That’s where JUPITER RUINS EVERYTHING comes from. I want folks to see the grit and the grim and the fun and the pain of making change.
Plus spicy times and lots of violence. And space!
Minus vomit.
Mostly.
sentencebender.substack.com/embed
... Staying up late the night before making turnout reminder calls; getting up early to make press calls; drinking tons of coffee and smoking cigarettes and talking real loud at planning meetings…
Those are the kinds of details I never see in fiction about activism and change-making...
Apologies in advance if this is a little too uhhh real?…. when I was a community organizer, I would routinely throw up on the morning of a direct action. Not because I was nervous or scared (though sometimes I was both) but because I’d been running myself ragged.
There is nothing to forgive, this delightful rhapsody only proves my original point!
Auden is always an auto-re-skeet
In Memory of Ernst Toller The shining neutral summer has no voice To judge America, or ask how a man dies; And the friends who are sad and the enemies who rejoice Are chased by their shadows lightly away from the grave Of one who was egotistical and brave, Lest they should learn without suffering how to forgive. What was it, Ernst, that your shadow unwittingly said? O did the child see something horrid in the woodshed Long ago? Or had the Europe which took refuge in your head Already been too injured to get well? O for how long, like the swallows in that other cell, Had the bright little longings been flying in to tell About the big friendly death outside, Where people do not occupy or hide; No towns like Munich; no need to write? Dear Ernst, lie shadowless at last among The other war-horses who existed till they’d done Something that was an example to the young. We are lived by powers we pretend to understand: They arrange our loves; it is they who direct at the end The enemy bullet, the sickness, or even our hand. It is their tomorrow hangs over the earth of the living And all that we wish for our friends; but existing is believing We know for whom we mourn and who is grieving.
Auden's "In Memory of Ernst Toller" been jangling in my head lately
"but existing is believing / We know for whom we mourn and who is grieving."
The biggest thing I learned in 15 years as an activist: there are no perfect heroes.
Just awesome hard-working damaged people in a broken world trying to make a better one.
That’s the story I want to tell with JUPITER RUINS EVERYTHING. But plus bloody revenge!
sentencebender.substack.com/embed
Several Haitians on the streets rioting against gangs.
Did you check my last newsletter? This time I talk about Haiti and the incredible "Bwa Kale" resistance movement that brought the community together to fight gangs!
Please share and subscribe, and if you're feeling extra generous, help my mom fight cancer! ❤️
ko-fi.com/post/New-tex...
I'm offering developmental and copy editing services! If you or someone you know wants far better editing than AI can provide, hit me up either here or through my website: whatsmacksaid.com/services/
And because I'm starting out, if you mention this post I'd be happy to cut the price in *half.*
Well well well... would you look at that... you can now follow along on BackerKit! 👀
tiny.cc/recordedantho
New chapter drops Sunday - in which Deimos makes the first move against his nemesis (and kinda sorta ruins someone's life in the process).
sentencebender.substack.com/embed
Cover of Wolfpack by Rem Wigmore, featuring a brown-skinned woman holding a coppery fox mask. She is mostly obscured by red smoke and a little below the title is a domed white building on a green mountain
Wolfpack is OUT!
The sequel to Foxhunt, this queer solarpunk adventure features our favourite disaster bard Orfeus climbing to new heights to forge her own way ... but can you really escape the bloodstained past you inherit?
The Vengeful Wild duology is now complete!
books2read.com/vengefulwild2
The Anthropic book theft settlement is essentially done, but many more battles remain. I also agree with Catherynne M. Valente's recent essay calling the settlement "blood money." 1/
www.patreon.com/posts/155693...
"Just 26% of voters say they have positive feelings about AI, compared with 46% who hold negative views."
This is the technology that energy dudes have, for two years now, been falling all over each other to enable. Congrats, energy dudes.
Absolutely not
Yes, fully, that is completely real and valid! There are many objectively awful movies that I adore because childhood, and I never want to yuck a yum!!
JAIL MARTY
JAIL
I mean I like MB but it's not like a "forgive a crime against humanity" like
::whispers:: john we all agreed the 1998 "godzilla" never happened
Awwww thank you so much for saying so, Owen! I am proud of that one.
Surprised and gratified that my LANDLINE is a Locus Award finalist! Congratulations to fellows Nathan Ballingrud @tobiasbuckell.bsky.social @thomasha.bsky.social @isabel.kim @hildur.bsky.social @sentencebender.bsky.social @aimeeogdenwrites.com @tiatashiro.bsky.social Callie Vaughn
My beloved novelette Phantom View is a Locus finalist! Wonderful news, especially since it's sharing a ballot with @acwise.bsky.social @sentencebender.bsky.social @premeemohamed.com @marthawells.com @nassos.bsky.social @kateelliottsff.bsky.social @hildur.bsky.social & @aimeeogdenwrites.com! Yay all!
Omg yessssssss
ilu
Thank you for believing in me and all my weird angry queers for over a decade now!!
This is so incredible!! Thanks to everyone who voted!!!
omgggggggg yay us!! yay ALLLL OF US, so many magnificent deserving people on this list, I WANT TO LOSE TO ALL OF YOU
Tiny story day!
I didn't do this in March, but I'm back! Drop a comment in the thread and get a tiny story just for you. If you'd like a prompt, feel free to riff off of any sort of transportation.
I'll get to these through the rest of the month, and hopefully you'll get something fun to enjoy.
Opposition leader Péter Magyar at a rally.
Orbán's electoral crushing is a far greater achievement than most people outside Hungary realise.
He systemically consolidated power for 16 years, fixed the electoral map, abused govt power for political purposes & censored media.
The hurdles that Hungarians overcame for this moment were immense.
Image of a lion on a bull skull in front of smokestacks with the text JUPITER RUINS EVERYTHING
It's Saturday, which means the next chapter of JUPITER RUINS EVERYTHING drops tomorrow morning! In which we let Deimos catch up on his sleep, and spend some time getting to know his primary nemesis. 😈😈😈
sentencebender.substack.com/embed
THIS IS THE WAY
Flaaaaaiiiillllll!!!