(no subject)

[mari4212]

You can tell there's sorting going on at H_E, because inevitiably there's private rants and musings about sorting and houses and how you fit into your house.

And here I come, jumping onto the bandwagon. Hopefully, with a slightly different take on things.

I actually wanted to talk a bit about house stereotypes, particularly Hufflepuff. We've all heard it before, 'Puffs are sweet, nice, innocent, fluffy little girls who run in terror at the snarky comments from a Slytherin. Cue everyone in Hufflepuff gagging.

And yet, aside from the last bit, I do fit the traditional stereotype. My sister jokes a lot about me being too nice for my own good, and I really am. I hate causing drama and upset, and if you ask me to do something, I bend over backwards for you. So for me there's always a dichotomy, between arguing against the fanon stereotype seen in applications and acknowledging the fact that for me most of it is true.

People see me on the street and on campus, and they typically slot me down into the "little and cute, sweet girl" niche.

It has it's advantages at times. One, I really am like that most of the time, so it's not exactly a false assumption. And people tend to cut me a little slack, they assume I had good intentions and accept it when I make mistakes.

But then there are the times when I do get taken advantage of, and I don't always realize that someone has done it until later. And then I feel horribly betrayed and the other person will sometimes lose my respect and loyalty. (Hey, I'm the hufflepuff stereotype, but I'm still a badger, not a carpet. Loyalty's big for me, you betray it, it'll take a long time before I trust you again.)

This didn't turn out nearly as relevant to what others have been talking about today as I thought it would be, but it did help to settle things in my mind.

Opinions, anyone?

Comments

[arielchan.livejournal.com]

People see me on the street and on campus, and they typically slot me down into the "little and cute, sweet girl" niche.

What is funny about this is that it's PURELY on appearances. I get the same thing, and I don't fit the niche at all. It's just because I look young and I have big blue eyes. When I wear my glasses, people also think I look intelligent.

Then I start talking and they think I'm a heinous bitch. XD At least for awhile.

[glacierscout.livejournal.com]

Sorting wank is such fun - not.

No major discussions in the Eagle common room, just in the journals of friends of the dortee. There's three or four applications up right now which are borderline squibs. My complaint with the process is that some people get in because they so well fit one house that they can get 52% votes from one house, and 48% squibs, but still get in. Most often to Hufflepuff, because a weak Puff will still be liked by the community. In contrast, a Slytherdor with some claw tendencies and maybe a Slytherpush will get 1/3 Squib votes, with the rest distributed between three houses, and not get in.

It goes back to the squib description I put in my application - many truly interesting people will sort into multiple houses, not just one. You are the stereotypical badger, but you also have the brains and intellectual curiosity to be a Ravenclaw, and the courage of your convictions to be a Gryffindor. Too many people view complexity of character as an excuse to squib.

On the other hand, it can be hard to separate a push from the real thing.

Fortunately our two claws are being voted into our house overwhelmingly.

[alphamatrix.livejournal.com]

I definitely see multiple houses is some of the most interesting houses in hogwartsharmony. I think my sorting ended up a puff-claw-gryff. I have bits of each, especially Ravenclaw, but in the end the Hufflepuff was just stronger.
I've never seen a 'puff-slytherin though. I don't think that could work.

[sileri.livejournal.com]

On the contrary. In the first year, the Sorting Hat tells the students that in Slytherin, one can find their real friends. They are fiercely loyal to their own, just as the Hufflepuffs are. In addition, ambition is nothing without a work ethic.

[alphamatrix.livejournal.com]

I find it funny that there's rants over a sorting - but then again, that's probably one of the main differences with elite communities.


I fit into the Hufflepuff stereotype. Motivated, willing to work for what I want, and loyal. I'll bend over backwards for friends.
I have glasses, like university, like helping people. I've been decribed as cute, caring, sweet...

But what they seem to see when they don't look past the stereotype is the fact that most 'puffs are fierce when someone hurts them, or their friends. We're nice, but we're no doormats. We would stand up to the nastiest of Slytherins if we knew we were making a difference (but we don't go looking for trouble, or make a scene when it's not going to change things).

At least I'm seeing some people take our side when a person applies for sorting with a comment saying "I don't think I belong in Hufflepuff, 'cause I'm not shy/quiet/boring/nice to everyone", just like I'll defend Slytherin when an applicant says "I'm not cruel/don't like dark arts/not evil so I don't belong in Slytherin"
*sigh*
Slytherin and Hufflepuff seem to be the most misunderstood houses...

[alphamatrix.livejournal.com]

And please ignore the subtle but ugly abuse of the english language in the above reply ;-)

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

It happens about once or so every term at H_E. But then, we go through about fifteen applications a week, and it's such a large community that there's a lot more opportunities for people to rub up against each other and for differences in opinions to get nasty.

And yes, that's exactly what they miss about Hufflepuff. They dismiss us as only being nice, and miss our not-so-cuddly badger side.

[cacophonesque.livejournal.com]

I still get confused when people get upset about the nice comments. Ok, so maybe there are moments in canon where Zacharias Smith is a total asshat... but then again--if someone told me that I was nice? I'd take it as a compliment and grin. Because, while I know that I do have my moments of being bitchy and mean, overall, I would hope that people do not view me as such.

Usually I think of Hufflepuff as grounded, balanced, willing to put in effort, easy-going until poked with sticks... and yes, generally nice.

Interestingly, I've been wanting to write about Ravenclaw lately. At the moment it's not quite put-together enough in my mind, though.

[vaudy.livejournal.com]

I'm just guessing, but I think it's more that some people seem to say that there isn't anything more to Puffs than being nice. I see that in some apps; what you said is accurate, but it also says a lot more than something like "oh, Hufflepuffs are just nice to everyone all the time," which some people will say without going any deeper. It think that's what upsets people, because they think "there's more to us than being nice!" And there is, but I'm not going to attack someone over it. Because I'm nice. :D (I couldn't help myself. It's late, and I'm getting silly.)

I don't think we can discount the "reading the same thing over and over" syndrome. If someone's already a little irritated for the above reasons (or irritated at any other pet peeve that pops up frequently), they're likely to get more critical of it the more they see it. I've even noticed in myself that if I sort more than two or three apps in a sitting, I get increasingly critical as I go on.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

I think it's basically like vaudy said, we get sick of applicants who say that we're just nice and skip out on our canon traits or assign them to other houses.

[glacierscout.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, when the badger bashing gets too extreme, it's the Slytherins who jump in first.

There's a delightful future badger on the way over to friend you, named liret. She friended me based on sorting comments, and I looked at her journal. You share a lot of reading traits, and will probably get along fine, even if you did sort her as a lion,

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Hm, that'll be interesting.

[glacierscout.livejournal.com]

Where is your Slytherpush drinking game hidden away? It might be useful for the current discussion on the latest joke Slytherpushing, Hufflepuff-bashing troll.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Jeez, you do not want to know how long it took me to scroll back through H_E's entries to find it, but here: http://community.livejournal.com/hogwarts_elite/799706.html

And I've stuck it in my memories so that I can find it for easy referencing later.

Yeah, this week has been wank-capital. And none of it has made fandom_wank yet.