I am just wondering how you lot like the Founders to be portrayed. The most common way seems to be with Gryffindor as a kind of remus Lupin type attitude, though a bit less serious. Hufflepuff as a Mrs Weasley type. Ravenclaw as a strict McGonagall type person. And Slytherin as a kind fo Snape person.

I personally disagree with the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw methods. I think that Ravenclaw would be more likely to a be a very solitary studious shy type. ANd I think that Hufflepuff would be stricter and more demanding. ok so loyalty and hard work are what she prizes, I think she could be well prtrayed as demanding loyalty and hard work.

Just my tuppence for thoughts, what abotu all of you?

 

The Founders have to be one of the worst characterised characters in the whole of fandom. Here's how I like them done:

Helga: Demanding and kind. Backstory could be something like being born into poverty and working hard for everything in her life. I think she might fall out quite a lot with Gryffindor so a Helga/Godric ship would be unlikely and above all she's fair.

Rowena: As you said, solitary. klikes to be cooped up in her room doing research and stuff. I think out of the four, she'd be the least popular and maybe even shunned slightly rather than the 'heart and soul' as some fics seem to have her as.

Godric: NOT a prankster, NOT Ron, NOT Sirius. I think he'd have a quick temper and be very opinionated. I agree that he'd be a bit like Remus in his personality. I think he'd be good friends with Salazar at first.

Salazar: Serious and ambitious. NOT Snape. Perhaps a bit like how Tom Riddle was like in the flashbacks of HBP. I think he'd definitely be the hardest to do.

All in all, it's up for interpretation. Thats's just how I personally imagine it. However, if you can, please don't have inter-founder pairings. Life isn't perfect as a rule and inter-founder pairings are just too perfect. You've a lot of things to work with, just keep it realistic and make sure each of the characters can stand on their own.

 

My problem with every instance of the founders save maybe 2 or 3...


It was 1000 years ago, most of the folks lived by some very, very rough means. Most fics seem to make the founders out to all be some sort of way ahead of their times wizards. Back then the women would of been like second class citizens, the 2 female founders were more then likely tossed in by JKR in one of her balancing fetishes.

meh, can't be assed to go deep into it, but everyone writes them in a manner that hurts my brain to read, and it kills the suspension of belief in the fic when they write characters from 990's as if they're just slightly old teachers. The wizards would be some seriously brutal, over aggresive folks, while the women would be push overs due to being raised their whole life to basically be subserviant.

 

Godric Gryffindor = Sir Cadogan. Legit.

That gives me an idea...Harry should go crazy in some story and take Sir Cadogan as his master and become a Don Quixote type character. Neville can be his Sancho Panza.

 

Agreed. Perhaps have the two women struggle against the views of society and stuff. Also have Godric and Salazar commandeering and always run the place without consulting the other two.

 

That sound like a great idea for a story. As for the personalities of the founders, the only one I have an opinion on would be Salazar. I se him as either how the young Tom Riddle was shown: cunning and ambitious, but with a bit of a mean streak in him that would make him more like Edmund Blackadder. As for the others: Rowena is see as being almost like Hermione, only without the maniacal need to follow the rules. For Helga, I'm ashamed to admit that I see her as a bit of an airhead. And for Godric, well, the closest I can come up with would be Canon!Harry. The whole 'Saving people thing', being a complete moron regarding matters that didn't interest him, and just generally being halfway decent in only a one or two fields, who most likely died gruesomely on the battlefield.

 

Hmm I disagree with most of the chracterisation's.
I'd like Godric to be portrayed like a noble and proud knight from powerful family - maybe even muggleborn nobleman. But his major flaw will be his stubbornes.
Rowena I think should be control freak to me. Demanding perfection from everyone and everything.
Helga I really don't care.
Slytherin is the most difficult from the founders to portray.
Personnaly I like when he is gaining things for Hogwarts using his cunning ablities and manipulations. He really workaholic and gives all his resources and soul to school.

 

Exactly. If she was being looked upon as less important, then she would have no qualms against breaking rules to make a name for herself, and further her own knowledge.

 

ONe thing about the girls...You are thinking of "Muggle" society and how life was then. ANd while you're right, they probably have some hangover issues considering Wizards and Muggles lived side by side then. Women had tremendous power though if you think about it. I mean, in Wizarding world, they are REALLY just as strong as men. Physical strength means almost nothing in the magical world.


That said, I agree with Master Slytherin about characterization.

 

I agree with Evil Shnitzel on Slytherin, Like have his greatest ambition to make a magic school. Then have him do some pretty nasty Dark Wizard :twisted: stuff to keep Hogwarts going and get kicked out by the other founders because of that. Not some stupid Muggleborns have no power crap.

 

Rowena Ravenclaw- She seems to me to be a shy girl, but has good ideas but seems to be overlooked at times

Helga Hupplepuff- She seems like a Molly Weasley to me, the nice good "Mom" type, but very demanding and over protective

Gryffindor- He seems like the Arrogant, opinionated man. For some reason he seems like a Male Chauvinist.

Slytherin- Ambitious and has acquaintances not friends. He seems to work from the shadows and is obsessed with work. Unlike most Salazar sympthy fics hes not a misunderstood man who didn't hate Muggles and mugglebors, he truly was a racist bastard, but heres the twist ALL the founders were as that was what the times were like. The others changed with time and accepted them Salazar could not change and left ON HIS OWN, he wasn't forced.

 

Thats true, but take into account how far backwards in time wizarding society is compared to muggle. Even simple things most of them are totally ignorant of. Keep in mind muggleborns and halfbloods would of been raised possibly in the same conditions as muggle of the time, it wouldn't of been all aristocratic magical folks who've been advanced in their mannerisims 500 years vs dark age muggles

 

Hogwarts is the Bastion of the Light, correct? Before Hogwarts, what did they have?

I'm guessing that they lived in townships exactly like the muggles did, and were probably part of the feudal system. The way i see it, the Wizarding world is not large enough to sustain an economy that would make the Malfoys as rich as they are. At some point, they must have been lords or dukes or something in the English Feudal Heirarchy. Tat's how they got their money, etc.

I think that back in the day, since wizards and muggles would have been at practically the same stage of innovation and knowledge, magic not counted, they would have lived together. Of course, the Wizards would hide their magic, etc.

Therefore, if the societies were that close together, assuming that this train of thought makes sense to all of you, then it could be fair to assume that the same social problems were present...no sufferage for women, etc. Even now...in the trial in book 5, i'm pretty sure there were only about 2-3 women in the whole Wizengamot, including Amelia Bones.

I think Bones was another player in JK's equality fetish...ust like Hermione. A kid who's abused by his aunt all day whil his uncle is away, a kid who's never had friends before...he wouldn't be so open to make friends with a girl as bossy as Herman. But forget that.

 

When I first read the HP series I thought of Gryf'dor as brave and noble, Huf'puf as wise and gentle, Rav'claw as intelligent and kind, Sly'rin as cunning and crafty (warrior, cleric, mage and thief from AD&D).

But that changed for some reason, probably cause of fanfiction. Now I like to think of Gryf'dor as a happy, go-lucky prankster (Sorta like Ranma from Ranma1/2) and Sly'rin as the craft, perverted prankster (Aturu from Lum), with the two constantly at prank war with each other. Rav'claw is a snob (think Veronica Lodge from The Archies) while Huf'puf is a tad violent in an Akane-ish (Ranma 1/2) way. (GRYF'DOR NO BAKA *WHAM*).

Personally I think that would be funny.