Decoded Pride Issue #2: Special eBook Edition

By Decoded Pride

From a queer Indigenous woman reclaiming her connection to the land in search of justice to an asexual witch who finds love in the community around her to a Blerd in search of belonging, Decoded Pride Issue #2 contains stories and comics that explore the broadest reaches of queerness and transness, envisioning possible futures, worlds, and existences where we thrive and hold power.

Decoded Pride Issue #2, edited by Sara Century, Monika Estrella Negra, and S.E. Fleenor, includes 30 original science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories–and comics!–by LGBTQ+ writers. We know you’ll love this year’s issue. There will be stories that delight, terrify, entertain, and surprise you. You will laugh, you will cry, and you just may come away from Decoded Pride with a better sense of yourself.

All thirty of these short stories and comics, which include science fiction, fantasy, and horror, have been collected in this special version for eBooks, which features powerful cover art from Dani Kinney with variant covers from Sara Century and Tana Thornock, and Jeffrey Brown, as well as original illustrations by Sara Century and Maurice Moore. Authors include AJ Hartson, Maurice Moore, Emmalia Harrington, dave ring, Dora Dee Rogers, Akil Wingate, Kayleigh Hearn, Nireleet, Jennifer Tran, and many more.

The point of Decoded is to create a space for queer folks to build community as fiction writers, comic creators, and readers. Together, we can make space for the kinds of queer stories the world so desperately needs.

Our creators write and draw stories with queer themes for queer audiences and our allies. From the cover art to the editorial team, every single creator who contributed to this project is queer, so support independent queer and trans art and storytelling!

Don’t miss out on this amazing anthology--get your copy today!

Special Editor's Note: This volume also includes a promo code for a free version of the professionally formatted PDF, so that you can enjoy these stories in all their full-color glory.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Decoded Pride
• Release date: Nov 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005023744

Decoded Pride

Decoded is a story-a-day anthology of queer science fiction, fantasy, and horror by queer authors. We release a short story or comic to subscribers every day of Pride month (June 1 – 30) and these stories are available year round. The point of Decoded is to create a space for queer folks to build community as fiction writers and comic creators. Our creators write and draw stories with queer themes for queer audiences and our allies.Decoded is a new anthology edited by Sara Century and S.E. Fleenor, creative partners and co-hosts of Bitches on Comics, a comics and pop culture advice podcast– we’re also critics and creators. We both write fiction and we both love reading fiction. This collection has come about because we believe that it is important to honor the rebellious, anti-fascist history of Pride by focusing on queer artists and writers of today.Sara Century (she/her) is an artist, writer, and filmmaker who is obsessed with most things. She is good at speaking in public, working for most hours of her waking life, and saying quotable things in casual conversation. You can find Sara’s webcomic with Tana Thornock at http://www.thevolatileanesthetic.comS.E. Fleenor (they/them) writes novels, creative non-fiction, and articles centering on feminism, queer identities, pop culture, and literature. Their writing has appeared in Vice, Electric Literature, them.us, Upworthy, The Muse, and Class Lives: Stories from Across the Economic Divide. They regularly write for SYFY WIRE’s feminist vertical, FANGRRLS, and Daily Xtra. Feisty, sometimes angry, sometimes funny, but always bringing realness, S.E. is ecstatic to share their love of genre with audiences that have historically been excluded, particularly LGBTQ folks.

Book preview

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

Hello and welcome to Decoded Pride Issue #2!

Last year, we started Decoded Pride, our story-a-day anthology of speculative fiction and comics, during a global pandemic that changed just about every aspect of our lives. Even as vaccinations increase, many people across the world lack access and are still struggling with the emotional and physical fallout of more than a year spent holding everyone at an arm’s length, readjusting our work habits, watching police violence continue to disrupt our neighborhoods, and suffering the loss of friends and loved ones. This is to say, just surviving the last year was a feat in and of itself.

Yet, in so many ways, there is no better time for Decoded Pride Issue #2, a collection of stories that reaches for stars, gets lost in forests, swims in the deepest oceans, and digs to the center of the earth. A collection full of queer and trans creators questioning rule systems and reimagining the future. A collection, in short, of hope.

We have always wanted Decoded Pride to show an alternative to mainstream media portrayals of queers in speculative fiction, and with the help of every single creator, reader, or behind-the-scenes tech magician involved, we’ve done that now for our second year.

When you’re in the thick of things, it’s hard to take a moment to look up and realize how much you’ve accomplished. When we look up, we see so many queer creators that are daring to dream of a better world while not losing sight of how much we have, so many queer creators with exciting new ideas that can change how we as humans interact with one another, so many queer creators that are afraid but are doing it anyway. We see so many queer creators, and we believe these voices are worth fighting for.

Thank you for dreaming with us.

Sara Century, Monika Estrella Negra, and S.E. Fleenor

May 31, 2021

STORIES AND COMICS

RE: THE ABOMINATION THAT SPRUNG FROM MY MIND

by Jennifer Tran // 1544 words

Good evening everyone,

I hope these past few days have been kind to you. I just wanted to check-in and remind everybody that tomorrow you will be presenting your manifestations in class. I know a number of you were quite intimidated at the start of this unit; though the shortest chapter in our text, manifestation and translating our abstract thoughts into more concrete concepts can be quite mentally challenging, even for the most experienced of summoners.

Keep in mind that I am not looking for anything grand or flashy—that can come later in your academic career, should you choose to pursue studying this practice further. With practice and time, you’ll be able to manifest large tigers that roar right in your faces, tall oak trees that look as if they could phase right through the ceiling, and even snowstorms that have you rubbing your arms and checking for goosebumps. Until then, I’m looking for small, simple, and inoffensive—something you can easily reproduce if I ask you to during class. Remember the demonstration from last week, wherein I manifested a small sprout to pop right out of the floor, and study your notes on how to access the mental fortitude needed for this practice. But most important of all: take frequent breaks!

Best of luck,

Dr. Mya Bruin, Lecturer

Department of Summoning Magic

NorthWestern University for the Magically Inclined

Hello Professor Bruin,

This is Maisie Lu from your Tuesday/Thursday SUM-113 Lesser Known Summoning Practices class. I know this is incredibly short notice, but I was wondering if it would be possible for me to present on a later date? Due to sudden circumstances, my manifestations haven’t been going so well, and I am unsure if I can meet expectations.

Thank you in advance,

Maisie Lu

Hello Maisie,

Yes, I recall our discussions during office hours. From what I can remember, you seemed to have been doing well during the in-class practice—I remember that yours specifically appeared to have a more distinct shape than others, despite how shaky it was getting toward the end but I can understand if circumstances out of your control affect your work. I can attempt to accommodate you as best I can, but I would like to know what problems you’re having, if that’s okay to ask? Is it anything I can help with?

Dr. Mya Bruin, Lecturer

Department of Summoning Magic

NorthWestern University for the Magically Inclined

Hi Professor Bruin,

Thank you for being understanding. If I’m being honest about my predicament, it’s the manifestation itself. When I got home and tried to reproduce that little, round, blobby thing you saw during class, something kind of… happened. I’ll try my best to send pictures, but I do have to warn you that it looks much different in real life versus on-camera. I wanted some extra time to deal with it, but I’m not sure if this is something I can bring or even recreate in class.

Thank you in advance,

Maisie Lu

[img1.jpg] [img2.jpg]

Hi Maisie,

Oh… wow. And you said it looks… different irl?

—Dr. Mya Bruin

sent from my iPhone

Hi Professor,

Yeah. You can’t see it all that well on camera, but right now it’s begun emitting some kind of steam too. It was charming initially, because it was smaller and made a little train sound every time it shot out bursts of steam, but now it’s coming off in visible waves. The amount of eyes covering its gross body multiplied too—I swear I’m not making this up when I say I saw one of them open up(???) to reveal rows of sharp, little teeth inside. My cat, Missus Nasty (who does photograph well) tried hissing and batting at one of the thing’s protruding eyestalks, but freaked out when her paws kept phasing through its gloopy-looking body. Now I have a nervous, screaming cat and a little garbage creature in my bedroom that I don’t know how to make go away, but also I don’t know how it came to be and if I’d be able to reproduce this same exact result in class.

Also something that doesn’t pick up that well on my phone camera: the liquid. It discharges so much liquid. It was like a little puddle of ink at first, but now it’s covering my entire bedroom floor. I know manifestations don’t physically affect the world around them, but I’m telling you this stuff looked so damn thick that I kept itching to just mop it up. And is this stuff supposed to… smell? I tried looking everywhere but I can’t find anything on whether these things can give off a smell? But it smells like tar? Like, it feels like a construction zone in here.

Am I imagining things? Have I lost it?

Any help at all will do,

Maisie Lu

Hi Maisie,

Interesting… I must say that this is the first time in my ten years of teaching and in my forty years of summoning that I’ve seen a problem like this; so congratulations! And to answer your question, because manifestations do not affect the physical world, that means they shouldn’t affect the senses in any way as well, hence why you cannot actually touch them. But for it to smell… even more interesting.

Judging just from the pictures and what you’ve told me, this… creature sounds closer to an abomination than a manifestation. Now, it’s not an actual abomination of course, but to be able to manifest something even resembling an abomination… again, well done!

I’m sure you’re very confused and distressed right now, so let’s do some troubleshooting.

With this process, we are trying to take more abstract thoughts and emotions—such as loneliness, fear, urgency—and try to manifest them into something more literal and manageable.

In this way, it can be quite therapeutic because it allows us to more or less put a face on things that might otherwise leave us feeling insecure. If you have anything that might be negatively affecting you in this way, it could be showing up in your manifestations. Does this sound like something that could apply to you? Feel free to answer as specifically or as vaguely as you’d like! I’m only here to help.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mya Bruin, Lecturer

Department of Summoning Magic

NorthWestern University for the Magically Inclined

(P.S. You’re right; Missus Nasty does photograph well!)

Hi Professor,

Sorry for the late reply. Some good news: the creature (abomination??) shrunk somehow. It’s not as small as it was in the beginning, but it’s only a little taller than Missus (she’s still hissing at it). It’s cute, in a way; it slithers right up to my feet and just… stares. Does it want something? Why is it so sentient?

I don’t know if I should be saying this but I have been feeling rather… overwhelmed, in a way. I’ll spare you the unnecessary details, but I considered dropping out, but instead I just took a gap year before this semester for a multitude of reasons (messy, trivial, pathetic reasons… ) and this is also my third time taking this class; you’d think I’d be better at all this! And yet… and yet.

Thank you,

Maisie Lu

Hello Maisie,

Thank you for sharing, that must have been difficult. I know we’ve only talked briefly, but I imagine that going from traditional, nomad-based training straight to academia must have been an abrupt change! But I see a lot of potential in you, Maisie; just look at what you can do!

You know, when I was much, much younger (let’s say 125), I struggled often with feelings of self-doubt. Of course, I had barely finished my apprenticeship, so in hindsight it was natural for me to feel nervous and unsure of my place in the world. But at the time I didn’t know that—all I knew was that everyone around me was getting all these exciting opportunities I’ve been dreaming of since I was a fledgling; travelling across the lands, meeting with famed witches, pioneering fields of magic we study today. Everything I manifested during that period were things I had considered ugly: green imps with permanent sneers, parrots that flew around and listed all my shortcomings, women that never spoke and weirdly resembled my mother (but that’s a story for another day).

But as I discovered myself, reflected upon what I can do and less on what I couldn’t, I started to find the imps charming, the parrots beautiful and full of life, and saw the tenderness and love within the eyes of the silent women. I’ll take your word that your little abomination grew smaller and less intimidating, but I’ll also wager that perhaps you might also see it in a different light?

Always here,

Dr. Mya Bruin, Lecturer

Department of Summoning Magic

NorthWestern University for the Magically Inclined

Oh! And I forgot to mention, Maisie, but I’ll push back your presentation date and you can go next week. Do see me during office hours though; would love to see the little monster in-person and touch bases!

Hi Professor Bruin,

Thank you… so much.

—Maisie Lu

Anytime, Maisie.

(P.S. please send more pics of Missus Nasty; she’s simply enchanted me.)

—Dr. Mya Bruin

sent from my iPhone

Jennifer (or Jenn, if you are so inclined) Tran is technically a writer and an aspiring bog witch who enjoys drinking tea and writing stories with long-winded metaphors and anxiety-ridden protagonists. You can follow them on Twitter (@mellowedyouth) if you'd like; no pressure.

Author Statement and Bio

Why did you write this story?

To be frank, I don't know if I could give a single, conclusive reason as to why I wrote Re: The Abomination That Sprung From My Mind (try saying that title five times fast). At the time I wrote this story, it had been several, very long months since I graduated college. Firstly, let me just say that finding any kind of work after graduating in the middle of a pandemic with a liberal arts degree is like its own special level of purgatory. I ended up writing a lot, mainly a lot of flowery prose and poetry involving shapeless, vaguely threatening creatures (sound familiar?). I'd like to say they represented the shapeless, vaguely threatening future I felt looming over me every time I fruitlessly scrolled through Indeed, but truthfully these entities, these grotesque little abominations, were, in a way, representative of me as well. My sense of identity has never felt fixed or solid, and that includes everything from gender and sexuality to what it means to be a person. I don't know what it means to be queer or to assign any sort of identity to myself; I just... am. And it wasn't until the last couple of years did I realize that that's perfectly okay, to be shapeless and constantly changing and just existing. And so when I wrote Re: Abomination, I think I wanted to just put all these murky, shapeless thoughts on page and have a character that not only struggles in a similar way, but to also be met with a certain level of acceptance and care. "I wrote this story because I rather like ‘Gemini Girly Song’ by Katzenjammer Kabarett and I was going through a phase of writing short stories inspired from music. Hence the dreamlike nature, dancing and duality theme.

What does being included in Decoded Pride mean to you?

This is actually my first fiction publication, and to have it be in an anthology like Decoded Pride is beyond exciting. Seeing my name in print alongside so many awesome spec-fic authors and stories, and in a publication dedicated to queer authors and stories specifically? Words can't even describe how mind-blowing this entire process has been.

What do you want readers to take away from this story?

Give yourself time; those parts of you that you think of as unsightly don't have to stay that way forever.

Jennifer (or Jenn, if you are so inclined) Tran is technically a writer and an aspiring bog witch who enjoys drinking tea and writing stories with long-winded metaphors and anxiety-ridden protagonists.

SUGA AND CC

by Maurice Moore // 2493 words

Universal Bureau of Investigation: UBOI

Attention: What you are reading is an official document of the UBOI. All contents of this document are completely confidential. A level (5) clearance is needed to access the contents of this document. Any attempts to reproduce, publish, and/or distribute any part(s) of this document contents without the expressed written permission of the UBOI will be considered an act of the highest treason and is punishable by death.

Report:

Transcript - Suga - Oral and Visual - Section 1 of 10

Transcript - Folk Tale - Visual Item - Suga and CC

Location: 35.1313° N, 76.5038° W

Time: 23:00

Date: June 18th 1998

Group(s): N/A

###

It was especially cold on dis night at de ole’ Notsink farm. De young man had already started a little fire to warm his audience. Mos of de lil churen had snuck out de beds and huddled round under de old tree to hear de young man’s story. As usual he signed for de ones who needed it, and only made most folks pay him wit what little de muster up fa one of his tales. You know a jus a gallon of clean water, or a couple of bags grain. -shakes head- Dis be all people could afford at dat time anyway. Hell, most of us would have been happy if y'all would jus let us pick roots ta fill our bellies. Never mind you me. Our teller pulled a shimmering copper-colored pouch from his left pocket and loaded his cheek wit lavender tobacco to begin his tale.

Young Man: -Spits in slop cup- Snuggle in babies, warm ya bodies up by dis nice fire, so we can give y’all your story as promised fo de night. -Spits in slop cup- Now, Mx. CC was a very large dark beauty, wit a deep raspy voice to match. -laughs- Jus like mine! And, her close-cut fade is as clean and precise as her channeling abilities. It is said dat she could still communicate wit most of the folks on the middle passage and some of the souls who made it back home. She also, was able to heal a bit with humor, but dat nothing special fo us Black folks. -Spits in slop cup- Anyhow, CC was just about to close up shop early at Q’s cause some people like to throw rocks with the words -whispers- NIGGER/Tranny lover carved into them! Just breaking all of de new windows! -shakes head- I don’t understand why people be so mean sometimes. -Spits in slop cup- Mx. Que didn’t deserve any of dis by de way. -whispers- Did yall know dat they was one of the oldest living people of the trans experience in these parts before he went so-called missin? -Spits in slop cup- Chile, and they was one of the founding members of the Black Trans Museums ovah in Sweetwater too! -Spits in slop cup- Sorry, you know us tellers get a little excited when we start sharing de hxstories. -laughs- Never mind you me! -Spits in slop cup- Next, we have umm, Suga, medium height and build likes me. -laughs- And gurllllls de say Suga had de complexion of warm dark cocoa ta boot. Baby was fine! Dey could put some sugar in my bowl anytime! -Spits in slop cup- Not too sure what all powers de ancestors bestowed upon dem, but when dat pink glow hit ya. You were done for!...Yes, sir, burnt to a crisp! However, dat was more so when dey learnt control de gifts. -Spits in slop cup- Likes we was sayin. One night CC was cleaning up Q’s, and dar come Suga runnin, banging up side de old doors, all blooded up, and holdin dey insides in with dey powers. -Spits in slop cup-

Suga: Let me in CC! It’s me Suga!!!!!

CC: -rolls eyes- Sorry hun. Shops closed. -laughs- Take yo lightning bug butt home.

Suga: Stop playin round! Can’t ya see I’m all hurt and shit.

CC: -runs to door- Ok! Ok. What happened to you?! Ya look like someone tried to put chu into a blinder.

Suga: -chest heaving taking deep breaths- It’s Mx. Que! Dey done got dem! -shaking- I think?! I tried to hide at home. But…De smoke.

CC: Wait…Who is they? And, what smoke Suga?

Suga: Mx. Que was dropping me off. Dey saw me walkin by de river, and asked me if I wanted a ride home. I think Mx. Que just wanted to talk jus ta see if I wanted to come back to work here. After bout 15 minutes Mx. Que sensed we was being followed. They gunned it to my house. Dey pushed me out de truck, and told me to get inside and hide! I...heard a voice! No, Wait. Voices. Outside the door. Then they sounded like they was all comin from de kitchen. -shakes head- I think? I heard a loud boom! Mx. Que was hollering like de was Hester herself! I heard a faint voice callin out to me. Felt like it was right beside me, callin me. Next, thang I know the back door in the kitchen exploded and I ran upstairs to my room.

CC: I thought y’all’s said you were alone. Isn’t ya brother Jai gon for dat bullshit weekend

training or somethin. I tell ya dat boy is gonna make one of the best oral keepers ya evah did see. Well that’s if his new lil bro doesn't ruin it with showing off dat pretty pinkish glow of yours.

Suga: Focus CC!

CC: Look this wouldn't be the first time you tried to play a trix on CC. What, Mx. Que let you come back, and you decide to dip into your Halloween stash? Comin in here looken a mess.

Suga: First off! Pronouns are a thang! If ya don’t know; you say them or they! Second, look at my wrist. -holds up dangling wrist- Do ya thank I would break my own wrist jus to mess wit ya!?

CC: There's dat fire! Go, off honey! Look at ya now! I believe the room temp just spiked a couple hundred degrees. Too bad I’m fireproof. HA!

Suga: -Silence-

CC: There, there...I’m sorry, Sug...Jai’s lil sibling. Is dat better?

Suga: I guess. Ever since we found it...

CC: Found what Suga? And who is we?

Suga: You know who I am talking bout! Po and Pigg. De twins!

CC: No, Suga. Reading doesn't work like that. Yall gotta to tell a girl everythang. Now take it slow Suga so I can see what you, and de ancestors saw.

Suga: Damn. Ok ok...I ran up the stairs. Falling and tripping all over myself trying to hide. Once I was in my room I slammed the door as hard as I could. Knocking down most of my trophies in the process. Dats how I cut up my legs so bad. See.

CC: I don’t think a few knocked over trophies did all of that ta ya Suga. If it won’t fo dat lil glow force field mess you got, ya insides would hangin out.

Suga: What do you want from me?

CC: -cuts eyes- How about the truth? Or do you want us to send you back home?

Suga: No!

CC: So y’all was just at dat river bein angels? And Mx. Que just happened to drive by. From what de ancestors show me now. Y’all’s was showing off for your new lil friends. Things got out of hand, ugh? I tell ya! Look at ya. Gorl, if the ancestors could see ya now. Flying Africans my ass! Not all de souls went back home, ya know! Some of dey souls stay with de people. Givin some of us real power here. Where you think ya glow comes from? How ya think we can do all de thangs we can?

Suga: Don’t quote scripture to me CC! We not of the same line, but we is all still connected through de ancestors.

CC: Just sayin. So, what happened next?

Suga: I looked around frantically for anything I could use as a weapon. Dis mess can’t be real I thought. And, maybe I couldn't burn like Mamma, but nothin gets through to my mind unless I want it to. On account of my glow.

CC: -whispers- I’ll say.

Suga: I know us colored folks use humor to heal. But, CC if you don’t stop draggin me.

CC: Well, look, some of your wounds are starting to heal because I am makin you laugh. Makin you feel better. Safe even. Lower your glow, and tell me de whole truth.

Young Man: -Spits in slop cup- Suga was still out of breath. But, tried to explain dat sometin dragged his friend into de river. Dat dey was at the river only jus experimenting with dey powers and -laughs- other thangs. Next thang you know, sum sweet smelling smoke was comin out de river. De boys started to get dizzy when de smoke reached their noises. -Spits in slop cup-

As soon as it did Suga’s glow popped up and de lightheadedness went away. But Po and Pigg was in a trance and march right toward de river. -Spits in slop cup- Suga said dey tried to save Po and Pigg, but ended up almost being taken too. Dat’s, when Mx. Que showed up from out of nowhere and used dey shrieking moans ta scare off dat beast. Dat’s when they both hightailed it outta der to Suga’s home where he ran up de stairs to they room and locked de door as fast as they could! -Spits in slop cup-

Suga: I gripped Jai’s old bat, and clinched it as hard as I could. My sweat mixed with dirt from the river was stinging my eyes. But I dared not look away from de door. I heard metal slowly grinding against itself from dat rusty doorknob. It started turning and shaking back and forth.

Boom! De lights went out! The floorboards under my feet started to shift and crack. I lost my balance and dropped de bat. I tried to catch it before it hit de ground. It landed on my foot. I let out a little moan. -whispers- I slowly bent down still keeping my gaze locked on the door, to pick up de bat.

CC: Hol up. Diss, story good! Maybe you should be a keeper. Fuck Jai!

Suga: -rolls eyes- Sigh.

CC: Jus sayin.

Suga: A sweet smell started to fill de room. My mouth started to water. Smoke was starting to fill the room. It smelled like cotton candy dis time. My glow started to comeback, but it was flickering like de bugs in one of those blue zappers. All I can remember is dat I shook my head violently once de smoke reached my skin! I screamed you won’t trick me! I’m not like dem!

As soon as de words left my lips; blue and pink lights shot up from the floor all around me like laser beams. The lights burned my skin. Tears swelled up in my eyes as I jumped up on my bed and swatted to get away from de painful rays. -voice cracking and trembling- I screamed! No! Noooooooooo! Stop! I felt my wrist break and somethin ripping open my guts. Dat’s when my glow returned to normal. Whatever took hold of me released its grip. I ran to the window and busted through dat shit. -chest heaving- And, I ran until I got here.

CC: There. All better now. Whew chile, dat took a lot out of me. I better sit.

Suga: CC what chu mean sit? We better get out of here!

CC: Runnin ain't gon do no bit of good now! We got to alert de others dat the beast is back!

Suga: What beast?

CC: Never mind you dat now. Unfortunately, yo friends and Mx. Que have gone on home now.

Suga: -holding back tears- Lies.

CC: Don’t worry, we will see them again one day. Dey said thanks for tryin to save dem. -stands up walking to the door- And Mx. Que wanted to tell you dat dey left de restaurant and house to both of us in dey will.

Suga: Where you goin CC?

CC: Not I, but we are goin to Mx. Que place right now. Dere will be answers there.

Young Man: -Spits in slop cup- And dat be de end of our tale fo tonight.

###

EndNotes:

Word Count: 1969

Materials: Transcript - Suga - Oral and Visual - Section 1 of 10 - by 5th Generation Keeper

Notes: I believe that these oral accounts predate much of the folklore surrounding the true origins of Knight. With these new volumes we can begin to locate his ancestors. This section also lightly touches upon legends/myths involving African Diaspora Mysticism (ADM) ie the Ibo landing, and the legend of the flying Africans

EndNotes:

Transcript - Folk Tale - Visual Item - Suga and CC

Word Count: 3

Materials:

Acrylic on Paper - Notebook paper - Copper Metallic Acrylic Paint - Lined paper it is determined that the paper was college-ruled, Graphite

Medium: Drawing and Painting - Mixed Media

Size and Dimension: 8.5 x 11

Artist: Unknown

Formal Analyzation:

Two figures appear on the paper.

Undetermined the actual ages of the figures. It’s estimated that ages range between 18 and 24 year old.

A profile of one Black figure, and a frontal view of the other figure.

Not sure if these figures are Non-binary, or Cisgender, or Transgender.

Visible body are from the top of their heads to the lower waist area. The profiled figure seems to be in a thinking position. Also, deeper scans reveal that there was once a pinkish wash covering this figure.

Partial Fingerprints and some hair follicles can be found embedded in the ink and/or paper.

Written in print and graphite Suga and CC appear on the back of the paper at the bottom left corner.

Notes:

Original item was excavated by the Universal Bureau of Investigation (UBOI) in Sweetwater North Carolina in 2068. Oral and visual volumes of Black southern folktales.

This item does not prove and/or disprove