#ThursThreads – Tying Tales Together – Week 629

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Welcome back to the home of #ThursThreads for Week 629. Year 12! What a fantastic testament to the writing community. Y’all rock! Today is Thursday and that means it’s time to start flashing on #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Want to keep up each week? Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook and the Group on MeWe. Need the rules? Read on. Here’s how it works: The prompt is a line from the previous week’s winning tale. The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count. The prompt must be used as is. It can be split, but no intervening words can be inserted or tenses changed. Rules to the Game: This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250. The story must be new writing, not a snippet from something published elsewhere with the prompt added. Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count). Post your story in the comments section of this post Include your word count in the post (or be excluded from judging) Include your social media handle or email in the post (so we easily notify you) The challenge is open 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain Time US. The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up. How it benefits you: You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we’re all about promotion – you know you are!) You get instant recognition of your writing prowess on this blog! Your writing colleagues shall announce and proclaim your greatness on Facebook, Bluesky, MeWe, and Mastodon, etc. Our Judge for Week 629: Typo Sniper, fast fiction author, and the woman who started it all, Cara Michaels. Facebook | Bluesky | Goodreads | AO3 | And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together. The Prompt: “You will live a long life.” All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Comments do not represent the views of the host and the host reserves the right to remove any content. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads. Good luck!

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#ThursThreads – Week 628 – Winners

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Week 628 of #ThursThreads was a success, and y’all never disappoint. Thank you to everyone who writes each week. You are why we’re still doing this, and why we’ve made it 12 YEARS! If you’ve just found us, welcome to the crew! May you come back again and write more great flash. A thousand thanks to Muirlette #1 for judging this week. Follow Siobhan Muir on Bluesky or check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc. Entries: Bill Engleson  Siobhan Muir  Silver James Daelyn Morgana David A. Ludwig  Kelly Heinen Nellie Batz Honorable Mention Nellie Batz | Website Muirlette says: I like the strength of the female MC. She doesn’t give in to the male character. Great job. winner announcement Week 625 Winner Kelly Heinen Muirlette says: I really like the humor of this story and the interaction between the characters. Terrific read. “You will be very fortunate in your future.” I have this pesky eyebrow that likes to raise at the oddest of times. And there it goes. That eyebrow said challenge accepted and is threatening to leave my forehead. My boss is sitting behind his desk, gently caressing a crystal ball with skeletal hands, droning on in some sort of weird accent. And his outfit is eyebrow raising indeed: skirts, bandana, coin belt. “You will live a long life,” he drones, gazing deep into the crystal ball. “With many children.” “Okay…what’s going on?” His head snaps in my direction, cocked to one side. “I am practicing for the work Halloween party. I am going to be a fortune teller. Is my costume okay?” If my eyebrow gets any higher… “I think fortune tellers wear some sort of off the shoulder, puffy shirt. They don’t go about in their birthday suit.” If he had eyebrows, they’d be raised now. Even still, his jaw dropping like a discount store skeleton is funny and I burst out laughing. He may be The One True Death but he’s not trying too hard today. “Perhaps this fortune teller is in their afterlife.” “Perhaps. But you should probably wear a shirt to look more authentic.” He resumes his crystal ball caressing as I head out, giggling. Frankly, I think it’d be funnier if he went as a pirate. He can be disassembled and reassembled with very little effort. He could spare a leg for one night.~~~~~~~ Congratulations TWENTY-TWO TIME WINNER Kelly, and Honorable Mention Nellie! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it! Pass on the great news on Facebook, MeWe, Bluesky, Mastodon, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂

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#ThursThreads – Tying Tales Together – Week 628

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Welcome back to the home of #ThursThreads for Week 628. Year 12! What a fantastic testament to the writing community. Y’all rock! Today is Thursday and that means it’s time to start flashing on #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Want to keep up each week? Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook and the Group on MeWe. Need the rules? Read on. Here’s how it works: The prompt is a line from the previous week’s winning tale. The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count. The prompt must be used as is. It can be split, but no intervening words can be inserted or tenses changed. Rules to the Game: This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250. The story must be new writing, not a snippet from something published elsewhere with the prompt added. Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count). Post your story in the comments section of this post Include your word count in the post (or be excluded from judging) Include your social media handle or email in the post (so we easily notify you) The challenge is open 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain Time US. The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up. How it benefits you: You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we’re all about promotion – you know you are!) You get instant recognition of your writing prowess on this blog! Your writing colleagues shall announce and proclaim your greatness on Facebook, Bluesky, MeWe, and Mastodon, etc. Our Judge for Week 628: Cat wrangler, master violinist, and Tea connoisseur, Muirlette #1. And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together. The Prompt: “Challenge accepted.” All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Comments do not represent the views of the host and the host reserves the right to remove any content. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads. Good luck!

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#ThursThreads – Week 627 – Winners

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Week 627 of #ThursThreads was a success, and y’all never disappoint. Thank you to everyone who writes each week. You are why we’re still doing this, and why we’ve made it 12 YEARS! If you’ve just found us, welcome to the crew! May you come back again and write more great flash. A thousand thanks to Heidi Rundle for judging this week. Follow Siobhan Muir on Bluesky or check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc. Entries: Bill Engleson Silver James Siobhan Muir Mark Ethridge Mark A. Morris David A. Ludwig Alexandra Minns Honorable Mention Alexandra Minns | Website Heidi says: very intriguing start. winner announcement Week 627 Winner Silver James Heidi says: Silver James had it for me. Amazing story telling. She wasn’t sure why she’d come. She didn’t belong here, wasn’t comfortable, especially since Dimitri was there. If she’d known, she wouldn’t have stayed. Yet… Yeah, she thought. That’s a lie. She’d come to the restaurant in Brighton Beach with the express purpose of finding him. The hair on the back of her neck prickled as the hostess led her to a table. She didn’t have to look to know that Dimitri had eyes on her. She sat, opened a menu, waited. It took five minutes before he slid into the chair opposite her. She prayed he couldn’t hear the rapid beat of her heart. “Why are you here?” She held up the menu. “Dinner?” “You are asking or stating?” Laying the menu on the table, she inhaled deeply to settle her nerves and to fortify them. “I…uhm…” She breathed again. “Okay. It’s like this. I have this…hobby.” Dima smirked. “You are called Gypsy for a reason. Why are you here, Gypsy girl?” “Someone came to me and asked about you. I looked at—” “The signs are all there,” he interrupted. Wide-eyed, she stared at him. He believed in signs? She’d expecting him to dismiss her theories because they came from her reading of the Tarot cards. No one ever believed her when she tried to explain what she’d read there. “Then you know?” she asked. “Know what?” “Whatever you plan to do tonight, you can’t do it. Not and live.” His smile chilled her. “Challenge accepted.”~~~~~~~ Congratulations SEVENTY-ONE TIME WINNER Silver, and Honorable Mention Alexandra! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it! Pass on the great news on Facebook, MeWe, Bluesky, Mastodon, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂

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#ThursThreads – Tying Tales Together – Week 627

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Welcome back to the home of #ThursThreads for Week 627. Year 12! What a fantastic testament to the writing community. Y’all rock! Today is Thursday and that means it’s time to start flashing on #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Want to keep up each week? Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook and the Group on MeWe. Need the rules? Read on. Here’s how it works: The prompt is a line from the previous week’s winning tale. The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count. The prompt must be used as is. It can be split, but no intervening words can be inserted or tenses changed. Rules to the Game: This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250. The story must be new writing, not a snippet from something published elsewhere with the prompt added. Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count). Post your story in the comments section of this post Include your word count in the post (or be excluded from judging) Include your social media handle or email in the post (so we easily notify you) The challenge is open 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain Time US. The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up. How it benefits you: You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we’re all about promotion – you know you are!) You get instant recognition of your writing prowess on this blog! Your writing colleagues shall announce and proclaim your greatness on Facebook, Bluesky, MeWe, and Mastodon, etc. Our Judge for Week 627: Book promoter and fantastic beta reader, Heidi Rundle. Facebook |  And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together. The Prompt: “I looked at the signs.” All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Comments do not represent the views of the host and the host reserves the right to remove any content. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads. Good luck!

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#ThursThreads – Week 626 – Winners

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Week 626 of #ThursThreads was a success, and y’all never disappoint. Thank you to everyone who writes each week. You are why we’re still doing this, and why we’ve made it 12 YEARS! If you’ve just found us, welcome to the crew! May you come back again and write more great flash. A thousand thanks to Mark Ethridge for judging this week. Follow Siobhan Muir on Bluesky or check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc. Entries: Bill Engleson  Siobhan Muir  Joe Hesch Silver James Patricia Dump Eric Martell David A. Ludwig  Honorable Mention Joe Hesch | Website Mark says: I love the dialog of this piece. winner announcement Week 626 Winner Eric Martell Mark says: Because. It could happen. A totally dystopian view of the future. I pointed at the sign above the bathroom door. “Men Only – This Means You!” it read, blocky black font on a white background. A custodian was adding a second below it. “Whites Only,” this one said. “It wasn’t like that when I was your age, Jacob.” Some days it didn’t seem like all that long since I’d been his age, riding around with my mothers in their electric car as we drove to the polls to vote for the woman with ancestors from two continents who was elected President on a third. “What wasn’t, Pop-pop?” The kid had never known anything different, of course. Nor should he have. The history I remembered wasn’t taught in schools, not the private schools the rich kids went to and sure as hell not the Job Training Center Jacob had attended starting at age three. I looked at the signs again and thought of the Riots of ‘24 and the Second Civil war, then the Second Constitutional Convention in ‘37. I saw the eyes of the custodian track to me when I spoke, and I thought of the New Pledge. I thought of how 13 becomes 61, but how 61 forgets 13. I thought of my mothers in their unmarked graves. I thought of rough beasts and grandfathers and grandsons. “Nothing,” I finally said. “Just my back acting up.” “Okay, Pop-pop.” We turned towards home, but I couldn’t resist a look back at the signs. “Say, Jacob. You guys learn about poetry in school?”~~~~~~~ Congratulations THIRTY-TWO TIME WINNER Eric, and Honorable Mention David! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. Pass on the great news on Facebook, MeWe, Bluesky, Mastodon, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂

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#ThursThreads – Tying Tales Together – Week 626

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Welcome back to the home of #ThursThreads for Week 626. Year 12! What a fantastic testament to the writing community. Y’all rock! Today is Thursday and that means it’s time to start flashing on #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Want to keep up each week? Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook and the Group on MeWe. Need the rules? Read on. Here’s how it works: The prompt is a line from the previous week’s winning tale. The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count. The prompt must be used as is. It can be split, but no intervening words can be inserted or tenses changed. Rules to the Game: This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250. The story must be new writing, not a snippet from something published elsewhere with the prompt added. Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count). Post your story in the comments section of this post Include your word count in the post (or be excluded from judging) Include your social media handle or email in the post (so we easily notify you) The challenge is open 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain Time US. The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up. How it benefits you: You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we’re all about promotion – you know you are!) You get instant recognition of your writing prowess on this blog! Your writing colleagues shall announce and proclaim your greatness on Facebook, Bluesky, MeWe, and Mastodon, etc. Our Judge for Week 626: Computer IT master, flashfiction writer, and human, Mark Ethridge. Bluesky | Discord |  And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together. The Prompt: “It wasn’t like that.” All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Comments do not represent the views of the host and the host reserves the right to remove any content. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads. Good luck!

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#ThursThreads – Week 625 – Winners

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Week 625 of #ThursThreads was a success, and y’all never disappoint. Thank you to everyone who writes each week. You are why we’re still doing this, and why we’ve made it 12 YEARS! If you’ve just found us, welcome to the crew! May you come back again and write more great flash. A thousand thanks to George Varhalmi for judging this week. Follow Siobhan Muir on Bluesky or check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc. Entries: Bill Engleson  Siobhan Muir  Silver James David A. Ludwig  Mark A. Morris Miranda Gammella Eric Martell George says: All of the stories were entertaining but there were two stories that really stood out for me. I enjoyed each one. Thank you, Siobhan for letting me be your judge this week. Honorable Mention David A. Ludwig | Website George says: The stoic tension at the beginning had the Mission Impossible theme blaring in my head. Then, with near disaster at hand, a flick of a few buttons and everything came under control only to end with a great geeky ending. I loved that humor and it sealed the deal on this being my HM choice in the end. Great story David, thank you for letting me judge it. winner announcement Week 625 Winner Silver James George says: I liked the sweetness of the tale. Just talk to Tony. In a scene where you have one character who is at what appears to be the end of her career as a lawyer with no clear answer as to what happens next for her. The second is a veteran judge who has presided over a few of her cases. His simple gesture to just “talk to Tony” toned down the fear and anguish she was going through. What a great short tale, thank you, Silver. Maura stared out. Boston’s buildings crowded around like a scrum of rugby players. Her scattered thoughts weren’t condusive to explaining her actions. Judge Francone cleared his throat. She didn’t turn around. “Ms. Brannigan?” “I don’t know what to say, your honor.” “We aren’t in the courtroom, Maura.” “No, but you are still a judge.” “And you are still an assistant district attorney.” “Am I?” “Have you filed a letter of resignation?” She had to consider that. Alex had, for all intents and purposes fired her. But that was before… “It wasn’t like that.” “Talk to me, Maura. Me. Not the old fart in the black robes with a gavel in my hands. It’s just you and me here. Off the record. Just Maura and Tony.” She almost giggled but reined in the slight hysteria rising up inside her. “Tony? Really?” “My mother only called me Anthony when I was in trouble.” “What did your father call you?” “Trouble.” They both laughed and she relaxed, finally turning away from the world outside the window. His voice was soft and curious when he spoke again. “What happened, Maura?” Where did she begin? Her falling in love with a criminal mastermind? Her boss turning into a homicidal megalomaniac? Her snooping? Maybe. Or not. “I learned the system was rigged. Law and order. My guideposts have always been law and order. Then I discovered what was happening. I thought I could fix it but I heard the system break.” “Then fix it.” “I can’t.”~~~~~~~ Congratulations SEVENTY TIME WINNER Silver, and Honorable Mention David! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it! Pass on the great news on Facebook, MeWe, Bluesky, Mastodon, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂

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#ThursThreads – Tying Tales Together – Week 625

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Welcome back to the home of #ThursThreads for Week 625. Year 12! What a fantastic testament to the writing community. Y’all rock! Today is Thursday and that means it’s time to start flashing on #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Want to keep up each week? Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook and the Group on MeWe. Need the rules? Read on. Here’s how it works: The prompt is a line from the previous week’s winning tale. The prompt can appear ANYWHERE in your story and is included in your word count. The prompt must be used as is. It can be split, but no intervening words can be inserted or tenses changed. Rules to the Game: This is a Flash Fiction challenge, which means your story must be a minimum of 100 words, maximum of 250. The story must be new writing, not a snippet from something published elsewhere with the prompt added. Incorporate the prompt anywhere into your story (included in your word count). Post your story in the comments section of this post Include your word count in the post (or be excluded from judging) Include your social media handle or email in the post (so we easily notify you) The challenge is open 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain Time US. The winner will be announced on Friday, depending on how early the judge gets up. How it benefits you: You get a nifty cool badge to display on your blog or site (because we’re all about promotion – you know you are!) You get instant recognition of your writing prowess on this blog! Your writing colleagues shall announce and proclaim your greatness on Facebook, Bluesky, MeWe, and Mastodon, etc. Our Judge for Week 625: Dead Thing Specialist, Mining Geologist, and Original Book Boyfriend, George Varhalmi. Facebook | And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together. The Prompt: “But I heard the system break.” All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Comments do not represent the views of the host and the host reserves the right to remove any content. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads. Good luck!

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#ThursThreads – 12th Anniversary – Winners

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Week 624 of #ThursThreads, 12th Anniversary was a sweet reminder of just how amazing y’all are. Can you believe we’ve been doing this for over a decade? Boggles the mind. Thank you to everyone who writes each week. You are why we’re still doing this. If you’ve just found us, welcome to the crew! May you come back again and write more great flash. A thousand thanks to Silver James for judging this week. Follow Siobhan Muir on Bluesky or check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Group on MeWe to keep up with news, etc. Silver says: TWELVE YEARS! Wow. Happy Anniversary, Threaders! I’m honored that Siobhan asked me to judge this anniversary version of Thursday Threads. First, congrats to all who participated this week, and who have throughout the years. I’m always thrilled by the amount of talent in this group. Now, for today’s winners. My instructions are to choose a Winner and two Honorable Mentions and I’m supposed to award them “Best of Genre.” Thing is, you’d think we were coming up on Halloween or something. Almost all of the tales had a sprinkle of paranormal/horror/supernatural elements. So, instead of genre, here’s some made-up Best of awards… Here we go… *pretend drumroll*  Entries: Bill Engleson  Eric Martell Kelly Heinen Sheilagh Lee Louisa Bacio  Miranda Gammella David A. Ludwig  Siobhan Muir  Daniel Swensen Honorable Mention: Best Tale with Scared Goats Bill Engleson | Website Silver says: Not so horrific horror or maybe a dash of paranormal or supernatural because ghosts and/or aliens. I get where the goats are coming from and I’m with them! Well written and well done, Bill. Honorable Mention: Best Tale with Shotgun Totin’ Rednecks Daniel Swensen | Website Silver says: I would read this book, if it was one. I both laughed and commiserated with the two protagonists. Happy huntin’, fellas! winner announcement Week 624 Winner Eric Martell Silver says: Best Tale with a Literary Spin on Relationships goes to Eric Martell. Wow. That was a wonderful and tightly written bit of relationship confessional. I felt for your narrator, Eric. Plus, the twist at the end? Yeah, I didn’t see that one coming and it ended this tale perfectly. “Shock Loading” In theatre, when a piece of scenery comes loose so that it falls freely until being suddenly stopped by a cable, we say that the system has been shock-loaded. Shock-loading isn’t supposed to happen, of course, but sometimes the things we want to happen the least do anyway. A good operator will replace each part of a system that’s been shock-loaded because visual inspection cannot tell whether some element has suffered microscopic fractures during the intense and rapid deformation and reformation of the shock load, so that the next time, the element might not deform, it might break. After the affair, I tried to keep the damage I did to our relationship to the ordinary kind. The kind that can be repaired with communication and listening and atonement. Forget to change the laundry. Burn the steaks on the grill. Get drunk during our daughter’s ballet recital. I made that last one up to her by getting sober and staying that way for six months. I did the laundry. Cooked dinner. Kept my job. Avoided the shock loads. One of the things they learned that causes chronic traumatic encephalopathy, otherwise known as CTE, in football players, is the damage done by repeated sub-concussive hits. It’s not always the big blow that does the unfixable damage. It’s the damage from the smaller ones, hidden, waiting. If you’d have asked me what the last straw would have been, I’d never have guessed the way I folded towels. But I heard the system break.~~~~~~~ Congratulations THIRTY-ONE TIME WINNER Eric, and Honorable Mentions Bill and Daniel! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it! Please contact Siobhan Muir at muir.siobhan@gmail.com for your giftcard of choice. Pass on the great news on Facebook, MeWe, Bluesky, Mastodon, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! 🙂

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