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Post by itachirumon on Jul 18, 2011 15:10:47 GMT -5
The other thing, that's probably been harped on to death is... where's the other 60% of the world when all this is happening? We have the UK, Russia, and parts of Ireland and France.. but no China, Australia, South or North America.. I'm not really an "America, FUCK YA" guy but... you would think there'd be more schools than just Hogwarts, Durmstrang and French Boobies. At least one on every major continent. I know it's supposed to be a Britian-only thingy but.. it seems like a major plothole that's never addressed and would have been a source of backup in the last book...albeit kinda an ass-pull (as well as giving those other schools an undeserved big-damn-heros moment).
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Post by Amaranth on Jul 18, 2011 15:33:46 GMT -5
The other thing, that's probably been harped on to death is... where's the other 60% of the world when all this is happening? We have the UK, Russia, and parts of Ireland and France.. but no China, Australia, South or North America.. I'm not really an "America, FUCK YA" guy but... you would think there'd be more schools than just Hogwarts, Durmstrang and French Boobies. At least one on every major continent. I know it's supposed to be a Britian-only thingy but.. it seems like a major plothole that's never addressed and would have been a source of backup in the last book...albeit kinda an ass-pull (as well as giving those other schools an undeserved big-damn-heros moment). I wouldn't mind so much, except the big events solely seem to revolver around Hogwarts specifically. Even the "final battle" is the "Battle for Hogwarts." Seems weird Voldemort seems to be thinking so small. I mean, he's infiltrated the ministry, takes it over effectively, and then he's like, "I'm going to take over a school, because that's the next logical step."
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Post by DeadpanDoubter on Jul 18, 2011 17:32:29 GMT -5
"Nothing personal, you just need to die." I dunno, though-- even though Voldie was actually a threat to Harry's life, he was more of a detached threat for the first half or so of the series. He did infiltrate Hogwarts as Quirrell's pun, and he did physically threaten Harry, to be sure, but Snape was always around. Always. And at first, Voldemort's hatred for Harry was more of a "god damn, this little shit's gonna ruin me? fuck that"; Snape's hatred seemed more personalized ("You're just like your self-absorbed, egotistical buttmunch of a father."). I dunno, maybe it's just me. Voldie's hatred did seem to get more personalized as time went one, but that was mostly out of frustration at being unable to kill Harry, wasn't it? @lhm: I must now search for fanfics with that theme. I mean, there IS that one where Snape adopts him, but it's not the same. I stand by the notion that it'd be awesome to see Voldie and Harry as family. Oh, I'm not disputing that it would be, I'm just pondering on whether finding out Snape's his father would be much more traumatizing than finding out Voldie's his father. And I just now realized there's a trouser snake joke in there somewhere. *facepalm* I'm really not bringing my A-game today. I'm being totally nationalistic right now, but itachi's question reminds me that I want to know more about American wizardy schools. Like, how did they ever get started? Were some of the Salem 'witches' actual wizarding or Muggle-born girls who were caught wand-less by bigoted Muggles? How did the first American witches and wizards escape Puritan notice? Is anti-magic bigotry enough of a problem in America that the ratio of magical Muggle-borns allowed to develop their magic vs. Muggle-borns from anti-magic/fundie familes is huge, thus sharply limiting the number of knowledgeable, practicing wizards and witches? Are American witches and wizards looked down upon by the international wizarding community? Along that same vein, how closely are they allied with other wizarding communities? Obviously there were American witches at the Quidditch World Championship, but that doesn't really mean anything. Most importantly, is there any way to get these questions answered without it being a dry, textbook format? While I'd enjoy it, I imagine it'd be boring for most. <.<;
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Post by RavynousHunter on Jul 18, 2011 18:54:05 GMT -5
I suppose she could try a Potterverse book centered around an American wizarding school, like trials of a group of them trying to set up a secret school in Puritan America. Could be interesting...
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Post by Amaranth on Jul 18, 2011 18:58:32 GMT -5
Oh, I'm not disputing that it would be, I'm just pondering on whether finding out Snape's his father would be much more traumatizing than finding out Voldie's his father. I still think Voldemort, simply because V for Voldetta is hyped as his arch enemy since before he even knows how to do magic. Snape is a collosal dick to him, but the worst Snape's actively done is mock his family and give him extra Potions work. While Voodoomalt is largely absent until the events of GoF, I sure know if someone was hyped as my arch enemy, I'd pay a little more attention by default. He wouldn't need to do anything. Well step it up, DPD, I deman innuendo! Or: "Hey baby, wanna see my Patronus?" I'm betting Rowling would gloss over it, but I myself imagine tthat Wizards and Witches probably wouldn't get caught, while those who were accused were just innocent. Well, I mean of consorting with the devil. I don't know what else they did. Maybe they were all mini Hitlers or something. Magic. Did you groan? If, by "limiting," you mean "getting them killed," probably. It means eVERYTHING! How DARE you shoot down Quidditch? I kid, but on the subject of Quidditch, I kind of wonder if other areas have their own sports. Do we, as Americans, have World Wizarding Entertainment? Does it still lok as fake as WWE? What about NASCARPET? Variants of other sports? Baseball is serious business in Japan, too. What DO the Japanese and Asian continent do? Anyway, I think it's most logical to mention the countries nearer you, which is probably why they normally bring up European countries, but I also have to wonder how much of a difference distance makes when you have floo networks. I will contact JK Rowling about writing a series of books about a young Wizard named Jebediah Ezekiel Hawthorne Fowler. Why do spellchecks always think I mean "Jedidiah?"
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Post by Art Vandelay on Jul 18, 2011 19:34:40 GMT -5
This is particularly a weird plot point to me sometimes, because often Muggle tech is not really inferior to magic. Obviously, it quite often is, but frequently enough, it seems like this stuff's pretty useful. Plus, when his wand failed, Voldemort could have whipped out his gat and popped a cap in Potter's ass. Rutger Hauer...Danielle Radcliffe...WIZARD WITH A SHOTGUN. Though I'd get why Voldemort wouldn't want to use it, it seems so odd that other people treat it strangely. When you are the master race, you probably see the workings of inferior peoples as below you... But anyway, it's why the Weaslys are frequently crapped on. They're Muggle Lovers, and right up there in line with "muggles" and "Mudbloods." Not only is muggle tech sometimes superior, but muggles undoubtedly know how to use it much better than wizards. As I mentioned in the other thread, the wizards are almost a century behind in terms of economics and as for military matters, well they're as unorganised as tribal warriors. No grasp of small unit tactics, just run in, wands blazing and hope to win by sheer brute power. Hell, the can even fucking fly and they don't even try to achieve and exploit air superiority. I know they have few outside enemies and as such a little stagnation is to be expected, but they do enough fighting amongst themselves to keep everyone nice and scared and innovative.
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Post by askold on Jul 19, 2011 2:10:55 GMT -5
They do mention in the books that there aren't that many wizards. Someone certainly says that if they wouldn't take in and marry muggle-born wizards they would die out. So, maybe there are only three wizard schools since they don't need to have more of them. The three wizard schools are all several centuries old so while the rest of humanity has been increasing maybe the wizards have always been few in numbers. (what with keeping bloodlines pure and being wary about muggle-born wizards.)
This theory might countradict something mentioned in the books. I do remember that one of those "extra" books -the one about magical creatures around the world- did mention magical animals/dragons/something in america, so atleast they would need to have wizards out there to keep the muggles away from finding out about magic.
(I do not personally own those extra booklets. They belong to my wife. ...I am a horrible nerd.)
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Post by Yla on Jul 19, 2011 5:04:03 GMT -5
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Post by DeadpanDoubter on Jul 19, 2011 9:39:11 GMT -5
They do mention in the books that there aren't that many wizards. Someone certainly says that if they wouldn't take in and marry muggle-born wizards they would die out. So, maybe there are only three wizard schools since they don't need to have more of them. The three wizard schools are all several centuries old so while the rest of humanity has been increasing maybe the wizards have always been few in numbers. (what with keeping bloodlines pure and being wary about muggle-born wizards.) This theory might countradict something mentioned in the books. I do remember that one of those "extra" books -the one about magical creatures around the world- did mention magical animals/dragons/something in america, so atleast they would need to have wizards out there to keep the muggles away from finding out about magic. (I do not personally own those extra booklets. They belong to my wife. ...I am a horrible nerd.) But everyone whose nationality at Hogwarts that comes up in one form or another is from Europe or former British provinces (although I'll admit that I never saw where the Patel twins are from, one of them has a deathly fear of mummies, so I'm just guessing that they are in fact from India, although those fears could just be from reading one too many British equivalents of the Goosebumps books). Mudbloods (it's our word, stfu) aren't allowed into Durmstrang, at least at the time that Harry and co. were in school, and Beauxbatons comes off as a strongly French school. Additionally, there WERE witches at the World Cup who were identified as being from the Salem Institute for Witches, and someone had a penpal in India, so those three schools are hardly the only three. I've always thought that the reason that pureblood lines couldn't survive were for the same reasons that Muggle pureblood lines can't survive-- too much inbreeding leads to serious illnesses. Just look at the Amish. >.> EDIT: My bad, the penpal's from Brazil. Now if there were just a vague mention of Asia and Australia...
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Post by Yla on Jul 19, 2011 10:22:53 GMT -5
'Quidditch Through The Ages' contains a short section about Quidditch worldwide. I specifically remember the mention about a Japanese custom to ritually burn their brooms after a lost game. It's not much, but it's nonzero.
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Post by shadowpanther on Jul 19, 2011 12:01:19 GMT -5
'Quidditch Through The Ages' contains a short section about Quidditch worldwide. I specifically remember the mention about a Japanese custom to ritually burn their brooms after a lost game. It's not much, but it's nonzero. Don't forget the Quidditch World Cup video game. And now I've remembered about it, I have to go play it as it is the best sports game ever made.
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Post by DeadpanDoubter on Jul 19, 2011 12:29:18 GMT -5
'Quidditch Through The Ages' contains a short section about Quidditch worldwide. I specifically remember the mention about a Japanese custom to ritually burn their brooms after a lost game. It's not much, but it's nonzero. Ooh, okay...I really need to get the "textbooks" she released. I've read fanfics that speculate on the differences in Apparation in Asian cultures, but that's all they were, fanfics. No love for the Aussies, though.
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Post by Yla on Jul 19, 2011 13:38:18 GMT -5
No love for the Aussies, though. Actually, it does. I have it on the shelf next to me(I'm back home, as opposed to the earlier post) and I just looked it up. Their section is even longer than 'Asia'. Edit: Don't forget the Quidditch World Cup video game. And now I've remembered about it, I have to go play it as it is the best sports game ever made. Squeee! I didn't know such a thing existed.
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Post by itachirumon on Jul 19, 2011 14:29:08 GMT -5
I've played it, it was a gamecube game from back in like...03/04. It was brilliantly fun but honestly, fairly easy to win once you figured out game mechanics, although it HAS been forever since I played it so my memory is a wee bit fuzzy.
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Post by Yla on Jul 19, 2011 15:17:23 GMT -5
I have the standard merch game for Philosopher's Stone. Although it's mostly action/adventure, it does contain short Quidditch games, and a menu-accessible championship mode. You always played Seeker. 'Twas fun, and had a lot more replay value than the game proper, but as you said, after a while, you master the mechanics, and the Snitch's course was deterministic to a large degree.
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