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How do you think Sirius reacted to Regulus’ death? Considering how he went into a full-blown murderous rage after the Potters’ deaths and Harry being taken from him (despite initially focusing on protecting Harry), do you think he would have kept his emotions about his brother locked away, or would hidden rage have surfaced? Not necessarily to the extent of hurting someone, but perhaps in a way where he might have lashed out in his grief, smashing things or losing control for a moment

So , I think Sirius hyper-focused on finding out what happened to Regulus and probably withdrew in the same way he does in OoTP. He is almost entirely correct about what happens he just missed out the bit about the horcrux (in that he correctly guesses that Regulus defected in some way) so I think he gave alot of quite obsessed thought to it. I also find the way he minimises Regulus’s involvement with the deatheaters (stupid idiot) to be an indication of some complex grief.

His reaction to Regulus’ death likely did involve deep, intense grief, which he probably hid from people.

Also I read Regulus as entirely suicidal when he went to the cave. In much the same way, I read Sirius’ pursuit of Peter as driven by a similar suicidal impulse. Both brothers were consumed by a need to go out in a blaze of glory when they felt they had nothing left to lose while also damaging their enemies in the process.

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The Harry Potter Pretty People's Club

I’ve always been kind of fascinated by how and why *attractiveness* is used in the HP books. So, I’ve decided to play a little game, and score up characters based on how often their prettiness is brought up. Here’s my scoring system:

(1 point) - We are straight-up told that this character (or some aspect of this character) is attractive. The word beautiful, handsome, attractive, elegant, pretty, lovely, good-looking, good looks, nice-looking, curvy, or gorgeous is used.

(.5 points) - We are specifically told the character has nice hair, or nice teeth. (JKR describes teeth a lot, it’s a thing.) 

(.5 points) - The character is described as moving in an attractive way. The word lounging, lolling, graceful, posing, or haughty (so lounging/posing, but more evil coded) is applied to them

In terms of the ranking, twins and and parent+child duos get to compete together, because how common “they looked exactly like their parent” type descriptions are in these books.

No points for “they used to be beautiful” or “they would be beautiful if...” Also no points if someone is described as attractive specifically by Rita Skeeter. We are clearly not supposed to take her as a reliable source. Also not counting the times Petunia calls Dudley “handsome,” or the time when Slughorn calls Ron handsome while trying to cheer him up after the love potion, for the same reason.

(if you’re curious, Rita does describe Hermione as “stunningly pretty,” Pansy as “pretty and vivacious,” herself as “attractive blonde, forty-three” and Harry as “the most beautiful thing she had ever seen” when he’s giving the interview about Voldemort’s return.) So let's get to the top 26 most attractive (?) characters in Harry Potter.

#26 - WILKIE TWYCROSS (.5) 

“Graceful” apparition instructor. Unfortunately the rest of his description stresses that he’s practically see-through.

#25 - MADAM PUDDIFOOT  (.5) 

Has shiny hair. Unfortunately also “very stout” (and unfortunately we we know how JKR feels about fat people  : / )

#24 - ROMILDA VANE (.5)

Has hair that is “black and shiny and silky.” Of course Ron does say that while zoinked out his mind on love potion, so not sure how reliable his report is. 

#23 - HORACE SLUGHORN (.5)

Young Horace has “thick, shiny, straw-colored hair.” He’s also rocking embroidered waistcoats with golden buttons. Idk, I bet Horace was kind of dishy back in the day. Heck, I bet he still is. He’s well dressed, charismatic, charming. Someone has a crush on him. JKR is just mean and wrong about fat people

#22 - NEARLY HEADLESS NICK (1) 

Has “elegant” hands. So, if you’re into that…

 #21 - ANDROMEDA TONKS (1) 

Andromeda’s sisters are not actually going to make the list, because they fall in the “beauty potential” category. Narcissa “would have been nice-looking if she hadn’t been wearing a look that suggested there was a nasty smell under her nose,” and the “long blonde hair streaming down her back gave her the look of a drowned person.” I love Narcissa, but that framing isn’t especially flattering. Bellatrix was once beautiful, but “something — perhaps Azkaban — had taken most of her beauty.” Now if Andromeda looks enough like Bellatrix to give Harry a double-take, and she looks like a Bellatrix with “wider, kinder eyes” who hasn’t been to Azkaban… she more than earns her place on the pretty list. Also is described as “haughty.”

#20 - ANGELINA JOHNSON (1) 

“Rather attractive” according to Lee Jordan. Seems to wear micro box-braids, which Pansy says look like “worms.” Boo Pansy (who is not on this list.) 

#19 - PERCIVAL, KENDRA & ALBUS DUMBLDORE (2) 

Percival is “good-looking,” Albus has shiny hair, and Kendra is “haughty.” I’ll buy that the Dumbledores were a pretty striking family, that makes sense . But they rank a little low because they all only have one attractive descriptor apiece. 

#18 - OLYMPE MAXIME (2) 

She’s an elegant frenchwoman. The only lady on this list described as “handsome.” Also graceful, has shiny hair, and Hagrid is very into her. 

#17 - PARVATI & PADMA PATIL (2)

Both of them look “very pretty” in their Yule Ball dress robes, and are quickly snapped up by Beauxbatons boys when Harry and Ron ignore them.  

#16 -  FIRENZE (2) 

The “handsome centaur.” Also the only character described as “gorgeous” (by Parvati.) At which point Hermione scoffs and says that he’s got four legs. By which we can deduce that Hermione is a bit vanilla for this conversation.

#15 - BILL WEASLEY (2) 

Described as “good-looking” and “handsome” by Mrs. Weasley, and of course FLEUR is very into him very quickly. I considered adding “cool” to my list of words connoting attractiveness, which would have bumped Bill higher… but JKR seems to associate “cool” more with personality. Like Mad-Eye and Hagrid are “cool” without being especially pretty.

#14 - GELLERT GRINDELWALD (2) 

Briefly seen in a memory and a photograph, described as “handsome” both times.

#13 - LILY POTTER (2) 

A “very pretty woman” and a woman with a “kind, pretty face.” Like with Andromeda, JKR throws in “kind” to make sure we know this is good-pretty, one step up from the Patil twins who are girly-pretty (sorry Patil twins.) 

#12 - LUCIUS & DRACO MALFOY (2.5) 

They have super sleek hair. It’s brought up a lot. Pansy likes to pet it. 

#11 - BLAISE’S MOM & BLAISE ZABINI (2.5) 

Blaise’s mom is a “famously beautiful witch,” who “had been married seven times, each of her husbands dying mysteriously and leaving her mounds of gold.” Fanon needs to decide on a name for her, and I think Clytemnestra is the right amount of on-the-nose. Blaise himself is described as haughty, and picky, and tends to “pose” and “loll against pillars.” 

#10 - MADAM ROSMERTA (3) 

Attractive, pretty, and the only character who is “curvy.” (I think she might have the boobs of Harry Potter universe.) Also wears sparkly turquoise heels, which is cute. Ron is into her, and so (I think) is Cornelius Fudge. I mean -  “Rosmerta, m’dear… lovely to see you again, I must say. Have one [drink] yourself, won’t you? Come and join us.” Like, that’s flirty, right? 

#9 - ROWENA & HELENA RAVENCLAW (4) 

Surprising that they crack the top ten, but every time we see an image of them they are described as beautiful. Usually with a qualifier like “austere” or “intimidating.” Beautiful is a word with a little bit of an edge to it in this universe. Beautiful people are just… a little suspect. 

#8 - GILDEROY LOCKHART (5.5) 

Very handsome, good hair, good teeth. The teeth are honestly brought up enough to feel a little off-putting and predatory, which I think is exactly the point. Lockhart is a very 90s-Disney-movie queer-coded villain. But, he is extremely good looking (or at least very well put-together.) Mrs. Weasley and Hermione both have crushes on him, and he continues to get fan mail into his St. Mungo’s days. 

#7 - GINNY WEASLEY (5.5) 

Ginny’s an odd one. She’s described as “graceful,” popular, and “a lot of boys like her,” (according to Pansy.) Honestly, that’s mostly how we experience her beauty. Krum thinks she’s attractive, Blaise thinks she’s attractive, Amycus addresses her as “Pretty” in a creepy way, and so does some random Diagon alley amulet salesman. Both Harry and the narrative voice stay pretty quiet when it comes to thirsting over Ginny. We get the honestly very conflicted description “Ginny gave Harry a radiant smile: He had forgotten, or had never fully appreciated, how beautiful she was, but he had never been less pleased to see her” and then “Ginny and Gabrielle, both wearing golden dresses, looked even prettier than usual [at Fleur’s wedding].” Which isn’t even completely about Ginny! Maybe you could count the romantic descriptions of her hair being flamelike or on one occasion “dancing,” but that’s really it. I am doing my very best, and scraping the bottom here. 

#6 - HERMIONE GRANGER (7.5) 

Hermione seems to fall firmly into the “cleans up nice” category. She is the “pretty girl in blue robes” at the Yule Ball, looking good enough that Pansy gapes and Malfoy “didn’t seem to be able to find an insult to throw at her.” She’s also looking good at Fleur’s wedding, when Viktor and Ron are definitely interested. Her hair can look elegant and shiny if she puts in effort - otherwise it’s bushy, and Pansy compares her to a chipmunk. We also know she has large front teeth, before she gets them fixed. She occasionally gets a “graceful” or “haughty" description, and Greyback does creep on her (again with the creeping!) calling Hermione Harry’s “pretty little friend.” I also gave her half a point for the description of Horcrux!Hermione, who is “more beautiful and yet more terrible than the real Hermione.” That’s another good example of how JKR uses the word “beautiful,” and I guess “more beautiful” definitely implies some existing beauty.

#5 - CHO CHANG (8)  

Cho is very pretty. She’s often described that way, and she has long shiny black hair. She naturally pairs up with Cedric, who also scored an 8. I wish I had more to say about her, I really do. 

#4 - CEDRIC DIGGORY (8)

Our first “pretty boy" - he’s described that way by both Harry and Seamus. Seamus actually seems to kind of have a thing about Cedric. He doesn’t believe Cedric put his name in the Goblet of Fire because “I wouldn’t have thought he’d have wanted to risk his good looks.” And true, Cedric is “exceptionally handsome, with his straight nose, dark hair, and gray eyes” and probably our first extraordinarily pretty person. Angelina and Katie think he’s hot, Myrtle creeps on him - although, honestly - Myrtle creeps on everyone, and the text doesn’t take it very seriously. Interestingly in the film we get a moment of Voldemort turning over Cedric’s head with his bare foot, saying “Oh, such a handsome boy” - to which Harry replies “Don’t touch him!”  That’s a subtle difference - in the books it’s only threatening when girls get creeped on, the movies are a little more equal opportunity. 

#3 - SIRIUS & REGULUS BLACK (11) 

Sirius is hot. He’s “carelessly handsome,” his “dark hair fell into his eyes with a sort of casual elegance neither James’ nor Harry’s could ever have achieved.” He rolled out of bed looking this good. Sirius is graceful and lounging and bored as hell, but you know “handsomely so.” Even when he falls through the Veil, it’s a “graceful,” beautiful death. Regulus gets a shout-out too, because he “had the same dark hair and slightly haughty look of his brother, though he was smaller, slighter, and rather less handsome than Sirius had been.” But, as is mentioned nearly every time he appears on the page, Sirius is extremely handsome. Less handsome than Sirius is still handsome. 

I think it’s actually important to Sirius’ character that he is THAT beautiful. Sirius is a kid from a very bad environment who’s one bad day away from just snapping… but you’d never know it. He’s so attractive, he’s so effortlessly talented, he hides everything so well. Of course none of the adults in his life would be worried about him. 

#2 - FLEUR, GABRIELLE & APPOLINE DELACOUR (12.5) 

Fleur almost seems like a cheat, because she is supernaturally beautiful. She is “a woman of such breathtaking beauty that the room seemed to have become strangely airless. She was tall and willowy with long blonde hair and appeared to emanate a faint, silvery glow.” Even Aunt Muriel thinks she’s beautiful. (We also do get told that Fleur has nice teeth.)

But again, she’s beautiful. She’s that slightly threatening, too-feminine beauty. Until she gets married… and has a kid… which redeems her. “While [Fleur’s] radiance usually dimmed everyone else by comparison, today [at her wedding] it beautified everybody it fell upon.” 

#1 - TOM RIDDLE SR. & TOM RIDDLE JR. (14) 

Our clear winner, and also our second “pretty boy.” (Marvolo calls Tom Sr. “pretty,” and Tom Jr. is “his handsome father in miniature.” so yes, Voldemort does count as a pretty boy.) Poor Tom Sr. - the text frames the aftermath of his sexual assault as him “abandoning” his wife, but unfortunately that falls into the wider trend of only girls being victims of creeps in the HP books. It’s like the weird detail about the stairs to the dormitories - the girls can go to the boys dormitory, but not vice-versa. 

But yeah. Tom Riddle’s attractiveness is brought up almost every time he is. We even get details - we specifically know he lost weight and grew his hair out after he left school, and it looked super good on him. Hepzibah Smith is very into him, Bellatrix is very into him. (Although I do wonder just how snakey he looked when they met.) Adult Voldemort doesn’t treat the loss of his looks as any kind of sacrifice, he seems well rid of them. They’re just another annoying aspect he wants to shed on his quest for transhumanism. He gets rid of his father’s name, it only makes sense he would want to get rid of his looks as well. I do like the detail that  original eyes live inside the Locket, that is cool and creepy. 

(but, logically, I can only assume that means his original nose lives inside the Cup.) 

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Sorting Hat Chats - A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Heeeey I'm back again. Hunger Games is one of my recent hyperfixations, so I'm doing a sorting of the latest book/film. I'll only be sorting Coriolanus Snow and Lucy-Gray Baird in this post. And Dr. Gaul oops.

An explanation of the system I am using can be found here. (Credit: @wisteria-lodge )

SPOILERS FOR A BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES BOOK AND FILM

LUCY-GRAY BAIRD is a thriving, healthy Snake secondary through and through. She loves performing, she loves playing coy, and she clearly relishes in getting one up on her enemies. This is a woman who turn her death sentence into a concert. Her plan to defeat Reaper, someone larger and deadlier than her, is to piss him off and give him the run around until he dies of exhaustion (or drinks from a poisoned puddle). To get one up on Mayfair when her name is called Lucy-Gray puts a snake in her dress to freak her out and subsequently humiliate her on live TV. No punches held back.

She's described by her actress as "a performer in a hunt," and she is. She always gives off the impression that she is always acting and always authentic in every moment. Snow certainly can never tell if she's lying or not and for all his faults he is smart.

CORIOLANUS SNOW meanwhile is a Bird secondary (I know, oh the irony) and the two secondaries slot in well together. In ABOSAS we see how he is always calculating in every interaction how he can leverage this for the most gain. He wears a carefully manufactured mask playing up whatever trait he has to to get what he wants from the person he is talking to. That's the Actor Bird in him, he can't just become someone like Lucy-Gray can. Which is why Snow works so well as a mentor for her. He can make all the plans he wants and give her every advantage to win, and she can immediately go along with it without skipping a beat.

We also see his Bird secondary on full display when he starts to come into power. He immediately starts making plans for the 11th Hunger Games when he comes back to the Capitol. His signature method for killing people is poison, and in sixty years that never changes. It's a risky plan that always works so why would he change it? And of course we know after he becomes president just how much effort he puts into controlling Katniss with more and more plans.

As for their primaries, well, that's why they constantly misunderstand each other. Coriolanus and Lucy-Gray look at each other and they both see a Snake primary, but those aren't their true sortings. Lucy-Gray is wearing a Snake primary model, and Coriolanus is wearing a Snake primary performance, not even a model.

Lucy-Gray loves the Covey, but at the end of the day when Mayor Lipp wants her dead Lucy-Gray doesn't need to think twice about running away. She knows they can take care of themselves, and she values her own freedom above anything else. It's apparent also in how she treats Billy-Taupe. She loved him once, but the moment he cheated on her she immediately cut him out of her life and doesn't seem to regret that decision. "Without trust you might as well be dead to me."

Lucy-Gray is a Lion primary, and like her secondary it's healthy. Her mantra is "Nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping." She's another example of the Jack Sparrow style of Lion primary, the Fae lion. Freedom is good and control is bad. It's also why when she leaves Snow she makes it a whole production where she sings him "The Hanging Tree" and runs around him as a way to fuck with him. She knows that Corio isn't the man she thought he was and she wants to show him she knows.

Lucy-Gray is the Yin to Katniss's Yang. Katniss is a famous Snake Lion, and Lucy-Gray is the inverse of that, a Lion Snake. That quote about Lucy-Gray being a performer in a hunt is followed by Katniss being "a hunter in a performance." The revolution in a small way begins with Lucy-Gray and is ended by Katniss. Lucy-Gray loves freedom before all else, and that means she is never going to fight the Capitol like Katniss would, "it's too early for [K]atniss," she says. But Katniss is that Snake primary who loves so deeply and devastatingly that of COURSE she would end up fighting the Capitol.

But I think Lucy-Gray likes Snake primaries. I think she likes how much the value freedom, but also the way they value their people. That's what she sees when she sees Snow, a man who will do anything to protect the people he loves over himself. But that's just a performance Snow puts on, because he knows that looks much more nobler than what he actually is.

Snow actually primary matches Lucy-Gray. When we see him he's a young lion. The impression I get from Snow is entitlement. He thinks because of the way he was born that he just inherently deserves to have what is owed to him. But after it's found out that he cheated to help Lucy-Gray win, he is stripped of what little he had and sent to be a peacekeeper. He doesn't know what he wants anymore, because he can't have what he truly wants, so he convinces himself what he wants is Lucy-Gray. Except, the moment he realizes he can absolutely still get that power he turns on her immediately.

His goals never change, in the end Snow does indeed land on top, as he achieves those goals. He becomes president, and then it becomes all about maintaining power and control. And that's the real crux of his Lion primary. Like Lucy-Gray he is a Fae Lion, but on the opposite end of the spectrum. Power and control are good, and he should have that over everyone else in the world. I also see his primary in his method of choice for killing people. He willingly poisons himself so no one catches on, that is some lion devotion to his cause of control.

But, despite him trying to appear completely composed at all times, you can see that very emotional Lion primary underneath it all. I mean, he's clearly obsessed with screwing over Katniss's life in particular because he sees both Lucy-Gray and Sejanus in her. Meanwhile everything he does that fucks with Peeta is to fuck with her, despite the fact that he was also part of that suicide threat. He doesn't like that emotional Lion I think. What he wants is to maintain control over everything, and the appear as though he has this carefully constructed worldview/ideology. He has these intelligent/convincing arguments on the power of hope and the purpose of the games. It can look very Bird to people, and I think it is. DR. GAUL is absolutely a Double Bird Mad Scientist, and I think Snow adopted a Bird primary model based off of hers.

So...

Lucy-Gray Baird - Lion primary, Snake model/Snake secondary

Coriolanus Snow - Lion primary, Bird model and Snake performance/Bird secondary

Dr. Gaul - Bird primary/Bird secondary

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i recently started thinking about the hunger games again and im mulling over haymitch and it became so painfully clear to me that he is a (very) burnt snake primary (snow killed his family & girlfriend which feels like something someone would do to a snake primary in revenge) he’s been burnt by his loved ones dying and having to watch the tributes he’s mentored die (at this point he’s so jaded he doesn’t even try to make any connections with them) and is a very unhappy snake primary as a result. as for his secondary i feel like he’s a built secondary- either a bird secondary or a badger secondary.

@wisteria-lodge any thoughts on his sorting?

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I know this been asked before, but can I ask again? So if you sort your top fav characters or fav ships from to Hogwarts houses, which houses will they be (in your opinion)? Why?

I'm excited to know your answer like for eruri, asheiji, matchablossom, destiel, horimiya, sasamiya, etc.....

Sorry if I ask too much, thx if you want to answer.....

P.s

I asked because just found your post about JJK & BNHA character if they were in Hogwarts houses.....(And I love it)

I'm gonna be honest, I love these - little character head canons, asks in general, all of it. So don't apologize for asking! I hope you always feel comfortable to do so. I also hope all my anons woke up today with clear skin and found money in an old jacket or something. ✨

Same disclaimer applies as before. Without further ado, to the Sorting Hat!

Starting with the low hanging fruit 🥁

Kojiro "Joe" Nanjo (SK8 the Infinity) - All brawn, questionable brains but unquestionable talent that makes him a big name around "S". This himbo would of course plinko his way into Hufflepuff but, if we take starting S into consideration and how that translates into the wizarding world, I'd say Gryffindor with Hufflepuff underpinnings.

Kaoru "Cherry" Sakurayashiki (SK* the Infinity) - I am conflicted. Cherry, disciplined calligrapher, renowned skater and member of the S founding fathers is very obviously a Ravenclaw. I'm really just having trouble reconciling his superiority and condescension against what I imagine would be more in line with Slytherin. Also supports the notion of every Hufflepuff having a Slytherin bestie haha but, truly, that's adult Kaoru. Teenage Kaoru was rebellious and genuinely awe inspired by greatness (but still whip smart). Gryffindor with Ravenclaw underpinnings. Bonus: Ainosuke would round the trio out as the Slytherin primary, obviously. May have started out sweet like our dear Sirius but live long enough in a family like that and I suppose it'll get you twisted.

Levi Ackerman (Attack on Titan) - Levi Ackerman is no stranger to Knockturn Alley. He was raised from the darkness, plucked from its depths to attend school and seemed a bit bothered by the whole to do when he had a perfectly decent operation going, small time stuff of course. A loyalist to those he suffered with, Hogwarts gave him purpose beyond what he could imagine and the Sorting Hat was the first... thing(?) to see his potential. Legacy Slytherin, largely unbeknownst to him, but sorted into Gryffindor assured he'd do great things there.

Erwin Smith (Attack on Titan) - Whew. I know the deciding factor for Cherry was young Kaoru vs. adult Kaoru but Erwin Smith is a Ravenclaw. An idealist, but a bit too cavalier with lives of the canon fodder that made up his command. Incredibly intelligent and dedicated which would make you think Gryffindor but Erwin is an "any means necessary" type of leader. Come to think of it, Dumbledore was a Gryffindor so perhaps there's hope there but I defer to your opinion.

Ash Lynx (Banana Fish) - Self taught genius? Ravenclaw. He had Dino's tutor's for a time, sure but uh... I doubt they taught him how to hack computers. He's a self motivated intellectual frequenting the library for a sense of peace. May the halls of Hogwarts provide that to him in the way the city of New York could not. Does not negate how lethal of a threat he can be, if anything, now this kid is strapped all the time, wand at the ready. I can appreciate if someone thinks he should be in Slytherin but I'm sticking to my initial assumption.

Eiji Okumura (Banana Fish) - This 👏🏾 is 👏🏾 a 👏🏾 Hufflepuff 👏🏾. Brazenly lacks fear in the face of gangsters and recognizes, instead, their inherent humanity and that they can need nurturing and help, perhaps more so than others? Oblivious Hufflepuff energy.

Kyouko Hori (Horimiya) - I feel like Hori is a pretty textbook Ravenclaw but I'd consider Gryffindor with a Ravenclaw primary a la Hermione. Part of me is like... Hori would never be as deep in the shit as Hermione got but let's be for real. She'd follow Miyamura into hell if she wasn't already dragging him there.

Izumi Miyamura (Horimiya) - Considering Miyamura's backstory, I'd understand if you disagree but mans is a Hufflepuff. He had no community, nothing to take hold of. But as its' built around him, he appreciates how precarious it is and holds onto it so dearly, even threatened by Yanagi's immersion into the group. Also, he has so many Hufflepuff moments that are so dear to me. Like memorizing the boys' scents so he can recognize if they've been near Hori despite the fact that it is empirically evident that he's more likely to get stolen away from her by one of the guys. Well meaning simpleton, I love him.

Shuumei Sasaki (Sasaki to Miyano) - SHOUTING Hufflepuff. Don't get me wrong, he's no slouch. Sasaki is straight up fearsome when someone gets a little too close to Miyano but we also know his moral code isn't tied specifically to Miyano. Miyano might have been an indirect impetus to help Kuresawa, but I feel like Hirano validates that Sasaki finds himself in fights regardless of "not being good at them" 👀. Gentle giant and will use his size to the advantage of those in need. I saw a post earlier re: succumbing to Sasaki's rizz and how Miyano is like... god tier for not caving sooner. Imagine if this man had access to love potions 😂 kidding, he wouldn't be the type to use them, even the silly ones from the Weasley's but still. Sasaki + magic would simply be too powerful.

Yoshikazu Miyano (Sasaki to Miyano) - IMAGINE MIYANO PERUSING THE RESTRICTED AREA ON THE HUNT FOR BL. I just cackled aloud at the thought. Then you have hulking Sasaki looming over him drawing attention to the intrusion. Like, "sorry, I'm not seeking out unforgivable curses, just two fictional boys in love." Please. Moving along, Ravenclaw. Easy, and he'd be a Prefect. Sasaki would, of course, frequently be caught using Prefect facilities and trotting along behind Miyano relentlessly. Talk about scary dog privilege.

DESTIEL

I had to break these two away to provide an additional disclaimer to the fact that... these legit stumped me. With 14 seasons of background and the radical character development for both of them, it's hard to pick one house and commit to it for either of them. Especially since they, at different points in their development, are interchangeably fitting into the same houses. I never thought about their development in that way before. Upon my deliberation, please see below. Just know, if you disagree, you're probably right and I probably considered your alternative as well.

Castiel (Supernatural) - Cas spends a great deal of his time locked in his Slytherin era, loyal to an antiquated moral system and acting with impunity which is very much giving Death Eater. But, losing his religion, his direction and beneath the weight of all that presumed obligation is a Hufflepuff. In the absence of a belief system, he begins to consider humanity with an unencumbered curiosity, seeks community with the Winchesters and to help those who are plagued by the Supernatural.

Dean Winchester (Supernatural) - Dean starts out as a Hufflepuff. He's all saving people, hunting things, family business. Intrinsically, does seeking out monsters not meet the immediate criteria of "Finder"? Dean protects family, friends and strangers and, at times, critically balances out Sam's Ravenclaw pragmatism that sends him down weird Slytherin shaped holes (hello, demon blood). This with nothing but an 8th grade education, Baby and a comforting slice of pie. But, as the story progresses, his desperation to protect and keep hold of the people he holds dear pushes him deeper and deeper into Slytherin territory where his individual loyalism can justify jeopardizing the natural order, the fate of the world, anything really as long as he and his brother are both still breathing. Subsequently, his previous impulse to always do the right thing becomes clouded with a bias of the right thing if it doesn't impede protecting Sammy. His willingness to leave Adam to ruin is yet another example of this.

Okay, so I'm noticing a trend here... Do I just like a dynamic of Idiot x Genius (or sometimes nefarious manipulator) or am I just sorting people all wrong? Either way, it feels like I'm revealing wayyyy too much about myself here. What do you think?

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When I see folks discussing possible flaws/issues for the various SHC houses, most of the time the Badger secondary one is "can overwork themselves/focus too much on work" or something like that.

But Courtier Badger has a darker side too. One that by itself is pretty morally neutral, but has the potential to be used to hurt people, hard.

A Badger secondary will help you notice things about people you meet so you can instinctively understand how to become a relatable person for them. It will take note of what they say, how they say it, their body language. It'll notice the unspoken words lingering between sentences, sideways glances, every hesitation.

With a bit of patience, you'll probably have a good idea of what this person likes and hopes, but also what they fear, about themselves and others. It will point out to you the cracks in them.

And this can be a good thing! It can be very helpful to avoid a potentially explosive topic, or when you're trying to comfort a clearly distressed friend that isn't volunteering much information.

But it also makes hurting people so easy, and during a heated discussion, it's tempting to use this hold you have on their fears and emotions to just make it stop, to gain a moral high ground, or just because right now you think they deserve to be hurt.

Sometimes I look at someone I know well enough and realize: "Oh, I could make you have an identity crisis right now by showing you the ugliest version of yourself you'd still be able to recognize as you and using the right words to make you believe just a bit that there's truth in it".

And then I don't do it, of course, but the... casual way my inner thoughts take note of this and file it under "might be useful someday" is a bit scary. And it all comes from the same place that allows me to give the best Chrismas gifts and just know when it's time to check in with a friend and ask how it's going.

[ornamental-coral]

Preparing for Lunar New Year has me thinking about traditions, and how Badger Primaries have a reputation for insisting on the importance of such things. Some of it sprouted from the idea that traditions (and rules and laws) have kept the community safe and healthy in the past, so these things need to be preserved so they can continue to do so. Another part of it is centered around the idea of cultural or community identity. Traditions are a shared experience. They are something the Badger can point at and say "See? We all do that. We are all connected." These traditions can range from cultural traditions to personal traditions shared by only a few friends. But it's not just Badgers that do this. Even though it's not talked about as often, Snake Primaries also have a tendency to place great importance in their traditions. And this makes sense: Loyalists are all about connections.

[ornamental-coral]

What are some ways for improvisational secondaries to study that work?

Hopefully this isn't too vague to be helpful. Obviously studying different things is going to be different, but these are things that have worked for people you know, and hopefully should get the gears turning - because getting silly and messy is a great way to study.

Gamify it. Any game is your friend. If you're using Quizlet, study with someone so the two of you can compete.

Teach backs/rubber ducking. Explain the topic out loud to a teddy bear/other inanimate object with eyes.

Play Five Clicks to Jesus with your terms. Bring up the Wikipedia page for something you need to know about, and you have to find a way to get from that page to Jesus’ page in five clicks or less. 

(NB - You can pick an end-game page that makes sense with the thing you're studying, or something you know a lot about/are invested in. Or if you REALLY need to generate some interest: 'oral sex.')

Use the material you're learning to tell a story. Or pretend that you’re a character who needs to use this information later for some reason. (Costume pieces can be nice.)  

Get emotionally invested. Find an article/video on something you’re trying to learn that you disagree with and can get mad at. Start writing down the rebuttal to what they’re saying. 

Frame it as an investigation. Start out with questions you have about the thing, and dig until you can answer them. 

Watch the movie version. Note down all the ways it is inaccurate. (Online guides help with this) 

Use puns/jokes/stupid connections to keep similar words straight in your head

If you have to learn something that absolutely must be memorized, memorize it while doing something else - walking/exercising/doing the dishes.

Make your notes aesthetic. Pretty notebooks, pretty pens, illustrations, whatever you need. And then you can post pictures of your pretty notes online.

Light a Study Candle. That is pretty and smells nice and you only light when you’re studying.

Sit Someplace Different. Go to a coffee shop, or a park, or the library, and do your work there. You can totally get a second wind just by physically re-locating.

Personally, when I’m learning something or teaching myself something, first I watch multiple videos/read multiple articles that say the same thing in different ways. Sometimes I have them on in the background while I'm doing something else. I write down/copy paste anything that seems vaguely interesting. After I'm done with that, I arrange things in a way that makes sense, I especially like diagrams, arrows, and timelines.

And any Snake or Lion secondaries out there, please add on with what works for you.

[ornamental-coral]

my sister, a Lion Primary: y'know how when you're little, you want to be Special

me, a Badger Primary: sure

sister: and then you grow up and realize you aren't The Hero who is going to vanquish the world's evils--

me, thinking Special meant being someone who could help others no matter what the problem, not being the Chosen One, fighting for the soul of humanity: wait what

[ornamental-coral]

a wild egg appeared?

everyone who reblogs it before Oct 25 will get a Pokemon based on their blog in their submit inbox (make sure submit is open!)

happy hatching!

[ornamental-coral]

Is there a neutral state for all of the secondaries or only Snake and Badger?

All the secondaries interact with "Neutral" (how you look when you're not working at being perceived a particular way) a little differently.

Snake secondaries talk about their Neutral states being relaxing, like taking your bra off at the end of the day. It's something they do when they feel very safe. They also tend to think that everyone is hiding a neutral state under their day-to-day presentation.

Birds deliberately build personas. They give their personas names, take them off, hang them up in the closet. So Birds slipping into Neutral is usually not very dramatic. It's like washing off makeup. They're going back to the base layer - where they need to be to build and experiment. Birds run into trouble when they get *stuck* in one of their personas, because they see them as tools, not identity the way Snakes and Badgers do. It's like how Jack Skellington hates being JUST "The Pumpkin King" and Edward Teach hates being JUST "Blackbeard."

If a Badger secondary is in a Neutral state around people, that's... not fun for them. Since bouncing off people's energy is automatic and it feels good, if they're not doing that, it's probably because they're too tired, angry, or are in a group of people who they just can't figure out how to gel with.

And Lion secondaries are basically in their Neutral state all the time. Or at least, they'd like to be.

[ornamental-coral]

How do you tell the difference between a bird primary with a snake primary model vs an actual snake primary?

Context: Hello everyone! @wisteria-lodge asked the shc community if we would like to help answering some asks, and a number of us volunteered, so this is a reply to one of those asks.

Bird primary with a Snake primary model here! I guess the difference is that the Bird learned the Snake from somewhere, like from a group/family culture or a loved one. Meanwhile, for a full-scaled Snake primary, putting yourself and your People first is much more instinctual. Personally, I also have a good amount of reasoning behind when and why unquestioning loyalty is good, which I wouldn't be surprised if that's Bird primary thing.

[ornamental-coral]

As a Snake sec, would you say that you enjoy acting differently around different people? I'm sorry if this comes across as rude.

Why would this be rude? No apology needed, nonny.

I have fond memories of times where I tricked others into thinking I'm funnier than I am, or one of the cool kids for once instead of the nerdy loner, or when I charmed teachers by being an (adorable) little shit instead of the usual good girl, that kind of thing. And I especially like the one time I took a seminar on communication with my colleagues, and the teacher was so insufferable that I kinda took over and kept him on track by cutting through his bullshit again and again, even though I'm not naturally a forceful person.

I also have horrible memories of situations where I wasn't able to get into the flow of things, because I am not very practiced or naturally talented at multiplayer. I've been working on getting better for years now, and I'm proud of where I am, but it's a process.

Apart from the good and the bad, I don't really notice what I'm doing. I mean, of course I notice that I act differently in different situations and with different people, but that's how I've always been. It's nothing special. If it wasn't for shc and my experience as a teacher and coach for communication, I wouldn't even know that not everyone is the same.

To give you a straight answer, nonny, I enjoy it when my secondary allows me social experiences I wouldn't normally have access to, even if it is only in a specific situation and never for long. Other than that, it's just the way I am.

[ornamental-coral]

☆ JOHNNY // GRYFFINDOR ☆ JISUNG // HUFFLEPUFF ☆ SUNGCHAN // SLYTHERIN ☆ DOYOUNG // RAVENCLAW ☆ JUNGWOO // HUFFLEPUFF ☆ KUN // GRYFFINDOR

[ornamental-coral]

There's a moment when it comes to say goodbye.

One of the most important things I've learned is that it's okay to love something for being good while it lasted.

Sometimes you can even salvage the good things, build something new that can survive a whole new age. Sometimes this is incredibly difficult and sometime it's easier. I've been through both kinds of rebuilding.

I've also cut off people who are no good to me anymore.

The first time I ever did this started the worst few years of my life. I'm a bird secondary so my experience will be different than @sevilemar and colored by that. I was also a very young snake at the time, someone who defined themselves by the people that were in my circle of care.

And to be fair, I went through a flux period where I was not only kicking someone out who didn't deserve to be in my circle (wasn't caring for me emotionally the way I cared for them) but reevaluating my relationship with my family, who my snake has proven unable to get rid of (and I know this isn't the case for everyone).

As a bird-sec part of my decision making process for organizing people into "my circle" requires me evaluating them against whatever birdbrain criteria I have (subconscious and conscious process yay). So kicking someone out of my circle ended up kicking me out of my own circle for a while.

Because I'd made a mistake. Because I couldn't trust myself to make these sorts of decisions about people, which at its core is what a Snake wants to care about. We want our people to be safe and at least for me, ideally have some respect > affection for me as well.

In hindsight the person I kicked out wasn't worth this mental and emotional anguish and part of my response was colored by overall depression/anxiety/and other things going on in my life, and I've learned from that. But at the time, I shut down.

You use the word barrier and at least from my point of view as a Snake-Bird, that's very apt.

Even a Snake who kicks themselves out of their circle can still pay attention to the people they care about, but its hard or impossible for a time to let new people in. The walls are up, the teeth and claws are out and are a passive defense, the need to perform or run may take over and that may be the way a snake in defense mode may react to anyone. At least for me, if I'm in defense mode or have just let someone go, I treat my people with a certain autopilot. I too may be colder to those less important to me or require disconnecting for a while from those whose emotions tend to color mine. Being "very emotional but less emotionally open" is entirely accurate. Those emotions may be entirely internal as well so other people may not even recognize what's going on.

Cutting someone out of your life is traumatic, no matter who you are, and higher in esteem you hold them, the worse it is. For Snakes, because we hold people so close, because we can make them part of our view of self, having to do it to protect yourself can be even more painful than having to remove someone from the circle to protect another of "your" individuals.

I'm also grateful for the Snake ability to commit to some level of self-prioritization. I don't know how it is for other Snakes, but for me I'm still learning to trust my assessments of new people. All the "newer" people in my circles came to me in different ways than the few older ones remaining did, because the way I was careful with myself and my own emotions during the process was different than in the past.

Just because Snakes can love someone who's stabbed them in the back doesn't make them less careful the next time, or mean the pain is less. I'm also grateful for our natural Snake ability to prioritize the self, even subconsciously, because it can save what's left of your heart and at least give you the tiniest kernel to work with later.

Hi Sevi, I just wanted to ask you something. As a snake primary, what do you think snakes do/think/feel when they are not able to love and care about their people anymore, when they hurt them too much and they can't run away but they have to stop loving them and have to put a barrier to save themselves?

There are two scenarios: one where we burn so much that we throw ourselves out of our own circle, in which case I have no idea if we are even capable of contemplating a decision like this in the first place.

And one where we have already decided to do this, because we're still worth it, still in our own circle, and we've tried everything else and there's no other way out. Once we're at that point, we are probably going to go into as ruthless a self-care mode as the situation will allow. Remember, we are not badgers, and once the hard part (making the initial decision) is over and we have given ourselves permission, we are morally obligated to look after ourselves by whatever means necessary. And yes, that even means against our (former) people.

I can only speak for myself, and I have only experienced a milder version of this once or twice, so take it maybe as a rough guide for what might be going on. Also, I am snake secondary, so it might be coloured by that as well.

Depending on the situation and the maturity of everyone involved, I might try and talk to my people, explain what's going on and ask for understanding and a break. If that's not an option, I will probably cut off contact as best I can and get as much alone-time as possible, by any means necessary. I will take any opportunity to get away from the situation, if I have the energy even try to make (or fake) opportunities. I will do my best to mentally distance myself, as difficult as that may be. And if I don't feel completely help- and hopeless, I will start to look for a more permanent way to get out of there, consciously or unconsciously.

I might be quieter or louder than usual, less agreeable, more irritated, very emotional but less emotionally open, and definitely stressed out and exhausted because I have to fight for every inch of physical or mental space I put between us while trying to somehow survive what had hurt me in the first place, all this completely on my own because the people I would have trusted are the people I'm fighting. Maybe I'm also looking for new people, but that'll be hard because I got trust issues now.

I would not want to hurt my (former) people intentionally, but if they do get hurt in the process (and they will)? I have already decided to prioritise my survival over them, and that makes it OK to think of it as 'not my problem' for the moment. I'd prefer it if they had someone who helps them, but if they haven't, that's their business. When I am down like this, my first obligation is to myself, not them. Me first, mine second. Selfish? Probably. Right? Very much so.

I am glad for our capacity for self-care, especially in harmful situations like the one you described. Once we heal and get better, we have to take care to loosen it again, of course, but that's a topic for a different post.

[ornamental-coral]

Oh god, no no no, I'm so sorry for making it sound as if I'm a bird primary, I should had added I'm not. I think my burned lion is constantly having crisis after crisis and latching on to different things. I can and I do sound different and use different words to express myself I think. I can't tell you how many times I appeared and been read as a different primary, yes, and I know I do it, but I also know at those moments it fitted, even if I knew I was taking from different wells. I do not know how to write a sort me and not appear as anything and just be myself, those places and wells are also me. I guess it's a lack of understanding of one self and a result of being overly reactive and only content without a reaction to outside. But at the same time I don't change like birds do. There was a child me, a me from this or that memory of mine, there's a me 4 years ago, sure, but there's still me in all of them that exist here today. Skin changes, bones don't. I rely too much on my emotional pings, even if I try to understand them, because I know they can come from a wrong place, they always come first. I don't think I wanted to confuse you and tell the thing sounds like a bird primary, it's usually a primary that my brain can't fabricate. In the end, I can take myself believe or do something that is obviously right, especially if it aks me to give up something, but I know I can change how I feel or view myself if I find something from a different side that resonates with something I want or believe would fit me. Again, a reason not to trust my feelings and whatever this is, because it's just a bundle of weeds that could have grown in dark and empty places. I'm sorry again. I probably don't yet have a proper toolbox to talk about this yet.

Obviously, I'm all for picking whatever words are most useful to you. But hey, you wrote me, and sorry to have to say it. But everything you say makes you sound like a Bird having an existential crisis. I'm not getting Burned Lion from you at all.

I mean I can make myself believe or do something that is obviously right?

From where I'm standing, you're one of those Birds that are SO much a Bird, that you see all the other primaries in terms of Bird, which makes Bird itself this clinical, antiseptic, emotionless thing. (and you are clearly so poetic.) Of course the people you once were inform who you are today! Of course you don't ignore emotional pings completely! (but you also don't really trust them, do you? and that makes you Bird. You see, a really Burnt Lion doesn't feel those emotional pings at all.)