Muggle Studies

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30 Sep 2020, 22:31

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

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It was easy to think October was all about ghosts and ghouls. Hogwarts begins to look creepier with the dimmed candles in the ceiling of the Great Hall, pumpkins of all different types of faces begin to entrail the hallways. But really, there was more to October than just the preparations of Halloween and its scary reputation. It was also a month dedicated to celebrate the many different heritages around the world.

Although all students at Hogwarts reside in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, their heritages may most likely be different. There may be some children whose families were from Japan, South Africa, Germany, France or even America. This is just a small list of where families could originate from.

It is time to celebrate who we are as persons living in the walls of Hogwarts. The first step is to create our very own flag that represents our origin. The flag will be used to decorate the Muggle Studies classroom.

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Maya opened her classroom to all students of any age to participate in her school-wide activity. She found it important for all children to learn about their background and share their pride of who they are. What better than to make their own flag? Maya decided that her wall filled with flags from around the world would be better suited to be flags decorated by the students of Hogwarts.

Maya loved culture and to learn more and more about the children roaming around the halls intrigued her. She knew that most of them must reside in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, but they had to be from somewhere else and why not share that hidden piece of themselves.

Maya typically would have a classroom set of individual tables that are in a circle for debate and discussions during her teaching, but the tables were different. There were multiple 6-foot tables that were set up throughout the class. On the tables were different forms of art supplies: paints, crayons, colored pencils, markers, stamps, glue, glitter, and more. Maya went all out with different forms of art supplies to help spark creativity in the children.

Lastly, there were many pieces of paper that have a large rectangle on them. It was the piece of paper that everyone would use as their format for their flags.

Let the creativity of culture seep through their veins and onto their flag.
Stamina: 11 || Evasion: 7 || Strength: 7 || Wisdom: 20 || ArcPower: 15 || Accuracy: 10

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

1 Oct 2020, 04:48

Errand for Professor @Maya Galim


French people have always loved adorning their homes with lush, beautiful gardens where they grew an abundance of different varieties of flowers all through her original home in the village of Avignon and throughout the entire nation. In some places, acre after acre of flowers could be seen in the distance or from above. Still yet, there were at least a half dozen fleuristes (flower shops/florists) in any given town in France.

The French loved flowers as much as they loved love and baguettes.

With the recent arrival of Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and Ilvermorny, Alina heard a LOT of talk from her fellow classmates and some revolved around an activity conducted by the Muggle Studies professor. Alina didn't know her, as she wouldn't take that class until another year, but she liked the idea of celebrating those inside the castle's walls right here, right now. It gave her a chance to show her fellow classmates and the new international exchange students that while she may live in the Windlesham Village area of Surrey, England right now, that she originally was from Avignon, France, a city in the southeastern France's Provence region, set on the Rhône River.

The Rosier family's past may rest there in Avignon, but they still held France close to their hearts. At home, French was the main language. If she was corresponding with her twin sister (who was now a student at Beauxbatons after having transferred there after last year) or her father, they wrote in French. Much of her home's interior in Windlesham Village, Surrey, mimicked that of France, especially her own bedroom.

She was a lover as the French were. She was a dreamer as the French were. She was an artist as the French were. She could be quickly angered as the French were. She was a lover of nature as the French were. Flowers included.

Although the Muggle Studies Classroom was on the First Floor like the Hufflepuff Common Room, she had never actually ventured inside it. A couple times she walked passed when attempting to make her map of the interior of Hogwarts but classes were being conducted so she kept going without interrupting.

This was now her first time inside and she entered slowly. It was vacant of a class of students learning but there were some there doing the activity that Professor Galim orchestrated. She once thought Muggle Studies would be completely boring because who wanted to live a life without magic but then she met muggle-born Clifton Troublefield last year and reversed her thinking. Trampolines, dishwashers, cellphones. rollercoasters, cars...those muggles had found a way to create their own sort of magic!

She stopped a moment as the thought of him caused a pain inside her but no, she had to press on.

Set out on the tables were paper with large rectangles upon them, to be used as a template for everyone to make their flags upon. Then there were paints and crayons and colored pencils and markers and glitter and everything else that one could need. Everyone except for Alina. No, she wanted to show off her French pride but incorporate that love of nature, that love of flowers.

Quickly, she snatched up one of the papers and headed out of the classroom, just a short bit down the corridor to the barrels that would welcome her into the Hufflepuff realm of the school. She went directly up to her dormitory, knowing exactly what she would do.

The Tricolore (three-color) flag of France was plain and simple, but that didn't mean it couldn't be beautiful! Once up in her dorm, she went to her trunk and began to pull out some of her own supplies. Normally she was crafty when it came to watercolor painting these days or crocheting critters for friends, but today she was looking for all the flowers she had gathered, dried, then pressed within the pages of her textbooks. There were LOTS! She always smiled a little when she was in class and had to turn to a certain page and there would be some little bits of rainbow petals for her to discover!

She didn't need the entire rainbow right now though, just the three colors: blue, white, and red. She sorted them out, sometimes having to pick a sort of off-white for white and a purpleish for blue, but she knew it would work once they were all laid out together.

Alina then drew two vertical lines on the provided rectangle, separating the space into three equal places. She then placed all the blueish dried flowers on the left-hand section of her paper, all the white dried flowers in the middle section of her paper, and all the red dried flowers on the right-hand side of the paper. Then, like all great artworks, she knew this one should have a title not only because it was a work of art, but also so she could get credit for it as well. She wrote it upon the bottom and stepped back to look at it.

She smiled, declaring success and popped a lemon drop in her mouth to celebrate and then took to her bed to work a little on her reading for History of Magic while she waited for the glue to dry. She probably should be out venturing around to find some of the exchange students and get to know them but that seemed like an overwhelming and daunting task. She knew they would be at Hogwarts visiting for a month so she had time....plus she was pretty sure they'd already have their friend groups from their original schools.

When she decided that the glue was good and dry and that all was secured down and wouldn't fall off, she took her flag and headed back out of the dormitory, out of the Common Room, and back to the Muggle Studies classroom. There, she placed a small sticky note provided from the table and wrote: When finished displaying these, could I please have mine back? Merci!

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(Word Count without this description or upper mention: 1004
Errand: Complete)
Let your confidence shine, pretty girl. <3

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

1 Oct 2020, 15:59

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Interacting with @Maya Galim
Mentioning @Alina Rosier

Elisabeth was very interested when she heard about Professor Galim's open activity on helping her decorating the Muggle Studies classroom with flags. The flags should depict your origin, as the professor explained. And... the students would make the flags themselves.

This last instruction made the Latinx-Asian girl slightly nervous. She was not a visual artist, either by talent or by interest. But on the other hand, she was very proud of her origin... or origins, to be precise. Elisabeth was a biracial child, a minority this she very much understood; and to her best understanding, both her papá and her mamá were from countries which were very often underestimated. But she was proud, for both of them were intelligent and diligent, proving that a book really must not be judged by its cover and that their countries of origin were not like how most people misunderstood.

The first-year student entered just as another girl finished her work. Elisabeth peeked at it, and noticed that her flag was full of flowers. In a split of second, she realised that the other girl had not created an exact replica of her flag, but rather creatively modifying it. Now Elisabeth was in panic. She really did not have an idea what to create, for she had assumed before that each student would seriously make their flag just as how it was.

She came over to Professor Galim.

"Perdone, Professor," the dark-haired girl said timidly. "Is it all right for me to make an exact replica of the flag, or do I need to modify it like this lovely piece of art?" She motioned to Alina's work. "And... can I create two flags instead of one? My parents are from different countries."

Word count: 288/1,000
𝔓𝔬𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔢𝔰 𝔰𝔢𝔯𝔳𝔦𝔯, 𝔭𝔬𝔯𝔮𝔲𝔢 𝔇𝔦𝔬𝔰 𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔪𝔬𝔯
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 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

1 Oct 2020, 17:44

Interacting with: @Elisabeth Erner
It seemed to be a hit. A lot of the students were entering her classroom and working on their flags. It was truly remarkable to see where they came from and what style they chose to make their flag. It seemed that there was one student who finished in a timely manner, Alina Rosier. Her flag was very similar to France, but it was colored with multiple types of flowers. Perhaps it represented Alina's family with their last name similar to a rose.

Maya was supervising like any professor would when a child came up to her. Maya looked at what had to be a first year from the looks of her height and baby face and smiled. She needed clarification on how to complete the flag and how many flags she was able to do.

It needs to have your own twist," she began, urging her not to make an exact replica of another flag. "If you have family from different places around the world, include them in your flag together. So it is best to make only one flag."

She hoped that this was straight forward for the little Ravenclaw. It would be way too much work to do two different flags. Plus, it would be very interesting to see what other nationalities the little girl had and how she would incorporate it into her one flag.
Stamina: 11 || Evasion: 7 || Strength: 7 || Wisdom: 20 || ArcPower: 15 || Accuracy: 10

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

1 Oct 2020, 21:27

Errand for Professor @Maya Galim
She had heard the phrase “Essex Girl” most of her life. While she didn’t fit the physical description, it was a term used to describe most girls from her county as a dumb blonde or a bimbo. Those that didn't reside in the few wealthy areas of her county were given this lovely stereotype. While Norina’s mother always tried to brush off the phrase when questioned, she knew that it would be something she would hear mentioned for the rest of her life when meeting an outsider familiar with the area.

Maybe it was her motivating factor for trying too hard in school, but she loathed hearing the phrase when her family would travel to London on family trips or when her small county school would travel for school trips. It was a phrase used to degrade women from her home, and it made her blood boil just thinking about the wealthy snob children that would snarl the term in her direction to get a reaction out of her.

She let out a sigh as she glanced out the window of the common room. She was anything but ordinary, and she was always so determined to prove herself to others and never be associated with the grotesque stereotype.

What inspired her most about her home was its history. While she only lived in a small village of the county, she loved learning about how it became her home. She loved traveling to the shore and passing the large, beautiful castles along the way. Most of them were now abandoned, but the idea that her home was once a refuge for royalty always made her heart skip a few beats when they finally got to the topic in school.

When learning about her home, one of the first things her teachers always discussed with students was their flag. It was a rather intimidating cloth of red with three swords on it. The swords were seaxes, or short Savon swords, with gold pommels and were associated with the ancient kingdom of the East Saxons.

Yes, kingdom.

The mere idea of living in a kingdom made her want to crawl in her bed with her favorite fairytale and only made her pride in her home grow even more.

Her family had lived in the small village for centuries, and only rarely did members of her family leave. Her father was a farmer, and his father before him was also a farmer. Norina’s mother had visited the town while on her way to Adventure Island (a very popular amusement park in the county) when they made the decision to spend a day in the little village on their journey. While they were there, Norina’s mother had met her father and the rest was history.

Norina’s mother had been a city girl all of her life and never imagined moving to a farm, but here they were. One daughter and two sons later and the family couldn’t be happier.

She let out a small sigh, thinking of her parents still made her breath catch in her throat. There were some days that she missed them more than others.

She stood from her seat and walked towards the door and entered the corridor. Classes had ended and she heard about the opportunity in the Muggle Studies classroom to celebrate her culture. She was nervous to do things without a fellow classmate, but she thought it might help her process the emotions she was feeling from missing home.

She entered through the door and into the Muggle Studies Classroom. There were already a few students working on their flag. She approached a table and noticed the paper with large rectangles. There were also paints, crayons, colored pencils, markers, and glitter for them to use.

She grabbed a sheet of paper and a few markets and pencils and took a seat to get started. For a moment, she stared at the paper, not sure where to begin. While most students might have an extensive family history and an understanding of where they come from, Norina only knew about her home and the history that she learned about it.

Start with the flag, she remembered her teachers instructing her. To think about the flag and the historical context that lead to the creation. Her brow furrowed, she thought of her own flag of her county but remembered how simple it was and how boring it would be to just copy her own flag of her county.

She shook her head, frustrated, she couldn’t just use that flag. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. This really shouldn’t be so difficult for her, but it was the history of her county, and she wanted to be viewed as intelligent by her peers and not just another Essex Girl.

She realized that one of the things she was most proud of in her county were the buildings. Where she was from was also the home to the Kelvedon Hatch Secret Nuclear Bunker, which was a really fun fact she liked to bring up to other history buffs that weren’t aware of the secret bunker placed below the entrance that was disguised as a bungalow.

The idea finally hit her. Her love of history and the historical foundation of the county would have to combine to create her flag, especially since Essex was home to some of the most beautiful historical buildings like the Hedingham Castle.

She started by coloring her rectangle paper flag red. It was the color of her home flag, after all. Then, she decided to incorporate the historical buildings from her home by drawing a single black castle. She didn’t want to overwhelm the aesthetics by making it too busy. Finally, she included the Saxon history by drawing an arm holding a seax, ready to strike, coming from the castle. She believed it was a perfect representation of the historical background of her home while also including the tough culture of its people, especially those that didn’t have the pleasure of living in the few higher-income areas.

She placed her flag on the table with the other pieces of completed work and with a smile nodded at Professor Galim, wished her a good day, and returned to the Common Room.

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Word Count: 1045
Errand: Complete
Stamina: 5 | Evasion: 7 | Strength: 5 | Wisdom: 9 | Arcane Power: 4 | Accuracy: 5

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

2 Oct 2020, 20:53

Open to interactions
mentioning: @Maya Galim | @Alina Rosier | @Norina Evans | @Elisabeth Erner


Henry didn't know why went, he didn't know what interest him in the errand but for whatever reason he was standing right outside the muggle studies classroom still debating if he should go in. His right hand holding onto his messager type bag as he stared up at the door, his eyes were filled with nerves and anxiety as he was unsure if he should just head back to the slytherin dorm or go in and participate in the errand. Henry had heard about errand and thought it was a great idea since many did think Halloween was just got candy or horror but being the geek he was Henry researched and read all about other meanings and traditions in October, one of being how different cultures celebrate this month.

So Henry was all for the errand then what was stopping the twelve year old from entering, maybe it was the feeling that they were ask to create a flag that represented their culture and family but Henry's was a but more complicated then most. For the first part he didn't even know is mum or her family, so doing a flag for her or that side of the family was out of the question but while he didn't know them, he heard her family did some pretty terrible things so again out and as for his father's family that is the last family that Henry wanted to represented. With those two factors taken out, he then saw another problem that he was English and wasn't from anywhere else actually besides from visiting a place for a week or less, he only ever lived in England so what he would draw or do, what flag would represent him.

After standing there a bit longer and figuring that others would stare at him or poke fun at the twelve year old for just standing there, he finally decided to enter the classroom. Henry stood at the entrance and saw that were really not many people there; he recognized Alina Rosier who was the hufflepuff with a twin like him whom he met a few times before, the muggle studies professor; Maya Galim, and another girl with black hair who Henry has never seen before. Well technically he never seen the muggle studies professor either before the tug of war during the field day where he showed a side that was rarely there since he was mainly a quiet and anxious boy.

Henry decided to take a seat far from the others as he placed his messager type bag on the bench next to him and looked around still a bit nerves on what he would draw but knowing that he was there and now he would need to draw something, Henry took a blank piece of paper from the center and stared at it for a few minutes, as his head was angled down and he let his hair fall over his eyes to almost hide him from the world which was a good thing for him probably why Henry hadn't cut his hair her for that exact reason.

In those moments Henry was still not sure what to draw on the paper, should he represent his family? His culture? His heritage? Him self? His older brother or twin? Or maybe he should just leave and save him the embarrassment of drawing nothing or drawing something bloody ridiculous that could get him laughed at, not to mention he barely draw at all so what ever he created would probably end up terrible anyway.

As Henry thought he watched another girl who was one that he did recognized and was there before him finish up her drawing and place it on the table, Henry watched her leave before getting up and wandering over to the table as he looked at it and thought it was beautiful but then he noticed something that worsen his anxiety much worse. The girl wrote her name on it, Henry was thinking about doing his anonymously so no one would know what he drew or if he even drew a flag but if they had to put names on them that worried Henry.

Henry looked around to be sure no one was watching him before he hurried back to his seat which was far away from the rest and letting his hand hang down and hair cover his eyes from the rest as he stared at his empty paper still with no clue what he should draw or if he should draw anything, leaving was seriously looking at a good option right at that moment.

After staring at the white paper for a bit longer, the twelve year old finally got a idea as he perked his head up a bit but not to high so anyone would notice, Henry scanned the table for a normal pencil and after a while found one. As he reach for it and picked it up, deciding then that he will leave the flag in black and white mostly because he was afraid he'll mess it up with color and also that he will leave the flag anonymously just so no one knee who wrote it and he wouldn't need to stress or worry about it to worsen his anxiety.

Henry took the pencil, normally he would have preferred a quill and ink but for something like this even the second year had to agree that normal pencils were more convenient and quicker. Henry begun to lightly sketching the left side of the flag as he shaded the bottom left a bit dark and sketched individual objects on the bottom before lightly sketching the top and adding in different amount of shaded to it. Henry then looked at it and wasn't sure how good it was, according to the boy it was terrible but since it was anonymous maybe it won't be that bad but still the thought lingered and haunted him inside his mind.

Henry then begun to lightly sketch the right side as he bended down a bit more and was moving the pencil quite quick across the right side and certain parts of it. Till he was concentrating on a smaller or so object on the right side before finishing that and beginning to do different levels of shading on that side as well. Henry did turn his attention to the center and after much thought and worrying, he finally settled on something as he begun to sketch it out.

When he finished Henry placed his pencil next to the paper and stared at it. He was still having second thoughts about it and the thought of placing it on a table where it will be visible for everyone to see seem to add to his nerves and anxiety, Henry held the flag in his hands as he stared at it and a stream of worries and thoughts came rushing to the second year boy.

After some time however, Henry got up and slightly placed his flag on the table before placing his messager type bag over his shoulder and existing the classroom and probably heading to the library like the geek he is or the black lake for some time alone.

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Henry has left the thread unless prevented


Word Count: 1160/1000
Errand Status: Completed
Last edited by Henry Knight on 6 Oct 2020, 16:00, edited 1 time in total.
Alone there isn't much for a Wolf to do but in a pack the possibilities can be endless

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

4 Oct 2020, 23:00

Open To Interactions

Nell loved her heritage. Her mother - Jane - was a beautiful Greek lady and her father - Finlay - was an exciting man from Cork. Though Nell was born in cork herself, she longed to visit Greece. She had always had a thing for history, mythology, and things related to the ancient world. It just clicked with her, to be completely honest.

So, when Nell heard about the flag decorating activity happening, she knew she was going to go to express her background. Nell wasn't one to discuss her family with many people, but she loved talking about the places where they came from. In this case, these places were Athens and Cork - two very beautiful yet different places.

The second year just adored not being strictly this nationality or that nationality. She enjoyed having something to talk about rather than having nothing - of she talked, anyway.

And today was the day of the activity she had been waiting for. Nell didn't have a wide range of artistic ability, but the night before she had come up with a genius idea to display both of her cultures on one flag. Soon enough, Nell received a simple template for her flag. It was a black rectangle. That was it. There was so much room for creativity, Nell realized as her brain generated ideas. Before starting, though, Nell settled on her original idea.

The second year began by drawing a diagonal line across the template from the top left corner to the bottom right corner. So far, so good. It was now time to sketch it out. She used some drawing utensils and drew two vertical lines in the bottom triangle to split it into thirds. Her plan was to have the bottom triangle be the Irish flag with some tweaks, and the top triangle be the Greek flag with yet again, some original tweaks..

In the top half, Nell spilt it into as many horizontal stripes as she could fit, which was thankfully nine - the exact amount that was on the original Greek flag. She then proceeded erase a small section so she could make the cross shape that was on the flag. Her plan was going accordingly so far, and Nell was quite proud when she finished her sketch. It then struck her that her little plan was going to take a lot of patience and a good bit of time. Nell was prepared to work for it, however.

Now it was time for the tough part. Nell first took a few shades of green and placed them out. The first part would be in the very left section of the Irish flag portion. She began drawing triangles one at a time, each one fitting in with the other. She started with a light green and continued along, the greens got darker then lighter and when she finished, she was proud of the result. It looked exactly like she wanted to! Now to start the other colors. She smiled.

Nell then skipped over the white, seeing as it wouldn't look very good with greys and all. So, it was onto the orange. She only had a small section of the orange, which somewhat disappointed her, but she realized that she probably wouldn't be disappointed when she had completed the project. Nell quickly put away the greens and got a few shades of orange, not too many though, for the orange section was small. She began coloring in in the same triangle pattern as she did with the green colors.

At, last, she was on to the tedious pieces of blue. She knew the blue would take the longest for there was a lot sections that had to be colored in with blue. Nell was prepared to take the time and energy to complete it. All of it. Nell decided to began in the top left corner - the cross section. She colored in the top left corner above the cross first, and then proceeded to color in the other section in the top right. Nell's hand was starting to hurt quite a bit, so she stood up to stretch for a bit. She promised, just a bit.

The second year pulled out her water bottle as she was quite thirsty. She took a long sip and set it down next to her meticulously decorated, though unfinished, flag. However, Nell being the forgetful child she was, didn’t close her water bottle. And then again, being not only forgetful but ALSO clumsy, knocked over the open water bottle while she was reaching for a crayon. And now, if that silly water bottle was closed or had no water in it, it would’ve been fine, Nell would’ve been able to continue her project right away after her break. But, not in Nell’s favor, it wasn’t.

She let out a gasp when she saw the pool of water spreading across her time-consuming piece of art. She stood there just letting it spread, for now there was no hope in fixing it. Nell wasn’t one to cry over things like this, but she was one to get slightly frustrated, not necessarily portraying her emotions, however. When that stupid water wouldn’t spread an inch more, Nell went and mopped it up with a towel of some sort. There was probably some spell but Nell either didn’t know it, or didn’t care to do it. With a sigh, she grabbed a fresh template and began again. As others around her began to finish, she started to lose hope. No. She would finish the flag.

And so Nell bags again. She tried to match the colors and shapes with her old flag, with slight success, It was looking good so far. Nell looked at the water bottle, closed it, and put it on the ground for the time bing. She didn’t need to deal with that silly mishap again. And, she soon sinister with her delightful flag. She was quite proud of her work, and so she left with a wide grin on her face.
1,011 / 1,000 - Errand Complete

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Nell Has Left The Classroom Unless Interacted With
Last edited by Nell Zoldak on 15 Oct 2020, 23:43, edited 4 times in total.
STA: 6 EVA: 8 STR: 5 WIS: 9 AP: 5 ACC: 7
Sixth Sense | Prodigal Charms Learner
"She was a rainbow, but he was colorblind.” -unknown

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

5 Oct 2020, 21:52

Errand for @Maya Galim


Felicia bashfully entered the Muggle Studies Classroom. When she first heard about this flag making task, she wasn’t too thrilled about the idea. Arts and crafts had never been Felicia’s strong suit per se, and let’s just say she hadn’t planned on taking up the subject at Hogwarts. It’s not like she had any sort of relationship with the Muggle Studies Professor. She wasn’t even required to take this class as a First-Year student. No one would think twice about her deciding not to make a flag. If it wasn’t until for her Auntie Grace’s not so subtly encouragement, she wouldn’t be anywhere near this room.

A couple of days prior to this moment, Felicia sat in front of the Hufflepuff Common room’s fireplace. She managed to smuggle a fancy glass along with a refreshing cup of Pumpkin juice from the Great Hall. Additionally, Felicia wrapped herself in a cozy blanket, and laid out some parchment and a quill on a nearby desk. She liked to gracefully brandish her pumpkin juice in the fancy cup and pretend it was a much more glamorous cocktail. Back home, she loved to sit back, play board games with her Aunty Grace, and complain. Since there was no one around to pout and enjoy a board game with, writing out her grievances with a sugary drink in hand seemed like the next best thing! Her quill danced across parchment paper, outlining some basic gossip floating around the castle. The sorting ceremony, the three Wizarding Schools that were visiting for the next few weeks, the mysterious Autumn Ball and those Save the Date cards that littered the entire castle…there was so much content to share already, and Felicia barely dedicated one measly sentence to the silly flag making opportunity the Muggle Studies Professor presented. Little did the young Hufflepuff know that this very task was the one thing her Aunty Grace would actually follow-up about.

On this particular morning, a school owl delivered a letter and a package during breakfast in the great hall. The first was a letter from her Aunty Grace! "My dearest niece," her aunt wrote.
Seeing as you have so much to rant about, I take it that you’re having quite the stay at the castle. It seems like ages ago now, but there was a time when your parents and I also walked the enchanted halls of Hogwarts. Of course, I was always cooler than Jacob or Aria combined! And now that you’re in Hufflepuff, that’s one more thing we can bond over.
Felicia smirked at her Aunt’s words. She imagined Aunty Grace giggling while writing that last part. Her aunt got along perfectly fine with Felicia’s parents, but Grace definitely had a way of exuding confidence and really lighting up a room.
And I absolutely look forward to seeing how your flag turns out! Muggle Studies was actually my favorite class at Hogwarts believe it or not. And your parents found their passions for theatre while learning about Muggle dramatic arts and entertainment. I’m also writing to them so they know to send you some wholesome family photos you can use! I’ll send you a fun shot of your cool Aunty Grace too. I’m confident that you’ll get a kick out of tinkering with those muggle decorative tools and put together a beautiful work of art. And make sure they send you a respectable photo. No goofy faces allowed. Let me know if your photos are usable, because if they aren’t, I have no problem sending a howler to that brother of mine to set him straight!
Remember to keep taking things one day at a time, and you’ll find your place at Hogwarts before you know it! And as always know that we love you.

Keep kissing the horizon,
Aunty Grace

P.S. Be sure to bring the flag home with you for Christmas Holiday! There are only a few good moments we all can share together as a family, and your parents would cherish it dearly. I can see your father tearing up over it right now as I’m writing this. You know how sentimental he can get! And speaking of Christmas, there’s someone I’d like you to meet when you get home. But more details to come on that later…Miss you!
Aunty Grace’s letter had Felicia’s mind reeling. She knew all too well how much her parent’s enjoyed Muggle Studies. Their fondness of the subject fed their obsession with having performance careers. Their escapades at the Wizarding Academy for Dramatic Arts connected them to the traveling show that they work for now. And now, Felicia barely get’s a chance to see them at all. She could care less about the subject entirely. In fact, she had nothing but disdain for Muggle Studies. She found herself actively avoided having to walk past the classroom. And whenever she walked past Professor Galim in the corridors, she fought back the urge to give off unwarranted scowls. All Felicia wanted was to avoid anything Muggle Studies related entirely.

After putting Grace’s letter away, Felicia turned her attention to the smoothly wrapped rectangular package she received. A note written in her mother’s elegant handwriting was attached snuggly under a white bow.
To: Felicia
Grace told us about the flag project that the Muggle Studies Professor has opened to the entire school. I’m so happy that you have the chance share a little bit about your story! Your Father and I hadn’t even acknowledged Muggle Studies before our 3rd Year at Hogwarts. Hopefully our gift to you will get you started. Good luck working with those Muggle arts and crafts! Try not to use too much glue!
From: Your loving parents
Felicia sighed when she saw the contents of her parent’s present. Inside the square box was an assortment of stickers, pastel colored pencils, and a thick booklet with “Felicia’s Scrapbook” written across the front cover. Inside were pages filled with empty transparent flaps to protect photographs that were to be added in the future. A couple of photos sat in two of the clear pouches. The first was a picture of Felicia that her father took the night before he and her mom set off to work on their latest acting tour. She was very fond of the homely dress she wore, and wanted to wear something comfortable seeing her parents off. The second photo was of her parents. Her mom sat in front of her father, wrapped in his strong embrace. They both looked directly at the camera with a confident smolder. Her mother left an additional note tucked behind the striking photo.
Of course Jacob wanted to send the goofiest pictures he could find to spite Grace, but I just swapped them out when he wasn’t looking. Send your Aunt our regards!
With all of the care her family put into it, Felicia figured she had to at least attempt to put a flag together. After breakfast, she gather all of her things and headed to the Muggle Studies Classroom.

Felicia claimed a table near the entrance as her art space. She gathered a few markers, glue, and an autumn themed paper and began crafting her flag. First, she covered the white stencil with the brown background paper. She then wrote “Gatling Pride” in large cursive letters. She then carefully placed the pictures of her, Aunt Grace, and her parents around the parchment. Once she was satisfied with the incorporate her heritage. She rummaged through the stickers that her parents sent her and settled on four in particular that stood out. The first of which was a waving Union Jack. It spoke for itself as a symbol of British pride, and she felt like her flag wouldn’t be complete without it. After placing it near the top left corner, used the three smaller stickers to fill in some idle space. She placed the Hufflepuff house crest in the center. It was a nice touch that symbolized the house she would call home for the next 7 years. To it’s left, she placed a glossy sticker of the United States. Felicia had a cousin who worked for MACUSA (the Magical Congress of the United States). She had no clue what said cousin does as she never actually met him, or visited the states for that matter, but she figured it would make her poster seem less mundane. And lastly, she decided to include a sticker for theatre arts. It was huge part of her parents’ life, she couldn’t deny that the theatre was inextricably tied to her family. Even so, she had developed a significant distain for acting, and aggressively ripped the edges of her parchment to fit on the stencil. To her dismay, she ripped a little too closely to the pictures and the writing. But after spending hours putting together this stupid flag, there was no turning back. She put the final squirts of glue on the flag and cautiously pressed each of the components together. All and all, she was pleased with the final project.

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Word Count:1508
Errand: Complete
Stats: Stamina: 6 | Evasion: 9 | Strength: 1 | Wisdom: 7 | Arcane: 5 | Accuracy: 7

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

5 Oct 2020, 23:38

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Solo | Closed to Interactions
She had no idea what she was doing here in all honesty. Art was something she did enjoy at times but creating a flag? That was not really something she considered doing before now. It was far too random and unnecessary. At least, that was what she had assumed until she joined the event. Serena sat on the seat, her elbows leaning against the surface of the table in front of her. There were other students dotted around her but she paid little attention to them. They were in the Muggle Studies classroom but the set up seemed unlike it usually did.

In front of her was a whole bunch of different forms of muggle stationery and supplies. Growing up in a predominately pureblood household and upbringing, she had not really used a lot of these until she came to Hogwarts. Over the years, she had started to get used to seeing a lot of these at the various crafting errands held by professors and prefects.

Staring at the blank pages in front of her, Serena pondered on the subject matter. They were to create a flag. Not just any flag they wanted, not an existing flag, no... Something personal and meaningful to them. Their own personal flag. As the part-goblin sat there, she tried to ponder on what that meant. What did she identify with? If she was a country or had her own flag, what would it look like? These were the sorts of questions that she pondered on as she sat there, tapping her fingers against the surface of the table.

Her brown eyes scanned over the supplies as she pondered. Yellow. It had to be yellow, surely. The colour had grown on her over the years. After all, for over three years, she had been donning yellow as she represented her house. Being a Hufflepuff literally defined her. In the best way possible. She was proud of it, she was grateful for her house. Had she been sorted elsewhere, perhaps she would not have been around today. Time and time again, Hufflepuff saved her. In no other house did a group of people work together as well as the badger house did.

It had to be yellow, that much she knew. Reaching for the yellow marker, she coloured the entire rectangle yellow and then picked up a ball point pen. Wait no, this was blue. Putting it back, she grabbed a black ball point pen. It had to be black. Yellow and black, after all, were the Hufflepuff colours. Serena also took a pencil, so she could sketch out the idea first. Perhaps she should draw a badger? How did someone even draw a badger? She was not that good of an artist.

Nonetheless, she tried to sketch out a badger on the page a few times. After about ten minutes of sketching and a lot more erasing with one of those muggle rubber things, she sighed hopelessly. It was not going as planned. Perhaps... this was too obvious. She needed to actually think about this. Right now, it was just going to be a Hufflepuff banner. It was not her own flag.

Serena stared intently at the page. The fourteen year old had absolutely no idea how long had passed but an idea started to form in her mind over time. Grabbing the pencil, she started to sketch on the blank page once more. It started with a small circle in the centre, adding the wheel around it. It was taken from the flag of her mother tongue. Whilst she might have been born and brought up in the United Kingdom, her parents were born outside of it. They emigrated or immigrated - she had which way around it was but she knew that it was one of those words - to the UK before she was born. Most of her mother's side lived in India. With a ruler, she started to detail out stripes from the United Kingdom's flag. There done.

Wait... It was kind of boring. All it was right now was just her parents' nationalities merged together. As she pondered, she started to sketch out something else. Removing the stripes that ran vertically through the centre of the flag, she started to draw a replacement. A torch. It had the symbol of something that held a lot of meaning to her. At least, very recently. Serena had no idea how important this was but nowadays, it was all she could think about. It flipped her world upside down. Most people probably would not recognise it but she did and that was enough. Adding details around the torch, she added a couple of golden snitches flying around at the top. Then added another symbol on either side, filling them in with black. The base of the torch, she drew leaves around it and wrapped the base. Serena continued, adding a fire outline.

On the sides, she added circles, with small circles on the inside. There were so many different references in it. Everything that was important to her started to get formed into the flag somehow. No one understood the importance of each and everything in the flag... They had made her the person she was right now. But, each of them was positive. Even when she was told they were negative, they were not. She knew nothing else but she knew that she had to believe that. These were not things to be ashamed of. They were things to be proud of.

Fire might be dangerous, it might be something that she had been mocked about for many years - that her house had been mocked for. But there was a simple truth that most people failed to see - the fire was the reason she was alive. It had saved her. With a burning flame in her heart, she drew passionately. Filling out the stripes in black, she grinned as the colours started to represent more of her house than she had anticipated. It was working out just the way she wanted.

Once she had completed it, she grinned and held up the finished product. Unsure of what she was meant to actually do with it, she made her way up to the front desk and placed it onto it. Serena was actually tempted to keep it but it was apparently meant to be kept in the classroom, from what she understood. She did not bother to write her name or anything though. In fact, she preferred if no one knew it was hers. But... she knew. And that was enough for her.
WC: 1000/1000
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[Serena Exits. . .]
Serena Towers
Stamina: 10 | Evasion: 10 | Strength: 1 | Wisdom: 13 | Arcane Power: 5 | Accuracy: 10

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

6 Oct 2020, 05:45

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With coming into a European School like Hogwarts and the teaching of its own lore near the region like Europe, Asia, and even a couple of interesting tidbits about the Americans with their own, personally oppressing yet, interesting lore with the Magical community and the muggle population.

However, this bitter taste in Remi's mouth was the lack of the interest in African Magical traditions that his family, hearing stories from Remi's father and his uncle during the times near the New Years eve when his Uncle stay with them for a couple of weeks and how they talked about their younger days in Ivory Coast and all of the crazy adventures they went on.

Being nosy, Remi craved to try to achieve the same thing in his time in school but it seemed harder than it looks. Adults aren't into the nonsense business like pranks and so on like how the literal first day to the school; he dunked himself into the lake to try to collect one of his peers but, thankfully, being rescued by the Lake's squid. A kind creature.

But today is the day.

A day to show one's culture by drawing a flag.

With the announcement from Muggles Studies, something Remi didn't really understand on why you want to study Muggles, they're boring (but hopefully in time, his mind on the subject will change), and hearing a couple of students who seemed excited to start drawing a couple of flags that related with their life: Be it were-wolves, the seers, and to the normal wizards like Muggle-borns, Half-bloods and Pure-bloods alike.

Now, how did Remi feel about this? Well, hell yeah. As stated before, this gave the boy the chance to show his culture to this place. Maybe spark a bit of something in Hogwarts, a couple of curriculum on African subjects like the creatures there like water sprits he heard so much.

As Remi walked into the classroom and, just like the other students, felt really excited. As he looked around, seeing the children and peers getting their pens, paints, and other writing equipment and this is where Remi's face looked slightly more... Meh.

Remi wasn't the most artistic person and almost everyone in this school was like professionals. Of course, he was jealous of the others being better than him at this, and, being a brat, he didn't like the idea of people being better at him when it comes to simple things. Well, in his terms of simple like Qudditch and seeing how the other kids were so much better, dangerously good.

Aaand Remi just day-dreamed about Qudditch about it. Remi couldn't believe he got the Keeper position, second-string, however. Especially during the year once some of the students from the other European schools are staying in the school for reasons...?

He didn't remember any specific rumors or anything about why they were in the school but it had to be important. He heard about the Hags issue that happened his year but other than that, it wasn't that bad compared to the years back during the 90s and something about some war that happened during Hogwarts.

That would stink to be a kid during that time. Remi looked over at the table and getting his paper and pencil before sitting down, wondering what he should write / draw down on the big piece of paper..
WC: 562 / 1000
Speaking Font: Futura | Stamina: 6 - Evasion: 9 - Strength: 1 - Wisdom: 10 - Arcane: 3 - Accuracy: 6 | "First Year Pride."

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

7 Oct 2020, 03:17

...Now what was Remi going to write and draw onto the paper that would resonate with him. Sure, he could do the boring, and scarily similar flag like Ireland, and be done with it. However, that would be lame and the teacher would totally see his plan from a whole mile away.

Time to think, what did Remi like.
'What do I like, hmm.'
As Remi thought to himself before looking around for something that stuck with him but this room was, funny enough, was lacking anything that made him think about it as this was a Muggle studies classroom. Boring Muggle stuff, nothing with magic.

Magic.

...Of course! It was simple but now, his mind was flowing with some ideas on what he was brought up as; magic. It was something that was actually fun with the droning topic about Muggle culture and whatnot. Magic was his life, any place in the wizarding world; he could find it.

"No-no-no. Lemme start with the background."
He took a simple look over towards his right where the paint supplies. Getting a wide brush, a cleaning cup for the paint, and a couple of different colors; orange and green. Dipping his wide brush into the orange paint and carefully painted one side of the paper, not wanting to go over the border of the picture so it wouldn't look tacky.

As he washes the orange off, he dipped his brush into the green paint and did the same thing on the other side. Leaving the exact middle a solid white, "The Ivorian flag." He had a slight gut feeling that he messed up on the flag but he ignored it, he always got that feeling whenever he drew the Ivory Coast flag due to being the same as the Irish Flag and his parents use to harp on him heavily whenever he made that a mistake OR he said that it looked like the Irish Flag or one of those flags near there. Never really understood why, but he just chalked it up that parents being a parent. As long as he doesn't see Harold, the decrepit house-elf again.

With a thinner brush before drawings. As he drew, he made an oaky-like wand on the paper that fired out a couple of yellow sparks. With his limited time at Hogwarts, he knew this drawing was one hundred percent Muggle influence but it was fine. That wand was drawn onto the orange side and allowing the green side to dry a little before painting the other wand with the same little oak details and the same sparks as well.
"And my favorite animal: the elephant."
He said, trying to draw an elephant, but thankfully not from memory but from a reference book which allowed him to draw the elephant and make it look somewhat decent actually.

In bold letters, the title wrote:
"Ivorian Pride!"
With a couple of gel-pens or something, he liked it but he knew he could better if he practiced drawing.

WC: 501 + 562 = 1063 (Completed)
Product:
Reducio
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Speaking Font: Futura | Stamina: 6 - Evasion: 9 - Strength: 1 - Wisdom: 10 - Arcane: 3 - Accuracy: 6 | "First Year Pride."

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

11 Oct 2020, 16:24

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Interacting with @Maya Galim

Elisabeth nodded. "I see. Muchas gracias - oh, I... I mean, thank you, Professor. Thank you very much for your explanation." The Hufflepuff stammered at the end of her words as she realised that she had been using Spanish instead of English. Hopefully Professor Galim did not mind it...

Elisabeth moved to see what art supplies were available in the Muggle Studies classroom. Turned out there were not only papers with a rectangle drawn over each of them, but also different art kits such as glitter glue, coloured pencils, and stamps. For a moment, the Asian-Latinx girl wondered if the professor had actually bought them all in a stationery shop in the Muggle world, before reminding herself to focus: she had come here to work on a piece of art, a flag, not to consider where these art supplies had been purchased before they were laid on the desks.

The eleven-year-old student took a piece of paper and a set of water colour - her favourite medium to create a work of visual art - and made herself comfortable on an empty desk in a corner. Well, as comfortable as it was possible on a wooden chair behind a wooden desk, that is. While the girl realised that some people might think she was not creative enough just because she had opted to use only water colour, Elisabeth decided not to care about this.

Why?

Because, for once and for all (which means, in other words, the sole but nonetheless very important reason), it was her personal choice. The flag she created should represent who she was, not who other people wanted her to become - and by "other people", of course, she meant human beings in general. Those who might not even know her; those who would only see what she had drawn on this piece of paper and knew nothing about Elisabeth Nina Erner or the history of the Erner family.

The dark-haired student had seen the flowery flag which depicted the name of its creator, and a little look to the right and to the back (of course she would not look at her left, there was no one there but the wall) had revealed to her that most of the pupils who participated in Professor Galim's project had decided to have their name written on their piece of art work. Some did not put their names down, but did include a very short description of their creation.

However, Elisabeth was adamant that she would do neither of the two. She wanted her flag to be just like most national flags: serious, and without explanation regarding who had designed them or the meaning of the symbols and colours depicted on the flags.

Earlier, the first year Hufflepuff had planned to create an exact replica - no, two exact replicas - of her parents' national flags, for they were from two different countries. Now she realised that it was mainly because she did not have any idea how to "twist" the two flags. However, Professor Galim's suggestion to combine both national flags into one gave the girl an idea. Even though she might not drew something very much different, she could "unite" the elements of the two flags as one.

Just like... her parents' marriage. It made them no longer two, but one.

And that is just how Elisabeth wanted her flag to be. ("Wait, I lost focus again," the girl reprimanded herself inside.)

And so began the creation of Elisabeth's new flag.

At first, she had considered drawing the coat of arms of Belize on top of the red and white of Indonesian flag, because the flag of Indonesia only consists of two colours without anything else, whereas the flag of Belize has the country's national seal on its centre. However, after a number of attempts sketching one of the two woodcutters (not that she had even tried sketching the other one), the Hispanic-Asian girl gave up. The woodsmen were just too difficult for her to draw. She had not tried drawing the mahogany tree, but she was very sure that it would be a great challenge as well, even though not as challenging as the woodcutters.

Besides, she now thought that it might make the element of Belize more dominating than that of Indonesia, because the national seal would attract much more attention than the background colour of the flag.

Following this, Elisabeth decided that perhaps she could try sketching only half of the national seal. The girl included the 25 leaves which made up the wreath surrounding the whole coat of arms - not only because they were quite easy to make, but also because this element was her personal favourite - and the scroll bearing the national motto, Sub Umbra Floreo.

Elisabeth smiled to herself. The motto means "under the shade I flourish", and even though it did not really have something to do with the picture of the mahogany tree in the original, it could be interpreted so. Her sketch, on the other hand, had no tree at all! It really was kind of funny for her, but she decided to keep the motto.

The original coat of arms bears a shield, but the shield Elisabeth drew on her flag was not the original - it was the shield from the national seal of Indonesia.

The actual coat of arms of Indonesia depicts the legendary Garuda bird with a shield on its chest; but just like the woodsmen, Elisabeth Erner thought the Garuda would be too complicated to draw; thus, she sketched its shield only.

So there it was. A seal combining the elements of the seals of Belize and Indonesia (mostly Belize), on the colours of Indonesian flag.

Shyly, the Asian-Latinx girl handed her creation to Professor Galim together with a short letter which said, "After it isn't used anymore for decorating the classroom, would you mind if I take it home? Thank you very much in advance."

She left the classroom whispering a sweet thought inside: Two lands in two continents, now connected by love.


Word Count: 1,008

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Elisabeth left the thread
𝔓𝔬𝔡𝔢𝔯 𝔢𝔰 𝔰𝔢𝔯𝔳𝔦𝔯, 𝔭𝔬𝔯𝔮𝔲𝔢 𝔇𝔦𝔬𝔰 𝔢𝔰 𝔞𝔪𝔬𝔯
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 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

13 Oct 2020, 05:12

Damion had weird tastes in things that he liked doing. He had decorated cup cakes, embroidered and well made paper folded animals and not to forget a lot of other interesting loner things except for washing his cat. He did that with his friend Logan. He had started liking being here, but that didn't mean he was forgetting his friend back home. Oh no! that was not what this meant at all. A part of him would always miss his dear Dylan. He wished Dylan was here with him. Oh well, in his thoughts Dylan was always here with Damion. Damion could hear Dylan talking to him in his thoughts.

"You'd do good Damii"
"I hope so Dyllie"


Damion missed his friend a lot and wanted to be able to get through things without thinking about his friend that wasn't here. He should concentrate on the person that was here like maybe his friend, Logan. Well probably that would be a good idea. He was not sure. He wished he could ask someone like Dyllie about it. He looked at the blank paper in front of him. He was going to do some flag decorating. He wanted to get something made. He was thinking of something that would make not only him happy but also Dyllie proud of him.

"Snowman Damii"
"And Jack-O-Lanterns Dyllie"


He shrugged away the thought. Snowman and Jack-O-Lanterns it was.

"With the witches hat and...."
"And a star on the hat and an orange spotted ribbon with a dark blue background Dyllie"


Yep that was it. That was what he was going to draw. He knew what his flag was going to look like now. He had an exact idea of it.

"A bunch of Jack-O-Lanterns right Dyllie"
"Ya that sounds good Damii"


Now it was clearer to him what his flag would look like. He was somewhat glad to have a voice of Dyllie in his mind speaking to him. He didn't mind having a conversations with himself. Well it was all mental so no one was hearing what he was thinking.

He took a black marker and started drawing the outline of things that he'd have to color in later. He five Jack-o-Lanterns- out of which two on the corners; right and left corners and three were stacked in the middle.

"That looks good Damii"
"Thanks Dyllie"


The next thing that Damion drew was the hat that the top Jack-O-Lantern was wearing. He was going to make it pointed and it would have a star and a ribbon with white dots. Something that he had learnt from Dyllie.

"Well done"
"Thanks. It looks nice."


The next thing on the list was to do the Snow man. He was going draw it perfectly. He needed this to be perfect. He needed everything to be perfect. He didn't want it to be wonky. He would hate it if it was not up to par.

"Easy on the circles. Keep your hands steady Damii."
"Yes Dyllie. Thank you. I think I got it."


Damion kept a steady hand. He was happy that Dyllie knew him so well. He liked this so much. He was happy that he had such a good friend with him. He looked at the drawing. It was coming along beautifully. He was happy and proud of himself. He looked around and wiped the sweat on his forehead.

"Perfect Damii"
"Thanks."


Now it was time to color each and everything that he had made. He had a dark blue paint, white paint, black paint, yellow paint and red paint. He was going to have to make an orange color. He took out his palette and started mixing yellow and red color to get and orange color. He was going to start with the orange stuff. Those were somewhat the majority of his picture. Other colors were not that much. He had two yellow stars, a red scarf, two round snowman snows, black buttons, hats and faces and lines of Jack-O-Lantern.

"Easy with the lines Damii. You don't want the black in your orange. Keeo your hand steady."
"Yep Dyllie. That would not be good."


First Damii colored the orange stuff. He was pretty happy with how it turned out. Well he let it dry before moving to do the black stuff on the orange. Slowly and steadily his flag was coming along. He was happy that this was looking good as the colors started getting added to it. He was very proud of it.

"Is this how it is going to look Damii"
"Yes Dyllie. that is us on the flag."

"Really? Me as the snowman"
"Haha you wish... "

"Then what... I'm the pumpkin..."
"Well no... we're both the pumpkin and the snowman."


Snowman was the perfect reflection of how Damii saw his friend Dyllie. Pure and untarnished by anything. This was how he saw himself too. He was implying that they were both- the pumpkin when they were being naughty or mischievous and snowman when they were being angels. Pure and white.

"Makes sense Damii"
"See I knew you'd understand."

"Well yeah. I think you get it from me Damii. Being so pure and angel like some times... and...."
"And yet... mischievous and naughty at other times right?."

"Absolutely."
"Bingo!!! I beat ya!"


Damii was waiting for his paper to dry so he could color the remainder of his flag in dark blue color. He was liking how it was turning out to be. He was happy that his mind had let him not get too drawn to Dylan. He liked Dylan no doubt but he didn't want to be thinking about him all the time. Well this time he had thought about only Dylan as he had let Dyllie guide him. He had let his voice stay in Damion's head. A part of him never wanted to leave Dylan but um... he had to when he moved to Hogwarts for studying. No doubt he loved getting to know more about Magic and studying in a place where he could make his parents and his friends proud. He was proud himself to be here. He kept looking at his flag that was drying up. He loved it.

"So proud of what you have made Dyllie. Keep it up"
"Thank you Dyllie!"


A smile appeared on Damion face as he looked at the drying Flag. It was the perfect thing that he could draw. maybe some words could have made it better--- naah! It was perfect the way it was. He liked it how it looked. It was so nice and he was sure Dyllie would have liked it if Dylan had been here.

DAMION'S FLAG:

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Words: 1112
Status: Complete
It passed you up and slipped you by. But we're all bound to end up back to where we started
Damion's Encyclopedia

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

14 Oct 2020, 06:11

The idea was just to join an errand and get some points for Hufflepuff. She had the free time, so why not? But then it became something more- who was Lea? Her mind couldn't find one definite answer, mind fluttering between what it meant. Where they talking of heritage? Personality? Ideology? How others viewed her or how she viewed herself?

It would be challenging to find someone willing to give an honest opinion and knew her well, she thought, not entirely paying attention to the others around her. Or the fact that she didn't really know where the Muggle Studies room was. But it was on the same floor as the Hufflepuff common room, so the girl was able to find it after a few minutes of wandering around. No need to bother the upper years for directions- quite yet.

Brown eyes would peek into the classroom, actually stepping in once she noticed the art supplies. There was a sense of relief that seeped through her veins, unsure quite yet as to why this room felt... comfortable. A little closer to home, perhaps. The first year would find herself a place to sit quickly grabbing one of the pages formatted for her flag- and staring at it.

What was this supposed to be?

Lea knew where she was from of course. She was raised in Ledbury, England with no other siblings and plenty of friends. Her parents were always kind and helpful, although her dad was often gone for the day and her mother busy but at home. She was mainly English and German, but was also from plenty of other places although not nearly as prominent. Her family lived in England and Germany, and her cousins were also both magical. But where did that leave her? In the middle of it all, of course, but it didn't really feel like her. Still, it would make for a good flag assuming she could put them together well enough. The Union Jack seemed a little too complicated and relied on many more straight lines- not an artistic strong suit of the young girl.

Would it make sense to add the magical sort of thing? Lea was a witch after all- and a muggleborn. Magic was (supposed to be) unusual within muggle families, a bit of an anomaly. And yet here she was, her first year and having been sorted into Hufflepuff. A badger seemed like a really challenging thing to draw, so perhaps instead she could just add the colors. This idea involved some hasty erasing, the shavings scattering on the table beside her. Lea was quick to pick up her pencil once more, hesitant at using the more permanent art forms. Perhaps later, when she actually had her idea set up.

Onto what she considered the last step. Personality. Herself. Was it necessary to add more to what seemed like a rather filled up flag? And what, exactly, was thought of as uniquely hers? There was a momentary look of panic on the twelve year old's face as she began to have a existential crisis. But no, no, she was twelve! There was no need to find who she was yet. She had time. The thought was calm Lea down, promptly setting the pencil down. There was no need to add anything more to this flag- especially if thinking about it was only going to lead to panic. There were too many people in this room to panic- but just enough to glance back down at her paper quickly if she ever made eye contact.

The hufflepuff would stand, walking over to collect some markers of different colors. Yellow, black, red. There was a momentary pause, surprised at how few colors there would be. But a quick calculation told her that that was correct. She was quick to scamper back to her flag and her paper.

The girl would wait a few moments, debating whether to get rid of her pencil sketch. It was a few moments before she decided not to erase it. After all, it showed that she liked to prepare stuff- or something like that. This whole finding oneself was both having a hand in everything and not making itself present enough. Lea would start with the black, finding a surprising happiness in seeing the dark bold lines form on the paper. Perhaps she got too excited at working on her flag, though, since the black began to reach outside of its boundaries. A little disappointing, but Lea found that it looked good enough. Art had always been an interest, but not necessarily something she practiced or did well.

The red marker, though, was the one that gave her trouble. She kept going over it, trying to uniform the color, but instead certain parts would get dark as others stayed light. The scribbling would grow more intense, giving one last attempt at bringing it all together... before she gave up. "Why didn't you cooperate with me, red?" Lea asked the marker, putting the cap on it before grabbing onto the yellow marker.

This one also seemed to have the same issue, but the hufflepuff was able to control it more this time. Perhaps because it was smaller chunks of yellow rather a large + in the middle of the flag. Either way, the yellow was more peaceful in its attempt to get on the page, a smile forming as she heard the satisfying snap of the marker lid clasping back onto the marker itself.

"I think... that's it?" The girl would mutter to herself, examining the paper. It looked, by no means, as good as others that she happened to catch a glimpse of, but it looked nice enough. Lea was actually able to do art. An impressive feat in her mind, even if she was behind all the other students in terms of art skills. The smile would grow a little more as she nodded. Yes, she liked it- it was her own original idea and a little part of herself.

"Thank you Professor," the girl would call softly, hoping not to be heard as she stood up from the table, preparing to exit the classroom.
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Ah yes, her wonderful flag xD
Lea exits the thread unless stopped.

Word Count: 1029 /1000 (complete)
"You've got to be kidding me."
#8080FF | Sta: 4 | Eva: 9 | Str: 0 | Wis: 10 | Pow: 3 | Acc: 10

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

16 Oct 2020, 22:34

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There was not all too much that urged Alan to draw something as boring as a flag. He could not think of anything less boring to draw and while he understood why the task was given, the only reason he had taken interest in this task was the promise of praise and house points. His house could really need them so who was he to actively stand in the way of getting a couple of them. He liked earning points for his house and if this was the way to get them he would gladly do this errand, or well, activity the Muggle Studies professor had thought up. To be fair, Muggle Studies by itself would tend to be quite the interesting subject but also rather complicated to grasp. Alan had an easier job just asking his muggle-born friends if there was anything he really had to know. Willow was great for that; she was nice and always explained things to him if he had a question so the fourth year was glad to be her friend but he was sure that Muggle Studies was a step too far ahead for even him. It sounded quite complicated and like a lot of reading as most Muggle things would not work in this school it was mostly taught in theory. Perhaps his decision would have been different if this class had been more practical but like this he preferred things like Care of Magical Creatures a lot more.

Perhaps they would not have to draw their country flag anyway as Alan really did not like that idea. Maybe he could think a little bit outside of the box rather than from within. He could do something about his house instead, because after all his house was also his origin in some way and not only he but his father too had been in Gryffindor. His mother had been a Slytherin and was probably the best mother he could wish for at least in most scenarios as she tended to be quite strict sometimes.

The fourth year would shake his head as he started to think up on a plan about what he could be doing for this errand and slowly began thinking of an idea. He would need a lot o colors for that however and kind of wished that Jake was around so that he could help him. Alan was not really that great at art, but Jake was incredible with it. But then the lion shook his head as he knew he had to make this work on his own, after all this would mean house points and suddenly with the idea he had it felt a lot better and interesting to draw a flag. He had no idea how the professor would react but if he was being honest that was not his biggest worry. He would take some of the materials and walked back out in the hallway as the area itself was already quite crowded and the fourth year needed some space to think and be creative. He was not all that sure whether that even made any kind of sense but he shrugged that thought off as he sat down in the corridor of the castle right in front of the Muggle Studies classroom and began to paint. He would begin with shades of orange red and yellow as he just splattered them all over the canvas, even tho it was no real canvas but in a way it was. Alan was no artist but in a way anything you would draw a masterpiece on would be a canvas, wouldn't it be?

The smears would slowly turn into something that could resemble a setting sun and once he was happy with the result he would draw a big smiling sun into the top left corner of the sunset just so that everyone would know what he had been attempting to draw there. It surely was not looking as great as something that Jake would draw but he was proud at the result and a grin was forming on his lips. As his nose itched he subconsciously reached up to wipe the back of his hand over his face, smearing the mixture of red and yellows over his cheek and the bridge of his nose before he would continue.

This time he would reach for some grey paint and not knowing better he would begin to paint across the still wet paint, making it smudge a little. The result was not as clear as the sun, but with a little bit of imagination and perhaps the knowledge of what the Gryffindor was trying to depict, people might be able to guess what his attempt could have been with the art he was making. But this was not even the most difficult part as he had a lot more to work on at this point. The Gryffindor would yet again look for a yellow color and began to choose a thinner brush as he did his best to give form to something that was standing on top of the what had been supposed to be a mountain. A few splashed of brown color and he was nearly done with the drawing. He had no idea whether this was how it worked correctly but he would wash the brush and replace the color with black as he began to outline the things he had drawn onto the map, as he was trying to make the forms stand out even more to make it easier for people to know what it was that he had been drawing. In the end as he was finished he was immensely proud with the result which depicted something from his favorite movie. It used to be the only movie he had ever watched but that had changed when he was visiting Jake on his birthday as they had watched another movie there. But here, right in front of him was a flag depicting the pride rock from the lion king. With this being done, he turned in the flag and wiped his hand clean on his already dirty pants. He had made a mess while he was drawing anyway so a little bit more paint would certainly not hurt.
WC met. Alan left.
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"The only thing stronger than fear is curiosity"
Wanna Thread? Message me! || Sta 11 / Ev 11 / Str 2 / Wis 5 / Arc 11 / Acc 6 || Trunk || Font #9e8162 || Believe in yourself

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

16 Oct 2020, 23:23

Ami had a lot of pride in who she was, but what made her who she was always ended up being something that everyone else also had pride in. The daughter of a military man, a bonafide woman-respecter, and half-American; these were aspects of her identity that were core to who she was, what she valued, and what her beliefs were. But again- these always tended to be things that many others took pride in, as well. Not that she was complaining- having a community of people that shared your interests was a luxury that not many people had. Still, she had always struggled to find something that was really her own, even at Hogwarts, where it seemed that every student had some sort of tragic backstory or something that just made them incredibly special. Compared to them? She was probably one of the most normal of them all.

Save for one thing. She didn't actually know if anyone else at Hogwarts was interested in it, but as far as she could tell, Ami seemed to be the only student who liked to slap on a crap ton of makeup and go by a different name. Drag had started out as something she was curious about, but it had quickly snowballed into much more. A hobby? An obsession? Her one true love? Whatever it was, it had become an integral part of who she was, and she liked to celebrate it whenever possible. For example, back in June, she had run around the castle in drag, introducing the students and professors of Hogwarts to the one and only Chad Preoccupied.

Speaking of professors who had had the misfortune of meeting her drag persona (and having her in class), Ami found herself in Professor Galim's classroom. She waved to her Muggle Studies professor, accompanied by a quiet, "Hey" before taking a seat at one of the tables. Taking one of the sheets of paper, Ami took in the spread of art supplies on the surface of the table. So they were going to make a flag... well, she'd definitely have to get creative with this. She knew she didn't want to make an American flag. It was... overdone, pretty ugly, and really, not all original. She wanted to do something original, to create a flag that meant a lot to her, personally. She debated on making a rainbow American flag, but she knew that it was a concept that had been done before; she had seen pictures of a rainbow American flag online on social media, so she knew that concept was out the window.

Her fingers drummed rhythmically on the table as she thought, her eyes glazing over as she retreated into her mind. What defined her...? She was American, yes. She was a member of the LGBTQ+ community and club, which was also important. But, there was also drag...

And suddenly, Ami straightened up, and it was like a literal lightbulb had been turned on behind her eyes. She would recreate the epic drag-pride flag that she had made back in June- this time, without feeling the time crunch of depositing all 10+ of her flags throughout the castle within a day. She wondered if Professor Galim had actually decided to keep the flag that she'd left when she dropped by back in June... But maybe after Margo's intense glitter explosion, she had thrown everything out. Or maybe she was the sentimental type? Ami realized that she didn't know her Muggle Studies professor very well at all, and immediately decided that would have to change... after she finished this Very Official Flag, of course.

Cracking her knuckles, Ami reached for her wand first, instead of some paint. She wasn't going to spend 15 minutes painting the entire page black, and then wait another 15 minutes for it to dry only to do another coat on top of that. Clearing her throat uncomfortably, she pointed her wand at the sheet of paper, muttering, "Colovaria."
[d20: 16] + 5 = 21; success!
The paper turned black, to Ami's pleasant surprise, and she placed her wand back in her armband. Reaching for a set of acrylic paints, she dipped a thin brush into the pot of yellow paint. Squinting at the paper skeptically, she slapped the paint on after a single moment of hesitation, beginning to paint a simple crown. While the paint was still wet, she sprinkled a healthy amount of gold glitter over top of it, hoping that the paint would dry and the glitter would be stuck to the page. Blowing the excess glitter away gently, Ami set to work on a lipstick stain, which was significantly more complicated. She debated just slapping paint on her mouth and kissing the paper, but... well, that was kind of weird, and she might accidentally eat the paint. So, that idea was out the window. Sighing, she just tried her best, trying to remember what the hell a lipstick-kiss stain looked like. When was the last time she had even seen one of those?

Finally pleased with her bright red lips, Ami set to work recreating the quote around the top and the bottom of her little doodles. Dipping her brush into one of the various pots of red paint scattered across the table, she painted the letter Q, making sure to keep her lines as neat and crisp as humanly possible. She repeated the process with the rest of the letters, before stepping back to take a look at it all. For once, her impeccably neat handwriting had come in handy, and the letters were evenly spaced and pretty neat, for the most part.

But still, even though she had recreated her iconic drag pride flag nearly perfectly, she felt that it was time for an upgrade. Grabbing a heart-shaped stamp, she added an array of white hearts at the bottom, fading up towards the top- because the LGBTQ+ community was all about love, right? It was a nice sentiment- at least, in her opinion. Plus, something else was missing... oh, right! More glitter!

Taking a pot of glue, Ami randomly splattered some spots across the paper, before sprinkling some clear and white glitter across the glue spots. As hellish as glitter was to clean up, it sure looked pretty amazing. And after brushing off all the excess? Ami doubted that there had ever been as incredible a flag as hers. It was this intense pride, this borderline arrogance that fueled her very being.

Pleased with her work, Ami waved a gentle goodbye to Professor Galim before heading off to the library.

flag:
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According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly.
STA 7 | EVA 8 | STR 15 | WIS 6 | ARCP 3 | ACC 12
martial artist | prodigal transfig | spell spread

 Main Errand  Flag Decorating  Closed   Archive 

17 Oct 2020, 04:12

Errand for @Maya Galim


He had been avoiding these errands that everyone was always talking about. They all seemed so pointless. House points, what did that even mean? That students could be made to run silly errands for an arbitrary reward that meant very little? Why wouldn't they give more tangible rewards if they wanted the students to do these things? And what even was the point of these tasks? Flag making? To show what? That Hogwarts wasn't full of white kids? That they occasionally let in a foreigner or three?

He let out an irritated sigh as he made his way down the hall to the classroom where this flag-making errand was being hosted. He peered around the edge of the doorway, eyeing the other students inside. There weren't too many and they all seemed focused on this bizarre arts and crafts project. He crept into the room, quietly moving toward the table that contained the supplies. He stared in horror at what appeared to be a kindergarten collection of art supplies, including an excessive amount of glitter. Well, excessive to him. Which was anything larger than the quantity of zero. He eyed the glitter with disgust before moving his gaze to study the paints they had made available. He sniffed disdainfully at the poor quality and turned away, swiftly heading for the door. He surely had some better tools to work with among his own belongings.

He returned to his dorm room and retrieved the cherrywood lacquered box that contained his calligraphy tools. He opened the box reverently, a hint of a smile curving his lips at the memories the box always brought him. He gazed at the varied sticks of ink, the different thicknesses of brushes, and the finely carved jade hanko. He nodded to himself in satisfaction, replacing the lid on the box and carrying back down to the classroom-turned-art-room. He found a table far away from the glitter and carefully began to set out his tools.

The practice of shodo had been expected of him from an early age, like so many other traditions. He carefully laid out the suzuri, pouring a small amount of water into the well. Then he unrolled the shitajiki, the mat over which he laid a thick, handmade piece of hanshi. Setting the bunchin along the top of the paper, he paused, frowning slightly. Shodo is down on long pieces of paper but a flag cannot be done vertically. He carefully shifted the mat so that the paper better reflected the shape of a flag.

Next he carefully lined up each of his brushes to his left, thin to thick, left to right. He stared at the blank piece of paper, contemplating the whole project idea. Obviously, the flag had to be more than just the flag of his nation. Undoubtedly the task was supposed to cause the students to soul search and discover personal ties to their individual perceptions of what that nationality meant to them. Kazuo needed no soul-searching to know what being Japanese meant. It was rigid discipline and an unbending resistance to change. It was peaceful benevolence that hid a dark underbelly. It was a strange mixture of natural beauty with human modernity. It was magic existing side-by-side with technology. It was home and it was far away.

His fingers trailed over the row of colourful ink sticks, pausing over the vivid red. He picked it up and carefully began to rub the ink on the suzuri, watching the water and ink mingle with satisfaction. He took the thickest of the brushes and began with the simplest of strokes, a single unending movement that formed a circle in the center of the page. There it was, as simplistic a design as any flag could have, yet encompassing the heart of an entire nation. The hinomaru, the circle of the sun. Brilliant red on a field of white, the great and powerful Amaterasu, the goddess of the sun, shining over her people. The field of white meant to show the Japanese people's honesty and integrity.

But what could he add that both represented his nation and himself? He carefully cleaned the suzuri then started the process over, this time with black. Choosing a thinner brush, he carefully added long branches, arching across the flag. Returning to the red, he added a small amount of white, letting it bleed to pink. Pink flowers unfurled beneath his careful touch, cherry blossom petals that Japan was so famous for. Sakura... fleeting beauty that swiftly fades. The beauty and sorrow of a short life. The great old sakura tree that grew in the garden of his family's estate. The magic that keep it eternally blooming. The soft petals that would drift down.

Was that enough? He carefully laid down the brush and cleaned the suzuri, once again turning to black. Along the left side of the flag he carefully added an ofuda, one of the magical seals that was central to his magical path. He shifted his attention to the bottom right, taking particular care to detail the kitsune, the nine-tailed fox. A quick splash of kanji in the top right then another switch back to red that had him thinking he should write his mother and ask her to send him an extra suzuri or two for projects like this one. Not that he planned to do more ridiculous arts and crafts, of course. It was simply useful to have spares. He carefully added the final details to the fox then carefully set his brush down, leaning back a bit as he examined the results of his work.

Simple enough, he thought. I can't imagine the sensei will have any reason to complain.

He let the ink dry, taking the time to carefully clean and put away the tools of shodo. One last thing, he needed to add his seal. He carefully withdrew the jade hanko and a small ceramic pot. He carefully lifted the lid, revealing the brilliant red ink that was not unlike a modern stamp pad. He carefully pressed the hanko into the ink then pressed it to the page, the kanji of his name to officially mark the work as his. He smiled as he cleaned the hanko and put it away, replacing the lid on the box before he carefully carried the flag up to the desk where the other students had left their creations. He glanced at the professor, gracing her with a respectful bow as he placed his flag on the table then quickly made his escape.

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Don't confuse my attitude with my personality. My personality is who I am; my attitude depends on who you are.
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