Random Stuff VI The Return of the Admins

[Allomancy she/her]

Dear Pottermore, 

 

I do not care about Quidditch. 

 

I do not want to know more about Gobstones. I do not stay up late at night, wondering about the history of Scottish rugby. 

 

Do you know what does keep me up at night? 

 

Whether or not Muggle explosives could destroy a Horcrux! 

 

Please, host an AMA so this question can be answered promptly. Do it, Ms. Rowling. The world needs to know.

I wasn't wondering about it before, but NOW I AM.

[Kobold King he/him]

I wasn't wondering about it before, but NOW I AM.

 

 

The key is to destroy a Horcrux beyond repair by magical means. If the Horcrux survives the blast mostly intact, albeit partially melted and cracked, an eleven year-old school girl could fix it with a simple Reparo. Self-reassembly would be child's play for the dark wizard's soul.

 

You'd need to make sure the Horcrux lies at the epicenter of an explosion powerful enough for the Horcrux to be blasted completely apart. As a rule of thumb, the explosion needs to render the Horcrux completely unrecognizable, and then the pieces need to be heavily damaged as well.

 

The boundary lies somewhere between a frag grenade and an atomic bomb.

[Mestiv he/him]

Dear Pottermore,

I do not care about Quidditch.

I do not want to know more about Gobstones. I do not stay up late at night, wondering about the history of Scottish rugby.

Do you know what does keep me up at night?

Whether or not Muggle explosives could destroy a Horcrux!

Please, host an AMA so this question can be answered promptly. Do it, Ms. Rowling. The world needs to know.

An atomic bomb literally evaporates everything near it, so I guess it would destroy a horecrux. I don't know about dynamite or other weaker explosives...

I wonder how termite would work on a horecrux...

Edited January 4, 2016 by Mestiv

[Kobold King he/him]

An atomic bomb literally evaporates everything near it, so I guess it would destroy a horecrux. I don't know about dynamite or other weaker explosives...

I wonder how termite would work on a horecrux...

 

 

The speed at which Horcruxes repair themselves is also an important--and unknown--variable. For instance, if you put one in a vat of acid, would it be able to self-repair faster than it could be dissolved?

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

The AMA would be too clogged with "Did Snape have pictures of Lily in his house?" * sniff sniff * for any of our questions to be answered.

 

Another reason to love the hardcore Sanderfans.  

 

An atomic bomb literally evaporates everything near it, so I guess it would destroy a horecrux. I don't know about dynamite or other weaker explosives...

I wonder how termite would work on a horecrux...

 

With dynamite, I think you'd need a lot of it—so much that using it isn't really worthwhile. It'd be really helpful if we knew exactly how powerful Fiendfyre is—what its rough Muggle equivalent might be, its level of devastation if allowed to burn unchecked, its effect on not only humans but its surrounding environment, etc. 

 

Horcruxes probably actively repel termites, so I don't think they're a problem. 

 

I wasn't wondering about it before, but NOW I AM.

 

Glad to help.  

[Kobold King he/him]

With dynamite, I think you'd need a lot of it—so much that using it isn't really worthwhile. It'd be really helpful if we knew exactly how powerful Fiendfyre is—what its rough Muggle equivalent might be, its level of devastation if allowed to burn unchecked, its effect on not only humans but its surrounding environment, etc. 

 

Horcruxes probably actively repel termites, so I don't think they're a problem. 

 

 

Fiendfyre isn't dangerous to a Horcrux because of its power, per se. The simple fact that the protagonists were able to be around it proves that it's a lot less potent than strong Muggle explosives. Fiendfyre can destroy a Horcrux because of its strongly dark magical nature, which suspends the Horcrux's ability to repair itself.

 

This is also why basilisk venom is as useful as it is. Basilisk venom is a lot less potent than the venoms of some Australian plants and jellyfish, but somehow I doubt throwing a Horcrux into a tank of box jellyfish would do much good.

 

Magic, not power, is the key.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Fiendfyre isn't dangerous to a Horcrux because of its power, per se. The simple fact that the protagonists were able to be around it proves that it's a lot less potent than strong Muggle explosives. Fiendfyre can destroy a Horcrux because of its strongly dark magical nature, which suspends the Horcrux's ability to repair itself.

 

This is also why basilisk venom is as useful as it is. Basilisk venom is a lot less potent than the venoms of some Australian plants and jellyfish, but somehow I doubt throwing a Horcrux into a tank of box jellyfish would do much good.

 

Magic, not power, is the key.

 

That makes sense, given the fact that a Horcrux is impossible to create without strong dark magic. Sort of a Mount-Doom-and-One-Ring dichotomy—it can only be destroyed by the magic from whence it came, is the vibe I'm getting. 

 

On the other hand, the level of devastation some Muggle weapons can cause makes me wonder if they would be useful against something like a Horcrux. Would it depend on the vessel used for the Horcrux? 

 

Deathly Hallows spoilers, in case anyone cares: 

 

I don't remember if it's implied or stated, but a Killing Curse wouldn't have destroyed non-living, non-sapient Horcruxes like the locket or the diadem. However, Neville was able to destroy Nagini with the Sword of Gryffindor, and the Horcrux in Harry's head was destroyed with a simple Killing Curse. So I wonder: If you shot a sapient Horcrux with a large enough caliber bullet, would the Horcrux be destroyed as well? Not a basic self-defense round, like a .9mm or a .38, but a 30.06 or larger. Would that be enough, or would it have to be magical means?

Edited January 4, 2016 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Kobold King he/him]

That makes sense, given the fact that a Horcrux is impossible to create without strong dark magic. Sort of a Mount-Doom-and-One-Ring dichotomy—it can only be destroyed by the magic from whence it came, is the vibe I'm getting. 

 

On the other hand, the level of devastation some Muggle weapons can cause makes me wonder if they would be useful against something like a Horcrux. Would it depend on the vessel used for the Horcrux? 

 

Deathly Hallows spoilers, in case anyone cares: 

 

I don't remember if it's implied or stated, but a Killing Curse wouldn't have destroyed non-living, non-sapient Horcruxes like the locket or the diadem. However, Neville was able to destroy Nagini with the Sword of Gryffindor, and the Horcrux in Harry's head was destroyed with a simple Killing Curse. So I wonder: If you shot a sapient Horcrux with a large enough caliber bullet, would the Horcrux be destroyed as well? Not a basic self-defense round, like a .9mm or a .38, but a 30.06 or larger. Would that be enough, or would it have to be magical means?

 

 

Harry nearly died multiple times in the series, and at no point did the regenerative properties of the Horcrux inside him help him recover. That's probably why dark wizards don't usually make Horcruxes out of living things--a living Horcrux has all the vulnerabilities of the original creature and none of the strengths.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Harry nearly died multiple times in the series, and at no point did the regenerative properties of the Horcrux inside him help him recover. That's probably why dark wizards don't usually make Horcruxes out of living things--a living Horcrux has all the vulnerabilities of the original creature and none of the strengths.

 

Harry was an accident….which doesn't explain why Voldemort created another living Horcrux on purpose with Nagini. Maybe he just thought it'd look cool? I don't know.

[Kobold King he/him]

Harry was an accident….which doesn't explain why Voldemort created another living Horcrux on purpose with Nagini. Maybe he just thought it'd look cool? I don't know.

 

 

Voldemort had already made more Horcruxes than any other dark wizard in history and wanted to keep the bits of his soul at a round seven. He felt a rather... bizarre affection for Nagini, and probably felt his immortality was secure enough for him to be a bit frivolous with #7. It's well established that overconfidence is a dark lord's greatest weakness.

Edited January 4, 2016 by Kobold King

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Voldemort had already made more Horcruxes than any other dark wizard in history and wanted to keep the bits of his soul at a round seven. He felt a rather... bizarre affection for Nagini, and probably felt his immortality was secure enough for him to be a bit frivolous with #7. It's well established that overconfidence is a dark lord's greatest weakness.

 

I still like to think alcohol was involved.

[Kobold King he/him]

I still like to think alcohol was involved.

 

 

Must have been quite the terrifying night for Wormtail.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Must have been quite the terrifying night for Wormtail.

 

"My….um…my lord?" 

"Wha?" 

"I, um, I feel obliged to inform you—no judgements!—that you've already had six beers, three martinis, and fifteen shots of whiskey." 

"So? Imma Dark Lord. I can handles it." 

"But—" 

"You wanna be a puddle, Wormtail?" 

"No, but—" 

"Puddletail. What we'd call you. Heh." 

"But, my lord—" 

"No 'buts' or you lose yours!" 

"But…but… but I'm your designated driver…."

[+Slowswift]

Voldemort had already made more Horcruxes than any other dark wizard in history and wanted to keep the bits of his soul at a round seven. He felt a rather... bizarre affection for Nagini, and probably felt his immortality was secure enough for him to be a bit frivolous with #7. It's well established that overconfidence is a dark lord's greatest weakness.

 

Since the Dark Lord was "so clever", it's possible he came across the same problems but decided to do it anyways because "nobody will suspect a snake of all things!!1!"

[Mailliw73 he/him]

Why do you guys get the best covers?

Seriously. I think that the SA covers are the only American ones I like. Oh, and Steelheart's original one. The cosmere got its cool covers elsewhere in the world.

[Kaymyth she/her]

A publisher here in Poland is heavily investing in Sanderson book right now, and is going to release one Sanderson book every two months for some time They are currently releasing Alloy of Law and the Shadows of Self might come out in two months. I didn't feel like starting a whole new topic, but I wonder what you all think about those covers?

 

Alloy of Law

 

Shadows of Self

 

 

They are very well composed with the covers chosen for the first era books, that were released in the past few months:

 

 

 

 

I can't wait to see what covers they'll choose for Elantris anniversary edition and Warbreaker...

I wonder if they consider Alcatraz...

 

Those...those costumes...so many delicious fabric textures...*thud*

 

But for cryin' out loud, somebody take that gorram shotgun out of Wayne's hands before he hurts himself.

[Kobold King he/him]

Those...those costumes...so many delicious fabric textures...*thud*

 

But for cryin' out loud, somebody take that gorram shotgun out of Wayne's hands before he hurts himself.

 

 

I don't get how he's holding a shotgun at all. He should be shaking like the Flash on caffeine.

[Kaymyth she/her]

I don't get how he's holding a shotgun at all. He should be shaking like the Flash on caffeine.

 

It's a carryover from the US cover.  Brandon's acknowledged that it's a problem, but wanted a gun on the cover and Wax's hands were too low and out of the shot.  He said to just pretend like Wayne was carrying it for Wax.

 

But this cover clearly shows Wax carrying a revolver, so that dang thing isn't even necessary anymore.  And he still has his finger in the trigger guard!

[SmurfAquamarineBodies he/him]

Just started watching 'Lectures by Walter Lewin' on youtube. It's a physics lecture and I now remember why I disliked physics in school. My brain hurts.

[Kestrel she/her]

My cat is afraid of my fish tank

Ironic

[Delightful]

My cat is afraid of my fish tank

Ironic

Edited January 4, 2016 by Delightful

[Zathoth]

My cat is afraid of my fish tank

Ironic

Fish tank

 

Why didnt I think of this before

 

Of course

 

Fish tank

 

Lark you are a genius

[Kestrel she/her]

Fish tank

 

Why didnt I think of this before

 

Of course

 

Fish tank

 

Lark you are a genius

what did i do

[Mashadar Mistborn he/him]

what did i do

I'm not sure, but I really want to find out.

[Kestrel she/her]

Yeah I know.