#writers/artists against police brutality

[djuvlipen]

ʒuvlipen (n.): feminism

★ About

-> Marxist feminist learning

-> University student; coffee and book enthusiast

-> This blog is mostly about sharing news and articles relating to Romani rights and Romani history, with a special focus on women and girls.

-> I am mixed (white and romani) and born, raised and living in Western Europe.

-> I like Bollywood, animation and musical theatre \(^.^)/

I don't follow back minors and I won't reply to you if you are mean or rude to me. I am here on my free time and I don't have the time or energy to get into arguments with people I don't know. I'd rather block or ignore you instead

★ Navigation

-> General

-> Answered questions

-> Original posts

-> Marxfem posting: general, anti militarism, anti imperialism, housing, class, homelessness, anti religion

★ Romani issues

-> Difference between Roma and Romanian

-> Difference between Roma and Sinti

-> Prostitution

-> Forced sterilization and reproductive rights

-> Romani genocide (Porrajmos / Samudaripen)

-> Slavery

-> Romani women, medical malpractice and healthcare denial

-> Domestic and sexual violence against Romani women

-> Cultural and religious misogyny

-> Femicides: Hyara Flor, Luljeta Preza

-> Segregation

-> Police brutality

-> Romani girls and the State care system

★ Bibliography

-> Women's history reading list

-> Romani feminist writings

-> Quotes: Alexandra Oprea, Vera Kurtic

-> Intersections of Gender, Ethnicity, and Class: History and Future of the Romani Women’s Movement, by Jelena Jovanović, Angéla Kóczé, and Lídia Balogh (x)

-> Gender, Ethnicity and Class: Romani Women's Political Activism and Social Struggles, Angéla Kóczé (x)

-> Lessons from Roma Feminism in Europe: Digital Storytelling Projects with Roma Women Activists from Romania, Spain and Sweden, Jasmine Ljungberg (x)

-> Romani women’s identities real and imagined: Media discourse analysis of “I’m a European Roma Woman” campaign, Jelena Jovanović (x)

-> Džuvljarke: Roma Lesbian Existence, Vera Kurtić (x)

-> Re-envisioning Social Justice from the Ground Up: Including the Experiences of Romani Women, Alexandra Oprea (x)

-> Angéla Kóczé on the hijacking of the Romani feminist and antiracist movement by neoliberal groups (x) (x)

-> The Genocide and Persecution of Roma and Sinti. Bibliography and Historiographical Review (x)

-> Roma Resistance During the Holocaust and in its Aftermath, Angéla Kóczé, Anna Lujza Szász (eds.) (x)

-> O Porrajmos: the Romani Holocaust, Ian Hancock (x)

-> Porrajmos: The Romani and the Holocaust, Ian Hancock (x)

-> Responses to the Porrajmos (the Romani Holocaust), Ian Hancock (x)

-> Barvalipe Roma Online University (playlist of lectures about many different aspects of Romani history, politics and culture) (x)

★ Romani feminists and female activists

-> autobiographies by Romani women (x)

-> Sandra Jayat, French-Romani painter and poet (x)

-> Katarina Taikon, Swedish-Romani writer and antiracist activist (x) (x)

-> Elena Gorolova, Czech-Romani women's rights advocate (x)

-> Jelena Savić, Serbian-Romani feminist, poet and essayist (x)

-> Tela-Tchaï, French-Romani actress (x)

-> Amoun Sleem, Palestinian-Domari antiracist activist and feminist (x)

-> Philomena Franz, German-Romani Holocaust survivor and writer (x)

-> Vera Kurtić, Serbian-Romani lesbian feminist (x)

-> Kiba Lumberg, Finnish-Romani and butch lesbian artist (x)

-> Zilli Schmidt, German-Romani Holocaust survivor (x)

-> "15 Bad ass Romani ladies you should know about" (x)

-> Romani herstory, an "ever-growing digital library that celebrates women of Romani descent from the past and present, unsung heroines & trailblazers who refuse(d) to conform to stereotypes"

[sodomit]

I don’t see how acknowledging right now that a lot of the “ai” marketed towards us are non sentient and dangerous. The hot chatbot is both theft and melting glaciers. Those robot doggies they post videos of doing cute tricks are police weapons designed to hurt people. We don’t have sentient or sapient ai. Treating llms and police brutality machines like they’re people is a mistake because they aren’t right now that’s pretty factual.

I don’t support anyone who supports chat bots becaus yeah they’re killing the planet currently and I’m an artist and writer. I had to take down a lot of my work because of targeted scraping. My friend had to basically quit doing commissions bc they dried up after “ai”. It’s not like people are competing with them it’s literally a plagiarism machine.

Chatbots eat peoples words and spit them out. Those funny human shaped robots aren’t being built to be people they’re being built to replace workers or beat the fuck out of workers. we don’t live in a science fiction novel quite yet when robots are an actual class or oppressed. I feel like getting mad at people showing vehemence towards literal police brutality machines and comparing it to actual bigotry is misguided. There’s as many scifinovels where robots are a tool of the oppressor as they are the oppressed for a reason if that’s our basis for forming arguments. And I mean like, there’s also real life.

I don’t think robot sentience is close enough or even relevant to where we should be policing our language on the tools people use to oppress us. And complaining that people don’t like the fancy stick they’re beaten with or the copy machine that steals their income and work and chance to live seems silly. right now in our current reality? Seems a terrible idea. In a reality where sentience is around the bend in fifty years or something? Also seems like a bad idea.

people aren’t mad at AI or robots because they’re different. They’re not some unfounded racism, or “oh the Mexicans are stealing the jobs” there mad because they’re literally oppressive tools. Literal tools. Chatgpt isn’t a person. It’s not sentient it doesn’t feel it’s a fancy printing press that scrambled its words before it prints them. I feel like calling bigotry against an actual problem is bad.

it’s really hurtful as a disabled and nonhuman person to use those things as a defense to use them also like for a reason. I don’t see how a worse search function is so vital as an accessibility tool when now disabled artists are seeing their only alternative money flow dry up. Sorry that “ai” is a buzzword, it is actually misused most ai aren’t really si they’re just learning language models. I feel bad those were misused and that other blog identifies with them but it is also kind of like being dogkin and then getting mad people are upset that a police dog was set on someone. Quite literally in one of those examples!

if you struggle making friends and are lonely, yeah me to. Not worth the literal gallons of water it takes to steal from fanfiction. You need it to answer your questions, congrats you’re using a misinformation machine that is often wrong and when it is right it just took from the search bar and you were lucky it didn’t scramble it andyou really really shouldn’t do that for your own safety. Seriously. You need it to create,you aren’t creating you’re stealing and you’re doing so in a terrible way.

You have absolutely no idea how AI generation works as a process, and I don't really have the energy to explain it to you right now, and you shoving police robots into this like it's the same thing is honestly pissing me off.

I'll answer in a more profound manner when I'm doing better, if nobody beats me to it.

[mariacallous]

Restrictions on the opposition, attacks on free media and the arts, inciting hatred towards the LGBTQ+ community, intimidating journalists – the Slovak government has declared open war on a pluralistic society.

The brutal murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee Martina Kusnirova in 2018 and the horrifying terrorist attack targeting the LGBTQ+ community in front of a bar in Bratislava in 2022 – two harrowing incidents from Slovakia’s recent past that seem to have been all but forgotten by the current administration, whose own trauma from an assassination attempt on the prime minister in May seems to have overtaken all others.

In the aftermath of the attempt on his life, Prime Minister Robert Fico continues to put a collective blame for it on a large and diverse group – ranging from opposition MPs and journalists to queer people and artists – that he openly derides as “the progressives”.

In September, Fico finalised his beef with the leader of the opposition Progressive Slovakia party, Michal Simecka, who also held the position of deputy of the parliament, traditionally assigned to the opposition at the Slovak National Assembly. Fico blamed Simecka for organising anti-government protests that criticised his ministers of culture and justice, and began a campaign to have him removed from his post.

Fico argued Simecka had a conflict of interest because the latter’s partner, professional dancer Sona Feriencikova, as well as his mother Marta Simeckova had both received numerous grants from state funds in the past for their projects. He also attacked the Milan Simecka Foundation, an independent human rights NGO named after Michal Simecka’s late grandfather, a dissident philosopher and writer during Communism, as well as Martin M. Simecka, the politician’s father and a well-known writer and journalist.

“The reason for withdrawing Mr Simecka from the deputy post is that his family has been sucking on the grant schemes for at least the past four years,” Fico said at a press conference on September 3. “The second reason is that he is abusing public protests; he is inviting people and sending them out against the ministers of culture or justice, just because these are the honeypots where Simecka’s family are losing their footing.”

“I don’t think there has ever been such gross abuse of democratic institutions before,” added Fico.

Simecka called it pure political revenge. “It is a well-known fact that I come from a family that’s been politically active for a long time. Yes, they are publicly active, but not just for the past three years, but ever since the 19th century,” he said in parliament on September 17, adding that organisations led by his relatives have received various public grants and funds for years before he even entered politics.

All information about them is public and no controls have ever found any problems with these grants, he said.

“Feel free to continue the attacks on me, on my family, go ahead. They have survived prison, the STB [secret Communist police], [former prime minister Vladimir] Meciar’s persecution; they will survive you and your amateur director of the secret service. We will handle it,” he said in the assembly before the vote was held in a rather quick session, which ended with Simecka being ejected from his post.

Following the vote, Fico crowed: “They are the freeloaders of Slovakia, and we will not stand for that. No one is arresting him, no one is kicking his door down, although he was clapping with joy when they were doing it to us.”

Fico asserted “a standard tool in the National Assembly” had been used to oust Simecka, but Milan Majersky, leader of KDH party said: “The fact that this vote even happened is outrageous. We haven’t seen anything like that in 34 years.”

Branislav Grohling, leader of another opposition SaS party, called it “a completely made-up case made to attack democracy.”

Journalists under fire

Over the autumn, politicians from Fico’s ruling Smer party have continued their unrestrained attacks on the free media and investigative journalists in particular.

Earlier in October, Fico filed a suit against the editor-in-chief of Aktuality.sk, Peter Bardy, for using his photo on the cover of a book about Fico, demanding 100,000 euros in damages from the journalist and a further 100,000 euros from his publisher. “If they wanted to intimidate me with this lawsuit and force me to censor myself, they were gravely mistaken,” Bardy responded in a statement.

That same week, Erik Kalinak, an MEP, and Juraj Gedra, head of the Government Office, both members of the Smer party, turned up at the Bratislava office of the Stop Corruption Foundation and tried to intimidate the investigative journalist Xenia Makarova, who had written a story about the government office carrying out a renovation project worth 5 million euros with a construction company linked to Norbert Bodor, a notorious oligarch linked to Smer who has been charged with corruption.

The politicians published a video of the visit, in which they can be heard calling the story a “dirty political campaign directed by progressive NGOs”. While the Smer party got 1,800 shares for the video on Facebook alone, the investigative journalist received death threats.

On October 8, Fico attacked the media at a press conference again, saying they were “possessed by the devil” in trying to do their hardest to damage his government. “You want to do harm at any cost! That’s what’s creating this atmosphere! Why was I shot in the abdomen?” he barked, adding that the media will be surprised by the results of the investigation into his assassination attempt, though omitting to explain how he would know about an ongoing police investigation.

“Stop it already! Because a reaction is coming,” he warned.

The form of the government’s reaction was hinted at by the leader of the far-right Slovak National Party (SNS), Andrej Danko, at the same briefing. “We will set up a National Media Administration, we’ll talk about media trade union organisations, about rules, because some of you think that you can throw dirt on us, disparage us, without having any accountability,” Danko said.

Journalists have expressed their concern about politicians in power directing such hatred towards the media and journalists. “First of all, if there is anyone who’s inciting violence, hate and hostility it’s Robert Fico,” Matus Kostolny, editor of the Dennik N newspaper, said during a public debate on how to save democracy on October 8.

“[Members of the government] have security, they are protected all day long, while they incite violence and hate against journalists, stand-up comedians, people who are completely unprotected. And that is so reprehensible and disgusting that if he doesn’t stop, it will end up really badly,” he added.

Pulling up the seedbeds of ‘progressive propaganda’

Cultural institutions as well as music or night clubs in Bratislava are generally viewed as beacons of freedom, tolerance and diversity. That is one of the reasons why the Teplaren bar was targeted by a young, radicalised terrorist two years ago, and that seems to be the reason behind various troubles these entities are facing now.

In August and September, two well-known cultural centres and clubs in Bratislava, Kacecko and Wax2, were subjected to extensive police raids. Patrons were surprised by the arrival of masked policemen with dogs in the middle of the night, who forced them to stand with their hands above their heads by the wall for hours, according to witness reports in the Slovak media and on social networks. One report even alleged sexual harassment of a female patron by the policemen, but that has not so far been verified.

The police said the main purpose of the raids was to deal with possible financial irregularities at the clubs and drug criminality. However, according to the police, the only things they actually found in the raids, beside the bars not issuing some receipts to customers, were a couple of small bags of “dried plant” or “white powder”, and four or five patrons at each of the clubs were charged as a result.

Although the official information doesn’t mention any shocking criminal activity uncovered during the raids on the clubs, the police refuse to acknowledge whether there was any political motive behind the raids and have expressed their satisfaction with the results.

However, the Smer regional party office in Pezinok has hinted at a wider story. “Some businesses in Bratislava have become seedbeds of drugs and progressive propaganda in the past few years,” the party office said in a now-deleted post on Facebook. “They have created a state within the state in the Vallostan and the clubs are on par with the Muslim mosques where the youth is stirred up, takes drugs and is being RADICALISED!”

“This is what it would look like if the liberals were in power. Drugs, tax frauds, nepotism… And we would be ruled by Roma boxers, plagiarisers and rainbow extremists,“ added Lubos Blaha, a Smer deputy and MEP, on social media.

The raids have been criticised by the cultural community, opposition politicians, as well as the independent mayor of Bratislava, Matus Vallo.

“The statement of the regional Smer organisation is horrible,” Vallo tells BIRN.

“It’s simply not true and words like these can have serious consequences regarding the atmosphere and overall life in this city, they bring us back to the infamous 90s,” he adds, referencing the violent era marked by organised crime and political persecutions in Slovakia.

“Some people might like the idea that a hundred young people, who had done nothing wrong and just came to a club to have fun, could be seriously traumatised after a rough police raid, but this kind of thinking really doesn’t belong in this century anymore. Especially when they [the police] know that drug criminality happens in totally different places,” the mayor says.

After the widely respected directors of the Slovak National Gallery, Slovak National Theatre and Bibiana children’s museum were fired by the minister of culture earlier this year, the national theatre has now blocked a planned play about the lives of LGBTQ+ people called Moon Stone, part of an international Drama Queer Festival, which was to have been performed by the Prague-based Studio hrdinu theatre group.

“I personally see it as censorship, it looks like discrimination, and what is worse it is also an international scandal that a Czech theatre can’t be presented at the SND [Slovak National Theatre],” Robret Pakan, director of the Drama Queer Festival, was quoted in Dennik N as saying.

Actors and artists who started a cultural strike in September have been regularly criticised by Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova, who said in October that “people should come to the theatre to be entertained, not deal with political activism.”

But what people choose to see or hear should not be down to the government, say critics. And that is not a ‘progressive’ view, just a simple democratic one.

[xaracosmia]

ꕥ — WELCOME TO NEFE COSMIA, RED. 🌓

ꕥ — OOC INFORMATION;

NAME / ALIAS: Cyan AGE: 26 PRONOUNS: She/Her OOC CONTACT: @SOLXDSNAKE on Twitter OTHER CHARACTERS IN XC: Nicholas D. Wolfwood, Shadow the Hedgehog

ꕥ — IC INFORMATION;

NAME: Red AGE: Mid to late 20s PRONOUNS: He/Him SERIES: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk CANON POINT: Final chapter; Before the confrontation with the NWPF.

APP TRIGGERS: Violence, Decapitation, Wrongful Imprisonment, Police Brutality, Vandalism, Identity/Memory Loss, Surrealism, Body Modifications/Horror.

PERSONALITY:

Red is a writer unlike anything else the world has ever seen. He's quick, brazen, with a distinct artstyle that makes his graffiti almost as easy to spot as the man himself is. The name comes from the bright color of his cyberhead, as he doesn't care about hiding from anyone or anything- especially not the New Amsterdam police. N.W.A was right after all and Red doesn't mind resisting the law at all, in fact, he enjoys roughing up those self-serving officers every now and again.

They came searching for him, and they found him! Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Tryce and Bel, his friends, would agree– and that's all that matters. Red is loyal to his crew come hell or high water, and the same goes for anyone else, community is all about taking care of each other and graffiti is nothing without community, or competition.

Speaking of which, Red is very, very competitive. Being an amnesiac, this world is everything he's ever known so, the cyberhead will do anything to show the other crews that he is the genuine article– compete against them and send them back to their turf, hell, take that too for good measure.

Red is as cocky, self assured and confident as they come, but… he's got the skills to back up all that talk, and hey, if someone is ever in trouble and he's around? He'll make sure to back them up– because after all is said and done, Red is a people person, and believes that communities should stand together against a common enemy.

SOMETHING YOUR MUSE STRUGGLES WITH:

Identity

Memory

Cluelessness

Gutsy

YOUR MUSE'S GREATEST STRENGTH:

Gutsy

Driven

Curious

Passionate

HISTORY/BACKGROUND:

This starts at the Bomb Rush Crew's hideout, Tryce and Bel look over an unconscious cyberhead until– he finally wakes up. Red asks what's happening once he's able to, this is his first time booting up after all and, Tryce gives him a digestible timeline of events.

The night before, Tryce was trying to escape from the New Amsterdam Police's headquarters and during his efforts he met Faux, a legendary writer, so, they teamed up and managed to elude the police, but that doesn't mean they were unscathed, as during this attempt– Faux was decapitated.

Red learns that he's a cyberhead attached to Faux's body, and decided that he wants to join Bomb Rush Crew, to find his head, know who he used to be, and conquer all five boroughs that make up New Amsterdam, go All City, as they say.

Red shows his prowess as a graffiti artist and skater. He continues challenging each of the crews for their turfs, and information on the whereabouts of his head– but he also becomes public enemy no. 1 in the eyes of the New Amsterdam Police Force, who deploy hoardes of armed officers, riot control, turrets etc. to get red. The law is angry about the youth gangs, graffiti and the crew scene– they intend to stop it no matter what. Even if it means throwing innocent people in jails, or experimenting with people in order to find a crime prediction system, project ALGO.

Red however, fights them off each time– earning himself recognition in the eyes of the locals, the crews, and the police force. One of these things is not like the others, but even then, when Red thinks he finally is getting things together, he starts having blackouts and—

Is that Faux? Who is that other man? Why are we here? What did he/I/we/you do? Have I been here before? I (don't) remember you. You're–

Eventually, a cop gets the better of Red and shoots him point blank— which doesn't really hurt him more than giving him a concussion, but it uncovers that. There's another head, hidden underneath the metal, who belonged to someone named Felix.

This mystery compels Red to continue forwards, to learn who Felix and Faux were, to go All City, to find out how those two were connected, why the police are so eager to get his hands on him and why is he so integral to project ALGO.

But, we can do all that while skating, dancing and filling the world with color.

POWERS/ABILITIES:

None really.

INHERENT ABILITIES:

It's unknown if Red has had any other modifications aside from being a cyberhead (and some extra) but from the gameplay we can see that he's able to go toe to toe with the police, armored forces, helicopters, and the such, so:

Above natural strength, speed, reflexes, the such. Bordering on superhuman.

Because of his cyberhead there are things he can do, such as using his speakers to play music, recording audio, listening to radio frequencies, calls, getting basic stats.

He's very athletic, out there kicking ass with cartwheels and high jumps.

ITEMS/WEAPONS:

Flip phone: we love retro futurism

Skates: to do tricks

Spray cans: to do grafitti

Boostpack: to go zoom and essentially fly

STARTING ABILITY: none

STARTING ITEM: boostpack

EXTRA:

Either you skate or you die

"I wasn't born yesterday." is a funny thing to say when immediately followed by "well, actually–".

Don't we all love to be a weird little freak

ACAB

Better make it count. Better kill me in one shot.

DISCORD ID: bombrushcrew

[the-final-straw-blog]

Eric King and Josh Davidson

This week on the show, you’ll hear part of our conversation with Eric King and Josh Davidson. Josh has been on a few times to talk about collaborative inside-outside projects he works on such as the Certain Days calendar, the greeting cards he helped make of Indigenous political prisoner Oso Blanco’s artwork to benefit Zapatista schools in Chiapas, and the Rattling The Cages book that he co-edited with Eric King.

Eric was just released in December 2023 into a halfway house in Colorado after nearly 10 years in Federal prisons across the country. Eric is an anarchist who was incarcerated for an attempt to molotov the office of a Democratic Party official in Kansas City in solidarity with the then-going Ferguson Uprising following the murder of Michael Brown by police there. An antifascist and antiracist, Eric was moved around a lot during the 10 years he was inside and pitted against nazi prisoners in fight scenarios in a few instances, and near the end of his bid he was accused of assaulting an officer and successfully defending himself from a possible 20 year addition to his time inside but suffered intense isolation, insecurity, mail / phone and visitation blocks, moves across the country and physical restraint, ending up at the federal prison system’s most intense prison, the supermax ADX in Florence, CO.

For the hour, the guests speak about prisoner support, putting the book together, the implications and effects of long term isolation related topics. You can find more of Erics thoughts and updates at SupportEricKing.Org and similarly named social media accounts.

Our past chats with Josh 

Our past interviews with Eric

Announcement

Hunger Strike at Red Onion State Prison (VA)

Prisoners at the Red Onion State Prison in Virginia have been on hunger strike since December 26th against the illegal and cruel use of solitary confinement at the facility in spite of procedures put into place last summer by the Virginia government. Here’re some words from the support site for Minister of Defense of the Revolutionary Intercommunal Black Panther Party, Kevin "Rashid" Johnson. From rashidmod.com :

“On Tuesday, December 26, 2023, several prisoners confined at Virginia’s Red Onion State Prison began a hunger strike to protest the continued use of long-term solitary confinement within the institution.Despite critical concern, outcry from the public and prisoner populations in the state, incarcerated people are still subjected to this brutal practice which has been renamed “restorative housing” since July 1, 2023 when measures were passed to limit its use in the state. 

Leading these prisoners in this effort is longtime prison activist, revolutionary writer and artist, Kevin “Rashid” Johnson. Rashid has stated that no one will take any food at all until demands are met. Some of the strike participants have underlying health concerns that make the undertaking of such a demonstration particularly risky. Rashid, himself, is recovering from multiple rounds of radiation to treat prostate cancer as well as suffering from untreated heart disease/congestive heart failure. This is why the public’s support is especially needed. We are asking that calls, emails, and letters be sent to the Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) officials as well as Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin’s office voicing support for the strikers and condemnation for the inhumane use of long-term solitary confinement/restorative housing.”

Red Onion Hunger Strike Participants:

Kevin “Rashid” Johnson – 1007485

Jason Barrett – 1092874

Rodney Lester – 1429887

Charles Cousino – 2213403

Eric Thompson – 1208012

Joe Thomas – 1193196

Who To Contact:

VADOC~ Central Administration; USPS— P.O. Box 26963 Richmond, VA 23261

David Robinson Phone~ 804-887-8078,

Email: david.robinson@vadoc.virginia.gov

  Virginia DOC ~ Director, Chadwick S Dotson,

Phone~ (804) 674-3081

Email: Chadwick.Dotson@vadoc.virginia.gov

VADOC ~Central Administration

Rose L. Durbin, Phone~804-887-7921 Email: Rose.Durbin@vadoc.virgina.gov

Beth Cabell, Division of Institutions beth.cabell@vadoc.virginia.gov (804)834-9967

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (804)786-2211 glenn.youngkin@governor.virginia.gov

. ... . ..

Featured Tracks:

Army Of Me (ABA All Stars Instrumental)  by Bjork

Bright Star (traditional) from H-Block, The Legacy of 1981 Hunger Strike CD

Helicopter Song by The Dublin Ramblers from Irish Republican Jail Songs

Check out this episode!

[dwellordream]

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll. Thriller/crime drama. In the aftermath of a brutal double killing at a sorority house in Tallahassee, Florida, Pamela Schumacher- nicknamed ‘Pam Perfect’- by her murdered best friend- is lost to a vortex of grief and rage. The police are convinced the killer is one victim’s abusive boyfriend, but Pamela knows better. Yet even after the true perpetrator is arrested, the media frenzy quickly becomes about the tragedy of a handsome, vulnerable white man driven to kill out of loneliness and rage, while his victims are painted as shallow and attention-seeking.

All You Have to Do Is Call by Kerri Maher. Historical fiction/drama. Before the legalization of abortion, when a woman in Chicago needs help with an unwanted pregnancy, she calls Jane. ‘Jane’ is a volunteer network of hundreds of women who risk social ostracism and arrest to perform illegal abortions. Jane’s founder, Veronica, is struggling with a wanted (but high risk) pregnancy of her own, as she tries to balance her covert work with Jane and her duties to her own family. Her best friend, Patty, is vocally against abortion-until her own sister shows up at her doorstep, desperate and scared. And Margaret, one of Jane’s newest young volunteers, begins to question her relationship with an older divorced man when he tries to use his wife’s support of Jane to secure full custody of their daughter.

Prima Facie by Suzie Miller. Realistic fiction. Tessa has always prided herself on her pragmatism and ruthlessness as a barrister, and strives to conceal her working class background from her more privileged colleagues. But one night she is raped by a fellow barrister- and finds herself on the witness stand, subjected to the same probing questions and assumptions she once dealt out as a defense attorney.

Acts of Desperation by Megan Nolan. Realistic fiction. An unnamed narrator falls madly in love with a charismatic but cruel young writer. When he tires of her, she is willing to do anything- no matter how humiliating or manipulative- to regain his affection. And when they finally reunite, their relationship spirals down a sickening rabbit hole of deception, addiction, and violence.

The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin. Romance/thriller. After being stranded by a blizzard in Salt Lake City, two adventurous young professionals agree to share a small chartered plane to try to beat the storm. Ashley is racing towards her wedding, while Ben has a surgery to perform. When the plane goes down in a mountainous wilderness, Ashley and Ben must rely on each other to make it out alive.

Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk. Realistic fiction/romance. Coming of age in 1930s America, Marjorie Morgenstern is intelligent, beautiful, and Jewish. While Marjorie has little need for what she sees as her parents’ senseless superstition and old fashioned ways, she does have a burning desire to be famous- to be an actress on Broadway. Spanning six years, from 1933 to 1939, Marjorie’s quest takes her across two continents and revolves around one man- the passionate, impulsive Noel Airman- who like Marjorie, has rejected his Jewish identity in order to achieve mainstream success. As she ages from a romantic teenager to a young woman confronted with the reality of an increasingly dangerous world, Marjorie must decide what her ‘American dream’ looks like- and at what cost.

The Subtweet by Vivek Shraya. Realistic fiction/drama. Neela Devaki, a struggling indie singer, is baffled and wary when one of her songs is covered by a popular YouTuber, Rukmini. To her shock, Rukmini’s cover goes viral, rocketing her from YouTube videos to opening for a renowned pop star’s concert tours. While Rukmini hopes to befriend Neela, Neela cannot quite let go of the resentment and bitterness of seeing another artist rise to success on the back of her song- while her own career still languishes. One night, she makes a seemingly innocuous subtweet- and changes both their lives forever.

The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones. Sci fi. In a future ravaged by deadly disease- most of them carried by ticks- what was once America is now a collection of ‘Zones’ behind the Salt Line- a ring of high walls and scorched earth. Wealthy thrill-seekers can pay to venture out on guided expeditions beyond the Salt Line- a chance to experience the natural beauty of a ravaged world, if they are willing to risk their lives for it. One expedition goes very wrong, placing a group of tourists in the hands of a desperate community of survivors, who are willing to do whatever it takes to secure their own future.

Books Recs of 2024

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. Mystery/fantasy centered around Din, a young assistant investigator assigned to help an eccentric and infamous detective, Ana Dolabra, solve a series of murders. Din is an engraver, his brain altered so he has a photographic memory. However, no one is quite sure how he got his current position, since he failed every single one of his final exams except the combat portion. Ana is an exceedingly odd woman who refuses to go to any crime scene in person and often performs mad science experiments in her spare time. As Din struggles to keep up with the case, which revolves around a bioweapon being unleashed on a series of the empire's best engineers, he also worries what will happen when Ana finally uncovers his secrets.

Highfire by Eoin Colfer. Urban fantasy (very comedic fantasy) about a dragon called Vern (short for Wyvern), who teams up with a juvenile delinquent named Squib (real name Everett Moreau) to take down a corrupt sheriff who is plaguing the Lousiana bayou. Vern is a very small (seven feet long) dragon who is the last of his kind (as far as he knows). When he is spotted by a local troubled teen, his first instinct is to hunt Squib down and kill him, but he quickly realizes the two of them have a common enemy- the murderous sheriff who is running drugs through their territory.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi. Magical realism about a romantic-minded art historian who is swept off his feet by a mysterious and charming heiress. After a whirlwind courtship, the happy couple return to her childhood home; a Gothic manor on a lonely island. The more time our narrator spends around his wife's past, the more questions are raised- increasingly sinister ones about who she is and what exactly she is capable of. Once upon a time, she was best friends with an equally odd and dreamy little girl named Indigo. But no one has seen Indigo for many years now- and the Flower Bride may be behind her disappearance.

Chlorine by Jade Song. Horror/magical realism. Since childhood, Ren's entire identity has been wrapped up in swimming. If she can be strong enough, fast enough, special enough, success is sure to come her way. As the end of high school approaches, Ren's passion for swimming becomes less about her future, and more about past legends of mermaids and sirens dragging sailors into the deep. School, friends, and her parents' expectations all fall away- Ren will make her home in the water, no matter what she has to do.

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza. Realistic fiction. Jen and Riley have been best friends for as long as they can remember, despite their vastly different childhoods. Riley is from a middle class Black family; Jen was raised by an impoverished white single mother. After twenty years of doing almost everything together, their lives are at a crossroads- Riley is a news anchor about to take Philadelphia by storm, while Jen is expecting her first child with her police officer husband. When Jen's husband is involved in the murder of a Black teenage boy by a fellow officer, Riley finds herself expected to cover the story- and Jen finds herself expected to answer for her husband's actions- and her own beliefs about what racism looks like.

Queenpin by Megan Abbott. Crime thriller/noir. Our nameless heroine lives a mousy existence working as a bookkeeper for a rundown local night club, but her life is turned upside down when the infamous Gloria Denton, a gun moll and smuggler, takes her under her wing. Gloria transforms her young protege from a timid girl to a sophisticated, cunning woman capable of handling gangsters, conmen, thieves, and bookies, but when she falls for the wrong man, her relationship with Gloria is strained, and they must decide just how far they can trust one another.

Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch by Rivka Galchen. Historical fiction. Based on the real life trial of Katharina Kepler, mother of the famed Johannes Kepler, Imperial Mathematician to the Holy Roman Empire. Katharina is a busybody, a domineering and devilishly clever woman with a particular talent for healing. She is also a fiercely loyal mother to her adult children, but when an old neighborhood grudge flares into accusations of poison and witchcraft, Katharina is determined not to meekly confess and beg pardon. The more she lashes out at her neighbors and the authorities, the more charges begin to pile up against her- despite her son's desperate attempts to save her from torture and execution.

Bury Me Deep by Megan Abbott. Crime thriller/noir. Based on a real life murder case in 1931 Phoenix Arizona. Naive and sheltered Marion Seeley is deposited in Phoenix by her disgraced doctor husband, who is forced to take a job with a mining company in South America after his medical license is revoked. Marion befriends the vivacious Louise and Ginny, two fellow nurses, who introduce her to the underground party scene in Phoenix. Politicians and businessmen flock to the secret parties held by them, and it's a quick way to make money on the side. Drawn in by the luxury and thrills, Marion falls in love with Joe Lanigan, a powerful local politician, but as their affair intensifies, her friendship with the other women fractures, culminating in a gruesome crime.

[yikesharringrove]

Nb Steve as requested by @takemebythehand-andsetmefree

Happy Pride!

Here is a link to my post about Harringrove for BLM, and here is a link to Writers/Artists Against Police Brutality

Here’s also a link to the Masterlist of Harringrove for BLM coutesy of @harringrovetrashh

Thank you all for organizing, participating, and donating.

-

There is an instance where Steve gets misgendered, not by malicious intent, but it still happens, so take care of yourselves, don’t read if that could harm you.

-

“I think I’m a girl.”

This revelation wasn’t totally shocking to Billy.

Steve loved pretty things. Could be found more often than not jamming around in a little skirt, lots of makeup. So Billy just said

“Okay, Baby. Then I love my gorgeous girlfriend.”

And that was so sweet and all, but to Steve it still didn’t, it felt just as bad as boyfriend.

“Actually, maybe not.”

-

“I think maybe there’s something wrong with me.”

They were in Steve’s bed together, Steve laying practically on top of Billy.

“What makes you say that?”

“Parts of me feel like I’m a girl, and parts of me feel like I’m a boy. But all of me hates both of those options. I mean, I love looking like a girl, but when you, when you said girlfriend, Bill that felt just as fucking bad as boyfriend. I think I’m broken.” Billy shifted around until Steve was looking right at him.

“You are not broken. You are beautiful and amazing and confused. But you are far from broken. There’s more in the world than girl and boy. You can be anything, anyone.

“Back in California, I knew all kinds of people. I had friends all along the trans umbrella. I had a friend who was a trans guy, but preferred presenting for feminine. I had androgynous friends that presented however they pleased. I had friends who identified as no gender, or all the genders. I had a friend whose gender identity would change on any given day. Gender is fucking fake, and if you’re not comfortable with whatever you were assigned at birth, make something new for yourself.”

“I think that I’m somewhere in between. Not a woman, but not a man.” Billy grabbed the notbad next to Steve’s bad, drew a horizontal line across it.

“So basically, think of gender as a spectrum. Over here you’ve got women. This includes trans women, who are women that were assigned male at birth. One the other side you’ve got men, which includes trans men. In the middle, you’ve got nonbinay folks. Nonbinary is an umbrella term that just means these people live outside of man and woman. This includes agender people, who have no gender, and people who identify as more than one gender, like bigender or pangender. All along the scale you have people who are genderfluid and genderflux, whose definition of their own gender may slide along the scale at any given moment. You also have people that identify as demiboy, or reversely, demigirl, people that only identify partially as boy or girl, respectively. There’s also the idea of being transmasc, or transfem which are people who were assinged a gender at birth, but identitfy more with the other, without completely identify themselves as trans. So a person assigned male at birth who doesn’t consider themselves a transwoman, but more comfortably identities with feminity as a concept.”

He held out the drawing to Steve.

“There’s also different pronouns, and this isn’t even touching the intersex scale. Gender is so fucking whack, Sweet Thing.

“There’s a lot of different ways to play with it, and each person is so different. You can identify one way and present in a way that isn’t stereotypical to how you identify. And no one can tell you you’re wrong. Because you’re not.”

Steve was studying the drawing with wide eyes.

“Pronouns?”

“Like how I was assigned male at birth, and identify as male, so I use he/him pronouns. People along this scale can use whatever pronouns feel best. Some people use they and them so that they aren’t being gendered, and there are other gender neutral pronouns, like ze/zir and ve/ver.”

“But I mean, they is like, it’s plural.”

“Nah. They has always been used as a gender neutral pronoun. Plus, if it feels best, it can mean whatever the fuck you want it to.”

“So I could, I could like, be a them.”

“If that feels good.”

“Use it for me. Let me see.”

“Okay, um, I was laying in bed with my significant other, Steve and they were asking me questions about gender identity and expression. Afterwards I made them a cup of tea and cuddled them all night.” Steve’s eyes opened back up.

“Bill, that’s, fuck, that’s it.”

“They?”

“They. That felt, it felt good. I didn’t, I don’t even know.” Billy squished them tighter to himself.

“I’m glad, Baby.”

“So, does that make me nonbinary?” Billy just looked at them.

“Does it? You tell me, Sweet Thing.”

“I think so. Nonbinary. So like, maybe transfem? But I think I would be more agender”

“If that’s what’s true. You can call yourself nonbinary and leave it at that, or you can take as many labels as you feel fit. It’s your identity. Fuck with it as you see fit.”

Steve was worrying their lip.

“And you don’t mind?”

“Mind what?”

“That I’m not, not a guy.” Billy pressed a kiss to their forehead.

“‘Course I don’t min. You’re still you. You’re gender doesn’t matter to me at all. As long as you’re happy and comfortable and safe. That’s what matters to me.”

-

Steve needed to tell the party.

They spent so much time with the gaggle of kids, and kept getting fucking misgendered. Not that it was their fault, they didn’t know Steve was using different pronouns now.

“Look, I know those little Gen-Z’ers aren’t gonna care. I mean they see me in makeup and dresses and shit all the time, but this feels, big.” Billy was driving them over to the Byers’ place where all the kids were waiting. “But, but what if they take it wrong. What if they just think I’m this confused girl or something. Or they say I need to make up my mind.” Billy reached over to grab their hand.

“If they do, I’ll punch ‘em out. One by one. Fuck them kids.”

But they all took it so fucking well, it was actually anticlimactic.

“I mean, it’s pretty obvious you don’t conform to a gender binary.” Dustin hadn’t even looked up from their campaign as Steve fucking came out. “But like, thanks for telling us. And trusting us. You’re pretty brave I guess.”

Steve rolled their eyes.

“Thanks. You’re all so sweet and sensitive. I was shitting myself on the way over, and none of you are even fazed.”

“Yeah, I saw this coming.” Lucas rolled one of his dice.

“Do you want to do it again? We’ll all pretend to think you’re disgusting and call you a freak or something. Would that be better?” Mike had a challenging look on his face. Steve just slumped into the couch.

“No. Whatever. It’s fine.” They were actually pouting.

“What, you wanted like, a Lifetime movie moment? Where we all cry and say that we love you regardless and pretend we literally all didn’t see this coming?” Mike rolled his eyes.

“I mean, a little pomp and circumstance would be nice. Accepting myself and coming out to you all was a bunch of breakdowns in the making.” Dustin threw himself dramatically onto Steve’s lap.

“Oh! Oh, Steven! My sweet dear loved one! This is shocking news! But my love for you will never crumble! If anything, it is fortified!” Steve just laughed and shoved Dustin off their lap.

“Brat.”

-

“Can I just get a cheeseburger and fries?” The peppy waitress was twirling her ponytail, batting her eyes at Billy like Steve wasn’t right fucking there.

“Of course. Anything else for you?” She pat her eyes. Billy just blinked at her, completely dead-eyed. He gestured to Steve.

“Sorry, Girl. Didn’t see you!” She tried to laugh it off. Steve’s blood went cold.

“I’ll get the same please.” Her eyes widened at the sound of Steve’s voice, still deep, still masculine, despite the light blue dress, the pretty makeup.

“Oh, sorry. I’ll get that right out for you boys.” She shot away, embarrassed. Steve let their head fall onto the table.

Billy ran his fingers through their hair.

“Two for the price of one misgenderings.” They muttered into the table. Billy was gently scraping his nails into their scalp. “That was like getting kicked while down Jesus.”

“I’m sorry you have to deal with that. I’m sorry I can’t totally understand how shitty it makes you feel.” They sat in silence for a moment until Billy tugged on their hair as the waitress approached with their food. She set it down cautiously.

“Could we get some ketchup, please. And they’re gonna want mustard.” Steve smiled weakly at him, they way he overemphasized using they.

“Um, of course. Anything else?”

“Could you grab them another water?” It was just less than half-full, but Billy couldn’t be stopped.

The waitress just blushed, filling Steve’s water and placing ketchup and mustard on their table with a little enjoy.

“Bill, she didn’t mean to.”

“Yeah, but she still did. And I wanted you to stop feeling invalidated.” Billy shoved the burger in his mouth.

Steve just smiled at him, told him he ate like a pig.

[ofbardsandmonsters]

@bronskiibeat requested a moodboard for an upcoming scene in her wip story Getting There. Make sure you go read it and show her some love!

You can find out how to request something from me as part of Harringrove for BLM and  Writers/Artists Against Police Brutality right here!

[duchessking]

Harringrove for BLM✊🏽🙏🏽✊🏽🙏🏽

Hi y'all, I'm participating in I’m participating in @transbillyhargrove and @billyhargroveisgay Writers and Artists Against Police Brutality . (There’s more info at that link right there, this is just a more detailed post about what I’m specifically offering!)

I am doing the writing portion regarding

- Billy x Steve

- Fem! Steve x Billy

-Steve x Fem! Billy

- Fem! Steve x Fem!Billy

- Billy and Max Biological Siblings

-Hopper Adopting Billy and Max

-Billy or Steve adopting Max

-Hopper adopting Steve and El

And any other that may come to mind. We will not be doing kid/kid fics nor will we be doing anything that involves rape, Gore, blood, etc.

I will be doing:

$1-3 = Drabble and Prompts

$4 = Short stories and 500 words

$5-6 = 1k words

$10-15 = 2k words

I will also be doing mood boards for $3-5

Any donations being put towards the Harringrove BLM will be going towards the George Floyd Fund to get justice for what has been done to him. You may message me directly for the writings you desire and if I'm not able to give you the requested writing there are more writers and artists listed in the creators accounts @transbillyhargrove and @billyhargroveisgay

There is also more ways to help on @harrigrovetrash, they have a master list that includes many many many different individuals and the way they are bringing themselves to help

Donations must be verified with screenshots and emails, without verification of donations, the request will not be taken.

Thank you to everyone who is able to donate and participate for Justice for George Floyd and thank you to those who are unable to donate and have found other safe and humane ways to help in their own personal way. Thank you 💛

[moonlightcrossesonyourbody]

Harringrove for BLM

Hello, Hello, Helooo good people of tumblr!!

I am joining Harringrove for BLM in the Writers/Artists Against Police Brutality campaign as a writer!!

I will write 500+ word fics for anything in the stranger things fandom in exchange for donations to any of the organizations supporting the black lives matter movement, any of the nation wide bail funds and any of the organizations mentioned in the original post made by the wonderful @transbillyhargrove and @billyhargroveisgay

 https://transbillyhargrove.tumblr.com/post/619551534091550720/writersartists-against-police-brutality-started 

That post contains information about how to join in as an artist, who is participating and organizations info.

If any of you are interested just message me privetely or in an ask with a prompt and evidence of your donation. If you are interested in seeing my writing style I am phantom_traveler on AO3 and of course my works are also here.

This is the time for none of us to remain silent. This fandom has shown only earlier this year just how much we can and do achieve if we put our minds and hands to it. Your contribution doesn’t have to be big. It can be donating a single dollar or simple reblogging and boosting information posts. We have no right to do anything less than at the very least spread information that could save lives in a time when it is being shown to us explicitely that what we can count on is each other.

Silence is Violence, Silence is Compliance don’t let it go on.

[twoprettyboys]

Announcement :)

Hello everyone! I'm officially joining Writers/Artists Against Police Brutality which was started by @billyhargroveisgay and @transbillyhargrove . I'll be writing fanfics in exchange for donations - or, if you can't afford to donate, signed petitions.

I'll write ~100 words per 1$/signed petition. So if you sign 5 petitions/donate 5$, you'll get a 500 word fic and if you sign 15 petitions/donate 15$ or more, you'll get a 1.5k word fic or more. All you have to do is send me a prompt & your receipts (or any form of evidence that you donated/signed)!

I'll write fluff (no smut) for the following ships:

Harringrove (Billy/Steve)

Bucklway (Robin/Heather)

Tomgrove (Tommy/Billy)

Ronancy (Robin/Nancy)

& maybe more if requested.

If you need more information, you can find it in the following post.

[thinger-strang]

here is my first request contribution, a sketch for @catharrington who requested some joe keery playing the guitar 💕

[here's my donation request post of y'all were interested]

[xaracosmia]

ꕥ — WELCOME TO NEFE COSMIA, RED. 🌓

ꕥ  — OOC INFORMATION;

NAME / ALIAS: Cyan AGE: 26 PRONOUNS: She/Her OOC CONTACT: @ SOLXDSNAKE on Twitter OTHER CHARACTERS IN XC: Nicholas D. Wolfwood, Neon White

ꕥ  — IC INFORMATION;

NAME: Red AGE: 20s PRONOUNS: He/Him SERIES: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk CANON POINT: Final chapter; Before the confrontation with the NWPF. APP TRIGGERS: Violence, Decapitation, Wrongful Imprisonment, Police Brutality, Vandalism, Identity/Memory Loss, Surrealism, Body Modifications/Horror.

PERSONALITY:

Red is a writer unlike anything else the world has ever seen. He's quick, brazen, with a distinct artstyle that makes his graffiti almost as easy to spot as the man himself is. The name comes from the bright color of his cyberhead, as he doesn't care about hiding from anyone or anything- especially not the New Amsterdam police. N.W.A was right after all and Red doesn't mind resisting the law at all, in fact, he enjoys roughing up those self-serving officers every now and again. They came searching for him, and they found him! Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Tryce and Bel, his friends, would agree– and that's all that matters. Red is loyal to his crew come hell or high water, and the same goes for anyone else, community is all about taking care of each other and graffiti is nothing without community, or competition. 

Speaking of which, Red is very, very competitive. Being an amnesiac, this world is everything he's ever known so, the cyberhead will do anything to show the other crews that he is the genuine article– compete against them and send them back to their turf, hell, take that too for good measure.

Red is as cocky, self assured and confident as they come, but… he's got the skills to back up all that talk, and hey, if someone is ever in trouble and he's around? He'll make sure to back them up– because after all is said and done, Red is a people person, and believes that communities should stand together against a common enemy. 

SOMETHING YOUR MUSE STRUGGLES WITH: 

Identity

Memory

Cluelessness

Gutsy

YOUR MUSE'S GREATEST STRENGTH: 

Gutsy

Driven

Curious

Passionate

HISTORY/BACKGROUND:

This starts at the Bomb Rush Crew's hideout, Tryce and Bel look over an unconscious cyberhead until– he finally wakes up. Red asks what's happening once he's able to, this is his first time booting up after all and, Tryce gives him a digestible timeline of events.

The night before, Tryce was trying to escape from the New Amsterdam Police's headquarters and during his efforts he met Faux, a legendary writer, so, they teamed up and managed to elude the police, but that doesn't mean they were unscathed, as during this attempt– Faux was decapitated.

Red learns that he's a cyberhead attached to Faux's body, and decided that he wants to join Bomb Rush Crew, to find his head, know who he used to be, and conquer all five boroughs that make up New Amsterdam, go All City, as they say. 

Red shows his prowess as a graffiti artist and skater. He continues challenging each of the crews for their turfs, and information on the whereabouts of his head– but he also becomes public enemy no. 1 in the eyes of the New Amsterdam Police Force, who deploy hoardes of armed officers, riot control, turrets etc. to get red. The law is angry about the youth gangs, graffiti and the crew scene– they intend to stop it no matter what. Even if it means throwing innocent people in jails, or experimenting with people in order to find a crime prediction system, project ALGO. Red however, fights them off each time– earning himself recognition in the eyes of the locals, the crews, and the police force. One of these things is not like the others, but even then, when Red thinks he finally is getting things together, he starts having blackouts and— Is that Faux? Who is that other man? Why are we here? What did he/I/we/you do? Have I been here before? I (don't) remember you. You're– Eventually, a cop gets the better of Red and shoots him point blank— which doesn't really hurt him more than giving him a concussion, but it uncovers that. There's another head, hidden underneath the metal, who belonged to someone named Felix. 

This mystery compels Red to continue forwards, to learn who Felix and Faux were, to go All City, to find out how those two were connected, why the police are so eager to get his hands on him and why is he so integral to project ALGO. But, we can do all that while skating, dancing and filling the world with color. 

POWERS/ABILITIES:

None really.

INHERENT ABILITIES:

It's unknown if Red has had any other modifications aside from being a cyberhead (and some extra) but from the gameplay we can see that he's able to go toe to toe with the police, armored forces, helicopters, and the such, so:

Above natural strength, speed, reflexes, the such. Bordering on superhuman.

Because of his cyberhead there are things he can do, such as using his speakers to play music, recording audio, listening to radio frequencies, calls, getting basic stats.

He's very athletic, out there kicking ass with cartwheels and high jumps.

ITEMS/WEAPONS:

Flip phone: we love retro futurism

Skates: to do tricks

Spray cans: to do grafitti

Boostpack: A device worn on the back, similar to s backpack, designed to enable the wearer to travel quickly ( with a boost ) through air or space in general by means of jet propulsion.

STARTING ABILITY: none STARTING ITEM: boostpack

EXTRA:

Either you skate or you die

"I wasn't born yesterday." is a funny thing to say when immediately followed by "well, actually–".

Don't we all love to be a weird little freak 

ACAB 

Better make it count. Better kill me in one shot.

DISCORD ID: bombrushcrew

[edgelord-dl6]

|| i don’t talk about current events on here - i try not to be a reactionary - but i feel like i gotta say something today. i intend no guilt or shame in saying this, but i think we owe it to ourselves as enjoyers of media that glorifies police and the law to educate ourselves on the history of racism, white supremacy, and police brutality in america - and to be actively against it.

    haymarket books and ak press both have excellent literature on abolition and all sorts of good stuff. the holidays are coming up and i will gladly buy any of you a book from one of these stores if you need.

    i also urge you all to look up your local mutual aid and/or advocacy organizations. see what they’re doing. see how you can help. one of the most important things i learned about organizing is that there’s a lane for everyone, even for those who can’t show up in person - writers and artists included

[lesbianlovelanguage]

Hey Y’all! I’m back AGAIN with a new Masterlist! I know there have been a million circulating around, and this time I finally got smart, and made a Google Sheet with everyone’s information, which will be the best way to stay up-to-date as more people offer to contribute (41 so far! Which is just like, insane to me). I will be adding a list of the creators as of 6/3/2020 here too. **THERE IS ALSO A SECTION IN THE GOOGLE DOC OF CONTRIBUTORS OFFERING FICS/ART/MOODBOARDS/ETC. FOR NON-MONETARY DONATIONS SUCH AS SIGNING PETITIONS**

GOOGLE DOC

Communities- Check out Writers/Artists Against Police Brutality, with the main post here! 

Writers- @catharrington, @duchessking, @elsb-hrngtons, @eraseyourbookofstories, @flippyspoon, @ghostofjellyfishforgotten, @greyspilot, @harringrovetrashh, @inkedplume, @manicpixietrashfire, @memes-saved-me, @mother-shipper, @mrhiddles, @myboyfriendsteve, @ohmybgosh, @pretty-pendragon, @platypanthewriter, @rhubarbdreams, @stranger-steeb, @strangergrove, @tea-otter, @tracy7307​, @trashcangimmick, @yikesharringrove, @yourneighborhoodace

Artists- @artzeppo​, @avalonlights​, @babysitterpng​, @granpappy-winchester​@hokanm​, @memes-saved-me​, @ohmybgosh​, @opaldraws​, @pleasedontfightme​, @scpsahoyy​, @strangergrove​, @teenytinylion​, @thinger-strang​, @wrecked-fuse​

Creators (Moodboards, Edits, Podfics, Etc.)- @catharrington​, @dragoonthegreat​, @duchessking​, @gideongrace​, @harringrovetrashh​, @socknonny​, @strangergrove​, @wingedbears​, @yikesharringrove​

Again! Check the google sheet for information and links to the individual posts! It will be the most up-to-date information I have! 

a note to contributors- Please check your information on the Google Sheet and let me know if I made any mistakes! I tried my best, but I am only human. 

[yikesharringrove]

Ace Harringrove as requested by @gideongrace

Happy Pride!

Here is a link to my post about Harringrove for BLM, and here is a link to Writers/Artists Against Police Brutality

Here’s also a link to the Masterlist of Harringrove for BLM coutesy of @harringrovetrashh

Thank you all for organizing, participating, and donating.

-

Steve is greyace in this

-

They were wrapped up in Steve’s bed, making out lazily.

Steve always loves how Billy kisses him. His lips are soft, and he’s so much more gentle, more thoughtful than he would’ve ever guessed Billy would be.

His hands were big and warm, one arm underneath Steve, wrapped around his waist, hand on his back, the other gentle in the way it cradled his face.

And then Billy shifted his hips. He was hard against Steve, pressed into his hip.

“You wanna...?” Billy was trailing one hand down his side. Steve shrugged.

“Not really. Not tonight.” Sometimes Steve loved having sex with Billy, loved how close they felt. He loved that he could make Billy feel good, but sometimes it just felt bad and wrong. And sometimes it just felt like too much of a bother.

Billy just peppered kisses to his face, hand still warm on his hip.

“That’s okay. Just gimme a second.” Sometimes Billy would get too pent up while they were just making out, and didn’t want to make Steve uncomfortable. Sometimes he would go jerk off in the bathroom while Steve blushed and pretended he didn’t know what was happening in there. Sometimes he would read a few chapters of some horror novel. And sometimes he would just take a few breaths, tell Steve he’s beautiful, and they’d be right back in it.

“You’re beautiful.” He was back in Steve’s space, was kissing him again, just soft and slow, the way Steve likes it. Both arms wrapped around Steve’s waist, bringing him that much closer. Steve had both hands on his chest.

They broke apart, just smiling lazily at one another.

“You okay?” Steve rolled his eyes. Sometimes Billy was a little too vigorous with his check-ins. Steve knows he just wants to make sure Steve’s comfortable, but at this point, Steve would tell him. They’ve been together for so long.

“I’m fine, Bill. You don’t gotta keep checkin’.”

“You can’t stop me, Pretty Boy.” Steve rolled his eyes as Billy grinned. He just squeezed Steve tighter. Steve squirmed as Billy laughed, squeezing him even tighter.