11 Oct 2025, 06:38
Sign away!
date
23/09/25word count
549outfit
⁺₊ ☀︎ ⁺₊speech
#8C2626mentions
@notes
open to interactions
For Lucille, not talking did not seem to be an accomplishable task. The girl was far too accustomed to mindless chatter, narrating her thoughts as if there was no buffer between her brain and her mouth. In fact, her words tended to come out in an endless stream, and so, participating in this activity was a daunting task.
Still, she was determined to do it, to take away a quality that she took for granted far too often for International Sign Language Day and, besides, the place itself seemed a nice, pleasant place to spend her time. Lucille entered a little late, when the room was already quite crowded, and it felt odd to not hear any chatter coming from this group. If it wasn't for the footsteps, or the sounds of people moving about, she would've felt as if someone had hit the mute button in her mind. The feeling was strange, to be in a crowd like this but to have everyone be so quiet that the loudest sound seemed to be her heartbeat.
Lucille wandered around a little aimlessly, looking at the papers that told one how to spell their name. She decided Lucille was a bit too long for her to memorize, and instead learned the sign for L and U, idly repeating them as she attempted to practice. Finally, she stopped at a corner, watching everyone else interact, feeling a bit nervous to approach people without being able to speak.
Under normal circumstances, Lucille's voice and words were eagerly shared, the quickest way for her to build connections. But, without that ability, she felt... detached? from the rest of the world. She stood next to a table with a paper teaching the letters for BSL, and Lucille examined it carefully, trying to practice every single letter as she went. It was difficult; and she felt she could never memorize it.
Looking up, she realized that, aside from a few people, many felt the same way she did. Most people were communicating by improvising ways to get their point across, instead of trying to learn a new language in 5 minutes which was, granted, a much better way to figure things out. Still, she felt she'd not be understood if she tried to interact the way everyone else was. Lucille collapsed on a bean bag, picking up the page that her eyes had been trained on for the past few minutes. She wondered if she could steal it and point at the letters to get her point across. Or perhaps socializing simply wasn't in her destiny today? She didn't want to get in trouble if they weren't supposed to pick up the pages, especially with the Potions professor walking around. Lucille had forgotten his name, but he scared her. He had seemed strict and intimidating in class, and Potions wasn't exactly her best subject, so she was trying her best to stay on his good side, or at least out of his radar.
With those thoughts in mind, she placed the page back on the table, leaning forward a little to observe her surroundings better. If someone else were to look at her now, she would offer a smile and a wave; not being able to speak didn't mean her bubbly, friendly demeanor had vanished.
| sta 7 eva 7 str 6 wis 5 arc 6 acc 4 calming presence |
12 Oct 2025, 17:16
Sign away!
(By Leo Noxley) Reducio
Interactions: Open |
Reducio Date: 23 September 2025 Location: The Ballroom |
Reducio
Thoughts: Italic Speech: Sample |
Languages have always been a delectable challenge for Althea. Having grown up in a mixed-culture household with two or more languages intertwined into every interaction, it has always thrilled her to be able to connect with either side of her heritage and her relatives on a deeper level through the intimacy of one's native language. Even as she moved onto her education journey at Hogwarts, she had spent her first and second year fine-tuning her understanding of Mermish (and struggling to do so) and improving upon her embarrassing attempts at speaking in that sibilant tongue.
Hence, it was only natural that news of a 'Sign Away' event hosted to celebrate and spread awareness of Sign Language peaked Althea's interest greatly. Word had reached her through the excited murmurs of first-years sitting across from her in the Great Hall during an incredibly slow morning, and she had wracked her brain the entire day for the courage to attend this session despite her nerves firmly taking charge for the past week.
So, after her final lesson for the day, Althea found herself in front of the ballroom on her own with rolled parchment filled with scribbled notes from the Hogwarts' library on the basic history on British sign language and some theory to match. She didn't really know what she was expecting, but it certainly was not the comfortable and informal atmosphere when she pulled the door open. Beyond the cheerful sign instructing: "No verbal communication, be creative!" at the door, the room was filled with an assortment of plush bean bags and pillows scattered around for participants' comfort, with tables colourfully adorned by visual guides on what seemed to be basic British Sign Language phrases/words.
Althea felt instantly out of place. She had always been a traditional learner — Ink to quill, quill to parchment, book pages to brain. Around her, she saw students from across all years enthusiastically testing out how to sign the words as shown on the various colourful infographics spread across the room. She had half the mind to turn back.
However, Althea Valeden never turned back on anything, and so, she stubbornly trudged forward. She ended up in a low table in the upper right corner of the large ballroom, surrounded by a comfortable variety of cotton bean bags. Gingerly picking one to sit on — and being immediately swallowed by the plushness of it — Althea found herself faced with a bright diagram showing the alphabet, and stuck behind in chicken-scrawl drawings were the drawn gestures for the phrases "I love you" and "thank you" in British Sign Language. It must've been the work of an earlier participant. She felt the stiffness and tension bleed out of her slowly at that, her anxiety softening into budding warmth.
The notion that such simple yet impactful phrases can be conveyed with these gestures, and how much it could mean so much to those who cannot verbally convey or hear it in auditory form, was quite heart-warming to Althea. Countless times, she found herself unable to convey her true thoughts in words. Her words would fail, and her hearing would fade into white noise. She imagined for someone having to live with that for all of their life, this form of communication must be a life-changing bridge between larger society and their world of silence.
Althea did not know when her hands began instinctively following the motions on the surprisingly clear diagram, following the illustrated visuals to gesture the phrases slowly and close to her chest. She felt her face burn as soon as she place two palms faced down and crossed over one another at the wrist over her chest, feeling suddenly shy at the silent confession. It was strangely liberating, saying so much with nothing but silence and three simple gestures.
Althea, successfully intrigued, resolved to make the effort to learn about British Sign Language and other countries' forms of it in the near future in her spare time.
Reducio
 "I love you"
|
 |
Word count: ~664/500
Last edited by Althea Valeden on 13 Oct 2025, 08:30, edited 4 times in total.
Lost time is never found again, but in its shadows lies my path to freedom. (2020-2026)
12 Oct 2025, 22:17
Sign away!
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ thread left, closed to interactions. --◆-- ❝ the sun rises even after the darkest nights ❤︎ |
| xxxxx | ⊹✧𝖫𝖸𝖠𝖭𝖭𝖠 ~ ency ☼ 𝖺 𝖽𝗋𝖾𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗋, 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗍'𝗌 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗌𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗌 ☼ |
⋮ ⋮ |
⊹ Sta 6 | Eva 10 | Str 7 | Wis 4 | Arc 4 | Acc 10 ⊹ ─── ‿︵˓ ʚ♡ɞ ˓ ︵ ‿ ─── |
⋮ ⋮ |
xxxxx |
13 Oct 2025, 07:53
Sign away!
...revisit his past...
Luca had just finished his lessons for the day, ending with History of Magic, when he remembered an event happening in the Ballroom. The boy stopped by the Dungeons to drop his books off on his bed in Slytherin House before heading up to the Fourth Floor, where a celebration of International Sign Language Day was taking place. The young wizard wasn't sure what to expect, but he always enjoyed participating in events at Hogwarts. Luca made his way up the stairs and eventually found the Ballroom, where he entered to find it relatively quiet. Expecting more activity, the boy stepped into the room and immediately noticed the sign at the door: No Verbal Communication, Be Creative!
Date: September 23rd, 2025 Time: Late Afternoon « Preceeding | Following »
This stirred something in Luca and made him thoughtful. He wondered how he would communicate at all without his voice, which suddenly made him appreciate his ability to hear. The wizard thought about how difficult it would be to learn if no one could verbally reach him, when he suddenly noticed a table by the door with papers listing the entire Basic Sign Language alphabet. This will be helpful, but there are still so many phrases or entire words that can be signed, Luca thought quietly to himself.
As the boy walked through the ballroom, he used the universal sign for hello to a few people he recognized and gave them a polite wave. The boy had only managed to get his name "LUCA" signed a few times when someone finger-spelled "NAME," but it was an achievement in its own right. Luca grew slightly frustrated with his desire to learn more. He wanted to be able to have entire conversations in BSL, but this was just his Slytherin determination talking.
He eventually found the arts and crafts area set up by the event organizer and had an idea. The sign at the door said, "Be creative," and he wondered if anyone would teach him sign language beyond the basic BSL alphabet. Luca picked up a piece of parchment, a quill, and inked it. With a few short strokes of the quill, he wrote on a piece of paper: Do you know more than just the basic alphabet? He began showing it to a few people to see if anyone would nod in the affirmative and teach him some full words.
After a few futile attempts to find someone to teach him more than Basic Sign Language, Luca was mildly frustrated and determined to learn more on his own. I may go to the library and see if there are any books on sign language, the young boy thought to himself. He resigned himself to a comfortable beanbag chair and watched as other students attempted to communicate poorly in sign language. The occasional chuckle would escape a student's lips as they watched their classmate fumble through their name or a simple yes or no answer.
The occasional playful shhhhh from a student trying to maintain the quiet atmosphere, as the group giggled occasionally, happened from time to time. Still, for the most part, the Ballroom was serene. After a bit of people watching, Luca decided that he had had enough and was going to make his way to the next part of his day. His stomach had grumbled as soon as he saw it, so he decided to head to the Great Hall for a spot of dinner. Politely, Luca made his way through the crowd, giving the universal sign for saying goodbye. Communication without the ability to hear or speak is more difficult. This made him grateful for his ability to see and hear.
STA: 7 • EVA: 10 • STR: 0 • WIS: 7 • ARC: 2 • ACC: 9 Parselmouth • Evasive Maneuvers PC: Luca Corranado | OOC Notes: Always open to interactions. "His story continues" means Luca is no longer there! iNPC: Silvio Accardi |
14 Oct 2025, 18:51
Sign away!
OOC: Normal Text Thoughts Speaking
No speaking? I can do that.
Though Rose didn’t exactly know BSL, she definitely had experience not talking. See, Rose was the type of person who blended in like a fly on the wall. While she didn’t mind talking to others - and honestly wished she had more friends - Rose was perfectly content with being quiet and just listening to the world around her.
Though in this case, it was more like watching the world around her.
As Rose stepped into the surprisingly comfy room, she stopped for a second - surprised at how quiet it was in the room. Sure, there were the typical sounds of chairs moving, footsteps, and game pieces shuffling around, but the usual (verbal) chaos of a million voices overlapping each other (the chaos that Rose came to associate with Hogwarts) was gone.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, Rose thought to herself, if people aren’t allowed to verbally speak. After a few seconds, Rose walked towards a quiet corner - well, most of the room was quiet, but a corner will fewer people (and a really comfy-looking beanbag). Rose sat down in a big purple beanbag and watched as people tried to communicate with each other. Occasionally, the quiet would be broken by short bits of laughter as people attempted to communicate in a language new to most of them. Still, despite the communication confusion, people looked to be having fun, whether they were struggling through a conversation or taking part in the games and crafts scattered around the room.
Looking over the BSL Alphabet sheet given to those who entered the event, Rose began to get overwhelmed. Each letter had a shape and then putting them together seemed like a monumental task as Rose started to breathe faster and thought her heart was going to pound out of her chest. All the hand shapes started to blur together as Rose’s thoughts started to spiral in her panic.
I can’t do this, Rose yelled to herself, Why did I think this would be a good idea. I can barely keep up in a verbal conversation. How am I going to understand people when they make hand movements at me? I’m such an idiot, there’s no way this is going to work. I can’t learn all these in a matter of minutes, especially with everyone seeming to learn them so fast, their hands are going so fast, there’s no way I can do this, maybe I should just leave so I don’t embarrass myself. Its only a matter of time if I stay here, even if this beanbag is comfy and I really don't want to make the trip down to the common room right now...
Suddenly, a burst of laughter broke Rose’s train of thought.
They look like they are having fun…
Taking a deep breath, Rose took another look at the sheet.
Okay, maybe I can give this another go. Trying to sign out a few letters won’t hurt me, even if I don’t use them to communicate with someone else.
A…
B…
No speaking? I can do that.
Though Rose didn’t exactly know BSL, she definitely had experience not talking. See, Rose was the type of person who blended in like a fly on the wall. While she didn’t mind talking to others - and honestly wished she had more friends - Rose was perfectly content with being quiet and just listening to the world around her.
Though in this case, it was more like watching the world around her.
As Rose stepped into the surprisingly comfy room, she stopped for a second - surprised at how quiet it was in the room. Sure, there were the typical sounds of chairs moving, footsteps, and game pieces shuffling around, but the usual (verbal) chaos of a million voices overlapping each other (the chaos that Rose came to associate with Hogwarts) was gone.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, Rose thought to herself, if people aren’t allowed to verbally speak. After a few seconds, Rose walked towards a quiet corner - well, most of the room was quiet, but a corner will fewer people (and a really comfy-looking beanbag). Rose sat down in a big purple beanbag and watched as people tried to communicate with each other. Occasionally, the quiet would be broken by short bits of laughter as people attempted to communicate in a language new to most of them. Still, despite the communication confusion, people looked to be having fun, whether they were struggling through a conversation or taking part in the games and crafts scattered around the room.
Looking over the BSL Alphabet sheet given to those who entered the event, Rose began to get overwhelmed. Each letter had a shape and then putting them together seemed like a monumental task as Rose started to breathe faster and thought her heart was going to pound out of her chest. All the hand shapes started to blur together as Rose’s thoughts started to spiral in her panic.
I can’t do this, Rose yelled to herself, Why did I think this would be a good idea. I can barely keep up in a verbal conversation. How am I going to understand people when they make hand movements at me? I’m such an idiot, there’s no way this is going to work. I can’t learn all these in a matter of minutes, especially with everyone seeming to learn them so fast, their hands are going so fast, there’s no way I can do this, maybe I should just leave so I don’t embarrass myself. Its only a matter of time if I stay here, even if this beanbag is comfy and I really don't want to make the trip down to the common room right now...
Suddenly, a burst of laughter broke Rose’s train of thought.
They look like they are having fun…
Taking a deep breath, Rose took another look at the sheet.
Okay, maybe I can give this another go. Trying to sign out a few letters won’t hurt me, even if I don’t use them to communicate with someone else.
A…
B…
14 Oct 2025, 22:41
Sign away!
Leo watched as the girl he tapped on the shoulder turned around and read his note. He was relieved to see that she seemed interested. While she was writing something herself, Leo tried to go over the little bit he taught himself already and waited for her to pass the notebook back to him.
She started to turn the notebook and he glanced at the words but before he could read it she flipped it back around again to write some more. Curious, he tilted his head slightly waiting for her to spin it around again. As the paper turned back to him he read all of what she had written, excited to see she was happy to work with him and then immediately let out a small laugh at the next line. He shook his head as he read it and continued, finding out as well that her name was Bree Grey and a second year. So he was partially right since she seemed to be closer to his age when he saw her.
Not wasting any time he signed his name with the alphabet he had learned to her, extremely happy to have a short name at a time like this, before beginning to write back to her. i only know the alphabet and some basic words too He wrote on the paper under where she had wrote before flipping the notebook around for her to read.
As they stood there, Leo glanced around the room as he waited again for her to finish writing back to him. He jumped slightly at the feeling of a tap on his shoulder since he wasn’t expecting it. His expression changed as his eyebrow slightly raised confused at who was now tapping on his shoulder, feeling like how Bree must have felt when he walked over a couple minutes prior. When he turned he spotted a familiar face, Rosaline. His face lit up as he saw her signing hi to him as he had enjoyed the time they got to spend with each other since coming to Hogwarts.
Leo signed back hi to her before stepping to the side slightly, turning to look at Bree and then gestured to Rosaline. He quickly wrote down that she was his friend to show Bree and then asked if they could work as a group, hoping the girl he had just befriended wouldn’t mind another signing partner.
Leo Noxley — pc ency
|
Nadira Bakari — inpc staff ency
|
Sakura Hirano — inpc ency
|
| STA. 5 EVA. 5 STR. 5 WIS. 5 ARC. 5 ACC. 5 |
Metamorphmagus Year 1 |
|
| —————————————— | —————————————— | —————————————— |
3 Nov 2025, 09:51
Sign away!
----- Dad----- PaAndrea-----
Interacting with @Rusty Singer | @Draven Mirador
@Kim SatoDate - 09/23/25 WC 546/200 Color Legend - Mylo | BSL | Thoughts Mylo wasn't quite sure as he wasn't an expert on facial expressions, let alone the ones that animals could make, but he was pretty sure the spider that they had noticed gave him a smile. At least he seemed to be enjoying the attention, leaving Mylo happy that they hadn't disturbed him.
Mylo had to pay very close attention though as the Slytherin started signing both his own and the spiders name as although they could hold a decent conversation a lot of it was reliant on the context, and names usually didn't have much context surrounding them meaning that he had to understand every bit of it.
Their attention paid off though as they had managed to catch both of their names, or at least they were pretty sure they had, the boy having introduced himself as Draven and his spider as Deimos. Pretty cool names.
Taking a second to think of the signs Mylo responded. "Cool names! I have a cat, his name is Ash, he's somewhere." Knowing that Ash had likely gone to find a nice warm sunny spot somewhere in the castle, likely in everyone's way, to have himself a nap.
In the middle of their talk another student came up, who quickly correctly himself after trying to verbally talk, signing his name, following it up with a thumbs up at Draven which Mylo assumed was at Deimos and that he thought the spider was nice or cool or something along those lines. Mylo had to agree, honestly any animal was cool in Mylo's eyes.
Turning to Rusty Mylo resigned their own name, taking care to do it slowly and clearly as they were aware that not everyone could sign. Following it up with the sign for enjoying, hoping that Rusty liked the event.
It seemed that Draven was starting to not enjoy it anymore though, as they signed sorry and goodbye, a few others between but Mylo couldn't quite catch them. They thought to see fear and box but weren't sure and couldn't decipher the other one quickly enough.
Giving Draven a hopefully reassuring smile Mylo turned back to him, "That's fine, drink water." Hoping that the message that Draven had to take care of himself was conveyed properly, and watched as the boy gave him a salute and made his way out of the, now slightly more crowded than at the beginning, room.
Before they could even think though another student popped into their line of sight, a familiar face this time as although Mylo hadn't interacted with Kim a lot they had moderated a duel for him last year which Gryffindor had won.
It seemed like pets were all over the place today, as Kim has also brought a gorgeous snake with him. Hoping to get his signs right Mylo pointed at the reptile around Kim's arm. "Gorgeous snake, what's their name?" Quickly adding a "sorry, hello! Distracted by the snake" afterwards, realising they hadn't replied to the Gryffindor's greeting and not wanting to seem rude.
It did seem like the event was starting to slow down, and although Mylo was glad that everyone had enjoyed their time and hoped that they had managed to learn some signs they were also glad that he could go and decompress soon.
ABILITIES | STATS
Perfectionist | Wandmaker [Dragonheart, Elm wood] | Calming presence
sta • 8 | eva • 7 | str • 5 | wis • 10 | arc • 7 | acc • 8Code by Ara Villa
| sta • 8 | eva • 7 | str • 5 You will grow strong wis • 10 | arc • 7 | acc • 8 | Perf. | Wand. | Calm. pres. In the softest way ability | ability | ability |