Welcome back!

It’s been a year since we’ve been here and god how I’ve missed staring at this little squarespace webpage as I think of something meaningful to say in the editor’s letter. Sometimes it feels like life is getting the best of us, and that’s certainly how I’ve felt this past year. BUT! But I kicked myself into gear and worked through the submissions with my lovely readers, Briar and Bankston, and am finally able to present our 18th issue!

I know it’s kind of my job to say how great and cool all of these pieces are, and I know I say it every time, but I really do sincerely mean it when I say I am so fucking proud to publish these pieces. Back in August when I started working on the new issue, I picked a random submission from our list and ended up reading Russ Lopez’s “Luna, Queen of Lands End,” a story of an immortal, genderfluid custodian of color who has protected a resort town for decades, and the feelings it evoked in me really helped kickstart my brain and amped me up to really start working seriously on the mag after another hiatus. This is of course just one of the beautiful pieces in this issue, but I wanted to give a special thanks to Russ for inadvertently giving me the spark to get the fuck back to work.

Also in this issue, we have wonderful stories of queer android sex-workers, a toxic tyrant and his minion, and a re-imagining of the relationship between the Tagalog goddess, Mayari, and the sea serpent, Bakunawa. We also have a story by returning author, Rick Hollon! In our poetry section we have two sapphic poems, one of love and one of heartbreak, and a love poem about the yeti. Our issue cover illustration was created by Daphne Fauber.

Thank you to everyone who made this issue possible, including (but not limited to) our talented writers and cover artist, the press’s dedicated editors/readers, Briar and Bankston, my girlfriend (who always made sure I was caffeinated whilst at my computer desk), my fav band, Mickey Darling, whose music I have almost eternally on repeat when I’m working, and our readers, both new and returning. Without these people, I would simply be staring at my phone doomscrolling on Twitter (or X, I guess).

From your EIC,

Annaelise Montez

Content warnings:

• “Celestial Eaters” - self-harm, depictions of gore

• “With Such Stars to Guide Us” - non-consensual manipulation through supernatural means, violence, blood, gore, death, the end of the world

• “The Lord of Dawn” - emotional and physical abuse, depictions of blood, gore

• “Magic City” - gender dysmorphia

 Poetry

Planetfall

By: Angela Acosta

Entice

By: M.S. Blues

Yeti Hunting

By: Sean Glatch

Fiction

Luna, Queen of Lands end

By: Russ Lopez - 2.5k words