#jeffrey levine

[calvinandhobbes]

jeffrey levine / kristen stewart / richard hugo

[immortaladonis]

jefffzhang photographed by marcig_

[gatutor]

Keefe Brasselle-Mitzi Gaynor-Jeffrey Hunter "Tres jóvenes de Texas" (Three young texans) 1954, de Henry Levin.

[laidzart]

[darknessillumina]

Thank you guys ❤

[mitjalovse]

Session musicians on their own hould not have to go somewhere else in their sonic voyages. Guitarland from Tim Pierce, for instance, feels close to what he does on his session work for a multitude of players. You shouldn't see this as a pejorative, he probably prefers to do something within these sounds, which gave him a name in the community. Still, I'm shocked he didn't call any of his famous collaborators to lend him their services, yet I assume he wished to do something that is completely his own. I mean, session musicians are always a bunch the business people are familiar with, whereas the public doesn't really notice them. This is their great paradox – they can make or break a song, but they don't reap the benefits of that.

[haggishlyhagging]

The book list copied from feminist-reprise

Radical Lesbian Feminist Theory

A Passion for Friends: Toward a Philosophy of Female Affection, Jan Raymond

Call Me Lesbian: Lesbian Lives, Lesbian Theory, Julia Penelope

The Lesbian Heresy, Sheila Jeffreys

The Lesbian Body, Monique Wittig

Politics of Reality, Marilyn Frye

Willful Virgin: Essays in Feminism 1976-1992, Marilyn Frye

Lesbian Ethics, Sarah Hoagland

Sister/Outsider, Audre Lorde

Radical Feminist Theory –  General/Collections

Freedom Fallacy: The Limits of Liberal Feminism, edited by Miranda Kiraly and Meagan Tyler

Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed, Renate Klein and Diane Bell

Love and Politics, Carol Anne Douglas

The Dialectic of Sex–The Case for Feminist Revolution, Shulamith Firestone

Sisterhood is Powerful, Robin Morgan, ed.

Radical Feminism: A Documentary Reader, edited by Barbara A. Crow

Three Guineas, Virginia Woolf

Sexual Politics, Kate Millett

Radical Feminism, Anne Koedt, Ellen Levine, and Anita Rapone, eds.

On Lies, Secrets and Silence, Adrienne Rich

Beyond Power: On Women, Men and Morals, Marilyn French

Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law, Catharine MacKinnon

Femininity and Domination: Studies in the Phenomenology of Oppression, Sandra Bartky

Life and Death, Andrea Dworkin

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color, Gloria Anzaldua and Cherrie Moraga, eds.

Wildfire:  Igniting the She/Volution, Sonia Johnson

Homegirls: A Black Feminist Anthology, Barbara Smith ed.

Fugitive Information, Kay Leigh Hagan

Talking Back: Thinking Feminist, Thinking Black, bell hooks

Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, bell hooks

Deals with the Devil and Other Reasons to Riot, Pearl Cleage

Pilgrimages/Peregrinajes, Maria Lugones

In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens, Alice Walker

The Whole Woman, Germaine Greer

Right Wing Women, Andrea Dworkin

Feminist Theory – Specific Areas

Prostitution

Paid For: My Journey Through Prostitution, Rachel Moran

Being and Being Bought: Prostitution, Surrogacy, and the Split Self, Kajsa Ekis Ekman

The Industrial Vagina: The Political Economy of the Global Sex Trade, Sheila Jeffreys

Female Sexual Slavery, Kathleen Barry

Women, Lesbians, and Prostitution:  A Workingclass Dyke Speaks Out Against Buying Women for Sex, by Toby Summer, in Lesbian Culture: An Anthology, Julia Penelope and Susan Wolfe, eds.

Ten Reasons for Not Legalizing Prostitution, Jan Raymond

The Legalisation of Prostitution : A failed social experiment, Sheila Jeffreys

Making the Harm Visible: Global Sexual Exploitation of Women and Girls, Donna M. Hughes and Claire Roche, eds.

Prostitution, Trafficking, and Traumatic Stress, Melissa Farley

Not for Sale: Feminists Resisting Prostitution and Pornography, Christine Stark and Rebecca Whisnant, eds.

Pornography

Pornland: How Pornography Has Hijacked Our Sexuality, Gail Dines

Pornified: How Porn is Damaging Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families, Pamela Paul

Pornography: Men Possessing Women, Andrea Dworkin

Pornography: The Production and Consumption of Inequality, Gail Dines

Pornography: Evidence of the Harm, Diana Russell

Pornography and Sexual Violence:  Evidence of the Links (transcript of Minneapolis hearings published by Everywoman in the UK)

Rape

Against Our Will, Susan Brownmiller

Rape In Marriage, Diana Russell

Incest

Secret Trauma, Diana Russell

Victimized Daughters: Incest and the Development of the Female Self, Janet Liebman Jacobs

Battering/Domestic Violence

Loving to Survive, Dee Graham

Trauma and Recovery, Judith Herman

Why Does He Do That? Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men, Lundy Bancroft

Sadomasochism/”Sex Wars”

Unleashing Feminism: Critiquing Lesbian Sadomasochism in the Gay Nineties, Irene Reti, ed.

The Sex Wars, Lisa Duggan and Nan D. Hunter, eds.

The Sexual Liberals and the Attack on Feminism, edited by Dorchen Leidholdt and Janice Raymond

Sex, Lies, and Feminism, Charlotte Croson, off our backs, June 2001

How Orgasm Politics Has Hijacked the Women’s Movement, Sheila Jeffreys

A Vision of Lesbian Sexuality, Janice Raymond, in All The Rage: Reasserting Radical Lesbian Feminism, Lynne Harne & Elaine Miller, eds.

Sex and Feminism: Who Is Being Silenced? Adriene Sere in SaidIt, 2001

Consuming Passions: Some Thoughts on History, Sex and Free Enterprise by De Clarke (From Unleashing Feminism).

Separatism/Women-Only Space

“No Dobermans Allowed,”  Carolyn Gage, in Lesbian Culture: An Anthology, Julia Penelope and Susan Wolfe, eds.

For Lesbians Only:  A Separatist Anthology, Julia Penelope & Sarah Hoagland, eds.

Exploring the Value of Women-Only Space, Kya Ogyn

Medicine

Witches, Midwives and Nurses: A History of Women Healers, Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English

For Her Own Good: 150 Years of the Experts’ Advice to Women, Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English

The Hidden Malpractice: How American Medicine Treats Women as Patients and Professionals, Gena Corea

The Mother Machine: Reproductive Technologies from Artificial Insemination to Artificial Wombs, Gena Corea

Women and Madness, Phyllis Chesler

Women, Health and the Politics of Fat, Amy Winter, in Rain And Thunder, Autumn Equinox 2003, No. 20

Changing Our Minds: Lesbian Feminism and Psychology, Celia Kitzinger and Rachel Perkins

Motherhood

Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution, Adrienne Rich

The Reproduction of Mothering, Nancy Chodorow

Maternal Thinking: Toward a Politics of Peace, Sara Ruddick

Marriage/Heterosexuality

Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence, Adrienne Rich

The Spinster and Her Enemies: Feminism and Sexuality 1880-1930, Sheila Jeffreys

Anticlimax: A Feminist Perspective on the Sexual Revolution, Sheila Jeffreys

Black Macho and the Myth of the Superwoman, Michele Wallace

The Sexual Contract, Carol Pateman

A Radical Dyke Experiment for the Next Century: 5 Things to Work for Instead of Same-Sex Marriage, Betsy Brown in off our backs, January 2000 V.30; N.1 p. 24

Intercourse, Andrea Dworkin

Transgender/Queer Politics

Gender Hurts, Sheila Jeffreys

Female Erasure, edited by Ruth Barrett

Testosterone Rex: Unmaking the Myths of Our Gendered Minds, Cordelia Fine

Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference, Cordelina Fine

Sexing the Body: Gender and the Construction of Sexuality, Anne Fausto-Sterling

Myths of Gender, Anne Fausto-Sterling

Unpacking Queer Politics, Sheila Jeffreys

The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-Male, Janice Raymond

The Inconvenient Truth of Teena Brandon, Carolyn Gage

Language

Speaking Freely: Unlearning the Lies of the Fathers’ Tongues, Julia Penelope

Websters’ First New Intergalactic Wickedary, Mary Daly

Man Made Language, Dale Spender

Feminist Theology/Spirituality/Religion

Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women’s Liberation, Mary Daly

Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism, Mary Daly

The Gods and Goddesses of Old Europe, Marija Gimbutas

Woman, Church and State, Matilda Joslyn Gage

The Women’s Bible, Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Pure Lust, Mary Daly

Backlash

The War Against Women, Marilyn French

Backlash, Susan Faludi

History/Memoir

Surpassing the Love of Men, Lillian Faderman

Going Too Far:  The Personal Chronicles of a Feminist, Robin Morgan

Women of Ideas, and What Men Have Done to Them, Dale Spender

The Creation of Patriarchy, Gerda Lerner

The Creation of Feminist Consciousness, From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-Seventy, Gerda Lerner

Why History Matters, Gerda Lerner

A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft, ed.

The Elizabeth Cady Stanton-Susan B. Anthony Reader: Correspondence, Writings, Speeches, Ellen Carol Dubois, ed., Gerda Lerner, Elizabeth Cady Stanton

The Suffragette Movement, Sylvia Pankhurst

In Our Time: Memoirs of a Revolution, Susan Brownmiller

Women, Race and Class, Angela Y. Davis

Economy

Counting for Nothing: What Men Value and What Women Are Worth, Marilyn Waring

For-Giving:  A Feminist Criticism of Exchange, Genevieve Vaughn

Fat/Body Image/Appearance

Shadow on a Tightrope: Writings by Women on Fat Oppression, Lisa Schoenfielder and Barb Wieser

Beauty and Misogyny: Harmful Cultural Practices in the West, Sheila Jeffreys

Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel, Jean Kilbourne

The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf

Unbearable Weight:  Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body, Susan Bordo

The Invisible Woman:  Confronting Weight Prejudice in America, Charisse Goodman

Women En Large: Photographs of Fat Nudes, Laurie Toby Edison and Debbie Notkin

Disability

With the Power of Each Breath:  A Disabled Women’s Anthology, Susan E. Browne, Debra Connors, and Nanci Stern

[devilofthepit]

and while i'm at it here's a buffy theory reading list

Slayage: The International Journal of Buffy+

Articles:

"Buffy and the 'New Girl Order': Defining Feminism and Femininity" by Elana Levine

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: An Introduction" by Rhonda V. Wilcox

"Power Girl/Girl Power: The Female Action Hero Goes to High School (A Review of the Television Show Buffy the Vampire Slayer)" by Jacqueline Reid-Walsh with Krista Walsh

"'Hot Chicks with Superpowers': The Contested Feminism of Joss Whedon" by Lauren Schultz

"Female Heterosexual Sadism: The Final Feminist Taboo in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series" by Carol Siegel (for the life of me i can't remember where i found this and when i emailed the author she wouldn't send it to me lol)

"Kinky Vampires and Action Heroines" by Jeffrey A. Brown

“‘Solving Problems with Sharp Objects’: Female Empowerment, Sex and Violence in Buffy the Vampire Slayer” by Gwyn Symonds

"The Epistemological Stakes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Television Criticism and Marketing Demands" by Amelie Hastie

Haven't read these so take them with a grain of salt but they look promising:

"From Beneath You, It Foreshadows: Why Buffy’s First Season Matters" by David Kociemba

"Buffy the Post-Anarchist Vampire Slayer" by Lewis Call

"(Un)safe Sex: Romancing the Vampire" by Karen Backstein

"Welcome to the Hellmouth: Paradoxical Spaces in Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

"Bibliographic Good vs. Evil in Buffy the Vampire Slayer" by GraceAnne A. DeCandido

"The Clothes Make the Fan: Fashion and Online Fandom When Buffy the Vampire Slayer Goes to eBay" by Josh Stenger

"'Hey, Respect the Narrative Flow Much?': Problematic Storytelling in Buffy the Vampire Slayer" by Richard S. Albright

"Dead, White, Male: Irishness in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel" by Gerardine Meaney

"'That Was Nifty': Willow Rosenberg Saves the World in Buffy the Vampire Slayer" by Matthew Pateman (this looks at Buffy from a Jewish studies perspective which i haven't seen much!!!)

Books:

Sex and the Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan by Lorna Jowett

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale edited by James B. South

The Warrior Women of Television: A Feminist Cultural Analysis of the New Female Body in Popular Media by Dawn Heinecken (not exclusively focused on Buffy but the chapter on Buffy is very good)

I hope to keep updating this as I remember/find more!!

[a-kaosz-istene]

“…Olvastam, hogy Jeffrey Dahmer apja azt mondta, hogy fiatalabb korában neki is voltak megkérdőjelezhető gondolatai. Az emberek rögtön ráugrottak a témára és bizton állították, hogy vannak még testek, amik felfedezésre várnak. Ezúttal, az idősebb Dahmertől. Gyűlölöm, hogy el kell rontsam, de az igazság az, hogy elrettentően sok embernek vannak megkérdőjelezhető gondolatai. A gondolatok semmik. Egy légüres térben lebegő fantázia sosem ártott senkinek. Ha nem tudjuk, hogy az előttünk álló személy fejében mi jár, szinte mintha nem is létezne. Márpedig nem tudni. Rengeteg a bűncselekmény, szerte a világon és minden amit látunk az emberek azon csekély százalékának a műve, akik hallgattak is a csábítgató hangokra a fejükben. Képzeld el, hogy mennyien élhetnek hasonló természetű gondolatokkal, sőt talán küzdenek is velük, nap mint nap. Meglepődnél, ha tudnád, hány potenciális Dahmer mellett sétálsz el munkába menet. Viszont, egy különösen felborult elme kell ahhoz, hogy a hasonló gondolatait ténylegesen életre keltse és tettekké formálja. Abban a pillanatban, mikor rálépsz arra az útra, akár csak egy lábbal, vége. Ismerem az emberi természetet és nem félek tőle. Ez is csak egy másik döntés, pont mint az, hogy mit egyél vacsorára. A legtöbbünknek nem ember lesz.”

Alexander Levin: egy (nem) szociopata naplójából

[sapphoagapova]

―Falling under ℞☤💊🥼

Original Characters! X Canon

#CONTAINS: mentioned of drugs and drug withdrawals. My original character, Robyn Levine. @glam0urgh0ull's character, Zachary Phelps. Mentioned of Jeffrey Woods. Go mention anything I've missed!

#SYNOPSIS: Zachary struggles with his addiction as he anxiously awaits an intern, Mx. Levine, who seeks advice on treating a patient with withdrawal symptoms.

#AUTHORSNOTE: I am not a nurse! There could be inaccuracies! And this is my first time posting an actual fiction of Original characters:3

His hand trembled as he gently traced the letters on the file; his name is all Zachary could read over and over; it frustrated him. His neck irritably itched, the words blurred out, and he craved. Craved for addiction; craved for the pills he had in his bag. He couldn't quiet the tension, but perhaps the pills could work their magic. Maybe just one; nobody is here. Just one, he promised. His hand twitched, anticipating to just grab his bag, twist that bottle open, and perhaps get a second pill too—or three, four, or five—

"—Dr. Phelps?" A voice made him flinched back to his reality. "What?" he stammered firmly. He cleared his throat with a sharp, raspy sound, the brief noise hanging in the air after he spoke. He turned to his side to see a younger feminine individual; they wore casual clothing under their lab coat, with a headband to push back their dreads, though a few covered their forehead. It was somebody he didn't recognise, or maybe he has when he would stroll down the hallway; either way, he didn't know them personally. He tried again. "Sorry, what do you want?"

"I… Uhm, wanted to ask some enquiries, but it seems like you're busy or not in the mood; I can come back later." Their voice was quiet and timid; they were quite young, like a lamb, perhaps new in the establishment. Zachary shook his head.

"No, no! Don't worry about me. Go ahead, ask away." Before they could continue at all, he asked an inquiry of his own: "I haven't gotten your name, Miss…?"

"Mx." They corrected "Levine, sir."

"Levine." He nodded. "Are you new?"

"I'm Doctor Trelawney's intern, but she said I should come to you for the questions I'll be asking. I wanted to ask…" Their voice drifted off, tuned out of his mind as his neck itched again. Thoughts swirled in his mind like a tornado, none of them staying long enough to form anything coherent. He couldn’t focus and couldn’t calm the frenetic buzz in his head. He shifted in his seat, his legs bouncing up and down as if he couldn’t stay still for even a second. His hands fidgeted with the hem of his sleeve, then the buttons on his jacket—anything to keep them moving. There was a jitteriness in his chest, a restless itch that no amount of pacing or distraction could scratch. Every passing moment felt like an eternity. and Mx. Levine continued rambling… and rambling.

What was their question again? He couldn't catch it. He itched for his pills. Their voice has gotten loud, drumming in his head like a migraine—maybe it is, but he wanted it to stop. And there was another voice, of doubt, and another, taunting him, and they overlapped each other, and He was in his mind again. The one who started this irritation; Woods. And he was even louder than Levine. "Will you shut up, please?!" He snapped before he could realise what he had done, but when he did, he already regretted it.

Levine, the lamb, looked timider than ever; their lips stammered but no words came out. Shit, he thought. "Mx. Levine, I…"

"S-Sorry," they forced out, "I must have been rambling… I didn't mean to—"

"Please don't apologise; it was my fault." He raised his hand to stop them. "I've been… tense lately. From work," he reluctantly confessed. "I didn't mean to raise my voice at you. Whatever you need, just go ahead."

Levine seemed to hesitate at first; they inhaled deeply, raising their chest before relaxing down. "I wanted to ask… I have a patient who used to be an addict? And he has tremors and couldn't seem to hold the bar properly? I want some advice to take care of somebody with withdrawals."

"What field are you?" asked He.

"Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sir."

"Well… You have to ensure safety first:"

Robyn kept Zachary close to them, making him lean against their body. He felt sick; he was terribly sick, smelling like nausea. Trembling as ever while Robyn struggled to lift him up to the cabin. When they did, they made him lean against the couch, comforting him with some pillows and a blanket.

"Fuck… off," He threatened. Robyn didn't listen.

"Perhaps provide some pain management."

With gentle hands, they lifted the compress lightly, feeling its chillness against their fingertips. The cold seemed to seep through the fabric, and as they approached him slowly, they were mindful of his comfort, careful not to startle him. Each step was deliberate, the room quiet except for the soft shuffle of their feet against the floor. As they placed the cloth on his aching muscles, they could feel the immediate coolness against their skin—the sensation soothing but distant.

Zachary was uncharacteristically silent, his usual energy absent, his gaze unfocused. His hands, however, still trembled slightly, his fingers twitching with nervous, jittery energy. Robyn pressed the cloth lightly against his skin, watching his body tense before slowly lifting it back up, their fingers grazing over the tension in his muscles. They could feel the discomfort in his body, but it was more than that—there was an unspoken strain in the air, a heaviness that neither of them wanted to address but both knew was present.

"Then monitor his vital signs."

Their fingers traced down to his wrists, pressing firmly to feel his weak pulse. A frown tugged at their lips as they glanced at his vacant expression. He didn’t even bother to meet their gaze, lost in his own thoughts.

Worrying over a killer shouldn't have been Robyn's concern, but it was. As a medical student, it felt like a natural instinct to care for any patient in need. Despite knowing this wasn't their field—wasn't their responsibility—they couldn't ignore the unease they felt. It wasn't just about the medical care; something deeper tugged at them.

Zachary felt suffocated, despite the warmth of the blanket wrapped around him. It wasn’t enough. Even with the covers, he felt cold, like something was gnawing at him from the inside. Rest was impossible. His body jerked as he tugged his arm away from Robyn’s gentle hold, scratching at his neck, desperate for some relief. Sleep seemed out of reach, no matter how badly he craved it. The nagging voice of Robyn always lingered in his mind—lecturing him, telling him to eat, to take care of himself. They were always there, always pushing him, and he hated that feeling of being cornered.

"Offer some psychosocial support."

Kneeled down on the floor, they stared up at him. They attempted to calm his tremors by holding his hand between theirs. It didn't work, as Zachary scoffed. How pathetic they are, caring so much, wasting their energy. "You're shaking again… Look, I know you don't want to hear it, but maybe you should slow down and actually deal with this— "

"Oh, fuck off, Robyn." He scoffed. "Don’t try and start your hero act this fuckin’ early.”

"It's the evening, and you just woke up." They gently corrected—which he didn't seem to appreciate by his furrowed glare. They sighed, letting go of his hand. "You've been pacing around, sweating in low temperatures; I want to help. Why won't you admit you're struggling—?"

"Help?!" He suddenly stood up too fast, his hands balled into fists at his sides, knuckles whitening, as he stood tall, towering over the room. "The best thing you could ever do is to shut the fuck up! If I was looking for someone to bitch to me about what I do with my time, I'd take myself back to rehab!" He clenched his jaw, glaring down at Robyn.

Their pupils shook, staring up at him before blinking rapidly to calm down. "I want to help you, Zach—" "If you want to help, you can shut the fuck up." He paced around, itching his neck terribly. His mind was in all directions, without clarity or focus. The room felt too small, too tight, as if the walls were closing in with every breath he took. His body was awake, alive, but in a way that felt wrong—jittery and electric, charged with a strange, uncomfortable energy. His thoughts flickered like broken light bulbs. One minute he was thinking about how to make it through the next few hours; the next, his mind was fixed on the thing he craved—the thing that had always been there to smooth away the edges of discomfort. The thing that he needed now, more than ever. It wasn’t just a craving—it was a pull, a magnetic force he couldn’t fight. The thought of it filled her with both a burning desire and a profound sense of shame.

"Zachary, you need to breathe," Robyn said softly, trying to mask the tremor in their own voice. They didn’t want him to hear how frightened they were���how lost they felt in this moment. His eyes flicked to them, the confusion in him only deepening before realising what they were doing. "Don't tell me to breathe!" He barked. His gaze dropped to his hands, now trembling violently, and then back to her. "Just… just let me… let me have another."

Robyn slowly shook their head. "No… Come on, you can't…" they murmured. "I can, and I will, okay?! Just… Fuck off!" He pushed them out of his way before storming out of the cabin. Robyn stayed silent, frowning at the sight. No matter how many times Robyn thought back…

"What if it doesn't work?"

Robyn muttered to Dr. Phelps, worried over the what-ifs and negative outcomes.

"It'll work. And if it doesn't…" He took a moment of silence. "You have to push forward. Giving up isn't an option for people like us."

[rotdotmp3]

fern, your friend :)

bells in santa fe - halsey // the first step - frantisek kupka // night sky - ocean vuong // miracles of each moment - kazuaki tanahashi // composition - jean degottex // bohemia lies by the sea - ineborg bachmann (tr. mark anderson) // untitled - helen frankenthaler // mahmoud darwish // unknown // unknown // everything is illuminated - jonathan safran foer // untitled - luis feito // the one who goes away - sujata bhatt // untitled - gottfried honegger // suprematist composition: white on white - kazimir malevich // the slender stream with its singing arms - jeffrey levine // ecriture no. 070201 - park seo-bo // bells in santa fe - halsey 

[datshitrandom]

Darren Criss at Knight Theater - Levine Center for the Arts | Drunk On Christmas - FANLT | November 22, 2023 | 🎥 via Jeffrey Kimble

[immortaladonis]

jefffzhang photographed by marcig_

[etherealjellyfishgirl]

y’all wanna know what I have so far of my modern day Mcd au

okay so the shadow knights are a crime group created by aarons grandfather shad

who had a fling with Aphmaus grandmother Irene

Aaron’s family (Lilly and Jacob) died in a car crash

the jury is a cult

Aph adopted levin Malachi and Lilly of the streets bc she was also an orphan

Katelyn is Abby’s legal guardian after Jeffrey’s untimely death

that’s all I have

edit: also Laurence’s eyes stay green

[characterdesignreferences]

Art by Jeffrey H. Levine

December’s Theme: #Krampus

Presented by CDQ Magazine

Discover the artists of the Character Design Challenge community and the current Theme of the Month in our Facebook Group! And when you repost your design on our Patreon page, you can also win awesome prizes every month and choose the future themes!

RULES | WINNERS | MAGAZINE | BOOKS

[april-is]

April 25, 2024: from Moon for Aisha, Aracelis Girmay

from Moon for Aisha Aracelis Girmay

— for Kamilah Aisha Moon, with a line after Cornelius Eady’s ''Gratitude''

Dear Aisha, I mean to be writing you a birthday letter, though it’s not September, the winter already nearing, the bareness of trees, their weightlessness, their gestures — grace or grief. The windows of buildings all shining early, lit with light, & I am only ten & riding all of my horses home, still sisterless, wanting sisters.

You do not know me yet. In fact, we are years away from that life. But I am thankful for some inexplicable thing, let’s call it “freedom,” or “night,” the terror & glee of being outside late, after dark, my mother’s voice shouting for me beneath stars which, I learned in school, are suddenly not so different from the small salt of fathers, & gratitude for that, & for the red house of your mother’s blood, & then, you, all nearly grown, all long-legged laughter, already knowing all the songs & all the dances, not my friend, yet, but, somehow — Out There.

In one version of our lives, it is November. Through a window I see one of our elders is a black eye of a woman, is a thinker, & magnificent. [...] It is always her birthday. She has always lived to tell a part of the story of the world, what happened here.

If not a moon, what can we bring this woman who walks ahead? For whom you were named, & whose name has been added to by you whose language crowns the dark field of what has been hushed, of what is beautiful & black, & blue.

--

Read the full poem here.

Written to the author's friend, poet Kamilah Aisha Moon, who died in 2021. Read one of her essays: It's Not The Load That Breaks You Down; It's The Way You Carry It.

More on friendship: + Ode to Friendship, Noor Hindi + from how many of us have them?, Danez Smith

Today in:

2023: Still Life with Nursing Bra, Keetje Kuipers 2022: A Small-Sized Mystery, Jane Hirshfield 2021: Prayer for My Unborn Niece or Nephew, Ross Gay 2020: Vigil, Phillis Levin 2019: Nights in the Neighborhood, Linda Gregg 2018: I Dreamed Again, Anne Michaels 2017: wishes for sons, Lucille Clifton 2016: Told You So, Keetje Kuipers 2015: Accident, Mass. Ave., Jill McDonough 2014: This Hour and What Is Dead, Li-Young Lee 2013: To Myself, Franz Wright 2012: Manet’s Olympia, Margaret Atwood 2011: Three Rivers, Alpay Ulku 2010: Ode to Hangover, Dean Young 2009: We become new, Marge Piercy 2008: The Only Animal, Franz Wright 2007: Dream Song 385, John Berryman 2006: The Quiet World, Jeffrey McDaniel 2005: Man and Wife, Robert Lowell