And wow, we have to speak with Megan, let´s hope that we don´t screw this up... I mean Jacob is as hopelessly dense as a classic Harem Protagonist which in any other setting is not funny, just exasperating...
I duno, I laughed.
And didn't Megan just decide that Jacob didn't owe to fit into whatever role she imagined him in? She's no reason to be angry, even if it actually had been a date.
If anything, if such a rumor spreads, Tracey has the right to be angry with Jacob.
For me, it's the fact that the kelpie will only be useful for the lake combined with the fact that I find the magics surrounding the Threstral to be more interesting than the kelpie's shapeshifting. A threstral could be a legit battle mount, while a kelpie would probably only be relevant 2 or 3 more times in quest.
And don´t be so dismissive of the Kelpie, in the Wizarding World the Kelpies are not merely cannibal aquatic horses, but EXTREMELY powerful Shapeshifters...
Hell, canonically Nessie is not a plesiosaur nor a giant sea snake but a Kelpie with a flair for theatrics that enjoys the extra attention...
I would also go for the Threstral, but I would not dismiss the Kelpie
For me, it's the fact that the kelpie will only be useful for the lake combined with the fact that I find the magics surrounding the Threstral to be more interesting than the kelpie's shapeshifting. A threstral could be a legit battle mount, while a kelpie would probably only be relevant 2 or 3 more times in quest.
Though on the subject of magical creatures, I'm sort of surprised becoming an Animagus hasn't appeared as a high DC option yet considering it was learned about this year. Maybe Jacob needs higher scores in certain areas before it's even listed as a future possibility? Or he won't have the standard animagus option because of his abominable nature.
I think I prefer a kelpi friend/pet over a thestral one. A) Thestrals are overdone and are present in every other HP fanfic; B) a kelpi friend/mount would be a great help in our eventual rematch against the Soul Snatcher; C) Thestral are kinda Luna's thing.
I mean, the big thing with Kelpie vs Thestral is that our adventures in the lake are much more limited than our adventures in the sky.
Until we defeat the Soul Snatcher (or find some way to resist it enough to run at least, I suppose) we can't comfortably explore the deeps and the merpeople have already said we're not allowed in their village. Of course, I'm sure that there's more to see in the lake than just those two things, but investing in a direction we've already been heavily curtailed in seems fooling.
Honestly I share the whole "Thestrals are overdone" feeling, but there's a place for meta-feelings and when making a decision with clear, heavily tilted in-universe results is not it.
Poor Megan. See, this is what happens when you don't level up empathy!/s
Too bad a pegasus isn't an option.
I also agree that animagus would be a good path to explore, though we clearly haven't pushed in the right directions to do it ourself yet. Mcgonagall may approach students that have high enough grades and ability for transfiguration with the offer of learning it, so that may be a more in-direct method of trying for it.
"You are not as good a shadow as you think," Cedric said with a carefree smile on his face. "I was thinking that you may want to lay harm on my poor little babies."
Hey, when you are a powerful enough shapeshifter (especially one that fully physically transforms in the chosen form) the terms pretty or horrible don´t have any meaning beyond how you want to appear today... Just ask Miss Martian
TBH I think that whatever we chose here it doesn´t have to be our "only" mount...
I mean unlike the time we got to choose the what special Wideye potion we had to choose to unlock due to the crit, or to choose between Talaria and Járnglófar as our unique alchemical project from Flamel... Neither the Thestrals nor the Kelpies are going anywhere, there is no reason why we wouldn't be able to unlock the other horses afterward, especially from someone so reckless and curious as Jacob
But better to be sure... @Tabula Rasa when we pick one of the horses, will the other one be locked forever (like with Talaria and Járnglófar) or we will be able to unlock that project at a later date?
So, a flying horse friend would be much more handy than an underwater one, due to Jacobs shoes and lip ring.
But putting that aside. I just find thestrals much cooler than kelpies.
(Though I do want Jacob to get a cheap broom and the basic abilty to fly in a straight line someday, for that really long trek to the underground place. But that's like. a year away from coming up again.)
Edit. Magical creatures are amazing... and I don't recall Magical Theory class coming up in the narraitve at all actually. Has it had a background style effect that I've missed?
Look at the Charm Phinidae, your first spell creation idea. Magical Theory will get much more important as soon as you have grown out of the "Hogwarts Student" level, which to be fair you are approaching with some subjects and have reached with DADA.
Here an explanation as to when that is to expect:
To get a feeling as to what the grades even mean, it is rare for a student to reach skill levels of Exceeds Expectations (E) during his school life in Hogwarts and very rare for someone to reach skill levels of Outstanding (O). It happens at times with the best students of a given subjects, but only few times in a generation for multiple subjects. Only the brightest minds reached so far beyond what is expected of them. A good absolvent moves in the range of Acceptable (A), while most never even reach that.
Wow, and this is awesome as well, despite its differences Jacob and Hagrid have so much in common, and it makes a lot of sense that they would end up bonding over their love for the wonders that the world offer them and that many people willingly ignore...
Thanks for the in detail retrospection of yours! I do agree that Hagrid and Jacob fit very well together. We had to wait a bit for their chemistry to shine because you guys did not want to take his class though! Don't feel pressured into having to take it next year, you can interact with Hagrid as is already.
I think we keep getting unlucky with the number of duels in duel club. So much so I looked it all up.
Sep - 2 (1d3)
Oct - 1 (1d3)
Nov - 1 (1d3)
Dec - 1 (1d3)
Jan - 3 (1d3)
Feb - 2 (1d3)
Mar - 2 (1d4)
Apr - 1 (1d4)
So out of 28 possible duels Jacob has gotten 13.
Mechanics wise, other than the special duels Jacob seems to average on the lower half of possible duels.
Story wise I'd just say he has too much of a reputation. He's too good and that makes the average person not want to fight him.
Player wise I weep for that lost possible EXP.
As I said, don't expect to know everything that is going on with your Meta Knowledge. Jacob has had enough influence on the world by now that things started to shift.
I mean it seems to me that Jacob's parents were known long-time retainers to the Flamels and with how much of a reputation the two still has in the wizarding world even after they secluded themselves. The fact that the Basques are pure bloods does raise them in the eyes of the Board of Governors even if it's not even the main reason since they seem to be part of a pretty prestigious group in Spain and Latin America with how Isabella is said to be a renowned painter who still manages to sell paintings there with relative ease.
I love being back. I have a bit of free time right now, so don't expect my velocity for too long, but I will try to stay consistent. The next goal is to complete this school year together!
I don't care eitherway, as I think both fit Jacob. But don't forget this scene:
They stood, shivering slightly now, waiting for the Durmstrang party to arrive. Most people were gazing hopefully up at the sky.
For a few minutes, the silence was broken only by Madame Maxime's huge horses snorting and stamping. But then - "Can you hear something?" said Ron suddenly.
Harry listened; a loud and oddly eerie noise was drifting toward them from out of the darkness: a muffled rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum cleaner were moving along a riverbed.
"The lake!" yelled Lee Jordan, pointing down at it. "Look at the lake!"
From their position at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, they had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water - except that the surface was suddenly not smooth at all. Some disturbance was taking place deep in the center; great bubbles were forming on the surface, waves were now washing over the muddy banks - and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had just been pulled out of the lake's floor. .
What seemed to be a long, black pole began to rise slowly out of the heart of the whirlpool. . . and then Harry saw the rigging....
"It's a mast!" he said to Ron and Hermione.
Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at its portholes looked like ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began to glide toward the bank. A few moments later, they heard the splash of an anchor being thrown down in the shallows, and the thud of a plank being lowered onto the bank.
People were disembarking; they could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ship's portholes. All of them, Harry noticed, seemed to be built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle... but then, as they drew nearer, walking up the lawns into the light streaming from the entrance hall, he saw that their bulk was really due to the fact that they were wearing cloaks of some kind of shaggy, matted fur. But the man who was leading them up to the castle was wearing furs of a different sort: sleek and silver, like his hair.
Considering that for this quest I like to take the parts that have been not explained that well or were under-discovered in fanfiction and considering that Jacob was already reeeeaally deep and had still not hit ground before he was caught - there might be more to the Lake than the average viewer would assume!
That Is one hundred percent the Cedric I am going for! A young version of that character in talent, even if not in trauma. Did not expect a Batman reference this quickly haha I am surprised.
But better to be sure... @Tabula Rasa when we pick one of the horses, will the other one be locked forever (like with Talaria and Járnglófar) or we will be able to unlock that project at a later date?
The option will be locked for as long as the other one has not been completed yet. Afterwards you can do whatever you want to do. But I imagine things by then to have changed somewhat.
I just got to say I love how Luna was portrayed in this turn and I think it be good for the main character to have her as a friend. My biggest worry is for the main character to become friendless.
Did Jacob ever tell Megan and Justin about his findings on Riddle? I thought we voted for it?
Zacharias and Wayne got completely destroyed. Not even close. This is even before we got the Protego upgrade, if we had that it would have been even more devastating.
Cedric in this quest always seems to rub me the wrong way when he shows up. Like he's trying to be excessively personable and likeable.
I think Jacob might be on to learning the offensive use of Herbology. Kind of like in that new Harry Potter game where you can throw various magical plants around the battlefield to act as support or traps.
Unlocked new Perk:Hagrid's Friend – You like to spend time with the good-natured Professor. You guys share a lot of common interests. Get a + 10 in training Constitution & Understanding of Magical Creatures related Rolls.
This is a really good trait, especially since I want to increase Jacob's constitution more.
Now in terms of "Am I reading too much into this or is this a hidden message? (Maybe we should have taken divination…)" -
The bit in the beginning about how we should socialize/relax more so we don't get stressed. Is it a hint? Probably not. But I'll take it as such.
The occlumency meditation was fun and relaxing to read about. It's due look relaxing to Jacob even though it's still training.
I'm a supporter for the Thestral. Not only for its general utility, but because I am really enjoying the many soul/death themes that Jacob deals with and I think a Thestral is a great addition to that. Also, perhaps it would help us with our (future) studies into the soul.
But, honestly, mostly for the theme and because I think it'd be interesting: all in for the Thestral.
So I'll be honest, I want the thestral over the kelpie for one reason.
The reactions that'll happen when someone who can't see the thestrals sees us riding said thestral.
So I'll be honest, I want the thestral over the kelpie for one reason.
The reactions that'll happen when someone who can't see the thestrals sees us riding said thestral.
Case X: What the fuck is going on with that Ravenclaw Boy - There's a strange mystery at Hogwarts. There are basic laws that are ultimate. If you throw something up, it falls down. If Jacob is involved, it is most certainly dangerous and you should stay away from it. You are determined to figure out the truth, even if it means delving into the dark corners of the castle and risking getting punched in the face by someone who should rather be using their wand. [Required: Stress Resistance A+, Plot Armor O-]