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gooseberryhigh2017-06-04 02:00 pm
goosemods) wrote in gooseberryhigh2017-06-04 02:00 pm
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QUIDDITCH: June 4, Gooseberry v. Hogwarts
TEAM GOOSEBERRY Captain C. Decourt |
TEAM HOGWARTS Captain R. Montague |
|
Chaser Clementine Decourt Chaser Levi Kramer Chaser Zoey Valentine Beater Leonardo Fiori Beater Christopher Park Keeper Susana Velasquez Seeker Reid Wainwright |
Chaser Lucy Clearwater Chaser Richard Harper Chaser Evan Stebbins Beater Samuel Goyle Beater Eleanor Peakes Keeper Rory Montague Seeker Allegra Sykes |
The school’s been abuzz over the game since last night when the Hogwarts contingent appeared, and if our players weren’t feeling the pressure yet, those first sightings of international Quidditch scouts heading up to Mrs. Bloom’s office are sure to clinch it. Summer is rapidly approaching, and the sun’s bright and hot even this early in the morning. The Hogwarts team already look like they’re regretting wearing deep purple robes on this day, while Team Gooseberry, in soft gold, are better prepared for the weather.
They’re also better prepared for the pre-game, a sight that seems to bemuse the visiting team somewhat, as Captain Powers leads the Gooseberry interhouse cheer squad out onto the field for one final showstopper. Powers has put everyone in their house colour uniforms and recruited extra cheer volunteers so each Gooseberry house can have their own feature section. She leads Ebonhide’s section, while Captain Ogletree leads Ribbonfin’s, Captain Prince leads Azurcrest’s, and Captain Hawkeswood leads Coppertale’s. All cheerleaders in the end come together for the tallest human pyramid the school’s ever seen, with Riley Stamper right on top, waving a sparkling banner that magically cycles through plum purple, olive green, azure blue and rust orange.
Hogwarts might not have a cheer team, but their 25-person-strong entourage hails from the most passionate Quidditch-playing school in the world, and they make their voices heard when Chaser Decourt’s the first to take control of the Quaffle. Chasers Clearwater and Stebbins circle her, so she passes to Kramer—only to get immediately intercepted by Chaser Harper, who intercepts the Quaffle and takes the action down to Gooseberry’s goal posts. The Hogwarts Chasers rapidly score five goals, although Keeper Velasquez blocks nearly as many. Despite the best efforts of Team Gooseberry—Decourt signals different plays to her Chasers, and Beaters Fiori and Park block Goyle and Peakes from landing any direct hits on their team—it proves difficult getting the action to move back up the pitch to Hogwarts’ end. The onslaught of attempted goals seems endless. It’s a long 34 minutes in when Chaser Kramer manages to score the second goal, bringing the score to 60–20 for Hogwarts.
The Hogwarts Chasers are a unbeatable unit, fast-flying and so coordinated they might as well all be Legilimens. To break that up, Beater Park gets in a vicious hit on Chaser Stebbins, breaking the bones in his arm. Hogwarts boos the action, even though it’s deemed legal by the Hogwarts referee. Stebbins is replaced by Reserve Bundy, a dark-haired girl who’s the first to express horror at what happened to Stebbins when he lands back on the ground. Even Stebbins’ Slytherin teammates seem put off, as retaliation comes less than ten minutes later, when Beater Goyle “accidentally” elbows Park in the face while stealing a Bludger pass from him, giving Park a black eye. The referee insists he didn’t see it, ruling Park’s injury accidental.
Meanwhile, the Seekers are circling above the pitch, watching each other and for any signs of metal wings. More than ever before, Seeker Wainwright needs to focus, as international rules are in place, and the Golden Snitch is worth a whopping 150 points. Luckily for him, he knows the quirks of the Gooseberry pitch like the back of his hand, which proves beneficial when he first spots a glimmer by the Hogwarts hoops, and speeds off, a golden figure chasing a golden ball. His unexpected flight cuts off Decourt’s path towards the goals, and Keeper Montague gets in a clean block against her toss. Wainwright executes a sharp turn around the back of Hogwarts’ goals, but suddenly Seeker Sykes is there, ready to take the Snitch. On opposite sides of the field, Fiori and Peakes go for the Bludgers—Fiori’s hit forces Sykes to veer off the path, while Peakes’ precise aim catches the tail of Wainwright’s broom, spinning him towards the ground. He leaps off just in time, and rolls several feet on the grass—unhurt, with his undamaged broom tumbling beside him. The Snitch has been lost, and Wainwright remounts.
Fueled by anger over the hit on their Beater (and the near-hit on their Seeker), Gooseberry takes back control. The stars align the next time Velasquez blocks a shot from Harper, punting the Quaffle into the hands of a waiting Valentine. Fiori and Park both have Bludgers, and they clear the way for Valentine, who’s unstoppable as she zips down the pitch and sends the Quaffle whistling past Montague’s ear. 70–40 for Hogwarts, 47 minutes on the clock. Next successful goal is Kramer, who nimbly weaves around enemy Chasers before getting blocked off by Goyle. Kramer feints passing back to Decourt, and when Clearwater lunges to intercept, he instead chucks the Quaffle despite being almost twenty feet from the posts—it goes in, and the home crowd screams his name. 70–50 for Hogwarts, 53 minutes. Decourt follows this up with another goal, not two minutes later, but after that Montague seems to have a better grip on what to expect, and blocks four goals in a row, buying time for Hogwarts to widen their lead.
Montague’s assisted greatly by Hogwarts’ Beaters, who are relentless and prevent Decourt, Kramer and Valentine from getting a good rhythm going. While Goyle and Peakes don’t seem to be going for taking anyone out permanently, Gooseberry’s Chasers have to constantly be on guard. Kramer gets winged painfully in the elbow, and Valentine nearly loses her hand making another goal for Gooseberry. It’s all near-misses until Fiori finds himself in a bad place to protect Velasquez from a stray Bludger originally aimed for Valentine. Fiori slides in just fast enough and deflect it, but he overreaches at a dangerous angle and the force of the Bludger dislocates his shoulder. Reserve Cunningham is called in to replace Fiori, and she brings all her well-rested energy to keeping Goyle and Peakes off the Bludgers.
Once again, the score climbs for Gooseberry, and the match grows 95 minutes long when Decourt finally takes them the closest they’ve come all game: 110–90, Gooseberry just two goals behind Hogwarts. Decourt’s stayed on target for the whole match, always putting herself in the optimal position to intercept Quaffles and get them in the hands of teammates, so much so that she and Chaser Harper have built up a small rivalry, with Harper seeming to hound her around the field and snatching any passes she makes. After the fourth time Harper steals from her, Decourt makes sure to hold onto the Quaffle, even as Clearwater and Bundy chase after her from both sides, and Goyle lines up a shot that nearly takes off Decourt’s ponytail. Kramer and Valentine dive in, trying to bump the Hogwarts Chasers off-course, while elsewhere Cunningham’s elbow meets Peakes’ as they both fight for the other Bludger. Decourt inches ahead, but Keeper Montague’s leaning forward, ready for her—
—and there’s the Golden Snitch! It zooms between Decourt and Montague so suddenly that everyone’s temporarily thrown off-course, with Clearwater and Bundy crashing into each other and swinging into Kramer’s path, Decourt dodging by instinct to avoid getting cut in the face by metal wings, and Montague looking away from her to check for the location of his Seeker. Sykes is high up but closer than Wainwright; she executes a dangerous dive, eyes focused on the shining Snitch, and nearly crashes into Park on the way down, his bat just grazing the corner of her ear. Decourt, Quaffle still tucked her arm, executes a hairpin turn around the confused cluster of Chasers, not even bothering to take her attention off the Hogwarts goal posts for an instant, as though fully confident that her team’s Seeker is on top of it.
And so he is, as Seeker Wainwright dives into the fray, quickly catching up to Sykes’ pursuit of the Snitch. They’re flying fast but the Snitch is faster, taking them down to the opposite end where Velasquez is watching. Hogwarts finally recovers, but not quickly enough, as Cunningham has both Bludgers in sight, and her bat hits them with cracking force, one after the other, forcing Bundy and Clearwater to clear the way as Decourt comes back around. Harper’s on her tail, but Valentine drops down, cutting him off so Decourt has a clean path. Like an arrow from a bow, Decourt shoots through the air at top speed, mirrored by Wainwright on the other end of the pitch, whose arm is outstretched, reaching past Sykes for the Snitch.
Decourt throws the Quaffle on a spectacular curve; it speeds past Montague’s arm and lands through the leftmost hoop. 110–100, Hogwarts just barely in the lead. Decourt pulls up, and turns to watch the Seekers close in: Wainwright, only one hand white-knuckled on his broom; Sykes now inches behind him; the Snitch right on a collision course with the Gooseberry Keeper. Velasquez dives out of the way. The crowd holds their breath—and so does the Snitch, which skids to a shocking midair stop, just a foot away from the goal posts. Wainwright sails right past it, going through the middle hoop. And Sykes, still just behind him, swipes her hand through the air, and closes her fingers around the Snitch.
They’re also better prepared for the pre-game, a sight that seems to bemuse the visiting team somewhat, as Captain Powers leads the Gooseberry interhouse cheer squad out onto the field for one final showstopper. Powers has put everyone in their house colour uniforms and recruited extra cheer volunteers so each Gooseberry house can have their own feature section. She leads Ebonhide’s section, while Captain Ogletree leads Ribbonfin’s, Captain Prince leads Azurcrest’s, and Captain Hawkeswood leads Coppertale’s. All cheerleaders in the end come together for the tallest human pyramid the school’s ever seen, with Riley Stamper right on top, waving a sparkling banner that magically cycles through plum purple, olive green, azure blue and rust orange.
Hogwarts might not have a cheer team, but their 25-person-strong entourage hails from the most passionate Quidditch-playing school in the world, and they make their voices heard when Chaser Decourt’s the first to take control of the Quaffle. Chasers Clearwater and Stebbins circle her, so she passes to Kramer—only to get immediately intercepted by Chaser Harper, who intercepts the Quaffle and takes the action down to Gooseberry’s goal posts. The Hogwarts Chasers rapidly score five goals, although Keeper Velasquez blocks nearly as many. Despite the best efforts of Team Gooseberry—Decourt signals different plays to her Chasers, and Beaters Fiori and Park block Goyle and Peakes from landing any direct hits on their team—it proves difficult getting the action to move back up the pitch to Hogwarts’ end. The onslaught of attempted goals seems endless. It’s a long 34 minutes in when Chaser Kramer manages to score the second goal, bringing the score to 60–20 for Hogwarts.
The Hogwarts Chasers are a unbeatable unit, fast-flying and so coordinated they might as well all be Legilimens. To break that up, Beater Park gets in a vicious hit on Chaser Stebbins, breaking the bones in his arm. Hogwarts boos the action, even though it’s deemed legal by the Hogwarts referee. Stebbins is replaced by Reserve Bundy, a dark-haired girl who’s the first to express horror at what happened to Stebbins when he lands back on the ground. Even Stebbins’ Slytherin teammates seem put off, as retaliation comes less than ten minutes later, when Beater Goyle “accidentally” elbows Park in the face while stealing a Bludger pass from him, giving Park a black eye. The referee insists he didn’t see it, ruling Park’s injury accidental.
Meanwhile, the Seekers are circling above the pitch, watching each other and for any signs of metal wings. More than ever before, Seeker Wainwright needs to focus, as international rules are in place, and the Golden Snitch is worth a whopping 150 points. Luckily for him, he knows the quirks of the Gooseberry pitch like the back of his hand, which proves beneficial when he first spots a glimmer by the Hogwarts hoops, and speeds off, a golden figure chasing a golden ball. His unexpected flight cuts off Decourt’s path towards the goals, and Keeper Montague gets in a clean block against her toss. Wainwright executes a sharp turn around the back of Hogwarts’ goals, but suddenly Seeker Sykes is there, ready to take the Snitch. On opposite sides of the field, Fiori and Peakes go for the Bludgers—Fiori’s hit forces Sykes to veer off the path, while Peakes’ precise aim catches the tail of Wainwright’s broom, spinning him towards the ground. He leaps off just in time, and rolls several feet on the grass—unhurt, with his undamaged broom tumbling beside him. The Snitch has been lost, and Wainwright remounts.
Fueled by anger over the hit on their Beater (and the near-hit on their Seeker), Gooseberry takes back control. The stars align the next time Velasquez blocks a shot from Harper, punting the Quaffle into the hands of a waiting Valentine. Fiori and Park both have Bludgers, and they clear the way for Valentine, who’s unstoppable as she zips down the pitch and sends the Quaffle whistling past Montague’s ear. 70–40 for Hogwarts, 47 minutes on the clock. Next successful goal is Kramer, who nimbly weaves around enemy Chasers before getting blocked off by Goyle. Kramer feints passing back to Decourt, and when Clearwater lunges to intercept, he instead chucks the Quaffle despite being almost twenty feet from the posts—it goes in, and the home crowd screams his name. 70–50 for Hogwarts, 53 minutes. Decourt follows this up with another goal, not two minutes later, but after that Montague seems to have a better grip on what to expect, and blocks four goals in a row, buying time for Hogwarts to widen their lead.
Montague’s assisted greatly by Hogwarts’ Beaters, who are relentless and prevent Decourt, Kramer and Valentine from getting a good rhythm going. While Goyle and Peakes don’t seem to be going for taking anyone out permanently, Gooseberry’s Chasers have to constantly be on guard. Kramer gets winged painfully in the elbow, and Valentine nearly loses her hand making another goal for Gooseberry. It’s all near-misses until Fiori finds himself in a bad place to protect Velasquez from a stray Bludger originally aimed for Valentine. Fiori slides in just fast enough and deflect it, but he overreaches at a dangerous angle and the force of the Bludger dislocates his shoulder. Reserve Cunningham is called in to replace Fiori, and she brings all her well-rested energy to keeping Goyle and Peakes off the Bludgers.
Once again, the score climbs for Gooseberry, and the match grows 95 minutes long when Decourt finally takes them the closest they’ve come all game: 110–90, Gooseberry just two goals behind Hogwarts. Decourt’s stayed on target for the whole match, always putting herself in the optimal position to intercept Quaffles and get them in the hands of teammates, so much so that she and Chaser Harper have built up a small rivalry, with Harper seeming to hound her around the field and snatching any passes she makes. After the fourth time Harper steals from her, Decourt makes sure to hold onto the Quaffle, even as Clearwater and Bundy chase after her from both sides, and Goyle lines up a shot that nearly takes off Decourt’s ponytail. Kramer and Valentine dive in, trying to bump the Hogwarts Chasers off-course, while elsewhere Cunningham’s elbow meets Peakes’ as they both fight for the other Bludger. Decourt inches ahead, but Keeper Montague’s leaning forward, ready for her—
—and there’s the Golden Snitch! It zooms between Decourt and Montague so suddenly that everyone’s temporarily thrown off-course, with Clearwater and Bundy crashing into each other and swinging into Kramer’s path, Decourt dodging by instinct to avoid getting cut in the face by metal wings, and Montague looking away from her to check for the location of his Seeker. Sykes is high up but closer than Wainwright; she executes a dangerous dive, eyes focused on the shining Snitch, and nearly crashes into Park on the way down, his bat just grazing the corner of her ear. Decourt, Quaffle still tucked her arm, executes a hairpin turn around the confused cluster of Chasers, not even bothering to take her attention off the Hogwarts goal posts for an instant, as though fully confident that her team’s Seeker is on top of it.
And so he is, as Seeker Wainwright dives into the fray, quickly catching up to Sykes’ pursuit of the Snitch. They’re flying fast but the Snitch is faster, taking them down to the opposite end where Velasquez is watching. Hogwarts finally recovers, but not quickly enough, as Cunningham has both Bludgers in sight, and her bat hits them with cracking force, one after the other, forcing Bundy and Clearwater to clear the way as Decourt comes back around. Harper’s on her tail, but Valentine drops down, cutting him off so Decourt has a clean path. Like an arrow from a bow, Decourt shoots through the air at top speed, mirrored by Wainwright on the other end of the pitch, whose arm is outstretched, reaching past Sykes for the Snitch.
Decourt throws the Quaffle on a spectacular curve; it speeds past Montague’s arm and lands through the leftmost hoop. 110–100, Hogwarts just barely in the lead. Decourt pulls up, and turns to watch the Seekers close in: Wainwright, only one hand white-knuckled on his broom; Sykes now inches behind him; the Snitch right on a collision course with the Gooseberry Keeper. Velasquez dives out of the way. The crowd holds their breath—and so does the Snitch, which skids to a shocking midair stop, just a foot away from the goal posts. Wainwright sails right past it, going through the middle hoop. And Sykes, still just behind him, swipes her hand through the air, and closes her fingers around the Snitch.
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HOGWARTS WINS
260–100
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HOGWARTS WINS
260–100
Whether you’re a player, cheerleader or spectator, post below with your character’s reactions! If you wish to post separately about the game, please use lj-cuts and mark for spoilers for the first 24 hours, so no one sees the result before reading the official match description.
A few notes: you can assume that there’s a miniGrotto Atrium party after the game, with the Hogwarts students invited to get wasted kiss some sad Americans. If you invented the NPC, you get first dibs on what the NPC is up to. The Hogwarts students will return home tomorrow morning. Regarding the international Quidditch scouts: if you want to say that one of them took interest in your character’s talents after the game, feel free!
A few notes: you can assume that there’s a mini