Aftertongue™: Language Under Pressure Anthology I · Spring 2026 We’re opening submissions. This anthology is for work written under constraint, consequence, and clarity. Language that handles the strain when comfort drops. What we’re looking for: - Writing that already did the work - Pieces that stand without explanation - Language shaped by pressure, not performance What this is not: - Reaction writing - Spectacle - Prompt-chasing - AI-generated work AI policy: ✔️Use of AI is limited to minor edits only. ✔️Writing created with the help of AI beyond minor edits is not permitted. ✔️If a piece does not qualify for copyright under law, we won’t accept it. ✔️Submissions may be reviewed for compliance by human editors. Rights - Authors retain full copyright - First publication rights only - No AI training - Adaptations are opt-in Timeline: - Submissions open: January 15, 2026 - Submissions close: February 15, 2026 - Publication: late April 2026 How to submit: One piece. No explanation required. Submit via the form linked below. If you’ve been carrying something that’s been waiting for the right conditions… this is the window. — Aftertongue™ https://sites.google.com/view/language-under-pressure/home

Micro Offerings Today centers contact. A small action. A moment where attention lands and stays. This offering arrives from the body first. From the place that registers pressure, warmth, drag and even resistance. From the part of you that notices before it explains. What you post may be: - a single line that surfaced while you paused - a sensation translated into words - a decision acknowledged out loud - a truth sized for this hour Share it just as it arrives. Presence counts here. Tap in. Leave your mark. #tapintuesday

UNFINISH /ʌnˈfɪnɪʃ/ (n.) Definition Unfinish marks the interval where pressure dissolves into permission and the self continues shaping, oriented toward motion rather than arrival. — Soulprint The nervous system’s quiet consent to remain in process. — Clarity Shard Completion carries one form of safety. Continuation carries another. — Rememory You learned to rush toward endings so meaning stayed contained. Unfinish returns you to the moment where movement carried authority and presence held its own proof. — Seal I remain in motion without asking the future to certify me.

Language loosened its posture today. Scribble one sentence only. Allow it to carry wit or mild defiance imperfectly. This space holds small disturbances. Nothing needs to be corrected. I’ll begin: “The meeting adjourned, but my thoughts kept voting.” Your turn. Leave one line where meaning wandered and stayed. #trickstertextthursdays

Raheena 2024 bled into 2025. 2026 [insert here] We saw this coming I made myself laugh for 15 minutes … it’s self-care for political action Why do we always have to have a martyr as a catalyst for change? I will fight bloody like my ancestors pt. II It doesn’t matter the colour of your skin, it matters the colour of your heart Miss Lady Assumptive Presumptions I Am, But I Can’t By the Few, For the Few It’s the Football All Over Again We’ve Been Here Before… We’re All Frogs Our Cycle is Recycled Insanity Russ I always felt it was a little bit of a prison planet my voice is almost caught in my throat Where were you when…? Its time We don’t know how to protest #we’recomingforyourmoney