#again listening to some smart podcasts isnt the same. i want it to feel just for me and my specific students class

[katyspersonal]

I know this is supposed to be a stressful thing, but hearing everyone talk about dying from finals makes me a bit nostalgic and even jealous? I just miss university times so goddamn much.

It was really good to spend half of the day listening to the teachers talk about stuff I found interesting, and have to discipline myself to read/write to certain deadlines. (And to have much more free time..) Adult life with full time job just isn't the same. Every day is like another and new information isn't flowing as much but self-studying is less fun without a teacher and the whole class interested in the same topic. I even miss homeworks that I was putting more effort into than any sane person would! Much older and much more experienced people regularly praising my effort and depth of my thought was a crucial validation resource to think of it :')

[punchholesinthesky]

So I’ve been doing a re-read of HDM, and it’s been great. I have a lot of thoughts.

I originally read the series around 2003 maybe? I’ve visited again since but it’s been ages and it’s been a really interesting experience revisiting as an adult rather than a teen.

I started listening to extraneous podcast who are also doing a re-read and it’s great to listen to their discussion plus what i’ve been thinking. 

I thought I’d tackle one issue from their first ep that struck with me: their hogwarts houses.

Sorting fictional characters into hogwarts houses is probably a complete pointless exercise, though I like doing it cause it means, like the hat, going into their mind, literary analysis of a character and justification, I like that.

So, let’s sort HDM characters. (under the cut for lenght)

Lord Asriel: did we ever get a first name? I cannot recall ever getting one. It’s always just Asriel.

He’s described as fierce,possessing great determination and willpower, a military leader and strategist, a fellow of Jordan college.

We hear of some of his deeds, of having helped out the gyptians in parliament and  in the floods of the fen, he was a respected explorer who’d done some great work in the field of experimental theology, until he had an affair with Marissa Coultier, and in defending her and Lyra from her husband, killed him.

He’s charismatic, convincing the college members to fund his expedition and the bears keeping him captive to treat him well and continue his work.

He does not believe in rules if he thinks the rules are unjust.  He doesn’t hesitate to rebel. 

He’s ambitious, but not necessarily for himself. He is interested in building a better world, and in this he stands in defiance to the church, who wishes to keep humanity in the dark. This is a grand calling, the kind someone who believes themselves a great man would attempt.

He goes exploring because he wishes to understand the world, and through this knowledge, improve it. He certainly commits dark deeds in the name of his goals, but he isn’t doing because he thinks he oughta rule the place, he just doesn’t like who’s in charge.

He can come off as cold and unfeeling, though I think that’s him being stoic and keeping people at arm’s length, cause we do see him be emotional in several occassions. Of course, we also see him be thoughtlessly cruel.

He’s really fucking smart and will attempt brains before brawn if possible,though he isnt lacking in either,

To me, he is a ravenclaw. We know he is smart and curious, not the kind to jump into a situation blindly, but always willing to help and fight. I’d say a ravenclaw with strong gryffindors tendencies,but a ravenclaw nonetheless. 

I think he get into problems, into fights, into action, more out of circumstances that wanting to go out looking for problems, which is why he is not the protagonist, though in another world he would’ve been.

The church is afraid of him cause he asks too many questions, and he challenges their rule. Anyone who’s read history, or been to a christian school knows they do not like that. At all. 

He also reminds me of prometheus, going on a quest for something precious to share with humanity, even at great expense. 

Marissa Coultier:

Ambitious as fuck. She cares about one thing, one person, and that’s herself. She’s the kind of person willing to burn the world to keep herself safe, or even if it’s just convenient.

She has some deep dark impulses as seen in the actions of her monkey. 

I think there’s a good amount of self-loathing in her as well, she’s bought their propaganda, and  recognises herself as a sinner and hates hersef for it, wants to be pure, and tries to in her own twisted way, to help children, thinks dust is bad and wants to save them, etc.

But at the same time, she hates the church for making her feel this way.

She wasn’t allowed to indulge her love so she’ll indulge in rage instead

I think what she really wants is power, power enough to be able to be left alone and live her life.

But she’s definitely not the type to retire to a cottage and live a simple life. It’ll be power and luxury or nothing.

She’s like, the slytherinest (????) slytherin to ever live.

She could give salazar a run for his money.

 Lyra:

Lyra is brave as hell. She is always ready for a fight, about anything. And she never backs down from a challenge, regardless of how ridiculous it is. 

She runs into situations having no idea what’s happening or how to deal with it.

She’ll jump in to defend someone having no idea if theyre even worth defending. 

She’s full of fire, and someone often ends up getting burned. This also means she lacks patience. She’d rather do something now even if it means it’s the wrong thing than wait to do the right thing.

She’s also really smart, and knows it. Not only does she learn to imitate different people, she can also figure them out and manipulate them.

She’s very loyal and protective of her friends, and can be dismissive, unkind, even rude to those she doesn’t like. Or care about.

She is not the greatest judge of character, she outright dismiss female scholars and is taken in by Mrs coultier’s flash. 

Some of this are just childish traits she later grows out of, but not entirely. When we see her again in Lyra’s oxford she has for example, learned some patience. Learned the rewards of hard work and not to always jump to conclusions.

She is definitely a gryffindor. There’s some slytherin traits for sure, but she’s a gryffindor through and through.