“Little Mermaid,” Edvard Eriksen

Self-trust is the first secret to success.

Because even at the end of the day, if they’ve chopped off the legs of the table, one by one, the flat plane of the table is still standing, still floating, still intact. Because even when they’ve shot down every soldier, even if they’re toppled all the pawns in the chess game, there’s still one standing, there’s always one still standing until it’s game over. The only person you’ve got with you your whole life, start to finish, is yourself. (more…)

“Love Rising” by Robert Indiana

Everybody hurts sometimes, as the lyrics go. And everybody weeps, and everybody mourns. There seems to be no passion without pain, no heartache without a heart, no unfaltering love without unrequited experience. That is the balance of the world and the balance of life; settle for no less, (more…)

“Misprinted Type” by Eduardo Recife

Life is churning quickly now, galvanized by my thoughts, my deeds, and my decisions. Each week—each day—feels like a chapter in this individual book of life, and there’s no holding back the page, no restraining the pen, just a biting of the bullet and a whirlwind—yet calculated; mind over matter, logic over loss— tearing (tearing as a noun) through the pages.

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“Serie Mnemosine” by Luis Toledo

It wasn’t easy being a Hybrid. In fact, it was the most mind-blowing—in the shattering sense, not the awesome one—experience possible, and if he wasn’t mortal, he sure as hell wouldn’t have survived it mentally and psychologically, let alone physically. He spent most of his childhood trying to figure out the origins of his condition, and most of his adulthood trying to fight it. Up to this point, he hadn’t been comfortable with his body and what he was capable of. Until he’d had a few near-death accidents in which his shape-shifting figure had spared him in the nick of time. (more…)

The Mismeasure of Man by Photography by Mathilde

“So,” she said, bubblegum smacking rather unprofessionally in her mouth. It wasn’t that she was unprofessional, he figured. She was so professional, in fact, that she could define professionalism. She was at the top of the pack, and no one in the entire CIA could contest with that—even if their fearless leader had a soft spot for bubblegum. “What makes you think you’re qualified for the job?” (more…)