Glad you could join us for the next yawping episode of Elliot’s Adventures. If you’re new here, you can catch up by returning to the beginning, and reading really fast…
The skeletons in the bird’s memories weren’t as easy to dispose of as those that littered her life, but she shook them to the dark bottom of her mind with a noisy, full body feather ruffling.
“I beg your pardon. Where are my manners?” she asked with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Welcome. I’m Yvonne. And you are—?”
“I’m Cassandra, and this is Elliot, my… boyfriend.” Her shy giggle and bashful glance at Elliot’s proud approval proved to their hostess that their love was new and tender.
“I am so sorry. I would love to offer you refreshments,” Yvonne apologized, “but it’s been some time since I’ve had company, and I haven’t been out yet this evening. If you would be so kind as to wait a little while, I could go right now and pick something up. Which do you prefer, fungus, greens or fresh meat?”
Elliot’s stomach grumbled. Loudly. “Please don’t go to any trouble.”
The recurring image of ravenous, squawking, eternally open mouths demanding… Demanding… DEMANDING to be fed hung between Yvonne and her visitors. She blinked it into oblivion.
“It’s no trouble at all!”
“Well, then, thank you for offering. I think we’d both be happy with a bit of mushroom or some soft, wet greens. Whatever’s easiest,” Elliot assured her.
Cassandra leaned against him, nodding.
“You’re sure you wouldn’t like some warm, bloody rodent?” Her inner huntress’s eyes sparkled.
A shudder overtook Elliot.
“Jolly good,” Yvonne chuckled, “More for me!” And with a gale force swoosh of her wings, she rose from the nest and soared away.
Cassandra turned to Elliot. “Let’s not stay for dessert.”
To be continued…
Previously, on Elliot’s Adventures ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Next time . . .
Today’s twofer from May 1, 2016:
You
“This guy is so full of himself!” Me reading [mumble-mumble’s] ninth post of the morning.
It’s a fact. There too many a whole lotta a few bloggers out here who are so full of themselves it’s difficult to believe they have room for lunch.
Don’t worry — I’m not talking about you.
These are the people who so love the sound of the voices in their heads that they write down whatever passes behind their eyeballs or between their ears, posting 2… 3… 13 times a day without pausing to question why anyone outside their immediate families would care. (Assuming their immediate families are supportive enough to at least make a show of reading said blog.) And they don’t read any of their follower’s blogs; they read only their follower’s comments on their own blog.
At first this raised my eyebrows and my hackles. But I’m an optimist, and I want to believe people have valid and worthwhile reasons for doing the things they do, saying the things they say, thinking the things they think, and writing the things they write.
Plus, my attitude was not charitable. Shame on me.
So I took a step back and tried to see the bigger picture. The picture that, in the overall scheme of things, might rank these narcissists’ blowhards’ bloggers’ sputumpontificating opinions somewhere above rotten eggs. And I think, when I stepped back far enough, closed one eye, squinted through the other, and bent over sideways while clapping my hands, clicking my heels, and saying, “I believe in fairies. There’s no place like home. We will we will rock you! I believe in fairies. There’s no place like home. We will we will rock…” (you get the idea), I THINK I SAW IT!
The Bigger Picture: IF YOU AREN’T FULL OF YOURSELF… WHO? ARE? YOU? FULL? OF?
So there I was, bent and cramping up worse than a fast game of Twister, finally able to feel some charity toward these… fellow bloggers. Because the Ultimate Truth is that I am full of me, and there isn’t anyone else I’d rather be full of.
Are you full of yourself? I hope so. In fact, tell me about it. I’d really like to know.
#AtoZChallenge A-to-Z Fictioneers: Interested in original fiction? Here’s a list of writers who are writing stories for the 2017 A to Z Challenge. The author’s link will take you to their “A” post. If you know of any other story writers I can share, please drop the link in the comments!
- Aditi’s Indian myths from a female POV at Aditi’s Pen
- Andrea’s fantasy novel, “The Impatiens Chronicles”, as writing instruction at Andrea Lundgren
- Arpan’s horror stories at Tales of Unusual Strangeness
- Atherton’s Victorian murder mystery, “Stranded!”, at Atherton’s Magic Vapour
- Debs’s song-inspired fiction at Bunny and the Bloke
- Diane’s 100-word tales at LadiesWhoLunchReviews,etc
- Dipanwita’s 100-word stories at Cocktails Mocktails and Life
- Iain’s alphabet puzzle-inspired murder mystery serial at Iain Kelly Writing
- Jo’s upbeat emotion stories at Jo Hawk the Writer
- Joe’s excerpts from his upcoming post-Civil War historical fiction, “Steel Horse Saviors”, at Fiction Playground
- John’s flash fiction crime stories with a twist at John Davis Frain
- Keith’s everyday life in fictional Amble Bay at Keith’s Ramblings
- Lenni’s speculative fiction, “What Are They” at J Lenni Dorner
- Marquessa’s short stories spun from her larger work, “Living to Die” at Simply Marquessa
- Natalie’s “Secret Diary of a Serial Killer” at Natalie Westgate
- Raven’s 100-word flash fiction at everywhere and nowhere
- Shailaja’s 100-word oxymoronic stories at The Moving Quill
- Shilpa’s 55-word crime stories at A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose!
- Shweta’s Tiny Tales at My Random Ramblings
- Sorchia’s Gothic fantasy, “A Cold Spring” at Sorchia’s Universe
- S.T. Ranscht’s fantasy/adventure serial, “Elliot’s Adventures”at Space, Time, and Raspberries
-
Vanessa’s build-a-30-word-story at Vanessence
Space, Time, and Raspberries 
Good idea to skip dessert. We don’t want Elliot and Cassandra to end up as the dessert!
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That wouldn’t be very sweet, would it?
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Sweet revenge, maybe! But no, that’ll definitely be a bitter experience for the other person!
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I’m catching up after a week of holidays, when everybody has forgotten about the challenge until next year…
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I’m still catching up, too!
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Would Yvonne…surely not!!
Hmm, full of myself…I don’t know…I talk about stuff that interests me, but that was what I wanted to do, give people a look at my world, take another look at things that might seem ordinary and just find the beauty in everyday things. And I hope, make people smile 🙂
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That you do. And your interactions make it quite clear you have plenty of room for others as well.
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A smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes? Oh dear, I fear I may have misjudged Yvonne, and now I’m worried. Too worried to eat for sure. I think it’s time for E&C to head out.
We bloggers are quite a varied lot aren’t we? I’m smiling at the conundrum of being full of oneself. I think if I could sum up my philosophy in a sentence it might be – be so aligned with the fullness of who you truly are that there isn’t any falseness about you and you radiate only clear light. So that’s pretty clearly full of oneself.
On the other hand, I’d certainly like to think my fullness is aligned with love, compassion, joy, and unity consciousness – and I’m not basically a narcissistic self-serving ass-hat, and somehow don’t realize it.
Because my posts are often personal reflections about what I’m curious about and what delights me, I do sometimes wonder if there’s a value to that other than just emptying my head. Still, I trust we’re all sovereign beings and if you don’t want to read what I’m writing you won’t.
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Deborah, I find your posts to be thoughtful reflections that inform and encourage others to reflect about what they might find delights them and fulfills their curiosity. They are indeed aligned with love, compassion, joy, and unity consciousness. And no, I can assure you, you are NOT a narcissistic self-serving ass-hat. I believe your posts — while quite possibly serving to empty your head –also have value for the rest of us as they provide a kind and gentle push into areas we might not wander into on our own. Areas that help us contemplate the fullness of ourselves and our lives with the goal of broadening our sense of connectedness to and love for the rest of humanity. Thank you for that. ❤
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Great last line…”Let’s not stay for dessert.”
😉
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Thank you, Laura! I’m glad you like it. 🙂
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I think skipping out on dessert is a wise idea, lest Elliott and Cassandra become dessert!
I wonder about one-way bloggers too (those who like visits, but never visit). I was like that when I started blogging – because I didn’t have a clue how social media worked. Totally clueless! My attitude is “to each his own.” We will all do what we can or want to, and we will find our niches with our peeps. It’s a big world. 😀
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The past few weeks have been so full of labor-intensive projects away from the computer that I’ve slipped into the one-way blogger who binges other people’s posts, mostly in the wee hours. Even addressing comments on my own posts has become a catch-up race. I live by the philosophy that we make time to do what we truly want to do, yet there’s only so much sleep I can give up before a near- narcoleptic state takes over my waking hours. All that’s left is a stream of apologies and promises.
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I hear you, Sue. Blogging is an amazing exercise in time management and setting limits. It can take over our lives and become a chore very easily. I’m still trying to find the balance and have resigned myself to doing my best and keeping it fun. 🙂
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I guess that’s all any of us can do and still maintain a semblance of sanity. I love the big costuming projects I get to work on, but I also relish the freer time. reading and writing time, that waits at the end of the designing and sewing.
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Loving this story, Sue!
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Thanks, Diane. You make me happy!
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I don’t think I’m too full of myself–at least I hope not. Beautiful picture of an owl.
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Is the answer to be half-full of ourselves and leave the rest open to other people’s input? I agree, it is a beautiful photo.
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