diff --git a/calibre-plugin/ffdl_plugin.py b/calibre-plugin/ffdl_plugin.py
index 0a9a069..d677ea1 100644
--- a/calibre-plugin/ffdl_plugin.py
+++ b/calibre-plugin/ffdl_plugin.py
@@ -109,6 +109,11 @@ class FanFictionDownLoaderPlugin(InterfaceAction):
 
         self.menus_lock = threading.RLock()
 
+    def initialization_complete(self):
+        # otherwise configured hot keys won't work until the menu's
+        # been displayed once.
+        self.rebuild_menus()
+
     def about_to_show_menu(self):
         self.rebuild_menus()
 
diff --git a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_adastrafanficcom.py b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_adastrafanficcom.py
index bc908a2..14fe48e 100644
--- a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_adastrafanficcom.py
+++ b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_adastrafanficcom.py
@@ -79,6 +79,11 @@ class AdAstraFanficComSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
         if "Content is only suitable for mature adults. May contain explicit language and adult themes. Equivalent of NC-17." in data:
             raise exceptions.AdultCheckRequired(self.url)
             
+        # problems with some stories, but only in calibre.  I suspect
+        # issues with different SGML parsers in python.  This is a
+        # nasty hack, but it works.
+        data = data[data.index("<body"):]
+        
         # use BeautifulSoup HTML parser to make everything easier to find.
         soup = bs.BeautifulSoup(data)
 
@@ -142,6 +147,12 @@ class AdAstraFanficComSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
                 for cat in catstext:
                     self.story.addToList('category',cat.string)
 
+            if 'Characters' in label:
+                chars = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=characters'))
+                charstext = [char.string for char in chars]
+                for char in charstext:
+                    self.story.addToList('characters',char.string)
+
             if 'Genre' in label:
                 genres = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=class&type_id=1'))
                 genrestext = [genre.string for genre in genres]
@@ -175,7 +186,13 @@ class AdAstraFanficComSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
 
         logging.debug('Getting chapter text from: %s' % url)
 
-        soup = bs.BeautifulStoneSoup(self._fetchUrl(url),
+        data = self._fetchUrl(url)
+        # problems with some stories, but only in calibre.  I suspect
+        # issues with different SGML parsers in python.  This is a
+        # nasty hack, but it works.
+        data = data[data.index("<body"):]
+        
+        soup = bs.BeautifulStoneSoup(data,
                                      selfClosingTags=('br','hr')) # otherwise soup eats the br/hr tags.
         
         span = soup.find('div', {'id' : 'story'})
diff --git a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_castlefansorg.py b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_castlefansorg.py
index 907d78e..9184b9f 100644
--- a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_castlefansorg.py
+++ b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_castlefansorg.py
@@ -232,6 +232,12 @@ class CastleFansOrgAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter): # XXX
                 for cat in catstext:
                     self.story.addToList('category',cat.string)
 
+            if 'Characters' in label:
+                chars = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=characters'))
+                charstext = [char.string for char in chars]
+                for char in charstext:
+                    self.story.addToList('characters',char.string)
+
             ## Not all sites use Genre, but there's no harm to
             ## leaving it in.  Check to make sure the type_id number
             ## is correct, though--it's site specific.
diff --git a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_ficwadcom.py b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_ficwadcom.py
index 8d63aba..affd747 100644
--- a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_ficwadcom.py
+++ b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_ficwadcom.py
@@ -152,6 +152,12 @@ class FicwadComSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
             for g in m.group(1).split(','):
                 self.story.addToList('genre',g)
         
+        m = re.match(r".*?Characters: (.*?) -.*?",metastr)
+        if m:
+            for g in m.group(1).split(','):
+                if g:
+                    self.story.addToList('characters',g)
+        
         m = re.match(r".*?Published: ([0-9/]+?) -.*?",metastr)
         if m:
             self.story.setMetadata('datePublished',makeDate(m.group(1), "%Y/%m/%d"))
diff --git a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_harrypotterfanfictioncom.py b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_harrypotterfanfictioncom.py
index 2d44f9b..5682b9e 100644
--- a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_harrypotterfanfictioncom.py
+++ b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_harrypotterfanfictioncom.py
@@ -159,6 +159,11 @@ class HarryPotterFanFictionComSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
                     for g in m.group(1).split(','):
                         self.story.addToList('genre',g)
         
+                m = re.match(r".*?Characters: (.+?) Genre.*?",metastr)
+                if m:
+                    for g in m.group(1).split(','):
+                        self.story.addToList('characters',g)
+        
                 m = re.match(r".*?Warnings: (.+).*?",metastr)
                 if m:
                     for w in m.group(1).split(','):
diff --git a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_potionsandsnitchesnet.py b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_potionsandsnitchesnet.py
index de9a722..4d79413 100644
--- a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_potionsandsnitchesnet.py
+++ b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_potionsandsnitchesnet.py
@@ -145,6 +145,16 @@ class PotionsAndSnitchesNetSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
                 for cat in catstext:
                     self.story.addToList('category',cat.string)
 
+            if 'Characters' in label:
+                chars = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=characters'))
+                charstext = [char.string for char in chars]
+                for char in charstext:
+                    if char == "!Snape and Harry (required)":
+                        self.story.addToList('characters',"Snape")
+                        self.story.addToList('characters',"Harry")
+                    else:
+                        self.story.addToList('characters',char.string)
+
             if 'Genre' in label:
                 genres = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=class'))
                 genrestext = [genre.string for genre in genres]
diff --git a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_siyecouk.py b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_siyecouk.py
index a7066a0..23b3716 100644
--- a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_siyecouk.py
+++ b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_siyecouk.py
@@ -203,7 +203,10 @@ class SiyeCoUkAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter): # XXX
             if part.startswith("Characters:"):
                 part = part[part.find(':')+1:]
                 for item in part.split(','):
-                    if item.strip() != "None":
+                    if item.strip() == "Harry/Ginny":
+                        self.story.addToList('characters',"Harry")
+                        self.story.addToList('characters',"Ginny")
+                    elif item.strip() not in ("None","All"):
                         self.story.addToList('characters',item)
 
             if part.startswith("Genres:"):
diff --git a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_tenhawkpresentscom.py b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_tenhawkpresentscom.py
index a4922d2..4d4df83 100644
--- a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_tenhawkpresentscom.py
+++ b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_tenhawkpresentscom.py
@@ -178,6 +178,12 @@ class TenhawkPresentsComSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
                 for cat in catstext:
                     self.story.addToList('category',cat.string)
 
+            if 'Characters' in label:
+                chars = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=characters'))
+                charstext = [char.string for char in chars]
+                for char in charstext:
+                    self.story.addToList('characters',char.string)
+
             if 'Genre' in label:
                 genres = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=class'))
                 genrestext = [genre.string for genre in genres]
diff --git a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_thewriterscoffeeshopcom.py b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_thewriterscoffeeshopcom.py
index fecc2bd..f15db2c 100644
--- a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_thewriterscoffeeshopcom.py
+++ b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_thewriterscoffeeshopcom.py
@@ -123,6 +123,11 @@ class TheWritersCoffeeShopComSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
         if "Access denied. This story has not been validated by the adminstrators of this site." in data:
             raise exceptions.FailedToDownload(self.getSiteDomain() +" says: Access denied. This story has not been validated by the adminstrators of this site.")
             
+        # problems with some stories, but only in calibre.  I suspect
+        # issues with different SGML parsers in python.  This is a
+        # nasty hack, but it works.
+        data = data[data.index("<body"):] 
+        
         # use BeautifulSoup HTML parser to make everything easier to find.
         soup = bs.BeautifulSoup(data)
 
@@ -175,6 +180,12 @@ class TheWritersCoffeeShopComSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
                 for cat in catstext:
                     self.story.addToList('category',cat.string)
 
+            if 'Characters' in label:
+                chars = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=characters'))
+                charstext = [char.string for char in chars]
+                for char in charstext:
+                    self.story.addToList('characters',char.string)
+
             if 'Genre' in label:
                 genres = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=class'))
                 genrestext = [genre.string for genre in genres]
@@ -201,7 +212,13 @@ class TheWritersCoffeeShopComSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
 
         logging.debug('Getting chapter text from: %s' % url)
 
-        soup = bs.BeautifulStoneSoup(self._fetchUrl(url),
+        data = self._fetchUrl(url)
+        # problems with some stories, but only in calibre.  I suspect
+        # issues with different SGML parsers in python.  This is a
+        # nasty hack, but it works.
+        data = data[data.index("<body"):]
+        
+        soup = bs.BeautifulStoneSoup(data,
                                      selfClosingTags=('br','hr')) # otherwise soup eats the br/hr tags.
         
         span = soup.find('div', {'id' : 'story'})
diff --git a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_twilightednet.py b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_twilightednet.py
index 675f305..9895be2 100644
--- a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_twilightednet.py
+++ b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_twilightednet.py
@@ -118,6 +118,12 @@ class TwilightedNetSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
         if "Access denied. This story has not been validated by the adminstrators of this site." in data:
             raise exceptions.FailedToDownload(self.getSiteDomain() +" says: Access denied. This story has not been validated by the adminstrators of this site.")
             
+        # problems with some stories, but only in calibre.  I suspect
+        # issues with different SGML parsers in python.  This is a
+        # nasty hack, but it works.
+        # twilighted isn't writing <body> ??? wtf?
+        data = "<html><body>"+data[data.index("</head>"):] 
+        
         # use BeautifulSoup HTML parser to make everything easier to find.
         soup = bs.BeautifulSoup(data)
 
@@ -170,6 +176,12 @@ class TwilightedNetSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
                 for cat in catstext:
                     self.story.addToList('category',cat.string)
 
+            if 'Characters' in label:
+                chars = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=characters'))
+                charstext = [char.string for char in chars]
+                for char in charstext:
+                    self.story.addToList('characters',char.string)
+
             ## twilighted.net doesn't use genre.
             # if 'Genre' in label:
             #     genres = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=class'))
@@ -197,7 +209,14 @@ class TwilightedNetSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
 
         logging.debug('Getting chapter text from: %s' % url)
 
-        soup = bs.BeautifulStoneSoup(self._fetchUrl(url),
+        data = self._fetchUrl(url)
+        # problems with some stories, but only in calibre.  I suspect
+        # issues with different SGML parsers in python.  This is a
+        # nasty hack, but it works.
+        # twilighted isn't writing <body> ??? wtf?
+        data = "<html><body>"+data[data.index("</head>"):] 
+        
+        soup = bs.BeautifulStoneSoup(data,
                                      selfClosingTags=('br','hr')) # otherwise soup eats the br/hr tags.
         
         span = soup.find('div', {'id' : 'story'})
diff --git a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_twiwritenet.py b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_twiwritenet.py
index 9473d99..871ad9a 100644
--- a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_twiwritenet.py
+++ b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_twiwritenet.py
@@ -117,10 +117,13 @@ class TwiwriteNetSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
 
         if "Access denied. This story has not been validated by the adminstrators of this site." in data:
             raise exceptions.FailedToDownload(self.getSiteDomain() +" says: Access denied. This story has not been validated by the adminstrators of this site.")
-            
+
+        # problems with some stories, but only in calibre.  I suspect
+        # issues with different SGML parsers in python.  This is a
+        # nasty hack, but it works.
+        data = data[data.index("<body"):] 
+        
         # use BeautifulSoup HTML parser to make everything easier to find.
-        data = data[data.index("<body"):] # desperate--strip before <body
-        # in calibre plugin only, soup wasn't parsing the html properly.
         soup = bs.BeautifulSoup(data)
 
         ## Title
@@ -180,6 +183,12 @@ class TwiwriteNetSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
                 for cat in catstext:
                     self.story.addToList('category',cat.string)
 
+            if 'Characters' in label:
+                chars = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=characters'))
+                charstext = [char.string for char in chars]
+                for char in charstext:
+                    self.story.addToList('characters',char.string)
+
             if 'Genre' in label:
                 genres = labelspan.parent.findAll('a',href=re.compile(r'browse.php\?type=class&type_id=3'))
                 genrestext = [genre.string for genre in genres]
@@ -214,8 +223,11 @@ class TwiwriteNetSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
         logging.debug('Getting chapter text from: %s' % url)
 
         data = self._fetchUrl(url)
-        data = data[data.index("<body"):] # desperate--strip before <body
-        # in calibre plugin only, soup wasn't parsing the html properly.
+        # problems with some stories, but only in calibre.  I suspect
+        # issues with different SGML parsers in python.  This is a
+        # nasty hack, but it works.
+        data = data[data.index("<body"):]
+        
         soup = bs.BeautifulStoneSoup(data,
                                      selfClosingTags=('br','hr')) # otherwise soup eats the br/hr tags.
         
diff --git a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_whoficcom.py b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_whoficcom.py
index 40baa6a..6262c22 100644
--- a/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_whoficcom.py
+++ b/fanficdownloader/adapters/adapter_whoficcom.py
@@ -158,6 +158,15 @@ class WhoficComSiteAdapter(BaseSiteAdapter):
         for g in genre.split(r', '):
             self.story.addToList('genre',g)
 
+        # line 3 is characters.
+        chars = metadatachunks[3]
+        charsearch="<i>Characters:</i>"
+        if charsearch in chars:
+            chars = chars[metadatachunks[3].index(charsearch)+len(charsearch):]
+            for c in chars.split(','):
+                if c.strip() != u'None':
+                    self.story.addToList('characters',c)
+            
         # the next line is stuff with ' - ' separators *and* names--with tags.
         moremeta = metadatachunks[5]
         moremeta = re.sub(r'<[^>]+>','',moremeta) # strip tags.