Darren

Not that it's a big deal or anything, Sandy, and it's not going to really hinder the progression of the RP, but I'm just being difficult. You stated that Madea's parents were both in Gryffindor, but I alwasy thought that Penelope Clearwater had been in Ravenclaw... I could be wrong, but just thought I'd say something.

This should qualify as TV, right? I mean it's the revolutionary tv series that was created on Youtube... If not, it can be moved, I suppose... So here 'goes: Am I the only one who finds entertainment out of this rather dumb show? I noticed that most of the video comments are hate mail or spam... I started watching it because of the hype after Jessica Rose "Bree" came out about it all being fake. (And I can see why; you can't keep that stuff a secret. People with common sense would figure it out and the others would call the cops) So I decided to go onto the site and watch every episode. (Which at that time, was probably around 125... Yes, a lot of it was a waste of time, but I've never had a problem saying that my social life is at a zero. Anyway, it was quite funny at the beginning, and I can see the creator's intent with the first videos: They were trying to set up a fan-base of people who loved Bree's videos and then slowly add a serious back-story to get them worried for Bree when she was in danger. Smart thinking. Anyway, the added story line made me cuss out loud for a while because it threw me so off. Stuff about The Order, Hymn of One, The Ceremony, Trait Positive, watchers, shadows, blah blah blah really threw me off... I still get the story, but it just feels like they were trying to go for intentional drama to get more viewers or something. At times, the characters seem a little stupid a.k.a. no common sense... But what I really want to talk about is the finale: [spoiler]Bree actually dies at the end. And she didn't even die in a good way... She says something along the lines that she knows she'll never escape the order, so her friends will never be free. So she sacrifices her own life to give the bad guys something they want... I'm not sure what the story will lead to, but it seems that giving "The Order" what they want could be very dangerous to someone... But here's the lack of common sense I was talking about: After her whole confession about letting her friends be free, she asks them to find the other girls who are trait positive and save them... What good does that do???[/Spoiler] Sometimes if just feels retarded, forced, and frustrating. But I'm just easily entertained and I know that it's a good storyline. Tt just needs to be fleshed out a bit more. The character development is great (although most says it's not) and the acting is okay considering that it started out as a free production... (I especially like Sarah... She's pretty and a good actress. Definately the best out of the group) And the directing is A+ considering the style. So if I'm not the only one out in crazy land who finds entertainment out of this, or even if I am, please leave a comment if you've seen bits (or even all) of the show. Anything you want to add? ('cuz I know I forgot a lot) Good stuff? Bad stuff? Let me know.

I agree with Sandy. And Sorry to say Gavin, But teaching history means a career of neglect. Professor Binns hardly got mention throughout the series, so I guess if you want to involve Emily, you should have Professor Corvidae interatcing with her, since he seems to have motive. It's the same with Arithmancy and Ancient Runes. I'm sure that if they were described in the book as being dull and boring, no one here would really care to post from those classes. As it is, they were all shrouded in mystery, so it gives people the chance to make up (to a certain degree) what the class will consist of. It just comes with the territory and you sentenced Emily to that when you made her the history teacher. As for a million posts about DADA: I disagree. Just because a lot of people like DADA, that doesn't mean everyone will post about it! That's just rediculous. Personally, my favorite class that was mentioned in the series is Charms, Divination, (taught by Firenze, not Trelawny) Astronomy, and Trasfiguration. So naturally, I'd be posting more about that than the others. Of course, the personality of the character I created requires me to make frequent posts about Muggle Studies... So, I will try my hardest to get several posts in from each class. I hope that everyone else will try to stay blaanced as well, but if not, why are you complaining? You get more interaction since Professor Corvidae IS the DADA teacher.

[B]Ancient Runes[/B] [B]Name:[/B] Terence Aldridge [B]Gender:[/B] Male [B]Age:[/B] 51 [B]House:[/B] Hufflepuff [B]Wand:[/B] Brazilwood, 12", Alphyn Hair [B]Personality:[/B] Torrence is truly the essence of Hufflepuff. In fact, he's a direct descendant of Helga's. He's kind to all of her students, and has been known to look the other way on late homework when a good argument is presented. He shows no favoritism between houses, and besides teaching ancient runes, he's always trying to unlock his students' hidden talents and passions in the classroom. Okay, here you go... No biggie. I didn't change anything exept gender, name, and the word "She" to "He"... Sign up still sounds good, so this is great for me... To Sandy: If you want to change one of my character's races, than you can. I often pictured Josaphine as a bit house elf-ish... IDK, maybe 20 years later, elf relations are large enough for them to be teaching... Besides, an elf doesn't need a wand to teach muggle studies... But this is all up to you guys

The reason why I added so many girls [I]was[/I] to even out the genders. I really wanted to throw a guy in there, but then it wouldn't be even... And taking out Binns and replacing him with Emily really throws things off. I could always change one of them to a boy. Or Gavin could make Emily a boy... Or Emily could take another spot on the staff, like one of the spots I used my character for. (Really, I wouldn't mind) Except Josaphine... After I made her up on the top of my head, I like her now... But 7/5 ratio of woman (not including Minerva McGonagall) is hardly balanced. Feel free to replace one of mine if you want Sandy.

So I guess we're just waiting on DB to post the next chapter or something? Because it's been so long it makes me wonder whether he intended to do so immediately or not. (obviously not immediately) I would make another post in the mean-time, but I'm not allowed to double... What's your excuse?

[I]Keeping the Hufflepuff trend alive:[/I] [SIZE="1"][B]Name:[/B] Aiden Patch Caldwell (Goes by his middle name) [B]Gender:[/B] Male [B]Age:[/B] 17 (June 21) [B]Year:[/B] Seventh [B]House:[/B]Hufflepuff [B]Wand:[/B] Nine and a quarter inches, [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_mangrove"][U]Black Mangrove[/U][/URL] with a [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_panther"][U]Copper Cat[/U][/URL] Feather at its core [B]Appearance:[/B] [URL="http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/7543/badboysiriusincolorew0.jpg"][U]Patch[/U][/URL] Patch is 5' 11" and weighs 140 lbs. He has a well built frame and is somewhat tan. He has eyes that change color with the seasons, (Green for summer, Blue for winter, Brown for spring, and a Honey Yellow shade during autumn) and some suspect that this is a partial Metamorphmagi trait. He has black hair that is naturally smooth. When he's not in uniform, you'll find him wearing an array of either Brittanica, Muggle band, or Chudley Cannons Quidditch shirts. [B]Personality:[/B] Patch is a very curious wizard. Most would say that he has book smarts, but not street smarts. Even the simplest jokes seem to fly over his head. Of course he displays the attributes of Hufflepuff, being loyal and just, but he's also very smart in certain core classes of his Hogwarts studies. Not to mention that he's brave and passionate at everything he does. He also posesses attributes common to Slytherin such as his short temper and disregard for the rules. Minerva McGonagall believes that the sorting hat put him in Hufflepuff because it couldn't make up its mind. Patch is very good with words and an excelling conversationalist. He loves every aspect of muggle life, and aspires to make several muggle connections when he's out of school. He's also a quidditch lover, buying season tickets to every Chudley Cannon home game each year. (Despite their losing streak after 1892, they have recently improved a lot) [CENTER]~~~~~~~~~~[/CENTER] [I]EDIT: I wanted to add a scene since I don't feel the Personality is long enough and I'm bored...[/I] [U]1st Year, Sorting Hat Ceremony:[/U] [B]"Caldwell, Aiden"[/B] Professor McGonnagall looked at the group of nervous first years, scanning each of them for the boy. It must have been his flushed cheeks that gave him away, because she took one glance at Patch and told him to come forward. Then again, maybe it was magic. But Patch wasn't flushed because of nervousness; it was the usage of his first name, Aiden. He hated it, but he couldn't blame the headmistriss. The hat was rather old and ratty, with several patches all over it. It had an odd crease in the center of it and Patch remembered his father telling him that it spoke when it was really confused about where to sort someone. Of course it announced the House of choice to all of Hogwarts and it spoke to each student, but Aiden's father told him that the hat rarely spoke out loud. You were quite unique if it couldn't decide. He wasn't thinking about the hat's mouth, but rather the dirty rag itself. He imagined every head that the hat had rested upon. This revelation brough his gaze to the Slytherin table in particular and the boy name 'Azeal.' He had the greasiest hair in the room that the light from the enchanted cieling above him reflected with just fury that it could proabably light the the darkest depths of the forbidden forest. [I]I'm sure there's a draught to deal with nasty hair,[/I] he thought to himself and laughed. He sat down on the small stool facing out at each of the tables. The royal blue of Ravenclaw that he envied. The bright canary yellow of Hufflepuff. The glorious red of Gryffindor, the house of the boy who lived: Harry Potter. And then with fear, he turned to the emerald green of the Slytherin table. The boys and girls who couldn't seem to play nice and the sinister house which raised the most vile wizards the world had ever seen. Of all the houses, Patch hoped he wasn't placed into Slytherin. Minerva dropped the rather large hat on Patch's head, the brim falling over his eyes. He had to pull it back to see. [B]"Interesting,"[/B] it said aloud. Patch was quite alarmed at the sound of a hat talking, but took solice in the fact that no one else seemed to be alarmed. He remembered his father telling him that there's at least one or two students each year that it talks to. It was just pretty amazing that he was one of those few. [B]"You're definately loyal. No doubt about passion. And the brains are there. But the rudeness is quite offending, boy!"[/B] The hat said and Patch knew that it had read his thoughts about it being old and ratty. His cheeks turned a violent red as everyone listened in. [B]"And quick to pass judgement,"[/B] now it was recalling the his thoughts on the Slytherin boy. Patch couldn't help glancing over at the green table, fearful that they might catch on to what the hat was saying, but they stayed pleasently content. [B]"Just for that, I should put you in--"[/B]He knew that he was going to say Slytherin and his heart dropped. [B]"No, no. You wouldn't like that would you? But you fit in very well with any of the houses. Very witty. Very brave. Very Loyal,"[/B] It continued, obviously reciting characteristics of the remaining houses after deciding against Slytherin. [B]"But you seem to be very unorganized and scatter brained. Not to mention nervous,"[/B] And then it spoke only to Patch. He was sure that the other students couldn't hear but that didn't make the words feel any less painful. [B]"And you'll not be going to Gryffindor after insulting the great Godric's own personal wizarding hat."[/B] Patch didn't know that the sorting hat belonged to Godric Gryffindor. He felt stupid for missing such an important detail, and even more stupid for finding such an old hat ratty on account of a few patches. [B]"Apology accepted,"[/B] the hat spoke only to Aiden again. At least it was a forgiving hat and a sigh of relief left his lips. Gryffindor wouldn't be such a bad house to be sorted into. Then it spoke aloud again: [B]"Even so, I feel you would be best for... Hufflepuff!"[/B] it said with a loud roar. McGonagall patted him on the back and the roar of cheering from the houses, especially the Hufflepuff table, instantly let him feel at home. [I]No worries[/I] [CENTER]~~~~~~~~~~[/CENTER] [B]Classes:[/B] [INDENT][I]Schedule 1 (Mon/Wed/Fri)[/I][LIST] [*]9:00am - Charms [*]10:45am - Ancient Runes [*]1:00pm - Care of Magical Creatures [*]2:45pm - Herbology [*]Midnight - Astronomy [/LIST] [I]Schedule 2 (Tue/Thu)[/I][LIST] [*]9:00am - Transfiguration [*]10:45am - Muggle Studies [*]1:00pm - Defense Against the Dark Arts [*]2:45pm - Potions [*]3:30pm - Divination[/LIST] [/INDENT] [/SIZE] [SIZE=1][B]Biography:[/B] Aiden was born to a muggle-born American, Tayla, and a British pure-blood name Theo. Theo met Tayla on an expidition around the world and they fell in love. When they married, Theo moved to America. There, they had only one child, Aiden, and the three spent several years of happiness together. One evening, Tayla became ill and passed away leaving Theo and Aiden with only pictures and enchanted music boxes. (Aiden still has everything she ever left him) Several years later, Aiden recieved his letter to Hogwarts and Theo saw it as an excuse to move back to Britan. There, Patch became interested in everything wizardly, and became top of his class. He alwasy loved muggle life because Tayla used to tell him all kinds of stories from her childhood. Patch especially fell in love with muggle music and transportation. By no means, would he ever give up his wizard life, but he's often found carrying muggle items around Hogwarts. (Not entirely unlike a previous wizard at Hogwarts, Arthur Weasley) [B]Familiar:[/B] A Scops owl named [URL="http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore_raptors/owls/media/sokokesc.jpg"][U]Xanthia[/U][/URL] [B]Interesting Facts:[/B] - Chaser on Hufflepuff Quidditch team (if that's okay) - His Patronus is a Panther - He is head boy (also, this is only with Lionheart's approval) - Member of the dueling club - Made passing grades in all of his OWL tests (studying for NEWTs this year) - Took Arithmancy for one year and failed miserably - Has an American accent[/SIZE] P.S. I would just like to point out to everyone that scheduled their Astronomy class at 9:00am, J.K. wrote Astronomy to be held on the highest tower at midnight. Think about it, how else are they supposed to look at stars? Especially when the sun's up.

[quote name='Lionheart'][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]- Professor Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration, Headmistress of Hogwarts [/FONT][/QUOTE] Seeing as Dumbledore gave the Transfiguration position to Minerva when he became headmaster, I assume it's custom for the headmaster (or mistriss) to be exempt from teaching classes. Ultimately it's your choice, but I think it would be highly unlikely that she would be the Transfiguration teacher. [B]Edit:[/B] So, I went through and created a few teachers. Keep in mind they're only NPCs used to take up space. If others want to sign up as teachers, you can either throw away these characters, or move them other postions like Matron or Librarian or Flying teacher. (So maybe your goal of all-original professors won't be so hard) Trust me, it won't hurt my feelings. I obviously only spent a few minutes creating them. (Hence the underdeveloped personality and such) So here 'goes: [B]1) Transfiguration[/B] (Given that you choose not to keep Minerva in that position) [B]Name:[/B] Dana Gray [B]Gender:[/B] Female [B]Age:[/B] 39 [B]House:[/B] Gryffindor [B]Wand:[/B] Foxglove, 12 1/2", Manticore Scale [B]Personality:[/B] Very "rude and shrewd" teaching style. She's very stubborn and somewhat biased in her opinions. She's strict, and has been thought to be the hardest transfiguration teacher since Albus Dumbledore. She's not mean, but she doens't know how to treat children properly without fear of mutiny. [B]2)Ancient Runes[/B] [B]Name:[/B] Torrence Aldridge [B]Gender:[/B] Female [B]Age:[/B] 51 [B]House:[/B] Hufflepuff [B]Wand:[/B] Brazilwood, 12", Alphyn Hair [B]Personality:[/B] Torrence is truly the essence of Hufflepuff. In fact, she's a direct descendant of Helga's. She's kind to all of her students, and has been known to look the other way on late homework when a good argument is presented. She shows no favoritism between houses, and besides teaching ancient runes, she's always trying to unlock her students' hidden talents and passions in the classroom. [B]3)Muggle Studies[/B] [B]Name:[/B] Josaphine Eggleston [B]Gender:[/B] Female [B]Age:[/B] 72 [B]House:[/B] Gryffindor [B]Wand:[/B] Laurel, 10 1/4", Catoblepas Scale [B]Personality:[/B] very old and lively. She loves teaching, but hates schedules. You'll find her fogetful, scatter-brained, and she alwasy appears to be under a Confundus spell. She's a very innocent and sweet old lady once you get to know her, but she's pretty plain. [B]Notes:[/B] She was previously retired from Hogwarts but was called back after the death of Charity Burbage. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Assuming that all of my NPCs are accepted and whatnot, here's what the staff looks like right now: - Headmistriss Minerva McGonagall - Professor Neville Longbottom, Herbology, Head of Gryffindor - Professor Alexander Corvidae, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Head of Ravenclaw - Professor Jacobim Crowe, Charms, Head of Hufflepuff - Professor Zeta Conroy, Potions, Head of Slytherin - Professor Dana Gray, Transfiguration - Professor Aurora Sinestra, Astronomy - Professor Cuthbert Binns, History of Magic - Professor Septima Vector, Arithmancy, - Professor Torrence Aldridge, Ancient Runes - Professor Firenze, Divination - Professor Rubeus Hagrid, Care of Magical Creatures - Professor Josaphine Eggleston, Muggle Studies

I was thinking about that... All these Ravenclaw, 1 Gryffindor, and 2 Slytherin... Might as well just make a requirement to be in Ravenclaw... No Hufflepuff love? Have we already forgotten Cedric Diggory??? Anywho, I was thinking of signing up as a teacher or at least a Hufflepuff student. I would like Ravenclaw, but this is a poor attempt at balancing stuff.

[quote name='Lionheart'][FONT="Franklin Gothic Medium"]Teachers: - Professor Neville Longbottom, Herbology, Head of Gryffindor - Professor Cuthbert Binns, History of magic - Professor Firenze, Divination - Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, Care of Magical Creatures - Professor Septima Vector, Arithmancy - Professor Alecto Carrow, Muggle Studies - Professor Aurora Sinistra, Astronomy - Professor Filius Flitwick, Charms, Head of Hufflepuff - Professor Professor Horace E. F. Slughorn, Potions, Head of Slytherin - Professor Alexander Corvidae, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Head of Ravenclaw - Professor Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration, Headmistress of Hogwarts That's all I got for the Hogwarts staff. Any suggestions to change or anything, feel free to comment. I'll post the NPC's later on.[/FONT][/QUOTE] Well I'm assuming you haven't finished the book; you should change Alecto Carrow. (I hope that's not too much of a spoiler to require tags around it) And Grubbly-Plank was already retired because of injuries and old age, right? Plus, Hagrid is such a popular character, I think you should go with him. He would provide more humorous posts anyway. As was stated earlier, McGonagall would have left Hogwarts already so that wouldn't work... And Professor Flitwick was alwasy Head of Ravenclaw. It was Professor Sprout that was Head of Hufflepuff... And since I doubt he would just step down from his duties and Gavin has opted to take that position, it's probably just better to get rid of him all together. (Since I'm assuming that the only way to be Head of House is to have previously gone to Hogwarts and been in that house) Lastly Slughorn had already retired once, and was initially hired as a temporary job. I would think that 20 years later, he would be out of the picture. But the other teachers were never really mentioned enough to know a lot about them, so I guess it's safe to assume that they were young enough (or of a different species for prolonged life) to still be at Hogwarts. Other than that, I see no problem. :p

Also Sandy, [spoiler]Would Victoire Weasley be in it? In the epilogue, it says that she and Teddy Lupin are an item and that she was still in school when he was 19... So I figure she would have to be 7th year if she's in school.[/spoiler]

Then I guess it's also safe to say that we can write ourselves out of the RP if we feel that we would normally die under those circumstances... I don't believe I'm a pessimist, but rather a realist. I know I wouldn't live in a situation like that... So it might not be in the near future, but expect me to die!

[SIZE=1][B]December 18, 2007[/B] I can't make this long. We're about to head out again. I can't believe that we could have been so stupid. I knew that our "paradise" wouldn't last forever. Hell, that was why we planned the escape plan, but I didn't expect it to happen so fast. In the middle of the night, one of them burst through the my bedroom window. Apparently it had come from the highway. One of the truckers were infected and crashed literally 100 yards away. I don't know why I didn't suspect anything earlier. If only I had told the group at one of our meetings, they probably would have come with us to make sure he was really dead. As it was, my grandparents are gone. and most of my friends and their families didn't make it. I don't know what happened to my parents or Angel and Aaron. They freaked, and insisted that my friends were dead. They wanted to leave without weapons or food; just drive until they found something safe. I couldn't go with them and as much as it killed me on the inside to leave them, I had no choice. I don't know if it was the right one because most of my friends didn't make it either. I guess it spread throughout the night before it got to us, but it only left about 5 of the original group. Victoria and Jaret managed to get away but had to deal with the death of their families. (the death of Victoria's little sister and Jarets girlfriend, Porshce, has left him very unstable. I think he could end up getting us all killed) Ryan and his family held out for a long time, but they became too paranoid. All the windows were boarded up and his entire family were shooting at anything that moved. I tried to tell them that I was okay, but it was no use. I hope he didn't run out of ammo too fast. Jesse and Danielle were okay, but Danielle was bitten. We all agreed to let her die first before we killed her for good. It just seemed wrong to end a life like that. John was fine. He seems to be unaffected by the outbreak. He said he was prepared before they even managed to get to his door. He brought a few weapons that add to my crossbow. We're moving around with crowbars and hammers so I hope something comes along fast. I don't know what happened to the 20 odd people that were in on the plan. Only us five managed to meet up. I hope the others are okay. We've been driving nonstop in Victoria's suburban. It's roomy enough for 5 and we have a lot of food from Subway that will last a while. (All the supermarkets and wal-marts have been raided of their canned foods) We've only been stopping to steal some gas and pick up some deodertant or toothpaste and that sort of thing. (After several days, you can't imagine how bad it smells with three guys. The girls are bad too) We've also been checking out each major gas station to steal some showers in the back room. We decided that going into neighborhoods was too risky, so we keep to the country gas station/truck stops. I don't know where we're headed. I think we're in Kansas. The snow definately says that we're north, but who can be sure with all this wie.....[/SIZE]

[COLOR="SlateGray"][SIZE="1"][B]"Well that was unexpected,"[/B] Chloe said aloud as Joe collapsed to the floor. It was strange to see the most powerful man left at Esper Hall fall so simply. Chloe had always idolized his power. And in comparison with Shiana's, it worried Chloe that there wasn't much power left at Esper Hall should they need it. At least her power had grown. Ever since she had learned how to create a psychic schield, new powers were presenting themselves to her. One was her ability to sense psychic energy around her. Esper Hall was obviously radiating from it. And now that the energy had left Joe, Chloe could tell Shiana was next. She could also tell that Treana had two spererate energies coming off of her and other strange anomalies in the psychic world. Xander gave a few clicks of annoyance, responding to Chloe's statement. That was another thing: She could understand her pet gecko. She didn't acutally hear words and she was certainly not reading his mind, but it was as though everything he chirped about became clear in her mind. Xander was basically calling her a dumb blonde, (despite having silver hair) pointing out that it shouldn't be surprising Joe had passed out and his consciousness was taken away; he was too powerful to remain here much longer. Yes, the Stonehenge incident seemed completely benificial. Unlike Dante, who seemed to be paired with Chloe in a lot of aspects, (such as their ability to learn quickly) Chloe had decided to focus on core aspects of her Esper powers. Now she was an expert flyer, could generate a 'solid' psychic shield, see several weeks into the future, (although seeing Joe collapse was not something she had anticipated) and she had decided to only pursue the elemental control of earth and nature. It seemed that to control each element required a tolerance of certain attributes: For example, Chloe found that she was easily agitated and angry when she used fire and that she was too hyper when she used electricity. And while these subtle naunces might be unnoticable to others, the development of her psychosensory ability allowed her to become more in touch with this aspect of elemental control. She found that Earth and Nature suited her just fine. The only negative thing from Stonehenge was that she had to go through it without Xander! And since Liam had disappeared, Chloe wasn't able to make good on her promise to kick him in the face. Xander gave a few more clicks of confusion. He was trying to figure out if Chloe was planning on going and if he would be able to go with her. If he wasn't, he was wondering who would take care of him while she was away. [B]"You'd better be able to go. I won't go without you."[/B] And as she stood up to inquire about leaving with the group, Jake seemed to notice her and left the podium to speak with her privately. [B]"Talking to your lizard again?"[/B] he liked to mock her. He said that she was losing her mind because there supposedly wasn't an ability that allowed empathy between species. [B]"No. I'm talking to my gecko!"[/B]And she tried to leave, searching for someone else who "out-ranked" Jake. He and Chloe hadn't been on good terms ever since the Twilight initiation. She was scared of heights and while that only gave Jake further reason to mock her, Chloe had reasoned that now that she had mastered flying, she had no reason to be scared anymore. The fact that this reason went unnoticed only infuriated her further. [B]"You're not planning on going, are you?"[/B] He asked, that crooked smile that Chloe now found annoying as hell spread across his face [B]"Why wouldn't I be?[/B] [B]"You're hardly strong enough?"[/B] Jake looked as though he were trying very hard not to laugh. He was enjoying this to much. Xander gave her a few chirps which meant that it was time to go on the offensive. Chloe agreed: [B]"You're just mad because I can whip you when it comes to flying."[/B] This was an insult that still got under Jake's skin. Apparently it took him a couple of years to learn that much control. [B]"There's only one way to find out: How about a race?"[/B] Jake wasn't smiling anymore. [I]"Time to finish him off,"[/I] she thought [B]"No thanks. Only insecure little [I]boys[/I] have to prove their powers.[/B] The shock on his face was making it difficult for Chloe to keep a straight face, [B]"Besides, I have plenty of power and I'm able to produce a psychic shield, in case you haven't forgotten."[/B] She was referring to the time Jake had tried to read her mind and came up with a jumbled thread of false thoughts depicting Chloe with another man. Although they were false, it taught Jake a well deserved lesson. However, he still seemed unable to figure out the lesson. She turned to leave, Xander crawling on top of her head. Chloe willed herself not to turn around at the dumbstruck jock. She was determined to drag out their argument until he gave in. Xander piped a few high chirps, calling Chloe stubborn. She didn't deny it.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

People tend to think that I'm a stoner... I can understand since I hang out with people who smoke a lot of weed. I guess that's my decision and I'll have to live with the consequences. (I've only smoked once and I hated every second of it) Other than that, I like to think of myself as a trendsetter. Of course, for it to be a trend, a large body of people have to do it... Since I'm the only one in my area that dresses, or does a certain thing, people just write me off as being a WIERDO... They're not wrong, but I just don't want them to confuse my wierdness for the wrong thing. At least get to know me.

Maybe I'm just a shallow reader and I don't take time to think about what the words mean... But I was too excited to finish it, so that's probably the case. Even looking back though, I still can't think of it So I need some help: What was the significance of Harry's eyes? J.K. said that they were important and that it would become clear in the 7th book, but I'm still just as confused. Probably moreso because I found myself with more questions than answers... Also, she said that the 2nd book was a great forshadow of the 7th, but besides the obvious, I didn't see anything that related the two. In fact, I found the 5th book closer to it than anything... So maybe someone could clear that up for me It's kind of a let down for me really... Because at the end of each book, we're given all the secrets, so I guess when I waited for the final book to come out, I was expecting the revealing secrets to be so much better... But really, all the stuff that has been said would be cleared up hasn't been... Maybe :animesigh

I guess I'll give this bad boy another spot! Request: After Vegeta Rocker

o_0 When did you get back? Okay, I've been out of town for about a week (and I would have told you guys, but it was last minute since my grandpa was in the hospital) Anyway, I'm back now and after work, I'll catch up on all the reading and make a post... EDIT: Done, and with much complication... It seemed that I messed up and Rat B-- I mean DB-- wouldn't let it wait until I had a few hours of sleep in me. And btw, I completely agree with Indifference: You should have tagged a name on him if that was who he was intended to be... Anywho, now that I've added that to the story, I'll give you a name... It's Jake! And since I realize he hasn't been mentioned a lot, I can forgive. (After all, I don't even remember his last name) Okay, so if you don't mind DB, I'll make a sign-up for sometime soon. And also if you dont' mind, I'm going to bed! P.S. I would also like to point out that I did not create Jake. DB did. He's the guy mentioned with Joe and the fat one after Liam teleported all of them to his office. I just gave him a name and a bit of a personality. Sign-up for him coming soon!

0_O Wow... Just wow... It's strange, because I've just been watching "To Catch a Predator," and I find it quite entertaining... Some of the guys deserve what they get, but then there are others that shouldn't get a thing... (Except in certain states where even talking sexual is illegal) Like last night, I saw this one old guy who even told the Decoy that they couldn't do anything. And he still may have been an old perverted freak, he still had a concsience and changed his mind about even goin to the girl's house. I've seen a lot of guys on there that change their mind And not that I support the guys, but I kind of feel sorry for them because those Decoys are really leading them on... I understand the purpose but seriously, some of those men wouldn't ever be tempted if it weren't for that damn show Still, I guess they got what they deserve. The man that killed himself: Bad luck, but if he didn't want to be humiliated, then he shouldn't have shown up at a house where a 12-15 year old was staying. Besides, it's not like he would go unnoticed if he wasn't on Dateline. Less noticed, yes, but he would have become a convicted sexual predator. And they have a website, I forget what it's called, that you can type in your neighborhood and it will show you all the criminals in that area and what they were convicted for... You'd be surprised at how many live in your area.

[quote name='Identity']So there you have it. Eating Shellfish, wearing clothing of mixed materials,Tattoos, Shaving your sideburns, and eating meat with blood in it (Im sure some of you fundamentalist Christians occasionaly enoy a rare steak) are also condemned in Leviticus, but no ones gives a **** about them.[/QUOTE] But Leviticus is in the Old Testament... Of course the verse provided in 1 Corinthians is very much "up to date" so to speak. As far as eating shellfish, wearing clothing of mixed materials, etc... Forgive me, I've been absent for 3 days, I haven't had a chance to chatch up, but where did you get that out of those verses? Meh, I guess that's why religion gets so screwed up; translation throws a loop at everyone. Not to mention, there's the whole conspiracy that some books were left out and certain verses omitted. (And I'm not talking about The Davinci Code) And it's believable considering that it was only written by humans...

Just to clear up Sodom and Gamorrah: [quote name='Genisis 18:20 & 21(NIV)']Then the Lord said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gamorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."[/quote] I think the misconception of it being destroyed because of homosexual acts is because after the angels decided to stay at Lot's house, they were surrounded by every man in Sodom, "young and old" and they demanded Lot to bring them out so they could have sex with them. So while rape and sodomy may have been two of the reasons that the cities were destroyed, that verse I posted proves that, according to the bible, it was because of their "sins were so grievous." Not that sodomy, rape, and homosexuality were so grievous. I believe that the word Sodomy is derived from the part where the men demand to have sex with the angels.

If you want to take a biblical stand point on the matter: I was raised Southern Baptist, went to Assembly of God, then to Church of Chrise, then to non-denominational... Finally, agnostic. I have absorbed so many different beliefs from each religion. (not that I believe in any of them anymore besides your standard morals which are present in just about every religion including buddhism) One thing that was present in each was that homosexuality was a sin. I was also taught that the old testament is meant to be a guide; that the new testament is meant to be the new and official set of laws for christians. As far as I can tell, if you're religious or have that standpoint then 1 Corinthians 6:9 proves your point (And the fact that it's in the new testament proves that it's in the "New and Official set of rules" as I have dubbed it: [quote name='The Bible (NIV)']"Do you not know that eh wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nore idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitues nor homosexual offenders..."[/quote] But also going to these different religions have made me realize that the church are hipocrites when they criticize homosexuals for believing in God. Each and every church that I've been to has refused to acknowlede or teach certain parts of the bible. At the Assembly of God, for example, they tried to convince me to "speak in tongues" and said that I would not be filled with the "Holy Spirit" if I didn't. They were choosing to ignore 1 Cor. 12... Every religion does it, so who says christians have the right to judge someone else, (in this case, gay christians) when they do the same thing. And while you may think that homosexuality is worse than lying or premarital sex, the bible says all sins are equal in the eyes of God. The only exception is blashphemy. For the christians who try to justify their feelings, it all comes down to picking and choosing scripture, different translations, and hipocracy because no one is perfect. I will agree with that Calvinistic church from Kansas when saying it [I]does[/I] say that someone else, besides God, has the right to be judgemental. But it also comes with the stipulation that they must be on a closer, more personal relationship with God. But that makes the verse completly void since no one is better than the other, taking into context what I just wrote about every christian religion there is! For everyone else who can't justify their feelings: It's predjudice through and through. Even if you say you find yourself uncomfortable being in the presence of a homosexual, it's still predjudice. Wanna know why? Think of it in terms racism. After the civil rights movement, do you really think that most whites were "comfortable" around blacks? It's the same with homo and hetero: We were raised in a society where it's not acceptable. And now that we're seeing it more and more often in the open, we become uncomfortable with it. That doesn't mean we hate that person or that we'll avidly speak against it, but it definately shows how we were raised. I suspect in 50 to 75 years that homosexuality will be just as accepted as African Americans are now. Sure it will never be totally accepted, just as there are still racists in the world, but it will grow and eventually the predjudice attitudes will stop being passed from generation to generation and it will cease to be a big deal.

[quote name='The Boss'][color=darkred][size=1]In the end of everything, my entire philosophy is this. [B]If no harm is being done to anyone, then why the hell do you care anyways?[/B] It's no longer 'looking out for your fellow man' and it becomes 'your all up in their business where you don't belong'. [B]Mind your own business, and pay attention to your life instead of argueing over other people's descesions.[/B][/color][/size][/QUOTE] I didn't have time to read every reply on this thread, but The Boss has very similar views as myself concerning this topic, and just to add to his statement, here's a video: [URL="http://youtube.com/watch?v=xZ6TCLPR4Ks"]YouTube - Gay Marriage[/URL] I understand it's a little off topic with it being about the marriage aspect of homosexuality, but it still applies. Seriously, watch it!

[SIZE=1][COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"][B]Journal of Darren File, August 15th[/B] Michael called today. He told us not to come to San Diego. He said that as soon as graduation was finished, he and Jared were going to catch a plane back here. I could definitely see the relief on Mom and Dad’s face when they realized that they didn’t have to go. I know they would have regardless of how dangerous it became. Problem is that flights are booked for a couple of weeks. Victoria’s supposed to meet us at the airport when they get here. I feel so stupid. I can’t believe that I didn’t see it before: The graduation party, all the rumors, the way she wanted to write him. I’m an idiot. I just wonder what Michael will do when he has to go back for infantry training 10 days later. And I would definitely say a year’s worth of communications training in Florida is out of the question. Last I heard the riots have started in Florida too. And they started getting closer. Sporadic outbreaks are everywhere, but not like the wave that’s occurring on the coasts. I think the closest one to us was in Fayetteville, AR a couple a couple of weeks ago, but I heard that they got it under control. The second one that I heard of was way out in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma, but it’s the first one our state has seen. Texas has had several. And according to Katey (cousin) the riots breaking out in Kansas are only getting worse. She said that Aunt Chris and Uncle JB are considering packing up and going to live with family out in Washington. I can’t express how they seriously need to stay where they are! Roland hasn’t seen any action, and we’re closer to civilization than they are. They’ve got a three hour drive between them and the nearest Wal-Mart. If anything, I think me, Mom, and Dad should pack up and go there, but Mom won’t. She’s been getting a lot of work at her company from people seeking medical aids and nurses way out on the coast! That’s how much help they need right now. And surprisingly, most of her employees are up for the job. She’s so excited about a possible raise that she doesn’t see that this could come to us any time now. On the work front: According to Denise and Debbie, it’s been difficult to get the delivery truck to come. Not that it matters; we’ve been getting less and less business ever since the outbreak in Fayetteville. People are scared and about 75% of our business was from truckers who aren’t traveling any more. Or at least, they’re traveling less. Not to mention that even though the food poison idea was shot down a few days ago, citizens aren’t trusting, they refuse to eat out anymore. I can’t tell you how many of the big businesses are seeing less and less people. Our world is collapsing. [B]September 8th[/B] Michael never showed up. He said that several flights were canceled out of suspicion that some passengers were infected. And he said that any flight that was lucky enough to make it out of the city was so packed he couldn’t get a seat. After weeks of waiting, we have to wait even more. I hope he’s all right. The last time we heard from him was three days ago. He said he and Jared were renting a car and driving it down here. Somehow, I bet that’s illegal, but I bet that’s the least of California’s worries right now. I doubt he would try to pull a straight drive in 22 hours, but it sure as hell is making me nervous that he hasn’t gotten back yet. The food poisoning has been changed to African Rabies… What the hell ever. I thought America got it first, therefore, if anything, it should be called the American Rabies. That’s just America’s scapegoat. It all seems like bullshit. And now they’ve got us taking these pills. Or, they would have us taking the pills, but in this area, all the medicine is going to the nurses and medical aids that are being shipped out to the coasts. The police said that since we haven’t seen many outbreaks in the river valley area that we shouldn’t worry about the pills just yet but should the need come, all of our resources will be pulled to take care of the problem. The strange part is that Mom has heard the pills are a fake. Working in the medical field, I’m not surprised that she heard, but if it’s true, it really throws me for a loop. Why would they be using placebos? It would seem that if it’s really a treatment for anything, then Manhattan wouldn’t be in Quarantine! Why can’t we get simple, truthful answers? [B]October 5th [/B] Zombies? Of course the Phalanx was a damn placebo, you can’t cure the dead! Mom was right, and the U.S. was filling us a bunch of bullshit like usual. Sometimes I think we’d be lot better off if the government would get their heads out of their asses and start thinking long-term! It has gotten worse: Michael never made it home; Mom and Dad think he’s dead. She hasn’t stopped crying. There was an outbreak in Dallas TX. My grandparents are headed here as I write this. The have a lot of shit to get through on their way though. I told them to make sure they take their own gas cans; stopping could kill them. There was also an outbreak in Tulsa. Jay, who lives in Broken Arrow, said his neighbor is dead… Or he was dead, but he’s back. The weird thing was that I actually knew that guy, he was pretty cool. Jay says that he and his parents are leaving the city, but they’ll have a harder time than my grandparents. Tulsa’s being quarantined and it’s not long (I suspect a day or two) before Broken Arrow is as well. The crazies around here, namely all the church folk, have attributed Central U.S. lasting so long to their faith. Hence the name, Bible Belt. I would debate it, but it always seems pointless to argue blind faith. Most of them have boarded themselves up in the churches. Without a proper supply of food, they’ll be lucky if they don’t starve to death. I guess it’s better than the alternative. [B]October 25th[/B] There was an outbreak in Fort Smith yesterday. It happened overnight, I guess. So naturally, Roland had a flooding of refugees. I saw one those things yesterday. My friend Alayana said that her car got stolen, and needed me to come pick her and her family up to take them to Roland. It was really weird; all the video games and movies will never compare with the real thing. I damn near shit myself when it looked at me. And then, its head exploded as some random bystander shot it. Yes, that’s what’s happening now. People are carrying guns on the street, shooting anything that moves when they get paranoid. It has led to the death of several innocent people as well. But what can I say; this area is known for jumping to conclusions. The steady flow of refugees has meant an increase in students at school. The desks have been removed and now we have classes of about 50 people on the floor. It’s hot and annoying as hell, not to mention it’s against fire code regulations, but who’s going to stop us? There are even classes out on the football field and in the gymnasium. I have my first hour class on the elementary play ground in the middle of winter! The one good thing is that there hasn’t been much homework. I guess the teachers have figured out that the students won’t do it. Either that or they know none of this will be useful in the future. We’re all going to die anyway [B]November 29th[/B] Fort Smith and Van Buren have been deemed a lost cause. At noon today, every bridge in the river valley was destroyed. It was a bit depressing since I know there are others who are still alive inside the city. They’re basically stranded and they can’t come over here. The troops from Fort Chaffee are stationed all along the banks; they’ve been required to shoot anything that comes across. Alive, dead, animal, human, anything! I guess they could always go the other way, but I heard that even though the east coast outbreak occurred after west, it’s growing faster; they suspect that if a successful blockade isn’t set up along the Mississippi, that this virus will overtake America in less than a year. They closed the school. It has been consistently broken into and robbed, vandalized, and burned. I guess people just realized that it wasn’t worth keeping open. Plus, every day it rained, it became too hard to keep everyone dry. The lockers were removed to make more room, and students were advised not bring their bags to avoid getting valuables stolen. I’ve seen a lot kids bring guns to school. And no one could do a damn thing about it. I would have had one too if I could get access to it I’ve got a group of friends that are meeting every week. It’s me, Ryan, Patrick, Brian, Susan, Ashley, Quinton, Jessie, Danielle, Victoria, Trenton, and a few others. Surprisingly, all this high school drama has dropped. We’ve basically prepared ourselves for whenever the inevitable happens. Roland seems like a dream city compared to all the other shit that’s been happening, but it’s not stopping regular crime. Most of which goes unnoticed because the police force is dealing with the zombie issue. My house has been broken into twice. My grandparents have had a gun pointed at their faces and my dad got the shit kicked out of him one time. But when the virus spreads to Roland, our group and our family’s have a plan to stay safe. Some of them are responsible for stocking up on food. The others are responsible for getting ammo and guns. Dad has even been working with Ryan’s dad to fix up all the vehicles for when we do need to get out. My heart’s with everyone on the east coast. I hope that they can find their way over here ASAP. There’s no telling when the bridges along the Mississippi will go. Even so, we still have to worry about the west.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Hey, just a question: Is it possible for you to put dates next to the major events and stuff. I'm having a hard time following the time jumps in everyone's posts. (I'm not complaining; I understand that it's a journal entry and that's what we should be doing) It would help me out greatly, if you could put the date of the virus reaching the west coast and the east coast, etc. Thanks. EDIT: Also, I added a bit about a possible blockade in the making alon the Mississippi river... If you don't like it, then I can edit it out, but I didn't figure it would matter. Because, if anything, you could say that there's not enough military personnel to patrol the boarder so the blockade was unsuccessful. (Even though zombies usually wouldn't find their way out)