Snatch that snitch, Harry!
This is a re-application and my sponsor is Mae/ satanseraph. I kept the base answers from my last application and elaborated. :)
The Introduction
1. What is your name, and what do you prefer to be called?
Hi, my name is Jordan Mason. I prefer to be called Jo however. When I was a child I was teased because of my name, because Jordan is a predominantly male name people often thought I was boy. Now that I'm older I love my name and I get a good laugh out of the occasional mail I receive addressed to Mr. Jordan Mason.
2. How old are you? I am 18 years old.
3. How did you come across our community? (If you were referred by a member, please mention them so we can give them credit!) awritersfantasy posted at hphouseicons with a request and I was intrigued by a hybrid house sorting community.
The Canon
4. Choosing one character from the following list, explain what house (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin) you think they would have been in and why. (Cornelius Fudge, Amos Diggory, Gilderoy Lockhart, Viktor Krum, Fleur Delacour, Rufus Scrimgeour, Rita Skeeter)
Rita Skeeter in Slytherin for the win! *cough*
Let’s have a look at part of the Sorting Hat’s rhyme for Slytherin shall we?
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends
How perfectly does that describe Rita Skeeter? Rita is as cunning and self serving as they come. The information she gathers through her eavesdropping is twisted into an essentially unrecognizable state, all for the furtherance of her career. She doesn’t care that the things written by her quick quotes quill harm others. It’s all about her, how very fitting of a Slytherin. She’s cunning, that fact can’t be denied. She couldn’t spy properly in human form so she studied to become an animagus, something that takes considerable skill. She also likes to make Harry’s life difficult, which seems to be a favorite Slytherin past time.
There is also an article on JK Rowling’s website about a Weasley cousin by the name of Mafalda.
Mafalda was supposed to convey certain information about the Death Eaters to Harry, Ron and Hermione, because as a nosy, eavesdropping Slytherin who likes to impress, she does not keep her mouth shut when she overhears their sons and daughters talking. Unfortunately, however bright I made her, there were obvious limitations to what an eleven year old closeted at school could discover, whereas Rita Skeeter, whom I subsequently built up to fulfill Mafalda's function, was much more flexible.
I think this also points to Rita being a Slytherin. Since Rita essentially took Malfada’s place, and since Malfalda was a Slytherin with a lot of the same traits that Rita possesses, it’s a logical conclusion.
5. What character do you most relate to?
To me Hermione Granger is easily the most identifiable character.
I am a self described book worm. I was in the top 5 percent of my class through out high school, and I was the top in math. Studying was the most important thing in my life for the whole of Freshman year. I eventually loosened up with the help of friends, but I never lost my love for learning. I'm also quite the bossy type, and I've never been one to take easily to breaking a rule.
Hermione is a strong character, and she has a brilliant mind. I really identify with her desire to help those she sees as oppressed or as an underdog. Her character is a lot of the things I aspire to be, studious, talented, and an asset to her friends.
6. Choose one aspect of the story as told by Rowling that you dislike, and tell us how you would change it. (Please avoid the subjects of romance and shipping.)
Well, this is a toughie. The series is well written and in my mind leaves little to be desired. However, Sirius death's bothers me. He escaped Azkaban only to be done away by a fancy curtain?! It just seems too easy. I need more info on the intricacies of how the veil works for my curiosity to sufficiently satisfied. Such as how exactly does the veil work? Does it actually kill the person or does it send them to an alternate universe? How come you can hear voices from behind the veil? Can you communicate with the people on the other side somehow?
The Person
7. If you could put a memory in a pensieve for the specific purpose of viewing it later, what would it be and why?
This is also a difficult question. Most of the memories I would want to store away in the pensieve have already been mostly forgotten. I don't remember the specifics, just that they were the happiest times of my life.
I suppose I’ll go with what little of the memory of my papa and me fishing I can recall. When I was younger my papa and I would go fishing every weekend of the summer. One particular time we drove an hour just to get to a small fishing spot where you could supposedly catch bass. We had been fishing for about thirty minutes when my papa caught a really big fish, he reeled it in it turned out to be a rather large Alligator Gar. It bit plumb through the fishing line and swam off. We laughed for an hour, and every time we told the story the Gar got larger and it got closer to biting my papa’s finger.
You see my papa passed away when I was 12, and I still haven’t quite gotten over it. The thing I wish for more than anything is to have him still with me; in fact I’m pretty sure if you stuck me in front of the Mirror of Erised I would see him and me standing together laughing, or something of that sort.
8. What are three traits that define you? How has each trait had positive impact and negative impact on your life?
Humor: Positive: I can find humor in everything, and a good laugh is one of my true joys in life. I’m also pretty good at making others laugh. If I can make others laugh or makes them happy it makes me happy and that’s just plain awesome. / Negative: I sometimes laugh at very inopportune times, like at a comment made during a serious conversation. I also use humor as a coping mechanism during stressful times. Some find me immature because I can be very easily amused, on the other hand some would call being easily amused a positive trait because I laugh easily and laugh often.
Truth: Positive: I am a very honest person. I would rather get in trouble for the truth than get by on a lie. Although, I’d rather not get in trouble at all, so I always try to do the right thing and avoid trouble, I have an honest reputation and I tend to garner trust from others easier than most of my peers because of such. / Negative: I’m brutally honest in my opinions, and I have a tendency to hurt others feelings because of it. It’s not that I want to but when you ask a question of me you are going to get my honest opinion. I try to be honest and not be hurtful, but sometimes it is unavoidable. I don’t sugar coat the truth. I’d rather someone give me their honest opinion so that is what I provide them with.
Forgetfulness: Positive: Is there a positive to being forgetful? / Negative: Because I have the memory of a spastic squirrel, I forget appointments I have made and other important dates. If it’s not constantly in my face reminding me it’ll inevitably be forgotten, and half the time it will be forgotten even if it’s in my face. I also forget to make appointments. For example, I’ve been meaning to make an appointment with my doctor for two weeks now and I still haven’t. I always remember at night once the doctor’s office has closed for the evening.
9. What is one specific thing that you have never done but strongly wish to do sometime in your life?
Travel. I want to experience all the cultures of the world, learn their customs, their language, and their folklore. I want to see all the beauty the world has to offer. I want to run with the bulls in Pamplona, go for a gondola ride in Venice, and go on a safari in Kenya. I’m especially interested in the people you meet when traveling, the friendships you can make. The world has so much to offer, if we just take advantage of that fact.
The World
10. What is your biggest pet peeve and why?
Racism! Why on earth do people feel they can discriminate on basis of how brown one’s skin is? Just because I’m white and the other person is black I am no more of a person than they are, I should have no more rights and privileges and the same goes from them. We are all humans; the world needs to learn this.
Maybe I should expand that to inequality. People discriminate on all kinds of bases, race, religion, social stature, financial status, physical condition, and it’s just not right. I’ll give you an example, I was in a car accident at the age of 14 and it left me paralyzed from the waist down. People tend to assume that I’m ‘not right’ at first glance because I’m in a wheelchair. They don’t take into account the possibility that I’m perfectly fine until they have a conversation with me and see for themselves that I can do anything they can, short of walking around. It really irks me; people do not take into account the affect their assumptions can have on others.
11. Describe the people you admire most. What do they have in common with each other? How are they different?
My mother. She’s strong, beautiful, and I love her so very much. She’s been my pillar through rough times and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without her. Our relationship goes beyond the mother/daughter thing and goes into a deep friendship. I admire her strong will and the fact that she doesn’t let other’s opinions get her down, or affect her outlook. She’s also a very intelligent person, and although her life has been less that perfect, she’s still strong and loving. I honestly can’t think of another person I admire. I hold many people in high esteem, but I don’t know if I would go as far as to call it admiration.
12. How do you think people see you? Does the person you show to the public differ from the person you are on the inside? Explain.
Oh, man you had to ask me didn’t you? =P
My friends tend to see me as the nerd in the group. I was always the one to decline to go out on Friday nights because we had a huge test Monday morning. Study used to be more important than fun. I value them both now. They also see me as the one who’s off her rocker.
The older people in my life tend to see me as strong willed and inspirational. I think it’s because of all the things I’ve gone through yet still manage to come out optimistic and ready to face things head on. At the age of 14 I was nearly killed in a car accident. I was in the ICU for 3 and half months and left paralyzed. The doctors didn’t think I would live 5 minutes after being brought to the hospital let alone from then on. I was the doctor’s miracle child, the first documented case of someone being picked up off the ground alive, much less living on. I just wasn’t willing to let go of life.
The person people see and the real me don’t drastically differ, some of the more personal aspects of my being stay between me and I, but that’s a very small percentage of who I am on the inside.
The Community
13. What do you believe you bring to this community?
Anything I can. I’ll enjoy making new friends with similar interests, participating in debates, and occasionally, if I think it’s up to par, fanfiction and fanart. I’ll also be a frequenter of the graphics community.
14. Which hybrid house do you believe you are the most like? Make a case for and a case against your placement there.
I have aspects of all four of the traditional houses, and trying to choose the one hybrid I feel I fit best in is quite frankly difficult. Oh, how I wish I had the sorting hat to give me some type of clue. I’ll go ahead and say Ravendor though.
I value intellect and common sense a lot, so something to do with Ravenclaw would fit me best. I try my best to face things head on. I’m a bit rash at times a rush into things without thinking them through, which is definitely a Gryffindor quality but it goes against Ravenclaw. I’m a very passionate person, and when I believe in something I REALLY believe in it, and I put my all into it. I can however be lazy and put of work, even school work if it’s not of dire importance, I will get it done, but it may come in just on the deadline.
15. Which hybrid house do you believe you are the least like? Make a case for and a case against your placement there.
I don’t think I would fit well in a Slytherin hybrid house. Most of what they stand for I’m against, especially their discrimination based on parentage (That is not to say all Slytherins are like this!). They also seem to be sort of sneaky, and although I am capable of sneaky, it goes against my desire for complete honesty. I am however a very ambitious person, but I’m not one to do anything to get where I want to go. If I can’t get there through hard work and perseveration I shouldn’t be there.