Fall Ball 2021 Samhain Festival

Interacting: @Eun-ji Lee Hunt
Ended Interaction with: @Flash Holmwood, @Opeila Winters
Brief Interaction with: iNPC Arjan Oberoi (@Serena Towers)
Mentioning: @Lydia Cooper

Tl;DR: Saying goodbye to Flash and Opeila, headed into the entrance crowd to find Jack and Dealla, brief run-in with Arjan and seeing Lydia, finding a space by the entrance to stand and wait for Dee/Jack, and going back to conversing with his date
Action: None at the moment
Stats: STA: 9 | EVA: 9 | STR: 9 | WIS: 4 | ARCP: 3 | ACC: 13
Abilities: Martial Artist | Muggle Condition | Calming Presence (allies when in range: Eun-ji Lee Hunt, Jack Warren, Dealla Prince, Lydia Cooper)

Outfit: Suit

Inventory: Wand, small lockpicking knife, wizard tight, corsage (for Tyranni).

Action: None as of yet. His lovely date arrived, he is telling her to stand back. He is casting the Gluing Spell at Hugh's feet for the purpose of holding Hugh in place so he can stop blocking Erin with hs massive form.

Interacts with: @Hugh Lowe & @Tyranny Whitethorn

Mentions: @Galton Lansdale & @Erin Ryan

Outfit: Suit

Inventory: Wand, flowers, corsage (for his date), chocolates and a small gift.

Action: Cast Immobulus at Bridget. Spell Spread (Ability) will be added if a secondary user attacks Marion (thus far most obvious target is Ami P. but you can elect another target if you feel there should be a random roll between her and Thomas). He is not seeking to strike down Percival because he is just being a tool thus far. Normal dodge attempt for the head slap please.

Interacts with: @Bridget Collins[/mentions]

Mentions: @Marion Davenport, @Thomas LeStrange

• Creatures of the Lake •

As the two wizards walked around the grounds toward the quidditch pitch, Sylvie inwardly noted that the crowd that gathered was actually quite large... Suppose it never really registered in Sylvie's head that Hogwarts had an absolutely massive population. It seemed this wonderful gathering had a lovely turn out! Hm... Everyone had such lovely outfits. She felt a bit left out.

"Ah... I wish I'd known about all of this! I would've dressed up..." Her face fell. And then immediately snapped back into a toothy grin. "IDEA. I have an idea." She took her robe from around her waist and folded it down, wrapping it around herself like a bath towel.

She looked, well. She looked crazy, actually. The trim of her new, erm, robe-dress dripped with stale smelling water... BUT! At least the nasty muck stains acted as a cute little pattern for her new digs. A win in her book. "How do I look? Beautifully illustrious and ethereal and also maybe kinda cute??" She wiggled her eyebrows. In her eyes, she could do no wrong. Though in reality, this was most CERTAINLY a fashion-don't. One could call it Loch Ness Couture.

"Ah-" Something caught the girl's attention. A certain sound that she was drawn to. Quarrel! What was this..? A little bit of... She sniffed the air (like some sort of weirdo.) "It smells like..." Sniiiiiiiiff. "Like drama. Lets go, Thomas, before they scatter like rats!!" She grabbed his hand, not even giving him the time to respond to her, a hungry look nestled beneath the usual intense feel of her gaze. And hungry she was...
For drama.

Her eyes flicked around the crowd wildly, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Not that anything involving Erin Ryan was ordinary... But she didn't know the girl, so who was she to say what was normal? The small group seemed heated. Perfectly juicy argument, right in front of her for her viewing pleasure.

Without a second thought, she dragged Thomas with her to view a potential fight. If only she'd brought popcorn with her to the lake.

Action: Going to watch the madness unfold between @Erin Ryan, @Hugh Lowe, @Jürgen Hess, and @Galton Lansdale...
Interactions & Mentions: Interacting with @Thomas Baines
Mentioning Erin Ryan in narration

#274782 Blue in English, #a62b2b Red in Korean

Eun-ji waved at Flash and his date, who she'd never met but seemed rather nice, and wished them a lovely evening for the last time. It was nice to see Flash again but they could talk another time. She didn't want to make Jack and Dee wait and Aaron probably agreed seeing as he bid his goodbyes as well. "Sure, lead the way," the witch concurred with the plan and followed the Hufflepuff further into the crowd.

It was not a nice experience but then again, she didn't expect it to be. Eun-ji hated crowds and while they were talking by the entrance, the crowd here got considerably larger than before. She was hyper aware of everyone passing by and did her best to avoid any collisions. At one point Aaron turned around to check on her so she smiled reassuringly but otherwise said nothing. She just followed him like a lost puppy. "Aish..." Korean interjection that express surprise or irritation. In this case more surprise than irritation. the Ravenclaw stumbled a bit once her guide stopped abruptly. It was not his fault though…someone bumped into him. Raising her eyes just in time to avoid being pushed as well, she saw an overconfident man, who apparently decided to barge his way through the people. Rude…but at least I’m still standing. The witch sighed in relief. She had good reflexes but even so...how long before someone elbowed her in the ribs? Her build was not fit for places like this.

Looking back at her friend, she noticed he was watching the girl accompanying the brute. Did he know her? It didn't take long for him to shake his head and turn back to her however so she elected to ignore it. "Maybe we should get out of the crowd and just find a spot to wait for them?" Eun-ji nodded. It didn't feel like they would be able to find them like this and she was eager to get out. "Yes please," she answered, her tone betraying her and giving away the relief she felt as she turned back and followed Aaron to a much calmer area.

Finally, at a safer distance Eun-ji allowed herself to raise her eyes towards the sky. "Yes...very cool," she agreed, hiding an amused grin. She still remembered her run in with one of those. That one looks familiar, her brain pointed out. It made her wonder whether those really were the same pumpkins or not. It was precisely the moment the boy proceeded to mention said disaster. "Oh even better...I was there." She chuckled as she recalled the orange mayhem in the small hall. "It was truly bizarre. Scary and hilarious at the same time. If it wasn't for the company, I might have even had fun." Cassandra always seemed to show up when Eun-ji least expected it and their friend wasn't exactly pleasant either. Still it was a good thing Aaron wasn't there. That back there was a side of her she would rather avoid showing him. "But don't worry...this is Hogwarts. Something similar is bound to happen again." Eun-ji was just hoping it would as harmless as the pumpkins were...and preferably not today. What if Aaron gathered his courage to attend the school ball after the first fiasco only for it to end in yet another disaster? No...I should make sure this is a good experience for him. The girl decided. She wasn't sure how yet but she would do her best.

ACTION: Nothing yet just talking to Aaron
Stats: STA: 7 | EVA: 8 | STR: 4 | WIS: 10 | ARCP: 8 | ACC: 8
Abilities: *Healing Sage *Perfectionist *Death Defiance
Inventory: Wand, tissues, plasters

@Flash Holmwood

Opeila's enthusiasm grew when she saw that Flash also seemed to be in a positive mood. After he had declined her last birthday invitation, Opeila had held off giving him any more personal invitations out of fear it would make him uncomfortable, but she had picked up her courage again and asked him to join her to the ball and she couldn't say that she regret it.
Happily she took his hands when he held them out, smiling at his compliment. Like always since it was there, her gaze automatically landed on Flash's new brown eye, something she couldn't get used to just yet and quickly she looked away again. It was rude to stare.

"Thanks! The Hogsmeade clothes shop has some nice things. You look definitely warmer than I'll probably be." Chuckling she looked down herself. "Didn't quite think about the temperature when I picked this.", she admitted. Flash's outfit was not as festive as many of the others but if Opeila was to take a bet on who wouldn't catch a cold tonight, her money would be on Flash.

"Thanks Aaron.", she responded to the Hufflepuff's compliment as well, before the small group they were in slowly started to fall apart again, as every pair went into different directions. Opeila accepted Flash's arm and together they moved away from the entrance too. The young girl looked around and admired different outfits (more or less), occasionally drawing Flash's attention to some particular detail, either costumes or- more than once- unbelievably high heels.

Normally, balls should absolutely be Opeila's thing. It was no secrets that she loved bringing groups of people together to socialize and have a nice time, and connected with something as enjoyable as dressing up and dancing- even better! Both her father and grandmother had found it important that she knew how to dance, as both of them found it to be a skill that was valued way too little nowadays. So she knew some basic ways of dancing since she was seven years old and she had always quite liked it. Moving in with the Virtanens, she had also been quite proud to surprise Hilja Virtanen with one thing she didn't need any lessons in.

But this was Hogwarts, correct? So a ball would probably never be simply a ball. Opeila longed for a normal ball, where they all didn't have to take safety precautions, where her greatest concern was a date. The ball with Percival had gotten close, real close, before everything fell into pieces again.
Then she had been with Zykeal, a Gryffindor who she hadn't seen since their last year. Right, and Vladimir at the very first ball she had ever gone to. Frankly, this was the first ball, where she felt almost safe.

Flash's question distracted her from her observations. "Hm? Oh... I don't mind really. Looks like they have some amazing offers here- Actually, wait, that's a lie." The third year chuckled. "I would like to have at least one dance. I've been to four balls here at Hogwarts and I think I got maybe one proper dance. Is that fine with you?" She eyed her friend. "We could also have a look at the other things they offer here."

Opeila's smile vanished when she followed Flash's look. Not far away, something was obviously going wrong, making her chest tighten. Bridget, a positive acquaintance from her house had drawn her wand and was casting a spell at another figure- Victor. Her first instinct was to draw her wand too, get over and support Bridget, but then she hesitated. Strange enough, it was a faint echo of Santario Martin's voice in her head that stopped her from involving herself in the situation. "Go be useless somewhere else!”
There was a crowd around. They didn't actually know what was going on and it was not the first time that a ball turned violent. They had seen the pattern before.

Once the first spell went off, others would follow. Opeila knew exactly that there were people who were careless enough to cast (fire-)spells before knowing what was going on, so if they were to involve themselves now, they would probably make things worse rather than better. Not to mention that they would put themselves at risk.
Reluctantly she squeezed Flash's arm. "We shouldn't get involved." Something she would have likely never said a few months ago. "Let's go. Please. They got this." Pleadingly she looked at her friend.

Moving to the Fall Ball

Roleplaying as Akira Shimizu from Mahoutokoro
Outfit: Haori and hakama

Action: Offering a corsage to Sakura
Open to interactions
@Lin Evanvleck as Sakura Kobayashi

Her hair is bloooonnnndeee

Mentioning None

Interacting with @Nicholas McCowan Hadrian Zuheir (@Aurelia Notrésvace’s inpc

My God, he’s so sweet, cute, and adorable.

All Aurora wanted to do was to squeeze his face like a stretch ball and made him her personal teddy bear. Don’t let her get started on his smile. The way his eyes lit up. It was gentle and warm, even though he was agreeing to Aurora’s wish to kick someone’s nuts. “Oh, really? Okay then! I’m glad to see you excited!”

Why did good things never last? Because of Mr. Braggadocio, Aurora couldn’t spend the entire night admiring the beauty of Nicholas McCowan. And how dare he insult her incredibly stylish rubber shoes and compare his ugly suit to her childhood? “EXCUSE YOU, OLD CREATURE, first of all, this is not a maid outfit nor a Halloween outfit. Second of all, I don’t need your compliment. Third of all, you are a piece of sh-“ Oh, hey. You know what they say, soulmates finish each other's sentences.

Smh you stranger. He was taller, probably older, possibly stronger. His pride would never be able to recover from a punch from Nicholas. At that moment, the boy who said his name was, uh- Harry, was trying so hard to get into the flannel lover’s nerve. Apparently, he did a decent job. Yes, decent, considering how easy it was to make Nick angry. This wouldn’t end well. Even though Aurora was thrilled that he defended her, a fight was still a fight. It was wrong, unless the girl had started it herself. It wasn’t even five minutes since they both stepped into the ground and this happened already. Quite unusual, if she thought about it. Aurora wasn’t exactly the type to be guy's magnet. Never once has anyone tried to get her attention, not that it was worth it anyway. Was the fact she was ‘taken’ making the flirty boy intrigued? Why are people more interested in chasing those they can’t have? The fancy attire that covered his body was just his attempt to hide the desperation to get a last minute date. Poor boy, maybe the next ball organizer needs to add a little corner for the single pringles.

She was ready to protect in a heartbeat. Jeremy’s gnome would be for another time. The safety of her date, however, was the highest priority. There was no way the drunk in love girl was just going to let his wrinkly fist on Nicholas’ as soft and squishy as a mochi cheek. Being an Aurora, obviously she considered using her creep repellent spray which almost never failed to work. This Harry guy was definitely a creep that couldn’t handle a rejection and very much eligible to have the one in a lifetime spraying experience. But the girl has so much more under her dress. A bug spray, useful, but her asthmatic self couldn’t handle the strong smell it had. A boomerang, no clue how to use it, good for bonking. And a hammer, though, this wasn’t a situation that required a permanent banishment. It was hard to decide on what to do in such a short amount of time.

The existence of her troll whisker cored twig was forgotten. Being a witch, it would be pretty much a waste if she decided not to use magic as her muggle stuff replacement. According to her, non magical stuff is way more useful than incantations since most of the people in the wizarding world aren't really familiar with the peculiar but smart and handy things muggle invented throughout their lifetimes. Judging from the way the stranger talked and sashayed his way to the conversation, he must be that kind of snobby purebloods. He didn’t even seem to be familiar to the almighty crocs of hers.

It was decided.

Beware and behold. Once she notices the old guy making his move to attack her date, a nice spray to both eyes would be all he got. Go away you Harry Z-Zombie.

Sta - 5 | Eva - 8 | Str - 5 Wis - 8 | Arc - 4 | Acc - 10 Terrible Presence Evasive Maneuvers

Action Pepper spraying hardian if he attacking nick as well, if no, then none Outfit Reducio There's a leg bag underneath her dress (idk what that called). She has : a wand, a chocolate bar, 2 dittanies, a boomerang, two travel size pepper sprays, one travel size bug spray, one hammer, one inhaler

━━━━ THE UNTESTED BOY ━━━━

Closed to Interactions

Interactions: -

Outfit: Formals Mask

A light sense of trepidation haunted Hui Ming on this day. He had at first tried to write it off as nerves – gatherings of people, particularly of the loud and rambunctious people that were teenagers, did little to put him in a cheery mood. But he had failed to quite shake the uneasiness of it all.

Even now, as he looked around at the decorations of the reaping festival, he could not help but feel more than a little bit off. Was it the magical elements that made him feel so jittery? Or the idea of taking a girl to the ball? Perhaps it was just that this was his first birthday away from his parents?

He stood away from it all, taking a moment to take it all in. The energy, the hubbub, the excitement. Some people had decided to already draw wands and cast spells in their efforts to make the party more lively, it would seem. Or failed to quell their disagreements with words. Again.
Idiots, the whole lot of them.

The First-Year would give them a wide berth when he decided to mingle. If he decided to mingle. The proper thing to do would be to observe and enjoy the scenery, to find some suitable company, or to just allow yourself to enjoy the change of the seasons. Engaging in some petty feud as was the wont of so many here was more like to ruin the night than make it.

And what a night it was.

Samhain.

It marked the end and the beginning. For him, it was the end of his stable life and the beginning of his journey through this magical one. Perhaps he had hoped that he would feel older and wiser come this Halloween. That his twelfth birthday would mark him as automatically older and therefore capable of navigating his life here.

He found that these purported changes did not happen. But then again, he wasn’t twelve. Not quite yet.

Perhaps then, it made the most sense to try and tackle it as he always would, and leave dealing with the fallout to his older, wiser self.

Ming took in the decorations for this event – from the rich and colourful undergrowth and the flowers in bloom. It felt contrary to the celebrations of All Hallow’s Eve: a celebration of life, rather than of undeath. But for some reason, it felt appropriate, more hopeful than it had any right to be.

The remaining decorations were more sombre, with the eerie, otherworldly light from the pumpkins setting the tone, as the swaying and flickering lanterns caused the shadows to dance all about, perhaps as restless about the entire affair as many of the students.

Hui Ming could not help but wonder which of the decorations were decided upon by @Avery Chen and which by @Liana Kerr, both members of the planning committee of this little ball.

There were other aspects to this festival, surely. He could see there was a bonfire in the works, as well as blue dancing lights, somewhat removed from the main hubbub. He would have to visit them sometime throughout the night. But it would not do to visit without his date.

Right. His date.

He had better get going if he planned to not keep her waiting.

Action: Keeping a distance from crowds | Leaving to enter the Fall Ball

Sana loved her friend, it's true. She really does. The thing is, she somehow managed to get a date to the ball... and it just so happened to be the ONE boy who Sana actually respected fully. Sana really needs to know HOW Sakura managed such a feat. They were supposed to go together, but Sana could not blame her friend for going with Shimizu-san. It really would make her respected too, she was sure. Not only that, but Sana managed to see her best friends dress beforehand. It really was beautiful and stunning, truly. At this point, Sana was very unsure about herself. She was an insecure girl, worrying about her body and what others think. Her dress, being nowhere close as stunning as Sakura's, was simple in almost every way. Had she made a bad choice when choosing it? The one thing she was sure about was her hair. Her mother had taught her how to do this traditional hairdo and how to place the flowers in carefully.

She played Shogi with another student while she waited for the ball to come, trying to hide how unsure she was. She didn't know how the dress looked on her, and when the time came, she got dressed and did her hair. She eased her worries, or she tried to since she knew this night was to be fun.

She placed a smile on her face, her early worries forgotten. She would certainly tease her friend every chance she got like a true best friend since she knew Sakura was very independent. This might as well be the only time she saw her on a date with a boy. She walked into the Festival, looking around in awe of Hogwarts' decorations. It was simply beautiful.

She looked around for her best friend, not sure what to do with herself. After all, when you spend your whole time thinking you're going with your best friend just for plans to be changed last second, you're going to walk in alone. And walking in alone is, well, not fun.

Spotting her best friend, she let out a gasp. They both looked stunning! She waited behind some people because she saw that Shimizu-san was offering something to her friend, and she didn't want to butt in.

@Lin Evanvleck@Avery Chen