gooseberryhigh | PUNISHMENTS

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PUNISHMENTS

After dinner, Sylvester Stoker and Reid Wainwright are called into Ms. Vector's office for a mandatory meeting with her and Mr. Thorn. The mood in the room is tense, but the two strict teachers get right down to business. They don't mince words.

For attacking a fellow student, Sylvester Stoker is being benched until the new year, January 1. This means he will not be participating in the game against Azurcrest.

He may keep his badge and act as Captain during practices, and he'll have to decide whether he'd like Ira Ashworth or Dinah Dixon to replace him for the next two months or so.

Mr. Thorn makes it clear that if it were up to him, Stoker would have his badge removed permanently.

Further inquiries will be made into whether or not Stoker is a fit captain. This means that interviews will be set up with his team, Coppertale senior and junior prefects, the Coppertale Cheer captain, and the other Quidditch captains.

Stoker has a week to tell his team, after which it will be made clear to senior prefects and the victim of his attack how and why he was punished.

With that said, the boys are dismissed. You can attempt to ask questions or make arguments if you like, but Mr. Thorn and Ms. Vector rarely sway from their decisions. This sounds like a done deal.

Elsewhere, Calvin Evercreech is being spoken to by Mr. Hightower about implications that he had, in fact, tried to frame Stoker. Ribbonfin junior and senior prefects (and the Head Boy) as well as Calvin's roommates will be asked if they can vouch for his character or his whereabouts.

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For Sylvester Stoker and Reid Wainwright.

They haven't spoken a word to each other since Thursday. There'd been a time when that was normal. Reid wouldn't open his mouth except to eat, and Sy would ignore the fuck out of him except during practices when he could yell at him to quit staring into the fucking clouds or whatever.

Now... now, Sy doesn't know what he thinks of that. Somehow, without either of them being entirely aware of it, Reid had become a permanent part of his life. Sy misses him. He hates it, but it's true.

Sy exits the meeting with a very muted "yes ma'am, yes sir" and heads out the door. He stalks down the hallway, boots thudding loudly against the wooden floor, before he suddenly pivoting as he passes a metal locker, his fist raised in the air. He stops, staring hard at the locker. His hands drops back to his side.

"I'll tell them," he says very quietly, without looking at Reid. "I don't need a week."

Reid follows Sy out, and silently falls in step with him. Moves when Sy does, stops when Sy does. His shoulders are slumped. Sy fucked up, and Reid had been furious with him for making him look like a moron... but nothing in that meeting helped him feel better. He's completely lost his grip on his anger. There's no vindication.

"Yeah. Okay." He exhales and goes silent again. "It's just one game." It's more than one game, though, and even Reid knows that. It's about pride, and the threat that the teachers are going to be asking around about Sy.

"Yeah," he breathes. "Just one game."

Has any Coppertale captain ever lost their badge? Sy doesn't know. He can't be the only colossal asshole who's ever gotten the position, not in a house like this, but... did all them manage to pull themselves together for their team? Was it only him who ever failed? It's a classic Stoker move to break records. Maybe he should be proud.

Sy turns to Reid. "Listen... I don't wanna go back to camp right now. I'm not saying... blow off curfew, get drunk or whatever. None of that. I just... wanna go for a walk." He exhales. "Come with me?"

For the Coppertale team, Coppertale senior and junior prefects, the Coppertale Cheer captain, and the other Quidditch captains. If asked whether or not Sylvester Stoker is a fit captain, what do they tell Ms. Vector?

When asked Olivia admits that she's not much friends with Sy and doesn't endorse his behavior, but she's been at every practice and every game since she was a sophomore. She's watched coppertale endure crushing defeats and victories. She watched them run last year with an underdog story only to lose it at the end prematurely.

She will say that Sy incorporates the best of Coppertale's competitiveness and is a fit captain, because if he wasn't - his team would be the first to let that be known, but they've rallied behind him for a reason and that reason is because he's earned it. She will stop herself from adding that sometimes positive behavior comes not through acts of punishment but through acts of mercy - he has to know that he's fucked up, which sometimes is enough to encourage change.

With all due respect, Ms. Vector, why are you asking him? Cash makes it perfectly clear he has no opinions on Sylvester Stoker's captaincy. After all, he can count the number of times they've spoken on one hand, and his budding respect for Reid has not yet bloomed so thoroughly that he'll protect Sy by extension.

If you want a character witness, well. Okay. Sylvester Stoker is, by his estimation, aggressive, belligerent, reactionary, and insecure. He's a bully and a loser, who's squandering the opportunities he was given, all because he lacks the Kindergarten level of self-control required to keep his hands to himself.

That said, if they keep him out of sports, he'll probably end up dead or in jail. Benching him sends a no-tolerance message that Cash can respect, but it doesn't really help anyone. Stoker least of all; it's clearly the only thing he cares about, and without Quidditch, Cash expects he'll have killed someone, possibly himself, by graduation. Removing him as captain will just cause more instability in Coppertale. Let him stay on the team, but give him a working detention. Make him ~~grade papers~~ cut grass in his free time. And if he does this again, he should be expelled.

Edited (i love sy and im sorry :() 2017-10-22 08:45 (UTC)

Charlie is not going to let them take Sy's captainship; nobody else on the team would be as supportive of her bloodlust. And who would even be the replacement captain? Reid? Hell no. And Roxie didn't want it. That left Susana as the remaining team veteran and her captainship meant Charlotte had no shot at it their senior year.

Sy cannot lose his fucking badge.

She spins a tale about her captain's dedication to his team, about how he works them hard so that they can become their best selves but he always seems to know just what their personal limits are. And poor Ira... she hit him so hard with a bludger at a practice, she knocked him clean off his broom and Sy was the first one to rush to his aid. He used his shirt to stop the bleeding and it was his commanding presence as a leader that snapped everyone out of their state of shock so that they could get him to a healer before his condition worsened!

Charlotte made sure to wear her cheap mascara to this meeting so when the tears begin to fall, it leaves a nice streak down her cheeks. The image of Sy losing his badge and it going to Susana to roll over to next year is too much to bear... And what if he's kicked off the team?? They're definitely going to lose if they're down one experienced chaser and only have one player left in reserve.

"Sy has been constantly bullied on the anonymous posts since last year so it's no wonder he was sent over the edge when he was accused of being the Lake Gooseberry Killer again. What he did to Calvin wasn't justified, but taking away his captainship would destroy him. He's the heart and soul of our team. Taking him away from us would destroy us too."

Edited 2017-10-22 10:26 (UTC)

Sy's right; he overwhelmingly has the other captains on his side. Not because they're all too chickenshit to take him out of the running, thank you very much. It's actually because Ulysses... has a hard time empathising with strangers. He doesn't know this Evercreech kid from Adam. (He's a new beater on the Ribbonfin team, right? But then again, who isn't new on the Ribbonfin team.) ...and as much as he hates to admit it, he thinks Sy's a decent enough guy.

He'll refrain from actually saying so, but to his mind, this is less about a person suffering violence, and more about a person getting punished for slipping up. It's... pretty clear where Ulysses' loyalties lie:

See, if he had his druthers, Stoker'd be benched forever, Ms. Vector, and that's the truth. But if Ulysses has said it once, he's said it a thousand times; Stoker's got an image problem. Folks're primed to judge him on account of his tendency to holler about 'fuck' this and beating that. But set all that aside, and what's he done, really? Defended himself against some sort of slander? 'Course, violence is never acceptable. He made a mistake, Ulysses knows that, and boy, does he feel terrible for ... ~~?Kevin~~ Calvin, but it just wouldn't be right, to ruin him over a playground fight.

Stoker's a good player and a better captain, even if he's also a meathead with appalling taste in girls. Let him stay with his team.

Edited (hey guess who FUCKING SUCKS it's ulysses 'boys will be boys' quayle ) 2017-10-22 14:09 (UTC)

A sneakier person would use this opportunity to get Sy kicked off the team entirely and move up from a reserve position. But there's a little more loyalty to Ira than all that. He's really only been on the team for a few weeks, and is distinctly uncomfortable in making any sort of input. Ira's never that good when he feels cornered by authority figures. So he doesn't say that much.

"He shouldn't have hit that guy. But he's a really good captain, and he doesn't hit us, if that's what you're worried about."

He doesn't think he needs to say more than this.

Edited (wtf i can't write things anymore ) 2017-10-22 16:14 (UTC)

Nisha avoids having to do this as long as she can, not because of any reservations about Sy Stoker as a captain, but rather just a general, white-knuckle aversion to speaking to severe-looking adults. In a last ditch effort, she shoves an entire twinkie in her mouth when she sees Ms. Vector approach her to call her into her office. But that's not stopping anything.

She's "prepared a statement" which she has on her cell phone. (It appears to be written entirely in emojis, and is actually just a gchat conversation she's had with someone whose name appears to be the pizza emoji.) And she rattles it off in a single-breath rush, fidgeting the entire time. The highlights: Captain Stoker made her feel like she belonged in Coppertale and on the team immediately. The Coppertale team's ability to function as a cohesive unit is due in no small part to his oversight. In her brief time here, Nisha has never doubted Sy's dedication not just to the team as a concept but to each of his players, as people. He just really needs to find a more constructive outlet for all that anger. Painting or, like, something. Oh and also his practices are SUPER fun.

She closes out her speech by saying, mysteriously, that violence is never the answer and he probably shouldn't have punched Klein Creepybottom, but Captain Stoker's punches also have the magical ability to bring people together. When she's done, she can't get out of that office fast enough.

Heathcliff doesn't want to have this conversation. Mostly because he likes Sy AND he likes Calvin and he doesn't want to think about the situation in depth. He doesn't want anything to change. He just wants to two boys to let this go and let things get back to normal because normal's pretty great, right?

When he finally ends up in Ms. Vector's office, the large boy is uncharacteristically quiet and she has to do a little work to pull comprehensive answers out of him. YEAH, Sy shouldn't have started a fight with Calvin. That was shitty even if he was upset or just trying to clear his name or whatever. BUT Sy's also a really good captain that works hard to make them feel like a team and to turn them into good players and he deserves another chance to win the cup. He's a good guy, he's just got a bad temper. Can't he just serve his detention and apologize to Calvin and Ribbonfin and move one? That's fair, right?

He also adds that, for what it's worth, he doesn't believe Calvin had anything to do with the Lake Gooseberry Killer stuff. Heathcliff doesn't know Calvin that well but he doesn't seem like the type and he's close with Cash and Todd and that goes a long way in his book. Whoever pointed the finger at Calvin made a mistake or needs glasses or something.

...can he go now?

Edited (....Sorry Cash and Reid. <3 ) 2017-10-22 19:03 (UTC)

Dinah is very comfortable speaking with adults, and believes that everything she says is exactly what they've been waiting to hear. With every ounce of undue confidence she has, Dinah unequivocally lays out how losing Sy as their Captain would definitely lead to a STRIKE of the ENTIRE QUIDDITCH TEAM. She hasn't talked to the others about this, but has literally no reason to believe they would disagree.

She also tells Ms. Vector how much he CARES, like when she got stabbed in the ear (willingly, by her best friend, but WHATEVER, those are just details) and he didn't HAVE to come with them to the infirmary. Other people totally had it under control, but he really wanted to come and emotionally support her, and it really made her feel like she was a part of a family.

"TRUST me when I say no one in this school cares more about their Quidditch team than he does," she says, having done none of the legwork to verify this fact.

So... Clem's obviously not an unbiased voice here, both as Sy's girlfriend and as a Quidditch captain with a record of punching people. But she manages to keep a level head and deliver a well thought out, impassioned speech about how Sy is both an excellent captain for his team and a team player. She tells Vector that he was a huge help to her when she was the captain of the Gooseberry team last year, and mentions how he asked to be put in as a reserve only after Levi had already been subbed in.

But when pushed on the actual topic at hand - Sy literally attacked someone, and that's unacceptable - she pretty instantly breaks down.

"He's trying so hard," she insists through blubbering and frankly embarrassing tears. She goes on for a little while longer about how much better he's been doing over the last year, and how much the captaincy means to him. She's excused from the meeting before she gets her weepy-ness under control, and ultimately leaves feeling like she wasn't much of a help.

Casey looks like he's been asked the most pointless question in the world? Like.... "Yeah." And then, as though the invisible hand of the immortal Cricket Quayle reaches through space and time to give him a light smack in the back of his head, he cuts short before he finishes with "Duh."

Wait, it was "whether or not," not "is he," that's not how you answer the question. But, like, to Casey it sounds like ~~Stokes~~ Sy was framed, and he's not the kind of bro to do sh– stuff, to do stuff like pranks and then not own up to it. He turned himself in last year, didn't he? And since then it's not even like he's been acting like a jerk or whatever, he's been, like, p....retty much a fu– freakin' A N G E L. How many detentions has he gotten since the LGK prank? None. (Casey doesn't know this for sure but he's not about to sound like he doesn't know shit, okay.) And why? Because he's been, like, a good dude, or whatever. Casey says he knows that his cabin has a bad reputation but like, frankly? They've been really sick? They've behaved pretty well and they have two captains and Sy's really good at Quidditch and when Danger Girl pierced Xav's little sister's ear and there was blood everywhere he was, like, the first person to go and carry them to Muffs? And he seemed like he cared a lot?

So.

Like.

Yeah. He's like, fit. .... Huh? Oh. Oh, yeah. AND he's fit to be a CAPTAIN because he's a pretty sick dude and he totally didn't do any of that shit.

Edited (casey leaves considering a future in law) 2017-10-24 02:23 (UTC)

"It was wrong." Is what Roxie says first, sitting neatly in her chair, voice quiet and firm. "What Sy did was wrong, I won't deny that. But you're asking me if he's a good captain."

To which there's no hesitation when she answers in the affirmative. He's the only reason why she's on the team - and she rolls her shoulders back, chin tipping upward in contrast to the way her voice dips briefly as she adds: the only reason she's actually made friends at Gooseberry. That she's never done it at a school before. Hadn't ever bothered.

He's harsh, sure. And he's undoubtedly tough with them. But he's also fair and he's only so hard on them because they allow him to be. Because they want him to be. He knows them. Knows what they want and what they're willing to do. It's his team. They're his team.

She makes no mention of their track record, their wins or their chances for the Cup. Doesn't seem particularly bothered by them at all. Just shrugs and adds, matter-of-fact, that Sy makes mistakes. But he tries. And he listens. This isn't gratefulness - she wouldn't do that and Roxie's firm on this, eyes up and fingers folded neatly on her lap - it's just a fact. The question was if Sy's a good captain. And her answer is yes.

Ribbonfin junior and senior prefects (and the Head Boy) as well as Calvin's roommates will be asked if they can vouch for his character or his whereabouts. What do they tell Mr. Hightower?

This...may be the most that anyone has heard Cole talk at one time. When Mr. Hightower asks him whether or not he thinks Calvin tried to frame Sy, Cole is adamant that his friend didn't do it. Calvin told him that he didn't do it. Calvin wouldn't do something like this both because he's a good person that wouldn't hurt other people just to hurt Sy and because he wouldn't be this unwise when it could have real consequences for him. School and Quidditch and Dueling and being at Gooseberry are all too important to him. He also insists that he'd been awake the night that the Ribbonfin girls' cabin had been pranked and that Calvin had been there just like the rest of them. He'll show Mr. Hightower the painting he'd been working on at 3AM if Mr. Hightower doesn't believe him!! (That's not evidence, Cole.)

The boy is earnest and certain of his stance and gets a little worked up the longer the discussion goes on because the idea of Calvin getting in trouble because of Sy seems fundamentally unfair to him. Please don't let that happen, Mr. Hightower.

Surprisingly, Ramon seems relatively disgruntled by the fact that he even has to have this conversation; if Calvin says he didn't do it, he didn't. While he's upfront about the fact that his roommate is far from having any sort of positive feelings towards Sylvester, he's also clear that he's confident the other boy wouldn't lie about this. He knows his friend isn't to blame... mostly because he doesn't think Calvin is that stupid. There are plenty of less risky ways to get back at the Coppertale if he wanted to, and he says as much. Even if Mr. Hightower isn't going to trust Calvin at his word (which he should), he should at least trust that he's smarter than that. Unfortunately, though, he can't say much about his whereabouts. Ramon, despite wanting to exonerate Calvin as much as he can, doesn't lie - he wasn't awake before all the commotion started so technically he can't claim to know for certain that his roommate was actually in the cabin then, but it seems fairly unlikely that he could have made it back in before they had all woken up.

Plus, how reliable is their source? You can't crucify Calvin simply on hearsay. Sylvester's the one that came to their camp and tried to beat him up - he's the bad guy here.

Rosy is in an awkward place here. She knows it. Fuck she knows it. She's not going to lie to Mr. Hightower. He trusts her, and she, you know, likes him. But everyone knows where her loyalties lie.

"I... don't know him that well," she says, trying very hard to actually make eye contact with Mr. Hightower. "But he doesn't have a history of making trouble." She can't verify his whereabouts on the night of the prank in Ribbonfin, and she's not going to speculate. If Rosy can get out of here without saying anything definitive about anyone's character, she'll consider it a diplomatic success.

There is no small amount of guilt Ferdie has, going into this. He should've kept better track of this situation. Should've checked in with his prefects as soon as rumors of the LGK were back in circulation, made sure everyone was accounted for, at least re-instated a Ribbonfin buddy system. Certainly after the whirlwind of last week. He's a little sheepish and apologetic sitting in front of Mr. Hightower. He opens, hands wringing a little, how he should've kept closer track of the tensions between Stoker and Calvin. Should've checked in more. There was a lot more that he could've done.

As it is, as it stands, he knows Calvin had that issue with a ouija board (??) last year, but otherwise, he's a generally law-abiding citizen. One of their highest achieving, honestly, with Quidditch and Duelling Club. He hadn't stooped to revenge before now so this seems suspect. And he'd ask Mr. Hightower to consider only solid evidence. It's not impossible, and Ferdie doesn't know him well, but it seems out of character for Calvin to do something like this. He'll try to reach out more from now on.

It is probably a fairly long monologue.

Kurt's not sure what to say. He can't vouch for Calvin's whereabouts and he says as much. He's still rattled that a fistfight broke out in Ribbonfin but he tries to focus on the questions at hand. He may not be able to help Calvin with an alibi, but he does say that he doesn't think Calvin did it? Or, at least, if that's what Mr. Hightower is asking for? Kurt's visibly uncomfortable but also trying to push through it and do the prefectly thing.

He licks his lips, bites his bottom lip, takes a deep breath, and finally says what he doesn't want to say: he and Calvin had a bad relationship when the younger boy first transferred to Gooseberry. Calvin was unpleasant and combative, and, frankly, a bully. But! Butbutbutbutbut! It didn't even last the year. He believes Calvin's changed, and he's noticed the boy's attitude towards others changing as his and Calvin's stopped being antagonistic? He was even nice to Kurt when he didn't need to be last year, and in Kurt's books, that means a lot.

TL;DR: Thanks to Kurt's policy of all-honesty-all-the-time ~~and habit of nervous rambling~~ he says that Calvin used to be less of a nice person, but Kurt honestly thinks he's changed, and if Calvin was responsible for this prank he would be really, really, really, really, really, surprised. And really, really, really, disappointed. :(

This is a mess.

I'M MAKING A JOURNAL POST SOON HANG ON

wait i lied first i want a fun bad fortune and second i want a scene with reid

Edited (wait....... actual first, i want to drink a shot of this bailey's) 2017-10-22 02:00 (UTC)

Iliya's bad fortune did not end up fun.

why do you do this to my only good boy

this is the bad place good boys don't belong here

truest thing ever written

Ditches my family dinner to deal w this

I'm already drunk this is a great STRIKEOUT TO CORRECT IT TO: THE PERFECT mindset to write this in

rosy, currently

oh boy. D:

this is giving me Anxiety

cash: this is class b misdemeanour assault & battery, and arguably, aggravated menacing
me, to my own character: SYLVESTER STOKER, CLASS A GOOD BOY, HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE

this is why bad people get away with bad things

no idea what you mean marin

i don't like this i don't like this

OH I GUESS THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR CALVIN'S ROOMMATES. So far as they can tell, Calvin was woken up when the Soph girls started screaming and Cordi and Vi ran in. He was up and complaining with everyone else about the disturbance. He's very private and sneaky, though, so if you still want to suspect him... HAVE AT IT.

side note: when meggie was talking to me about this, she called them "ribbonpinions" which make me lol

i swear im not that drunk

Cole has many ribbonpinions on the subject, guys. :(((

pshhhhhhhh your roomies got your back Calvin :(

Calvin would kill for his roommates. :((((

:((( ♥ medium-sized fishy solidarity

Sy :(

OMG I have to go to bed now so I can get up and be at the hospital early for upgrade. And the idea of missing all this Drama is killing me. ♥ HAVE FUN, GUYS. I look forward to the inbox explosion I'll come back to~

y'all i'm sorry i'm back here so late :( i haven't had a chance since it went up BUT I'M DOING IT NOW~

Edited (comments on the ooc with every character except the ones involved) 2017-10-24 02:08 (UTC)

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PUNISHMENTS

IC REACTIONS

Sy & Reid

Sy & Reid

Sy & Reid

COPPERTALE OPINIONS

Re: COPPERTALE OPINIONS

Cash

Charlotte

Ulysses

Ira

Nisha

Heathcliff

Dinah

Clem

CASEY

Roxie

RIBBONFIN OPINIONS

Cole

Ramon

Rosy

Ferdie

Kurt

OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

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