Gala of Mysteries Fall Ball

Parselmouth is in bold black.

Kiana wasn't usually one to be late, but for some reason, out of all days, she chose to be late on the day of the ball. You really couldn't blame her, though - who can resist the temptation of a good book? Plus, she thought it best to get her work out of the way so she could enjoy the night in peace. After fussing over her ball outfit for over an hour, making sure she at least looked presentable and not like she'd been holed up in her room all afternoon.

She was quite proud of the outfit. It had been tailor made for her - adorned with small details that added to the dress, but not so much that she looked like a walking souvenir shop. She'd debated for a long time whether or not she should wear the hat or not: it had been made by a milliner that Kiana and her father had been friends with since Kiana was just a baby. As a child she loved romping around the old milliner's workshop, observing with wide eyes the vast array of beautiful hats. Now, she owned one herself, and she figured she should wear it. It was something to be proud of.

Lastly, she had Jade, her snake, wrapped comfortable around her neck like a big scaly necklace. She didn't actually look out of place - for some reason, the snake only seemed to add to the feel of the costume and (Kiana thought) it made her look mysterious. Hopefully snakes were allowed. Jade had assured her she wouldn't cause any trouble. As the pair squeezed through the crowded mass of the Great Hall, Jade poked her head above the crowd in search of Arno. Kiana hadn't originally anticipated being able to find a partner for the ball, but life always had its ways. Now she just had to find him.

"Ahhh, theresss the boy....looksss like he'ssss up to no good...." Jade hissed, her heading nodded towards Arno's direction.

"Good catch, Jade."

Kiana sighed, approaching the boy. She'd observed him discreetly fling a few spells about, in hopes of inspiring chaos - which he succeeded in, unfortunately. Some other poor girl was being tormented. Kiana approached him quietly from behind, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe you should stop?" she offered, an eyebrow raised and her mouth tilted upward in a tiny smile.

Interacting with @Prat Pass (Arno)

Outfit:

Reducio

MODERATION ROUND 7

It seemed as if teenagers were a menace much more fearful compared to vipers. While they did not cling onto ankles to attack, their venom delivered itself just as pungently, whether it was through spell casting or scornful derision. Soon, these youngsters, barely out of their first years, made their appearance of the night.

Of course, pranksters were an expected percentage among the population at Hogwarts, and soon, their second threat of the night would arrive - not conjured from the tip of a wand, but fully prepared nevertheless. To grace the Great Hall with her mischievous presence was the red-haired troublemaker @Elizabeth Stonewall. Known to be somewhat of a wilful girl among her classmates, her antics were as practiced as ever when she revealed the dung bomb she had brought specifically for this special occasion. Having given it a haphazard throw amidst a crowd of people, it landed on the unsuspecting, blue-donned elder student, @Kiana Nakamura. As it exploded, the putrid stench would spread across her vicinity, rudely interrupting her intervention with Arno Dorian (@Prat Pass).

Reducio

Randomly chosen from: Kiana | Isadora | Vasilius | Elizabeth
Elizabeth's accuracy: [d20: 16]+7 = 23 > Kiana's evasion: [d20: 9]+5 = 14
(No loss of HP, this is merely for RP flavour)

On the topic of Arno Dorian... he seemed to have decided that the Snake Summoning Charm would not be the extent of his trouble. To define, after all, is to limit. And with that smug smirk, he would refuse to be limited tonight. Perhaps he thought (wrongly, very very wrongly) that he was enforcing discipline when the... disturbed... attendee shot Melafors towards the misbehaving young lady. A talented spellsman - though talent placed in all the wrong places, Archer would argue, Arno's spell would be cast without much problem. It would hit - perhaps Elizabeth was skilled at her dung bomb accuracy, but she truly needed to work on her evasion skills - and soon she would find her head turned into a pumpkin, particularly vivid in colour, almost an ironic representation of her fiery ginger hair.

Reducio

Arno's wisdom: [d20: 14]+7 = 21 > WDC: 11
Arno's accuracy: [d20: 16]+10 = 26 < Elizabeth's evasion: [d20: 6]+6 = 12
Duration: [d6: 4] = 2 rounds
Effects: Elizabeth cannot see through the pumpkin head, evasion and accuracy are both 0

The third delinquent of the night was a Koldovstoretz student most would have considered friendly. Dark haired though wearing a particularly eye-catching dress, she was not what one would call unassuming, and such a trait was reflected in her actions. Having seemingly decided rule-breaking was acceptable as long as their was another criminal - or, even more unconventionally, that flying about curses would all be good fun, she too cast a spell, without even the slightest bit of hesitancy: Slugulus Erecto, the infamous Slug Vomiting Curse itself. Despite the almost perfectly-cast spell, she too did not seem all too suited for the piste yet, for instead of hitting her intended target, Elizabeth Stonewall would find herself confused, feeling a spell on her body but without any effects. Her mouth-less nature seemed to have saved her this time.

Reducio

Auto-fail (Arno's Terrible Presence): [d20:12] = no auto-fail
Allyssa's wisdom: [d20: 19]+7 = 26 > WDC: 11
Allyssa's accuracy: [d20: 1] = critical miss
Redirection: Kiana | Isadora | Vasilius | Elizabeth
Allyssa's accuracy: [d20: 11]+7 > Elizabeth's evasion: [d20: 6]+0 (Melafors)
No effects because of Melafors

Did they perceive themselves as so grand simply because they could fling around a few spells? Did they think themselves above all the adult troubles that made theirs so irrelevant? Was it a particularly good idea, playing around with the fire that had killed only days before? Children shall be children, and those oblivious were those happy.

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OOC Information

Welcome to the Gala of Mysteries!
1. To participate, you must be indexed. If you are not indexed yet, please apply here.
2. Moderation will occur every week on Saturdays.
3. Your character is allowed one moderated action per round. Please specify your moderated action somewhere OOC in your post.

Reducio

Moderated actions are those actions that requires rolls like casting a spell on someone, physically fighting (like punching) with someone, surprising someone etc. Rolls are not needed for pre-decided or consented actions, like asking someone for a dance.

4. Please include your abilities and stats in your post.
5. There are two other threads in this event, Haunted Halls and Whispers of the Dark. You can directly enter the two threads without needing to post in this thread, but if you already have, please specify that you are leaving this thread for either one of the other two.
6. Please follow all usual HIO rules.
7. Enjoy the ball!

Parselmouth is in bold black.

Before Kiana could react, the putrid scent of fresh dung had already spread around her. She quite nearly vomited, putting her hand to her mouth and nose followed by a choked out "holy sh*t." This was, without a doubt, a dung bomb. Of course. She should have expected it. Jade curled herself around Kiana reflexively, perhaps bothered by the sudden disturbance. Kiana looked around, making sure others were fine. She hoped something like this wouldn't greatly affect the normal flow of the ball, hoping that the food was at least unharmed (unlike her).

Now that she was done worrying about everyone else, she could start worrying about herself. The smell, without a doubt, would be extremely difficult to get rid of. A sense of anger washed over her - "oh, come on" would have summarized her feelings at that moment. She had just arrived at the ball for no less than five minutes and she was already caught in the crossfire of first-year idiocy. Why did it have to be her? Besides, her outfit was new, and she certainly hoped not to damage it further.

"Jade," she said, eerily, pulling out her wand, "who did it?"

The snake glanced around, flicking its tongue. Jade's gaze landed on a young Ravenclaw girl who's head, alarmingly, had already been turned into a pumpkin by yet another mischief maker.

"It wassss her, Kia," Jade hissed, her head pointed in @Elizabeth Stonewall's direction.

"Why don't we show the younger years what happens to mischief makers, Jade?" she responded, her voice suddenly spine-chilling and cold.

"F*ck yea."

Kiana raised her wand, aiming it carefully at the young girl's feet. She didn't feel bad at all - an eye for an eye. Even if the spell didn't work or if it backfired, at least it'd do something to get her point across.

Action: Casting Anathema Daphnis at Elizabeth

Stats: stamina. 5|| evasion. 5|| strength. 6 || wisdom. 10|| arcane power. 6 || accuracy. 8
Abilities: Parselmouth, Lovely creature

Hedeon begun to smell something rather funky. He perked up his nose and sniffed, following the scent. A girl, seemingly younger, seemed to smell like an unflushed toilet. He could not help but gag every single time he would sniff to ensure he found the right person. He looked at her eyes then he looked around for the origin of the bomb.

It was gross. Disgusting, but still a popular product that children would throw around nowadays, and according to his parents and classmates, they also apparently still had it before he was born. Okay. Maybe there was something funny about pegging someone with something gross, it was kind of like the idea of filling up a balloon with urine. Sure, it was and still is gross, but for it to still be a prank that still exists, someone would've had to find it funny.

He looked back at the girl, giving her the look of disgust and the stink eye.

Hedeon turned away again, seeing a girl with a pumpkin head.

It must have been her. It has to have been her. He turned back to the smelly girl and loudly proclaimed, "You smell like a garbage can. Could always use soap you know." Maybe he was trying to embarrass her, maybe he failed.

Regardless, he would whip out his wand, pointing it towards the Pumpkin Girl. "For making me smell crap." He closed his eyes, trying to think of a spell.

Action: Casting Arrow Shooting Spell (Sagitta) at Elizabeth Stonewall

Sta: 10 | Eva: 15 | Str: 12 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 5 | Acc: 10

Mentions: @Kiana Nakamura and @Elizabeth Stonewall

Note: If the casting of the arrow shooting spell is a success, Hedeon is aiming for an area that will not kill her, like a limb.

Role-playing as Luka Antonov - Durmstrang iNPC

Mentioning: @Aston Beckett Location: Hogwarts - Great Hall Area Date: October 19th

Speech: English: #7e1635 | Russian: #3e2169 Thoughts: Italics Outfit: ☆

"That sounds... annoying." Luka wasn't exactly qualified to speak on matters concerning friends or just people in general. He knew people at school but they weren't exactly what he would call friends, or maybe they were. What even qualifies as a friendship? A nod of acknowledgment in the hallways or a short greeting before class? Had he ever even had a friend? He must have at some point... Right?

"I see," he said with a slight nod. "I appreciate you staying with me, these kinds of things aren't very pleasant for me. I mean I assume they aren't pleasant for anyone, but for me, honestly, it freaks me out," Luka said awkwardly while internally facepalming. What am I doing? I sound so weird oh my god... He shook his head softly, "What I mean, is that it probably would've taken longer for me to calm down if you weren't here, so thanks, I guess." He did his best to avoid eye contact with Aston, not wanting it to seem like it was a big deal because Luka thinks he's too cool for emotions and vulnerability.

He looked around the empty hallway, feeling a bit awkward just sitting there. "So what is there to do around here after ditching a ball?"

norwegian ❅ russian ❅ english ❅ swedish

october 19 outfit [x][x][x][x]

Hans Jenssen (@Archer Duncan) quite short and very late, sorry

broken me and broken them and - you are broken too

❅ ❅ ❅

Astrid smiled softly at Hans's words. She was fidgeting with her silver rings, like she always did when she was sad or stressed out. She could not fully relate to everything the boy said, but she could imagine how that would feel. Suddenly feel things deeply. Her gaze was unfocused on the tablecloth on the table in front of them. "What is love without pain, right? That's what they say..." He offered a bitter laugh, she let out a sigh. Love shouldn't come with pain in her opinion. That's... the whole point of love. "I don't think we need to talk about anything. Thank you so much just for being here." How did they all become like this, sad, depressed and traumatised? It was hard to believe how much Astrid had changed in the last few months. "Do you want a hug?" She would reach out if he said yes, not really taking it personally if he said no. Trying to lighten the mood, the girl took the Snicker bar out of her pocket. "Ok, time to try some muggle chocolate." She unwrapped the bar, inspecting the smooth sides and the textured top. Astrid broke the Snicker in two approximately equal parts, handing one to Hans. "Want some? I've heard that chocolate was a good remedy for basically every situations." Then she took a bit of her part of the candy, tasting the peanuts, caramel, biscuit and chocolate. "Hm that's actually so good! Thank you!"

❅ ❅ ❅

Inventory wand
Action trying a Snicker for the first time
sta ● 11 | eva ● 9 | str ● 6 | wis ● 10 | arc ● 7 | acc ● 10
fearless - obnoxiously strong - keen eye - charmer
Post 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

Roleplaying as Hans Jenssen

“Sure,” he murmured softly, “Danke thank you.” Then Hans would ease himself into the embrace, pressing his body against the shorter girl’s frame before gently letting go.

Smiling at Astrid’s efforts to lighten the mood, Hans felt his heart warm despite how he might have considered her attempt lacklustre in the past. Keenly watching as the young Norwegian inspected the candy bar, he was eager to accept when she offered him half of it. Covering his mouth as he chewed on the familiar confectionary, the edges of his mouth tugged upwards as a flood of nostalgia came with the chocolate, “You’re welcome. It really does taste great doesn't it?” Perhaps only for sentiment, but still, it cheered him up the best it could, and it meant something.

Hans could not resist the wave of reminiscence that hit him as he managed a swallow. Berlin, Germany, sometime just after lockdown had ended, the pools were still closed for fear contact in water would spread the virus, but he could finally have a breath of, quite literally, fresh air again at least. First day they could manage, he had met Christoph and Erica on their balcony with three Snickers bars they had enjoyed together. Above a once bustling city that now seemed so dead without even the occasional honking of cars, it was one small solace amongst a world so lost. At first he had rejoiced at staying home from school, but like any other child he was soon to realise what a depressing era he was living through. Every time he turned on the television, there were only devastating numbers; every time he looked out the window, his vision only yielded white-clad doctors; every time his father promised he would be back soon his heart still skipped a beat. But at least that was over, however momentarily, at least with each other, they could still keep their taste of hope burning. At least they still kept some semblance of home.

Oh home, how could he lament for it when he didn’t even know what it was anymore? That word had grown so mangled after everything that had happened at the Pyre. How he once sung of that word to a bright-eyed Nikolai… and yet now every part of the world seemed to be so dim. There was an unrelenting fog before him, but he was glad to have a lighthouse, however far into the distance, shining his miserable way through. Home, he hoped that light was enough to guide him there, wherever it was now. Eclipses were to be expected. People even study them, he guessed.

He had went out of the quarantined frying pan and into the fire burning with much more strife.

@Anastasia Blackwood-Varney as Astrid Olsen, no worries, please take all the time you need!

Sta: 8 | Eva: 10 | Str: 5 | Wis: 5 | Arc: 2 | Acc: 10 | Fearless | Charmer

Charmer affects everyone but Nikolai Vol'ka, Valentin Schnell, Johannes Sauer, Felix Kolbeck, Greta Fransson, and Astrid Olsen

Roleplaying as approved :

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•Terrible Presence in Effect•

@Action : Casting Melofors

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Disgust.
Those were the sole words on Arno's mind as the scene unfolded before him. These hogwarts kids were heathens of the highest order. Not an ounce of decorum or discipline in their bones. The severe lack of shame in them was on the frontlines too. A dungbomb? Most would be uncomfortable with such an abomination in their presence. Much like how Arno was. This was the direct opposite of the girl who managed to throw it. Not only was she dumb, but she also had bad aim in Arno's honest opinion. And a severe lack of respect for the venue or those that had passed. Arno's friend being in the crossfire did not help him at all either.

Even with Arno's best intentions, he wished for a quieter time and to soon see himself back in his own school. Away from the crazy shenanigans of these kids who were.....in the politest of ways, Majorly infuriating. A sole bright idea in his capable mind when the dungbomb took it's effect was to silence the culprit as he brandished his wand, casting a melofors at the unsuspecting victim. She might've had an inclination of what was to come but no one could've judged the severity of it.

"You smell like a pig, apologies for this." Arno told Kia before casting another spell on her.

Action : Casting Scourgify at Kiana. @

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