skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 17/06/2026Ted was a boy when he began his #novel. He left school, fled home, forsook family, lived in a hovel, begged enough to eat and buy paper. He never loved, nor sought it. Years past, decades, life. When finished, he put it in a trunk, sat on it, and set it aflame. He burned with joy. #vss365 0143
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 16/06/2026At midnight, a loud knock on the door wakes me from my troubled sleep. I cross the desolate living room to the front door of many locks. “Who is it?” I whisper. Nothing. “Friend or #fiend?” No answer. I return to my bedroom. In my bed is a fiend sleeping fitfully. It is me. #vss365 0131
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 15/06/2026#vss365 #prompt for 15 June 2026 is #gift #Gift is a fitting prompt for my last host day. I enjoy nothing so much as intriguing, imaginative, and beautiful writing. Thanks for giving me the #gift of your work. Reading you is part of my daily writing routine. It reminds me why I write. 117020
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 14/06/2026Thanks much. I enjoyed it. Such good writing. 020
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialLee Bailes @leebaileswriter.bsky.social · 14/06/2026#vss365 ...He genuflected. Steadfastly put #quietus on and waited for the approaching blues, heralded by wailing sirens. It would be a delicate balancing act, to bring the case to a close and avoid describing what he’d really seen. ... 1143
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialChris E. Sol @telaranrhiod.bsky.social · 14/06/2026They could see the city now, although it was still #distant. They were still following the golden road, but the foolish was sparser now, allowing them to see the tall towers that looked like serpents with scales. #vss365 0101
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 14/06/2026#vss365 #prompt for 14 June is #distant Some things can be close, yet distant; distant, yet close. Distant and lost, but not so distant never to be found again. The time is close for a new host, the hospitable Mike Reynolds @mikery192014.bsky.social on June 16. Be sure to follow him. 27125
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 13/06/2026#vss365 #prompt for 13 June 2026 is #quietus My time here approaches its #quietus, a lovely noun meaning ending, resolution, a finishing. On 16 June your prompt master will be my wise and witty friend Mike Reynolds @mikerey192014.bsky.social. Follow him now. You will not regret it. 46317
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialRaymh @rayhourigan.bsky.social · 12/06/2026Zooming, this room is Consuming the human in Me, rattling bars. #vss365 #consuming #haiku #senryu #poem #writing #writingcommunity @skeptikoi.bsky.social 0364
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialsifaswriting.bsky.social @sifaswriting.bsky.social · 12/06/2026Thoughts #consuming it is always too easy to live just within the confines of the mind look for rational answers logical connections so much talk and so much planning that nothing actually ever gets done #vss365 #poetry #writing #writingcommunity 0122
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialYour Secret Siren 🌊 🖤 @yoursecretsiren.bsky.social · 12/06/2026They tied twine at her wrists her hair spread through moss the deer watched from the tree line something #consuming unpicked her weaving. #vss365 #prompt 0122
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 12/06/2026Thank you so much. I have been enjoying your work for years. I wish you good health and send you best wishes. 010
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 12/06/2026#vss365 #prompt for 12 June 2026 is #consuming #consuming interest; love; curiosity; anxiety….what’s eating you? Or are you eating it? Is the consumption conspicuous; secretive? Whatever, something is going on. Tell us. 06117
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 11/06/2026#vss365 #prompt for 11 June 2026 is #forbidden #forbidden is a heavy word, but its character depends on what is forbidden and by whom. From the garden of Eden to the dictates of conscience, even who you may love. When to obey and when to rebel…that is the question. The choice is yours. 15521
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialRaymh @rayhourigan.bsky.social · 08/06/2026Another name for God, in the hearts and mouths of All children, mother. #vss365 #mother #haiku #senryu #poem #writing #writingcommunity @skeptikoi.bsky.social 0304
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialsifaswriting.bsky.social @sifaswriting.bsky.social · 08/06/2026I told my #mother long ago the I would not become like her: My children would not have the burden of expectation on their shoulders generations change and we must become more flexible she laments the future #vss365 #poetry #writing #writingcommunity 0103
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialsifaswriting.bsky.social @sifaswriting.bsky.social · 10/06/2026Birds sing as the #dawn arrives heralds the day with a burst of red, yellow and pinks they watch as it wraps its arms around the horizon #vss365 #poetry #writing #writingcommunity 0112
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 10/06/2026#vss365 #prompt for 10 June 2026 is #dawn To paraphrase Shelley (Ode to the West Wind) if nightfall comes can dawn be far behind? On the other hand, George Romero sees it differently in his Dawn of the Dead (1978). So many ways to see the #dawn. What’s yours? 16622
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 09/06/2026#vss365 #prompt for 9 June 2026 is #deadfall An impassable tangle in the woods, a primitive trap, but why settle for the standard definition? Listen to the word, feel it. At one time, I lived in a #deadfall— but that is a story for another time… 25323
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 08/06/2026#vss365 #prompt for 8 June is #mother “The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” William Ross Wallace. That’s true for most of us, the fortunate. A mother’s love is a force of nature. But it is not so simple. Mother has a multitude of faces. Show us #mother. 06420
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.social🦊LynnPeyo🐲 @lynnpeyo.bsky.social · 07/06/2026#vss365 #cradle #microfictiom #amwriting #fiction At night, I will crawl out of my own skin and slip into yours. 1132
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 07/06/2026#vss365 #prompt for 7 June 2026 is #horror From the cradle to—the grave. #Horror holds a special place in the imagination. It entertains in books and films; but it has another character altogether in the dead of our nights. Use it carefully. 06019
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 06/06/2026#vss365 #prompt for 6 June 2026 is #cradle Noun, verb, or make of it something new: #cradle is a word rich with associations. Shout, whisper, or simply rock it. Follow your heart—and your mind. 04517
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialLee Bailes @leebaileswriter.bsky.social · 05/06/2026#vss365 I am always #falling without hitting solid ground and in my dreams I rarely fly for my pockets are full weighted and the shoes in my dreams are concrete pulling me down faster and yet when I think of you somehow I glide I prolong the inevitable I continue to exist without hitting bottom 1234
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 05/06/2026#vss365 #prompt for 5 June 2026 is #evermore There’s music in the word—and eternity. Fitting for a fairy tale, a solemn oath, delight or torment, depending on what it is that never ends. Today’s prompt is #evermore, but it will last only till tomorrow. 37625
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialsifaswriting.bsky.social @sifaswriting.bsky.social · 01/06/2026A #midnight run to buy some snacks study group together too much coffee not enough sleep final lab projects fifteen page essays back with all nighters in the computer center because you didn't have a desktop of your own Those ancient days thirty years ago #vss365 #poetry #writing 182
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialNever-Was @never-was.bsky.social · 01/06/2026Be wary of a #midnight stranger stalking the liminal, waiting for their prey. He offered me food, but I said nay. He offered me drink but I had no wish to stay. This unpleasant pedant sporting pomegranates then inquired after my name. Was he fae? I brandished my 5 iron and walked away. #vss365 0123
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialWrite4Eddie @write4eddie.bsky.social · 02/06/2026On a #midnight walk Through misty woods We dreamed and talked, And sang of good And wondrous Things we’d do Far from ponderous Truths we knew. Then night grew dark, Your grip grew tight, Your eyes a spark Of mad delight. I awoke alone On a dewy field Scarred and prone, Deep truths revealed. #vss365 0272
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialKiller Katie Kat 👻♥️✨😽🎃 @spicynocajun.bsky.social · 02/06/2026The phone rang as though it was yelling at full volume with a bullhorn. Still marinating in yesterday’s decisions she reached over towards his nightstand knocking over wrappers and a can of a cheap beer. It’s after #midnight but where he is much earlier. She thought they were done. #vss365 #prompt 0112
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialLee Bailes @leebaileswriter.bsky.social · 02/06/2026#vss365 Bazzer waited in the water, patient-like. Bait line tied to his hand and winging about the rank chum. Telltale grey fins knifed through the water -- larger than expected, though he figured it was still worth the #gamble. Miles away from shore and doing it for the gram,... 0194
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 04/06/2026#vss365 #prompt for 4 June 2026 is #falling Falling…in love again…for a scam…off a cliff…into a habit. So many ways to be falling. One of my favorites is…without ever hitting bottom. How do you fall? Today’s prompt is #falling. 28528
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 04/06/2026Yes, my mistake. Will remember tomorrow.👍 110
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialElvis Dylan @elvisdylan.bsky.social · 03/06/2026#vss365 #TheWanderingAohirist Our every decision, every action entails some kind of #gamble. 1163
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialChris E. Sol @telaranrhiod.bsky.social · 02/06/2026Amirs brother had gotten involved with illegal games. A poor #gamble had landed him in jail. So Amir worked hard to be the best student, to survive. The secret he kept, being gay, wouldn’t go down well in his community. But as long as he focused on his studies, he could push that away. #vss365 0112
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialRadar DeBoard @radardeboard.bsky.social · 03/06/2026It was more than a #gamble, it was basically suicide, but everything went just as he planned it From being arrested on a minor charge, to the distraction, to breaking into the evidence locker He erased all signs that he was the Parkview ripper, and he was free to keep killing #vss365 #vsshorror 0143
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialSara @spauffwrites.bsky.social · 02/06/2026Husband snoring, kids dreaming, she goes to war. #Midnight battles are a #gamble, but her winnings cover school fees. She covers her bruises with Maybelline, rinses out blood in ice water, grits her teeth through ankle sprains, lap after lap, as the crowds scream for Mama Jama, derby queen. #vss365 0144
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialAlex K. Logan @alexklogan.bsky.social · 02/06/2026Lizbeth glided up to the bar, on graceful rolling hips and long shapely legs. I’d taken a #gamble on her cocktail choice. It was waiting for her. “Belvedere martini. Shaken, not stirred,” I offered. She trapped me in her bedroom eyes, smiled and purred, “my hero.” 🫦🍸 #vss365 1205
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 04/06/2026Ha! Not a fairy tale ending, but happy nonetheless! 130
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialWriting Off the Mother Wound @4islesbookshop.bsky.social · 02/06/2026#vss365 #Midnight #Gamble The clock struck midnight. Her time was up. The fairy godmother's spell was broken. But, Cinderella was already in bed. She took a gamble & attended a ball. Turns out, she didn't want to be married --- not even to a prince --- after all. 1143
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 04/06/2026Captures the moment like an old photo. Well done. 130
Reposted by skeptikoi.bsky.socialEileen Curley Hammond @curleyhammcozy.bsky.social · 02/06/2026She hesitated. She had never made a #gamble this big. Her father held out his arm for support, and she leaned in. Music played and she began to walk. In thirty minutes, her life was changed forever. Forty some odd years later, she didn’t regret one second. #vss365 1225
skeptikoi.bsky.social @skeptikoi.bsky.social · 04/06/2026Love “the Devil’s hand.” A great title for a story 120
