So is the Sorting Hat schizophrenic?
LUMOS SORTING APPLICATION
Name: Rachel Marguerite Martin. 'S not shiny or pretty in any way, but I'm named for my great-grandma who was Finnish and my great-great-aunt who had red hair and taught French. And "Martin" means "warlike", I believe. I had this all memorized about four years ago...
Age (13 or up; we stick to LJ rules): Sixteen. (years, seven months, and five days, says the inner six-year-old which insists on being impossibly precise on such things.)
Location: Burke, Virginia. Northern Virginia. Meaning no rednecks and very few actual Southerners, because of its proximity to DC...I'm from New Jersey, though.
Where did you hear about this community? visceralvamp, lovely girl she is.
How much time are you willing to invest in this community? As much as is necessary, I suppose. I spend a lot of time online and lurking LJ, although this might change towards August and September - band takes precedence over everything short of breathing and eating, I'm afraid, due to fanatical directors from Tennessee.
PART 1 - Canon
1. Have you read all the books? Every one, multiple times, and the two textbooks, and a few fanalyses (Exploring Harry Potter, The Sorcerer's Companion, and I just made up "fanalyses" from fan + analysis, for lack of anything else to call them), and loads of fanfiction.
2. Give us your personal interpretation of each Hogwarts house (in terms of atmosphere, mentality, intra-house relationships et cetera - these are just a few examples). Ohhh wow.
Gryffindors - Brave. Brave brave brave. Determined and proud and sometimes so set on doing the right thing that they'll risk life, limb, and reputation to get it done. The pride means they never admit to being wrong until they absolutely have to. They prefer not to have faults. They're idealistic in that they think everything'll work out right and everyone will love them if they just hang in there and do the right thing. "Tragic heroes" in every sense of the phrase. Competitive in that they think that anything less than full effort is "losing". They're massively friendly, because it's the right thing to be.
Slytherins - I hate to mix fandoms, but the Discworld fans among you will recognize the name of Vetinari - he's a classic Slytherin. They're Machiavellian in such a way that they'll do whatever they can to get what they want. Charismatic and again prideful, but they recognize their faults and embrace them - they like being sneaky and sly. They're elitists, fiercely loyal to anyone they deem worthy - a select few, but it would have to be; it wouldn't do to be running around risking your life for hundreds of "best friends". Competitive in that anything showing weakness or ineptitude is failure. In their opinions, rules are good things for other people.
Hufflepuffs - Nice people. Well-intentioned, pacifists, loyal, friendly, generous, hard-working... All-around lovely people, maybe a little prone to naivete... You get the feeling, though, from characters like Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie, that they have a fierce sense of justice.
Ravenclaws - The wise ones. Life is more than school and petty friendships and passing a test, and they realize this. Knowledge is the only permanent thing in the world, and you use what you know to get ahead. Ravenclaws seem the most tolerant of the other Houses, because they don't see the point of getting into fights or worrying about what other people say - case in point, Luna Lovegood. They'll follow rules because it's easier than defying them, and they tend to slide under the radar because they've got the stigma of "knowing better".
3. What would be your favourite flavour of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and why (note: as the name implies, all possible flavours exist)? Key lime pie. While it's not my favorite food, it's the only flavor I could imagine cooperating with the texture of a jelly bean that isn't either a) a normal flavor or b) readily available elsewhere (i.e. paper). Because...think about it. A spaghetti-flavored jelly bean, all chalky and chewy and lukewarm...Eugh. Bonus: key lime pie is damn good.
4. If you were on your House’s Quidditch Team, which position would you preferably play and why? Ahaha. Beater. I'm not good at sports unless I have some kind of weapon - fencing, say - and the club used by Beaters seems a nice sort of tool. I quite like the idea of whacking a cannonball in the direction of an opposing team member, and I wouldn't have to worry about scoring or working with other people or winning the game. Just diversions. I'm good at diversions.
5. (Optional) What HP conspiracy theory do you hold true unless it is textually proven otherwise? (i.e. Snape is a vampire, Ron is Dumbledore, etc. -there are loads of these theories. Feel free to contribute
your own)? I think Draco's got more than a shred of decency in the depths of his tortured soul. He's too much of a character to be wasted on becoming a mindless Lord Voldie flunkie (and I wept when I realized he's slowly turning into one in OotP - BUT THERE IS STILL TIME! I beg, I plead, JKR, don't waste your good bad guy!). I'm not saying he's going to realize the error of his ways and turn into a fluffy docile little sheep, but I think he's got potential for some really good Dark-Side-betrayal drama.
6. (Optional. If you can't answer #5, make sure you answer this one.) What is your favorite book aside from HP and why? Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. The people - you wouldn't think four eleven-year-olds would be so hard to get right, but this is the only book where I've seen a really perfect kid. Even if he was the Antichrist. That's the other thing - there are so many weird little things that work brilliantly together. It's by my two favorite authors and it's got religion and sarcasm and really hilarious footnotes and it's a perfect book, just perfect.
7. What would your Room of Requirement look like? Apart from it looking exactly like Hagrid's Hut... there'd be a hardwood floor with a reeaaally fuzzy rug; white walls covered mostly with a TV (equipped with DVD player and Xbox, or the nearest magical equivalent), a large stereo system, bookshelves containing a floating population of DVDs, books, CDs, and miscellaneous games (whatever fits my current mood - it is magical), and posters; a big leather chair and ottoman; and a cat. The cat would be grey and named Roxie. And there would be blankets and pillows everywhere and a fireplace. Light would come from a big window overlooking a nice forest.
8. Describe your wand and tell us why you picked that design. Teak - lasts a million years and looks pretty, but mostly lasts a million years. Eight inches long, which is of a size to fit into a pocket (not a back pocket; I like my butt); three-quarters of an inch in diameter because it's thick enough to feel substantial but not stupidly heavy. I'd say a dragon heartstring for a core, because dragons are pretty and hot-blooded and can BURN YOUR HEAD OFF. And they can fly. And they don't have to be all peaceful and wise like phoenixes and unicorns; I like mythical animals that can party. Or, you know, eat people. Because that's pretty cool.
PART 2 - You
Please go here
and fill out the short Myers-Briggs test. (This test irritates me beyond all reason because the choices are so limiting. Like #35. Do you prefer: Rules and structure or breaking all the rules? I like knowing what the rules are so I can decide whether or not to keep them...)
9. Paste the URL of your results (TOP 5) including its description
here.
Your #1 Match: ESTP
The Doer
You are adventurous and risk taking. You act first, think second.
You love being the center of attention. Chances are you were the class clown.
Competitive, charming, and charasmatic - you have your own code of honor.
You live a flexible life, bouncing between a series of activies that interest you.
You would make a great salesperson, marketing director, or entrepreneur.
Your #2 Match: ESTJ
The Guardian
You're a natural leader and quick, logical decision maker.
Goals are important in your life, and you take many steps to acheive them.
You enjoy interacting with others, mostly through work related activities.
Your high energy level means you are great at getting things done!
You would make a great teacher, judge, or police detective.
Your #3 Match: ENTP
The Visionary
You are charming, outgoing, friendly. You make a good first impression.
You possess good negotiating skills and can convince anyone of anything.
Happy to be the center of attention, you love to tell stories and show off.
You're very clever, but not disciplined enough to do well in structured environments.
You would make a great entrpreneur, marketing executive, or actor.
Your #4 Match: ISTP
The Mechanic
You are calm and collected, even in the most difficult of situations.
A person of action and self-direction, you love being independent.
To outsiders yous eem impulsive, surprising, and unpredictable.
You are good at understanding how all things work, except for people.
You would make an excellent pilot, forensic pathologist, or athlete.
Your #5 Match: ENTJ
The Executive
You are a natural leader - with confidence and strength that inspires others.
Driven to succeed, you are always looking for ways to gain, power, knowledge, and expertise.
Sometimes you aren't the most considerate person, especially to those who are a bit slow.
You are not easily intimidated - and you have a commanding, awe-inspiring presence.
You would make a great CEO, entrepreneur, or consultant.
What's Your Personality Type?
10. Who is your role model and why? I don't have one. I respect and look up to people, yes, but I don't want to be exactly like any one of them and I don't get radically inspired by just one person - I'm going to fill my own personal role, and I don't feel the need to base it off of any one person. I'll be me.
11. What would you like to have accomplished at the end of your life? To have lived and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I have a mental list of things I'd like to do - one of them is blowing up a car, safely and from some distance away; another is living in Iceland - but they aren't entirely necessary. I want to like where I've been and have good memories of people and places and things.
12. Would you sooner commit a crime against your kin or your countrymen? Countrymen. I quite like my family, thanks very much, and if they ever found out it was me I'd get killed. But countrymen? I don't know many of them, and those I do are close enough to fit better under "family" than anything else; besides, nothing I do is likely to injure more than a few of them.
13. What would your animagus be and why? A raccoon. They're cute, nocturnal, cute, eat whatever they like, can get anywhere, and cute. They're like cats, but not as stuffy and elitist. And they're cute.
14. What would your patronus be and why? Something big and noisy and probably not of the animal persuasion - a jackhammer, or a car with teeth. (Bad me, but) I'm mixing fandoms again - in Diane Duane's So You Want to Be a Wizard there's a car with quite a vicious personality. It'd be that, but not as sleek-looking (in the book it's a Lotus) and rustier, with a loud engine. That would kind of scare a Dementor, wouldn't you think? And it wouldn't have a soul, meaning the Dementor has nothing on it.
15. What career would you consider if you were indeed part of the wizarding world and why? Ah, this - this is difficult. In the Muggle world I'd most like to be a demolition expert, a civil engineer - the people who plan out exactly how to make a stadium implode, using dynamite and math and physics and all sorts of lovely things. There doesn't seem to be a magical equivalent, seeing as the wizarding world seems to kind of move in to wherever it's allowed - areas already constructed. I can't envision Diagon Alley being built, and I can't see it being blown up either.
I'd like to do something involving travel and research - Bill is a curse-breaker for Gringott's, and that sounds fantastic. Perfect, actually - the research and thinking involved in deconstructing a spell sounds like the kind of math that I adore, and the traveling, and the pay must be great, and...oh yes. I could quite get to like that.
...I did this on a whim and I have no idea where I'll end up. Have fun.