Issue 1: Halloween Specials and Wild Schedules

NEW STUFF WE DID

If you missed it last week, our Monster High Halloween special, Monster Fest, was released Oct. 21 on Nickelodeon! Getting to write an hourlong holiday special that kids might want to return to again and again was a really remarkable thing, especially when we also got to introduce a trans woman character, Phoenix, to the show.

Not only that, but the theme of the entire story is that it’s okay to be yourself, even if that’s not who other people say you are. It was so important to us to give trans kids the kind of rep that didn’t exist when we were kids, something that says it’s absolutely okay to be who you are.

It’s had a kind of amazing impact on folks, which means so very much to us.

There’s an entire Monster Fest toy line just from this episode, and even though we have nowhere to display them, we had to get them all. The chances we’ll ever have toys just from an episode we wrote again are pretty slim, so we weren’t gonna pass it up!

There’s a food truck in the episode that sells scare-amel apples (we’re very proud of that name, though we originally wanted to call them scare-‘em-all apples, but folks worried the double pun would be too confusing for kids), and we posted a recipe for kids who wanted to make them at home!

This section of the newsletter probably won’t normally be this long, but this is the biggest profile thing we’ve worked on (that’s been released) and we’re just so super proud of it. So many of our jokes and all of our theme and message made it through to the final episode, and that’s not always the case because this is collaborative art and things change a lot during production.

In any case, if you missed it, Amazon Prime and Apple TV both have the entire special for purchase for $6 in the US. And you’ll definitely get that Tilly & Susan feel from it. But you love us, so you’ve probably already seen it… right? Right!

WHAT WE’RE WORKING ON

You may have seen us talking about how we got two different graphic novel writing gigs from two different publishers… in the same week. We’re just now finishing up the bulk of that.

The script is done for one of them (the one we can’t tell you anything about yet), and character designs and early art has been coming in and it’s SO EXCITING. A literal dream come true. Can’t wait until we can tell you more about it.

The script to the last chapter of the other one (a YA queer romcom from Mad Cave, where one of the main cast is trans) was just turned in this week. We’ll have a revision due on that once notes come in, and this one is much longer so art’s already begun and it’s super fun and you’re gonna love it (that’s an order).

We suspect both of these won’t be out until 2026 at the earliest. We’ll update you with more info when we have it!

They’ve been amazing and we’ll miss working on them, but they ate all of our writing time all summer! Two at once was tough!

TRANS TUESDAY UPDATE

The past two weeks in Trans Tuesdays have been all about politics, because of the incredibly terrifying election that looms before us. If you don’t understand how the right of trans people to even exist is on the line, well… this is your notice, I guess.

But you can and indeed must be part of the solution to making life better for trans people. There aren’t enough trans people to effect political change on our own, we’re too small a part of the population.

So please see TRANS POLITICS 1: STOP TOLERATING TRANSPHOBIA and TRANS POLITICS 2: YOU MUST VOTE TO PROTECT TRANS PEOPLE. You maybe think you don’t tolerate transphobia, but you actually might if you’re not calling it out in your friends and family when it happens. Anyway, read these, they’re some of the most important ones ever.

Trans Tuesdays are off the week of the election, and will return on Nov. 12.

RECOMMENDATIONS

We’ve been catching up with the latest season of Heartstopper on Netflix, and it remains a queer-positive warm hug of a show. It’s also got some of the best, most reliably-good trans representation in television. Charlie and Nick are the absolute cutest, there may have never been a more adorable romance put to screen. Our sweet babies!

Also check out the Dungeon Crawler Carl series in audiobook form. The basic premise is that Earth has been destroyed and the survivors are forced to compete in a Dungeons and Dragons-style environment to entertain the galaxy. It’s got different voices and fantastic performances and it’s a bunch of goofy fun, despite the post-apocalyptic setting.

THE DIRTBAG DISPATCH

Dirtbag is dealing with a minor eye infection, if by “dealing” you mean “running away and learning what the words ‘eye drops’ mean.”

He isn’t too hard to catch, because when you get close he kind of collapses to the floor. At that point, he seems to think he’s invisible.

Instead of saying “get Henry so we can give him eye drops” we’re varying it up with things like, “find the small one” and “get the drama queen.” Sometimes we pretend there’s something very interesting next to him before grabbing him.

THE END

That wraps up the inaugural edition of The Birdguest Broadcast! Wasn’t that fun? Because you don’t have enough of us in your lives! So now you get more! We presume some of you want this.

Go vote if you haven’t already!

Protect the vulnerable, kick fascism in the teeth.

We are all in this together.