Week 623 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 NEXT WEEK IS OUR 12TH ANNIVERSARY!! WOOHOO!
If you’ve just found us, welcome to the crew! May you come back again and write more great flash. A thousand thanks to Thia Mackin 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
- Nellie Batz
- Silver James
- Kelly Heinen
- David A. Ludwig
- Mark Ethridge
- Eric Martell
- Louisa Bacio
- Siobhan Muir
Honorable Mentions
Silver James | Website
Thia says: Full disclosure: I chose this story because I could absolutely find this exchange in a book I am reading for pleasure on the daily. Also, I liked that this was the only story that wasn’t ACTUALLY about the end of the world but incorporated the prompt. If this is part of a WIP, I need to know when it releases, because it should be on my TBR pile.
Bill Engleson | Website
Thia says: Honestly, this felt like the most accurate portrayal of current End of the World likeness. I could see this playing out on CNN or FOX. Points for accuracy. It made me a little sad about the state of current affairs, and all good writing elicits emotion.
winner announcement
Week 623 Winner
Thia says: The humor, the wit, and the sarcasm drew me in immediately. Although every one of my picks could have won, I crowned this story because it feels like a beginning. The beginning of the next YA apocalypse novel or an enemies-to-lovers saga is yet to be seen. However, at the end of the 249 words, I wanted more. (Want more still, to be clear.) Great job.
Well, as it turned out, even though he’d said it in front of God and Mrs. Warren and the entire sophomore class of West Monroe High, we didn’t have to wait for the end of the world for Kyle Packer to ask me on a date.
Technically.
I mean, yes, the world was *going* to end in less than six weeks, if the big green aliens who’d landed everywhere were able to follow through on their promises. And no, Kyle Packer and me going on a nightime reconnaissance mission out behind the hog rendering plant wasn’t a date per se, even if the moon was lovely and the plant hadn’t been operational in long enough that you could actually smell the honeysuckle and the two of us were only going because he and I were the only ones who’d managed to get our invisibility spells to work before the alien invasion had shut down all the magic schools.
The point is, he’d asked me if I’d go out with him tonight, even though he’d also said other words like “to scout their defenses” and “make sure we keep a minimum of twenty feet between us so that if they detect one of us, the other might be able to get away” and “the shadows of the moon are just lovely in your eyes tonight, Alex.”
Okay, I made that last one up. But he did say something about the moon and shadows and staying safe, so I’m counting it.
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Congratulations THIRTY TIME WINNER Eric, and Honorable Mentions Silver, and Bill! Don’t forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it!
NEXT WEEK IS OUR 12TH ANNIVERSARY, AND THERE WILL BE PRIZES!
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! 🙂
