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Tweak says, "I call her Vera."

Desmond "Parseltongue" Parkin (partandparsel) wrote in neeps,
@ 2017-12-07 09:27:00

Entry tags:

! journal, desmond parkin

Mistletoe? Really? Is this a place of work or is it Hogwarts?

[Janine]
The Oglethorpes have invited us to dinner Sunday. Yasmin and her husband will be there as well, so if you're heartily sick of the Scottish by then you can occupy yourselves calling Montrose terrible names together.

And Charlie has informed me he's available to take your place with me at WILD next week at a moment's notice, should you not be ~~over it~~ disposed to go out that evening.

[MG]
If you must annoy my wife by winning this weekend, can you at least try to make it a win worth watching? At my age it's far easier to bear the chill with good memories to warm me.

[Gwen]
I've found a toymaker who'll make a stuffed dragon and charm it to breathe (fake) fire. Acceptable for Anna?

(Post a new comment)

	Desmond avoidretrograde 2017-12-07 07:57 pm UTC (link)
	I promise that Montrose won't be giving you a dull match. None of this less than 100 points at the hoops thing we saw with Appleby and Holyhead. I suspect I won't be particularly welcome around DOMGAS after this match. My apologies to your wife and boss. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	MG/Desmond partandparsel 2017-12-08 05:53 am UTC (link)
	Thank Merlin. What a waste of a ticket that would have been, if I still had to pay for tickets. I'd say you're quite welcome at DOMGAS to present your apologies in person and to present a better target, but Najafi wouldn't actually hex anyone over it. My house, on the other hand... (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	MG/Desmond avoidretrograde 2017-12-08 06:40 am UTC (link)
	I like to remain hex-free. Eccentric preference, I know. But I have full confidence in my team and that we'll put on a show for you. I can't speak for the Catapults. Respectable record but not their finest year. (Apologies to Janine if she's reading over your shoulder) (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	MG/Desmond partandparsel 2017-12-08 07:42 pm UTC (link)
	Eccentric indeed for a Gryffindor, though I share the preference myself. If Janine were reading over my shoulder I wouldn't take it as a forgone conclusion that you're going to win, notwithstanding your as-yet undefeated season. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: MG/Desmond avoidretrograde 2017-12-08 07:50 pm UTC (link)
	We Gryffs prefer dealing out hexes to taking them. I'm flattered. Although I have to say, if the Catapults have been playing like they have for much of this season, I don't forsee them being the ones to break our winning streak. But I do hope they perk up and give us a bit of a fight. Or at least do better in the last half of the season to make it to playoffs.. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

partandparsel
2017-12-08 10:05 pm UTC (link)

We Slytherins prefer keeping Gryffindors around to do both.

It's all in the odds, as Bagman would say. But no, they've little chance of knocking you down a peg unless your side contracts whatever the Arrows came down with.

Though admittedly I rather hope they turn things around somewhat as well. Maybe if Sloo joins that muggleborn movement her performance will improve.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

avoidretrograde
2017-12-08 10:13 pm UTC (link)

Excuse my French but as many a ministry worker would say 'Fuck Bagman'.

I was so appalled by that arrows match. The team we faced in Bloc 2 and whose chasers have been tearing holes in some of the good teams was not the one we saw there. I'm tempted to believe the rumours of someone spiking the players water with sleeping potions.

Sloo has had a very respectable season, in fact she's been downright good in quite a few of their matches. But their chasers and beaters? Frankly terrible. Poor keeper has no defense to speak of, there's only so much you can do when the rest of your team has no sense of how to keep the quaffle away from the hoops.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

partandparsel
2017-12-09 05:13 am UTC (link)

"Fuck Bagman" is one of my favourite phrases. I mention him in meetings just to hear the angry murmur.

Rather tempted myself. I saw one writer try to claim Portree had demoralized them and that's why they played as they did against the Harpies. Nonsense, of course.

Agreed on the chasers and beaters needing significant work, but agree to disagree on Sloo. I can't in good conscience call her "respectable," she's been far too up and down. Can't say I'm surprised, however, given what she's coming back from. You're lucky yours have recovered so well as they have.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

avoidretrograde
2017-12-09 05:37 am UTC (link)

I hated when you did that. Fuck Bagman was the unofficial DOMGAS curse.

Sloo's defending percentages in her 6 matches:
91%
94%
97%
70% (in a match where 3 catapults were injured and she blocked as many shots as her opponent's keeper)
86%
87% (sustained a light injury here and kept that % despite losing a chaser)

With the exception of a 70% match? That's 5/6 matches with a defending percentage of >86%. Respectable by any measure and downright good on a few. The downside is that these are all low shooting matches, she's untested this season on the high shooting ones. Add in that the defense she gets from the rest of the team is bloody awful...frankly some of these matches are more impressive.

Now do I think she'll do well against us? That's an entirely different thing.

I'm lucky about mine, but they've put in a lot of work to recover to this point. Magpies were hit hard by the war, and I'm sure a lot of other teams are doing similar recovery seasons.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	MG/Desmond partandparsel 2017-12-09 07:06 am UTC (link)
	Ah, but it improves morale so. I suppose that's why I was never a coach, apart from it requiring far too much encouraging of young people. Surely. Everyone has a muggleborn or two on their roster, apart from the Cannons -- and now Portree, of course. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

avoidretrograde
2017-12-09 07:25 am UTC (link)

One day if he reappears, the DMLE is going to be forced to step aside so the entire '95 DOMGAS group can have at him.

Well to be fair, before I started looking at them more closely for this match, I did get the impression their record was the inverse of what it actually is because they haven't left a great impression on me. Not a fine catapults season so far.

It's more than just the muggleborns. I've got a halfblood from an old clan who ended up in Azkaban. Not to mention his brother, ~~and a troupe of Y~~ and a medic who was on the front lines for a lot of it. And yes a muggleborn chaser and mascot. More than just muggleborn got affected by that war, but they took the brunt of it.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

partandparsel
2017-12-09 08:21 am UTC (link)

Oh, I'm sure they won't need to be forced. Plenty of people lost money to him and will be glad to see him get what he deserves.

They are near the bottom. But like you said, low-shooting matches.

Don't they say that everyone was affected, when they're trying to avoid mentioning muggleborns quite so bluntly? But the muggleborns were the primary or at least most public target of the war, so it's to be expected that they'd take the brunt of it.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

avoidretrograde
2017-12-09 08:29 am UTC (link)

I still have a grudge against him for the chaos he left the department in. All the audits...All the paperwork...

Not a playoff year for them if they continue like this. Same for Wigtown I'm afraid.

Maybe they say that. But it's also not quite accurate to just say every team has a muggleborn or two and that's that, each team only got hit when it came to two people. Minimizes the impact of this whole mess.

And not to mention its lead to a lot of talk about that BIL proposal.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: MG/Desmond

partandparsel
2017-12-09 06:07 pm UTC (link)

All the suspicion thrown on everyone in authority, as to how involved one might have been... even with the war between, memory's still fresh. He's no friends left here.

Wigtown will survive. My nieces at least are well-rounded girls with plenty of hobbies to occupy themselves in the off-season. And maybe having Wigtown out as well will make Janine feel better about the whole thing.

Why McGonagall, you almost sound like you're not in favour of the proposal.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

avoidretrograde
2017-12-09 06:23 pm UTC (link)

That auditing witch that came to look over my accounts. 'Mr. McGonagall, it says here your office has used more quills than the other subdepartments of similar size. Can you explain this?'. I have an intern with butterfingers, now get over yourself Jasmine.

Peace in the house at least. Like last World Cup where there was no Scotland but Brazil didn't get in either.

I'm not in favour nor against it. I'm just confused as to the timing and who put it forth. It's been kept very much in the dark. I tend not to believe things from on high are done with very charitable motivations.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

partandparsel
2017-12-11 03:27 am UTC (link)

Quills and parchment would be an idiotic way to hide any significant misuse of funds. I remember that intern, though. Moved from what I hear, but hasn't much improved.

It'll never be complete peace in the house. But I'd not want that anyhow. Terribly dull.

Glad to see you have some Slytherin in you after all. It's been put forth ostensibly by the two commissioners, but I wouldn't trust either of 'em further than I could hex them, even if my flinging hex weren't as good as it is.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

avoidretrograde
2017-12-11 05:04 am UTC (link)

I brought that up with her but she didn't seem to take that kindly and decided to go through our ink use to see how it correlated. How bored are you with your job that you make more work for yourself like that? And somehow I'm not surprised to hear he hasn't changed. Made the mistake once of asking him for tea. Never again.

Ah well children certainly make sure there's always something going on in the house.

Knowing you, that's a compliment even if it's not one I'd give. If it's owner pressure well I understand why Lethbridge supported it. Kavanaugh...less so.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

partandparsel
2017-12-11 05:29 am UTC (link)

Dear Merlin. I suppose there would be some equation for how much ink a standard quill can bear over the course of its lifetime. I doubt it's just boredom, though. Auditors tend toward pettiness. And not much tea left in the cup, was there?

And thank Circe for that. How are yours these days, by the way? Haven't seen them since our David's birthday and they do grow fast at that age.

I never said it was owner pressure with Kavanaugh. Signs point more in the opposite direction in that case.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

avoidretrograde
2017-12-11 05:48 pm UTC (link)

Auditors seem to be on perpetual power trips. And absolutely no tea, it had fallen on the floors or on both of our shirts.

All well. Ava had a great time with her birthday not long ago, Ellie is just excited for holidays now, and Theo's still just a little bairn but he's hitting that age where they get more interactive. And lad still loves his snitch. Yours?

You think it's Kavannaugh herself who's putting the pressure? Well the Bats supporting this would surprise me. They won that season, nobody wants to erase a Cup win.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

MG/Desmond

partandparsel
2017-12-14 06:43 am UTC (link)

That's what comes of having little power. And good coordination should be a DOMGAS job requirement, even for interns.

Ah, indoctrinate them young. It looks like Gwen's finally convinced to get Anna a broom so we'll have some of that ourselves soon. The rising generation is well and wiggly, and their parents active enough that we get to mind them often. Arguing over whether Gina's saying "gran" or "grandad," that sort of thing.

They might if the stakes were high enough. They're certainly doing little to argue against it, in any case, like all of District 6. And when's the last time you saw Eoghan and Rowan truly working together, or Siobhan Kavanagh with them?

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	wrecktify 2017-12-07 09:02 pm UTC (link)
	You know what they say, we've got to change with the times... (Reply to this) (Thread)

	partandparsel 2017-12-08 05:56 am UTC (link)
	If changing with the times means enforced kissing between randomly matched coworkers, I intend to regress back to the stone ages and club anyone who comes within six feet of me. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	gwensational 2017-12-09 02:04 am UTC (link)
	I rather liked the mistletoe at Hogwarts. There are some fond memories there. [Dad] That's acceptable, yes. Thank you. I imagine Trevor will be nearly as thrilled as our daughter. I've also been talked around by the combined forces of my brother and my husband on the benefits of getting Anna a broom, so it may well be the best Christmas ever for her. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	partandparsel 2017-12-09 04:46 am UTC (link)
	Well, I won't say I don't myself, but there's a time and a place. Besides, the interns would faint if they got stuck under mistletoe with me. [Gwen] Does that mean I don't have to buy him anything? I'm impressed that Charlie actually managed to sway you. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	gwensational 2017-12-09 05:33 am UTC (link)
	That's my old dad, always thinking of the comfort of others. [Dad] You never have to buy him anything. He'd probably be more comfortable if you didn't, actually. Well, Charlie learned from the best, clearly. And I suppose he's not entirely as dim as he looks. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	partandparsel 2017-12-09 07:59 am UTC (link)
	Just one of those things I'm known for. [Gwen] I suppose so, but it's just such fun to see him opening the box. He can't help how he looks, taking after me as he does. Thankfully I'm told it's what's inside that matters most. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	Desmond catapults 2017-12-09 05:23 pm UTC (link)
	I don't foresee myself having an issue with the Scottish, though I may take up calling Montrose names, regardless. I appreciate the forethought on both of your parts, but I'm sure I'll be quite alright. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Janine/Desmond partandparsel 2017-12-09 06:49 pm UTC (link)
	Well, I shan't complain about that. Always enjoy seeing what you come up with. Glad to hear it. Fairly certain Charlie's just trying to get your ~~goat~~ seat for the bout anyhow. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Janine/Desmond catapults 2017-12-09 10:31 pm UTC (link)
	I shall do my best to make you proud. He could buy his own rather than trying to oust his mother. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Janine/Desmond partandparsel 2017-12-10 03:35 am UTC (link)
	Excellent. Suspect that ousting his mother is half the fun. Besides, we have rather enviable seats. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Janine/Desmond catapults 2017-12-10 04:06 am UTC (link)
	Then he may envy them from afar. I'll not shed a tear. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Janine/Desmond partandparsel 2017-12-11 01:46 am UTC (link)
	Perfectly fine with me. I'd rather you came than him anyway. (Reply to this) (Parent)