That is beautiful and so sad. Your good. I'm going to read some more now.

Awe that is wonderful! Porcupine huh? Ouchie! If you hurry you could storm chase! xx

A porcupine choses to unlease his quills-they don't just stick out and poke everything. Most of the time they are withdrawn inside the shells, and the shells are down around the body. Just...figured I'd share that fact. (don't hurt me~ :D hehe. I get the point of the story)

Two people who 'clash' can be friends (or more) with compromise. Takes that from both sides though, or one person will always feel hurt. Nothing wrong with a porcupine wanting to be with a cloud-just have to learn to control the quills (and the cloud needs to learn to avoid them). It's a give and take...porcupine works to keep the quills down, cloud sees effort and works and not running into them (or w/e) and so on. Give up now...well...nothing gained. Try...and you can have the world. Could lead to dissapointment and the cloud leaving anyway-but if she keep coming back even with the quills getting in the way...seems to say she's still trying. Seems to me...the porcupine is pulling away because of his fear of causing pain and sorrow. Maybe he causes that by staying away...because the cloud is a storm cloud (rain=tears) and no one trys to get close because she does get hurt easy. But she gets hurt easy because no one has gotten close.

Just something to think about

The quills are always there. And, thus, they can always snag and prickle. And, reflexes can be sensitive like nerves. Yes, I know a porcupine doesn't release(meaning let go of) its quills til it wishes to stick something attacking it. But, the quills would not stick/stay in a cloud anyway if he tried that:P

You just tied my brain into a pretzel, thanks alot;P

Well...if your brain is a pretzel, then it matches your avatar! ok...feel free to slap me...

My point is, so what if the porcupine has quills. The rain cloud (no doubt) has lightning! Doesn't mean with a little work it couldn't, well...work! Haven't you seen Finding Nemo? Clown fish and sea anenomes? Sea anenomes eat fish-they sting much like jellyfish yah? But somehow because the clown fish work at it-run themselves on the sea anenome if you want to get technical-they no longer hurt each other. Instead, they protect each other. So quills could in the end be a protection for the cloud, not hurt it. Besides...why give up so easy? Can't go through life without hurting people-it's not possible! Even if you were perfect. What matters is what you do after you hurt someone. And what you learn from that.

Heh...did I make your mind even more pretzely ;)

Yea...thanks for not helping:P

And, once again your example isn't flawless either:P

The sea anenome(which I am amazed you spelled correctly:P) protects the clown fish...but how does the fish protect the anenome? No, I think the clown fish just TOLERATES the sting of the anenome. It is immune to it. That is not the image of a well-working romantic relationship. Simply tolerating and being unaffected by the other person's negative forces? Bleh! No good.

HA! Sea anenome protects the fish-it can hide there, live there. In return, the fish cleans the anenome, protects it from things that can and would hurt it (I know you've seen fish picking at stuff like plants/rocks/etc. Why? cleaning and eating those things that might 'taste' good to the fish but it also protects what's around them) Point? It's mutual. Isn't just tolerance. Fish has to get used to the sting, but then it doesn't bother it. Fish protects anenome, anenome protects fish. Love? eh, it's sealife. But as a comparison...hmmmm

Hmm...anenome...aneneneneneome anenonemememememeemememe

You do love to look at the negative sometimes, which isn't all bad. It's good to be prepaired. But it becomes a problem when it stops you. If there is only a bad outcome possible-ok sure. But stopping because of a possible bad outcome...well technically there is a possible bad outcome to *everything*. Seriously. Retract those quills brainy ;) Might find the cloud's silver lining

I'll stop now btw :) Or I'll at least try to not trade comments with ya hehe

Yes, it's her lingerie:P

You just don't know when to quit:P anemeonenomeneomnomeneomenomeanemomene

I don't LOVE to see negatives...it's just a bad habit like cutting or the M word.

Hey, without you, I might not get such stimulation of my posts:P

ok well you asked for it then! mwhahahahaha!

I'll see your anemeonenomeneomnomeneomenomeanemomene
and raise you an anemeomemememememememememememememmememememememememe!

What's the 'm' word? Monkey? Moo? wait..it's mwhahahaha isn't it?

I think...I'll call you Marlin :-P I know negativity can be a bad habit, but habits can be broken! Gotta think of the good sides to you know, or at least you should. No one can predict the future (if I could I'd have won the lottery by now). If you always stop because of what 'could' happen, you never get the 'good' stuff either.

anemeoneeemeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Hey, I DID offer to stop but heh...

Guess I just haven't found my Dori yet:) But, Dori, no matter how sweet she might appear to others, is NOT the kind of person I'd want to be stuck with:P

Wait, I know one joke...um...there once was sea cucumber...stop me if you've heard this one before:P

Don't you mean Coral? Dori was a friend who helped Marlin. Coral was the wife. Of coarce...she was eaten by a barracuda...so maybe this isn't the best example after all...

ahem...

However Marlin, Marlin lived in fear after that, and wouldn't really leave the safety of the anenomemememe until something pulled him out-Nemo being captured. Then he discovered all that he was missing, and realized that yes, sometimes bad things do happen, but there is much more to life and you can't live your life in fear. He found a wonderful friend (Dori-granted, she's extremlly forgetful, but so what?!?! She's awesome and she keeps him moving and really helps him), and is much happier now.

Hmmm...maybe it wasn't a bad example after all...

Nope, never heard the sea cucumber joke before. What's the rest? Hmmm? Now I'm curious! Might have to bombard you with comments until I hear the rest! :D

If you are a porcupine, I'll be an echidna....together we can create a brand new prickly species :)

Seriously, you are giving us a problem that actually common in relationships. Relationships without any friction are only happen in fairy tales. Great perseverance and understanding plus commitment are needed from both sides to adjust and get along....

If the cloud goddess thinks that the porcupine is hurting her, then a tender approach is needed to calm the porcupine down, so he can control his sharp spines. Blaming games make matters worse!!! A storm cloud has to learn how to change into a gentle rain cloud that freshens and nourishes the troublesome encounter with the prickly beast!!!!!

As for the porcupine, he knows that he is sharp and can easily hurt the delicate cloud.... Are you ready to control or file your spines if necessary, so that they are not as sharp?? A hard work, but it can be done.

Wonderful comments by my friend gwatlan :) Nice story, brainstormer. I think G's got somethere there :P It's not for others to appease the porcupine, I believe it's up to him to change to connect with others.

Why must the porcupine change??:P Why did I, who broke the snowglobe in that WHAT IF scenario, have to be the bad guy now?? Who needs friends:P haha

I thought I was fine just the way I am....guess not? Pardon me for having standards and standing up for myself:) I hope I am not as shallow as I appear?

What a prickly lil' porcupine.
Poor lil' cloud.
hehe.

brainstormer I will be happy for you when you are feeling a different form of expression. I am never going to get that avatar out of my ugh.. head. :P Muah!

Standards are one thing. Unrealistic expectations are another. I'm not in the mood to be nice right now, so excuse me if this is a little blunt, but seems you do enjoy being miserable and alone. So many people have encouraged you and reached out to you, but you refuse to listen. No one is telling you to change, just to compromise a little. If you'd rather spend your life with your quills stuck far out attacking everyone then how many people will keep sticking around? Even the best of people will eventually give up and leave you alone. Be who you are, but remember there are other people around and sometimes that means retracting the quills a little and seeing things realistically. High standards are one thing, but you seem to have standards that absolutly no one will ever reach. Want a truely perfect person? Find a robot and program it. Want a wonderful relationship? See people's hearts and stop judging them so harshly.

uugh...this is a tad unlike how I usually post, I hate being harsh myself, but I honestly feel the urge to slap you right now and force you to see that life is worth the chances.

And you aren't shallow. If you were, then you'd only care about the outside. If anything, you're a little 'too deep' because you want everything 'perfect' inside and out.

OKAY... I want to be her friend!!! I love you brainstormer and as blunt as she just put things... she is pretty much stating some truths. OUCH I wouldn't want to get a spanking from her... (better stay on her good side :P) Hey and I like the new avatar. It is making me hungry! :P~~

Way to change yer opinions, people!!!

Now Im gettin a lil pissed.

What the heck, Nightmare?? First you like the twisted tale and say you would write something like this...then its not yer taste. What the heck changed??? What is messing with your heads, people??

I need a vacation from humanity.

Seems to me the porcupine is so misunderstood. The storm didnt understand the porcupines, admiration for her, and want to be close to her but he had a lack of strength to control his defense mechanism. Yet the storm may have been hurt, she will never get the chance to understand because the porcupine is too scared to hurt her again and too scared to leave his sanctuary. I think with some effort if the porcupine tried to let his quils down enough to reach out and hug the cloud without pricking her for awhile,even if it is hard for him to control, if he really tried, then the cloud will have time to learn who he is and will not be so easily offended by the occassional uncontrolled defense pricks.

River, yer a bit of a headache, ya know:)

Thanks for the effort, Megpie. Though, everyone's interpretations are getting muddled together still.

Anyone ever stop to think maybe the quills were something else? Not just his defense but perhaps the way words come out? Can someone who speaks a certain way simply change to make the other person understand better? In some cases, maybe. But, not in all.

I think he can change the way that he speaks and feels if he take the time to understand the way the cloud needs to be talked to and understand the feelings that the cloud has. Everyone can be spoken to and treated in a way that lets down defenses and open up hearts, you just have to sometimes work a little harder at finding the things that open those doors.