I am now at Gordon Conwell Seminary in Boston and so I have much less time on my hands.

My current stories will probably be eventually completed but my Muse has taken me in other directions. I am simply appalled at the way certain fanon cliches have spread and multiplied.

First of all, nowhere in the books is the word 'Lord' used except in reference to Voldemort. Even rabid blood purists like Lucius Malfoy never call themselves 'Lord'. The only time the phrase 'Most Noble and Ancient family' is used is in connection to the Blacks, who probably used the word 'noble' as an adjective, not a noun. The wealth cliche has, in my opinion, gone too far; particularly since far too many fics load Harry up with money and then he does nothing with it.

I have also come to agree with PerfectLionheart that the FriendlyGoblin! cliche has gotten way out of hand; let's face it, if even Hagrid has nothing nice to say about the Goblins, then it's fair to assume that their nasty reputation is well deserved.

But what really disturbs me is the way that some people have flanderized James Potter into a jerkass bully with Snape as the mostly innocent victim; I invite you to go back and reread that scene from the book. Lily outright tells James that he is 'as bad as Snape', implying that Snape has been known to do similar things. This implication was confirmed in DH where Lily openly accuses Snape of being a Death Eater wannabe and he doesn't deny it. James, on the other hand, clearly doesn't believe in blood purity; if he did, then he wouldn't be repeatedly asking Lily out and getting upset when Snape calls her a mudblood.

So they were both jerks but Snape was an evil jerk while James was a jerk with a heart of gold. Given the choice between them, is it any wonder that Lily married James?

All this, furthermore, is predicated on the assumption that what Snape put in his pensieve is what actually occurred; since Snape is so obviously biased and since it's so easy to alter your own memories even without magic, I take the scenes from Snape's mind with a large grain of salt.

In response to these and other cliches, my Muse has led me to create a new multiverse called 'The Story of the Potters'. I call it a multiverse in order to leave open the opportunity to write multiple parallel stories that generally stand alone (unless otherwise noted) but time will tell if I can see this through.

The very first story, and the one from which all the others will diverge, is called 'The Story of the Potters: Darkness Descending'. It starts with more neutral perspective on Snape's 'worst memory' and will end with the Marauders graduation though I have planned two follow-up stories set during the war.

Muse and RL permitting, I intend to get it posted soon.

Edit: My muse is simply not cooperating but I'm working on it.

Randomly list twelve of your favorite characters from the same fandom.

1. Lily Evans
2. Hermione Granger
3. Luna Lovegood
4. Nymphadora Tonks
5. Harry Potter
6. James Potter
7. Sirius Black
8. Remus Lupin
9. Fleur Delacour
10. Neville Longbottom
11. Viktor Krum
12. Cedric Diggory

1) Have you ever read a Six/Eleven fanfiction before?

James Potter/Viktor Krum? Definitely not.

2) Do you think Four is hot? How hot?

Tonks? Oh she’s very hot, especially since she can become your every fantasy.

3) What would happen if Twelve got Eight pregnant?

Cedric and Remus? That’s not even physically possible. And it’s gross.

4) Do you recall any fanfictions about Nine? Can you recommend any?

I’ve read a great deal of Fleur Delacour fanfic. I recommend The Thing About Veela is by upperpd

5) Would Two and Six make a good couple?

Hermione and James? Oh that’s just sick.

6) Five/Nine or Five/Ten

Harry/Fleur or Harry/Neville? The first one would be hot; the second one would just be gross.

7) What would happen if Seven walked in on Two and Twelve having sex?

Sirius walks in on Hermione and Cedric having sex? He’d probably just grin and laugh. Hermione would call Sirius a total pervert. Cedric would probably leave very awkwardly.

8) Make up a summary for a Three/Ten fanfiction.

A Luna and Neville fanfiction: After the Battle of the DoM, Neville and Luna unexpectedly meet each other in the Room of Requirement. Neville/Luna.

9) Is there any such thing as a One/Eight fluff fanfiction?

A Lily/Remus fluff? I’ve never thought about it but I don’t think Remus would betray James like that.

10) Suggest a title for a Seven/Twelve Hurt/Comfort fiction.

Sirius and Cedric? “Dead Men Comfort.”

11) What kind of plot would you use if you wanted Four to de-flower one?

Nymphadora deflowers Lily? This would have to be a time-travel fic and Nymphadora would do some gender-bending.

12) Does anyone on your friends list read Seven slash?

Sirius slash? Well I know that that’s crazy popular on these boards for some reason so probably.

13) What would Three and Eight do if they were forced into an arranged marriage?

Luna and Remus? Well first they’d wait until Luna is actually an adult. Luna would quietly accept it while Remus would feel really awkward.

14) Does anyone on your friends list write or draw Eleven?

Viktor Krum? Probably.

15) Would anyone you know write Two/Four/Five

Hermione/Tonks/Harry? Oh yes, quite a few people.

16) What might Ten’s last words or actions be before death?

Neville would probably die without saying anything.

17) If you wrote a song-fiction about Eight, what song would you choose?

Remus? "Those Were The Days (My Friend)" by Mary Hopkins.

18) If you wrote a One/Six/Twelve fanfiction, what would the warning be?

Lily/James/Cedric: WARNING: Threesome! Slash!

19) What might be a good pick-up line for Ten to use on Two?

Neville using a pickup line on Hermione:

“You’re so hot that you make me forgetful.”

“Huh?” Hermione blinked, looking up from her book.

“Uhh…nothing,” Neville mumble as he walked away very flushed.

20) When was the last time you read a fanfiction about Five?

Harry? I read fanfic about him every day.

21) What is Six’s super-secret kink

James probably wants to have sex while flying.

22) Would Eleven shag Nine? Drunk or sober?

Would Viktor shag Fleur? Yes, and both.

23) If Three and Seven got together, who would top?

Luna and Sirius? Sirius probably.

24) “One and Nine are in a happy relationship until Nine suddenly runs off with Four. One, broken-hearted, has a hot one-night stand with Eleven and a brief unhappy affair with Twelve, then follows the wise advice of Five and finds true love with Three.” What title would you give this fanfiction? Name three people on your friends list who might read it. Name one person who should write it.

Lily and Fleur are in a happy relationship until Fleur suddenly runs off with Tonks. Lily, broken-hearted, has a hot one-night stand with Viktor Krum and a brief unhappy affair with Cedric Diggory, then follows the wise advice of Harry and finds true love with Luna Lovegood? I would title this “Lily’s Twisted Secret Affairs.” I can’t imagine who might write it but I can definitely imagine quite a few people on this site who might read something this perverted.

25) How would you feel is Seven/Eight was canon?

Sirius/Remus? Well it’s one of the most popular slash fics in the fandom but I just think that it’s gross.

My favorite quotes:

Jaya Ballard, Task Mage: "Of course you should fight fire with fire. You should fight everything with fire."

Michael Westen: "Killers, by and large, are whining losers."

Jedi Master Yoda: "Always in motion is the future, and many possible futures there are."

Tarquin: “Who knows that you know is as important as knowing it in the first place.”

Anonymous: “Love is a journey, not a destination."

Albert Einstein:"What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right."

Lamentations 5:19: "But you, O Lord, reign forever; your throne endures to all generations."

Thirteen Reasons why the United States government is worse than the Mafia.

#13: If you want nothing to do with the mafia they will leave you alone. They generally go out of their way not to involve others that are not connected to them. The government, on the other hand, goes out of its way to get involved in everyone’s life whether you want it or not.

#12: An incompetent person in the mafia gets terminated with a bullet. An incompetent person in the government gets a promotion and a bigger office.

#11: If you owe money to the mafia and then pay them, they leave you alone. But if you owe back taxes, the IRS will never leave you alone even after you pay them.

#10: The Mafia has a sense of honor. If they say they will do something, they’ll do it. If the government says it will do something, you can count on it only if you’re getting screwed.

#9: The Mafia code of conduct is simple, clear, easy to understand and unfettered from millions of regulations.

#8: When the mafia goes to war there is little collateral damage to civilians. War is the health of the state, but for the mafia it’s bad for business.

#7: Instead of banning drugs or alcohol, the mafia peacefully provides high quality products to people who want them.

#6: When you buy protection from the mafia, you get protection. The mafia limits violent crime in the areas they protect, when you buy protection from the state you can dial 911 and die.

#5: The mafia’s protection is much less expensive than the states. The mafia wants around 10- 15% of your profits and the various levels of government agencies want at least 45% of your profits.

#4: Unlike the state, the mafia actually wants your business to succeed. They understand that without your business succeeding you will be unable to pay for their protection. Government bureaucrats get paid no matter what.

#3: The mafia won’t keep you from having a gun. The state wants you disarmed. The mafia gladly sells you the weapons you need to protect yourself.

#2: The state wants to regulate what you want to do in your bedroom. The mafia will sell you whatever you want for your private enjoyment.

#1: The mafia has a great sense of style, they dress far better than government bureaucrats and they are much easier on the eyes.

I'm not saying that the Mafia is the best government, or even a good government. But I am saying that they meet the objective criteria to be considered a government and that it is sad but true that many government policies have become more objectionable than their equivalent mafia policies.