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Sticky: Introduction
May. 14th, 2015 05:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_roseWelcome to my fiction blog. I maintain a Wordpress blog that hosts fiction but also articles, blog posts, meta, and occasional reviews.
You can also visit my website or follow my social media links directly:
You can also visit my website or follow my social media links directly:
meridian_roseI've been posting weekly content for a couple of years now, occasionally reposting older work with some edits or highlighting past favourites, but mostly new poetry, flash fiction, or drabbles. However I need some time out, so there won't be a new #writingwednesday next week. Thanks for reading everything I've posted so far, I'll return when I can.
Flash Fiction: Just a Pint
Aug. 19th, 2020 09:11 ammeridian_rose"Open the door!" The door shook with repeated thumps. Mrs George sat at the top of the stairs, shaking, with the children hiding under their beds. Mr George opened the door with reluctance. Immediately a police officer grabbed him and dragged him from his home.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Fiction: The More Things (Never) Change
Aug. 12th, 2020 01:53 pmmeridian_roseTyranny, witch hunts, hysteria and moral panics...
"Humans like to think they improve over time," the lecturer said wryly. "That as a species we learn and grow. However some things never change."
A picture appeared on the screen, a line drawing of a woman tied to a stake, villagers with pitchforks cheering.
( Read more... )
"Humans like to think they improve over time," the lecturer said wryly. "That as a species we learn and grow. However some things never change."
A picture appeared on the screen, a line drawing of a woman tied to a stake, villagers with pitchforks cheering.
( Read more... )
Flash Fiction: Just a Bit of Cloth
Aug. 5th, 2020 09:41 ammeridian_rose"Just wear it," her brother says, unable to understand her reluctance. "It's just a bit of cloth."
"I don't want to," she says tearfully.
"It's for the public good!" He gives her a sympathetic look. "It is for your own safety."
It's a symbol of oppression and control. She protested but the protest did nothing, not when so many citizens welcomed the law. Now she must cover up or face punishment and public shaming.
"Maybe it won't be forever," he says, exasperated. "Now put it on."
Amaya puts on the headscarf before she leaves the house. The revolution which overthrew the monarchy did not make her free.
Note: since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the hijab has become compulsory in Iran. Women are required to wear loose-fitting clothing and a headscarf in public to this day. Mandatory covering laws are never fleeting.
"I don't want to," she says tearfully.
"It's for the public good!" He gives her a sympathetic look. "It is for your own safety."
It's a symbol of oppression and control. She protested but the protest did nothing, not when so many citizens welcomed the law. Now she must cover up or face punishment and public shaming.
"Maybe it won't be forever," he says, exasperated. "Now put it on."
Amaya puts on the headscarf before she leaves the house. The revolution which overthrew the monarchy did not make her free.
Note: since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the hijab has become compulsory in Iran. Women are required to wear loose-fitting clothing and a headscarf in public to this day. Mandatory covering laws are never fleeting.
Flash Fiction: Protection
Jul. 15th, 2020 09:27 ammeridian_roseOnce upon a time there was a small park. It had a lovely patch of green grass. People used to picnic on it, dogs would run along it, children would play on it. The grass was accessible and regularly weeded and mowed.
Then the park manager decided the grass needed to be protected. He put up a sign saying "please avoid the grass" and a few people did, but many found the grassy field the only reason to go to the park.
So the park manager put up a giant fence so no-one could get onto the grass, nor could it be mowed. He put up signs that said "£100 fine if you go near the grass" and was pleased with himself for putting such protection in place.
A few people still walked through the park but no-one stayed long. Many stopped coming at all. The grass soon became overgrown and filled with weeds.
In trying to protect the grass, the manager had made the park a miserable place to visit and ultimately destroyed the thing he was trying to save.
If he'd listened to the people who used the park, he might have made a better choice.
Then the park manager decided the grass needed to be protected. He put up a sign saying "please avoid the grass" and a few people did, but many found the grassy field the only reason to go to the park.
So the park manager put up a giant fence so no-one could get onto the grass, nor could it be mowed. He put up signs that said "£100 fine if you go near the grass" and was pleased with himself for putting such protection in place.
A few people still walked through the park but no-one stayed long. Many stopped coming at all. The grass soon became overgrown and filled with weeds.
In trying to protect the grass, the manager had made the park a miserable place to visit and ultimately destroyed the thing he was trying to save.
If he'd listened to the people who used the park, he might have made a better choice.
Prose Poem: Those Who Are Complicit
Jun. 17th, 2020 08:43 ammeridian_roseYou cannot care for people and embrace tyranny
You cannot care for mental health yet impose isolation on the suffering
You cannot care for knowledge and deny education
You cannot care for physical health yet close gyms, playgrounds, and cancel tests and treatments
( Read more... )
You cannot care for mental health yet impose isolation on the suffering
You cannot care for knowledge and deny education
You cannot care for physical health yet close gyms, playgrounds, and cancel tests and treatments
( Read more... )
meridian_roseSummary: When Joris discovers a genie in a lamp he begins making wishes, but without fully thinking through the consequences.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Fiction: Hugging is a Human Right
May. 27th, 2020 03:48 pmmeridian_roseHe was young enough to accept this dystopian existence in a way no adult could – or should...We should have fought harder, Maya thought. But no one had.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
The Imprisonment of Daniel Watkins (II)
May. 20th, 2020 09:25 ammeridian_roseWith Dan still imprisoned without trial, Sarah finds someone who might be able to help, a scientist willing to contradict ICM's model.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
meridian_roseIn a dystopian future Dan is arrested, not for committing a crime, but for a computer's prediction that he might somehow cause deaths if left at liberty.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Poem: Quality
May. 6th, 2020 08:36 ammeridian_roseThere is a difference between existing
and living
Just as there is a difference between summer
and sunshine
between loneliness
and chosen solitude
between unwanted unemployment
and a longed-for holiday
or a job compared to a vocation
There is a difference between going through the motions
compared to living with joy and hope
between quantity
and quality
and living
Just as there is a difference between summer
and sunshine
between loneliness
and chosen solitude
between unwanted unemployment
and a longed-for holiday
or a job compared to a vocation
There is a difference between going through the motions
compared to living with joy and hope
between quantity
and quality
Flashback April: Birdseed
Apr. 29th, 2020 09:44 ammeridian_roseBirdseed
“If you’re so hard up then why do you buy birdseed?” he asks, puzzled.
“Because it’s relatively inexpensive for the benefits I get. I put a handful out every day,” she says. “And the birds come and eat it. Pigeons, blackbirds, robins, sparrows, and crows. They wait for me now, eager each morning. I get to watch them peck at the seed. I know some are nesting in the nearby bushes. It gives me a sense of communion with nature. I know it’s a small thing and hardly earth changing. But it makes me feel useful. As if I matter.”
“If you’re so hard up then why do you buy birdseed?” he asks, puzzled.
“Because it’s relatively inexpensive for the benefits I get. I put a handful out every day,” she says. “And the birds come and eat it. Pigeons, blackbirds, robins, sparrows, and crows. They wait for me now, eager each morning. I get to watch them peck at the seed. I know some are nesting in the nearby bushes. It gives me a sense of communion with nature. I know it’s a small thing and hardly earth changing. But it makes me feel useful. As if I matter.”
Flashback April: Waiting for the Rain
Apr. 22nd, 2020 08:45 ammeridian_roseExact drabble previously published August 2019
The rain didn’t come on Monday. He filled the watering can and watered the flowers, herbs, and vegetables.
The rain didn’t come on Tuesday. After watering, he filled up the bird bath. A sparrow soon came for a tiny sip.
The rain didn’t come on Wednesday. The south-easterly wind pushed the clouds away, leaving only sweltering heat. The grass was turning brown, and even the hardy wildflowers in the wild corner of the garden were beginning to wilt.
The rain came on Friday, finally, just as he began filling the watering can.
He laughed and let the rain water him.
The rain didn’t come on Monday. He filled the watering can and watered the flowers, herbs, and vegetables.
The rain didn’t come on Tuesday. After watering, he filled up the bird bath. A sparrow soon came for a tiny sip.
The rain didn’t come on Wednesday. The south-easterly wind pushed the clouds away, leaving only sweltering heat. The grass was turning brown, and even the hardy wildflowers in the wild corner of the garden were beginning to wilt.
The rain came on Friday, finally, just as he began filling the watering can.
He laughed and let the rain water him.
Flashback April: Piqued
Apr. 15th, 2020 09:19 ammeridian_roseOriginally written for the 2013 writerverse prompt dialogue only fiction, “What’s in the Bag?” and posted previously February 2018.
One character is being nosy and the other tries to stop them being inquisitive, while correcting their grammar.
( Read more... )
One character is being nosy and the other tries to stop them being inquisitive, while correcting their grammar.
( Read more... )
