Pursued by a Thought

'Your new #silhouette is amazing,' says Laura. 'You've lost so much depth.' I examine myself. Where last month my features cast shadows, now I'm a subtle grey plain. In another month this new diet will have taken full effect, and I will be truly one-dimensional. #vss365

Now often at: @pursuedthought.bsky.social I hope to see you there!

If you can listen, despite the #pervasive noise, If you can imagine friends beyond arbitrary walls, If you can brave the hate to pick others up when they fall, Then the future is ours. #vss365

'Hello?' (hello...hello...) 'Anyone there?' (...there...there...) The house is empty, my head is a thoughtless #hollow. Out in the street the birds sing, but no neighbours mow, no cars pass by. Sitting on the step - sun on my face - I bask in the silence. #vss365

'This restaurant has no #ambience.' 'Yes it does, look, here on the menu - pan fried ambience with a foam of light conversation and a raspberry jus.' 'I think I've just lost my appetite...' #vss365

An #awareness of difference came early. Daycare peers cried and tantrummed when denied sweets, whereas Holly wandered away. Days later, spiders would crawl from her opponent's hair, leaving them squealing. Now she's World President, Holly's preferred tool is blackmail. #vss365

Everything - brothels, churches, mansions, hovels, theatres - is #ablaze. King and commoners alike run to save themselves and their possessions from the flames, and even rats desert the city. In a back street, one baker curses the moment's inattention that lit the spark. #vss365

We're due for a #writerslift. Post your #books #stories #blogs #wip or just say hi. Like, follow, repost. Support your fellow #writers. As usual, I've got a follow-back ready for all creatives 🎨 #WritingCommunity #ShamelessSelfpromoFriday #shamelessselfpromosaturday

@CavesAuthor Thanks!

@PursuedThought 👏👏👏👏👏

I stretched my boundaries for you, rubbed your criticisms into my skin, until I was as supple as rubber. But your in-#flexible heart sliced through flesh, split my bones and scooped out the marrow. Repaired and re-paired now, my edges glitter like diamonds. #vss365

I'm often told my fat is #gigil. People can't resist giving it a squeeze, sometimes without asking first. When this happens, I fold my arms, look them straight in the eye, and say, 'Fat people aren't always jolly.' I still put the red suit on each Christmas though. #vss365

@phantomsspleen @memezinelit Wow. That's really visceral. Congrats!

@moritherapy I'm not ruling anything out!

@PursuedThought How bout a thneed? seuss.fandom.com/wiki/Thneed

If I seem a little #Lackadaisical with regards to #vss365 it's because my get up and go has got up and gone. Something has pulled at the threads of my thoughts and I've come unravelled. Don't worry, I'm knitting myself back together gently. Who knows what shape I'll take next?

I am the covers that hide you from the night. I am the walls that protect you from the storm. I am the fire that warms your feet. I am the food that staves off your hunger. I am the love that you deserve. I am your #sentinel. #vss365

Your #lustre was once too great. I came back too many times, suffered your cruelty, let you take and take and take, but still loved the mask you wore in the beginning. Now I know that your shine was only a reflection of my own light. Without you, I burn brighter. #vss365

'My stomach hurts.' Mum puts her hand to my forehead. 'You are warm,' she says. 'What did you eat?' 'Only the lunch you made. Oh and some purple berries from the garden when Em and I were playing #forage.' Mum turns white. Luckily the hospital is only 5 minutes away. #vss365

Our feelings were a #torrent, right from the start. I would have done anything for you, even when you almost drowned us both. Only a fine mist forms when I think of you now. My new love and I rain affection lightly, floating calmly on the streams we create. #vss365

My mother opens the photo album for an #amble down memory lane. 'Look how lovely we were at your graduation,' she says, her memories seasoned with rose water. Beside my younger smile, his disembodied hand on my shoulder makes me shudder. 'Nostalgia is toxic.' I say. #vss365

I woke up one morning, and my front #door had gone. In its place was a note saying, 'You never use me, so I'm off to travel the world'. I walked in my street, went shopping, for the first time in years. I still get postcards from my door. Often I'm out when they arrive. #vss365