Zara Jackson
March 08, 2019 6:41 AM
Happy Hallowe'en! (Tag JD) by Zara Jackson
Zara loved Hallowe’en. It had so much overlap between the magical and non-magical worlds. Of course, some people were rather cynical, or worse “offended” by the way non-magical people celebrated it. They were quick to point out all the ridiculous things non-magical people got wrong, or how dreadful all their stereotypes of witches were. Which might have been a valid point had magical people not chosen to completely hide their existence from the non-magical world. Zara didn’t think it was fair to want it both ways – to want complete independence from the non-magical world, to avoid its problems and avoid becoming mixed up in them, and then to complain that they had no idea what real witches were like. Of course they didn’t.As far as she was concerned, magical and non-magical people both went all out decorating for the holiday, and it was a time for fun. And candy. And who didn’t like fun and candy? Her mom (after checking that really it didn’t offend her dad or his family?) always dressed like a witch, and her dad always dressed in some kind of period costume, so that he could – essentially – be dressed as a non-magical person but without being called out for ‘not dressing up’ but their unknowing neighbours. It was a fun bit of family irony and in-joke.
She was sort of homesick, and definitely feeling left out thinking about her parents out trick or treating with her brother and sister, but she was not a person who was particularly inclined to mope. They had also sent her a huge care package of her favourite seasonal treats, and it seemed silly not to get into the spirit by sharing.
She made her way down into the common room, and spotted one of her fellow first years on the couches. One she hadn’t had a real chance to connect with yet.
“Happy Hallowe’en,” she smiled, dropping down on the couch next to him. “I decided to dress as a witch this year,” she joked, gesturing at her own entirely unremarkable jeans, hoodie and fuzzy socks. She was a summer girl at heart, and much preferred shorts, tank tops and the feel of sunshine on her shoulders, but there were a couple of weeks at the start of autumn where the leaves were all orange and pretty, and you got your fuzzy socks out and realised how cosy they were and that you’d missed that, and everything was nice. Then it got grey and depressing, and she couldn’t wait for the sun to reappear. She was rather annoyed that going to school in Arizona was not going to yield any increase in her vitamin D opportunities, though she could not quite badmouth the Sonoran weather, given that her mom was Irish. “Chocolate pumpkin? Sour snake?” she offered, holding out the bags. “The snakes wriggle but they stop as soon as you bite their heads off. The chocolate pumpkins are… just chocolate.”
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Zara Jackson
Happy Hallowe'en! (Tag JD)
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Zara Jackson
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JD
March 18, 2019 4:02 AM
Boo! by JD
Halloween was a pretty neat holiday. JD had always liked dressing up. It was fun. He liked the make believe part and how he could do that without people looking at him weird. He especially liked the part where he got to dress up as scary things. The whole holiday was practically a free pass for scaring his sisters and his friends without any…what was that thing the teacher was always on at him about? Right. Rep-recushions.That year he’d excitedly planned for a costume before going so he would be sure to have the kinds of things he needed - face paint, body glue, a large bolt. Maybe going as Frankenstein was a bit over-rated, but JD had only just seen the movie that summer and he’d wanted to get in on all the fun. Besides, how awesome would it be to drag himself about the school moaning? Shyness had never been an issue for the Muggleborn.
However, even though it seemed like Sonora sort of like went all out for Halloween, JD wasn’t sure how enthusiastic he felt. While it was true that he had been getting along with most of the people he interacted with, it had been harder to make a particular friend. At least, not the sort that he was used to running about and making a mess with on Halloween. Ilvermorny was so much closer to home. Maybe if he’d gone there instead he’d have been able to go for a visit with his friends. Why had he chosen to go to Arizona again?
Oh, right. Sun. Of which there was decidedly a lack of that fall for whatever reason. Oh well.
The seat bounced next to JD and he looked up, a wide grin appearing on his face as he realized it was one of his classmates. “Happy Halloween!” He chorused back to her, his cheeks dimpling. The candy he was offered was definitely a great conversation opener and he happily took them.
JD knew that as a Muggleborn, people likely expected him not to know, well anything, about the magical world. Besides that, he knew that the things he said in class sometimes also might not have lent to the idea that he knew anything. However, he’d had a Magical Nanny since the age of two (assigned to him by MACUSA after that incident with the church tower bell) which meant there were quite a few things he was familiar with by now - candy being the first thing he’d ever learned about, of course. For the sake of being polite, however, JD simply smiled and nodded.
“Thanks!” He exclaimed, taking a snake and biting its’ head off immediately. He loved sour candy. “Nice get-up,” he commented after swallowing his bite. JD might not have been the smartest and he might have loved being gross with his friends, but he’d never liked making girls angry and he’d found (in his limited experience) that girls got angry when you talked to them with your mouth full. “You look very comfortable.” The bit where the glue attaching his bolt to his neck had dried was itching, and the heavy metal on either side of said neck was definitely not the easiest thing to be wearing but other than that, JD felt just fine.
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JD
Boo!
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Zara
March 18, 2019 8:20 AM
Eep! by Zara
It was Frankenstein’s monster. With dimples. That was a look. Zara grinned at the creature on the couch.“Nice choice,” she smiled, as he attacked a sour snake. She took one too, making the appropriate face as the sugar tingled her mouth. “I really don’t get people who don’t like sour candy. Who doesn’t want treats that turn your mouth inside out?”
“Thanks,” she laughed as he complimented her outfit, given how much effort he had obviously gone to. She guessed JD had some non-magical heritage, given that wizards didn’t really dress up for Hallowe’en. It wasn’t just this, although definitely this was the biggest clue so far. There were things he said sometimes in class. There was his general choice of clothing on the weekends, and the fact he hadn’t seemed to take well to wearing robes. He didn’t stick out like a completely sore and clueless thumb, but he for sure hadn’t been raised around only magic. It was useful to know the people she could go to who would understand different elements of her life. So far, everyone she’d met had been open and nice, and it felt good to share but that was different to being able to relate. When it came to Hallowe’en, she and JD could definitely do that.
“You look hideous and terrifying. Which I mean with full season compliments,” she added, fairly sure he would understand that to be a good thing but wanting to make fully sure. “You’re making me wish I’d done a bit more. Is this your best ever Hallowe’en look?” she asked, deciding that if they couldn’t be at home, then maybe reminiscing about a few highlights might be the next best thing.
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Zara
Eep!
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