May 11, 2012 00:59
- What sort of profession in the wizarding world would you choose and why?
Honestly, I’m not too sure. I still haven’t pinpointed exactly what I really want to do with my life, yet, and most of the jobs described in the books (professor, shopkeeper, Quidditch player, Ministry worker) don’t appeal to me that much (not very good at teaching, get bored when trying to sell things, athleticism how do, politics are hard!). But! I can still mostly line up the muggle things I like to do with things that exist in the Wizarding world: biology and chemistry to herbology and magizoology. I love the idea of understanding new things, and magical plants and creatures seem really cool! So I would probably choose whatever the magical equivalent of a lab or research job is, the sort that lets you go out and explore things hands on. The notion of raising my own plants and animals, or going out to discover new ones just really appeals to me, be they magical or not.
- You have to venture deep into the Forbidden Forest one night. Pick one Harry Potter character other than Hagrid and one object (muggle or magical), besides your wand, that you'd want with you.
That really depends on why I’m in the Forbidden Forest in the first place, I think. If it’s something dangerous, per say, like tracking down an escaped criminal or running from a different escaped criminal, I definitely want Mad-Eye Moody on my side. He’s a kickbutt auror (loyal!) and very paranoid; I’m pretty sure we’d be able to get out of whatever mess mostly unscathed. Plus I bet he has back up plans for his back up plans in case his back up plans don’t check out. On the other hand, if I’m in there for some sort of academic or personal pursuit, I think I’d take Snape. He’s plenty competent, having played a double (triple?) agent with some of the most powerful wizards, and he’s also plenty smart, being a potions master and having invented his own spells. Which would mean, in the end, that he’d be able to keep us alive while also offering me valuable input on whatever we’re doing.
As for objects, probably a broomstick, just in case we need to make a quick escape. Apparating always felt kind of sketchy to me, what with splinching and all, and can be disabled, anyway. Portkeys are possibly even sketchier and can be tampered with (see: goblet). That isn’t to say broomsticks are any less vulnerable, of course! I’d definitely have my more competent partner load it up with protective spells before we go in.
- If you had the opportunity to live forever, but your family and friends did not, what would you choose? And if you did choose to live forever, what would you do with eternity?
I’d definitely choose to live forever, but not at the expense of my family and friends. That is to say, I still want them to be able to live as happy and fulfilling lives as possible, even if they aren’t forever. I want to see the world unfold, and at this point (maybe because I’m young?), I have few issues with the notion of continuing while others do not. Right now I’m mostly of the perception that I can always make new friends, and there will always be new experiences to try and new goals to accomplish. But I can just as easily imagine myself getting disillusioned, lonely, and depressed after a long time (say, a couple thousand years), and then becoming a mystical island hermit that knows lots of things from eras past, which is oddly very appealing.
- If you could travel back in time to one point, when and where would you go? Why?
Tough question! As absolutely fascinating as it would be to wander around Renaissance era Europe and get my face cameo’d in all the paintings and maybe snag a signed version of Machiavelli’s The Prince, I think I’d much rather have at an era untouched and unseen by human civilization (as long as I have a backdoor get-out pass in case things get rough). I’m actually not too big on dinosaurs, but the process of evolution itself is very intriguing. But, I don’t think I’d want to stay in the land before time for very long, as I generally do very much appreciate my creature comforts, so. A snapshot glimpse of either the Cambrian or Permian periods would be fine, the evolution of complex organisms and the diversification of species, respectively. As much as I’d love to see the process, I think I’d suffer from time constraints (these things don’t happen over night) and homesickness (no lies, I’d definitely miss electricity and pillows and Real Food), I’d be very happy to just see what happened in between, the middling stage before things settled.
- What HP character do you identify with most and why?
Another hard one for me. Maybe it’s just that I don’t emphasize much with the main characters (tbh I hardly ever truly feel for characters in that sense; it’s always more of a ‘I’d love to be their friend/get to know them/hug them’ than a ‘OMG THAT’S SO ME’ thing), so I had a very strong outsider’s perspective when I went through the books and movies. And I guess the entire idea of magic itself made it hard for me to put myself in the character’s places. All my empathy is come and go, but I think I can see a lot of where Hermione is coming from, especially when she was younger. She tries to be good and follow the rules, but sometimes there’s no helping it and shenanigans occur. She’s also very curious and purely eager to experience things, particularly when she first discovered she was a witch, and yeah I’d totally be like that too. Her choices later didn’t mesh so well, and her SPEW/house elf program really rubbed me the wrong way. I can appreciate her boldness and refusal to back down, but that isn’t me. I have a lot of opinions, too, and sometimes I’m too set in my view of the world, but I’m much more open (eager) for debate and less interested in enlisting people for my causes.
- What would you see if you looked into the Mirror of Erised?
I would see myself happy, although what makes me happy depends heavily on how I’m feeling at the time. I think I’d definitely have reached some level of goals, like having a stable and enjoyable job, and friends. But the exact image could be anything, really. Maybe me touring Europe on my own or with friends and family, or maybe me presenting something and not making a mess of it. It’s also likely that I’d just see myself at home, curled up on the couch with a big dog, possibly some friends, possibly a significant other (risqué), talking to them or watching a movie or something.
- Do you believe that moral actions should be judged by the intentions behind them, or by the consequences they create?
A combination of both; neither is really worth much to me without the other, anyway. Intentions matter, surely, but not even the best of intentions can justify certain things like war or murder. Likewise, a lot of the time consequence is coincidental and heavily affected by outside factors; that’s not to say that consequences don’t matter, but rather, that they can’t be looked at alone because a consequence is drawn together by many things possibly unrelated to intention. I think, because of the multivariable nature of consequences, in that a lot of the time it’s hard to pinpoint a beginning or end, I’m personally more inclined to judging based on intentions.
- What was your ideal job as a kid? Has that changed? What is your ideal job now?
No, don’t laugh! But when I was a kid, I wanted to be a dentist. I have no idea where I got that into my head, but I know for sure that I’ve always been a bit over the top about oral hygiene. Brushing my teeth was definitely my favorite before bed activity, even more fun than story time. I’m pretty sure my reasoning came down to this: I like having clean teeth and cleaning my teeth so other people should as well, and there are few things most entertaining than having someone on their back and using a foot pump to move them up and down. Plus the dentist always has prizes. I mean, obviously that’s changed, because as much as I like my own clean teeth, I’m not nearly as keen on poking around those of other people. And I’d be totally crushed every time I had to see a patient that didn’t floss, like why wouldn’t they just listen to me.
Right now, my ideal job and what I’m thinking about studying in college is marine biology. I’m not too sure if I’ll stick with that, but the job description pretty much sums up a lot of what I think I’d enjoy doing with my life! Plus, fish are weird. In a good way. Mostly.
- If you were able to invent one spell, potion, or charm, what would it do, what would you use it for or how would you use it, and what would you call it?
Some sort of higher power spell, but not in the god way! Kind of like, creating a conscious or alter ego that knows more than I do but also knows what information to give and when. A voice in my head that actually gives good advice and that helps guide me through life. I’m one of the worst decision makers I know; I always have trouble making up my mind, although once I do I’ll surely stick with my choice. I guess the idea of a valued and intelligent presence really appeals to me that way; I always like a solid outside opinion, especially one that’s more qualified than mine. I think, also, this appeals to me because I’m kind of a lonely person sometimes. I just want someone who truly gets me, because they are me, and that’s a level of empathy that I can’t really establish with other people. Reading this over, this sounds suspiciously like Pullman’s His Dark Materials series, so why not just run with that; I would hardly object to a physical manifestation of my subconscious, except with maybe fewer of the downsides generally associated with daemons (kill yours and you’re dead too). So, to add a new level of complication to this, the spell would establish the companion presence in your mind first, and a secondary spell would allow said companion to take a physical form. Not so sure about names, but right now I’m calling it the Daemon spell in my head, so there you go.
- If you were to face a boggart, what would it turn into? And what does it turn into when you throw the counter-spell, Riddikulus?
I honestly don’t know. A while ago I would have said failure, but right now I think that if faced with failure, I’d be able to pick myself up and carry on. What unsettles me more than failure, perhaps, is the idea of regret. So I can easily imagine my boggart turning into an older version of myself that accomplished nothing I set out to, that has severed all connections with family and friends, and that exists in a zone of utter isolation. The Riddikulus counter-spell would be time reversal, I think, and that image of me being old and miserable would revert back to some earlier stage before I made my mistakes.
All the same, I think that since I don’t have any inherent terrors or extreme phobias, it’s also very possible that my boggart would just be something generically scary for everyone, like Flappy face from Amnesia attacking me or you know, melting alive (ouch!). Counter spells would go along the lines of everyone breaking into song and dance a la Moves like Jagger or Sexy and I Know It. Plus flowers, flowers are great.
- What do you look for in a friend?
Kindness, loyalty, and affection. Kindness is straightforward and normally what makes me think wow, I’d really like to get to know this person better, they seem pretty awesome. It’s the small, almost random things, like picking up a bit of litter or volunteering to support a charity that really hit me. Loyalty is more what keeps a friend, for me, because I want someone that can and will work with me to achieve my goals, and that isn’t opposed to a bit of assistance from me every now and then, too. Affection is a bit harder to pinpoint; I’m a really physical person when it comes to hugging, brofists, and the like, so I want a friend that can take that and maybe reciprocate a bit, too. I think there comes a level of honesty there, too; while it’s great to be told that I’m pretty and my clothes are nice, I don’t want people to lie to be about it just to give off the impression of being close or friendly. It feels kind of shallow and a bit like trying too hard. Those are normally the people I try to avoid, to be honest, because for me, compliments have to be genuine. I tend to favor people that are engaging, whether by being clever or by being funny, but I also find that everyone is interesting in their own way, so that’s not really much of a friendship criteria.
- What trait most annoys you about other people?
Unfounded superiority, often coupled with a closed minded attitude. I don’t like people who think that they’re better than others while not having any solid arguments to back that sort of view. I mean it’s fine if you think that way, I’m not saying that that sort of thinking isn’t allowed, but it shouldn’t be forced or advertised. Everyone is entitled to their own views and I’m just really uncomfortable with the idea of people forcing their “superior” ideology on others just because it’s inherently better. I think this comes up a lot with not just hot topic issues like government, religion, sexuality, and feminism, but also parts of social media and stereotyping tend to enforce or even excuse some examples of this sort of behavior. And then what really bugs me is the mob mentality that starts coming with, like being part of a group makes beliefs more credible. If all your local leaders/teachers/parents/priests think that Obama is a terribad president, then obviously it must be true. No.
- What do you think are your top five abilities or qualities?
Passionate - with people, ideas, and everything I commit myself to, really. I’ve definitely got a bulldog mentality here; there are few things that can dissuade me once I get started, and I’m very devoted to reaching endgoals I’ve set for myself. It’s not just that I work hard for what I want; I have all these feelings, too. They come together; there’s never a cause or a project that I’m invested in that I don’t put in loads of emotional investment into, too. So if I were one of those crazy PETA people, I’d be one of the super crazy ones, that would go to all the rallies and cover myself with animal rights warpaint and have adopted all of the cats in my already cramped home. In reality, it’s more of a pulling all-nighters to perfect my perfect research project and not letting an argument go, ever, if it means protecting a friend. Once I commit, I’m in for the long haul.
Changeable - I know for sure that I’m not the same person I was a few years ago, and I’m very easily influenced by my surroundings and expectations. It’s not always in a pushover way, though; I think about half the time peer pressure causes me to turn the opposite direction entirely. In the end, regardless of different situations, the truth still is that who I’m with and where I am have an incredibly strong hold over what I’m like and who I’ll be in the future. This is good because it means I’m adaptable, for sure, and that I’m capable of doing what’s expected or necessary (or the opposite, but whatever). I guess it also means that I’m very aware of the influences on me, because I see them clearly and how they’ve impacted me.
Realist - I see things as they are. Dreaming is fine and dandy, and I enjoy daydreaming and aspiring as much as the next girl. But at the end of the day, I know that dreams are far from reality and that all the things I would love to see, do, and experience haven’t happened yet and will never happen unless I active try to make them. I don’t delude myself, and I find that hope and promises go nowhere at all without action. I’m also the sort that rolls with the idea that if you presume the worst, whatever happens will either be in line with what you thought to be better than what you predicted. Win-win either way. This is a good quality because it means I’m mostly always on track and I’m rarely surprised; things happen, and there’s nothing to do but deal with them and move on.
Curious - to be honest, I’ve never actually had to work hard with schoolwork, so it’s always personal motivation that gets me to take the next step. Sometimes I just want to know about random things, and once I know something intriguing I always want to know more. It’s always the foreign things that don’t make sense that I go after (yay marine biology), and once I’m interested/curious about something, I’ll pretty much wring it dry (see: passionate).
Patient - Or, most succinctly, delayed gratification. I can dig it. A lot of the time I’d rather not, because being hedonistic is a lot easier and more comfortable, but when I see a good opportunity and need to suffer a bit for it, I will. There are tons of things I still want to do with my life, but before that there are also lots of less fun things that have to be done. And, okay, this is only for things I really want; I’m very good at rationalizing myself out of additional work. If I were to take the marshmallow test now, I’d just eat it and be done, not because I can’t wait, but because if I waited and got the second/third/whatever marshmallow, I’d get fat.
- What do you think are your top five weaknesses or worst qualities?
Indecisive - not so much in the sense that I can never make up my mind, but that I don’t always know what I want (like I want everything but can’t choose just one?). I can objectively analyze what and where a decision will net me, but I can’t predict what I’ll gain or lose on an emotional level. Studying is a good example here: I can see where the choices I make will lead me, from researcher or office slave to any combination in between, but I can’t see which will make me happy or which I will enjoy the most. I lack experience and without that I don’t trust decisions I may make because of that. Some decisions are easier, because with those all paths lead to the same destination. Like, I want to go to college and become smart and get a job and be happy, and to do that I need to get through college and not do dumb things and work really hard; I just don’t know what exactly that will be like and can’t decide what I want that to be like, even.
Apathetic - I’m terribly indifferent at times. If I haven’t had an experience myself, I can’t empathize with the situation. In that sense, I can be very emotional with things I care about, friends, family, causes, because those are the things I know. And then more abstract or far away ideas like world hunger or animal abuse, not so much. I know consciously that these things are bad, and I do get sad twinges when I seen provocative imagery, but I don’t undergo emotional roller coasters to things I’m not connected to. Maybe if I visited a third world country or worked at an animal shelter, I’d have more feelings, but in the end I haven’t and so I’m the jerk that doesn’t cry when sad things happen. Sometimes this makes me feel sheltered, but mostly I just feel like I’m a physical, not theoretical, person and that’s reflected in how I feel, too.
Overly cautious - not quite to the point of being paranoid and blatantly mistrusting, but just a few steps in the wrong direction and I could easily be. I second guess myself a lot; it’s like taking that behavior and multiplying it a hundred times in regards to other people and things. I’m only mistrusting with strangers, for the most part, and lay most everything out to the people I care about. Still, I definitely look before I leap, possibly twice, and if there’s an alternative that doesn’t risk life and limb I’ll take it. I don’t warm up easily with strangers and sometimes get confused when people are too nice to me (although that applies to any emotion, happy/sad/angry; just seeing strangers have intense feelings towards me rubs me the wrong way).
Absent-minded - I just space out sometimes. I’m also easily distracted if I’m not doing something I enjoy, and I’m the one glued to the window on the train watching the trees fly past. Sometimes I get into this zone of dissonance where I’m thinking about whatever (kittens and puppies) and my hands are doing whatever they want and when I come back down to earth I’ve folded an origami something.
Awkward - I'm kind of one of those people that love other people but don't know what to do with them, sometimes. And this isn't always the best thing, socially. I get quiet at odd moments, or have trouble expressing myself in a way that's completely relatable. Especially when I'm having trouble making up my mind, I can give the wrong impression/seem standoffish whereas in reality I'm just having a mild internal crisis about WHAT SHOULD I DO?? Or there's something I want to say but don't know how to say it without seeming offensive, or I space out and forget what's going on and ruin the flow of conversation. People are tricky, tricky things.
- Define in your own words the following key traits:
- Courage: Overcoming fear is the essence of it. Doing the right thing even though you’re scared, because it’s the right thing to do. A lot of courage is also living without regrets, being brave enough to do what you believe in and screw the consequences, because there’s a big difference between being brave and being foolhardy (though sometimes the two go hand in hand).
- Loyalty: This is a hard one for me, because I don’t think myself especially loyal. Like, not to say I’m an extreme traitor that can’t keep my mouth shut, but I don’t have that sort of effervescent, transcending, almost blind loyalty that media portrays. The kind where you are so loyal to someone/thing that you become blind to their faults and mistakes, that’s how hard you believe in them. Loyalty is hard, too, because there are so many kinds; you can be loyal to a person or a cause, and for most people there’s always a place where you have to draw a line. For me, that line is pretty close to home base; I’m looking out for number one, here, and I’ll definitely do my best to stick with people, but I’m not afraid to tell them they’re wrong or step away from something I truly don’t want to be involved with.
- Intelligence: There are lots of types of intelligence! People have studied them, and I’m comfortable for the most part with those definitions. Intelligence is the capacity for learning and understanding; you don’t have to be good at something to be intelligent, you just need to have the potential to be good. Intelligence isn’t something that can be taught or shared; that’s why there are some people that are good at math or at music or at horticulture. Everyone has intelligence in their own way, so typically I find general intelligence/intelligence in many areas to be the most admirable. I think a big part of being recognized for your intelligence, though, is outwardly pursuing it. Otherwise you might be a super math genius Steven Hawking style and no one will ever know.
- Ambition: For me, ambition is like processing from the bottom up. You start with an idea, a goal, a desire, and then you refine it into something that can take shape. Ambition isn’t much without action, though, and the act of pursuit is just as important as the goal itself. I think ambition has something of a bad name, because for me, it brings to mind a sort of ruthlessness and immorality that doesn’t necessarily have to be associated with it at all. World peace and activism are their own sorts of ambition, too.
- Name: Mel
- Age: 18
- Where did you find out about us? Joined lj (again, but the old one was from when I was 12, so) during spring break, and with the recent pottermore hype, was exploring for an hp comm to do talkies on (also to get back into lj). Found this instead and was intrigued. :)
- Do you plan on being active in the communities once you are sorted? I hope!
sorted: slytherin,
term xxiii