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I envision a department that not only cleans up misplaced culture but also inaccurate cultural representation that doesn't involve misplacement as well (e.g. onigiri being confused with sushi).

What about the Bad Role-Play Department's Bad Quizzes Division? Has anyone ever written for that, and what would a mission in that Division look like, I wonder?

--Ls

Maybe call it "Cultural Misplacement" or something?

--Ls

For me, I think it would be amusing to have a Peony, a Cotton Rose (because it changes color; I suggested this many threads ago) or even a Rafflesia.

Exclusively dealing with bad cultural depictions. It can have a Weeaboo Division. Don't know what its agents would be called.

I feel like telling the Pyros to deal with something as abstract as "culture" is asking for trouble, myself; like everything else around here, it will end in fire. Which is fine when it's "uncanonical location", but the sort of fires you get when dealing with "that person shouldn't use that term" can be a bit... messy.

Are we positive this isn't what Madame Orchid has been up to all these years? I know the Handbook says the Department of Culture is defunct, but one does hear rumours... not Kayleigh's one about Madame Orchid being the same Orchid as the Nightshade's friend who reportedly died during the "Crashing Down" invasions, I'm sure I'd know if that were the case, but it's been a long time since I met anyone who actually knows what's going on down in the basements.

~T

((I mean, we've got a Department of Culture, and an idea for a Department to deal with Culture... what's not to like? Agent Laurel of the "Phantom of the Opera Department" operated out of the basements back in my 'Woodsprite' mission, so they could have just been down there the entire time, slowly expanding their remit to become the "leave other cultures alone" department. Phantoms of the PPC, so to speak, though I know a few actual ghosts in the place who might object to that. ~hS))

Back in 1999, the UK almost entirely missed its last total eclipse due to heavy cloud cover. I was outside the area of totality, but close enough for an extreme partial with decent weather. It was surreal. All the seagulls came down to roost. I hope to see a similar partial in 2026; a total UK eclipse won't come again until 2090.

The sun goes dark. Photos of the event show cracks of light running through the surface of the moon. They are dismissed as artefacts of the cameras.

The sun goes dark. The old gods are dead. The priests scramble to name the new gods who will rise in their place.

The sun goes dark. We were promised it was over, but the sun goes dark and we hear the whispers again.

The sun goes dark. Everyone on Earth finally gets a good night's sleep.

hS

so the Weeaboo/Fangirl Japanese Division can be part of it.

If the Department takes on Japanese culture where it doesn't belong, a la Kiacstu, though that sounds more like a Division-level operation.

--Ls

Department of Weeabooism, headed by the Yamato Nadeshiko (Dianthus superbus)

But one of the trees in my backyard makes a very good pinhole projector.
The sun goes dark, and the people of Garmund march around the city walls, singing.
The sun goes dark, and the wind blows cold over the black sky. The queen gives birth to a son who does not cry. When he grows up, he doesn't speak either. He becomes a great mage.

What a lovely interlude. Very funny, and it establishes Mega and Lindell's personalities and dynamics very well. I really enjoyed, and I hope to see more from you soon! Some favorite lines:

Last week in fact, her internal clock had informed her that it was Monday three days in a row.

snrk

On the other hand, that meant that they’d never get back to her RC. Surely there was some balance in between…

Naughty, naughty Meg.

Now for some minor SPaG nitpicking:

There's an extra space before

Meg didn’t like that. The last time she’d had a message was when Upstairs had unanimously decided to put a Power Limiter on her.

Even in human form, Meg could still smile like only a demon could.

Perhaps just "could still smile like a demon."?

“I don’t do “nice”,” Meg returned,

Double quotations use apostrophes.

“Right, rookie, this is the RC.” She got her laughter under control and opened the door.

Quotations end in commas when they're before prose.

“Like I said, I don’t do “nice”.” She looked up at him, raising her eyebrow.

Comma, and quotation marks.

--Ls liked Carlisle's cameo

Again

hS

“. . . the school’s tendency to read romantic interest into even the most innocuous of things.” I can’t remember if I commented on this in an earlier year or not, but yeah. Raising children with this overemphasis on romantic pair-ups leads them to view every aspect of life through a romantic lens. It’s unhealthy in so many ways! It can lead to Draco’s situation, where he feels so obligated to seek a Bond that it affects his ability to form natural, casual relationships; it can lead to the misinterpretations with Harry and Hermione in first year, leading to teasing and public embarrassment; it can erasure of nonnormative relationships, like Liu/Jacques/Jenni’s, as well as of ace/aro folks choosing to abstain from relationships; and it can lead people to deemphasize other aspects of life, like schoolwork and social progress. Good thing we don’t see an overemphasis on romantic relationships in real world media, leading other types of relationships to get viewed as lesser by comparison! . . . >_>

Speaking of the real world, I see Umbridge has reached the “we need to segregate board games because girls like me are too dumb to compete with boys” stage of self-hurting TERFy feminism! Good for her, I’m sure all her female friends and relatives are so proud of her achievement. On the emotionally opposite end of chess, I adore the scene you wrote of Luna and Ginny playing Fanfiction Chess against each other. I was only able to read it in chunks, because I kept having to stop and laugh! “My king is full of hubris,” indeed. Also loved the quote from Qiu’s (dad/grandpa?) that “. . . winning distracts you from playing the game . . . rankings and prizes will only distract you from what you need to be doing . . .” Aside from being objectively true, this also has a tie with real world transphobia, and the accusation that kids are transitioning “just to win a medal.” Kids just want to have fun with each other; it’s the parents who are being weird about who gets the medal!

Qiu is such a well-written character, you’ve made her into such a supportive figure for Harry! Maybe it’s just that I haven’t read canon in so long, but my impression of Cho is that she was yet another schoolgirl character that doesn’t rise up to Rowling’s exacting standards of Good Female, and gets treated awfully by the narrative as a result. I like that Qiu is still clearly and understandably heartbroken over Cedric, but it isn’t turning into her only personality trait, and she can still have functional conversations with Harry about other topics, even doing her best to offer him advice, rather than needing him as an emotional crutch.

Oh look, overt, on-page proof that amab mages can absolutely store magic in their hair! Almost as though the insistence that witches exist to be magic banks for their husbands to withdraw power from is socially constructed or something, weird!

Ha ha, get cupboarded, idiot! See you in like five chapters, Cormac!

Aaaaaaaaaaah at last, the title gets referenced! I’ve been wondering of the title’s significance all year. I was expecting it to be some misogynistic old Avalonian fable (“Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Lady Polixenes the Wise?”), but it seems the lady is someone a bit more contemporary to out heroes! An antiauthoritarian someone, who places value on education and free reading materials, and doesn’t respect the social privileges of the Circle. Someone who’s willing to spend time doing further writing work after their homework is finished. Anyway, can’t wait to read the next chapter of “Lord Harry Potter and the Whispers of Hermione Granger.” Bye!

—doctorlit learned the slang word “skint” today

I think I remember seeing her mentioned back when I discussed creating a Flower to head the Troll division. I don't remember reading the stories she's in, but that might well be a good idea to read them.

--Ls

I'm not going to Fandom on mobile (and yes I know it's time for that conversation again), but what about Madam Orchid? IIRC she headed the "Department of Culture," which had to do with Phantom of the Opera and other Victorian settings. There wasn't much written about it or her, but I think there might have been something about her being, not a slave of fashion perhaps, but a phan fan?

Okay, stopping with the PotO jokes now. {= )

~Neshomeh

I'm not in totality, but at least there will be a partial eclipse.

I'm not in the path of totality, but I am going to see the partial eclipse in a few hours.

--Ls