Errand Sign away!

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──────────────────────────────── INTERACTIONS @Draven Mirador, @Mylo Atkins DATE Sept. 23, 2025 SPEECH/THOUGHTS 118f00/Thoughts ABOUT: Rusty enters the ballroom and tries to communicate with two boys looking at a pet spider Sign Language ────────────────────────────────

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Rusty had always liked watching sign language. The way people communicated with their hands, it looked like they were casting a magic spell. Which wasn't exactly true, but it was pretty magical how sign language is a way to include people who are short of hearing into conversations. So when Rusty saw the flier for a sign language get together, he thought he would join.

Before the meeting, Rusty did some research on certain signs, so he wouldn't look like a complete beginner walking in. He learned the language for the word "Hi," how to spell his name, and how to say "Thank You." While it may not be that much sign language, Rusty knew he would probably learn lots of the language there.

The first thing Rusty noticed when he entered the ball was how many people were there already. He must have been late! Rusty hated being late. This made him feel a little self conscious so he scanned the room for someone he knew.

Eventually, Rusty saw @Mylo Atkins across the hall signing with an older Slytherin boy that Rusty had seen around the common room. While Rusty had not specifically interacted with Mylo, he knew that Mylo was a Ravenclaw prefect and had organized this event, meaning he would be welcoming if Rusty went to speak with him.

Rusty made his way over to the two students, but couldn't see what Mylo was pointing at. He saw that Mylo was pointing to something on the older Slytherin boy. Rusty was starting to get curious, so he decided to butt into the conversation.

Hey guys! I'm Rusty. I'm in my second ye-

Rusty stopped talking instantly. This was supposed to be a silent event! He completely forgot. Wow! How weird is it that Rusty has always took speaking for granted? He decided to try again. Rusty walked up to Mylo and the older Slytherin boy and tried out his new sign language that he taught himself.

Hello. R-U-S-T-Y.

Unfortunately Rusty did not know how to sign "My name is-", but spelling his name worked. He assumed that the boys would understand what he meant. Rusty looked at both of the boys and pointed at them, hoping they would understand that Rusty wanted to know their names.

Rusty looked at what Mylo was looking at. He almost jumped back in fear. The Slytherin boy was holding a SPIDER in his hand! Rusty knew that people at Hogwarts can sometimes have unusal pets compared to muggles, (Owls, lizards, frogs, etc,) but this was another level. Rusty did not like spiders. They were weird and creepy with all their eyes and legs. But Rusty didn't want to be rude so he pointed at the spider that the boy was holding and gave a thumbs up, to signal that he thought the spider was cool. Rusty did think the spider was cool. Even though it was sort of creepy, it was still a totally sick pet.

Rusty smiled at the boys, awaiting their signed replies.

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Word Count: 553
Ooc notes:~

Interations: @Leo Noxley Mentioning: @Samuel Sauber
Date: 23/09/2025

Learning BSL. Only knowing how to spell her full name in British sign language, it sounded like an interesting and a wonderful way to get her grandmother off her mind. Cancer. Wonder how you say that in sign language? She found out about it when she was trying to avoid the potions professor because she didn't want to show up in class and was already heading the wrong way. Spotting a poster hung up as she backtracked and pulled it down. After quickly reading it the thing that stood out to her the most was the part that said no verbal communication. Smiling at that part and studying the rest of the poster she did end up going to potions after all. Although she barely got there on time. After the bell rang, the young Gryffindor collected her stuff, making sure to bring paper, and then made her way to the ballroom.

Once she got there the first thing that hit her was how silent it was. She expected it to be quiet but not this quiet. Looking around everyone was partnered up. Sighing softly she goes over and grabs a paper that has the alphabet in the British sign language. Studying it as she makes her way to a table in the back, she almost runs into Professor Sauber, her potion professor. Muttering a quick apology to him, she continues to go to the back. Silently sitting down she starts to study the sheet. First finding the letters part of her name she practices signing them. Smiling to herself in accomplishment she looks over at the other letters.

Getting lost in practicing by herself, she jumps at the touch of someones hand on her shoulder. She didn't even notice anyone coming in. Turning around to him, with a look that's crossing with confusion and surprise, she finds out who's the mysterious tapper. A boy. He signs hi to her then writes something down in his notebook. He shows her and she quickly reads his question then nods. Glad that someone wants to work with her, she gestures towards a empty seat by her, smiles and then dips her quill into a very dark red ink and writes, Id love to work with you! Im glad you asked. How much do you know in BSL? I know a little of the alphabet, most of it my name and then very few words. After she finishes writing it, she lays down her quill and is about to spin the paper to him when something crosses her mind. He needs to know her name. Picking back up her quill and dipping it in a dark red ink. Quickly scribbling down her name she accidentally smears the y in Grey. Crossing it out she rewrites it and adds something. My names Bree Grey. Im a second year. How bout you?

Once she finished she slid the paper to him and smiles softly. Crossing her legs she studies him. He looks around her age but could be younger. He had dark brown eyes and black hair. Blinking, she notice that he's writing. Averting her eyes from him, she looks around the room. Everyone is silently giggling and practicing unknown words to her. Tucking a loose strand of her chocolate brown hair, she waits patiently for his reply.

𝕽uth had always wondered what it'd be like not to talk at all.

Silence. No thoughts blurted aloud. No fights that could occur. Mild communication. Would her thoughts cram up in her head till there was barely any space to keep them all? Would she bubble up and burst with all the things she wanted to say, would she lose a place and force herself into invisibility? Of course, it was just a wonder. Ruth couldn't possibly contain herself long enough for it to be considered mute. She was a talker, a chatterbox, a sociable creature at best. Her quiet days pre-Hogwarts were long, long gone. It would have been an understatement to say that Hogwarts had changed her.

Oh, well. Seems like today was the day. Ruth stopped short in front of the doorway, where she could glimpse students and Professor Sauber himself mingling around. She glanced away momentarily to decompose the sign: No verbal communication, be creative! To what extent did 'creative' mean? Ruth wasn't the most imaginative person out there--inventing other means of communication besides the common few would be an incredible feat. Ruth began to feel a twinge of guilt for not appreciating her ability to speak, to hear, and to see.

Better late than never. She licked her lips unconsciously, then stepped into the ballroom. Maybe it was the ultimatum, but she could almost feel her lips zipped up with a key only she could see, before it was thrown into the depths (outside the ballroom), out of reach. It was now forbidden to talk. Illegal. Zit.

Bah, she was being overdramatic.

Ruth gathered herself and gazed around mildly. It was so silent that one would mistake it for a library without the books. All of a sudden, she found no desire in communicating to anyone. But then, what would be the point of even coming to the event? The best she could do was try. After picking up one of the many sheets of paper with the BSL language guides on it, Ruth made her way to a secluded corner of the room to begin attempting to teach herself something new. It felt a little difficult, mimicking a frozen image rather than a video. She tried, nonetheless.

R - U - T - H. As she repeated the process between transitioning from one alphabet to another, Ruth was gradually dawning in realization. Every detail of the gesture was essential. The letter 'T', for instance, was one curl of a finger away from turning into an 'R'. She couldn't possibly imagine what might happen if she did do it wrong. Rurh. What a strange name. With the delicacy of the gesture, there was also the rigidity of the movement. Did one have to seamlessly transition from one letter to another? Or would they have to make it clear that they were gesturing a different letter each time? How would they do that? The questions swarmed in her head, bubbling. Ruth could feel her brain about to explode.

And there was still more that she wanted to know. How many words had their own unique gestures? After all, imagine the time it takes to spell a word like, say, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Ruth would assume there were smaller words to break up into chunks. But wouldn't people think that they were separate words? It muddled her brain. There was really only one solution. Find out. She craned her neck, searching for someone who might be able to help her. The only problem is, how would she ask these questions? Her eyes wandered away from Mylo and Professor Sauber, towards the rest of the students. It seemed that most of them had resorted to scribbling out their conversations on paper. Ingenious.

MENTIONING: @Mylo Atkins, @Samuel Sauber | WC: 620

OOC notes
Karime had seen a flyer for an event about sign language and was interested as she knew this would be a fun event. She was excited to show her sign language skills and meet people who knew a bit or a lot. Karime does have a younger cousin who was born deaf and so she and her family had to learn sign language. This was one thing her tutor had taught her and her parents too when she was younger. Karime found it fascinating and was excited to learn and now know three languages as she was fluent in Spanish already. Karime's parents work in the ministry and so they didn't have to but wanted to learn BSL as they sometimes had to help people who were deaf. So when her brother was younger they taught him and then her at the same time when she was born eventually and old enough to start learning and retain it.

On the day of the event after her classes she quickly went back to her dorm to change out of her school robes and put on a cute outfit. But in the back of her mind she did wonder if people would be dressed up or come in their robes. But she decided to go in clothes so she is more comfortable. She heads to the fourth floor where the ballroom is and the BSL event will be

When she entered she saw a lot of people and saw some people signing with their hands while others were writing on parchment paper to communicate. She saw bean bag chairs, lots of tables and saw quite a few people wearing normal clothes. Luckily she was prepared and brought one of her many journals she has. She likes keeping it with her to write down notes or things she wants to write in her daily journal. She looked around to see where she could start and if there was anyone she knew or had maybye seen in the common area of Ravenclaw.

She looked to one table where she saw a girl with blond hair and pink floral dress. She recognizes her as Karime believes she is in the same house as her but has not interacted with her. She also saw a guy with brown and blue eyes who she remembered seeing at the sorting ceremony and had gotten sorted into Gryffindor. Both students looked like they were first years too like Karime. She was a bit nervous though seeing that the girl had a piece of parchment paper with a bit about her but also a lot of questions but had it facing towards the boy who was sitting next to her. She then stood in front of them and wrote a bit quickly "Hi My name is Karime. Do you mind if I join you guys?". She then signed it a bit worried it might be too much for both of them as it seemed they knew very little or none at all

She hoped she wasn't interrupting them and that they would be welcome to new people. She would love to teach them sign language if they didn't know any or even a little. Even though Karime had learned to be more extroverted. She knows she is very much still introverted as she feels that she put herself into stuff but can be too much sometimes

Word Count: 555

The Hogwarts school events this year seemed to be more populated by first-years than anything. Whensoever seventh-year Aly Salinger showed up to one nowadays, she ended up surrounded by those who were much younger than she herself (despite their similarities in the height department - even with the few inches of boost her low heels were giving her at the moment). Though the Ravenclaw enjoyed mentoring the littler ones a decent bit, she also enjoyed the company of those her own age, and as such she entered the ballroom side by side with a good mate of hers - @Evelynn Decipio, the Gryffindor redhead whose very presence would have a year ago brought Aly to a blushing, stammering mess. Luckily, she had gotten over that fancy after realising that it wasn't reciprocated, and now she could quite confidently call the lioness one of her closest friends. And actually talk to her. Which was, you know, important.

Not that they would be doing any talking today. The sign on the door very clearly stated No communication - something with which the chatterbox of a Ravenclaw was very much unfamiliar. Something else that was vaguely unsettling was the silence that seemed to lay heavy like a soggy blanket over the entire ballroom, with just the soft whispers of moving fingers and the occasional other random sound permeating the air. Aly had never seen - or rather, heard - the ballroom like this.

She turned to Eve as they entered, ready at first to remark on the odd stillness, but then remembered just in the nick of time. Her words turned into a strangled cough as she stifled them, looking at the redhead and shrugging in a I dunno gesture. Aly had never learned any type of sign language, and even as she picked up a piece of paper by the door and examined it, the symbols seemed quite confusing. She was supposed to make these with her hands? Oh, Lear's stubby nail shavings, it was going to be quite the afternoon if she couldn't even so much as speak.

Closed to other interactions | September 23^rd, 2025 | hair, outfit, shoes | #C47DDB
lovely creature & charmer affect everyone | sta 10, eva 14, str 5, wis 19, arc 7, acc 16

Evony had seen the posters for the International Sign Language Day Event a few days prior, and she was surprisingly excited for it. She didn't have anyone to go with, but she was hoping that wouldn't matter. Today was the day, and after completing her homework in the library, she walked with intention toward the ballroom.

She smiled at the “No verbal communication, be creative!” sign on the door; ah-haha, just what she was so excited for: silence. She carefully walked into the room, sure to not make any unnecessary noise, and then looked with amazement at the room full of students and... Not. A. Single. Word. There was simply the shuffle of feet, quiet swishes or taps of paper, and perhaps a bit of hushed giggles. It was like stepping into a whole new world. Almost surreal.

She scanned the room and her eyes landed on the second reason she was so excited for this event: Professor Sauber. She wouldn't go as far to say that he was her favorite professor (though he was definitely up there), but his was certainly her favorite class - and not because she loved Potions so much (they were okay; she preferred spells). No, she loved his class because it was structured, controlled, and q.u.i.e.t. He was one of the only professors that didn't waste breath on unnecessary stories or tangents or shenanigans. He was direct and always on point. She respected that more than he would ever know. She was honestly a bit surprised when she heard he was putting on a school event, but once she heard the details of the event, it suddenly made sense. Teaching students to communicate silently? Oh yeah, that fit. She imagined the endless chatter of students annoyed him just as much as it annoyed her.

Not wanting to pause at the door for too long, she gave a slight nod to Professor Sauber - a silence promise of silence - and headed toward one of the areas with fewer students. She avoided the tables with games (a source of many of the hushed giggles) and another section were students were... playing charades, maybe? Or just being silently silly? Instead, she found a corner where most of the students were reading, painting, or writing on parchment. She sat in a bean bag at the table - and immediately regretting the way she plopped down. She cringed at the sound of the beads within shifting and crunching under her weight. She blushed and gave a small wave at a couple students who turned toward the noise. She quickly adjusted herself to sit upright at the table and then tried to stay as still as possible to avoid any more disturbances.

She noticed a few papers at the center of the table and leaned forward to grab one. Ah, the third and last reason she was interested in this event: sign language. The sheet displayed the BSL alphabet; she immediately began moving her fingers to practice the letters. She was absolutely fascinated by any kind of language-learning, and a language made entirely of gestures and expressions was highly intriguing!

After reviewing each of the letters in turn, she slowly practiced spelling out her name: E-V-O-N-Y. She turned the page over and was disappointed to find it blank. She wished there were instructions for simple phrases, such as 'My name is...' She knew she could approach Professor Sauber and attempt to silently ask him, but... as much as she respected him, she also felt appropriately intimidated by him. Not to mention, she didn't want to ruin whatever impression he may have had of her up to this point by communicating with him directly; would he think she was bothersome or annoying? She didn't dare risk it.

She pulled a parchment and set of colored pencils toward herself and began to doodle various language symbols. She occasionally stopped to practice the BSL alphabet a few more times and tried to test herself in spelling a few simple words. Mostly, she just sat and enjoyed the other-worldly feel of the room. She decided that she would definitely be checking out a couple books on BSL and deaf culture tomorrow when she stopped by the library.

WC: 704

Open to interactions, but please send me a message so I don't miss it!

OOC Notes:

Reducio Interacting with@ Frederick Buckley and @Karime Lenior

Reducio Speaking or in this case Written Words - Sample Thoughts - Sample

Reducio Outfit: Pink Flower Dress

Tuesday | 23 September 2025 | Afternoon
Hogwarts Ballroom

Ally Craig looked up from her conversation with a boy whose name Ally now knows to be Frederick and that he is first year Gryffindor and saw another girl who she has never interacted with but also knows that she is the same house as Ally because she has seen her a couple of times in the Ravenclaw Common Room..
Ally had noticed that the girl also laid a piece of parchment down on the table with the written words " Would you mind if I join you guys?", Of course Ally was the first to answer and she wrote on the piece of parchment No, Of course I don't mind, but just a heads up I am not that good in Sign Language in fact the only thing I know how to Sign and actually know what it means is "I Love You." But if by chance you know sign language better or more than me, would you mind teaching me a little? Oh my, I almost forgot to introduce myself my name is Ally Craig by the way I am also a first year Ravenclaw. Nice to meet you!!!!!! After Ally had written down the last of her introduction she looked up from the parchment after she had slid the parchment to who Ally now knows her name to be Karime, hoping as to not scare her away and hopes that this could be the beginning of a wonderful friendship in the makings..........

ANNA BLACKBERRY!
HOGWARTS | YEAR 2| HUFFLEPUFF| ANNA'S SPEECH: "#SPEECH"| 23.09.2025|Afternoon| WC: 1003

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Sign away!

Reducio Outfit: x x

Reducio Thoughts - Italic Nova - #a88400 Others - #7B3F00

Reducio Tags: @Rusty Singer Interactions: Rusty Singer/Owl to interact

Reducio WC: 550/500

Reducio Notes: - 23/09/2025 - Permission to godmod Trixie granted to all. - Coloured text is being signed, not spoken.

BSL. A whole new language. Nova walked to the Ballroom, fingers already fidgeting with the hem of her shirt, which was slightly frayed from being worn down. Her steps echoed along with the muffled voices she could hear from afar, small groups of people chatting together. Perched on her shoulder was Trixie once again. The purple creature eyed all the students they passed, most likely searching for some form of a snack, which could either be actual food or just something pets aren't supposed to chew on. Finally reaching the doors, Nova pushed them forward to find herself watching multiple people already there, some signing to each other clumsily while others appeared more experienced.

Looking around the room, which was decorated quite cozily, Nova walked towards a table with some helpful looking papers which had the basic alphabets of BSL on it. Picking one up, she made her way towards one of the beanbags spread out across the room. She saw some familiar faces but decided to just test out how to properly sign out a few simple words, like her name. Dropping onto one of the beanbags and sinking into it, Nova placed the piece of paper on her lap while Trixie watched from her shoulder.

Let's do this, she thought before carefully signing out her name. Granted, her name was quite short on its own, so she set out to also try to sign her last name. With delicate fingers, she began. N. O. V. A. Hearing Trixie's squeak of approval, Nova nodded before signing out the rest of the alphabet carefully. Of course, some of the letters were harder to sign than others, but she managed just fine. After toying around and getting a small grip on the alphabet, Nova stood to walk towards the crafts table.

Already occupied by other people, Nova stood off to the side and picked up a quill to maybe draw something. Of course, that was a target for her pet Pygmy Puff, who had hopped off of her shoulder and bitten into the quill already. Sighing exasperatedly, she tugged gently but kept her mouth shut, trying to get Trixie to let go with just a stern look. Suddenly hearing a familiarly irritating voice behind her, Nova turned to find herself watching the same boy, who she now knew as Rusty, interrupting someone's signed conversation. Frowning at the loud noise in the pin drop silence of the ballroom, Nova rolled her eyes. Of course he was the one who spoke up. Trixie, finally letting go of the quill, squeaked in disapproval.

Her eyes narrowed at the three boys, two of which she hardly knew. She recognized one of them at the Ravenclaw Prefect, the host of the current event. Her eyes widened at the sight of a large spider, but she had just enough self control to not shriek out. Unlike her, Trixie let out a squeak that sounded like a kettle dying and scampered over to Nova. Nova bent down slightly, letting Trixie climb on and stick to her like a fluffy brooch. At least she was stylish. Picking up one more quill that didn't have a Pygmy Puff chew on it, she started to sketch out some simple signs. She wasn't perfect at it, but trying was enough at least.