Month: November 2014

Facts from the 2014 UK Editions of Harry Potter

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

littlebastardreviews:

  • Before the Hogwarts Express, some young wizards and witches made their way to Hogwarts on broomsticks and in enchanted carriages
  • There are other fractional platforms at King’s Cross station. Try 7 1/2 for a trip to wizard-only villages in Europe. 
  • It took five and a half minutes for the Sorting Hat to decide whether to place Minerva McGonagall in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw
  • Several Hogwarts students have caused mayhem at King’s Cross by dropping suitcases full of newt spleens or biting spellbooks all over the Muggle Station.
  • Peeves the poltergeist caused a three-day evacuation of Hogwarts in 1876 after escaping a trap set for him armed with several dangerous weapons. 
  • The one exception to the general magical aversion to Muggle technology is cars. Even the Ministry of Magic owns a fleet, modified with various useful charms. 
  • Many wizards were unhappy with the invention of the Muggle-like Knight Bus, and refused to use it when it first hit the streets. 
  • Headmasters and headmistresses of Hogwarts can teach their magical portrait to act and behave exactly like themselves. 
  • Sir Cadogan’s most famous encounter was with the Wyvern of Wye, a dragon-like creature, whom he accidentally killed with his broken wand. 
  • Only one non-magical person has ever managed to get as far as the Hogwarts Sorting Hat before being exposed as a Squib. 
  • Of the Eleven wizarding schools in the world, the African school of Uagadou is the only one to select pupils by Dream Messenger, leaving a token in the child’s hand whilst they sleep. 
  • The 1809 Quidditch World Cup final turned into a human versus tree battle when one of the players managed to jinx an entire forest to attack the stadium. 
  • The Hufflepuff ghost, the Fat Friar, was executed after senior churchman became suspicious of his ability to cure the pox by poking peasants with a stick. 
  • Every year St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries treats at least one injury caused by homemade Floo powder. 
  • Before she became a teacher at Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall used to work for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic. 
  • Part of the process of becoming an Animagus requires you to carry a leaf from a Mandrake in your mouth for an entire month. 
  • A Dark wizard called Raczidian was devoured by maggots that appeared from his wand when he unsuccessfully attempted to cast the Patronus Charm.
  • Any part of a person’s body can be added to the Polyjuice Potion to allow the consumer to take their form, including hair, toenail clippings, dandruff or worse…
  • Remus Lupin’s father, Lyall, was a world-renowned authority on magical creatures like poltergeists and Boggarts. 
  • It took 167 Memory Charms and the largest mass Concelment Charm ever performed in Britain to modify a muggle steam engine and create the Hogwarts Express. 
  • Students from the Russian Wizarding school, Koldovstoretz, play a version of Quidditch where they fly on entire, uprooted trees instead of broomsticks. 

Yes, these are all canon. Thought I’d type it up to have it as a text reference. Enjoyyy. 

#omg, #i’m loving the extra insight into mcgonagall here, #especially picturing her carrying a leaf in her mouth for a whole month, #can you imagine?, #but also, #wtf, #there are only ELEVEN wizarding schools in the whole WORLD?, #that seems… like a low number?, #unless other wizarding communities have different ways of educating their children (cosmic-llin)

That’s what I was thinking, although rather than McGonagall I thought of the Marauders. Like, at least McGonagall was openly training to be an Animagus. Not only did the (non-Lupin) Marauders have to hold leaves in their mouths for a month, they had to do it without anyone noticing. Without being caught pocketing Mandrake leaves (or if they were caught, having to come up with a reasonable-seeming explanation). Without complaining about the inconvenience except to each other, and only if they were sure nobody else was listening.

Also, a moment of silence for the Muggles who lost their memories in the making of the Hogwarts Express. *bows head*

Tags:

#Harry Potter #Potterverse mages are *way* too Memory-Charm-happy

~ Brin ~ 1 Comment

{{previous post in sequence}}

My first plan for this post was to have the entirety of the text body be “Massss Effffectttt”, tagged #I’ve finished my #adventures in University Land #for the semester.

My second plan was to acknowledge the first plan, then say that I was instead off to go have that quality time with my new phone, and I’d get around to Mass Effect later. (Possibly after hunting down an external mouse, as I’m finding this trackpad to be rather finicky on Windows.)

This is the last plan:

Finals were hellish. I’d say I understand now why people get so freaked out about finals, but I’m only going half-time. If two classes are like this, I can’t begin to imagine four.

(Why did I have to be someone whose psychosomatic stress-response is gut problems? Why couldn’t it have been…I was going to say headaches, but rumour has it that sufficiently severe headaches can induce vomiting. Surely there must be some set of physical symptoms stress can manifest that doesn’t involve nausea, is what I’m trying to say here.)

(No, I didn’t puke, but it was a close thing.)

But. All of the dice have now been cast, and enough of them have landed high enough that no matter what the remaining dice land on, I won’t lose either game. (Though I still want them to roll high, of course.)

It’s bedtime now, so I can’t play with my phone just yet. Tomorrow morning, I will. Maybe then it will start sinking in that it’s over. It’s finally over.

Tags:

#adventures in University Land #oh look an original post #emetophobia tw

~ Brin ~ Leave a comment

epsilontucker:

deductionhunters 

lieutenantjohnsmith

epsilontucker:

Welcome to project freelancer! The leaderboard is a psychology experiment. The AIs are experimental ethical violations. The armor is an experimental deathtrap. Half the weaponry is stolen. There is only one apparatus aboard the Mother of Invention that is not dangerous, experimental, or an ethical violation and it is the vending machine.

Scratch that, it has been brought to our attention the vending machine dispenses the occasional live grenade.
Addendum: We have just discovered that several of the items in the vending machine are, in fact, highly explosive/corrosive and/or venomous and, thus, the vending machine is entirely unsafe as well. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience in attaining your choice of beverages or snacks.

and this is why agent washington only eats fruit

#South Dakota‚ an insatiable dorito junkie‚ continues to brave the dangers of the vending machine#victorious she emerges in a cloud of smoke and embers‚#triumphantly licking nacho cheese dust from her fingertips.

#it succumbed #rip the vending machine’s innocence #now it’s turning tricks for more ethics to violate instead of attending vending machine school #for its vending degree (metatextuality)

Tags:

#Red vs Blue #anything that makes me laugh this much deserves a reblog