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235Today: <a href="https://buttondown.com/theswordandthesandwich" rel="noreferrer"><strong>Tal Lavin</strong></a>, author of <a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/talia-lavin/wild-faith/9780306829192/" rel="noreferrer"><strong><em>Wild Faith</em></strong></a>, and <strong>Trevor Alixopulos</strong>, who draws <a href="http://www.alixopulos.com/about/" rel="noreferrer">comics and illustrations</a> and lives in California.</p><hr><h3 id="issue-no-654">Issue No. 654</h3><p><a href="#polar-impressions" rel="noreferrer"><strong>Polar Impressions</strong></a><br><strong>Tal Lavin</strong></p><p><a href="#season-strophe" rel="noreferrer"><strong>Season Strophe</strong></a><br><strong>Trevor Alixopulos</strong></p><hr><h2 id="polar-impressionss">Polar Impressionss</h2><h4 id="by-tal-lavin"><em>by</em> <a href="https://flaminghydra.com/contributor/tal-lavin/" rel="noreferrer">Tal Lavin</a></h4><h4 id=""></h4><figure class="kg-card kg-image-card"><img src="https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/a3/11a34ed2-0d03-4467-9051-6142cc358694/content/images/2026/09/image-67.png" class="kg-image" alt="A friendly looking whale swims above green, treelike foliage in very blue water" loading="lazy" width="1536" height="1152" srcset="https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/a3/11a34ed2-0d03-4467-9051-6142cc358694/content/images/size/w600/2026/09/image-67.png 600w, https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/a3/11a34ed2-0d03-4467-9051-6142cc358694/content/images/size/w1000/2026/09/image-67.png 1000w, https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/a3/11a34ed2-0d03-4467-9051-6142cc358694/content/images/2026/09/image-67.png 1536w" sizes="(min-width: 720px) 720px"></figure><p><em>This whale is watching you and judging you for your incursion into his kingdom. His judgement is ruthless but resolves in your favor. You are cleansed.</em></p> 236 237<section class="single-cta"> 238 <h2 class="single-cta-title single-cta-title--deluxe"> 239 <span>Keep us</span> <span>breathing fire!</span> 240 </h2> 241 <div class="single-cta-faces-header">just a few of our contributors</div> 242 <div class="single-cta-faces" aria-hidden="true"> 243 <div class="single-cta-face"> 244 <a href=/contributor/maria-bustillos/><img src=https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/e0920a604df69261becd2ce658b27380?s=250&r=x&d=mp></a> 245 <div class="single-cta-face-nameholder"> 246 <div class="single-cta-face-name">Maria Bustillos</div> 247 </div> 248 </div> 249 <div class="single-cta-face"> 250 <a href=/contributor/joseph-macleod/><img src=https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/a3/11a34ed2-0d03-4467-9051-6142cc358694/content/images/2025/04/MACLEOD-2023.JPG></a> 251 <div class="single-cta-face-nameholder"> 252 <div class="single-cta-face-name">Joe MacLeod</div> 253 </div> 254 </div> 255 <div class="single-cta-face"> 256 <a href=/contributor/luke-oneil/><img src=https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/a3/11a34ed2-0d03-4467-9051-6142cc358694/content/images/2025/10/LUKE-O-NEIL.jpg></a> 257 <div class="single-cta-face-nameholder"> 258 <div class="single-cta-face-name">Luke OâNeil</div> 259 </div> 260 </div> 261 <div class="single-cta-face"> 262 <a href=/contributor/anna-merlan/><img src=https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/a3/11a34ed2-0d03-4467-9051-6142cc358694/content/images/2025/10/ANNA-MERLAN.png></a> 263 <div class="single-cta-face-nameholder"> 264 <div class="single-cta-face-name">Anna Merlan</div> 265 </div> 266 </div> 267 <div class="single-cta-face"> 268 <a href=/contributor/trevor-alixopulos/><img src=https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/a3/11a34ed2-0d03-4467-9051-6142cc358694/content/images/2025/10/TREVOR-ALIXOPULOS.jpeg></a> 269 <div class="single-cta-face-nameholder"> 270 <div class="single-cta-face-name">Trevor Alixopulos</div> 271 </div> 272 </div> 273 <div class="single-cta-face"> 274 <a href=/contributor/miles-klee/><img src=https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/a3/11a34ed2-0d03-4467-9051-6142cc358694/content/images/2025/04/Miles-Klee.png></a> 275 <div class="single-cta-face-nameholder"> 276 <div class="single-cta-face-name">Miles Klee</div> 277 </div> 278 </div> 279 <div class="single-cta-face"> 280 <a href=/contributor/laurie-woolever/><img src=https://storage.ghost.io/c/11/a3/11a34ed2-0d03-4467-9051-6142cc358694/content/images/2025/10/lauriew
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