BERNARD, Sasha Melinda

You've worked hard here to firm her up well and to resolve some very divergent issues in Hogwarts to make her fit into two very different areas. But I'm really struggling with the whole concept that the sorting hat would allow her to be placed in Slytherin when she doesn't hold any of their key values as some of her own. She just doesn't fit in that house. I could believe her in Hufflepuff, possibly Ravenclaw, not Slytherin or Gryffindor as she is currently designed.

The other consideration is that we are 2 months approx from the end of the school year and we always see some position turn over during the summer. I would hate to see you design her for what might, ideally, only work for 2 months and then have the overall staffing of the school shift to something that might be a better fit for her. I would much prefer you design her for where you want her to evolve into and then allow her character to have something to strive for.

I don't know if that makes sense, but I just am not sure that the ex slytherin who doesn't really fit in slytherin and who belongs to the order works. I think it stretches it too far.

Does that make sense?

I'm not sure exactly... *I'm definitely trying to get what you're saying, though...* I THINK what you're saying is that the character, as she's designed right now, stretches the realm of plausibility by being a Muggleborn Slytherin with a "good heart" AND a member of the Order of the Phoenix...?

Also, I remember that we discussed the other consideration before... which is why I added in the beginning regarding the purpose of the character: "when the time is right." I just created her now to keep her from nagging me in my head... and also to serve as a reminder of my interest regarding a Hogwarts position and such (early bird gets the worm and all, I suppose... preemptive strike... whatever you wanna call it... lol). I could just keep her in limbo and not play her until the new Hogwarts school year starts... or... well, I have added a little back-up plan where I can play her as the "master tailor" for Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

Also... I'm not entirely sure what you mean about her not possessing any of the key values that makes a Slytherin a Slytherin... (And err... not entirely sure what you mean about the Gryffindor part, either, since I wasn't aiming for having her an ex-Gryffindor, and honestly, I think she'd probably fit in that house the least... and I don't think she'd really fit in Ravenclaw, either, since she isn't someone who does a whole lot of studying or learning... Slytherin or Hufflepuff are really the top two houses for her)... She does have ambition (even if she's not very good at trying to achieve her goals), and she has a penchant for breaking the rules (even if she does kind of lack some of the cunning that makes a Slytherin... but then again, so did Crabbe and Goyle)... both of which are Slytherin traits. One does not necessarily have to be full-on evil or mean to be a Slytherin. It's also not impossible for a Muggleborn to be in Slytherin House... it's just very rare.

As for the Order of the Phoenix... well... I suppose that was kind of an after-thought since I recall that you need graduates who are going to be members of factions and such (so, her being Neutral isn't really much of an option...and besides that, I'd like to have a character that fulfills a needed role). As a Muggleborn who isn't as... hmm... twisted as one of my previous characters.... She really wouldn't fit as a Death Eater, and I can see her being very much against pureblood supremacy and such, which would make her a good fit for the Order. The other option is that I could take away her Muggleborn status (making her half-blood) and then tweak her personality and throw her in with the Death Eaters... but that seems like it would probably be a bit boring. (Changing her like that, I mean... I'd definitely like to create a Death Eater character sometime along the line, but this character doesn't really fit that mold).

Maybe there's another option... I suppose I could keep her a Muggleborn Slytherin and an Order of the Phoenix... but make her a great deal more mean, perhaps? As it is, she's already prone to petty and underhanded behavior... It wouldn't be too much trouble to make her a little worse.

I've been sorting and accepting characters here for a long time, and in doing so, we've had to all sort of develop some key things that we look for with the different houses. For me when I think of a Slytherin, I don't look for someone, necessarily, inherently evil. Although usually an evil character does fit easily into that house. For me, a classic, textbook Slytherin is one that values purebloods because of its high value in time honored wizarding tradition. Keeping things the way they've always been. While Sasha is capable of some minor law breaking, she isn't the type to be involved in the deeply sinister things. And, if she doesn't share the sort of thinking that is dedicated to tradition and keeping things "old school" such as the valuing of purebloods, she doesnt fit at all what I see in a Slytherin. I see it just about as unlikely for her as Gryffindor. I mentioned Gryffindor in my post because while we were talking about the houses, Gryffindor is one of them, even if you didn't mention it.

Her best fit is clearly Hufflepuff. No doubt about it.

However, what I look for in a Ravenclaw, at least here on PA is someone who is intelligent, not necessarily a bookworm with sterling grades. A lot of our Ravenclaws enjoy minor mischief, and at least here, it seems to be that our Ravenclaws seem to be easily bored with the routine and the mundane. They aren't in for big evil schemes, but they do enjoy a little bit of minor stuff--exactly the stuff that you mentioned Sasha likes. But a lot of the Ravenclaws we have do tend to be less eclectic as Sasha appears to me to be.

And this is just my read on it. I will invite some of the other admins to weigh in here to give second opinions. Sometimes more than one pair of eyes on something can be a good thing. It may well be that some of the other admins disagree with me, and I am always willing to hear other opinions. So--lets wait a wee bit and let some of them weigh in too.

K.

That sounds like a good idea; whenever they have time to look at the app; no rush. I've never really thought of Slytherins as... traditionalists myself... I mean, yeah... a lot of them have the whole pureblood supremacy thing going on, but I think maybe that isn't so much them being traditionalists so much as them being arrogant and full of themselves... People who are ambitious naturally like to think of themselves as far more capable than others... and I guess with some Slytherins that manifests in pureblood supremacy...

I have trouble seeing them as traditionalists because somewhere in the books I recall someone saying that "breaking the rules" is a Slytherin trait. This says to me that they have tendencies of going against the grain... of doing their own thing, regardless of what is considered proper, just, logical, traditional, or what have you.

As for the absolute best fit for Sasha being Hufflepuff, I'm not sure. Like I said, she DOES fit some of the traits of a Hufflepuff. Namely, that she's a very determined, head-strong person... and also, that she's kind of friendly and an optimist. Her tendencies towards breaking the rules, being underhanded, and cheating, though... That comes in direct conflict with the Hufflepuff's traits of honesty, fairness, and being just.

I kinda feel like you would be in Hufflepuff....kinda....Its not like people didn't get a say on what they wanted look at Harry and Hermione in the books they both wanted to be in Gryffindor. I would say because she has both qualities the hat would listen to what she really wanted most. But i'm not quite sure to be honest, there are a lot of contradicting things going on in this app.

As for the professor and head of Slytherin I see no actual problem other than the jobs change around every so often and depending on what faction is in charge at the time.

Well the Order isn't the most morally correct thing when it comes to its members she wouldn't be the first Slytherin in there.

What we must remember here is that Purebloods are traditionalists. The root of all of their problems, all of their prejudices, is the fear of losing their culture and their traditions, that is why they are so cruel to Muggleborns and, not unusually, Half-Bloods. It's primarily fear and I think there is a certain amount of desire within Slytherins to keep those same traditions. It's not about ambition, though they posess it, their prejudices manifest out of fear - something typical of humans not just Slytherins.

"Breaking the rules" may be a Slytherin trait but so is self-preservation and a desire to elevate their own status. It conflicts. While they're rebellious, it can only be done to a certain point or around certain people. They know their place and unlike the Half and Muggleborns, still respect their ancestors - their bloodlines having not been polluted with the Muggle disregarding of just about anything the Purebloods hold dear.

Just because they break the rules, doesn't mean they aren't traditionalists. It's not just limited to Slytherins - Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws would also be providing they're Pureblood however they're more exposed to the Half-Blood and Muggleborn way of thinking, changing them. For me, Sasha wouldn't fit in with Slytherin. Muggle-Borns can't assimilate well with Slytherins and she'd be harassed by both those that are in the House and the Portraits - LOL! So I'm going to say Hufflepuff, personally, simply because to me, Hufflepuff is a mixture of all the traits of the other houses and she takes some from each and is blurred into something...well, Hufflepuff! :3 She's not right for Slytherin, not really.

Though I don't like the idea of a Hufflepuff in Slytherin HOH, I like the potential plotting there. Some bizarre move by the Order perhaps to quell DF/Slytherin activity around the castle? Or perhaps she'll aid with sick...hmmm...

Yes, I imagine if she had been Slytherin, she would be very harassed... but I was just thinking she's probably so head-strong and optimistic that she could get through that pretty okay... Hmm... I guess the traditionalist argument from that perspective makes sense. I'm not sure I can really argue against it...

I'd be okay with putting her in Hufflepuff maybe, but I'd also be reserved about making her head of Slytherin house, in that case, since I think Heads of House should be former members of that particular house... I noticed that the head of Hufflepuff House is the same person that's been inactive for a couple of months and is also the Transfiguration teacher..... so.... maybe she could become Head of Hufflepuff House?

Or I'd be open to suggestions that could make this character work better as a Slytherin... I do remember reading that Muggle-borns in Slytherin aren't impossible... just rare.

Or I could possibly just scrap her concept altogether and think anew.

i don't think you need to scrap her altogether. that seems a bit too extreme to me.

I do think shes a better Hufflepuff. But as Eli said that could mean a wider variety of opportunities for personal plotting. It might be worth a thought that we play this a bit closer to what the staffing reality is right now. that the ex hufflepuff accepts a professorship and then finds that there is a need for a HoH, but its Slytherin. That might well set up some ethical/moral dilemmas, perhaps control issues w/ students, and that might play out in the classroom if they challenge her authority. I'm just thinking that it might well create a whole wide array of things for her to struggle with. And I think that is exactly what Eli is saying.

And yes, if we do a staff change with the HoH for Hufflepuff (and I'm not ready to do that immediately) at some point and you would like it, you could certainly ask for it. But who knows how you might feel by then? Maybe you'll like the drama of a character who is trying hard to fit in and be accepted and who feels like she is almost there (because of the professorship and HoH) but not quite (because of the difficulties in being HoH for a house so different from her own), not to mention the other struggles she might feel b/c of her likes, dislikes, strengths, etc.

thoughts?

Right, I'm going to interject here.

She does not exhibit any signs of being honest and hardworking, but she does exhibit signs of being ambitious and devious, so I'm struggling to see what the issue is here.

Hufflepuff is not a house, as one of the admins suggested in the Admin place, that is for people who fit equally in all houses, or who don't fit in any. I take offence at the thought of that - I'm always placed in Hufflepuff.

Seriously though, she is not a hufflepuff. She may be kind, but she is not honest or hardworking. Nor is she brave. Nor is she All that intelligent (no offence)
She is however prone to cheating in tests, dreams of being famous and is desperately scared of becoming a no one.

Do you honestly believe that the sorting hat took blood status into account? Yes, a lot of purebloods went into Slytherin, but that was because they were brought up with that pureblood dominating cunning sort of mentality. The house does not sort on what (mudblood) you are, but rather who you are. So i will wholeheartedly support the application in being an ex-slytherin.

But I'm getting Darren to take a look at it and give his two cents on the matter. He's the best suited at breaking these sorts of stalemates, so just hold on a bit longer please, while this is sorted.

Jess.