Hate to admit it... PV Jack Closed

Jack might not have been a big fan of the dangerous sport of quidditch, but that didn't mean he wasn't aware of or in admiration of the strategy that went into the game. While he was a second string keeper and didn't think he would have to actually put said strategies into practice any time soon, he still liked to learn them in case they could help his team. He may not have spent a lot of time playing official games, but he liked to watch his teammates and learn their strengths and weaknesses in order to determine what play would work best for them.

It just so happened that one day, when Jack was sitting in the stands on the training pitch with his quidditch books piled up next to him and one open in his lap, someone flew down to introduce themselves. The Slytherin blinked, surprised by the encounter, but listened to what the Gryffindor beater had to say. When they were finished, Jack grinned and ran a hand self-consciously through his hair. Him? Help someone on an opposing team improve their quidditch skills? He wasn't sure whether to be flattered or embarrassed and probably ended up some of both.

"Hello, Zhang," he greeted. "You may already know, but just in case, I'm Jack Burnett, second string Slytherin Keeper. I appreciate you asking me for help, but I have to warn you I might not be as experienced as you think. I just joined the quidditch team this past year. Still," he added, not wanting to turn the underclassman away, "I've been studying quidditch a lot for the sake of my teammates and I think I might be able to help you. That is, if you're willing to do the work necessary to get better." He closed his book in his lap. "I don't think that'll be a problem for you, though."

Putting his book on top of the pile next to him, he got to his feet and stretched. He had been sitting down for quite some time and his muscles were stiff. "If you don't mind me asking, why ask me? Is there no one else in Gryffindor you can think of who might be able to help you?"

@Pax Zhang

They/She
Sorry for the really really really late reply

Well, it was too late to turn back or take back their words, even if this person wasn't as experienced in quidditch as they would've hoped. Any help was some help nonetheless, and clearly whatever they had been trying wasn't seeming to get them anywhere in particular.

"I'll put in the work. Some might argue that it's all I've been doing recently."

That wasn't untrue. Pax had been on the pitch at almost every spare moment, even in the rougher weather. Whether it be sun or rain, or even the strong winds, they'd made themselves go out and do some form of practice, whether it be laps to develop speed, or target practice. It was the only thing they felt they could do, at least alone. And they would hate to drag more people into their deep pit of anger and frustration.

"Gryffindor started losing this year when I took charge of the team. That doesn't seem like its any fault of theirs, only mine. I don't need to drag them into what is pretty clearly my own shortcomings."

They paused for a second, not too sure why they were divulging this shame to an upperclassman.

"I understand if you don't want to teach me now. It's pretty pathetic after all."

Reducio

Word Count: 211

Interaction: @Jack Burnett

Date: November 12th 2022

Jack's eyes widened. Right, he'd almost forgotten - he was speaking not just to a quidditch player, but to a quidditch captain. His desire to not let them down increased greatly, but so did his intimidation. Could he really help them the way they wanted to be helped? Well, he wouldn't know unless he tried.

"It can't just be your fault alone," the Slytherin insisted. "This is a team sport and that takes a team effort. You may be their captain, but that just means you help guide them; not that you take on the responsibility for every single thing they do. You could be the greatest player there is and they still might not be able to win as a team."

He shook his head. "I'll do my best to help. But it might be a little difficult with just you and me here. Would you mind telling me a little bit about your team? It might help to start by understanding their strengths and weaknesses. Or do you just want to work on yourself?"

Turning back to his small pile of books, he looked through them until he found the one he was searching for - the one that explained what sorts of statistics worked best for each position on the team.

@Pax Zhang

They/She
So sorry for the really really late reply

Hearing Jack's kind words was some reassurance to Pax, as they looked down, avoiding eye contact. But it did little to sway them on what they believed was their responsibility, what was on their shoulders to fix. If they started picking up, then perhaps the rest of the team would take note and something would change for the better. However, it was always a risky proposition, telling an opposing team about their players, their team, and the mechanics they used, and as much as Pax wanted to see an improvement they knew better than to risk that.

"I'd like to work on myself, at least for now. Hopefully, my team will see the improvements I've made, if possible, and then be inspired to keep training harder themselves."

They settled down on the stands, propping their broom next to them. Jack seemed to be prepared, with a stack of books by his side, which boded well in their opinion.

"I think my accuracy needs a bit work, personally. And my stamina. I know I need to start withstanding more vicious hits as time goes on because playing with people like Howard and Erin is terrifying when they're so strong. I can take maybe one hit before falling, so I have to get better at that. And if I am going to fall that soon in a game, I need to make sure that I hit my own shots, to make them count."

Reducio

Word Count: 241

Interaction: @Jack Burnett

Date: November 12th 2022

Jack nodded at Pax's response. It hadn't seemed to occur to him that it might have been inappropriate for him to ask another house's team captain about their team members' strengths and weaknesses, though if it had, he surely would have been mortified with himself. Instead, he smiled a little as the Gryffindor took a seat beside him and moved over some books and his own broom to accomodate them and theirs.

"Right...accuracy and stamina. Hmm... Ooh, yeah, I agree about the terrifying part," he muttered as Howard and Erin came to mind. Erin in particular stuck in his memory since she had mistaken him for her boyfriend for a long while in his first year. He was very well-aquainted with her absurd strength. "I guess personally, I like to avoid being hit rather than get better at enduring it, but that's not necessarily best for a beater, I suppose. Then again...if you raise your accuracy, you wouldn't have to worry so much about your stamina or enduring hits because you could just hit away anything that might potentially cause you damage, right?"

The redhead looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'd like to think there's always multiple ways to achieve the same goal. Is there a specific reason you want to be able to endure hits better, or would being able to beat bludgers more accurately take care of that issue?"

@Pax Zhang

They/She

Laughing a bit, Pax shrugged. "Potentially, though you'd need to be incredibly skilled to pull a move like that off, I think. It's gotta take an incredible amount of strength to be able to catch and redirect a bludger like that. Guess that's something to work towards at least."

"Well, I guess a bit of both. If I can't withstand a hit, that's pretty unhelpful, but so is failing to even hit a target before going down. Though would evasion help with that? I dunno man, I just need to be better overall."

As they said it aloud, the sentiment rang true in their head. They did need to be better overall, that was their problem. But it wasn't necessarily a solvable problem - not anytime soon anyways. That was what irked Pax the most really - the problem was right there in front of them but whatever they seemed to try wasn't fixing it. That's why they'd conceded that this may not be a problem that they could fix alone, hence why they were here, talking to Jack.

"Anyway, do you have any suggestions? I do already try to work out as much as I can, and I go on runs when I get a chance to build my stamina, but clearly that's not quite enough. Perhaps something to improve my accuracy?"

Reducio

Word Count: 221

Interaction: @Jack Burnett

Date: November 12th 2022