description of a place

for vanishing point

Fiction
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Jul 3, 2025 5:40 AM

HERE IS THE PLACE: the blackened face of a nondescript apartment block. Vines suturing the cold wrought iron of a fire escape—like wires holding shut a busted jaw. You, late at night, passing over its image like dust caught in the sclera, or a kind of myodesopsia. It is not quite on the corner, this old face, since the sidewalks, far from orthogonal, converge on a singular point: an insular simplex of concrete. (You wonder whether it would disappear if you looked at it from the right angle: folds of space washed away by the gridlock of the city...)

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6 comments

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3 days ago

Like this a lot. > It is not quite on the corner, this old face, since the sidewalks, far from orthogonal, converge on a singular point: an insular simplex of concrete. (You wonder whether it would disappear if you looked at it from the right angle: folds of space washed away by the gridlock of the city...) Can you clarify what this part is depicting? I'm imagining something like a roundabout (but triangular) where the apartment block occupies the central landmass.

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2 days ago

Yes, exactly: a triangular piece of concrete with roads at each vertex. The Flatiron Building in New York is the first example that comes to mind, but you'll see something like it here and there.

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8 days ago

You want criticism or are just posting it for fun?

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8 days ago

Just for fun, although you're free to share your thoughts if you'd like

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7 days ago

No, I have nothing really worth saying... sometimes people want the feedback & it's nice to help, but I'd have to intentionally look for flaws which feels mean w/o being asked. I like it as is.

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7 days ago

Makes sense—I'm glad you like it!