#neither of which seems like it would tend someone towards any sort of combat role

[syn0vial]

how each of the BG3 companions gained their combat expertise

wyll: i was trained as to be a formidable and honorable combatant since i was young, i've protected the frontiers for years, and i have magic devil powers karlach: i was forced to serve on the front line of the blood wars in hell for the past decade lae'zel: i was brought up in a strict, militaristic warrior society that emphasized martial prowess even in its youngest members shadowheart: i spent most of my life being prepared in the ways of subterfuge and magic by a brutal cult gale: i've spent decades obsessively studying magic and even studied under the goddess of magic herself to perfect my craft astarion: i've got a lot of repressed rage and a dagger i found on the ground 15 minutes ago. let's go turn someone inside out :)

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

I really want to read the post where you say "why Ravenclaw is the House that suits MC the most in the main story" but I dont find it

I haven’t ever made a full length post about it, come to think of it. I’ve talked about it in previous Ask responses but admittedly I have quite a few of those. So I suppose now is as good a time as any! 

Ultimately, HPHM’s story is designed so that any House can work for Jacob’s Sibling. Obviously, no one House is “canon” over the others. But in my personal opinion, certain Houses do make more sense for different reasons. Everything can change based on how you characterize MC, but setting aside the dialogue choices, they tend to have a general personality that fills in for most of the scenes. It’s average, a kind of “everyman” type. And certain choices can arguably be considered “canon” when they’re the ones that are free, placed next to choices that are locked behind attributes or friendship checks. That is the general vision of MC that I’ll be analyzing. 

But first, the characters. 

One of the primary reasons that MC fits Ravenclaw the best in the Main Story is because there are several characters who are aligned to MC in their Sorting. They always follow MC to whatever House they go to. Thus it becomes a question of which house suits them the most. Rowan Khanna, I think, speaks for them-self. I could see them in any House but they are a Ravenclaw through and through. I bet the only reason they ever get Sorted anywhere else is because they ask the Hat to let them follow MC. They are absolutely brilliant, with a love of reading and learning new things. They’re eccentric as well, deeply creative and good at coming up with plans. They dream of being a Professor, and they turn to books above all else. Next we have Jacob. Another character who could go anywhere based on interpretation, but he strikes me as a Ravenclaw too. Several of the options you can give when expressing speculation about him suggest that the reason he probably investigated the Vaults in the first place was his thirst for knowledge, his desire to know their secrets. To be specific, his stubborn and obsessive need to know. I feel like Jacob couldn’t let this go until he had learned all of the hidden magic and secrets of the Vaults, until he realized far too late that he was in over his head, mixed up with R and everything. 

Then there is Flitwick. A canon Ravenclaw of course, and one of the four Heads of House. It could be coincidental, but even if it is, Flitwick is easily the most developed of the Heads of House within this game. McGonagall is totally in character, but she’s part of the sideline outside of a small section of Year 2. Sprout contributes absolutely nothing, and Snape is likewise in character, but lacking anything to do until Rakepick shows up. Flitwick prepares MC for the first duel with Merula and gives them counsel. I suppose it’s not that much more than McGonagall teaching them the revealing spell in Year 2, but this felt so much more personal. You have the chance to make a promise to Flitwick, and either keep it or break it. In Year 4, he is I think the only teacher to speak up in Rakepick’s defense, and this leads into even further development of his character. By Year 5, he starts to warn MC not to investigate the Portrait Curse, but stops mid-sentence as he realizes that nothing he can say will stop them. I bring all of this up because Flitwick being such a fleshed out character in this game kind of goes hand in hand pretty well with the idea that he is MC’s Head of House. He is the only Head who shows the slightest bit of remorse when banning MC from Hogsmeade. With him, you really get the sense that he’s being overruled and doesn’t agree with it. That he’s in MC’s corner. And god I love him.  I won’t stray too far into the Quidditch characters, but I will say that Murphy and Orion are two other characters that stick with MC, who I could very much see as Ravenclaws, both in different ways. But still, it’s Jacob and Rowan who are most important in affecting the story.

Which brings me to the story itself. 

Hogwarts Mystery is different from the story of Harry Potter. This is the tale of Jacob and his Sibling. In HP, we know from the beginning who the villain is, that he’s an evil monster. We know what he wants, and that he failed. It gets fleshed out more later but everything you need to know is in that first book. We see him, he clashes with Harry, and loses. The books are a hero’s journey. A story of good versus evil. They do have mystery aspects, each of the books has a mystery told within it’s pages. But the overarching story is not about what’s hidden in the trapdoor, or who opened the chamber of secrets. It’s about Harry and Voldemort’s rivalry, their hero/villain dynamic. Everyone knew going into DH that Harry would defeat him in the end because that’s how these things go. OOTP basically confirmed it but most fans had known for years. 

HPHM is different. 

There are heroic moments, and Merula in particular compares MC to being a “hero.” But nothing they do is heroic in the same way as Harry. They both take active roles in the story but in different ways. Harry is still reactionary. He takes it upon himself to solve the problems, but he still waits until the problems show up. MC plans to open the Vaults even before the Curses show themselves. They arrive at Hogwarts with a goal in mind, finding Jacob. And with Hogwarts Mystery, the overarching story is not a hero’s journey. Because MC is so much more ambiguous than Harry. It might seem redundant to say that this story is a Mystery, but it is. An ongoing investigation, the unraveling of a conspiracy. Learning the truth about just what went down during Jacob’s years at Hogwarts. By HBP, Voldemort was such a familiar presence that we were learning the ins and outs of his childhood, right down to how his parents met. By Year 6, we still have no idea what R really is, or what they want. We don’t even know what it stands for. The black and white of the books, the heroes and the villains...that’s all replaced with shades of gray. Jacob is constantly in the gray. So is Rakepick, at least at first. Don’t get me started on Merula. Ben is another character who is definitely good, but has gone through such a roller coaster about who he is and whether he can be trusted. 

Then there’s the ambiguity of MC them-self. The hints that they don’t share everything with people, are prone to tricking others, and for all we know, might wind up on the Dark Side someday. I’ll admit, this can also lend itself well to MC being a Slytherin, and indeed there are dialogue choices that are locked behind being one. But I still feel as though MC playing detective throughout this entire game, that whole premise lends itself pretty damn well toward a Ravenclaw MC. They’re trying to defeat the bad guys, but their main method of preparing for that fight is not train up an army of students, it is to investigate the Vaults, and investigate R. Even going as far as to work with Wizarding police. Granted, I know Harry poked around a lot too. And MC does form the Circle of Khanna, just like how Harry formed Dumbledore’s Army. Both of them do exhibit both behaviors, but MC specializes in covert investigation more than preparation for combat. Again, at least they do so in the main story. The Circle of Khanna was not meant to be like Dumbledore’s Army, at least not in concept. MC first conceived it as the idea of standing toe to toe with the Cabal by having a secret organization of their own. I know that didn’t really land perfectly in actual practice but that was the whole idea. And if there’s one thing MC has a constant stream of, it’s ideas. Not always the right ones, not always fast enough, but they do have them, and these ideas steer the plot. In the main story and otherwise. 

It’s probably a bit cheap to get meta, but so be it. 

I can’t help but notice how, if we take every other contribution to the Potterverse into account...well then, we’ve got a Gryffindor Protagonist in the form of Harry. We’ve got a Slytherin Protagonist in the form of Albus Severus. And a Hufflepuff over in Fantastic Beasts with Newt Scamander. If MC is a Ravenclaw, then that completes the quartet. But there’s another Quartet out there as well - that of the Original Four. Rowan, Ben, Penny, and Merula. The Year 1 characters and the OG leads of the Hogwarts Mystery story. Notice anything about them? We have a Hufflepuff, a Gryffindor, and a Slytherin...but no Ravenclaw. None that is, unless MC, and therefore Rowan by extension, is a Ravenclaw. MC being Sorted into the House of Eagles completes both of these groups. I dunno, I just find it curious that unless the Player goes to Ravenclaw, the first student character we meet in that House shows up in Year 3. Because Jam City wrote in some amazing characters for Ravenclaw. My love of Tulip Karasu is well documented, but I also think Talbott is pretty damn fascinating. Andre and Badeea rock too! Ravenclaw is also a relatively neutral House. I’ve said before that HPHM ignores the House rivalries, and that’s easiest to incorporate in the House of Eagles, which mostly keeps to itself. It would not be socially strange for a Ravenclaw to have so many friends from different Houses. I’m not saying a Slytherin MC couldn’t befriend Ben, for example, but he’s a Muggle-born Gryffindor and that would be a big deal to everyone else. Again, not saying it couldn’t happen, just that it would turn heads and people within Slytherin might go as far as to treat MC like a traitor. I like this premise, but...would Felix seriously help MC prepare to fight Merula, a fellow Slytherin, on behalf of someone like Ben? There are other trivial problems, like the question of two male Prefects if MC is Gryffindor, etc. 

But that’s just a few thoughts. Again, there’s clearly no “canon” House, and neither of my MCs are even in Ravenclaw. But I think it’s fun to explore the idea as Ravenclaw is a House that, I think, is sorely needing development.

[fastwalker]

2, 8, 8, 12? And in regards to your previous answer, I would be interested to hear if you a) think consensual, heterosexual intercourse is even possible in a patriarchy and b) if your take on homosexual erotica is the same one as the one you’ve described? (Only if you want to of course :) ) greetings!

aaah I think my first reaction to any of these ask games, thank u :’)

2. How do you feel about racial dating preferences? Are they racist, or okay?

this is a hairy one. to my knowledge people chose partners who look familiar, so they’ll look for people who sorta look like the community they grew up with, so people who didn’t grow up in a mixed community will have a rather narrow dating pool, their own “race” or ethnicity usually (also explains while I’ve always ended up with or only had crushes on other slavs so far :I ). oh and ofc this doesn’t only apply to looks but also to culture, religion (or lack thereof), traditions etc. bc you’re more likely to relate and have stuff in common with each other if you have similiar experiences.© goes out to some other radfem I can’t remember the url of where I read about this sorta race discourse for the first time ^^” at least the culture part bc I’m a superficial pos (ofc I’ve read abt attraction before and not only on tumblr!)I think that’s ok bc trying to force people into dating someone is really fucking creepy no matter if you reasoning is “progressiveness” or whatever. also most countrys don’t experience much migration and don’t have a very mixed population so it doesn’t have that much of an impact on peoples’ dating options anyway, unless you live in the us or central europe I guess. but even in countrys with huge mixed population people tend to form microcommunitys, based on their similiarities and not mingling much.

like imagine what an attempt at widening someone’s dating pool must look like: you’d have to expose them to as many different people as possible in their childhood, which is good when it’s done to combat racism and xenophobia, but if you do that with the specific goal to widen future generations’ dating options…. that’s fucked up man

I mean, stuff like better interwoven communitys, discouraging  the formation of microcommunitys (as an immigrant, I hated that my parents were doing this!) and media representation WILL result in people being more likely to date different races/ethnicites imo, but the reasons are key here, and manipulating someone into dating people they’re not attracted to for whatever reasons, whether they be actually racist or just due to lack of exposure and therefore no natural attraction developing, should never be someones’s goal ever. that shit is dangerous and unfair mainly for the marginalized target group!

so tldr: I don’t think that “race” preference is inherently racist due to what I know how attraction forms BUT I think people who are not attracted to other races, ethnicities etc. often justify that with racist bullshit.

8. How do you feel about the fat acceptance movement (the body positivity movement)? Why do you think it’s mostly women in that movement?

generally ok, I think people should not be bullied for how they look and I think doctors should be more attentive to their fat patients and not brush all of their symtpoms off as “well you’re just too fat”. I personally know people who suffered a great deal because of that negligence. for example a friend of my mom’s had an uterus infection (I think it was?) and it made her belly swell, her doctor thought she had just gotten fat so the infection got unnoticed for a long time before she got extremely ill and she had to have a hysterectomy to survive.

and I think it’s mostly women bc we’re socialised to show or rather perform (not necessarily feel…) in more empathetic ways. also we try really really hard to heal the world through individualistic self help stuff, because we tend to internalize problems. also obviously we face more harassment for our looks than men do, so we have more interest in making it stop.

some fat positive individuals are a tad weird and claim that you can still be mobile and healthy even if you’re morbidly obese which is wrong, but you get weird positivity nuts who are taking it too far in every movement I guess. I still think even very obese people shouldn’t be bullied, even if you claim you’re just “concerned for their health” bc that’s a blatan lie. Also bullying has enver helped anyone get better.

12. How do you feel about religions? Can a radical feminist be religious? Do you think all religions are equally bad (for women)?

my knowledge is mostly limited to abrahamic religions and yeah i think they’re bad. their very foundation is based on the reversal of creation and the worship of the father, both a punishing almighty ghost in the sky and an allmighty tyrant at home. and they invented all sort of rules to cement womens’ role as subhuman, worthles servant to men.

I don’t think abrahamic religious women can be feminists, at least not if they properly practice their religion, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia and all. if they just pick and choose the “good” stuff and are interpreting bible verses in different ways than literally every other person practicing the same religion, I don’t think that has anything to do with said religion anymore and they’re just making up their own one at this point

I get it that religious communitys can be a massive support system, especially when they’re on of these more pick&chose kinda communitys, and I would never judge a woman for seeking support and belonging among welcoming, generally nice people who don’t really have much to do with conservative christians. but it’s still sorta sketchy that she and her friends would follow a belief system that is misogynist at its core :/

also churches sometimes help feminists, I think a church or at least a pastor (uuugh it’s been a while since I read that article, sorry) is helping sisters ev, a german foundation campaigning for the nordic model and helping women in prostitution. he seems to be helping out of the goodness of his heart and not because he is judging these women negatively. but I’m generally sceptic towards patriarchal religions and their followers bc of their misogynist foundations.

I don’t know enough abt other religions to have a propper opinion on them, I’m generally neither a religious nor spiritual person (was raised catholic tho) so not really interested in that stuff, but I think rituals like this witchy stuff and singing together etc. can be a nice bonding experience. I enjoyed it whenever I tried to engage in it with other radfems. the togetherness is just… well nice. people just like doing rituals and doing stuff together. .

so yeah I don’t think religion or spritiuality is necessarily bad, the rituals and sense of support, community and belonging is obviously good. It only becomes bad when it clashes with human rights, medicine and science, which christianity, islam and judaism do.

and I don’t think liberal religious people (the pick and choose ones) are “true” believers bc they don’t fully adhere to their religion anyway. but I think they are massive enablers for more orthodox believers, also even liberal followers are usually extremely protective of their religion (and therefore the more conservative parts/people) even if they don’t really practice it anyway which often leads to conflict with people who are critical of their institution

aaaah sorry this is already massive I’ll adress your other questions in a seperate post! sorry I tend to ramble and overexplain bc I don’t want to be misunderstood esp when the themes are “controversial” :x

[redrighthanded-blog1]

4, 5, and 6!

4. If your muse could change one thing about themself, what would it be?

Inwardly or outwardly?

Outwardly, it would definitely be the scars. Even if he didn’t mind them from a purely aesthetical point of view, which he very much does - they are the cause of his limp and plenty other unpleasant side-effects he would be very, very happy to live without. Don’t get me wrong, he’s still fit enough, even with the limp and the occasional hyperventilation but, at the same time, he feels like he can't rely on himself and his body as much as he used to which, in turn, makes him feel unsafe. Naturally, being a man of his position, he does carry a handgun wherever he goes, but that hardly makes him feel any better.

Inwardly, he would for sure get rid of his tendency towards depression if he could for much the same reasons – it makes it so he can’t rely on himself as much as he used to, his personal sense of resilience and self-sufficiency are not as strong as they used to be, because he doesn’t know himself when he’s depressed. Even in his darkest days back when Rachel and he were still living with their father, he always knew there had to be a way out because, well, he just had to – otherwise, it would have become a self-fulfilling prophecy and neither one of them would have ever made it out (which isn’t entirely true, it sort of makes Rachel seem helpless and unable of handling herself – but you get the gist). When he’s depressed, all that gets thrown away without so much as a second thought, and he’ll allow himself to sink farther and farther into it because, well, that’s just how depression is – everything is terrible all the time and you can’t see a way out because you don’t think there exists one.

5. What kind of first impression does your muse give off to people just meeting them? How does this change as people get to know them better?

That depends on who you ask, really, and the manner with which they’re involved in Levi’s life. If we’re talking about other individuals from the Bianchi family or other criminal organizations - Levi always tries to maintain a respectful air. He will always address people by their title, always keep his language clean (at least towards them), always hear them out and will always do his best to keep both parties satisfied (within his means, of course - and that being said, the Bianchis will always come first). He’s rather the impressive diplomat which often fares well, but not always. Some people view him as lacking authority, little more than Marco’s personal lap dog, and won’t take him seriously; some view his diplomacy as cowardice and compliance which, in turn, makes him unfit for his role as Marco’s second-in-command, even if Marco is much of the same (hell – some view Marco as cowardly and compliant, too). He knows it’s the right way to get anything accomplished, though, with minimum fuss and minimum damage for all parties involved, so I don’t see him getting all combatant and irrational anytime soon.

If we’re talking just ordinary people who are not involved in or unaware of his criminal status – I’d say he comes across as charming (or that’s the way I try to portray him, anyway), in a thinly-veiled brutish, violent sort of way. He’s obviously a thug, but he’s clever and kind of funny and, if anything, he’s a good listener. He doesn’t often want to involve people in his personal experiences or past due to obvious reasons (did anyone say trust issues?), which usually has him leading people to talk more about themselves and, lbr - most people want to talk about themselves, it makes them feel heard and interesting, so, yes. Long story short, Levi is a good diplomat and most times, people tend to like that about him.

I do think people tend to notice, at some point, that he’s a private man, that he doesn’t want anyone getting too close to him, and the reactions vary depending on things like the nature of the relationship or, simply, the type of person the other party is. Some accept it and hope he’ll eventually open up; some try to push him there (which usually leads to his distancing himself); some give up the struggle and, with it, the relationship. It doesn't feel too nice when a person you care about clearly doesn't want you all up in their personal shit and, after a while, the charm fades, and a good listener can easily turn into a secretive, emotionally-distant creep. I do actually really want someone to confront him about it, but I think I’ll need to have been writing him longer and have him develop more personal relationships for that to happen.

6. If your muse could erase a single event from their memory, would they take the opportunity? What would they erase?

Naturally, the first thought that popped in my head is Levi’s childhood/home life, but thinking about it, I don’t think he would’ve wanted to erase any of it. It would mean granting either of his parents forgiveness which he doesn’t feel like either of them deserves and, more importantly: it probably means he wouldn’t be as wary of people as he is today, which he would consider a disadvantage. It’s good that he’s always on his feet because, that way, it’s much more difficult for the current/new people in his life to hurt him and, with his type of job, that shit is necessary in order to survive.

He might consider wiping his memory of the incident that caused his injury and killed seven of his comrades, though I’m not sure whether he’d go through with that either. It’s far more likely that he’d choose to erase that memory if only because it doesn’t serve to “remind” him of anything, unlike his childhood and memories of his parents – it’s just a very painful, very traumatizing thing that happened that he can never take back or forget about, and he’s all too aware of how deeply he's affected by it. He knows he’d probably be much better off, much more stable and emotionally healthy, were he not to remember it but, at the same time, he is at least partially responsible for what happened, partially responsible for all those lost lives, and escaping that isn’t something he’d be interested in doing. It’s a burden he doesn’t so much want to bear, but recognizes that he needs to nevertheless (so much so that I’ve recently added a third tattoo to his medical diagram).

@asilverjackal / unusual and/or prying character questions.