Captain John Umland
March 20, 2017 1:56 PM
Quidditch Sign-Ups! by Captain John Umland
He had not – technically – done anything wrong (as he was of age, he was perfectly within his rights to leave his house whenever he wished, and when Joe had tried to hit him, he had been standing in a public area making a cup of tea), but John was still surprised to receive a letter from Professor Carter confirming him as the new Aladren Quidditch captain after the regrettable incident with the headmaster. He had expected to be unceremoniously stripped of all honors and to receive a strong recommendation that he minimize his time in public for the rest of the year, but Carter’s letter was written as though nothing had happened at all.He had been a bit surprised to see Louis recommended over Jack for Assistant Captain, but had, after some reflection, decided he did not have the energy or interest to inquire about it. He liked Louis and did not wish any further unnecessary interaction with the Minders. If Jack or Louis had a problem, they would work it out later. For now, he had to put together a sign-up sheet.
He had borrowed Clark’s basic style from last year, though with white writing on blue paper because the white on black effect had hurt his eyes a little. The name of the team was printed in block letters at the top of the page, and then beneath it was printed a short message:
Happy New Year, classmates! Sign up below for the Aladren Quidditch team and help us reclaim our place as school champions. All are welcome, just write your name and year and desired position below.
Below was a white sheet of paper with a grid of black lines drawn on it. John wasn’t sure why they asked for the student’s year, but it had always been done as far as he knew and so he included a square for that and wrote his own details in the first row: John Umland, 7th, Capt/Beater. He posted it prominently on the board, hoping this would remind him to twist arms if he didn’t get enough names the polite way, and went to confront the unappealing prospect of sleep. He had signed up for an extreme course load and knew that now, after...everything, he needed every advantage he could get if he was going to handle it all.
Subthreads: Rolling up my sleeves. [tag John] by Jack Spencer with John Umland
Claiming a spot by Kit Reid
Better late than never! by Louis Valois
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Quidditch Sign-Ups!
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Jack Spencer
March 25, 2017 2:23 PM
Rolling up my sleeves. [tag John] by Jack Spencer
Since Jack had started struggling with panic attacks over the summer, he had wondered whether or not joining the Quidditch team would be in his best interest, and their best interest. He wasn't certain when the attacks would begin, but he had decided he loved the sport too much. It would be torture not being able to play and watching everyone else do what he loved.He'd been waiting patiently for the role of Assistant Captain after becoming Prefect. As it had been for many, many years, traditionally it would go to the next oldest Quidditch player. If there was a tie, then it was up to the captain to decide. As Jack didn't have any competition in his year, he was looking forward to his appointment.
However, the signup sheet was up before John had talked to him about anything, and he soon realised that he had been passed over for Louis. Not only was it completely unfair, but he didn't understand what John had against him. He felt himself go red as his blood boiled at the unfairness of it all. Jack took a few deep breaths in front of the noticeboard, trying to calm himself down. He'd never gotten so angry before so quickly, but he tried to reason with himself. John must've made a mistake, or if there was a problem between them - one that Jack did not know of - then he wanted to amend it fast.
Jack lingered in the common room until he saw his house-mate. He stood up quickly and called out his name to stop him. "Hey John, I had a question," he said, his heart pounding. "Did you purposely choose Louis over me for Assistant Captain?" He felt like his head was swimming in the face of this confrontation with someone he respected. He just needed to know: "Why?"
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Rolling up my sleeves. [tag John]
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John Umland
March 25, 2017 2:56 PM
Can we resolve this short of throwing down the gauntlet? by John Umland
Spending a certain amount of time in the common room when it was occupied by other people was one of the things, like eating and sleeping, which John regarded as regrettable but necessary. He was prefect, Quidditch captain, and head of the Book Club, which meant there were lots of Aladrens who might wish to ask for his help, and being Good meant making himself available for them to do so. They did not often do so, but that did not diminish his obligation.Because of this, he entered the common room and was looking for a chair to do some class reading (something he could do without his full attention, so he didn’t fail to acknowledge anyone who did approach him because he failed to notice that anyone had done so. This was a real possibility if he was reading intently) in when Jack suddenly called his name.
Not good.
John was not so good at figuring out what other people were thinking, but while Jack did not appear prepared to hit him right this second, John was pretty sure he was upset and trying to be reasonable on purpose. John decided getting straight to the point was probably the best way to avoid ending up dealing with adults again. “I didn’t pick at all,” he said. “Carter recommended Louis. I - assumed you must have told her you didn’t want it last year or something, since it, uh, it usually doesn’t skip years. I'm guessing now that she...must have made a clerical error instead?” He hesitated. “Louis seemed willing to step aside if you do want the job,” he said. “And if he’s not – my job’s just to protect…the Seeker.” Presumably Amelia now. He didn’t dislike Amelia Layne, but she wasn’t Clark, and she did seem a bit skittish with him sometimes, though he didn’t know why – he hadn’t knocked her around any more than he had Clark, and Clark didn’t seem to mind. In any case, though, he could not say he was relishing the thought of trading Clark for a second year. “You’d be a better captain for the Chasers than I am anyway. We could split it this year and you take over next year, if Carter’s amenable.”
He had not thought of this clever plan before he started outlining it, but he had to admit he was not entirely displeased with it. He wasn't prepared to hand over all power unless he had to, but sharing the load would resolve the issue without putting anyone's back up and would make John's life easier. He would not, he decided, mind at all if Jack took him up on this offer. Maybe they could even split the speeches....
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Can we resolve this short of throwing down the gauntlet?
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Jack
March 27, 2017 1:12 PM
I'm open to discussion. by Jack
John, like a true Aladren, was brilliant in not beating around the bush or treating Jack like some sort of subordinate. There was a reason why he liked him, and, as John told him what had happened, he didn't think he'd make a bad captain at all. In fact, Jack was very much looking forward to this year's team.So Carter was the one who had decided to pass him over. Jack's anger directed away from John, but he was confused. Why would Carter do something like that? He didn't have anything against her - in fact, he hardly spoke to her - which didn't give her much of a reason to have something against him. Then again, she was relatively new to this coaching position, but she was still a professor. Professors weren't supposed to make mistakes like these.
"Oh," said Jack with nothing better to say when John began laying out a possible solution. It was clearly too late to rescind the AC position from Louis, and Jack didn't want to push the younger year out simply because of a professor's mistake. But the only other option seemed to be bumping Jack up to co-captain. That didn't sound too bad to him at all. In fact, it sounded like a brilliant turn of events, though Jack did wonder if John would've approached him first if he hadn't initiated.
He wanted to give his team-mate the benefit of the doubt, so Jack just smiled, anger dissipated. He'd deal with his feelings toward Carter later. "If you're really offering," said Jack slowly, "I would be glad to accept. But what sort of title would that be, then? Is that even allowed without Carter's approval?"
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I'm open to discussion.
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Kit Reid
April 03, 2017 8:32 PM
Claiming a spot by Kit Reid
Last year Kit had signed up for Quidditch even though her parents would never approve. This year would be no exception. She planned on signing up again and not telling her parents. She hated lying to them, but she felt it was for the best. They would never understand why she wanted to play. They would never understand how thrilling it was. She just hoped they never found out, but if they did, she wondered if she could just argue the fact that at least she wasn’t a beater.Seeing the signup sheet posted, Kit added her name to the list.
Kit Reid, 2nd year, Chaser
Satisfied that her name was on the list, Kit took a moment to admire it. She was a second year. It was an odd feeling. She wasn’t new anymore. Everything had a certain familiarity about it, including adding her name to the signup, but it was weird not being a first year anymore too. There were new people. People younger than her and learning the things that she had learned the year before. Yet, it was great not being a first year, because there were new, younger people. She couldn’t wait to see what the rest of the year brought.
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Claiming a spot
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Louis Valois
April 07, 2017 2:45 PM
Better late than never! by Louis Valois
For Louis, Quidditch was one of the few uncomplicated parts of his life. It was a release from worries and cares, a stress-free game where nothing else mattered, at least whilst he was in the air. Flying had always been an escape for him, and now he felt like he needed it more than ever.Tensions were definitely running high in Louis’s life. His parents didn’t know the full details of his summer escapade, but they were aware that he’d abandoned the other society teenagers, and that was enough for Laurent Valois to be seriously angry. The summers at the dunes were an opportunity to create links which could lead to life-changing betrothals and alliances. Louis was meant to be eyeing up well-connected girls to marry, not running off and doing Merlin-knows-what. This had meant the end of the summer had been a tense one, with serious threats being thrown around, and far too many arguments for Louis’s mother’s peace of mind. The number of migraines she’d had would have worried anyone who hadn’t sussed out, at the age of four, that they were more a method of guilting Louis into behaving rather than a serious medical problem.
Coming back to Sonora was meant to be fun, but only a few hours after his return, the bombshell had been dropped. Professor Pye had reassured him that there had been no mistake and, whilst Louis felt quite proud of himself of gaining the badge, he still felt awful, knowing that it was a position Emmy had set her heart on since first year.
And now, finally, his refuge of Quidditch had been breached. Sure, it wasn’t the same as the last two conflicts – no one was threatening to remove him from Sonora, and Jack wasn’t his very best friend. Nevertheless, Jack was a good friend, and he felt guilty at the idea of getting the position when, really, it shouldn’t be his yet. There was no reason for Jack to be passed over. John had vaguely thrown out the idea of talking to Jack about it, which Louis was determined to do.
With that in mind, he didn’t even consider adding his potential new position to the sign-up sheet.
Louis Valois, 5th Year, Beater (or Chaser)
He wasn’t sure why he bothered to put chaser on there, as it was unlikely he’d return to his old position. He didn’t really mind which one he played, though, and it was probably a good idea to remind John that he was flexible.
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Better late than never!
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