Closed Summer Camp '23 Unofficial Spin the Bottle Beans! - Group 1

Outfit:

Reducio

Couldnt find a decent picture after 3 minutes of looking, but Dan is wearing black shorts. Am currently too busy/lazy to look right now, Sorries.

Action: Allowing Ginyami to kiss his hand like the barefooted prince he is

Interacting with @Opeila Winters, Mentioning @Aaron Jones & @Hanako Tone

Summer had arrived, and with it came weather that Akari was not particularly fond of. She rather enjoyed the air having a little bite to it if she was being totally honest. It was simply more likeable in her opinion. Though luckily it was more manageable here than it was back home in London, she still missed she chilly days of the winter months.

Initially Akari had not been planning to attend summer camp at Hogwarts this time around, but she rather enthusiastically had a sudden change of heart. After her particularly enjoyable June, there was a certain someone stuck on her mind. She did not necessarily ask him if he was going to be coming to camp this year because she needed to play it cool of course, but she figured there was indeed a possibility.

So here she was, spending her summer break at school, and ironically enough participating in the very same game that had sparked her latest distraction to begin with. Considering it had went smashingly well for her the last time, she decided that she might as well force herself to play again. Not that she really wanted to kiss anyone at the moment other than…

So with a subtle sigh and an internal groan at herself, Akari agreed to join the game of spin the bottle. She recognized a few familiar faces, like Hanako, whom she was sure still despised her from the small little ambush she had staged with Kazuo so long ago. Oof, that might be awkward.

As the game began Akari bit her lip nervously, wondering when and with whom the bottle would decide to pair her up with. She was not kept in the dark for long however, as her turn came quickly, and the bottle coincidentally chose to land on the only other girl in the group. Slightly relieved, Akari smiled back shyly at girl and offered up her hand without hesitation. ”Pleasure, I’m Akari She giggled quietly before she continued ”And I don’t mind at all”

┏		┓
	The game had begun! What a game it was going to turn out to be! The first pair, Ginyami and Dan, happened to be the first couple to succeed in obtaining 3 good beans. Ginyami would raise Dan's hand to his lips and place a soft kiss on the skin and Dan would graciously accept the action. He even introduced himself to Ginyami afterward. What a gentleman! Quite nice. The second pair, Valentin and Tristan couldn't continue this trend though as Valentin seemed to freak out a little. He tried to get up and rush off but accidentally made the bottle spin with his foot. Since he'd already 'spun', he needed to remain and see things through to the end as everyone had expectations of him now. Therefore, as his gaze came to rest on his partner, words came spilling out of his mouth. Words that seemed chaotic by nature. He seemed to have forgotten that a 'kiss' did not have to mean on the lips. It could be anywhere as long as your lips touched your partner's skin somewhere. Valentin then expressed surprise at seeing someone called Misha, saw his partner and then abruptly went to hide behind Mikael. Poor Tristan was left on his own but didn't seem to be too bothered by this and suggested a hug to comfort him. Thus, sealing their fate as both having retreated. As a result, they would only be eligible for 1 potential good bean. When the rolls were done, the end result was that Valentin obtained 1 bad bean (Bad Bean: 1-5 vs Good Bean: 6-10 = Valentin's roll was 4) and Tristan obtained 1 good bean (Bad Bean: 1-5 vs Good Bean: 6-10 = Tristan's roll was 8). It seemed as if Valentin's luck was not with him today, at least this round. The third pair, Mikael and Hanako ended up following suit with the second pair. Mikael stood up only to blank out and freeze in place. So, Tone supposed he could be considered to have retreated. On the other hand, Hanako seemed to want to try and convince his partner to kiss. But despite his efforts to gain Mikael's attention and to sway him into actually doing something to him, he failed to achieve this. Thus, resulting in failure. Both of them were considered to have retreated from their turn. When the rolls were done, the end result was that Mikael obtained 1 bad bean (Bad Bean: 1-5 vs Good Bean: 6-10 = Mikael's roll was 5) and Hanako obtained 1 bad bean (Bad Bean: 1-5 vs Good Bean: 6-10 = Hanako's roll was 2). It seemed as if bad luck was being given to lots of people during this first round. The fourth pair, Romeo and Cyrus ended up breaking this losing streak by becoming the second couple to succeed in obtaining 3 good beans. But this was only because Tone couldn't see too well from his current vantage point. It appeared to him as if Romeo had leaned forward to give Cyrus's cheeks a quick peck. Romeo's lips had hovered just above the skin but it was so close it definitely looked as if he'd made contact from Tone's watchful eyes. The fifth pair, Opeila and Akari were the final pair of the round and both happened to be girls this time. The only two girls in the game actually, so it was kind of amusing they'd ended up with eachother! Opeila would offer a kiss on the hand and Akari would accept it with a giggle. Thus, they became the third and final couple to obtain 3 good beans. The first round ended. But more was yet to come, along with the arrival of two new participants to the game, Jorah Moussa and Aly Salinger, who had found the game late. The bottle started to spin again.
┗		┛

As the bottle spun and many people began delivering their own varieties of kisses, Valentin became acutely aware that kissing did not mean the same to others here as it did for him. Being a Turk, Valentin was all too familiar with platonic varieties of kissing, similar to Romeo’s bacetto, but the seeker just couldn’t see it the same way even if it was a part of his own native culture. To spin the bottle at all meant to consider, to consider them all, committing one’s heart to being available. Wasn’t Valentin available, though? Why should every twist of the glass riddle him with such agony, as if ice spikes emerged from his joints whenever one person approached another?

“Are you alright? You don’t have to be afraid,” broached the gentle Tristan as Valentin curled away in abject terror. “Of course we can just play quidditch. A kiss is not necessary for friendship. Would you be alright with a hug? You seem to be shaking and I’d like to comfort you? You’re from Durmstrang correct? What language do you speak? I like trying to speak in other languages and have learned many. Would it be more comfortable in your mother tongue? German, or Russian?”

“Sss… sssss…. Ssa…. Ahhh… ahh...” The fearless champion buried his face into Mikael’s arm, indeed beginning to shake. The problem inside he had been suppressing, a buried memory, a truth not even he was daring enough to let himself see… it all began crawling up through Valentin’s skin in copious beads of sweat. He felt like he was going to die. Skin flushed as if in the height of fever, a wave of lightheadedness clobbered him hard enough to sink him down low onto the floor. Yes, it could all be friendly, just a hug even, but it would not resolve Valya’s fundamental crisis. How much more casual and quaint could a scene be than a childish game of spin the bottle during summer camp? Yet, for as relaxed as others seemed to be taking the simple challenge, the scene was simply Valentin’s worst nightmare. Of course he wanted to play games with the others here. He wanted to be kind and respond to the clearly caring and considerate quidditch Slytherin. Every natural instinct he had to chase such thrills and dance on the edge of oblivion beckoned for him to participate, or even eke out a humble “thank you.” Yet, for as much as Valentin was a creature madly craving physical contact in massive quantities, the boy now trembled for fear of the most platonic gesture.

Tristan was right, of course, about friendly interactions. He was right in many ways: Valentin was from Durmstrang, and they could communicate in any number of languages at this particular moment. There was only one that would truly get him to crawl back out from hiding, however, and it was not the Queen’s English. Until that moment, the blonde’s polite efforts would only receive panicked mumbles in response, for Valentin had seen a flash of his buried memory in Tristan’s face. If he so much as looked back at him, Val would no longer be able to hide the truth from himself again.

Valentin would, however, spare side glances to watch the proceedings of the game, although no longer did he look anyone in the eye. Romeo’s bacetto, lined with submerged defensive fury, dropped beyond Val’s willingness to intervene. The captain also continued listening as Ginyami approached the rival seeker in the room, momentarily holding his breath as the Mahoutokoro boy’s words began to sink into Valentin’s adrenaline-shocked brain.

"Please pardon my delay; I was caught off-guard and stunned by your magnificence,"

Ginyami was really buttering him up, concluded Valya, beginning to feel sick. Unable to hold back, the white seeker of Durmstrang eyed the suave kiss Ginyami laid to the barefoot seeker’s hand. As the beautiful black eyes of the Japanese fox remained locked onto Dan’s the entire time, Valentin’s hand rose to his mouth. A violent shudder sent Val curling up into a ball to keep himself from losing what little lunch he’d had. This was not what he’d expected to see from Ginyami. Was there nothing lingering between them? No, for the charming fox to lay it on so thick right in front of Val’s keen eyes must mean that he meant nothing to Ginyami anymore, or maybe he'd never meant anything to him... or so he concluded. Valentin wondered, feeling used and discarded, “is this a game of collect all the seekers?”

The way the other Japanese-looking boy, Hanako, approached Mikael only turned Valentin’s feelings of sickness sharp like daggers in his belly. While Hanako’s slick attempts to coax Mikael into kissing went unreciprocated by the void-eyed Durmstrang oozing a terrible presence, he would certainly get a response from Valentin.

“Ssstay away from him. Keep your charms away from Mikael or you will find yourself in more trouble than you bargained for.”

The dark tone of Valentin’s voice could have sent a shocked shiver down the spine of anyone who knew him. The sweet, innocent albino who seemed to love everyone at all times no matter what they did… his voice bit with chill like a bullet of ice fired from deep space.

“Do not approach Mikael again.”

For as lighthearted a children’s game as this was intended to be, Valentin had begun imploding as severely as a dark star.

Sure, Val is in crisis, but please have fun! If someone wants to speak in parseltongue, that would be extra fun for me. Maybe for Val, who knows.

Abilities: Keen Eye / Charmer / Evasive Maneuvers / Fearless / Comprehend Parseltongue
Stats: STA 8 - EVA 20 - STR 3 - WIS 15 [17] - ARC 1 - ACC 15

Mentioning: @Dan Palmer, @Piérre Marchonné, @Jack Burnett

Interacting with: @Percival Rainwood, @Hanako Tone, @Tristan Theramin

Action: Waiting for Hanako’s action

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Outfit/Physical Characteristics Reducio Red Turtleneck, with fashionable black pants as seen in photo above. Blonde Hair Hazel/Blue Eyes 164 cm	Languages English Parseltongue French Hebrew Spanish German Russian Thoughts	Age 15
Mentioning/ Interacting @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood as Valentin @Jack Burnett as Ginyami	Location Summer Camp	IC Date July 17th

Spin the Bottle

Valentine was childlike and Tristan could not help but feel for the young man. He was less a young man and behaved as a young child however. Such fear seemed to fill his partner with the bottle’s spin, such fear that Tristan himself had never seen in a person before at such a game. It was strangely causing Tristan to be more gentle than he had ever been before, as he was a young man with cold sensibilities, fire and ice, rather than the parent-like demeanor he displayed in this moment. It would be something Edward would have appreciated. Tristan squatted gently down so that he was at the same level as Valentin, who now was tightly wrapped around another young man, whose name was supposedly Mikael. Tristan was worried for the other as he began to try to speak but only could produce stuttering and broken speech. Tristan could not help but comfort him and say softly, “Ah my dear, Valentin, I am sorry that you are feeling such terror.” At this, Tristan had a sudden spark of inspiration and remembered the teddy bear that gives hugs that he had bought from Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop. It was quite an expensive teddy bear as it was enchanted to give hugs every three hours. He cast a spell quietly with his wand, “Accio Teddy Bear” and the one he bought came flying to him. He grabbed the teddy bear quickly and smiled gently, giving it to Valentin and saying, “I hope this would comfort you a bit. It’s a teddy bear that is enchanted to give hugs every three hours, perhaps you can use it when you’re scared.” But then, surprisingly, at what seemed to be jealousy, Valentine overcame his fear and claimed his territory over Mikael and it was beautiful, like a fire burning hot, burning its way through the hearts of all around him. Tristan smiled and remarked, “You’re better when you are on fire, a cold fire of course, but wonderfully done.” Tristan would soon praise the sudden strength that Valentin had found rather than be fearful of it. It was better than being fearful after all.
However, soon enough, it was Tristan’s turn to spin the bottle once more and he wondered who it would land upon this time. Someone that would accept a kiss, someone who would be afraid, or someone who would begrudgingly accept it. He stepped forward and spun the bottle, and it spun and spun, creating a sense of suspense. It finally stopped upon the young man whom Tristan believed to be Japanese, which suggested that he would most likely be from Mahuotokoro, but he might be mistaken. The young man who the bottle had landed upon had offered a kiss to his counterpart, boldly and directly, thus Tristan deduced that it would be easier for him to have a kiss that was reciprocated or allowed. He decided to offer a kiss on the hand as the chances of a kiss on the cheek or mouth to be accepted this early in the game was quite rare and Tristan wanted to be chaste anyway. He gave a smirk and offered his first words, “Hello, my name is Tristan and I am the heir of the Noble House of Theramin. It is indeed a pleasure to have your acquaintance. Perhaps you shall delight me by offering your name in response?” If allowed, then Tristan would reach out his hand gracefully, lifting the other young man’s hand up to his lips, placing a light gentle kiss upon the beautiful hands, as a Muggle prince would when introducing himself to a princess and then offer a mischievous yet beautiful smile, with a twinkle in his eye.

Action
A Kiss on the Hand

English & Parseltongue

ᴏᴏᴄ ɴᴏᴛᴇ: ʜɪ! ɪ'ᴍ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ꜰᴏʟʟᴏᴡɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴇQᴜᴇɴᴄᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʜᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴘɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴏᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴘᴀʀᴛɪᴄɪᴘᴀɴᴛꜱ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴀʀʀᴀɴɢᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴅ ᴘᴏꜱᴛ. ᴛᴏᴘ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ɢᴏ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ, ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴏ ꜰᴏʀᴛʜ.

No response. Figures. Bet he’s a Dumstrang kid. They always have a way of ruining Hanako’s Spin The Bottle experience. At his total silence, Hanako rolled his eyes, suddenly feeling he was less attractive compared to a few moments ago. Still hot though, but jeez, did he not know how to speak english? That understanding would’ve made Hanako less annoyed at the boy. To his surprise though, he did get a response - from someone else though.

Another pretty boy that seemed rather close to the guy he can now assume is ‘Mikael’. Initially, Hanako’s eyes widened at the strangers' hostility though, though it would only take a moment until he showed a cocky smirk. Who knew the guy who looked like he was ready to dash out of here a moment ago could make a look like that? Which ultimately only intrigued Hanako further, though there was still a lingering sense of irritation at his interference. “Have quite a bit of boldness in you, huh? Never would’ve guessed” he mused with a tinge of tease, keeping a nonchalant smile on his face. “ Oh see, I’m actually rather fond of trouble. Makes my life a bit more exciting, you see. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll remember that. ” he gave the white haired boy a quick wink before leaning away looking rather satisfied. Was he playing with fire? Maybe. Didn’t the white haired boy mention something about playing Quidditch? Oh boy, Hanako had his fair share of angry quidditch players. But it was ultimately a much more amusing exchange than …whatever staring contest he had with Mikael. Perhaps he could de-stress a bit..

Throughout the rest of the game, Hanako behaved somewhat. Though not without purposely lingering his gaze on the white haired boy’s precious Mikael occasionally, hoping it could annoy the white haired pretty boy further. Of course, this was the extent of his mischief. He could somewhat respect it if people told him to back off. But gosh did he have a good time pretending he wouldn’t.

The game continued and Hanako got a bad bean. Thankgodness he wasn’t planning on winning or else he would’ve be rather annoyed right now. Finally, it was his turn. He spun the bottle and watched with a curious gaze, figuring out who had to deal with him next. Seeing who the bottle landed on however, he couldn’t help but give out a faux laugh as he rubbed the side of his temples momentarily with his eyes closed. “ Of all the people it had to be the pretty boy with all bark and no bite “. The hiss of the parseltongue language naturally slipped out of his tongue. If anyone happened to be surprised at the unnerving language, he wouldn’t care. Focused instead on returning his gaze to the pretty boy#2 with another charming grin that didn’t seem genuine in the slightest. “ Well well well ~. You have to admit this is a bit funny, right?” he managed to chuckle lightly.“ Tell you what, since you’re so protective of your boy Mikael there, I’m willing to strike a deal. “ he paused for a moment to build up a sense of anticipation and he leaned in closer to the boy. “ Let me kiss you anywhere, and I’ll promise to keep my charms to myself when it comes to that guy. Or else I can’t guarantee I won’t be anticipating the next time the bottle lands between him and I. What do you say? ” he challenged with a teasing lull to his tone.

Unlike the white haired boy’s partner earlier, Hanako didn’t seem all that interested in helping him feel comfortable. And boy, was he having fun doing it.

ᴘʀᴇᴛᴛʏ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ᴀᴄᴄᴏʀᴅɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀɴᴀ ( ᴜɴᴛɪʟ ʜᴇ ɪꜱ ɢɪᴠᴇɴ ɴᴀᴍᴇꜱ )

Reducio

Mikael Halldorson = Pretty Boy #1 / Mikael
Valentin Schnell = Pretty Boy #2

Action : Offering Valentin a deal: let hana kiss him (anywhere, up to Valentin) and he’ll totally leave Mikael alone[/size]

Interacting :
@Valentin Schnell@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood

Mentioning:

@Mikael Halldorson@Percival Rainwood

Tristan’s words, even if spoken with genuine tenderness, cut to the quick. Valentin’s burning amethyst eye twitched at the corner, and then twitched again. As the blonde pressed a teddy bear towards the champion of Durmstrang, Valentin gritted his teeth at the patronizing attitude. The seeker had studied Tristan, as he studied all quidditch folk, so he knew that he was roughly a year older than the infuriating blonde. Hell-chaser Val wanted to lash out, to yell back at him, but the frost captain bit his lip instead to bury his contempt. After all, Valentin had his school to represent – surely Tristan was of good intentions and did not know how he came across. Eyes turning as hard as diamonds, Valya chose to ignore the gesture, but this anger would contribute to the savageness of his hissing threat at Hanako over Mikael. Even then, however, the Slytherin blonde was not done.

“You’re better when you are on fire, a cold fire of course, but wonderfully done,” evaluated Tristan. Valentin’s hand began to clench and stretch as he demanded of himself to bury his feelings for the sake of preserving the peace and avoid possibly dragging Durmstrang into another turf war. Tristan’s words and actions, however, would not have cut so deep if they were not lined with a gleaming edge of truth – a truth that Valentin was beginning to fail to conceal from himself any longer. It was not a teddy bear that Valya wanted to hold, but a warm, livewire, passionate man with more kindness and purity in his heart than any plush toy.

Valentin could not help wanting to consider the blonde whose superficial resemblance provoked the seeker’s longing. A strain of music began to weave its way through Valya’s mind, as if in a subconscious act of self-soothing, and although it helped quiet himself it also had the meditative effect of sharpening his focus. Soon everything came to him more intensely, the smells in the room, the sound of people’s breathing and swallowing, and the awareness of where everyone was in physical space. Even if Valentin’s higher mind was not ready, the rest of his being was preparing himself.

Tristan went on to make an advance on Ginyami, attempting to lay a gentle kiss upon the fox’s hands, and Valentin’s heart clenched ever colder. I have to let go of Ginyami now, thought Valya. Just like I have to let go of Romeo, who never wanted any of what we had. You saw how Ginyami approached Palmer. We mean nothing to him, probably never did. He was manipulating me just like he is manipulating a new seeker now, just like everyone has been manipulating me. Love doesn’t mean love to people. They’ll drug you and lie to you and shapeshift to appear the way you want them to be, but none of it is true. I’m no better, subjecting others to my hypnosis. This isn’t love, true love. None of this is real. Let me burn all this pretense and posturing to ash. Let me burn it all down.

“Have quite a bit of boldness in you, huh? Never would’ve guessed,” smirked the ethnic Japanese boy who had approached Mikael. “Oh see, I’m actually rather fond of trouble. Makes my life a bit more exciting, you see. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll remember that.” Although Valentin was restraining himself from making eye contact, his keen peripheral vision still spotted the wink that was shot at him. The smallest of smiles curled at one corner of Valya’s lips. ‘Bold, never would have guessed.’ How restraint does so resemble cowardice. I’m not even sure if I could draw a line between them. Still, Hanako backed away from Mikael, allowing Valentin to regain a moment’s composure. The seeker’s eye would not fail to notice whenever Hanako laid eyes on Valentin’s precious voidling, however, but he made no indication of watching. The captain was all too practiced at concealing tells during quidditch with an icy demeanor, and he could feel acutely that Hanako was playing a game. Valentin wanted to play, too, but shut himself up in the shadowy folds of Mikael’s sweater instead. That was, until the bottle spun once again to point at Valentin and a hiss crept across the room.

“Of all the people it had to be the pretty boy with all bark and no bite,” slipped Hanako’s parseltongue. At once Valentin was not only on his feet but at Hanako’s throat, lightning fast.

“Take that back.” Valentin’s amethyst eyes pierced into the points of Hanako’s pupils as if to crawl inside them to explode from within. A strange joy began soaking into the corners of Valya’s face. He wanted this. Finally. Let me have this. I’m tired of restraining myself. Let me go free. Let the colddrake burn this all into oblivion. All these years of self-denial… just let me have it one time. Let me enjoy myself just one time. Spinning a golden ring around his middle finger, Valya thought of Yefim.

“Well well well ~. You have to admit this is a bit funny, right?”chuckled Hanako. “Tell you what, since you’re so protective of your boy Mikael there, I’m willing to strike a deal. Let me kiss you anywhere, and I’ll promise to keep my charms to myself when it comes to that guy.”

“Hostage tactics,” spat Valentin back. “You underestimated me. Now we have to fight. C’mon, let’s fucking go. I’ll take any of you on. All of you. Every fucking one of you. Fight me.”

Reducio

Whirling around to look every single person in the eyes, Valya's hungry grin challenged each one until his blazing purple gaze ended at Tristan, locking on. The fall of his stupid yellow hair brought it all back, and at last Valentin remembered what he wanted. With a hiss but in English clear enough that anyone could understand, Valentin’s words lanced in synchrony with a step towards the other boy.

“Trissstan Theramin. I may be young, but I am a man. I may be a man, but I have feelings, and I won’t shackle them anymore.” The seeker’s delicate white hands balled into fists, and he spun back to address Hanako.

“Take my counter proposal. Fight me, and if you can drop me to the floor faster than I can drop you, then you can kiss me anywhere you like.” Moving the topic off of Mikael was the captain’s strategy. This was how he would protect him, letting the voidling sink back into the shadows forgotten by all but Valya. Yet, Valentin accepted that he was enjoying this. This was what he wanted right now: the pure, unadulterated thrill of freedom.

Abilities: Keen Eye / Charmer / Evasive Maneuvers / Fearless / Comprehend Parseltongue
Stats: STA 8 - EVA 20 - STR 3 - WIS 15 [17] - ARC 1 - ACC 15

Interacting with: @Tristan Theramin @Hanako Tone @Jack Burnett @Percival Rainwood and literally everyone else in the room

Action: Trying to change the conditions of Hanako’s deal

Blanket god mod perms over Val are given to Mikael's and Romeo's players in perpetuity

¤ | Ω | ¤

Nec Temere, Nec Timide. Durmstrang Institute's

Romeo Giovanni Marchonné [6'6.5" | 199lbs]

"English." "Italiano. Italian." "Russian."

| Faint Scar on Left Eye & Mangled Right Ear | \ Fingerless Glove on Right Hand, Bite Scar on Forearm / | Lichtenberg Figure on Right Arm and Down Back |

@Tristan Theramin, @Hanako Tone, Mikael Halldorson & Valentin Schnell
Percival Rainwood & @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood

While my own ‘kiss’ had been uneventful; lacking both romance and tact that reflected my unamusement with the situation that I had been thrust into, it was instead Valentin’s and Mikael’s turns as well as the reactions that their actions provoked, that held my interest and slowly caused the internal rubber band that was holding my heart suspended inside of my chest by all sides to tighten further and further; an elastic band that was testing its limits to the maximum.

Valentin’s words were the first things to cause me to tighten the cross that I had in my arms, my biceps continuing to bulge ever so slightly as my fingers dug into my skin, turning it white with the pressure held there. Beloved Valentin’s voice did not so easily waver without good reason, and when it did there was a threat to be faced that had to be dealt with expediently without delay if his well-being was to remain secure. This was my job. This was my role as his co-captain, as his friend, as someone avowed to defend him ever since he had first fallen from the skies and especially after the events of Germany this last winter. Sewn together closer and closer, Valentin had become just as dear to me as–indeed, perhaps even moreso than–my own dear twin. Yet, even before Valentin rebuked the boy that had been the one to attempt a kiss upon him, I felt in the pit of my stomach a sickening feeling; it was the same one that I had sensed upon Ginyami on more than one occasion, the sense that not everything was entirely unveiled as it should be. The same feeling that I got whenever Piérre spoke to me of a tall tale or whenever he became more and more fantastic in his actions.

It was a performance, a falsity, a lie. The sliminess of the words, the sickening underhanded quips that he directed at Valentin… yet these all faded the moment that the delicate, oily blonde dared to bequeath upon Valentin a stuffed bear. As if somehow being given such a disgusting gift in the light of such a situation in combination with the foul words and the way that he spoke to Valentin was any consolation for his actions or supposed to comfort Valentin in any way, shape or form. ‘Dovrebbe vergognarsi di se stesso, vero, Romeva?’He should be ashamed of himself, shouldn't he, Romeva?

‘Vergogna è troppo debole di una parola per esprimere ciò che dovrebbe sentire.Ashamed is far too weak of a word to express what he should feel.’

‘Quale sarebbe la parola giusta allora, orso del circo? What would be the right word then, circus bear?’

‘... Colpevole. Guilty’ My eyes narrowed as a small haze of red began to blur my peripheries. I tipped my head as I dedicated to memory the features of the cowardly and spineless child that dared to speak to the Hell Chaser. ‘Ma nella sua mente. Questo è il giudizio che gli rivolgo. But in his own mind. This is the judgement that I pass upon him.’ What an interesting way to carry oneself, so confident. Stanced like a god before mortals. As if blameless as a lamb and yet so deserving of laudation that one could never envision something evil befalling them. Not at the pinnacle of their grandeur, not at this moment of their glory fulfilled. ‘Ho giudicato, e l'ho trovato mancante. I have judged, and I have found him wanting.’

‘Vuoi, orso da circo? Come mai? Wanting, circus bear? How so?’

Despite myself, I clenched my jaw as I felt my heart beating twice for a moment. ‘Volendo nei regni di meritare di rimanere come lui è. Una tale malvagità non può restare impunita. Questo lo sai. Wanting in the realms of deserving to stay as he is. Such foulness cannot go unpunished. You know this.’

‘Lo sappiamo. We know this.’

I glanced to Valentin as he began to stammer and take shelter behind Mikael, the quiet boy, the haunted boy for some reason that I did not fully comprehend. When Valentin burst out with directed anger towards another slanted-featured boy my ice blue eyes flicked to his and I tipped my head. I was watching, listening as the humming of amusement rose in both ears, the buzzing of thoughts ringing and rattling about my skull; thoughts so strong that I could hear them tapping on the inside, dancing upon my tongue restrained only by the conscious thoughts that I could feel tamping them down. Chains that continued to tie down in interest of pursuing civil correspondence; chains that bound down the circus bear within the cage, the bear that was ogled at for the amusement of paying crowds. A joke. A total and hilarious joke that it was.

“Cold fire, Tristan Theramin of the noble house of Theramin?” My voice rumbled in the vicinity, seeming to rattle from around me instead of from me and my chest. Like thunder, encroaching and foreboding of the weather and gale force winds to come–winds to tear apart ships and leave their sails in tatters, lightning to burn and ignite dried timbers stained with ancient salt–did my words thunder even for as quietly and calmly as they were spoken. My eyes flicked to his and did not depart from them. Mine carried no amusement, no flicker of wavering doubt or impressionability. “Do not mistake all blue flame for being that of cold fire, lest your bones be reduced to ash when you face a Swedish Short-snout for the first time.” My words contained a snarl to them, as if my lips too could produce the flames of the great Hungarian Horntail. “I disgraziati senza spina dorsale come te girano la coda quando le fiamme diventano troppo calde. Spineless wretches like you turn tail when the flames grow too hot.”

A light hissing came from the boy who had spun the bottle upon Mikael, and in immediate reaction, Valentin was on his feet and spitting fire back in response. Even as words fell from his lips, I too had leapt to my feet, my arms no longer crossed but instead my stance wide and my arms loose yet lifted, hands slightly curled so that my fingers formed ‘bear claws’; just subtle enough to be difficult to recognize for those not familiarized with the delicate art of fisticuffs. My gaze flicked between Tristan and this new aggressor.

‘Sono ovunque, orso da circo. Ti minacciano, minacciano l'Argento. They are everywhere, circus bear. They threaten you, threaten the Silver one.’

My eyes flicked between the two of them, the buzzing drowning out sounds that were not of my own mind. My heartbeat, my thoughts; these remained, the sound of my breathing, the pulse of my blood. Once again, they brushed near to me, as if soft lips were whispering in my ear; it was the wind, breezing by the hair covering my ragged right ear… or was it?

‘Vedi come si fanno beffe? Come ridono? Ridono di te, ti prendono in giro. Insultarti. Buffet si. See how they mock? How they laugh? They laugh at you, they mock you. Insult you. Buffet you.’ It rose to a high-pitched ringing, higher than a human was supposed to be able to hear. ‘Ti fanno credere di essere libero, vero? Un altro dei loro trucchi. Amano i loro trucchi. E ti innamori di loro. Ogni volta senza fallire. They make you believe you are free, don't they? Another of their tricks. They love their tricks. And you fall for them. Every time without fail.’

Flickers of the memory of butterbeer and the screams of my brother whistle past me for a moment. He had paid his price; he had paid his price totally… I had… I had exacted it from him… ‘E ora non sei più solo tu. Danneggiano l'Argento. Ancora. Sei stato manipolato. Ancora. And now it is not just you anymore. They harm the Silver one. Again. You are being manipulated. Again.’ Came the tickling whisper. ‘E lo… prenderai… sdraiato. Ancora. And you will take it… laying… down. Again.’

“TACI! SHUT UP!” I bellowed just as Valentin had issued his challenge–a challenge that I had not heard–and was prepared to fight for his end of the bargain. My hands had trailed to my head during the internal dialogue I had had with myself, and I now slowly brought my hands down, brushing aside the hair that hid the tattered remains of my ear and glared down at the tiny children who dared to believe themselves men. I fixed the dark-haired boy with a withering glare. “You. Silence.” I snarled. “Nobody wants to hear your bullshit.” The singing in both my ears heightened as I exercised my full height of six and a half feet and embraced the jotonn curse that had been bequeathed upon me as I faced these miserable cowards that would turn tail at the slightest hint of danger.

‘Non sanno niente. They know nothing.’

“You. Know. nothing.”

‘Conosci il volto del male? Sei stato così vicino ad esso che hai sentito il suo dolce, inebriante respiro? Hai sentito i dolci nullità che sussurra? Do you know the face of evil? Have you been so close to it that you have smelt its sweet, intoxicating breath? Heard the sweet nothings it whispers?’

My glare turns to Tristan: he is already engaging with another to pawn his fantasies to. “Have you stood against the creatures of darkness? Or, perhaps more likely, you are one who would verily bow to them without complaint.” I hissed. My stare returns unwaveringly back to the dark-haired foreigner again. Ginyami is ultimately no better than he, but it was not with that Mahoutokoro that I had business with.

‘Come dare percepirci come conquiste? Come trofei da sfoggiare e vittorie da conservare come vanità per pettegolezzi e schiavi dei tuoi interessi. How dare you perceive us as conquests. As trophies to be flaunted and victories to be kept as vanities for gossip and slaves to your interests.’

“Valentin is not a trophy for your amusement, for your conquests” My voice is cold once more, refined and relaxed. These were my powers, these were my strengths just as strong as the coiled muscle that maintained pressure beneath weak flesh and stretched that rubber thinner and thinner with every passing moment. “And he does not have to do anything to prove that, including taking up your vile bet…”

‘Vecchio Serpente. Old Serpent’

“... Faustus.” I breathed in the finality of the name invoked.

Straining, creaking, the strainings of the elements that were the only failsafes of my hands (once again having taken the form of their bear claws), stretched to their zenith.

”... kiss you anywhere...”

...the smell and taste of sea salt… of vanilla and sandalwood
an English oak and a clearing of sage and wildflowers… the tail of the comet taken for my own…

There was a snap. None but I could hear it; though I wished I did not know what it was, there was no other explanation and no other reason to it. Were it not this, then nothing else would make sense. Nothing else would be the cause, would be the reason for the reason that halos formed themselves about the crowns of those in this circle with me, lovely and terrible manifestations of marks that denoted who these were when faces, names and memories slipped away from the mind of a man desperate. From a soldier whose only way to determine friend or foe is by the sigil emblazoned upon their shield, the marking upon their armor that defined them and became the only mark of identity that truly mattered within the fogs of war and the clashing weapons screeching against the metal of the shield, the sounds of pain and of triumph mingled into a melodious battle cry meant to inspire brothers to run to their deaths blindly in pursuit of a vision that higher beings commanded them to uphold, of flesh slicing and of bone breaking and fracturing like stone cracking as the bodies split them apart just as much as they are split. Visions of blood and the scarlet mists of glorified war; replaced with magic, replaced with gunpowder, replaced with incincerations and napalm, replaced with iron and nuclear fissions, replaced with the atom, replaced with acids and mustards and lewicites and cyanogens, tabun and soman and sarin.

Halos of gods, of mortals, of devils. One and the same? Or perhaps did one of these believe themselves to be the others? Perhaps there were only two, perhaps these were the ones that warred against the third that were the renegades of their own. Perhaps all were true.

There was no thought, there was no logic, no rationale anymore. No reason not to act, no way to act other than immediately. Because, perhaps there was only one thing that I knew was true and yet was the thing that would be my eternal death knell. Standing beside Valentin, I looked down at the impetuous, adolescent, and infant child. “Valentin’s defense of Mikael is not the thing you should be worrying yourself over, puttaniere. Italian Naughty Word, kids: consider yourself warned and if you look it up you only have yourself to blame for wanting to know the definition. Simply put, it isn’t a nice word.” Ready to react, ready to release the tension within. “Besides that fact, Valentin deserves better than anything you could give him. Your words are skin deep, and when blood begins to seep from your wounds when those words are challenged; you will faint at the sight of it because you have neither fortitude nor integrity to back the promises you made, and no backbone to keep you standing when your glass words shatter and ring hollow against the might of a true threat.”

‘Mio Dio, perdonami per questo; sai il motivo per cui lo faccio. Sai il motivo... ti prego, dimmi perche'... My God, forgive me for this; you know the reason I do this. You know the reason why... please tell me why...’

Stooping down to Valentin by leaning from my shoulders, both my hands gently took Valentin’s face with his cheeks cradled in my palms. Before he could speak or complain, I kissed him on his recurve lips as my brows furrowed. Please… please forgive me. Please, please understand…

Bittersweet, terrible as it was that laid heavily in the bottom of my chest; I couldn’t deny what it was that my brother had tried and failed to do on that day in April. He hadn’t completely failed, he hadn’t been entirely wrong. He had known, but had known in the wrong way. The relationship was shattered, the cat was out of the bag. My heart ached, and I felt my throat close up at the same time as there was a pressure behind my eyes forming the first of the tears of rage. Please… please explain to me why… why… I couldn’t let him go. Explain why I couldn’t let him go, why I couldn’t let these things happen to him because I had to stay with him no matter how much I knew this was wrong; everything I had been taught said that this was wrong, everything that I knew screamed at me that I could not have this. I could not have Valentin, not in the way I knew he wanted me.

But something inside me did; and it was this that sang in my mind alongside so many other thoughts. I wanted another way, some other way that could somehow mitigate either extreme of what warred inside of me. A treatise, a compromise… please… please…
Softly, I finally ceased, my hands slipping away from Valentin’s face and my head ashamedly tilted downwards. Now everyone knew. Everyone. There was nothing left secret to me. There was everything exposed, everything a common knowledge, everything theirs to mock and revile.

‘Sei ancora l'orso del circo? Are you still the bear of the circus?’

No… No.’

Fast as the eye could track, my hand lashed for the dark-haired boy. I was aiming for the throat, my eyes gleaming blue with what the boy Tristan would call ‘cold fire’.

Reducio

I would let him decide how ‘cold’ the fire was as I would attempt to pin the dark-haired boy by choking him just briefly enough to secure my arms about his midriff and swing my weight in such a way to incur enough momentum to fling him with all of my strength towards Tristan while he was in the midst of his engagement. His strength, should I hit, combined with his slender frame and short stance (5’3” v. 6’6.5”) would prove helpless against my monstrous might. With a roar of fury did I do this, continuing to keep my stance wide and yet athletic enough to attempt maneuvering against anyone who dared to stand in my way or attempt to stand between myself and Valentin or Mikael.

Unsheathed was the vorpal blade that was buried in my heart, the hole that it left aching to be filled by something–anything–empty as it was while the blade was in use. I had judged them and found them lacking. This was my Justice, this was my Judgement, and my Strength was the price that they paid to repent for the slights that they had committed against Valentin and for the slights they had committed against me.

Action: Utilize a "Martial Artist" Grapple to Grab Hanako. If permitted as a followup action, Romeo will then attempt to Throw Hanako at Tristan.

As these are Non-magical Accuracy checks, Romeo's Muggle Condition would apply to them

Reducio

Stats:

Ω Stamina 9 | Evasion 8 | Strength 17 (19OS) Ω
Ω Accuracy 18 (21MC) | Wisdom 10 | ArcPower 0 Ω

Abilities:

Ω Obnoxiously Strong | Perfectionist I | Martial Artist | Healing Sage I Ω
Ω Muggle Condition Ω

Roleplaying as Ginyami Midorimori from Mahoutokoro
"English | Japanese"

Oblivious to the Slytherin seeker's sharp observations regarding his attention, Ginyami smiled when the older boy allowed him to kiss his hand before introducing himself. He was impressed he didn't look away the whole time he kept eye-contact. "It is an honor to meet you, Dan Palmer. I am Ginyami Midorimori." Now that he thought of it, that name sounded vaguely familiar for two reasons - quidditch and pure blood. Perhaps he should better get to know this Dan Palmer.

No sooner had he thought that, however, than his attention was drawn away yet again to a familiar albino. Valentin was making a fuss over Mikael and yelling at the person who had spun Mikael with the bottle. Really, could he not understand that this was all a just a game? Ginyami knew Valentin felt strongly about keeping things like kissing for those who he cared deeply about, but was that any reason to be so protective about Mikael? Surely Mikael could fight his own battles if he needed to - even if he didn't seem to be making much of a move to do so. Perhaps he didn't even care.

Yet Valentin was defending him and clinging to him like a lifeline. Somehow, for some reason, it annoyed Ginyami a little bit and he wondered if it was a resurgence of that pesky jealousy again. After all, Valentin wasn't trying to keep people away from him like that. Perhaps he didn't care who Ginyami kissed so long as it wasn't Romeo or Mikael.

Well, the Japanese teen told himself, that hardly mattered now. He listened instead to the exchanges between the others, noting the one who introduced himself as Tristan Theramin and a boy who actually looked Japanese (Hanako) who Valentin seemed to be getting particularly angry with. Tristan summoned a teddy bear at one point to offer to Valentin, perhaps due to the obvious discomfort he had been expressing before, but Ginyami couldn't help shaking his head and putting said head in his hand, smiling with amusement. Tristan was reading Valentin all wrong.

Nevertheless, Tristan eventually spun the bottle again and it happened to land on Ginyami, who looked up from his hand curiously. The blonde Slytherin introduced himself yet again, this time especially to Ginyami, and asked for a name in response. He also reached out a hand for Ginyami's, so Ginyami gave both. "My name is Ginyami Midorimori. I'm sure the pleasure is all mine, Tristan Theramin." So, another pureblood. This one seemed a little more properly raised to a higher degree than the barefoot young man which pleased the Japanese student. And yet, it wasn't quite enough to hold his attention as that attention once again strayed back to Valentin and his drama.

The Hogwarts student who also appeared to have Japanese features was smirking at Valentin now and practically taunting him, saying how he was fond of trouble. Ginyami thought it must have been true with the way he was and had been speaking to the Durmstrang students up until that moment. It showed in the way he behaved, too, like the wink he gave Valentin. At one point, he spoke in a strange language that Ginyami wasn't quite familiar with, but Valentin seemed to be, because demanded that he take whatever he said back. Things only heated up more from there.

The Asian Hogwarts student offered to strike a deal with Valentin about keeping away from Mikael if Valentin allowed him to kiss him anywhere. Ginyami's brows shot up. This was a bold young man to be proposing such a thing for sure. Ginyami then looked to Valentin, wondering what he would do since it was clear he was taking this all very, very seriously.

And, somehow, Valentin's response was to want to fight. Ginyami sighed. He had thought Valentin was different from how he had imagined most Durmstrang students to be, but it seemed in some ways, he was not. It was interesting to see him so angry, though; that was for certain. It made the last time he had seen Valentin angry - the time when he was upset with Romeo for having appeared at the Sato Yule Ball - seem like a small, sulky tantrum in comparison.

As much as Ginyami was interested in watching, however, things were getting a bit too much in his opinion. He stood, but jerked his head as Romeo's voice grasped his ear. Romeo had spoken to address Tristan and he couldn't understand all of the words he said to him, but Ginyami's eyes narrowed. It sounded like Valentin wasn't the only one who's temper was rising with the tension. As the Mahoutokoro student continued to listen to Romeo's words grow to a shout, he noticed they were all on their feet now. Once, in the heat of a moment, Romeo's blue gaze met Ginyami's, but it was too brief for Ginyami to try to tell him anything by it. No, it was clear only words and actions would do now.

Slowly, from his standing position while Romeo continued to prattle on in defense of a young man he claimed he had nothing with except a relationship of captain and co-captain, Ginyami began moving toward the Japanese-looking Hogwarts student. He tried not to stop, not to get distracted, even as he witnessed Romeo kiss Valentin on his lips, but couldn't help the smallest of winces. Well, there that was, then. It was about time, anyway, at least.

But Ginyami was distracted for too long as Romeo managed to get his hand around the black-haired Hogwart boy's throat. He then moved his grip on the boy to his waist in order to thrust him at Tristan, but Ginyami quickly moved to get between them. He did his best to try to catch the other Japanese-looking boy when Romeo tried to throw him - or, at the very least, to break his fall.

"That's enough! Both of you!" Ginyami told the Durmstrang boys loudly, unwilling to be intimidated by the pair. "If you have a problem with the game, then leave! But a game is a game, nothing more. It is not worth hurting or getting hurt over such things. I apologize on behalf of Tone if it is his doing that brought you here or kept you here, but these other students don't deserve this. They are only here to have fun and you're taking all of what they're saying and doing too much to heart!"

Valentin Schnell (@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood), Mikael Halldorson (@Percival Rainwood), Romeo Marchonné (@Piérre Marchonné), @Dan Palmer, @Tristan Theramin, & @Hanako Tone

Action: Accepting Tristan's kiss on the hand and attempting to stop Hanako from crashing into Tristan
Good Beans: 3

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Outfit/Physical Characteristics Reducio Red Turtleneck, with fashionable black pants as seen in photo above. Blonde Hair Hazel/Blue Eyes 164 cm	Languages English Parseltongue French Hebrew Spanish German Russian Thoughts	Age 15
Mentioning/ Interacting @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood as Valentin @Jack Burnett as Ginyami @Piérre Marchonné as Romeo	Location Summer Camp	IC Date July 17th

Spin the Bottle

Tristan's face turned confused and frozen in the stifling atmosphere, burning in the air. He blinked a few times and tilted his head, taking in the charged atmosphere, unable to understand the change in emotional stability of the situation. He allowed some of his true confusion to show at the fact that everybody thought he was a smarmy git, pretending to give Valentin a teddy bear out of contempt. Tristan was kind of flustered at the thought. How could it be that no one liked him when he was cold and no one liked him when he showed his true warmth. His face tilted in confusion and his face looked puzzled as he could not help but ask, “Seriously, I am truly confused as to why everyone thinks that I was pretending to offer comfort in order to ridicule the other. I really, really wanted the best for the other. He reminded me of my dead soulmate, Edward and I just wanted to be kind. Is it weird that a Pureblood can be kind? Are our lives filled with such quarrel, and fake niceties that we do not even allow for true kindness in our interactions? Shall we be truly trapped in the politics of this all forever, unwilling to unite at all?” Tristan was emotionally charged and if it was any other time than this close to the anniversary of Edward’s death he would not show any emotions, but he was just freaking tired of it all. All this unimportant fighting that started over a kissing game, really was not important in true life. Could not they fight over important issues instead of death and life. Why was jealousy such an issue? He breathed in and out to try to calm himself and gave a sad wistful smile as he thought of Edward and his beautiful, simple kindness, that no one in this Pureblood world seemed to understand. He was direct and unwilling to compromise and looked directly at the three young men directly in the quarrel, “I swear, I do not want to fight, I would swear an oath if you would like me to. I swear, I meant no contempt or harm. There must be a way to truly enjoy life without all this fighting when life is so short. Don’t you all want to enjoy time with romantic partners, platonic partners and possible ones, before they are stolen away from you by the ever reaching grasp of Death that haunts us all.” He snapped his head to the Italian speaking young man who had accused him and sharply rebuked him saying, “I would dare not treat anyone here as a person to win in conquest, nor do I tolerate attacks on my person on the basis of jealousy. I am solely playing on the basis of wanting to win the game, lightheartedly. Why has it turned so serious? I am not looking to steal the affections of anyone from their lover, or in any sort. I truthfully say so when I say I am not interested in anyone in this game as my heart has long since been taken and lost for a very long time. I will be leaving you alone so please leave me alone. Can we have a deal?”. The air was charged, his eyes sparking, his face was tense, and you could feel the gravitas of his speech, his power. After all, Tristan was a powerful individual, intelligent above his peers, a Prodigy learner of Charms, and Potions, and he was hoping to one day practice enough to reach both wandless and voiceless casting in the future. With a sense of strength hidden behind his cold face, he answered the other young man’s taunts, “As for my supposed lack of standing up to darkness, you are quite mistaken, but you may think whatever it is that you would like to think about me.” His tone was loyal, his whole body loose, attempting to diffuse the situation almost like a federal agent talking down a criminal in a hostage situation. He continued to defend his honor, “I am not the person you believe I am to be and I would be willing to subject myself to any form of truth guarantee in order to prove myself such. I am and will never play with anyone’s feelings nor treat them as a property that I can play around with, as you suggested. I would promise upon my magic if you would desire such a guarantee.” Tristan would of course dodge whatever was thrown his way if it would come to such, and would not throw anything back as retaliation. He would be honorable and die rather than do so at this point in the year. This was all quite too much for a game that was supposed to be enjoyable. Tristan turned back to Ginyami who was far more understanding of the spirit of the game as he understood it was supposed to be for fun rather than whatever this dramatic fight had become. He sheepishly smiled and commented on his lack of intelligence at reading the situation, “I suppose I read Valentin all wrong Ginyami, now it’s turned into a fight which is quite sad. I usually can read people pretty well, but like I said, this week is the anniversary of my platonic soulmate’s death and I just wanted to be kind. Since he did not take the teddy bear, did you want it by chance?” He said that last sentence jokingly, with a humorous smile on his face. This fight was not intimidating as quarrels and fights did not bother him and if he eventually got hurt, it was just physical pain, it wouldn’t change his opinion much, but the desperation and charged emotions that seemed to be rising were annoying. This was supposed to be a fun game not a fight with teenage hormones and jealousy. Tristan spoke quietly so only Ginyami could hear, “This was supposed to be fun but I suppose we’ll have to suffer a quarrel of jealousy and teenage hormones. It would have been better if they could control their emotions better, as a cold mask is better than a violent fight after all.” Tristan rolled his eyes slightly showing his lack of fear and a little bit of the annoyance he was feeling at having a fun game ruined by the fight currently going on. He was thinking so when the other boy began to throw Hanako at him which was attempted to be stopped by Ginyami, and Tristan asked with a little worry expressed, “Are you alright? Thanks, Ginyami, that would have been a bit of a tumble I would have taken.”

Action
Attempting to diffuse the situation
Trying to evade thrown Hanako