Whatever It Takes (Mickey)

[dreama azurovna nightshade]

Mid-April 2025
Magical Gymnasium, British Isles

The league finals match against Yorkshire would be the biggest Quidditch match Dreama had played in her professional career, and everything was riding on it. Aiming for a professional Quidditch contract had been hard enough, but aiming to win the League Cup was on another level. There was no question of "want"; she needed to be at her peak for the tenth of June, physically and mentally. If the Wimbourne Wasps won, then it would be a turning point for her. She would be one step closer to being on a national team, maybe even playing in the Quidditch World Cup someday, if Hag's Fever ever went away and brought travel back to normal.

Dreama ate, slept, and breathed Quidditch regardless, so it was all about ramping up her preparations to the highest level she could without succumbing to illness or injury. Flying, while important, wasn't the only factor. She had to ensure her endurance, so she was adding in running laps and various non-magical exercises as well as the standard Quidditch drills from her scheduled team practice sessions. Working out on her own gave her an opportunity to think, whereas the team practices with the rest of the Wasps were more about doing. How quickly they could maneuver from this place to that place and the countless formations for catching Quaffles and dodging Bludgers were seared into her memory.

With weeks to prepare beforehand, Dreama was taking no chances, and she knew that the intensity of it all was only going to increase as time went on. To avoid being bombarded by the magical public, though, she had decided to go to a gymnasium to which the British and Irish Quidditch League had given its teams access. With the season over for all but two of the teams, she Apparated there with her gym bag slung over her shoulder and hoped that it wouldn't be busy.

michelangelo tiberius mclaggen

[michelangelo tiberius mclaggen]

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While the season was 'over' for the Bats, that didn't mean Mickey was completely free from practicing and keeping in shape. Letting himself go longer than a week was terrible for his body, and it was honestly amazing how quickly muscles atrophied and put him in a poor mood. Especially as a Keeper. He was sure the Chasers could get away with zooming around on their brooms every couple of days and making sure they're throwing arms were in working order. The same could not be said about him. Every aspect of his position relied on staying mentally sharp and as flexible as humanly possible. He felt like a piece of rubber sometimes. Even though he could stretch every which way both on and off the broom, everything always seemed to snap back in place when he needed it to. Being tall and lanky helped greatly too.

So finding himself at the gym that was created for Quidditch players wasn't uncommon, especially in the off-season. Mickey tended to work out on his own, his goals different than the majority of the players. Keepers were weirdly the black sheep of most teams, despite being the final defense on the pitch. They were just different enough that he personally got along better with the Keepers on other teams than he did with some of his own teammates. A lot of them were new to the Bats or rookies though, so that was to be expected. Being considered a veteran of the team only a few years in was definitely a strange concept. But it was what it was.

Needless to say, there were not many other players at the gym today. A few of the old guard that was already trying to get in better shape to avoid team cuts the following season, and a few incoming rookies that wanted to make names for themselves. Mickey hadn't expected to see anyone from Yorkshire or Wimbourne, simply because they had bigger fish to fry with the league cup match coming up.

In walked Dreama Nightshade, apparently thinking otherwise. Mickey had admittedly only managed to stop a few of her shots this past season. Some of the faster Chasers had managed to learn that he was a tad slower on the side with his bad ear. Only if they managed to come in at an almost horizontal angle to the goal posts though. Still, she'd gotten the best of him on more than once occasion. Nodding in her direction, Mickey returned to his weirdly aggressive side stretching. He wasn't going to bother her right when she arrived, but he was already thinking of offering himself up as a practice partner if she wanted to practice taking shots.

dreama azurovna nightshade ● 454 ● Song by Artist

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[dreama azurovna nightshade]

Mid-April 2025
Magical Gymnasium, British Isles

Since the regular Quidditch season had ended, the gym wasn't overcrowded. Dreama looked around as she entered the facility, trying to figure out where to start. She recognized the other players there and could have told some of them that they were probably wasting their time. Though a few of her teammates would have been aggressive enough to tell them that to their faces, Dreama was not, and she went to go change into her workout gear.

A few minutes later, she was back out in the main area of the gym. Warming up would be her first order of business. After that, she would need to see what equipment happened to be free. Dreama knew that being on one of the final two teams left standing wasn't going to get her any special treatment. Getting a frosty reception was more likely, so she played it safe, claimed herself a spot with her bag where she would be out of the way, and began stretching.

michelangelo tiberius mclaggen

[michelangelo tiberius mclaggen]

▲

The Quidditch gym was always an interesting event for Mickey. A lot of the old timers, that included both veteran players and retired that still utilized the facilities, liked to stop him and chat him up. Mostly about his father. He had learned to grin and bear it. Discussing Cormac's failed Quidditch career was always interesting. He'd done far more for the sport as a news correspondent than as a player, yet seemed to have won over quite a number of people during his short stint playing. Mickey knew that eventually he'd surpass his father both in time played and skill, it was bound to happen. And that was exactly what Cormac wanted. To live vicariously through his children. Mickey despised the fact that his father had gotten what he wanted. There were constant reminders running through his head that he wasn't some proxy, and that he was doing all of this of his own volition.

Aggressively dropping the dumbbells he'd been using back on their rack, he wiped his hands off on his shirt and glanced around the room again. Most of the older players were starting to wrap up their workouts. They wouldn't gravitate towards the practice pitch, mostly because their problems had to do with staying healthy during the season. Most could still fly like rookies. After a few more minutes of silently working out on his own, it was eventually just him, Dreama, and a couple of older gymrats that were always lazing around in the bench press. He tried to usually finish the day off with flying or shot practice in the off chance there was someone competent to practice with him.

Which brought his gaze back towards Dreama. She was perfect for that, really. Deciding that it didn't hurt to ask, he waltz over and tried to get her attention. "Hey Dreama. I'll be on the practice pitch for a while if you're planning on throwing today. No problem if you weren't." Five years into playing and he still didn't know how to not sound awkward. Excellent.

dreama azurovna nightshade ● 343

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[dreama azurovna nightshade]

Mid-April 2025
Magical Gymnasium, British Isles

After some time, Dreama heard someone call out her name. She expected that it might be one of her teammates at first, but it wasn't. It was Mickey McLaggen, Keeper for the Ballycastle Bats, who had come over to her. He told her that he was going to be on the practice pitch for a while, if she was planning on throwing. "No problem if you weren't," he added.

As a woman who played a male-dominated sport professionally, and a relatively young one at that, Dreama had experienced a lot. Some of the attention she received was good, and some of it wasn't. She didn't mind the courtesy McLaggen showed her, and she also didn't mind getting in some practice on the pitch with a Keeper while she had the chance. Since Chasers outnumbered every other position, it was usually a lot of tossing Quaffles back and forth and not a very accurate depiction of what it was like in an actual match.

"That would be great. Thank you," she answered Mickey, picking up her bag so that she could carry it with her to where it would remain in her sight while she practiced. She'd be using one of the broomsticks that was available for use there rather than the Wasps's, but she didn't think that it would put her at a significant disadvantage. The brooms were all good quality; she wasn't just going to pull one out of a random garden shed.

michelangelo tiberius mclaggen

[michelangelo tiberius mclaggen]

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Mickey waited for another awkward second while Dreama agreed to join him. ”Cool,” he said before picking up his bag and turning to head towards the practice area. His dad would rip into him if he saw that exchange, especially with practicing with a Chaser from a different team. He’d yap away about giving up his ‘moves’. Anyone could go to a Bats match and watch Mickey’s ‘moves’. They weren’t exactly secret. Everyone also knew he had a weaker left side too because of his ear. These were all hinderances that he had dealt with his entire career, so Cormac could honestly stuff it. Mickey had already made a bigger splash during his few years of playing than his father ever had as a player.

Dropping his pack near where the gym brooms were, he shuffled through them. They were generic, run of the mill brooms, but kept in good condition. That was the benefit of having the league put money into the gym space. Did he prefer his usual broom? Absolutely. Every player liked the one they used every day. That and he was paid for it too. He’d heard some players explain it like riding a horse. You knew how to do it, but each broom had its own personality and skill level to get used to. A well-used broom from here was bound to be tame in comparison to some of the twitchier models out there thankfully.

”I’m surprised they have such recent models,” Mickey said as he found what looked to be an Air Wave Sport X broomstick and pulled it out. The Gold version had dominated the international racing league for decades, and then the company finally decided to dive into Quidditch. While not super popular still, it did allow for relatively tight control while flying. He preferred his Yajirushi, which he had imported from Japan. ”This might actually be good for you in such a small space,” he added as he held out the Air Wave broom to Dreama so she could get a feel for it.

dreama azurovna nightshade ● 343

MADE BY VEL OF GS + ADOX 2.0

[dreama azurovna nightshade]

Mid-April 2025
Magical Gymnasium, British Isles

Mickey expressed his surprise that the league had such recent broomstick models available for their use, with which Dreama had to agree. At Koldovstoretz, they used trees anyway, but she had heard things about the broomstick selection that had been available to students at Hogwarts who didn't have their own. In short, it sucked, and it wasn't uncommon to end up with a broom that was decades old and worked about as well as expected for its advanced age.

What would have been nicer would have been a way for them to be ensured the same broomsticks they used on their respective teams in the gym, though that would have been asking a lot. Spotting a stylish Varápidos among her options, Dreama was about to grab it when she saw that Mickey had gotten out an Air Wave Sport X, although it turned out that it wasn't for himself.

"This might actually be good for you in such a small space," he offered her, holding out the Air Wave.

Dreama considered it. While Mickey didn't play Chaser, he had a valid point, and it was nice of him to think of the specifications. "Hm, alright," she answered him with a nod as she took the broomstick in her hand. It would be easier to steer.

michelangelo tiberius mclaggen