Avalbane Maxwell • medical hiatus
@avalbanemaxwell.bsky.social
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🕯️they/them/iad🕯️neurodivergent🕯️megafauna enthusiast🕯️pan🕯️🗣️ ah-VAL-bahn🕯️tha Gàidhlig agam (learning & reconnecting)🕯️dèan an t-olc 's feith ri dheireadh🕯️🚫NO AI🚫🕯️ Curious? Check out my project at https://www.patreon.com/WhimsikilnProductions
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CW medical stuff, cancer, leukemia

My diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia was confirmed this morning. Because it's so aggressive and so rare, I'm going to be moved to a medical center that specializes in rare cancer treatment. At this time, the kickstarter is on hold until I'm (hopefully) better.
Yes, I'm bitter. Yes, I'm angry. And I can't wait until I have the energy to syphon that bitterness and rage into my work.

I still have stories to tell, and I'm nowhere near done with this life.

Again: Fuck cancer.
I still have a bone marrow biopsy in November, but after that, I should be on maintenance and life should go back to "normal" (though anyone who's been through this will tell you that there isn't any "normal" anymore; you just fake it while dealing with PTSD).
CW medical stuff, cancer

Finished my last round of chemo a week ago. Now I'm in recovery, which is the shittiest part because all my blood counts are wiped out, we have to go to the hospital almost daily for transfusions, and I'm nauseous 99% of the time.

Fuck cancer.

Hope I kicked its ass.
Reposted by Avalbane Maxwell • medical hiatus
“When they rob us of art and emotion, that leads us towards the aesthetics of fascism. In this film, all the sets are real, the decor is human-sized, there are painstakingly created miniatures... It’s there to remind us that art is not only necessary, it is urgent. And AI can go fuck itself!”
Reposted by Avalbane Maxwell • medical hiatus
“Fuck AI”

— Guillermo del Toro

🎥 Vanity Fair
Reposted by Avalbane Maxwell • medical hiatus
Hey. Stuff sucks, the suits behind this app are terribad, and shit just isn't gay enough

Now's a great time to support your indie trans authors
On that note:

Trans authors (I mean authors who are trans, NOT cis people who write about trans people), drop your book links here and I'll try to repost as many as I can throughout the day.

Cis people: Repost trans authors' book links.

Cis people who want to complain about being excluded: gtfo
Being a trans author is fucking weird right now. Hell is actively unfolding all around us but I still need to be like, "hey, everyone, wanna buy my silly little queer book? It won't make anything better, but it's kinda fun?"

So....hey, everyone, wanna buy my silly little queer book?
Reposted by Avalbane Maxwell • medical hiatus
1-866-952-4456 to tell Netflix that in no way do you want Elon fucking Musk determining what you watch.

I just called, got through in about 15 seconds, and told them that I strongly support queer inclusion in their programming and that I will cancel my subscription if they cave.
1. Led by Elon Musk, the far-right has exploded in a campaign to get Netflix to remove shows with queer and trans characters.

If Netflix capitulates to their demands, an already strained market for LGBTQ+ animators might become even more dire.

Subscribe to support our journalism.
Elon Musk Leads Campaign To Force Netflix To Remove Shows With Trans Characters
Musk's posts have been seen by tens of millions of users, and many conservatives are now attempting to force Netflix into a removal of LGBTQ+ content.
www.erininthemorning.com
ICE can break into anyone's home without a warrant and not suffer repercussions. Fourth Amendment rights? No? We don't have them anymore?

This is terrifying. No one is safe if this is allowed to continue. A lawyer MUST rep these victims pro-bono & sue the gov't for this blatant disregard of rights.
"Jones, 27, is among the residents left at 7500 S. South Shore Drive who are trying to piece together what remains after an early morning, high-powered federal immigration raid led to the arrests of dozens of their neighbors at their South Shore apartment building."
Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: 'I feel defeated'
The Department of Homeland Security said federal agents with Border Patrol, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested 37 people in the raid.
chicago.suntimes.com
CW medical stuff, cancer

I go back to the hospital on Monday to start my (hopefully) final round of chemo. There's a good chance I'll be admitted for several weeks, considering how badly my platelets plummeted after the last round.

Not looking forward to it, but I am looking forward to being done.
Reposted by Avalbane Maxwell • medical hiatus
Reposted by Avalbane Maxwell • medical hiatus
drawing fucked-up "degenerate" nsfw art is actually pretty based and also tends to upset fascists immensely so you should keep doing it
Fighting cancer, and now I also have to fight censorship on @bsky.app. Ridiculous. Y'all understand that consent doesn't apply to fictional characters because they're *gasp* not real? Right? You DO understand the difference between reality and fiction...right?? Because it sure doesn't seem like it.
Reposted by Avalbane Maxwell • medical hiatus
About censorship on Bluesky:

From the moment you decide to create a multi-themed platform based on the content generated by other people, you need to understand that those people are your clients. Without them, you wouldn’t be in the position you are now.
Reposted by Avalbane Maxwell • medical hiatus
Exactly. This is the time to bitch and moan about the issue. Don’t tell me you don’t know how to complain about crappy policies because we know that’s not true
Yeah, I’m not going to silence myself when the issue is being silenced—I’m going to take time every freaking day on my vacation to fill in another feedback report pointing out the flaws in the new terms and how it’ll be weaponized especially against queerfolk.

I think in this case, noise is better.
The fact that you (one of my favorite authors) enjoyed it fills me with tremendous joy!
Fighting back looks like calling your reps, emailing them, going to protests and actively standing ground between trans participants and cops, and offering support in any other way you can think of (money, housing, access to medical care, etc.).

There's a lot you can do to help.
Reposted by Avalbane Maxwell • medical hiatus
If you’re safe and not living on the financial edge, drop a coffee or three on some trans folks today.
IF YOU WANT TO SUPPORT TRANS PEOPLE

and you're not really sure how. First off, listen to trans people they will inform you how to support.

Second, DONATE MONEY TO STRUGGLING TRANS PEOPLE

Trans people, drop your links below.

Now you know how the rest of us, cis, feel with everything.
Reposted by Avalbane Maxwell • medical hiatus
Tonight, RIFHT NOW, is a good time to go buy a few books or comics or films by trans people. Physically. And keep them safe for the next few years.

And send a little support to trans folk if you can.
The FBI is preparing to label transgender people as “violent extremists” in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder:
www.kenklippenstein.com/p/fbi-readie...
FBI Readies New War on Trans People
“We’re looking at the entire web”
www.kenklippenstein.com
This book went from being about falling in love to being about survival. The sequel will be about living and learning what that means and looks like.

I hope an agent out there sees what I'm saying, because this book became very personal very fast.
Literally the only good thing about being hospitalized for platelets and blood recovery is that, aside from fatigue, I have the time and cognizance to edit. I actually managed to make a significant dent in Heartwood today. The final draft is nearly complete, then I'm hitting the trenches 👏
On top of the clearly targeted attacks against queer and trans people and culture, I can barely function from the chemo. I'm being readmitted to the hospital today because my counts are dangerously low. All I wanna do is write my gay little stories, but most days it feels like I'm barely surviving.
Are publishers still interested in queer manuscripts? Especially spicy ones? Are they bothering to look at them? With the increasing censorship of queer media, I don't even know if my (and other's) work will find a home. It's so discouraging.

#askagent #writingcommunity #amquerying #lgbtq #author