scrubjayspeaks

She had retired from the bench years earlier, but she understood law, both the technicalities and the trappings of it. People who had been swindled by the fae usually only had themselves to blame--too greedy, too bold, too hasty--but some had been dealt with unfairly, and all deserved a chance to use their wits to get back a bit of their own if they could. So she set up a little courtroom in the unused second bedroom, and she kept her black robes freshly pressed, and she heard arguments over stolen first-borns, and milkless cows, and deliveries of straw that had only been spun into copper instead of gold.

---

LL#1240

Thanks to a generous donation from Wonderland Farms, we have a new planting of flowering bulbs and annuals around the Buried Gardens, which will refresh some of the more faded sections around the fountain. Of particular note are the bubble hyacinths, a new hybrid developed by Wonderland Farms, which bloom into iridescent soap bubbles that gradually swell and break free of the stem. We appreciate our volunteer gardening team, who spent several weekends learning to handle the delicate bulbs and dealing with pruned fingertips.

---

LL#1238

They marauded through big box stores, slipping goods into specially tailored, ultra-deep pockets and wielding security tag removal tools like pistol and cutlass. They had the codes to loading bay doors and bolt cutters both, and sometimes whole cargo trucks would be commandeered and hauled away quietly as a ship in the night. They had captain and crew and booty aplenty, though another load of cheaply-made home goods did not inspire quite the same romanticism as holds full of gold, silk, or rum.

---

LL#1236

“Well, have you an answer?” the croaking voice under the stairs asked, tendrils of dark barring the path to the kitchen. “Dude, I have been up twice for the dog, once for the toddler, and now, after all that, I just want some water, so no, I don’t have an answer to your riddle, but I do have a baseball bat in the hall closet.” There was a gurgling noise, and a slither of withdrawing tendrils, before it said meekly, “Perhaps just a knock-knock joke, then, to speed you on your way.”

---

LL#1234

A new long-distance bus route has been established to serve those working in the abandoned wood mill north of town, and schedule and fare information is available through the library. The abandoned mill, which sits on the edge of Lewisia-influenced territory, has recently been reactivated in response to outside attempts to develop the area into an industrial park. The mill and its employees are hard at work causing the sort of mishaps and rumors that imply an area is haunted, protected by the fae, or generating mysterious frequencies and rays, in the hopes of driving off this attempted attack on our wild edges.

---

LL#1232

Having rather selective standards for company, he found it necessary to challenge visitors to his cottage to prove themselves via a proverbial shot across the bow. Fortunately, the cottage shared that section of forest land with a mild-mannered but gluttonous giant toad. He found that any visitor who arrived at his door in good spirits, having come through the experience of being snapped up, tasted, and spat out by a toad the size of a house, was probably worth welcoming in.

---

LL#1230

It occurred to me that this might be a good place to mention crowdfunding and fundraising projects I'm supporting. Preferably while they're still open and there's value in doing so. (ˉ▽ˉ；) Bluesky (which I'm actually keeping up with on a regular basis) has a lot of project promotion activity, from artists showing off their portfolios and print shops to crafters showing WIPs and process explanations.

Right now, with the *gestures vaguely*, it makes me feel less hopeless to be able to support trans people directly. Projects that also tell our stories do double duty in that respect.

Also, not for nothing, backing projects that won't ship/release until a future point gives me something to look forward to. You know, in case I find myself needing a reason to hang around.

Transfixed - Trans & Genderqueer Erotic FairyTales Anthology

This is a comics anthology from Filthy Figments. I haven't read anything from them before, but they're being promoted by the Oh Joy Sex Toy team, which I've followed off and on for many years. That's enough of an endorsement for me. And some of the stories feature transmasc people, which I still find frustratingly difficult to get in fiction.

Excitingly, the project creator is Gina Biggs, of the romance manga series Red String. For a while in high school (?), I followed the series. As is often the case, trying to keep up with any kind of periodical series is a recipe for failure for me. But I remember it fondly.

There are a ton of optional add-ons. I opted to get the Ardent and Night School pack. Since I haven't interacted with this group before, I didn't want to go too nuts. But their itch.io store offers many things that I can grab later if I like this one. Also, they've got Red String in there and ooooh, the nostalgia is calling me.


Stories for the Trans Rights Readathon, an itch.io bundle from 42 creators, hosted by Robin Jo Margaret

"The Trans Rights Readathon is an annual call to action to readers and book lovers in support of Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) on March 31st. This year’s Trans Rights Readathon will take place from March 21st to March 31st."

I'm really a fan of bundles like this. If I know a couple of the people involved and want what they're offering, it's pretty easy to immediately get my money's worth. Then I also have a big collection of new works, essentially free for the cost of admission, in which I might find my next favorite thing. I do, in fact, know some of the authors in here--I've been wanting to read some of Dee Arbacauskas/Tormented Artifacts' fiction, having already purchased her leatherwork.


Honorable mention to one that just closed: The Immortal Choir Holds Every Voice, the third novella in a series by Margaret Killjoy.

I've really enjoyed Margaret's short stories, many of which have been read by her on the Cool Zone Media podcasts It Could Happen Here, Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff, and such. I haven't read this series yet, but I trust her as a writer at this point. And being able to get audio versions of the previous installments was very appealing as a way to get started.

I dithered back and forth on which level to back. But goddamn it, the prospect of a big patch with a eldrich deer god was more temptation than I could bear.

The apple had, over the winter, wrinkled and shrunk, dried halfway to leather in some root cellar, and the little creature bit into it with relish all the same. It had found the offering laid out on a few flat stones by the roots of the backyard apricot tree, which was beginning to bud, pink and plump. “The last of the harvest and the first promise of the next,” it thought to itself, “and here’s me, no farmer’s brownie, but I suppose we all do what we can with what’s lying about.”

---

LL#1227

Alone on the playground, she had scrambled up onto the monkey bars until she could sit on the top and look out over a kingdom of rust and fall hazards. There had been much talk of tearing it down, as danger-sensitive parents had decided it was not a suitable setting for their fragile offspring. Should the city send a construction crew, they would find the playground ruled by a tiny empress and a court of foxes and skunks, who were only too happy to make their home amid the relics of an abandoned childhood.

---

LL#1225

An unknown prankster has been bulb bombing local yards, gardens, and green spaces with Grenade onions, a particularly odoriferous variety developed during the Rose and Deer Wars of the Sixties. Though technically edible, these are intended for combat purposes as a defensive ornamental, and have been driving residents and nearby businesses out of the affected areas. Fortunately, local restaurants have been collecting and cooking the onions before they can take root, creating such culinary adventures as Flash Onion Soup, deep-fried Booming Onions, and something billed as Allium Supreme which no one on the review circuit has yet dared to sample.

---

LL#1223