It did sound like somewhat overly formal greeting - something that might be reserved for a more formal occasion between overly stuck-up pureblood aristocracy of pretty socially backward magical England. Considering what we know of Vivian's life in this world, it sounds... pretty appropriate, actually.
Preference-wise, I feel that I am entirely okay with playing a character who is not exactly a social butterfly at the start of things, nor I feel that we absolutely must make friends with Hermione.
That speaking the way you propose is appropriate for striking up a conversation with an eleven year old you just met in a bookstore is your *personal* opinion as well. What exactly is your point here?
Did ya ignore the part where her grand-mother drilled into her to be a proper Noble Witch or the fact that she is a famous 200+ years old Witch in her original Earth?
I was under the impression that we were, you know, inserted into the HP universe literally days ago. While we have the *memories* of what happened to this version of us, I'm not entirely sure how prominent those memories are or how they affect our behavior if at all.
Given how most people don't make it past 100 in our universe, I'm not entirely certain how the second one would affect her behavior. It may very well be that her psyche is frayed around the edges and she's got a few screws loose, that she's the stereotypes of old farts in our universe dialed up to eleven, or even that after two centuries her personality's gone through an integer overflow and wrapped around to the other side and now she's emotionally closer to an eight year old than an eighty year old. The problem is, I don't really know which one it is and I'm sure nobody else does, either.
I am having trouble selecting your middle section on an iPhone, so bear with me here and I'll quote it once I actually get to my laptop. For now, just pretend it's quoted here.
First off, introverted can mean anything from "doesn't like talking to people very much" to "incapable of normal human interaction due to crippling shyness". Merriam-Webster just defines introvert as "one whose personality is characterized by introversion; especially a reserved or shy person who enjoys spending time alone". While you didn't explicitly *write* shy, the character may very well be construed as such based on what you have provided. Most of us are neither interested in nor capable of reading your mind to see how you visualize this character.
As for the fact that she's an expy of Patchouli, the fact that my first association for that word is an herb is probably all I need to say about how familiar I am with that. Given how you had the decency to at least not be so blatant as to explicitly say it's that character, the safest assumption would be that it's a character that bears an uncanny resemblance to the character being referenced, but is still distinct enough to be her own person.
[X] "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hermione. It'll be nice to know someone with similar interests in Hogwarts. Maybe we could each find a copy of the same book or two and discuss it via owl or when we get to school?"
[X] "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hermione. It'll be nice to know someone with similar interests in Hogwarts. Maybe we could each find a copy of the same book or two and discuss it via owl or when we get to school?"
That speaking the way you propose is appropriate for striking up a conversation with an eleven year old you just met in a bookstore is your *personal* opinion as well. What exactly is your point here?
I was under the impression that we were, you know, inserted into the HP universe literally days ago. While we have the *memories* of what happened to this version of us, I'm not entirely sure how prominent those memories are or how they affect our behavior if at all.
Given how most people don't make it past 100 in our universe, I'm not entirely certain how the second one would affect her behavior. It may very well be that her psyche is frayed around the edges and she's got a few screws loose, that she's the stereotypes of old farts in our universe dialed up to eleven, or even that after two centuries her personality's gone through an integer overflow and wrapped around to the other side and now she's emotionally closer to an eight year old than an eighty year old. The problem is, I don't really know which one it is and I'm sure nobody else does, either.
1. Memories are not to be just dismissed, they are not just mental videos ya go through. They are experiences ya remember and that yer body remember. Also we are the Vivian Majere in HP its just our otherwordly knowledge that was awakened recently.
2. Then ya aren't reading much fantasy books where thousand of years old wizards are commun or ya just ignored that the magic in our original Earth is similar to TES.
First off, introverted can mean anything from "doesn't like talking to people very much" to "incapable of normal human interaction due to crippling shyness". Merriam-Webster just defines introvert as "one whose personality is characterized by introversion; especially a reserved or shy person who enjoys spending time alone". While you didn't explicitly *write* shy, the character may very well be construed as such based on what you have provided.
Then read proprely is 'introverted' the only word there? Ya ignored what I wrote again. Isn't there 'pragmatic', 'dark and taciturn', 'righteous', 'ruthless'. Does that paint a 'shy bubbling girl' image to ya?
As for the fact that she's an expy of Patchouli, the fact that my first association for that word is an herb is probably all I need to say about how familiar I am with that. Given how you had the decency to at least not be so blatant as to explicitly say it's that character, the safest assumption would be that it's a character that bears an uncanny resemblance to the character being referenced, but is still distinct enough to be her own person.
An academically advanced eleven year old that's probably still emotionally an eleven year old and probably thinks like one if you ignore the extra knowledge, yes.
That's good to know. To clarify, what you mean is that we are HP!Vivian with external memories and skills bolted on (as opposed to being the other way around), correct?
Then read proprely is 'introverted' the only word there? Ya ignored what I wrote again. Isn't there 'pragmatic', 'dark and taciturn', 'righteous', 'ruthless'. Does that paint a 'shy bubbling girl' image to ya?
"Shy bubbling girl"? Maybe not. "Introverted/shy to the point of being inclined towards avoiding human interaction instead of actually trying to start a conversation with a complete stranger", something the two courses of action I said would make sense could also be interpreted as? Possibly. Now, the "pragmatic" part might mean that Vivian would go ahead and try to make friends with Hermione anyways, but that's something up for interpretation and dependent on what she sees as important. "Righteous" and "ruthless" don't really modify "introverted" very much in this specific context, "taciturn" (defined as "reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little.") would make it more likely that she wouldn't really want to talk to Hermione (much less launch into a long-winded greeting because, you know, "saying little"), and I'm not even sure what "dark" would mean in this context unless you want her to be doing a Norman Bates impression.
Also, to clarify on something that was brought up earlier, I really don't have much against the character you came up with besides the fact that it seems a tad overdone and I would have preferred something a bit more "different". I am still rather irritated by that, but it's not exactly a dealbreaker.
The rest is just ruthless campaign advertising to try and do something to try and win over more votes because why the hell not.
Adhoc vote count started by Michael Lewis on Jun 18, 2018 at 12:49 AM, finished with 20 posts and 10 votes.
[X] "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms.Granger. As Mr.Blott said I'm Vivian of the House Majere. Excuse me for taking a bit of your time and asking what book are you browsing through?"
[X] "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hermione. It'll be nice to know someone with similar interests in Hogwarts. Maybe we could each find a copy of the same book or two and discuss it via owl or when we get to school?"
That's good to know. To clarify, what you mean is that we are HP!Vivian with external memories and skills bolted on (as opposed to being the other way around), correct?
Exactly. Ya are interpreting things the way ya want them to be. The character is quite clear. Ya also outright dismissed four traits I described.
Taciturn is basically a synonym of introverted. I could not have put it there at all it would have changed nothing at all.
Pragmatic as ya said ya interpreted it yer own way, not objectively. It does affect the term 'introvert' there is nothing to be said about this.
A person cannot be 'Righteous' and just shut up when they are confronted by a situation that is against rightfullness. This does affect the trait 'introvert'.
'Ruthless' is not showing any pity or compassion and it is directly related to the above trait. A shy person is not ruthless.
A dark person is a morally ambigous one which doesn't relate to 'Shy' at all.
Also, to clarify on something that was brought up earlier, I really don't have much against the character you came up with besides the fact that it seems a tad overdone and I would have preferred something a bit more "different". I am still rather irritated by that, but it's not exactly a dealbreaker.
The rest is just ruthless campaign advertising to try and do something to try and win over more votes because why the hell not.
A true hero doesn't just sit in a library all day, alternating between stuffing her nose in a book and archiving various tidbits of knowledge she may have built up over time like the normal, boring librarians.
[X] "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hermione. It'll be nice to know someone with similar interests in Hogwarts. Maybe we could each find a copy of the same book or two and discuss it via owl or when we get to school?"
[X] "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hermione. It'll be nice to know someone with similar interests in Hogwarts. Maybe we could each find a copy of the same book or two and discuss it via owl or when we get to school?"
Adhoc vote count started by Jack of Olives on Jun 18, 2018 at 3:00 AM, finished with 20 posts and 10 votes.
[X] "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms.Granger. As Mr.Blott said I'm Vivian of the House Majere. Excuse me for taking a bit of your time and asking what book are you browsing through?"
[X] "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hermione. It'll be nice to know someone with similar interests in Hogwarts. Maybe we could each find a copy of the same book or two and discuss it via owl or when we get to school?"
Possibly. Now, the "pragmatic" part might mean that Vivian would go ahead and try to make friends with Hermione anyways, but that's something up for interpretation and dependent on what she sees as important. "Righteous" and "ruthless" don't really modify "introverted" very much in this specific context, "taciturn" (defined as "reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little.") would make it more likely that she wouldn't really want to talk to Hermione (much less launch into a long-winded greeting because, you know, "saying little"), and I'm not even sure what "dark" would mean in this context unless you want her to be doing a Norman Bates impression.
I understand completely what you intend to say with those traits--namely, that the preponderance of the evidence makes it unlikely that Vivian is a "shy, blushing school-girl"--it just seems to me that they would have as much to do with how Vivian would greet another eleven-year-old as Paul Ryan's choice of music has with his stance on immigration.
The only "interpreting" I really did with "pragmatic" from my perspective was that it can mean many things ranging from "willing to wear a pink shirt even though she hates the color because it's the only clean shirt left" to "being willing and able to discard any ideals or principles in order to achieve her goals". In that sense, you are correct in saying that I am not interpreting it "objectively" because I am trying my very best not to interpret that phrase beyond acknowledging that it is rather ambiguous in what it actually means here.
Taciturn, as you mentioned, is basically a synonym of "introverted", and therefore really doesn't add anything meaningful to the discussion.
There isn't any great wrong being committed, Hermione isn't being dragged into a back alley screaming by a man in a trench-coat, and I can't see for the life of me why "righteous" would have anything at all to do with the situation at hand even when it does modify "introverted".
Being "ruthless towards those who truly evil or stand in her way" really doesn't apply to greeting an eleven-year-old in a bookstore unless said eleven year old was between Vivian and the exit or was actually a time-traveling Adolf Hitler in disguise, neither of which pertains to Hermione.
You acknowledged that "dark" doesn't have anything to do with the situation at hand, so you can hardly complain about my dismissal of the trait.
Finally, as I have repeatedly stressed over the past few posts, as you were busy arguing that the evidence does not support a conclusion that she is "shy", one does not have to be shy to be disinterested in human interaction, something not at odds with other established character traits. Maybe she isn't a "shy, blushing school-girl". In fact, I wholeheartedly agree with you that somebody who's hit triple digits is unlikely to be shy like that. However, I don't find it unlikely that somebody who was basically described as "always [walking] her own path to reach her goal(s)." would want to just get on with it and do what she went to the bookstore to do instead of making small-talk with somebody she never met before in her life and doesn't know the significance of because she doesn't have metaknowledge anymore.
Perhaps you are confusing what you have written in the character sheet with your conception of the character inside your own head?
How exactly do you want me to respond to that? Your vote was the only option that stood a serious chance of winning; to do otherwise would be foolish and a waste of time. I really don't get where you intend to go with this.
I am going to ignore ya from now since as it seems ya don't even try to understand what I'm writing as far as I know since I posted that character, ya were the only one 'misunderstanding' her personality.
How exactly do I want ya to answer? Well first of all, stop being rude. I am not arguing with ya because yer opinion(whatever that is) differ from mine but because of the agressive way ya've been writing yer post that rubbed me the wrong way.
I've been participating on this forum for quite awhile and I can assure ya that people don't advertise their plan the way ya do. That they are thinking their vote is the absolute choice and insult the other suggested character like ya did.
Don't bother wasting yer time and mine answering this. I won't bother. The 'discussion' is finished.
Okay, it may just be the fever talking, but this exchange really got on my nerves, so I'm going to go over this in the hopes that it will prevent this kind of thing in the future.
@Michael Lewis While she didn't actually state it, I believe that what Terran meant was that she didn't want to 'break-character' too much with Vivian's grandmother nearby.
What is this "in character" you speak of? Surely speaking like a snooty aristocrat who thinks she's better than you is a good way to get Hermione to not want to have anything to do with you?
@Michael Lewis While I don't think you meant it this way; the way you phrased this was somewhere between passive-aggressive and mocking. @Terran Imperium If I'm not mistaken; what he was implying was that, as someone with hundreds of years of experience as a non-noble, it might be more in-character to try a more casual approach to not alienate the girl by acting 'stuck-up' (kinda like what Draco did in canon).
Did my vote sound like a snooty superior brat or just a proper polite greeting and a subject to start a conversation? Or perhaps if ya are unsatisfied since ya pretty much declared ya hated the character in the char creation period? Well too bad 'Pure-blooded' won as in Nobility, now stick to the character and read the character sheet.
A 200+ years old witch won't come up to ya and say 'Nice to meetcha there fella' or something similar, I was commenting on that.
@Terran Imperium While he did come off as a jerk, going right to attacking his reasons for voting like that was uncalled-for.
@both The rest of your posts are the two of you sniping back and forth passive-aggressively without a) actually considering the other person's point of view; b) asking me about a ruling; or c) just asking for any other thoughts/opinions.
In the future, I'd appreciate if you try and talk things out like civilized people.
Because If this happens again I'm going to ask a mod to get involved.
Okay; now that that's out of my system, I'm going to go back to trying to write.
Indeed. I have a feeling Terran probably has me on ignore now so they're probably not going to read this anyways, but I was more irritated by the fact that (from my perspective at least) TI was basically saying that they knew a One True Way to do things "in character" when we barely even have a rough framework that isn't so much as a rough sketch of a character. In my opinion, in order for something to be "in character", you need a sizeable body of characterization, which one or two paragraphs of text in a chargen vote most certainly is not. What I wasn't intending, however, was to be passive-aggressive.
GM's Note: Sorry this took so long to get out; this cold hit me pretty hard.
[] "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms.Granger. As Mr.Blott said I'm Vivian of the House Majere. Excuse me for taking a bit of your time and asking what book are you browsing through?"
??? = 87
"I-it's a pleasure to meet you too." The other girl greets you shyly, before perking up as her attention went back to the books. "I'm currently looking for a good beginner's guide to magical theory." At your cocked head she continues. "While the required books are quite useful from a practical perspective, I found them somewhat sparse on the nature of the different magical disciplines in general."
"Admirable." You note with a dignified grin on your face. "Although I may be biased on the subject, as I'm here for the exactly the same reason." You motion to the bookshelf. "Shall we combine forces in our search?"
With a shared grin the two of you quickly begin searching the shelves.
The two of you make quick, orderly work of the shelves, rapidly discarding books that are of little use, while setting aside those deemed useful. In the end, you found two books that struck your interest. A rather large tome entitled The Nature of Magic: Facts and Theories by Timothy Nidwick, and a smaller, paperback book hidden away in the top shelf with the simple title A Treatise on Magick under the pen-name Far Off.
The first book is a simple but thorough dissertation on the different magical theories in the Wizarding World and the history thereof.
The second, though; seems to suggest an approach to a unified magical theory that isn't dissimilar from your own. Which is a shame since there only appears to be one copy. ??? = 72
"Why don't you take that one." Your bushy-haired future classmate offers softly. Upon seeing your look, she smiles. "Once you started reading, I'm reasonably certain we could have studied astronomy by looking in your eyes." Composure: 32 + 60 = 92; Req: 50/100
You feel a blush starting to form before you clamp down with your Occlumency shields. "Thank you. I'll let you borrow it once I'm finished." You promise as you clutch the book to your chest. ??? = 93
"Actually, If you'd like to help me out, are there any books you'd recommend for me to pick up before Hogwarts begins? I'm trying to find as much information about Hogwarts and the Wizarding World as I can before classes begin this year." Roll: 57 + 30(Intellect) + 25 (???) = 112(Crit!) + 42(1d100) = 64 (164) Select up to two (2) options for Hermione to buy:
[] Wizarding Traditions by Amanda Dickey (One thing that most muggleborn neglect to take into account is that they're stepping into a different culture, this should help) [Raises Hermione's 'Wizarding Culture' skill, ???]
[] Guarding the Mind by Gary Mason (Considering how easy it is to look into others' minds with a bit of training, it might be best for any friends of yours to be able to protect theirs) [Hermione gains 'Occulmency' skill, ???]
[] Easy Charms for the Young Witch by Linda Lamont (No matter where you are, first impressions are important; these simple cosmetic charms will help her look good with little work [Raises Hermione's 'Appearance' rating, ???]
[] Wizarding Families of the 20th Century by Griselda Greengrass (It's important to know who the big players are, so you can avoid stepping on their toes if nothing else) [Raises Hermione's 'Social: Pureblooded Society' skill, ???]
[] Write-In (must okayed by the GM first)
Also, you came here to find books. Roll: 22 + 55(Research) = 77 Select up to two (2) books to buy for yourself (keep in mind who will be paying for them)
[] Magical Machines by Agatha Bidyne (a book on the more modern magical marvels like the Wizarding Wireless and the Knight Bus.) [Raises 'Magitech']
[] Snakes and Sorcerers: Parseltongues Throughout History by Eliot Kaan (You're a parseltongue, why not discover more?) [???]
[] Wizarding War by Nicole Shepard (seems to be a treatise on modern wizarding wars and how they're fought; 8 years old) [gain the skill 'Warfare: magical']
[] Broken Physics by Thaddius White (a book on spell creation focused mainly on charms) [bonus to spell creation]
[] The Arte of the Duel by Anise Lockheart (a book on formal dueling) [???]
[] Write-In (GM approval needed) luck roll = 69
The two of you bring your purchases up to the front counter, where an older witch meets Hermione. Her purchases are paid for and you say your goodbyes before they leave.
Now, where did your grandmother wander off to?
It takes a few minutes of searching, but you eventually find her.
In the romance section.
Intently reading a book.
With a blush on her face. willpower roll = 65(pass)
You quietly back away. Maybe reading one of your books by the front counter would be wise.
After another ten minutes your grandmother comes back and pays for your books (as well as a few of her own), and the two of you make your way back to the manor.
---^^^---
You have a week until Hogwarts starts, is there anything else you'd like to do before then (aside from study)?
Pick one (1):
[] You're ready for Hogwarts.
[] Write-In.
As usual: Voting will begin at Noon (1200 PDT) tomorrow (Wednesday). Feel free to create and discuss plans until then
We should get 'Warfare: magical' and 'Magitech' and Hermione's 'Occulmency' not sure of the other and I'm wary of the 'Social: Pureblooded Society' skill since it would be dangerous if she poke her nose in the darker nature of that world.
We should get 'Warfare: magical' and 'Magitech' and Hermione's 'Occulmency' not sure of the other and I'm wary of the 'Social: Pureblooded Society' skill since it would be dangerous if she poke her nose in the darker nature of that world.
[] Wizarding Traditions by Amanda Dickey (One thing that most muggleborn neglect to take into account is that they're stepping into a different culture, this should help) [Raises Hermione's 'Wizarding Culture' skill, ???]
[] Easy Charms for the Young Witch by Linda Lamont (No matter where you are, first impressions are important; these simple cosmetic charms will help her look good with little work [Raises Hermione's 'Appearance' rating, ???]
[] Magical Machines by Agatha Bidyne (a book on the more modern magical marvels like the Wizarding Wireless and the Knight Bus. [Raises 'Magitech']
[] Broken Physics by Thaddius White (a book on spell creation focused mainly on charms)
[] You're ready for Hogwarts.
so these would probably be best if we're looking at a Social/research focus at the start.
@Jack of Olives we're going to get another chance to go shopping for books in future years, right?
Two assumptions I'm making here are that we will get a chance to buy more books later on (which would mean that we can focus on what's good for us in the short term instead of worrying about what we'd need five years down the line), and that we plan on taking Hermione under our wing, which would probably be the whole point of helping her pick out books.
Anyhow, my suggestion is as follows:
Hermione: [] Wizarding Traditions by Amanda Dickey (One thing that most muggleborn neglect to take into account is that they're stepping into a different culture, this should help) [Raises Hermione's 'Wizarding Culture' skill, ???]
This should help her get used to the new culture she's just found herself in, which would be good for actually fitting in. It would also show that we're looking out for her, which would probably help build up relations with Hermione. [] Guarding the Mind by Gary Mason (Considering how easy it is to look into others' minds with a bit of training, it might be best for any friends of yours to be able to protect theirs) [Hermione gains 'Occulmency' skill, ???]
This one is a good idea if we actually intend to let her in on our plans in the future. Occlumency training takes time, and the sooner we get her to practice occlumency, the sooner she can get good at it. It's also something that's really useful for keeping people from snooping on us because while we're immune to legillimency, our companions aren't necessarily also immune, and they'd be a hole the size of Fitzgerald's alcohol addiction if others can just look into their memories to see what we're up to.
Ourselves: [] Magical Machines by Agatha Bidyne (a book on the more modern magical marvels like the Wizarding Wireless and the Knight Bus.) [Raises 'Magitech']
We are, after all, a highly ambitious young lass who knows her science and hopes to learn how to merge science and technology. Being able to mess with getting technology to work with magic would also be a good idea because of how much muggle tech is overlooked in the Magical World. Life would be much easier in our fifth year with hostile intelligence in action if we could get a wireless teletype or something of the sort working. [] Broken Physics by Thaddius White (a book on spell creation focused mainly on charms) [bonus to spell creation]
This just seems like the most practical option for the time being, because:
We don't have a fixed timeline thanks to losing metaknowledge, but given how nobody commented on things falling apart we probably have some time before we'll really need to know how to conduct magical warfare.
We are either naturally fluent in or completely incapable of parseltongue no matter what we do and given how, once again, we don't have metaknowledge, we wouldn't know IC what it can really be used for.
Finally, dueling is probably downright useless because we shouldn't be getting into fights without good reason in the first place, and in a proper fight formal dueling knowledge is worse than useless because it instills bad habits in us.
Also, if we actually get the magitech option, can we go get our hands on some muggle tech as a pre-hogwarts option to play around with? It's not illegal unless we enchant it.
It lets Hermione know actual important traditions which is just good to know when going into any new cultural region or group. Avoid any overall mishaps, though it won't prevent personal ones should she run afoul of specific people. But there are seven years to correct that.
Occlumency is just a good thing to work on and just letting someone new know that mind-reading is a thing in this world is a great trust builder.
Also, @Jack of Olives, now that we don't have metaknowledge, how much do we know about our circumstance? Is it "I know I'm in a fictional universe of some sort but I don't know what it's about", "I don't remember the specifics, but I do remember...", or is it "I don't know a thing about the jumpchain until I get out"?
