Automatic Writer

Automatic Writer

Speculative

THINGS

He laughed, and a city fell.

Sean Thomas McDonnell's avatar
Sean Thomas McDonnell
Apr 23, 2025
∙ Paid

Bo heard a thousand screams. He laughed, and a city fell. On his morning jog, oceans sloshed and spilled over coastlines, drowning the praying tourists and locals. It was indiscriminate destruction. Unintentional, mostly.

Bo belched, and with it came a collective cry for mercy. He shrugged. What was he to do about it? He’d tried everything he could think of: he ingested Ipecac, punched himself in the stomach, got black-out drunk, ate ghost peppers—it only made him feel sick. Sure, some of them were vacated in the violent discharge of various bodily fluids, but these things were resilient.

User's avatar

Continue reading this post for free, courtesy of Sean Thomas McDonnell.

Or purchase a paid subscription.
© 2026 Sean Thomas McDonnell · Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start your SubstackGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture