#like. a general pros/cons list. what about (insert ambition here) would put someone off

[thegreatyin]

im trying to make my own ambition rec guide because i feel like i've dragged enough people into fallen london that at this point it's criminal to not have one of my own, and i have a very important prompt for all of FL tumblr; why- in your opinion- would someone want to play your ambition of choice, versus why would they NOT want to play it?

[anomalous-pluviophile]

yaas, i discovered a hidden stash of free time. naturally i’m gonna spend it sorting myself. a random walk through the tumblrs led me to the 6 trait sorting test, courtesy of @6-trait-sort (who else?)

they provide a quiz, so i tried that first and got

Ravenclaw! house of Garrick Ollivander, Uric the Oddball and Quirinus Quirrel. not sure i’m a huge fan of any of these guys, but the description sounds like me:

Ravenclaws tend to devote themselves to intellectual pursuits before people. We favour friends who are intellectually stimulating, but do not form bonds easily; however, we do not create conflicts easily, either. We're seldom interested in social standing or superficial symbols of success. Ravenclaws have been labelled everything from snobby to eccentric (and sometimes we are these things), but we are more often thoughtful, genuine and open-minded.

of course i’m not gonna stop there because i can’t go on with my life not knowing what the six traits are, and how they correspond to the houses. luckily they also provide a breakdown of the traits.

Introverted vs. Extroverted

An extrovert prefers external stimulus, while an introvert will look within. An introvert is not necessarily shy, but may not seek to have attention drawn to them.  Extroverts tend to have more friends, but introverts do not necessarily like their friends less, they simply require less social stimulus.

yeah i’m a total introvert, 100%. this may come as a surprise to anyone who has casually hung out with me, i.e., had their ears talked off by me, but it’s definitely true. the chatty, happy, friendly self is a non-default mode that drains my energy rapidly. after that i’m going home and making a pillow fort with no openings other than the “insert tea here” slot. subjectively, most of my life consists of inner experiences...most of my activities are solitary and inward-facing. when i go out in the world it’s usually to achieve a goal, or to cultivate certain inner experiences (enjoying nature, taking photos, etc).

according to the 6-traits classification system, introversion is a Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff trait, whereas Gryffindor and Slytherin are extroverted.

(though, just between me and you all, i think there’s a lot of wiggle room....Neville is a painfully introverted Gryffindor. Snape is a classic Slytherin and he strikes me as introverted. i would call Tonks an extroverted Hufflepuff. as for Ravenclaw...you got me, can’t think of any counterexamples xD)

Assertive vs. Accommodating

Relatively self explanatory. Remember, it’s as important to consider whether you are likely to exert your will upon another person as it is to consider whether you will allow their will exerted on you.

soo...i actually don’t find this relatively self-explanatory at all 😅 the description suggests it’s fundamentally about exertion of power: do i exert my will upon other people, or do i allow them to exert their will over me? i would say neither. i’m generally not interested in bending other people to my will, but at the same time i’m incredibly willful regarding my own goals, and won’t let others overrule me. i’ve developed very strong boundaries. but like any decent human being i think, i make an effort to respect other people’s boundaries too.

perhaps twisting this interpretation a little bit, i do think i actively assert my will on the forces operating in my world. i don’t let the wind blow me around, so to speak...i’m less shaped by my circumstances and more the shaper thereof. i do take control of my environment to serve my goals. so i would call myself more assertive than accommodating. i’m just not overly-assertive, or aggressive, to the point of coercing and controlling other people.

6-traits calls Gryffindor and Slytherin assertive, while Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are accommodating.

People-Oriented vs. Task-Oriented

Is a good day defined by the company you keep or the accomplishments you make? Does career satisfaction come from contributing to society or from enjoyment of the job? This can seem similar to Extroversion vs. Introversion, but consider that it is possible to be extroverted and task-oriented (such a person would be prototypically Slytherin).

i’m distinctly more task-oriented than people-oriented. i can certainly enjoy spending time with people, but in my head there’s a mental image of my to-do list and i’m checking off the box marked “spend time with people”. for me it’s a good day if i’ve accomplished something i wanted to do. and i definitely don’t give a hoot about society when choosing my career path. don’t get me wrong, i value people inherently...i want to connect and love...but that aspect of my life has often been secondary and something i’ve had to consciously work on.

the task-oriented houses are Slytherin and Ravenclaw, says 6-traits, while Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are people-oriented.

Brain vs. Heart

“Whether brave or loyal, you have heart; whether cunning or clever, you favour smarts.” This is really about whether you follow your intuition and compassion or your intellectual understanding of a situation. But remember that it’s about relative dominance – Hermione is exceptionally bright, but her heart outweighed that and put her in Gryffindor.

braaaiiiiiinnnsss. er, brain. not (only) in the sense that i’m intelligent, but in terms of which modality i tend to use to engage with and understand— my m.o. is intellectual and analytical. even in matters of the heart: i’m that person who doesn’t understand myself until i read a self-help book and literally makes a pro/con list in my head when someone asks me on a date.

it’s interesting to me that intuition is in the heart category here. i do use intuition, but i use it within an intellectual framework...for me, intuition is the voice from my unconscious that presents a fully-formed solution to my problem before i’ve consciously reasoned through it. it’s fundamentally a brain function.

Slytherin and Ravenclaw are the brainy houses, unsurprisingly, whereas Gryffindor and Hufflepuff have heart.

Passive vs. Driven

You can excel no matter which house you call home, but there are different ways to approach success. “Driven” describes a person who will go to great lengths to do well, who both wants to do well and plans to do well. We see this in the Slytherin ambition and in the Hufflepuff work ethic. “Passive” describes someone less likely to think about the future, who does well because they are immersed in the task at hand. Ravenclaws may care about their academic performance, but not as much as they care about the knowledge itself.

oh, just 👏 for presenting this trait pair. it’s one that figures so prominently in my own personality. and yes, i’m driven. i’m always planning, deciding, executing, achieving. you’ll never catch me without goals, even if they’re unconventional ones. and i’m willing to admit that being driven isn’t always a positive trait...i’ve been known to drive myself so hard i burn out, and the resulting recovery period where i’m unable to push forward like normal is a huge blow to my identity and how i function.

6-traits calls Slytherin and Hufflepuff the driven houses, and Gryffindor and Ravenclaw passive.

(just as an aside...idk if i can see ‘passive’ as an opposite of driven that fits those two. i find them more spontaneous, capricious, or instinctive perhaps. they are active, but not in a planned, enduring way.)

Cooperative vs. Independent

This refers not simply to a person’s ability to work alone or on a team but to their broader social inclinations. Cooperative individuals care about social hierarchy and networking. They may desire to lead or follow, but they certainly care about their role. Slytherins may seek to climb the social ladder; they may also emphasize family values. Hufflepuffs seek equality for all, but they are also concerned with other people’s perception of them (cf. Ernie MacMillan). Independent individuals are simply less likely to think about social standing, and will certainly place less value on it. They may be eccentric, like Luna, or determined to take individual action, like Harry.

i am definitely not keen on networking and have never understood the social hierarchy at all, so i’d say i’m independent. come to think of it, i am both eccentric and determined to act of my own accord. i do need people in my corner, but i’m not acting on the basis of what people want or expect— i’m acting individually and then connecting with the people who support me. and flipping the bird to the ones who don’t.

the independent houses are Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and the cooperative houses are Slytherin and Hufflepuff.

~

if i assign a score to each house based on the number of its traits i identify with:

Gryffindor: 2 (assertive, independent) Ravenclaw: 4 (introverted, task-oriented, brain, independent) Hufflepuff: 2 (introverted, driven) Slytherin: 4 (assertive, task-oriented, brain, driven)

that makes me a Ravenclaw-Slytherin hatstall.

slytherclaw4eva?