Stream of Consciousness

Early March 2026: 4 Goals Accomplished
It's early March and I've now accomplished my 4th writing goal for the year of 2026. Before diving into the behind-the-scenes of it... why not tell you up front what that accomplishment was? I was published in a 2nd publication for this year. Published in Helix Literary Magazine out of Central Connecticut State University. You can read it for free right now!
By Stephen Kramer Avitabileabout 9 hours ago in Writers
Ups and Downs
This is a short drabble of my ups and downs here on Vocal, and it seems that there have been many ups and quite a few downs for me and my writing here. I do I feel a lot of reading and commenting on others work here, but where I do have a few loyal followers over these past five years it seems that even though I have recently been on the Leaderboard and received a few TS's it always seems that my stats are always going down more than up I guess that is that darn algorithm I guess.
By Mark Graham2 days ago in Writers
Chance
I saw Chance the other day, slipping down a back alley, morning coffee in hand, a little worse for wear in last night's frock. Leftover mascara crumbled in the corners of her eyes that never stopped scanning the scene for those fickle bitches, the Fates. She was ready to kick their collective ass for once and always.
By Harper Lewis8 days ago in Writers
Fading Ink
The box was never meant to be opened. It had lived quietly on the highest shelf of my childhood closet, taped at the corners, labeled in my own looping handwriting: “Important — Do Not Throw Away.” I used to think anything I labeled important would remain that way forever.
By Jhon smith9 days ago in Writers
The Last Memory: Chapter Six
Trenton locked the bathroom and turned around to wash her face. The cool water felt nice against her skin and after wiping her face with the soft green towel on the towel rack, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her skin was slightly worn with a few wrinkles in the creases of her forehead and surrounding her lips. She looked tired and her blue eyes seemed faded in color, like she had endured a lifetime of experiences already.
By Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue9 days ago in Writers
The Architects of the Extraction
In the quiet suburbs of Philadelphia and the industrial heart of Detroit, a new kind of mining is taking place. It doesn’t involve coal or gold, and the miners don’t wear hard hats. They wear silicon valley aesthetics and use high-powered algorithms to extract something far more valuable: your behavioral data. To understand the political landscape of 2026, you have to look at the "Political Influence Industry"—a high-tech ecosystem where your daily life is laundered into a political weapon.
By Untitled Source11 days ago in Writers
Boundless. Top Story - February 2026.
A geographical map could take you there. To the places I've been, to the sights I've seen, to the landscapes I've climbed. But no compass could point you in the direction of my memories. To the experiences I've lived, to the happiness I've felt, to the wonder I've held so close to my heart.
By Alyssa Musso12 days ago in Writers
Morning Blessings as Alignment, Not Routine
Morning blessings are often reduced to familiar phrases spoken quickly before the day begins. When practiced mechanically, they can feel like another item on a checklist. But in lived experience, a morning blessing is not something to complete. It is something to enter.
By Shahid Khan12 days ago in Writers
A Pen . Top Story - February 2026.
Growing up I loved to write. I wrote stories and series for myself and it would be pages among pages of hand written stories or books. I remember I had written 500 pages of a book more than ten years ago that I still open and edit. All of these were handwritten first. I would use a paper pad and a pen. I was was always very picky when it came to using the writing equipment. My journal has a specific pen I use otherwise it feels like I had committed a crime. I once bought a Swarovski pen specially for my leather journal. The weight of it was perfect, but I had written with smoother pens before. Yet, this pen reminded me that I can sparkle too because of course it had Swarovski crystals in it. I kept it in a box that I would take out every time I journaled. This was not my favorite pen though. The easiest pen I have ever used was from a company that you could purchase from Chapters/Indigo. It was called poppin because they had used bright, fun, colors to make writing supplies wonderful. I remember the first time I used it. I was in university and was in need of very good pens because I did not have a reliable laptop to carry to my classes. I picked up the box I bought and picked one out of the box. I took the little gel bead off the top that blocks the ink. I placed it on the paper and it started to flow, it was the most pleasant feeling I felt in a long time. As soon as it touched the paper the pen wanted to write more, it wrote so smoothly I immediately hid the other pens back into my backpack so no one could “borrow” it we all know that meant you were never seeing that pen again. The ink was deliciously smooth writing across my notebook. I wanted to keep going even after I was done. I started doodling and found joy in writing again. That’s how much a pen can change your day. I know it’s such an adult thing to say. I wrote with other pens too such as the frixion pens because an erasable pen that actually erases. All that’s left is the indent on the page how ingenious! I remember in elementary they were “erasable” but you could still see remnants of blue on the page and if you wrote on top of it, it looked sloppy.
By Ada Zuba13 days ago in Writers
The Protection-of-Innocence Reciprocity Doctrine. AI-Generated.
Core Moral Premise The highest duty of any legitimate social order is the protection of innocent life. Innocent life has absolute moral primacy. Any system that systematically insulates predators, tolerates predatory asymmetry, rewards hypocrisy, or allows aggressors to retain insulation has inverted its purpose and forfeited legitimacy. Truth, justice, reciprocity, humility, mercy, forgiveness, and vertical accountability are structural necessities rather than optional virtues. Vertical accountability means recognition of and submission to a moral law higher than oneself. Authority must flow toward those who most consistently demonstrate sustained competence in moral and epistemic discipline. This competence is shown through observable conduct and trajectory over time, not through doctrinal label, tribal identity, credential alone, or self-profession.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast14 days ago in Writers
The Last Memory: Chapter 5
Chapter Five Trenton walked down the stairs, feeling the air cool down around her as she got to the bottom. The basement was dark and there was only one light bulb on the ceiling to brighten everything up. Trenton scouted the room for the dryer, finding it in the far corner of the room. She opened the door, pulled the clothes out, and set them on top of the dryer.
By Nicole Higginbotham-Hogue14 days ago in Writers
The Bones and Nervous System of Civilization
What Holds Us Up — and What Fires Through Us Civilization is not buildings. It is not flags. It is not headlines. Civilization is a body.
By Flower InBloom16 days ago in Writers