HOL

Welcome to the Module 01 "Mingling" thread! This is about getting to interact with one another as classmates, particularly about themes from the lesson and your corresponding class work if that speaks to you. Those who post their Monologue or Manifestation may provide helpful prompts for discussion points. While you're welcome to 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.

Prof. Sindor Aloyarc takes a look around the Muggle Studies: Hidden Powers room. After a decade and a half away from the years he worked as a Student Teacher here at HOL, he recently finished his first term back in the game. This time as a Professor!

"G'day, all!" Sin smiles and makes eye-contact with those who have taken their seats, a couple more trickling in. He was quite pleased with how the Fall term went, which has given him a lot of encouragement coming into the Spring, and lessened his anxiety. Based on some of the expression's he's catching from some students, he gets the impression at least one or two are wondering what their time will be like in this group.

"I've been incredibly honored to return after a twelve year hiatus post graduation to such a warm welcoming, and so excited to be able to share/discuss some of the concepts and things I've become passionate thinking about over the years as I've gone off into the world. Special thanks goes out to Brianna Caedmon, Emerald Wolvenhowl, and Prof. Tarma Amelia Black for being the first to receive Quills for their efforts here, and to February Fortescue for five months of exceptional Assistance."

For the first day of class, the desks have all been arranged in a circle. Along the wall, there's a table filled with a wide variety of candies and chocolates wrapped up in various shades of pink and red.

"While some people tend to shy away from Valentine's day, I very much enjoy the holiday. Not just celebrating with my partner, which of course is lovely, but also getting some 'Galentine's' fun in with my friends! Big fan of any excuse to get together with people I care about for some Quality Time, which is definitely one of my top 'Love Languages' if any of you are familiar with them? That being said, don't be surprised by all the sappy quotes and random hearts decorated all around you, and please help yourself to any of the treats while we're chatting."

Gesturing to the rows of pitchers next to a stack of napkins, Sindor goes on to explain "There's all different kinds of milk, including unflavored, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and coffee, etc., with almond, oat, and lactose free options, as well as pitchers of water if that's your preference."

"Let's take this opportunity to settle in and introduce ourselves. Feel free to include anything about your time previously around the castle, or what you're looking forward to this semester. Types of things that interest you, or happy news you'd like to share. Whatever comes to mind! Given this month's power is 'Faith' which touches on fear and excitement, maybe there's something that you're anxious/nervous/excited about?"

"One of these things for me is having just finished up helping to run the Land of the Sweets activity. It was such a blast to put together, but also had me on the edge of my seat wondering how it was going to go." Sindor laughs. "Don't know why I get myself so worked up sometimes, but here we are! I have another activity idea I'm scheming up for the end of term, so I'm starting to feel that same scary/excited feeling again. Which is fun!"

"When it comes to the 'Love Languages' I mentioned, next to Quality Time I'd probably go for Physical Touch as my two top needs for me when it comes to feeling truly cared for. I'm a very affectionate person, so if you're ever looking for a hug, I won't be forcing them on everybody all the time, but you know who to come to! Other Love Languages are Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, and Gifts, if you're interested in pondering over/looking them up to discuss yours as well."

"As far as Valentine's day goes, maybe you'll wanna chat about any special plans you've made in the past or would do coming up? For me, it's usually a night of T.V. with one or two of my besties, and a special dinner with my fiancé, but at the end of the day all I'm really looking for is that special time together. I'm also not particularly worried about celebrating occasions on any specific day, so as far as I'm concerned all month long can be filled with a little extra lovin."

“Oh," Sin remembers, "Carrie Warts of Gryffindor, will be Assisting our class this term, so she'll be able to introduce herself to those of you who haven't had the pleasure of meeting her previously once she arrives shortly. As you’ll know by now, I’m Professor Aloyarc, but when you see me around on mIRC, the Forums, or are shooting me an E-Owl, please feel more than encouraged to call me Sindor (or Sin for short)."

"Alrighty!” He peers around with a cheeky grin. “Who's up for going next? Don't feel obligated to touch on all (or even any) of what I've specifically highlighted here if you're moved in your own direction. Just offering up some inspirational ideas, and looking forward to getting to know you all more throughout the next handful of months!"

Tarma wanders into the classroom, still on last Terms modus operandi. She enters through the doorway, listens a bit to Professor Aloyarc as she slowly walks to a desk, and then blushes mightily.

Flashing an embarrassed grin at the professor, she swivels and leaves the room, neatly avoiding those who were entering, and continues on to her next class of this Term.

Entering the classroom, Will notices Tarma on his way out but suspects she doesn’t want to be seen. Looking at the offerings Sindor has described, Will pours himself a glass from the pink pitcher and grabs a particularly delicious-looking chocolate before taking his seat. Somehow, he has a feeling that activating his sense of taste will help him internalise the lesson.

Ivey walks into the classroom a little nervous. She knew Prof. Aloyarc well and was excited to take his class, but she was also worried about how she would perform. This would be a difficult class for her. After her first assignment, however, she was feeling more confident in herself. Actually, relating to the prompt, she thought, she had faith in herself.

Ivey almost bumped into Tarma who was trying to make a quick escape, whispered something to her, smirked, and then went to get some snacks, saying hi to Will on the way. She took a seat on a comfy looking chair, waved enthusiastically at Sindor and shared her thoughts on Valentine's Day.

"I've never really done Valentine's Day besides giving small gifts to friends, but maybe I should get more into it. I feel like it's more useful for people who have a special someone, but it could be a holiday between friends too, I just haven't celebrated it much, though it is a cute holiday!" Ivey went on to discuss her feelings on the upcoming semester. "There's a few things I'm worried about like major tests I have, but other than that, I think this semester will be pretty great!" she smiled.

Sindor is positively delighted to see Tarma appear briefly. He responds to her grin with a wink and a small chuckle before she’s scampering back out the door, recognizing the look he’s all-too-familiar with of carrying out an old routine somewhat absentmindedly then realizing that wasn’t where he was going or what he was doing.

And what a treat to already be seeing some other familiar faces in Prof. Will and Ivey! “Glad to have you two on board for the Spring!” he says, waving back to Iverian. He knew she had been uncertain about if/when it might be an appropriate time to give this class a go. “Showing up for yourself is an important part of this month’s energy, and it sounds like you’ve got a great attitude about putting one foot in front of the other and being present with all that comes up for you this coming semester, taking as many enjoyable aspects out of it as you can.”

“I’m sure your tests will go fantastically,” Sin adds “But given I tend to wrestle with a lot of stress in those situations, I can certainly appreciate that being a nervous/excitement to be overcoming those tasks in the months ahead!”

Iverian smiled at Sindor, he always had a way of assuring everything would be alright. "Thank you, after all having faith in yourself is a large part of this month's energy!" she added enthusiastically. "Sometimes, with stress, it's easier to take a step back for a second and fully live in the moment as it puts everything in perspective."

Ivey got up to grab some more snacks and strawberry milk right as Sin announced the class assistant. Ivey was overly excited to find out it was Carrie and kept on the lookout for her to enter the room. Carrie was one of Ivey's fellow Gryffindor students and always had a smile for everyone.

Taking her seat again, Iverian began to work on her homework for the lesson, suddenly finding hidden inspiration.

Having listened to the interaction between Sindor and Ivey, Will takes a bite out of his chocolate, paying careful attention to the way the flavours interacted with each other and noting that the red hue matched with the colour of the lesson. He had already recognized that the chocolate was a specific type known as "red velvet", but not being exactly sure how the colour tied into the power of faith - he decides to ask directly. "Professor Aloyarc," he begins, "what is the actual relationship between shades of red and the concept of faith - and in what ways can I feel this relationship through this delicious red velvet chocolate?"

“Love where your head is at, Will! Thanks for asking.”

Rarely at a loss for words, Sindor launches into one of his long-winded explanations.

“While this course currently offers a glimpse into only the first half of a set of traditionally viewed primary energies, these subtle yet extremely impactful powers range color-wise from red to violet moving into white, in standard rainbow fashion.

Faith in this case is linked with red, a color which has the longest wavelength with the lowest frequency and least amount of energy on the spectrum of light. As we move ‘up’, each color gains in frequency and energy while wavelengths get shorter and shorter.

Red is not only the warmest color, it also vibrates the fastest! The cooler the color, vibrations slow down and have higher levels of energy.

I tend to resonate with red being a Faith color that points to things like the womb and earthy soil (both also frequently associated with the same color) helping me to grasp feelings of ‘a starting place to grow from’ with an emphasis on ‘exciting’ life and creativity into being.

Love the quote by Christine Caine where she says ‘Sometimes when you are in a dark place, you think you have been buried, but actually you have been planted.’

Wow! Even when I’m overwhelmed and anxious, or bogged down, maybe even a little depressed, these words always make me feel more reassured. Remembering that I Am Faith-full.

As we move further along the path of life, we grow into our abilities for accepting higher frequencies and energies. This can be viewed in many ways, such has receiving more understanding or taking on greater levels of responsibility which may not have been available at one time because we were at the ‘beginning’ (or ‘earlier’) stages. The first/next steps!

On the other end of the spectrum, Violet and White are often seen to represent concepts such as Enlightenment and Divinity.

I wouldn’t necessarily want to stay as a child forever, but I’m grateful to’ve had each and every experience that somehow lead me to being ready for adulthood, preparing me step by step for each new challenge or blessing. Crawling before I can walk.

Even when feelings of fear arise, I can remind myself of all the other times I felt scared things weren’t possible or wouldn’t work out in the end, then somehow what was meant to be found a way to come about. Even when it doesn’t wind up being as I expected, which I later look back and realize how grateful I am to not get exactly what I thought I wanted. Whether slightly or entirely different than originally desired, every step still got me to this moment. Which helps me practice believing that this energy will continue to guide and nudge me forward in the similar fashion as it somehow always has, even when I don’t recognize or understand its presence.

Which brings me to your choice of chocolate! One of the things I love about them is exactly as you’re bringing up: the sensation can be slightly different for everyone, but generally speaking these red velvet chocolates help us tap into a certain ‘grounding.’ I describe it as the feeling similar to an unborn baby with their mother’s ‘shh - shh - shh’ of a heartbeat lulling them into a warm and comfortable calm, with an instinctual sense of security. That everything is alright.

At this point Sin says “Also,” while grabbing a piece of the same candy himself, “They really are QUITE delicious, aren’t they?!”

He takes a bite and enjoys.

Ivey sat back and listened to the conversation. Who knew there was so much to say about the color red? She started thinking about how much other basic things could be explored. Getting hungry for red velvet cake, she got up to get herself a slice.

Ivey never knew that red was related to faith, but now she thought about everything that was traditionally red and could remember quite a few things. It made sense now. She loved the quote Sindor told them from Caine. It reminded her of quite a few quotes she knew herself.

She didn't know why, but the quote that instantly came to mind was "When you feel as useless as a white crayon, you only need to find someone who prefers black paper." While it didn't really relate to the conversation, it did resemble Caine's quote in some aspects especially when believing you're in one situation without looking at it from another view point.

Ivey shared the quote with the group and touched a bit on how it related.

William smiles in agreement with Sindor on the deliciousness of the chocolate and watches Ivey help herself to some of the cake as well. Thinking about Ivey's quote and its implications, Will wonders how the strawberry milk fits into the mix. Taking a sip and allowing all his senses to be awakened by experience, he feels a sweet, earthy taste that balances with the red velvet chocolate as well a white crayon would pair up with black paper.

Thinking back to the ways colours blend together, Will expressed his thoughts out loud: "Pink can be thought of as a mixture of red and white, right? So what I'm feeling is a mix of groundedness and enlightenment: it's a surprisingly comforting feeling!"

Of course, there's another question on Will's mind: "The strawberries in this milk taste much more fresh than one can expect from this time of the year: did someone manage to Apparate them from New Zealand? If so, this might be the perfect combination of Muggle delights and our magic!"

Carrie bursts into the classroom carrying a bunch of loose papers in her hands, folders, and more chocolate.
Her shirt is half-in half-out and her glasses are slowly falling off. Her hair-bun is a massive mess but she hopes no one will notice.
She notices Will and Prof. Sindor talking about the strawberries and chocolate and sighs in relief knowing she hasn't missed the introductions.
After carefully placing everything down at a nearby table, she turns around and sees many smiley faces, amongst those her fellow Gryff and friend Ivey - *Hi dear!!* - she says in a quiet way and waves with her hand mid-waist not to disrupt the conversation.
"I have that exact same question, Will." she intervienes "Glad to see you here by the way!" she smiles and waves too. "Was that Tarma who just went outback? haha Oh well, I'll see her later. Hi everyone, sorry for being so late Professor, I couldn't find any more chocolate except for these muggle ones, I hope they're ok although I don't see why we need more when it looks like Willy Wonka himself provided you with an entire truck". She is still shocked by how much food there is. "My name is Carrie Warts, I'm a second-year Gryffindor and the class-assistant for this amazing subject you chose to take this term. And just to add to what Prof. Sin said I am a hugger as well, that's how I show affection and for me, Valentine's Day is more of a Friendship Day so I always send messages to all my friends". Carrie cries internally cuz she doesn't have a VDay date yet. "Nice to meet you all and I'm here if you ever need anything"

“Yes, you’re absolutely spot-on there, Will. Well done!”

Sindor brightens, noticing Carrie’s made her way into the group and begun introducing herself.

“Miss Warts!” he says when the opportune moment strikes, strolling closer for a tight squeeze before turning to the rest of the group, explaining “I’m so happy to be working alongside this lovely lion here over the spring, particularly after my own misunderstanding/snafu last semester left her unable to join in with the class over the fall term.”

Sin turns his gaze back to Carrie. “Half a year later and we’ve finally arrived!” He laughs. “Glad it’s worked out for us to share this time together in the end.”

After seeing Carrie enter into the class, Will realizes that he had not yet gotten around to introduce himself. And with the class assistant having just given her own introduction: now seems like the perfect time for Will to join in! "I think most of you already know me, but for those of you who don't, my name is Prof. Will Lestrange. This is my first year as a professor, but I've definitely gotten to know the school well in my student days. Most of my past experience in blending magic with Muggle ideas comes from my time running the Slytherin arcade down in the dungeons - though you might be more likely to know me from the classes I teach... or my time on the Quidditch pitch in past years. I was worried that getting into the right frame of mind for this class was going to be challenge, but red velvet chocolates and strawberry milk are definitely helping me out with this!"

"Indeed! we are finally working together" - Carrie smiles at Prof. Aloyarc nodding happily.
Then all eyes land on Professor Lestrange who started introducing himself.
Even tho she doesn't know him very well she had the chance to take one of his classes this term and is pretty excited to see him in both teaching and studying aspects - she already saw him in Quidditch and got quite shocked by how good he is.
After he finishes introducing himself Carrie looks at the red velvet chocolate and wonders if any of that could be plant-based... hopefully Professor Sindor remembered it *looks at Sindor and then looks at the chocolate and then back to Sindor* *then she looks at the rest of the class in hopes someone else will introduce themselves*