Oh Sweet Anticipation Quidditch Match

Artwork by @Thea Knott

Mentioning Greta Fransson (@Evelynn Decipio), @Willow Anderson, @Annie Morgan, @Serena Bowen, @Quinn Healy, Valentin Schnell (@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood)

Rejuvenated from seeing the banner in the stands with his name on it, Aaron got back into position with his fellow chasers. Annie Morgan and Serena Bowen knew the plan, and that was to get into a Hawkshead formation. Well, first, they needed to gain possession of the quaffle, of course. Aaron flew forward into the fight for the ball several times, and each time he failed to gain possesion. In fact, Greta ended up with the quaffle every time, and it was incredibly frustrating for him. The worst part was that Greta managed to score all three times as well. It wasn't Willow's fault, but Aaron knew she was probably feeling crushed right now. It seemed that the Durmstrang players were more seasoned than they had thought.

Aaron wiped the sweat from his brow as his dark eyes took in the field. Things weren't looking too great at the moment, with Durmstrang now thirty points in the lead, but there was no time to dawdle. The dark-haired boy flew up high in search of the team captain. He spotted Quinn just as he took a bludger. Aaron winced from where he was, but was relieved that Quinn was able to stay on his broom. He was fine in the end, even hitting a bludger directly into Durmstrang's seeker. The sight of the pale Durmstrang player plummeting to the ground was both terrifying and exhilarating. This was good! They still had time to turn things around!

Aaron looked back at Quinn, nodding in his direction as the next strategy was brought to mind. He flew back to position, determination written all over his features. This round would definitely be theirs!

Action: Doing as Strategized
Moderation Information:

Reducio

Broom: Comet 180 (+2 accuracy, +1 evasion, +1 stamina)
Statistics: Stamina: 7 (+ 1) = 8
Evasion: 7 (+ 1) = 8
Strength: 7
Wisdom: 3
Arc. Power: 3
Accuracy: 8 (+ 2) = 10
Ability: Martial Artist

Serena could hear the cheers of her fellow teammates and friends screaming from the benches or the stands. The pressure to perform well was definitely on and getting to her, that much was clear. She searched the skies, trying to look for any signs of that illusive golden snitch but could not help constantly looking over her shoulders. She knew they were coming. It was only a matter of time. They would catch up with her. They would throw every single bludger her way if they could, they would cheat their way to the win. After their attempts, it was clear that the opposing team would stop at nothing to win and that terrified her a little. It was only a matter of time before someone knocked her off her broom or a bludger hit her square in the face.

But the familiar voice of her friends helped calm her nerves just a little. Reid was not short on cheers. Give 'em hell... And that was exactly what Hufflepuff were doing. She watched the opposing seeker fall from their broom. She was likely next but she, somehow, had managed to hold on for the moment. There was a small glory to be had in this. Durmstrang were known to be far better at Quidditch than Hogwarts, they were likely the favourites to win and the odds were most likely stacked in their favour. But... there was still a small glory in that Hogwarts were not making it easy. The team were doing everything they could to make it just a tad bit harder. That... was enough.

Rosie and Atlas were not short on cheers either. They might be small in general but their voices, their passion and their spirit was far larger than most. She had to do everything to help the team win. Serena spotted the Durmstrang chaser score a few more times. Damn... The chasers were struggling. Gripping her broom, she knew it was her turn. She could start leveling out the playing field. No... She had to level out the playing field.

"Wh- What... Divine... Hippogriff..." Serena muttered to herself as she heard one of the opposing team beaters scream at her, calling her a divine hippogriff. She was honestly kind of confused. Was that an insult? Like... divine was... a good thing, right? Being called a hippogriff might be kind of mean... He was calling her a creature, rather than a person but... also... hippogriffs did fly rather well so... he was... complimenting her, in a way? God, she had no idea. She was baffled, in all honesty.

If nothing else, the beater had successfully distracted her from her actual task - trying to win this bloody game! Right. Focus. Quidditch. Where was that quaffle now and where was that dern snitch hiding?[/size]

ACTION: Whatever Captain Healy / Co-Captain Jones tells me to do~

FOR MOD - Stats:

Reducio

POSITION:

Seeker: First-String

STATISTICS:

Stamina: 7 (+3) = 10
Evasion: 10 + (3) = 13
Strength: 1+ (3) = 4
Wisdom: 11 + (3)  = 14
Arcane Power: 4 + (3) = 7
Accuracy: 10 + (3) =13

BROOM:

Silver Arrow
Handmade by Leonard Jewkes and can reach speeds of 68 mph. 
Stats: +3 to every stat [Added above for ease]

ABILITIES:

Race: Part-Goblin
Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers

There she was- where Willow Anderson was standing, defending the rings, a Durmstrang Chaser ready to goal into one of the rings. It was as thought it was in slow motion. Willow trying to block her, but then she scored....Ten to Durmstrang! May caught up into a serie of Boohs but then, she looked at what was happening with the captain Quinn Healy and the Seeker Valentin Shnell. May cheered the half giant when the bludger hit him hard and he was starting to go on the ground...
"You go where you belong white guy!!!" she screamed, and wondered how the second string seeker of Durmstrang was. Hopefully, May wouldn't have to face that one.
Now, Hufflepuff was making its way into losing. But no- she wouldn't blame anyone of the team. It was these Durmstrang guys that were playing dirty.

STA | 8

EVA | 4

STR |9

WIS | 2

ARC P | 4

ACC | 9

Action: Benched

Prodigal Charms Learner

────────────────── ♖ ──────────────────

Interacting With: N/A
Mentioning: Greta Franssen • Valentin Schell • Vyacheslav Preobrazhensky • Kolya Mikhailov • Quinn Healy
Hex Color: #0080BF

─────────────────── • ───────────────────

There was something truly liberating about the final stretch, some sort of exhilaration that tugged at the heart of the young Quidditch Captain as he coasted upon the sharp evening air, his ears deaf to the shouts and jeers of both his classmates and that of the other students as his eyes trained themselves on the progression of the game. Hufflepuff was far more resilient than the Durmstrang team had originally anticipated, the boy had long since decided, which meant they would need all the support they could get come the following rounds. Not that his team seemed to need all that much support – Greta, admittingly, was killing it with the Quaffle, the boy couldn’t help but notice with a small, wry smile, a proud accomplishment coming from the Franssen family. A bludger seemed to have hit its target, as well, thanks to the skilled Kolya – Slava’s was also close, mere feet from making its mark. Maybe next time. Durmstrang, of no surprise to the young man, was working like a well-oiled machine, everyone performing exactly how they should in the midst of battle. They were winning, if not by their point lead, then by their spectacular operation on the field. However, any joy the child may have held in his chest had promptly disappeared in a moment, replaced by a pooling of dread in his stomach more frigid than the Scandinavian waters he had left behind in his homeland.

Schnell had fallen.

It was okay. It was okay, they could recover.

No, they couldn’t. Not without Schnell.

With the brutal disarming of the team’s star seeker, came a new rush of feeling, something akin to disgust, disappointment, guilt… rage. He was angry, angry at the Hufflepuffs for taking out his teammate. His friend. Or, maybe it was himself that he was angry at, having been restrained by the consequences of his own actions and unable to do anything but watch as the young man fell to the ground. It didn’t matter. All that mattered now, was the dangerous sort of anger pooling about within his chest, the dark creature threading its way into his limbs, evident by the clenching of his white knuckles around the handle of his broom, stormy blue eyes narrowing in contempt as he gazed at the one responsible for the attack. The giant. He would have to pay for his actions.

It won’t happen again, the boy couldn’t help but think, his cheeks red and eyes ablaze as he scowled deeply, a shadow falling over his face. Not if I have a say in things.

Action • Doing as Strategized

Hanzo Fransson || First-String Chaser

STAM | 4 EVA | 11 STR | 4

WIS | 9 ARC | 1 ACC | 12

────────────────────────────── Monster Hunter | You are a human unlike these.... these... monsters! This ability only works on magical creatures. +2 accuracy against anything that has non-human ancestry. ──────────────────────────────

Broom | Nimbus 1700 [Stats Added Above]

Writing as Ella Forsberg

Stats: Stamina: 3 | Strength: 1(3) | Evasion: 7(8) | Wisdom: 10(12) | Accuracy: 7 | Arc Power: 7 |

Nimbus 1001: +2 wisdom, +2 strength, + 1 evasion

Lovely Creature: You are very distracting to look at. This increases the Control DC of spells in duels and adventures by +2 as well as the DC for finding things in adventures or the DC for finding the snitch in a game of Quidditch.
Of note: The Lovely Creature ability in Quidditch matches only affects the snitch search DC for the opponent team.

───※ ·❆· ※───
Mentioning @Ruby Cazares (Vyacheslav Preobrazhensky)
@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood (Valentin Schnell)
@Evelynn Decipio (Greta Fransson)
@Quinn Healy

When Kolya and his fellow Beater partner decided to focus on another target that was the huge looking Hufflepuff Beater. They wanted to try to get rid of one of those Badger's offensive roles. Slava managed to hit a Buldger at the large giant but when it was his turn to give the final blow, he didn't expect that the Hufflepuff Beater was able to evade his powerful attack. His eye widened in pure shock, as the giant went after the white Niffler and knocked him off his broom. NOOO!! Kolya screamed in his mind while watching their seeker fell helplessly to the ground. A moment of guilt washed over him, his hands became white while gripping his Silver Arrow tightly with all his remaining strength.

"Tss...", Kolya could only bit his lower lip in frustration. It was indeed not a great feeling when failing twice in a row. Relief that his father wasn't there to witness it but it wasn't like he would ever be interested in watching his own son's game. His father always claimed that he was a busy man. Looked like targeting the enemy Beater wasn't much of a good idea after all, and there was no time to regret. So far Durmstrang was still on the lead, thanked Greta's great talent as a Chaser. But the game was still not over yet and any unexpected possibilities could happen just like how it happened to their own seeker.

What happened it happened, they could only move forward to find another way to win victory no matter the cost. Kolya would not let anything or anyone get in his way.

Action: Doing as Strategized.

Stamina: 7 (10)
Evasion: 10 (13)
Strength: 10 (13)
Wisdom: 2 (5)
Arcane Power: 2 (5)
Accuracy: 10 (13)

Broom: Silver Arrow [+3 to every stat during Quiddtich Game]
Abilities: Evasive Maneuvers & Broken Broomshaft

Writing as Vyacheslav Preobrazhensky

The game continued. Greta was incredible out there, scoring three goals in a row. The Durmstrang team was very lucky to have her on their side. Slava did not need to worry about the score when she was pushing them forward at that pace. He just had to focus on his job—taking out the competition. The look he had exchanged with Kolya was interpreted correctly as they both aimed for one of the Hogwarts Beaters. Slava shuddered at what it must be like to get hit with one of the Bludgers that the enormous Beater launched at someone. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to find out.

Concentrating, he whacked the Bludger when it came near. Sure enough, it hit its mark. Slava was about to cheer, but then he realised that the boy had not gone down. What?! He saw the other Bludger whiz past. Kolya had missed. Better luck next time? Slava wasn't upset or disappointed, although he knew that his companion would likely be beating himself up over it. Surely the enemy Beater wouldn't be able to take many more hits… mess-ups happen anyway and they had both missed before. Hopefully they would have better luck with whatever they decided this round.

Their Seeker had gone down, taken out by that Beater. A wave of determination hardened his resolve. They would succeed this time, they had to. For Schnell.

Action: Doing as strategised

Statistics:
Stamina: 6 (9)
Evasion: 7 (10)
Strength: 7 (10)
Wisdom: 6 (9)
Arcane Power: 5 (8)
Accuracy: 10 (13)

Broom: Silver Arrow [+3 to every stat]
Position: First-string Beater

First Ability: Evasive Maneuvers

Reducio

Effect: Harder to hit on average, a 10% chance that anything that targets this wizard automatically misses. This is rolled separately from the attack roll.

Second Ability: Broken Broomshaft

Reducio

Effect: On a full hit with a bludger, if the user is knocked off their broom there is a 25% chance that the broom is shattered as well. If the broom is shattered, the opponent will not be able to use the broom for the duration of the Quidditch match (they do not lose their broom permanently, they would repair it off-screen later). If they are caught by an ally, they would have no broom to return to and would have to ride with an ally or remain on the ground for the duration of the game. There are some two-player moves where a player can share a broom but this is still a devastating loss for a team.

[font=century gothic]INTERACTING WITH | MENTIONS Hanzo Fransson, Romeo Marchonne, Ella Forsberg, Der Niffler, Serena Towers, Willow Anderson[/font]

The last failure of a goal had spurred her ire. It wasn't that the keeper had done well to block her shot, but rather that she had done poorly in sending off the quaffle. She had to play better. Harder. She needed to focus. Colours and screams in the crowd had kept drawing her attention. The swiftly racing forms of her brother, Hanzo, and her friend, Romeo, had sparked anxiety in her core. They had been called to run a lap in penalty, and yet she had seen that the target they were meant to eliminate quickly had remained on her broom. Fortunately, the girl had finally smartened up and sought to seek the snitch rather than lay her paws on the beloved crimson leather. Still, every moment she hadn't been spent hunting meant another advantage for their Niffler. Not that he needed it. Greta was confident in his skill, in his ability to seek out that little golden orb and bring it home. He'd received that moniker for a reason, and she had every faith that he would uphold it.

Yet.. there remained a sinking feeling in her stomach. A sense of urgency that drove her to try to fly faster. To dive harder for the Quaffle. Do exert herself to the brink of her physical capabilities against the constant buffeting of the wind and battling opposing chasers to secure every point she was capable of securing for her team. They needed a head start. They needed a lead. If not for Der Niffler and to give him a sense of security to continue his hunt with a calm head, than to drive off the mounting sense of unease that bubbled within her own core.

Harder. Faster. Stronger. To fly like she had never flown before and take the battle to new heights.

But these thoughts that stormed within her mind would only serve to hinder her. She knew this. Focus. She needed to focus. It wouldn't do well to dwell and slip her mind's eye into the other areas of the stadium if it meant being unable to give her 100% here and now. To score points. This was her task. The quaffle, and the hoops through which it was required to be put. These were her primary objects of concern. Everything else was superfluous.

Slowly, one by one, she tuned them out. The colour of the stands desaturated and blurred together. Players too far from her to be of any consequence blipped out as though they had never been present in the first place. The strategizing, she left up to the Captain and the Co-Captain. She knew her role. To score upon the team. To secure the target, darting in and around their grasping arms in a display of unparalleled agility. And then with it, to penetrate their defenses. Outpace them. Fly down their keeper. Fake and dive and curve the ball through every maneuver she could manage to slip past that impressively outstretched reach of their last defense. She was getting used to it by now, though. Could anticipate the way that their keeper would dive and just how far those fingers and boot tips would reach.

It wasn't enough, though. It would never be enough. Every last distraction had to go. So focused had Greta become in her battle of the one-man army that she didn't even realize that the one for whom she fought had fallen. The cheers and jeering of the crowd fell on deaf ears. Ignorant, as well, was she of the arrival of their replacement seeker. Perhaps it was best that way, however. It was hard enough to see an ally fall. Harder still when they were a good friend, and when the fate of the game rested on their shoulders. For the sake of the game, she couldn't succumb to the worry and guilt that would come with that crushing realization. For the sake of the game, the only thing that mattered was scoring points.

Action: Doing as Strategized

Nervousness rumble in Jack's stomach. It was an odd sensation, and he was not a fan. If only he could be out on a broom, maybe he could do something. But alas all he could do was sit and watch. Jack hollered out at Willow, "You got this! Don't give up!"

Action: Keep on cheering from the bench