Yes I’m A Mess

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oh my god YES

I can see confusing them at first glance, but describing them as the same?

Um, weird. Not the same personality. Not at all.

Haymitch from The Hunger Games is an ISTP. An old, battered one, but one nevertheless. Katniss is an ISTJ. Look at the difference.

He skillfully came out on top and won his Hunger Games. How did he do it? Logic and gut instinct. When he’s not drinking, Haymitch is a good strategist, able to look ahead and come up with a course of action. He quickly assesses situations and senses their true meaning. He fixes his gaze on a goal and works toward it – and he’s constantly reminding Katniss to BE PERSONABLE and MAKE THE CROWD LIKE YOU. He understands the fundamental need to be liked and of what use it is in getting help in the arena in a way she doesn’t comprehend, because she has no inner need to BE liked. 

Katniss is more the take-charge type. You get in there, you get it done. You pick the most logical course of action and go for it. She has inferior Ne causing problems for her too – fears about the uncertain outcome of things, about the future and what havoc change will wreak on the districts. And her lack of Fe means she comes across as cold and impersonal in her interviews, despite a bunch of prompting from other people to smile and be warm. Fi ISN’T cold, but it LOOKS cold because it’s not externally visible.

Or, hey, let’s try another pairing… from the new Lone Ranger movie. The Lone Ranger says, “There’s a proper way of doing things.” Tonto laughs in his face. The Lone Ranger is careful. Tonto isn’t. The Lone Ranger refuses to carry a gun because it violates his internal belief system (Fi). Tonto finds that stupid. The Lone Ranger is objectively logical and stumped by big problems. Tonto creatively thinks his way out of any situation he is in. The Lone Ranger is businesslike in his demeanor. Tonto is… not.

Both logical. Both good at getting things done. But one is more rigid and settled in his ways than the other, and the other is far more mystical and pulled toward a singular purpose. 

Hufflepuff: Fe, Si

Slytherin: Te, Ni

Gryffindor: Fi, Se

Both the questions and the official descriptions, while helpful, are indeed vague. It always helps me to ‘see’ a House (or anything else) in ‘action’ in an actual person or a fictional character, in order for me to wrap my head around what someone of that House ‘looks like.’ They had a great many examples on their tumblr page until it was accidentally deleted / purged which helped me -- you kind of need to think about what each House values and represents, and then see them in a character that manifests those traits. Which is what I try to do when I write up my ‘Sorting’ posts (on my blog, previously linked) -- show how this character differs and how they might disagree with someone from another House, because of their primary focus.

But all of that is rather abstract too, isn’t it? ;)

Bottom line. Are you a Katniss Everdeen or a Luke Skywalker?

When you consider Slytherin, think about Katniss. What is her #1 priority in life? Her sister, Prim. She volunteers as Tribute so her sister does not have to go into the arena. She is willing to run off with Prim and Gale (another “chosen” family member) into the woods, and let the rest of society fend for itself, because at least her prioritized people, those to whom she is most loyal, would be safe. Katniss cares nothing for most of the other Tributes, but she adopts Rue in the arena, because Rue reminds her of Prim. She hunts for Prim. She tolerates the big orange cat that she hates for Prim. She does everything... for Prim, and later, for Peeta, once she has invited him into her small circle of ‘caring.’

For Slytherins, it’s MY people. MY family. MY city. MY country. It’s possessive, and personal, and it would gut them not to feel a sense of responsibility to prioritize THEIR people. If they were on their way to help a friend or a sibling and they ignored someone stuck in the ditch that tried to flag them down, there would be no guilt, because My People Come First. Always. That’s how they are wired. If this is only a ‘Model,’ it will be dropped like a hot potato the minute things get rough, and the person will feel no guilt. But the Slytherin would feel enormous guilt at not putting their people FIRST.

The Ravenclaw is not a loyalist house, but an idealist house. The Jedi Code is a perfect example of a Ravenclaw system -- it asks the Jedi to abandon their own instinctual feelings and gut impulses and live according to a set of high idealistic rules. Their expectations are lofty and their chosen system is something they live by, because they have created or adopted it to take the place of emotionalism. The Ravenclaw might craft ‘it is good to defend and prioritize one’s family’ into their system, but it would come from a place of intellect more than emotion. Luke Skywalker is a good example of this -- of a man who chooses to live by the Code of the Jedi, but who also crafts and shapes it more to his own form. Luke, being a compassionate individual, adds such things as love and mercy to his own version of the Code. And he lives that out. Kylo Ren is also another Ravenclaw, who is rejecting his own emotions in an attempt to live up to an ideal -- for much of the first two movies, a bad ideal, but a system he believes in (the Dark Side of the Force, and a renouncement of his feelings) and tries to enforce on other people through persuading them to join him (Rey).

Fortunately, being a Ravenclaw also means that when he sees another, better way to be (again, through Rey’s influence and her healing him)... he can discard the old system without a second thought, without guilt, and adopt an entirely new one. That is the skill and talent of the Ravenclaw. To forever be tinkering with what they hold to be true, and what they live by. If they find out their system is flat out wrong, irrational, corrupt, or immoral, most Ravenclaws will abandon it. Like Kylo Ren, they will toss the broken lightsaber into the sea and go build a new one. (The lightsaber being their “I live by these principles.”) These ideals come from the outside and their own tinkering, but they aren’t instinctively felt. Unlike the Slytherin, they do not go by emotions -- they go by what they have chosen to be.

As previously mentioned, I know a Slytherin. She always had a deep abiding affection for Katniss, because she understood her completely. When The Hunger Games first came out, and I was struggling to understand why she liked it so much (I found it incredibly depressing and morbid), she just said, “I would do that for my sister.” Years later, when she was taking the Sorting Hat test, I knew she would come out a Slytherin, because... she is Katniss. But the difference between us was distinctive. She would rush to defend, to protect, to be loyal to, and I would sit back and analyze the situation from a detached viewpoint, ignoring any emotions I might be having in the process... because I am constantly weighing everything against my logical reasoning and my faith. It’s as simple as that. Of course my family comes first, but my faith also says to treat everyone with kindness and “do unto others what you would have them do unto you.” So there is always a push-pull in me between instinct (my family, not MY family) and everyone else, according to my belief system.

Consequently, if you want an idea of what a Hufflepuff looks like, look no further than Rey Skywalker. She may be a little grouchy and standoffish, but she also stands up for and defends... everyone. She has a collective emotional loyalty to the entire human race. She protects BB8. She protects Finn. She attaches herself easily to Han Solo, then to the mission to find Luke, then to the Rebellion, and finally, she even sees the potential for good and healing in Kylo Ren. Everyone is fair in her mind, everyone is equal, it would never occur to her to prioritize a select few over the greater good. Hufflepuff values.

And Leia, of course, is a Gryffindor. Someone who has found her Cause and intends to champion it, and you can come along for the ride or get the hell out of her way. She and Han, a Slytherin, butt heads a lot, because he has no interest in a Cause, until he attaches himself to her. Then her Cause becomes his Cause, in a truly Slytherin fashion -- what matters to My People, matters to me. She trusts her gut and does whatever it tells her to do, and entertains no turning aside for anyone. She will stand alone if she must.

I just finished updating all the Stranger Things posts. You can find all official profiles written by Charity under the #stranger things profile tag.

Here's the full character list (to make it easier to locate your fave or whoever you're curious about):

Eleven (ISFP 9w8)

Mike Wheeler (ENFP 6w7)

Will Byers (ISFJ 9w1)

Dustin Henderson (ENTP 7w6)

Lucas Sinclair (ESTJ 6w5)

Max Mayfield (ISFP 8w9)

Holly Wheeler (INFJ 6w5)

Steve Harrington (ESFP 3w2)

Nancy Wheeler (ENTJ 3w2)

Jonathan Byers (ISFP 9w8)

Robin Buckley (ENTP 7w6)

Joyce Byers (ENFP 6w7)

Jim Hopper (ISTP 8w9)

Henry Creel (INFJ 5w4)

Eddie Munson (ENTP 7w6)

Argyle (ISTP 9w1)

Erica Sinclair (ESTJ 8w7)

Bob Newby (ESFJ 2w1)

Billy Hargrove (ESTP 8w7)

Dr. Martin Brenner (INTJ 5w6)

Murray Bauman (ENTP 5w6)

Bonus: Barbara Holland (ISFJ) (user submission profile)

AND THEN IMAGINE THE SHOW GETS ANOTHER SEASON BUT ITS TALES FROM 86-87 INSTEAD AND WE SEE THE 18 MONTH GAP BETWEENS SEASON 4 AND 5

GIVE ME APOCALYPTIC HAWKINS BEFORE THE MILITARY PUT THE METAL SHEETS DOWN