Closed Fall Ball 2023 Lanterns and Boat Rides

6 October 2023
Fall Ball

Although she had been the one to suggest lantern-making, Harmony found herself being led to the tables covered in craft materials, thoughts tumbling through her head the whole time.
If he wants to be gentlemanly, it would be the good-ball-date thing to do to let him. She reasoned. But on the other hand, would a good ball date let the other person do things for them? She then countered. But if he wants to do it then I should let him, right? She made a mental u-turn.

“What about that?” Finn pointed out, having arrived at the tables with no interruption. “A nice blue to match your outfit”
A spark of an idea ignited in Harmony’s remaining brain cells; an idea that would prove her prowess as the best ball date and most likely make up for letting Finnigan take the lead for a bit. She hummed in agreement to Fallon’s words but in a very I’m-paying-attention-to-you-because-I’m-a-good-ball-date way as the idea flickered and grew some more. She was going to make a wonderful lantern and it wasn’t going to be for her, no no no.
She was going to make one for Flint, and she told him so as he trailed off into silence.

“So, Hermione,” she inhaled deeply and pressed her lips together at the name, “what sort of lanterns would you want to put on your things?”
Interesting. Harmony wasn’t aware they could keep the lanterns, but she supposed there weren’t any specific rules against it. Either way, there weren’t any rules stating that you could keep the lanterns, and Harmony was not about to make herself detention bait, no matter how good-ball-date it would be to also make a take-home lantern
“I don’t think we’re supposed to take the lanterns back.” She replied, scrunching her eyebrows together. “But small lanterns would be quite nice for decorations”

She scanned the selection to find if anything looked obviously like a little lantern souvenir. There wasn’t much that caught the eye at the mostly untouched supplies and Harmony didn't want to come off as staring at the students already working on lanterns, so she attempted to inconspicuously peer at the lanterns already released. No souvenir lanterns. That would be obvious, as souvenirs wouldn’t be for lobbing into the air. There was, however, a pair of girls splashing in a boat, and a lone boy who looked to possibly be from a visiting school who was … approaching Harmony?

Interacting with:mentioning:@Flynn Montgomery and Daniel Tienzo@Alyssea Brown
Summary: Contemplating lantern-making

roleplaying as Daniel Tienzo from Castelobruxo
october 6th 2023; open to interactions

He was this, this close to leaving altogether when he spotted a girl with a flowing blue cape enter the grounds. Usually, when someone dresses that extravagantly, they have the money either from earning it or from their parents. Also, they were likely much older than him. But when Daniel looked a bit closer, she was following a small, baby-faced boy.

Her dress was exceptionally pretty. Scratch that; the girl was quite pretty. Daniel straightened his blazer and headed towards her. His eyes were on her and he had little care for the other girls who were now convening at craft tables and boats.

Somehow, her outfit looked ten thousand times better than from afar. He could see the gold embellishments, the glitter, and the flowy fabric that made her pop in the darkness of the night. He offered a smile and cleared his throat. Here went nothing.

"You are very pretty," he said, a bit slow at some words since he was building the sentence as he went, "The dress... very nice."

He turned to the boy she had come in with and gave him a little head bow. "Hello. Your suit very nice." It was a compliment that had no intention of engaging with the boy. After all, he was mostly here for the pretty girl.

He turned to her. "Your eyes also nice. Like the lights." With his broken English, he couldn't quite woo her as much as he hoped; some pick-up lines were better in Spanish than English. Still, he was not going to back down.

interacting with: @Harmony Hollins and @Flynn Montgomery
mentions: Miharu Goto @Raizel Voltrouz, @Harmony Hollins, Nathan Hawthorn @Estelle Nyx, @Amaris Graham, @Lily Isobel McCoire, @Maverick Castle, Lucian Kai Thornslowe @Guinevere Russetwood

Dialogue: #03733b

@Landon Matthews

@Madison Bennett

@Alyssea Brown

@Helena Rose

Friday, October the 6th, 2023

“Maybe we should head toward the lanterns?” Landon suggested. “They might find us easier there?” The boy had a somewhat good point, although, weren’t we the ones trying to find them and not vice-versa? Perhaps Landon thought that the girls had gotten carried away in conversation and were now lost, in which case, he likely thought that the lantern crafting table was a bigger landmark that was easier to find than the table we were at. This made sense, and so, I decided that I agreed with Landon’s decision. Alyssea did too, because not long after Landon finished his sentence, she said “Alright, let’s head over to the lanterns.” “Yes, let’s.” I said.

Alyssea pointed towards the general area of the crafting tables and said “Alright, let’s get over there and make some lanterns!” The smile on her face said it all as she began leading Landon and me towards the lantern crafting table. A smile formed on my face as well due to my excitement of making my very own lantern and then launching it in the air. When we came to the lantern crafting table, Alyssea sat down on the blanket that was spread out on the ground, and gestured for Landon and I to do so as well. The blanket had plenty of crafting materials, as well as some pre-made lanterns, just like the lantern crafting table had. In my opinion, this was weird since you could just have people pick things up on the table before sitting down to finish your work, but then again, there was probably a very good reason for why it had been done this way that I didn’t know of.

When we sat down, Alyssea picked up one of the lanterns and a paintbrush to draw over it. I looked around for any materials that could be used to make a custom lantern, but I couldn’t find any. The smile on my face faded and was replaced by a perplexed look. “What exactly are we supposed to put on the lantern?” Landon asked curiously, before proceeding to compliment Alyssea on how good of a job she and the rest of the ball planning committee had done with making the lanterns. “Yeah, Landon’s right.” I said before turning towards Alyssea and continuing. “You guys did a good job with the lanterns. I do have a question for you though. When you said that the craft tables over here were for making lanterns, you meant that they were for decorating lanterns, right? Because I don’t see any way I could possibly craft my own lantern. Not that that’s a bad thing per se, but as you said, it’s more fun to make your own instead of just throwing some pre-made lanterns in the air.”

october 6th 2023; interacting with @Rodney Hughes and @Landon Matthews; mentioning @Madison Bennett and @Helena Rose

Outfit Reducio

Just when Alyssea thought she'd exhausted every compliment from everyone she'd talked to this evening, there were more where they came from. She blushed and gave a bright smile. It was nice to hear that the team's hard work was being noticed. If you asked Alyssea, she would tell you that she spent more time planning this than doing her homework which was... not ideal considering her position on the duelling team.

"Thank you. I'll be sure to tell the team what good praises I've been given today," she said. She had briefly seen Estelle before she left the banquet. As for the rest of them, she'd have to find them later.

Alyssea finished painting the brush of the broom and turned her lantern to the boys. "I'm painting my wish to become a broom racer," she laughed lightly, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not bad at duelling, but broom racing just... calls to me, you know? I might step down from the duelling team if I don't like it."

"Paint anything you want. A quote, your favourite thing, your goals or wishes for the year. Get creative."

Rodney had a few questions this evening, but Alyssea didn't mind. She knew just about every detail about this ball, so questions were not a bother. "Right, yes, we thought some people wouldn't be able to craft a lantern from scratch and it'd end up being too frustrating," she explained, "So now you only have to decorate them. Apologies for the miscommunication."

Alyssea dipped her brush in the water and went for the blue paint. What else should she paint aside from a broom? The wind? The obstacles? She hardly remembered them. Upon realizing she should've painted the blue sky, she got her wand and aimed for the white background. "Colorvaria."

action: casting the colour-changing charm on my lantern

Blue in English, Red in Korean

Eun-ji frowned. “Don’t just decide things on your own.” Sure, he did tell her he will wait but she never agreed. It must have been pretty clear from her attitude that she was indeed not waiting for him…or anyone else for that matter. The witch just wanted to be left alone for once. Hiro was incredibly persistent however. Even Hana wasn’t this unrelenting and that was saying something. Eun-ji never thought she’d think the Slytherin was rather tame compared to somebody. Besides, when Hana flirted, it could always be taken as a joke and for those few rare occasions when he turned more serious, he was somewhat cautious with his words. Eun-ji could handle that much. In fact, as much as she hated to admit it, it could be pretty fun…sometimes. Hiro on the other hand, flirted in a very different way. He was just as bold but his comments carried more weight. It sounded like he was serious about her, which made Eun-ji a bit uncomfortable. After all, they barely knew each other and she planned to keep it that way.

The Ravenclaw ignored Hiro’s other comments and proceeded to walk towards the craft area. Unfortunately, her prediction came true and the boy continued following her, talking as if they were actually going together. Eun-ji was about to repeat that she wasn’t interested in his company when he managed to step into a snake’s nest with his follow up statement. “I’m not yours. I don’t belong to anybody.” She hissed through gritted teeth. Of course she knew he didn’t mean it like that. It was simply another addition to his collection of many cringy lines. In theory, it shouldn’t have been a big deal. It was just that Eun-ji was particularly sensitive about this stuff. At home, Hunts constantly treated like their property and she was so so tired of it. This meant even such innocent words like ‘My Freya’ could make her especially angry.

The witch knew, she overreacted as soon as the words left her lips but it was too late to take them back. “Forget it…” She said, rubbing her temple tiredly. “See? Our energies don’t match at all. You should really go hang out with your friends if you want to enjoy the evening.” Yes. Eun-ji was still desperately trying to shake the boy off. She wasn't necessarily trying to be mean. His pestering aside, she didn’t have anything against the pink haired boy and did genuinely think he should go and have fun. In the past, she might have even been happy about someone like Hiro taking interest in her but that’s just it. It was in the past. Things were different now and she didn’t know if her current state of mind could handle him hanging around.

By now the two of them reached the crafting area and Eun-ji decided to sit down and inspect the materials. She hoped the Japanese boy would take her advice and leave but there was nothing she could do if he decided to join her. Not sure why he'd want to stick around though... She wasn't exactly a pleasant company tonight.

Action: Entering the area and still trying to shake Hiro off :-D
Stats: STA: 9 ✦ EVA: 10 ✦ STR: 4 ✦ WIS: 12 ✦ ARC: 11 ✦ ACC: 13
Abilities: Healing Sage I & II ✦ Perfectionist ✦ Death Defiance ✦ Spell Spread
Interacting with: @Kim Sato as Hiro Bakugo
Mentioning: @Hanako Tone

6 October 2023
Fall Ball

The boy from before was definitely approaching Harmony, and with what seemed like intentions set clearly for her. She vaguely registered the presence of Flan still by her side as she watched the newcomer beeline towards them and wondered for a brief moment if this was a bad ball date thing to do before she was distracted again by the new boy. His eyes scanned her outfit, causing the corners of her lips to quirk up with pride.

The boy smiled and cleared his throat before speaking slowly.
“You are very pretty.”
Harmony’s eyes widened just a little. She hadn’t been expecting that.
“The dress…” he seemed to hesitate, “very nice.”

Harmony wondered for a moment if the hesitation indicated a lie, but the previous scan he’d made of her outfit pushed that thought to the back of her mind as a genuine smile crept across her face. She thanked him, then gave her own compliment: “I like your suit! It’s very fancy. The chain is also pretty.” As she spoke, she slowed down to match the speed of the boy’s speech and gestured to her approximate lapel area to clarify what she meant by “chain”. There was probably a reason for him to speak slowly, and Harmony didn’t want to make a foreign student feel lonely in an unfamiliar school.

The boy turned to Foiyin for a moment to express a similar outfit compliment before immediately turning back to Harmony and dropping an absolute bombshell: “Your eyes also nice. Like the lights.”

Harmony’s “like the lights” eyes widened fully at that. She didn’t think anyone had ever complimented her mono-colour dirt eyes before, and they’d definitely never been compared to the glow of the lanterns around the ball.

“Oh,” she intelligently responded, her face no doubt turning a flattering shade of pink that definitely went super well with her cool-tone outfit under warm-tone lights.
“Thank you,” she said again, an uncontrollable smile this time splitting her face as her voice squeaked upward in tone a little bit at the end of her phrase. Harmony looked around, fiddling with her hands. She didn’t know what else to say, and she was certain it was against good-ball-date rules to focus too much on someone else, but she didn’t want to push the boy away, either.

“What’s your name?” She settled on asking.
“I’m Harmony, and this is…” She glanced at Montgomery and realised her mother was regrettably correct, as usual, and she didn’t actually know his name. She’d let him introduce himself, then.
“Do you want to make lanterns?” She asked instead to cover for her uncertainty.
Score two for Harmony.

Interacting with: @Flynn Montgomery and Daniel Tienzo @Alyssea Brown
Summary: Getting flustered over compliments, inviting Daniel to make lanterns

roleplaying as Daniel Tienzo from Castelobruxo
october 6th 2023; open to interactions

Even with the language barrier, it seemed the compliment worked. It was amusing to see people fall apart at small things. Then again, she was pretty and there was no denying it. At first, he hadn't understood what she meant by 'che-in', but when she pointed to it on his blazer, he looked down and smiled.

"Thank you," he said, "My aunt made it. She makes clothes."

Daniel bowed his head again. "Daniel Tienzo. I go to Castelobruxo. You know, Brazil." With the girl's perfect English fluency, she may be from Hogwarts or Ilvermorny. The other schools spoke other languages from what he remembered.

Her name was lovely, just like her outfit, and Daniel had no qualms in telling her that. "Harmony is beautiful name. Just like you." Okay, it wasn't the most mic-drop compliment, but still.

Daniel decided to sit down with them but didn't pick up a lantern. He had no interest in making one for a while. Talking to her would be more productive since the night was still young. It seemed she hadn't started making one yet, anyway.

The boy, on the other hand, just sat there with little response. Daniel raised an eyebrow as Harmony trailed off with no mention of his name. Maybe she was just forgetful? Had they just met?

interacting with: @Harmony Hollins and @Flynn Montgomery
mentions: Miharu Goto @Raizel Voltrouz, Nathan Hawthorn @Estelle Nyx, @Amaris Graham, @Lily Isobel McCoire, @Maverick Castle, Lucian Kai Thornslowe @Guinevere Russetwood, Lorelai Diniz @Hannah Blossom

Arriving as a white-bellied sea eagle

In earlier years, balls had been a source of dread. Concentrated gatherings of students seemed to always end in disaster, usually in the form of students setting the festivities- or each other- on fire. Why they taught Incendio in the first year was beyond Pericles. He had begun attending out of anticipation, ready to help when things inevitably went south. Throughout the secluded span of his fourth year, he learned to love balls. Not going to them, of course, but soaking up the resulting silence throughout the castle. With most students preoccupied with partying, the fifth-year had the common areas more or less to himself. Tonight was turning out much the same. He started the eve enjoying the general lack of folks around Ravenclaw Tower, scrawling something by the fireplace, tinkering with his potions set in the dormitory. As he hauled an armload of components back towards his trunk, he idled at a window, gazing out over the grounds. A gathering at the boathouse lured his attention.

A festival of floating lanterns was a stunning idea. Though the muggle references were lost on him, the cultural significance wasn't. Pouring one's worries, hopes, and creativity into a craft, then watching it soar off into the sky with the dreams of others? There weren't many mundane acts that managed to look so magical. For the first time in a long while, Pericles felt a tug towards the celebrations. He would watch from the solitude of his tall tower for some while, before at last, the urge to get a better look won out. That was all it was, he thought: a chance to take a quick peek, nothing more. He wasn't going to get roped up in any drama tonight. Probably.

The fear of heights was lost on him, but his heart still leapt as his legs swung over the ledge of a dormitory window. With the pane drawn behind him, left only an inch or so open for his return flight, the animagus leaned into the open air and transformed. Pale hair turned to white feathers, his black coat became dark wings, boots swapped for talons. Elation flooded his heart as the sea-eagle swooped around a spire, soaking in the dancing stars up above, admiring the moonlit ripples sent out from bobbing boats below. He glided through the windless night as an observer, turning one black eye down to scan the scene.

Action: Flight - looking for trouble from on high. Open to interactions, PM for plots
Observation: 25% chance of seeing something out of the ordinary automatically