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Personally I think lily befriended Sirius before she was dating james

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I saw something in the news today that truly took my breath away. If you have been paying attention to U.S. politics over the past few days, you’ve most likely seen this woman:

This is Bishop Mariann Budde, and on Monday (Trump’s inauguration) she led an interfaith prayer for Trump and the incoming administration. During the service she asked him to have mercy for LGBTQ+ Americans and undocumented immigrants. This was badly received by the Trump administration (as expected).

After seeing headlines about this woman, I read something that I wanted to share. In 1998 a man named Matthew Shepard was murdered for being gay. I’m not going to get into the details of his death on this post, but please be warned it is extremely triggering if you do choose to read more on your own. Matthew Shepard’s death caused a lot of change in the U.S. regarding how LGBTQ hate crimes are handled, and laws that were passed to protect LGBTQ+ people.

Now you’re probably wondering what Matthew Shepard has to do with an Episcopal bishop. For years after Matthew Shepard’s murder, his family had held onto his remains, too scared to lay him to rest in fear of his final resting place being vandalized. In 2018, Budde had his remains interred at the National Cathedral, which is also the place where the interfaith prayer for Trump and his administration took place. The impact of this really had an effect on me. Budde could have led a non confrontational prayer service, and chosen not to mention the harm that will come to the people Trump and his administration are going after. Instead she chose to call out hate and fear in front of some of the most powerful people on the planet, and at a place that has such a large historic meaning to the LGBTQ community.

In the next few years there will be many challenges in protecting free speech, standing up against hate, and protecting those in our communities. But I would like to believe that for every Donald Trump and Elon Musk, there are people like Marianne Budde. There are those of us who can’t speak up for themselves, so it’s important for those of us who can to amplify our voices, even if it’s not the ‘popular’ thing to do.

“And he said you should apologize. Will you apologize?

I am not going to apologize for asking for mercy for others.” - Mariann Budde’s response in a Time interview

Link to articles: x x x

Link to the Matthew Shepard Foundation if you would like to donate

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artist: talitasami ⚡️

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i write for myself not for comments but dear god getting comments does so remind me of the joy of writing and sharing something

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Recently re-read my 86 chapter Harry Potter/Original Female Character fic and....it just wasn't as good as I thought it was? Trying to edit out the alternative universe and original character bits into a novel, also thinking of reposting the fanfiction bits on Ao3 but, yeah...it would need a lot of work. Advice? Insights?

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so much of being an ok person is just 1) not panicking, 2) not taking things personally, and 3) not letting the vindictive gargoyle that lives in your head tell you what to do. this sucks because brains love doing those things

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Your favorite fic author is probably over 30.

(Yes, this is a response to a post going around how maybe it’s okay if adults are in fandom as long as they understand that fandom is for ickle kiddie-boos and walk on eggshells.  Um, no.  Back in my day, we kicked y’all off our yahoogroups so we could post adult material, and rigorously didn’t post adult material if the list allowed you.)

So, back in the day, several of the authors of an LJ community that posted NSFW fic met up and had a group photo, which they posted.  Apparently, some of the 18 year olds said, “Ewwwwwww!  They’re all, like, oooooollllld!” 

There’s actually a good reason for that. 

Writing is part being good with words and part being good at turning your life experiences into something that other people want to read.  Remember my previous rant about how you can’t assume a mystery writer is a homicidal maniac, and you can’t assume that a reader who likes a character has the same personal flaws as that character?  There’s a reason people assume these things about authors. 

See, if you’ve never fallen in love, you might think romance is when the other person brings you a dozen roses and a box of chocolates.  And that’s fine!  That’s romantic, too!  But if you have fallen in love, you might remember the time that you woke up and went to go to class and found a bunch of wildflowers and a plastic ring from a bubblegum machine tucked under your windshield wiper.  And you might remember the half touched, half about to burst out laughing expression on your sweetie’s face when you showed up to class wearing that tacky plastic ring.  You might think that love is thinking the other person is the best-looking person in the world, or that love is wanting to spend your life with someone else.  That’s love, too! Well, at least the second one is (the first is probably just infatuation). But if you’ve been in love before you’ll know that love is also hurting all over because your sweetie’s abusive parent died and they’re unexpectedly destroyed over it.  The latter is worth a million flowery declarations. 

Now, I’m not saying that no one under 30 can write.  Some young people have had very full lives.  And some young people have a natural talent for extrapolating from their own feelings.  Virgins can write convincingly about sex, even.  But the more life experience you have, the easier it is to extrapolate, and the easier it is to come up with the specific details that make things feel real and true.  

If you want to become a better writer, the best things you can do are write a lot, share what you write, and live a full life.  And remember, before you say adults should be banished from fandom:  your favorite author is probably over 30. 

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if it's good enough for you, then it deserves to be made. don't let anyone else decide if your story is worth it or not.

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I for one think the symbiotic relationship between Tumblr and AO3 is beautiful

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My only new year's resolution is to leave more comments on AO3

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It's a lot healthier to go for a daily walk than to sign up for a gym membership you won't be using because you hate that kind of exercise. It's a lot healthier to eat a frozen meal than to skip a meal because you were too tired to cook something healthy. It's a lot healthier to take a quick shower than to procrastinate an elaborate routine for days. Don't aim so high that you won't be hitting anything!

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Simply Ginny Weasley, the most popular girl at Hogwarts

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Reading 'The Forsyte Saga' and wishing that all of these Victorian bourgeois shenanigans were taking place in a Harry Potter Alternative Universe I wrote a fic in during quarantine four years ago....Just imagine, all the balls, dinner parties, and internalized angst concealed beneath finely tailored clothes, but amongst wizards and witches. This is what I should be writing....but its snowing and my back is stiff. #thatisall

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Found it!

actually there is a novel length Forsyte Saga romance novel adaptation on A03, in which an ordinary American is plonked in Irene's position

it is like looking at a snake with a very big Edwardian-shaped lump it is trying to digest

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not enough people appreciate Lilypad friendship.

Sirius became Harry's godfather. Lily knew he would be perfect to raise him in the case she and James weren't around anymore. If James suggested him, Lily agreed without any issues.

Sirius could have been the Secret Keeper. Lily trusted all her friends, but the fact that the offer was made to him first, meant that not only did she trust him with her, her husband and their kid's lives, she trusted him the most.

Rip Lily Evans, you wouldn't have let Sirius rot in Azkaban

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"the over romanticization of death eaters has made the harry potter/marauders universe lose its charm," i say into the mic.

the crowd boos. i begin to walk off in shame, when multiple voices speak and command silence from the room.

"she's right," they say. i look for the owners of the voices. there in the 5th row stands: literally every character who is inherently good but overlooked by the fandom.