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If sexual activity between same-gender people became illegal, the police would be the ones enforcing those laws.

That's why police are not welcome at Pride. Pride is for unconditional supporters, not for those who would become enemies as soon as they're ordered to.

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Unfortunately it's she who shall not be named for me :( although I guess that means my fic is very canony except for the being very gay part

Writer friends, I discovered a fun website today. It’s called “I Write Like” and here’s the description: Check which famous writer you write like with this statistical analysis tool, which analyzes your word choice and writing style and compares them with those of the famous writers.  Let me know which autor you got! 

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omg hi! just stalked the jpds tag and found your ask that said you had the pdf? i only got halfway through and i’m still haunted by that fic it would mean the world if you could send it to me <3

Sure thing! Just let me know where to send it.

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Sirius Black having rows with someone in the corridor

Remus swooping in a throwing Sirius onto his shoulder like a ragdoll and walking away with him

Remus being EXTREAMELY tall

Sirius, all flushed ,trying to jump off because

DAMMNIT MOONY I WAS WINNING

Bonus:

Remus carrying Sirius when he's too tired to function

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Amen to that lol

Merry holidays! (or lack thereof!) Can’t we just celebrate that its too cold to bother with humans?

So if you want a good example of something that is *actually* cultural Christianity, check out this AITA post where the OP wants to know if they’re an asshole for telling their father in law not to tell their kid that Santa Claus (and the Easter Bunny, tooth fairy, etc) is real, because they and their husband made the decision to not raise their kids with that myth.

When I first read it, every other comment was some variation of “Well you sound joyless and miserable, children NEED to believe in magic and whimsy! Santa Claus is an INTEGRAL part of EVERYONE’S childhood and you’re an asshole for taking that away from them!”

I would hope I don’t have to explain how shitty it is to imply that all non-Christian faiths are “joyless and miserable” for the crime of not celebrating Christmas, or that non-Christian childhoods are “cold and lonely”. But I honestly think most of those commenters weren’t thinking of it in religious terms at all. Some of those that did backpedalled with “well of course it’s alright if you have a DIFFERENT religion they can believe in”, which isn’t any better. But THAT’S what cultural Christianity is. An element of Christianity that is so ingrained in the culture that people forget that it’s religious and insist that it’s mandatory for everyone, to the point of harassing and insulting anyone who doesn’t participate. Even people who are otherwise very open and accepting!

Worth noting is that OP never stated their religion. They mention they didn’t grow up with Santa Claus for religious reasons - whether they are non-Christian religious, atheist, or a Christian denomination that doesn’t do Santa is unclear. But it doesn’t matter because all of these people are targeted by cultural Christianity. All of these people get pressured to participate in Christmas because “it’s not even really religious” and “how could you hate Christmas you grinch!” All of these people are forced to constantly defend their right to not follow Christian traditions, and all of these people should be able to live their lives how they want without having to constantly defend their reasoning.

You don’t need a reason to opt out of Christianity, you don’t need a reason to opt out of Christmas, and I shouldn’t have to say this but telling anyone that they sound “joyless and miserable” because they don’t have the same beliefs as you is insanely fucking rude.

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“streaming services are untrustworthy now”

THEY ALWAYS HAVE BEEN

THEY. ALWAYS. HAVE. BEEN.

You want to own your media. The music you love, the TV you love, the shows you love, the fic and podcasts and fanworks and books you love, DOWNLOAD THEM. I don’t care if you pirate or buy them (though the smaller the creator, the more I’d suggest you buy, or at least donate to them through whatever means available), but if you want to be sure that you’ll always have access, you need to physically own this stuff. Yes, even if it’s all digital.

The thing that streaming services offer is called SVOD. That means “subscription video on demand”. You’re subscribing to a provider, and you do not get a choice what the selection of content is this provider offers. Think of them like a TV channel. You can watch what’s on at any given time, but there is no guarantee that what you’ve seen will ever be shown again.

Back in the day, people started to use VHS to record television content and keep it. Tons and tons of academic writing has been produced on how much changed when people could finally OWN THEIR MEDIA. Do not give that up. Make sure you have this stuff. Turn off your wifi and mobile data and figure out how much media you’ve still got access to. If there’s something you’re dearly missing, go and make it accessible to you offline right now.

Here’s what happened at HBO Max (as far as I understand): they spent money on the merger with Discovery, and then figured out that they’d acquired shows, or now had shows in their catalogue, that they didn’t expect to make money off of, because the shows either didn’t fit their brand or their desired target audience or whatever else stupid reason they had. There’s this tax thing you can do where you can declare an expense a loss, essentially, if you can be sure that you won’t be making money off of whatever you acquired with that money. If it’s declared a loss, you don’t pay taxes on it. Now that they’ve declared the money they spent on these shows a loss, they cannot be found out to be making money off of them. This is why those shows are getting purged. And because nobody ever produced any physical media of these shows, or offered them for paid download where you got to keep the files, they’re just GONE. (And this is why art and capitalism don’t mix, sigh.)

This will happen again. We’ve got so many streaming services now that the smaller ones are starting to get bought by the bigger ones. A streaming platform isn’t a particularly profitable business, and since we have a few big names bouncing around the market, these big names are each going to have to develop their own specific brand in order to be unique enough to warrant a subscription (if they haven’t yet). So we’ve got mergers in an industry that’s struggling to stay out of the red and whose big players are desperately trying to develop individual, distinct profiles. Shows that don’t fit into this silo structure will be dropped and purged. Just like it used to be on TV, anything that doesn’t bring in subscribers (i.e. that doesn’t have broad mass appeal) will not find a place anymore.

Streaming is still better than traditional TV. At least they’re now trying to appeal to the people watching rather than advertisers, and there’s more leeway in regards to the kind of content that can be run. But the creativity is going to narrow. So any show that you love, anything that is exactly the kind of thing that you’ve wanted to see for years but that never got made because it doesn’t have “mass appeal” – download it. Make sure you own it any way possible. They can take it away at any moment, and they will, because money beats art when you’re running your creative industries for profit.

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Me with my old books

Witch Tip Wednesday 5.2.18

Judge a Book By Its Pages

Painting the edges of books

Hey howdy hi there!

Today’s tip is more of a tutorial, but I know it’s frustrating when I look for a blank book to make into my Witch notebook to gather ideas and write progress etc before writing in my black book. I still want it to feel magical even if it isn’t my official grimiore and getting it stock off the shelves doesn’t always lend itself to that.

This has been especially true for the new notebook I wanted to add to my mobile witch kit. The plan was to copy some perfected workings, correspondences, lists and celestial schedules etc with plenty of room to fill with ideas, results and readings.

The book I grabbed that fit perfectly was the above sketchbook. Plain black, and $5. But I wanted to dress it up a bit.

Start taping whatever edges of the book you don’t want painted.

You need to press the pages together as tightly as you can before you paint. Brush off any first or dust before starting. You can use a book press. Heavy books, or large binder clips, whatever you’ve got around!

I used liquid gold leaf, but any acrylic or “leaf” paint will work! You don’t want to use a water based paint because it will bleed through the pages.

Once the book has been pressed start dry brushing your chosen color onto the pages.

Move in one direction and apply to all sides.

Allow to dry in between coats, and reapply until no more white is showing. Mine was done with 2 coats and a touch up.

Fam the pages to separate them once they’re dry, and boom! Gilded edges have made this cheap notebook a hell of a lot prettier.

You may have to separate a few pages by hand if the fanning doesn’t separate them all.

From there, go crazy! I mounted a Scrying mirror to the back cover of this notebook so it stays safe, and close at hand. Attached some twine to tie the notebook in place, and viola. My kit is complete.

🦇Cheers, Barberwitch

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Original content of this blog is licensed under a Creative Commins Attributution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.

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Needed to hear this.

what are you all waiting for. go create weird fictions

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Indeed, the UK needs to realize its not so much better than Trump's America (though their Trump is moderately smarter, I'll grant you).

You don’t hear it a lot: but England is a terrifying place to live. And I know reading that single line will have some people snickering as if what I said isn’t true. Maybe we aren’t as bad as some places: that much is true. We don’t have gun crime, racism isn’t as much as heard of (though it definitely exists in a stupid amount). But that’s also because you lot don’t hear about it: you don’t hear it unless you’re in the country or from the country and keeping up with everything.

As a non-binary trans masc person, it’s terrifying to even step out of the house and I’m not even publicly out yet. The amount of trans and homophobia around England is insane and terrifying: it’s to the point where everyday I’m reading the news and another LGBTQ-related attack is somewhere on the front page. Another transgender person has been murdered in cold blood or another lesbian couple has been beaten up on the tube in London. As someone who has been constantly penalised and put down for trying to be who I am, as well as outted against my will, it’s scary to read these things everyday. It was heart breaking to watch GMB every morning and see Piers Morgan invalidating my gender through an argument with someone who was trying his best to defend me. It was cringe-worthy hearing the comments coming from my own “friend”‘s mouth when I tried to come out.

JKR was a perfect example of just the power of the hate in this country: her voice - and her supporters voices - were so loud that they got the government to backtrack on their plans to allow me to change my legal gender easier. Because it invalidated sexual assault survivors and their hardships. I was sexually assaulted when I was 8: and again when I was 11. Believe me when I tell you, letting a transgender woman use the fucking woman’s bathroom is NOT invalidating your assault. That sounds like a you problem, not theirs.

The government is actively enabling the persistent LGBTQ hate in this country. In the last four months there have been several online petitions which they have HAD to look at due to 100k+ signatures. Each time their only was response was “No, we support you, but no. Too much work.” If you refuse to recognise me as existing- to recognise that I am a law abiding person who deserves to be able to legally be me- then you are not supporting me.

The NHS has a wait time of anywhere from two years to ten years for gender clinic appointments: just to get put on hormone medication, you could be waiting up to 7 years for one appointment. Unless you go private that is. Not only is private extremely expensive, but the NHS practitioners have every right to DENY your referral / diagnosis because it wasn’t done by an NHS professional. So even if you do go private, there’s no guarantee. A lot of transgender people are resorting to illegally obtaining hormone drugs from dealers. We’re that desperate.

It’s gotten so bad that OTHER COUNTRIES are acknowledging that it’s unsafe to live here. Two years ago a British transgender women sought asylum in New Zealand based purely off of her gender identity and WAS SUCCESSFUL. Portugal also accepts asylum seekers based off of gender identity. That is how bad it is here. Transgender people are dying everyday. This is how bad it is.

There’s so much more I can rant about but it’s 7am and I haven’t slept. I’m tired. But I just spent three hours crying over this shirt and how not only me but hundreds of thousands of other Transgender people in England have it bad; and there’s no one here to help us.

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birthday boy

not beta read, so good luck friends.

Sirius’ birthday was always the event of the year.

Ever since 1st year when James threw a party so big he had detention w Minnie for a month, they always did something. Whether it be a big party in the Gryffindor common room, or a bond fire out by the forbidden forest. They always did something.

This year, however, partying was the last thing on Sirius’ mind.

His mind was entirlying on a sleeping Remus Lupin. Who the hell sleeps in the middle of a party anyways? Remus, apparently. The common room was loud, a deafening sound, so much so that he was surprised the party hadn't been shut down hours ago. He was seconds away from telling everyone to shut the fuck up and go back to whereever they came from, just so Remus could sleep peacefully.

He was tucked under a pillow, his cardigan was riding up his torso, as he slid down the couch. His cheeks were rosy red from his close proximity to the fire. The book he had been reading was placed beside him on the fraying chair.

That boy could sleep through anything when he was tired.

Sirius tried to make his way to Remus, but kept getting stopped by random people wishing him happy birthday, or offering him a shot. There were so many people here to celebrate with him, but he only wanted to celebrate with one. Sirius was honestly just as tired as Remus was.

They had stayed up all night, waiting for the clock to strike 4:19, the time Sirius was born. Remus and Sirius had this secret silence, where they could sit and say nothing and yet say everything. A comfortable silence Sirius could do with no one else. They had sat on Remus’ bed, Sirius hardly ever slept anywhere else these days, and Sirius had laid with his head in Remus’ lap, letting him play with his hair, braiding it or twirling it around his finger. Remus would break the silence every so often, to say how many more minutes until Sirius was seventeen.

They had finally gone to bed around 5:30 am, after a lengthy make out seshing, a silencing charm firmly in place. And waking up at seven for classes had been brutal, even for Remus who often stayed up late into the night because of his insomnia. Sirius had seen Remus doze off during Flitwick's seminar, just after lunch.

And now it was nearly 1 am the next day, and Sirius knew the only reason Remus was still down here was because of him. Remus how much his birthday meant to him, especially spending it with his loved ones. It made Sirus’ heart shine, bright and golden.

But enough was enough, Sirius had had a good birthday. Great, even. It was time for bed. Plus it wasn't even his birthday anymore, so really he didn't have to be there.

Sirius continued to push through the crowded common room, tight lipped smiles were given to anyone who tried to talk to him. He forged ahead, but when he saw James talking to Lily, he stopped to tell them he was going up to bed. James nodded, not really focusing on him, he got rather tunnel visioned around Evans.

Sirius stopped before the sleeping Lupin, his golden brown flopped over his eyes, the streaks of blond he got during the summer were starting to disappear from lack of sun, his lips were red and soft, moving slightly with his breath.

There was something so magical about Remus, the way he moved with such grace, his long legs striding everywhere he went, his hands in constant motion, fiddling with Sirius’ rings, doodling, picking his nails. The way his scars shone in the sunlight. The way he caught Siruis’ eye when something funny happened.

Beautiful.

Sirius knelt beside the couch, burying his hand into Remus’ hair without a second thought, and shifting him upright with as few movements as possible, careful not to wake him. Sirius managed to pick him up bridal style, and what a sight it was. Five foot six Sirius trying, and succeeding, to carry six foot three Remus like he was a child having fallen asleep where he wasn't supposed to. Remus had technically done that. Man child.

Remus shifted in Sirius’ arm, bringing his arms to wrap around Sirius’ neck. He burrowed into his neck, murmuring something, but continued to doze peacefully. Sirius managed to get him up the stairs without being stopped, panting heavily, his arms aching and he finally got Remus into bed.

“Didn't think you were gonna be able to do it.” Remus’ voice cracked as he burrowed deep into the covers, not even opening his eyes. Sirius’ mouth dropped.

“You were up the whole time?” Sirius said in disbelief, he was going to have back pains for the rest of his life because of him.

“Mhm.” Remus patted the open area of bed beside him, his eyes still closed. “‘M cold, lay down.” Sirius had half a mind to say no, just for the trick Remus pulled, but Remus looked so soft, and wonderful, and warm, he really couldn't say no to him. Who was he kidding, he could never say no to Remus.

Sirius climbed in, pushed up close to Remus’ chest, and Remus immediately wrapped his arms around Sirius’ chest, humming contently. Their legs were intertwined beneath the covers, Remus’ breath was warm on Sirius’ neck. Sirius closed his eyes too, pulling Remus impossibly closer.

“Did you have a good birthday?” Remus whispered, his lips touching Sirius’ ear. He suppressed a shiver. Sirius just nodded, not feeling like talking. “Good.”

And he had had a good birthday, he spent it with his favorite people, or more his favorite person, and he got loads of gifts from people he didn't even know. And Remus was going to take him to Hogsmeade the next weekend, and they were going to apparate to a nearby village and go see a movie.

But this right here was the best part. Laying in the arms of the boy that he loved. The only love he hadn't screwed up. Sirius' mind froze. Love? They hadn't said it to each other yet, in the way Sirius felt, but he knew Remus felt the same way. Or he hoped.

“I love you.” No time like the present, he supposed. Remus froze, only for a second, and then went back to drawing circles on Sirius’ stomach.

“And I love you.” Remus kissed his neck, once, twice, then laid back down. Sirius felt his face split into a grin. Well, that was easy. Things with Remus were like that, while sometimes he didn't say the right things, Remus had a way of focusing him. Centering his thoughts and feelings.

Sirius turned in Remus’ arms, to face him, only to find Remus smiling the same smile Sirius was wearing. Big, and ear to ear. Sirius leaned up to kiss him, they couldn't stop smiling so it was more tight, pulled apart lips touching tight, pulled apart lips. Finally, Sirius managed to stop smiling to pull him into a deeper kiss, full of meaning and love. Remus pulled at Sirius’ waist, bringing him closer.

“I love you.” Sirius said against Remus' lips, his heart exploding.

“I love you. Happy birthday, Pads.” Remus nestled into Sirius’ neck, his voice tired and happy and in love.

Happy birthday to him, indeed.

went w fluffff

this shit is not beta checked so if there are any mistakes pls lemme know so i can fix them

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The moment when you find out that your favourite teacher is also nd and suddenly everything makes sense

Sent 9th November~

Finding out someone else is ND is literally one of the best feelings though

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Hello, survivor here who grew up with illness and disability and who loves to explore life through fictional characters because it’s a good way to think outside of your own experiences and learn and grow and also to have fun.

Can we stop pretending that unsavory fan content made by survivors is more powerful than big bucks goreporn movies coming out every year? There’s so much discourse about how someone’s geeky indulgent fanfic can cause a whole generation of sickos to feel validated by it and go commit horrible crimes but if an obscure fic is that powerful and influential because to you fiction = reality, why isn’t a musical where we root for the characters making people pies treated the same?

If fans shouldn’t be allowed to write weird or dark or gross things for coping, speculation, learning, healing, empathy, creative exercise, or just for fun just because there might be people who cannot separate fiction from reality, then why isn’t media seen by literal millions your target as well? Because individuals are easy targets and this is all performative and you don’t actually care about us, you hurt us because that’s how weak and powerless you are, you have to harass some 20 year old survivor just trying to explore things safely in the realm of fiction and act like their weird crackship fic with 800 hits is responsible for every new trauma victim created that month.

I’ve got a secret for you: telling survivors they should be ashamed of what they create and they should kill themselves because you personally are grossed out or uncomfortable with their OTP doesn’t protect them or anyone else from harm. The one doing harm is you. Stop harming real people in the name of hypotheticals. I have seen this go on for far too long. You hurt people who are already hurting. Who does that save?

Fellow survivors and even people who just like writing dark things and know that what they write isn’t reality: asking “what if?” and exploring that creatively is not a sin.

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My heart goes out to the Irish in these trying times. May you not contract alcohol poisoning from celebrating the news

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If you went by what you see on TV you’d think the nation was gripped in a collective outpouring of grief and.. it isn’t! No spontaneous flower tributes, no black armbands. People are just getting on with their lives. The only public displays are by brands and businesses.