Why Loki Actually Won in the Avengers aka How Joss Whedon is a God

http://maskofreason.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/very-good-writing-why-loki-won-in-the-avengers/

Avoiding my dash for a bit because SOMEBODY *cough* you know who you are *cough* reblogged a gif set of the end of the opening scene of Star Trek… I sob uncontrollably every time. It’s awful.

Los Chicos Perdidos.

I love this team so much it hurts sometimes. First, I’m going to focus on the individuals, and then I’m going to do the team as a whole. BAM.

1. Brady Groves is obviously my favorite Lost Boy. I don’t need to go into detail on that one.

2. Andrew Walschmidt is probably one of the beastest chasers I know. He’s WICKED fast and has sticky finger hands. No seriously, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him drop the quaffle. And he’s a great seeker too. Fast, tough, awesome. And he and his lovely lady Misty are probably the most adorable couple in the galaxy. Seriously, they hold hands EVERYWHERE but it’s not like, “Oh my gosh this couple is so annoying grrrrr.” It’s like, “Oh my gosh, Andrew and Mistyyyyyyy.” You can just tell that they are completely in love with and devoted to each other. It’s inspiring and I love it and I love them.

3. Michael Mohlman is the reason I have the great privilege of being a part of this team. When I posted on Westbook pre-Western Cup that I was offering my services as a merc, he sent me a Facebook message within ten minutes. It was impressive. And awesome. And it made me happy to know that I was wanted, even though it was pretty much just because I was a girl. I didn’t care. Of all of the teams that needed players, I was extremely happy that it was the Lost Boys. Besides all that, though, Michael is an awesome person and an awesome Quidditch player. I love the ‘flying’. He’s super fast, throws hecka accurate, and is one hell of a ‘utility’ player. I mean, he rocks at beater, seeker, and chaser. He calls me ‘kiddo’ and I love it. If anyone else called me that I would be a little offended, but not Mohlman. And let’s not even mention his MAD graphic design skillz. Like, seriously, I idolize that guy.

4. Dan Hanson, oh Sheggings. Dan is an excellent, excellent, excellent ref, and a great guy, even though he sometimes forgets my manager in burger joints in Boston… LOLz. Sorry Dan, couldn’t resist. Dan is also a great Quidditch player, and I have seen him do some really impressive shot blocking. Like, super impressive. When Dan is in the zone, fear him.

5. Ross Lopez! Ah! One of the first people to really make me feel welcome as a Lost Boy and one of the biggest beasts I have ever seen. Ross is fast, can deliver one hell of a hit, and can both shoot and catch super accurately. It’s just… he’s just amazing. And he can take one heck of a beating. Ross is one person who I know leaves it all on the pitch every time, and on top of it all, he’s a super nice, friendly, confident dude. He knows who he is and he loves who he is. And he’s happy! All the time!

6. Santiago Freakin’ Gonzalez. You guys all know that Santi is the best friend I’ve ever had (besides Brady, but ‘boyfriend’ is a category all by itself) and we love each other like crazy. I dunno what it was, but something at Western Cup just magically clicked and we connected on levels I couldn’t have even imagined before. Ahhhh I just love him so much! He is just the best ever. You have not LIVED until you’ve had a Santi hug. Seriously. I could go on and on, but I’ll move to other reasons why he’s so awesome. He is Quidditch smart. He is excellent at picking out people’s skills just by watching them play for a little bit. After I probably only played for 15 ish minutes total for the Lost Boys at the Western Cup, he knew what my strengths were. (Speed, and when I get the opportunity, one hell of an arm.) He knows how to put together a group of people that will work best together on the pitch. He’s a great keeper and he’s super tough. I trust that he will be a force to be reckoned with very soon. Plus he let me play keeper at Cinco, even if it was for like, two minutes. It didn’t matter. I miss my green headband, but wearing it again after going white for so long made me realize that my skills really are better suited to chasing. (Oh Evan, you knew it lonnnnnng ago.) Santi is without a doubt my favorite non-Brady Lost boys. (Sorry guys.)

7. ROSIE FREAKING BORCHERT. Oh my heck. I love this girl. She is a super beast on the pitch. At Western Cup I was so blown away by her that I can’t even describe it. She’s fast, tough, and has great hands. For only playing Quidditch for like… I don’t even know, but not very long, she is incredible. And she’s a super great person too, we can’t forget that. Her confidence in me does not go unnoticed or unappreciated, though it probably often seems like it does. 

8. Austin Izquierdo. Even though I will admit that I haven’t the foggiest idea how to pronounce his last name, I love Austin. For one, he is a freaking awesome beater. Like, seriously. For two, he is a super great human being. He is another Lost Boy who made me feel welcome right off the bat at Western Cup. I love watching him play beater, because he is the best mixture of sneaky and physical. The whole bludger behind the back thing is so awesome. As is the whole ‘I’m like a foot taller than you so I’m just going to hold my bludger up in the air and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it’ thing. Hehe. Plus, the skull warpaint is just cool.

9. Ben Josepher. Alright, I’ll admit, I don’t know much about him as a person, but Rosie’s dating him, so he’s gotta be a pretty cool cat. On the pitch though, he’s awesome. He also took some sweet pictures of us at the Western Cup. Like the famous brooms up picture.

Ben is an excellent chaser, with speed, great hands, and the ability to stop oncoming players as well. The more he plays, the better he’ll get, and I’m stoked to see it.

10. Meeeeeeee! I’m so awesome! Okay jk. I’m alright.

11. Evan Red Card Bell. Oh. My gosh. I love Evan. So much. I can’t even count the number of times we’ve Skyped into the wee hours of the morning talking about Quidditch. Evan is another player who notices other’s skills quickly, part of which I think comes from his many months of reffing while rehabbing his back. He’s also a great referee, and I hold him in the highest esteem for being the only person that I know of to red card Willie Jackson. Nothing against Willie as a person, but he deserved that card and several others (that weren’t thrown). Evan knows and loves the game of Quidditch with a passion that is just awesome, and it’s infectious. Hence the ridiculous amounts of Quidditch Skyping. :) On top of being a great ref and a great person, he is a great Quidditch player. He was rough on himself at Cinco, but honestly who performs like a champion at their first tournament? Some freaks do, but it’s okay when you aren’t one of them. Evan is freakin’ tough, and great things are on the horizon for him.

12. Misty Gray. Oh goodness, if I could be more like Misty! She is so thoughtful and kind and intelligent and lovely and fierce and goodness! She is just fantastic. She is an incredibly genuine person and it is obvious from the moment you meet her. Misty’s definitely one of those lovely people who you meet and don’t expect to be as fierce as she is, but man, she is awesome on the pitch. She gives it her all every second she plays, and she fights like crazy. It’s awesome. She’s awesome. And as I’ve already said, she and Andrew are the greatest thing to ever happen to planet Earth. The world needs more people like Misty.

13. Ali Cottong. The Lost Boys are just so full of fierce women, it makes me feel so inadequate. Ali is absolutely fantastic on the pitch. She is super speedy and never backs down from a challenge. Even (and probably especially) when she played beater at Cinco (for the first time) she rocked! She picks a target and goes for it and never gives up. And most of the time, she wins. Off the pitch, she’s super relaxed, laid back, and awesome. She and Ariana are so adorable, I love them (and I never told them that, I wish I had). Ali is one Quidditch player that you can’t help but respect. Not that you wouldn’t want to, because it’s pretty obvious that she’s just awesome.

14. Cedar Attansio. Oh my gosh. Cedar. Wow. If we’re going to talk about who made me feel most welcome at the Western Cup, the prize goes to Cedar. Cedar is just… I love Cedar. Off the pitch he is one of the most sincere, genuine, awesome people I have ever met. He legitimately cares about the people he associates with, and it’s obvious. He is so helpful and nice and he was so good to me at both tournaments. Both by just being a good person to me and by being a confidence booster. My heck, I just adore Cedar. On the pitch- oh my goodness gracious. Cedar is legitimately one of the best Quidditch players I have ever seen. (Yeah, I know, he could stand to cool it with the back tackling, but it’s the rugby in him.) He’s crazy fast, can catch just about anything, and deliver the craziest awesomest hits on the planet. He gives 110% every second he’s on the pitch. He is ferocious. And it’s awesome. You would never believe that the Cedar you see on the pitch is the same guy who wrapped me up in his jacket when I was shivering violently at Western Cup and who hugged me at least 20 times when I thought he broke my toe, but they are one and the same, and I love them both! (But he’s not MPD, that sounded weird.)

Not in the awesomest team photo ever (taken by Monica the Goddess Wheeler):

15. Wally Gonzalez. I didn’t see it, but I heard this kid jumped off a two-story building to chase a snitch. Yeah. This kid is awesome. I didn’t get to spend much time with him off-pitch, but on the pitch he is insane. Crazy, crazy, crazy fast, with mad hops and a super accurate arm. He made some really great plays at Cinco. I hope and pray that his knee will heal up nicely (for those who didn’t hear, he tore his meniscus and ACL during the final @ Cinco. I cried for him) so that he can go back to Quidditch, and Crew (at UC Santa Clara.)

16. Kelly Purple Harbinger of Death Fitzpatrick. Oh my goodness. I cried when I found out he wasn’t going to be at Cinco. I LOVE Kelly. He was another who made me feel welcome at Western Cup. Somehow we always ended up next to each other on the bench at Western, and we would always have good conversation. About the match, of course. He’s an awesome chaser and an awesome seeker and an awesome person. And, I’m sorry guys, but his Instagram channel is my favorite. You can just tell that Kelly is a super happy, awesome, fun-loving guy, and I hope he stays a Lost Boy forever so that we can play together again.

I was lame at Western Cup and didn’t really socialize with the team, plus I think I covered all of the full-time Lost Boys. So on to the team as a whole.

The Lost Boys are without a doubt one of the coolest teams of all time. On our way home from California after Cinco, Sequoia told me that she didn’t believe that it was possible to be as cool as I had hyped, but that once she met everyone, she had to agree. And I quote, “So Jen, I’ll admit I was kind of rolling my eyes when you kept going on and on about how awesome the Lost Boys are, but now that I’ve met them, THEY ARE SO FUCKING AWESOME. You were right. Thanks for being a Lost Boy so that I could hang out with them.” Damn right. Brady agrees. The Lost Boys are just full of coolness off the pitch. There is so much love and sincerity and goodness abounding in this team. And on the pitch? I think we’ve proven by pretty handily taking second at Cinco that we are a force to be reckoned with. We have an excellently diverse skillset, and although we are losing Cedar (saddest face ever) I have faith that more will come. We have been extremely fortunate to have been given a group of people who are all athletes, and good athletes at that. We can be a small team because we have the TALENT to be a small team (although I’m sure no one besides me will ever complain about having a deeper bench). We have great chemistry together on the pitch, and awesome camaraderie on and off the pitch. JUSTINE!

I’ll admit it, as much as I love my team and my teammates, the Fliers are going to be pretty hard pressed to take the top spot in my heart. I have faith that it will happen, but it won’t be overnight.

And come on, who can say no to those JERSEYS?!?!