Thematic Stagnation's New Writeups

My Angel (fiction)

2007-08-22T14:41:07Z

What do you cry for, in the deeps of the night? Huddled in the chilling warmth of a tattered blanket, as the quiet wind slips through the gaps in the walls, playing with your skin, taunting and tantalising. Where does your heart reach out, in pain, in hope, in gladness?

For me, it reaches to her.

She was my angel.

* * *

His ankle landed off, slipping slightly before giving way and dragging the rest of the leg down with it. He followed, tumbling and sliding and falling and gasping. Lay there, briefly, breathing quietly, seeping blood patiently spreading.

Up.

UP.

Off, again, running, limping, hobbling, pain this time, but still running. London's dark walls tower protectively beside him, shielding the stars, holding him deep in their embrace as they usher him tighter and closer and faster and darker, deep into the fastness of the damp alley. Cobbles slimy from the fog toss him playfully side to side,…

I woke, still feeling (idea)

2006-06-01T04:49:23Z

I had a dream. And in that dream, I died.

I walked, forwards, towards the gates. I questioned, was questioned in return, my answers weighed, tasted, balanced to a mark.

I waited.

After time, I walked, forwards.

From there, there was light, soft, everywhere. Shadows were gentle, caressing the corners, lying on the undersides of things, supporting the brightness and healing the holes in the light. Colours were pale, smooth. Gentle green, and white-tinted blue.

I could hear no birds, no creatures called out in the light or rustled in the darkness. Nothing climbed or soared or sidled or sang.

There was no path to follow, no boundary to cross. Just the gentle green, and the scattered trees.

…

Restricting Childbirth (idea)

2005-08-09T14:21:53Z

Requirements to be satisfied by applicants for adoption of a child

âThe personality, age, emotional, physical and mental health, maturity, financial circumstances, general stability of character and the stability and quality of the relationship between the applicants and between the applicants and other family members, are such that he or she has the capacity to provide a secure and beneficial emotional and physical environment during a childâs upbringing until the child reaches social and emotional independenceâ*

Before I start, I just want everyone to know that I realise this is a controversial topic, but I think itâs one worth discussing. Intellectual discourse is appreciated, personal flaming is not.

What I want to talk about is restricting childbirth.

We require a licence to drive. We require a licence to…

March 13, 2004 (idea)

2004-03-13T02:49:37Z

I just read something here that really stopped me.

So many people here on E2 complain about prose, saying that this is a factual archive and creative expression has little or nothing to do with it. And yet, I have always found that the pieces here that have really made me stop, think, laugh or cry are certainly not factual nodes, carefully researched and lovingly pipelinked, but rather those very prose pieces. As useful as the information is, it's hard to be moved by a concise description of a cheese cutter. Please don't get me wrong - I love reading the more factual side of E2 and find it an invaluable research tool for everything from university assignments to idle curiosity. But I also love the prose to be found here as well. Some of the most beautiful writing I've ever seen (certainly on the internet) is to be found within these…

The Harvard System of Indicative Literary Progress Nomenclature (idea)

2004-03-08T07:51:22Z

The Harvard System of Indicative Literary Progress Nomenclature: A How-To Guide

We all read books. It is a fact of life, along with chickens, supermarkets and soy. However, perhaps unfortunately, we are for the most part incapable of absorbing the entire contents of any given book at one time, or even in one sitting. Therefore, there are many times in our life when we are reading a book, but have not yet finished the book. How then, do we communicate this fact, as well as giving an accurate assessment of our progress without resorting to abstract mathematica?

For example:

Questioner: "So have you started that book I gave you?"

Reader: "Yes, I'm sort of

…

This is the reality: It's the rest of my life that's the dream (place)

2003-12-13T03:47:53Z

Where do you go when youâre lonely?

gentle thunder rolling in resonating penetrating intimating elevating. wheeling reeling pealing seabirds wafting drifting overhead. single/led. grasses rustling tussocks bustling outlining the horizon climbing and dividing sky. teaching speeching leeching my soul and diffusing it through the beaching bowl.

Peaceful dream?

The rhythmic pulse of the train shudders through, from feet and seat to mind replete with discordance and distrust and contrast so harsh. Announcements, tinny, barely heard tell a tale of a purposeful trip. Gently slowing, harshly stopping, standing…