pierce, Green Beater

Ben felt a frisson of worry when Ingrid didn't run from his bludger as fast as he thought she should have, but she did manage to dodge clear and he let out a quiet sigh of relief. He'd been playing with her long enough, first as a fellow chaser, then as her protector beater, that he would have felt really bad if he'd actually hurt her. He hadn't been trying to actually maim her, after all, just make her leave the kids alone long enough so they could complete their pass. Which they did, and then carried on toward Ginger.

She pulled off a save - Ben mentally tagged Simon with an Error for that fumble - and passed it to Ingrid. Ben flew after her, and after a little while remembered again that she wasn't actually his teammate this game and he should be trying to stop this run toward the Green Keeper.

He looked around for that bludger he'd sent off toward her earlier, and found Sammy had gotten hold of it. He grimaced a bit, not really relishing going up against his own Beating mentor and assistant captain, but she was taking aim on Simon and he really ought to do something about that . . .

Sammy's bat cracked against the bludger and flew toward the second year. Ben pushed for a burst of speed to intercept and wasn't sure he was going to make it in time. He flailed desperately with his bat, glancing it against the bludger as it passed, just a bit too far out of reach for a solid hit. The brush was not nearly enough to gain control or even break its course toward Simon. What it did do was steal some small portion of its momentum and shift the trajectory enough that he thought the boy could probably take a hit without serious injury and worst, and improve the kid's chance of evasion at best. "Watch it, Simon!" he yelled, to make sure the Crotalus was aware of the impending attack.

Ben flew after it, to capture it once it took its first swoop at the kid, but it was definitely going to reach Simon first at this point. He just hoped he'd done enough to minimize the damage.

1 Ben Pierce, Green Beater Can you best an accidental marriage proposal? 339 Ben Pierce, Green Beater 0 5

Simon M, Green Chaser

June 16, 2017 2:59 PM

I'd rather not, really. by Simon M, Green Chaser

Simon was disappointed when Miss Pierce saved the Quaffle, but not entirely surprised. It had not been the best shot he’d ever taken and he was not exactly the most talented shot in the entire school anyway. Hopefully he, or one of the other Green Chasers, would have better luck next time.

For now, though, they just had to worry about getting the Quaffle back. Unfortunately, that did not look like it was going to be easy. Miss Wolseithcrafte had the ball now, and Miss Wolseithcrafte was, he was fairly sure he’d have to admit if pressed, a significantly better player than he was and probably than Winston was. They had the advantage of being used to working together, but she had the advantage of being more experienced and very likely significantly more daring than Simon, at least, was.

She also had the advantage of having Miss Meeks as a Beater on her team. Simon heard the crack of a bat on a Bludger, but it took a moment to process the fact that it was heading toward him. His heart rate picked up, but he had Beaters, too, so he had learned not to panic when this happened….

Watch it, Simon!

…Though the Beater himself sounding a bit perturbed really did not help him retain that bit of knowledge.

Simon glanced in yet another Pierce’s direction, saw why he was being shouted at, and, with a not-quite-dignified noise that an unbiased observer might have called a yelp, he broke off from the pursuit of Ingrid and dove, hoping to avoid the Bludger. He felt it sail just past his back and dove faster, the ground rushing at him altogether too fast, knowing it was probably going to turn on him unless its momentum was so great that it didn’t have a choice but to keep going. That wasn’t a chance he wanted to take, so he flew like a madman and cursed the Pierces who weren’t Winston and hoped the Beater one shaped up and got rid of it before it caught up with him.

16 Simon M, Green Chaser I'd rather not, really. 369 Simon M, Green Chaser 0 5

Eden M, Green Seeker

June 17, 2017 2:39 AM

Either way, it's been interesting. by Eden M, Green Seeker

Eden kept Amelia in her sights most of the time, breaking her pursuit only when she was looking around for the Snitch. To her surprise, the older girl seemed…. well, friendly, offering a wave and a smile. They were on different teams and from different Houses, so Eden didn’t really expect much outright niceness from her, but maybe Amelia was just not a naturally competitive person. Still, waving to the opponent like this was a gesture the first year only really would have expected from one of her Housemates, although, she noted idly, Amelia was from the same House as Sally and Arnold both were. She wasn’t sure what to make of that.

In any case, Eden found herself returning the gesture, smiling and waving back, though her wave was brief as she was nervous to fly without her hands on the broomstick for too long. The only time one usually came off was if she was reaching for the Snitch, which already happened more frequently than she really expected.

And speaking of, was that…? Could it be…? Her blue eyes caught a glimpse of… no, it was impossible. The Snitch? Of course not. The first game had been luck, just a fluke. There was no way luck would strike that way again. The Snitch was so small, and the field was so big, so there was absolutely no way she had seen it.

But just in case, Eden broke off from Amelia and followed in the direction she thought she had seen the little golden blur go. For a little while, the chase felt hopeless, but eventually, she saw that little shimmer again. She sped up, her new broom specializing in acceleration, getting her closer and closer to what was now definitely the Snitch. Despite feeling a little unnerved by the speed, Eden released the broom with one hand, extending it forward instead. Her fingertips brushed the Snitch once or twice before, eventually, she managed to get her palm against it. The Teppenpaw snapped her fingers shut around it and, just like that, realized that somehow, she had done it again. She had caught the Snitch.

12 Eden M, Green Seeker Either way, it's been interesting. 385 Eden M, Green Seeker 0 5

Prof. Isis Carter

June 17, 2017 2:40 AM

Game over! Green wins! (nm) by Prof. Isis Carter

12 Prof. Isis Carter Game over! Green wins! (nm) 31 Prof. Isis Carter 0 5

Prof. Isis Carter

Quidditch Scrimmage! by Prof. Isis Carter

<font color="red">Simon M, Green Chaser</font>

...There goes what was left of my right mind. by <font color="red">Simon M, Green Chaser</font>

<font color="blue"> Amelia L, Purple Seeker</font>

Seeking, seeking.... by <font color="blue"> Amelia L, Purple Seeker</font>

<font color="yellow">Joe U, Green Beater</font>

Adapting, I suppose. by <font color="yellow">Joe U, Green Beater</font>

<font color="blue">John U, Purple Beater</font>

Not very well, I take it. by <font color="blue">John U, Purple Beater</font>

<font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Green Beater</font>

So is what was right of your left mind still here? by <font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Green Beater</font>

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

Now my whole mind is confused by <font color=yellow>Ginger, Purple Keeper</font>

<font color=red>Winston, Green Chaser</font>

I'm as split as Simon's mind. by <font color=red>Winston, Green Chaser</font>

<font color="red">Simon the Green Chaser</font>

Let's get it together, folks. by <font color="red">Simon the Green Chaser</font>

<font color="yellow">Joe, Green Beater</font>

No idea what you're talking about. by <font color="yellow">Joe, Green Beater</font>

<font color="blue">John, Purple Beater</font>

Your statement is unclear. Who has no idea, you or me? by <font color="blue">John, Purple Beater</font>

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

I was already all together. by <font color=yellow>Ginger, Purple Keeper</font>

<font color='yellow'>Eden M, Green Seeker</font>

Me, probably. by <font color='yellow'>Eden M, Green Seeker</font>

<font color='tan'>Ingrid W, Purple Chaser</font>

I'm with you by <font color='tan'>Ingrid W, Purple Chaser</font>

<font color=yellow>Jozua, Green Keeper</font>

The things you do for love by <font color=yellow>Jozua, Green Keeper</font>

<font color='tan'>Sammy M, purple beater</font>

Don't get me started. by <font color='tan'>Sammy M, purple beater</font>

<font color="blue">Amelia L, Purple Seeker</font>

I don't know what their problems are, either. by <font color="blue">Amelia L, Purple Seeker</font>

<font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Green Beater</font>

Can you best an accidental marriage proposal? by <font color=tan>Ben Pierce, Green Beater</font>

<font color="red">Simon M, Green Chaser</font>

I'd rather not, really. by <font color="red">Simon M, Green Chaser</font>

<font color='yellow'>Eden M, Green Seeker</font>

Either way, it's been interesting. by <font color='yellow'>Eden M, Green Seeker</font>

Prof. Isis Carter

Game over! Green wins! (nm) by Prof. Isis Carter