[May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Tags: May 9 2009 May 2009 Vulpes Connor Mary Beth MacEvoy Read 823 times / 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] on August 13, 2011, 12:06:31 AM The amount of noise in the Great Hall at lunch made it a little hard to concentrate for Vulpes. He felt he needed to give the first year he had just met, Mary, some more advice on things to avoid, but every way he seemed to phrase it sounded patronizing. So with a heavy sigh, he wrote out for the fifth time a variant of his original message.To Marry Beth MacEvoyI'm not quite sure the best way to go about this, so please forgive me if this sounds patronizing in anyway. I couldn't help but thinking that you are likely a Muggle-Born, based on something you mentioned out in the Entrance Hall. And while I, personally, have no issues what so ever with Muggle-Borns (much of my family being such) I will counter what Casey said.As a general rule of thumb, Slytherins are prejudice against Muggle-Borns. It varies in severity (some out right try and murder them), but you won't generally meet many who are kind to them. In fact most will call you not by 'Muggle-Born' but something much fouler. You may have heard it by now?So my advice to you would to be careful who you let know about you're parentage. I admit that you should always be proud of who you are and where you come from, but I just hate seeing Muggle-Borns given such a hard time because of it. I figure you must have (or have had) a hard enough time fitting in. I can't imagine it being easy growing up as a Muggle, then suddenly being thrust into an entirely different world (that must seem like make believe) and then being expected to know the rules.Just be careful. Vulpes looked up for a moment, considering how to sign it. In the end he settled with a little drawing of a fox wearing headphones. With a smile, he added one last line. P.S. If any of them give you a hard time let me know. With that, he folded the letter into a paper airplane, tapped it once with his wand, and threw it in the direction Mary was sitting. Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #1 on August 13, 2011, 12:54:44 AM Mary Beth was in the middle of a big gulp of juice when a paper plane bonked the side of her head. In surprise, she snorted a good deal of the juice through her nose and had to cough a bit out of her lungs, too. When she had settled down adequately, she picked up the mystery kamikaze and unfolded it. She read it a few times (when reading, she had a tendency to space and then realize that she hadn't really read anything) and smiled a little. She knew who it was from, even if she didn't really know why she knew. Reaching into the shoulder bag she brought to lunch to sneak out pastries, she retrieved her notebook and a clicky pen. As was customary in her old school, she hit the head of the pen on the table to click it, and began writing in her round, girly print:dear vulpes,fair play! you've nailed it. was it the headphones? i've got a really deadly set at home with glitter on them. i'll take a picture of them for you next time i'm home.i don't know if i'm missing the signals on this muggle-hating business. i'm not the sharpest at stuff like that. do you think people really have enough time on their hands to even think about that? you probably know way better than i do. but everyone i've met seems terribly decent... do you think i'm just being stupid? -mary beth charitina macevoyShe folded hers dart-style, one of the many styles at her disposal from hours of classroom boredom, and sent it sailing across the cafeteria. Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #2 on August 13, 2011, 01:07:59 AM Not entirely expecting a response, Vulpes was shocked to watch the girl actually throw a response back. "Accio," he muttered, flicking his wand at the paper plane which suddenly flew straight for him. He deftly unfolded it and read the reply. He had to suppress a laugh. Ah, the innocence!Mary,Stupid? Of course not. Naive and trusting? Innocent? Just a tad. But that's good, it's rather depressing watching that part of someone die.It's likely that you haven't rubbed shoulders with enough Slytherins to notice. Usually people in the other houses are extremely tolerant towards people like you. But if you ask anyone from a wizarding family what the derogatory slur for a Muggle-Born is (as I refuse to say it) I'm sure they'll be able to tell you. Even some of the older Muggle-Borns know, havign heard it enough. It really is rather vile.And it was the headphones, actually! Most people here don't have a clue what they are, so anyone who does I can assume is from a non-magical background. And I'd love to see them. Maybe I can convince my mother to enchant them like mine?-Vulpes Once again he folded this into an airplane, tapped it, and threw it back across the room. Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #3 on August 13, 2011, 09:15:56 AM She was ready for the next one, and caught it mid-air with her tiny hand. Derogatory slur? She thought to herself. Certainly there were more than a few that she'd heard in her lifetime. There was certainly the n-word, though she had only heard that on TV. The c-word? Didn't seem harsh enough to warrant that kind of uneasiness. She'd been called the b-word a few times and all that happened was she'd had to knock some of them in the teeth. And there were a handful of words she'd heard used to describe protestants, although in her hometown there really weren't enough protestants to make the case for using the words anyway. vulpes-it seems kind of silly, doesn't it? seems like a lot of nazi shite to me. anyway, if it makes you feel any better, they were the kind i used to wreck in school.i'd like to think that people are generally okbut i'm pretty good at taking care of the people who aren't.do you think it's anything i can't win by knocking a few teeth in? should i learn some better magic stuff? cuz i'm not very good at that.-mary beth Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #4 on August 13, 2011, 02:19:27 PM Mary,It IS silly. And It sometimes makes me wonder where Hitler got the idea.And actually the thought of you knocking teeth out doesn't put me at anymore ease. Even with the most tolerant Wizards physical combat is considered rather barbaric, when we have 'something as sophisticated as' magic. It would probably best if you learned some magical combat. The Stunning Spell for instance can be vary useful, along with the Shield Charm, and the Knockback Jinx.Even if you aren't good with it right now, it's nothing some practice can't fix.-Vulpes Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #5 on August 13, 2011, 08:17:15 PM Sometimes Mary Beth would try to sort real life into movie terms to make it a little less bizarre. For the last few months, she had been Jack Dawson wandering around the grand staircase of the Titanic, bumping elbows with the upper crust of society and not knowing which spoon was which. She chewed on her pen, trying to think of what to write. It was weird to admit but she felt like maybe she had some small prejudices of her own. Her whole life she had been a firm believer in the idea that hard work was the only way to an honest living. Not that she didn't think that students here worked hard- of course she did- but she had always felt a small nagging at the back of her head that maybe magic was a bit of a cop-out. Like, if she were going to get into a fight after an argument, how satisfied would she feel if she did it using a few little tricks? It was the catharsis that she liked, she supposed, and usually people ended up respecting each other after the fact. Did she really care if people thought she was a brute for that? She knew she was a decent sort and she was sure that most, if not all, of the students were, too. She believed firmly that one could cuss and occasionally get into scraps and still be a lady overall. In her whole twelve years she didn't think she had really ever been afraid of anyone. She was afraid of spiders, thunderstorms, and clowns, but human beings (well, the non-clown variety, anyway) had never been a worry for her. Why should she start now? What made these people special? vulpes-sorry. i didn't mean to make you think i run around busting noses. all i'm trying to say is, i'm not afraid to do what i have to do. i just really believe people have the best intentions. they usually have to really prove it to me otherwise. can you imagine me trying to cast a shield charm i'd probably end up blowing an arm off like a fireworks guy. -mary beth Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #6 on August 13, 2011, 08:57:25 PM Vulpes smiled to himself. The girl really had moxy.Mary,Well that's good. I hope that view doesn't become tarnished too much, though I imagine it will.And the Shield Charm.... well yea okay. It is rather difficult to do well. But still, it's never too early to start learning it. The sooner the better, I imagine. And practice makes perfect.-Vulpes Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #7 on August 13, 2011, 09:20:15 PM She knit her brow. Her next message was concise and only took up two lines.what made you stop thinking that? Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #8 on August 13, 2011, 09:38:33 PM What made me stop thinking all people have the best intentions? Just some things I hope you never see. Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #9 on August 13, 2011, 11:02:12 PM Mary Beth squinted and tried to catch a glimpse of Vulpes across the cafeteria. She knew he was probably right that these specific people had attitude problems, and honestly she needed all the help she could get on not making a total jag of herself in public. But the note made her kind of only feel bad for him. Even the biggest nobs she had ever met had redeeming qualities. She caught herself chewing on her pen again, reminded suddenly of grade three when she had chewed a pen so hard it had burst in her mouth in the middle of class. Luckily now she had sugar quills to satisfy her oral fixation in class. Chewing on a feather wasn't really satisfying. Or particularly pleasant. ANYWAY. She shook her head to focus. What could she know as a first-year that he would know less about as a fifth-year? The answer was obviously nothing. So why couldn't she drop it? well there are a lot of things i hope you see really soon.She thought the sentence seemed snide on its own and that was definitely not her intention. i promise the grass is greener on my side of the fence. Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #10 on August 13, 2011, 11:10:33 PM I imagine so. Vulpes didn't know what more to say. He felt bad though, replying so shortly, and quickly added a few more lines. There are times when I think it would be better if I hadn't asked the Hat to put me in Slytherin. He wanted to put me in Ravenclaw, but practically my whole family has been there. And I wanted a change of scenery.Be careful what you wish for, I suppose Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #11 on August 13, 2011, 11:25:23 PM She cocked an eyebrow. you asked to be put in slytherin? but i thought you thought slytherins were horrible. i think it's funny that we're in the same room and writing to each other through paper airplanes. in a neat way, i mean. i don't want you to think i'm being stupid. it's not that i don't believe you. Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #12 on August 13, 2011, 11:29:39 PM I did, and I stand by what I said about the majority of them being horrible. But I did want to see it from their point of view. I can't say I see the logic behind it, but oh well.And it is rather amusing. I'm sure by now most people who care will have noticed that we're talking. But at least this ways it's more or less private.And hush, you aren't being stupid. Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #13 on August 14, 2011, 09:29:59 AM Mary Beth folded her arms on the table. She was suddenly very grateful for her lot in life. Not that she hadn't been before, but it hit her that she really appreciated the way she had been brought up, by everyone in her life, not just her parents. In fact, his letter had almost had the opposite of what she guessed was its intended effect. Experience had taught her that, often, playing the victim was the best way to end up a victim. Every summer there were abounding rumors about which kids in the next grade up were mean or catty. And every fall, she made it her beeswax to seek out the supposed antagonists and introduce herself. It had yet to fail her. And she didn't see why it should now. why do you have headphones anyway? what's your story?not tryina be too nosy,-mary beth Skip to next post Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #14 on August 14, 2011, 10:33:16 AM Oh these old things? I have a bit of an obsession with music, and I kept begging my parents for more CDs and stuff. So eventually my mother just enchanted these to play without batteries, and my dad came up with the idea of 'recording' all the music onto that cylinder on the antennae. That second part took a lot longer to figure out. I used to have to tune into radio stations.-Vulpes Skip to next post
[May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] on August 13, 2011, 12:06:31 AM The amount of noise in the Great Hall at lunch made it a little hard to concentrate for Vulpes. He felt he needed to give the first year he had just met, Mary, some more advice on things to avoid, but every way he seemed to phrase it sounded patronizing. So with a heavy sigh, he wrote out for the fifth time a variant of his original message.To Marry Beth MacEvoyI'm not quite sure the best way to go about this, so please forgive me if this sounds patronizing in anyway. I couldn't help but thinking that you are likely a Muggle-Born, based on something you mentioned out in the Entrance Hall. And while I, personally, have no issues what so ever with Muggle-Borns (much of my family being such) I will counter what Casey said.As a general rule of thumb, Slytherins are prejudice against Muggle-Borns. It varies in severity (some out right try and murder them), but you won't generally meet many who are kind to them. In fact most will call you not by 'Muggle-Born' but something much fouler. You may have heard it by now?So my advice to you would to be careful who you let know about you're parentage. I admit that you should always be proud of who you are and where you come from, but I just hate seeing Muggle-Borns given such a hard time because of it. I figure you must have (or have had) a hard enough time fitting in. I can't imagine it being easy growing up as a Muggle, then suddenly being thrust into an entirely different world (that must seem like make believe) and then being expected to know the rules.Just be careful. Vulpes looked up for a moment, considering how to sign it. In the end he settled with a little drawing of a fox wearing headphones. With a smile, he added one last line. P.S. If any of them give you a hard time let me know. With that, he folded the letter into a paper airplane, tapped it once with his wand, and threw it in the direction Mary was sitting. Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #1 on August 13, 2011, 12:54:44 AM Mary Beth was in the middle of a big gulp of juice when a paper plane bonked the side of her head. In surprise, she snorted a good deal of the juice through her nose and had to cough a bit out of her lungs, too. When she had settled down adequately, she picked up the mystery kamikaze and unfolded it. She read it a few times (when reading, she had a tendency to space and then realize that she hadn't really read anything) and smiled a little. She knew who it was from, even if she didn't really know why she knew. Reaching into the shoulder bag she brought to lunch to sneak out pastries, she retrieved her notebook and a clicky pen. As was customary in her old school, she hit the head of the pen on the table to click it, and began writing in her round, girly print:dear vulpes,fair play! you've nailed it. was it the headphones? i've got a really deadly set at home with glitter on them. i'll take a picture of them for you next time i'm home.i don't know if i'm missing the signals on this muggle-hating business. i'm not the sharpest at stuff like that. do you think people really have enough time on their hands to even think about that? you probably know way better than i do. but everyone i've met seems terribly decent... do you think i'm just being stupid? -mary beth charitina macevoyShe folded hers dart-style, one of the many styles at her disposal from hours of classroom boredom, and sent it sailing across the cafeteria. Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #2 on August 13, 2011, 01:07:59 AM Not entirely expecting a response, Vulpes was shocked to watch the girl actually throw a response back. "Accio," he muttered, flicking his wand at the paper plane which suddenly flew straight for him. He deftly unfolded it and read the reply. He had to suppress a laugh. Ah, the innocence!Mary,Stupid? Of course not. Naive and trusting? Innocent? Just a tad. But that's good, it's rather depressing watching that part of someone die.It's likely that you haven't rubbed shoulders with enough Slytherins to notice. Usually people in the other houses are extremely tolerant towards people like you. But if you ask anyone from a wizarding family what the derogatory slur for a Muggle-Born is (as I refuse to say it) I'm sure they'll be able to tell you. Even some of the older Muggle-Borns know, havign heard it enough. It really is rather vile.And it was the headphones, actually! Most people here don't have a clue what they are, so anyone who does I can assume is from a non-magical background. And I'd love to see them. Maybe I can convince my mother to enchant them like mine?-Vulpes Once again he folded this into an airplane, tapped it, and threw it back across the room. Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #3 on August 13, 2011, 09:15:56 AM She was ready for the next one, and caught it mid-air with her tiny hand. Derogatory slur? She thought to herself. Certainly there were more than a few that she'd heard in her lifetime. There was certainly the n-word, though she had only heard that on TV. The c-word? Didn't seem harsh enough to warrant that kind of uneasiness. She'd been called the b-word a few times and all that happened was she'd had to knock some of them in the teeth. And there were a handful of words she'd heard used to describe protestants, although in her hometown there really weren't enough protestants to make the case for using the words anyway. vulpes-it seems kind of silly, doesn't it? seems like a lot of nazi shite to me. anyway, if it makes you feel any better, they were the kind i used to wreck in school.i'd like to think that people are generally okbut i'm pretty good at taking care of the people who aren't.do you think it's anything i can't win by knocking a few teeth in? should i learn some better magic stuff? cuz i'm not very good at that.-mary beth Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #4 on August 13, 2011, 02:19:27 PM Mary,It IS silly. And It sometimes makes me wonder where Hitler got the idea.And actually the thought of you knocking teeth out doesn't put me at anymore ease. Even with the most tolerant Wizards physical combat is considered rather barbaric, when we have 'something as sophisticated as' magic. It would probably best if you learned some magical combat. The Stunning Spell for instance can be vary useful, along with the Shield Charm, and the Knockback Jinx.Even if you aren't good with it right now, it's nothing some practice can't fix.-Vulpes Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #5 on August 13, 2011, 08:17:15 PM Sometimes Mary Beth would try to sort real life into movie terms to make it a little less bizarre. For the last few months, she had been Jack Dawson wandering around the grand staircase of the Titanic, bumping elbows with the upper crust of society and not knowing which spoon was which. She chewed on her pen, trying to think of what to write. It was weird to admit but she felt like maybe she had some small prejudices of her own. Her whole life she had been a firm believer in the idea that hard work was the only way to an honest living. Not that she didn't think that students here worked hard- of course she did- but she had always felt a small nagging at the back of her head that maybe magic was a bit of a cop-out. Like, if she were going to get into a fight after an argument, how satisfied would she feel if she did it using a few little tricks? It was the catharsis that she liked, she supposed, and usually people ended up respecting each other after the fact. Did she really care if people thought she was a brute for that? She knew she was a decent sort and she was sure that most, if not all, of the students were, too. She believed firmly that one could cuss and occasionally get into scraps and still be a lady overall. In her whole twelve years she didn't think she had really ever been afraid of anyone. She was afraid of spiders, thunderstorms, and clowns, but human beings (well, the non-clown variety, anyway) had never been a worry for her. Why should she start now? What made these people special? vulpes-sorry. i didn't mean to make you think i run around busting noses. all i'm trying to say is, i'm not afraid to do what i have to do. i just really believe people have the best intentions. they usually have to really prove it to me otherwise. can you imagine me trying to cast a shield charm i'd probably end up blowing an arm off like a fireworks guy. -mary beth Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #6 on August 13, 2011, 08:57:25 PM Vulpes smiled to himself. The girl really had moxy.Mary,Well that's good. I hope that view doesn't become tarnished too much, though I imagine it will.And the Shield Charm.... well yea okay. It is rather difficult to do well. But still, it's never too early to start learning it. The sooner the better, I imagine. And practice makes perfect.-Vulpes Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #7 on August 13, 2011, 09:20:15 PM She knit her brow. Her next message was concise and only took up two lines.what made you stop thinking that? Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #8 on August 13, 2011, 09:38:33 PM What made me stop thinking all people have the best intentions? Just some things I hope you never see. Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #9 on August 13, 2011, 11:02:12 PM Mary Beth squinted and tried to catch a glimpse of Vulpes across the cafeteria. She knew he was probably right that these specific people had attitude problems, and honestly she needed all the help she could get on not making a total jag of herself in public. But the note made her kind of only feel bad for him. Even the biggest nobs she had ever met had redeeming qualities. She caught herself chewing on her pen again, reminded suddenly of grade three when she had chewed a pen so hard it had burst in her mouth in the middle of class. Luckily now she had sugar quills to satisfy her oral fixation in class. Chewing on a feather wasn't really satisfying. Or particularly pleasant. ANYWAY. She shook her head to focus. What could she know as a first-year that he would know less about as a fifth-year? The answer was obviously nothing. So why couldn't she drop it? well there are a lot of things i hope you see really soon.She thought the sentence seemed snide on its own and that was definitely not her intention. i promise the grass is greener on my side of the fence. Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #10 on August 13, 2011, 11:10:33 PM I imagine so. Vulpes didn't know what more to say. He felt bad though, replying so shortly, and quickly added a few more lines. There are times when I think it would be better if I hadn't asked the Hat to put me in Slytherin. He wanted to put me in Ravenclaw, but practically my whole family has been there. And I wanted a change of scenery.Be careful what you wish for, I suppose Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #11 on August 13, 2011, 11:25:23 PM She cocked an eyebrow. you asked to be put in slytherin? but i thought you thought slytherins were horrible. i think it's funny that we're in the same room and writing to each other through paper airplanes. in a neat way, i mean. i don't want you to think i'm being stupid. it's not that i don't believe you. Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #12 on August 13, 2011, 11:29:39 PM I did, and I stand by what I said about the majority of them being horrible. But I did want to see it from their point of view. I can't say I see the logic behind it, but oh well.And it is rather amusing. I'm sure by now most people who care will have noticed that we're talking. But at least this ways it's more or less private.And hush, you aren't being stupid. Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #13 on August 14, 2011, 09:29:59 AM Mary Beth folded her arms on the table. She was suddenly very grateful for her lot in life. Not that she hadn't been before, but it hit her that she really appreciated the way she had been brought up, by everyone in her life, not just her parents. In fact, his letter had almost had the opposite of what she guessed was its intended effect. Experience had taught her that, often, playing the victim was the best way to end up a victim. Every summer there were abounding rumors about which kids in the next grade up were mean or catty. And every fall, she made it her beeswax to seek out the supposed antagonists and introduce herself. It had yet to fail her. And she didn't see why it should now. why do you have headphones anyway? what's your story?not tryina be too nosy,-mary beth Skip to next post
Re: [May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary] Reply #14 on August 14, 2011, 10:33:16 AM Oh these old things? I have a bit of an obsession with music, and I kept begging my parents for more CDs and stuff. So eventually my mother just enchanted these to play without batteries, and my dad came up with the idea of 'recording' all the music onto that cylinder on the antennae. That second part took a lot longer to figure out. I used to have to tune into radio stations.-Vulpes Skip to next post
[May 9] Stepping on Snakes [Mary]