Week 325 of #ThursThreads had many fantastic tales. I'm honored to see all the writers come to tie a tale in our sixth year. If you’ve been doing it a while, thank you. If you’ve just found us, welcome! May you come back again and write more great flash. Thousand thanks to Erik Schubach for judging this week. Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook or the #ThursThreads Community on Google Plus to keep up with news, etc.

Entries:

• Cara Michaels | @caramichaels
• Miranda Kate | @PurpleQueenNL\
• Anita Sabat | @anitaexplorer
• Mark A. Morris
• Patty Knowles | @pattydump1
• Mileva Anastasiadou | @happymil_
• Robin Abess
• Bill Engleson | @billmelaterplea
• Siobhan Muir | @SiobhanMuir
• L.T. Dalin | @LTDalin
• Silver James | @SilverJames_
• Barbe Crabtree
• Kel J. Heinen | @Aightball
• Melissa Bennett
• Torn MacAlester | @Torn_MacAlester

 
Winners Announcement:

Honorable Mentions

Patty Knowles | @pattydump1
Erik says: Invoking Sleepy Hollow and the legend of the Headless Horseman is always
fun. This evil meany basically marked the poor sap to death. Noooooo!

Anita Sabat | @anitaexplorer
Erik says: **does the robot dance** Fun and poignant look at sentient AI.

Silver James | @SilverJames_
Erik says: Nice, like she's signing her soul away to the devil. Will she be able
to stop it, or is it a foregone conclusion?

The Writer

The page lay blank before me again. Words beat at my brain, but refused to travel to my fingers. I took another drink from the glass to my right, but it didn’t help. Nothing did. Frustrated, I slammed the crystal cylinder down on the desk, growling. Soft fingers stroked my brow.

“Here, let me help you begin.”

That voice. Lyrical and pleasing to the ear. I grabbed for the wrist but came up empty, feeling a wisp of gauze brush my cheek.

“Now, Nathaniel, you know better than that. Relax. We’ve been here before, you know.”

I did know. I didn’t want to do this again.

“No, it has to be all mine this time. I promised.”

A tinkling laugh shook me. “Yes, and you know how well that works.”

Curse it all, I did. Still, I was determined.

“No…” Even as I said it, I watched my fingers begin moving, words flowing swiftly to the paper.

“That’s right. Just let it flow. Good boy.”

A sob escaped me as I tried to fight it, to no avail. Fingers cramping, I completed the tale, glancing over it when done.

“Good, isn’t it?”

I sighed. “As usual.”

Eyes glistening, my Muse made another checkmark in the book held in slender hands. The horns atop the crown of shining hair looked particularly sharp tonight.

Congratulations Four Time Winner Robin, and Honorable Mentions Patty, Anita, and Silver! Don't forget to claim your badges and display them with pride. You certainly earned it!

Pass on the great news on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, shiny mirrors, Morse Code, and signal flags. Check out all the original tales HERE. Thanks for stopping by and happy reading! :)

Welcome back to the Weird, the Wild, & the Wicked. Today is Thursday and that means it’s time to start flashing. We’ve reached our Sixth year of weekly prompts! This is Week 325 of #ThursThreads, the challenge that ties tales together. Want to keep up each week? Check out the #ThursThreads #flashfiction group on Facebook and the Community on Google Plus.

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 Twitter handle or email in the post (so we don’t have to look for you)
• The challenge is open 7 AM to 8 PM Mountain Time
• 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, Twitter, and Google Plus, etc.

Our Judge for Week 325:

Discombobulated Platypus King, and #LesFic author, Erik Schubach.

Erik on Facebook
Erik on Twitter
Erik on Goodreads
Erik on Google Plus

And now your #ThursThreads Challenge, tying tales together.

The Prompt:

“Here, let me help you begin.”

All stories written herein are the property (both intellectual and physical) of the authors. Now, away with you, Flash Fiction Fanatics, and show us your #ThursThreads. Good luck!

Welcome to Flash Fiction...A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words. We've made it to August and that means school starts soon. I'm both dreading it and looking forward to it. :P I'm part of a fantastic group of exceptional authors who do a monthly flash fiction blogs. All of them are excellent writers and I highly recommend visiting their blogs. This time the story was inspired by the following image and brought up some words to an upcoming sequel to DARWIN'S EVOLUTION.

Oshi stared at the image in a simple blond wood frame on the wall of the gallery and wished he could step into the photograph. A woman in a red dress stood in an opening between the trees, her hair caught in a corona of sunlight, her hands reaching upwards as if to cradle the light. Her beauty called to him, making him wish he could shuck this tight man’s suit and step into his more flowing feminine clothing.

I could be her.

A hand landed on his shoulder in a hard, masculine greeting. “What do you think of the art, Oshi-san?”

“It’s very elegant, Yaku-san.” Oshi nodded, bowing slightly. “A true treasure trove of quality.”

“I’m very happy to hear you say that.” Yaku bowed, pleasure shining in his eyes. “I hope you’ll convey that to Riku Yamamoto when you see him next. It would be a great honor for me.”

Oshi let the muscles around his mouth and eyes soften in an approximation of willingness. The last thing he wanted to do was convey anything to the leader of the local Yakuza organization here in Seattle, but given his deep undercover work for the FBI, he’d been highly placed and had some of the leadership’s ears.

“I would be happy to pass along my observations, Yaku-san.”

“Excellent. I was sorry to hear he couldn’t attending the show’s opening tonight.” Yaku’s voice remained pleasant, but an undercurrent of disappointed petulance ran through it.

“Apologies. Mr. Yamamoto had an issue come up last moment. He sent me in his stead. I hope it’s not taken as an insult.”

Oshi tipped his head. Yamamoto might not be as old as some of the Yakuza bosses, but he didn’t have the taste for this kind of art. He much preferred fucking underage girls, particularly those from the families of his minions to keep them in line. Oshi’s stomach threatened to return the hors d’oeuvres but he clenched his teeth behind his bland façade.

“Of course, of course. I’m so grateful he sent a representative at all.”

Yaku turned his head to scan the crowd as if trying to find something to scatter his embarrassment over the faux pas. Oshi lost interest in the man’s obsequiousness and moved on to the next image in the gallery. Unfortunately, Yaku trailed in his wake like an overexcited puppy. Oshi refused to acknowledge him as he perused the art, damn near making an entire circuit around the room before something stopped him.

Correction. Someone.

The man was tall and broad, broader than even Nobu and Taka, Riku’s usual enforcers. His hair had been cut into the high-and-tight style favored by the American military and he stood with the same relaxed-but-ready confidence of a warrior. Samurai.

Oshi’s mouth watered and his heart thundered in his chest as the Samurai met his gaze. Glorious dark eyes set in a round face under thick, elegant brows watched him with awareness, and Oshi resisted the urge to preen. Hot damn that man’s sexy. He made Oshi feel positively dainty and the urge to change into his more feminine clothing returned.

“Yaku, who is that man?” Oshi pointed out the hot stranger in the black suit with a silver silk tie.

Yaku frowned as he followed Oshi’s gaze. “He’s our new security guard. He was hired for this opening by Nishimura, I think. Weren’t you informed?”

“I was not, but I should very much like to meet him. Now.”

“Of course, Oshi-san.” Yaku bowed before he darted away to where the tall, broad beauty stood at parade rest.

Oh yes, he’s definitely military. And I want him. He just hoped the man wasn’t adverse to male company.
~~~~~~~

There you have it. Stop by the following other flash fiction authors below. Happy reading and happy August!

• Bronwyn Green
  
• Sarah M.