𝙳𝚘𝚗𝚎 Slytherin & Gryffindor May 2022

The game was underway, and it seemed like the Lions had taken the early advantage. AJ was proud of his teammates for giving it their all. They were truly hungry for victory. He could only hope they were able to score almost two-hundred points before the Snitch showed up or it was possible all their efforts could be for naught. He wasn't going to let his own doubts ruin the match though. He continued watching his team and their opponents soar at top speeds through the sky.

Action: Vibing on the bench

Spectacular Banner by Leonard Oaksworth

Interactions: @Griseldis Edelhardt =

Mentions: @Winnie Harper =@Evelynn Decipio

For all its fanfare, and the ravings of a mad announcer, the cacophony preceding the match’s start was naught but the calm before the storm. The trill of a whistle signified the release of every pent-up nerve, buried expectation and glorified desire, all packed together in the respective vessels of player and fan alike. Given no release, the collective pressure was forced to expand, reaching volatile levels until every last bit was finally expelled in a roaring explosion, brought about by virtue of that single shrill note.

In his own contribution to that explosion, Marshal bolted from his opening position, allowing the anxious broom he sat astride to demonstrate the acceleration it was capable of. In this, his first quidditch match with his rump on something other than a bench, no effort would be saved, nor punch pulled. It was all or nothing, as though the outcome of the score coincided directly with that of his life, and he had no intention of going down while he still had anything to give. Gryffindor was counting on him. The team was counting on him. Evelynn was counting on him…
One last glance would be stolen at his captain - red hair billowing in her wake, manipulated by the force of her erratic, yet elegant flight patterns as she retreated from him - before his attention was drawn to a nearby voice throwing encouragement his way.

Turning to Gris, he offered a confident grin and a nod in return. The fourth year’s words were not cast in vain, but fell upon appreciative ears. Through his time on the team, whether it be flying alongside her in practices or observing her work from the bench, he’d come to admire the veteran beater’s skill and fortitude above the pitch. And while he hadn’t interacted with her much on a personal level, he had every intention of changing that.
Up to that point, individuals he’d practiced with on a one-on-one basis included only Evelynn and Winnie - the former still having yet to learn of the latter’s involvement on account of his fear that fraternization with ‘the enemy’ might result in an abrupt end to his life, or worse, his quidditch career. But for all their combined knowledge, ability, and- er… other intangible factors, there was something Griseldis had that neither of them ever would: experience as a beater. Given that simple fact, he was certain the older girl’s expertise would prove invaluable to his development as a player.
And beside that, he was of the opinion that the bond with his fellow beater was paramount above all other quidditch relations. After all, if they were to work as a team, good chemistry would likely carry them farther than any amount of physical practice could.

Inspired by the fervor her encouragement transferred, he focused in on the task at hand, first finding his target, then the projectile with which he would inflict the blow.
It wasn’t terribly difficult to spot the imposing form of Erin, nor the bludger screaming conveniently for his head of its own accord, apparently eager to end his first match before it began. Brandishing the wooden bat in his hand, he entered a seemingly ill-advised game of chicken with the violent ball, baiting it in before swerving to one side at the last moment. Angling broom and body in Erin’s direction, he rebuffed the bludger with a hefty swing of the bat, as wood met iron in a dull thud of solid contact. He knew on impact the strike was a good one, sending the heavy sphere on a dangerous path, destined for the opposing beater’s head. Unfortunately, it would not reach said destination.
Perhaps in his excitement to draw first blood, he’d telegraphed the attack too clearly, giving the Slytherin sufficient time to react. A mistake he vowed not to make again.

A quiet curse followed the sudden drop of disappointment, though yet another shout of reassurance interrupted it, this one coming from the ground below. Quickly shifting his gaze downward, the Gryffindor found the team’s co-captain, Pax, offering everything they possibly could to their counterparts, despite an inability to impact the match physically.
It hadn’t been long since Marshal had been stuck in that position, eager to help his team but unable to do so outside of exclamations that had often seemed empty. But now, as those enthusiastic words met the slight twinge of discouragement in his mind, it became clear that they carried more meaning than he ever could have known. Replacing frustration with newfound determination, the beater shoved thoughts of his mistake away and honed in on the next opportunity to impact the match.

Action: Doing as strategized.

Koko was meant to scour the field, searching for players falling out of the sky like pellets of rain. She did, actually, for as long as she could, and no Slytherins were falling. In fact, Erin was doing a great job at dodging bludgers and shooting them, but she was by no means falling.

Koko wouldn't have torn her gaze from the rest of the pitch had she not noticed the change in the wind around her. Quickly, she jerked her broom out of the way, and she watched as a Gryffindor barrelled past her. Had Koko not moved, that would have been a collision, and the Slytherin shuddered at the thought. She'd thought she was better than this. Gryffindors, too. Her mind echoed Plott's sentiment: This was what the house of 'noble courage' tried to do? Cheating was the coward's way out.

'Enjoy your lap,' said Koko sweetly, turning her gaze back to the pitch to see Lisa falling through the sky. She swore, about to launch after her, but noticed Tyranni was flying, too, ready to catch her, and far closer as well. She would let Tyranni do the save, she decided, still reeling from the attempted blatch.

Action: as strategised
Interactions: N/A
Mod Info:

Reducio

Stats:	Abilities:
Stamina: (15+3) 18 Evasion: (10+3) 13 Strength: (3+3) 6 Wisdom: (6+3) 9 Arc Power: (5+3) 8 Accuracy: (10+3) 13	Alluring - 10% chance opponent move is redirected against one of the opponent's allies Evasive Maneuvers - 10% Auto-dodge Scream: N/A Calming Presence - Allies (which are SLYTHERIN) have 10% chance of auto-success

Broom:

Silver Arrow - +3 to all stats

Lisa did her best. Her first match was not to be missed! she repeated to herself. But it wasn't winning. She had not yet managed to catch the quaffle. The young girl concentrated when a Bludger came straight at her. Lisa had no time to dodge it, and the ball came straight at her. She was in a lot of pain, and hoped that she hadn't broken anything.

First round, and it went surprisingly well!
Well, besides the annoying announcer who decided that if his hands touched another players, that meant they were dating. Seriously? What were they? Two? Simon wanted to slap him.
But he actually made a goal! He felt so proud of himself. Although it was one goal, he was still very proud of himself. Who wouldn't be? It was his first match.
Simon smiled as he got ready to make his next move. If all went well, he could become a star! He imagined himself surrounded by all his fellow Housemates after winning the match. He smiled to himself, feeling the nervous knot in his chest loosen.

It was easy to get lost in the chaos of a quidditch match if you were new to the game, both for players and bystanders alike. Odin bless the poor first years who came from muggle families and had never been exposed prior to their start at Hogwarts. This game would be no different except that it was not the first game of the year; a small blessing for those newcomers no doubt.

For the 3rd year captain however, this game was just another one of many she had under her belt. As everyone went racing around the pitch, anticipating the other teams moves and plans and doing their best, she herself chose to make quick flight paths at random to prevent any rival player from seeing a pattern in her flight. Barely a few minutes in and she saw it. A blur of green was falling towards the ground, picking up speed. Thankfully for once she was close enough to the player to swoop in and try to save them from the fate of smacking the ground.

With a quick dive, roll, and smooth flying she came below the falling meat sack and successfully caught Lisa. Tyr glanced back at the new addition to the team and chuckled. "Welcome to quidditch! Now hold tight." With that she raced off.

Abilities: Seer Effect: 10% auto-dodge & auto-hit Lovely Creature Effect: Affects the snitch search DC for the opponent team Prophecy Effect: 50% chance of vision during mods (not applicable to quidditch)

Stamina: 11 (14)	Evasion: 8 (11)
Strength: 7 (10)	Wisdom: 4 (7)	Broom: Silver Arrow | +3 to all stats as indicated by the bold numbers in (#)
Arcane Power: 3 (6)	Accuracy: 10 (13)	Position: First-String Chaser

Action: Doing as strategized
Mentioning: @Lisa Alistair
Health: 1400/1400
Translations: None this round

Zara was excited but stressed she wasn't even playing and her confidence levels were increasing then leaving her body entirely.
Zara had her fingers crossed that nobody would get hurt, but no guarantee there were the bludgers that would knock you off your broom, but also other players could knock you off.

Zara had dreamt the night before that everyone had gotten hurt and it was up to Zara to win the game but she had been hit over the head with a beater bat. This dream had decreased her confidence levels even more and Zara had never been a person that had faith in themselves.

Seekers

With Evelynn's Keen Eye, the Gryffindor Seeker had already spotted the snitch, leaving Slytherin at the disadvantage as Dan Palmer continued to search for a glint of gold. He failed to notice where that pesky snitch had went as Eve darted off closer to her quarry but first thing first... she would make a quaffle grab.



The Quaffle...

Evelynn would break convention and try to snatch the quaffle. The girl had one hell of a keen eye but was she fast enough to outpace an experienced Chaser like Koko Riddle? Eve would make haste and take the quaffle twice to the Slytherin rings, each time the rings undefended and she would lob the quaffle though the hoop. The crowd would cheer her on, she was holding her own next to Miss Riddle on the pitch for now. Koko would swipe the third out from under her and score uncontested. It was still anyone's game.



The Beaters

The present tactic was murder it would seem. While Tyrrani returned Lisa to her broom, Maggie was on standby for house Slytherin in case anyone fell to their doom. While Ivy took her penalty lap, Griseldis and Akari chose aggression over safety as they attempted to bludger the opposition and in case they failed Haley and Simon were on stand-by in case of of their Gryffindor allies fell. Regardless of which team faltered, there would be blood.

Cassandra would start things off, her bat would hit the iron bludger and with a resounding ping launch the bludger at Marshall Mozor. He was a dapper looking fellow, always smiling broadly or some other nice charming facial expression that is not god-modding. It was gosh darn distracting, he needed to die for it. A reasonable conclusion any snake would make. The bludger would hit in hard in the side, he would feel his ribs crack and the wind rush from him. He would almost lose his grip on his broom and start to fall.

A wild swipe with his bat, he would do his final damages on the opposition. His vengeance would be served cold - a bludger from below would uppercut poor Cassandra and she would see stars. A loss of grip, she would plummet to the pitch.

The bludger would bounce off of Marshall and nearly hit the Gryffindor Seeker. It was a close call, very close. If it was not for Marshal's dimples or maybe how nicely he bruises, she might have gotten the Seeker. Marshall was still saving lives, even almost dead.

Erin was going to attempt to finish what was started. Griseldis was hanging on by a mere thread. Akari had saved her but that would not last for long. She shot a bludger at the Prefect without hesitation. It would hit Akari in the back with a resounding, sickening crack. It was enough to knock the girl off course and both Griseldis and Akari would fall. Only, they were prepared for this eventuality. Haley would save Gris, she was sitting right there almost waiting...

Erin's assault was far from complete however as the bludger ricocheted off of Gris and was aimed for Haley. Gris had become the kiss of death on this day and she would be dropped once more. But like a game of hot-potato as Gris' teammates painted the pitch red, she would be saved a second time by Simon.

Gris would get her vengeance in the end. Erin, while strong, was barely holding on. A final blow with a bludger from Gris' own hand would ensure Ryan's demise. A black eye and maybe a loose tooth later, things would go temporarily black as the girl started to fall. She would be saved moments before her fate would be sealed alongside her Gryffindor opponents. Maggie would swoop down and be forced to temporarily tolerate the eccentric Slytherin she would regret saving.



What Happened:

• @Dan Palmer has not found the snitch.
• @Evelynn Decipito has already found the snitch (previous round due to Keen Eye) and attempted a quaffle grab wherein she obtained the quaffle twice and scored each time a total of 20 points for Gryffindor.
• @Koko Riddle attempted a quaffle grab and obtained the quaffle once and scored for a total of 10 points for Slytherin.
• @Ivy Bellamy completes her penalty lap.
• @Tyranni Whitethorn returns @Lisa Alistair to her broom.
• @Cassandra Ironwods bludgers @Marshall Mozor, he has 296 health remaining.
• @Marshall Mozor bludgers @Cassandra Ironwoods and knocks her off her broom.
• @Erin Ryan bludgers a broom that is shared by @Akari Kato and @Griseldis Edelhardt, knocking the two of them off their brooms.
• @Erin Ryan's bludger ricochets off the duo and hits @Haley Rose as she saves @Griseldis Edelhardt from falling. Both Haley and Gris fall once again.
• @Griseldis Edelhardt is saved again, this time by @Simon Corbin. Akari and Haley fall to the ground and are out of the match.
• @Griseldis Edelhardt backbeats @Erin Ryan and knocks her from her broom. Erin is caught by @Maggie Hawkins.
• Cassandra Ironwoods falls to the ground and is out of the match.

The scene in the air was absolute carnage, and Avery loved it. Except for when Marshall's bludger struck Cash. But overall, it seemed that Slytherin was winning the bloody battle, and he clenched his tiny fists in both anticipation and excitement. Only then did he notice a nasty grin coming from Percival Rainwood. Well, if Percy was into making ugly faces, so be it. He glanced back lazily with half-lidded eyes and pushed up the tip of his nose to make a pig nose, before turning his attention back to the game.

Action: Benched
Interacting with: @Percival Rainwood

Reducio

Abilities: Blindvision
Broom: Silver Arrow
Stats: Stamina: 6 [+3] | Evasion: 7 [+3] | Strength: 6 [+3] | Wisdom: 7 [+3] | ArcPower: 4 [+3] | Accuracy: 6 [+3]

Mentioning | @Marshal Mozor

Throwing off the trail that she had found the snitch and gradually creeping up on it by engaging other parts of the game. It wasn't the first time she had done something like that. When the bludgers started to fly and all hell broke loose, it wasn't uncommon for the quaffle to get forgotten. It was practically just sitting there in the ref's hands. In fact, as far as Evelynn could tell as she raced opportunistically with the hope to snatch a few points for her team, none of the chasers were interested it in at all, caught up as they were in their own song and dance.

The Gryffindor captain wasn't the only one to think to take advantage of the neglected leather and empty hoops, however. In the distance, she could see the opposing keeper racing down the center of the pitch as well, keen to relieve the lions of the crimson burden. Evelynn was the faster, though. Swooping in, she took the leather to palm and tucked it greedily against her middle. Flattening against her broom, she kicked off to the other end of the pitch, flying occasionally a bit haphazardly in an effort to keep the snitch in sight. Ding. Ten points for Gryffindor would place them 30 and 10.

Soon enough, she'd find the opportunity to repeat it. A chance throw would find the quaffle in her hands. The snitch would hear nothing of it, however, the flighty bird racing in the exact opposite direction that she would want the quaffle to travel. She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and decided to take a chance. After all, wasn't it someone who had said that you missed 100% of the shots you didn't take? She tossed the quaffle up into the air in that moment, and spun on her broom. Thwack. The quaffle was sent sailing from the impact with the tail of her broom, arcing mercifully towards the open post. She wouldn't wait long enough to watch it sink through, eyes already darting to try to find the snitch again, but the sound of the announcement would elicit a contained smirk. Forty and ten now.

That smile would quickly be wiped from her features as a commotion that culminated in a resounding CRACK! Reflex had triggered faster than realization, broom rolling swiftly away from the sound, hackles raised, and eyes wide with surprise. It wasn't until Evelynn had righted herself and settled back into her seat that a glance over her shoulder revealed Marshal having swept in where she had been just seconds before, arm arced across him, bat firmly in hand. The shrinking silhouette of a bludger along the trajectory of his swing was all the confirmation she needed to realize that he had saved her from what promised to be a painful collision. One she wasn't sure she would have been able to sit.

"Thank you, Marshal!" She called out, one hand cupped over her mouth to project her appreciation. "I owe y—are you alright?" For having clearly struck the bludger with his bat, he was looking more than a little worse for wear. Little did she know that he'd already softened the blow of the bludger by taking a direct hit before he'd saved her from the ricochet and sent the ball rocketing away. Eyes darted briefly to towards the last place she'd seen the snitch before returning to him. She waited only long enough to receive an affirmative that he was still capable and willing to continue before offering him a nod. "Eyes up, then. We are in for a rough rest of the game, but we are not going down without a fight." And with that, she would speed off along her original path to regain her advantage along the little golden trail.

Action | doing as strategised

Reducio

STA | 10 (13)‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ STR | 2 (5)‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ EVA | 12 (15)
WIS | 15 (18)‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ARC | 2 (5)‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‏‏‎ ‎ ‎ ACC | 10 (13)

Broom: Silver Arrow (+3 to all stats)

Keen Eye—10% chance to automatically identify the location of the snitch when playing Quidditch.

Fearless—Fear effects such as a dhmpir's aura, the ability terrible presence, a lycanothrope's intimidation or certain charms, potions and jinxes that would normally cause a fear effect do not work on you as you are immune to them.

Impartial—Aesthetic effects such as the lovely creature ability, a Veela's alluring, certain charms, potions and jinxes that would normally cause an effect based on aesthetic beauty do not work on you as you are immune to them.