| Banshee
Join Date: May 2007 Location: Gotham
Posts: 51,213
Hogwarts RPG Name:
TBD
Gryffindor
Hogwarts RPG Name:
Zara H. Bunbury-Foster
Slytherin Fifth Year |  Professor Pink | Mrs. Bruce Wayne | I'm on a Goat | Glitterpuff | Dumbledore's Defense Squad | BHB
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie  Kurumi had mildly returned Professor Williamson's wave, but her focus was on Momotaro II who had seemingly already forgotten her as he rolled around with the other py gmy puffs. Had that week they spent together meant nothing to him?! All the pumpkin soup baths and sugar cubes and grooming?! Frowning a bit, Kurumi turned her attention back to Professor Williamson and thought about his first question for a few moments before raising her hand to speak.
"I...sort of let my pygmy puff guide me," she said rather vaguely. "Last lesson, we discussed how pygmy puffs ought to act and created a general picture about them, but that is sort of like saying that all wizards are a certain way or that every pit bull dog is an attack dog. There are always exceptions. So, Momotaro II taught me about him. What he likes and dislikes and guided me as to how to properly care for him." That...answered the professor's question, right? She was more than willing to go into further details if he wanted, but she didn't want to go on and on when he could read about most of this in her journal entries. "I rather enjoyed the assignment. It taught me patience and that you really have to listen to the creature you are taking care of, look for signs and really study them."
And that was really all she had to say for now...could she have him back now? Please?
As for his second question, well, that one was a little tricky. To Kurumi, given the proper environment and circumstances, ANY creature could be considered dangerous really. Kurumi rubbed the back of her neck for a moment, thinking about how best to word what she wanted to say and trying her best to throw thoughts like 'dark creatures' and 'Minstry ratings' out the window. It took a bit, but Kurumi eventually raised her hand. "I think...that human fear and loathing are a major contributor. For example, the platypus is capable of producing a venom that can cause severe pain and even incapacitate a human, but we see them as being rather cute and cuddly where as other venom producing creatures, like some snakes, are seen as dangerous. I suppose the difference is that a platypus' venom cannot kill a person whereas other creatures' venom can." She swallowed, thinking a bit more about the topic and remember just HOW many times this term she had come face to face with two creatures that were definitely dangerous. Why? Because she feared for her life. "T-This term...I came face to face with a chimaera and an acromantula..." Both of which were frightening and potentially lethal. "What made me instantly think they were dangerous was, well, because they could kill me." Once again, human fear defining whether or not the creature was dangerous or not. William listened thoughtfully to Kurumi's first answer, nodding along as she spoke. "Well said, Prefect Hollingberry. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It sounded like you got a lot out of the project." And he was quite happy about that.
He waited for her answer about the second question and continued nodding. "Good answer." Something was bugging William in the back of his mind about the acromantula/chimaera sighting but he shook it off. "So how did you react in that situation?"
Had she really been face-to-face with BOTH those creatures??? Geez.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hermione Lily Potter Lily waited as the professor started the lesson. Once he had finished talking, the ravenclaw raised her hand to answer the second section. "I think a creature is considered dangerous when it is hard to be handled by a normal wizard. Many times they repel spells or have some sort of defense mechanism like venom. An example would be a dragon or something like that." Lily was glad that she had read her textbook because it came in handy with questions like that. "Good, good clear response, Lily." William acknowledged the Ravenclaw with another nod. "Dragons are most definitely dangerous but, when handled well, they are beautiful creatures."
He loved dragons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jessiqua Zhenya didn't know how to answer the first question. She just loved the Pygmy Puff and wanted to have it forever! But holding her hand up, she though she would give some feedback, "Professor, the Pygmy Puffs were so much fun, and it was so good to be able to hold them in our hands, rather than just pat them," like... horses. You couldn't hold those.
For the next question... "And I think dangerous creatures are ones that have the potential to harm people whether or not they feel threatened, like if they are irrational creatures and hurt people a lot," she said. She had never come into contact with a dangerous creature. Well, sure Hippogriffs could be dangerous but only if you made them angry, and didn't approach them the way they should be approached. Chuckling at the Slytherin's answer, William smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed the assignment!" As for her second response.... "Yes, that's a good point. Irrational creatures, like irrational people, are hard to handle because it's hard to predict what they're going to do next."
Quote:
Originally Posted by HaRoHeGiNeLu A moment was spared before answering Williamson's question just so Ellie could STARE at Kurumi. She wasn't glaring she was just....shocked? WHERE in the WORLD did she LEARN this stuff? Well...books, maybe, but... Well...WHY? WHY would ANYONE care about a platypus' venom?
Just...
ANYWAY. "I think it depends on the creature's ability to cause harm. One that could easily kill you would be more dangerous than one that could bite you. But one that could bite you would be more dangerous than one that can't or won't." Like...As Kurumi said, Acromantulas and Chimaeras were dangerous. Crups were less dangerous. And...well, Pygmy Puffs were not dangerous at all.
Right? Er. That answer was confusing, but William blinked and nodded at the Ravenclaw anyway. "Sure. Right. You're saying that the bigger the bite, the more dangerous the creature?"
He couldn't think of anything large and harmless, anyway, nothing like a giant kitten. So. Sure, Ellie, sure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FireboltAvis88 Alyssa was eager to report about the time she spent with Nerfball so she raised her hand.
"Professor. I had a lot of fun with Nerfball. While I had him, I was able to more or less finalize the type of foods he eats. I've discovered that he'll eat almost anything edible. He was kind of afraid of the dead rat but that could be because the rat was almost larger than he was. I kept him clean by brushing his hair and making sure that I got all the food scraps out. I did notice that he didn't really like having water on him. Which brings me to first questions, can Pygmy Puff's swim? As for his gender, I figured out it out during his play time with the other Pygmy Puffs. I noticed that he had the same low squeek and behaviour with another male Puff. and when he played with another Pygmy Puff, a female, Nerfball was all excited and happy and kept bouncing on her. Which brings me to my second question, Professor? How do Pygmy Puffs...uh...procreate? Is it like how all the animals do it?
Even though we only had a short time together, Nerfball and I bonded really well. I really loved doing this assignment so much that I would like to ask you whether I could keep him." Alyssa quickly slipped out that question.
Then she quickly finished off by answering the second part of the Professor's question. "I think what makes a creature dangerous is it's unpredictable nature. If you know what to expect from it, you can avoid making it angry or take precautions to avoid getting hurt or killed. I only encountered a Thestral and Hippogriff, but I didn't find either of them frightening or lethal. For the Thestral since I couldn't see it, I felt more curious than anything else. As for the Hippogriff, since I had a chance to work with one last term, I knew what to do and not do." Merlin, Alyssa's answer was just like... having an entire conversation in five seconds without taking a breath. But at least it was thorough!
"Good work with your research and journals, Alyssa. Pygmy Puffs can float but no, they don't really.... swim." He winced a little at her awkward second question and shrugged. "They're just like other animals. One of one gender and one of another gender...." And she could get the picture from that.
ANYWAY. "Those of you who want to keep your pygmy puffs should see me after class, all right?" Will shot a glance toward Kurumi and Daichi too, since they had seemed particularly torn up about leaving their puffs in the corral.
"Right, it's like Zhenya said. Irrational, unpredictable creatures are hard to handle. I know you worked with Hippogriffs in the past but I'm sure you didn't work with wild ones." Like the one that had attacked his arm... ooh. That memory came flooding back all of a sudden. Who knew Hippogriff talons could be so sharp?!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squishy ♥ Amelia raised her hand now. "It was great! I learned more about my Pigmy Puff. What she likes and doesn't like. And we bonded more. She's a great pet now." She even had Pixie in her pocket right now. D: She liked keeping her in her pocket lately besides in classes where it might be dangerous. "I liked the assignment because of all that." It had been a fun assignment!!
She thought about the second question now before answering that as well. "I think that creatures can be dangerous if they are threatened. Obviously something like a Flobberworm can't really hurt you... but others can. Also I think some creatures like hurting people. Either because they are mean, or they like to eat us." "Great! Glad you enjoyed it." William smiled at the girl, feeling almost like she probably had her pygmy puff on her person in the middle of class but choosing not to say anything about it.
"That's also a good point. So we have irrational, unpredictable creatures; creatures that are threatened; human fear and loathing; and hard to handle creatures that are all considered 'dangerous' by you all so far."
Perhaps they should be writing that down? Mmm?
Quote:
Originally Posted by jujune29th Sophie was sad because she had just returned Lavender. She didn't feel like talking at all, but raised her hand when Professor Williamson asked the first question. "I loved the assignment, Professor!" She started with a small smile, looking at where the Pygmy Puffs were. "Lavender and I had a great time together. She even helped me out with some homework!" Her smile widened a little. "It was really easy to take care of her, since she is so calm and quiet." Sophie wished she could keep Lavender. She had never wanted a pet before, but she had grown to love Lavender. Sigh. "I see now that a pet doesn't necessarily mess up your life." That's what she used to think, with all the taking-care-of-it work, feeding, bathing and blahblahblah. Sophie enjoyed all of that - at least for a week... maybe this feeling wouldn't last for much longer, though.
Anyway, what made a creature dangerous? "The fact that it can kill us makes a creature dangerous..." Right?? "And... well, creatures that can hurt us a lot can be considered dangerous too." At least in her opinion. Sophie then stopped to think. The first thought that came into her mind was a weird creature that once had hurt her mother's feet really bad. "Dugbogs are dangerous, professor!" Sophie didn't like them. After she saw her mother's feet, she hoped she would never see one of those creatures around. Aww and here was another student who wanted to keep her puff, judging from the way she was talking about it. He would definitely have to talk to those who wanted to keep theirs after class.
"I'm glad you learned something from the assignment. Pets are definitely NOT too much work." He loved his pet cruppy. "Creatures that can kill are definitely ones you should worry about, right, and dugbogs, which are not known for killing, are certainly dangerous toward your ankles!" He could agree with that one, having personal knowledge on such an attack.
Quote:
Originally Posted by grangerfan8 She shifted on her seat so that she could lean back and rest her hands on the edge of the bench, legs stretched out and feet crossed at the ankles. If she could slip off her shoes she would, the prefect was that relaxed, and at the same times exited.
One hand had to rise to answer his questions though, didn't it? It went up briefly. "First. I liked caring for my foster pygmy, MO." It had her missing, smore, but not enough to take him back from her sister. As if such a thing would be possible now anyway. "It was interesting to watch her eating habits now that I had a clearer idea of what they ate." And explained why so many of her snacks just up and disappeared.
"Second, what makes a creature dangerous to us is there method of defending themselves and attacking, and their eating habits. If a creature is herbivorous, and first natural instinct is to run from danger instead of taking the offense, then they're not that dangerous to us. But if they're like an acromantula who don't fear people or mind eating them, then they're pretty dangerous. They don't have to both prey on humans and be offensive in nature like the acromantula, but having one of those qualities is enough to make them dangerous." Her feet swayed happily as she paused to ponder her response. "But even a creature who's first instinct is to run can become dangerous depending on the situation. So maybe, sometimes it just depends on the situation for some to be dangerous, and others are just that way naturally. I've met many of the former, and only a handful of the later. Acromantulas, dragons, a kappa, a sphinx..." She could go on, but the prefect was getting tired of talking. Hehe. "Pygmy puffs sure do have interesting eating habits," William agreed with a tiny smile, listening to her second answer too. "So the fight vs. flight instincts of a creature factor into its level of danger, I would say that's a fair analysis. Situations have an impact too, good!"
She had met acromantulas, dragons, kappas, and a sphinx....?! "Were you in danger in any of those situations, Arya? Why don't you tell us how you reacted to those creatures."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Walrus The Pygmy puffs, trav could care less about. Mister Professor was speaking about DANGEROUS CREATURES! Fun!
Travis thought for a second composing his words carefully. He always wanted to speak as fluently as possible... especially when he since he seemed to stumble over his words when he got supper excited about a certain topic.
Breath...
Trav then raised his hand. "Well, sir." he started, his answer was going to be complete and scholarly. "If they're big and go RAAAWWRRR!" Trav demonstrated large claws with his hands waving them fiercely, and stomping his feet. "...Then they are scary and icky, and if they are scary then they must be bad... and bad things are always mean and dangerous."
Not that Travis minded, he loved big scary icky slime monsters... they could be all cuddly sometimes. Fighting back a laugh at the way the mustached kid was going all RAWRRR on Willy, the professor simply tilted his head at the boy. "But not all scary things are bad and dangerous, right, and not all mean things are scary. For example," his voice suddenly got louder, "Professor Scabior is a mean person, but is he scary? Not in the slightest." The man was all talk and no action. "So that doesn't mean he's dangerous. Think on this in relation to our discussion on creatures." He winked at the kid.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gabrielle Glenn raised her hand, "Well- I found that my Pygmy Puff was actually a... well a girl not a boy." But the pygmy puff still remained with the boys name that she had first given him. She had liked her pygmy puff, maybe slightly less than everyone else had liked there's. Cats were more interesting to Glenn; they did much more stuff.
Now, to the second question. She knew a quite bit about this one, kinda. Living on the edge of Sherwood Forest gave you some knowledge about the creepy creatures that resided there. "A dangerous creature would be an animal that could hurt a witch or wizard or a magical creature that could show itself and harm muggles." Like a dragon or something creepy and big like that; like the stuff that resided in the forbidden forest. William chuckled a bit at that question too. "Well that's good to know..." At least the puff wouldn't be insulted by being called by the wrong gender now. Heh. "I'm glad you brought up Muggles, actually, we'll be talking about them shortly. Thanks, Glenn."
It looked like about everyone had spoken, so, time for the next question then! "All right, so, we've talked about what makes creatures dangerous, things like: Can an average wizard handle them? Are they irrational and unpredictable? Are you encountering them in a sticky situation where they might feel threatened and want to fight? Or are you just projecting your own fear and loathing on the creature?"
He stood up then and again looked off into the forest as if waiting for something. "When you come face-to-face with a dangerous creature like some of the ones we're going to see today, you should ask yourself those questions as well as a few others. What do you think your first move should be when you find, say, a blast-ended skrewt coming up the path toward your house?"
Williamson was curious to see their reactions to such a scenario, particularly since he thought he had heard something about a few students actually being IN such a scenario.....
__________________
yeah, there's one thing about me that you should know________________________________
__________________________________________that I can't help from speaking my mind |