Aladren Quidditch Try-outs! on Quidditch Pitch

Captain John Umland

March 31, 2017 2:15 PM

Aladren Quidditch Try-outs! by Captain John Umland

There was, John thought wearily, precisely one good thing about the ongoing saga of who, exactly, was going to take the reins of power from him next year, and this one thing was that the way the saga was playing out meant he was reasonably sure he had both Jack and Louis still in place. With the way the year was going so far, John thought he probably needed two assistants, but the fact was that he would have attempted to get them right now even had he felt up to being the very best captain who ever had captained just because he also needed numbers.

You will never know how much I miss you, Clark, he thought as he got the Pitch ready, hoping enough people would show up and that he would not have to aid Jack and Louis in going around twisting arms. For the first time ever, the twenty-four hour limit on the number of things he could do in a day was posing a real problem for him and he was terrible with people anyway. The only strategy he thought he could effectively use to recruit people was to threaten to hit them with his bat if they didn’t show up, and that was the kind of thing that would land him back in the Headmaster’s office. He would have had enough of that for one year even had he had no other problems, and frankly at the moment he did. He was more than half-tempted to tell Jack he was just the captain now because John did not have time for this and was going to go back to being a Beater, but he knew he needed all the resume support he could get now that the University of Calgary was probably not an option for him and would hold out for a while longer for at least some title like Captain Emeritus.

He decided the younger players did not need to know all the drama going on behind the scenes, though, so he had carefully prepared his remarks while gulping down his second pot of tea of the day to get around doing so. He forced a smile as people showed up and reminded himself that he had run a club for several years now and had kept a massive secret from everyone around him for nearly ten years before that. He was not as socially inept as he had always been told he was and could therefore give this speech.

“Afternoon, everyone,” he said, forcing cheer into his voice. “Welcome back, or just welcome – I’m glad you’re all here. I’m John Umland.” He brushed aside a series of fractured thoughts which tried to form as he referred to himself as such despite the falling out with his family, which had given him his surname as a gift – he had not inherited it by right, by blood. Of the five children in their family, only his brother Stephen had done that, and from a less reputable sub-branch of the family than Mom and Dad even so. “I’m glad you’re here.” He’d already said that. “And you should be, too, because I am confident we are going to reclaim the championship this year.” He wasn’t, but he had gathered this was the sort of lie he was obliged by the requirements of his office to tell.

“You should also meet Jack Spencer and Louis Valois, my – sub-captains.” It worked as a phrase, he supposed. “Most of you will see more of them than you do of me, I’m afraid – I’m a Beater and I’ll mostly be working to train our new Seeker, whoever that is, so Jack is in charge of teaching those of you who work with the Quaffle to do that and Louis will do most of the – teaching you not to get hit by a Bludger. Still, if you have a question and I’m the first one you see, you can ask me; if I don’t know, I’ll just tell you where to find them.

“If you could all – it would be good if you introduced yourselves and the positions you want so I – we can all put names to any faces we don’t know. Then everyone get a broom and fly three laps around the Pitch so I can see how you do there.” Later, he’d hit some practice Bludgers at them to see how quick they were to flinch; he was reasonably sure he’d just keep Amelia as the Seeker since he’d already trained her some last year, but if he had a prodigy, he was certainly not going to pass it up.

OOC: Welcome to try-outs! All site posting rules apply. Appointments are made based on writing skill and realism, so making your characters unrealistically talented (Jane the First Year did three perfect Wronski Feints in a row before catching the Snitch while facing in the opposite direction from it and not even turning her head, greatly impressing Captain Umland) is not the way to make them more likely to get the spot they want. Of all the Quidditch players I’ve ever written, the one who I believe earned the most OOC points had perhaps the least IC skill of the lot. Note the position your character wants in either dialogue or narration, and if you have any questions post a note for me on the OOC board or, if we’re there at the same time, catch me in Chatzy as Amelia Layne. Have fun!

16 Captain John Umland Aladren Quidditch Try-outs! 285 Captain John Umland 1 5

Louis Valois

April 07, 2017 2:47 PM

Sorting the confusion [tag Jack (and maybe John)] by Louis Valois

It was odd to see John standing there, giving the captain’s speech. It wasn’t meant in a bad way, but last year Louis had got used to Clark being the captain, and John being his fellow beater, albeit a far more experienced beater, and also the assistant captain. Still, in all the previous years he’d adjusted quickly to having a new captain, and he saw no reason as to why this year would be any different.

His musings were interrupted by hearing John refer to him and Jack as ‘sub-captains’. Aha! So John had talked to Jack, then, and presumably some sort of conclusion had been reached. John’s training plan sounded pretty similar to last year’s, so nothing too new there. And last year’s game had got them to the championship game, even if they hadn’t quite managed to cinch a win.

Louis wasn’t sure if he was meant to introduce himself or not, seeing as John had already vaguely done so, but he figured that it was good to make sure everyone knew that his face was that of Louis Valois, to avoid confusion. Once the introductions were done, he grabbed his broom and flew the three laps around the pitch. Age and experience meant that he was one of the faster fliers, so he decided to use the time before their next task productively.

“Hey Jack,” he said, walking over to stand next to the older boy. “What’s the situation with this sub-captain business? I hope you don’t think I’m trying to usurp you, or anything – I don’t know why Professor Carter nominated me as assistant captain, and I’m happy to step down from any sort of extra role if that’s easiest.”

Part of Louis wanted to be the assistant captain, of course. However, he was happy to wait another year in the interest of fairness. He was pretty much guaranteed to have his turn, anyway, and he didn’t want Jack to be disadvantaged just because the substitute professor had made a mistake. It wasn’t worth it, both for the sake of the team and for the sake of his friendship with Jack.

9 Louis Valois Sorting the confusion [tag Jack (and maybe John)] 314 Louis Valois 0 5

Jack Spencer

April 12, 2017 7:22 AM

Consider it sorted. by Jack Spencer

Jack felt nervous on the pitch this year, and it wasn't because he was nervous about try-outs. He glanced at John, then Louis, wondering if they had spoken about this co-captaincy. Would John choose a favourite? Would he and Louis feel the need to fight at all? Jack scratched his head, hoping this wasn't a terrible mistake. At least, this was the best they could do given their professor's apparent favouritism.

Drama and confusion aside, he hoped loads of first years would join, particularly competent first years who were willing to learn. Aladren had lost to Crotalus last year, but it would be more embarrassing to not even be able to put together a full team.

As he stood there with John and Louis, Jack nodded at the team when he was mentioned. So they were going to be sub-captains. He didn't know if he liked the sound of that when really the Assistant Captain position should have been his, but Jack knew he wasn't going to do anything about it. He liked Louis, and it wasn't his fault that the professor had made a mistake. Maybe it was better this way; then at least if Jack did have to bow out of Quidditch at the very last minute because of his 'condition,' Louis would be more than capable to take over. Not that Jack was ever going to let that happen, of course.

After the introductions and warm-ups, Jack was waiting for his Chasers to finish when Louis approached him. He hadn't spoken to him since finding out about the incident; it hadn't been purposeful, simply a lack of time with Prefect duties and readjusting to academic life. Louis cut straight to the chase and Jack knew he liked Louis for a reason. However, he wasn't going to be the one to tell him to step down even if sharing the position of sub-captain hurt his pride a little.

"I don't know what happened with assistant captain," he said, swallowing his bitterness temporarily, "but I'm not opposed to sharing this sub-captain position with you. I have a hunch John made up the term on the spot." He grinned to show he was teasing. "He and I talked about it, and I'm OK with sharing it with you. It might be better for the team, having the three of us in charge of our respective groups. All that matters is that we win this year." That last sentence he fully believed, and Jack stuck out his hand with a smile. "Looking forward to working with you, Valois," he said. "And I didn't get to say this earlier, but congrats on making Prefect."

It felt good being gracious about this entire thing, and he hoped his friendship with John and Louis would only grow closer as they worked together.

40 Jack Spencer Consider it sorted. 299 Jack Spencer 0 5