a vitally important question

[gogollescent]

Given the chance, how would you sort the Vorkosigan characters into Hogwarts houses?

Don't look at me like that. This is clearly key information that I am gathering. Is Cordelia the world's most ruthless Hufflepuff, or would she at eleven be hustled off to Ravenclaw, only later in life to develop interpersonal convictions? Does Miles con the hat into putting him into Gryffindor despite the fact that if cut him open you would find a great big S drawn in green on his heart? For that matter, where would Aral have wanted to be put when he was eleven, a pretty formative year for him by any yardstick? Are Illyan and his chip in different houses entirely-- no, don't answer that one--

And so on. 

This inquiry definitely not made for gruesome fusion research purposes of any kind, of course.

Comments

[crisis_control]

My first instinct pegs Aral as Gryffindor (although I buy the argument about him being a Puff, his early self strikes me as a bit too violent and idealistic (and violently idealistic...)), Miles as rule-breaker type Gryffindor (Miles is probably a bit -- a lot -- like Harry; the Hat probably stalled between Gryffindor and Slyth, and Miles would sweet talk it into sorting him into Gryffindor, because, you know, Vorthalia the Bold. Plus, his lack of ambition for Gregor's camp stool). Illyan as a Ravenclaw (inclining towards a Slytherclaw, really)- he can be sneaky, he can be hardworking, but he sure loves his data. (I can actually see him volunteering for the chip, because of the sheer shiny attraction of something that could possibly make him smarter.)

Cordelia I'd place as a Hat-stall. She reminds me of McGonagall, and ultimately I'd slide her into Gryffindor (with her views on the Vor, she's probably not enough of a pureblood fanatic to be Slytherin although she certainly has many characteristics of one), though it's a very close shave with Ravenclaw.

Mark I'd peg as a Slytherin. He's certainly sharp enough, he doesn't share that brand of heroism that Miles does (though he has his own). Strangely enough, I can also see him as a Hufflepuff.

Ivan - is really hard for me. He screams Hufflepuff to me, except for the laziness...

Having said that, I think what this very fascinating discussion shows is that - people really can be placed in all kinds of different Houses, depending on what you define as their defining characteristic and the the House's defining characteristic :) It must be a pain, being the Sorting Hat...

[gogollescent]

Yeah, I mean, sorting is fun because it's so ambiguous and subjective, but then also kind of worrying, when you think about how many lifelong ramifications it seems to have for the characters in the Harry Potter universe. Such trust to place in singing millinery. Makes you wonder whether the Hat's standards have changed at all over the years, too.

I agree that what we know about Aral's past is very Gryffindorish-- he may have since matured to a point where he exhibits a lot of other House traits, they weren't all there from the beginning, so to speak. And yeah, Miles would totally do the Harry thing if he could. Though, being Miles, it might not take the form of a single firm request but rather a two-week long campaign pre-Sorting to woo the Hat over to his side. You can see him asking Cordelia: "What does a hat really want in life? Unlife?" It's important to have ammunition.

I think my doubts about Illyan-as-Ravenclaw mostly have to do with the fact that he sort of has to love his data as a requirement of his job, and we know little enough about his pre-chip life that it's hard to judge how much of that is also intrinsic.

We have definitely had convincing arguments for Cordelia in every house at this point, damn her. Maybe, as with Gregor, I'll pack her off to Beauxbatons and sidestep the issue. Beauxbetans. Oh, god.

[crisis_control]

*laugh* Beauxbetans in all its punnish glory is fantastic. She probably looks upon all the Sorting as archaic and a little crazy, and probably lobbies for the entire system to be abolished...

Miles, possibly the first person to ask the Hat what its elephant is.

Re Illyan - hm, I think what calls out to me is that his very dispassionate observer status and the ability to hold multiple realities in his head strikes me as very much a Claw trait. Baby!Illyan in Shards isn't a Slytherin either, and too fade-into-the-background to be Gryff or Puff...

[gogollescent]

/nod Defining people so early in their lives would almost certainly strike her as dangerous-- "maybe we could initiate them with a powerpoint about the careful use of recreational drugs instead", she says, but somehow her suggestion doesn't fly. This generation. It's only a matter of time!

Miles: "It can't spend the whole year composing song lyrics, can it?" Two months later he, Ivan, and the Hat run off to start a boy band.

I think perhaps the invisibility is what makes me want to suspect him of Hufflepuffery, in combination with his youthful self's endearing confusion over how to balance his liking and loyalty towards Aral with his duties to Negri. On the other hand, it does seem like if anyone would survive the implanting of the memory chip, it'd be a Ravenclaw, prepared and even eager to process all that stimulus in the name of a cohesive picture.

[hedda62]

Well, to get back to your original question, what if Simon is a Ravenclaw and the chip is a Hufflepuff? Or the other way around? (I do suffer greatly from anthropomorphic tendencies, if you couldn't tell.)

Miles and the Hat would be a great name for a band. (somehow I think Ivan would be outvoted in the naming process)

Not sure I want to know what happens if the hat and the chip get together.

[gogollescent]

It… would be pretty adorable if the chip were Hufflepuff to his Ravenclaw. Oh, Simon.

Ivan's only there to carry the drums (and the groupies), poor lad. Or maybe they let the hat do the transporting for them, given its mystical abilities to teleport objects into the hands of its wearer. Ruby-encrusted sword, immortal bird, tambourines…

Hah! That's presumably what happens when Illyan tries to track down the errant musicians and through a hilarious series of events gets entangled in their creative schemes, culminating in his live cover of Memory.

[hedda62]

culminating in his live cover of Memory.

*dies* *just dies*

[gogollescent]

Next divisive discussion topic: the Vorkosigan characters as breeds of practical cat.