Quidditch Fall 2021 Gryffindor v Hufflepuff

It had been a year. Even if the school year had just started, Atlas felt as though there had been so much that happened. It was an exhausting start to the year and she was hoping things would begin to calm down moving forward. A game of Quidditch after the start of the year’s chaos seemed almost out of place but it was a welcome image of normality. A chance for her to let out some of the building stress in a nice competitive game.

Before prepping for the game, Atlas had told Ethen that he better not get blasted off his broom again. She had experienced enough scares for the year and didn’t exactly enjoy the notion of watching her boyfriend plummeting through the air...again. But she had faith in him and her team. They might have struggled to close out the previous year with the same level of grandeur they were hoping for but Atlas knew they were coming back with a renewed hunger. They would remind the other teams who were the best on the pitch.

Inhaling deeply, Atlas closed her eyes and just took in the moment as she entered the pitch. The exciting aura of competition was upon them and that only made Atlas more eager. She lived for the excitement of a game and the chance to prove herself. Last year’s games had all devolved into chaotic slugfests and she wondered what approach the Gryffindor team would have this year. Not that it mattered. It wasn’t like they would have the skill to get a goal on her anyways.

Kicking off the ground, Atlas took to the skies to casually glide her way into position. “Let’s do this, Puffs! They don’t have a chance,” Atlas taunted as she stretched out her arms and shoulders. She felt nimble and focused. The nerves she used to feel were entirely replaced by an eagerness to crush the other team. Tucking a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, Atlas grit her teeth and narrowed her gaze on the other team. She felt ready. One hand gripped her broom while the other arm deceptively rested at her side, ready to launch to the defense if needed. After the school year so far, Atlas needed to feel the rush of a win. So there would be nothing that could break her resolve and focus, even the absurd wailing that was her boyfriend’s singing.

ACTION: Getting into position and doing as strategized.

banner by my delightful frat brother, astrea soleil neptune

Stats: Sta: 7 | Eva: 9 [+3 = 12] | Str: 17 | Wis: 6 | Arc P: 3 | Acc: 14 [+3 = 17]
Abilities: Martial Artist, Prodigal Transfig, Spell Spread, Animagus
Broom: Nimbus 2001

• +3 to two separate stats of choice.
• Counters the ability Foulplay. If a player performs a cheat action you can forgo your action for that round automatically (must state a desire to not do this if you do not want to give up your action) and notice the cheating action performed by a member (or multiple members) of the opposite team.
• +1 critical chance.

ROUND ONE

CHASERS + KEEPERS

GRABS

GRYFFINDOR RAFAEL is cheating. ANASTASIA is saving. HALEY is also cheating.

HUFFLEPUFF ROSIE | UA: 56, 73, 78 [d20:4]+11 = 15 [d20:2]+11 = 13 [d20:1]+11 = 12 HOWARD | UA: n/a [d20:13]+19 = 32 [d20:7]+19 = 26 [d20:17]+19 = 36 SERENA: saving

SCORES

GRYFFINDOR AKARI is saving.

HUFFLEPUFF HOWARD | TP: 61, 81, 70 unaffected by UA, scores all three rounds.

The red leather ball was tossed into the air, but Gryffindor seemed to have no interest in the Quaffle, their Chasers instead flying off towards bigger and better penalties. Hufflepuff’s Serena also hung back from the fray, but Rosie and Howard seemed to value their Quaffle points, not wasting a moment diving towards the ball. Perhaps Rosie was slightly out of practice, having warmed the bench for so long, but the girl trailed behind Howard as he confidently swept up the Quaffle three times in a row, sending it soaring easily through Gryffindor’s unguarded hoops and marking a strong opening from the Badgers. An announcement rang out across the stadium, along with the clanging of the bell signaling a score.

“Ten points from White. Twenty… that’s thirty points for Hufflepuff!”

BEATERS + CHEATERS
initiative: Haley[99], Rafael[97], Quinn[87], Ami[18], Kage[12], Griseldis[3]

GRYFFINDOR HALEY blatches QUINN UA: 4 | TP: 56 Haley misses due to Howard’s UA RAFAEL blatches ETHEN UA: 97 | TP: 80 | AD: 82 acc: [d20:9]+12 = 21 eva: [d20:19]+7 = 26 KAGE bludgers ETHEN UA: 95 | TP: 11 | AD: 88 acc: [d20:9]+11 = 20 eva: [d20:8]+7 = 15 dmg: 945 -- KOB [saved by SERENA] GRISELDIS bludgers SERETHEN UA: n/a | TP: n/a acc: [d20:3]+15 = 18 eva: [d20:6]+8 = 14 dmg: 1125 | KOB

HUFFLEPUFF QUINN backbeats HALEY UA: 1 | TP: 30 | CP: 26 Quinn misses due to Howard's UA. AMI backbeats RAFAEL UA: 18 | TP: 59 | CP: 28 acc: [d20:18]+16+5 = 39 eva: [d20:10]+11 = 21 dmg: 765 | 535 remains.

As the Hufflepuff Chasers easily scored their points, there was a flurry of activity elsewhere on the pitch. Haley showed no interest in the Quaffle, instead shooting off in an attempt to collide directly into Quinn, which honestly looked like it would hurt her more than it would the part-giant. Perhaps realising this, she pulled up at the last moment, leaving Quinn unscathed for the moment, but it was too late to act natural.

“Rose, penalty for attempted blatching!” The referee would call out, and the girl would be exiled to the outskirts of the pitch to take a penalty lap.

Haley wasn’t the only Lion with cheating on the mind-- Rafael, too, took aim for a Hufflepuff, meaning to knock Ethen off his broom. Rafael looked calm and confident, eyes locked on his target. Ethen, obliviously searching for the snitch, seemed to be an easy target, but as Rafael closed in, the Hufflepuff narrowly dodged the attack, clearly more aware than he let on.

“D’Spacito, you too! Penalty for attempted blatching!” The Gryffindors were not messing around with their plays, but at what cost? Neither blatch had succeeded, and the Lions were down two players to penalty laps.

Hufflepuff was ready to retaliate. Quinn, probably not too thrilled with Haley’s malicious blatch attempt, targeted the lioness in return with what was sure to be a nasty backbeat. But perhaps his good conscience got the better of him-- she hadn’t followed through on the blatch, and she was already starting to loop around the pitch on a penalty lap. Or maybe it was just a sense of unease, a tingle down his spine. Whatever the reason, Quinn’s swing would falter, and Haley would escape unscathed.

Her fellow chaser and cheater, however, would not be nearly as lucky. A formidable beater in her inaugural match as first-string, Ami would not disappoint. With her impeccable aim, Rafael had no chance of escaping the vicious backbeat the Hufflepuff sent flying his way. The iron bludger would collide with the boy, likely knocking the breath out of him, but fortunately, he would manage to hang on to his broom. Unfortunately, he was still on his merry way towards a penalty lap.

Alas, Gryffindor wasn’t done with the bloodshed. Both beaters seemed to have the same idea-- unfortunately for Ethen, he seemed to have a bright, loud, shiny target on his back with flashing arrows that said “hit me!”. Kage was just a hair quicker to the draw, and the younger Gryffindor beater would send a bludger soaring towards Hufflepuff’s star seeker with all of his obnoxious strength. Ethen had no such evasive luck this time, and the iron ball flew true to slam into Ethen’s side. The sheer momentum of the ball left the Badger with no chance of hanging on, and he was sent plummeting to the ground. Serena, having been on standby just for this purpose, would swoop in as Ethen’s knight in shining yellow, but the relief was only temporary. The two had not a moment to take a breath before they were slammed by another bludger, Griseldis’, even more strength behind this one than the first. The two Badgers were still flying, but now without a broom and aimed towards the hard dirt of the pitch below.

SEEKERS

GRYFFINDOR EVELYNN seeks.| DC: 31 [d20:8]+17 = 25 keen eye: 36 FAIL

HUFFLEPUFF ETHEN seeks.| DC: 33 [d20:7]+16 = 23 keen eye: 95 SUCCESS

Ethen plummeted towards the grass below, no one left to save him from a muddy end to his match. But the universe took pity on the poor seeker-- or, more likely, took an opportunity to taunt him-- and he would have a moment of clarity as the ground quickly approached. Sunlight reflecting high in the sky; small white wings fluttering just out of reach, just too late. The last thing the boy would see before blacking out with a mouthful of grass and mud was the elusive snitch sneaking away, back into the grey sky.

Meanwhile, momentarily safe from the chaos of the match all around her, Evelynn would scour the field for that tantalizing glimpse of gold. Alas, the snitch eluded her every glance, as it seemed the universe was more apathetic towards the Gryffindor seeker.

SCORE

GRYFFINDOR 0 points

HUFFLEPUFF 30 points

please DM or owl me with questions or concerns! the deadline for the next round is
Saturday, October 23rd at 20:00 EST.

INTERACTIONS Reducio n/a

MENTIONING Reducio everyone, really

At the sound of the whistle, the game was on and the lions broke immediately from centre stage and into their formations. Aggressive. That was the tactic that their oh so beloved captain had desired of them, complete with blatch a-plenty. Like usual, it seemed. Evelynn was not a fan. Never had, never would, and the pursing of her lips as she watched the boy abandon the quaffle to their competitors in favour of chasing after the Hufflepuff seeker had her lips puckered in distaste as though she'd just sampled a sour grape.

Then again.. as she took off near vertically to put as much distance between herself and the frighteningly effective badger beaters, a small part of her had to admit that perhaps she wasn't quite as disapproving this time around. She'd taken quite a beating during their last few games. While unseating her entirely had proved incredibly difficult for the other Houses—as evidenced by the fact that Adelard had yet to actually leave the bench—it didn't mean she hadn't experienced the fright of the fall or the pain of a solid blow.

That explosive agony was something she knew only all too well. Its memory prodded the back of her mind, setting her blood to boil and her heart to race. More than a few times, she caught herself glancing back around in searching of incoming assaults rather than the snitch. The Hufflepuff team, much like her own, wasn't afraid to throw their weight around. They'd targeted her numerous times in the past with well executed pincers, and she wasn't about to allow herself to fall prey unwittingly to such a tactic again.

Vigilance cost her, however. Flying strategically throughout the masses and keeping herself at a distance to minimize opportunities of attack for the others, she could only concentrate so well on actually doing her job. Of course, if she was on the ground unconscious, she wouldn't be able to seek and catch at all. At least that was how she was rationalizing it to herself.

As the first opening chaos began to clear, however, it became evident that they weren't nearly as interested in eliminating her as they had been in previous games. Good. It meant that they were recognizing the rest of her team as threats. They'd worked hard over the summer and proved themselves in the international game. And, with feats of aerial brilliance, they did so all over again as the expertly dodged the tri-pronged opening attack. It made her swell with pride to know that their existences on the pitch were worth snuffing before that of her own and that they would not be felled so easily. Resolve strengthening with the reminder that she was not alone in this game, Evelynn set her eyes on the prize.

[font=century gothic]ACTION: Doing as strategized[/font]

Banner by Winnie Harper

Interacting with: --
Mentioning: --

As the game commenced, instead of joining the immediate action Akari veered off to the side, waiting and watching to make sure that if any of her teammates were on the receiving end of a lovely iron bludger, she would be ready to swoop in and save them from their end.

Though, after seeing out of the corner of her eye the quaffle easily soar through their own goalposts, she had to admit at the back of her mind she felt a slight longing surface. A longing to go and protect her beloved hoops from the mercilessness of the Hufflepuff chasers. But alas, they would just have to wait for her to come to their rescue, she had others to help now.

Akari jerked forward automatically after her attention was caught by the sight of a bludger colliding with her captain, ready to come to his aid if he somehow lost his balance from the impact. Luckily however he was quick to recover and her help was not needed so, she stayed put.
Her eyes then briefly flitted around again, double checking that everyone else was still safely situated upon their brooms after that close call. They had better not lose a player this early.

[font= garamond]

Action: Doing as stratigized

Position: First String Keeper
Broom: Sliver Arrow (+3 to all stats)
Abilities: Charmer & Impartial
Stats: Stamina: 7 (10) - Evasion: 10 (13) - Strength: 5 (8) - Wisdom: 4 (7) - Arcane Power: 7 (10) - Accuracy: 10 (13)

When the whistle blew Howard would lay flat on his broom and speed towards the Quaffle. The adrenaline would surge as the match finally began. Long arms that ended in clawed hands would reach for the leather ball as his red eyes scanned for other player, but none would come. Not only would no Gryffindor challenge him, but there would be no keeper to stop him either. It would soon become apparent why he had no opposition as the opposing chasers served out a pair of batches. There was no need to stop now, however Howard's heart would drop as Ethen and Serena plummeted to the ground. He would score three quick goals and look to his captains for further instruction.

Stats: STA- 11 + 3 = 14 | EVA- 9 + 3 = 12 | STR- 14 + 3 = 17 | WIS- 0 + 3 = 3 | ARCP- 0 + 3 = 3 | ACC- 17 + 3 = 20
Abilities: Fangs, Claw & Bite | Martial Artist | Unsettling Aura | Blindvision | Keen Smell
Broom: Silver Arrow: +3 to all stats
Action: Doing as strategized

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Interacting With: @Ethen Emrys
Mentioning: @Anastasia Beckett@Griseldis Edelhardt @Kage Suzuki @Haley Rose @Evelynn Decipio @Ami Procoppio
Hex Color: #800000

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Time had many words today, it would seem.

Following the initial resonance of the referee’s whistle, a field once stoic and unmoving exploded into a sort of controlled chaos native only to the facets of the infamous game called Quidditch, skies once solemnly cloudy now colorful with the delightfully frenzied players of the red and gold caliber – the discord was, in the least, a delight to the young Captain, if he could say as much, a small smile tugging at the ends of his lips as brown eyes scanned the progression of the Quaffle. Perhaps the feeling of nostalgia flooding through his very fingertips was a feeling mutual to all players seriously immersed in the sport at hand, or perhaps it was only native to himself in his experiences with the game, but nonetheless, he would think little of the technicalities, choosing instead to revel in the bouts of electricity firing through every nerve and synapse in his weathered body and hone it in for redirection. After all, it was a feeling he rarely felt but four times a year, and he was nothing without it spurring him on. Brown eyes alert and tracing the advances of both his team and the opposition, he searched his surroundings for the whereabouts of his fellow teammates – Ana was guarding the skies in search for a casualty, hot enough to grill hamburgers. (It was really a hazard. They needed to talk about it.) Gris and Kage were circling. Haley was chasing her own beefy target. Eve was searching for that golden glint of success a little too fast for anyone’s eyes but her own. All was going according to plan at the moment – knock on wood, of course, because they had a long game ahead of them.

Perhaps he should be concerning himself with his own role in this play. His eyes narrowing in the slightest and smile morphing into something a bit more sinister in nature, he allowed his gaze to wander from the progressions of his teammates towards the fleeting form of the opposition’s star seeker – Ethen seemed to be making good use of himself, much to the chagrin of the Gryffindor, who cringed at the very idea of Hufflepuff snatching the snitch from the Lions’ collective midsts. However, Rafael took pride in the Lions’ impeccable aim and steely vigor. Of course, there was hardly a target in any school that Gryffindor couldn’t knock with a well-executed play, a trait that had most undoubtedly won the season for the red and gold the season prior. As long as everyone stuck to the previously-formulated strategy, they could prevail once again against this stronger team. Right?

Choosing not to give it any more thought, the young man instead decided to redirect his broom towards the clouds, his descent slow and steady as to mimic the ascent of an innocent and otherwise preoccupied lifeguard. A merry tune would proceed to roll off his tongue in the form of a soft and lively whistle, which tune, he couldn’t quite recall – his eyes, pupils trained on a blurry happening below, would coyly watch his target from a safe distance, waiting for the precise moment in which the tail end faced in his general direction. Feet kicking, features soft, seemingly focused, for all intents and purposes inattentive to the seeker only yards away from him. Finally, his opportunity arrived, in which his whistle abruptly stopped, leaning forward and his foot pointed outward, picking up speed, moving faster –

It was a shame, then, that Ethen was as quick with his mind as he was with his broom – the dodge was clean, if not narrow, and the Captain felt an exhale of disappointment leave his chest as his target shortly evaded his midst, his features shortly turning bitter fury at his own failure. What had given him away? Had it been the sudden halting of the whistle? The sound of his robes flapping in the wind? Had he simply looked suspi- “AGH!” Pain. Pain. Fuck, hold on. Fingers instinctively tightened around the shaft of his own broom, knuckles white, the sudden clashing of metal against skin promptly stealing away the Captain’s breath and the last of his cheerful disposition in one uncomfortably long moment. “Ffff…uck,” was all he could express as his senses slowly returned to him, dizzyingly fast and disconcerting. Pain. Lots of Pain. Ow. Agony. His lower back throbbed in retaliation, reeling in disgust and anger, red with the irritation that seemed to follow him in any physical or verbal altercation. I know. I know. I’m pissed too.

His gaze shifted to the benefactor of his pain – the face struck him as familiar, too much so to have been a stranger. It was a girl, one who very, very resembled someone the Captain had formerly acquainted himself with – Chad, was it? Duh, of course. How could he have forgotten Chad. Yeah, Rafael liked Chad. Chad’s sister, on the other hand, was a different story. He was really going to have to find that guy and give him a piece of his mind. I’ll have to watch her then, he noted quietly, turning his broom towards the outskirts of the pitch with a sense of defeat. He had been quite unsuccessful – yet, the game was still young, and there was a lot of opportunity to improve his gameplay. He would hold his head up high. If he could straighten out his frame for one moment. Damn, that burns.

Despite such misfortunes, however, it would seem as if the team had completed its desired mission – Ethen had been dethroned, thanks to the unparalleled prowess of the Gryffindor beater duo. Now to keep up this momentum, he noted to himself quietly. Push, Gryffindor, push…

STA _____ 13 EVA _____ 11 STR _____ 12 WIS _____ 15 ARC _____ 5 ACC _____ 12

STATS & ABILITIES Interception Reducio When a Quaffle is being passed, users with this ability automatically get a chance to Intercept the quaffle. This does not replace their normal action for the round. This put the quaffle in your and by extension you teams' possession. Also, if the Quaffle is dropped for any reason, you would automatically (without it taking up an action) attempt another Quafflegrab. At present there would be no mid-round way to drop a quaffle due to the order of operations, however there will be certain effects in future patches that can cause this effect. Catch Reducio Able to catch two falling players on your broom when playing Quidditch. These additional caught players would be brought to the ground safely and they would be allowed to retrieve their broom and enter play again the next round. This can be done every round as the player's action if they choose to do so. With brooms that have the feature where an additional player may be caught (such as Bluebottle) where there is a stackable chance of failure with each additional person caught, there is no stacking failure chance for players with this ability. Perfectionist Reducio You have a reduced critical failure chance range by 1. In addition, you can counter up to 1 point of additional critical failure chances caused by abilities or spells (not potions). In other words, if you have an extended critical failure chance range (as is the case with certain races, the effect of certain spells or potions), this reduces that range by 1. So if you have a +2 critical failure chance range (meaning if you roll a 1,2, or a 3 you critically fail), this ability makes it a +1 critical range instead (meaning if you roll a 1 or a 2 you critically fail).

Broom: Silver Arrow [Stats Added]

Position: First String Chaser

Action • Taking the L + Doing as Strategized

Broom: Silver Arrow (+3 to all stats)

The first game of the season, the first game against the strong Hufflepuffs and the first game for Haley on the field. The Quaffles were thrown aloft, but her focus was on anything but the Quaffles. Instead of flying off to try and grab one of the Quaffles, Haley jetted off to another target. Quinn.

Haley leaned forward on her broom, her gaze fixed on her target like a lion aiming for a gazelle to chase. But the faster she got and the closer she got, the feeling came over her that the lion cub would not be strong enough to master this goal. She wanted to give everything for her team, even a foul she would take on herself in order not to disappoint anyone, but the closer she got, the more doubts arose. At the last moment she decided against it, but it was too late. Her attempt was obvious and so she was punished with a penalty lap.

She immediately went over in her penalty and a glance at the board told her that the Hufflepuffs had scored 30 points in the meantime, but Haley did not lose the fighting spirit. The game had just begun and she would continue to give everything she had to support the team to get their first win of the season for the Lions.

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Interacting With: @Ami Procoppio
Mentioning: @Hayley Rose | @Rafael D'Spacito

Hex Color: #0080FF
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For Moderation:

Position: First String Chaser
Action: Do as strategized
Health: 800/800
Broom: Silver Arrow (+3 to all stats)
Abilities: | Lovely Creature | Fearless | Terrible Presence | Evasive Maneuvers |
Stats: Stamina 5 (8) | Evasion 14 (17) | Strength 5 (8) | Wisdom 9 (12) | Arcane Power 10 (13) | Accuracy 11 (14)

A moment before the game began, the air seemed to be electric and time seemed to slow. In an instant, things had begun and the moment was gone. Mostly because of Ami shouting something that, like the vast majority of the things that the Hufflepuff said, made absolutely no sense to Ami. "Would it physically pain you to speak intelligibly on occasion?" Ana questioned, somewhat directed at Ami but really just to the world.

Ana's eyes flitted across the field, taking in everything at once and determining whether or not there was anything for her to act upon. She was the lifeguard that round, so if action on her part turned out to be necessary, it would need to be instant.

It turned out not to be needed, so she was able to get a pretty good idea of what happened in the game. Hufflepuff easily made 30 points, which made her jaw clench. It certainly wasn't insurmountable by any means but the principle of letting the bloody Badgers of all people rack up points like that didn't sit right with her.

Ana didn't know much about Rose, beyond the fact that Ana was older than her. Still, starting off her very first game with a blatch, even a failed one, was certainly something Ana could stand behind. Rafa attempted a blatch as well, which wasn't remotely surprising. It was one of the first things they had ever talked about. God, that seemed ages ago. They'd been so bloody young. Ana was certainly older and wiser since then, although she rather wished she wasn't.

Trying to focus on the game, her thoughts drifted slightly. She would be lying if she said she didn't have some sort of feelings for her best friend, but she was always perfectly happy to lie. She was just... noticing how good he looked. That was a thing friends did. He'd always been handsome, in a way that was obnoxiously noticeable and rather distracting at times, but it seemed to have gotten so much worse lately. Nope, nope, nope, not going there, not doing that.

A bludger sped past Rose and Ana's attention was pulled back to the game. Stupid handsome distracting best friends...

As she moved slightly closer to the younger girl, in case a second bludger was coming. Somewhere else she heard a sickening thunk and glanced over her shoulder. The aforementioned stupid handsome distracting best friend appeared to have taken a bludger, which made Ana wince slightly. Bludgers seemed to be going all around, and Hufflepuff's seeker as well as the player who had caught him plummeted to the ground. All in all, not a terrible way to start the game. Now if Ana could just bloody focus...