Raising Support for Broom Racing Errand Open

Open to interactions| mentioning: @Evelyn Decipio

WC: 435/600

Closed for interaction

Extressia was seeing the hype errand and wanted to join in on helping Quidditch games with the school spirit, but she quietly walked, not talking to anyone, determined to do this on her own, and trying to avoid people today as she felt a bit too nervous about standing out of a huge crowd and getting help from other people. Rummaging through the stack of paper she thought about what poster she wanted to make like how big it is, what stuff should be it in, and though it seemed like an obvious answer, what team was she making it for? Of course, the clear answer was Gryffindor, her house, and the team that the poster was meant to go. Nobody would judge her if she were made specifically for Gryffindor, in fact, people might be confused about why she even thought of the other team.

The answer to that question is because she felt guilty, she wanted to support everybody who sunk their time into hours of practice, who had given it they are all for winning the game, different houses or not. Besides, it will be equal for her to make posters of every house, and if she gives them to her other friends, they wouldn't need to work on making a poster, and she will be indirectly supporting other teams for their hard work. She jumped up and down on the idea, and begin thinking of ideas. First, she took a large-sized of paper and being to write "Gryffindor Go" in bubble letters.

She did the same for each of the other 3 papers she took, but each was replaced with the name of the other three houses, but moving into the least empty spot to focus on her work and trying to hide the other three papers as best as she could, Extressia then moves around the equipment table, grabbing painting supplies, glue, different color glitter, images of a lion, badger, raven, and a snake. She also took random decorations with different color schemes that matched the house's color scheme, some she could name like beads and stars, and others she didn't know what it was. This way it was eye-catching and give some house or Extressia guesses in her case more than one house spirit.

Word Count: 382/600

Hunter entered the Great Hall with a mild feeling of interest as he joined in on the decorating of banners, posters, and even stick flags. The majority of his time at Hogwarts was met with too little of an interest in sports. He rarely interacted with a broom, and he wasn't very much of a competitive person. Perhaps it was due to the fact he spent the majority of his time as a bookworm and sulking deep in the dungeons to brew potions. He was probably underground more often than he was in the sky and it was a bit hard to tell if that was the Ravenclaw spirit he should have. He was very studious and well knowledged like a Ravenclaw, but he never really opened his wings and soared with confidence like an eagle. So today was a bit of an experience for him. He wondered if he would at all be able to create a banner fitting enough for his house's team.

Hunter approached one of the great hall tables where they were crafting small stick flags in order to wave around and cheer while holding. Small, but could portray the cheerful spirit everyone was looking for. Hunter wanted to try and be a bit more creative with the small flags but decided to just try and keep it simple. Simply cutting out a blue square of cloth made of polyester, Hunter then proceeded to draw out the black silhouette of a bird. Surprisingly his drawing skills were up to a pristine match as he carefully drew and shaded the figure. This was most likely due to the number of images he drew in his journal as diagrams of plants, animals (magical and nonmagical), and potion ingredients. It took months for him to dreadfully and carefully take hours to just finish one anatomically correct drawing, and he wanted to do the same for the stick flags. By the time he finished his first one, he lifted it up and waved it around a bit. Small, simple, and made with careful effort. Hunter liked it due to how it wouldn't cause him to stand out too much. However, he felt he didn't really complete his task of supporting his house.

Hunter proceeded to then move over towards the table full of banners. Students of varying houses were standing at rather far distances from each other. Social distancing from the looks of it, but many were also helping each other out. Well, at least those in the same house. Banners were large and would most likely take up a lot of time to create by oneself. It made sense for a lot of students to be working together, but Hunter didn't exactly have that option. He decided to start his banner anyways, and planned to finish it soon. The question was what to put on the banner.

In his own nerdy way, Hunter thought of using some sort of phrase that would make sense and still be simple. He began to think, and he recalled the great eyesight that an eagle has. If he recalled eagles had possibly 4x better vision than the average person. Hunter thought of writing something clever such as "Only a bird can seek a snitch!" It sounded clever... till Hunter realized he should make a banner focused on broom racing and not quidditch. He had to give it a bit more thought. Were there any Ravenclaws he considered to be a friend at all? Any he could ask for advice or possibly get lucky on knowing if they were broom racers?

Hunter's mind raced for a bit as he stared at the great hall ceiling. Digging through his memories bit by bit. Eventually, he finally recalled at least one name on the broom racing roster. It was the name of someone he did know, and he did consider to be a (if not, his only) friend. Hunter painted the words loud and clear on his banner with a golden shine. He was satisfied with what he had:

Birds of Prey, Never Stray!
Show'em Your Talons Judith!

WC: ~680

Mentions: @Judith Cohen

Shiawase had lots of friends back home, among Muggles. They played sports all the time, and she would cheer them on. Not only would she do that, she'd gotten very good at sewing and often found herself in the position of repairing her friends' uniforms. But when she went to games, while she was supporting her friends, a lot of the time, she was also stressing out. She would bring her first aid kit just in case, and was always watching, in case of an emergency. It wasn't that she didn't trust the adults around her . . . it was more that she trusted herself. She knew she could act, and act fast. She knew she could take care of someone until the ambulance arrived. She didn't know if anyone else could - and she didn't care to know. She put it all on herself. And so, she would always have her first aid kit, and always wait for the shoe to drop.

But things were different at Hogwarts. She wasn't faster than anyone else to act - if anything, she was slower. Her first aid kit couldn't do anything a spell couldn't. The only reason anyone would need her is if there were literally no faculty members or upper classmen around. This was a hugely freeing revelation for her - now she could just focus on the sport. And it would be interesting to see people fly on their brooms, dancing in the clouds. The idea of them flying so fast, so free . . . the idea in and of itself was delightful!

Though the idea of trying to use a broom when she couldn't feel her legs was terrifying! She wouldn't want to do this herself - not until she was confident she could be safe in the event she fell off her broom. It was the same with Quidditch. She'd have to practice hard before she would join any teams. Yet, it was possible for her to in the future, at least. But now was no time to think of that. Now was the time to think on decorations and how best to cheer on her team.

And so, she rolled over to the Slytherin table. Hmmm. Where to start? She wasn't exactly the most creative, or artistic person. She bit her lip. One of her best friends was very good at this stuff - and she missed her. How come she couldn't have been magical, too? She was magical to Shiawase . . . .

She shook her head. No, Shiawase. You can't think like that! You gotta get a grip. And stickers. And glitter. Green and silver glitter . . . and write with fancy bubble letters! I'll make sure my poster is something she'd be proud of!

And so she set to work. First, she painted the poster silver. Then, with big, bubble lettering, she wrote,

"GO, SLYTHERIN!"

She then proceeded to add some green glitter in the corners and attach some snake stickers. But, something was off. It was, too pedestrian? Too straightforward? Too bland? Like, it didn't make sense. She needed something more eye catching. She thought about what else to do for a bit. Then, an idea occurred to her.

The snake stickers weren't enough! She should draw a snake! And so, she tried to draw snakes wrapping around her bubble letters . . . but as she sketched them, she realized she didn't like it. She didn't like any of it. And so, she erased her sketch and set that poster aside. She'd just have to make another one, from the top.

And so, she started sketching out a giant, realistic-looking snake's face, mouth open like it was hissing, or perhaps about to bite. Inside the mouth, she had painted,

"Go, Slytherin, Go!" in silver. Even if they couldn't read the text, they would still see the snake and know she meant to root for them. She was proud of this one, even though it wasn't perfect. In fact, the proportions on her snake were a far cry from realistic. But it was still the best drawing she'd ever done! Now, what to do with the old poster? She had an idea, and started cutting up the old poster she made into little strips and put it in a bag. That would be her confetti she'd throw at the end of the race, regardless of who won! She couldn't wait! She looked around to see if there was anyone who may need her help.

Word Count: 756

OOC: Shiawase is open for interaction, even for people not in Slytherin.

Dee was yawning when she wandered into the Great Hall that Friday. For anyone watching, it would likely look like she was meandering in by chance rather than purpose, and it was partially true. The last classes before the break had finished, so she was free, and she had known this errand was taking place here. On the other hand, Dee didn't have much interest in broomracing, and usually only participated in arts and crafts errands when forced to, or if it looked like something new and interesting to try out. Making banners was neither new nor interesting, and she had already determined she didn't have much taste or talent for it (ask anyone who had attended Professor Iwasaki's welcome party a year and a half ago).

So why was she here, anyway? Well... although she didn't have much (or any) interest in broomracing itself, she did have an interest in someone in broomracing. And while for the last race, she had gone mostly to (pretend to) cheer for Ravenclaw and tease Jack at the same time, she had maybe kind of promised him that she would actually come to support him and Hufflepuff this time. Hufflepuff colours and all. Which she didn't own any of. So she had to procure some from other sources, like making a terrible banner... which was why this errand actually came in rather handy, and why she had come here after class instead of going to the duelling club.

Thus, Dee approached one of the tables that held a vast variety of materials, and flopped down onto a seat with little grace or enthusiasm. Maybe she should just borrow a scarf or something instead. She actually wore yellow rather well, it went fine with her complexion.

There was a slightly reluctant expression on her face as she pulled a blank yellow poster from the stack, closer to herself. Black was Hufflepuff's secondary colour, and she wasn't feeling particularly creative, so she picked up a black marker to go with it and uncapped it before hesitating, staring at the poster. What to write?

After a moment of deliberation, a small smile began tugging on her lips, and she leaned forward, bending over the paper. Setting the marker to the poster, she began drawing large, slightly uneven block letters.

PSA:
DON'T FALL OFF YOUR BROOM.

Grand advice from someone who had not sat on a broomstick since flying class in her first year. Also, yes, she was absolutely still mocking Jack for falling off his broom during the January race. No, she wasn't likely to let that go anytime soon. Still... Dee chewed on her lip while she drew a slightly skewed border around the words. Maybe she should come up with something slightly more supportive. There was still space on the back of the poster, after all.

Flipping it over, Dee was once again faced with the decision of what in the world to write. You'd think she wasn't a reporter for the Headliner from the struggle that coming up with catchy slogans presented for her. The idea of writing "Jack-Jack Attack!" on it seemed hilarious to her, but she wasn't sure even Jack would get the reference. Hmm... they were up against Slytherin this time, weren't they?

DID YOU KNOW
THAT BADGERS EAT SNAKES?
Honey badgers do, at least.

She wasn't sure whether the same was true for normal badgers, but she kind of doubted it. Still, it made for a good enough poster, she decided, grinning down at it. Then she added the illustration of a sad snake and a vaguely recognisable triumphant badger. A sprinkle of golden glitter on top, and she was done.

Hopping up from her seat with significantly more energy than before, Dee rolled up the poster, and then marched off to find Jack. She'd demand he lend her a scarf for tomorrow, after all.

Word Count | 646
Mentions @Jack Warren
Thread left.

Interacting with @Opeila Winters

It was the day before their next broom race, and Starlee was a bit nervous. After Slytherin's loss to the Lions, Starlee had attempted to double down on practices and training, doing whatever she could to help get them into the winners spot for their next match. She hoped it would be enough, even with her minimal flying experience and general fear of heights. Why on earth had she applied to be a captain again? At least it wasn't her out there on the field tomorrow. The forecast called for heavy rain, surely that wasn't going to be fun while racing.

A note had interrupted her studies in the common room, one from the captain of the team herself, Opeila Winters. Starlee hadn't had the most interaction with her outside of their training, but she was starting to like her company. Perhaps they could grow a true friendship? It seemed Opeila was on the same page as well, asking if she would like to join her in the broom racing support errand that was to take place. Good, she wasn't sure she could handle a last minute practice right now. A small smile formed on the girls face, as she would never miss an opportunity to do an errand, and she truly appreciated the gesture. She would hastily scrawl a note back to her, and plan to meet up in the great hall.

She had to admit that she was particularly excited about the errand. Since neither her nor her captain actually raced on the team, it was a great way to show support for them while they raced with banners, buttons, and who knows what other kinds of things. Perhaps it would help alleviate some of the nerves she had gained from the upcoming match as well. Creativity was always a good outlet for ones emotions.

Another benefit was that of drumming up more interest. Since Broom Racing was the newest of the sports, it didn't have quite as solid of a fanbase as Quidditch or Duelling. While Starlee didn't enjoy flying herself, she did think the sport was rather entertaining, and hoped that more people would come out to spectate the next match. She really appreciated Professor Strube for putting this whole thing together.

Running a bit behind schedule, as she had to finish up an essay for Charms, she finally made her way up to the Great Hall. She felt almost certain that Opeila had to be there already, hopefully she hadn't left her waiting for too long. Rushing in, she caught sight of the tables covered in supplies, as well as Opeila sitting already with some items gathered in front of her. She would wave if her fellow Slytherin managed to catch her eye, but would head to the tables filled with crafts first to begin gathering some items.

It seemed there was plenty to select from, and Starlee quickly grabbed a poster and a few blank stick flags to decorate, along with a few green and silver glitter pens and a black marker. Her hands full of supplies, she made her way over to Opeila, sitting down next to her.

"Hey there Opeila! Thanks for the note, tomorrow's match has me a bit nervous... I hope this can help calm me down." The bubbly blonde would probably remain nervous anyway, but she could hope. She unceremoniously dumped the crafting items in front of her, then quickly pulled one of the stick flags toward her and tearing the cap off of the glittery green pen to begin coloring it in, adding two silver glittery stripes along the stick end.

After finishing coloring in the flag, she looked over at the banner Opeila was sketching on. "Is that a Basilisk?" she asked, genuinely curious. "It's looking good so far!" she said, a smile on her face. Starlee couldn't seem to draw anything when it came to anything real world - she much preferred geometric designs, hence the simplicity so far of her little stick flag.

WC: 668

Open to Interaction

Interacting With: No one just yet

Hexcode= #507091

When Sylvain sat down, he sat down with the intent to craft up a storm. There were all kinds of ideas that floated through his head, some zinging at a million miles an hour while others stuck like sticks in the mud. Should he craft a foam eagle? No, too simple. Perhaps instead he could make one of those fingers like from American baseball games? No, too cliche. Then the best idea he'd had all afternoon crossed his mind. What about a banner for his house team? Maybe he could even come up with something catchy to put on it, maybe even a pun. Would "Broom, broom, broom!" make sense? No, too close to muggle racing. What about "Eagles landing comes with a clean sweep!" No, too assumptive, he might jinx them before ever having meant to.

Sitting, pondering his choices, Sylvain would gather the materials closest to him first. Not foam, but some paper. Some materials in between. Yes, poster board. Cutting it out, and attaching two hangers on either side, he would make a sign that could be held by two people. Or even planted in the ground or perhaps propped against some bleachers. Honestly, he could engineer a better way for it to work later using the tools in his dorm room and stability was not his foremost concern. Next he reached for the colors. His hand writing wasn't the best, but stencils made for easy and consistent signage. Next, the glitters and glues. He spent a lot more time than he probably should've just while getting the stuff stuck to the page, and not stuck on himself. Finally, it had been done. His very own Franken-sign. A testament to the creativity (and eccentricity) of Ravenclaw.

He had figured out along the way that what his house needed was something flashy, but this wasn't just too much. It was too much and then some. Syl had created something that would no doubt wow the other houses in marvel as they bore witness to it. Something that, when they saw it, would cause them to cringe in horror at the meme it would become. This sign was easily to be the most overly complicated, messy, quadruple flip board of a sign. Hinges, attached to the frame so that several different messages could be flipped through once pinned to the board. Glitter, smeared in all the right places to make it catch their unwary sight, to dazzle the uncertain with the magnificent horror of the signs visage. The first of the flip signs would read, "Ravenclaw, Sweeping the Track Clean Since 2022." It was a simple pun that would no doubt make a few smile, maybe even ease some nerves. The next would read like a caution sign, "Eagles Flying High!" A warning to the other houses that the high ground was not easily obtained.

Once flipped once more, the mechanism needed an actual thumbtack to hold the unused signs in the "up" position, but the tack then kept the next series of messages neat so they could be displayed in all their glory without fumbling over them in the stands. Another flip would reveal the third saying "Witch Please," something he knew the adults would either sneer or snicker at, and something he had lingering doubt might cause his sign to be taken from him. The fourth was a much more conservative "GO BLUE GO!" which was added after collecting consensus from several neighbors who had each agreed the sign could be a little more traditional.

When all was said and done, Sylvain hoisted his contraption high to show he had finished. Only, his invention was a bit more unwieldy at the seams than he had first planned and as soon as it began to fall apart, a sense of dread filled his typically graceful demeanor. "My banner!" He cried. "My beautiful banner!" There it lay in shambles, upon the floor. Would reparo even work on it? He dare not try, lest the time he spent putting it together be undone by the spell he cast. No, he could salvage this. Falling on his hands and knees, Sylvain scraped up the remaining fragments of his now scattered and precious work of art in the hopes that he might salvage enough of it to still bring a smile to someone in his house.

open to interactions | interacting: @Sylvain Wyllt

Broom racing... Pax pondered the idea as they wandered into the Great Hall. In truth, it wasn't their sport as such-quidditch did more than plenty for a job like that. But it was an interest of their father, and their older brother, so they knew a little. Even if they weren't going to be able to watch the next match (a quidditch conflict meant that they were simply unable to), it was a lovely way to support the Gryffindor team, despite Pax's lack of artistic talent.

After taking a seat at the table, Pax laid out a banner in front of themself, and picked up a paintbrush, but their mind was blank. They had nothing, no ideas. They looked across the table to see what the other students were creating- the newly promoted co-captain of the broom- racing team Della Barfield was busy smothering her canvas in bright red paint. Huh. That wasn't such a bad idea.

Carefully, they dipped their brush into the red paint, before smearing it onto the banner. It didn't look the most elegant, but Pax kept going. They continued to use various shades of red and create some interesting looking stripes. Well, that was one of the Gryffindor colours tackled.

Being careful not to apply paint to their face, Pax scratched their head. As much as they would've liked to show support for the Lions, they were unsure a splotchy golden blob in a vague lion shape would do the team justice. Instead, they opted to grab a large canister of gold glitter. However, as they went to pour the glitter, the canister's lid fell pathetically onto the damp paint, followed swiftly by a large mound of gold glitter.

Pax's cheeks reddened ever so slightly, trying to quickly amend their mess of a banner, which now had a large gold glittery spot in the center, on a background of red messy stripes. Hoping that nobody had seen that failure, they tried to scoop as much of the gold dust back into the container, before promptly twisting the lid tightly back onto the jar.

"This is a mess," they muttered under their breath.

And then, they had an idea.

With a little bit more red paint and some glue (yes both lids were safely on their bottles), Pax dabbed some glue around the golden spot, and then sprinkled some more glitter onto those spaces. Now it looked like a golden spot bleeding golden flecks. Ah well. At least they tried.

Returning to the red paint, they attempted to write over the glitter with the words: GO LIONS! It was probably unwise to try to write any more, so they put down the brush and looked with an unimpressed expression over the 'artwork' they had created. They doubted anyone would want to use their banner, but they supposed hanging it in their dorm wouldn't be the worst thing.

Pushing it to one side, Pax reached for a second banner. Determined to prove to at least themself that they had some artistic talent, they settled on creating a black and yellow banner for their Hufflepuff brother. At least he'd enjoy it. Or be mortally embarrassed. Either way, it was a win in their eyes.

A different approach was required for his banner, after all, it was a gift. Instead of awkward streaks, they decided to stick to a plain yellow background, with the words A HUFFLEPUFF SUPPORTER HERE in big black bold lettering, with two arrows either end pointing down at where they assumed the banner would be held. Well, it wasn't inaccurate, and due to its simple nature, didn't look too horrible.

The second banner didn't take long to construct, and by that point, the first had already finished drying. After only a few more minutes of waiting, the second banner seemed dry enough that Pax decided to risk picking it up. After securing both of them in their grasp, they stretched their legs and walked relatively proudly out of the Great Hall, ready to go and pester their brother into taking the gift.

PAX'S GRYFFINDOR BANNER

Reducio

PAX'S HUFFLEPUFF BANNER

Reducio

Thread left

Mentioned: @Della Barfield Interacting with: -

Word Count: 710

Date: April 8th 2022: Late Afternoon Outfit: School Robes