marieldraconis

So, immediately after I'm sorted into Hufflepuff, my Slytheriny side starts showing itself. Note, I haven't seen any Slytherin aspects to my personality in 17 years, so why does a sudden appointment to Hufflepuff inspire me so?
The other houses should be afraid, very afraid. I'm trying to become prefect.

P.S. I've found a paper-based roleplaying group, so I'm back in the Game. *happy-purr*

Come closer, my child, and here tell what happens to those who disturb the dead....

There was once a girl, naive and curious about the world, who sought to learn of the past in the only way she knew how—through books. She read and read, but in the end learned not enough to satisfy her curiosity. As she looked for more to read, she fell into archaeology. Soon, an archaeological expedition set out to unearth the garden of a college, and she was among those who offered to help dig.
At first, all went well. Every day, they arrived at the dig site, and removed the tools from a chilly basement room. That would be their last escape from heat until lunchtime, when they fled to nearby restaurants and coffee shops, only to return an hour later and dig until collapse. Then they would place the tools in the basement, and leave, only to repeat the process again the next day.
One day, the girl noticed two doors in the storage room, doors that did not blend in with the architecture of the rest of the building. She asked one of her comrades, “What lies behind those doors?”
“Lord Botetourt and the Randolph family. They were fairly influential in this city, soon after it was founded, so they got to be buried under the college.”
The girl wondered at the wisdom of storing their digging tools near dead bodies, but she said nothing and went back to work.

On the last day of the dig, a great storm rose up and they had to take shelter. The group fled to their storage room, the anteroom of the crypt. A few, including the girl, huddled under an overhang waiting for the storm to subside, while the others went into the storage room itself. The girl stared out at the storm for some time, finally turning to ask a question of those who remained inside—to find them gone.
“Where did they go?”
“One of the doors was open, and they went to explore the crypt. I’m going too; do you want to join me?”
The girl declined. One by one, the rest of the group fled inside to wait out the rain. There was no noise but the drops of rain. Eventually, those also stopped. The girl called for her comrades. No response. She called again. No answer. Finally she went into the tomb, and saw....

Note: this is not yet finished. I ran out of time. It’s also my first ghost story, and I don’t read much horror, so any advice on how to write this sort of story would be much appreciated.

I have found somewhere where I belong. It's a place where...
I smile at someone, knowing that they'll smile back. If they don't, someone else will smile at me soon and everything will balance out.
I'm asked for directions twice in three days and don't feel paranoid, which for me is saying something. Even more interesting, I know where they're going or how to direct them to better advice.
The cafeteria food isn't great, but it has variety, and I know easily how to find better.

In the field...
I feel like every sore muscle is worth it when I'm being helpful--and I always want to be helpful, even while I'm tired and it's 100+ F in the shade.
One interesting find gets us leftovers sent by the VIP cooks for lunch. A couple more gets us sent popsickles, with the promises of more sometime next week.
I live in dirty clothes, have more bugs crawling on me in one day than a normal month, and yet I'm not icked out.
I just...I'm happy here. I've had a few bad moments, but I know the key to success. And I doubt my schedule next semester could be even half as stressful. I belong. Am I home? Maybe. But I belong, and that's good enough for me.

[Dark Mongrel, on the other hand, has been making plans for our roommate's whipped cream, the dig site, and the Trench of Eternity.]

I'll have more-story out soon, I promise. I'm just having trouble dealing with the Aunt Marge chapter. After this, things will flow more smoothly.

Well, Chala, shouldn't we do something about this? Start giving out crew assignments and choosing a quest, perhaps? Such as,
Dark Mongrel is the second mate and self-appointed mascot.
We seek the fabled, lost city of UMmmm, cousin to the castle of ARrrrggghhhh, renowned for its indecisive populace and therefore easy to steal from. Not that it necessarily has much of value anyway, but it's a lost city, so why not look for it?

I have now officially joined the large, inclusive, mutually griping fellowship of those who have been deferred from a college, and more specifically I have entered into the pool of those who have been deferred from Yale.

Also, MoMA is interesting, but if I ever contemplate moving to New York City, shoot me. Please.

With only one answer to the previous ethics problem, I waited a little to post the next one. Same rules apply as before.

You are the democratically elected leader of a democratic, liberal, secular Western European nation. Your national police force has just captured a terrorist ring that planned to blow up Parliament, your residence, all the major government buildings. If they had succeeded, your country would effectively have no government. However, this group is linked to several sleeper cells planted around the city. If word leaks of their capture, or if the deadline of blowing up the buildings passes with no action, these sleeper cells will act, strategically sending out suicide bombers so that thousands of people will die. You have no other information on these cells, and no way to learn anything about them. However, your experts assure you that with 48 hours of "special interrogation techniques", your prisoners will crack and reveal what you need to know about the cells.
In a recent poll, 90% of your population has stated that they would not condone torture under any circumstances. Remember, you are their elected leader. What do you do?
Please tune in next time for "Return to the Nazis".

Edit: I forgot to mention earlier, but there is no risk that the populace will find out about your actions.

OK...so far, so good. I have given my own answer to problem 1. Now, here's a slight scenario shift.
You are soldiers in Iraq. For the moment, ignore any moral opinions that you have about the war and accept that point. "Larry" is your commanding officer. "Johnny" is a group of Iraqi terrorists that you have captured. Larry wants, instead of killing them, to torture them for information.
These terrorists have killed a lot of your friends in the war. Maybe not these ones personally, but definitely the organizations they work with. Do you go along with the torture, or do you oppose Larry and risk court-martial?

Again, please feel free to bring friends in on this scenario or copy it over into your LJ. I want to see reactions.

Here we go...this is a series of ethical dilemmas posed in a class I'm taking. I want to invite participation of any sort, on any level, because I think this sort of discussion could be fun. That means that anyone who sees this can comment, tell their friends to comment, tell their worst enemies to comment, whatever. The only problem is that people will see your reaction--but if you mind, you can just discuss it in school, with your friends, etc.
Problem #1 has multiple parts. I'll post the first part, let you discuss it, then in a while post my reaction/decision and the second part. So, here we go:

You've known Johnny since pre-school, and hated him just as long. He stole your favorite truck in pre-K, your top prize at the middle school science fair, and in high school, stole your girlfriend--and married her. [feel free to change details and/or genders as appropriate for the situation] You really hate him, and might even think the world would be better off without him in it.
You also have a friend from high school named Larry. No matter how much you hate Johnny, Larry hates him worse. One day, Larry gets his hands on a gun. You walk into a room/deserted alley/forest clearing...and Larry is pointing the gun at Johnny. You may hate Johnny, but you personally don't want to kill him--however, there is the risk that Larry will turn on you if you try to stop him. What do you do?

For all of you out there who have been wondering where I disappeared to...well, here I am. Ish. There are some very good reasons why I am putting this on livejournal and not e-mailing the relevant people. The reasons: spam problems, far too many helpful but clogging e-mails from my Dad relevant to my EE in the wrong account, inability to forward said e-mails to the right account, unwillingness to download all fiftyish e-mails until one problem at least is solved, and certain key e-mail addresses (Kaiya and Kender) on the wrong end of the line.
After this, I fully intend to continue to fail to update my LJ unless circumstances drastically warrant it. And they won't. That said, I will continue to e-mail people, so if you want to hear from me, e-mail is the best way to do so.
Anyway...so where have I been in the last few weeks? Overwhelmed by school stuff, college application stuff, and 'since-when-am-I-old-enough-to-go-to-college-itis', also known as attempting to act in ways so immature and disorganized that one wonders if I really am sixteen. Key symptoms: procrastination, which I've mostly recovered from, failing to remember my responsibilities and promises, and childish refusal to learn how to drive or have anything to do with cars. No, examples of any of the above are not available on request. I blame Dark Mongrel Look, it's either you take a year off to learn chaos or we do this the hard way and Dark Mongrel is very willing to accept responsibility.
Um...I believe some of you out there are interested in what, if anything, I'll be writing soon? Here is the list of my current inspirations:
1) the wedding of Harry and Ginny's eldest son to Remus and Tonks' eldest daughter. Flashbacks of various incidents from the end of HBP to present.
2) from my Paladin story, how Lareli and David became bonded and when David finds his mate-for-life.
No, I do not have werewolves on the brain. I have colleges and not wanting to be old enough to go to them on the brain, and much homework. Otherwise, David and the Triplets would be vying for control of my fingers right now, so that one or the other would be written.
As for school, the main reason other than Dark Mongrel why I dropped off the face of the earth, my classes are:
English: Nice teacher, but new. We are apparently covering six texts this semester and only three next. I hate commentaries. I can do commentaries on subject material I like, but they don't let us read what I like in class. However, our big assignment this year can be creative writing, and I'm thinking of writing some section of Madame Bovary or Death in Venice from another character's POV. In the meantime, I think I'll just continue to hate English.
Theory of Knowledge: Philosophy class. Readings, write twenty questions on the readings, have a seminar/discussion of the readings. Repeat.
Music Theory: Has piano days, which I use to work on other stuff because I'm past the end of the book we are supposed to be working through. Other days I get to fill in the scary gaps in my knowledge of musical theory. I play two instruments and sing, and yet I have no clue what an augmented interval is. Yeef.
History: Working our bloody way through World War I right now, with occasional books to read and seminars. I have to find two books on the Easter Rebellion of 1916 and write a paper on them as our year's major project.
French: Watch movies. Do worksheets. Have grammar, vocab, and occasionally culture quizzes. Watch more movies.
Psychology: take notes, read significant amounts of the book each night, have at least one quiz per week.
Multivariable Calculus: very fun. Hard to explain to people taking AP Calculus this year--which I believe most everyone reading this is. Take everything you learn this year, and put it in three dimensions. Add a few concepts.
In addition, I'm working on college essays, and the final draft of my Extended Essay is due October 20th. I'm president of Archaeology Club, co-captain of Math Team, and tutoring in the Writing Center. I'm taking the SAT IIs in biology and math in October, and French in November. I will try my best not to drop off the face of the earth again--I'm clearing out my inbox this weekend, so e-mail me and I will get back to you as soon as sanity permits. In fact, please let any responses be e-mails--somewhere along the line I decided LJ was mostly unnecessary. And if anyone talks to Kender before the weekend, tell her that I'm sorry I dropped out of sight, direct her over here, and tell her that I will e-mail her ASAP.
In summary: I am alive, and probably will stay that way for the near future. I am not sane, and probably will stay that way for the near future. Right now I have very little homework, but trust me when I say that that won't last.
DRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Dark Mongrel's Alter-Ego (Does that mean me?) (No)

I know very few--if any--interested people will see this, but I know this has become a major issue in the shipping community and I'd like to show my solidarity.
I know, we've just heard that Hermione and Ron are pretty much destined for each other, so Harry and Hermione won't end up together in book 7. But take comfort! Hermione and Ron didn't get together in book 6. They dated others in transparent attempts to make each other jealous, Ron's one confession of love was treated as a normal reaction to a homework assignment, and in general their behavior towards each other was counter-productive. So while the H/R shippers laugh because H/H is not happening, I recommend the H/H shippers laugh because H/R is also not happening, and at this rate never will.

Note: I am neither a Harry/Hermione or a Ron/Hermione shipper. I wasn't a shipper at all until nearly the end of book 6, when I became a shipper of a newly-introduced relationship that pleases me greatly. So don't take offense at my comments.

[6/28/2018: Much later update: I'm pro-R/H by now, but the critical point was that Ron finally grew up in DH. Harry/Ginny and Remus/Tonks are still much more interesting to me.]

Just because you're a werewolf with an uncontrollable urge to eat humans during the full moon, doesn't mean you're doomed or allowed to try cannibalism when the moon isn't full.

A message from the C.F.R.L.N.T.: Since when does being a werewolf mean you aren't "whole"? Werewolves have just as much right as anyone else to get the girl!

Current Mood: exhausted

My heart is with the friends and relatives of those who died in London earlier today. I hope that peace enters their hearts, and the hearts of whoever perpetrated this tragedy. I pray that this attack does not cause hatred and war, as the attackers probably hoped, but only peace and justice. In the end, that is the best revenge on terrorists.
In my history class this year, we discussed early terrorist organizations in tsarist Russia. They wanted to kill those who supported reform especially, because a contented populace won't revolt. Terrorism is an extension of the same line of reasoning. Muslims and non-Muslims in England must remember this, and show their friendship now more than ever.
I fly no flag, but if I did, mine would be at half-mast today. So consider it such.

Edit: On a completely different note, I'm apparently a LG dwarven wizard. The last two...let's just say inherent contradiction, shall we?

Current Mood: sorrowful

Your LiveJournal Pirate Crew
LiveJournal Username
Fifteen men on a dead man's chest!
Cutlass or pistol?
What is the name of your pirate ship?
Where is your secret pirate base?
What kind of loot do you prefer?
What do you and your crew prefer to be called?
Parrot or monkey?
Argh!

Your capable first mate	sablemoonsilk
Your bumbling cabin boy with a heart of gold	azn_wanderer
The aloof, yet honorable, pirate with a mysterious past	stormwriter
Is always the first one into the fray	sablemoonsilk
Is the naval officer who ruthlessly pursues your ship	azn_wanderer
Is the comical pirate who is always drunk on grog	azn_wanderer
Is currently in Davy Jones's locker	metathanatos
The amount of money you make as a pirate	$139,655


This Fun Quiz created by Lynn at BlogQuiz.Net

Leo Horoscope at DailyHoroscopes.Biz

In case you're worrying, no, I do not spend all my day on Harry Potter websites normally, only when I'm bored, recovering from surgery, and it's less than a month to HBP and I'm trying to maintain some degree of self-control, but the book-proximity has put a damper on my creativity. Anyway, more quizzes!

...and which lesser Harry Potter character are you?

Warning about this next quiz: the writer appears to be one of Remus's fangirls, and is using the quiz to make several other guesses about crushes.
HASH(0x9a877a8)

Minerva McGonagall, Transfigurations.

Harry Potter Quiz: Which Hogwarts Professor Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Ok...I think I'm done now. Doesn't mean I'll behave, but I will stop inflicting it on the rest of you.

On a more personal note, I'm not writing or doing schoolwork because I'm still recovering, so my day pattern is sleep on couch, eat in kitchen, goof off online, and some halfway compromise modes. The bazillion quizzes are due to doubtful higher-brain-order functions today. Now, back to them:
Another marriage quiz...

The Weasley Boy Marriage Quiz made by Sapphire.
Alternatively, I could be...

The HP Male Marriage Quiz made by Sapphire. So, in other words, I'm not competing with Chala for her ideal guy. And I got this answer without any werewolf-obsession questions involved! Much pleased I am.
Another quiz picked which HP girl I'd marry, if I were a guy. I got Lavender and Ginny, two separate times.
If you're curious, I'm getting these quizzes off of a Mugglenet forum thread calling for JKR interview questions.
For a change of pace, Take the quiz: "What Star Wars Character Are You?"

Obi-Wan Kenobi
You are a level headed person who uses the Force to compliment your natural talent.
Note: More quizzes to be found there, including "what alcoholic beverage are you?"
fox

Fox. You sly thing you.

What Is Your Animagus?
brought to you by Quizilla
That was unexpected. With a slight change, though:
img src="http://images.quizilla.com/S/Serpentina666/1047663013_sthe_eagle.JPG" border="0" alt="eagle">
Eagle. Proud and fierce.

What Is Your Animagus?
brought to you by Quizilla

Edit: still more quizzes, believe it or not:
Take the quiz: "What Harry Potter Character Are You?"

Hermione Granger
You are hermione Granger extremly smart , and love to read ,and study , and the top person in your class.

More quizzes, because I felt like it.

Harry Potter: Which Member of the Rescue Mission Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
That was a big surprise. I was really expecting to end up as Hermione or Ginny, considering the answers I was giving.
This one's cool, though:

Harry Potter: Fantastic Beasts and Which One Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
Now, for a slight change of pace:

Women of Disney
brought to you by Quizilla
And another of the usual:

You are Sirius Black! The dead sexy ex-convict. You
like long walks on the beach and possibly hate
Snape with a passion^^ Go you!

Which of the marauders are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
What HP Family am I in?
center>
I'm a Weasley!

The HP Family Quiz made by Sapphire.
Although I got the Malfoys the first time round and became a Weasley when I switched from being a noble martyr and sending them off into the sunset, to talking with family and being publicly supportive, on the last question.
Edit: a couple days later, I took this test again, and I got:
I'm a Dumbledore!

The HP Family Quiz made by Sapphire. So go figure.

The HP Boy Marriage Quiz made by Sapphire. That one I probably could've seen coming. I should probably post this now, before it gets to be too long.

I'm
a Gryffindor!
and...
i'm in gryffindor!

be sorted @ nimbo.net
This following one I could have guessed about halfway through:

Which Harry Potter Marauder Are You?
But change an answer from "I'm too passive" to "I have a quick temper", and I get

Which Harry Potter Marauder Are You?
This one is correct, I feel:

Which HP Kid Are You?
And now, for a change of pace, my Meyers-Briggs type is:
Pirate Monkey's Harry Potter Personality Quiz

Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

The Dark Mongrel has claimed this site.
Who is this Dark Mongrel, you ask? Who do you think the Dark Mongrel is? Or...what?
I'll let you think about this. I do encourage thinking about it, because I'm not going to explain until you've guessed and told me why.

Edit: a few more, just for fun:

Star Wars Horoscope for Scorpio

You are a powerful character.
You tend to be possessive and lusty - which explains your greedy nature.
You feel threatened when people try to order you around or control you.
You are prone to suspicion and jealousy - but your resilience and passion get you what you want.

Star wars character you are most like: Han Solo

What is Your Star Wars Horoscope?

Maybe...I like being compared to the roguish character, but is this realy me?

You Are 24 Years Old

24

Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

That's a surprise.... and one more:

Your Inner European is Russian!

Mysterious and exotic.

You've got a great balance of danger and allure.

Who's Your Inner European?

I'm Russian. Go figure.

I am:
33.13609%--Total Geek (http://www.innergeek.us/) Darn! This always happens!
I am a A Skunk Dragon!

Hey, I took the http://dragonhame.com online Inner Dragon quiz and found out I am a Skunk Dragon on the inside.

In the war between good and evil, a Skunk Dragon tends to walk the fine line of Neutrality....
When it comes to the powers of Chaos vs. those of Law and Order, your inner dragon tends to do things by the book. ...
As far as magical tendancies, Magical spells come as natural to the Skunk Dragon as breathe from it's body....
During combat situations, the Skunk Dragon shows a preference for the rending and slashing of Hand to Hand combat....
Skunk dragons live in deep mountain valleys in temperate climates far from civilization. They lair in large caves, preferably near lakes and light woods. Sometimes, these lairs are reachable only from the water, but they are always dry.'
Skunk Dragons are thought to be a cross between a White Dragon and a Black Dragon. The Skunk Dragon obtains it's name from it's distinctive coloring, a black head with a white stripe that follows from the nose of the dragon to the end of it's tail.'
Skunk dragons are excellent swimmers and can often be found swimming about in lakes, either for fun or while hunting fish or other aquatic animals. Skunk dragons are very intelligent and generally good natured beings. They are carefree dragons, and they like any kind of treasure, but prefer coins and gems, especially diamonds and black onyx. Skunk dragons eat nearly anything, but prefer fish, aquatic animals, and other medium-sized creatures found in their territory.
'
This Dragons favorite elements are: Onyx, Diamonds, and Peaceful Nature

http://Dragonhame.Com
That one sounds bogus...oh, well. There's more dragon tests to find. I hope I'm not really LN.

According to http://www.angelfire.com/dragon/terragf/, I'm a Chaotic Good Halfling Monk. That's more like it! And I have STR 8, DEX 11, Con 10, Int 15 (17/13), Wis 11, Cha 10.
I really picked the wrong career path.

And, finally: I am 40% obsessed with Harry Potter--Full time Potter fan. You're obsessed. (http://www.fuuko.com/hpquiz.html). I've been in the mid-30s forever!

At least 745 dead. 500+ in a city where everyone knows what happened. 200 more...no one knows what happened in that city.
Phone lines blocked--even cell phones.
Internet in the native language--blocked.
A meeting for a moment of silence arranged...and no one dares get out of their cars.
Even people working with the government are scared.

Fiction? My latest story? I wish.
Reality.
Uzbekistan. I honor your dead, pray for your peace, wish scruples for your government.
Uzbekistan.

[2018 Update: looking back over my old posts, I didn't recognize this one, I think I was talking about the Andijan Massacre.]

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marieldraconis

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There's something wrong with this...

Attempts at another genre

Belonging

Dark Grey Pearl

Good News!

Ethics Problem #2: Terrorism from a Leadership Position

Ethical Problem #1a

Ethics Problem #1

Dark Mongrel LIVES--I wish

...Shipping...

More thoughts on werewolves...

London Bombings

Why? Why not...

Just when you thought I couldn't possibly find more HP quizzes...

Listening to Canon and yet more quizzes...I'm bored, OK? And these are mostly self-observations.

Listening to Phantom, with an Ice Pack on my head

Sick-time = Quiz-time

Dark Mongrel

Quizzes, out of boredom

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