The Watchers Quidditch Spectator Thread

Finally, Eldridge seemed to let go of his initial idea that Carolyn and Henry were a couple. The young witch didn’t even think about that before. She was simply enjoying a good conversation. She had hard time making friends, how would anyone find her charming enough to actually like LIKE her? Nonsense, she shook her head, glad Henry was willing to be her friend. “Yes, really. Strong and confident,” she confirmed her previous comment about Eldridge’s voice. Clearly relieved the previous topic was dropped.

She was about to sketch some more when the Scottish boy decided to act on her suggestion. Carolyn nearly dropped her pencil in surprise. Truly, a perfect voice for cheering. She smiled somewhat amused. "C'mon! What are you two snoozers waiting for? We have to cheer them on!" This caught her of guard. She definitely wasn’t cut out for such activity, Henry looked a bit thorn though. “I…thank you. I think you are pretty cool too,” she answered a bit shyly. Nobody ever called her cool before. “Well, in that case you should definitely cheer little,” she encouraged her friend afterwards. Carolyn truly admired his courage. Should I try too? Her brain immediately started considering her options. Usually, she was anything but loud and she had zero experience with cheering. It felt incredibly unnatural to her. Still, she promised Aaron, she would be there to support the team.

Fidgeting nervously she took a deep breath. Others could do it; surely it wouldn’t be that hard? “Go BADGERS! Teamwork makes the dream work!” She called out hesitantly. Compared to the boys it was truly pathetic effort and it just sounded so strange coming from her. Awkward. Carolyn couldn’t help but laugh at herself. “Okay, bad idea…I’m not doing that again.” The witch shook her head. She had plenty of embarrassment for one day.

Mentioning @Anastasia Beckett as Alexei (as well as Ana) and @Rose Moon

Closed for Interactions for now, except for Alexei + @Rafael D'Spacito

Dear Mum and Dad,

I was wondering if you could do a favor for me. Could you stop by Beckett Manor? I am worried about Anastasia.

Eyre purposefully sat away from everyone near the top of the bleachers so that he could draft his letter, propping his paper and quill up on his lap. His hand was trembling around his writing utensil, and even though it was cooling off, he still felt sweat on his brow. He'd been trying to finish this letter, but it had resulted in him crumpling up several pieces of paper along the way and nearly breaking the tip of the quill with his fervosity. His friend was probably in trouble, and he could feel it. He just wanted her to be okay, and he hoped to god that his parents would actually read the letter and do something about it. Maybe I should write to Annalisa, instead...

He took a break, sighing and glancing down to see Rose talking with Alexei. His hand went from trembling and into a tight vice grip, his heart pounding in his ears. He hated that guy more than anyone he's ever hated before, and to see him talking to a sweet girl like Rose made him a little sick to his stomach.

Eyre resolved to keep an eye on the two. Once he left, he could sit by her and actually enjoy the game, maybe even let her know that Alexei was bad news. But... for now, the letter had his complete attention.

Outfit + Bag:

Reducio

Interacting With: @Paisley Bellweather
Mentions: @Adonis Thorn & @Katrina Walker

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Pay attention to the details of life - every sunrise, every sunset, and everything in between - or it will be gone before you even realize what you had

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Marshal couldn't believe it- he was actually here, about to watch an actual, live quidditch match. Before now, he had only had books and his own imagination to keep himself occupied on the matter of the sport, but now he could finally see an actual match being played, in person. By all logical means, he was excited on an irrational level, but how could he not be? The game itself was decidedly, irrationally exciting!
Upon stepping into the stadium, he had been blown away by the sheer size of the place. Thousands upon thousands of people could be seated comfortably here. And while the seats weren't filled today, there were still plenty of onlookers to cheer on their respective teams.

As he followed a group of Hogwarts students to the seating section that they had been assigned to, he heard an amplified announcement that the game was beginning, and stopped in his tracks.
Turning to face the pitch down below, he saw people flying - actually flying - around the area on brooms. A ridiculous grin spread across his face, and he couldn't hold back a laugh in a mixture of delight and amusement.
Not long before now, the idea that he might see a sight like this in his lifetime had been absolutely absurd. It was as if he had stepped right into a scene from a movie. Glancing around the stadium, he took in the crowd, the noise almost deafening as so many different individuals added their voices to one powerful, indecipherable sound. Bringing his attention back to the ongoing game, he shook his head. It certainly seemed like a dream, an out of body experience, even. He felt a bit numb; but in such a good way.

He became enamored with the action below him for a few minutes before his brain caught up to the situation, and he realized that he had been left behind by the group from Hogwarts. Casting his eyes in the direction they had been heading, he spotted them taking their seats not far away. Thankfully, they had been very close to their destination before his attention had been hopelessly stolen by the sport that he had wanted to watch for so long.
Throwing one finger into the air, as if telling the others to wait for him, he hurried towards them.
Once he reached the area, he began looking for someone to sit by. With a quick scan of the group, he spotted a cluster of kids who appeared to be friends. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to butt in on their conversation; after all, he had plenty to add.
Eyes set on them, he stepped into the aisle and hustled their way, hoping to get the introductions done quickly so that he could turn his attention back to the game.
Evidently, he had developed a case of tunnel vision, for he didn't even see the girl sitting on her own before his foot rather unfortunately met hers, sending his unsuspecting self tumbling face-first to the ground, his dreadfully placed elbow smacking loudly into the bench as he fell.
For a minute, he merely lay there limp, as though he were dead. His nose and forehead ached from their meeting with the hard floor. He hadn't yelled, or even cursed, when he had tripped, and said nothing now; just lay there.
He heard laughter from nearby, some of it muffled as people tried to hide their pleasure at his expense, while others carried on in unashamed mirth.
Finally, he placed his hands on the ground and pushed himself up, jumping quickly to his feet. He shot a cheesy smile at a girl and a boy a bit further down the row. For all they knew, he had enjoyed the spectacle more than anyone else. He then whipped around to face the owner of the foot that had been the catalyst to his humiliation, and saw a girl with olive skin, brown hair and light brown eyes. He only took a moment to note that she was attractive before launching into an apology.
"I am so sorry!" he exclaimed. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking, and I didn't even see you there. Apparently I'm blind." He sat down on the bench beside, glancing at her foot with real concern. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"
His arm still throbbed and tingled from whacking the bench with his funny bone, and he would probably have a bruise on his head forehead the next day, but he didn't care. Right now, he just needed to make sure he hadn't harmed this girl in any way.

@Marshal Mozor

With a whistle, the game began and Paisley settled into her seat, taking another swig of her soda. She took a moment to try and remind herself of the mechanisms of Quidditch, the who did whats and wheres. Beaters basically tried to kill everyone, if memory served, Chasers were like racing hounds going after poultry (aka the Quaffle) and Keepers were flying goalies. Then, of course, there were the Seekers, the eagle eyes of the group. How they managed to see the teeny tiny little ball of gold she would never understand, and honestly it was the one position that she actually had respect for.

She could see movement in the corner of her gaze, a person coming down her row to find a seat. The Bellweather shifted to try and make room for them, but as she moved she felt their feet connect. In a split second the golden haired boy had fallen flat on his face and, to make matters worse, he wasn’t moving. God, had he actually managed to get knocked out? This wasn’t really either of their faults, so she didn’t feel guilty, but she wasn’t enjoying the attention it had caused.

Her hand reached out, about to tap him to see if he was conscious, when he planted his hands on the ground and pushed himself up himself. Well, that seemed to solve itself then. He burst into apologies, blaming it entirely on himself and asking vehemently if she were hurt. Her brows rose. The boy seemed a little high strung, but that wasn’t abnormal as she’d seen from the other kids who had joined the summer camp. He plopped down next to her, seeming to look her over like he’d beat her instead of simply tripping on her foot.

“I’m fine, no need to make a scene about it. Probably better you look after yourself, you’re going to feel that little fall tomorrow,” she said, turning her attention from the boy back to the action in front of her. Looked like both teams had managed to get 10 points.

@Opeila Seilun @Erin Ryan

“Oh, shut up will ya!” Howard waved off Erin’s comments with a wave of his hand. Some nonsense about wanting everything warm. Simple thoughts for a simple girl, but he couldn’t help but to grin. For the most part, Erin and Howard’s history has been one of arguments and violence, but ever since the end of the year is had settled into...a friendly rivalry? He didn’t really know what to call it. They just always seemed to find themselves in one another’s presence. Comfort in familiarity was perhaps the best way to put it.

“I don’t care either Erin, but I at least know the reason for attending the events that I do.” Howard continued to tease as the little girl squirmed. With a flick of a coin and a tug of the cuff, the boy would be up and the seat would be freed. “Hmph. Yeah, she doesn’t look very comfortable.” He would poke fun at Opeila too as Erin moved over a seat. Service rendered, time for payment. Howard held out the beer for it to be cooled with magic. Ice and a cooler would have done just fine, but ya know...the magical community usually shied away from simple and effective tools.

“Nah, she’ll do it better.” Howard denied Erin’s advice for the snow flake spell. It wasn’t that he couldn’t do it. He used to be an adept caster, but ever since his transformation all his spells seemed to lack the punch they used to carry. “Yeah, I’m serious. C’mon, do it.” He urged Opeila to cast the spell as he the bottle in front of her. With a swish of her wand, the little girl would cast. A flash of light and the area before them would fill with a tiny cloud, specks of snow falling from it. “Sweet! Nice one mate.” Howard clapped Opeila on the back as he shoved the bottle into the cloud. Shouldn’t take too long to cool. (OOC: I’m just guessing on the effects of the spell. ??)

The blast of a whistle or an amplified voice would mark the beginning of the match. “Hey! They’re off!” Howard shouted as he pointed to the air.

Closed to Professor Interactions Only | Interacting with: @Caradoc Browne
Mentions: Hufflepuff Quidditch Players.

A seemingly completely innocent smile crossed her lips in response to all of the silent looks of judgement he was giving her. It was kind of rather amusing, if nothing else. Revenge for all of the times - and was there so many of them - that he smirked at her smugly. Running her fingers through her hair and carefully tucking a little to the side, "So... what do you think?" She asked after a moment or two, of receiving his silent but very judgey look. She thought it looked pretty cute, at the very least! There was even a badger! It was basically a Hufflepuff varsity jacket without being overly bright.

Hjørdis sighed softly as she turned to look at the faces of the badgers. They had all signed up knowingly. None of them got here without knowing how violent this game really was. They were prepared. She could not fathom why they wanted to play it, of course, but they made that choice knowingly. Despite the risks, there was excitement on their expressions. Watching them get hurt was certainly not an experience anyone want to sit through. Well, at least not her. She understood it... "But look how happy they are..." She whispered softly, "For some of them... this is their dream. Representing Hogwarts in an International Tournament... Being here right now, in this venue... It's a milestone..." If there was one thing the Head of Slytherin understood, it was the concept of goals, ambitions and dreams. Seeing students following their ambitions was a beautiful thing, even if she did not care for the sport herself.

Settling into her seat, she sipped on the drink as she listened. Her eyes flickered to spot the Hufflepuff student that was being mentioned. She recognised a few of them, of course but there were a few unfamiliar faces and names brought up. He waved his hand, as though he knew she was about to make some sort of sassy comment. She was.

The captain duo were in an interesting position. One took to the skies whilst the co-captain strategised from the benches. They got two completely different views of the game. Though, it seemed that Jones was actually playing now. The flying footballers, otherwise known as chasers, were in charge of scoring. Of the trio playing at the moment, she only really knew Morgan and Jones. The other was a mystery to her. She wanted to interject Caradoc's speech and point that out that she was fairly sure Jones was not playing as a reserve in this game - given he was in the sky, and not at the bench with the others. However, he was having so much fun rambling on that she just shut up and listened.

They moved on to the goalies. She sighed a little as Anderson's name came up. She knew the Keeper - but it was not because of the cake. It was because she had to listen to the younger girl's fears. What if they cheated, what if she got hurt, what if she fell? For the keeper's sake, Hjørdis silently wished none of those things happened. But as Caradoc pointed out, this was a murder game. Anything could happen. Her sigh was quickly replaced by a quirk of an eyebrow and a look as the man continued to speak, intentionally throwing something in her face that made her want to wipe the stupid smirk right off his.

Recognising all of the beaters, she nodded. Healy was certainly strong. Hell, she would have put money on him besting her fellow head of house in an arm wrestle over a year ago. Now? He seemed to only have gotten stronger. Anyone on the receiving end of his bludger would not enjoy that experience, that was for sure. Nicholson had been the captain of the team during the game that Hjørdis did watch - where she had been a driving force into helping the team win. With her experience, there was no doubt that the smaller beater could handle any bludgers coming her way. And Kovacs? Kovacs... Oh she knew how he enjoyed a good display of strength.

The death position, otherwise known as the seekers, were two of the people she did not really know. It was the concept of either of the small seekers getting hit by a bludger or cheaters that was rather worrying. This was true for any student out there. But the fact that the two in the most targeted position was so small...? That was even more concerning. At least if it were someone like Healy, he could probably take a bludger to the chest without it crushing his ribs. It might knock the wind out of him but he would survive.

With any luck... the game would end soon and no one would get hurt. Perhaps that was too much to hope but she hoped for it anyway. A smirk crossed her face, replacing the blank look she had whilst she was listening, as she turned to spot the expression on his, "Hm... After that speech? I guess so, sure, why not? Consider it yours," She replied back - intentionally speaking slowly as though she was considering not giving it to him - as she handed the drink to him, trying hard not to laugh despite the fact that she very much desired to.

"Oh, it's starting," She reacted, turning her attention to the game as she heard the whistle signifying the start. Within moments, everyone went for the quaffle, including the one that Caradoc had pointed out to be the seeker. Both teams of students zipped around the pitch quickly, each seemingly working on their own tasks. It was chaotic and kind of a mess but... there had to be some sort of strategy involved. Though she did notice a lot more of the Hogwarts team going for the quaffle than the opposing team. One of the Hogwarts team had the quaffle - wait... the seeker? Hjørdis blinked as she turned to the Durmstrang hoops... that were unguarded? What was going on in this game? Wait, did that mean Hogwarts had a chance of scoring? For someone who had very little experience with the game, this seemed to be chaotic and definitely not what she was just told. The seeker was now attempting to score and the opposing keeper was not at the hoops?!

Outfit of the Day [1] [2] [3]

Closed to Interactions Except the Following: @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood @Calanthe Choi @Flash Holmwood @Bridget Collins

Hexcode= #3c78d8

No sooner had Calanthe asked "Has it started yet? I can’t tell.” than the announcer's voice was heard throughout the stadium. "Welcome to the Championship Game between Hogwarts and Durmstrang--" Swiftly, the mage hopped up from his seat and leaned against the railing to watch the action. Wizard's zipped about the pitch catching quaffles, and attempting to blatch one another. It seemed like the seekers hadn't found the snitch, so this game might go on for a little while still.

"So it begins," the whimsical wizard whispered just beneath his bated breath. Putting the binoculars back to his peeping eyes, Syl's own tunnel vision extended to the pitch as his elbows propped his slender frame against the railing. Sylvain's attention was momentarily, but wholey, consumed by Willow as the fretful scholar became paranoid that his friend might suffer an injury or worse. Perplexed, the observer looked on in frustration as Durmstrang managed to scored a goal against the determined Hufflepuff team, no, against the Hogwarts team. "Awww shoot," he whimpered, loosing a cry of anguish followed closely by a sigh of exasperation. Having been disappointed within the first moments of the game, he decided not to pay too much attention to Willow lest he give her some form of performance anxiety. The lad turned back to the students surrounding him.

Handing the binoculars back to Flash, Sylvain sat back down in his spot between Cala and his quiet companion. Eyeing the chocolate bar Bridget had taken a chunk of and that Flash had so thoughtfully brought to share, Sylvain produced the idea to retrieve something of his own worth sharing with the four. Exhuming a bag of jelly beans from their temporary grave in his satchel, Sylvain volunteered a hand full of Bertie Bott's for all of them to share. "Here," he said placing the hand filled with treats near the center of the group. "Bridget, Flash. Try a couple" He moved his hand back over to Calanthe and Aida, "Here, you should both try one or two."

Sylvain was abnormally happy to share his treats as the mystery of Bott's beans was one he lost interest in almost a week ago when he'd tried one flavored like an earthworm. As much as Sylvain liked earthworms, they didn't make delightfully flavored candies. The beans in his hand had sat in his bag since then, awaiting whatever fate he determined them useful for. "I tried most of the flavors already, but I'm curious what you'll each get." Whatever beans were left got either dumped back into the bag and stow away, or share with those who would take them.

Having spilled the beans, Sylvain relaxed by putting his feet up on the bench. Sylvain then elected to sit with his legs crossed in the bleachers, in a sort of pretzel fashion. Distractedly, the lad's eyes would switch back and forth from the game to his section where the gathering had started. Watching closely to how Willow was doing, while hoping to catch the reactions of any who ate his bad beans he shot up again as Willow prevented Durmstrang from scoring a second time. Fists balled up and extending into the air, an atypical excitement would surge through him as he felt pride for his friend. "HUZZAAAAH WILLOOOOOW!!!" Something about seeing his friend succeed had filled him with an unusual vibrancy.

Flash was used to being told to drop the ‘miss’ by now, though he had never been told to use ‘sir’ instead. Perhaps if he knew her better he might have been able to detect any hint at all of sarcasm or humor, but since he didn’t know her nor this Dealla Prince, he would take her for her word completely. He wouldn’t dream of calling someone by anything other than what they wanted to be called by. Poor Syl could attest to his own embarrassing outburst at being addressed incorrectly.

”Sir Aida.” He simply corrected himself right away.

From there, Sir Aida vacated her seat for the blustering Calanthe, as she introduced herself. Aida was watching the field carefully, a snitch necklace around her throat. Though she hadn’t said much, her actions spoke loudly, she must have had vested interest in the game and what would happen. Zaza at her side seemed as content as she professed her to be in the big stadium.

Calanthe, however, didn’t seem hardly comfortable at all. She flipped through the pages of Syl’s manual as though it were written in a foreign language. Syl tried to translate, but it seemed lost on her. Flash wondered what her intention was for coming to watch anyway, though the possibilities weren’t very vast. She was probably just looking for fun. Company. He would have to make sure she felt welcomed.

”You know, sometimes it’s more fun to watch the crowd than the game.” He offered the thought to Calanthe, smiling at her with practiced poise. A smile like he had known her all his life. ”I’m sure you’ll find a way to enjoy it.”

After Bridget had accepted the chocolate and listened to the answers to her question, she offered a piece back to Flash. He was admittedly surprised, having to do a double take when he saw the brown square perched in her fingers as an offering. He was still getting to know her, still didn’t have every piece to the puzzle. Generous, fair… sweet. Even though Flash didn’t like sweets, he took the chocolate with a smile. A little bit too much sugar was alright every once in a while, the excessive sweetness wasn’t completely unbearable.

Before they could talk more, the game began. Syl excited used the binoculars for their intended purpose, clearly watching their mutual friend like a hawk. Flash was watching her too, though Syl’s animated excitement worked as an excellent play-by-play. The whole crowd moved and reacted to each grand action, as the drama of sport unfolded before them. Undulating like a single breathing creature, the crowd screamed and cheered as the players started soaring into action.

There was already a clear difference for anyone who knew the rules to the game-- the Hufflepuffs had the idea to let the seeker go for the Quaffle, while Durmstrang let down almost all of its defenses to try to take the seeker out as quickly as possible. Both sides had legitimately good tactics planned, Flash’s attention was certainly grabbed.

Hufflepuff seemed to be doing exceptionally well rolling with the punches, as two burly children tried to blatch the poor seeker and failed. Two members of the team would be out for the next round, which was a pretty big loss since they hadn’t succeeded. Cheaters never prosper, they say. That wasn’t true though, the seeker was just too small and nimble for them to catch. They underestimated her, and instead she scored a goal on their vacated goalpost. She was quite a talented player. He would be rooting for her.

There was at least one player on the Durmstrang team who was also doing quite well. The only chaser that they had left to do the quaffle grab. Apparently their faith in her was well earned, because her ability to snatch it was nearly unparalleled. Seeing the single red dot rise victorious over a veritable sea of yellow was quite inspiring. Still, the Hufflepuff’s seeker had barely pulled ahead of her at least once. Her snitch-grabbing skills must have given her the extra edge.

On Willow’s end, she was face-to-face with Durmstrang’s one-man-army. The chaser got one of her goals past her, but Willow had managed to block the second attempt. Flash’s fists bunched when the Quaffle was grabbed, an intense excitement barely able to be contained. Joy. Willow was quite a talented player as well, no doubt for how much she cared about being helpful to her team.

With that, it was a tie. Durmstrang seemed to be in a worse position, but it was too early to say for sure how things would go. The Durmstrang seeker was flying around so quickly he couldn’t tell whether he was onto something or not, especially without his--

Once the goal had been blocked, Syl offered the binoculars back to Flash. How serendipitous. Taking them up to his eyes right away, he looked closely at the albino seeker. No, he was still clearly scanning around, it was unmistakable.

”No one has seen the snitch yet.” He said aloud to anyone who was paying attention.

He knew at least Sir Aida was, she was rapt. It seemed only right to hand the binoculars over to her. ”Here, do you want to look?”

After passing off the binoculars, Syl went in his things, unearthing his own sweet treat. It was a popular one among children their age, the jelly bean russian roulette. They had a game-like quality, in that there was a certain chance that it would be a revolting flavor. Not really a risk Flash would want to take, honestly. He already didn’t want to taste the good flavors, let alone the bad ones.

Perhaps out of a sense of peer pressure, or just the atmosphere of being in a stadium with thousands of cheering people, but he thought that it would be fun, actually. He could see the appeal when he was surrounded by people who might be interested to see his reaction. Maybe it would also help Calanthe relax. Since it was out in the open and offered, he decided to take the first plunge, putting his hand in and popping the mystery bean into his mouth without even studying the color. No reason to delay once he had made up his mind.

Ah… sure. It was not a hard one to decipher.

”Grass. Not bad, honestly.” After having his mouth coated in the all-encompassing sugar shock of chocolate, the grass was almost strangely refreshing. He wasn’t about to question it, he was lucky. He laughed a bit to himself, though he was looking at Syl.

He hoped his leap of faith might inspire a few of the others to take Syl’s benefactions themselves.

Interacting with: @Sylvain Indarys @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood @Calanthe Choi @Bridget Collins
Mentioning: @Willow Anderson @Serena Towers @Evelynn Decipio (Greta Fransson)

Closed to further interaction

Previous posts: Sitting with Syl, Meeting the Watchers
Outfit:

Reducio