Application.
LUMOS SORTING APPLICATION
Name: Ellen.
Age (13 or up; we stick to LJ rules): Seventeen.
Location: USA. Unfortunately.
Where did you hear about this community? (Please tell us which
lj user recommended you for he/she shall be given a point.) I think it was brokendiamond.
How much time are you willing to invest in this community? As much time as I can.
PART 1 - Canon
1. Have you read all the books? Yes.
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).
The Gryffindor Mentality: I can’t deny it - most of my friends are Gryffindors, online and offline. Their boldness gives them a drive to try anything and everything, which makes being around them exciting. They are never afraid to speak up, because everything they do is inspired by their passion. Gryffindors are generous and polite, but sometimes their bravery is mistaken (not without reason, might I add) for rashness. They are naïve and idealistic; they’d rather lead a massive revolt than educate their followers so they can do it themselves. They’d rather save the world than let disease and destruction keep the population down. This is not to say Gryffindors aren’t intelligent - they just let their heart control their actions. Gryffindors are often optimistic; I have yet to meet a cynic Gryffindor, but I hope I do someday. The red of Gryffindor represents passion, while the gold represents bravery. Gold is bold and bright, more so than silver.
Gryffindor is…: thunderstorms, Hummers (I saw this Hummer once that was bright red with gold trimming, and I screamed out “OHMYGOD IT’S A GRYFFINDOR HUMMER!!!”), that feeling you get at the highest peak of a roller coaster, the voice that tells you to “just do it”, carpe diem, Fathers (usually), cinnamon, big goofy smiles, adrenaline, anger, the heart, fire, “fuck authority!”, the exclamation mark, capslock.
The Hufflepuff Mentality: Hufflepuffs are rational, trusting, loyal, fair, and hardworking. I believe that Hufflepuffs have the same save-the-world mentality that Gryffindors do, but are more realistic about it. I also believe that the main trait of the Hufflepuff house is not perseverance or dependability, but adamancy. To me, the word “adamant” is almost synonymous with “stubbornness” or “hard-headedness”, but that’s not the kind of adamancy I’m talking about. I’m talking about commitment to something one truly believes in. Hufflepuffs will start something, and they will finish it, no matter what the costs are. Sometimes, Hufflepuffs can be more ambitious than any Slytherin. The black of Hufflepuff represents patience and virtue. Black reminds me of the nighttime, and during the night, everything is quiet - as if everything’s patiently waiting for the day to begin again. The yellow of Hufflepuff represents adamancy - it’s bright enough to get your attention and hold it.
Hufflepuff is…: protective, clear skies, that lecture from a really good friend telling you to SNAP OUT OF IT when you’ve been stupid, Mothers (usually), worker ants, the arms and legs of the body, diversity, dexterity, the United Nations, honesty, patience, tradition and virtue but not necessarily rule followers, earth, “benefit of the doubt”.
The Ravenclaw Mentality: Ravenclaws are the knowledge gatherers. They like just knowing things. What’s the capital of Thailand, and what are the 12 uses of dragon’s blood? Who was Britain’s first prime minister? Ravenclaws are very logical as well, but they have a different kind of logic than the Hufflepuffs. The Hufflepuffs’ logic is more optimistic and geared toward the improvement of the issue at hand. Ravenclaw logic is like praxis: straight and to the point. It’s logic and for logic’s sake. Since Ravenclaws know and gather so much information, that gives them the ability to be witty. I believe that wittiness comes from wisdom - I’ve yet to hear a completely incompetent person be witty. The blue of Ravenclaw represents tranquility and seriousness. I see Ravenclaw as being very cool-headed and straightforward - nothing ever frazzles them. Blue is the perfect colour to show this trait. Bronze represents Ravenclaw’s apathy towards glory at times. They have their intelligence, why worry about who comes in first place? Why worry about showing who’s the best? Ravenclaws don’t necessarily care about that, but they’re still good enough to be a shiny metal. :D
Ravenclaw is…: libraries, silence, a slight drizzle, the word “pensive”, leather-bound books, tea, conversation, philosophy, the sounds of a cello, glasses, ravens (they’d be a better representation of the house than the eagle, IMO), the eyes, dexterity (as with Hufflepuff), acute cynicism, Shakespeare.
The Slytherin Mentality: Ah. Slytherin. I firmly believe that while Ravenclaws are the knowledge gatherers, Slytherins are the knowledge-users. That’s why Slytherins are cunning. Slytherins can twist their knowledge to their advantage, which also fuels their ambition. A Slytherin doesn’t necessarily have to be good at everything, and I don’t think their mentality works that way either. Slytherins choose which areas to target, and once they have it narrowed down, they are exceptional at achieving greatness. For a Slytherin, everything has to be earned. A Slytherin’s trust has to be earned, and once that trust is broken, one may never get it back. A Slytherin’s respect has to be earned, for they always hold everyone they meet to high standards. They value intelligence, but also snark. They value perseverance, but they know when to quit. With Slytherin, I associate stubborn-ness and adamancy as well, but it’s different from Hufflepuff’s. Slytherins don’t give up sometimes because they’re stubborn, not because they want to improve what they’re working on. Green, often associated with envy and money, is very fitting for Slytherin because for some odd reason I’ve always thought envy was a really Slytherin-esque emotion. And money…well…just look at Malfoy. XD Silver represents Slytherin because once again, it’s not like gold, which grabs your attention because it’s so bright and shiny. Silver is more subtle - just like Slytherins.
Slytherin is…: what the sky looks like when it’s about to rain, snark, Julian Sark and Jack Bristow (*cough* I’m not an Alias freak), sadisms, the brain, impatience, smirks, sarcasm, Machiavelli, martinis, black (the unofficial house colour), velvet, that I-don’t-take-any-bullshit mentality, acute paranoia, elitism, cynicism.
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)? Probably something that I know and love, like vanilla or strawberry or coffee. Really, though, to be honest, I probably wouldn’t even eat Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. I hate variables in food. I hate trying something new when it comes to food. It’s just food, and I get really vexed when friends try to drag me to new restaurants. Candy’s supposed to be enjoyable, not suspenseful. If I wanted suspense I’d go read a book or watch a good movie. Plus, I’d probably be spitting out half of the Beans I do eat - even in regular candy I’m really picky about which flavours I like. Whatever happened to “Food is one of the simple pleasures in life?” I say, stick to what you know and love and there’ll be less bullshit to sort through later.
4. If you were on your House’s Quidditch Team, which position would
you preferably play and why? Chaser, because I love scoring. XD Hahahah. No, seriously though. I love winning, and I love glory. One might argue that the Seekers get the most glory, and perhaps that’s true, but I’d get more satisfaction out of being a Chaser. A Chaser has ample opportunity to score, get points, and get their team in the lead as soon as possible. A Seeker only has one chance. Also, in Quidditch, it seems that the Seeker has all the pressure. A game only ends if the Seeker’s caught the Snitch. If the Seeker is subpar, then a match could go on for days, weeks even, no matter how good the other players are. I enjoy glory, but I don’t like being the scapegoat if glory isn’t obtained. I know that right after a Quidditch match, if we didn’t win, I would automatically think of what the Seeker did wrong. Why didn’t the Seeker get to the Snitch before the opposing team did? I wouldn’t make a good Beater because I simply do not like to hit things. It’d get so redundant after a while, too. It seems like such a Neanderthal approach to a sport - hitting balls with sticks at the other team to hurt them. I’ve never been much of a goalie in football, and I know I won’t be a good Keeper in Quidditch either. If your Chasers and Beaters are good, then the Keeper basically does nothing throughout the entire match. Again with the glory thing - it seems that Keeper is the position that gets the least of it.
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’ll refrain from answering this one because I’m not that big of a theorist. I like to read the books as they come and all the crazy theories I’ve heard make me want to kill something small and furry.
6. (Optional. If you can't answer #5, make sure you answer this
one.) What is your favorite book aside from HP and why? I don’t have a particular favourite book, but I do have favourite authors. As for World Literature authors, I’d have to say the I like the Russian ones the best. I like Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Gogol. From Tolstoy, I’ve read The Kreutzer Sonata and a bit of War and Peace before I stopped. It was interesting, but I had a problem with the writing style, not the content itself. From Dostoyevsky, I’ve read The Christmas Tree and the Wedding and Crime and Punishment. Although Crime and Punishment was the most verbose thing I’ve ever read from him, I still really liked it because it was unlike anything I’ve ever read before. And I think Gogol’s just hilarious. His stories are so full of satire and he makes fun of the Russian class system every chance he gets. I enjoyed The Overcoat and The Nose by Gogol the most. As for contemporary authors, I can’t say that I have a favourite. Now everything contemporary seems so mundane and pointless. I used to be into Dan Brown before I realised that all of his books were the same, he focuses too much on plot and not enough on characterization, and even then his plots are similar to one another.
7. What would your Room of Requirement look like? Apart from it looking exactly like Hagrid's Hut...
Well it would depend on what I needed it for, wouldn’t it? As of right now, though, I’d just like a huge room so I can have some privacy. I have a five-year-old sister around the house so it’s never quiet when I need it to be, so if I had a huge room all to myself where I could either have absolutely no noise penetrate or turn up my music as loud as I wanted. I want a place where I can control everything - the temperature, the amount of light let in, what books are on the bookshelves - without anyone telling me otherwise. I want a place where everything’s catered to me and my needs. I want a huge bed with silk sheets, a huge fireplace, velvet curtains, floor-to-ceiling windows, empty canvases and paint, lots of random, squishy furniture, a never ending supply of chocolate and coffee, and a brand new state-of-the-art laptop (I know it’s the wizarding world…but...humour me, ok?!). The room would have to be very comfortable, yet elegant and aesthetically pleasing. But most of all, it has to be a room for me.
8. Describe your wand and tell us why you picked that design. Ebony: because it’s dark. I like the look of dark wood - it gives off a feeling of mystery. I’ve found that I like dark colours more than bright colours; it’s just a preference thing. 14.25 inches: I believe the theory that the wand length is proportional to one’s height, but I’m in such denial. I’m only 5’3”, but I want a long wand. Long wands just look prettier than short ones. I suppose a shorter one would be easier to conceal, but a longer one’s more accessible. Plus, I’d have harder time losing a longer wand. I have a hard time keeping track of…everything. Sphinx Hair Core: Out of all the mystical creatures introduced in the Harry Potter books, I’m intrigued by the Sphinx the most. It’s the very first mystical creature I’ve come across - I read something about it in my history textbook about ancient Egypt once when I was in 5th grade, and I’ve been drawn to that creature ever since. I love how it’s a combination of a woman and a lion. And she asks you questions. No, not just any questions - riddles. I love riddles. If you don’t get the riddle right, she kills you. It’s kind of like a form of ridding the world of stupidity isn’t it? XD Anyway, the Sphinx has to be super-smart to come up with riddles, and it seems like she can take care of herself because she’s powerful as well.
PART 2 - You
Please go here
and fill out the short Myers-Briggs test.
9. Paste the URL of your results (TOP 5) including its description
here.
Your #1 Match: INTJ
The Scientist
You have a head for ideas - and you are good at improving systems.
Logical and strategic, you prefer for everything in your life to be organized.
You tend to be a bit skeptical. You're both critical of yourself and of others.
Independent and stubborn, you tend to only befriend those who are a lot like you.
You would make an excellent scientist, engineer, or programmer.
Your #2 Match: INTP
The Thinker
You are analytical and logical - and on a quest to learn everything you can.
Smart and complex, you always love a new intellectual challenge.
Your biggest pet peeve is people who slow you down with trivial chit chat.
A quiet maverick, you tend to ignore rules and authority whenever you feel like it.
You would make an excellent mathematician, programmer, or professor.
Your #3 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 #4 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 #5 Match: ISTJ
The Duty Fulfiller
You are responsible, reliable, and hardworking - you get the job done.
You prefer productive hobbies, like woodworking or knittings.
Quiet and serious, you are well prepared for whatever life hands you.
Conservative and down-to-earth, you hardly ever do anything crazy.
You would make a great business executive, accountant, or lawyer.
What's Your Personality Type?
10. Who do you admire most and why? I’m glad this question didn’t say “Who’s your hero?”, because I wouldn’t have been able to give an answer. I hate hero worship. But I digress.
Ok, this is going to sound really flaky and fangirlish and “omg!typical teenager!” but I really admire Jay Chou, who’s a popular singer in Asia. He’s so famous over there - it’s crazy. Why do I admire him? Because he’s independent, intelligent, and ridiculously talented. I don’t usually fangirl over pop artists because I’m an elitist bitch and I hate anything mainstream. Jay deserves to be famous, hands down. He plays about ten different instruments - piano, guitar, cello, Chinese flute, drums, just to name a few. He writes all of his own songs, all of which are effing brilliant. His lyrics aren’t all about love and omg!sheleftme! teenage bullshit. He sings about war, and about how bad he felt about missing his grandmother’s birthday, and how he misses seeing green fields in his hometown. Not to mention he sings this all in Chinese; I believe that Chinese lyrics/poetry is a lot harder to write than English. His style is versatile - he can rap and beatbox, but he can sit down with a guitar and sing a ballad too. He can swing nunchucks like nobody’s business and he’s an excellent swordsman as well. It’s really not fair; he’s hogging all the talent of this world. XD
And. Well. Okay. He’s really hot too. Ugh.
11. What would you like to have accomplished at the end of your
life? I want to go to as many countries as I can. I used to be all “I want to be remembered and have made my mark on this world and be a legacy and OMG!” but as the years progress, I’ve become more and more cynical, more and more jaded. Not everyone can be a legacy, and I’m just an ordinary little girl. What chance do I have, right? But to see the world…that’s something that might actually happen. I hope to be a design engineer, but my second career of choice would be to work for the United Nations, or just in foreign relations in general. I love other countries, other cultures, other languages. It would be such a shame to die and only have known one place. The world’s not that small. I would at least like to go to every continent before I die.
12. Would you sooner commit a crime against your kin or your
countrymen? Uh. My kin, because there’s less chance of being attacked by a herd of angry West Bloomfield-ers. No, I’m just kidding. I’d rather commit a crime against my countrymen. I don’t exactly make it a point to betray the people who have the same genetic makeup as I do. It’s just wrong. I doubt I will ever have children (I’d go on a diatribe about why, but I don’t think this is the time or place), but if I do, I don’t think I’d do anything as rash as commit a crime against them. I might dislike them, I might even hate them. But there’s something about doing something like that to your own flesh and blood that I find purely unforgivable. I’m not a religious person - I don’t believe in a heaven or hell, or the healing power of “God” - but I do believe in karma, and if you betray your kin, karma will bite you in the ass and then come back for more later. A crime against my countrymen? Who cares about them? Seriously. I’ve never spoken to my neighbours. XD And I hate almost everyone in this city - they’re all superficial and all they care about is TOM CRUISE IS DATING WHO?! and a 2-inch scratch on their new Lexus. If this “crime” was something that I could use for revenge, I’d use it against my countrymen in a heartbeat. I can’t wait until college so I can get the hell out of here and never see these people again.
13. What would your animagus be and why? White Siberian Tiger. They’re beautiful creatures. Besides, I like members of the cat family because they’re so majestic. (See wand answer) Plus, like cats, I have a pride issue. I don’t usually parade my arrogance, no. It’s a lot more subdued - kind of like a “I know I’m better than you but I won’t waste my breath telling you so” kinda thing. It gets pretty bad. I guess you can call that elitism. I’d also like to think that I can take care of myself. I don’t need a significant other (I fecking hate that term, by the way) to be happy, and I don’t need to tell everyone I know all my problems. I can handle things myself and I can think for myself, thanks. Cats are pretty independent, IMO. They don’t crave attention like dogs do, and they don’t beg for anything.
14. What would your patronus be and why? Something big, first of all. It would suck to have a mosquito patronus or something. One swipe and that thing’s dead and the dementor’s still bearing down your neck. Probably another cat-like thing. I’d really like it to be a Sphinx, but I don’t know if that’s allowed - can it be only non-magical creatures? Well, whatever. Lions, tigers, panthers, minxes, they’re all so good at protection. The way a lioness gets over her cubs if something threatens them is borderline scary. If my patronus can do that, then I would never have to worry about dementors ever again.
15. What career would you consider if you were indeed part of the
wizarding world and why? What do you mean “if I was indeed part of the wizarding world”?! Harry Potter exists, I tell you! And I go to Hogwarts! Ahaha. Yeaaaah.
The subjects at Hogwarts that fascinate me are Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Potions, and Charms. Well, the Dark Arts too, but that's not taught at Hogwarts. I’m not into plants or gardens or anything that has to do with Herbology, so a sort of magical botanist would be out of the question. I’m not into animals either. I’ve never showed interest in being a veterinarian in the “Muggle World”, and same goes for the wizarding world. A world renowned Quidditch player? Possibly, although I would hate all the god damn publicity.
Being an Unspeakable sounds mysterious and exhilarating. That’s what I’d do - just so I can find out what other things are hidden in the Department of Mysteries. They probably have to have a wide range of knowledge - from Charms to Arithmancy to the Dark Arts - and that sounds like the perfect job for me. Besides, prophecies, time-travel, and Horcruxes (I reckon the DoM deals with that pretty often) all elude me. I read the time-travel bit in PoA about 10 times before going on to the next chapter.
Thanks for your time,
--Ellen--