Vicki Marklew
@vmarklew.bsky.social
Expat Brit still bemused by life in America. Avid reader, SFF & mystery fan. Sometimes I write stuff. Occasionally blogging at www.AbroadInTheUSA.com
Writing Guardians of the Weave. She/her
Writing Guardians of the Weave. She/her
Pinned
Vicki Marklew
@vmarklew.bsky.social
· Oct 3
Redrafting: Guardians of the Weave
“No-one can confront the darkness alone; every story is needed.”
• Found Family
• Ace/Aro rep
• Characters from different times & places
• Mental health struggles
• Ordinary people saving the weave of life
“No-one can confront the darkness alone; every story is needed.”
• Found Family
• Ace/Aro rep
• Characters from different times & places
• Mental health struggles
• Ordinary people saving the weave of life
Another great & timely thread.
A famous actor of remarkable skill died at a very ripe old age today. Beyond his art, he's known for taking a stand that helped end the terror of the McCarthy years, & for raping a 16 yo girl, events that happened just a few yrs apart. I'm purposely not using his name because
1/
1/
February 6, 2026 at 1:08 AM
Another great & timely thread.
🧵
“…we lost all those girls. We lost the women they would have become. We lost the work they would have done. Why was his future work so much more valuable than theirs?”
“…we lost all those girls. We lost the women they would have become. We lost the work they would have done. Why was his future work so much more valuable than theirs?”
This is only related in a sideways manner, but: the story of any small slice of humanity is the story of humanity, just boiled down and distilled. So:
In 2020, we had a lot of conversations about harassment at SF/F conventions, and Isaac Asimov came up several times.
In 2020, we had a lot of conversations about harassment at SF/F conventions, and Isaac Asimov came up several times.
the Epstein files are really devastating because they remind me of how many girls and women miss out on professional opportunities, mentorship and careers because of how many powerful, rich and influential men only view girls and women — and interactions with them — through the lens of sex
February 5, 2026 at 9:28 PM
🧵
“…we lost all those girls. We lost the women they would have become. We lost the work they would have done. Why was his future work so much more valuable than theirs?”
“…we lost all those girls. We lost the women they would have become. We lost the work they would have done. Why was his future work so much more valuable than theirs?”
“William Shakespeare. 400 years ago.”
Chills
Chills
Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again.
#Pinks #ProudBlue
#Pinks #ProudBlue
February 5, 2026 at 3:15 PM
“William Shakespeare. 400 years ago.”
Chills
Chills
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
"I don’t pretend to know the exact nature of what this letter is regarding, but I’m not gonna lie to you, folks: it has me worried. I am worried."
Sen. Ron Wyden Sends Chilling Letter to CIA
Not great. Really not great.
charlotteclymer.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:27 AM
"I don’t pretend to know the exact nature of what this letter is regarding, but I’m not gonna lie to you, folks: it has me worried. I am worried."
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
Lord of the Rings with 2026 politics #shorts
YouTube video by Stanzi
youtube.com
February 2, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
While ICE is a straight shot from the enslaver patrols & the Trail of Tears & every white supremacy story on which the US is built & maintained
it’s also not for nothing that fascism has distinctive hallmarks—
& one of the oldest is that you control a population by going after their children.
it’s also not for nothing that fascism has distinctive hallmarks—
& one of the oldest is that you control a population by going after their children.
February 2, 2026 at 5:59 PM
While ICE is a straight shot from the enslaver patrols & the Trail of Tears & every white supremacy story on which the US is built & maintained
it’s also not for nothing that fascism has distinctive hallmarks—
& one of the oldest is that you control a population by going after their children.
it’s also not for nothing that fascism has distinctive hallmarks—
& one of the oldest is that you control a population by going after their children.
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
new example of nominative determinism just dropped
Today I learned Noem's full name is Kristi Lynn Arnold Noem
Her initials are KLAN
Fitting
Her initials are KLAN
Fitting
I hope they didn’t think we forgot about impeaching Kristi Noem. 181 cosponsors and counting, 40k+ letters sent, and countless calls telling Representatives to get on board.
Let them know we aren’t slowing down. Send your letter here:
actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...
Let them know we aren’t slowing down. Send your letter here:
actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...
February 2, 2026 at 5:42 PM
new example of nominative determinism just dropped
Listen to this and weep - and embrace the power and beauty of poetry.
(And his foot stomp near the end as he struggles to keep it together 💔)
(And his foot stomp near the end as he struggles to keep it together 💔)
Peter Dinklage reading Amanda Gorman's poem about Renee Good, a fellow poet.
February 1, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Listen to this and weep - and embrace the power and beauty of poetry.
(And his foot stomp near the end as he struggles to keep it together 💔)
(And his foot stomp near the end as he struggles to keep it together 💔)
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
Also trying to parse all the emails that read like they were written by a concussed golden retriever I think I finally get why these guys are so enthusiastic about getting chatbots to write for them
January 31, 2026 at 5:49 PM
Also trying to parse all the emails that read like they were written by a concussed golden retriever I think I finally get why these guys are so enthusiastic about getting chatbots to write for them
So it seems one of the hot trends for Gen Z is buying and filling Analog Bags - a nice big tote with Stuff to keep you away from the phone. Like books, crafts, etc.
And I can’t decide if this is a good sign or just another way to get people to buy more Stuff - probably via a phone shopping app.
And I can’t decide if this is a good sign or just another way to get people to buy more Stuff - probably via a phone shopping app.
January 30, 2026 at 11:23 PM
So it seems one of the hot trends for Gen Z is buying and filling Analog Bags - a nice big tote with Stuff to keep you away from the phone. Like books, crafts, etc.
And I can’t decide if this is a good sign or just another way to get people to buy more Stuff - probably via a phone shopping app.
And I can’t decide if this is a good sign or just another way to get people to buy more Stuff - probably via a phone shopping app.
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
God took the wrong person from "Home Alone 2." It's really that simple.
January 30, 2026 at 6:42 PM
God took the wrong person from "Home Alone 2." It's really that simple.
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
Watch through. An undocumented person in Minneapolis brought dogs to a shelter after ICE kidnapped their humans, abandoning the dogs in their homes with no humans around.
January 30, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Watch through. An undocumented person in Minneapolis brought dogs to a shelter after ICE kidnapped their humans, abandoning the dogs in their homes with no humans around.
Listening to classic mysteries while recuperating from surgery - Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers - and instead of crying out or shouting to express verbal surprise, their characters all “ejaculate.”
“Oh no!” he ejaculated. “Surely not!” she ejaculated.
Very disorienting.
#BookSky 💙📚
“Oh no!” he ejaculated. “Surely not!” she ejaculated.
Very disorienting.
#BookSky 💙📚
January 27, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Listening to classic mysteries while recuperating from surgery - Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy Sayers - and instead of crying out or shouting to express verbal surprise, their characters all “ejaculate.”
“Oh no!” he ejaculated. “Surely not!” she ejaculated.
Very disorienting.
#BookSky 💙📚
“Oh no!” he ejaculated. “Surely not!” she ejaculated.
Very disorienting.
#BookSky 💙📚
This is brilliant. Just brilliant.
“The very first rubber dick to touch government-issued leather boots triggered a full-blown chemical weapons response.”
THE DILDO DISTRIBUTION DELEGATION
The revolution did not arrive with speeches, pamphlets, or a carefully moderated Zoom call about optics.
www.closertotheedge.net
January 27, 2026 at 2:54 PM
This is brilliant. Just brilliant.
Really? ICE are going to Italy to provide “security”?
Akin to what the KGB used to do for USSR athletes - make sure no one derides the homeland - and make sure they don’t indulge in any pesky DEI activities or anti-Trump statements.
Despicable.
Akin to what the KGB used to do for USSR athletes - make sure no one derides the homeland - and make sure they don’t indulge in any pesky DEI activities or anti-Trump statements.
Despicable.
BREAKING: ICE agents will have a security role during the upcoming Winter Olympics, U.S. embassy sources confirm.
ICE agents will have a security role at Milan-Cortina Olympics, US sources say
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will have a security role during the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games, according to sources at the U.S. embassy in Rome.
bit.ly
January 27, 2026 at 2:48 PM
Really? ICE are going to Italy to provide “security”?
Akin to what the KGB used to do for USSR athletes - make sure no one derides the homeland - and make sure they don’t indulge in any pesky DEI activities or anti-Trump statements.
Despicable.
Akin to what the KGB used to do for USSR athletes - make sure no one derides the homeland - and make sure they don’t indulge in any pesky DEI activities or anti-Trump statements.
Despicable.
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
On NPR on Friday, there was a story of a 4-year-old--an American citizen--who hasn't left her house since early December, not even to play in the yard. And her 8-year-old brother recently stopped going to school, too. Their father is undocumented, and the family doesn't want to risk him being taken.
January 26, 2026 at 3:47 AM
On NPR on Friday, there was a story of a 4-year-old--an American citizen--who hasn't left her house since early December, not even to play in the yard. And her 8-year-old brother recently stopped going to school, too. Their father is undocumented, and the family doesn't want to risk him being taken.
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
part of this is like, conservatives projecting; part of this is conservatives unable to imagine politics without money; and part of this is dudes who are so out of touch with feminized labor that they think children's birthday parties exist as a spontaneous act of parthogenesis
I mostly just stay off Twitter altogether but after double checking that the Walter Hudson post was still up I ran across this and just had to share so the Romancelandians who bought hand warmers could hear about the PROFESSIONAL GRADE LOGISTICS.
January 26, 2026 at 12:14 AM
part of this is like, conservatives projecting; part of this is conservatives unable to imagine politics without money; and part of this is dudes who are so out of touch with feminized labor that they think children's birthday parties exist as a spontaneous act of parthogenesis
🧵👇🏻
Americans have a habit of trying to compare all authoritarianism to Nazi Germany. I think in some ways i think it is comforting to view authoritarianism as a foreign ideology. If you want to understand our current authoritarian moment, you need to look to our own past, not to Europe 1/x
January 25, 2026 at 10:10 PM
🧵👇🏻
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
If the US were a geopolitical rival the headlines would be like: US Secret Police Execute Second Dissident In the Streets As Militarized Occupation Enters Sixth Week
January 24, 2026 at 4:14 PM
If the US were a geopolitical rival the headlines would be like: US Secret Police Execute Second Dissident In the Streets As Militarized Occupation Enters Sixth Week
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
📝 Always on the hunt for new mags to submit my work and and to share with your students too! 📚 Some new journals even take re-prints—GOLD for writers! Check them out.
#WritingCommunity
#NewJournals
#AmWriting
substack.com/home/post/p-...
#WritingCommunity
#NewJournals
#AmWriting
substack.com/home/post/p-...
6 Lit Mags You Gotta Submit To This Week
Ask a Literary Agent | Weekly Sub Calls (01.21.26)
substack.com
January 24, 2026 at 1:26 AM
📝 Always on the hunt for new mags to submit my work and and to share with your students too! 📚 Some new journals even take re-prints—GOLD for writers! Check them out.
#WritingCommunity
#NewJournals
#AmWriting
substack.com/home/post/p-...
#WritingCommunity
#NewJournals
#AmWriting
substack.com/home/post/p-...
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
This.
January 23, 2026 at 10:59 PM
This.
Reminds me of John Birmingham’s “Without Warning” trilogy; the USA is ‘removed’ (via a batshit premise that he makes work) and there’s lots of “hmmm what does this do to global geopolitics?”
SFF always poses the best questions 😏
#Booksky 💙📚
SFF always poses the best questions 😏
#Booksky 💙📚
Another sign of US Weakness as it retreats from the world stage. Turkey, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are establishing a defence pact which could spread to other countries in the region.
You’re starting to see rival power blocs forming everywhere.
You’re starting to see rival power blocs forming everywhere.
January 23, 2026 at 7:27 PM
Reminds me of John Birmingham’s “Without Warning” trilogy; the USA is ‘removed’ (via a batshit premise that he makes work) and there’s lots of “hmmm what does this do to global geopolitics?”
SFF always poses the best questions 😏
#Booksky 💙📚
SFF always poses the best questions 😏
#Booksky 💙📚
Lot of wisdom in this 🧵
I learned young that losing myself in fiction was the only way for me to survive. It’s not ‘hiding from the world’ it’s literally making it possible for me to make it thru. Thank god for our local library & it’s wonderful staff. Must try to tell them what they mean to me rn.
I learned young that losing myself in fiction was the only way for me to survive. It’s not ‘hiding from the world’ it’s literally making it possible for me to make it thru. Thank god for our local library & it’s wonderful staff. Must try to tell them what they mean to me rn.
So yeah.
But also speaking from a lot of experience, you will experience HARD crashes. That usually happens in the quiet moments.
Where it's dangerous and I'm not trying to scare any of you who experience this...but where it's dangerous is that when it goes on unremitted for too long
But also speaking from a lot of experience, you will experience HARD crashes. That usually happens in the quiet moments.
Where it's dangerous and I'm not trying to scare any of you who experience this...but where it's dangerous is that when it goes on unremitted for too long
great to talk to my therapist today about how I only thrive in chaotic, stressful environments. give me a problem to fix, i have purpose, i am good.
so friends, if you feel weird that you aren’t shut down or you aren’t struggling…childhood trauma shows up in all kinds of ways
so friends, if you feel weird that you aren’t shut down or you aren’t struggling…childhood trauma shows up in all kinds of ways
January 22, 2026 at 2:53 AM
Lot of wisdom in this 🧵
I learned young that losing myself in fiction was the only way for me to survive. It’s not ‘hiding from the world’ it’s literally making it possible for me to make it thru. Thank god for our local library & it’s wonderful staff. Must try to tell them what they mean to me rn.
I learned young that losing myself in fiction was the only way for me to survive. It’s not ‘hiding from the world’ it’s literally making it possible for me to make it thru. Thank god for our local library & it’s wonderful staff. Must try to tell them what they mean to me rn.
Reposted by Vicki Marklew
Incapable of understanding how "abolish ICE" was silly but arresting 5 year olds is public policy
January 22, 2026 at 12:02 AM
Incapable of understanding how "abolish ICE" was silly but arresting 5 year olds is public policy
Carney’s speech was fantastic - erudite, pointed, clear arc of argument.
And as always, @charlotteclymer.bsky.social gives us the summary to really bring it home.
Is that…maybe…a wee glimmer of hope on our collective geopolitical horizon?
And as always, @charlotteclymer.bsky.social gives us the summary to really bring it home.
Is that…maybe…a wee glimmer of hope on our collective geopolitical horizon?
"This is the diplomatic equivalent of a wronged spouse telling their partner: No, I am not asking for a break or a trial separation. It’s time to move on."
Canada Announces Divorce from America
And rightly so.
charlotteclymer.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 3:28 AM
Carney’s speech was fantastic - erudite, pointed, clear arc of argument.
And as always, @charlotteclymer.bsky.social gives us the summary to really bring it home.
Is that…maybe…a wee glimmer of hope on our collective geopolitical horizon?
And as always, @charlotteclymer.bsky.social gives us the summary to really bring it home.
Is that…maybe…a wee glimmer of hope on our collective geopolitical horizon?