InsaneJournal

It’s the biggest Quidditch match of the year so far, and Gooseberry students have gone all out to show their school pride. For the sake of fairness, everyone’s forbidden from decorating the Pitch, but everywhere else is covered in banners and streamers celebrating Team Gooseberry. To be friendly, Ennis Harper makes a periwinkle-and-cranberry banner to welcome their opponents, and it’s the first thing Team Ilvermorny sees when their bus arrives during lunchtime.

Even more exciting than their first time playing Ilvermorny are the talent scouts who’ve come from all over North America. Mr. Thorn won’t allow students to bother the scouts (they’re ushered straight up to the Headmistress’ office for pre-game drinks), but the Ilvermorny players and cheerleaders are hanging out at the Pitch for an hour. Former Ilvermorny students of Gooseberry High get the chance to reunite with siblings and old friends, although Captain Bartley notably disappears for several minutes just before the match. He’s later discovered by Riley Stamper in the locker room, making out with a new friend, Gooseberry’s own Casey Patterson. Well, that’s one way to welcome the opposing team!

The game kicks off at 2 PM with Captain Powers facing off against Ilvermorny’s proudly Wampus cheer captain, who flicks her ponytail at Powers when she tries to say hi. Ilvermorny seems to have repurposed a Quodpot cheer for this match, given the number of unnecessary magical explosions, but Gooseberry is focused on skill over flash, and Powers’ routine showcases the best of every house’s talents. Spirits are riding high when the Quidditch players finally line up in the middle of the field. Team Gooseberry appear in brand new uniforms, pale gold robes with red accents, with the school crest embroidered on the back, showing all the house colours and animals: plum bear, olive trout, azure jay and rust fox. By comparison, Team Ilvermorny looks like a motley crew, half of them in blue robes and half of them in cranberry, and their brooms and equipment all appear second-hand, or at least well-used. It’s obvious that Quidditch isn’t the favoured sport at their school, but the talent scouts (all piled into the Headmistress’ private box in the stands) are watching both teams with interest.

Captain Decourt and Captain Bartley shake hands, and wish each other luck. Coach Thorn is given the honour of the kick-off. The players take to the air and he throws the Quaffle, which is immediately snatched up by Chaser Valentine. Within 10 minutes, it’s apparent that, like their uniforms, Ilvermorny is messy and unpolished. The home Chasers easily take the lead, and it’s mostly thanks to Keeper Bartley that the away team isn’t completely overwhelmed at the start. Chasers Decourt, Key and Valentine fly as a well-oiled machine, providing each other plenty of assists and putting away at least one goal between the three of them. Keeper Velasquez hardly has to work at all, as the Quaffle rarely makes it to the Gooseberry side, but she keeps her focus. It takes more than 20 minutes before someone finally manages to get past her, with a surprisingly fast throw from Chaser Harper that puts the score at 50–10 for Gooseberry.

However, Ilvermorny can’t be counted out yet, because they do happen to excel in one area. Beater Staley flies with a speed and agility that might be best suited to a Seeker, except she also demonstrates a killer arm and an uncanny ability to get ahead of the Gooseberry Beaters and intercept the Bludger from them. Beater Moss is always right where she needs him to be, and everyone on the Gooseberry team has to dodge one of Moss’ redirected Bludgers at least once. The two of them give Ilvermorny time to regroup, as Chasers Garcia and Lewis start making goals of their own. Staley ends up making a point of picking on Beater Fiori, as Beater Park’s pro-league broom is harder to outfly, but after the third time Park manages to steal the Bludger from them, Moss and Staley go into action. 50 minutes into the game, Staley once again takes the Bludger from Fiori and feints aiming for Key, then spins at the last second to launch a hard-hitting Bludger at Park; Park deflects the Bludger with his bat and nearly catches the tail end of Harper’s broom with it—only to be slammed in the back of the head by the second Bludger, sent by Moss, which knocks Park clean off his broom. Healer Mufferaw conjures a stretcher, and Reserve Cunningham is subbed in.

Cunningham and Fiori click well right out of the gate, showing just how much practice Team Gooseberry’s put in these last few weeks. The two of them finally manage to wrest control of the Bludgers from Moss and Staley, and send the Ilvermorny Chasers scrambling again. Wasting no time, Chaser Decourt enacts a play that has her, Key and Valentine flying in lockstep, and increasing their lead to 90–50. But Ilvermorny isn’t so easily discouraged, and the next time Staley steals the Bludger (this time from Cunningham), she sends it barreling at the current lead Chaser. Valentine’s right arm breaks with an audible crack of the radius, and she has to fly down to Mufferaw for medical attention. Reserve Kramer joins the team with a cheerful loop-de-loop, taunting the Ilvermorny Beaters to go after him. While the Ilvermorny Chasers spend the next 15 minutes climbing back up with four goals past Velasquez, Moss/Staley are keeping up the pressure against Gooseberry, with particular preference for their team captain. After their closest shot, a Bludger that whizzes right by Decourt’s left ear, Staley blows her a kiss.

Cunningham makes it her goal to take out Staley. While Fiori distracts Moss, Cunningham sees Staley coming at her to steal the Bludger again, and mid-air scuffle has the two girls demonstrating just how brutal they can be. When the whistle is blown, the referee calls a penalty on Cunningham for hitting her opponent with a bat, to loud boos by Gooseberry students, who accuse the Ilvermorny referee of being biased. Regardless, a penalty shot is awarded to Ilvermorny, and unexpectedly, the captain chooses the youngest member of his team, fourth year Chaser Lewis. There’s a murmur of confusion as Lewis takes the Quaffle and starts flying in tight circles, faster and faster. After a solid 30 seconds of this, even Keeper Velasquez has to relax her guard and look around—and the second she does, Lewis shoots the Quaffle past her. The score is 110–100, with Ilvermorny closing in.

Still, getting hit by Cunningham seems to have slowed Ilvermorny’s Beaters down, and the away team is back on the ropes when Fiori rolls a Bludger across Harper’s shoulder, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands and into Kramer’s possession, who scores the next two goals for Gooseberry. The next bit of excitement happens thirteen minutes before the two hour mark, when Key ducks a Bludger which skims the stripe in his hair, and it hits one of Gooseberry’s cheerleaders instead, knocking her out of the air after a high toss. Riley Stamper huddles on the ground, at least still conscious enough to whine, but unfortunately for her, most people’s attention is now focused up high, where two figures—one in gold, one in blue—are flying at top speed after the glimmering Golden Snitch.

Seeker Phillips and Seeker Wainwright are pulled in sharp turns as the Snitch tries to evade them, but both players manage to keep apace. Closer to the ground, Harper’s rocketing towards the Gooseberry goal posts, Quaffle in hand; and Bartley abandons defense to shout encouragement at his Seeker. Phillips presses ahead, stretching his hand out, but Wainwright is right beside him, as cool under pressure as always. Harper’s Quaffle sails through a Gooseberry hoop; Cunningham slams a Bludger at the Seekers; Phillips pulls on his broom to evade, and accidentally crashes into Wainwright; the two of them tumble from their brooms, robes tangled up in each other; Phillips twists and hits the ground first, breaking Wainwright’s fall. The two of them lie on the ground for several seconds, bruised and dazed, and then, from on top of Phillips, Wainwright opens his hand to show him the Golden Snitch.

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GOOSEBERRY WINS
180–110

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 mini Grotto party after the game, with the Ilvermorny students invited to get wasted. If you invented the NPC, you get first dibs on what the NPC is up to. The Ilvermorny students will return home after dinner. Mr. Thorn will insist that students avoid bothering the scouts, but if you want to say that one of them took interest in your character’s talents after the game, feel free!