Skip to main content

Emotion 365: The Cave Anger, the Hopeless Cliffs, the Threatened River, the Lava City Taunted

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 and down to the lava city Taunted. They eat lava candy and drink lava shakes. They take home lava rocks as souvenirs. They shout and run and add to the general chaos. Taunted caters to these young tourists. 

“They learn about Anger and what we stand for,” says General Kilgore. 

Children may go back several times in their childhood. Taunted has attempted draw in adult visitors. But it never appeals. Adults chaperone reluctantly and usually send children away to Taunted for summer camps. It often puts people off Anger altogether. 

“There are far better places to holiday,” says Miss Emeline Traveler. 

Only the very young are amused by Taunted’s antics: the silly names of the guides, streets, and food kiosks. They find everything funny. Whereas most adults are only irritated.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Springy story review: "State Change" by Ken Liu

Why it springs to mind:  You'll never look at an ice cube the same way again. Where read: In the 2014 Hugo award-winning Lightspeed Magazine , August. Length: 5,194 words Summary: A woman has an ice cube for a soul. Memorable: How the story invites us to think about the shape of our soul, how it (or our perception of it) influences us and how it changes. What ordinary every day object would your soul be? A silver spoon, a beech stick? A great party conversation starter, this. Quote:  “All life is an experiment." Notable:  The protagonist Rina is an avid reader (always a good choice). Pairs well with: T.S. Elliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay Origin:  The story was written in 24 hours based on a writing prompt. (See Author Spotlight: Ken Liu ) About the author: Ken Liu’s debut novel, The Grace of Kings , the first in a fantasy series The Dandelion Dynasty, is due out from Saga Press ( a new Simon & Schuster imprint ) in 2015.

What is Solarpunk? Good question, great answers from our community

What is solarpunk? My fellow Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers authors Commando Jugendstil and Tales from The EV Studio put together this video for the Turin International Book Fair . It features editors and authors from the solarpunk community sharing their thoughts. Together we're imagining optimistic futures based on renewable energy. My soundbite was: "Solarpunk futures are — green spaces with clean water that are pedestrian, collective, feminist, creative communities. And they include non-human animals. " Mary "solarpunk" Shelley cat did a great job (at 6:15) helping from her rather ridiculous cat tree which she absolutely loves. And what better time to wear this solar-colored "Veganism is Feminism" tee from The Herbivore Clothing Company . Seriously. I'm holding a stack of solarpunk books: Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers  edited by Sarena Ulibarri which includes my story "Watch Out, Red Crusher!".  Wings of R...

Springy story review: "Torching the Dusties" by Margaret Atwood

Why it springs to mind: Relevant thoughts about how we view aging and how we treat the aged in our society. In this story, young people protest the existence of old people in an assisted living facility for taking up resources. Not far from the callous viewpoint of people sometimes expressed in the national news. Where read: The last story in  Stone Mattress: Nine Tales   (2014) a collection by Margaret Atwood Summary: Wilma and her boyfriend Tobias escape an assisted living facility, Ambrosia Manor, that has come under attack by protestors carrying signs that say "Time to Go" and "Our Turn" who think the old people are just taking up space and resources. Memorable: the delightful use of Charles Bonnet Syndrome as a character trait for Wilma Quotes:  "We have to be kind to one another in here, she tells herself. We're all we have left."   "According to Tobias, women hang around longer because they're less capable of indignation and...