“Quoth the raven nevermore.”
Angry Birds*
#quote
There's an
expression that the truth hurts, but also lying can cause you pain.
So maybe I should just say ambiguous statements with no real or
difficult to discern meaning? Hmm...I don't think I'm cut out to be a
lawyer. Anyway onto the flash fiction!
Chuckles The
Chicken
Newspaper comic
book artist and writer Ken made Chuckles The Chicken for years. And
years. His hair was gray and he had middle aged people tell them how
they grew up with Chuckles and loved him. Ken sat at his desk,
frustrated, since after all these years, he couldn't come up with a
gag.
“Damn
chicken, aren't you supposed to be my easy meal ticket?” Ken loved
drawing and writing Chuckles for the first two decades. But
eventually coming up with jokes became a robotic process for him. He
became so good at it, and it became so routine that he made a comic
in a few hours and went to the rest of his day. The cartoon character
kept giving him an income, but in his day-to-day life it became an
inconvenience, like any job.
“I need to
give them a strip. I always give them a strip.” The old artist
mumbled, his fingers holding a pencil in hand. He flipped the pencil
in his hand between his fingers. Something unusual for him. He always
held his hand steady, ready to draw. “A joke, an idea for a strip.
Anything. Please God give me something for this stupid chicken to
do.”
Over his desk
hung an old poster with Chuckles the Chicken on it with the caption
“Keep On Chuckling!” It was the piece of merchandise ever made
for his comic so he held onto it as a memento. The thing was tattered
and worn. The word old jumped into his head. He couldn't get an
inspiration for a joke off the word old. He had no really old
characters in the comic.
A thought
crossed his mind. He could add an old character. The idea revolted
him though. If he added a new character he'd have to invent a new
character design. This would take much longer than the usual amount
of time he allotted to creating the comic. More thought and effort
than he put into it for years. But a new character...would that solve
his problem?
He put his hand
down on the paper and tried a little bit to draw a new character, but
not too much. After all it'd be too much work to try too hard at
making something new. But then in moments a rush of creativity came
and vitality. The character quickly formed. A grandfather of Chuckles
the Chicken's owner. His interest became renewed in the comic.
A joke came in
for that comic and the one after, and soon a few more characters. The
comic was revitalized as the jaded comic artist broke his decades
long formula and enjoyed his career once more.
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