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quartzen.bsky.social
Sandstone
@quartzen.bsky.social
2.4K followers 1.6K following 7.9K posts
Programmer and SFF reader. Sega fan. Asexual and otherwise queer. She/her. 📚
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ericumansky.bsky.social
Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 1h
BREAKING from PP

We found immigration agents have held more than 170 *citizens*

The govt doesn't track citizens held. So we did. We tallied:

Nearly 20 kids, two w/ cancer

More than 20 citizens held for day or more, incommunicado

www.propublica.org/article/immi...

by @nicolefoy.bsky.social
More Than 170 U.S. Citizens Have Been Held by Immigration Agents. They’ve Been Kicked, Dragged and Detained for Days.
The government does not track how often immigration agents grab citizens. So ProPublica did. Our tally — almost certainly incomplete — includes people who were held for days without a lawyer. And near...
www.propublica.org
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jd-rivers.com
JD Rivers | OUT NOW: Wish of a Dragon @jd-rivers.com · 3h
The book is released now!!! Come and get it!
jd-rivers.com
JD Rivers | OUT NOW: Wish of a Dragon @jd-rivers.com · 8d
Otar's story continues! Preorder today!

🐲 dragons! in space!
🛣️ more roadtrip
🏛️ more ruins
⁉️ archaelogy! in space!
❤️ idiots in love

"The Wish of a Dragon" out: October 15th

Preorder:
tinyurl.com/ysxyvfk6
books2read.com/u/47p7XL

TBR:
GR: tinyurl.com/yc6a7xke
TSG: tinyurl.com/ya34yu4w

📚🌈📚💙📚 🪐
17 Write your reply JD Rivers | Wish of a Dragon October 15th ‪@jd-rivers.com‬ Home Explore Notifications Chat Feeds Lists Saved Profile Settings New Post Search Following DPP Folks #queerAdultSFF Books Queer Bookworms 🌈📚 Fantasy Writers🩷🧙‍♂️⚔️ BookSky 💙📚 #booksky Promote Them Books 📢📚 Romancelandia Writing Craft Bsky Book Club Gift Links/Gift Articles 📚❓asking for book recs📚❔ SciFi-Fantasy-SpecFic 🪐📚 Short Story Booksky Itch.io Authors and Illustrators Itchio Authors Bundles More feeds Feedback • Privacy • Terms • Help The cover for JD Rivers' "The Wish of a Dragon", second book in the Otar's Universe trilogy. The main colors are purple, pink and dark blue. We have one of the main characters, Andres, facing the audience with his back, while we see the POV character Otar, only with his hand at Andres' neck, a bot of his blonde hair, and the other hand holding up a ball of flight behind Andres' back, holding a sleepong dragon. There are also more lights around it. In the upper part it reads the title: The Wish of a Dragon, down below is the author: JD Rivers. The illustrator/artist is planetsandmagic the typesetter is: Hermit-writes The cover for JD Rivers' "The Wish of a Dragon", second book in the Otar's Universe trilogy. The main colors are purple, pink and dark blue. We have one of the main characters, Andres, facing the audience with his back, while we see the POV character Otar, only with his hand at Andres' neck, a bot of his blonde hair, and the other hand holding up a ball of flight behind Andres' back, holding a sleepong dragon. There are also more lights around it. In the upper part it reads the title: The Wish of a Dragon, down below is the author: JD Rivers. The illustrator/artist is planetsandmagic the typesetter is: Hermit-writes
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texasobserver.org
Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · 2h
Featured story: "When I saw Marwan Marouf’s face plastered on my Instagram feed, under bright red letters announcing he’d been arrested and detained by ICE, the first thing I remembered was his distinctive, gentle voice."
Trump's ICE Has Arrested a Pillar of the Dallas Muslim Community. I Grew Up Hearing His Calls for Compassion.
When I heard Marwan Marouf had been swept up in connection with decades-old charitable donations, my mind went to his gentle voice we sometimes had to strain to hear at the mosque.
www.texasobserver.org
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heykellyjensen.bsky.social
skellyton bones jensen @heykellyjensen.bsky.social · 1h
Another day in America where you have to check your over-priced food to make sure it's not being recalled for whatever the thing is.

Today's recall is ready rice. Fortunately, neither of my packages are included, but yours may be.

www.wfmynews2.com/article/news...
Ben's Original recalls rice over stone contamination risk
Small stones in some batches of Ready Rice products pose a risk of oral or digestive tract injuries if swallowed, according to the recall notice.
www.wfmynews2.com
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vedraven.bsky.social
Storm "Rain of Terror" Blakley, Alleged Human @vedraven.bsky.social · 12h
Please, help if you can.

This storm has been absolutely brutal.
alaskabeacon.com
Alaska Beacon @alaskabeacon.com · 1d
In photos: Residents of western Alaska share storm damage of ex-Typhoon Halong, reports Corinne Smith with @alaskabeacon.com
In photos: Residents of western Alaska share storm damage of ex-Typhoon Halong | Alaska Beacon
As morning light hit flooded communities devastated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong on Sunday, local residents snapped photos of the storm damage across western Alaska communities.
alaskabeacon.com
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mrmandolino.itch.io
Mando @mrmandolino.itch.io · 2d
a long form researched article WITH COMMISSIONED ART in collaboration with shmuplations???

inject it directly into my veins
designroom.bsky.social
Design Room @designroom.bsky.social · 2d
For the Shadow of the Colossus story, we interviewed 14 people including project leads Fumito Ueda and Kenji Kaido, hired Gravity Rush concept artist Takeshi Oga to illustrate the cover, and put together a 10,000-word story with help from @milkman.bsky.social @shmuplations.bsky.social and others.
Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history
Celebrate the 20th anniversary of Team Ico’s masterpiece by looking back with 11 people who worked on it (and three who didn’t).
www.designroom.site
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rmfifthcircuit.bsky.social
Raffi Melkonian @rmfifthcircuit.bsky.social · 13h
My super modern regulatory plan is that any entity named for a thing from Tolkien has to publicly explain why Tolkien wouldn’t immediately throw it into Mount Doom
tonytassell.bsky.social
Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 1d
Tolkein continues to resonate. The new bank being set up by Palmer Luckey and backed by Peter Thiel is named Erebor after the “lonely mountain” in The Hobbit. This was also an interesting line in this rpt on the new bank by @tabbykinder.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/202d...
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onestorymag.bsky.social
One Story @onestorymag.bsky.social · 1d
Register today for Worldbuilding for Any Story with @adeniro.bsky.social. We will read writers such as Ursula LeGuin, Kelly Link, Jorge Luis Borges and Anna Kaval to explore how they create a sense of spatiality in their stories with just a few phrases and sentences. bit.ly/4o3zsfy
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tanaudel.bsky.social
Kathleen Jennings @tanaudel.bsky.social · 14h
42 ways to fix a story
tanaudel.wordpress.com/2024/02/09/4...
42+ ways to fix a story
Here is a list of ways to fix a draft or story in progress…
tanaudel.wordpress.com
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bookjockeyalex.bsky.social
Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them) @bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · 14h
Many YA books I try to cover by BIPOC authors don't get ARCs or do but they aren't put on netgalley or edelweiss, and if they only get final copies, at least half of the ones I'm supposed to get show up days before or weeks after release or not at all, meaning I can't cover them for trade pubs.
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bookjockeyalex.bsky.social
Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them) @bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · 15h
Seconding this and adding that it really is that bad in terms of the lack of marketing for BIPOC authors esp. And as bad as it is in adult, it's worse in YA and kidlit.
victorialaw.bsky.social
Victoria Law @victorialaw.bsky.social · 15h
Novelist Silvia Moreno-Garcia breaks down the slump in book sales, what this means for marginalized writers, & what we as readers can do: www.patreon.com/posts/boycot...
Boycott? Not likely | Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Get more from Silvia Moreno-Garcia on Patreon
www.patreon.com
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radleybalko.bsky.social
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 20h
That’s $5 billion more than the entire annual USAID budget. All to one country. To rescue one friend of the president’s.
ilhanmn.bsky.social
Ilhan Omar @ilhanmn.bsky.social · 20h
Trump found another $20 BILLION to give to Argentina, totaling their bailout to $40 BILLION.

Yet we can’t afford to prevent millions of Americans from losing their healthcare.

Shame.
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tishamark.com
Tisha Mark @tishamark.com · 19h
Somewhere peaceful to rest your eyes and your mind.

Tisha Mark ©2022, Tide Pools VI, oil on canvas, 12"x12"

Original is available:
tishamark.com/product/tide...

#art #painting #TraditionalArt #bsnm
Original seascape oil painting by Tisha Mark, "Tide Pools VI" 12"x12" oil on canvas (2022). A soft, abstract-leaning seascape painting inspired by tide pools of wintertime. Painted in a soothing palette of light blues, whites, and soft browns.
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audrelawdamercy.bsky.social
Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 19h
The Voting Rights Act has done more than perhaps any other statute to build a multiracial democracy

which is precisely why the Supreme Court’s conservative justices have spent decades casting the law as constitutionally unsound

ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/calla...
The Conservative Justices Have So Many Ideas For How to Kill the Voting Rights Act
The Republican justices already know where they’re going. They just have to figure out which route they’re going to take to get there.
ballsandstrikes.org
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benfrancisco.bsky.social
Ben Francisco @benfrancisco.bsky.social · 22h
In celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, I wrote a listicle of awesome Latinx Science Fiction to read ASAP! W/ great books by @boriscrito.bsky.social @pazsays.bsky.social @valerievaldes.bsky.social @latinxfiles.bsky.social @willalex.bsky.social @silviamg.bsky.social

benfrancisco.net/2025/10/15/1...
Collage of covers of Latinx Science Fiction books, including Ambassador, Latinx Rising, Sal & Gabi Break the Universe, Prime Meridian, and Val Vega: Secret Ambassador of Earth.
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quartzen.bsky.social
Sandstone @quartzen.bsky.social · 19h
What are your favorite writing craft books or resources (preferably text rather than audio/video) for plotting/outlining stories with an ensemble cast?
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simko-bednarski.bsky.social
Evan Simko-Bednarski @simko-bednarski.bsky.social · 19h
This is dark. But also, this display of solidarity on the part of the pentagon press corps should be a model for dealing with the regime
phillewis.bsky.social
Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 19h
“The Defense Department has confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America,” the Pentagon Press Association said
Oct. 15, 2025 PENTAGON PRESS ASSOCIATION STATEMENT Today, the Defense Department confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America. It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalizing national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution. The Pentagon Press Association's members are still committed to reporting on the U.S. military. But make no mistake, today, Oct. 15, 2025 is a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all. PPA
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pdavislibrarian.bsky.social
pdavislibrarian @pdavislibrarian.bsky.social · 19h
New dog, same tricks in the Missouri States Attorney's office!
democracydocket.com
Democracy Docket @democracydocket.com · 19h
BREAKING: Missouri state officials sue a pro-voting coalition, which is organizing a veto referendum to block Republican state lawmakers' new congressional gerrymander. The map notably split apart Black communities in Kansas City to buy the GOP one district.
Missouri Republicans Sue to Block ‘People’s Veto’ of GOP Gerrymander
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
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franwilde.bsky.social
Fran Wilde @franwilde.bsky.social · 20h
I wrote about my favorite high-tech future heists today at @reactorsff.bsky.social ! Includes @yumewrites.bsky.social @byzantienne.bsky.social @greatdismal.bsky.social @willalex.bsky.social Alexander Freed !!
reactorsff.bsky.social
Reactor Magazine @reactorsff.bsky.social · 23h
Heists are already fun, but throw in some weird, futuristic spy technology? We're in. @franwilde.bsky.social, author of A Philosophy of Thieves, recommends 6 sci-fi heist stories! How many have you read?

reactormag.com/six-high-tec...
Six High Tech Heists That Defy the Odds - Reactor
These heists require tech and talent to pull off a win against impossible odds...
reactormag.com
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elienyc.bsky.social
ElieNYC @elienyc.bsky.social · 1d
Oh, by the way, I wrote in @thenation.com about how Trump is condeming millions of Americans to hunger this Thanksigiving with his accelarated timeline of adding work requirements for SNAP benefits.
I also discussed how work requirements provably don't work, for the neoliberals in your life.
Trump Has Just Condemned More Americans to Hunger
The administration’s decision to fast-track a bunch of changes to food stamps—including new work requirements—is as stupid as it is cruel.
www.thenation.com
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heykellyjensen.bsky.social
skellyton bones jensen @heykellyjensen.bsky.social · 22h
EVERY BOOK BANNED FROM THE READING BOWL HAS BEEN RESTORED!!!!!

The kids will be able to read and compete over all 20 books. Raising the issue made a difference. Teen advocates made a difference.

docs.google.com/document/u/0...
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progressmissouri.bsky.social
Progress MO @progressmissouri.bsky.social · 21h
🧵 Over 400,000 Missourians rely on Affordable Care Act tax credits to make health care affordable for their families. But those tax credits are about to expire and the GOP is refusing to discuss an extension, even going so far as shutting down the government to avoid the conversation. #GOPShutdown
These reps want to slash your health care with Ann Wagner, Bob Onder, Mark Alford, Sam Graves, Eric Burlison and Jason Smith of MO
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gothgreenwitch.bsky.social
Kaya Skovdatter 🏳️‍⚧️ (She/They) @gothgreenwitch.bsky.social · 1d
We're halfway through Huldra House's Samhain Sale!

3 FREE horrorotica stories!
50% off subs! ($9 USD for 24 stories, plus collected edition w/extras once out.)

Sub sales go to me yeeting my deadname! Now 9/15 of goal - just 6 more to go!

www.huldrahouse.com/shop/samhain...
itch.io/s/160941/the...
A sale banner with a dark background, centred on a red-hooded figure holding a long axe with its blade pointed toward the ground. They stand in an open doorway, and moths flutter around them. In the foreground is matte white text that reads: The Huldra House Samhain Sale is on now, through October 31st!
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dtowski.bsky.social
Danny Wicentowski @dtowski.bsky.social · 1d
"Placing prohibitions on certain procedures for trans children in the [Missouri] constitution — would be unprecedented in the United States and likely impossible to reverse."

-- via Annelise Hanshaw @missouriindependent.com

missouriindependent.com/2025/10/15/h...
How Missouri became a battleground over gender-affirming care • Missouri Independent
Gender-affirming care for minors has become largely inaccessible in Missouri following national attention and political outcry.
missouriindependent.com
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bookjockeyalex.bsky.social
Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them) @bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · 6d
It's Murderbot time! I'm back with a discussion of Artificial Condition and everyone's favorite Asshole Research Transport.
reactormag.com/martha-wells...
Martha Wells Book Club: Artificial Condition - Reactor
When we last left our grumpy SecUnit, it had ditched the PresAux team and set out for the great beyond...
reactormag.com
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