magicofthepen

[magicofthepen]

Via FB

I’ve posted about a bearded dragon that had to be rescued by fire fighters—here’s one that just fights fires 👍

[magicofthepen]

together we’re, unlimited 🫧

[magicofthepen]

(x)

[magicofthepen]

What is this sorcery

[magicofthepen]

Good US news because I think we all could use some of it:

The Marines are to be withdrawn from LA. The extreme escalation many of us feared did not happen thanks to the people of LA and the soldiers themselves who said "no".

The "Good Trouble Lives On" protests may not have been as big as the previous "Hands Off" and "No Kings" protests (likely due to heat + being planned on a weekday), but still 1.6k protests were held across the USA with thousands joining in with the peaceful protest.

The Trump administration has been ordered to restore $6.2 million in grant funding to nine LGBTQ+ and HIV-related nonprofits. This is fantastic.

Pittsburgh City Council has passed bills to protect its LGBTQ+ citizens.

California has stepped up to partner with and support The Trevor Project. Let's go, Cali!

Another win for California: Reports show that California is powered by two-thirds clean energy. This is a historic first and it keeps getting better!

The ACLU of Louisiana has secured the release of two wrongfully detained Iranian LSU students.

The Republican governor of New Hampshire has defied her party and shot down a book banning bill.

Shareholders have pushed back on corporations' anti-DEI proposals, forcing companies to face the fact that diversity is good for business... And reminds us that the majority does not agree with the removal of DEI, no matter what MAGA wants us to believe.

Since November, 69 of the 110 Supreme Court lawyers tasked with defending the Trump admin's policies have quit.

Don't let anyone tell you that there isn't hope, that there aren't people fighting and working and just as scared and angry as you are. You are not alone. Peaceful protests, contacting reps, and simple non-cooperation is how we sustainably and successfully push back against authoritarianism.

"We're cooked" is the devil talking. Giving up, rolling over, and perpetuating the idea that we've already failed is exactly what MAGA wants. Don't give them the satisfaction. Don't make it easy. Continue to look after each other and support your communities where you can. Keep protesting, keep calling, keep writing, keep loving. The heart is a muscle the size of your fist; we can get through this as long as we continue to stand up and say "no".

[magicofthepen]

Between seeing an old version being reblogged and seeing other zine art/stories being shared, I realised I hadn't yet posted my piece from the @galliversary Pride and Politics zine: a thoroughly researched large scale map of the Capitol region and the surrounding sectors on Gallifrey, including Prydonia and Mancipia!

As it stands, this is the final version of such a map, but it is possible I may revisit it in the future? In particular, I'd like to redo the area around Lungbarrow and Mount Cadon to better match a new analysis of the views in Hell Bent, which I've mentioned in a past post. This version, by comparison, was based on a previous analysis and was weighted far more in the direction of Day of the Doctor's version of the region.

The other thing that would get me to do more is if we get some interesting new evidence / information that adds or changes something on the map, but we'll have to wait and see (after all, we're unlikely to get much from the TV show anytime soon, given the current status quo).

Now, the full file is sadly too big to actually upload to Tumblr, as you'll be able to tell if you try actually zooming in on most of the text, so I've had to compress it quite a bit. However, I've uploaded a larger version, in all its high definition glory to the WordPress I use for Class: Ongoing books and such, for anyone who would like to download the full version to look at or make a print:

https://classongoing.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/galliversary-a-map-of-central-gallifrey-downsized-to-a3-partially-compressed-final.jpg

[magicofthepen]

[magicofthepen]

*grabs your hands and speaks to you in a tone that is so gentle* they/them pronouns stop being universal once you learn a person's pronouns. Sometimes that person's pronouns will include they/them and in that specific case you are allowed to keep using those pronouns for that person. In any case where you learn a persons pronouns and that person doesn't use they/them, you should no longer use those pronouns for that person. If you continue to use they/them pronouns knowing that person doesn't use them, you are now misgendering that person. Kindly stop doing that please. Thank you, I love you.

[magicofthepen]

The Pitt: 7:00AM vs 9:00PM

[magicofthepen]

interesting to me how moffat uses the tardis phone as a horror bit in empty child as a phone that isnt even supposed to ring bc its not real/not connected to anything and then in his own era we see 11/12 using the phone q a bit

[magicofthepen]

No tech CEO or NYT bestselling novelist will ever match the creativity of a humble French postman who decided on a whim to spend thirty-three years building a surreal, majestic palace with the bricks and mortar of his dreams.

[magicofthepen]

[magicofthepen]

Meow

[magicofthepen]

Pride Month is upon us again and so it is time to repost my little guy, Hue! I’m wishing everyone a safe, supportive, positive, and enlightening Pride, whether you’re all the way “out” or not!

[magicofthepen]

Looking for some of the best science fiction and fantasy coming out of Africa right now? Here's a list of recommendations from Wole Talabi, Lauren Beukes and T.L. Huchu, from their 2024 Glasgow Worldcon panel "Through an African Lens".

The list

Rosewater - Tade Thompson

Lagoon - Nnedi Okorafor

Mermaid Fillet - Mia Arderne

Dazzling - Chikodili Emelumadu

The First Murder On Mars - Sam Wilson

The Theory of Flight - Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu

Triangulum - Masande Ntshanga

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years - Shubnum Khan

Ghostroots - 'Pemi Aguda

Womb City - Tlotlo Tsamaase

The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction - Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki and Chinaza Eziaghighala (ed)

Zoo City - Lauren Beukes

The Library of the Dead - T. L. Huchu

Drinking from Graveyard Wells - Yvette Lisa Ndlovu

Digging Stars - Novuyo Rosa Tshuma

Glory - Noviolet Bulawayo

Shigidi and the Brass Head of Obalufon - Wole Talabi

Intruders - Mohale Mashigo

AfroSF - Ivor Hartmann (ed)

It Doesn't Have To Be This Way - Alistair Mackay

Azotus the Kingdom - Shadreck Chikoti

Dazzling - Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ

Online, they also suggest The African Books Collective, the Sauutiverse, and AfricanSFS.

[magicofthepen]

A little before and after the Jellicle Ball

Cats Casa Mañana

31.05.2025

[magicofthepen]

The paw on the window