An original piece of fiction from Mermaid Palace, Asking for It depicts the complexity of intimate-partner violence and the challenges of leaving an unhealthy relationship. In it, aspiring musician Goldie falls in love with a more established artist who becomes codependent and abusive. She lures Goldie in, pushes her away, threatens to harm herself if Goldie doesn’t cooperate, and gaslights her. But after they break up, she supports Goldie during another abusive relationship. With an ingenious raw style, each episode sounds more like found recordings of real people than something achieved through writing and acting. The sound design inserts you in the story, as though you’re in the studio as Goldie rehearses or in the house when an unhinged lover pounds on the door. In Asking for It, the lines between love and toxicity, or between support and self-sabotage, aren’t always clear—even for the listener.