<![CDATA[Once Alive. Now Dead.: Towns (A Right to Land)]]>https://www.oncealivenowdead.com/s/townshttps://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!S3mY!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fcb44a336-5086-4bb3-ae91-f094b2596284_1280x1280.pngOnce Alive. Now Dead.: Towns (A Right to Land)https://www.oncealivenowdead.com/s/townsSubstackThu, 30 Apr 2026 15:34:37 GMT<![CDATA[The Hanging Town]]>https://www.oncealivenowdead.com/p/the-hanging-townhttps://www.oncealivenowdead.com/p/the-hanging-townWed, 01 Apr 2026 23:39:06 GMT

Everyone in this town hangs always by the neck. Anyone walking through this town does not know what for. All anyone can assume are those hanging took their own life before disease took them first. Though we are uncertain what disease for, we understand there must be so many.

]]><![CDATA[No Ocean Town]]>https://www.oncealivenowdead.com/p/no-ocean-townhttps://www.oncealivenowdead.com/p/no-ocean-townFri, 13 Mar 2026 01:50:18 GMT

There are seagulls in this town though it is not near the ocean. Citizens research map after map but fail to locate any body of water. In fact, the No Ocean Town is without a river, lake or stream in any cardinal direction. Often after researching the maps, citizens of the No Ocean Town are surprised to find which way is North and that they’ve been moving through town all backwards.

]]><![CDATA[The Pedantic Town]]>https://www.oncealivenowdead.com/p/the-pedantic-townhttps://www.oncealivenowdead.com/p/the-pedantic-townWed, 11 Mar 2026 04:00:36 GMT

In this town nobody eats. They do not spend money. Life in the Pedantic Town is pleasurable. It is not bliss.

An earlier version of “The Restraining Town” appeared in Sleepingfish 0.9375.

]]><![CDATA[The Restraining Town]]>https://www.oncealivenowdead.com/p/the-restraining-townhttps://www.oncealivenowdead.com/p/the-restraining-townWed, 11 Mar 2026 03:09:08 GMT

Citizens in the Restraining Town are restricted from interacting with each other. Each citizen owns and maintains a court order insisting all other citizens keep so much distance away, never less than one hundred feet. Citizens are content with the arrangement. The court orders are welcomed and enforced with little effort. Though similar to the Divorcing Town, the Restraining Town cannot maintain an autonomous economy.

An earlier version of “The Restraining Town” appeared in Sleepingfish 0.9375.

]]><![CDATA[The Divorcing Town]]>https://www.oncealivenowdead.com/p/the-divorcing-townhttps://www.oncealivenowdead.com/p/the-divorcing-townTue, 10 Mar 2026 02:10:57 GMT

All of The Divorcing Town’s citizens live in a state of divorce. In this town are six buildings. Two buildings are for men. Two buildings are for women. The two buildings for men are The Propane Store and The Tavern. The two buildings for women are The Grocery Store and The Jeweler. The fifth building is The Bank. The Bank is for both men and women, though rarely do a man and woman engaged in the same divorce occupy The Bank together. The sixth building is The Dime Store. No one goes into The Dime store.

An earlier version of “The Divorcing Town” appeared in Sleepingfish 0.9375.

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