Aria McLeod needed inspiration. Whatever for? For her portfolio. When she went back to interning for Anita Sandhu that summer, there needed to be some standout clothing designs to present. For that reason, the fifth year had taken to balancing her academic studies and working her portfolio at regular intervals. Speaking of her portfolio… in her possession she held a bright purple binder folder which contained sketches of her ideas so far. Sadly, it was a pitiful collection with only five designs.

Ms. McLeod paused by the next statue she came across. “Hallo there, Gregory ole chap! Nice day for a stroll about the Castle, don’t you think?” Of course she did not expect a reply. She flipped open her folder and whipped out a pencil from her pocket. “I’m really stumped on ideas and could really use some. Got any?”

Why was it that when Victoria was the most moody, people were always being weird? And annoying? Not that this girl was being excessively annoying, but still. V wondered WHY she was speaking with a nonverbal statue.

Merlin.

"What do you need ideas for anyway? I don't think he'll have an answer for you."

Victoria came to a stop next to Aria and raised an eyebrow.

SPOILER!!: Hiii, Victoria! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

Why was it that when Victoria was the most moody, people were always being weird? And annoying? Not that this girl was being excessively annoying, but still. V wondered WHY she was speaking with a nonverbal statue.

Merlin.

"What do you need ideas for anyway? I don't think he'll have an answer for you."

Victoria came to a stop next to Aria and raised an eyebrow.

Excuse youuu, grumpy Victoria!

At least Aria would rather be weird than seemingly in a permanently bad mood. “Obviously he wouldn’t but talking to him may help me get some inspiration.” There was a HUGE beam thrown at her fellow Slytherin. “Orrr I could also get the same from you.” Aria swept her gaze over Victoria’s clothing quickly before replying, “For my portfolio of outfits. I’ve been awful at coming up with new ideas lately.”

Blame it on the OWL studying!

“I’m determined to do some dresses… but dresses with flair and with sass! Dresses aren’t usually what I work on but I thought I’d switch it up for a bit.”

If Aria had called her grumpy Victoria out loud, V wouldn’t even have questioned it at this point. It fit, right? “So really you’re talking to yourself. Got it. It’s okay. I think we all do that,” she said with a shrug and a light flick of her hair over her shoulder.

From her? V wondered what Aria could want from her? But she blushed at what she thought was flattery. Outfits? Did she like the way V dressed? Victoria DID find herself fairly fashionable to make up for some of her other shortcomings, and she found herself straightening her back in some semblance of pride. “I could give you ideas, yeah, sure. I like dresses sometimes. Depends on my mood, the vibe. And I assume we’ll have to wear dresses or whatever to the dance. Anyone who wants to wear a dress, I guess,” she said with a shrug. “And coming up with ideas is always hard. You need to figure out what inspires you…what makes you be creative,” not that V thought herself good at it. She just noticed what seemed to help her papa when he needed to be creative.

Granted, she didn’t think her papa and Aria would use the same things to feel creative, but she supposed her advice was still sound and poignant.

SPOILER!!: Victoria! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

If Aria had called her grumpy Victoria out loud, V wouldn’t even have questioned it at this point. It fit, right? “So really you’re talking to yourself. Got it. It’s okay. I think we all do that,” she said with a shrug and a light flick of her hair over her shoulder.

From her? V wondered what Aria could want from her? But she blushed at what she thought was flattery. Outfits? Did she like the way V dressed? Victoria DID find herself fairly fashionable to make up for some of her other shortcomings, and she found herself straightening her back in some semblance of pride. “I could give you ideas, yeah, sure. I like dresses sometimes. Depends on my mood, the vibe. And I assume we’ll have to wear dresses or whatever to the dance. Anyone who wants to wear a dress, I guess,” she said with a shrug. “And coming up with ideas is always hard. You need to figure out what inspires you…what makes you be creative,” not that V thought herself good at it. She just noticed what seemed to help her papa when he needed to be creative.

Granted, she didn’t think her papa and Aria would use the same things to feel creative, but she supposed her advice was still sound and poignant.

Yes, yes. It certainly fit, Violet being referred to as grumpy. Aria wondered why the other girl was this way. Had something upset her? Was it hormones that had gone off balance? Boy or girl trouble? So many possibilities! Violet’s words made Aria laugh. “That’s true! Sometimes I even answer my own questions.” Was anyone worried about her sanity yet?

The older Slytherin thought that everyone was fashionable in their own way. But yes! She did secretly admire the way Violet dressed. OH! The dance! Aria wasn’t as nearly as interested in that as most of her peers were but she did enjoy finding out what they were planning to wear. “Have you narrowed down your outfit options then?” she questioned with interest, noting Violet’s sudden proper posture. “I’d be more than willing to help you pick one that suits you best!

“Exactly!’’ Aria was SO, SO enthusiastic that Violet understood her. “Inspirations strike when you least expect it: in the bath, while you’re falling asleep… sometimes even when you’re talking to statues.’’ She reached out to pat ole Gregory affectionately. “At the moment, I’m focusing on cute summer dresses and matching hats. I’d say that the sun, white fluffy clouds and the blue sky are my inspiration…” Aria trailed off because an idea was taking shape.

All of the above, Aria. All of the above.

“I think answering your own questions is a way to help you think through difficult things…like explanations, thoughts, problems……conversations with others, I guess,” she added on. “Sometimes, when I answer my own questions, I realize how stupid I’m being.” Somehow, stupid things sounded less so in your head. SOOO maybe only SANE people talked aloud, then. And maybe only unstable people kept everything all inside their heads. Hmm.

Since Victoria had just picked out a dress a day or so ago and sent it to her father to purchase for her, she had it fresh on her mind. “I do. It’s got princess vibes. Puffy sleeves…short, but little puff to the skirt. And it’s white. I want to feel like an ice queen,” she said with a smirk. “Or like…I take inspiration from that vibe,” she shrugged a little in case Aria though the idea was dumb, V could play it down.

“If bright skies are inspiring you…you might want to think of blues. Blues that are summery, not wintery,” she nodded as she spoke. “Have you heard of the color palettes for people’s skin tones? There’s like…cool and warm, autumn and summer. Everyone is a combo of the cool-warm and autumn or summer. I haven’t ever figured out mine….but I bet my dad would be a help,” she said since her dad was very savvy with color theory and all. Being an artist was helpful in that regard. Victoria wished she were a bit more artistic like her dad, but it wasn’t really her calling, nor did she enjoy it. She liked dancing, but with going to Hogwarts she had to really stay diligent and could only really dance during the summers at dance camp. And it wasn’t like she wanted to dance professionally or anything…it was more…just effortless. Fun. Her brain could tune out.

SPOILER!!: Victoria! <3

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

All of the above, Aria. All of the above.

“I think answering your own questions is a way to help you think through difficult things…like explanations, thoughts, problems……conversations with others, I guess,” she added on. “Sometimes, when I answer my own questions, I realize how stupid I’m being.” Somehow, stupid things sounded less so in your head. SOOO maybe only SANE people talked aloud, then. And maybe only unstable people kept everything all inside their heads. Hmm.

Since Victoria had just picked out a dress a day or so ago and sent it to her father to purchase for her, she had it fresh on her mind. “I do. It’s got princess vibes. Puffy sleeves…short, but little puff to the skirt. And it’s white. I want to feel like an ice queen,” she said with a smirk. “Or like…I take inspiration from that vibe,” she shrugged a little in case Aria though the idea was dumb, V could play it down.

“If bright skies are inspiring you…you might want to think of blues. Blues that are summery, not wintery,” she nodded as she spoke. “Have you heard of the color palettes for people’s skin tones? There’s like…cool and warm, autumn and summer. Everyone is a combo of the cool-warm and autumn or summer. I haven’t ever figured out mine….but I bet my dad would be a help,” she said since her dad was very savvy with color theory and all. Being an artist was helpful in that regard. Victoria wished she were a bit more artistic like her dad, but it wasn’t really her calling, nor did she enjoy it. She liked dancing, but with going to Hogwarts she had to really stay diligent and could only really dance during the summers at dance camp. And it wasn’t like she wanted to dance professionally or anything…it was more…just effortless. Fun. Her brain could tune out.

Aria snorted. “Hellooo! If you’re being stupid, then it means I’m being the same. I can assure you that neither of us are stupid.’’ Except maybe when one was constantly annoyed like Victoria was? Though… it was noted that she didn’t seem to be that way now, or not as much as before? “It’s our way of processing thoughts and so on like you said. Forget about what anyone else thinks if they find you talking to yourself… or inanimate objects.”

Excuse youuUUUuu, Victoria! The fifth year did NOT think the idea was dumb! Quite the opposite, actually. “Oh my gosh!!! That sounds quite delightful! I cannot wait to see you looking like the royal Ice Queen you want to be!’’ Aria honestly was enthusiastic about seeing everyone’s clothing when the time came; she herself was making her own. She had completed her designing recently, secured the fabric {with the help of her fathers} and was in the process of putting the dress together. “So… have you got a date as yet? I know that’s a big deal for most of you kids.” And she was curious, okay?

Aria really felt as though she should be taking notes; Violet obviously had a lot of insight to pass along. She actually jotted down stuff, especially the bits about people’s skin tones. “I think I’ll stick with blue,’’ the girl murmured, in relation to her summer dress. “I’ve never heard of the colour pallet for skin tones, I’ll be sure to look that up! Your dad’s an artist then?’’ At the moment of asking that question, Aria started a rough outline of the summer dress she so stubbornly wanted to create.