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Lauren Kayes

@midheavens.bsky.social
1.6K followers 631 following 3.4K posts

writer & diviner. words at The Rumpus, Allure, etc; studying Creative Writing at the University of Cambridge.

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Reposted by Lauren Kayes
Cartoonists United @cartoonist.coop · 25/09/2026
Comics workers! We need YOU to contribute to this survey! Beyond page rates & advances, we also ask about con revenue, Kickstarters, subscription platforms, & more! To make positive changes in our industry, we need to better understand challenges faced by traditional & self-published cartoonists!
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Chad Loder @chadloder.dev · 11/09/2026
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Bilbo Yaga @bilboyaga.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
So much of my growth in my thirties has been letting myself return to the things I loved and valued as a child, without performance, judgement, shame, or a plan to monetize/optimize.
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max schwartz @mightyatom.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The stinkyyyy #maxswebsite
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Sam Benc 🐟 @nonvieta.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Oh yeah, right in the vein please
What is discomfort? A thwarted will. An unmet I want. It often leads to pain. Response to discomfort is everything. If you do something with it, you're probably a creator. If you demand to have it removed, you're probably a customer.
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Amal El-Mohtar @amalelmohtar.com · 09/09/2026
Just learned that Category Is Books, a lovely queer bookshop in Glasgow, has been targeted by transphobic violence, & is fundraising to cover the costs of a smashed window & roller shutters. I hate that they have to do this & would love to see them meet their goal.
gofundme.com
Donate to Help Category Is Books Get Shutters!, organized by Category Is Books
For the past eight years, Category Is Books has been able to comfortably oper… Category Is Books needs your support for Help Category Is Books Get Shutters!
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Lauren Kayes @midheavens.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The other day I wanted to see if any of my DSLR photos from 2007-2011 still existed, and all I could pull were these terrible quality ones off of FB. I was 18-21 when I took these and will trickle-post them in small batches so I can pretend to be active here for a few days. 💐 🐐
Color photo of flowers in SwitzerlandB&W photo of goats in Switzerland Color photo of street decor in SwitzerlandB&W photo of lion monument in Switzerland
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Morgan M Page @morganmpage.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
When Vincent Kartheiser (Pete from Mad Men) was a twink in the 90s he looked like a lesbian who cut a trail of ruin through a mid-size metropolitan area.
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Tade Thompson @tadethompson.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Not sure what this wants to be. I had a dream of microplastics and an umbrella that rains on you. I'll keep working on the concept.
Dark man with umbrella,  rain on inside, not outside
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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 04/09/2026
Technology being everywhere doesn’t mean it belongs everywhere. The tech industry wants us to believe that AI in early education is not only inevitable, but necessary. We don't see it that way. This week, we announced a moratorium on generative AI for public school students in 2-K to 8th grade.
We’re eliminating AI use for students in 2-K through 8th grade for the upcoming school year.
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Rishima 🌙 @sacralmystic.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Introducing PARADOX & PLEASURE, a (free) monthly newsletter for creative exploration and divinatory inspiration 🐅🌙 🪷 My intention for this newsletter is to craft a playful, experimental space to share more of my work with you all.
Paradox and pleasure

A monthly newsletter & blog for creative exploration & divinatory inspiration.
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Monterey Bay Aquarium @montereybayaquarium.org · 28/08/2026
Huge thanks to @governor.ca.gov for signing into law a bill by State Sen. John Laird to re-establish California Sea Otter Voluntary Contribution Fund. The Fund will again appear on the 2026 state income tax return; to remain active, it must attract at least $250,000 in contributions each year.
A group of brown sea otters floats amid golden-brown kelp amid blue ocean water off the back deck of Monterey Bay Aquarium.
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FT @fucktheory.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Imagine being talented and beautiful and rich and famous and still the most noteworthy thing about you is how good a person you are.
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More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
BREAKING: The union of Starbucks workers is officially calling for a boycott of the chain. @sbworkersunited.org has over 12,000 unionized baristas, and they're calling on customers to stop visiting Starbucks until they get a fair union contract.
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🌈Tyranny🫧Sparkles🏳️‍🌈 @tyranny.sparklenoise.com · 25/08/2026
Dolly Parton with Keith Haring in 1985, incredible woman and supporter of LGBTQ people for decades going back to a time when few others dared.
Black and white photo of Dolly Parton with gay artist Keith Haring.
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Library of Congress @librarycongress.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
The Library is devastated to learn of the passing of Dolly Parton, a music legend and titan of children's literacy. Her Imagination Library program has earned multiple Library Literacy Awards and, in 2018, she visited us to donate its 100 millionth book to our collection and host a story time. 🦋❤️
Dolly Parton reads to children in the Library’s Great Hall in 2018. Photo by Shawn Miller.
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Puff the Magic Hater @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
The idea of a Black academic being hounded to death for alleged acts of plagiarism in an era when universities are entering into contracts with AI companies and encouraging AI use among students, while Big Tech is stealing EVERYTHING humans write...
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jj skolnik @supremenothing.myatproto.social · 11/08/2026
what if i do not want to be optimized. what if i want to make mistakes because that’s how you learn; what if i want to do nothing sometimes, what if i want a world that is weird and challenging and has mysteries left to reveal. what if i like taking the long way
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Roo 🔞 at NEKOCON @frictionpress.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I've gotten enough pre-orders for BAD DOG that it may actually delay shipping, sorry! And thank you!! 💦 Weird to have the problem of "too many people want to read my book" ?? Reminder that you can order the book to pick up at flamecon and save on shipping!! frictionpress.com/baddog
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Dieselbrain @dieselbrain.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
While the SCREEN Act failed in the committee, KOSA did move forward. Contact your senators immediately demanding it be opposed, and keep the pressure up until it comes to a vote in the Senate
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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
People still think of Sweden as this sexually liberated place, but the reality is you're not even allowed to fuck inside the giant taxidermied Blue Whale anymore. Place has really changed.
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Kendra, spooky version @kendrawcandraw.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
👹🗡️ Come celebrate the launch of REAL HERO SHIT: HARDER THAN IT LOOKS with me and @bransonreese.bsky.social at WACKO LA from 2-5PM on 8/8/26!! Join us as we chat medieval fantasy, comic-making, and whatever the hell else. Books will be available for purchase👹🗡️ RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/real-hero-...
Book launch event flier that says:
Join us for the Book Launch!! of Real Hero Shit: Harder Than It Looks
Kendra Wells (author and artist) in conversation with Branson Reese (Swan Boy, Rude Tales of Magic)
August 8th 2026, 2-5PM
WACKO LA
4633 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
FREE ADMISSION
Books available for purchase
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Lauren Kayes @midheavens.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Wept my way through the end of Cairn last night. Went into it expecting a fun mountain-climbing simulator, left feeling deeply existentially moved. 10/10 GOTY for me
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Lauren Kayes @midheavens.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Unfortunately hated The Odyssey and this thread sums up a lot of my thoughts!
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Postcard From The Past @pastpostcard.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
It is awful here today.
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Lauren Kayes @midheavens.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Rare social media trend that gives me hope is that literally every time I see a “still think AI has no place in [animation/film/whatever]??” gotcha-post w the ugliest slop trailer imaginable, it immediately gets ratioed to hell and back by everyone booing in the comments and QRTs
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Andrea Bellemare @dreabells.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
AI companies are destroying our collective shared history to put it into their slop buckets, because the slop they push out would destroy their models if they tried to re-input it
Text reads: This bookseller said his inventory is full of rare, foreign language, and low circulation books, meaning that if they are destroyed in the process of becoming training data, they'll be even harder to obtain.
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Ben Passmore SPX L6 @benpassmore.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
For anyone trying to buy my old Silver Sprocket books, buy new stuff, or just support my work. Check out my store. I do discounts often. daygloayhole.gumroad.com
daygloayhole.gumroad.com
Subscribe to Ben Passmore on Gumroad
Comics and other madness by Ben Passmore (All shipments go out on Monday)…🏴🐉✊🏽🔥
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mariah-rose 𓃦 ✦ 𓅛 @mariahrosemarie.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
just shy of 200 USD raised for various orgs sent out today, thanks to store orders. thank you for sharing my links in light of the silver sprocket news. (p.s. if you ordered a t-shirt from me, just know if you share pics while wearin em, it makes my day.) peep the wares: www.mariah-rose.com/store
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Victoria Ying @victoriaying.com · 20/07/2026
Using Ai as a “reference” sucks because it’s a dead end to learning and curiosity. There are more artists and writers whose work I can be inspired by and I can always dig deeper into them to learn more, but Ai flattens it to the result with no way to find out what parts were stolen from who.
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Esther @dungeonminister.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
terf island companies huffing that original brand bigotry so hard that their invasive lines of questioning are both violent and absolutely nonsensical
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Sarah Tuttle @niais.cryptoanarchy.network · 20/07/2026
Just like this. Refuse to comply. Our organizations are made of us. If we don't participate when they choose hate? They adjust or they are replaced.
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Ian McQue @ianmcque.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
A new example of Meta shithousery. This is a post of mine on Instagram (left). Click the dots top right and this advisory note appears (right). I never use ai, never will. Why would they do this? Who benefits? Are they just trying to make viewers think everything is genAI so they just accept it?
A digital painting I posted on instagram. I didn’t use ai to create it. An Instagram advisory saying the artwork in the post is ‘likely made with AI’
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Ari Yarwood @ariyarwood.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
This is a very thorough statement and I support the artists collective. I truly hope there can be a positive resolution. I want there to be a thriving space for interesting, political, and queer comics, but that also needs to come with fair treatment to the artists who make those books.
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Mallory Moore @sexabolition.blog · 18/07/2026
It's so difficult to get cis people to understand the jk Rowling thing isn't that she doesn't like us so you should punish her. It's if you give her franchise any kind of support you are contributing to trans people being excluded from society
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Paul @atticusfinch-105.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Aphrodite and Eros A Greek ring circa 4th/3rd century BC, Gold Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Inv. VIIb 217 #History #HistoryMatters
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Carina Taylor 🌻 @shecallsmecdawg.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
My heart goes out to the artists who are still enmeshed in this. I left a little over a year ago for a reason. 🖤
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Bryce? @dirtcupart.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
the silver sprocket thing is very difficult for me bc it is my first book and my only consistent source of income right now and i haven't really had the energy to keep up w the organizing. if you would like to support me please consider my patreon www.patreon.com/c/u3181232
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More Carta @morecarta.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
It's not "punk" to mislead struggling artists about how much you'll pay them (and then fail to pay them even the reduced amount on time). It's not "punk" to mislead your fans about what a Kickstarter is for. It's not "punk" to act like a stunned baby bird when asked about the business you run!
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Lauren Kayes @midheavens.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
I love a relaxing Friday, where I look in the fridge to see what I can have for lunch that won’t give me the explosive diarrhea parasite while also trying to figure out how to walk my dog with heart and lung issues in the toxic unbreathable air while I live in the data center capital of the world
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Nero Villagallos O'Reilly @itsnero.com · 17/07/2026
The way Avi has treated cartoonists echoes how they treated musicians back when they ran a music label. This isn’t a one time problem- it’s a deeply rooted issue that needs to be stopped at the source. Please don’t let your friends work for Sprocket.
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Kendra, spooky version @kendrawcandraw.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
My coauthor @midheavens.bsky.social and I chose to cancel the book we had with Silver Sprocket before it was released due to the chaos that emerged behind the scenes, but we stand wholeheartedly behind the collective statement about unfair treatment and unpaid wages.
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Roo 🔞 at NEKOCON @frictionpress.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
not to brag but my subscribestar income went from almost 400 dollars a month down to 200 dollars a month in the span of a few weeks which is kind of scary, so hey, if you like what I do, maybe tell someone? I've been doing more writing work than ever for less income than ever! It's not great!
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Lauren Kayes @midheavens.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
We made the very difficult decision to pull Weeping Rock right before it would have gone to print last year bc of issues outlined in this statement. Please signal boost and check out how you can support artists whose books are currently there!
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Cathy G. Johnson🏴 @cathygjohn.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Artists at Silver Sprocket have released their statement. I've personally severed all ties to the publisher because my book had not been printed yet, but there are plenty of artists whose careers are more enmeshed. Please read the statement, share, and support. cartoonist.coop/sprocket-art...
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S.E. Fleenor @sefleenor.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Damn. I really love the work Silver Sprocket has published, but the artists behind that work are being mistreated. That is *always* unacceptable. Labor rights matter. Please read this. When one of our best, most progressive, and beloved publishers is exploitative, they must be held accountable
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Cartoonists United @cartoonist.coop · 17/07/2026
Creators at Silver Sprocket have released a public statement regarding longstanding concerns with the business practices of the company which alleges issues around payment of royalties, poor treatment of staff, and lack of professionalism. Please read their statement: cartoonist.coop/sprocket-art...
The Silver Sprocket goat head logo.
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Cohen is a Ghost @skullmandible.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
"how were people writing 10 page papers before AI???" we were smarter than you. you could've been smart, too. but you sold your brain for nothing
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Thomas Ha @thomasha.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
not saying anything new, but if these folks actually believed in genAI writing, they'd disclose it, tout it, and build their own audiences elsewhere and leave others be. hiding and sneaking it to markets who want no part of it doesn't prove you're good at writing. just proves you're good at fraud.
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𝔻𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕥 @thatsgoodweb.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
Bill Watterson, 1991
Bill Watterson, 1991
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