How many miles to Babylon?
Three score miles and ten.
Can I get there by candle-light?
Yes, and back again.
If your heels are nimble and light,
You may get there by candle-light.

Babylon by Candlelight (formerly A Glass Darkly) grew up in the mountains of northern California, attended university in Oregon for a few years until she became tired of the bureaucratic, pandering nonsense and "quirky" demeanor of the unwashed theater students and moved to Iowa with her then fiancee, now husband. She spends her days playing with her Pembroke Corgi, watching Ghost Adventures, and hibernating until spring arrives, when she emerges from her big red sleeping bag and embarks on geocaching expeditions, photography jaunts, and general outdoor shenanigans.

My Stories: Right now, I am on a semi-permanent hiatus. I may occasionally update The She Series, but honestly over the past few years I have had zero muse, inspiration, creativity, whatever you want to call it. The She Series was motivated by a difficult time in my life, but it seems now that I'm settled, reltaively happy, and not in constant emotional turmoil, any desire or motivation to write has dried up.

Favourite TV Shows: Ghost Adventures, The Carrie Diaries, Catfish: The TV Show, Haunted Collector, Firefly, American Dad.

Favourite Movies: Little Miss Sunshine, Anne of the Thousand Days, The Breakfast Club, Emma, Mean Girls, Easy A.

Favourite Books: Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, any historical non-fiction revolving around ancient Sumeria, Egypt, the Tudors, the French Revolution, or Russia.

Fandom Related Information:

Favourites:

Harry Potter Pairings: Harry/Hermione, Remus/Sirius, Hermione/Severus, Ron/Luna, Luna/Neville, Ginny/Neville, Harry/Susan, Harry/Draco

Harry Potter Characters: Hermione Granger, Daphne Greengrass, Neville Longbottom, Susan Bones, Lucius Malfoy

Baby-Sitters Club Pairings: Stacey/Charlie, Stacey/Dawn, Kristy/Cary, Kristy/Alan

Baby-Sitters Club Characters: Dawn, Stacey, Claudia

Least Favourites:

Harry Potter Pairings: Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Hermione/Draco, Harry/Cho, Ron/Harry, Lily/Sirius, Harry/Tom Jr/Voldemort

Harry Potter Characters: Ron Weasley, Molly Weasley, Bellatrix Lestrange, James Potter

Baby-Sitters Club Pairings: Mary-Anne/Logan, Mary-Anne/Kristy, Claudia/Alan

Baby-Sitters Club Characters: Mallory, Jessi, Karen

The Harry/Hermione Rant:

Yes, I strongly support a Harry/Hermione ship, and even more strongly oppose the Ron/Hermione ship. Although many other authors have made the same case I am about to present, I am throwing in my two cents' worth as well. Ron/Hermione as a ship based on anything other than a strong physical attraction simply does not work - they are simply not compatible. Hermione's ambition and thirst for knowledge is completely opposite to Ron's desire for an easy life. He is simply not motivated to better himself in any worthwhile endeavour, and while that alone does not make or break the relationship, his jealousy and resentment of those who do gain recognition through hard work would kill any relationship the two could have. Hermione would not be content to sit at home and be the second incarnation of Molly Weasley; she would be a driving force for change in the Wizarding world, and I personally do not believe Ron could deal with her having that type of recognition and publicity, whether positive or negative.

Ron also displays all the classic signs of an abuser. He belittles her, dismisses any passions she has as a waste of time or just plain stupid. He is jealous of her success and tries to limit her contact with other people because of that jealousy. He is insecure, distrustful, and has a temper that he either cannot, or does not, control. In order to have a "happy" relationship with Ron, Hermione would have to downplay all her intelligence, successes, and ambitions - that is not a healthy, fulfilling relationship.

Harry and Ginny likewise have an equally shallow relationship. Ginny is a fangirl, pure and simple. She came to Hogwarts, having had absolutely no meaningful interaction with Harry, already "in love" with him. For a child of eleven, this is forgivable, but her character fails to develop as she grows older. Everything she does is focused around Harry Potter, even her association with others: she flirts with other males in order to get his attention and try to spark jealousy in him. In reality, she knows very little about Harry Potter himself, not the Boy-Who-Lived. Their relationship is a (very, very disturbing) recreation of the James Potter-Lily Evans facade, and that does not a happy marriage make.

With all that said, here is my case for Harry and Hermione: Hermione has been loyal to Harry from the very beginning. With the exception of the Half-Blood Prince book (which seems to me to be no more than a plot device to discredit fan opinions of Harry/Hermione) and the Firebolt incident (which, one could argue, was still Hermione looking out for Harry's best interests, wanting to make sure he was safe from a possible unknown assailant), Hermione has never displayed any selfish tendencies or resentments towards him. Ron abandons Harry not once, but twice (the Tri-Wizard Tournament debacle and during the Horcrux hunt), and Ginny, aside from the Department of Mysteries, has had no meaningful instances of "standing by Harry". Hermione and Harry have been together from their first month of Hogwarts. She can appreciate him as Harry The Person, with all his strengths and flaws, while Harry recognizes Hermione's intelligence and worth as something other than a know-it-all. The trust and faith these two have built up over the years serves as a much stronger basis for a relationship than physical attraction, blind hero worship, and the idea of One Happy Weasley Family.