emily c. skaftun (she/her)

Beneath Ceaseless Skies - A Dirge for the Mirrorbirds by Emily C. Skaftun I wanted to tell her that it was possible to choose to see the people she loved again. But after all, for her it wasn't. She wasn’t Yem. So I said the next thing on my mind: “I think it’s beautiful to...

Live in BCS #450 Science-Fantasy Month 8: "A Dirge for the Mirrorbirds" @eskaftun.bsky.social "I wanted to tell her that it was possible to choose to see the people she loved again. But after all, for her it wasn't. She wasn’t Yem." www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/a-di...

I’ve got a flash piece in this!

A story by ME!? Crazy!

Beneath Ceaseless Skies - Issue #450 – Science-Fantasy Month 8 by Scott Andrews A special double-issue for BCS Science-Fantasy Month 8, featuring two bonus stories and science-fantasy cover art “Project Elderidge 1” by Tyler Edlin. Medusa’s Ship, or The Thing About Bodies by Nata...

New (double!) Issue: BCS #450 Science-Fantasy Month 8! Stories Natalia Theodoridou @nassos.bsky.social and Ewen Ma @ewenmaer.bsky.social today, @rhiannonheld.bsky.social and @eskaftun.bsky.social next week (but in ebook now), podcast of Theodoridou. www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/issues/issue...

(Vintage-style postcard of an organ in a cavern) Dearest Terrence, The cave sang; that’s how I found it. Wisps of unearthly melody from a crack in the earth. I descended heedlessly, enraptured by the siren call. After many twists and turns the cavern opened into a vast auditorium whose very stalactites were ringing. I stood inside a vast instrument, and at a keyboard sat a being the likes of which I’d never seen. Covered in soft dark fur, beckoning with a long tail, blinking her huge eyes in my lantern’s dim light. I dimmed the light further, sat at her side, and oh what a duet we played! I shan’t return. Love, Millicent

Postcard #128: The underground music scene

(postcard story in alt text)

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A sign in the background says New Hope church, God says homosexuality is in. In the foreground there are two men smiling holding the letter s that they've taken from the sign

Happy pride month ❤️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈

A jumble of postcards showing the mouth of truth, Chichen Itza, horse-drawn carriages, suspicious eggs, a statue’s broken head, and a person on a bike carrying an upright bass.

Upcoming postcard weirdness for May and beyond. Subscribe at patreon.com/skaftun for miniature stories of lies, regrets, aliens, and things that hatch from strange eggs.

Just said "okay guys," to my own brain, so that's how I (we?) am doing today. How are you?

What about back to before Reagan?

"This Is Just To Say" retellings might be my favorite thing about the internet.

US hegemony ending=good

US just totally collapsing=oh no, all my stuff is here

I'm apparently going for the daily record for times I've microwaved the same cup of coffee and forgotten to drink it. I'm up to FOUR.

(Yes I'm a heathen who nukes coffee; sue me.)

I good editor.

Ooh! I see the second one now too. :)

[Postcard of a bloody polar bear] Dear Tara, The puppies are growing up fast! Especially Bjørn; he’s MUCH bigger than his siblings and causes more mischief. I’m pleased at least one is thriving; I still don’t know what killed their poor mama. Today I let them out to romp in the fresh snow, and boy did Bjørn get into something messy! I’d be mad if his self-satisfied smile wasn’t so stinking cute. I was so busy cleaning him up I barely noticed that the other puppies weren’t underfoot. They never came home! Tomorrow I’ll look for them, but for now at least I have my Bjørn to cuddle with. He’s a little bitey, but we’re working on it. Love, Ellie

Postcard 98: Who can stay mad at a face like that?

(postcard story in alt text)

Want more? patreon.com/skaftun

Hey world, guess what? I'm open to freelance gigs right now. Writing, editing (developmental, line edits, proofreading), graphic design, layout, blah blah blah...

Message me.

Still from “The Room” of Tommy Wiseau on a rooftop deck, with the caption “Oh hi March.”

Is it Mark again already?

A poster for the economic blackout on February 28. It is a big red Jack rabbit on an aqua blue back ground. It says economic blackout in hand done black type. There are two black speech bubbles. One says “don’t buy stuff Friday February 28th. The other says we have power. Below it says No Amazon, Walmart, target, gas food, gas. Below that it says OK small business, use cash. Designed by Martha Rich.

I made this the other night while procrastinating, mainly because I thought all the posts about the blackout were boring. It feels like there is momentum bringing people together!

A collage of postcards including umbrellas, space cats, a highland cow, Trevi Fountain, and Mt. Pilatus.

Postcards on deck for March and beyond include space cats, an emotaur, global domination, ancient evil, and more.

Patreon.com/skaftun

Today's feeling of accomplishment: I have a new patreon member and I DO NOT KNOW WHO IT IS! Where did you come from, new member? How did you find me? Is it a mistake? :)

I did. Think they'll fire me?

• Spent several hours playing roller derby with badass skaters of every gender you can imagine (and a few you clearly cannot).

I hope you choke on mine and thousands of other bogus emails.

Sincerely,
A Problem

4/4

(PS, she came to this country legally, not by overstaying a visa like a certain non-elected, drug-addled, chainsaw-wielding billionaire who shall remain nameless).
• Gave emotional support to 2 friends who were laid off.

3/?

• Baked an apple pie with a US flag crust in ironic celebration of a friend becoming a citizen. Even though she is white and a native English speaker, she feared persecution for being an immigrant, thanks to this administration.

2/?

Dear Muskrat:

Last week I:
• Wrote 1,667 words of extremely queer fiction.
• Finished reading a powerful book about monsters, human and otherwise; what needless war does to people; and the fears and perceptions about others that lead inevitably to tragedy.

1/3

The Department of Veterans Affairs Gets Well and Truly Fucked — The Haunt* Sometime in the late 1980s when I was a teenager, I accompanied my dad to the mall. Dad had gotten a pair of un-torn, un-used tickets to Woodstock as a gift and he wanted to have them framed for displ...

I don't get personal on main very often, but I spent a few hours writing this, and I want you to read it. It's about my dad and my stepmom, and me, and Stranger Things, and what's happening to the VA right now.

www.cheriepriest.com/blog/the-dep...

I have a sports car and a divorce! I inherited the car from my mom though; wouldn’t have chosen it for myself. Also I’m not a man. :)

I write postcard microfiction and send it to your inbox or even your MAILbox. Patreon.com/skaftun

#selfpromosaturday

It's your duty to act. Act now. Do not wait.

Annalise was a perfectly average student at St. Clare’s School for the Invisible, until she started making friends. Now she’s got a dark secret that may unlock the mystery of the school’s disappearing students—or bring the whole place crashing down. #2025pit #YA #F