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last online Apr 18, 2024 20:13:01 GMT -7
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Jul 28, 2017 16:21:19 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2017 16:21:19 GMT -7
Brandon finally had a few minutes to himself at the carnival. Not that he minded running into people and seeing friends and such, but it was also nice to find a few moments of peace and quiet. Which was part of the reason why Brandon found himself in line to ride the ferris wheel ... again. Actually, ferris wheels were one of his favorite rides and Brandon loved the fact that they brought one here. So he'd been on it once or twice ... okay maybe this was his fifth or sixth time, but who was counting? Certainly not him! He just loved the peace and the view. In his opinion mot much could beat that. So he was standing in the line on his own. At the moment no one else was in line for the ferris wheel, so Brandon was sure that anyone noticing him would think he was completely lame for going on his own, or maybe they would think that he was saving a place in line for someone else. Either way, he didn't really care. He stood there, looking up at the compartments as they went around in a few circles before starting to slow down. He turned around when he heard someone approach. Maybe he wouldn't have to go on all by himself. cordelia regan smith
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:18 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Jul 29, 2017 0:03:29 GMT -7
Post by cordelia regan smith on Jul 29, 2017 0:03:29 GMT -7
@brandon She needed to take more pictures. That was all there was to it. After getting through the first day of the carnival, Cordelia quickly realized that she needed to have everything captured. This was going to seriously drain her film stock, but there was a reason that she saved up. Purchasing film every chance she had while in Hogsmeade had paid off this time. The first day had laid claim to twenty rolls of film. Each roll consisted of thirty-six separate exposures. So altogether she had taken over seven hundred photos. Seeing as she was being rather liberal with what she was snapping, that was extremely easy to do. Then taking into account test shots and bracketing for exposure…there was going to be a lot to go through after the carnival was over. The best thing that could happen to the Hufflepuff now was to run out of film. Going through her supplies that morning, she counted out a couple dozen unopened packs of rolls, and those varied on where she had bought them from. This carnival was dangerous for her and the camera. Today Cordelia got smart about it though. She packed half of what she brought the day before, and had a game plan of what she wanted to document. It was much easier to conserve her supplies that way, and the shots that were going to come out of it would be far superior to the other ones she had taken. Everything ready to go, she was immediately out of the castle and towards fun.
First stop? The ferris wheel. She hadn’t managed to ride it yet, and the line was looking thin. That was perfect. Being able to ride it a few times around meant she could get an idea of what to shoot, and then follow through with it. As she approached, she noticed that there was someone standing at the entrance. Was he waiting for someone? He was kind of blocking the way in, and she really wanted to get on. Slowing herself down, Cordelia moved at a snail’s pace, hoping the boy would either get on the ride or move before she got there. The last thing she wanted to do was have to hold an awkward conversation with him. Asking people to move was always the hardest, because she didn’t want to seem rude, but also didn’t want to be ignored. Her luck ran out though, because by the time she got to the ferris wheel line, the boy was still standing there. It was almost easier to just keep walking by and come back later. But then she was right behind him, and it was too late to do that without making it look like she was about to run into him. “A-Are-Are y-you…uhh…” Cordelia could barely hear herself talk, so there was no way he heard that. “Excu-Excuse m-me,” she tried again. The boy must have noticed her at some point, because he was turning around to face her while she was figuring out how to speak again. “B-Brandon?”
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last online Apr 18, 2024 20:13:01 GMT -7
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Jul 29, 2017 23:27:17 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2017 23:27:17 GMT -7
The carnival workers were finally ready to load Brandon into one of the compartments when he heard someone approaching him from behind, trying to say something to him. He turned around, staring for a second. He recognized this girl, and he knew he knew her, but he had to think to get her name. It shouldn't be hard. He recognized her camera, remembered that photography was her passion. Then she started stuttering, saying his name. Oh! "Hey Cordelia," Brandon said cheerfully with a charming grin. "Do you want to ride with me in the ferris wheel? I promise I won't mess up your pictures," he teased, assuming that she was going to take some while on the ride. Granted, from what he'd seen she seemed good enough that all her shots were wonderful, but he'd really try to not cause any problems if she rode with him. Besides, it would be much more fun riding with someone than riding on his own. cordelia regan smith
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:18 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Aug 1, 2017 14:22:15 GMT -7
Post by cordelia regan smith on Aug 1, 2017 14:22:15 GMT -7
@brandon Brandon remembered her. Sometimes she wondered if people forgot who she was because of how quiet and inconspicuous she could be at times, but Brandon didn’t, and he had been gone for a few years. That was better than a few of her other housemates had ever done. Professors even. While it was kind of her fault for not being more outgoing, that wasn’t an excuse for other people to completely forget she existed. She wasn’t a Weasley or a Krum. They were practically born to socialize and be the highlight of anything. Expecting that much from her would be silly, and yet some apparently did. All she wanted to do was study charms and take pictures. Was that too much to ask for?
He was asking her if she wanted to ride the ferris wheel with him, and Cordelia found herself nodding her head without really thinking it through. All she wanted to do was take photos, so as long as Brandon wasn’t standing right in front of her lens that was fine with her. From what she remembered of him, he had always been nice to her and taken his time to try and understand what she was conveying.
Stepping towards the compartment that they were going to be riding in, Cordelia came to a halt. She realized that she wanted a picture here, of the door being opened. This was probably going to annoy both Brandon and the worker there, since they were already starting to prop the door open. The Hufflepuff snapped away regardless, and then hopped inside. “S-Sooo how-how’s Durmstrang?” she asked Brandon.
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last online Apr 18, 2024 20:13:01 GMT -7
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Aug 3, 2017 12:27:28 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 3, 2017 12:27:28 GMT -7
Cordelia was quiet, but that wasn't new to Brandon. From what he remembered, she was more shy than most people in their house. He smiled when she nodded that she would ride with him, a little surprised. A part of him thought she'd want to go on her own, but she agreed much more readily than he expected. Trying to be a gentleman, Brandon let Cordelia step up to the compartment first, almost running into her when she suddenly stopped, but he didn't. That was a relief. He really didn't want to start their interactions with one another by running into her. That probably wouldn't go over well at all, especially if he knocked the camera out of her grasp. He craned his neck to see what she was up to and then smiled. She was taking a picture of the compartment they were about to climb into. That was the amazing thing about artists. They found beauty in the most common things. Once she entered the compartment, Brandon climbed in after her. He smiled at her question. "Durmstrang is alright. They're not as open as the people here, and the weather there is much colder." He paused a moment. "I'm actually very glad that I got to come back because of the tournament." Being champion didn't matter to Brandon at all, but he did like the chance to see his friends again. "How have you been?" he offered a question in return. cordelia regan smith
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:18 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Aug 10, 2017 22:10:57 GMT -7
Post by cordelia regan smith on Aug 10, 2017 22:10:57 GMT -7
@brandon The compartment was mostly windows; that was excellent. There wasn’t much she could do while on the ground or even during the first rotation of the ferris wheel, but the windows allowed her to get an idea of what to take pictures of. This particular one didn’t have smudges on the windows either. Some of the muggle ones she had spent time sitting in tended to be gross. Keeping things clean definitely helped with the experience. Letting her camera rest around her neck for the moment, she turned her attention back to Brandon. She had just asked about Durmstrang, realizing that she knew nothing about the other magical school aside from what she had heard from some of the students she had met over the past few months. And that was only a handful of them at the most.
Cordelia nodded her head as Brandon detailed how the students at Durmstrang were, and that it was colder than Hogwarts. “C-Cold isn’t b-bad…unless it’s all the t-time.” The Hufflepuff had a feeling that Durmstrang was cold all year round. A few of the other things she knew about the school consisted of their curriculum, which was mostly Dark Arts and research based. She could take the research bit, but the cold…she could do without that constantly. Spring coming along was more appealing to her than a never ending amount of snow. “Is-Is it n-nice?” she asked. “B-Being b-back I m-m-mean.” Most of the students from the other two schools seemed to enjoy Hogwarts from what she could tell, but Brandon obviously had a different look at it.
Brandon then asked her how she had been. How to answer that…in all honesty, Cordelia had no idea. The same? “Uhh n-not b-bad? Nothing has ch-changed lately,” she looked down at her camera momentarily. “Still t-taking pic-pictures and st-stuff…”
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last online Apr 18, 2024 20:13:01 GMT -7
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Aug 11, 2017 11:11:00 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 11, 2017 11:11:00 GMT -7
Cordelia was looking at him and seemed very interested in his response, which was somewhat surprising to Brandon. He was expecting her to take pictures the entire time, but apparently that wasn't the plan. He nodded at her comment about cold. "It's not cold all the time, but it is pretty chilly more often than not." Brandon wasn't quite sure if he made sense or not, but he trusted Cordie to not make fun of him for it. At her next question Brandon nodded firmly, smiling as well. "Yes. I missed it here. It's nice being back on the grounds and in the castle and seeing all my friends. Do you like having visitors here?"She said she wasn't bad and that nothing had changed and Brandon smiled in response, "Well I guess that's a good thing," he winked to show he was teasing. He laughed, "No really. I'm glad that you're alright. I worried about you guys." Brandon paused a moment. "Would you mind if I ask to see your pictures?" He was honestly curious about them, but also didn't know if that would freak Cordelia out or worry her. Upsetting her was the last thing he wanted to do. cordelia regan smith
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:18 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Aug 17, 2017 0:06:34 GMT -7
Post by cordelia regan smith on Aug 17, 2017 0:06:34 GMT -7
@brandon Pretty chilly more often than not sounded kind of cold to her. She could handle brisk mornings and cool evenings all year long if given the chance, but dipping into a deep freeze during the winter didn’t sound all that enticing to her. Hogwarts got cold enough in the winter. The safety zone of the common room was what she longed for all day in the winter months. A crackling fire and blanket always beat out frigid winds and snow, even if they were exciting things to photograph. Her fingers disagreed with her on that one. Brandon continued on, stating that it was nice to be back at Hogwarts and seeing everyone again. That made sense. While she didn’t think she was anywhere close to being as popular or having as many friends as Brandon did, going away and coming back would probably still be something that she would want to do. Mostly to get photographs. In actuality, very few people would notice that she was gone. She knew that sounded depressing, so relaying it to Brandon wasn’t going to happen. “S-Sometimes,” she answered about the other two schools visiting. “I l-like watching them in-interact with Ho-Hogwarts students. A-All w-we know are e-each other, s-so having n-new people around is c-cool.”
Cordelia nodded her head more as Brandon agreed that nothing changing was a good thing. Was it? After the end of last year it kind of was. If he had been in Ravenclaw, feelings on that would probably be a little different. Sometimes she felt guilty about the fact that Hufflepuff had been unaffected, and that when it came down to it, her status as a pureblood would more than likely protect her as well. They were all Hogwarts students and they all had magic blood in them. She could care less how much of that was ‘pure’ or not. He asked if he could see some of her photos, and Cordelia paused for a moment. She didn’t have any on her at the moment. Normally she had a binder or folder with some that she had been developing, but not today. “Y-You’ll have t-to st-stop by the c-common room. A-All of th-them are there…” If only her camera was a muggle one. Digital solved so many issues.
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last online Apr 18, 2024 20:13:01 GMT -7
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Aug 17, 2017 19:51:14 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 17, 2017 19:51:14 GMT -7
Brandon nodded when Cordelia said that she liked watching the students from all the different schools interact with one another. He had to agree with that assessment. It was interesting watching them all interact with one another. He nodded, "I find that interesting too. Especially when I watch the people I know interacting with one another. Have you gotten any interesting pictures of them?"It took her a few seconds to answer him and Brandon wondered what was going on, but then she said he'd just need to stop by the common room in order to see them. He nodded, "Alright, I'll have to do that sometime." He liked the idea of going back to the Hufflepuff common room, even if it was just for a short time. It was strange for him to be back at Hogwarts and never going to his common room. The ship was fine and comfortable, but it wasn't the same. He looked around as the ferris wheel started to move. "So just let me know when you want me to move out of your way for the pictures. Or if you need me to be quiet so you can focus better." He looked around curiously at the view. cordelia regan smith
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:18 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Aug 18, 2017 22:45:37 GMT -7
Post by cordelia regan smith on Aug 18, 2017 22:45:37 GMT -7
@brandon Brandon made a good point. While she didn’t really know anyone personally from Durmstrang or Beauxbatons, it was probably fun to watch his new classmates talk to the old ones. They were technically two different worlds that would very rarely collide, but here they were. Being right in the middle of that had to be a daunting task. She was positive that she wouldn’t be able to do that; mostly because being moved and then having to make new friends all over again would have been nigh impossible for her to do. Maybe one or two at the most. She just wasn’t good at that. As for pictures, she wasn’t sure. “S-Some of the t-tasks,” she stated, trying to think if there were any others that she was forgetting. “I t-try to g-get m-more envir-environmental shots over ones w-with p-people.” That was easier than trying to explain her creed about not taking portraits. They were boring, in her opinion, and they only succeeded in making the person they were of happy. She had no use for a portrait of a person, and neither did anyone else that would possibly be interested in her work. “Qui-Quidditch and th-this c-carnival are di-different though. P-People add m-more f-feeling t-to the ph-photographs.” Making that distinction was important to her. While she felt nature photography was her calling, street photography never ceased to fail her either.
She nodded her head as he said he would have to stop by. Showing him the photographs would have to be done super-fast, because she was sure the rest of Hufflepuff would try to take him away. Not that he was hers or anything; only during the show-and-tell part. It was good that he gave her permission to tell him to move if she needed to get a shot. A lot of people didn’t really understand that part, and she was too timid to verbally ask most of the time. “Once w-we g-get to the t-top, I-I’ll l-let y-y-you know. I w-want an aer-aerial shot.”
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last online Apr 18, 2024 20:13:01 GMT -7
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Aug 19, 2017 14:41:25 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Aug 19, 2017 14:41:25 GMT -7
Brandon listened with interest as Cordelia described what she'd taken photos of. He nodded as she talked about the tasks and then grinned. "Oooh, I can't wait to see those," he told her honestly. The tasks had been interesting on their own, but he was definitely intrigued to see what pictures of them would look like. More, he was interested to see if they caught the moment fully. It all depended on the moment. When he was young, before his parents divorced, they'd taken him to a museum and he'd realized there the power of art. Some artists could capture moments with the emotions and excitement all there, while others showed what happened. He had a feeling Cord's pictures would be the more fascinating kind, but was interested to see that. "I like environmental ones more, as a general rule," he offered. He didn't know how most people felt about it, but people didn't intrigue him as much as the things and places around them. He particularly liked water shots or paintings, though he didn't know why. When she started explaining the difference between that and the carnival and Quidditch, he nodded again. "That makes sense. In order to really get the atmosphere of it all, people have to be a part of it sometimes," he agreed. Cordelia nodded, which Brandon took as agreement. He wasn't quite sure when he would stop by, but if he had to he'd do it a few times to make sure he caught her. He smiled when she told him what she was looking for. "Sounds good to me," he commented, looking out at the landscape. This was the part he loved about ferris wheels: the beauty and peace. "Have you enjoyed the carnival so far?" he asked a short while later. cordelia regan smith
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:18 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Sept 4, 2017 21:13:17 GMT -7
Post by cordelia regan smith on Sept 4, 2017 21:13:17 GMT -7
@brandon The more people she talked to about her photography, the more she realized that everyone always wanted to see pictures of people. She blamed that on muggle culture. Everyone had cell phones when they weren’t in school, and those could take pictures literally everywhere and anywhere. The art of photography had been killed by it, and so everyone expected her work to be the same. She knew Brandon didn’t mean any harm by it, and there were certainly aspects to which she agreed with him on it. In this sense, the ones she had taken of the tasks and the past few days of the carnival were the kinds of photos that worked. They captured life as it was happening, similar to her portraits. There was nothing staged or set up about it unless she allowed it. The only true staging was done by her objective eye; what was seen in the photos was what she was seeing through the viewfinder and the prints were what she wanted everyone else to see, not what others were seeing in the moment. “I-I c-can’t either,” Cordelia admitted. She was interested in seeing how the photos of the tasks came out. There was so much to see and do at them. Same with the carnival. Brandon agreed with her about the atmosphere point. That was good. She wasn’t going to correct him if he liked other kinds of pictures. Judging people for their tastes wasn’t really her thing. Cordelia simply nodded her head to show that they were on the same page.
Brandon’s question about whether or not she enjoyed the carnival was an interesting one. The easy answer was yes. There were a lot of things for her to take pictures of, and games to play, but once the camera was put down and the games were finished, she was sucked back into the real world where she was expected to interact with other people if they approached her. That part was still difficult. She was getting used to it though. Getting on the Ferris wheel was one of those attempts, seeing as she didn’t know that Brandon was the person she was asking to move out of the way. That was just one instance though, and there had been a lot of others over the last few days. “K-Kind of…” Cordelia responded, not knowing how to make her mind up. “W-Wish there w-were a f-f-few l-less people. Th-The shows are f-fun to w-watch though.”
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last online Apr 18, 2024 20:13:01 GMT -7
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Sept 7, 2017 21:48:11 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2017 21:48:11 GMT -7
Brandon smiled when Cordelia said that she couldn't wait to see how her photographs turned out. "You mean you haven't developed them yet?" he asked curiously. Of course, that was the implication, but he wanted to be sure he was understanding her correctly. Brandon wasn't big into the idea of assuming that he understood why people did certain things. She nodded when he said that he liked landscapes most and Brandon smiled. This was one of the easy things about being around Cordelia. You didn't have to worry about saying too much or too little because she was comfortable with silence. Most people weren't, so it was a nice change for Brandon. Brandon nodded slowly when she started to answer his question, saying that she was enjoying the carnival in part. He could understand that. She was so shy that it wasn't really a surprise to him that she felt uncomfortable here. He looked down at the carnival from their vantage point and made a sound of surprise. "Wow. I didn't realize how many people were here at the carnival until just now," he replied, staring down at them almost as if his staring would make the numbers change somehow. She mentioned shows and his expression turned curious. "What kind of shows have you seen? I haven't watched any of them." He was honestly curious. If it was a musical kind of show Brandon definitely wanted to see one before the carnival ended. If they weren't musical, maybe. It all depended on what he ended up doing. cordelia regan smith
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last online Apr 18, 2024 5:04:18 GMT -7
WIZARDING ADULT
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Sept 20, 2017 22:14:30 GMT -7
Post by cordelia regan smith on Sept 20, 2017 22:14:30 GMT -7
@brandon “N-No, n-not yet,” she started to explain. Development was such a long process at times, especially when she had dozens of rolls of film to go through and get set-up. The real problem was that she didn’t have enough equipment to do more than four or five rolls at a time. Add to that the hour or so for development, and then printing, and yeah. It took a little bit to complete. “I had p-personal projects that I w-wanted to f-finish f-first. The t-tasks should b-be d-done b-by the end of the y-year.” Hopefully. The intent was to finish up these carnival ones and start immediately on the first task. By the time she finished that and started on the second, photographing the third task would roll around. The carnival ones could wait for the summer to do, since she would have more time to study the literal hundreds of photos she had taken.
As Brandon looked over the edge of their car below, he pointed out that there were a lot of people there. She nodded. Most people didn’t think of those kinds of things, but she was always worried about crowds and possible interactions. Her own vices made everything hard enough as it was, and adding the crowds to it was almost intolerable. She managed this time though, as well as during the tasks, only because if she didn’t, she wouldn’t be able to get the shots she wanted. Anything for the art. Cordelia’s only response to his statement was still only the nod of her head. Being high up in the air always gave a better perception for those that didn’t understand the issues she had with crowds. Brandon always seemed to understand though. “M-Mostly the p-performers,” Cordelia responded to the question of the shows she had seen. “F-Fire-b-breathing, s-sword swa-swallowing and uhh others I-I s-suppose.” The ones she mentioned were the ones she remembered the best and had been captivated by. The rest could be found at other carnivals, even muggle ones, but not to the degree of the fire-breather and sword swallower. They had added an extra element to the whole thing that far exceeded the muggle standard.
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last online Apr 18, 2024 20:13:01 GMT -7
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Sept 23, 2017 15:59:05 GMT -7
Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2017 15:59:05 GMT -7
Brandon smiled when Cordelia said that the pictures should be done at the end of the year. "Well, do you want to just tell me when they're done and then you can show me some? Along with anything else you want to share?" He didn't know how much Cordelia would want to show him, because he knew that sometimes art was private, but he was willing to look at any of it. Cordelia was quiet for a while as Brandon talked about the crowd, but he wasn't offended. He knew that she didn't normally talk unless she had something to say and he was alright with that. When she started talking about the performers, the car started going down the other side, lowering to the ground where they'd be let off. Brandon nodded. "Well fire breathing and sword swallowing sounds pretty intense," he responded with a smile. "I'm sure you got good photos of those as well," Brandon added. He assumed that was the reason she went to see them. The car stopped, halfway from the top to the bottom and Brandon looked around, noting that they were starting to let people off the ferris wheel. Weird. He thought they got to go around a few times. Apparently not. Lame. cordelia regan smith
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