giraffe

Wow, Dragon. Are Selene and Sunna in a constellation? Or did you make them up?

Dragon

Selene is a moon goddess and Sunna is a sun goddess. I didn't make them up myself but I don't think they're from the same mythology as each other.

Dragon

I will say I had a hard time fitting 'cabbage' into that one.

giraffe

I pictured them as two different stars. Well, I guess the Sun is a star, too. Neat story.

mouse

Dragon ,
I too, pictured Selena & Sunna as stars. Very much enjoyed it.

ladyhwin

Absolutely! Dragon, loved the tale, very good

Only tomorrow and Saturday to submit stories!! How many can we get in those two days??

giraffe

277

The next question the manager asked me was "Who is the queen of music to you? Joan Baez, Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, Odessa?"

"I can't answer that." I said. "They are all devoted to their art and convictions, but my mind is set on someone else."

"Then you must be more the Brittney Spears, Madonna, J-Lo, Lady Gaga set."

"No, actually I prefer the first bunch. They would never make it in today's music scene and I miss the openness society used to have."

"Why do you prefer the old relics?"

"Well, to start with, there isn't a real music industry any more. I have no qualms with the present, but the new "music elves" are nothing but pushers of soft pornography. Titty girls shaking it to loud, boring music. Do you realize that if Bob Dylan was a newcomer today, he'd never make it? No one wants a genuine poet. They crave the cabbage of modern nothingness."

"You sound angry. Don't bite the hand that feeds you," Ethan said. "We've developed a kinship with you in the business."

"Don't talk family to me. All you're interested in is my ass and the groupies. Tell me what any one of my songs is about. You don't know, do you?"

"The one that slays me is about your body being like stale rye toast. Then you shake your hips."

"You are an idiot. That song is about senseless war."

"That's it. We have to release you from your contract. You are a detriment to our purpose."

"Fine. I'm in good company with the greats who would never make it in your world."

"Security, we have an intruder."

marius

Ethan was a cabbage elf, who ardently worked the rye to still his qualms about the Queen, his kin. True, his devotion was steadfast but she had asked him to kill, to slay her very own ...

Yes, that is my bad story but it's one way I get a feel for word lists, the two-sentence story. And being without computer so much (mine is going back for second repair, yep, they sent the laptop back with all old problems fixed but created a new problem that never was ... space bar key sticks ... grrr) this may be all I get to with this TW. We'll see.

Meanwhile ... catching up. Really like all the stories and there were a LOT to read. So, just picking out little things that caught the eye, charmed or awed somewhere.

Qslev ... love when word list words fit nicely together .... "ardent devotion to ritual." Fun story.

Angelia ... great twist, Daegurth being Celefin. Reminds me of all of us - the lovely side, and the dark shadow side. : )

Giraffe ... your Ar-dent-ures series makes me smile. Reminds me of "A Year Down Yonder" by Richard Peck. Well, the hillbilly part does. You might enjoy that young adult/kids book. The granny tells her grand kid, something like, "them folks is so cheap they'll steal your hot stove and come back later to steal the smoke." ... or, "She was so thin the shadow of a clothesline gave her relief from the sun."

Ladyhwin .. love the "cabbage-minded" letters

Doug ... loved "Cabbage saved the day."

Nylecoj ... "cabbage-head," the dreamer (maybe) who loved Elves ... enjoyed it.

Midnight ... funny, and scary, honeymoon. Hope they don't have kids together! LOL!

Doug ... "Lost Souls" "...we're just another brick in the wall ..." loved that and ya know, each brick is unique. : )

Ladyhwin - Celynor reminds me of Lord Dunsany's fairy stories, although I've not read them in thirty years. Similar flavor, tone? Not sure. Enjoyed yours.

Angelia ... "Look at this Ethan," ... loved "She would have gone good with rye bread." : ) Fun ending.
mouse ... great idea, really fun ... a Cabbage Festival!

Nylecoj ... "Farewell" ... loved the "pale cabbage-like skin"

Dragon ... "Wisdom of good texting" Am thinking this should be required reading for many. : ) "Ode to Selene" ... very nice flow, feeling to it!

giraffe ... "They crave the cabbage of modern nothingness." Tee hee, I share that opinion about 'modern' music. It all sounds the same to my ears and I was a music major! Spouse says, "But my Dad said all OUR music sounded the same too." Tee hee ... no it didn't! (Did it?)

Doug

ladyhwin: Sorry this is definately under the word count...

You Say Potato…

Life is like a sack of potatoes planted amongst the thistle rye.
Each spud with its own eye seeing the world with a different view.
Ardently produced for the queens’ whimsy, Russets dot the landscape peaking towards the starry night.

Each corn ear listening for the call of the wildflowers blowing rhapsody onto the cabbage leaves.
Corn for ethanol… corn for eating….Row after row standing tall with golden tassels swinging in the soft breeze.
Fawns forage like thieves in the night turning kernels to mush to qualm their empty bellies.


Soybeans bake in the autumn roast.
Oil seeping down into the earth creating a glistening stream of rainbow colors.
Magic, as if touched by elves devoted to the task of painting the landscape with natural bounty and beauty.

A dragon lily stands tall amongst the cukes cutting light into a cosmic prism of color and wonder only slain by the overgrowth of the oaks towering overhead.

Kindling the flame of a bonfire, I sit in the great expanse of the pumpkin patch.
Is this all a dream?
On the other hand, has this moment in a farmers’ life touched me.

marius

Tee hee, Doug, I'd say the plant devas have got hold of you. Good for them ... this was a lovely stroll through green and vibrant earth! Most peaceful to read before the morning yoga. ; )

giraffe

Marius's plumb right, Doug. Ya' done been bit by the Bug o' Spring, son.

ladyhwin

giraffe, very very nice.... and a totally different theme from your Ardenture ones

Doug, I enjoyed it...

Only tomorrow yet, all you fellow ThinkWriters!!!

mouse

OH DOUG
You Say Potato I just loved it A nice change of pace for you--you definitely have Spring Fever.

ladyhwin

Okay, quick change! I am changing the cut-off time 3-ish tomorrow. I will choose the winner sometime after that and before midnight. If I don't, the reason will be internet problems!

Doug

Just can't leave these word lists alone...


Devotion...
With a name like Ethan you would think that he would be squeamish or have qualms doing the things he did. It was nothing for him to walk out the door of his house in a business suit sporting a Gucci tie and come home alone with bloodstains on his boots.
Yes, the boots might have given him away given his regal attire, but being the local mercenary for the Hill Society gave him some protection.

He always did have a “taste” for blood. As a child it started with his various knife collections. He was most proud of his Old Timer that had a razor sharp Schrade blade that he still carried to this day. Slay the day away, but it was usually with that particular
instrument that he carried out his most nefarious deeds. The cut was always perfect whether through an old tin can or splitting hairs on John Thompkins who lay in a pool of blood at the corner of Cabbage and Rye. John was the latest “beef” for the Hill Society.

The Hill Society was as old as dirt and Ethan was one its proudest members or maybe Ethan just enjoyed it a little too much.

As quick as an elf in a thistle thatch he jinked his way through the crowd at the subway station. Two policemen stood stoically as if they were the queen’s personal bodyguards. Ethan’s target was twenty feet from the deli kiosk inside the station. His fingers caressed the steely texture of his Old Timer. Ardently opposed to any type of detection Ethan secretly planted two small explosives in the garbage cans. As the “boom” went off, Ethan made a beeline for his victim and with a kinetic force he thrust the entire length of the blade through the man’s heart.

giraffe

What a Quixmickle!

marius

Agree with giraffe!

Like it Doug! ; ) (and there were words caught my attention ... kiosk, jink ... a grand combining of word lists?)

Doug

:')

ladyhwin

Alright, torch-passing time again!!! I will take the idea of quoting a line or two from each story that marius and Qsilv used a while back. So.....

untitled by Qsilv:
"All elves' names started with E so by now they were usually pretty extravagant creations"
"His mom had apparantly had a bad day when he sprouted."

Celefin Daegurth by Angelia:
"Death and shadow is Daegurth's name/whom would slay any that stand in her way"
"Dae was fast, but like her rider, she was tamed wild."

untitled by Nylecoj:
"leaving a trail of splendor wherever she walked like a stream through a desert."
"the repetitive job began to fade into a realm of danger where he was building a wall against an oncoming stream of orcs"

Ardenture by giraffe:
"Maybe I'm fallin' fer him."
"I told Pa that I was wantin Ethan to woo me and he gave me a big whoopin."

The Cabbage Cart by Doug:
"Tis not the cabbage lovers who ardently wish to quench their thirst with a cabbage smoothie, but they are cabbage haters who think the foul steaming stench must be set ablaze with a sturdy match and some ethanol."
"With the very last ounce of energy he could muster, he stuffed the entire cabbage head into his gaping mouth."

The Honeymoon by midnightpoet:
"My name's not Ethan."
"Well, then I don't hate you. But I obviously don't love you enough to remember your name after ten years of marraige."
"Shall we have cabbage soup for dinner?"

Ardenture Ch. 2 by giraffe:
"There must be some other influence like elves or witches. This couldn't be just a matter of kin."
"He's comin' thru the rye fer me."

Lost Souls by Doug:
"Coming from an Ivy League background his views skewed towards the right wing fire and brimstone thinking and his teaching style emulated that."
"Today, Ethan felt like time had passed him by, an aging dinosaur, caught up in the muck and mire akin to teaching cabbage heads."

"Look at that Ethan!" by Angelia:
"I wonder if they would let a cabbage dance with them? That would be such fun to see!"
"I wonder if they're finished with the roll call yet?"
"...that person talked too much."
"The goblins were singing about elves eating rye bread."

Cabbage Festival by mouse:
"They felt a kinship with the animals and would never slay one for food."
"She took a big bite. There came a hush over the croud. And, then she smiled."

Farewell by Nylecoj
"a slender boat of elven make, with banners flowing, wood shining, sparkling in the morning light like jewel floating on the sea"
"Their queen sat on the shore sifting the cool sand through her slender fingers in a last farewell to the land that had been her home for hundreds of years."

The Wisdom of Drunken Texting by Dragon:
"remembering the last time she'd been drinking Rye and had ardently argued the proof of elves with Ethan based on nothing more than the Keebler commercials and the fact that she couldn't get cabbage to grow properly in her garden."
"Perhaps I should text Ethan."

Ardenture Finale by giraffe:
"Kinn's like havin ta eat cabbage when ya hate it. This is like ham on rye whenever I'm a-willin."
"Come on you can't sit our here like yard elves."

Ode to Selene by Dragon:
"Standing oh so aloof/There amid your twinkling kin/Upon deepest dark velvet"
"I give my devotion to your sister, shining Sunna/and languish beneath her golden smile."

untitled by giraffe: (missed ardently)
"Well, to start with, there isn't a real music industry anymore."
"No one wants a genuine poet. They crave the cabbage of modern nothingness."
"Security, we have an intruder."

You Say Potato... by Doug:
"Corn for ethanol... corn for eating...."
"A dragon lily stands tall amongst the cukes cutting light into a cosmic prism of color and wonder only slain by the overgrowth of the oaks towering overhead."

Devotion... by Doug:
"It was nothing for him to walk out the door of his house in a business suit sporting a Gucci tie and come home alone with bloodstains on his boots."


Everyone, absolutely amazing job! I am impressed by your talent, especially with cabbage Thank you again Doug for allowing me to oversee this edition of ThinkWrite. I have had a hard time trying to choose just one story with so many wonderful submissions!
Without further ado, the next ThinkWrite torchbearer will be mouse for the Cabbage Festival tale! Congratulations mouse, can’t wait to see the next list of words!

mouse

Ladyhwin
I am absolutely flabbergasted that you choose my tale. There were so many great stories submitted. Thank You. I will submit a list tomorrow afternoon.