Hogwarts Got Talent Errand

Pages and Paints ...revisit his past...

Date: June 7th, 2025	Speech | Thoughts
Time: Late Morning	Interacting with: @Lyssandra Amaranth Navarus
« Preceding | Following »

Since figuring out that girls were tongue-tyingly, ethereally, extraordinarily pretty the previous year, Aly Salinger had grown to be quite proud in her identity. Granted, she still didn't know much about it - there were flags and colours and labels and all that, but she hadn't grown up in a Muggle community and therefore still had yet to learn most of the official terms and specifications - but no amount of her own ignorance could keep her from feeling the same pride as the rest of the rainbow-clad students that were now gathered in various places throughout the castle to celebrate on this lovely June Saturday. At the very least, Aly knew that one of the flags/colour combinations that referred to those who fancied both men and women was that of blue, purple, and pink, and so she had managed to charm an old tee-shirt so that it would every so often change colours see note in reducio, shifting easily between the hues. A heart-shaped pin in the same colours, striped horizontally, was pinned to her left shoulder, and due to the warmish weather she'd paired the colour-changing shirt with a pair of simple denim shorts and her staple arse-kicking black boots. Armed with her full kit of Hardanger's Dang Hard Cosmetics - the entire line within her satchel - and a sense of self-worth that filled her nearly to the brim, Aly met her companion at the doors to the castle as they had agreed to do earlier this week and together they made their way down to the shores of the Great Lake where the talent show was to be held.

During the walk, she couldn't help but sneak some glances at the short-haired blonde Slytherin who traipsed so confidently and yet so casually by her side. She'd honestly rarely seen the other girl without her trademark red lipstick and deeply shadowed eye makeup, but she appreciated the deal the two girls had struck on showing off talents with each other's help; anyway, Koko didn't need the cosmetics. The light base the Slytherin had put on for herself - like Aly these days, she probably didn't want to step outside with a totally bare face, which was respectable if totally unnecessary - brought out her natural features, the high cheekbones, the brilliant amber eyes, the perfectly shaped and symmetrical curve of her cupid's bow. If she squinted hard enough, the Ravenclaw thought she might have seen the ghost of freckles beneath the foundation and powder - but then the sunlight shifted, golden rays on Koko's porcelain face, and they were gone. Grinning, but wordlessly, Aly slipped an arm into Koko's to hold her elbow on the way down, practically skipping as they made their way to the rocky lakeshore. It was positively wild how close they'd grown in the last six months, but especially in the last week... for obvious reasons.

Upon making it to the talent show's setup, though, Aly gave Koko's arm a squeeze and leaned in close to murmur in her ear as other, younger students went on and on and showcased their various aptitudes: cooking, singing, etc. "This is going to be so fun, mate," she whispered, excitement tinging her voice into a slightly higher register than normal. "Thanks bunches again for letting me use you as a canvas, and I can't wait to see what you do! Well. With the help of a mirror, 'course." She leaned back and sent the blonde an incorrigibly cheeky wink.

Inevitably, after ages and also the blink of an eye, Aly's name was called; Koko would be right after her, since they both needed each other for their talent. A quick swing by the "performers-only" tent yielded just a single chair, which Aly dragged up to the dais as cheerfully as she also dragged Koko behind her. The eagle set the chair up directly in the center, a few steps back from the edge and tilted slightly so it was not facing directly out to the crowd but was on a bit of a diagonal, then nodded towards it so that Koko knew to sit down. Once she'd done so, Aly arranged her case of Hardanger's on Koko's lap so that it was open and able to take from as simply as with a short reach, then turned to the audience, which was mostly made up of first-years (surprise, surprise) who were about as tall as the sixth- and seventh-year on stage (also surprise, surprise).

Waving out to the audience, she gave them a bright, charming grin of pure elation and nerves. "Helloooo, all!" she called out, green gaze sweeping over the crowd of unfamiliar faces. "My name's Aly, and today I'd like to introduce you to my dear friend and assistant. Perhaps you've heard of her as Slytherin's graduating Quidditch co-captain, an absolute terror on the pitch and the ever-so-lovely prefect who has probably haunted many of your firstie nightmares: Koko Riddle!" She stepped aside for a moment and gestured to Koko with a wide sweep of her arms, allowing a brief pause for scattered applause (if there was any). "Koko has graciously granted me her face today - not to use for my own, obviously, I'm no Potions expert, but as a canvas as I do some rainbow-inspired makeup for you all today!"

Wasting no time, the Ravenclaw turned back to Koko and crouched in front of her, the corners of her lips turning upwards in a knowing and perhaps a bit anxious smirk. She shuffled close to Koko on bent legs, then picked up the first of her sponges and dabbled it in a pale eyelid primer that was just perfectly Koko's shade. As she applied it to Koko's eyes and then began to work through the makeup routine she'd tried on herself as a tester the night before, she kept up a running commentary so the audience would know what she was doing: "So this primer's bound to help the eyeshadow stick to Koko's eyes... normally I would do a foundation base, concealer and powder and the lot, but Koko graciously already did that for me since we aren't quite the same skin tone and need to use different products to really get that perfect shade-match. All right, so now the primer's on, we'll give it a moment to dry... and now let's go in with a brush to apply some shadow! We always want the lightest colour in the inner corner of the eyes to really make them pop, almost like a bit of a highlight, so let's do yellow for that... now we'll do the rainbow blend outwards around the eye, so yellow-to-orange-to-red on the top and yellow-to-green-to-blue on the bottom, and let's blend it out with a bit of purple on the outer corners... blend that all out so it's a lovely gradient there... and now for eyeliner! Black, of course. It's traditional."

She turned to showcase the product to the audience for a moment, a small gel pen, before whirling back to her canvas, well aware that her time was quickly ticking down. "Koko has these lovely hooded eyelids, so we'll go with a nice long, sharp wing to make sure it's really visible but not hiding the gorgeous rainbow on her eyes. Now a bit of blush and contour on the cheekbones and nose... not that she really needs much! Hello, bone structure! Blend that out, add a smidge of glittery highlight - take it from me, you can never have too much glitter - there on the cheeks and a bit on the tip of the nose too... all right, and it's just lips to end! Now, normally you only want one really graphic standout on your face - eyes or lips, really. But Koko wouldn't be Koko without this!" Again, a turn to the audience to show off a bright red liquid lipstick. "For those of you who know her, it is absolutely her staple. So we'll just line the lips with a slightly darker liner here... careful we don't smudge... and apply the lipstick aaand... blot!"

She provided to her model a small cloth with which to blot the excess product from her lips, then stepped away, taking the cloth with her, and once again spread her arms out to the side to draw attention to Koko rather than herself.

"Ta-da! All done, and isn't she gorgeous, folks? Well, she was before, but now we've really brought out those stunning features. A round of applause for my patient model, please!" Makeup pictures are in the reducio below!

As the applause (if there was any) died down and the lovely Koko stood, Aly would quickly take her place in the chair and shoot her an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up. After all, the two girls' time on stage was not quite over yet...

✰✰✰
♫ she's like a rainbow... ♫
@Koko Riddle (godmod perm granted, and granting the same perms to her)

Reducio

Psst to mods: if she's not allowed to have something passively changing colours b/c of "off-screen" magic and needs to actively cast the Flashing Paint or Colour-Change charm every time she wants it to change, let me know and I can adjust this.

Makeup pics to show off the routine Aly did on Koko:
Eyes:


Cheeks/lips (feat. Koko's actual FC):

Made by the amazing Harlan Montgomery!

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

It was a pleasant walk toward the next event. The weather sinks into her skin like a warm embrace that if she stays any longer under its warmth, a sun-kissed flush would grace her cheeks.

The next venue was already filled with music and even from some distance, Lyssandra could see a multitude of colors and oh…

‘What a delectable smell.’

“I am not picky when it comes to food.” Lyssandra was willing to try new food and give them a benefit of doubt. There will be some food she’ll grow to like, or food she’ll fall for, or even food she’ll flat out reject and refuse to try again.

She gives him a glance as they reach their destination. A different kind of buzz greets her ears and she takes a look around everything and everyone present. Her gaze was drawn to one of the performers present and could not help but admire the craftsmanship and the confidence of the participants.

If she closes her eyes and really listens, she can recognize a very familiar muggle music Cousin Dion once let her listen.

It was Luca’s questions that drew her attention back to him.

“I’ve already a small open letter ready. It’s a bit of a shame that I wasn’t able to make friends with any of our Seventh Years. It was either they were too busy with their N.E.W.T.S or preparations for graduation or that I was still adjusting to the castle and my castles.” The only Seventh Years Lyssandra would encounter were those from her House or even Seventh Years from other Houses that she happens upon when she gets lost or asks them a quick question.

“How about you, Luca?”

═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Word Count Reducio 288

Legend "Speech" 'Thoughts'

Date: 7^th June 2025
Time: Afternoon
Location: Great Lake

« dreams of glitter and gloss... »

· · ─────── · 𖢨 · ─────── · ·

That Koko had agreed to go along with this had to be a testament to her goodness of heart, to the fact that she was still a very upstanding individual.

She knew what Pride was, of course. Vaguely, in a way that suggested she had learned about it and very much respected what it stood for, even if she didn't really understand all of the letters and what they stood for, or even less the events surrounding it. She understood some of the colours and the flags—had even done her research, in fact, after she had agreed to go to Hogwarts's event with Aly. She had put a little bit of that research into her carefully-chosen outfit: a dark, smoke-grey halter top paired with her ever-present gold watch; a skirt that was mostly lavender with hints of blue and pink in the layering; her characteristic black mary janes; and, to top it off, a cardigan in a gradient of pastels—purple leading into pink leading into white. She did lack her usual makeup; even as she smiled at Aly, she did hope she didn't appear too different from usual. But it was hardly Aly she was worried about; the other girl had seen her let go in numerous ways, so why not add one more?

No, it was being in public that caused her concern. Given how much she had bitten her lip recently—quite a bit of it happening around Aly, in fact—she was having to stop herself from repeating the action now, especially as they had agreed that Aly would be doing her makeup. Aly's now-familiar presence next to her helped ground her as the two made their way down to the lake; due to their similar height, however, Aly's presence also made Koko's heartbeat speed up immeasurably when the Ravenclaw began to joyfully bound in her journey. Koko was hardly built for bounding, especially in her heels, so she lengthened her strides and walked faster in order to keep up.

Once they arrived, they slowed down, and Koko was able to take a deep breath all while glancing sideways at Aly. She knew her friend knew what she was doing, but it was so rare that she let her guard down enough for someone to be allowed to touch her, especially in public, especially in a way that could be tender. But then again... if she would let anyone do that, it would be Aly. The other girl had already touched her face with more than just her hands; why not add a makeup brush to the mix?

Nonetheless, even as she smiled to herself at the way the sunlight brought out some of the lighter flecks of colour in Aly's eyes, a remnant of tenseness still hung in her shoulders. Yes—Koko Riddle, Keeper supreme, Prefect, Headliner Secretary, was no stranger to the horrors of stage fright.

She did, of course, smile warmly at Aly's quip, the movement coaxed on once the squeeze to her arm and whisper in her ear forced some of the tension out of her. 'Absolutely,' Koko said, her voice soft, low, only for Aly's ears. After all, this was Aly's show. 'You'd better meet my expectations,' she said quietly yet firmly, albeit with a cheeky smirk. 'And I'm sure you'll like what you see once I'm done with you.'

Just like that, her smirk left as quickly as it had appeared, her expression one of intrigued neutrality as she primly sat herself in the chair Aly had provided. She stared nonchalantly out at a point distant on the horizon so that she didn't have to make eye contact with any of the numerous Hogwarts students attending the talent show. She kept a light touch on the makeup case on her lap just in case any sudden movement would have made anything fall.

Despite her relative lack of makeup, red had already begun to creep into her complexion right as Aly began to talk. Ohhh, Merlin, everyone was about to see this. It would be fine, it would be fine, it was Aly after all, was the mantra stuck running through her head as she closed her eyes and began to focus on keeping her breathing steady so that no jarring movements disrupted Aly's work. Luckily, she was familiar with the world of makeup, so once she ensured she was listening to the lovely cadence of Aly's voice, it became much easier to just relax and let what was going to happen happen.

She did get to the point where she had to stop herself from smiling after getting used to the feeling of the soft glance of the makeup brushes against her skin, the warmth of the sun on her face, the gentle taps of Aly's fingers when she needed Koko to adjust the angle of her face. It was all routine, except different. No one had ever said it was easier when someone else did it for you, and it wasn't a possibility Koko had ever entertained before. Her lips twitched upwards every time Aly complimented her, even if it was half-hidden within her commentary, and she did have to school her features into submission. Finally came the eyeliner, a cool, familiar gel that she had full confidence Aly would do justice. She had almost anticipated them being finished, and she let her eyes flutter open, keeping her lashes lowered in defence against the bright June sun, and she almost smiled before realising Aly was going to do her lipstick.

Oh. Although she had gotten somewhat used to the idea of having someone else touch her lips during the past week, she still had to mentally re-calibrate herself to be able to cope with having lipstick applied in public. She glanced at the tube in question; it was the same shade she liked to use for herself, and she relaxed as she let Aly apply it. Her cheeks did redden a bit further, although thankfully some of that could be blamed on the warmth and the sun, when Aly continued to sprinkle her words with modifiers such as 'gorgeous' and 'lovely' and 'stunning'—her ego definitely appreciated the fuel, but she had definitely not prepared herself for the flustered thudding of her heart that came with it. Luckily, she was soon able to focus on blotting the lipstick; she quietly took the cloth and dabbed at her lips, keeping her gaze trained downwards, which, luckily, showed off the makeup Aly had done on her. She remained quiet even after standing and watching Aly sit, but, remembering she was on a stage, in front of people who likely thought of her as an outgoing Quidditch captain, she realised she had to say something.

Well, it didn't necessarily have to be to everyone in the audience. She placed a hand on Aly's shoulder and rose an eyebrow, smiling at her friend before saying in a hushed, dry tone, 'Lovely job. You're clearly a natural. But... are you sure that's the right lipstick?'

She was just messing with Aly, not that she would admit it to the Ravenclaw. But the jest did bring back a bit of her bravado, and she moved her hands to the back of the chair, murmuring a soft 'Hold on,' to Aly before spinning the chair around so that Aly's hair faced the audience. Yes, that was good.

She tilted her head so that she could gaze out at the audience and swallowed. Well... here it went.

'You all know Aly Salinger. Writer, camerawoman with an eye for good angles, and, of course, Quidditch triple-threat. But what you didn't know is that her hair does lend itself perfectly for some intricate styling.'

She produced her wand from a pocket in her cardigan, glad, for once, for its length, and she murmured a quiet, 'Orchideous,' under her breath. The spell produced a fair number of flowers, which she took in one hand before putting her wand away. She once again turned to the audience and offered a sly smile. 'I do promise this is important. You'll see my devious plans soon.'

With that, she got to work, glad she could weave the flowers into Aly's hair mostly in silence. She momentarily glanced at the her watch to keep an eye on the time, all while smiling as her vision came together. Under Koko's deft fingers, the half-up, half-down braid style began to weave itself into place. Around the sides and back of Aly's head, Koko wove in small flowers. Most of them were purple or pink, although there were a smattering of blue ones. As she continued the braid further down, she picked some buds with more variety—something that looked like a red poinciana, some baby's breath, a small sprig of forsythia, to name a few—and began to weave those in as well.

Once she tied the final plait together at the bottom, Koko stepped backwards with a pleased smirk and turned to face the audience. 'See what I mean? Exquisite, isn't she?' Despite the cocky edge to her words, she was not only referring to her handiwork. 'Do give her a round of applause—and not just for sitting still and looking pretty. I would recommend paying the lovely Miss Salinger a fine amount for her makeup services.'

Koko moved so that she was in front of Aly, still facing the audience, and she leaned closer to her friend, softening her tone so that her words would not be heard off of the stage. 'You'll like it. You do. Duh.' She smirked. 'I'm great at hair, after all.' Her gaze caught on the way the sun landed on the braids encircling Aly's head, and she quickly reached out to adjust one of the flowers that had started to come loose in a stray breeze. 'Hm. Can't have any of that falling out.'

Then, her gaze travelled still lower, meeting Aly's sparkling green eyes for a fleeting moment in which Koko smiled, and then to her lips, and then back to her eyes again. Yes, Koko had done a lovely job, but... well, she supposed she had only enhanced what was already there. 'I would apologise for ruining your handiwork, but I don't quite think you'll mind,' she murmured, this time taking the initiative. She kept her gaze locked on Aly's face, partially out of determination but also to forget about the fact that there were other people present, and she leaned forward to press her freshly-painted lips to her friend's. It was not as smooth as she would have liked—she quickly angled her head to adjust for the awkwardness, using the arms of the chair to brace her hands against, and despite herself, she closed her eyes and smiled into the kiss.

She pulled back sooner than she would have liked, too, still smiling like a dolt. The red smudges against Aly's lips informed her of just how much she'd messed up Aly's wonderful make-up job, but, truth be told... today, she didn't think she minded that imperfection.

· · ─────── · 𖢨 · ─────── · ·

« ...getting lost in the light. »

@Aly Salinger

Reducio

Roll for strength for her moving the chair w/ Aly in it:
d20: 18 + 7 = 25. I'd say a success.

Reducio

Hair inspo for Aly:

It was the first time in a while did Ruth wish she was just a little bit taller.

Ruth could barely tiptoe or glimpse where they were going, and her soft murmurs to excuse herself from the crowd were lost in chatter and brushing shoulders, causing her ukulele to bump against her hip, the zip digging into her skin. The urge to shove everyone out of the way was coming close from a simmer to bubbling, and the impulse to scream over the pop music was even harder to control. She stumbled and caught herself, feet dragging up and down as rock changed to concrete and then grass. By the time everyone had dispersed and the music shuddered to a halt, Ruth was face to face with a sizzling grill manned by the one and only Hufflepuff Head. Her stomach grumbled then, and she clasped her tummy unconsiously, gazing up into the sky. The sun beat down on her, and she averted her gaze towards the glistening Great Lake. It was enough to know that it was long past lunch. Ruth must have missed it, time lost in the hours of mindless ambling.

A bite wouldn't hurt. Ruth made her way to the grill and helped herself to a couple chicken skewers, tugging at the meat with her teeth as she wandered towards the picnic mats of bold colours, contrasting the lukewarm shades of green grass. Her eyes were drawn to the platform that had been set up specifically for the event, currently occupied by a familiar Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Ruth couldn't help but smile at the sight of Aly peppering Koko, then the other way around. The carmaderie between the two girls was a heartwarming sight, and it made her feel oddly lonely. She stared down at the remaining skewer, absentmindedly roll the pick between her fingers, the chicken making a twirl around the stick.

As though by fate, a flurry of white darted down towards her and snagged at the remaining chicken, tugging the skewer out of her grasp. Ruth gasped in surprise and glanced up to find Sol flitting away with the meat before landing at the row of tables set nearby the grill. He tore into the meat, beak snapping away at the tender flesh before glancing back up at his owner, face an expressionless hue of smugness. Ruth rolled her eyes playfully, smiling as she joined him. "You act as though I don't feed you enough," she whispered to him, to which he hopped onto her arm, maintaining innocent eye contact.

She chuckled in return, letting his claws grip onto her shoulder as she pulled out a chair, the legs scrapping into the ground. It wasn't the best seat to spectate the performances, but the sight of an undecorated cupcake had left her mouth watering yet again. Why was she so hungry? Oh well. Nobody was stopping her, after all. Ruth made a wild grab for pink icing, her eyes wandering around the event site for a source of inspiration. She landed on the decorative flags nearby. Ruth had seen plenty of them around to know what it was about. Pride.

But for a 12 year old like herself, she was pretty clueless about the whole ordeal. This made being there even more intrusive, and Ruth was embarrassed altogether. Though she had good reason for not reading about the community, she regretted her delay in exposure. It was good, really, for Hogwarts to have events like this. She picked up a purple piping bag next, giving the cupcake a generous amount of cream before moving onto the darker blue hue. Whatever the flag symbolised, it was very pretty. Maybe she should go take a look at the books later on. Learn more about them. It wouldn't hurt.

Yes, she picked up the cupcake and scattered a handful of sprinkles as finishing touch. It wouldn't hurt at all.

Date: June 7th, 2025	Speech | Thoughts
Time: Late Morning	Interacting with: @Lyssandra Amaranth Navarus
« Preceeding | Following »