Modules #2/#6 - "MIXING & MINGLING" - Fall 2021

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

Welcome to the Module 02 and Module 06 "Mixing & Mingling" thread! This is about getting to interact with one another as classmates, particularly about themes from the lessons and your corresponding class work if that speaks to you. Those who post their Monologue/Manifestation or Media/Memories may provide helpful prompts for discussion points. While you're welcome to mix and mingle as much as you like, each of your first three 50+ word posts you will receive 5 points. When submitting your work, please let me know if you've posted once, twice, or three (or more) times so I can confirm participation. As a fun option, you may choose to Role-Play these interactions though are not required to. If you do, please take a look at this RPGuidelines page for some helpful tips.

A sign has been placed on the Muggles Studies door which reads:

"REMINDER: Class to be held today down behind the Groundskeeper's hut.
{bring your favorite candy to share, and feel free to dress up in costume!}"

Sindor made his way down to said area (dressed as an Inferius), where he's asked Emily and Silvana to help him fix up a fire, and set a table with trays of chocolate bars, bags of marshmallows, and boxes of graham crackers, as well as an assortment of beverages in spooky looking bottles.

As students begin to find their way into the group, Sin let's them know that "Ana and Em will be coming around with roasting sticks we've all made special, if you'd like to drop your own candies off on the table and grab any snacks. The sticks are enchanted to change into a design which will be uniquely appealing for you once you've touched it!" Next to the aforementioned food, he's placed his own dish filled with peanut butter cups, which are among his favorites. "For those of you who may not regularly roast marshmallows around a fire this time of year, S'mores are one of my favorite parts of camping and/or the Autumnul season."

Starting to grab his own two graham cracker halves, a handful of marshmallows, and breaking off a big square of chocolate, Sindor finds a seat and starts poking the fluffy white sweetness onto his own roasting stick, which magically transformed into a sparkling, turquoise trident-like poker with a spiral of gold running down the bottom half.

"This month's powers revolve around Hope for some of you, reflective toward the future, and Wisdom for others, reflective toward the past. One thing I love about discussing these topics in October is that this and next month are frequently linked to celebrations of death, or the end of a life cycle, which I find to be a beautiful way of also celebrating life, being grateful for the times of harvest and appreciating the potential for an upcoming cycle."

"For me, I grew up with Halloween. Two of the colors I frequently see this time of year within decorations, besides black, are Orange and Purple, which are quite similar to colors linked to the energies within these modules. Hope being a proper Orange. Wisdom being Indigo, the description of is one I've found can easily vary and lean heavily in one direction pending who you ask, but which I would argue is somewhere fairly split between Blue and Purple. Pulling on influences from both the previous and next powers. So I find this to be a quite appropriate time of year to be mulling things of this nature over."

Given his affinity for burnt marshmallows, Sin roasts one directly in the fire. The first go around he pulls the charred outer layer off, taking care not to burn himself on the melted gooey deliciousness underneath, and eats just that alone before the rest of the sticky mess. He then sets two more together on fire before blowing them out, which get sandwiched on top of the chocolate between the sweet brown crackers.

Continuing his discussion about colors, "The combination of these can also be seen in sunsets, for example, which are not so different from sunrises in appearance as well going along with what one could call the theme of a rising hope and a setting wisdom. Where I grew up, the tree leaves change color this time of year to beautiful and similar shades. While you may see some reddish-purples or golden-orange, the same colors and energies are found all over the place. Perhaps a painful notion at times, it's almost difficult not to see death as a beautiful thing when the dying foliage around you is so breathtakingly captivating."

"If it pleases you, along with any general discussions on topic and costumery/candy you're sharing, why not describe something you are (or would like to be more) hopeful for if you're in MS:HP I, or some piece of Wisdom you've gained over the past year or so for those returning for Part II. Tell us about your costume if you've worn one, and let us know what these powers mean to you. Do you celebrate anything like Halloween, Samhain, or Día de los Muertos? You're welcome to include discussions of these holidays here of course, as well as incorporate them into your classwork this month should you desire!"

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

Reading the sign in front of the classroom, Will quickly goes to his quarters and looks for an appropriate candy. He finds a couple of strangely-coloured chocolate bars labeled "The Blue Bar", which are milk chocolate bars that are blue-to-indigo in shade. Waving his wand to divide the bars into enough pieces for others, he takes the Blue Bar pieces with him out to the hut.

Having Transfigured his robes just enough to give the appearance of a Dementor, Will places the Blue Bar pieces next to the s'mores ingredients. Before making his own s'more, though, Will begins:

"This past year has been a time of transition for me: one piece of wisdom I will share involves becoming a professor here. I need to keep in mind that new students are not younger replicas of myself, and 'what a first-year version of myself would have wanted back in 2013' can be VERY different from 'what a new first-year would want in general'!"

[Silvana Mandeville]

It's always a fun to do classes outside. This time their class was held at the Groundskeeper's hut. Silvana sighs happily while enjoying an ice cream she picks from the kitchen, she really likes studying outside the castle.

After setting up the fire and the table with some candies, Silvana and Emily went to get the roasting sticks they had prepare for the students. As they approached the Groundskeeper's hut, Silvana finishes the rest of her ice cream and takes her wand out of her pocket then changes her robes. Now she looks like an evil fairy with black wings on her back. Silvana tugs on Emily's hand and walks faster toward Prof. Sindor and the others. She hopes everyone will enjoy this month.

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

Placing a Bubble-Head Charm around his marshmallow right at the moment it becomes truly toasty, Will releases his marshmallow from the fire and then completes his s'more with graham crackers and Blue Bar pieces. Smiling as he notices Silvana's fairy costume and Sindor's Inferius costume, Will begins to respond to Sindor's query.

"Last year, as you probably remember," he begins, "I became a professor here - the same term as you did. My first few months as a professor, I largely did everything very similarly to my final term as a student... I was a student teacher for five terms, after all!" "But ultimately," he continues, "I realized that my role in my house - and in this school as a whole - became different when my name changed. I needed to focus more on how students, especially the newer ones, were doing... and less on my own individual performance." "And most importantly of all," he finishes, "I will always need to keep in mind that newer students - even the more promising ones in my own house - are NOT just younger versions of myself! To figure out what the newest students need, I can't just get away with asking 'what would I have wanted the most in my first year?' and assume that this is exactly what the newest first years want!"

At this point, Will takes a bite of his delicious-looking s'more before waiting for others to enter or reply.

[Prof. Sindor Aloyarc]

“Brilliant!” Sin exclaims, intrigued by both Will’s words and The Blue Bar he brought along to share. Trying a piece, “How have I never had blue chocolate before??”

Savoring the sweet, Sindor comments, “Nice use of the Bubble-Head Charm, Will. That’s a great tactic I’ll have to keep in mind. And I love your thoughts on how your new roles here have also begun shifting how you see the kind of efforts and energy you’re putting out to be most beneficial, as well as how they will most beneficially be received, particularly by those newer students. Can be challenging yet highly rewarding to consider what’s needed by others differently than ourselves, and all too easy at times to assume we already know because we’ve been in that position before. Wise concepts indeed!”

Covering his eyes, he waits for the fire’s smoke to get blown in a different direction before saying, “I definitely have found myself looking back on this past year of being a Professor with new eyes. How to navigate various elements of the castle, and using my time more wisely to fulfill the tasks I enjoy and am most interested and able to contribute my power toward.”

[Silvana Mandeville]

Silvana sighs, taking a burnt marshmallow, she says, "Like the quote in our lesson this month. Nothing is hopeless; we must hope for everything. This year I started my new role at HOL, as a Student Teacher. When I came to HOL and saw many students who are able to teach, I also wanted to do it since I love teaching. It wasn't easy since I don't know how and where to start writing a class. For someone who doesn't speak English as my main language, it's kind of difficult. Even though many obstacles came my way on this new experience, a small hope to achieve my goal and the images of students enjoying my class, giving me much strength to never give up and finish my work so I can present them to students. And today, if I look back and think again, 'What if I gave up on that day and don't give a time to even try because I'm too afraid?' I wouldn't be here for sure." Silvana giggles while looking around the group. They seem to enjoy this day.

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

[DISCLAIMER: I am referencing Chapter 13, "Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw", of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as a 'historical' event in this post.]

Enjoying the last bite of his s'more, Will takes in what Sindor and Silvana had said. Turning to Silvana, he replies, "Being able to teach a class in one of your second languages is an impressive accomplishment! I hope you're enjoying the experience so far... I couldn't imagine trying to teach a class in Finnish, for example!"

He then moves to address the class at large: Sindor, Silvana, and the people who are just joining the classroom for the month. "As you can probably tell, I'm dressed as a Dementor for this event. I should note that the last recorded Slytherin Quidditch players to dress as Dementors were not wise in their choice of this action: Draco Malfoy, his friends, and his then-captain were trying to aggravate a rival player to interfere with a Quidditch match, and they got their comeuppance - in the form of a Patronus - pretty quickly as a result. But a good costume is a good costume," he says, smiling, "and the cloak is very comforting and warming when the weather starts to get cold! I would like to think that my choice of outfit was much wiser than my old housemates making the same choice all the way back in 1994..."