Deleterious Circumstances
The rabbit had often said that his favorite thread was "Written Nothings" and that there was no thread quite like it. And there wasn't. Although rabbits were common, Gantic was a rare one, even amongst mammalians. His writings were often imitated but never duplicated. His predilection for words, experimentation, and sensibility were nonpareil.
"I started Written Nothings because I wasn't satisfied with the quality of Reaching Out and Touching No One. It was fun, but it was not what Written Nothings was. Written Nothings was something of a raison d'etre. It was uplifting. If Reaching Out and Touching No One was my sense of possibility, then Written Nothings was my sense of sensibility. Lore would be my sense of responsibility and Gantic Romantic my sense of fallibility."
His lack of seriousness was occasionally revealed in his writings through incongruities inserted unblinkingly in otherwise serious pieces. Oftentimes, it was frivolity that seemed to ask, "Are you paying attention?" Other times, it was just nonsense in the form of ploquie and Gantique, a stickman duo named after plokkey and himself.
"'A Red Motor' was a series of anagrams based on the word 'moderator'. A red motor, marred too, re doormat, tamer odor, art demo or, do more art, door art me, dream or rot, arm rooted, OMO retard, tom err ado, art room ed. It didn't make much sense. There's no such thing as an OMO retard. The punchline was 'Moderator is useless.'" He chuckled and cleared his throat. "I mean. yeah, it wasn't like I meant it. It was just silliness. I mean look at me now."
In complement of his word-centric writing approach, Written Nothings was also a sampling of his ideas and what he was capable of writing. Each entry was a relatively short self-contained piece, ranging from several sentences to a couple paragraphs to conversations between unnamed speakers. The theme amongst entries varied as well, though each entry seemed to be tinged with sentimentality. He couldn't pick a favorite amongst them, but he could pick out his favorite reasons for enjoying the thread.
"My favorite thing about the thread was just writing it. It's just fun, you know? I enjoy the possibilities of writing and the possibilities of a story. I never really liked endings. I always loved the adventure, or the possibility of adventure. Paradoxically, I dislike endings that are new beginnings more. An end, to me, should feel as if nothing beyond the moment matters. Regrets and unanswered questions don't matter anymore and loose ends have been tied. That's why most of the pieces are glimpses, moments, in someone else's life. They're complete in and of themselves."
"It really gave me good practice in characterization and exposition. I'm still not great at it, but I think I've gotten to a point where I feel capable enough to tell a story without outright telling it. It also allowed me to showcase my enjoyment of bringing together alliteration and internal rhyme and slant rhyme schemes in a singsongy fashion. There's not much I enjoy more, even if it doesn't makes sense sometimes. It's fun."
Some glimpses were more than practice and showcasing. Inspiration, as he had written in 'An Introduction' often left him with nothing after a day. A couple of entries were legitimately things that he had wanted to write but lost interest in. 'In 2321' was supposed to be a springboard for a futurist fiction/RPG. 'Oranges', he had stated several times, was supposed to be a short story. He kept to his flirtatious romance with inspiration as there was no other so consistently thrilling. She was Eureka, the goddess of endless possibilities. However, endless possibilities did not allude predictable outcomes. Outcomes themselves were almost always possible, always unpredictable, and mostly delightfully surprising.
"My second favorite thing were the responses. It was illuminating. I'm not sure that's the right word for it, but it was..." The rabbit seemed lost in thought. "It was delightful. Strop, kingryan, thisisnotanalt, Parsat, Merciless_Mercenary, I enjoyed their comments. Discussions between and, a few times, amongst myself, Strop, kingryan, and thisisnotanalt often branched off into parallels, tangents, and extrapolations. And it was spontaneous. How awesome is that?"
"On the other hand, one of the things that amused me the most were the questions wondering what the thread was about. I believe that was pondered no less than five times. The purpose of the thread was stated in 'An Introduction'. I certainly didn't spell out it by saying, 'This thread is about blah.' That's what I did for Reaching Out and Touching No One. I wanted to weave my intentions into the first entry. The thing is, though, with that thread, if you didn't understand it, there was no point in explaining it, because you wouldn't get it unless you got it. A sense of... maturity was required. That's why I was always so roundabout. That's why I'll never write an entry for the last 'elegance'. If you knew what it was, you'd know why."
While each entry was essentially self-contained, some were related to previous entries or other threads. One could infer that the overarching purpose of the thread was to tell a story of a man who was trying to recapture the days when things were better as he lived in a world where mutant chickens have taken over and fish are grown in waste treatment plants, a prelude to the Transhumanist War peppered with unrelated anecdotes on things that didn't matter as a way to keep his mind off his troubles. Or that it was just a writing thread used yet again as commentary on the state of the Armor Games forums, as Reaching Out and Touching No One was used.
"There are a few entries related to my other thread at the time. I included some foreshadowing in Written Nothings. I used 'Reaching Out to Touch No One' as a reflection and a springboard to foreshadow upcoming characters. It doesn't take much to notice that inserted within the text are characters from Reaching Out and Touching No One. You have the Bullman, Space Cowboy, the Stranger, Stallion Man, and Star Straddler all in the first paragraph. Bad Luck Bronco shows up a little later. What I also hid in there was Crowman who made his debut in Part II. Part II of 'Reaching Out to Touch No One' wasn't as good. It only contained three characters and hinted at the Condor, who wasn't a major character. I'm guessing since I've revealed that much, it wouldn't hurt to make an offhand remark and mention the Sunset Sheriff to throw everyone off the scent of a different character I've disguised, who'll show up in Lore. But then again, who would waste their time to comb through so many words? It could be anything anywhere, but the astute will know where to look."
With that, he smiled and turned in.
Next Week: "The Way of Gantic"
