iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Replies

Audrey Zhou @audreyzhou.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

!! Thank you @acwise.bsky.social for the lovely review of “Underneath the Underneath”💓this story is very dear to me (maybe because of its bittersweetness) and I’m grateful that it resonates!

The prose is gorgeous and the story suffused with longing. It explores the limited choices often available to women, while allowing Mina to take control over her own body and destiny via an act of transformation, even if it does require sacrifices of a different nature. There’s a bittersweetness to Mina’s decision that keeps the story from feeling like it’s offering up an easy, magical solution. Her body will still change beyond her control, but at least she is able to choose the shape and time of the changing, rather than having it forced upon her.

Apex Magazine and Book Company@apexmag.bsky.social

"The prose is gorgeous and the story suffused with longing." 📚🌬️💘 New reviews today by @acwise.bsky.social: "Words for Thought" Feat. stories by @spocksbrain.bsky.social, Ace Tilton Ratliff, @audreyzhou.bsky.social, and Jamie McGhee Read it here: www.apexbookcompany.com/blogs/apex-m...

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A.C. Wise @acwise.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

It's a really lovely story! Thank you for writing it!

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Audrey Zhou @audreyzhou.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

you can read it here! strangehorizons.com/wordpress/fi...

strangehorizons.com

Underneath the Underneath

The dragons are beautiful even when they’re dead, their serpentine bodies stacked up and up, their metallic blue scales glinting under the sun. This close, Mina can see how blank their eyes are thr…

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