Fandom Discussion: Parselsmut, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme

[themostepotente]

Parselsmut -- sounds like it could be a spice, doesn't it?

What prompted this discussion was my finding hd_parseltongue, modded by cmere1. My only complaint with the community is that it's strictly Harry/Draco. I would have preferred a broader spectrum of characters, but it is a nice little foray into Parselsmut.

On to the discussion...

I've always found Harry's speaking Parseltongue interesting. It's an intriguing (though rare we are told) gift, and so far only Harry, Voldemort, and Salazar Slytherin have been named Parselmouths. That, I find disappointing. And unlike Animagus study, I gathered it was either something you were born with or weren't.

Now, I understand Rowling has wanted to illustrate its rarity. I can't see her giving this to just anyone. I mean I just can't see a Badger speaking Parseltongue, even though I keep hoping Hufflepuff will bore at least 'one' evil entity. *G* But Lucius and Severus? I could see either of them as being a Parselmouth and still keeping the gift a rare one.

Lucius is the epitome of a viper. Everything about this man screams ophidian, and okay my sick and perverted mind would love to see Harry and Lucius sparring in Parseltongue during the fuckage.

And c'mon, Severus is the fucking denmaster of Slytherin. If you looked up Slytherin in the dictionary, his picture would be there. It makes A LOT of sense for him to be a Parselmouth.

Couple other points. Wouldn't Parseltongue have been an effective method of communication between Voldemort and his Death Eaters? He could've sent a shitload of communiques, and hello, who the fuck would've translated them 'before' Harry Potter?

I'm also wondering if it's possible for Voldemort to transfer this power again, only this time willingly.

Any thoughts? Leave 'em here. Parselsmut recs? Likewise.

--P

Comments

[artimusdin.livejournal.com]

On a slightly related note, is it even POSSIBLE to write parseltongue out? I mean, what would it look like? "Hiss, hisssses hisshisss." And going with that theme, if it was possible, how would it be taught when there's such an age gap and moralistic differences between those that can speak it?

And really, Severus speaking parseltongue? Would SO mean instant orgasm for me. Especially if it were Rickman!Severus with that lovely, lovely voice of his.

[shaldana.livejournal.com]

Oh, gods... that is just a wet dream. AR's voice speaking Parseltongue? Kryst on a stick in stilletos...

[cravache.livejournal.com]

Just the thought of Rickman!Snape's voice makes me want to cream my pants. And that is not right. I mean, I go to watch HP in a cinema full of kids and my seat gets wet.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

On a slightly related note, is it even POSSIBLE to write parseltongue out?

Maybe the written form is comprised of symbols or characters?

oooooooooooh.

[hogwartsgenius.livejournal.com]

Thinking of Alan Rickman speaking parseltongue just gave me shivers. The good kind.

[shaychana.livejournal.com]

Harry and Lucius sparring in Parseltongue during the fuckage

*whimperwibble* that line shorted out whatever intelligent comment that was fizzing in the brain previously.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

Sorry! It is a lovely thought though, innit?

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

Don't forget Herpo the Foul! :D

The first recorded Basilisk was bred by Herpo the Foul, a Greek Dark wizard and Parselmouth, who discovered after much experimentation that a chicken egg hatched beneath a toad would produce a giant serpent possessed of extraordinarily dangerous powers.

[...]

Herpo the Foul's Basilisk is believed to have lived close on nine hundred years.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

It wasn't 'Herpo the Cold Sore?'

I stand corrected :P

What up with the Olsen twins? *snickers*

[goldennotblonde.livejournal.com]

It's been a while since I read CoS, but the reaction Harry got when it came out that he was a parselmouth was not exactly friendly. In light of this view of parselmouths, I think that other people who have this gift would try to keep mum about it, especially a politician like Lucius. If people with it didn't tell, it could feasibly (and I'm probably really reaching here) be not so 'rare' as people think.

Animagi are supposed to be so rare, but there are only seven registered this century. We know of four unregistered in the last score of years or so, and these only those who Harry knows about.

Both abilities lose some of their tactical value if they are not kept secret, so I think the Wizarding perception their of rarity could be rather skewed.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

I think you may be on to something there. Werewolves certainly keep (or try to anyway) their lycanthropy a secret.

[ankhutenshi.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think for Lucius (and Draco, for that matter) it's very much a matter of jealousy that Harry CAN speak Parseltongue and they can't. I mean, if anyone was deserving of that rare gift (in their eyes) it'd certainly be the Malfoy family.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

Actually, I think for Lucius (and Draco, for that matter) it's very much a matter of jealousy that Harry CAN speak Parseltongue and they can't. I mean, if anyone was deserving of that rare gift (in their eyes) it'd certainly be the Malfoy family.

And might I just say, I have a real kink for jealous!Draco. *G*

[subliculous.livejournal.com]

But isn't parseltongue only supposed to be heard by the snake and/or another speaker of said language? Why does Snape freak out during the duel scene when harry speaks to the snake, then? Certainly if he only heard it as English, there wouldn't be that much gaping.

[alasandalack.livejournal.com]

alas, but Ron, Hermione and all the little crotch-droppings heard it as well :-/

[mayhap]

To strike off on a tangent, I firmly believe that Dolores Umbridge was a Hufflepuff, even if it's never been confirmed anywhere. When Hufflepuffs go bad, watch out. Scary as all fuck.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

It would explain the pink and the bad fashion sense.

[ook.livejournal.com]

I also had the same complaint about hd_parseltongue...that making it Draco/Harry was much too limited, plus I have zero interest in Draco.

Parseltongue is totally hot, especially when Snape is involved! There's been a few excellent Snape/Harry Parseltongue fics and I'm surprised there's not more. I wonder if there's a way for a person to become a Parselmouth late in life (kind of like a squib suddenly developing magic). I really wish that Snape or just a few other characters were able to speak Parseltongue.

[gmth.livejournal.com]

...plus I have zero interest in Draco.

I knew there was something about you I liked. ;-)

[starkittyn.livejournal.com]

*ties Lucius to a chair, has Severus talk dirty to him, in parseltongue, mwahahahhaha*

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

Mmmmmmm -- top!Severus! *G*

[alasandalack.livejournal.com]

agreed. it would be so expected- especially from them.

[sookail.livejournal.com]

Lucius is the epitome of a viper. Everything about this man screams ophidian, and okay my sick and perverted mind would love to see Harry and Lucius sparring in Parseltongue during the fuckage.

And c'mon, Severus is the fucking denmaster of Slytherin. If you looked up Slytherin in the dictionary, his picture would be there. It makes A LOT of sense for him to be a Parselmouth.

GUH!fjsjkrjghruighlasfjelgajhs
Well, it is kind of too much to give any coherent comment with that mental image...

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

I promise I'll restrain myself next time. *G*

[jateshi.livejournal.com]

One problem illustrated by anyone but Harry or Voldemort being a Parseltongue is the (as disclosed so far) link between being a Parseltongue and being a descendant of Salazar. The point is made in Chamber of Secrets that because Lord Voldemort is of the direct Slytherin line, he has the ability and through the slight transfer of powers and abilities due to his scar, so does Harry.

From that assumption, it would stand to reason that there could possibly be only a single family that carries the genes. From the bloodlines revealed in Chamber of Secrets also, it is shown that Voldemort is the last of the Slytherin line (since it was from his mother's side and his mother died with the information from Albus batty old codger giving infrence that all other members of the Slytherin line were gone as well) and with him being the last no others carrying the ability.

There's also quite a large mention of the association between the Dark Arts and Parseltongue - "all Dark Wizards" are commonly considered Slytherins, by the prejudice. Add in to that the ancient associations of serpents with only the powers of 'darkness' and what is a wizard who can speak to a snake? Why they would have to be the most vile human to have ever existed - they're of Slytherin's bloodline *and* they can talk to snakes?! Le gasp! When Harry first shows his Parseltongue skills, the resulting uproar and problems are so severe that entire Houses of Hogwarts shun him - it's a deep-rooted and likely old association in Wizarding Society that we just haven't been told of yet.

One element that makes it very unique for it to be only Harry and Voldemort using Parseltongue as always relates back to Harry's original Sorting. If the ability is primarily Slytherin, signs of it in another House would undermine the authority or perhaps the perceptions. Now, since it's Harry, it's a bit more understandable - he *is* Harry Potter. But the fact of the matter is instead of being revered and respected because of his talent - as he wouild in Slytherin, where the idea of what Snape might do with someone who could control and speak to serpents makes me go "Runespoors have incredibly potent eggs for potions" - he is instead hiding it constantly. Voldemort could very well have gone around showing off his skills because it would have garnered him acceptance and followers inside of his House - Gryffindor is the opposite.

Ooooh bugger, I should go back to work on my paper. >> But if only Severus or Lucius could speak Parseltongue...

...I'd pay good money to hear it. *.*

[gwendolen.livejournal.com]

From that assumption, it would stand to reason that there could possibly be only a single family that carries the genes.

But marriages over the century would spread this gene into other families and parseltongue should creep up in families related to the Slytherins. It's never said that Riddle is a direct descendant. He could just as well be a cousin of a minor line or something. Maybe there are more people around who are related in some way to Slytherin but the exact relations got lost over the centuries. Which doesn't make much sense when we consider how closely the purebloods seem to monitor their bloodlines and that 1000 years isn't that long a time. Especially not for the long-lived wizarding folk.

[elfflame]

Okay, first: Alan Rickman Snape speaking in Parseltongue = me melting and going incoherent.

I do agree that the HD_Parseltongue community is a bit closed off. Maybe it should have just been a Parseltongue community. Though I would imagine that it would still have a huge H/D presence, given that a large number of stories out there mention it.

I can see people hiding this talent, because of the stigma attatched. Can you imagine some lowly Hufflepuff discovering one day that he can talk to snakes? He's certainly not going to tell anyone. A Slytherin might, because they'd just see it as another form of power, but anyone from the other houses would be horrified, and not use it at all, if they could.

I don't think it's a Slytherin-line only talent, however, because Dumbledore says that Slytherin liked students who had that talent. It also suggests to me that at one time, perhaps, it was a more common talent...

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

I can see people hiding this talent, because of the stigma attatched. Can you imagine some lowly Hufflepuff discovering one day that he can talk to snakes? He's certainly not going to tell anyone. A Slytherin might, because they'd just see it as another form of power, but anyone from the other houses would be horrified, and not use it at all, if they could.

Ha ha -- lowly. I take it you're not a Hufflepuff fan either? *G*

[florahart]

Not a rec, but you know I wrote a big ol' long parselsmut thing a year ago? in bits and pieces. In my memories. It's quite ridiculous; basically, anyone who hears Harry go off hissing goes instantly glassy-eyed screw-everything-else horny. Much with orgies, basically. I do not claim it is high art, BTW. Just porn.

:D

I didn't ever hear the term parselsmut before that, so it's possible marks and I invented it chatting about the thing, but I have no definitive data there.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

I do not claim it is high art, BTW. Just porn.

You say this like it's a bag thing. *G*

What's it listed under in your memories?

here from the Snitch...

[melannen.livejournal.com]

>>I'm also wondering if it's possible for Voldemort to transfer this power again, only this time willingly.

But he *did* transfer the power willingly. In canon. And we do have another person who has canonically spoken parseltongue. Nobody ever remembers Ginny.

And let me tell you, Ginny parselsmut is *hot*. Too bad I'm the only person who's ever written it that I know of.

Re: here from the Snitch...

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

I'm not a huge fan of Ginny Weasley, but now that you mention it...

Did she actually speak it? Could you possibly leave a direct quote? I've only read CoS once.

[cmere.livejournal.com]

Sigh. Yeah, someone over at harrydraco said something about making a comm for H/D parseltongue fics, so I did. Afterwards, I thought hmm. Maybe I should've made hp_parseltongue instead.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't get me wrong -- the commm is great!

And about hp_parseltongue? If you build it, I will totally pimp it. *G*

[nataliadarimini.livejournal.com]

I *love* parseltongue, but what I'd really, really like is for there to be different flavours of people who can talk to animals. Like if Rowena Ravenclaw could talk to birds or something. Though, actually, the owls seem to understand what is said to them, and the tropical birds that Sirius used to send his letters. Hmmm. I guess I need to pick another one. Maybe Helga Hufflepuff could secretly speck the hidden language of Badgers. Though that one is just kind of sad. I need to write a Mary Sue that can speak to guinea pigs and fancy hamsters.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

I've always thought that the Acromantulas should have a language all their own, and that the dementors would have some form of verbal communication.

How else would Voldemort have swayed them?

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

The be the nasty, cold voice of reason... since snakes can't hear airborne sounds, Parseltongue can't be an ordinary spoken language. It may sound like hissing (oh so sexy hissing!) to the human ear, but there would have to be a magical component to it for it to be understood by serpents. You couldn't just study it like Latin.

It may not be as tricky as the Animagus transformation, but if you aren't born with the gift, it's got to be a difficult process, likely involving spells, rituals, and a very patient test subject. You don't want to accidentally say "Your mother mates out of season" to a fifteen foot reticulated python.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

I could see Parseltongue being phonetic like Tolkien's languages.

Pity Rowling didn't develop it more. I mean, if it was important enough to further the story in CoS, we're likely to hear more of it.

[fer-de-lance.livejournal.com]

'Parselsmut' doesn't sound so much like a spice as like a fungus which infects parsley. Rather the herbal equivalent of wheatsmut.

Hmm, does it induce hallucinations? :D

[notrafficlights.livejournal.com]

I was always under the impression that Harry's Parseltongue talent came from his brush with Voldemort, so I like to entertain the idea that Ginny possibly gained the talent after her first year at school and her rather... close connection with Tom Riddle (y'know, the whole "sucking the life force out of you" thing could have gone back the other way when Harry stabbed the diary, thus transferring some of his talents back to Ginny).

But yeah, it defies all real reality about snake's hearing, so I think there's an extremely strong magic component to it, which is why Ginny is a possibility with me.

[alyndra]

We should go on a search for likeminded individuals and form a community. :) And write fic, too!