1. Can a spy snake sneak into an event thread the user might not typically be able to access? (ie I'm a Ravenclaw, can I watch the Slytherin Fight Club)

No, the snake/player would need to have normal access to the area/event. For example, the fight flub members got invitations and went to a chosen location. The Ravenclaw murder thread, the players saw Vladimir leaving their common room. The snake does not grant omnipresence or omniscience.

2. Is the spy snake the snake considered to be the parselmouth's pet or just a random one they called up from the grounds? (I ask because the post states that if the snake if found, the finder may kill it, and if my pet dies, I will be devastated. Also, it wouldn't make much sense because the snake is recognizable as said person's pet)

This was written well before there was any semblance of a pet system and before we knew the limitations (and difficulties) of adding and removing pets. Most pets, that is our cats and owls and rats, have no statistical effect and have no effect on a moderated situation. They are not capable of communicating with their master or being used for a variety of tasks/actions.

The snake would not be -that- easily recognizable but players can put two and two together. With the addition of a single type of snake, one drawn to wizards (parselmouths) it would be obvious that a parselmouth was spying on them. As for which parselmouth, that is hard to say if they know multiple (but werewolves might be able to sniff you out). Parselmouths are not incredibly common of course so they may be able to use logic to figure things out even if they lack a nose for these things. This is so that the learning of things is not one-sided, players can and should be able to try to figure out who is spying on them and this would be an inherent risk of spying on someone - incurring their wrath.

The "killing" of the snake was also before pets were released and we determined the limitations of our system. If they were environmental pests, then yes. Killing it would have been a good option. However, being that these are being upgraded to NPC level basically (making them better than even the average pet which we do not allow the murder of) they would be rendered unconscious/too injured to go on. This is now reflected in the Parselmouth write up.

3. Can a parselmouth walk around campus with a snake the same way a normal wix would with a chat or rat?

Yes, but in character a Professor might say -- "no pets in my classroom" and you might have in character reactions from others. Additionally, this would reveal to others IC that you are a Parselmouth. The reason you have this rare snake would be this skill and the reason you can have it as a pet is because the school is accommodating your skillset. so your dormates would notice the snake. The Professors would be aware you are allowed a snake. You are allowed these things because you can keep it under control in character as evidenced by your skillset.

4. What are the restrictions on snake subspecies? Can we have ball pythons that grow up to 8 ft? How much does rarity play into it (ie can someone have an albino python? Do we have to purchase them like any other pet or can we simply rp finding them (I assume wixes don't sell snakes in pet shops)?

You get the Emerald Gazer. There is no cost to getting this snake as a Parselmouth, merely the year. You still need to roleplay in the pet shop. (I personally recommend a flashback to finding the snake on the grounds and being at the shop to buy some yummy treats for your snake friend).

The snake comes with the race basically. It would not need to be purchased, it is an exclusive to these players. The snake would find them, drawn to their magic as well as their parselmouth lineage. Like all pets, they would need to RP out something, be it getting food for them at the shop and explaining that they got the pet from home, their dad, found at school on the grounds, etc.

5. If this:
[[Having this reflected in the profiles is pending Zach's assistance.]]
happens, will we be limited to the snakes that are coded for or will it be a general "snake" and we get to choose the subspecies?

You get one snake -- the emerald Gazer

6. Do we have to be geographically correct when referencing how we get snakes or which ones we encounter? (ie Red-Bellied blacks are native to australia, but i don't intend on trying to smuggle one back through border control, so could i say i found one in england?)

Yes, you need to be geographically correct when referencing the snakes you encounter on the grounds or wherever you are in character. Remember these snakes would be treated as faceless NPCs.

7. Do snakes exist around the grounds of Hogwarts (like the Campgrounds) that I could interact with? I'd assume yes for character development reasons but maybe not? If so, can i break the geographical locations again? (like having a western coral snake [native to america] in england?)

Yes, you need to be geographically correct when referencing the snakes you encounter on the grounds or wherever you are in character. Remember these snakes would be treated as faceless NPCs. Snakes would live on the grounds but they would be expected to adhere to the faceless NPC standards, meaning that they cannot provide the player with information that they otherwise would not have access to.

8. Can a parselmouth willfully switch between parseltongue and normal speech, even if a snake isn't present? (idk if harry could but it would be nice to be able to)

They can willfully swap between the two languages.

9. Is a parselmouth aware that they're speaking in another language or does it sound like their mother tongue? (i assume yes, but for clarific)

In the canon, Harry did not appear to be aware that he was speaking in Parselmouth but was aware that snakes understood him. In the movie, he understood what the snake said as if it was his common tongue but that was likely done for the benefit of the watcher. I would assume that it is an inherent skill (as it is unlearned but can be developed as evidenced by the canon). So the transition between languages happens without their conscious effort (at least at first) but as they grow and develop their skill they would gain mastery over picking when they speak what language. There is no way to reflect this mechanically and would be only flavor. Some may want to struggle with knowing which they are speaking where others may want to keep their parselmouth under wraps and IC endeavor to master this so they do not have public slip-ups.

10. If a snake swallows something for safe-keeping, can it regurgitate it to someone who is not their owner (i may be planning on passing messages this way if yes)?

If told to do so, yes. But the snake would still need to have access to the area that it is sent. If rendered unconscious by someone else stopping the snake, the item would be in their possession (regurgitated)

11. I assume this is a yes, but if our pet snake is a large one, is it still limited to wand sized objects? (boa constrictor can swallow jaguars whole is what im referencing)

The snake is a long, muscular creature. It's strong body crushes objects and compacts them in its stomach. A larger item would be destroyed upon being swallowed. They cannot carry around larger objects. The dimensions are what the snake can injest.

12. How autonomous is a pet/spy snake? Do they have their own intuition about where to move and how to find people? Could they sense an owner's distress the way some cats or dogs might?

The snake is a snake, an autonomous being that is separate from their owner. A cat or a dog may see someone upset and realize such, a snake can do the same. It does not have some sixth sense that others would not, nor can it sense that their owner is in danger while it is a distance away.

13. Do snakes always listen to suggestions? I'd assume yes unless you wanted to rp otherwise, but just wanted to make sure there's no like "roll for failure" thing

Generally yes, a snake would listen and do what it is asked mechanically. If asked to do something (like kill itself), we might just have to override that as moderators because we have rules against self-harm (your pet is included).

14. How do the fifth year snakes even work?

The Emerald Gazer possesses all 4 abilities.

14. (a) In a duel or a moderated situation where there is already a conflict in progress these snakes would not be available as these are planned, discussed actions between the Parselmouth and the snake in use.

^^If these apply, how would one even use a snake for like, self-defense? If you were planning to attack from the start it would make sense, but for events like the blossom ball where it comes out of nowhere, these snakes are basically useless no? from the earlier discussion i got that you'd have to have your snake by you at the start of the thread, but does that mean if i want to use a constrictor snake, i'd have to waltz in with an 8 foot one? what if the snake we choose as a pet is neither large nor venomous (like a corn snake)? Can we not use these functions then?

You need to in character have the snake with you in a moderated situation to use them. If you entered a moderated situation without your snake, then your snake cannot participate (or show up late) in the moderated situation.

14 (b) Does this mean we only have the option to use one snake per thread? If we don't have them with us from the beginning, are we useless in that regard? Where would we find these separate snakes?

You have your one snake.

14 (c) (Really, I was hinging most of my answers on the idea of the Snake-Summoning Charm but Elaine said that we wouldn't be able to summon our specific snakes, which brings me back to the point of "are their specific "pet" snakes or can we simply envision summoning like a really large snake or a venomous snake and then simply order them to do our biding?" Then again, the Snake-Summoning Charm would be a violation of the rules that state it must be an already a planned action, so maybe we just- can't use them for self-defense.)

The snake summon charm already summons snakes that are to an extent under the caster's control. there is some interplay with Parselmouths when this charm is being used against them. They do not get the additional ability to pick a highly venomous snake or some monster snake to thrust into the fray. That charm has a singular effect unless it is changed.

15. If a snake is found and caught, then IC we'd have no knowledge of the thread they went to spy on, yes? Because they can't come back and report

Yes, the snake has been captured. You will have to find it and save it or wait the predetermined amount of time for the snake to escape. The snake will not remember their encounter, so nothing is learned.

16. When using snake spies, it was said that we can only visually see whats going on. The words getting spied on would not be heard . What if our character goes through visual impairment? Would this mean the only way they could visually see is through the eyes of their snake?

The snake was never intended to give blind vision to players. The snake uses its eyes to see what is going on. The snake does not understand common so will not know what was said. The snake upon completion of its spy activity would return to its master and tell their master what they have seen. There is no vision, merely the verbal recount.

17. One of our parselmouths wears a hijab and she was wondering if she could stuff baby or small snakes in there are carry them around.

They wont be useful snakes, but it would be no different than stuffing your pants and shirt full of snakes. There is not going to be any statistical benefit to this really and it is worthy to note, the snake it pretty big, you are not really concealing it very well.

18. How many snake are we limited too in term of bring them around campus/having them as pets?

One.

19. Can I walk around campus with a snake drapped over my shoulder (I think I asked this before, but I'll just state it again)?

Yes, but it will be obvious that you are a parselmouth. Only they are allowed to have them because they have in character demonstrated the ability to keep their pet snake in line and they have a very unique race of snakes.

20. Do we have to have a pet snake or can we get another pet? If we do, does that mean we can't have a snake?

Our profiles are limited to one. Pets for players as allowed by the school is limited to one. For instance, a player cannot have 2 pet cats, just the one. While an unusual decision to not have a snake, you can do such but you wont have a pet snake which is a very large part of your character's powerset.

21. How do snakes find their targets while spying? Is it visual or smell or something? (For RP purposes)

Sense of smell like a normal snake, but they also have a sense of sight. In general, snakes see shapes, not details. With the exception of a few species that have adapted to daytime hunting, the Emerald gazer being one of them (making them an excellent spy also).

22. So, by 5th year- we can have our snakes bite someone and if it succeeds- the bitten will be unconscious for a while. I was wondering if this would have an ic effect after that if the teachers or prefects found out? Was there something like- a rule for students that gets snakes at the beginning of the year? Like maybe ' hey d o n 't let your snake bite other people or you'll get detention '. Because unlike bites from cats/spider pets- snake seem to have a rather scary effect on the bitten o-O So if it was found out/ revealed that our snakes bit someone- would that cause some trouble?

You are responsible for what you do. You are also responsible for what your pet that is under your control/command does. You have a pet snake because you can control it and have demonstrated adequate care of the animal.