Zilla Novikov
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zillanovikov.bsky.social
Zilla Novikov
@zillanovikov.bsky.social
Zilla Novikov is taller than you'd expect. This is unrelated to her satire novella, Query, or her cookbook, The Sad Bastard Cookbook. She's bad at writing bios but she's okay at writing books. More at https://nightbeatseu.ca/newsletter/ . Please subscribe?
Pinned
Problem: I routinely forget that my bluesky account exists and go months between posting.
Solution: I'm going to post the first line I write in my WIP each day on here.
Join me! Writers, post your lines too!
Reposted by Zilla Novikov
And just to further put a point on it, this is very explicitly the point of militant nonviolent protest.

To demonstrate incontrovertibly to even the low info news consumer that agents of the oppressor are engaging in an entirely one-sided brutality against the vulnerable
So believe me I understand this is deeply frustrating and unfair, but a march that does everything right and still gets tear gassed is a successful march that is winning.

A lot of the strategy of protest is luring the authorities into engaging in obviously, transparently unjust uses of force.
It's hard to overstate how ell-organized the portland march that got gassed was... organizers made the crowd promise to be peaceful, said the march would slow in front of the ICE building but not stop, that we would stick to one chant (ICE Out). They did absolutely everything right and got gassed.
February 1, 2026 at 12:53 PM
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Americans will really use anything but the metric system (complimentary)
I can officially confirm that the snow in NC is roughly one (1) corgi deep
January 31, 2026 at 11:24 PM
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Lawyers are looking at the long game and considering the likelihood of a courtroom scenario that has no modern precedent in state history: criminal charges being filed by the state, without the cooperation of the federal government, against federal officers for use of deadly force.
The unprecedented challenge of prosecuting federal agents for killing Renee Good, Alex Pretti
Prosecutors, defense and civil attorneys agree it’s a legal situation unlike anything the state has ever seen.
bit.ly
February 1, 2026 at 1:28 PM
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It remains to be seen how much this helps, but I can think of no more sensible approach to begin carceral reform than placing someone who has gone through the system in charge of evaluating its actions.
Mayor Mamdani names criminal justice reformer Stanley Richards as NYC’s new Department of Correction commissioner

Richards is the first formerly incarcerated person to lead the city’s jails system

@gothamist.com @wnyc.org

gothamist.com/news/mamdani...
Mamdani names reformer Stanley Richards to steer chaotic Rikers complex
Exactly one month into his term, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has appointed a formerly incarcerated person to manage the facility.
gothamist.com
February 1, 2026 at 12:11 PM
Reposted by Zilla Novikov
burn this into your memory:

iPhone users, you can disable Face ID and Touch ID by holding the wake button and either volume button simultaneously for two seconds. once the power off/emergency call screen appears, your password will be required to re-enable biometrics.
don’t talk to cops, don’t give your phone to cops, don’t let cops in your house, basically minimize any interactions with cops that aren’t mandated by law
September 22, 2024 at 12:03 AM
I'm not a well-known author, and it feels like I'm writing for a very specific couple of weirdos. Shout-out to them for giving me a reason to keep on keeping on. Also: the incentive to write fanservice for my nerds is so strong.
February 1, 2026 at 1:25 PM
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Trump decided to make the midterms about the core questions of constitutional rights and civil liberties. The Democrats are finally noticing. ICYMI @lauren-egan.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/4aj0LhY
The Killing of Alex Pretti Put Democracy Back on the Ballot
Minneapolis has convinced Democrats that the election can’t just be about affordability.
lnk.thebulwark.com
February 1, 2026 at 1:01 PM
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February 2026 Writing Update

Happy February, Readers! January 2026 was quite prolific for me, so I'm going to just get into what happened last month, and what to expect this month: Sadie Rowe And The Missing Necklace: TO BE PUBLISHED THIS MONTH! My debut fantasy kidlit book Sadie Rowe And The…
February 2026 Writing Update
Happy February, Readers! January 2026 was quite prolific for me, so I'm going to just get into what happened last month, and what to expect this month: Sadie Rowe And The Missing Necklace: TO BE PUBLISHED THIS MONTH! My debut fantasy kidlit book Sadie Rowe And The Missing Necklace will be published THIS MONTH! Sadie Rowe And The Missing Necklace…
clarislam.ca
February 1, 2026 at 11:00 AM
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OH MY GOSH MY BOOK IS OUT TODAY

how did i

how did i forget

GO GET IT <3 <3 <3
Happy official birthday to Black Hole Science Is Filled with Apologies, by THE @never.horse !!!
Pre-orders have been sent, & if you'd like a physical or ecopy, check out the options below. THANK YOU everyone, who has supported this amazing book!!! 🌟🌟
traumbooks.com/black-hole-s...
February 1, 2026 at 3:49 AM
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what impressed me most today was that a huge crowd of people who mostly had never been tear gassed managed to retreat without running or trampling each other. under a cloud of gas that was not moving (zero wind), people held onto each other and walked blind down a street packed tight as sardines
Just got gassed pretty good at the labor union anti-ICE protest in Portland. Massive march, 5-10k strong. Vibes were very much liberal rather than radical. Lots of kids and older folks.

They gassed the whole crowd as soon as it marched on ICE, in broad daylight.
February 1, 2026 at 8:56 AM
Reposted by Zilla Novikov
I can officially confirm that the snow in NC is roughly one (1) corgi deep
January 31, 2026 at 9:46 PM
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So Soft It Hurts — two.bees.poetry
February 1, 2026 at 3:59 AM
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Hasn’t elected a Democrat since 1991
February 1, 2026 at 4:10 AM
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My sister was at this because she was showing up for her union and really underlined to me how liberal normie core it was—not the sort of crowd that generally gets anything close to this sort of response, and more tear gas then we saw during the 2020 BLM Portland protests even at their peak.
Just got gassed pretty good at the labor union anti-ICE protest in Portland. Massive march, 5-10k strong. Vibes were very much liberal rather than radical. Lots of kids and older folks.

They gassed the whole crowd as soon as it marched on ICE, in broad daylight.
February 1, 2026 at 4:31 AM
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When they defeat ICE, Minnesota will have 34,000 trained volunteers to observe the police
More than 34,000 Minnesotans signed up to be trained as ICED observers with various activist groups in recent weeks, many of them since Jan. 7, when a federal agent shot and killed Renée Good.
Thousands of new ICE watchers hit the streets after two killings
Minnesotans outraged by the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti have signed up in large numbers to monitor and protest ICE with other activists.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 1, 2026 at 4:35 AM
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First post is grim, but the second shows the spending lead a state GOP senate candidate in TX had … who just lost in a district that went 58-41 for Trump.

Money matters, which means this shows how hated Trump is in … Trumpland Texas.
February 1, 2026 at 4:42 AM
Reposted by Zilla Novikov
It's hard to overstate how ell-organized the portland march that got gassed was... organizers made the crowd promise to be peaceful, said the march would slow in front of the ICE building but not stop, that we would stick to one chant (ICE Out). They did absolutely everything right and got gassed.
February 1, 2026 at 3:10 AM
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OMG. Rehmet further increased his lead and has won!
February 1, 2026 at 5:09 AM
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Chat, if you are ever being deposed, listen very very carefully to the questions and answer only the questions asked. (Unless I'm the one taking your deposition, of course.)

Seriously.
January 31, 2026 at 7:56 AM
Reposted by Zilla Novikov
This is true.

It's why you don't talk to cops. The Truth is what it is.

What the cops choose to do with it is out of your hands.

Lies are worse than the truth.

So you make them find the truth. You get a lawyer (before you talk to them) so bad truth can be mitigated.
Best way to prep a witness - I'm gonna borrow a West Wing line from a slightly different context here - is to tell them that they should always tell the truth, if only because it's the easiest thing to remember.

It's my job to deal with bad truth. Fixing bad lies is much harder.
January 31, 2026 at 6:54 PM
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January 31, 2026 at 8:37 PM
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one thing you never want to have to realize is that you were really underestimating the number of pedophiles
January 31, 2026 at 5:35 PM
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The Onion’s Exclusive Interview With Gregory Bovino https://theonion.com/the-onions-exclusive-interview-with-gregory-bovino/
January 31, 2026 at 9:00 PM
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JUST IN: A federal judge on Saturday has ordered that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from Columbia Heights being held in a Texas detention facility be released “as soon as practicable” but no later than Tuesday, Feb. 3.
Live: Judge orders release of Columbia Heights 5-year-old Liam Ramos, father
A week after Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents, the two-month-old Operation Metro Surge is continuing.
bit.ly
January 31, 2026 at 9:05 PM
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This is like the person that tried to tell me Jesus wouldn't believe in free school lunches. Baby I'm a heathen and I still remember the story of loaves and fishes.
I may have a stroke.

Someone said protests don’t belong in church and it took every ounce of self-censure within me not to say “Deborah you are literally a Protestant.”

A PROTESTant.

I assume they think Luther was nailing Bed, Bath, & Beyond coupons to the door.
January 31, 2026 at 8:30 PM