InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I lost my shoe."

Marcus Flint (marcedflint) wrote in finnigans_rpg,
@ 2015-08-11 17:57:00

Entry tags:

journal: marcus, journal: richard

Journal - Marcus
[Warded to Purebloods]

Traditions are the backbone of our culture. I would never argue that, and certainly they're part of our history that should be remembered. Sometimes though, traditions are outdated, and we might benefit from discontinuing them.

Specifically, I'm referring to the practice of stuffed house elf heads hanging on the walls. I cannot be the only one who finds this a little ~~creepy~~ strange.

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	hopalongcharlie 2015-08-11 10:15 pm UTC (link)
	Personally I always found the practice bizarre, but then again I hardly grew up in the sort of house to have that manner of decoration. It's not as if there's a research purpose. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	marcedflint 2015-08-11 10:30 pm UTC (link)
	Thank you for the completely unhelpful contribution, Weasley. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	alliterative 2015-08-11 11:36 pm UTC (link)
	It is strange, and I'm glad it was a tradition my family didn't participate in. ~~I think this is why Orville dislikes~~ (Reply to this) (Thread)

	marcedflint 2015-08-12 12:22 am UTC (link)
	It gets stranger the more of them I find. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	unspeakableness 2015-08-11 11:45 pm UTC (link)
	Taxidermy is a creepy and disturbing hobby regardless of the reason for it. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	marcedflint 2015-08-12 12:24 am UTC (link)
	I don't think I'm entirely clear on what the reason for it is in this case. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	unspeakableness 2015-08-12 01:14 am UTC (link)
	Monkey see, monkey do is my guess. Or, in this case, Pure-blood see, Pure-blood do. Some sadist decided it'd be a good idea, and, somehow, it caught on with other sadists until it became a natural tradition. That's my theory. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	marcedflint 2015-08-12 01:25 am UTC (link)
	It's a good theory. And it's probably something similar for most of the things we call traditions. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	astoryuntold 2015-08-11 11:50 pm UTC (link)
	There's an old portrait gallery in my parents' house that I cannot go into because of this! It's horrible and terribly outdated, and it gave me nightmares when I was little! I very much agree that it is strange. It's also very, very creepy along with outdated and strange. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	marcedflint 2015-08-12 12:32 am UTC (link)
	~~Horrible is a perfect description~~ I'm not sure if having them all in one place would be better or worse. They seem to be all over the place and I keep finding more of them. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	astoryuntold 2015-08-12 10:05 pm UTC (link)
	I think it'd be equally horrifying. They're all in one place, so you see how they were displayed with pride, but then if they're all over the place, they make for nasty surprises! There is no better or worse; it's just all awful. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	the_richard 2015-08-12 02:14 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, pretty strange. Nagging portraits are bad enough. Got a few of those up at the manor. Can't see where having little elf heads on the wall would add to the atmosphere, unless you're going for a Gothic Creepy look. Might as well have the grands and great-grands up there too. Ugh. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	marcedflint 2015-08-12 02:23 am UTC (link)
	~~Don't get me started on the bloody portraits.~~ Portraits of ancestors at least ~~sort of~~ make sense. This just... doesn't seem to. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

the_richard
2015-08-12 04:24 pm UTC (link)

I blame a lot of the weird stuff on how inbred we all are. Nothing brings out the 'eccentrics' like a family tree with too few branches.

Tell the rest of your house elves to deal with the little stuffed heads as they think best since it's a tradition you won't be continuing. Saw the little buggers with knives and clubs at Hogwarts. Wouldn't want to piss them off.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

astoryuntold
2015-08-12 10:19 pm UTC (link)

~~Clearly~~ It really had nothing to do with inbreeding so much as pride. Being proud of having a house elf and a successful house elf lineage serving a proper pure-blood house. They grew too old to carry tea, and something had to be done. It also allowed the house elves to continue to serve a house even when they were incapable of literally serving by providing the house with another piece of them. They were a trophy, a piece of art, prestige, and a symbol. I'm sure you'll just dismiss that as a result of inbreeding, ~~because you strike me as the type to always need to be right~~ but that's just how it was when it was started by Great-Great Aunt Elladora, whose parents were not related closely enough for inbreeding to be a factor (unless you're counting "we're all human" or "we're all humans with magic from the same source" as a factor, which I'm not because that'd just be silly).

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	Marcus the_richard 2015-08-16 11:59 pm UTC (link)
	I rest my case. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	pandacharms 2015-08-14 04:01 pm UTC (link)
	My family thankfully never had that tradition. (At least, my father's family, and my mum never took up her family's tradition of it) I think it's disgusting. I would have cried if my nanny elf was done like that. (Reply to this)