2021, Stage 1 Hufflepuff vs Slytherin: Match 1

In quick succession Willow snagged up her wand and fired a Knockback Jinx at Santario. "Flipendo!" It hit her square in the chest, but her victory was short lived as her wand flipped out of her hand once more. "Come on Sarah! Afraid of me casting?" It was a polite jest, with the beginning of a laugh bubbling up in her chest.

Santario sucked any joy Willow felt out of the air as her venom struck in Willow's heart. Distracted between her old Quidditch captains support yelled from the stands, and the friendship she was watching crumble in front of her. This wasn't what duels were supposed to be. She knew that the Slytherins could be a little bit nasty with their jests, but this was a whole new level. Especially from Santario who she knew respected Duelling for what it was. Lydia was still beside her, which Willow almost forgot in what seemed to slowly becoming a 1v1 duel between Willow and San as their world started to shrink. "I got this Lyd, don't worry." Willow nodded confidently at her captain before her eyes narrowed in a challenge to San.

"You were never weak. You are one of the strongest people I know. Someone I respected. The only hole I've ever lived in is the dorm I literally have to crawl into through a barrel. Hufflepuff's entrance is weird!" Off track. This was not the point. But as her anger for the snake that was dripping venom off of every part of her being was brewing, which meant Willow had no filter for what she was saying. "You know the wrong Willow if you think I'm going to give up. Something is wrong with you San. Not in a- Not in a mean way! Just in a, you're very much..." Willow paused. She didn't really curse. Not ever really. But there was no other way to really convey what she wanted to say. "Something is really fucked up with you!" There really was no malice in Willow's heart for what she was saying. But something wasn't right. She knew it. In her gut, there was something very very wrong but she didn't know what it was.

☁ Action ☁
Doing as Strategized

Round 4

Willow Anderson

Reducio

Willow Anderson searches for wand.
Effects: Disarmed for 1 more round

Lydia Cooper vs Santario Martin

Reducio

Lydia Cooper cast Disarming Charm at Santario Martin.
Wisdom DC: 10 + 2 Lovely Creat = 12
Wisdom Check: [d20: 15] + 15 = 30, success
Accuracy Check: [d20: 1] + 5 = 6
Crit Miss!
Redirect roll: [d2: 2] → redirected to Sarah
New Accuracy Check no stats added: [d20: 16]+0=16
Evasion Check: [d20: 5] + 9 = 14
16 > 14 → Hit!
Duration: [d3: 3] 2 rounds
Effects:Sarah disarmed for 2 rounds

Santario Martin vs Lydia Cooper

Reducio

Santario Martin cast Knockback Jinx at Lydia Cooper.
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20: 3] + 9 = 12, success
Accuracy Check: [d20: 18] + 12 = 30
Evasion Check: [d20: 12] + 7 = 19
30 > 19 → Hit
Damage: 100 + 10 × 10 = 200
Effects:-200 HP Lydia

Sarah Lightwood vs Lydia Cooper

Reducio

Sarah Lightwood cast Knockback Jinx at Lydia Cooper.
Wisdom DC: 9 + 3 Lovely creat+Veela = 12
Wisdom Check: [d20: 2] + 12 = 14, success
Accuracy Check: [d20: 20] + 9 = 29
Evasion Check: [d20: 16] + 7 = 23
29 > 23 → Hit
Damage: 100 + 7 × 10 = 170
Effects:-170 HP Lydia

Ana had absolutely no idea what she was witnessing. On the duelling side of things, Willow was disarmed and searching for her wand, remaining wandless for the time being. Lydia attempted to step up to the plate and give the Vipers a taste of their own medicine. Ana was certain that Lydia was aiming for Santario, but when the spell came to fruition, it had a mind of its own. Perhaps Lydia was distracted by whatever exchange was happening between Willow and Santario, or perhaps she was caught up in the excitement and nerves of the duel. Perhaps it was just the referee was so stunningly gorgeous and fabulous that the part Veela couldn't focus. Whatever the cause, the spell came off the wand clearly not directed at Santario and instead hit Sarah, disarming the Slytherin. Well, perhaps it wasn't the Slytherin Lydia had aimed for, but it wasn't a horrible outcome...

Santario shot a Knockback Jinx at Lydia at the same time Sarah did. Sarah's spell was rather spectacular and from the moment it left the girl's wand, Ana could tell it was going to make contact. Both landed at once and Ana winced slightly. She doubted that was particularly fun. Not that Lydia would be able to tell until later since the girl was now rendered unconscious.

In addition to the rather spectacular round of spell casting, there was evidently some personal issues at play as well. Santario was... not okay. Ana had no idea what was going on, but it seemed bad. Certainly not something that a duel was the time or place for. The other duellists seemed to agree, and Ana groaned internally as it became clear that she was in fact the person whose job it was to say something.

Shit!" Ana muttered as it became clear Lydia was out of play. "HOLD!" Within a few moments, the unconscious Hufflepuff was removed and Ana turned her focus back to the game. "Before we resume, are you quite alright, Miss Martin?" Ana bit her lip slightly while waiting for confirmation that the Slytherin was alright to continue. After a moment, when Ana had anything that could even slightly be construed as that, perhaps a slight nod or a moment of eye contact, the Gryffindor swallowed. She felt like there was clearly something wrong, something that she was responsible to deal with, but she had no idea what to do. "Resume!"

@Willow Anderson | @Lydia Cooper | @Santario Martin | @Sarah Lightwood

-You now have 96 hours to add your posts and owl your mod (Anastasia Beckett) your actions (this time on 13 November). Please don't hint at your actions in your post.
- The WC minimum is 50 words.
-If you don't post in the allotted time frame, your action will be considered void.
- If you need anything, you can contact me via owl or Discord (coffee queen #4572) before the next moderation.
- A past version of this post said something about regarding, please ignore that, as we no longer have extensions for duelling.
-Your spells, stats, and abilities are locked as of this post. Here is the most recent system patch for reference.
-Have fun, try not to die and whatnot!

(Will link to the spectator thread when it is posted)

Willow was still wandless. It was funny how her time at Hogwarts made something like a wand come to feel like an extension of who she was. At first it felt awkward in her hand, like it didn't belong. Now in duelling they were one. So in a time like this where she was left wandless, Willow was left mildly panicking.

It was hard to keep an eye on the action to make sure she could dodge while also searching the piste for her wand. But, Willow didn't have to dodge at all. Rather out of the corner of her eye she saw two spells shoot right at Lydia, knocking her down. "Lyd!" Willow's eyes widened in horror. The duel had just started and now she was up against two snakes, who had won the championship last year.

The duel stopped but Willow stared on, still wandless, and now without her partner. There was only one thing to do while Ana checked in with San. "Holy Goddess activate! Holy Goddess activate! Activate! Activate!" She stepped and clapped to the beat of her own chant calling upon the Goddess she worshipped. She would need a bloody miracle to win this duel.

☁ Action ☁
Doing as Strategized

Action| As strategized

[font=century gothic]Sarah cast a wicked grin in Willow’s direction, afraid of her casting, of course not. The Slytherin was scarce afraid of anything these days. Though she could admit that it was far less daunting to duel against one opponent as the other searched for her wand. She was about to call out a smart remark when she realised it was once again time to cast and her words were silenced.

As her own wand was wrenched out of her hand, Sarah finally understood the sheer panic she could see in Willow’s eyes when each time her wand had been cast aside. She felt her long fingers clasp around nothing but air as her arm was left pointlessly lifted somewhere off to her right – wandless and defenceless. This was one of the first times she’d ever not hand her wand within reaching distance since she’d first set eyes on it, and it was definitely the first time she’d been wandless amidst a duel. The only positive she could think of was that just before her wand had slipped from her grasp, she’d managed to cast her knockback jinx at Lydia in perfect unison at as her partner. She tried not to think about the way the Hufflepuffs body fell to the piste floor with a lifeless thud. She knew what she was signing up form her brain tried to reason, though it was poor at best. She shuddered once for the sound Lydia’s body made as it fell and twice for the loss of her wand – practically of her limb.

Ana’s call to pause the duel was welcomed as it gave Sarah a moment to reassess her surroundings. She hoped it allowed San the same blessing – to level herself, for the rest of the duel at the very least. The piste was no place for such arguments as it was seeing today; friendly arguments and mocking jibes, sure, but deep-rooted anger couldn’t be released when they were casting such charms and spells as they were. She flicked her eyes back at her partner as the duel was called to begin again, hoping they’d be able to ‘just finish this’ without anything dangerous happening. Well, more dangerous than duelling already was. She heaved a sigh and turned back to Willow. Just one left, the knowledge that they’d defeated one opponent made her lip curl into something reminiscent of a smile though she didn’t allow it to fully form. She couldn’t lose her focus now, not when the other two duellers seemed to be in the middle of something far more personal than she really knew. She had to be vigilant. And for Merlin’s sake, she had to win.

Action | Doing as strategized

@Willow Anderson, @Quinn Healy, @Santario Martin & @Sarah Lightwood

Lydia looked at Willow and nodded, trying her best not to interfere; it was difficult though, seeing a friend being treated that way made her feel like she had to say something to help. Shaking her head, she tried her best to concentrate on the duel. Lydia could hear Quinn cheering up on her, and she was even more determined to show everyone what the Hufflepuff team was able to do. Keeping that in mind, she decided to try and even things out a little bit: she pointed her wand towards Santario, determined to disarm the girl. Lydia knew how to cast a spell, she had studied hard for that, but something always seemed to go wrong, and her spell ended up flying towards Sarah.

However, Lydia didn't get the chance to see if her spell succeeded in disarming Sarah; she had been so focused on her own casting, that she didn't even notice that both Slytherin girls were aiming at her. The two knockback jinxes hit her all at once, knocking the air out of her lungs as she barely registered what was happening. All that she knew was that she had failed her team, her duelling partner and her house once again.

As she blacked out, Lydia just hoped that she had managed to disarm Sarah, so that Willow might have a 1 to 1 duel for a little while.

Action: Fainting

Round 5

Willow Anderson

Reducio

Willow Anderson searches for wand.
Willow Anderson recovers wand.
Effects: Disarmed for 0 more round

Santario Martin

Reducio

Santario Martin cast Summoning Charm.
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20: 20] + 9 = 29, crit success
Effects:Sarah Lightwood recovers her wand

Sarah Lightwood

Reducio

Sarah Lightwood searches for wand.
Sarah Lightwood recovers wand.
Effects: Disarmed for 0 more round

Ana was somewhat flabbergasted at Santario's response. She didn't know the girl beyond having interacted in hallways and at parties, but none of those interactions had remotely warranted whatever this was. "My experience or lack thereof is irrelevant, duels are absolutely not the place to resolve interpersonal conflicts, which, with your considerable experience, I would expect you to be aware of," Ana said curtly. She was definitely not trying to start a fight or honestly have to deal with anything out of the ordinary for a duel, but if she allowed herself to be undermined in her very first situation refereeing, future matches would be unbearable.

Willow's chanting made Ana die inside just a little. What in Merlin's Beard was happening here? Could Ana resign on the spot? Or declare herself the winner of the duel and be done with it?

As the duel restarted, Ana composed herself slightly. It was fine, this was fine, everything was fine.

Perhaps Ana's pleas were heard because the first bit of spell work was rather boring. Willow continued to search for her wand, and would finally be successful in recovering it. Santario, despite or perhaps because of whatever demons she was fighting, cast the most perfect Summoning charm Ana had ever seen. Sarah would search for her wand, which would prove to be needless since Santario would return it to her.

Ana wasn't particularly religious, but she prayed that the rest of the duel would remain boring. It had been far too interesting already...

@Willow Anderson | @Santario Martin | @Sarah Lightwood

-You now have 96 hours to add your posts and owl your mod (Anastasia Beckett) your actions (this time on 22 November). Please don't hint at your actions in your post.
- The WC minimum is 50 words.
-If you don't post in the allotted time frame, your action will be considered void.
- If you need anything, you can contact me via owl or Discord (coffee queen #4572) before the next moderation.
- A past version of this post said something about regarding, please ignore that, as we no longer have extensions for duelling.
-Your spells, stats, and abilities are locked as of this post. Here is the most recent system patch for reference.
-Have fun, try not to die and whatnot!

(Will link to the spectator thread when it is posted)

Action| As strategized

Willow finally got a reprieve from the spells flying at her as Sarah and Santario worked to get Sarah's wand back. Kind of rude to negate Lydia's last spell before she died went unconscious, but whatever. Willow couldn't help but roll her eyes at the melodramatics Santario was putting on. Was this some kind of weird theater? Was Willow being pranked? This was a real duel right? She looked at the other teams having duels in the Duelling room, surely.... surely this wasn't all one big ruse.

She was finally able to grab her wand, feeling like herself again before calling back out to Santario. "We're all going through changes! It's called puberty! Stop acting like you're so special and different. It doesn't give you right to be a jerk to everyone around you."

☁ Action ☁
Doing as Strategized

[font=century gothic]Sarah cringed at the words flying from duellist and moderator alike. Willow was clearly hurt, making her words hold more bite than they might otherwise, Santario seemed defensive and angry at her actions being so clearly disputed, and Ana likely only wanted the duel to run smoothly - or as smoothly as a duel could run. “Guys, now is not the time for this,” Sarah snapped eventually, narrowed eyes flicking between her partner and opponent. Harmless jibes thrown during a duel were fine, arguments which held no substance could be gotten away with, but the venom behind Santario’s words and irritation behind Willow’s was not okay. She hoped her words might be more easy to listen to than Ana’s - less of a personal attack. She knew the sooner this duel was over with, the better.

Sarah looked around in search for her wand once she’d spoken, though she’d barely glanced over the right side of the piste before San’s spell had her wand flying into her outstretched hand. “Thank you,” she smiled at her partner, taking her wand and imperceptibly sighing when it was back in her grasp. After a seconds hesitation, unsure whether the words would be taken as well as they were intended, she added, “I’ve got your back.” And with that she turned back to Willow, purposefully ignoring the eyes she could feel intently watching their duel, and steadied herself. “One down, one to go,” She breathed, barely loud enough for her even Santario’s ears. They could win this duel if they could just get through it without a disaster.

Action | Doing as strategized