(no subject)

I got some writing done last night after Scott got home. I had a 2600 word story with beta comments (which were mostly 'hey, this needs more explanation and supporting detail') that I wanted to work on, but I didn't want to do that with Cordelia apt to read over my shoulder.

I got to bed later than I meant to because I started browsing the library's online catalogue and saw a new purchase (warning for transphobia) that I'm going to complain about and ask to have removed. Doing that goes against my normal philosophy of library collections, but the book is advocating parental, social, and legal response to trans people and other genderqueer people that I think might kill people.

Well, not even might. Those behaviors and policies actually already do kill people and subject them to harm in other ways.

The subject tags on the record indicate that it's going to be shelved as psychological science. There's nothing on the record to indicate that this is opinion/propaganda and no reviews linked to provide evaluations of the 'science' involved.

I'm seeing a vast number of reviews of the book from very conservative groups, many of which I'd consider hate groups, and one Washington Post article (which is not a review. As far as I can tell, the author of the article has seen lots of hype but hasn't seen the text). There's also an article at thinkprogress.org that lays out the things I found upsetting when I saw the blurb. Seriously, it ought not be this hard to find negative reviews of a book on a controversial topic.

It's almost as if the publisher only sent review copies to organizations that agree with the propaganda and none to places that just review books. Go figure.

Possibly someone asked for this book specifically (it's an Amazon bestseller on the LGBT list). Possibly, because of the subject tags, the vendor the library buys through considered it an autobuy (libraries set parameters for that when they want to be sure they're getting books on certain topics without library staff having to dig to find them).

(no subject)

I have sent an email to the library about that book. I wasn't sure to whom I should direct it, so I tagged it as 'other' in the topic box. The text is under the cut below. I tried to be reasonable rather than making it sound like an attack.

( My email )

ETA: The library got back to me. They're buying the book due to a patron request and plan to shelve it as politics rather than science or psychology or sexuality. Given that someone specifically asked for it, that's the best I'm going to get because policy is to buy any new title that's requested by patrons.

Fic Announcement

Title: Locked with a Twisted Key
Fandom: Sky High (2005)
Rating: M
Length: 4641
Characters/Pairings: Zach interacting with an original character with background Ethan/Magenta/Warren/Layla/Zach

Tags: Rape/Non-Con (non-graphic and not happening during this story but clearly referenced), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Supervillains, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Murder, Unreliable Narrator, Role Reversal, Reaping What You Sow

Notes: Part 6 of the Not Ready to Swallow Oblivion series.

Warren doesn't appear directly but is very clearly reaping what he sowed. That's not a happy thing for him.

This diverges from the second branch somewhere around "Who Have Waited for Water" in as much as Layla's father never ended up at Sky High. I'm not sure if he died instead or if he simply never got injured and captured.

My Iddy Iddy Bang Bang story will be in this branch but before this story. I don't think that there will be plot elements in there that will be necessary for anything later in the series, but I may well call back to character development there.

I merely realized that this could be a separate story from that and that some readers might prefer it since this actually has plot relevant details. I'm well over the minimum word count for IIBB, so separating this made sense.

Summary: Twelve years after Homecoming, killing Warren's father serves as an opening move in a much bigger game. In the immediate aftermath, Zach talks to Barron Battle's lieutenant, and she starts to understand how very dangerous Warren's former sidekicks are.

"At this point, you wouldn't manage to touch Layla at all." Zach made the words a warning rather than a threat.

Windy eyed him appraisingly. "And if I take you hostage?"

Zach was almost certain that she wasn't really considering it. Even so, he bared his teeth in an unfriendly smile. "I don't recommend it. Really don't. Layla'll probably let you go completely without that. You threaten any of us, and she won't let you go, won't even let you die." He took a deep breath. "Partly because she'll be pissed, but partly because we need to make an unsubtle point about consequences. It just doesn't have to be you."

Story on AO3.