The random ramblings of a wanna-be author.

TITLE: Welcome To The Black Parade
PERPETRATOR: HPSpontaneousCombustionTSO
SUE-O-METER: (okay)

FULL NAME: Ara Athenadora Black Lestrange
SPECIES: Witch
HAIR: "silky black", "ebony hair".
EYES: "charcoal eyes"
MARKINGS: "Slim build, yet athletic"
POSSESSIONS: a complicated family life

ORIGIN: She is a Death Eater, and wants to be with her parents and the Dark Lord, but she has feelings for George Weasley.
CONNECTIONS TO CANON: She is friends with Draco, and was raised by the Malfoys. She had an "emotional breakdown" when Sirius escaped from Azkaban, she was in the graveyard with Voldemort during the Tri-Wizard Tournament and was later Crucioed by him for it, and she was "forced" by Dumbledore to visit her Aunt Andromeda, who screamed at her to leave. She is "secretly dating" George, and Harry and Ron need her to come talk to Sirius. She appears to be balancing a double life. It all comes out later, and Bellatrix threatens to kill her and then starts crying and apparates away. Then she wants to disown her.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: "Ara Lestrange looked just like her mother. Same ebony hair, same charcoal eyes, and the same firey passion to serve the Dark Lord. Ara, however also had the same gentle temperament as Rodolphus. Although she is an irritable person, she can indeed handle her temper, if not her whole attitude. All the same, she was an excellent heir to the Black and Lestrange family, as she inheirited traits from both her dad's and mum's side. She was beautiful, no doubt about it, and she was also intelligent and brave. But most importantly she was ambitious and cunning. She was absolutely perfect in every way".

NOTES: I've gotta say I was impressed with what I was reading. Except for the obvious Sue-ness, I felt that most characters, save for Bellatrix (at points) and Draco, actually seem in character. There is potential!

( Not bad, Suethor. )

Cormac McCarthy's The Road is, I think, the first piece of post-apocalyptic fiction I've ever read.  It's not wholly unlikely that it'll also be the last; it's not for nothing that it's regarded as the seminal piece of it's subgenre.  The book is reasonably short, but it does have every major element of post-apocalypticism.

The two characters are not named - the man and the boy - and we don't know much about either of them before the apocalypse (it is implied that the boy was born after the unknown event - nuclear war perhaps? - and doesn't believe the man about what was before).  The bleak landscape and the bleakness of life is well-portrayed; scavenging in the landscape and similar, the good and the bad, and the grim reality of a post-apocalyptic life in the 21st century.  We get many of the tropes of the genre, but treated so well that it could be the trope setter if not for the publication date.

The emotions are also strong, thick, and fast; McCarthy throws them together well and effectively, and makes his points stunningly well.  A really good piece for tearjerking and yet, there are also moments of humour, if black for the most part.  The writing style suits subject matter perfectly, and the whole work comes together with an unbelievable power, so the gutpunch at the end works stunningly; it builds to a climax, and achieves it stunningly.

Read this book.


To my dear, loyal reader(s?): Over the next couple of weeks, as we come to the end of the year, I'm going to be writing a round-up post of my reviews and book-blogging so far... including my thoughts on the reviews, and the response (or lack thereof) to them.  If y'all'd weigh in here on your opinions of my reviews, my choices of books, that sort of thing, it'd be helpful to me.  For this purpose, please note that the books I review are those I myself have chosen to buy and read, and thus there's a possible inherent bias towards certain kinds of fiction, and to fiction that will be reviewed well!  When thinking about this... please do not calculate and tell me the approximate amount I spend on books.  It is, I know, a lot... but it's worth it.

I have a feeling that posting this song on Christmas Eve is going to be personal tradition of mine. I discovered this song last year, and fell in love with it. I'd say it's probably my favorite Christmas song, discounting "Away in a Manger." It's not explicitly religious at all, and I LOVE IT.

In Maine, there is a certain tradition that drives me absolutely batshit crazy.

And this tradition is when people from Maine go to a warmer spot for Christmas.

I just can't understand it, no matter how hard I try. I just can't wrap my head around it. To me, Christmas is primarily a celebration of Jesus' birth, sure, but it is also about sitting in a nice, warm home, listening to Christmas carols, looking out the window Christmas morning to find snow, and bundling up in warm clothes to open presents. I associate Christmas with snow, a downy blanket that covers every tree. I associate Christmas with hot chocolate, sipping it slowly to savor the warmth that is in such sharp contrast with the weather outside. I associate Christmas with bundling up in my coat to go to my maternal grandmother's house, the weight of an warm apple pie or a bag of presents firmly held on my lap.

I distinctly remember a Christmas years past, when we were coming back from my Nana's house. It had been snowing for a while when we were opening presents, and it was just getting into the blizzard stage when we made our way home. I was probably around seven or eight at the time, because my niece and nephew were not yet part of the celebrations up in Maine. The thing I remember most about that Christmas was the way the snow would swirl in front of the blackened front window, one moment seeming like it would come right through the windshield and hit me in the face with cold and wet, the next falling down gently, like it was in no hurry. It seemed like it would snow for ages, coating the earth with white.

And that is the only thing I remember about that Christmas. I don't remember the presents, I don't remember the food, I don't remember the conversations we had. All I remember is the snow. All I remember is that wonder I felt when the snow was falling down, and how it seemed so pure and perfect -- so very Christmas (and Christ!) like.

That is why I can't imagine not having a Christmas in Maine, where there is at least the possibility of snow. The idea of having Christmas somewhere warm, like Florida or the Cayman Islands, is foreign to me, because Christmas and snow are so intrinsically locked together in my mind that I can't see it any other way. I can't imagine ever having a Christmas where it wasn't at least cold, where it didn't feel like winter.

Christmas needs snow, just like snow needs to come near Christmas or I get sick of it.

Am I the only one who feels this way? Does anyone else need to have snow or it just doesn't feel like Christmas? Also, what other Christmas (or other holiday) traditions can you just not understand? I'm sure we all have one. :)

Thanks to darkjaganshi for this Sue!

TITLE: His gaurdian
PERPETRATOR: evanne1
SUE-O-METER: (toxic)

FULL NAME: Ariel
SPECIES: Witch/Guardian
HAIR: "my blond hair was curled perfectly"
EYES: "blue eyes"
MARKINGS: a long deep cut on her arm from a battle with Death Eaters.
POSSESSIONS: Gryffindor's sword, a blue dress that matches her eyes, an engagement ring: "silver banded, diamond and ruby ring".

ORIGIN: Harry is her "charge". She started protecting him at the age of eleven, during the troll attack at Hogwarts. She is the last Gryffindor heir, as well. Voldemort tried to kill her once, and her parents were killed when she was three.
CONNECTIONS TO CANON: She is not supposed to fall in love with her "charge", guess what happens? DUH DUH DUUHH! She saved Harry & Co. from the troll and then had to "explain herself". Harry and Ron accepted her, but Hermione went running to Dumbledore to tattle. Apparently this is a bad thing, and not a logical and sensible thing to do. She joins the "Golden Trio" and they become the "Golden Foursome". Only Dumbledore can not be "transfixed by her magic". She has a dream where Sirius, Lily and James thank her for protecting Harry. After Voldemort was defeated, she is allowed to be with Harry, as long as she forfeits being a guardian. Harry then proposes to her, and she says yes.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: "Guardians have special powers they can heal and apparate kind of imagine it without the pop and instead white light Since I am only half guardian I have other powers I have the power of the elements, you know earth, water, air, and fire." So, despite being only "half" you have more powers? Right, that makes sense. Only she could distract Fluffy during the quest for the Philosopher's Stone. She could run through all of the obstacles, bringing Ron and Harry's unconscious bodies to the Hospital Wing. Hermione was too busy being a coward to do that. She can feel Harry's physical pain.

NOTES: Remember a little while back when I said I had found the best Mary-Sue ever? That one is the best. She is so wonderful and special that everyone is amazed by her. No one would be able to function or survive without her involvement. Also, it's movie canon, ha ha ha!

( Best Sue Ever )

I haven't really been posting enough to justify this as any sort of timeline of what went on during 2009, but I'm doing it anyway. Just because. I bet most of them will be book reviews (which I will get back to in 2010, I promise, and maybe even before that, although I lost count).

January: Wow, it feels so weird to be able to write that once more. Like I said, the beginning of a book review. Loved, loved, loved The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins, by the way. It comes highly recommended!

February: Before I start, let me just say that I am counting the 400 pages of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell I read during the last three weeks, because I am not about to just throw those pages away. More book reviews. Saying what I could about what Barack Obama has been doing in office for the past eleven months, he sure can write.

March: I broke up with my boyfriend on Wednesday. Oh, please don't make me relive this experience again. Why must I always choose the boyfriends who end up being bastards in the end?

April: Ugh, I am sick. I also wrote a bit about Outlander and To Kill a Mockingbird. My goal for 2010 is to finish the Outlander series, since I only have... three left, I think? I can't believe I also read To Kill a Mockingbird twice, once on my own terms and the other time for school. I just finished it a week or so ago.

May: I have five Dreamwidth codes, if anyone's interested. I don't think I've posted on Dreamwidth once since then. Just because I don't know anyone, and I'm a little timid when it comes to making new friends. If anyone has a Dreamwidth, though, you can add me here, and I'll try to post more. I know there are some features I like there that Livejournal doesn't have, although LJ will forever be my home.

June: I just have to do this meme. I don't know why I said I had been in a band. I don't remember my thought processes.

July: So let's just pretend I haven't been AWOL for three weeks.

August: I can't believe that summer is almost over. Ah, reminisces about my boyfriend and my summer.

September: Okay, so I actually have a legitimate reason for not posting for... two weeks again. Nothing interesting here, just moaning about school work. 

October: I have not, as of yet, stopped being friends with a person just because they share different political views from myself. Writer's block response. I loved that post.

November: Votes for Question 1 in Maine are being tallied as we speak. I still remember being so excited -- even though I didn't put it into words at that moment -- when No on 1 was winning. 

*sigh* Maine, what am I going to do with you?

December: "Daaaaa-aaad, come up and kiss me!" All of you have probably already read this by now.

I am looking at my Archives right now, and I am noticing how bare my calendar is. I desperately need to start posting more. I'll start right now, and hopefully for 2010, I'll be able to write more.

I also want to start my book reviews again. I got out of the habit of doing them, but I want to start them again. I'll be finishing Frankenstein sometime over Christmas break, so that'll probably be my first new book review.

So this is my first time begging this season, but I feel it's warranted. :)

My entry this week was not my best, and understandably, I am right at the bottom. One vote either way could either keep me in by the skin of my teeth or kick me off the island, so to speak, so please, if you could, go here and drop a vote for me? I would be forever grateful and I am going to make sure I don't have such a terrible week next time!

Thanks so much to those who have already voted for me!

Vellum is the kind of book that you read and go "guh".  It's not a straight-up piece of story telling, and it's definitely nothing like a straight line; it's almost the archetypal "weird fiction", that genre characterised most famously by China Miéville's work.  It blends religion, folklore, history, science fiction, fantasy, and futurism; it takes from wheresoever it can, and reuses it.  Quotes are thrown in liberally, and ancient tales are worked over; similarly, Duncan laces modern history and modern concerns - World War One, for instance, is a strong motif, as is "redneck homophobia" (the murder of Matthew Sheppard is redone with different names and a different focus, and is shortly after described as it truly happened).

His characters are confused, broken, psychedelic, hard to get a hold on, and the story slips through one's fingers each time one takes a grasp on it; the narrative is disjointed and broken, flipping back and forth through locations, characters, timeframes.  However, it does somehow advance (by leaps, bounds, jagged edges all) and the story slowly moves forward - though it isn't ever really clear, and Duncan keeps surprises in his hand, and a lot of the information isn't actually available to the reader as it should be!

This isn't an easy read, though it is a relatively short one - disconcertingly, the font keeps changing as it flips between narratives and perspectives, but it's always reasonably large - and it takes a lot of effort to construct a simple whole from the narrative; one suspects that that was part of Duncan's aim, but it does make Vellum a particularly difficult book to get into.

Overall, then, it's not so much an enjoyable piece of work as a confusing, if often moving, one... I am curious to read the sequel, Ink, but I don't think I'd necessarily recommend Vellum.


To my dear, loyal reader(s?): Over the next couple of weeks, as we come to the end of the year, I'm going to be writing a round-up post of my reviews and book-blogging so far... including my thoughts on the reviews, and the response (or lack thereof) to them.  If y'all'd weigh in here on your opinions of my reviews, my choices of books, that sort of thing, it'd be helpful to me.  For this purpose, please note that the books I review are those I myself have chosen to buy and read, and thus there's a possible inherent bias towards certain kinds of fiction, and to fiction that will be reviewed well!  When thinking about this... please do not calculate and tell me the approximate amount I spend on books.  It is, I know, a lot... but it's worth it.

I've never been what one would consider a reprobate.

In fact, I pride myself on walking the straight and narrow, keeping my head up high, fists at my side, eyes straight ahead. I have goals that I would do anything to achieve, and every step I take leads me closer to those goals. I don't make trouble, instead withdrawing into the background and being the perfect little student that never does anything wrong. My father probably doesn't know what to do with me, because I am by far the quietest and most well-behaved child in our family. I (very rarely) throw fits; I am world-conscious. By everyone, I am considered the perfect Christian daughter.

And indeed, I am. It's something I consider myself to be as well.

I am in sharp contrast with my oldest sister, Rhiannon*. She was born probably in what could be considered the golden age of my parents' marriage, before my mother got sick, before the rest of us came along, before everything just imploded in on itself when I was in fourth or fifth grade. Shortly after she was born, however, was when my mother got sick. I suppose, thinking back on it now, that is how things went wrong, because Rhiannon had to grow up in a situation that was anything but stable, when my mother got incredibly sick.

I don't remember what my sister was like when I was young, because by the time I was old enough to have memories of her, I hardly ever saw her. She was sixteen when I was around two or three. She was like so many of those teens I see now, who hang out with the so-called "wrong crowd," drinking and smoking, hanging out with someone more than twice her age. She started to date someone who was about thirty to her sixteen -- and she ran away when I was around three or four.

The only time I remember seeing her before she got pregnant was when she and her boyfriend took me to Funtown in Saco, Maine. I was probably three at the time, and all I remember of that time was me going down the enclosed black water slide and being terrified out of my mind, along with going back to their apartment and eating Burger King.

That is the last time I remember seeing her for all of my early life, except for one fuzzy moment at Christmas, when she came with her daughter, who was one and a half at the time. There were some web cam conversations, but never anything more than that.

She is the reprobate of our family, or at least that's what she can be considered. Although she ended up telling my other sister about Christ, I've never seen her act quite like a Christian. She is the black sheep, separated from the rest of our family. We all love her, but she doesn't quite... fit in.

She had two children out of wedlock, with a man who was about double her age. She is not completely deserving of the term "reprobate", but in terms of my family -- my conservative Christian family, with their strong moral standards -- she deserves reprobation. She goes in different circles from the rest of us, constantly getting into bad relationships, hanging out with "the wrong crowd," dubbed so by my parents and brother.

None of us are sure what she's doing nowadays.

She is a tattoo artist living in New Hampshire, but that's all we know. We know little to nothing about her life. For all we know, she could be a reprobate in the true definition of the term, rather than a reprobate in terms of being less morally "upright" than the rest of my family is.

We just don't know.

The difference between me and Rhiannon is striking. While Rhiannon seems not to have a plan, I have a whole ten-year plan all figured out. Get through the next two and a half years of college, get into one of those liberal arts colleges, get an English degree, and start teaching. Get married eventually, maybe have a kid. My sister, however, is completely different. She never got her high school diploma, had two kids before I was ten, and her only discernible ambition was to become a tattoo artist.

But her path is not wrong. Just different. I do wish she would come to church with us, get in touch more, but there's nothing I can do. The last time I saw her was this past summer, and that was only for a weekend. I saw a glimpse into her life, and she walks with those people my family (and my church) would consider reprobates.

She is not herself a "true" reprobate, though, and for that I am grateful.

--

* Name changed, as always to protect the innocent.

This has been my entry for therealljidol. Not sure about this one; I'm not in the habit of writing, I guess!

Thanks to falafelli for this Sue!

TITLE: Allyson's Journey
PERPETRATOR: hello.i'm.mia.black
SUE-O-METER: (toxic)

FULL NAME: Allyson Persephone Mandell
SPECIES: Witch/Vampire
HAIR: not described
EYES: light blue. They do not change, despite being a Stephanie Meyer vampire.
MARKINGS:
POSSESSIONS: iPod, a friend named Chloe who helps her learn magic.

ORIGIN: Wisconsin. She is Rowena Ravenclaw's heir, and is brought back in time from 2010 to 1975 to help the wizarding world as the result of a prophecy. She is trained magically within the month. She is turned into a vampire just before the start of the school year. The process is a "borrowing" of the Twilight vampires, only better.
CONNECTIONS TO CANON: She is sorted into Ravenclaw and meets and befriends everyone important within the first 10 minutes. She is going to be paired with Sirius Black.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: She can learn tons of magic in one month. She is now a vampire that sparkles in the sun, is immortal, has excellent strength and agility, more control than most newborns and can get pregnant.

NOTES: Do you remember a time when vampire Sues were not inspired by Twilight? I miss them.

( Her hunting in the Forbidden Forest would make the centaurs so pissed off. )

Thanks to schroduck for this amazing Sue!


TITLE: Bella Snape Lestrange
PERPETRATOR: EverlastingMuse
SUE-O-METER: (awful)

FULL NAME: Isabella "Bella" Snape-Lestrange, she will be Bella Swan
SPECIES: Witch
HAIR: as per Twilight canon?
EYES: as per Twilight canon?
MARKINGS: the Dark Mark
POSSESSIONS: a pet snake named "Lumos" because it brightens her day. Sirius left her Grimmauld Place.

ORIGIN: Bellatrix and Snape's daughter. She is being taught magic by Voldemort, including the "art of killing". Gets to go live in Forks for some unexplained reason. I'm sure that reason involves Edward Cullen.
CONNECTIONS TO CANON: A Death Eater. She is Harry's friend. Harry knows that she is a "reformed Slytherin", and will be "drafted by Voldemort. He wants her to share what they are planning. Then she goes to see Voldemort, where she refuses to bow to him. He forces her to perform oral sex. Then Bellatrix expresses her jealousy over this "honour". Bella decides that she has a "plan" that involves Forks.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Can use Unforgiveable curses. Taught herself Parseltongue in second year. She "excelled" at DADA.

NOTES: Instead of a plan that involves Forks, how about a plan that involves Harry "I'm to defeat the Dark Lord" Potter?

( Bellatrix is going to Forks? That's how the last few sentences read! NSFW/L. )

Meh..... The puppy woke me up at 5:45 this morning. It's 6:35 now.

Sarah told me he's usually up at 8. Lately, it hasn't worked that way. The problem with that is that I'm not adjusted to this sleep schedule and the first night he was here I woke up at 2:00 and couldn't get back to sleep. Puppy may be awake, but I'm not. Worse off, Dad isn't wanting to do much in terms of watching Buddy. I have to wash the kitchen floor and I have a violin lesson today, but I don't know how I'm going to manage that stuff when I feel like I'm going to fall asleep and would if I didn't have to watch the puppy.

So we have Buddy, my sister's 5 month old, black lab mix puppy, staying with us for a few weeks before she's on break. Long story why. Below is a photos of Sara with him. He's a real cutie. ^_^



Anyways, the only problem with this is the shih-tzu pekingese mix, Moe, that my dad adopted. Now, Moe isn't entirely a bad thing. Yes, I'm not exactly a fan of ankle biters. Yes, he looks like a walking dust mop and kind of reminds me of Gizmo from Gremlins. Still, Dad has been taking Moe for walks like he said he would with a dog, so he's getting more exercise than he usually does. The only major issue, is Moe is either being territorial or just doesn't like Buddy. Moe is pictured below.



Now, we've been keeping them separated with baby gates, but honestly we're hoping we don't have to leave those up much longer. It's not being overly optimistic. Things do seem to be improving. They actually both were sitting on opposite sides of the gate today and being absolutely civil. I felt like it was impossible and took a photo so I had evidence.



So we're thinking now that Moe has his stitches out, he was neutered just before dad adopted him, things might get a little better between the two dogs. I don't know. We'll have to wait and see really.

Now, as far me being tired, that's just due to not being quite used to Buddy's sleep schedule. He needs someone in the bedroom with him at night, and since Moe sleeps in Joe's room, he's actually more attached to Joe than Dad, I'm down in Sarah's room with Buddy until she gets home. He goes to bed at about 10 or 11.... and the past few days he's woken me up at 6:30 and 7:00. My sleep schedule was a little wonky from being sick, and I wasn't quite ready to be back to something normal. I want more sleep, but since Buddy attached to me now as a secondary owner I really can't do that. If I go to Sarah's room he tries to follow. If I go to my own room he tries to climb the gates. I just gave up before I even tried considering that.

Now don't get me wrong, I love these dogs. I just wish the could get along and kind of want Sarah to get home so I don't have to wake up to the puppy whining at 7:00 again. He's louder than my alarm clock and a lot more effective because I realize I can't just turn it off..... not unless I let him outside to go to the bathroom.

TITLE: They Love Me...Too Much
PERPETRATOR:
SUE-O-METER: (toxic)

FULL NAME: Artemis Rane
SPECIES: Witch
HAIR: blonde
EYES: green/hazel
MARKINGS: none described
POSSESSIONS: loves cinnamon french toast. She has "the triplet of Voldemort and Harry Potter's wand", it is "holly and phoenix feathered" which means it is just like Harry's. She has a tiny, grey kitten, and a Nimbus 2001.

ORIGIN: She is from the United States. She is told that she is a witch at the age of 14. Her grandmother, Suzan, was the "most powerful witch in the world. She had invincible powers that Dumbledore and Voldemort couldn't possibly match." Grandma "decided" that Artemis would be the one who would kill Voldemort. Too bad they didn't let the Potters know, maybe they didn't have to die. Grandma gave Artemis all of her powers, and then died shortly after. Her parents got her a wand when she was a baby, and then put a memory charm on her. They took the charm off of her, and send her off to Hogwarts! Yipee!
CONNECTIONS TO CANON: She is "famous" in the wizarding world. Draco barges into her compartment to meet her and insult her. She thinks Harry is attractive. She also thinks that Draco "might be nice". She is sorted into Gryffindor, despite the hat wanting to put her in Slytherin. She wants to be where the "good guys are". She feels like she has a hard time fitting in, but everyone likes her and she is doing well at school. Harry is going to teach her how to play Quidditch, and she learns that Draco thinks she is pretty, delicate and nice. She is going to have to pick one of them.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: "extraordinary powers" at birth thanks to her Grandmother. She could make it rain on a sunny day.

NOTES: "And if you're just reading the story for a laugh, well...IT'S NOT A LAUGHING MATTER. IT'S A VERY DEEP AND EMOTIONAL STORY." The CAPS LOCK made me laugh, as well as the story.

( Who are your parents? Why can they  )

Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon is a retelling of the Arthurian mythos, as might be expected from the title.  Bradley focuses the story on Morgaine - Morgana LeFay - and follows her from her own birth, approximately, to the death of Arthur, with an 8-page epilogue (to a 1,000 page book).  The story is, of course, a well-known one, but Bradley's retelling is compulsive; there's a strong neopagan element, with the religion of the Druids of Avalon and the Lady of the Lake being very similar to modern paganism in many respects, and not terribly close to the paganism modern research has told us the Celts engaged in.  However, the all-religions-are-one message of the book is much welcomed and well done without being too pushy.

Bradley's also including a strong feminist element in the work, if not an actually misandrist one - though perhaps, given that no one comes out of the book well despite trying to do their best, we should call it a misanthropic element.  The men are generally pliable or evil, though perhaps strong; the women are conniving, and either weak and petty or strong and misguided.  Despite this, their sorrows are troubles are done so well as to evoke tears and pathos in extremis.  Very impressive work.

Bradley also has a deft skill with her literary tricks; certain phrases, ideas, and images appear time and again across the work in different and various situations and in the mind or word of different characters; thus, we end up with the book working almost in cycles, and constructing the cycles that the neopaganism in the book itself advocates.  It also calls to mind parallels between characters and situations, and the similarities between them; overall, an interesting piece of structural trickery.

The most important thing to note about the book is simple.  It tells the story of a myth we all know well, in a compulsive way that one finds new and fresh, and cannot abandon, for all 1,000+ pages.  An absolute must-read for any fantasy or historical fiction lover.



( Important Note )

Thanks to the anonymous minion who sent in this Sue!

TITLE: The Undesirable | HP-FF|
PERPETRATOR: JorrieCandance
SUE-O-METER: (bad)

FULL NAME: Ashlyn Terrance
SPECIES: Witch
HAIR: brown
EYES: "her eyes no longer vibrant in their green hue"
MARKINGS: "Her face had lost it's rosy color, instead replaced by an eerie paleness that most traumatized children tend to wear, only hers would last much, much longer."
POSSESSIONS: All of Voldemort's hope.

ORIGIN: Voldemort had a potion made to make a child a follower who is able to take down Harry Potter. She was selected at random.
CONNECTIONS TO CANON: She is going to be paired with Harry.
SPECIAL ABILITIES: She is going to have some special power where she can work for Voldemort, but at the same time betray him to help Harry.

NOTES: This is probably one of the most legible things I've ever seen on Quizilla.

( Why would she ever think Voldemort might keep her safe? )

(text courtesy of synecdochic)

* Gender will be a mandatory field at account creation, and it will be able to appear public on one's profile. (I can't tell if people with existing gender specification will be defaulted to "nobody can see it" or "everybody can see it".) (Subsequent changelog reading indicates that the public specificity has since been removed. It is unknown whether this is to require public specificity in the future or if it will remain private.)

* LiveJournal is removing the Unspecified option for the gender field. That's right: you get to be male or female. Period. That's it. (Source.)

If this pisses you off as much as it pisses me off, go to Edit Profile and select Unspecified for your gender option. Then, go to http://www.livejournal.com/contact/?dept=feedback and politely register your displeasure. (The people who read and process Feedback are not the people who make the decisions. They are often the people who are yelling internally about the decisions.)

(This will likely take place at the next code push, which given LJ's history will be either this Thursday or next, so spread the word fast, especially to the genderqueer community. After that point, you will no longer be able to pick "Unspecified" as your gender.)

Here is what I wrote; copy and paste as much as you'd like:

( Feedback letter )

To also reach someone who's higher up the food chain than the poor staff members who have to read and reply to Feedback, also email anjelika@livejournalinc.com who is Anjelika, GM of US operations.

Anybody wants a Dreamwidth invite, poke me, I've got like a dozen.

ETA: they are backpedaling liek whoa.

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