Epistrix

several doors standing in a dark room

Epistrix

n.
a disconcerting cluster of endings that all seem to happen at once; a random barrage of departures and closures and divorces and series finales and celebrity deaths, which leaves you anxiously aware that the author of your story seems to be wrapping up an awful lot of loose ends.

Ancient Greek ἐπὶ- (epi-), on top of + ὕστριξ (hystrix), a porcupine. To sit on a porcupine is to feel the pain of too many endings all at once. Pronounced “ih-pis-triks.”

Spinning Playback Head

silhouette of a person looking out a window

Anchorage

a person's arm extended over river rapids

Keta

a hand reaching through paper with a flower drawing

Pithered

stacks of papers and folders piled high on a table

Thwit

close-up of a person with forehead wrinkled and holding their head

Affogatia

miscellaneous items on a table

Backmasking

a woman's face with a double exposure

O’Erpine

a person looking at a grave

Harke

a dreamlike image of a person's face over water

Rasque

close-up of the shards of a broken vase

Emorries

a magnifying glass over photos and books

Zysia

a kite soaring above an empty landscape

Xeno

Slipfast

Kenaway

Querinous

Routwash

La Gaudière

The Mcfly Effect

Watashiato

Vellichor

shelves with many books stacked and organized