…that was a stretch for a title, but it’s been a really long week at work. I was hoping to have the time and energy to do part II of my “Are we the baddies?” essay, but that eludes me; before the end of the year it’ll be written! However, I do have some good news to share…

Art Opening @ NoNo Tattoo Collective December 13

I'm one of 15ish artists at the NoNo Tattoo Collective show opening next Saturday, December 13, 6-9pm! Join us for a night of mingling, art, music, and block printing 🎨

I have two pieces in the show, an old favorite in my classic, highly detailed colored pencil illustration style, and one of my collages from 2023-2024 that hasn’t been displayed in an art gallery before! They are vastly different, but that’s part of the fun, eh?

The artwork will be on display until the end of January 2026, but the parlor has irregular hours, so the opening night is your best chance to have a fun art experience.

Last call for pre-Christmas shipping

I’m sure you’re hearing this a lot, but here is my last call for ordering art ahead of Christmas! December 15 is the last day I can ship something and have it arrive at its destination by Christmas within the United States (international orders…welp, unless it’s a zine, it’s probs going to take a small eternity). Prints, original tiny art, zines, and button pins are on my Ko-Fi shop; the most expensive thing there is $30, and currently everything is 25% off with the code TSYM25 🛍️

A very small, very personal drawing

Not to turn this newsletter into therapy, but in reshuffling my office I unearthed this tiny drawing I made two years ago. It sums up all I'm ready to say about how it feels to not be seen for who you are, to have a major part of you rejected, by the people who allegedly love you no matter what. It’s a feeling I’ve been sitting with a lot more lately, for two primary reasons: one, I’ve been ignoring how heavily it impacts some of my personal relationships, so I’m trying to get better acquainted with it; two, the winter holiday season.

Ngl, I really hate this time of year. Christmas has always felt too consumerist, but with time my issue lies more with the emphasis of nostalgia and family of origin over anything else. As a queer person I have a complicated relationship with all of these things. While I enjoy how much the San Francisco Bay Area empties out and quiets down over December, it also serves as a reminder of how differently I experience this time of year than the average person does.

This is a really difficult season for lots of folks, for reasons like those above, and plenty more perennial ones in addition to 2025-specific ones. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, let's take these longer nights to think and reflect...

(On a technical note, I love the way the hands look in this drawing. Another topic for another day, but I’ve become much less fearful about drawing humans and human features over the past couple of years; as a result, it’s nice to see drawings like this, when this process was beginning.)

Latest inspo

• One of my favorite podcasts, Our Opinions Are Correct, is ending 😢 this is their last episode, which contains lots of reflections on seven years of the show, as well as on where speculative fiction is headed. As a fan of climate-oriented speculative fiction, I appreciate that nod. Lots more cool stuff to chew on in the episode!

• Speaking of endings…I finally read the last volume of the Grand Slam Romance trilogy. It fits that the third book in a trilogy goes in depth on the dynamics of a throuple, in a fun, raunchy, messy, and wholesome way. They really, ahem, hit this out of the park. I can’t wait to see more of what Emma Oosterhous and Ollie Hicks make in the future!

• I personally love a wintry horror story. On the latest episode of Imaginary Worlds, James Dommek Jr. shares some Native Alaskan cryptid stories perfect for telling around a warm fire. It reminded me of a cool Arctic horror anthology I read last year, Taaqtumi, featuring stories by First Nation authors.