By Rachel Walsh It's always crowded in Spice Market, but nine square feet to yourself and a cup of stall-bought tea can plunge you into your own vibrant world. I bring my cup of instant Fall to my nose, and although it's summer outside my little bubble, inside it's heady with cardamom and cinnamon and … Continue reading Bathed in Blue: The Induction of a Legend
Tag: simlit
Tarantella
"'I Can't Stop.'" "What?" "You're wondering out loud what song is playing. 'I Can't Stop' by Kazaky. I picked it." "Oh. I did not realize anyone was listening. I am Alice, by the way." Alice hadn't made a mistake in her assumption; the music obscured her own voice to where the only confirmation she was … Continue reading Tarantella
Look What You’ve Done to Me, Xishu Liu
As the grey clouds finished relieving themselves of extra weight, the roof of the Casbah Gallery burst forth in glittering splendor from the sunlit reflection of thousands of watery beads. Look closely and you'd notice each bead was caught in an internal battle between stasis, gravity, and surface tension, one that resolved within minutes depending … Continue reading Look What You’ve Done to Me, Xishu Liu
Al Mal Tiempo, Buena Cara
"Hector---the times that test your character are what make you. When times are hardest, that's when you have to smile your biggest smile." Claudia said this straight-faced. As she spoke, Hector saw his mother's hand tremble towards her drink, nails dragging across wood grain and palm countering friction against lacquer until this, too, took more … Continue reading Al Mal Tiempo, Buena Cara
The Watcher
Once upon a midnight dreary, as I labored, dull and weary,Through a tiring routine performed a thousand times before--- There I stood engaged in tending to my basic needs unending And the idle minute spending on the odd quotidian chore---On the odd hygienic, skill, career, or culinary chore, Merely this and nothing more. 'Twas a … Continue reading The Watcher
Is this Loss?
Missing persons Willow Creek Missing persons hotline Willow Creek Dr. Jeong-Espinosa news News missing persons Missing persons search party organization Missing spouse help No matter how she permuted it, each of Jo's search terms took her back to the same horrifically dry government website, http://www.wcpd.sim/missing-persons, on it a curated set of names and pictures, captioned … Continue reading Is this Loss?
No Place for a Heroine
"Kendra. What's that fucking thing in the middle of your living room?" Kendra was in the kitchen with her back to Wyatt. But from context, he was likely referring to the seven-fingered poledancing tentacle in the middle of her living room. "I don't know," she said. "Someone dumped it outside the trailer park, and I … Continue reading No Place for a Heroine
Love Day, Actually
"The first thing one notices about this piece is the juxtaposition of the smooth curves of the truncated spheroid with the hard lines of its central Platonic solid." Chantel put both hands on the table to interrogate the candle at eye level. Diametrically opposite, her boyfriend was making the same face he made when they … Continue reading Love Day, Actually
Option 3
(TW: depression and suicidal ideation) Enlightenment as described in the yoga sutras isn't a state of eternal bliss, it's the ability to decouple the self from all external influence, and, as a result, feel nothing. You're aiming for no karma, not good karma. Only then can the cycle of reincarnation be broken. If that idea … Continue reading Option 3
Eyebleach with the Shallot-Lius
San Myshuno's favorite necrophiliac is here to step in before things get too real. The Small Onion & Destroy family A week before Jasper found his nemesis in a multi-thousand-year-old snow demon, Xiyuan and his husband forego preparing for Winterfest in favor of a monomaniacal adherence to routine that rivals Groundhog Day---but here with the … Continue reading Eyebleach with the Shallot-Lius
