typography terror

[cheyinka]

So did anybody else just copy Ron's subject line into a text editor and change the case to all-uppercase to see whether he wrote a lowercase l, an uppercase I or the numeral 1?
...and is anybody else deeply concerned for Ron right now?

I mean, best case scenario he 'attempts' and 'fails' to kill her, but then she (and Finnegan, if not also Blaise) really attempt to kill him. *gnaws nails*

(I mean, potentially he could 'attempt to kill her' and really have her kidnapped by the Order, but I don't think succeeding here is good for him, and I don't think she'd be readily convinced of her kidnappers' benevolence.)

Comments

[ellemir]

Classic no win situation.

Are Draco and Hydra being left out because of their parentage, or are they going to be expected to perform the coup de gras when the field has been reduced and completely take out the losers?

I'm hoping it's just their and the others sponsors being too scared or cautious to put them in the middle of such a vicious mess, and not an integral part of the plan.

[cheyinka]

I'm pretty sure it's intended to be an integral part of the plan - I just don't see why them (unless, yeah, parentage, but other candidates have Councilwizard parents, don't they?)

It occurs to me that "take out completely" (or, well, "completely") could be interpreted to mean "agrees to drop out of the challenge" or "agrees to drop out of school", too. How one might get Padma to do either of those things is a problem - and not a minor one - but that's a possibility.

[ellemir]

Thomas and Finnegan have councilwizard guardians. I'm not sure about the minor candidates like Vaisey etc.
I don't think any of them have the same sort of powerful allies though. Hydra has Bellatrix, and even if Lucius was still out of favour , they both have Harry.

With Harry playing a judging role, they may be avoiding going too far against Draco or Hydra, in case it counts against them.

[cheyinka]

Taking a gander at the list of Councilwizards and list of contestants:
Padma Patil, Ron Weasley, Zach Smith, Richard Vaisey, Katie Bell, Blaise Zabini, Lares Tamblyn, Heph Bobolis, Linus Moon, Samantha Montgomery, and Lizzie Stevens do not have a Councilwizard parent or guardian.
Pansy is or has been closely linked to Lucius, and her father was a Councilwizard, but she doesn't have a living Councilwizard parent. Cormac McLaggen's brother was a Councilwizard, but he also does not have a living Councilwizard parent.
Draco, Hydra, Greg Goyle, Vince Crabbe, Teddy Nott, and Alfred Montague have Councilwizard parents and Dean and Seamus have Councilwizard guardians. Arguably those eight are the least likely to be the subjects of "take out completely" orders, with Draco and Hydra especially unlikely and Dean and Seamus least unlikely.

Notably, this means that Lana is the only sponsor with two candidates who both have Councilwizard parents or guardians, or if you count Pansy only Lana and Ned; every sponsor has at least one candidate with a Councilwizard parent or guardian.

[ellemir]

Cool, thanks for doing the research.

Out of those with councilwizard parents, from what we know of Greg and Vince, they aren't real threats. Maybe they have been included to avoid alienating their parents or because even the council needs enforcers. I feel sort of the same way about Montague. That no one felt like they could include outsiders until they defused any risk of offence to the older council members.

Nott, however, is a different case. He is clever, a good chess player, psychopathic and uncontrollable short of using the cardinal curses.
All but the last would be seen as positive traits for a council member by many.

Your list reminds me we have seen very little of this task from the lesser known candidates or Nott. Are they being left like Draco and Hydra? Or is hell about to break loose?

[ladyrelaynie]

Well, we're getting close to the end of the school year, so I think it's probably safe to vote for all hell breaking loose.

I don't know whether to be relieved for Draco and Hydra or really apprehensive. If Draco was a choice for Padma, Hydra could be a choice for someone else. Though maybe the pretend relationship with Harry will protect her, there?

Nott continues to be a wild card and if he's told to kill someone, he won't hesitate. I also don't expect that he's given up on his obsession with Hermione. Since Harry hasn't been a deterrent yet for Nott, I doubt he will become one.

Things are getting real, y'all. I also don't expect everyone to survive this contest, and that is a scary proposition, to say the least.

[ellemir]

Crap, more challenges coming in.

Seamus's should be ok, but Padma's idea has so much that can go wrong.

I could just see her telling Thomas to take out Ron, either before or after she finds out the threat against her. Can you tell I don't trust her?

Oh, and second thoughts, these are wizards. Abseiling is probably not ideal, and Seamus is distracted too. I predict a disaster.

[ellemir]

And now Seamus is going along to hide when Padma meets with Harry.

I see no way this can end well.

[ladyrelaynie]

Yeah, I agree. It'll be REALLY EASY for them (Seamus and Padma) to get the wrong idea, especially if Ron arrives before them.

Yeah, and abseiling: better hope someone other than Dumbledore knows, "Arresto Momentum!"

[cheyinka]

After 4, which is 4 EDT, right? So 3 to 4 hours before the thestral turds hit the breeze-generating-charm...

[ellemir]

Methinks it will be closer to the Hungarian Horntail turds meeting a Deprimo charm.

Either way I want Wellies, Oilskin, a Sou'wester and a golf umbrella.

[cheyinka]

I think I'd prefer to "wear" a bank vault or something >.> <.<

[ellemir]

I've always been rather partial to the idea of a nuclear bunker, myself.

[ladyrelaynie]

Nothing important to add, just LOLing at you two. Bank vault? Nuclear bunkers? Thestral turds and Deprimo charms?

:cracks up:

[ellemir]

Glad to be of service. I usually say I don't have a sense of humour, because people rarely get me. So it's nice to be on a similar wavelength to people for once.

[ellemir]

Harry just heard from Katie Bell :(

http://alt-sirius.dreamwidth.org/85074.html?thread=838482#cmt838482

[cheyinka]

Yeah. :(

That's... you know, part of me has to wonder how much of the competition is actually supposed to test the candidates, how much is about scoring points vs the other sponsors, and how much is just "lol whaddya wanna bet I can make my candidate do this thing?" :|

[ellemir]

The Protectorate as a whole seem to undervalue women, but this really bugs me.
In fact, strangely enough, out of all the tasks given this one offends me the most.
Kill or disable someone? I don't like it but can live with it.
Manipulate a very young woman into a sexual power exchange? Makes me incandescent with fury.
Both her sponsor and Cal Pummel are at the top of my Naughty List and will be getting coal for Christmas.

[cheyinka]

What bugs me so much about this one is the whole "ha ha you were only with Harry to have his protection, better go find another bed to hide in" feel I get from it. She's not even being asked to use sex as a weapon to extort something from a Councilwizard, or to set someone up for blackmail, or to take a partner away from someone else - which would all still definitely be ten kinds of fucked up, I grant, but at least then it wouldn't just be a taunt.

[ellemir]

I think it's the assumption that as a woman she needs the protection of a man that really pisses me off.
Why even have female candidates if you don't believe they are true equals? And in a magical society, the pathetic arguments about physical strength hold even less weight.
I don't remember off hand who was sponsoring Katie but I'd love him to show a little of this attitude to Bellatrix. She may not think most women are capable of being her equal, but I'd love to see what she'd do to someone who implied she was the little woman in Rodolphus's life.

[ellemir]

And Harry is clearly hurting, but I just love his emotional honesty.

[alt_player]

We switched to Central time awhile ago.

[ellemir]

I think Patil will be sent after Thomas. After all she chose to focus on him.

[cheyinka]

If she was only given two options (Thomas and Draco) then yeah I think that's more likely, if you're right that Draco and Hydra are being left alone on purpose.

[lucky_guess]

But that means Draco was an option -- she just decided against it.

[gwendolyngrace]

Yes, it looks like Draco was an option - she had a choice of three to target:

Draco, Seamus, or Dean.

[cheyinka]

I didn't remember that she'd been given Dean, Draco, or Seamus as choices, so I think she'll likely be sent after either Dean or Seamus if ellemir is right that she's going to be told to "completely" eliminate someone from the competition, too. When I thought it was just Dean and Draco I was more certain that it would be definitely just Dean.

It's also possible that Lana will tell her to "completely" eliminate Ron as revenge, but that'd necessitate Avery having told Lana that it was Ron's doing.

[ellemir]

I'm not sure she'll be asked to do that. So far all the challenges have been very different.

I've been considering the implications of both trust and betrayal in the current challenges.
Pansy is asked to put a trusted friend at risk. Whether the friends consent was needed is unclear.
Seamus is being asked to trust another candidate with his wand, and probably his life.
Are these tests of their boundaries maybe? For when Ron met one challenge, he was almost straightaway given another that went further.
Would meeting this one just get another nastier option?
The very different challenges make me twitchy. Has each sponsor just been told to push the candidate on the potential weaknesses their commitments to others might bring?
Or is it a single hand, Voldie perhaps playing a twisted game?
If so, I can see Padma being told to betray Seamus if he hands her his wand. Or maybe told to meet a threat with deadly force.

Maybe the real test is when you refuse to meet the challenge. And there may come a point where the right ( for a deatheater) choice is to decline. Admittedly the only scenario I can come up for that with is someone asked to mess with Harry.

I believe I am wrong with the last idea above, but I'm getting to feel that the only way to win is to refuse to play the Game. And I'm not quite convinced that my moral qualms are the only reason for me being this way.

[ellemir]

Actually, on the idea of boundaries something just occurred to me.

To control someone you need to know their boundaries and loyalties.
We know Voldemort uses this. Threats to Draco keep Harry in line. Families suffer if someone betrays him, think Selwyns fate. McGonnagal with no family ties and known allies needed the bracelet to control her. Lucius fears for his family if he loses the LPs favour.
Maybe this test is to make sure the candidates have sufficient close ties, that they can be controlled. Because while the LP may not want them to be more loyal to others than him, he needs them to be manageable.

If so, I predict Teddy will take things too far with possibly dire consequence, and Voldie will have him put down as too much of a risk. Of course Teddy doesn't seem to have a challenge yet.

This is not going to be pretty.

[cheyinka]

Hm, I think you might be right - that as much as some of the challenges are about "will you betray someone, and how?" some of them are designed to test or develop close ties, for potential hostages-to-good-behavior.