Xismosa Xit

Amor A La Morena

Translation: Love The Brown Girl

Hello all,

Today’s newsletter is sponsored by an attempt at consistency.

Prose and Poetry of the Week

Blackbird Wine, Blackberry Kiss

In an attempt (I know, lots of attempts today. It’s all we can ever do.) to be more honest and upfront about my writing, this is an imagined scenario in what would happen if I caught up with an ex of mine, a complicated relationship that in turn reminded me how to value my own self-worth and those who actually love me for me. It’s also the first piece that I illustrated myself (as inspired by RJ on Instagram @awriterwhodraws)!

art drawing time lapse gif

Brown Body Love (second link)

Based off the same relationship, I read this piece at a queer poetry reading in college. There were prospective students there as well. There was one prospective student that became an actual student the following academic year, and she found me during one of her first official days on campus, and told me she loved that poem. It amazed me that someone would remember the piece even five months later, and it meant the world to me, which I couldn’t express to her then and still wouldn’t be able to now.

Rabbitholes

Things I’ve learned, laughed about, and/or obsessed over

  • Heartstopper, both the web comic and the show. Ugh, so gay, so sweet, so many vicarious butterflies. We love a bisexual awakening and a diverse cast in many ways. The show is essentially the comic come to life, especially in the most pivotal scenes when it’s frame for frame.

Book Búho

What I’ve been reading/listening to bc audiobooks let me do both. Yes, comics count.

  • Pleasure Activism by adrienne marie brown –  recommended to me by a good friend (Lin, I’m so sorry it’s taken me this long), and I finally checked it out from the physical library after it languished in my digital bookcase for months. I’m only a quarter of the way through and I’m already in love with it. adrienne brings in many teachers and peers to talk about their connection to pleasure, both sexual and not, and how it is revolutionary to pleasure yourself, espeicallly as Black non-cismen.
  • Sissy by Jacob Tobia – If you ever watched She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (I rave about the 8 foot tall lesbian here), and fell in love with the voice and look and energy of Double Trouble (who I also highlight in the previous link), then you will enjoy this audiobook being read to you by Double Trouble because the actor behind them is both the author and the narrator.
double trouble she-ra catra gif

Personal Chisme

chisme = gossip

  • trying out a dopamine adjustment, unfortunately and ironically found through white guys on YouTube that call it a “dopamine detox,” but I am writing and reading more!
  • Ah, questionable insurance. I’m still working on it.
  • Finding a chiropractor because I want to get cracked.
  • I have started to slowly break down my phone into its constituent parts. For instance, I now own a physical alarm clock so I will get up out of bed (or couch in the evening) to turn off the annoyance across the room, instead of snoozing my phone for an hour while I’m still in bed.
  • Now that I’ve turned 26, it’s like a switch turned off inside me where I just care less, hopefully as evidenced by the pieces above.
  • My new aesthetic that I can’t afford at the moment is now “ridiculously hot.” Is it ridiculous? Is it hot? Put it on my body.

I hope you all enjoyed catching up sooner rather than later! As always, if you would like to unsubscribe, just let me know 🙂 Otherwise, you can read past ones on my blog at Colochos de Flores, and even grab some stickers to support! I miss you!

Abrazos and/or high fives,

Ariana

Also, how did I find this great page on giphy??

,

Leave a comment