A Safe Space for Moogles

You ever write one of those scenes, step back, and realize that you needed to write it out, but it's not going to make it into the fic proper? It's like, okay, now I know what happens and how it all fits together, but I'm still a little frustrated that I put in the time and it's not going to go into my total wordcount. *grumbles and puts my Mythbuster muses away for the night*

How to prevent rape! No, for real this time.

Reason number 20394 why I love the President.

Also, I rode my bike up a Big Hill today! I was tempted to give up halfway through, but I made it all the way to the top! And then my thighs exploded and I died.

One of the interesting things about having a low emotional intelligence is I keep discovering new things about myself.

You all know how I feel about gay rights, and marriage equality in particular. (And for those of you who are new to this journal, let me break it down in simple terms: DO WANT.) I'm at least conceptually bisexual, so that may have something to do with it, but even if I was straight I'd still feel this strongly about it.* ...However, I'm not vocal about it in my public life. Now granted, I'm not vocal about much of anything in my public life, but still, even an introvert wants to declare herself once in awhile. "Here I stand sit, with a book; I can do no other."

Enter the National Marriage Boycott: a student movement whose members pledge not to marry until the right of gay couples to wed is recognized. The repeal of DOMA (boo, hiss) seems to be the stated goal for most of these pledgers, which is probably a good thing. Those couples waiting around for all 50 states to make gay marriage legal will probably be living in sin for a long time.

"What a great idea," thinks I. "What a nice ring. And hey, it won't be a hardship at all to keep that pledge. Where do I sign up?"

...Except I didn't. I dithered, and then I closed the tab in a fit of Feeling Uncomfortable. I've been working a little harder on trusting my gut lately, but I still would like some semblance of a rational explanation that my gut isn't providing. I never thought marriage was something important to me, or a goal that I had. I can't even picture myself being married. And yet, and yet.

I don't know. Maybe I'm looking at it the wrong way. I think part of me would be appalled if some friends came to me and said, "Because you're not allowed to marry Yomiko Readman**, we're going to forgo that happiness in our own lives." Maybe that's all it is.

And yet, and yet.



*At least I hope so. Otherwise, I need to have a long talk with me.

**Just for example.

Hay guys! Wanna scare yourself shitless?

What 'worldview' (whatever the hell that means) are YOU? :D Brought to you by 'Worldview Weekend', the online magazine on Christian worldview, Biblical worldview and, I dunno, kicking evolutionary biologists' puppies or something.

Actually, the best that I can figure, 'worldview' is basically a set of rock-hard biases and prejudices through which you filter everything that comes your way. One would think that this would be, y'know, kind of a negative thing, but these guys seem to take it as the Natural Order of Things. The only negative, apparently, is if you have a filter that doesn't quite line up with theirs. Fortunately, if you get a low score, the site provides suggestions about how you can submit to brainwashing improve your Biblical Worldview. These suggestions include attending summit camps or weekend worldview conferences, reading certain books (there is a respectable list, but I notice with interest that the Bible is not on it), and selling all you have and giving the money to the poor. No, wait, that'd just be silly.

Alternatively, you could just memorize the 'correct answers' that they thoughtfully provide for you.

Guys, they're not even trying to pretend anymore, are they?

(For the record: my score was negative 73 points. My classification is "Communist/Marxist/Socialist/Secular Humanist Worldview Thinker", because obviously all those things are exactly the same.)

What is this feeling...?

It's kinda... light. Almost floaty. But at the same time it's animating. It makes me want to run out and do something amazing.

It makes me feel like I could do something amazing.

Is it... hope?

President Obama has some sort of glamour going, I would swear. If it is enchantment, I hope it is forever.

Just watched the inauguration ceremony on TV. Can you tell? ^_^;;; (And I was warm and cuddled while I was doing it, not like those poor suckers freezing their butts off on the Mall.) Aretha Franklin and the dude what gave the benediction also rocked. But oh my god, the new President's speech. My heart is still in the lower stratosphere somewhere spinning and going "WHEEEE." I feel like I can finally be proud of my own country.

*runs around glomping everybody and giving them big smooches* :DDDD

I seem to be growing an unhealthy love for crack RPF. I wonder if they make a pill for that.


Title: Aliens In the Desert
Fandom: Transformers (Movie) / RPF
Rating: G
Word Count: 569
Summary: Barack Obama has to adapt to strangeness pretty quickly in his chosen profession; then again, maybe these guys aren't so strange. Er, 'giant alien robots' notwithstanding.

( President-elect Barack Obama squinted over the tarmac... )

...Yes, I know I should be working on kinkfest. My brain, she does not always stay on the rails.

From: protester_in_the_know@gayrights.org
To: organizer@gayrights.org
Re: Saturday's protest

Hello,

I found your protest site online and it said that the protest would be taking place at the US Capitol. The super-secret gay agenda password is "marshmallow." Now, what's the real location?

***

From: organizer@gayrights.org
To: protester_in_the_know@gayrights.org
Re: Re: Saturday's protest

The real location is at the White House. Remember, don't tell anyone! This secret information mustn't fall into the hands of painfully earnest moogles the enemy!

***

*headdesk* In other headlines, I am fail. -_-

It was pouring down rain when I got off the Metro stop, but I zipped up my jacket like a brave moogle and headed out anyway. It wasn't hard to find the Capitol building - once you see the dome you're halfway there, anyway - but skipping across slick black streets while the rain collects on your glasses is another matter entirely. I contented myself with the thought that everyone else would be in the same boat (not literally, one hoped) and there's got to be some karmic points awarded for suffering for a good cause. And so, with damp jeans and high hopes, I crossed the street to the front of the Capitol building and found... nothing.

I guess the rain drove justice away after all. I'd arrived a little late, but not that late. Just in case, I wandered up and down the National Mall, keeping my eyes open for any hint of rainbow flags. I saw some Free Tibet protesters, but no Free Marriage. Eventually I admitted defeat and took some pictures before finding my way back home, my furry butt thoroughly kicked.

*sigh* So, yes. Fight the hate, y'all.

Goin to protest for marriage equality, brb.

I usually figure that y'all pretty much know where I stand, politics-wise, and I hardly ever have anything to say that hasn't already been said by people much more erudite than me. But, um, well, as we were pulling out from the voting place Mom said to me, "If Obama wins, we'll have a celebratory healthy lunch. And if McCain wins, we'll drown our sorrows in ice cream." And I have never looked forward to a salad more than I am right now. ^_^

(Freedom tastes like cheeseburger; victory tastes like salad?)

So, um. Let me get this out first: OMGSQUEEOBAMAWONOBAMAWONYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYY! *irrational exuberance! VICTORY DANCE! Dadadada, da da dadadada!*

:D

Ahem. Dignity. Yes. So, I dunno how valuable my support is, seeing as how there are few organisms on this planet I would've voted for McCain over, but oh my heaven I really do love this man. He's sane, he's grounded, he's from the same place as the rest of us and gotten his hands dirty doing the best kind of work. He's open-minded of other people's viewpoints but he has his standards of integrity that I think really made him shine during the campaign. I really think he's going to do an amazing job as president. THAT SAID. He's not going to wave his magic wand and fix everything. That's up to us, you guys, and this was just the first in a long series of battles. Even though hope prevailed in the general election, there are still quite a few states that now have shiny new laws banning gay marriage. Bigotry and hate still hold quite a bit of power in this country, but guys? Their days are numbered. They knew that even before this election went down. We can beat them as long as we don't stop fighting.

Roll up your sleeves, folks. It's time to get to work.

*proudly shows off shiny 'I Voted' sticker* ^_^ There wasn't even a line when I went, so I got to go home and relax afterwards before going back in to work. And it was my first paper ballot, too! Brings back memories, that does. XD And really, I trust those more than the electronic machines,

And with that, I've done all I can. I'm not even going to watch the coverage - I'll find out tomorrow. I'm too tired to be anxious. *flops* Who knew waiting around for the vets to get done so you could mop could be so exhausting...? But on the other hand, I got to meet a beautiful husky and am apparently now the skritchie servant to at least two cats, one of which is about thirty-five pounds.* But I'm still probably going to start bringing my sketchpad in my purse again, if I have that much downtime when I work evenings.

*It's hard to tell if he's overweight or not 'cause of all the fur, but I don't think that's all of it. This cat is just - plain - huge. I think his mama was a mountain lion or something.

The bad news: coming back from another fun-filled day of whoring myself out to the corporate world, I discovered I had a flat tire.
The good news: when I discovered it, I was in a Goodyear parking lot. ^_^ So, it's fixed now, but it may be a good idea to get new tires soon just in case. *worried look*

ANYWAY: Flist, advise me. There's a part-time job opening as an Animal Caretaker at a local animal shelter. The catch? It's on weekday evenings, which means I wouldn't get to see my People then. Guys, I am enough of a hermit. Besides, evening is my writing time.

But... it'd get me some monies, and it's better than retail by several orders of magnitude, and it'd make Mom less likely to get on my case. So do I go for it, or hope like hell I get some hits before my birthday and Mom pushes me into retail?


LASTLY: I found something awesome. I Am Emily X: the blog of a woman who volunteers as security for Planned Parenthood. And there's a fundraiser going on right now that raises money according to the number of protesters she encounters! :D

Moogledragon is huffing smoke from her cave again. This is why. Yep, the 'conscientious objector pharmacist' law is officially proposed. Forgive the turn of phrase, but why wasn't this killed in utero?

It's on a 'thirty day public comment period,' which in this administration pretty much means 'go ahead and get all your bitching out of the way now, 'cause we're passin' this puppy.' Which isn't to say I'm not going to speak up about it, oh no. Moogle is mad as hell and she's not gonna take it anymore.

*growls, paces, flexes claws, sets a few things on fire*

In other news, behold my first oekaki in a long, long time. It's pretty bad, but it's still porn, so up it goes. (Not bad porn, just two mechs kissing while a third watches approvingly. Well, I assume so. It's hard to tell with him.)

So I was planning to do a more humorous post, but this pretty much trumps it right now. I know you all have probably seen this already (three people on my flist had posted about it just this morning), but for those who haven't: In a spectacular act of complicity with the religious right, the Department of Health and Human Services Monday released a proposal that allows any federal grant recipient to obstruct a woman's access to contraception. In order to do this, the Department is attempting to redefine many forms of contraception, the birth control 40% of Americans use, as abortion.

I'll let that sink in.

I think namaah_darling says it best (with profanity), but really, what the hell. We fought so hard to get contraception accepted in this country at the turn of the century, and now they want to turn back the clock. There's a link to a Planned Parenthood thing where you can voice your dissent here, so here's what I wrote:

This rule would disproportionately affect the lower classes. The rich and the privileged will always be able to get whatever they need, from abortions to contraceptives, regardless of law or ideology: not so the poor woman who is bound by her circumstances and at the mercy of people (mostly men) who neither care about her nor know her difficulties. To deny her some method to control her reproductive system is inhuman - and you may, of course, tell her 'abstinence' until you're blue in the face, but that doesn't even work for the high school students in our country, so why should it work for an adult woman who has, or should have, the right to choose who she sleeps with and when?

To pass this law would be a massive blow not only to the rights of women and children in this country, but also human rights as a whole. I am a woman and a citizen of the United States and I ask you - please do not pass this!

Of course, that was me restraining myself. I really wanted to say this:

No, I won't just keep my legs closed, you moralizing, hypocritical, authoritarian old farts.


The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Telephone: 202-619-0257
Toll Free: 1-877-696-6775

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt
Office Phone: 202-690-7000 or 202-205-4708
Email: mike.leavitt@hhs.gov
Fax: 202-690-7203
Correspondence Secretary: 202-690-6392

According to faithinfire, the proposal is still in draft form and hasn't gotten anywhere Official yet, but I'd very much like to nip this in the bud as soon as possible.

Lessee... what have I been up to the last few days?

Friday: participated in the LJ strike. Yes, I'm a whiny little fangirl, get it out of your systems. ( My thoughts on the matter in short rant form, for those who are interested. )

*whew* Okay, I'm done.

Saturday: went out in the evening with _kyri and lighttomoyo. We went bowling (_kyri and I sucked) and roller skating (we all kind of sucked) and to dinner, and much fun and liberties with each others' boobs were had by all. And I was out until 1:30 in the morning, whee. ^_^

Sunday: cleaned up in the basement a little, then poptartodoom called to say she was in the area, would I like to do something? As luck would have it, Mom and I had already been planning to see Horton Hears a Who, so one more person was only of the squee. We did like the movie, for reference; was very cute. Although during the scarier parts I kept thinking, "Horton, you're a damn elephant. You outweigh everyone else in the jungle! Just stampede the hell out of them, for heaven's sake!" But then he wouldn't be Horton anymore, and this wouldn't be a kid's movie anymore. And I wonder if I ought to be worried about myself. ( Horton continued: cut for current events, abortion, and a certain amount of smugness. )

Today: I got much farther on my projects, which is good as the mod ends next week. *eyeroll* Aaaand of course the printer is broken. Argh. Also, I heard a nasty rumor about how few colleges take transfer credits from the school that gets forty thousand dollars a year from me, but I'm trying not to think about that until I graduate. I really, really, really don't need anything else to worry about.

Also, apparently the President is visiting the base on Thursday. He's giving a speech at the Air Force Museum in the morning, and taking over half my dad's office building to give pep talks to the people who lost family in Iraq. (The death toll - just for Americans, mind you - hit the 4000 mark on Easter. Happy resurrection day, Jesus.)

( A Turtles ficlet for kyri, because I promised. )

So. Um. Can I just go on record as being a total Obama fangirl now? *flails* He took his speech right from my heart, I swear to all. If he gets in, we just might be able to fix some of this shit.

In completely unrelated news, Dad was contacted today about a possible job in Colorado Springs. Right now it's only a possibility (for various inscrutable reasons that basically boil down to "the military enjoys shuffling papers"), but if he does get the job, I'll think seriously about following my parents there. Apparently the job market's pretty good in Colorado, and it's close enough to California and Oregon to make visiting there a possibility.* If Colorado's out, then I'll probably wind up in New England somewhere - no further south than Maryland, and within driving distance of DC. Which, incidentally, is the place Dad's most considering moving to. I'm oddly okay with this, considering I'm sick of living with my parents. Who knows, maybe I'll choose whichever option my parents don't.

You have no idea how much of a relief it is to even have it narrowed down this much.

Also, this is so cool.

*To someone who's used to all-day drives, at least. To non-military-brats it might seem a bit less reasonable to pop up to another state for a long weekend.

Gonna see Obama, gonna see Obama... *dances* ^_^ I'm so excited. I'm gonna be a part of the political process! :D *is dork*

Also, this from apprentice_lurk, because I can never have too much Stuff To Write:

Ask any of my fan [or original] characters a question and I'll reply in-character as them with an answer. Characters that I play in RPGs count, too. Feel free to ask them ANYTHING, regardless of whether you know them or not. Feel free to also ask them as your own character. They will respond accordingly. Ask as many as you please - this is an interview, and you can find out as many dirty secrets as you need to.

Ricochet is back from the dead! *does a dance of joy* I hooked him up to his charger on a whim and he just lit right up. I guess he just needed a jump start. ^_^

Also, the bug guy was here today for one last spray. I waited until after he sprayed the whole upstairs with noxious chemicals before engaging him in cutthroat debate about illegal immigration. I apologized to Mom later, but she said she was proud of me. ^______^

Also, we watched Stardust. ( Minor spoilers. )

ALSO. I am totally not allowed to write a Phoenix Wright/To Kill A Mockingbird crossover. Not. Allowed.

Happy RvW, everyone.

( Some of my thoughts on abortion behind the cut. But by no means all of them. If I had a mind to I could rant for days on this subject. )



And for those of you who don't feel like any heavy subjects today: the Keyblade. Not so much having a blade, per se. More of a Keybludgeon? Discuss.

(Still feeling icky, and it's my early day tomorrow. Don't expect to see me online tonight.)