Coach Olivers
April 13, 2015 12:32 AM
Quidditch Game III: Teppalus vs. Aladren by Coach Olivers
Today was a match Florence was not particularly looking forward to seeing. It was clear that the combined Teppenpaw and Crotalus team was much less experienced than the dominating Aladren and Pecari houses. Though Aladren dominated almost every Quidditch match they played, Florence hoped they would show just a little mercy to the young first and second years. She doubted, however, that Anthony Carey would take that into consideration. No one could, after all, underestimate their opponent on the pitch no matter how young and inexperienced they were.The weather today was fair—slightly cloudy with a nice breeze that was strong enough to push the Snitch off course, but gentle enough to make no difference to a bludger. After the unpleasant weather in the last couple of matches, Florence was glad today was a pleasant day. She had never liked standing out in the rain even if it was to make sure those kids on brooms were playing safe. Dressed in black-and-white striped robes, much as a muggle referee would wear, she watched the players come onto the pitch. Once it was time, she pressed her wand against her throat and silently hoped Alistair was well enough to play.
“Welcome to the last match of the season,” she said, enunciating her words for everyone to hear and understand. “Here we have the combined Teppenpaw and Crotalus team led by co-captains Liac Reinhardt from Teppenpaw and Alistair Johnson from Crotalus facing off against Aladren led by Captain Anthony Carey. Captains, if you would please shake hands.
“When I blow my whistle, the game begins. The match ends when the Snitch is caught. Players, please take your positions.”
Once the players had mounted their brooms and the Keepers had flown to their respective positions, Florence released the Snitch and picked up the Quaffle. She put the silver whistle into her mouth and made brief eye-contact with the Chasers. After a moment, she blew her whistle and threw the Quaffle into the air. With the Quaffle now in action, she released the bludgers and took a step back off the pitch to watch the game progress.
The game had begun.
OOC: Two paragraphs minimum; creativity, detail, and realism will be rewarded. Make sure your names are colored according to your house and stick to the rules. Any questions, tag Coach Olivers on the OOC board. Good luck!
Subthreads: Flying right along by <font color=blue>Clark Dill, Seeker</font> with
Hoping this goes better by <font color=orange>Ginger Pierce, Keeper</font> with <font color='blue'>Theodore, Keeper</font>
Making the best of things. by <font color="orange">Isaac Douglas, Chaser</font> with <font color='orange'>Ali Johnson, Chaser</font>, <font color='blue'>Francesca, Chaser</font>, <font color="blue">Captain Anthony, Chaser</font>, <font color=orange>Ginger Pierce, Keeper</font>
Ending the game by <font color=blue> Clark Dill, Seeker</font> with Coach Olivers
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Coach Olivers
Quidditch Game III: Teppalus vs. Aladren
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Coach Olivers
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<font color='orange'>Liac Reinhardt, Beater</font>
April 20, 2015 1:36 AM
I guess it's time to mix it up a little. by <font color='orange'>Liac Reinhardt, Beater</font>
Since their grueling defeat by Pecari, the Tepulas team had been training hard almost every day to improve themselves, and Liac loved every minute of it, sans his Crotali co-captain that was beginning to get on his nerves. The twelve year old liked to think of himself as a fairly thick-skinned boy, however there was a limit to just what he could put up with, and that limit was Johnson. Although he felt bad in the moment for thinking it, he was actually a little happy earlier in the term when his co-captain had to sit out some of their practices. It wasn’t that the boy was a bad player, in fact Liac thought quite highly of his co-captain…when the Crotali wasn’t shouting orders to the rest of the team.He is just a really passionate player, Liac told himself on more than one occasion to justify the boy’s personality. In a way, Liac was almost a perfect fit for Alistair, as not every student could handle such a situation as delicately as the Teppenpaw. As a result, Liac often found himself on more of the encouraging side of the leadership coin. He tried his best to talk to everyone on the team daily, and simply give friendly advice during drills.
Originally he felt a little guilty when his head of house chose him for the position of captain over his upperclassman, so he didn’t exactly feel comfortable advising Jake like he did the rest of the team. Even as he got ready the morning of the match, he felt a tinge of guilt as he placed the shinny badge in its usual spot on his uniform. Slapping himself a few times with his hands, and shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts out of his mind and headed out. Maybe it was the good weather, or the anticipation of some pre-game cinnamon oatmeal, but Liac felt good about today.
Not even Alistair jumping the gun on the pregame speech could ruin Liac’s good vibes, although it was a little annoying. He tried his best not to show any signs of irritation, choosing to nod and smile attentively instead as his counterpart spoke. He wanted to set a good example for his team, even if just within the hour, mutiny had crossed his mind more than once. Before Alistair turned the attention the Liac, he took a breath to clear his mind. He wasn’t very good at rehearsed speeches, so instead he tried to talk to the team as he would any regular practice. No reason to make them nervous before the game even started.
“Chasers,” he began following Alistair’s lead, “if you think you have a shot, or have the opportunity to steal, then take it. We’ve all got each others backs so don’t be afraid to go for it. I’ll be guarding the field players, and Tobi will guard Shinohara. Ginger, just keep your eyes open and on the ball and you will do great,” he said giving her a warm smile. He played Keeper on more than one occasion with his family, so he knew how difficult a position it could be, even when his dad was going easy on him. It was obvious to Liac that Ginger was really putting her best foot forward, but there was only so much a player could learn in practice. Unfortunately a lot of being a good keeper came down to good broom maneuvering, and wingspan. Sadly, the latter was directly related to height, so they were a little out of luck in that department with a first year Keeper. Still, she always seemed to be trying her hardest, and that was more than enough for Liac.
“Regardless of what happens on the field I just want everyone to do their best,” Liac said, continuing in a very Teppenpaw manner. “Aladren is tough, sure, but that’s no reason to let them psyche us out! After all, every single one of us has improved since our first day out on the pitch. This is our chance to show everyone what a tight oiled team we have become!” It wasn’t a complete lie, they had been working hard, but he wasn’t sure if he could honestly consider his team a ‘well-oiled fighting machine’. In truth they really were just a team of leftover players, most of whom didn’t really seem to fit together, but still managed to somehow create the illusion of a functioning team. In short, they were the Frankenstein’s monster of quidditch teams. Liac chuckled a little at this thought as he mounted his broom for the game to begin. He knew he really shouldn’t be thinking this way, especially as captain, but he supposed there was some value in seeing the humor of the situation.
Once the whistle blew, Liac was up in the air, the humor of the moment disappearing as he focused on the task at hand. He immediately began combing the skies for the nearest bludger, his team maybe a mess, but that doesn’t mean he is going to let Aladren beat them to a pulp. As he waited for a bludger to get within range, he decided to check out which Aladren he might want to smack around first. Moving to a slightly higher altitude to get a better vantage point, Liac noticed the Teppenpaw chasers moving the quaffle up the field. However, it was short lived as the Aladren Queen quickly took it in an interception, passing it down the field to the Aladran captain.
Target Acquired
Liac moved along with the action down the field, hoping to find a passing bludger to knock Carey out with, or at least shake him up a bit. Just because they exchanged pleasantries, didn’t mean Carey was exempt from a well placed bludger. But alas the bludger just wasn’t close enough for Liac to make a fast enough move. Carey passed the quaffle up to the Queen once more as she neared range of the goals. Realizing that following the quaffle wasn’t helping, Liac veered off slightly to get within range of an incoming bludger.
It was coming his way, and he knew exactly where it needed to go. Taking a large swing and using all of his twelve year old weight, he sent the metal ball flying down towards Anthony Carey. “POW!” he grunted, mimicking superheroes of yore, although he was glad he didn’t have the strength of The Man of Steel. He wanted to win sure, but not kill the guy! Maybe send him to the hospital wing at most, but even then Laic would probably feel bad and get him an apology pie to make up for the bump on his head.
The bludger was well on its way, and all Liac could do now was prepare for a counter. He hoped that opposing beaters and the upperclassman in question would be too busy watching Francesca to notice a bludger. However he quickly scanned for the location of his chasers just in case they tried to pull a fast one.
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<font color='orange'>Liac Reinhardt, Beater</font>
I guess it's time to mix it up a little.
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<font color='orange'>Liac Reinhardt, Beater</font>
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<font color='orange'>Ali Johnson, Chaser</font>
April 20, 2015 12:32 PM
Let's aim for more than all right. by <font color='orange'>Ali Johnson, Chaser</font>
Alistair wasn't in least surprised when his pass was intercepted, but he was nevertheless slightly irritated that Teppalus' headstart could so quickly be lost and only he could be to blame for it. Not hanging around to think on this, however, the first year co-captain swiftly manouvered around to face his own team's hoops and sped back up the pitch after the Quaffle.Francesca Wolseithcrafte was fast and skilled and experienced and likely knew exactly what she was doing. She was a prime example against ideas that girls couldn't play Quidditch, as were the majority of the Pecari team, but of course this didn't mean they should which was the real argument surrounding the sport. It was difficult to follow this popular pureblood opinion when Alistair had in fact been taught everything he knew about Quidditch from a girl. But now that he had almost a whole year’s experience in captaining, he really felt he didn't need Franki's help any longer. This time he was sure of it.
Francesca passed to Anthony Carey, a close pass that Alistair felt he should have at least attempted to intercept. He was aware that in the back of his mind there was a little wariness about damaging his shoulder today as he was desperate not to have to sit out from playing Quidditch yet again. That had not been fun at all. Even if there was something nice about commanding others, the young Crotalus much preferred to be up in the air himself. Carey passed again, another short pass. It was inevitable, it seemed, that Alistair would have to take risks today. Aladren seemed to be playing more carefully than Pecari had, the Wild Boars simply passing and intercepting and shooting whenever and however and seemingly getting away with everything they attempted.
Wolseithcrafte had the Quaffle again and next thing Alistair knew she was in the scoring area and it was just her and the Teppalus Keeper. For a moment the Crotalus captain allowed himself to hope as little Ginger came so close… but not close enough. He didn't groan as the Quaffle continued through his team’s hopes but merely waited with his face firmly set in his typical manner, hovering in a good position for the ball to be thrown to him, eager to get it back up to the other end of the pitch.
On receiving the Quaffle, Andrew Carey flew off up the pitch and Alistair didn't wait around. He chased down after his fellow Chaser, popping up on the other side in a prime spot to catch a pass as he flew along parallel to the Teppenpaw first year for a short while before the Quaffle came towards him. Alistair caught it easily and this fuelled him with even more confidence in himself and his recent recovery. He made sure to fly some distance longer with the leather ball under his arm than he had before. He wasn't scared of the Quaffle. He could hold it. He was fine…
The moment he crossed into the Aladren half the Quaffle was gone, Alistair sending it flying toward the first orange-robed Chaser he caught glimpse of. It wasn't a hasty pass, however, and it was controlled. The twelve year old was simply aware that he may soon be under attack from several larger Aladrens who didn't care about his sensitive shoulder.
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<font color='orange'>Ali Johnson, Chaser</font>
Let's aim for more than all right.
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<font color='orange'>Ali Johnson, Chaser</font>
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<font color='blue'>Francesca, Chaser</font>
April 22, 2015 12:07 PM
You're certainly giving us the run around by <font color='blue'>Francesca, Chaser</font>
Francesca grinned as her shot sailed in, though she noted how close Ginger had come to saving it. She had to have been on the ball for that, and to have some pretty good agility. Teppalus were not a good team. They had had limited time to train and were still a long way off that. But they had clearly been working hard, and were improving. It wasn’t much of a surprise that they caught the pass out from goal - Keepers usually had the luxury of a bit more time to consider things, and Ginger obviously wasn’t mutton-headed enough to throw it back towards Francesca, so there was little she could do about it from where she was. Except turn tail, and start to follow on again.She sped down the pitch. Again, Teppalus got a pass in. She’d heard a few ominous thwacks behind her - it seemed the Beaters were starting to get in on the action, which perhaps explained where her fellow Chasers were. Hopefully they were just being held up, nothing more.
She started to look for a way in. The most logical thing was to mark Alistair again, as he had the ball. She almost felt bad, being the one to steal it from again but Quidditch often went that way… Passing, catching up, finding a mark… All of these took time, or left you in prominent places where no one was going to chance going near you, as had happened when Ginger was passing out from goal. It often ended up that you lined back up with the same person. Or maybe it just seemed that way because it was more noticeable.
He seemed to hold his nerve reasonably well, taking the Quaffle back the wrong side of the centre line. She waited, trying to see which way he would go, trying to keep close to another Teppalus Chaser but not so much as to put him off passing that way. As he drew back, she drew in, hoping that her timing was good enough that he couldn’t change direction but that she could get in there. She just hooked it with her fingertips, knocking the ball off course and having to tip herself sideways to scoop it back out of the air and prevent it falling away to the ground. She let the momentum carry her, leaning heavily into the arc as she swung round at speed.
It was mere seconds before she was back over the centre line but that was still a long way from scoring, especially with several irritated Teppali no doubt on her tail. She could only hope her fellow Chasers were in good positions. As she closed the distance, she saw one ahead. She’d been passing short so far but if Teppalus were proving anything it was that they were quick learners. She drew her arm back, using her greater size to go for the long pass.
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<font color='blue'>Francesca, Chaser</font>
You're certainly giving us the run around
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<font color='blue'>Francesca, Chaser</font>
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<font color='orange'> T. Reinhardt, Beater</font>
April 22, 2015 9:52 PM
I'm trying my hardest. by <font color='orange'> T. Reinhardt, Beater</font>
Tobi could understand that Alistair was a strong, confidant player, but he couldn’t help but wonder if his cousin’s blood status didn’t affect the way Alistair treated Liac. It always seemd as though the Crotalus captain talked first and never gave Liac a chance to have equal input. It was almost as if Liac was only allowed to talk once Alistair was done with his bit. And Tobi was tired of it. He didn’t know if it was because Liac was a Teppenpaw, older, or (and Tobi hoped beyond all reason it wasn’t this) because Liac was half-blood, but Tobi was tired of it. As Alistair took the lead that day, Tobi bit his tongue. He so badly wanted to speak up, an odd sensation for the usually quiet boy who preferred to stay in the background and let his cousin do all the talking. But something about the way Liac just let Alistair walk all over him disturbed Tobi. Tobi loved Liac almost more than life itself and he couldn’t bear to think that anyone could dislike him. There were only two redeeming parts of Alistair Johnson, Tobi thought, one, he was an alright player; and two, he at least didn’t feel comfortable bossing Liac’s cousin around in front of him. The second one made Tobi smirk a little as Alistair trailed off when he got to Liac and his positions.He smiled when his cousin began to speak, using his Liac charm to encourage their teammates and he gave Liac a hearty nod when he spoke to him. Shinohara was alright, certainly better than her Crotalus captain, and he enjoyed her flippant attitude and the sarcastic way she spoke. He turned to her and gave her a shaky head nod, hiding a shy smile as he turned back to face his captain, Liac Reinhardt. That morning before the game, he’d had the distinct pleasure of his normal breakfast routine with Liac being crashed by Shinohara. And though normally he would have hated it for someone to interrupt his Liac time, much less a girl, the very thought that he had actually eaten breakfast with Shinohara Uzume made Tobi’s heart race and his ears get hot.
When Professor Olivers released them to commence play, he flew up to hover near Shinohara. Well, as near to her as he would allow himself to get. It didn’t really matter that Liac had asked him to look out for her, because he didn’t want to get too close unless she thought he was a stalker. So, from a comfortable distance away, Tobi gripped his beater’s bat, sweaty hands twisting around the handle as his mind raced with thoughts only the way a twelve year old boy in love’s mind could. He was hyper aware of his surroundings now, and luckily that meant he was able to sense unusual movement around him. Professor Olivers had released the bludgers.
His eyes, accustomed to seeking out wildlife on his solitary nature hikes, quickly spotted a bludger. Unfortunately it was a little too far away from Shinohara and there was no way he was going to leave her unattended. Never mind the spitfire could probably take care of herself if it came down to it, Tobi just didn’t want to be the one responsible to get her hurt. He cheered his cousin on when Liac made the first contact with the bludger the entire game, and it gave him enough confidence to venture a little farther from Shinohara towards the second bludger. If both Reinhardts were able to hit the bludgers first, well, Tobi thought that would be pretty splendid.
He swept the area quickly with his eyes and upon deciding that Shinohara had about a 95% chance to not get hit, he flew after the second bludger that he spotted. He lined up the shot and gripped his bat tightly—the bludger, seemingly sensing the presence of an animate entity, staggered towards him with a dangerous whiz. Tobi bit his lip down hard, tasting blood, and hit the blackish-grey ball nuisance as far away from him and as close to the general direction of Francesca Wolseithcrafte who had picked the Quaffle off Johnson as he could.
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<font color='orange'> T. Reinhardt, Beater</font>
I'm trying my hardest.
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<font color='orange'> T. Reinhardt, Beater</font>
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<font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>
April 23, 2015 12:42 AM
Trying to multitask. by <font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>
Facts, John had been taught, always had to inform opinions, but also had to be strictly distinguished from opinions. To confuse the two was probably not actually a mortal sin, but anyone who did it in front of his mother could have been forgiven for thinking it was. Mom was quick to catch any muddling of the two, which was something that got her in trouble whenever she tried to discuss politics with other adults and had probably made every kid she’d ever taught past age nine or ten want to hit her at least once. He didn’t mind it as much as some of the others had, but even he thought he could happily live the rest of his life without ever hearing anything about self-supporting statements or hidden arguments or distributed middles ever again.Looking for facts, though, had sort of become a habit even before Mom started requiring him to examine them formally, and so John nodded appreciatively at the part of Anthony’s speech about not underestimating their opponents. The categories of ‘Beginner students’ and ‘competent Quidditch players’ weren’t mutually exclusive, and John thought his performance provided at least modest support to the statement that it was possible for players to improve in a short period of time. He wouldn’t use that in a real argument, biased as he was by being used to taking them…well, taking at least Tobias, the only one he was really acquainted with, seriously because they were in classes together and all, but he did think it was a point and was glad to hear the same thought from the seventh year.
He did not know if he was pleased by Anthony telling him he had done well in the last game. On one hand, praise automatically registered as a Good Thing. On the other hand, that was a vague term. Vague terms usually meant someone was being polite, which usually meant they were at least borderline lying. He decided to just nod and accept his directions without reading too much into it. He thought he had done pretty well in the last game, anyway, and expected he could, as Anthony put it, do so again.
As the captains shook hands, he was surprised to note a new fact, which was that the teams were not really as uneven as they might look. Anthony and Francesca and Theodore were definitely huge advantages for Aladren, but age-wise, he thought Old Teppalus Guy was older than Clark (he was pretty sure he had not seen his face much last year, anyway), and Clark was only a year above John and three of the Teppali, who were only a year above Jack and, he was pretty sure, the rest of the Teppalus players. And Jack was not exactly that much closer to being a prodigy than John was. If the other team had learned to play better….Well, Anthony and Francesca meant the Chaser game would still probably be a strange mix of brutal and dead boring, but the rest of them might not be as horrendously overqualified for this game as he thought people thought they were.
Accordingly, he scowled when he didn’t manage to intercept a Bludger as quickly as he had in their previous game, and didn’t stop when he saw where the Quaffle was, or even when Francesca got it back. He turned to follow her and Anthony as they passed the Quaffle between them and sped up when he saw Reinhardt Captain was going to get to a bludger ahead of him.
He deflected the shot, but only by hitting it toward the ground away from Anthony instead of at a specific Teppalus. At least that didn’t stop Francesca from scoring. As the game quickly resumed, he swept down to hit it toward one of the Teppalus Chasers moving back toward Theodore, though without much real hope of hitting the opponent. He chased after it and had to bite his tongue to keep from yelling in sheer frustration as First Year Captain crossed the line. Then he breathed for a second as Francesca intercepted, something that didn’t last when suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, he realized the other Bludger was heading toward her.
He started toward the problem before, all in the space of a second, deciding he wouldn’t make it. He had to get control of the other one back, with whatever attention he had left over from simultaneously hoping she’d duck the second Bludger, willing Leonidas to get down here and help him, and cursing the Reinhardt boys.
Illogical, especially that last one – if he’d been in the stands, he probably would have applauded them – but all noting that did was irritate him more. John tried to channel that frustration into hitting the first Bludger toward an orange robe again with a lot more force than he usually used. His remaining reason knew this was a bad idea, that he’d wear himself out too quickly if he kept it up, but he figured he could indulge himself just this once. Still annoyed despite the nagging voice in his head telling him that he had no good reason to be, he followed it toward the Chasers.
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<font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>
Trying to multitask.
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<font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>
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<font color='blue'>Francesca, Chaser</font>
April 23, 2015 6:04 AM
It's not one of your strengths by <font color='blue'>Francesca, Chaser</font>
Quidditch involved keeping your mind on a lot of things at once. Francesca’s had been on getting down the pitch, finding one of her own Chasers, and trying to throw the Teppalus Chasers off before she passed. The sound of Bludgers against bats was becoming more frequent, and she was trying to be aware of them at the same time. It wasn’t always easy though, especially if trying to keep track threw you off your game with the Quaffle. Sometimes, you just had to trust that some of those noises were your own team-mates defending you, backed up by what you could take in with your peripheral vision, and then duck suddenly if you were wrong.Or not. As her pass sailed forward, Francesca tuned back into the rest of the match, realising she could hear a familiar and unwelcome noise close by. Very close. She had just enough time to process the fact that she probably couldn’t get out of the way, though she did her best, rolling to the side with an arm up to protect her head. The Bludger knocked her upper arm, pushing her further over. It hurt. It hurt but it wasn’t broken. She would have a cracking bruise to show for it later, she was sure. Luckily it was also her left arm, so it wouldn’t impact her playing too much, so long as she could get her annoyance under control.
She had heard and half seen John’s deflection of the Bludger and taken it to mean she had some breathing space. Or at least, she thought she had… Had she been wrong about what she’d seen? Her first assumption was that she must have been so. She reigned in a glare at John for not doing his job right. No one got their role perfect one hundred percent of the time, he had obviously tried, and glaring at others was bad for team spirit. It would take a long time and some headspace, some overview of what was happening on the rest of the field before she would realise that it was in fact the ‘Seeker Bludger’ that had got to her, and that it was Leonidas who had slipped up.
Having scored a hit against her, the Bludger had veered off towards the next warm body. She took the chance to get a few feet up and away, and to survey the match below for where the Quaffle had got to.
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<font color='blue'>Francesca, Chaser</font>
It's not one of your strengths
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<font color='blue'>Francesca, Chaser</font>
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<font color='blue'>Theodore, Keeper</font>
April 23, 2015 6:28 AM
Trying not to hold it against you by <font color='blue'>Theodore, Keeper</font>
Quidditch was a rough game. Francesca was a tough person. That hit hadn’t been a particularly nasty one. These were all facts which Theodore knew very well to be true. It didn’t stop him wincing though, or feeling a frustrated sense of powerlessness when his sister got hit. Despite all those facts - and the additional one that it was very much not his role in this game, and he was unarmed - he felt he was supposed to protect her. He hadn’t - he had no way of doing so.He looped the goals moodily. Going for a long walk or a run usually helped him exorcise negative feelings. The fresh air, the physical distance, they cleared his head. He could only hope that flying could have the same effect. He knew it could but perhaps not when it was restricted to circles….
He didn’t want to come off the pitch angry with anyone because when he thought it through, no one was really to blame. It was a great advantage of playing Keeper that you had plenty of time to analyse the match as it went along. He had watched John with interest, convinced for a moment that he might pull of something spectacular and answer all his doubters. He hadn’t but what he had done was keep cool under pressure and make the right decision from a tough choice. The Bludger he’d gone for was his responsibility and had a better chance of meeting a target and giving them an advantage. He may not have been able to even get to the Bludger threatening Francesca, and would have lost control of the other in trying to do so. Better to have one Bludger under their control than none. These were all the arguments the logical part of his brain listed. Theodore liked to be logical, and he could see they were much better and well-reasoned points than what the emotional part of his brain had to offer, which was that John had let Francesca get hurt and was therefore a bad person who deserved his wrath.
A part of him that he was rather ashamed of suggested that, if he really couldn’t get rid of his anger, he should turn it against John, even though it wasn’t fair to do so. He couldn’t be mad at Leonidas because they had to room together, and Leonidas was Society. It would be better, politically, to take it out on the mixed blood brat. But, in an odd sort of way, he liked John, besides which it was ungentlemanly to make him a scapegoat when Theodore knew really that he had done nothing wrong. On a practical level, it might knock John’s confidence and make him more prone to errors in future matches too, as he dithered over what to do. Equally, he couldn’t afford to be mad at Leonidas either, and he knew - on his logical side - that no one did everything right. He let in goals and expected to be forgiven. He flew more laps, letting the arguments chase each other around, hoping that they would eventually wear themselves out.
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<font color='blue'>Theodore, Keeper</font>
Trying not to hold it against you
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<font color='blue'>Theodore, Keeper</font>
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<font color="orange">Isaac Douglas, Chaser</font>
April 23, 2015 10:36 AM
You must be a more generous person than I am. by <font color="orange">Isaac Douglas, Chaser</font>
Isaac had, honestly, expected his moment of temporary insanity to be the high point of his team’s game. He knew they had improved since the Pecari game – even his limited prior experience of the game was enough for him to see that; he suspected someone who didn’t know the first rule of the game could have seen that – but had still expected the first and second years to break just at the word Aladren. Had maybe expected it of himself, too. Impressions had a lot to do with what reality was – how many times had his father lectured him and his sister about how power could come from people assuming they already had it? – and the other House’s record was intimidating. Add to that the way that most Aladrens carried themselves as though they were that confident most of the time and, well…Isaac knew it was just a façade for at least some of them, but knowing didn’t help that much, especially out here, where the record supported their attitude. Assuming they were going to be horribly humiliated and just trying to make it as physically pain-free an experience as possible seemed to him like a perfectly sensible thing to do.The tiny Teppenpaws (and Johnson, though Isaac really kind of skimmed over him mentally most of the time) were surprising him, though. His first thought when they made a pass was that Carey and Wolseithcrafte were toying with them somehow, maybe luring them into a trap for the Beater. Their response was, apparently, to carry on as though Carey and Wolseithcrafte were doing no such thing, or at least as if they could beat them at their own game. Maybe the two Beginners on the Aladren team were horrible embarrassments to the House, the types who shouldn’t have been let out in public without the babysitters their House didn’t currently have the manpower to give them, and had ruined the House mystique for the other Beginners, or maybe his teammates were just as suicidally overconfident as he thought of Aladrens as being, but either way, it was kind of impressive. He wasn’t really one to feel pride and camaraderie, but he thought he was coming about as close to those emotions as he was capable of being.
Admittedly, this was on the basis of two passes, so shame that he was impressed by such a little thing was in the mix, too, but still. Those were two more passes than he had ever thought they would make, Ginger had done reasonably well on the goals, and he hadn’t been hit by a Bludger yet. Maybe this was going to be marginally less awful than he had thought.
Isaac could only blame this optimistic thought for the impulse that made him speed up when he saw the Quaffle flying through the air and realized it was supposed to cross enough distance that he might have a chance of intercepting it. Or at least of knocking it off course; what Francesca had done during her second interception had looked like it took more skill than he had, but maybe if it was falling, he could chase it, or one of the others could catch it on its way down. He started forward, but his concentration almost immediately broke when something hit him in the back.
For the second time, he reacted faster than he would have guessed he could have, wrenching his broom away from the thing – Bludger, he thought distantly, good thing he had sped up just when he had, or that would have hurt a lot more – to avoid being hit again. He pulled the broom away almost too hard, almost flipping himself over in the process. Blinking, his eyes watering, he looked for the Quaffle, at least between rapid glances over both shoulders to make sure the Bludger wasn’t right on top of him again. How had he forgotten to pay more attention to them than to anything else on the Pitch? He was as stupid as an Aladren himself if he was putting that much faith in Tobias and Liac. Not only were they second years, but idiot Teppenpaw second years on top of it. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
16
<font color="orange">Isaac Douglas, Chaser</font>
You must be a more generous person than I am.
273
<font color="orange">Isaac Douglas, Chaser</font>
0
5
<font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>
April 23, 2015 3:57 PM
You could both hold it against Tobias instead.... by <font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>
John had known it was a possibility, and was a little relieved to see that she looked at least all right enough to keep playing, but he still winced when he looked up in time to see Francesca fail to miss the Bludger. The satisfaction of hitting the Teppalus Chaser he’d aimed at didn’t make him feel much better, either, both because it didn’t actually remove the guy from the game and because it was wrong to feel that way anyway. Hitting people was part of his job, but not a part he was supposed to enjoy, no matter what else was going on in the game or how bad that what else was for Aladren. Mom, he was sure, would be more than a little disappointed in him right now.She might not be the only one, either. It was the best option. Fact: I cannot be in two places at once. He would argue it, if he had to. He had had to make a decision. It had been, based on the information he’d had available in that moment, the option he’d decided was most likely to have a good outcome – he couldn’t prove that it had been that option, of course, but they couldn’t prove him wrong about being out of range of the second Bludger without a video tape and a lot of data on his flying speed that he doubted anyone had, probably forcing them to accept his evaluation for practical purposes, and he could back himself up with the good part of the outcome, which had been hitting the oldest Teppalus. He’d also had reason to believe Francesca was good enough at dodging to think it was better to let her try than to lose control of the first Bludger trying, and probably failing, to get to her in time, but he didn’t think he’d mention that part if she or Theodore confronted him about it….
Theodore was a concern because his position meant he was the most likely of everyone to have noticed that John had started in Francesca’s direction for that one second before deciding it wasn’t the best option. John knew he’d certainly be more annoyed by someone deliberately leaving his sister out in the cold than he would be by someone who just got overwhelmed and missed something. Not that that was a possibility. Comparing Julian and Francesca here was apples and oranges for sure, though, and he would be really surprised if it was only when it came to their attitudes toward Quidditch instead of a more general lack of similarity, so the line of thought might not be relevant at all; he really wasn’t sure how he’d feel if Julian had been in the game, making it impossible to figure out if he really needed to worry about that angle.
She was supporting the other side today, he remembered suddenly, flashing back to annoyance for a second. Stupid, but he didn’t like her being officially for the other team, even if he was sure she wasn’t pleased about him, personally, having difficulties even if she was glad about her House representing itself better today than it had the last time. He just didn’t like her being on the other side anyway.
Which is irrelevant. Irrelevant, irrelevant, irrelevant, he told himself, trying to push all the thoughts that weren't about where to aim next back out of his head. He could not think of an emotion which would really be an advantage; he needed to think, not feel, now. He didn’t really have time to do anything else, especially not about Julian or whether or not he was going to have to argue for every tiny move anyone might or might not have even seen him make. Dwelling on either of those things, especially right now, was thinking like a five-year-old, and not even like one who'd be part of the better class of five-year-olds at that. Frowning to himself again, John flew for the first Bludger he spotted, hitting it away from an Aladren.
He tried to look at the good part of the close quarters – at least he didn’t have to worry about hitting it hard enough to cover distance and pose a credible threat to his opponents – but still wanted this bit of the game over with as quickly as possible. Two of them against one of him was something that could end up making him look pretty good if he got through it and brought everyone else through as well, but was more likely to end with him completely overwhelmed and possibly someone hurt.
16
<font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>
You could both hold it against Tobias instead....
285
<font color="blue">John Umland, Beater</font>
0
5
<font color='orange'>Ali Johnson, Chaser</font>
April 23, 2015 4:19 PM
It's nothing personal, it's Quidditch. by <font color='orange'>Ali Johnson, Chaser</font>
As Alistair found his pass intercepted for the second time it was clear to him that he really needed to up his game. It wasn’t as though he could possibly be doing anything wrong, just not quite doing enough. Aladren were quick and should never be underestimated and Alistair knew he needed to bear that in mind a little more. He was somewhat concerned for his reputation as the Aladren girl swiped the Quaffle from Teppalus possession once again but did his best to keep his head in the game and not get too annoyed by this. He was still certain that he was easily the best Teppalus player on the Pitch but at the moment he couldn’t help wondering if everyone else still recognized that fact.The first year turned tail and sped after Francesca Wolseithcrafte, flying almost parallel and at considerable speed (not dissimilar to the suicidal show-off way he had been right before his injury in Teppalus’s last match) but finding himself in the wrong place when she relinquished the ball in the direction of one of the blue-robed Chasers. He made a valiant effort to dive for the Quaffle all the same. And Douglas too appeared to make an attempt at intercepting but then had a close call with a Bludger, which almost made Alistair’s stomach turn, and seemed to lose his advances. Alistair closed in on the scarlet ball, collecting it up before it reached the opposition’s hands. He wasn’t quite sure how he had managed the whole manoeuvre, but maneuvering on a broom was his strong point and Alistair knew he wasn’t just a fast flier because of the worth of the broomstick he owned.
Upon seizing the Quaffle, the Crotalus captain did a hair-pin turn and flew off back up the Pitch with quite the feeling of elation at his retrieval but trying to slow himself down a bit now that he had the ball in his clutches. It was questionable as to whether his next pass would be successful and whilst he didn’t doubt his own abilities, Alistair didn’t doubt the abilities of the Aladren Chasers either. Obviously, it wasn’t as though the first year had just gotten lucky - his whole regaining of the ball had been sheerly through the Alistair Johnson’s super Quidditch skills. But nevertheless he was well aware that the Aladren team still had ultimate control of the game and would not let the younger team get anywhere near their Keeper.
The multiplying sounds of Bludgers against bats had not surpassed Alistair’s notice but he refused to let his play be affected by the horrors of the last match. Having seen Aladren beat Teppalus’s victors and having heard about Aladren’s long Quidditch reign, Alistair had been prepared for things to get much uglier than they had as of yet. So far this game, the first year Crotalus had actually held the Quaffle on more than one occasion, admittedly with unsuccessful results, but now that he was once again holding it he found himself enjoying the match, what with the weather and the better practised players to add to the improvements. Of course, once his team re-lost their current possession of the ball, Alistair would likely become irritated once again but that didn’t matter at this point.
Although Alistair knew that he had a long way to go before reaching the Aladren scoring area and he could not carry the Quaffle probably even half that distance alone without getting beaten up by the two larger Aladren Chasers and a couple of Bludgers but he was desperate not to fail another pass, especially not to that irritatingly good girl. Even so, Alistair knew the risks of leaving it too late to pass so when he glanced back over his shoulder and saw a familiar orange-robed Chaser, he didn’t wait about to chuck back the Quaffle in a reverse pass.
8
<font color='orange'>Ali Johnson, Chaser</font>
It's nothing personal, it's Quidditch.
306
<font color='orange'>Ali Johnson, Chaser</font>
0
5