diana-skye

[diana-skye]

the idea that restrooms, locker rooms, etc need to be single-sex spaces in order for women to be safe is patriarchy's way of signalling to men & boys that society doesn't expect them to behave themselves around women. it is directly antifeminist. it would be antifeminist even if trans people did not exist. a feminist society would demand that women should be safe in all spaces even when there are men there.

[diana-skye]

it is november, and yesterday it felt like it was supposed to be snowing. in boston, november used a winter month, not a fall month. it is supposed to be chilly; rarely capping over 45F. it is a sweater-and-jacket month. it is a "maybe a scarf too" month. in my childhood, november meant blizzards and sleet.

it did not snow. tomorrow the weather predicts a high of 76.

i have spent so many years of my life studying the longterm possibilities of climate change - the culmination of capitalism wreaking havoc on the bodies of people, animals, plants - but every so often i am still shocked by something small and personal.

in a hundred years, when someone goes outside in boston - will they know the feeling of "snow in the air"?

i know it's a learned feeling, a sensation that maybe only longterm experience can teach. a few years ago, i was walking with my friend who had just moved up from the south. i said it smells like snow and she gave me this look like - what the fuck. i said it feels like snow too, which didn't help. she looked up to the bright blue sky and then back at me and then back at the sky. 12 hours later, we had 3 inches. you can just tell if it's going to snow.

except i can't tell, anymore. i stand outside in a tee shirt and watch my dog dance around a lake. we're in a drought and the skin of the water has peeled back twenty meters. the lake is tamed, quiet, puddlelike and sour. my pokemon go app warns there's a weather condition in my area.

my dog gets too hot from running and sits in the water and i want to laugh about his long frame and how awkwardly he sits - and i can't. some simian part of my brain is scratching the walls. it was supposed to snow. it was supposed to snow, but now it's warm instead.

during the last full solar eclipse, the dogs and the birds and the crickets went crazy under utter darkness. we laughed at them then, promising it will all be okay in a moment. but some part of me is still locked in that long night: some animal sensation.

something is wrong, my body says. i can't afford eggs or rent. i go outside to watch a sunset and listen to birdsong. i don't bring a jacket. allergies are killing me this season, allergies i didn't have as a kid. everyone comments that halloween has started to feel strange, offkilter. that it's hard having "holiday cheer." my body thinks it's april, and then it thinks we're in september, and then june.

something is terribly wrong, she whispers. go outside. it is supposed to be snowing.

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My top twenty Sirius moments

1. When he manages to seem bored in Azkaban and says he misses doing the crossword.

2. When he takes time out of his busy murder plot to buy Harry a new broom, via his finance manager/personal assistant Crookshanks.

3. His friendship with Crookshanks #squadgoals

4. When he thinks it’s a good idea to break into a dorm full of sleeping teenagers and try and stab a rat in the dark. Homeboy is verrry confident about his knife skills .

5. “There’s enough filth on my robes without you touching them Peter.” Ahh Sirius you sassy icon.

6. Also ‘If you made a better Rat then Human that’s nothing to boast about Peter.’ Le sass is strong.

7. Mr Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 perfection

8. When he sends post via tropical birds, for dramatic effect.

9. When he really leans into the criminal thing and breaks into someone’s house to use the fire ( I hope he stole some food).

10. When he basically figures out the entire GoF plot using scrounged newspapers. He’s an incredibly astute person and it’s tragic he never got to hunt Horcruxes (it would have taken him a few days).

11. The chapter Padfoot returns should be renamed ‘Wizarding world tea with Sirius Black.’ He legit had the receipts on everyone.

12. When he sends Harry a muddy pawprint as a good luck gift (be still my beating heart).

13. When Padfoot growls at Fudge while in the hospital wing. Despite being a wanted criminal who is front of the man that could have him arrested, no one insults Harry in front of Sirius.

14. When he gets bitten by something in Grimmauld place and spends a moment studying his hand in an interested way. Ahhhh he had such a sharp mind that clearly loved working things out.

15. Padfoot chasing pigeons on the way to King’s Cross.

16. God rest ye Merry Hippogriffs. I need a Sirius Black Christmas carol remix album in my life.

17. How he still looks hot while taking an exam. Trust me this is a special gift- I normally look like I haven’t slept in a week and have caffeine shakes.

18. ‘ Reading between the lines, I’d say she thinks you’re a bit conceited, mate.’ The books needed more sassy/sarcastic Sirius.

19. When he put santa hats on the elf heads, and singlehandly created the ultimate emo xmas decor.

20. His room being covered in motorcycle pictures. I’d like to think that muggle Sirius would definitely have a motorcycle themed tumblr.

[diana-skye]

A collection of some of my more spooky art too match the Halloween mood. The first skull painting is of a moose skull (if I remember correctly) so a bit of a departure from my usual horse stuff.

[diana-skye]

Beauty and the Beast 🥀

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'Draco awoke, groggy and small-eyed, to the sound of a gasp.Granger was on the stairs, her fingertips on the balustrade, a foot frozen in midair above a step.She was looking him and his new accessory – the sleeping cat, curled about his neck like a hirsute scarf.���Er – good morning,” said Granger, when she saw that she was being observed.The cat stirred at the sound of her voice. It leapt off of Draco, using his face as a launch point, and sauntered towards its mistress.'

From

Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love

By isthisselfcare

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[diana-skye]

"it's concerning if university students are genuinely struggling to read full adult-level books for class" and "don't overstate the reporting of a single news article" and "if this shift is genuinely real, it's reflective of broad curriculum changes in lower education levels, probably at least in part due to remote schooling during COVID, and doesn't mean the new generation is being willfully Stupid and Vapid" and "when reading for personal pleasure people should read whatever they like without shame" and "reading from a broad variety of genres, styles, and authorial backgrounds will improve your understanding of both literature and the real world" and "actively mocking people for their tastes in books does not encourage them to become more adventurous you're just being mean" and also "but seriously adult books are not just boringly pretentious nothingburgers padded with pointless sex scenes, and claiming they are just shows how little you've read" all can and should co-exist.

[diana-skye]

𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫🌾

[diana-skye]

[diana-skye]

not to sound like a medieval peasant or a catholic but i resent anti-carb propaganda so much like bread will never be evil it is holy it is divine it is one of life’s most simple yet decadent pleasures. love is stored in the bread

[diana-skye]

Tom Marvolo Riddle 🐍

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I think in the same way there's a 90/10 rule with horror and comedy (horror works best when it's 90% horror and 10% comedy and vice versa) there's a 90/10 rule for some relationships in fiction that's like. Wholesome and fucked up. A good friendship is at its most compelling when it's also 10% a bit fucked up. Fucked up relationship is at its most compelling when there's at least 10% of something actually sweet and substantive within. Do you get me

[diana-skye]

(via the author, at the Ex Bird place)

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NOMINATIONS COMING SOON!

Back for the fourteenth year! 2024's timeline:

September 29-October 5: Nominations open

October 6-12: Invitations sent

October 13-November 23: Six weeks for authors/artists to create

December 1: Posting begins!

Starting thinking of your favorite Dramione authors and artists to nominate for the fest! Up to twenty per person.

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In the stacks 👀

[diana-skye]

Bäckahäst in Harness

With this painting I wanted to explore the idea of kelpie or bäckahäst geting captured and put to work. I wanted to see how much of that vibe I could convey without any obvious signifiers. I was inspired in part by Schiller's poem Pegasus in Harness, except I thought a blood thirsty water horse would fare better than Pegasus and people would know better than to mess with it. I didn't use any specific references and just used a couple of photos to inspire the pose and keep the harness more or less accurate. I used acrylic paint on paper.