The Kids Are Alright || CR & TE

Camila wasn't very fond of muggle appliances, but her entire life resided in on single device -- her cellular telephone. It was outdated, by most standards; a flip phone that required four presses of the same button to get the letter S. But luckily, most of her contacts preferred to speak over the phone. She'd been raised speaking Spanish, but not writing it, and though there wasn't much of an obstacle there, it was still more conspicuous to text than call.

The phone's only downside was its annoying mariachi ring tone that drove Camila insane. Being as technologically handicapped as possible, she had never quite learned how to turn it down, and when it rang, everyone within a five-mile radius, it seemed, could hear its incessant song.

She was always quick to pick up, for obvious reasons. "Alo?" She said quietly, looking around. The only person around was Theo, so she let herself relax. Nothing to be afraid of. "¿Qué tienes para mí?"

Foul Weather, Foul Play?

- T. Edgeminton

As we all know, this season began with a great game between the Pride of Portree and the Appleby Arrows. With a hard-earned victory under their belt – one we all predicted, but few outright voiced for fear of the superstitious players speaking against such talk – the Arrows are soaring into their next game with high spirits and even higher confidence, a confidence that we feel they have earned yet again, just as they do every season.

This game was not, however, without its downs. Most notable of these downs, at least with the degree of it, was the mis-swung Beater Backbeat that was performed by one Cupid Jones. All of us in attendance remember it, I’m certain – the move seemed to be a perfectly aimed one, intended for Prides Chaser Flavius MacDougal about halfway through the match. Jones is near always spot-on with his swings, even calculating for weather issues and the unpredictability of the Bludgers in his plays, as we have seen time and time again throughout his past four seasons on the Arrows.

However, this time around, the Bludger swung right over MacDougal, to the shock of fans and players alike, colliding with the right goal hoop and causing it to shatter just a short distance away from the head of Arrows Keeper, Morgan Noel. Needless to say, we were all left wondering what on earth had gone wrong, for Jones has a near perfect record with the Backbeat, a move that is standard for any good Beater’s repertoire. With the sensitivity of the topic in mind and the assumption of a simple miscalculation in mind, I of course went to find Jones after the match, seeking out his opinion on what had happened.

Now, before the match, we had the pleasure of talking with Jones about how he was feeling about the upcoming game and whether, like some of his teammates, he was nervous or excited about the season to come. Jones had only this to say about it: “Always excited, I love the game. I love the sport. Why would doing something you love make you nervous?” His confidence was great as well, just as most of his team’s was, and he showed no apprehension in the face of the upcoming game. This just makes his seeming miscalculation more interesting, for with no nerves behind him to cause the issue, we have to wonder if it was really a miscalculation.

In talking to Jones after the match, there was a bit of speculation from him on the nature of the moment. He seemed shocked at first, unable to believe that the move had gone so badly off course compared to what it ought have, but when a miscalculation as presented as the culprit, Jones had this to say: “There was more to it. There had to be. I don’t know, maybe foul play, I can’t say for sure. But his stupid smug face…it was like he knew something.”

The idea of foul play during a Prides game is hardly something unexpected – the rivalry between the Prides and the Arrows is also a known one, especially following the cabbaging incident. It would make a great twist into this rivalry and perhaps put it up on par with that of the Wasps rivalry that the Arrows face, if there is actual truth to it. MacDougal could not be reached for comment on the validity of this suggestion, though Prides management promised to look into the claim.   

It’s quite the accusation, however; did MacDougal have a protective charm on himself that kept the Bludger from finding home against him as it clearly should have? With how often Jones has performed this exact move in the past, we can’t help but wonder if there’s honestly some truth to his suspicions. And as the Prides move farther into this season to their next game against Puddlemere United, we have to wonder whether they’re going to fall under further suspicion in the days to come, or if this is an isolated event. We hope for the sake of the rest of the team that this suspicion is unfounded. More information will be revealed as we receive it here at the Playbook. 

The Sum Of Seekers: Blackburn Vs. Westenberg

- T. Edgeminton

The Appleby Arrows and Pride of Portree game from this past weekend showed us a great deal about what we can expect for this upcoming season from both teams. The points of the greatest interest for most of us, of course, were the new players from the Arrows, Chaser Oscar Newcombe and Seeker Rose Blackburn. New players are always of interest, but an Australian and a girl straight out of Hogwarts with no time in the indies are certainly out of the norm for the Arrows to pick up; they tend to go for more experienced fliers first and foremost.

Blackburn, then, was the wildcard of the team this season, with no background in professional playing of any sort off of which to base our predictions on. This game gave us a great insight into how she flies – and, of course, a great deal with which to compare her to her newest and most intense rival, Frankie Westenberg of the Wimbourne Wasps.

Though early in the season to say for certain, Blackburn demonstrated quite a handle on her flight during this game. Blackburn shows an interesting risk factor in her flight pattern, making use of the pinpoint change of direction that the Firebolt Supreme offers to throw her opponents off and wow the crowd at the same time. We weren’t anticipating this much from a girl fresh out of Hogwarts – even a typical Wronski Feint is hardly in the wheelhouse of your typical Hogwarts Seeker – but it appears we underestimated the newest pick of the Arrows. Dodderidge and Wright made a good decision with this one, as it would seem.

That said – we have to wonder how Blackburn is going to line up against Westenberg this season. During the game against the Prides, she demonstrated several moves that seemed to come right out of Westenberg’s playbook – from an augmented version of the Wronski Feint to a corkscrew effect that dizzied the opposing Seeker just before the Snitch chase. These moves require a deft understanding of the in flight risk associated with them, and while Blackburn seemed to show as much, we could hardly tell whether they went off as flawlessly as they seemed to, for the rain made it hard to tell just how well she kept her grip and finished off the moves.

Further, if she’s pulling straight from Westenberg as it would seem she was, we have to wonder at the creativity of the new girl. On the one hand, pulling from her rival’s book may be a method of taunting her – it would hardly be the first time someone took a move from a rival to play it better and rub in their face that they were the better one in flight. It would be quite the taunt, if that were the case; coupled with the kiss that Chaser Holly Oddpick planted on her, it would be enough to distract even the most professional of players. Perhaps Blackburn is pulling from her book to throw her off on pitch, a tactic even the Wasps would do well to employ now and then.

On the other, perhaps Blackburn’s a bit too green to be on the pitch professionally just yet; we haven’t seen what she can do of her own yet, aside from a good eye and a keen ability to keep on her broom in unsavory circumstances. With how long it took to catch the Snitch – Westenberg counted no less than three times that she was able to spot the Snitch from the stands, though she claimed the rain and the differing angle could have made a difference.

It’s possible, though, that Blackburn was distracted. Loathe though we are to admit it, the “Dodderidge is a wanker” tops that were sported by several fans on the Prides side of the stadium, as per one Corvus Quintin of the Wasps, as well as the later streaking performed by Quintin, Felix Fortescue, and William Alton from the very same team, may have distracted Blackburn in air more than they ought have. A professional level Seeker is not mean to be so easily distracted, a notion that worries us here at the Playbook, for we’d hate to see that prove an issue. Is Blackburn too green to be on pitch yet? Or is Westenberg correct in that it was simply the bad angle and the weather that seemed to dull her eye?

Whatever the case may be, we’re certainly looking forward to seeing these two duke it out on pitch. With the Wasps first game coming up soon, we’ll be waiting with bated breath to see what else Westenberg has coming out of her wheelhouse this season – and with more Arrows games yet to come, we’re certainly hoping  Blackburn will prove to be as much competition as we suspect.