#and the latter is more similar to the situation the house elves are in

[jewishvitya]

CW - talking about antisemitic depictions and about the house elves and the depiction of slavery in the books.

I'm having a frustrating day with a lot of physical pain, so I'm not the best at judging currently if I should be posting all of these thoughts. It's a response to multiple arguments by rude anons that I blocked (not for being rude, for being transphobic), but the arguments themselves stay on my mind and I just. Need this out. Ignore this, it will be all over the place, I'm basically venting. Hoping it'll be the last bit of HP criticism I post.

I'll tag it for you to block, as usual.

I've been asked what I expect of Rowling, since my criticism of the goblins included the books. She already wrote the books, they're printed and they're out there. She can't just change them, criticism does nothing because she has no path to correct her mistake.

First of all, with her transphobia - as far as I'm concerned she has blood on her hands at this point. The way she emboldens transphobia endangers lives and erodes queer rights. Anyone who contributes to the current push against trans people is complicit in trans genocide - and she made herself a symbol of that movement. Even if she did a 180 on her issues with Jewish stereotypes, she wouldn't redeem herself.

But she isn't the only one who wrote a story and then realized that her story has deep issues. What does it look like, if an author doesn't want to perpetuate those?

From what I know of Tolkien (and I know nothing LOTR or anything, just heard this from other Jewish creators who discussed this issue, treat this paragraph like I'm repeating a rumor) - Tolkien did stumble on an antisemitic depiction while writing his dwarves. Then he course-corrected by creating a more complex and nuanced picture of the society in his future works. Basically, he leaned into the idea of his dwarves as a Jewish allegory and made it a better and more respectful allegory. They have wonderful cultural details, like having foreign-language names used outside of their community - and names in their own native language that they call each other. Half of my family comes from France, and my mom was born there. She had a Hebrew name and a legal French name. That's extremely common among Jews in some areas of the world.

This response is what I would have expected if an author cares about being respectful of Jewish people. Acknowledge the issue, and try to do better.

But what if the issue was brought to your attention after you completely finished your story? In that case: "Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was writing an antisemitic narrative with my depiction of this fantasy race." Support the voices criticizing your work, and apologize. Let it be an example of tropes to avoid, and encourage others to be careful of the same pitfalls.

What you don't do, is act horrified and say "Oh, how could you, I never intended to make the goblins an antisemitic allegory! Surely if I don't mean it, it can't be hurtful!"

Also, if you truly care, you don't then abuse the memory of the holocaust when you write spin-offs of your original story, including its imagery to support a bigoted villain's argument.

Marginalized people understand that not everyone knows what we do. The stereotypes and the harmful ideas that weaved themselves into popular culture are about us. We know that it's invisible to people who aren't the target, and as a result aren't forced to learn these things. To many people, it's just a trope they're used to seeing. Like villains have hooked noses - it's practically a shorthand for an evil character.

All the stories we tell are based in some measure on stories we heard. Narratives and tropes feed off each other between different pieces of media. It's easy to pull together a harmful narrative without realizing, when the tropes that make it up usually go together, and are so common they're everywhere. So we know a person who means no harm can create something really hurtful, without knowing it.

That's why we criticize media: we want you to see and be aware.

In addition to this, I've been accused multiple times of ignoring the fact that these books discuss bigotry and condemn it. I'm not ignoring it, I know they do - or they try to. But Rowling wrote a story against racism without understanding it and without interrogating it in herself. She only knew to condemn it when it's rude and violent and outright hateful. Not the foundations of it.

So, sure, say she didn't mean to write something harmful. What does she do when she learns she did? Nothing. And not just about the issue of the goblins - about everything. I detailed the problems with her depiction of lycanthropy, but she did the same thing with the house elves.

There's lore about creatures called brownies. They'll perform chores for you, but they'd rather not be seen while they do. If you try to pay them, they'll get offended. If you give them clothes, they'll leave. This is a very partial description, but you can see the inspiration here.

And then she turned them into a slave race. They're bound to their enslavers, possessing powerful magic but using it in their service, forced to punish themselves for disobedience and endure extreme abuse. Kreacher actively wishes to have his head put on display when he's too old and weak to be of use.

To show the reader the horrors of freedom for an elf, JKR turned poor Winky into a depressed drunk with no purpose in her life. Winky's story is horrifying.

Only Dobby takes care of Winky for that whole year. She never recovers during it. Then she's made to witness the interrogation of Barty Crouch Jr., which upsets her and causes her distress. As a result, she hears about Crouch's death through a toneless forced confession - and the interrogation continues around her. That same day, she watches the last member of the household she loved have his soul taken by a dementor, and then she's left alone with the body while Dumbledore argues with Fudge. Only after, he sends Madam Pomfrey to do what she can for Winky, and take her to the kitchens where Dobby will take care of her again.

And Rowling wrote all of this. Did she think this is an example that even compliant house elves suffer and get neglected, even by the sympathetic wizards? Was this a lesson that even those who don't seek freedom suffer and lack agency in this system?

No. Rowling turned it into a cautionary tale against freeing slaves. Unless they're "weird" like Dobby.

Maybe she didn't try to be racist, but this fits disturbingly well with the arguments against ending slavery in reality. That enslaved people will turn into aimless drunks. That they need to be enslaved to have purpose. That those who want freedom have something wrong with them.

And I know this was criticized. What was the response to the criticism? Nothing direct as far as I know, but after all of this - there was an article published on Pottermore to argue that Winky's story is a warning against freeing the elves. It was taken down fortunately, but after this article the arguments against freedom are no longer the opinion of characters within the world - it's a message given to us by real people.

She doubles down. Every time. People keep yelling that she had nothing to do with Hogwarts Legacy, she's not responsible for the way it builds on her original canon. Well, she seems to approve of it. It continues painting the same line with the same brush - just bolder.

She doesn't care about the racism, she doesn't care about antisemitism - she just wanted to use the nazis as her easy villains. She doesn't have the imagination for any other kind.

[mysticstarlightduck]

Happy WBW! What are the processes of marriage and divorce like in your story? Is the latter considered taboo, is the former more for love or power or even arranged?

Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday to you too! Thank you for the Ask @lassiesandiego!

What a cool set of questions!

What are the processes of marriage and divorce like in your story?

Okay, so, in Agrannor, the marriage processes are somehow inspired by some real-life marriage rituals from ancient cultures, as that helps set the tone accurately for a world set in a fictional medieval time. Each kingdom has its traditions, rituals, and vows, and some are more strict than others. Usually, there is a "courtship period" where both the man and the woman will attempt to show their love for each other and start the process that will lead to their engagement - this is especially true if the two lovers are from families of high standing, where procedure might just be required more than in other situations, but it is a process that is overall very similar to the "dating" period we have nowadays. Exchanging symbolic gifts - which may vary according to the character's culture and wealth - such as necklaces, tokens or more particular things is also very important, and declarations of love through letters, poetry, and songs are always a favorite amidst the more openly romantic and artistically inclined of the lovers.

Mageborn lovers often gift runic amulets embued with magic to one another, made with rare materials. To elves, courtship is a highly important part of their culture, and their love lives are viewed as something very serious, as their bond to the one they fall in love with is something profoundly connected to their magic (some elves can only fall in love once, and if the bond is severed, it is something incredibly devastating to them), so the rituals around courtship are very important in their culture. (Also, one curious detail - elves keep their hair long and it is something that is highly important to them. They do not allow strangers to touch their braids, ever. So if an elf allows their significant other to brush or braid their hair, it is a clear sign of trust and love by the elf.)

As for divorce in Agrannor:

It is not a common practice, however, it is not usually viewed as taboo. Since there is no involvement of the law (as paperwork and such haven't been invented for this practice yet), usually the "divorce" simply entails the lovers going their separate ways, and maybe the breaking of the marriage vows/rituals depending on how serious the situation was.

Is the latter considered taboo, is the former more for love or power or even arranged?

In Agrannor, divorce is only viewed as taboo if: 1. the marriage was an arranged one (which usually happened between two powerful families and entailed more of a political alliance than an actual marriage, and breaking such alliance could have catastrophic consequences), and 2. one of the lovers abandons the other and leaves their family behind without making sure things are properly settled (like Juniper's mother did - she up and left the father and the kids without any proper "divorce" being carried out which left the family in a pretty rocky spot for quite a while). Otherwise, it isn't a very big deal. (Though the term "divorce" doesn't exist in Agrannor.)

Marriage in Agrannor is vastly for love. Even between nobles, the union usually happens out of love if their families aren't pulling the strings to make an arranged one. HOWEVER... Marriage for power is not uncommon and is viewed as a normal thing - it can happen as a willing choice between two powerful people, or it can be arranged by their family (consider the marriage of the Head of The House couple in the Fahris family - Nethen's parents - it was something purely after political power and not love). Commoners usually marry for love, and while there is a small pressure of society for them to marry once they come of age, they are usually free to do as they please until they find the one they love and want to spend their lives with.

[volvaofowls]

Feanorian Week, Day 3 - Celegorm

Longing for a father figure

This is just a little take on Celegorm and his relationship with father figures, family bonds and legacy.

***

Feanor always looked at Celegorm slightly differently than his other sons. He never mistreated him, he loved all his sons equally, but whenever he will raise his hand to ruffle Celegorm's hair, the hand would linger, as if afraid to touch fair locks. If Celegorm would injure himself while playing Feanor will get very angry with his son, much more so than with his other children, but his anger will always subside eventually, and then Feanor will press his forehead to his son’s; softly scolding him and apologising for his previously harsh words. Celegorm will cry with his father, both of them lamenting their vulnerabilities and fear of harming each other.

As Celegorm was growing up, his outlook on it changed, he started to secretly resent being seen as vulnerable just because of his similarity in looks to someone else Feanor loved. At some point, in his more rebellious years, Tyelkormo run away from home for a day, to escape his father’s overbearing protection. The fair-haired elf was even prepared to chop of his lock with stolen scissors in spite, until his hand was stayed by the Huntsman Vala.

The Huntsman was terrifying for the young Celegorm, the little one even thought to himself that it was no wonder the first awakened ones fled from him. Orome loved the elves more than any other of the Valar, and that day he lent his ear to Celegorm, learning of his frustrations and desires, and that day was a beginning of a friendship and mentorship that would last ages.

It was only Nerdanel that managed to calm the anger of Feanor, when he found that the reason why his son was disappearing from home day after day. At some point Feanor even forbid Celegorm from setting a foot out of the house, but Celegorm was of the same temper as his father, and if someone said to him not to do something, he will only double down and do it more.

***

The young ellon has achieved substantial fame within his family and among his people, as a close friend of a Huntsman Vala, some would even nickname him as “Little Orome”, as he would ride on his horse with his hound running by and blowing horn – terrifying creatures about him and causing commotion.

Celegorm loved his father and mother deeply, but he did not want to fashion himself in their image, especially feanor seemed to have very specific ideas of who Celegorm should be. Tyelkormo preferred the company of Orome, soaking up his teaching, stories about the first awoken ones and fighting with the Vala, imagining himself riding out to Middle Earth and shielding the first elves from the evil corruption of the world.

Finwe was the one to send a word to his grandson, asking him to delay his hunting and come for a family visit. But when Celegorm came there was no one in the halls save Finwe himself. The grandfather loved his all members of his family, but even he had his favourites (not that he would ever admit to it), and he was not a stranger as to what a rift between father and son looks like. Admittedly he felt partially to blame for the situation, and the need to help two stubborn little boys to heal and come together again. H Finwe shared with his grandson stories of his grandmother, and how similar Tyelko was to her, in looks and in drive. And it was not Feanor's fault for the pain and loss he suffered, and it was not Celegorm's fault that Feanor saw in him more than just his son and desired to treasure and protect him from everything.

It took time but finally the fair haired elf's heart was touched and he desired to heal his family of the trauma, but in his own way. Celegorm especially seemed to take little revenge on his father when he took the latter on a hunt with him, in all matters Feanor was genius except hunting, his curses and stomping allowing even the slowest of animals to run away. But no one can say that they returned empty handed, father and son holding hands in one of the only moments of genuine and pure love between them. Feanor never oppose Tyelko’s hunting anymore, openly bragging about it to Fingolfin at every chance.

***

Curufin was Tyelko’s favourite brother. When Curufin started to talk more and run around, some of the anxiety and worry of their parents has shifted to the little one. It was infinitely endearing for Celegorm to see the frustrations of little Curufin, the little one did not want to be bossed around and in many ways looked like 3 feet tall Feanor, same attitude but in smaller size. On several occasions little Curufin would take his toy bow and loudly announce that he will go away to live in forest with Celegorm, and once the rascal attempted to hide in a travelling bag, only to discovered straight away. He was like a tail.

As Curufinwe grew more into himself, he took a lot after his father – in looks, mood and even craft. But the young craftsman and hunter will grow almost inseparable, one always following another, even when Curufin’s son was born Celegorm would hunt nearby and regularly checking on the new family, helping whenever he could a new family.

After Finwe’s and then Feanor’s passing Celegorm was devastated, he have nearly died himself springing to battle. He realised something, alone from his brothers, oath to recover his father’s work was made not only to defeat the first and deepest evil of the world, but to defend reputation of the family also.

Celegorm loved Maitimo, but his decision to give up the crown only proved to Celegorm that family needed stronger and more determined leader at the helm, with him realising that he was also the only one with the foresight to see it so.

It caused many grievances on his part, but Celegorm has never seen then as that. Everything he has done he has never done it in hatred and greed but for the good of his family. Celegorm always intended to gain power and then to ride against Morgoth and protect the weak ones against foe, like Orome has done before him.

***

Coming to the Halls of Mandos felt like a defeat. He failed in his mission to recover the gems and all he had done to uplift his family has been for naught. No one saw feanorians as noble leaders anymore and he was not a hero but a villain in the eyes of many.

Celegorm, during his time in the Halls of Mandos, never saw his brothers, save Curufin, with whom he decided to stay attached to. The brothers would just sit silently and observe the world go pass. The only two elves to visit were Finwe and Feanor, they always came together, Feanor coming first and Finwe following behind. Feanor will sometimes talk with his sons, about the world and about their lives before everything, the times when Tyelko and his brothers were little, how they got their names, the best of the memories. If Feanor mentioned Nerdanel’s name in passing he would go silent for several moments and then continue.

Finwe did not speak, he just observed Feanor speak to his sons from a short distance, a mournful smile of his face. Finwe often thinks to himself about what he would have done differently if he got a chance. Finwe approached Celegorm slowly.

“Whenever I look at you I see a lot of Feanor” said Finwe to him. “Feanor got his from this mother. She too was of great temperament and passion. We wanted to have many children together, but… not everything worked out”

“And are you proud of the family you have?” asked grimly Celegorm. Finwe replied sometime later.

“I am ashamed that I was not of more help to my family. But I am proud of all the great and little good my family has done. And I am proud of everyone staying true to themselves.” Finished Finwe with a smile.

Taglist:

@feanorianweek

@iwenttomordor

[missnight0wl]

Is the Statue Curse even the real Vault curse?

I have to say, I was truly disappointed when the Statue Curse appeared so early in Y6. I was hoping that this year would be dedicated more to our relationships, some digging in the past of Jacob and Rakepick – you know, calm before the storm. Because currently, we basically have two options: either we’ll break the Curse (leaving Y7 to who knows what), or the Curse will last for over a year. And frankly, I don’t like either of those options. Having Y7 without the Cursed Vaults would be kind of like… I don’t know, killing Voldemort in the sixth book and leaving the seventh one for dealing with remaining Death Eaters. And letting people be statues for so long would be just cruel (not that we do much to help them anyway, but shhh…). 

But what if the Statue Curse is not even connected to the Sunken Vault? What if the final vault has a different curse – which is already active – but we’re just missing it? I had this idea for the first time when Hagrid mentioned that Grindylows in the Black Lake are “overly aggressive”. And yes, it does make sense on its own since the Vault is in the Black Lake, so it would disturb them. However, perhaps the real curse could similarly affect people as it does with the creatures, meaning exaggerating their traits (especially those negative ones). A lot of our friends’ behaviour is indeed quite extreme recently. The thing is that it can be explained by the events of the story... Still, let’s take a look at some examples.

Ben’s need to be a protector makes sense on its own because he believes that if he was braver, he could’ve done something to stop Rakepick in the Portrait Vault. However, if he’s additionally affected by the curse, it’d explain why his change is so very drastic.

Merula’s need for revenge makes sense on its own. And while I personally don’t think she improved enough to talk about regress, it also makes sense that she’s more prickly again in Y6. However, if she’s additionally affected by the curse, it’d explain better why she’s so radical and sees killing as the only solution.

Similar goes to the Haywood sisters. Beatrice went through a traumatic experience, so her change is understandable. It’s also understandable that Penny is so protective over her. However, the curse could explain better why they can’t see each other’s points of view.

Ismelda and MC definitely bonded in Y5, both in “Crushed” SQ AND in the O.W.L.s TLSQ. Yet, Ismelda is back to being cold and seemingly hating MC, as if the bonding from Y5 didn’t happen at all.

And here’s something newer which actually made me think about this theory again: Jae. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like in the recent chapters he became way more… cocky. And again, Jae was always pretty smug, or at least he liked to appear so. But compare those two situations:

Y5Ch8:

Y6Ch30:

Sure, he probably wanted to cheer MC up in the latter example, but still… it’s a HUGE change in his self-confidence. 

Overall, the subtlety of everything I mentioned above is what makes this idea so intriguing to me. Because the current circumstances make it almost obvious to occur, but maybe there’s something more to it. And how can you try to break the curse if you’re not even noticing it? If you’re not even aware it’s active? THIS is what would make the final curse really dangerous in comparison to the previous ones.

Also, another thing that makes me suspicious about the Statue Curse is that there’s no mention of it ever occurring before. None, zero, nada. And we had something about every previous curse.

In fact, the only reason why we assume that it’s connected to the Cursed Vaults is because of Snape suspecting so. But I’m sorry, who the hell are you, Severus, to even give such opinions? (To be fair, he’s probably quite competent and knows way more than he admits, but you get my point…) 

And yeah, I know that we’re supposed to believe that Jacob was trapped, so he didn’t go for the next vault and its curse presumably wasn’t active. Still, 1) everything about Jacob being trapped is bullshit, 2) in the Weird Sisters TLSQ, we learnt that R was once in the Sunken Vault already.

I suppose it’s possible that they entered the vault without activating the curse, or the curse was active too short to take any victim… It’s still pretty fishy to me, though (pun not intended).

All right, but then, what about the Trident we found in the Portrait Vault? After all, it was said that the victims look very similar to the material of the Trident. Well, I suppose that both the Statue Curse and the Trident could be clues to lead us to Merpeople who have information about the real curse, or something like that. Let’s remember that Rakepick asked Binns and Pince to research Merpeople:

Unsurprisingly, we’re ignoring it totally, narrowing everything down to: “the final vault has to be in the Black Lake!”… But it’d be neat if it was also Rakepick who decided to put the Trident in the column - as I believe she was behind putting there the Portkey back to Hogwarts. And yes, I’m basing it on one single line from Y5 when we were asking House-Elves about the vault portrait:

Anyway, to be completely honest, I don’t really expect Jam City to pull something like that off. And even if they do, most players would probably think it’s a poor excuse for their writing. Heck, it likely is just bad writing, at least in cases like Ismelda, for example. 

Still, as a concept, I think it’s a pretty interesting idea. And I suppose I’d like it better than ending the curses this year entirely, prolonging it for Y7, or discovering that there’s a secret sixth vault when it was said there’s five of them from the very beginning (and there was no clue that it might not be true).

[thatssogayvenrp]

A Brief History of Lossan

(this is one of the things Nari read in the bookshop in Sixth Terrace)

A Brief History of Lossan and Foreword to the Seventh Edition, by Sindhail Opalback, Honored Historian: Though I may be censured for the words to follow, I would be neglecting my duty as a historian and citizen if I were not truthful about my beloved city’s history and its more contemporary developments. My role as a historian is not only to report events as they have happened, but to examine such events through a lens that tells the broader story. That such a story looks grimly upon certain members and movements in this country is not a fault of mine, as their actions and the effects of their actions are their own for which they must accept responsibility.

As many know, Lossan is one of the prominent ancient coastal cities, known for its rich history as influenced by the iron trade to which it owes its national prominence.

Borders and fortifications

The north of the city is bordered by the Kismet Ocean. Shipbuilding and fishing have become prominent industries on this northern coast of the city and the beaches are necessary to visit if one is touring the area. Sailors and fisherman who have lived and worked on the coast for many years always muse to bar patrons, their protégées, and tourists that there is little more humbling than looking out into the vastness of this ocean.

To guide ships returning to port, there are 3 lighthouses named for elven deities. The central lighthouse has been affectionately named “Lady Moonbow” after elven goddess Sehanine Moonbow. The western lighthouse is called Lady Hanali for the elven goddess of romantic love and beauty. The eastern lighthouse is called Lord Naralis, named for Naralis Analor, the minor elven god associated with healing. These lighthouses and their corresponding deities were praised and honored as guides to bring home returning travelers. They were also places one could get healing if needed when returning form a voyage, but also places of safety and protection in times of invasion and war. Not only are these places of great utility as lighthouses (and outfitted with battlements and other wartime protections), but they are often frequented and revered by visitors as if they are also temples to the elven deities.

Despite the protection provided by the Kismet Ocean to the north and Two Moon Bay on the city’s eastern and southern borders, the city’s planners over the past many centuries have nonetheless erected a wall around the city, as is seen protecting many of the landlocked cities. Fortifying the city has been a priority since the city’s founding from both coastal/foreign and domestic invasion, the latter of which was more pressing around the period of the Reign of Human Kings but less pressing after the peace and unification under the Free State of Falschegal. The former, in contrast, was more of a prominent concern prior to the arrival of humans on the landmass that would become known as Falschegal. The city’s elven and dwarven founders protected the city from invading nations to the west, most of all humans. Humans would eventually arrive on Lossan’s shores claiming a desire to peaceably integrate themselves into the city’s society. The native non-human populations would, over time, watch the human population burgeon and displace the founding and native families in civic and other prominent positions of power. 

As this history has long passed, every generation of the city’s leaders since then has been jokingly chided for maintaining the coastal fortifications. The truth, everyone knows, is that the lighthouses and the Northern Wall are integral parts of the city’s heritage.

Though coastal and foreign invasion was a frequent concern throughout the city’s history, the more contemporary worry since the rise of Dunghill Kunt has been domestic invasion from the east. The city’s Western Wall has, as a result, garnered more attention in recent years. That is the only part of the city bordered entirely by land, and though the adjacent cities have historically been Lossan’s allies, the city’s leaders have still not wanted to risk adjacent cities being used as pathways for other domestic invaders. The Western Wall’s fortifications have been strengthened over the past few years as a result, and the city’s liaisons to the neighboring towns have insisted that it is nothing personal against their allies. Human followers of Dunghill Kunt have used the situation to their advantage, attempting to sow discord among Lossan and its allies, with the hope that Lossan will find itself isolated and more vulnerable to attack when the time comes.

The iron mines for which the Iron Coast is known are not located in Lossan and her sister city, Angesco. For Lossan, rather, the mines are clustered around the city along its western edge. Historically, Lossan and Angesco rose to prominence as mining populations in adjacent cities sought nearby locations for commerce, recreation, and eventually long-term habitation. As Lossan and Angesco have also played prominent roles in converting saltwater to freshwater in their respective parts of the region, they have burgeoned over the years as sprawling metropolises. While smaller in size and population than Broadison and Wells Pier, Lossan is nonetheless larger and more populous than its southern brethren, Atlas and Sixth Terrace.

To the south, the Iron Bridge connects Lossan to a neighboring city, Haeldürn. Founded by dwarves who were heavily involved in the iron industry, inhabitants of Haeldürn have remained allies with Lossan (though, anecdotally, the uncouth, rough-handed miners have had a thing or two to say about the “softness” of Lossan’s city folk). To the east, the Waller Bridge connects Lossan to another ally city, Khleebur, which was founded by elves and grew around one of the Iron Coast’s more prominent universities. There is arguably more cultural and intellectual similarity between Khleebur and Lossan than Lossan and Haeldürn, which has led to good relations between Lossan and Khleebur through both cities’ histories. Indeed, students from Khleebur often find themselves in Lossan for recreation when they are taking breaks from their studies.

Topography and climate

Lossan is perhaps most known for its hilly topography. Indeed, the hills rise the farther one travels into the city, and from a distance outside of the city, it is clear that the hills have raised the center of the city high above the walls at the city’s borders. Such is one of many visual quirks that speak to Lossan’s uniqueness and beauty. Some say it is a cornerstone of a childhood in Lossan to have stood at the top of one of these hills and let a smooth marble or a wheeled toy race down a steep hill, rejoicing as gravity accelerated the chosen objects down to the bottom. It is also for this reason that the city government and records are housed at the center of the city, where the hills are highest (the rationale being that, in the case of invasion, the higher ground would be the most secure and harder to storm).

Naturally, the variant topography has affected the distribution of the population within the city by social class over the past few centuries. The center of the city has been hailed as more prestigious, particularly because of its higher ground and greater protection. Those that have made the City Centre their home or place of business tend to be wealthier and are able to afford the requisite transportation to get them to the tops of the hill. The wealthier occupants of the city are also rumored to have exclusive, heavily-guarded destination circles for teleportation to avoid strenuous uphill travel, though existence of these circles has never been confirmed. In contrast, the poorer populations have found themselves relegated closer to the city walls and farther from the City Centre.

Aside from its hilly topography, Lossan is also known for its warmer weather, despite being farther north than many inland cities that experience colder average temperatures all year round. That being said, a morning chill has been to known to overtake the city, as does a distinct fog that surrounds the Iron Bridge before dissipates by the early afternoon.

Culture and relations

Culturally, Lossan is distinct in its own right while also being emblematic of a broader common culture on the Iron Coast. Lossan bears similar cosmopolitan characteristics as Angesco, Broadison, Southport, Wells Pier, Sixth Terrace, and Atlas in that the city’s population is more diverse in the races and species that occupy and pass through the city daily. Such diversity has normalized an acceptance and peace among varied races and species that are less common in smaller towns farther inland, where many towns have self-segregated by race and species, with human towns being the most insular.

Anecdotally, it is often observed that those from the Iron Coast are far less tense than those on the Lake Coast, particularly those living in or near Broadison. Again, most of these observations are entirely anecdotal in nature, with very few studies or empirical evidence confirming this distinction or its causes. Nonetheless, one only needs to think of friends or family raised on the Iron Coast and compare their general disposition to those raised on the Lake Coast — the reader is free to come to their own conclusion about these alleged regional differences.

There is often a playful rivalry with the Iron Triangle regarding the competing iron mining, processing, and manufacturing industries. Such a rivalry is most prominent in the dwarven populations from both competing regions, as dwarves have historically been most proactive in the rise of the iron industry. Around the time of Falschegal’s unification and the expansion of travel, there was some brief competition between the two regions, as they both fought to retain overlapping buyers and distributors in equidistant regions. Overtime, however, the competition surrounding mining has tapered off, as the quality of the iron itself from either region was found to be comparable. The primary difference was found to be in the manufacturing process and the purposes for which the iron was used. As the dwarven miners were less responsible for what happened to iron ore after it was mined, they let the rivalry carry over to the manufacturers and distributors. Thankfully, the rivalry now is mostly in jest, as many of those who work in the iron industry gather from all over the country, from Iron Coast and Iron Triangle alike, to amicably discuss the status of mining in their respective regions, compare techniques and seasonal yields, and revise standards for worker safety.

//

My contributions to the Seventh Edition have come at a time of great strife throughout our country, and it is my greatest hope that readers now and in the future will look upon these writings as informative and an accurate representation of both current events and Lossan’s history. Lossan was a city founded upon and continues to be a city that emphasizes inclusivity, cooperation, and acceptance. My greatest hope is that my beloved city carries on in this great heritage for years to come, no matter what darkness befalls her and the country at large.

[ruffoverthinksthings]

Since most of the famous royals go to Auradon, what about the commoner children? What is their school life? Are they like in-city kids with less funding than the royals? And the half-fae kids in these schools, are they treated badly?

The answer is, it varies depending on where you are.

Most upper class Auradonians send their children to establishments similar to Auradon Prep, or other types of prestigious academies, such as the modern day Knights barracks where they apprentice to become commissioned officers, superiors over the rest of the Royal Guard straight off the bat, or the fancier version of military school in the modern day, and sending misbehaving progeny to the military to smarten up in olden days.

Excluding home education, Mandatory Education for middle/working class individuals generally takes on three different forms, one of which has two subgroups:

I. Privatized Education

Generally only afforded by the middle class, or working class with scholarships, sponsorships, and/or connections to the societal rungs above them, these are the middle ground between the “best of the absolute best” schools like Auradon Prep, and the less well funded and oftentimes less prestigious public schools I’ll be mentioning below.

It’s the above average in every way, really: colleges don’t raise eyebrows when they see you studied there, but they will generally keep you in mind during admissions; it’s not likely to make you the center of attention at a party if you mention your alma mater, and you might have to explain what it is and what it’s known for, but no one will look any lesser about you for it; and you generally have a similar, very high-achieving, and holistic education like the Royals of Auradon Prep do, which encourages such values as independence, critical thinking, and philosophy alongside ethics.

To give you an idea, their Civics classes oftentimes includes hypothetical situations, essays, and Socratic debates where they are asked to commentate on, dissect, and criticize past decisions, such as that of the Magic Ban. One of the key differences is, in the private schools outside of Auradon’s Ivy League equivalent, the students are framed as average citizens answering referendums or wording letters to the executive branch, not the monarchs that proclaimed the order and whose signature is on the paper.

On a side note, they make up the bulk of Auradon’s high school Tourney league, which tends to be a VERY big deal to the institution and the location they are based in, wherever you go.

II. Public Education

The mandatory educational program that every single Auradonian citizen is supposed to have at the bare minimum. It emphasizes the three basic skills--reading, writing, and arithmetic--but also includes a very heavy focus on ethics, philosophy, and history, oftentimes retelling the stories of their many monarchs rises to fame and their adventures (read: Disney movies, except it’s quite literally history class).

Schools, depending on their geographic location and local government, are allowed to either specialize in preparing their students for IT, STEM, and their future college degrees; or with boosting their local industries and businesses, generally agriculture, alongside numerous exercises and events meant to foster stronger, closer ties to their community, alongside maintaining its health.

While in theory and in the constitution, every school is supposed to meet a set number of minimum standards and practices, and will have its operation on probation and intervention, then threatened with shutdown if they can’t meet the standards still, you might have guessed by now that it doesn’t quite work that way in practice...

A. City

Ironically, being “inner city” is a GOOD thing in Auradon.

It’s only been two decades since the giant industrialization rush, and while many of the giants have either fallen, cut down their activities significantly, or been rendered obsolete, a LOT of these industries are still around, still require a good number of employees, who they can pay great wages, and who said employees then use to buy housing close to their workplace, raise families in them, and desire good schools to send the children too.

Both by geographic proximity and majority of Auradon’s economic activity being focused in the metropolitan cities, many of these public schools do quite well for themselves, comfortably reaching the minimum standards if they aren’t able to match up to the most prestigious privatized academies--those tend to be the exception, though, like Arendelle Science High School which has very strong backing from its government, and mutual interest from its business interests to attract and more importantly, keep inventors, geniuses, and savants.

Depending on where you are, the city public school is just as viable a choice as private, and some of them do carry a better reputation than the latter.

Blame it on Auradon’s love for the exceptional, but there’s much to be said about being a notable graduate from a school that’s required to take in everybody VS one that can be selective about who they let in, and with much more means to groom them.

B. Countryside

And THIS is where the “inner city” effect is most strongly seen. As I mentioned above, the industrial boom is still around in Auradon (if slowing down and making its start towards a Green Revolution), and obviously, those workers didn’t come from thin air--they were from the countrysides and remote villages, either within that nation’s borders, or emigrating from them on whichever country’s “Dream” got them to bite.

Due to the lack of development, infrastructure, and interest (until recently) in the countryside, majority of the public schools here suffer, oftentimes falling below minimum standards, having poor facilities, or the inability to retain staff, either by their own choice, or because of external reasons like needing to have income to pay the rent and their own food.

There is also a marked lack of interest in government supervision and inspection of them--the competent supervisors are generally lured to the AIL (Auradon Ivy League) or better private schools due to pay and the lifestyles there, the ones that wish to actually follow through with the law lack the means and the support to enforce it, and then there are the ones that wish to do away with the standards altogether and impose their idea of what is a “proper” education with impunity.

There are a handful of schools out there that are basically focused on producing a new generation of basket weavers, ideal housewives, and/or farmers, even if they’re supposed to be learning how to read--but then again, what is there to read to them in the first place...?

C. Side Note

Both make up the minority of Auradon’s high school Tourney league, largely due to logistic and economic issues. There’s only so many teams that can be allowed on the official league match ups at once, and many of them have players that can be conveniently shipped off wherever and whenever, and whose schools have the training and equipment to keep them at the top of their game. (Pun intended.)

There’s also the matter of sports scholarships. Many of the great players end up leaving their old teams and lives behind entirely if the opportunity to study someplace better shows itself--and really, no one blames them.

III. Mentorship/Vocational Education

And finally, the most traditional sort of education that still exists, is becoming an apprentice for some sort of skilled occupation becoming a carpenter, a blacksmith, or perhaps one of the royal scribes, for those that really want a fast, guaranteed, if tedious track into a government job and perhaps a future seat there.

If you’re equipped for it, you can’t go wrong with having to take down and record all the going-ons in the states and having to file, retrieve, and disseminate that information. “No one knows what’s going on in the world better than the man who has to put it all to paper,” as the saying goes.

There’s also a much larger scale effort with some companies training highly specialized work forces, such as the increasingly complex and difficult nature of manufacturing cars, home appliances, and technology in Auradon.

Like in the real world, it used to be you had an electrician, an engineer, and a mechanic, and now you need someone who’s all three for one product line specifically.

P.S. Half-Fae kids depends again.

Those that are extremely human like such as half-elves generally get along just fine even in the most remote countrysides, as the villages tend to have been living with them and their full-blooded Fae parents for centuries, if they don’t have some sort of symbiotic bond with them.

They’re a little stranger and different than the humans, but not by THAT much--think of it like a mostly Caucasian American population who lives comfortably with their Italian American and African American fellows.

For those that have less than ideal relationships with the humans in the region (i.e. demons), they do tend to be bullied and treated with superstition, but eventually the kids get used to them and they become part of any of the normal school cliques and social rungs that their fully human classmates are also part of, if they don’t own it and take advantage of it.

You’ll find more than a couple of half-demon kids who openly embrace the “unholy” images of their supernatural side; leather jackets with “HELLSPAWN” behind them are rather popular, as are the requisite goats, fire, and pentagrams.

Sometimes, their heritage isn’t even acknowledged at all, except in passing, and they’re treated as equals, individual personalities and exceptional abilities notwithstanding.

“In the end, we’re all in the back of the same dung cart, so what’s the point?”

[rubecso]

Ferelden subculture headcanons

Doing my detailed Ferelden map got me to thinking about the subcultures of the different Ferelden regions. Here are some of the headcanons I came up with:

- Highever culture is what most foreigners would think of if they were asked to describe a Fereldan. They love their dogs, they speak plainly, they are devout Theirin loyalists and yet somehow paradoxically devoted to their independence. They have a decent relationship with Free Marchers, but harbour a distrust for the more extravagant nations. They have an old rivalry with Amaranthine, which can be variably friendly, bitter or downright violent depending on the individual.

- Amaranthine is quickly overtaking Denerim as the international trade hub of Ferelden. The wealthiest people in Amaranthine are more likely to be merchants than nobles. They have a reputation for being more interested in other nation’s cultures than their own. While that’s not always fair, they are the most cosmopolitan Fereldans and are more likely to be comfortable around foreign cultures. An exception to this rule is Orlesians, with whom they have a deeply ambivalent relationship.

- It’s a common joke that people from Denerim forget that the rest of Fereldan exists. It’s a paradoxical place, being both a destination for Andrastian pilgrims and a hotbed of crime. There’s a societal divide between people who live there year-round and people who come in for the Landsmeet and go back to the country afterwards. The latter are easily spotted by their difficulty navigating the higgledy-piggledy streets.

- Gwaren is somewhat disconnected from the rest of Fereldan. They use a lot of regional slang. If your family hasn’t been there for at least three generations, they’ll view you as an outsider. They have a sizeable but quiet population of people who follow pre-Andrastian folk religions (I am mostly stealing this from grandenchanterfiona, ‘cause I think it’s a cool idea). They are famous for their seafood, especially smoked fish. They have a tense relationship with the Dalish elves living in the Brecilian forest, but for the most part they stick to the coasts and leave the Dalish to the trees.

- South Reach folk, on the other hand, are more openly hostile towards elves, especially those living in the lands bordering the Brecilian forest. There are frequent disputes over farming and lumber rights, often breaking out into skirmishes. This becomes less pronounced as you go north-west towards the Drakon; in fact there’s a pretty sharp divide between the river regions and the forest ones, so much that they’ve often been ruled separately. However, the mistrust of elves is still present in the river villages; it’s just more likely to be directed at itinerant field-hands than at the Dalish.

- Stenhold folk have a bit of a siege mentality, as they border the Brecilian forest on one side and the Korcari Wilds. They have a mistrust of outsiders rivalled only by Gwaren folk. Their region doesn’t have a lot of arable land, so they rely on exports of pelts and lumber.

- Redcliffe folk are kind of the middle child of Ferelden. Their region is the most powerful of the arlings, but it’s not a teyrnir. People in the Western Hills, South Reach or the bannorn see them as uppity, while those in Highever or Denerim think they aren’t nearly as important as they think they are.  

- People from the Western Hills have a similar mentality to that of Stenhold, except with the Avvar instead of the Dalish. If forced to pick a side, most would grudgingly say they’d rather fight alongside the Avvar than the Chasind. There’s a friendly rivalry between the villages around Lake Luthias, who mostly get by on farming, and those towards the Frostbacks that are more based around mining.

- Edgehall Arling and the other regions between the Frostbacks and Lake Calenhad have the most Avvar influences on their cultures. As you get further into the mountains, the Avvar influences get more pronounced, in clothing, names and dialects, with some settlements like Tearkeld or Whitekeld being almost indistinguishable from Avvar strongholds. To lowlanders at least; the people who live there can tell the differences perfectly well, thank you.

Outside of Gwaren, this region houses the highest numbers of people with pre-Andrastian beliefs, and many more whose Andrastianism is tinged with folk beliefs or is highly heterodox (the cult at Haven was situated here).

Around the gates to Orzammar there’s (unsurprisingly) a lot more dwarven influences. The people of this region take great pride in their connection to Orzammar and consider it their duty to help newly-surfaced dwarfs acclimate. Although the less scrupulous among them have been known to sell them charms supposedly to keep them from falling into the sky.

- As you get closer to Jader, there’s a cultural and linguistic continuum between Ferelden and Orlais. People here will sometimes speak a dialect of Ciriane at home and the common tongue when around people from outside their communities. Naturally this means they are sometimes treated with suspicion from the more traditionally Fereldan types, especially in recent decades.

-The constantly shifting borders and loyalties in the Bannorn mean that, while the nobles hold some of the fiercest grudges in Ferelden (which is saying something), the peasants have a sense of solidarity. After all, when your village might end up in the territory of another Bann this time next year, it pays to be friendly towards your neighbours.

That said, Bannorn freeholders can be some of the most ferocious when it comes to land disputes. For this reason there are some regions that have made a tradition of avoiding bloodshed by solving these disputes using competitions, such as a footrace or a tug-of-war. There’s even one region where the challenge is to see who can knit the longest scarf in a set time.

Another side-effect of the Bannorn’s thorny politics is the importance placed on who can or can’t build fortifications with crenellations. A freeholder crenelating their holdings without the permission of the bann to whom they are pledged can be tantamount to declaring independence from that bann. As such the right to crenelate is held in high esteem by the people of the Bannorn.

[lenorasaney-blog]

The Congregation

Initially published 1/5/2018. Direct follow-up to previous post ‘Into the Woods’.

Took a bit of forcing myself to get this one done, which I think is what happens when you don’t write for months.

-----

If someone had told her that the very Light itself flowed through the cathedral, not a single doubt would have escaped her. Everywhere she looked seem to positively radiate the holy source, from the priests and paladins who wielded it, to the sun as it glared through the various windows that dotted the enormous hall. Each window lovingly carved to depict a verse from a holy text, or at least so she had been told. Far as she could determine, they mostly appeared to be people performing miracles, or fighting off the forces of evil. The latter of which, happened to include the Scourge. Which, unfortunately, she happened to bear a striking resemblance to. Namely because, far as any of the holy individuals gathered, she was little better than them, if she was any better at all. She carried the same taint, was cursed by the same plague, and smelled of the same rot as any of the Scourge soldiers they had valiantly slain in the name of the Light. Her bones may be better cared for, and better covered by what skin she had left, but she could feel any number of them forcing away the idea of simply smiting her where she sat. An ironic twist of fate, she believed, considering that they had taken up residence in a cathedral that had once housed the Scarlet Crusade. None of them would want to admit it, but at least some likely agreed with the Crusade's lust for the eradication of the undead. To rid the world of the abominations of nature, as they considered them to be, via the method of holy fire. But, to keep themselves from that image, they were forced to act pleasant, and keep their distances. In return, she had kept her distance, back against a wall, seated lazily on a bench. When one of them stared at her in disgust, she stared blankly back. Once they realized that she had no need to blink, they would relent and return to whatever they had happened to be doing. At some point, she told herself, she was going to determine just who exactly it was she wanted to speak to. That moment had yet to come. On the recommendation of a necromancer, she was seeking out a wielder of the Light. Someone who could perhaps help her with her terminal problem of being undead. In a way that didn't end with her being dead once more, that is. Except knowing absolutely no one made it impossible to decide on who was worth bothering with any details. Any number of races were prowling about, ranging from humans and elves to Draenei and Tauren, and each and every one of them seemed like poor ideas to approach. The longer she sat idly by, the more she considered the fact that the entire suggestion had likely been meant as a joke at her expense. Something to send her off on a journey that was going to end with her being a smoldering pile of ash being danced upon by a number of individuals dressed in matching golden armor. On the one hand, she considered that immensely cruel, and was silently wishing she had maybe put at least a couple of holes into the necromancer. In this situation though, now that she thought about it, there was no other hand. At first she wanted to believe she could respect the macabre nature of the joke, but by this point was more frustrated than anything. Each minute that passed seem to find her slouching more and more. To the point where her shoulders appeared to be folding straight into her knees. An uncomfortable sight to behold, she presumed, and a pose that would have caused her back problems if her spine wasn't hunched and deformed as it was. Forcing herself to sit up, she could feel individual parts of it pop and crack and they settled back into place, and took the moment to appreciate the fact that the entire process was painless. The same could be said for her the rest of her, her bones scraping and grinding against each other in a symphony of horrible noises as she returned to a standing position, making for the cathedral's grand exit. So distant were her thoughts that she barely noticed as a priest growing gradually closer to her. It wasn't until they collided that her attention returned to the area around her. In an instant she had skittered back against one of the hall's many pillars, crouching low, hands hovering over her daggers. Her beady eyes bored into the priestess she had rammed into, who herself had already retreated a good distance away, her pale hands coming up to cover her mouth. When it became apparent that there was no need for her blades, Lenora straightened herself, hands dropping lazily to her sides. Eyes darting away from the priestess in an awkward fit of embarrassment, she let out a hoarse mutter. "Sorry." The priestess blinked at the noise, taking a moment to be sure that it had actually come from the undead woman. Or perhaps she was more surprised by the fact that she could still manage to speak Common. Regardless of the reason for her surprise, the priestess managed to overcome it, returning herself to something resembling composure. Brushing off what dust had gathered on her robe, she shook her head dismissively, "Don't worry about it. I am at least partially to blame." Lenora allowed her head to bob up and down at the prospect of sharing the blame. Anything to keep from having to be too apologetic, and to end this quicker. She wanted to leave, and this had only extended the entire ordeal of her departure. "If you don't mind me asking," the priestess said, taking a step closer, "I am curious about what it is you're doing here." She blinked once, then twice, turning her attention from the exit to the priestess. Another set of blinking didn't exactly do anything to help her confusion, but she proceeded to do it anyway. There wasn't so much surprise in the question, she assumed most everyone else had been wondering why an undead had crawled into their halls and sat herself down there without saying a word, but rather the suddenness of it. There was supposed to be conversation leading up to such a brazen question. Something about manners, and dancing around an issue before it could be fully address. And here it was being simply ignored. Inching ever so slightly closer, her eyes narrowed, darting left and right to confirm that there wasn't some paladin waiting in the wings to burn her in holy flame. Deciding the coast was clear, she allowed her shoulders to roll, "Uh. Just. Just looking for some help." It wasn't the response the priestess was expecting, made clear by the way her eyebrows knitted together, and how long it took her to process. Her hands rose and dropped as though she were about to start making a point, but said points appeared to die before they could ever leave her mouth. Taking yet another step closer, she eyed the undead woman over once more. Had Lenora been standing straight up, they likely would have been similar in height. But hunched over as she was, that involved the priestess literally looking down on her. "It sounds. Sounds really. Uh," Lenora said, looking away again, "Sounds really stupid. I. I know." A short chuckle escaped from the priestess, "I am inclined to agree." Once more Lenora turned, eyes narrowing at the bluntness of the response, but she didn't say anything more. Slightly taken aback, the priestess brought her hands up defensively, offering a soft smile, "I can't imagine what sort of help you imagined you could get, especially from anyone here." Lenora's shoulders shifted up in a shrug once more, "I. I don't know. Just. Maybe. If anyone. Seeing if anyone could. Fix. This." She made a weak gesture to herself. A more serious expression took over the priestess's face, "There's nothing here to fix that, save having one of the senior members give you a merciful death." "I. I figured. I figured that out," she muttered, rubbing the back of her neck, "Still. Still thought I. I thought I should. Find out." The priestess gave her a questioning look, to which the undead huffed, "Just. Just think about. Think about what you'd. You'd do." It surprised Lenora to find that the woman's already pale face could go a few shades lighter. All it took to reach such a point was for the woman to imagine the curse of undeath. If anything, Lenora wondered if she wasn't going to throw up from the thought, with the way she started swaying, but she steadied herself, shaking off whatever had just possessed her. "Yes, well," she said, idly bringing her hands together, "I suppose that makes sense. But you'll find no solutions here. The Light has the power to return the dead to life, but only in the state that they left it. Or so I have been taught." Lenora's eyes narrowed as she considered that. "So were you resurrected, you would only be returned as you are now. Or worse, given how the Light might sear you." Her eyes once more scanned the room, considering that. And again, all she could bring herself to do was shrug. Even if she hadn't know it for certain, she had know that hoping for some sort of miracle cure was insane. Not that she had stopped hoping. "Guess. Guess I'll just. Start. Looking somewhere else." The priestess blinked, head tilting at the prospect, "There isn't a cure for undeath. Nothing about you can be fixed. Your body is." She paused, biting her lip for once to prevent herself from making such a clear statement, "Obviously not well. And I doubt that your spirit has done any better for being tied to such a thing." As Lenora opened her mouth to make some final statement, she continued, "But there if there was someone who could help in matters of the soul, there might be individuals trained for the task. My instructor once told me of her sister, beyond the Dark Portal, who had trained to be a 'Soulpriest'. Though last I heard, they weren't welcome to outsiders." Letting her eyes drop to the floor, Lenora stared at the white tile. Without another word, she turned to begin shuffling towards the door. Behind her she could hear the priestess scuffling along after her. Still saying things that she couldn't be bothered to listen to. She pushed herself past the heavy doors the moment she reached them, giving no regard for the cold beyond. Nor the snow, with her bony feet pressing on without missing a beat. At some point her little sabbatical was going to have to end. She knew was much, tried to convince herself as much. In fact, if she were wise, it would have ended before now. Before going to the ends and edges of the known world, and now beyond, for the sake of a solution that didn't exist. The answer to her question was well known, and she simply refused to heed it. Everyone else seemed to have gotten with the program, and settled into the fact that this was their normal, or at least had convinced themselves to play the part. Once more her eyes narrowed, and her fists clenched. An eternity awaited her. Either one of darkness when she had her final death, or an uncountable number of lifetimes spent falling to pieces and struggling to keep herself together. And since that was the case, who was to say she was wrong in spending all of it searching for the ever illusive third option.

[warsinmyhead]

Hogwarts AU feat. Carter [HC] – SL

Seb’s father had been transparent with his wife about his magical abilities when they met and got married. His wife was curious about magic, but advised him to be smart and cautious with using it around their son after he was born. No one was surprised when he got his Hogwarts letter. 

Sorting Hat kept going back and forth between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor for the young student. His sorting was a hatstall and he at one point mumbled to the hat, “Sorry, I know I’m not easy to place, but could you please pick one so everyone can stop staring at me?” Eventually the hat settled on Gryffindor, concluding that the bright young mind could use a different kind of challenge. 

Seb does well in Charms and finds Flitwick amusing but wonderful. The latter is wistful that he didn’t get the bright mind for his House, but he doesn’t hold it against him. (Actually Flitwick jokes at one point about how similar the situation was to McGonagall’s, who was sorted the same way.)

One kid gets snappish toward a Hufflepuff for messing up his Charm spell after class, as the attempts could have injured the former. Seb dislikes the tone that the other kid takes with the Hufflepuff and shoves the instigator off.  “Charms isn’t everyone’s cup of tea – piss off will ya?” he shot back to instigator. 

“I got the incantation pronunciation wrong – that’s why he’s mad,” the Hufflepuff responded. “I didn’t mean to almost set him on fire.” “Yeah well he’s a prat that can’t do Potions properly,” Seb remarked with a shake of his head. “I know – he’s either hopeless or intentionally trying to get Snape to deduct points every class.” He extends a hand out and introduces himself to the young man. “Sebastian Li, I prefer Seb.”

The Hufflepuff introduces himself as Carter and eventually the two boys set about trying to help each other as much as they can in class. 

“Don’t take Divination,” Carter sighs as he stretches his arms out. “Hayley coerced me into taking it with her and the professor’s a joke.” “Heard she was a bit mad,” Seb remarked as he passed Carter the bread basket.  “I’ve managed to get a lot of my other assignments done in that class or nap if Hayley lets me take a table in the back. It’s really easy to fall asleep in there – she keeps it so stuffy in there and we sit on cushions.” “Then it’s really her fault if she’s giving you the tools to doze off, right?”

“You’ve never gone?!” “Nope, I almost got lost in Diagon Alley the first time I went shopping for my things,” Carter recalled. “It was sensory overload! I mean, all of those places behind a single wall!” Seb is amazed that Carter has never been to Hogsmeade. His father took him a few times when he was a child because he liked the candy shop there. He has fun showing Carter around Honeydukes and Zonkos.  They probably bought way too much candy that first trip.

“Have you ever visited the kitchens?” “No, is it just staff doing it?” “No, House Elves!” Carter discovered the kitchens and invited Seb to meet the elves who work there. Both make a point of being polite to the elves and often walk away with tons of food in their pockets. 

“Have you ever tried out for Quidditch?” “Nah I’m rubbish on a broom,” Seb confessed. “If I had to fly to safety somewhere, yeah I’m okay. Dodging flying things...no.” “I’ve thought about it, but it’s more fun to watch honestly,” Carter replied with a thoughtful look. “I get scared when people almost get injured thanks to the Bludgers.”

When Seb heard that Carter stayed at the school for the holidays, he asked his parents to let him stay behind so he could keep the other boy company. Sometimes both will stay behind or there are a few times Seb’s parents invited Carter to visit them for holidays or summer. 

It was a small thing, but Seb presented Carter with a photo of the both of them in a frame from branches that the Whomping Willow shed for a gift one holiday. Seb will never forget the beaming smile he got from Carter, who hugged him tightly then planted a kiss on his cheek. 

Carter probably realized what he had done and then tries to apologize for the kiss. But Seb doesn’t mind at all and he kisses the other male on the cheek. 

Sometimes they hold hands but they’re not a huge PDA couple. It’s more of they want to enjoy each other’s company without other people making a huge fuss over them. 

During one visit, Carter gifted Seb’s parents with some flowers and herbs that could be repotted in their garden to say thank you. He made sure they grew properly and the family now tries to make dishes and whatnot from the things planted. 

“It’s sooo hard!” “Look, that Ministry guy said he’s seen loads of bad stuff with early Apparition – we’ll get it eventually!” At best both guys lost eyebrows or side bangs in their early attempts to perform apparition. But they both work harder to pass. They did get some laughs hearing that students saw floating sections of hair in their previous spots. 

They’ve gotten some light teasing from mutual friends asking when the hell they’re going to get married. No response yet, but the pair has considered it. Maybe they’ve joked if both are wearing dress robes or if one of them should put a veil on for laughs.

[parejess]

Fan Theories (Part 1)

One of the most well-known but least accurate fan theories about Harry Potter is that of the Golden Trio (Harry, Ron, and Hermione) and why they each belong in Gryffindor.  As a reminder in case anyone has forgotten, the theory is that though each of the three characters represents a different house, they are all in Gryffindor because they chose to be.  Hermione is the intelligent Ravenclaw, Ron is the loyal Hufflepuff, and Harry is the determined Slytherin, and they all ended up in Gryffindor together because that is where they wanted the Sorting Hat to put them.

There are two things wrong with this theory.  Firstly, this theory gives an inaccurate portrayal of the characters’--particularly Harry’s and Ron’s--traits, and secondly, despite what many Potter fans believe of the books, you cannot expect the Sorting Hat to put you in a certain house just because it’s where you want to go.

Let’s talk about the inaccurate portrayal of the trio’s character traits first.

First off, there is almost nothing about Harry that would suggest that he belongs in Slytherin.  He is not cunning or manipulative, may be good at being a leader but doesn’t actually like it, and really, he is not very ambitious.  He is determined, yes, but only in those situations that involve potential harm to others, such as when he thought that Voldemort had captured Sirius in book 5 and wouldn’t let anything get in the way of rescuing him.  He is not at all competitive, being far more concerned for his friends’ safety than for winning, and this fact is perfectly demonstrated during the Second Task in book 4.  Harry is the first to reach the hostages in the lake, making it almost certain that he will be the first to return and win the most points from the judges, but rather than follow the path that will bring him glory and give him the upper hand in the rest of the tournament, he chooses to ensure the safety of Hermione, Cho, and Gabrielle, a little girl he does not even know.

Harry is about the most Gryffindor-y character out of everyone in the entire series.  He loves going on adventures and solving mysteries, he is very reliant on his reflexes and impulses and often acts without thinking, and at times, he can be a bit reckless because of it.  It is in his nature to always do the right and noble thing, and like the stereotypical Gryffindor, he loves and is very prone to, as Ron says, “playing the hero.”  However, unlike the stereotypical Gryffindor, he doesn’t play the hero in order to gain fame, glory, and popularity--he plays the hero in order to help people.

That is why, if Harry was not in Gryffindor, he would be a Hufflepuff.  He is loyal to all people--all CREATURES, really, as this includes House Elves, Goblins, Hippogriffs, etc.--and only defies them if they threaten those loyalties, as seen with Draco, Lucius, Voldemort, etc.  When threatened, he responds not offensively but defensively, protecting the ones he loves and ensuring their safety before going for the fight.  He puts others before himself (sacrificing himself to Voldemort in book 7), he is very forgiving and doesn’t hold grudges (saving Malfoy from the Fiendfyre in book 7 despite everything that he had done), and he believes that everyone deserves a second chance (stopping Lupin and Sirius from killing Wormtail in book 3).

Ron is supposed to be the representative of Hufflepuff, but given the evidence above, Harry belongs in this house far more than he does.  Ron does do the right thing--in most instances--but never goes to the extremes that Harry does. He loves his friends and is very loyal to them, but he is not loyal in that sense that Hufflepuffs are.  Ron’s loyalty aligns more with Slytherin house; he is very loyal to his friends and family (Harry, Hermione, and the rest of the Weasleys), but when it comes to the rest of the magical world, he is fairly indifferent.  It is true that he was made a prefect, but he doesn’t have the sense of responsibility or duty that the position requires (often slacking off just because he feels like it).  He is very competitive and wants to stand out and be the best (as we see when he looks in the Mirror of Erised in book 1), he has a prominent jealousy streak (when he stops speaking to Harry after he is chosen to be a Triwizard Champion in book 4), and though he may not come up with it initially, he is very open to the idea of manipulating others in order to get what he wants (his excitement at Harry’s plan to trick Griphook and cheat him out of the Sword of Gryffindor in book 7).

Ron lacks almost every Hufflepuff trait, and the few reasons why people think he should belong to that house are actually reasons why he would make a good Slytherin.  However, Slytherin and Gryffindor are very similar in their thoughts and actions, and Ron’s extroverted tendencies in pretty much everything he does make him lean more toward the latter than the former.  So basically, if he wasn’t in Gryffindor, he would be in Slytherin.

Now, Hermione is a different story altogether.  This theory states that Hermione is a Ravenclaw, and though I agree, I think so in a different way.  Ravenclaw house is probably the most diverse out of the four, encompassing people from her to Luna Lovegood, who couldn’t be more different.  Like a typical Ravenclaw, Hermione values intelligence, is competitive and looks down on cheating, has an immense thirst for knowledge, and can be quite the know-it-all, but many of these traits can be seen in the other three houses as well.  Hufflepuff house values fair play, so they would also look down on cheating, Slytherins are very competitive and ambitious, and intelligent people can appear in any house, really.

Because of the extensive descriptions of Hermione as a character, both within and between the lines of the books, I think that she is more of a Slytherin-style Ravenclaw.  Hermione is very hardworking like a Hufflepuff and wants to be the noble leader like a Gryffindor, but her closed minded-ness, sense of perfection, extremely competitive nature, and jealous tendencies suggest more of a Slytherin personality.  Hermione’s closed mind makes her very self-centered, especially as we see with her self-established group, the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare.  It’s great that she wants to do the right thing and give House Elves equal rights within the Wizarding World, but she doesn’t stop to think about what the elves actually WANT.  She thinks she knows what is best for them even though they have actively disagreed with her, and she goes so far as to trick them in order to get them to do what she wants them to do (when she leaves out the rubbish-covered hats in the Gryffindor Common Room in book 5).  The right thing is what HERMIONE deems as the right thing, nothing more and nothing less.

The fact that she loves knowledge and learning more than anything else makes Ravenclaw Hermione’s dominant house, but Slytherin is a close second.  Other than her bravery and stubbornness, Hermione really doesn’t have many Gryffindor traits.

The second reason why this theory doesn’t really make sense is that Hogwarts students cannot just choose their own houses based on where they want to be.  I understand why people would think that they can, for after all, Dumbledore DOES say in book 2 that Harry is in Gryffindor because he told the Sorting Hat that he wanted to be.  However, if we look more closely at what he says, we will see a different meaning:

“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

The Sorting Hat saw in Harry many Slytherin qualities (because he was a Horcrux), but it put him in Gryffindor because it also saw the desire to take actions and make choices that align with Gryffindor.  He can talk to snakes and has the ability to order them to attack people, but he doesn’t because he would never want to harm anyone.  He has the potential to be a great and powerful leader, but he avoids that because he doesn’t want to control others nor does he like the attention.  Harry has so many opportunities to be selfish but he never takes them, choosing to go his own way rather than to just do what is easy.

“Choice” is the key word here.  Someone may be very smart, but because they CHOOSE to value hard work and responsibility over intelligence, they would be sorted into Hufflepuff over Ravenclaw.  Everyone has a bit of every Hogwarts House inside them, but what they deem as important and what they would do, say, in the face of a crisis, is a lot more telling than simply their abilities.  People’s values often tend to coincide with their abilities and so are thus sorted into the houses that they desire to be in, but it is because of the values, and not the abilities, that they are there.  So, to an extent, a student can choose his or her own house, but not in the way that they would think, and certainly NOT in the way that this theory proposes.