Week 649 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 more than 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 Eric Martell 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
- Sheilagh Lee
- Silver James
- Kelly Heinen
- K.R. Van Horn
- Mark A. Morris
- Mark Ethridge
- David A. Ludwig
- A.J. Walker
- Siobhan Muir
Honorable Mentions
Kelly Heinen | Website
Eric says: Some of the most well-known writers in fantasy have taken on depictions of Death and God. Pratchett (more than once). Anthony. It can be difficult to find a new take, a new voice in that space. This story did a nice job of letting us see the world through the eyes of Stan, a new character, someone we want to know more about.
K.R. Van Horn | Website
Eric says: I think that anyone who creates art and shares it with others wants to be remembered in some way, having made people think, or feel, or just feel good. This story captured that desire well. And it had a great line (I’m a sucker for great lines): “No such thing as wasted time. Just time you don’t understand yet.”
winner announcement
Week 649 Winner
Eric says: Bill created a world. I mean, it’s our world, kind of, but he created it. It wasn’t just the vocabulary he created for the story, but how he deployed it, enough to create a new thing, not too much that we didn’t know what it all meant. Just so good.
Boarders
“Pass the Wigglesbit, Bolly,” Snagtrip asks.
I’m in no mood to be generous with my efforts , buried deep am I in my turnip mash, covered with mayo and spices from Rajipoor.
“You’ve got two or three arms,” I say, “not to mention a leg or two, so reach for it yourself.”
“You don’t have to get all huffy-puffy, Bolly. Fine, I’ll skookum them myself.”
I can see it beginning all again, for the cranky Snagtrip is that sort. However, this time, he grabs the Wigglesbit and I return to my mash. As I scoff, I look around the huge table with our dozens of visitors, guests from around the Globe, the Universe, all of us travellers in time and space, all plopped down here in this shrinking outpost for now as the rest of everywhere battles for superiority.
We can see the explosions on the giant screen that serves as our ceiling, see and hear as forces scruffle for inches of land all around us. Some at our table duck under from time to time. Shetterjolt, a Wiperian unused to the sounds of battle, plows under the table periodically, abandoning his turnip mash, unaware that others are dipping in.
Here we are, perhaps the last vestiges of whatever we are, human, aliens, doppelgangers of every race, evacuees, refugees, all guests of the remnants of the once great country of Canada, torn apart by theatrical warmongers.
Supplies are running short but thankfully, there’s an abundance of the versatile turnip.
~~~~~~~
Congratulations THIRTY-SIX TIME WINNER Bill, and Honorable Mentions Kelly and K.R.! 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! 🙂
