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by Sunny Solaris If you’ve been in the writing community for a while, chances are you would’ve come across the name ‘Mary Sue’. If you know of her existence, you probably hate her. If you don’t know her, well you’re probably wondering who she is. Mary Sue is a female character who’s insanely overpowered and has no flaws. Mary Sue makes no mistakes and she’s perfect. It’s no wonder everyone hates her. Why do we still talk about her though, you might ask. Simple: because Mary Sue is still seen in so many books, taking over their stories and making us hate the book authors put so much effort into. Mary Sue mostly controls beginner authors, but some professional authors also succumb to her whims. If everybody detests her so much, why do authors keep making her? Mary Sue is often written to be a self-insert of the author. The authors envision themselves to be perfect, and they create a character just like them. However this character ends up being the idealised version of the author, used to fulfil the author’s wishes of being flawless and wonderful. Before we discuss how to avoid writing these characters, let’s talk about the history of Mary Sue. The term “Mary Sue” originated from a Star Trek fanfic written in 1973 and published in Menagerie, a Star Trek fanzine. Mary Sue was the main character of this story. She was the youngest Lieutenant in the fleet at the age of 15 and a half… yes they really wrote the “and a half”. Mary Sue was described to be amazing in every possible way and adept at any skills required of her. Considering how she was written to be flawless, it’s no surprise that she captured the interest of Captain Kirk, Mr Spock, and Dr McKoy. It was written that Captain Kirk confessed his love for the oh so perfect Mary Sue and she had turned him down saying she was “not that kind of girl”. After this, Mr Spock runs into her in control of the ship where he compliments her, saying she is “flawlessly logical”. During the story, Captain Kirk, Mr Spock, Dr McCoy, Mr Scott, and her all beamed down to Rigel XXXVII where they’d been attacked and thrown into prison. Once they escaped, when they got back to the Enterprise, the men who had beamed down with Mary Sue had gotten sick while she had not. As they lay in the sick bay, Mary Sue had to run the ship all on her own, awarding her three achievements. The disease the men had eventually caught up to her and in the end, Mary Sue dies and all the hearts she’s captured stand around her as she takes her last breath. At the Enterprise, her birthday was considered a national holiday to honour her. There is no one more Mary Sue-like than Mary Sue. Are you concerned about the publishers who allowed them to release that piece of fanfiction into the world? Well, I was too, until I found out that it was written to be satire and its purpose was to mock authors who wrote characters for the very same reason Mary Sue characters are still written to this day. The only difference is that now there’s a term for those characters compared to back then. Characters who fall under the trap of being like Mary Sue and are female are now referred to as Mary Sue. With male characters, they’re called Gary Stu or Marty Stu. Now, what is the problem with Mary Sue characters? Wouldn’t any author want to make their characters perfect, so that they can live vicariously through them? No, we don’t. Mary Sues have often been laughing stocks in the writing community and it’s due to the unoriginality these characters hold. Go back and think about your favourite characters. What about them endears them to you and makes you adore them? What draws you to them and makes sure they find an irreplaceable place in your heart? Readers want to meet a character who’s imperfect. A perfect character gets boring and makes the story uninteresting. A reader will drop your book then and there - or if they’re like me… they’ll begrudgingly finish the book due to not wanting to leave something labelled as DNF and just rate it badly. Everybody is imperfect and has flaws. Recognizing these flaws makes a character more realistic and thus endears them to the reader. By constantly reading about Mary Sue characters who are perfect, your readers could begin to think they are wrong for being flawed, when in reality it is something everybody has. In general, Mary Sue characters are One-Dimensional. The story revolves around them but they personally don’t impact it. They have no personality and are insanely bland. Authors can try to trick us into saying they have flaws but no. Most of the time, those so-called flaws are just quirks. Besides all those other things that can already make you hate this character, Mary Sue is obviously going to be drop dead gorgeous. She’ll instantly draw everyone’s attention and everyone immediately loves her due to her perfection. Realistic? No. Not at all. If people in real life met a Mary Sue, there’s no chance they’d immediately love her. Now, you don’t want to write a Mary Sue. How do we avoid this from happening? How do you make your characters more realistic? Let’s start off by being able to tell whether your character is a Mary Sue.Take a look at your character. Do they look like a fictional version of who you wish to be? I don't mean that you can't self-insert yourself into a character. I’ve done that exact thing before. What I mean is that, did you make the character to be you without your flaws? Just like in real life, readers — while most of them likely have no social lives (don’t try to deny it, we all are in the same boat /j) — will instantly be able to tell when something is off with your character. If they’re a Mary Sue, the readers will be able to get a vibe off them that just doesn’t suit their liking. Just like in reality, when you meet a sketchy character, your mind instantly marks them as a red flag. Don’t worry if your character actually is a Mary Sue. Every writer makes this mistake and it’s easy to fix it. If you read Wattpad fanfiction written by 12 year olds, I’m sure that you’ve noticed that the character is usually a Mary Sue. Maybe you grew up reading Harry Potter x Reader fanfiction like me, they’re usually Mary Sues as well. The fastest way to turn your Mary Sue into a character who has meaning is to give them flaws. Not quirks. Flaws. A quirk is something a person does that is unusual, while some flaws can be quirks. Quirks are not flaws. Real human flaws are what show the character’s bad side and how it conflicts with their souls. Research if you’re struggling to find flaws - there are tons of online resources with lists of flaws. You have to make your characters relatable - after all, those are the best kinds of characters. Make sure the flaw relates to the character’s personalities, and show how the flaws affect the character and those around them. Make your characters lose. Have them make mistakes. They can’t always win and they won’t always save the day. They’re meant to appeal to an audience who are humans, right? Even if they’re not human and your characters are aliens or dragons or robots, readers must be able to connect to them for the story to be interesting and likeable. Have us empathise with your characters and feel bad for them when all goes haywire. Would you pick up a book where the main character is a Mary Sue? You probably have in the past. Did you regret reading that story? What was it that made that book so unbearable to read? You don’t want your readers to regret reading your book. No one wants to read about Mary Sue. Let’s stop the Mary Sue plague. To learn more about the author, check out @sunnywithasideup on instagram.

by Sunny Solaris Blurb Aiden Strong can see dead people. As far back as he can remember, Aiden interacted with the Others. But no-one else can see them. Why? Aiden is connected to these ghosts by Trancey Strings that wrap around him and sprawl out through to the Dead World of Quiziria. Aiden doesn’t like his ability and thinks it is a curse. He desperately wants to be rid of these ghostly connections. When Aiden meets Vincent, his fate will change forever. Can Vincent help Aiden to restart his life with the living, or will everything he loves be destroyed forever? Purchase the book here. As a part of our initiative of uplifting young people and their stories, our content writer Sunny Solaris recently conducted an interview with indie author E. D. Bridges. Continue reading for the full transcript, and check out @eddie.writess on instagram to learn more about the author! Sunny: Hello! Could you please introduce yourself in your own style, and describe your book? Edison: My name is Edison, I'm 17 years old and have been creating stories as far back as I can remember. I started writing my debut novel at 14 and did work experience with a publisher when I was 15, which led me to publish under them. My novel, Strings On Me, is about a 15 year old who has the ability to see the dead. Aiden hates his powers and believes it is a curse - mostly because he is unable to distinguish the difference between the dead and the living. One day he is given the opportunity to get rid of his powers once and for all. Aiden had eight strings attached to his body which are each connected to a ghost. In the book, he travels back through time to figure out how these ghosts die, in order to cut off the strings to get rid of his powers. But along the way he starts to question himself: Is getting rid of his powers something he truly wants? Thank you for that! Who are some of your favorite authors? Rick Riordan, Neil Gaiman, Yoshihiro Togashi, Kafka Asagiri, Koyoharu Gotouge. Most of what I read and watch nowadays comes from Japanese media because I really like their stories! That’s very interesting! Now first, I’d like to ask about your writing process. When you were first drafting your novel, did you have a set timetable of a certain number of words per day? It took me a total of 2 and a half years to write, edit and publish this book. Since I was at school during that time, my school subjects at the time were my top priority. Writing is something I can do whenever I want but I can’t go back to school once it’s over. Essentially I wrote whenever I had free time. To make time for writing I got rid of most social media, and sometimes I would write in class when I was finished with an assignment. I was also moving around a lot at the time, so I would write wherever I was: in a car, at home, on a plane, etc. I didn't have a set timetable, or a set word limit to meet. I just wrote scene by scene and focused more on how far along in the story I was, as opposed to how many words I had. But I'm pretty sure I wrote over 1000 words whenever I sat down to write. Did you ever experience writer’s block, and if so, how did you deal with it? Of course! All writers experience writer's block, even the professional and most famous ones. To get past writer's block I would suggest listening to music that reminds you of your WIP. Or when you head to bed, dream about the part you are at in the book to work stuff out. If possible, write it in a journal, then expand upon it in the morning. Do you have any tips for young writers out there who are just like you when you started? If I could go back in time and tell younger me a few things, this is probably what I would tell him: You don't have to make every sentence perfect the first time you write it down. Your first draft can be horrible, messy, incredibly poorly written - it doesn’t matter. Because at the end of the day it's better than having a blank page, and you'll get the story done a whole lot faster. You can always go back and edit it later on in your second or third draft (or however many drafts you would like to do.) The first draft is not your final - so don't treat it like it is. Go at your own pace. You don't have to have a goal of writing a certain amount of words per day. Write whenever you're in the mood to - don't force yourself to write if it's becoming a chore. Writing should be something you enjoy, and if you're not enjoying it, step back and get back to it another time. Quality over quantity is always a good approach to writing. Focus on one section at a time. You don't have to write your story chronologically - in fact if you have a scene in your head, write it down! It is so much easier to write what you have in your mind, as opposed to waiting until you reach that scene in the book - because by that time you may have lost the original optimism you had when you first thought of it. I’m sure our young authors will find those very helpful! Now let’s talk about your book itself. Where did you get the inspiration for your book? At the time I kinda just pieced together what I was interested in: the main things being, time travel, ghosts, and mystery. I was 13 when I came up with the story idea, but I didn't really take inspiration from anything in particular; most of the stuff just came from my head. Is Strings on Me a stand-alone book? Or will there be more? Strings On Me has a sequel in the works! At this moment I'm writing a light novel called Restricted Freedom, but once that's done I plan to go back to writing the second addition to Strings On Me (because I left the first one on a cliffhanger :)) Did you do any sort of research for your book? I did quite a lot of research, but not as much as I would have liked to - with most stuff I just left it up to my imagination haha. Because of the time travel aspect in my novel I had to do a lot of research on how things were in certain time periods. These include the clothing/hairstyles people wore, what inventions existed at the time, societal aspects and the events that took place during that time. But I mostly ended up using my imagination with what I thought the past was like. Looking back, I wish I did do a bit more research into certain things, because I wasn't as knowledgeable with the past as I am now (I'm doing modern History and Ancient Studies as subjects - when I began the book I only had very little knowledge about the past). So I wouldn't say the past is incredibly accurate, though I did as much research as I could and did try my best to understand what I was writing about. How long did the research take? I don't really know how to answer that. I kinda just researched whenever I came across something I wasn't quite sure about, or if I wanted a general idea on the events happening in that time period. I don't have a set time. I kinda just did the research here and there. How did you select the names of your characters? For most of them I did use the 'looking through baby name websites' method, though sometimes I also chose names that I liked from books, movies and shows, etc (whether it be an actor's name, a character's name, or a real person's name.) Now that I'm thinking about it, I got one of my characters' last names from a street sign I used to go past a lot, and also got one of my characters' names from a store clerk’s name badge. Haha that’s very interesting! Were there any scenes you struggled to write? Some of the death scenes were particularly difficult to write. I did as much research as I could on them, but it was still quite challenging. Another worry I had was being insensitive - a lot of the fictional events that take place in my book could and do take place in real life too, especially certain deaths and scenarios I write about. So I tried my best to write with empathy and understanding on these deaths. What point of view is your book written in? Is there a particular reason why and does it help you write it that way? Strings On Me is written in third-person limited, mostly focusing on the protagonist Aiden Strong and the struggles that come along with being able to see the dead. It was written that way because the story is central to the protagonist (with all the other characters being ghosts). I wrote it that way because it was fundamentally important to show his perspective and point of view, with the reader following his character journey/development over the course of the story. What tropes can a reader expect in your book? There's found family, character development (for multiple characters), enemies to friends, survival situations and more. Most of my books revolve around the found family trope and close friends. There is also a tad bit of romance in the story, though it's not a focal point. A little romance never hurt anyone. Are any of your characters a self insert? Not really. I feel like some characters have small bits of my personality. The characters I most relate to are probably Curtis and Varian. For my characters, I really tried to create different types of people and used some traits that were the complete opposite of mine. I just really wanted to diversify my characters’ personalities, because I find writing about different types of people (from different walks of life) really fun. I think that’s about it! Thank you so much for letting me interview you! I look forward to checking out your book :) Oh alright! No problemo! I enjoyed it! And thanks :) To learn more about the author, check out @sunnywithasideup on instagram.

by Smrithi Senthilnathan We released issue iii about a fortnight ago and could not be more thrilled with the response we've gotten (have you read the issue yet? find it here!) People all around the world have found us to tell us that they enjoyed the issue and found pleasure in our words. We were wondering how to make the best of this amazing enthusiasm in our magazine. Why stop at just the wonderful pieces at this artists have created? Why not delve further into the stories behind these pieces and how they were created? Why not explore the minds of these splendid young creators and see what they have to tell us? That's exactly what we're going to do today! Keep reading on for the stories behind each piece in our issue. Let us know in the comments which piece from issue iii was your favorite or which creators' story spoke to you the most! Note: We've mentioned the creators' instagram accounts in brackets so you can check out more of their work. POETRY Elisabeth D. - The Greatest Flame (@bethowdiewrites) This poem can be many things, and I think that is one of the many things I love about it. Literally, it is a description of someone's relationship with fire, but it also can be a metaphor for a toxic relationship. From my own experience as a teenager, I think a lot of teens can relate to loving someone who is not good for you. The idea immediately came to my mind when I heard about the new issue, and I think it's the metaphor and the subject that, I think, anyone could relate to, that makes it good for the magazine. Writing poetry became something close to a necessity to me when I had hard times in life. Toxic relationships are something I've known, loved, and hated. The metaphor with fire came to me so naturally I immediately wrote it down, and I'm glad people enjoyed it too. Kimberly - I Am Ignited (@kimberlysquill) The inspiration for this poem came from unrequited crushes that are bound to end up hurting me, but I am unable to tear myself away from them. The topic means a lot to me, as I certainly have experienced and have seen my friends deal with similar infatuations. It's difficult to give other people space when they're making decisions about crushes; from the outside, it can be so obvious that they're playing with fire. Often, emotions and the search for dopamine overrule our common sense and knowledge that the situation isn't going to work out. I hope other teens are able to relate to the metaphor of letting yourself burn because the enjoyment right now is worth the pain later. Nai - How To Cook Up Success (@poeirtically) The persona of this poem is a chef. The effort and dedication the chef puts into cooking for the food critics' approval is meant to resonate to artists who do the same - creating for approval of others rather than one's own satisfaction, as well as being motivated to do better through the praise of others. It is relatable because many teen artists, such as myself, struggle with needing validation in order to move forward in our craft, and how lowly we think of ourselves when we don't receive it. I decided to use the analogy of a chef, because my mother cooks our meals and owns a small home baking business. While my mother believes I am the one within our family with any artistic skill, I believe there is a beauty to cooking. I believe it is an art form of its own. I think my poem would be a good fit for your magazine as it taps a bit into an artist's passion - what drives them to create. Is it a burning passion or a dimly lit one? Vastriane - Reignite (@vastriane) This poem is ambitious, as it was originally a song I wrote, and it is addressed to myself. On the initial drafting process, it was supposed to be about the things I want to tell myself, but like most people, I am filled with insecurities and exhaustion. And so, it turned out to be a list of things that I would tell myself even though I know they were only half-true. It is a sort of self-gaslighting, a toxic trait that I unconsciously developed throughout my youth, which I came to utilize to re-ignite my motivation and self-confidence. The title also alludes to my middle name, hence why it was personal. Ines Mueller - Pyrophobia (@ines.m.m) When I saw the prompt, I immediately wanted to do something about the fear of fire—but it struck me as odd when I realized I'd never heard the word before. So I wrote about that. Zia Adora - Flicker (@sleepdeprived_writer) "flicker" is based on how when an abused person speak up about how they got abused, no one takes them seriously. Especially if they knew the abuser personally. Nobody takes notice. Well not until it blows up in their faces. Parents, teachers and the whole society urges the victim to speak about the abuse but never listens to them when they finally get the courage to do so. Even if they listen they don't take a step to help them, or they turn the blame on the victim and their dressing sense or behavior like that's the thing that needs to be changed. I wrote this poem in hopes that people would help the ones in need of help when they ask them. Regardless of how small the issue is or who did it, cause sometimes the predator is lurking around so closer than you think and it's hard to believe someone close from your family can do it but fire is fire , a flicker or a whole burning forest so if you can help it. Just put the fire off when it's still a flicker. Sumo - Schadenfreude (@sumomuso604) Just a picture of a flame showing a broken heart started weaving some lines in my head and I started writing it right away! Caroline Chou - Aflame (@clswriting) The dual nature of fire—the way that it can heal and hurt—is incredibly interesting to me. How can it be that the same flames humans have sat around to swap stories and share meals can also be used as weapons for absolute destruction? Through my piece "Aflame," I was inspired to examine this duality: due to our inherent understanding that fire can be dangerous, at first glance, this piece may appear to be told from a villain's perspective. However, the element of fire that labels the narrator as "villainous" also serves as their own source of strength and comfort. Writing this piece challenged me to examine the world from an alternate lens, and I hope that it will encourage other teens to do the same too. Kanishka Kataria - Between Us Let The Silence Scream (@kanishkax.217) "Between Us Let the Silence Scream" is a conversation with the soul which showcases how it constantly urges us to move forward taking solid steps. The past is a testimony of what we are today. Dealing with all the wild stuff, crying our hearts out, and coming out much more potent than before, this is the story of every human being. While penning this down, I was engulfed by several emotions, growing up, losing friendships, gaining privileges, and being absorbed in a life that entails much more than simply delight. The voice of our inner self that usually remains unheard in the rat race is the true support and guide to our development as an individual. We might not ever pay heed to the immense strength within ourselves, here symbolically fire we hold within. However, at the end of the day, we feel the warmth, the comfort in only that fire. Every line in the poetry shouts for our existence which ultimately will time prove. Kelli Weldon - Perseids (@kelliwritespoems) Myriad feelings emerge after a loved one’s diagnosis. It can be overwhelming to face losing someone who has had a meaningful impact on your life. This poem is about wanting to connect with them and the desire to give them back everything their illness has taken away. The title, Perseids, references the meteor shower of the same name. Teresa M - March 8th (@louvre_in_blue) This poem speaks about feminism and how the patriarchy and modern forms of misogyny still harm many aspects of our lives. It pictures the fire as the revolution that grows inside and outside of every woman. The flame is our power, the uncontrollable force that will bring us peace. And I hope every reader finds in it a light, a match, or something that makes their own flame stronger. In the early 20th century, several factories were burned down with many women inside, and while these events were tragedies and carried many casualties, it also became the beginning of feminism and women empowerment. And that is the message I wanted to convey: dust to dust, flame to flame. All the mentions to sexualisation and abuse were inspired by individual experiences and everyday incidents, unfortunately. It hurts to write this in 2023, but c'est la vie. Shamik Banerjee - Tomorrow (@where_tales_end) This is a recently penned poem. I have been bedridden for weeks due to a severe illness and this poem is an outcome of this condition. This poem talks about the distress I have been going through being stuck in my room as a patient and of the immediacy to break free and go out. Because of my inability to walk freely, I have used the word 'shamble'. The word 'deg' means 'to sprinkle' or 'to moisten'. The acts of dismissing (to amand) all miseries and writing a ballad for myself, display my attempt to be my own happiness and motivation. Watching a flock of Dunlins and consoling myself of the fact that though Hope sometimes seems far but still I can acquaint myself with it, display fortitude. Lastly, after completing the ballad, I set my illness on fire. This shows my urge to renew and find freedom from this cage. Ollie Shane - You Say You Want A Revolution I wanted to have the perspective of a marginalized person attending a leftist space, in particular a local organization allegedly dedicated to “collective liberation.” Leftist organizations are critiqued for a lack of diversity, especially in their membership, and I wanted this to reflect that. They are also critiqued for reading more theory than actually improving the lives of those that their theorists discuss, and, in fact, whitewashing and white-knighting those dear to them (coughs in many white leftist men on the bird site). I decided to discuss these in a poem, and I hope that you feel inspired to change this paradigm. CREATIVE NON-FICTION Allison Kwan - How To Remember 'Home' (@cloudykorner) In "How To Remember 'Home'", the protagonist struggles to adjust to life in America after being uprooted from her homeland, China. Her husband urges her to quit smoking, but she can't bring herself to give it up as the scent that reminds her of home. As she watches a television program about street vendors in China, memories flood back to her, and she realizes that her husband is losing touch with his culture. The couple's differing views on assimilation create a rift between them, leaving the protagonist feeling torn between two worlds. This poignant story explores the bittersweet complexities of identity and the longing for a place to call home. I hope this story reminds us that even when we are physically far away from our roots, we can still hold on to them through our memories and senses. Franzzine Delacroix - The Fuel To The Fire Of Passion (@amazinglyy.anna) The Fuel to the Fire of Passion" centers around the concept of what could fuel the fire inside of every artist — of writers primarily — narrated through the author's own experience of what she went through to discover what exactly became the key to igniting the passion of her own heart. In light of the theme "Kindle the flame", this piece aims to tell a story of what the author and everyone else could do to set or perhaps reawaken their love for art ablaze — but only to the extent that it would have them continue on, and not exactly burn themselves entirely, in the process. By means of this literature, the author wishes to inspire others and have them become are of the importance of not giving up on doing what they love the most. Being the second entry that Franzz has submitted and the first entry to be accepted, this work is extremely special to her as this presented her with the opportunity that further solidified her belief that one should always keep moving forward no matter what happens, in order to keep their burning passion alive. For teens like herself, be it those who have been creating art for a long time now, or those who are only getting started, Franzz, along with this creation of hers, aims to encourage them to add fuel to their own fire, even if they encounter numerous hurdles ahead that would try and extinguish them, they still shine. PROSE Ghosty - The Fourth (@poetry_gh0st) My piece is heavily influenced by Gabriel Garcia Marquez's magical realism drenched One Hundred Years of Solitude. The story follows a man, a personification of 'The Fourth' stage of grief which is depression. He is called Forest, an extended metaphor of his suffocating love for a woman, and the cause of his grief. This grief uses fire as a motif and also a warning. Teens, like me, can relate to this because love is such a potent part of our lives and it's something everyone experiences in their life. Jiayin Tang - Kitchen Tiles (@qloudy_day) This story is much more surrealist- but also rooted more in the real world- than my usual works, and while writing it, I considered multiple times to delete it and start over from scratch. It felt like a stranger, and I wasn’t sure why I wasn't deleting it or why I was continuing to write it. But in hindsight, I can see why. With college applications approaching, and the pressure to find what I want to do for the rest of my life, it’s no wonder I felt lost. This story encompasses that feeling, of not having any true passions but still feeling empty in life. I hope this story brings hope to other teens the way it did for me, which is why I’m submitting it to this magazine. Shu J Liu - Burning Bridges, Building Walls (@wlvshuu) A bit of an extension on the idea of fire being tool, with some hints of fire being helpful (although not as apparent) Jack Morris - The Origin Of Chaos (@jackswriting) When I am given a theme like 'Kindle The Flame', there's only one tale that I want to tell; the story of Prometheus, of the first kindling of the flame for humanity in Greek mythology. For me, it is such a powerful tale, and one that has themes that we see play over and over again throughout history, and into the modern age. Prometheus' tale is, at its core, about breaking the status quo. Zeus and the other Olympians maintain dominance over the Earth and the wider universe, and keep humanity down by hoarding the power of creation and of destruction for themselves (that being the flame). Thus it is the job of Prometheus, the trickster Titan, to disrupt this status quo, and chop at the foundations of that hierarchy to begin its dismantling. This is a storyline that we see play out constantly, in various areas of life; for example, the dogma of older Christianity demanding that we see animals as products of God's power, only for Charles Darwin to swoop in and smash that assumption, opening biology up to new paradigms. Yet I think each person who reads this tale can take something from it into their own lives. We have all been given the gift of chaos by Prometheus, and the ability to impact or even destroy the status quo if we believe it to be the right decision. Every single human has this beautiful capacity for change, both individually and societally, and I think that reminding yourself that you have just as much a power to do something incredible in this world as Darwin did, or even as Prometheus himself did, is paramount to a good life. I thank you for reading my piece, and I hope that you take these messages to heart with you through life. Isha Gandi - The Show Must Go On (@ishagandi) I was really inspired by the confusion that I and tons of other teenagers have felt about our futures. Sometimes, it's so difficult to find the one thing that is your calling. Your talent. Your future. Especially that one-- it's so difficult to be able to make a decision about your entire life in such a short time. I've constantly felt the pressure. Every time I see anyone going to college, pursuing their dreams, living their lives and having the careers they love, I always wonder what that is for me. Other than writing, what is something that I truly enjoy doing? I'm sure tons of other high schoolers feel this way. College students, and maybe even adults, may feel this way too. Just teenagers and above, and honestly, maybe even kids. I hope that this shows people that one day, they will find fire inside of them, and it might even come in the most unexpected places. VISUAL ARTWORK I N Shimabuku - O'Foxy Eve O'Bite (@kijimuna.shima) I was called a snake because I set boundaries with a man through text. However, despite the stinging words, I have come to accept the title, as snakes are such beautiful and misunderstood creatures. Maybe I am the snake that tempted Eve, and I have been told that I look like a fox. I think foxes are neat, and also misunderstood. They are such gentle creatures made out to be sly and cheeky (I still think Nick Wilde is pretty great though, I must say). The pair of vampire lips aligns with how those who are femme presenting are to be seen as modest and how femme presenting folks in charge of their own sexuality and behavior are seen as evil. I mean, yes vampires are evil but also lesbian. And I'm a lesbian. This piece is to remind me that I do not need to conform to how a man should see a girl, especially an asian one. Being part Asian (technically Ryukyuan but Japanese due to assimilation and legal status) has made me subject to weird comments that objectify my asian side. I was considered mean for displaying my discomfort towards a guy who seemed to fetishize me. But hey, being a snake or a fox is a way to protect myself. And my sanity. Be a snake to weird patriarchy lol. Austin Lubetkin - The Tower Of Ambition (@bocaaust) The piece is part of a larger ongoing series reimagining designs of tarot cards. I’m hoping to release the whole series as a tarot deck when I finish the series. This piece in particular was a collaboration with photographer Tim Smith where I used several different buildings he photographed to create a unique structure that was a hybrid of many architectural styles and representative of ambition. Many of the artists recent pieces have incorporated mixed media assemblage with unique details to each canvas like crushed glass elements or 3D butterflies.