Shel Graves' Sensorium

When the wind blows ice blue cracks show through the shifting white sands of the cold desert Vulnerable. In spring, delicate starflowers bloom in the pale blue soil. Visitors come to see the blossoms trampling many underfoot. The warm-blooded nomadic Vulnerablians rest beside oases of vibrant water under swooping trees. Warmed from within they no long fear cold. Travelers from other lands give up their possessions and connections to join the Vulnerbilians on their endless journey from pool to pool across the sand.  Vulnerabilians graze at Camp Timid. They grow beautiful fur cloaks during their stay but shed them before traveling. M. Fon Ginnian maintains a collection of the cloaks at the Vulnerabilian Cloak Museum.  “I came upon them at Camp Timid and was amazed by their beauty. I thought some of these must be preserved at least.”  Fon Ginnian makes semi-annual treks across Vulunerable to Camp Timid to collect the cloaks. Fon is the only one to do so.  “It is an in...

Gardeners inhabit vitale, fertile Glorious. They grow enormous green vegetables. The limbs of their fruit trees hang heavily. They eat sweet orbs of orange and yellow. They grow teas and spices. The small, fuzzy Gardeners work silently. They wink knowingly at passersby. They harvest more than they can eat and share generously. They love fresh and raw foods. Everyone brings their own enormous salad bowl carved with their name and symbols to feast. They stagger crops and harvest throughout the year, but hold the biggest festival in autumn when the trees turn brilliant orange, red, and yellow.  Glorious lies in the Riverlands. The castle Enraptured floats over it. Air spirits live there and Glorians visit. Here they learn enchantments to make their fruits and vegetables grow more profusely. They grant wishes to their friends. The ways in which desires manifest continue to offer surprises.  “A gondola city, Enraptured offers a glorious view of the Riverlands,” says the Guide. “B...

Vast and many-featured Emotional filled with marshes, streams, rolling hills, plains, meadows, lakes, and forests. The peak of Emotional reaches into the sky. The valley Emotional rests by the sea. Divers swim into underwater caves. Explorers attempt to map Emotional, but when they enter its realms of Sadness, Happiness, and Anger they find uncharted territories.  “Always more to find and treasure,” says the Guide.  Adventurers shrink themselves down and teleport through the sky-barrier to arrive in Emotional. It is an uninhabited land which looks black from above, but vivid and multicolored below. A companion must seek them out to return them to their proper size and place.  The densely populated capitol Entitled lies in the center of the Emotional plain. Despite its skyscrapers, many miss the city in the midst of the vast plain. Only humans live here. They work constantly and have everything that they desire. They do not wander or take vacations and have little knowledg...

Music fills Confidence. Song fairies match notes to accomplishments and sing ballads. Dawn and dusk glow. Luminescent beings dance in the jungle Confidence strong and strong-hearted. Crocodiles lurk. River dolphins rise and spin. Confidencians do not like to leave their land for the song fairies won’t follow them outside the bounds of the jungle where they lose their powers of flight. Without the accompaniment of song, the denizens of Confidence lose confidence.  Visitors to Confidence receive flower crowns and necklaces. A song fairy guides them through the jungle.  “Confidencians are fabulous musicians. It appears they can play any instrument,” says Miss Doe Friend. “The fairies led us to Confidence Cave deep in the jungle where the music thrummed against the interior dripping with water and vines.”  The riverboat Agency glides down green Confidence River, connecting the river lands. Adventurous travelers called Riverians attempt to complete the Quest of the Riverland...

Funians shout, yip, run, and dance through rainstorms. Soaking wet they smile gleefully. Afterwards, they drink cups of steaming cocoa and soak in hot springs. The onyx slab of Fun makes for a fine dance floor. In the grottos, stairs and steps lead up and down to warm baths. Trees flower. Funians drink spiced elixirs. They jump from the cliffs into a sea cave where turquoise water splashes and dolphins call. Everyone understands many languages.  “It’s a joy and a pleasure to speak fox!” says the Guide. The work of fun gets completed in the City by the Sea, Fulfilled. The Fulfilled Museum collects all achievements. Flowering vines flourish. Goddesses make a nourishing berry elixir that offers second life. Abused creatures come here to heal in the ocean air. Tapestries depicting accomplishments flap in the breeze. Funians wander gaping at artworks. They dance without care through the halls. They eat grapes growing from the vines.  “Truly the Fulfilled are the luckiest in any lan...

Colorful lava flows through mercurial Ecstatic. Striped flowers grow in the molten soil. The denizens of Ecstasy are tiny so the land looks enormous and vivid and they have food and drink in plenty. They love to wander, take picnics, and write and recite complicated forms of poetry. They tell jokes under influence of the heady effects of their renowned berry liqueur. They wear flower caps and petal sarongs. They float down the River Ecstasy on leaves.  Visitors are surprised to find themselves made small.  “But it’s no bother or worry at all,” says the Guide.  They resume normal size when they leave.   “Visitors come and go,” says the Guide. “The Ecstatic are most pleasant to be around, so in the moment, so consumed with joy there’s no hint of worry or anxiety.”  “Or thoughtfulness,” adds Miss Emeline.  The carnival Ecstatic Joy travels throughout the land with elaborate trappings. The denizens like to consume sugared popcorn in caramel, toffee, and ci...

Powerfuls live on the sea among crashing waves on enormous ships. They have strong stomachs and incredible balance. They leap from ship to ship and live on the salt air. At whim, they become sea creatures with tentacles, gills, and fins.  “They are intelligent and beautiful,” says Miss Emeline Traveler. “Most especially in their octopi form.”  Visitors, transformed, do not know what to do with their many arms.  “I love it when gulls cry over our ships and warn of storms,” says the Guide. “I love the billowing sails, thunder and whales.”  The ship Superior has a braid of gold and red trim carved all the way around its hull and a giant octopus splayed across its bow. It rides higher and taller and unfurls bigger sails than any other ships in the realm. When it comes ashore in other lands, people recognize the fabled ship. They greet Superiors with goodwill, welcome them, and feed, clothe, and house them with the best they have available.  Fortunately, Superior spe...

In the space land of Over the Moon everything sparkles off its rough surface. Glittering archways tower over each entry. The denizens float — wingless fairies. They wear flowing, light, luminous, gauzy garments — even the cats. Panda bears tumble through the air. Rivers flow through the air and fish can be seen dancing in the river bottoms. Denizens float above and below the river streams. The naiads play.  Over the Moon creates magic spells to give to other lands in trade. They package the spells in stardust or disguise them as moonflowers with enormous pastel petals. Visitors experience Over the Moon in passing. Each receives a magic spell sprinkled over their head.  “I began to float,” said Miss Emeline Traveler.  “I fell in love there,” Miss Doe Friend admits.  The Travelers were given magic scepters.  “It can grant friends’ wishes,” said the Guide. “To stay you must give up your size and heavily weighted ways.”  In the center of pastel clouds ...

Frogs, snakes, and minnows wiggle in the marsh Submission. A grey sky hovers over cattails where the marsh eases into lake. Scaled denizens slip into the water up to their necks. They swim through the lake. In the depths, lie monstrous trout and ancient carp. Denizens nibble at algae and lily pad root.  Visitors walk the marsh labyrinths. They count the cattails and whippoorwill calls. In the winter, the lake nearly freezes except for its still center. The Submissions shelter from the cold at the bottom of the lake in the capitol Domination. High walls surround the kingdom.  The scaled kings of Domination wear crowns of lily root. They sit upon thrones beside vases of lotus flowers at the end of great halls and pucker their lips and blow bubbles of surprise. Artwork made of mud streaks and fish scales decorate the walls. They eat lotus root stews.  "The palace Domination reeks of lotus,” says the Guide.  The Domination Kings live a long time because they eat nour...

Vines unfurl enormous blossoms laden with sweet dripping fruit on the island paradise Lust. Vibrant fish dart in turquoise water. Denizens walk through shallow waters imprinting pink sands. Birds with iridescent wings whirl over the ocean. Doves coo in the jungle. The warm air and warm rains require little clothing and shelter. In the volcanic season, waterfall pools sizzle and steam. The stones in the rainforest river turn purple, blue and green. Orchids and oranges grow deep and full. Visitors come to the shores of Lust to fuck.  Deep in the rainforest beneath the waterfall those overcome by Lust live in caves. They orgy by the light of luminescent moths, bats, and fishes. In the dense jungle lies the capitol city Urges.  “It’s a hodgepodge city of varying architecture and poor design,” says the Guide.  Some streets lead to pleasant places or monuments, but many end nowhere. Many statues, fountains, buildings, and gardens are half-built. Someone started a project and ...

Snuggled lies in a valley surrounded by low hills in low cloud cover. It rains often here. Denizens seek shelter inside huts warmed by the glowing multicolored rocks dug out of the hills. The rocks emit a subtle fragrance of vanilla, cinnamon, apple, pine or, less commonly, floral and pine. Denizens of Snuggled love to make pies both savory and sweet and drink warm spiced cider and wine. They eat apples, grapes, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. They put lots of cinnamon and cloves in everything.  A narrow path leads into Snuggled, but all are welcome if they bundle up and there’s room in the guest houses. Sacred deer graze in the hills. Denizens gather in communal barns, warming stones at the center, to read together in the long dark winters. They talk softly about their plans for spring. Everyone brings a pie to share and together they quietly appreciate everyone’s contribution.  At the far end of Snuggled tucked deep in the valley by the overhang of the cave of warming stones...

Flags fly throughout the cities of Victory. Victorians teleport where they choose with whatever they like arriving from hither and yon with fancy clothes and meals. While they live lives of ease, Victorians like a challenge. They participate in games and athletic contests. They love architecture and design. They build up their cities and plan celebrations. Visitors arrive gratefully and feel victorious among the welcoming denizens of the fair cities. Only wizards are granted residence and a few orphans selected by the Victorious Wizards, adopted, and trained with wizardry.  The city Achieved surrounds the castle wherein live the greatest wizards in all of Victory. These wizards travel to other lands and find abandoned youth in whom they sense potential. If the youngsters are willing, the wizards teleport these young to the Castle Achieve and raise them with kindness and compassion. The children learn spells, games, and athletic skill. They develop their natural talents. When they...

An eerie moon shines bright over the desert Subdued. Elongated, warped cactus cast even more elongated and warped shadows with long sharp spines flickering with an iridescent sheen. Porcupines with metallic spines waddle in search of food. Little foxes, awake after a long day slumbering in the shadow of their dens, leap up.  The Subdued clan live in the desert cave. Visitors come to Subdued to watch the patterns of light on the great stone rocks and to listen to the cave-dwellers’ flutes. Visitors stay longer than they mean to in this quiet thoughtful place.  Ennui overlooks Subdued from a cliff. A long stairway etched into the side leads down. Those who try to take a faster route and rappel down end up in Adventure instead. Many people pass through the long straight street of Ennui where traders roam with backpacks and wagons full of goods on the way to somewhere else.  Ennuians buy little. They cannot be enticed or entreated. The placid Ennuians go quietly on their err...

An eerie moon shines bright over the desert Subdued. Elongated, warped cactus cast even more elongated and warped shadows with long sharp spines flickering with an iridescent sheen. Porcupines with metallic spines waddle in search of food. Little foxes, awake after a long day slumbering in the shadow of their dens, leap up.  The Subdued clan live in the desert cave. Visitors come to Subdued to watch the patterns of light on the great stone rocks and to listen to the cave-dwellers’ flutes. Visitors stay longer than they mean to in this quiet thoughtful place.   Ennui overlooks Subdued from a cliff. A long stairway etched into the side leads down. Those who try to take a faster route and rappel down end up in Adventure instead. Many people pass through the long straight street of Ennui where traders roam with backpacks and wagons full of goods on the way to somewhere else.   Ennuians buy little. They cannot be enticed or entreated. The placid Ennuians go quietly o...

“Never have I seen so many colors, hues, and shapes,” says Miss Emeline Traveler. “ As in the Creative Parkland Preserves.”  Leaning, swaying, drooping trees fill Creative’s forests. The leaves drop blue, green, purple, and pink patterns. The many cities of Creative vary in architecture employing domes, triangles, pyramids, hexagons, and trapezoids. Cities dot the countryside and rise up at the mouths of wandering rivers with multicolored waters. Denizens wear fantastic hairstyles and decadent clothing. They are skilled stylists. Experimentation is encouraged. There are few norms or customs which many not be breeched. Animals of all types defy any laws of nature. Variation is even greater here. Anomaly more favored. Animals have many legs and wings. All love acrobatics. They stretch their fluid bodies. They dance in the Creative Parklands spinning color.  Dynamic makes the land’s decisions. Workers here make charts and maps and share the wonders of Creative with others. Dy...

Purpose invigorates with its crisp air and water. The active denizens climb mountains and swim in the seas. Purpose grows hearty grains and plump fruits. People make pilgrimages on the Path of Purpose which both crosses and encircles the land in its entirety. Part of the path borders the sea. It spirals inland and heads up Mount Purpose, which can be climbed without special equipment, but requires time and persistence.   “From the top of Mount Purpose, one can see the spiral labyrinth one has walked,” said Miss Emeline Traveler. “Observing Purpose form this vantage at the end of the Path of Purpose made me catch my breath. It was as they had said, awe-inspiring. One must experience it themselves. I knew my purpose at once.”  Many Purposians make the pilgrimage annually with various companions. The twin peak of Purpose is Accomplishment. Many animals live on its slopes. Herds of herbivores fulfill their destinies grazing. Foxes and eagles hunt the rabbits. Travelers soak ...

Competitive’s steep slopes and rushing rivers challenge its denizens and visitors. Many fly aircraft over Competitive, jumping from them to land in the mountains. The cities have tall towers with many large meeting and conference rooms. In them, people debate and argue the future of the land. Competitive builds and manufactures many things. It seeks to export more of them than any other land. Visitors to Competitive ask to have their idea or artwork manufactured.  “This is certainly the place for that,” says the Guide. “But often factory owners are busy with their own projects.”  The gate at Control bars the way to Competitive. The well-guarded and usually closed gate is the only way in for those unwilling to scale cliffs, ride the rapids, or parachute in to Competitive. The Gatekeepers pass messages to the denizens of Competitive. They decide when the gate will open and for how long. They have complicated processes and procedures surrounding the gate. They ask special ques...

Seven suns rise and set in Transcendence land of many sunrises and sunsets. Denizens rest for only a few hours at a time. They dream deeply in between sleeping and waking. They love to record and share their dream journals. Although the land looks vast, a pack of wolves can race across all of Transcendence in a day. A woman walking can cross through its flowered fields in two. Denizens know each aspect of their land well: where to find the juiciest wild fruits and where the trees grow jewels. Jewelers polish the precious stones and present them as gifts to other lands. No one wages war on Transcendence despite its known bounty. All believe, at least superstitiously, that it ought to be preserved.  “It’s a beautiful land with thoughtful, quiet, and surprisingly humble people,” says Miss Emeline. Stone pillars, etched with the names of Heroes, mark Identity. It takes magic to find and enter it. Identity transports seekers to its haven. Other stumble into Identity’s graces.  “The...

Moonlight streaks through the thick tangled branches of Haunted. Fog covers the marshes surrounded by dense vegetation. Few live here. Those that do stay in the crags and hallows of trees perched like owls their long stringy hair hanging down. They nourish their bony bodies with a few dark poisonous berries. They ingest poison and live. Visitors beware! Most do not stay long.  “It’s both fascinating and terrifying,” says Miss Emeline Traveler. “It’s an intense place that takes all of one’s energy to endure and enjoy. One must concentrate on the smells, breezes, creeks and groans of the place.”  Ghosts swoop from the trees. Monsters rise out of the swamp. Spiders create intricate webs. Writers come to Haunted to get ideas.  “We inspire many,” says the Guide.  For those who dwell in Haunted though, it’s no mere entertainment. Haunted captures their soul.  Treefolk dwell in the outlands Disturbed by the Haunted forest and wetlands among the ghosts. They cast spells...

Behind a magic veil, animals roam freely in Merry Fun which teems with liveliness. Herds run. Predators leap and pounce. Insects swarm. Centaurs, mermaids, unicorns, cyclops, dryads, naiads, kirin, nymphs, and satyrs live here. They enjoy each other’s company.  “You may be anyone,” says the Guide.  Visitors stay as long as they please.  “I will always carry the mermaid I was inside of me,” says Miss Doe Friend to Miss Emeline Traveler. “It’s a beloved place and ever so friendly.”  “I share Merry Fun's location only with true fun-seekers," Miss Emeline replies. "The denizens love each other and care for one another’s happiness, but fun for fun’s sake isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.”  Anyone may take the portal to Joy, the bright, colorful capitol, from Merry Fun at any place or time. Here denizens sing, whistle, and dance. Families stroll with babes in arms. Friends gather in fits of laughter.  “All are welcome,” says the Guide.  “Except,” some whisper. ...

Taste: white cake; sweet potato; pumpkin pie and pumpkin curry; snap peas; crisco-thick bland grease Sound: raindrops, running after a rabbit; pencil to paper; Wall of Memories, Gesaffelstein Smell:  buttercream and urine Sight: darkness; soft eyes, gazing, looking up; her body buried between the couch cushions  Touch: wet grass; pencil on paper; patting the couch; lifting up her little body  Extra: concern, caring, anxiousness, cruelty; “ Do not eat the pencil, Lily Munster!”; fearful of play, afraid of small, soft toys; Where would we flee if we had to flee?; the Shetland Isles and walking /ladders to step over stone walls  Grateful for: Sam and I sitting side by side on the couch

Many souls live in vast Negation, but the wispy beings take up little space. They live in the haze, outlines of their extinct physical selves. At night, nothing can be seen of them. Instead, the inhabitants howl at the hidden moon. They sleep and dream often. Ritually, they seek refuge in the lake of Negation and submerge themselves within its salty lukewarm waters.  They ask: “Where did we come from?” “Who was I once?”  No one remembers.  Those who arrive at Negation never leave, excepting Miss Emeline Traveler who visited once alone.  The garrison Unworthy lies in the rushing River Negation. Visitors struggle across the river. Many drown and wind up bodiless in Negation.  “Some think the garrison is a way out of negation,” says Miss Emeline. “They go there to escape." But the Unworthy live out their days in barracks as soldiers. Voices (the voices of Negation) tell them to prepare for coming wars. But there are no wars. No one wants Unworthy or Negation much l...

Bridges cross Unity arching over rivers. Archways lead to courtyards. Steps rise throughout Unity leading to bridges. Unitians plan, work, and build the architecture of Unity. There are well-planned and well-kept fountains, sculptures, hedge mazes, and many gardens. The beautiful city is easy to navigate but there’s a trick to it. Newcomers often get lost in the intricacy.  Unitians are unfailingly polite and helpful. They will always show a lost traveler the way so long as they ask. They will take a traveler by the hand and guide them, “Come with me, I’ll take you there.”  Unitians stay in Unity their entire lives. It’s a perfect land for young and the old. Unitians always say “we” not I.  The bridges of Unity are famous especially the Eight Bridges of Solidarity. The capitol Solidarity rests at the top of eight directional bridges. People walk up to Solidarity from all points on the Compass of Unity.  During earthquakes the Bridges of Solidarity shake but do not b...

Certain religious sects encourage their followers to ascend the insurmountable plateau of Righteous. Many devout climbers fall to their deaths. At the plateau Righteousness live twisted spiders. They think themselves perfect. They eat little and instead sip from the great lake Righteousness. The lake water causes hallucinations as they look down upon a world. Sometimes a dirigible flies over Righteousness piloted by a brave explorer. The blurry images and the artworks depicting the landscape of Righteousness are not believed.  “It’s a wondrous place,” say even skeptics. At the bottom of Righteousness Lake lies the capitol city, Deceit. Lies bubble up from the lake and the Righteous drink them.  “The lies are a byproduct of our farming,” says the Deceptions Guide. “It’s the means of our survival.”  Because the Righteous do not care to find their own food, they drink and devour lies. If the climbers dug into the side of the plateau, they could drain Deceit, but so intent...

O to live in Contentment — blessed Contentment! — where green grasses grow and smooth rivers flow!  Denizens are few, but happy. They make their homes along the fertile river lands with happy and fat dogs. Wild horses roam. Denizens light their homes with phosphorescent mushrooms that grow in nearby caves and are also good to eat. Spores travel freely. Bear amble through the woods. None fear each other. All have what they need — food and freedom.  Visitors to Contentment expect wine and entertainment, but instead find quiet meditation. Yet, they do not leave disappointed.  “It’s an exquisite experience,” says Miss Emeline Traveler. “And difficult to replicate anywhere else in the land.”  The wild horses sleep in the jeweled cave At-Home. Denizens gather here to hear their stories. From the stories, the world unfolds. In times of trouble, the cave expands and all may find shelter here. The cave door closes. Vines grow over and hide the entrance. The mushrooms g...

Flowers and forest filled with delightful creatures ring Disappointed where animals speak. Winged unicorns fly over the land. The rainbows over Disappointed attract visitors. They enter freely through the arched gateways and walk the manicured paths into the forest. After an hour’s walk, they come to a scorched wood. They see charred logs and burnt forest floors. Wildlife vanishes. In the brown meadow, the winged unicorns land. They nibble sadly at yellowed grasses. Rib bones show through their dull and drooped coats. One lifts its head and makes a hacking couch. A wraith girl lays upon its back, clings around its neck.  “You are lost,” the Guide says. It wheezes, “Lost.” And you are.  The once clear path has vanished. You continue and find a broken fence, climb over it, and go if you are lucky. Those who stay — never find their way — become wraiths and haunts.  A broken fence also rings the cemetery Disheartened. Some find this fence and think they have found the ...

Replete swells on the waves of the sea full of fish, algae, and coral. Merfolk speak with fish and sea mammals. Here are dolphins, manatees, seals, sea lions, penguins, pelicans, turtles and tortoises. On the smooth pink sand island, they lift themselves from the waters and soak in the sun. They have soft full wrinkled skin, wide smiles, and their eyes crinkle at the edges in satisfaction.  Repletians have great humor and love to tell jokes. They swim languidly or leap and race through the water. They take great satisfaction in whatever they happen to be doing at the moment, usually digesting some delightful meal.  “They have the most wondrous chefs,” says Miss Emeline Traveler. “They do marvelous things with kelp and algae.”  The pink sand island Sated lies in the ocean of Replete. Swirls of dolphins and merfolk surround the island playing. On the island, seals and sea lions sun themselves besides turtles. Merfolk eat guavas, mangos, and coconuts. They warm their fat rol...

The cave Anger walls in travelers. It grows unfathomably deep. One arrives at Anger by foot or by climbing down the Hopeless cliffs or by rowing down the Threatened river. Like a honeycombed hive, there are many ways to enter Anger. It is bigger inside than out.  “No!” a shout echoes through the entire land.  Angerians subsist on mushrooms that grow in the dank caves. Warmth rises from the bubbling lava pit. It belches noxious fumes. Visitors bottle the water of Anger that drips off stalactites. They poison their enemies and intoxicate foes to convince them to follow their ways. Hoards of visitors venture to Anger to feast on mushroom meals.  Angerians often march to other lands to share their rage. “They are frightening, but sometimes useful allies,” says General Kilgore.  By the shores of the lava field lies the capitol city Taunted. Lava bubbles around it. Everyone visits Taunted as a child. It’s known for its parks. Children ride the Threatened River to Anger ...

Great fires run over Rage scorching the woods and prairies. Firefighters try to protect the towns. Beneath helmets, sweat and smoke stings their eyes.  In the center of Rage, stands a great knotted, scorch-marked tree filled with magical forces. Malgunder has withstood many fires. Ragians worship Malgunder. They encircle it chanting and pounding the tree god with their fists.  Everything comes undone in the fire. Fires take half-built coliseums. Farmers dig charred potatoes out of the burnt fields beneath screaming, darting, frenzied crows.  Pained, the barren patch at the center of Rage, does not burn. Lava bubbles in the capitol.  Ragians wear heat-proof thigh-high silver boots when they come to Pained. They chant and kneel in the lava. Visitors come to join the wailing.  “They think it will reduce their pain, the wailing,” says the Guide. “But pain goes on and on. If they stay too long they become monstrous lava monks.”  The monks live for the moments w...

A flat well-tread path through the prairie leads to Despair. Footprints and tire tracks hint at fellow travelers hidden by haze. In the distance: blue hills. The Despairians yell to make themselves heard. Many live in the Blue Mountains. The cities crumble. No one cares to speak to another. No one agrees on improvements. A tour bus regularly drops visitors off at the end of the road. They walk all the way to the hills and arrive disappointed asking, “Why did you take us where, there is nothing to see?”  Despair pays a high price to ensure that the bus stops.  “Tourism is all we have,” says the Guide. “We see the visitors before they fade.”  Those who have lived in Despair longest reside in the capitol Worthless — a modern ruin with collapsing brick walls. Inside it smells of moldy carpet. Worthlessians write critical reviews and critiques of places they have never been, meals they have never eaten, products they do not use, and books they have never written.  “...

Fast flowing Determined runs through a deep canyon. Denizens live in the caverns above the river and look down on the deep source. They dive into the waters. They gather algae where it pools at the shores and eat it in soups. They harvest the wavy leaves of Determined water plants that grow heartily at the deepest center of the current. The Determined water plants nourish them and give them strength. The Determined raft the river with strong arms and legs. The row and climb. Climb and row.  “They are a sturdy people with stern eyes,” says Miss Emeline.  Visitors come to climb the canyon and ride the waves. They arrive from upstream exhilarated by their fast journey. When they leave Determined, they carry memories of trout and eagles. Determined flows into Lake Fulfillment — ringed by a well-manicured path which leads to homes in the villages. A dock leads to a gazebo at the center of the lake. Here, the council meets, denizens receive honors and celebrate achievements, a...

Farmers struggle in the rocky, mountainous demoralized. Shale clanks and slips beneath feet and hooves. In the lowland marshes, tall grasses grow. Bugs bite. Snakes slither and hiss. Rodents scurry. Mired in mud. Stuck in quick sand. Travelers try and fail to pass quickly through. Mud slides down mountains. Disaster uproots.  “But we never give up,” says the Guide. “We stay and rebuild.”  While others in borderlands prosper.  Located on the Demoralized Pennisula, the port city Stunted welcomes ships turned back from longer journeys by storms. Sailors come ashore, dream of distant ports, and drink away their woes. “There’s a job opening for a lighthouse keeper. Free room and board and decent pay, but the position has been open for years,” says the Guide. “The lighthouse is automated, but it’s nice to have a keeper all the same. But no one stays in Stunted long." The sailors pass through and don’t share knowledge or skills. Innovations and trade goods must make their way in...

Rivers run silver from hills of gold in bright, but sparsely populated, Rockstar. Artists perform at amphitheaters built in the hillsides. Artisans from other lands visit to make their mark upon Rockstar. They add to its beauty and leave buildings, decorative elements, designs, and gardens behind in recompense for their free stay in Rockstar welcomed by its gregarious denizens. Not all of are the most kind, but all are characters. In the silver whirlpool of Rockstar, travelers sip Rockstar Fizz. Immigrants must come to Rockstar by foot, an arduous through the mountains of Determined. They ford rivers. Some perish. Some stop at Castle Rest where they experience a hint of pleasures to come. Whereas visitors fly in for short stays in the sprawling capitol Success during which they are treated like royalty.  “The denizens are sharp, confident, productive, and creative,” says Miss Emeline.  "It’s easy to get about on the fast trains or to leisurely walk through large green space...