|
Post by Msasi on Apr 18, 2012 1:15:34 GMT -5
I really like the extra material I've read so far, like McGonagall's background and the origin of the Dursleys' names and that anecdote about Rowling joining the British Weights and Measures Association just to piss somebody off. Lawl. This website was a good idea and she should feel good about it. ...Except for the potion-brewing system. Although maybe it's the coder who should feel bad about that. I LOVED McGonagall's background. She's one of my favorite chaacters and I loved reading more about her (and it's heartbreaking! Poor McGonagall). But yeah. The website is pretty neat, although I wish they'd release other books a bit faster, since I've been finished with book 1 forever. ._.; I hope they introduce more mini games for the different books. A transfiguration mini game might be fun! And I thiiiink I have some of my Hufflepuff stuff still saved. Let me see... oh, yes! Introduction/Welcome to HufflepuffCongratulations! I’m Prefect Gabriel Truman, and I’m delighted to welcome you to HUFFLEPUFF HOUSE. Our emblem is the badger, an animal that is often underestimated, because it lives quietly until attacked, but which, when provoked, can fight off animals much larger than itself, including wolves. Our house colors are yellow and black, and our common room lies one floor below the ground, on the same corridor as the kitchens.
Now, there are a few things you should know about Hufflepuff house. First of all, let’s deal with a perennial myth about the place, which is that we’re the least clever house. WRONG. Hufflepuff is certainly the least boastful house, but we’ve produced just as many brilliant witches and wizards as any other. Want proof? Look up Grogan Stump, one of the most popular Ministers for Magic of all time. He was a Hufflepuff – as were the successful Ministers Artemesia Lufkin and Dugald McPhail. Then there’s the world authority on magical creatures, Newt Scamander; Bridget Wenlock, the famous thirteenth-century Arithmancer who first discovered the magical properties of the number seven, and Hengist of Woodcroft, who founded the all-wizarding village of Hogsmeade, which lies very near Hogwarts School. Hufflepuffs all.
So, as you can see, we’ve produced more than our fair share of powerful, brilliant and daring witches and wizards, but, just because we don’t shout about it, we don’t get the credit we deserve. Ravenclaws, in particular, assume that any outstanding achiever must have come from their house. I got into big trouble during my third year for duelling a Ravenclaw prefect who insisted that Bridget Wenlock had come from his house, not mine. I should have got a week of detentions, but Professor Sprout let me off with a warning and a box of coconut ice.
Hufflepuffs are trustworthy and loyal. We don’t shoot our mouths off, but cross us at your peril; like our emblem, the badger, we will protect ourselves, our friends and our families against all-comers. Nobody intimidates us.
However, it’s true that Hufflepuff is a bit lacking in one area. We’ve produced the fewest Dark wizards of any house in this school. Of course, you’d expect Slytherin to churn out evil-doers, seeing as they’ve never heard of fair play and prefer cheating over hard work any day, but even Gryffindor (the house we get on best with) has produced a few dodgy characters.
What else do you need to know? Oh yes, the entrance to the common room is concealed in a stack of large barrels in a nook on the right hand side of the kitchen corridor. Tap the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, in the rhythm of ‘Helga Hufflepuff’, and the lid will swing open. We are the only house at Hogwarts that also has a repelling device for would-be intruders. If the wrong lid is tapped, or if the rhythm of the tapping is wrong, the illegal entrant is doused in vinegar.
You will hear other houses boast of their security arrangements, but it so happens that in more than a thousand years, the Hufflepuff common room and dormitories have never been seen by outsiders. Like badgers, we know exactly how to lie low – and how to defend ourselves.
Once you’ve opened the barrel, crawl inside and along the passageway behind it, and you will emerge into the coziest common room of them all. It is round and earthy and low-ceilinged; it always feels sunny, and its circular windows have a view of rippling grass and dandelions.
There is a lot of burnished copper about the place, and many plants, which either hang from the ceiling or sit on the windowsills. Our Head of house, Professor Pomona Sprout, is Head of Herbology, and she brings the most interesting specimens (some of which dance and talk) to decorate our room – one reason why Hufflepuffs are often very good at Herbology. Our overstuffed sofas and chairs are upholstered in yellow and black, and our dormitories are reached through round doors in the walls of the common room. Copper lamps cast a warm light over our four-posters, all of which are covered in patchwork quilts, and copper bed warmers hang on the walls, should you have cold feet.
Our house ghost is the friendliest of them all: the Fat Friar. You’ll recognize him easily enough; he’s plump and wears monk’s robes, and he’s very helpful if you get lost or are in any kind of trouble.
I think that’s nearly everything. I must say, I hope some of you are good Quidditch players. Hufflepuff hasn’t done as well as I’d like in the Quidditch tournament lately.
You should sleep comfortably. We’re protected from storms and wind down in our dormitories; we never have the disturbed nights those in the towers sometimes experience.
And once again: congratulations on becoming a member of the friendliest, most decent and most tenacious house of them all.Info on Larch wand woodStrong, durable and warm in colour, larch has long been valued as an attractive and powerful wand wood. Its reputation for instilling courage and confidence in the user has ensured that demand has always outstripped supply. This much sought-after wand is, however, hard to please in the matter of ideal owners, and trickier to handle than many imagine. I find that it always creates wands of hidden talents and unexpected effects, which likewise describes the master who deserves it. It is often the case that the witch or wizard who belongs to the larch wand may never realise the full extent of their considerable talents until paired with it, but that they will then make an exceptional match. Info on Phoenix Feather wand coresThis is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike.
Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won.My wand, fyi, is 10 inch larch with phoenix feather, surprisingly swishy.
|
|
|
Post by Shomoro on Apr 18, 2012 2:12:28 GMT -5
Yeah, Rowling doesn't pull punches with her characters. It's sad, but at the same time...she thinks of everything. It's so neat to see all the little touches that never made it into any books, but were still there, in the background, propping up the world. There's some interesting stuff in the Hufflepuff text, too! I never would've guessed the common room is reached through a pile of barrels, but it makes sense since badgers are burrowing animals. I kind of wish the other Houses borrowed traits from their animals--snakes don't hang out in cold places and lions, last I checked, aren't fond of towers. Or more than passingly loyal to one another. XD And, y'know, now I've read that it also makes perfect sense that Hufflepuffs would be responsible for a lot of the wizarding world's research and government administration; that shit takes dedication to go with your brains. Huh! Rowling does think everything through. Here's mine! Slytherin Welcome MessageCongratulations! I’m Prefect Gemma Farley, and I’m delighted to welcome you to SLYTHERIN HOUSE. Our emblem is the serpent, the wisest of creatures; our house colours are emerald green and silver, and our common room lies behind a concealed entrance down in the dungeons. As you’ll see, its windows look out into the depths of the Hogwarts lake. We often see the giant squid swooshing by – and sometimes more interesting creatures. We like to feel that our hangout has the aura of a mysterious, underwater shipwreck.
Now, there are a few things you should know about Slytherin – and a few you should forget.
Firstly, let’s dispel a few myths. You might have heard rumours about Slytherin house – that we’re all into the Dark Arts, and will only talk to you if your great-grandfather was a famous wizard, and rubbish like that. Well, you don’t want to believe everything you hear from competing houses. I’m not denying that we’ve produced our share of Dark wizards, but so have the other three houses – they just don’t like admitting it. And yes, we have traditionally tended to take students who come from long lines of witches and wizards, but nowadays you’ll find plenty of people in Slytherin house who have at least one Muggle parent.
Here’s a little-known fact that the other three houses don’t bring up much: Merlin was a Slytherin. Yes, Merlin himself, the most famous wizard in history! He learned all he knew in this very house! Do you want to follow in the footsteps of Merlin? Or would you rather sit at the old desk of that illustrious ex-Hufflepuff, Eglantine Puffett, inventor of the Self-Soaping Dishcloth?
I didn’t think so.
But that’s enough about what we’re not. Let’s talk about what we are, which is the coolest and edgiest house in this school. We play to win, because we care about the honour and traditions of Slytherin.
We also get respect from our fellow students. Yes, some of that respect might be tinged with fear, because of our Dark reputation, but you know what? It can be fun, having a reputation for walking on the wild side. Chuck out a few hints that you’ve got access to a whole library of curses, and see whether anyone feels like nicking your pencil case.
But we’re not bad people. We’re like our emblem, the snake: sleek, powerful, and frequently misunderstood.
For instance, we Slytherins look after our own – which is more than you can say for Ravenclaw. Apart from being the biggest bunch of swots you ever met, Ravenclaws are famous for clambering over each other to get good marks, whereas we Slytherins are brothers. The corridors of Hogwarts can throw up surprises for the unwary, and you’ll be glad you’ve got the Serpents on your side as you move around the school. As far as we’re concerned, once you’ve become a snake, you’re one of ours – one of the elite.
Because you know what Salazar Slytherin looked for in his chosen students? The seeds of greatness. You’ve been chosen by this house because you’ve got the potential to be great, in the true sense of the word. All right, you might see a couple of people hanging around the common room whom you might not think are destined for anything special. Well, keep that to yourself. If the Sorting Hat put them in here, there’s something great about them, and don’t you forget it.
And talking of people who aren’t destined for greatness, I haven’t mentioned the Gryffindors. Now, a lot of people say that Slytherins and Gryffindors represent two sides of the same coin. Personally, I think Gryffindors are nothing more than wannabe Slytherins. Mind you, some people say that Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor prized the same kinds of students, so perhaps we are more similar than we like to think. But that doesn’t mean that we cosy up with Gryffindors. They like beating us only slightly less than we like beating them.
A few more things you might need to know: our house ghost is the Bloody Baron. If you get on the right side of him he’ll sometimes agree to frighten people for you. Just don’t ask him how he got bloodstained; he doesn’t like it.
The password to the common room changes every fortnight. Keep an eye on the noticeboard. Never bring anyone from another house into our common room or tell them our password. No outsider has entered it for more than seven centuries.
Well, I think that’s all for now. I’m sure you’ll like our dormitories. We sleep in ancient four-posters with green silk hangings, and bedspreads embroidered with silver thread. Medieval tapestries depicting the adventures of famous Slytherins cover the walls, and silver lanterns hang from the ceilings. You’ll sleep well; it’s very soothing, listening to the lake water lapping against the windows at night.(Actually, I think that I would find sleeping at the bottom of a lake to be f**k**g TERRIFYING, but nobody consulted me.) And my wand, which is elm, 12 3/4, unflexible, with a dragon core: DragonAs a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner.
The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.ElmThe unfounded belief that only pure-bloods can produce magic from elm wands was undoubtedly started by some elm wand owner seeking to prove his own blood credentials, for I have known perfect matches of elm wands who are Muggle-borns. The truth is that elm wands prefer owners with presence, magical dexterity and a certain native dignity. Of all wand woods, elm, in my experience, produces the fewest accidents, the least foolish errors, and the most elegant charms and spells; these are sophisticated wands, capable of highly advanced magic in the right hands (which, again, makes it highly desirable to those who espouse the pure-blood philosophy).All I can say is...HAHAHA. If my potion-making is any indication, I should really have a wand made of corkboard.
|
|
|
Post by Elimnyama on Apr 18, 2012 12:29:47 GMT -5
Just stopping by to drop in this! BUT OH HEY, YAY POTTERMORE!
|
|
Kamau
Adolescent
fiat lux
Posts: 192
|
Post by Kamau on Apr 22, 2012 15:49:56 GMT -5
My wand is 13 3/4 inches, maple, rigid, and with phoenix feather:
Maple
I have often found that those chosen by maple wands are by nature travellers and explorers; they are not stay-at-home wands, and prefer ambition in their witch or wizard, otherwise their magic grows heavy and lacklustre. Fresh challenges and regular changes of scene cause this wand to literally shine, burnishing itself as it grows, with its partner, in ability and status. This is a beautiful and desirable wood, and wand quality maple has been among the most costly for centuries. Possession of a maple wand has long been a mark of status, because of its reputation as the wand of high achievers.
Phoenix
This is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike.
Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won.
So according to JK rowling I'm friendly, trustworthy and loyal, potentially capable of a great range of magic, and like a challenge.
It's actually pretty spot-on.
I'm working on another Sims post. A lot has been happening with the Primes, and I have Big Plans for Little Bear. I think you three are the only people who read about my Sims, but I'll go Elim's way and let you guys pick the next heir after Zoltron (who's currently a child, but will probably be a teen by the end of my next blog).
|
|
|
Post by Elimnyama on Apr 23, 2012 7:51:57 GMT -5
Whee! I'm back! Sorry for the long absence. I just re-logged into Pottermore and found some of the information I'd forgotten about. My username is SeerCloak37, so add me if you haven't already!
Hmmm. Let's see. My wand is fir, 13 3/4 in, has a phoenix feather core, and is "unbending." Looking through what all that means, JK Rowling thinks I'm resilient, a "survivor", determined, I have "strength of purpose," and "occasionally intimidating." LOL. And I'm supposed to be destined to be excellent at Transfiguration.
I also got sorted into Gryffindor but I didn't save my welcome message. Poo.
I love the welcome info for Hufflepuff though, Msasi! You know what it reminds me of? Hobbits. It's the circular doors and the plush furniture and the warm atmosphere, I think. Maybe that was JK Rowling's intention. At any rate, I kinda wish I could sleep in the Hufflepuff dorms. It sounds so cozy! And I wouldn't like sleeping under a lake either, Kam.. Holy shit. That would scare the f**k out of me.
YAY ZOLTRON FOR HEIR!!
|
|
|
Post by Elimnyama on Apr 23, 2012 14:07:09 GMT -5
|
|
Kamau
Adolescent
fiat lux
Posts: 192
|
Post by Kamau on Apr 23, 2012 20:29:11 GMT -5
Mango nooooooo I have an update too: 7thsonsim.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/going-medieval/It's short, but mostly because I had more and it WOULDN'T SAVE UGH. Since Sims Medieval sucks so hard I'm pretending that the Primes are a royal family now, full of betrothals and star-crossed lovers and Sir Bear, who remains handsome as f**k.
|
|
Kamau
Adolescent
fiat lux
Posts: 192
|
Post by Kamau on May 5, 2012 12:11:58 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Msasi on May 9, 2012 1:22:28 GMT -5
Oof, I have to get around to catching up on y'alls updates. D:
My brains have been fried dealing with family stuff. I've been posting to Tumblr a bit and trying to have some free time in the evenings to play games or read or just chill the f**k out and rest my poor brain, but I have not been very successful as of late. Hopefully this weekend!
|
|
Ewali
Juvenile
King of the Past
Posts: 109
|
Post by Ewali on May 10, 2012 14:41:56 GMT -5
I was just listening to TLK on Broadway music on Youtube and I got all filled with nostalgia and decided to drop by here and see if anyone was around. And you ARE. I miss you guys and the good old days. ;_; *sad nostalgia face*
|
|
|
Post by Msasi on May 10, 2012 17:42:27 GMT -5
EWALI I HAVE MISSED YOU I RANDOMLY THOUGHT ABOUT YOU LAST WEEK WHEN I WAS LOOKING THROUGH OLD ART ON TLKFAA.
*HUGS*
I miss the old days of RPing and such as well sometimes, especially since there are so many people I've lost touch with! How ARE you, woman? <3 <3 <3
|
|
Ewali
Juvenile
King of the Past
Posts: 109
|
Post by Ewali on May 11, 2012 3:07:26 GMT -5
AUDREY. *HUGS* I am good! I suppose! I swear, time just flies by and I don't know where it all went. Is it just me or is every year getting shorter? Anyway, I'm still married, still working as a developer, still spending my free time watching TV shows and movies and playing games. Mostly The Sims! 2, though, I can't get into 3. Are any of you in any of the many Sims communities, by any chance? It really is a shame that we've all mostly lost touch with each other. I think about people from the MUCKs every now and then, wondering how everyone's doing and where they are at now and such. I miss RP too, but I think I mostly miss... you know, what it was, which is something it can never be again. Like I miss other things from my earlier youth/childhood. I'm growing into an old woman, I think. I'm sort of wanting a kid so I can live vicariously through them, haha. But how are YOU?
|
|
|
Post by Msasi on May 11, 2012 14:27:20 GMT -5
Time does seem to fly by and make the years seem shorter! I actually can't believe it's MAY already. My dad bought a new house back in December and we rushed to get everything together and moved in exactly 1 week before Christmas, so it really didn't feel like Christmas to me because everything was so rushed. And now we're almost halfway through May and it'll be Christmas again before we know it. Time needs to slow the heck down!
Congrats on getting married, by the way! Because I think the last time I talked to you, you were getting ready to move or something in preparation for getting married? Gosh, it's been so long I can't remember. I'm doing pretty good! Working from home doing some general boring computer crap, but now that the economy here seems to be recovering more, I can hopefully start looking for a better paying one here before too long so I can move back out on my own again.
I'm not in too many sims communities, no, and the one or two I have accounts on I'm not really active on (just use 'em for downloading mods or whatever). I miss Sims 2. I have it on my computer, but I love the open neighborhood of Sims 3 so much (and horses!) that I have a hard time going back. Not that I'm ever all that happy with Sims 3; I've sort of been interested in playing again recently, but it always takes SO MUCH TIME each time I stop playing for a month or two to get my game back up to speed again (updating mods, etc) that it always feels too much like work.
Yeah, exactly... I miss what the old days were, and at the same time am a little sad because I know that anything now probably wouldn't really measure up. I do miss a lot of my characters, though, especially the ones I sort of handwaved their fates when I quit RPing (Msasi, Khamisa, Sunny, Waset... whoever else I had ohmygod it's been so long I can't even remember), as well as my characters from another MUCK. But. I just don't even really have the time or energy for RPing anymore, I usually feel so creatively drained after getting done with work stuff, and pretty much all RP ventures I have attempted post-Sunrise have died miserable deaths just because... eh, effort, lazy, tired, braindead, etc.
|
|
|
Post by Elimnyama on May 11, 2012 15:21:58 GMT -5
OH MY GOD KRISTIN KRISTIN KRISTIN OH MY GOD OH MY GOD
AUDREY TOLD ME YOU POSTED ON HERE AND I DIDN'T BELIEVE HER BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE AND ALSO BECAUSE SOMETIMES AUDREY JUST LIES, BUT HERE YOU ARE AND OH MY GOD I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! ;_____;
I don't really RP much anymore (and I don't even know of any MU*s that are still up, how sad is that?) but a few months back I did give in and join a Tumblr-based RP group that's Glee-themed. You can judge me, it's fine. XD It's a good creative outlet for the stress I accumulate at work.
OH. BUT. I actually do talk to Lutalo, Tafrija, Tisea, and Unzumi periodically via Facebook and/or Deviant Art! And Arazia updates her DA account every now and then so she's still alive at least!
But yeah, I miss you so much and I'm so happy to hear that you're married and doing well! <3 <3 <3 YAY NOSTALGIA!!!
And if I listened to any track on the TLK Broadway CD, I can guarantee I'd cry. My body hasn't been able to handle that many emotions since I was about fifteen.
|
|
|
Post by Msasi on May 11, 2012 19:44:09 GMT -5
Wait just a minute I do not lie I only WAIT. LUTALO IS ON FACEBOOK?! You tell her to friend me. Tell her to friend me right now this second, the sneaky mcsneaky face I HAVE MISSED HER. I also am friends with Tisea and Unz on Facebook (aside from you lot) and Onyataa/Siangamika and Shahila and Tau/Nishati. I don't actually talk very much on Facebook because I don't like Facebook very much BUT I TRY. I think that's all (that's more people than I thought, actually. EDIT: NO WAIT. Also Afya/Tumbuiza!). WE NEED TO FIND SUBIANI BECAUSE I MISS HER FACE TOO.
|
|