I climb the stairs to my room with my cooling mug of coffee, shut the door behind me, and calmly undress before I could think about it. Treat it as a habit—smile until you’re happy—same idea. I lay my shirt, bra, and pants neatly on my bed then let the momentum I’d built up give … Read more…
Lesson Zero: How To Find Your Perfect Mistress There are three ways to contact a dominatrix. The first is through email or social media. The second is on incognito mode chat boards, and the third I imagine consists of a back alley dungeon fronting as a pizzeria. Let’s give number one a fair shot. I … Read more…
by Margaret Gladieux *starred names in this story have been changed for privacy purposes “… she swallowed six half-gramme tablets of soma, lay down on her bed, and within ten minutes had embarked for lunar eternity. It would be eighteen hours at the least before she was in time again.” – Aldous Huxley, Brave New … Read more…
by Amara Nwabor I sit at my desk staring into my two-tone tabletop mirror feeling feverish for artistry. I zip open my suitcase-like makeup bag, primed for a successful bout of maquillage. I apply a pump of chestnut brown foundation to my cheeks and forehead. I spritz my makeup brush with setting spray and begin … Read more…
by Anushka Agarwal Overview Introduction How do we see ourselves? How are we perceived? Who am I? I want to be at peace with my personality, with my thoughts, and with my friends. A better way to put it: confident, calm, and well-liked. Why not become this way? I have rarely tried to reinvent myself, … Read more…
by Sof Sears I pull cards like pulling teeth from a skull: embalming fluid, obelisk, clover, raven. I keep this oracle card deck sealed away inside its own canvas pouch, hidden in my bedside drawer. The artist, Claire Goodchild, created this intricate, gorgeous deck of cards, called “Memento Mori,” each depicting some sort of object … Read more…
by Anonymous When I fell in love, I couldn’t stop crying. I lay on my bedroom floor sobbing for hours. Something hurt deep inside me. My therapist asked me to draw it. I knew exactly what it looked like. It was a tornado made of deep, dark blues and purples. A gradient of sorrow. I … Read more…
by Helen Wu “You don’t know what front of house (FOH) and back of house (BOH) is? Mario, we have to explain this to her.” Ay grabs my pen and writes the two terms, drawing a line between them to divide the page into two columns. Mario chimes in passionately: “So the front of house … Read more…
by Delaney Parks When I was thirteen, I thought I was being ironic by watching Gossip Girl. I perceived the pointlessness behind each glamorous detail, from the fresh peonies garnishing Blair’s palatial banisters to the ostentatious diamond necklaces that were just a drop in the bucket for any character (so what was the value of … Read more…
