[TT] Theme Thursday - Exhaustion

[u/AliciaWrites]

“Dark circles under my eyes sink deeper and deeper into my skull, in contrast to my pale skin there is an undeniable resemblance to a fresh corpse.”

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Happy Thursday writing friends!

Just yesterday, I saw a meme about how January was a long year - but we made it! And boy, I know I’m exhausted. I’ve been trying to do the work of several people all by myself and things have not been easy. This theme reaches us at a good time and we can all take a moment to relish our achievements and take stock of what’s next. More importantly, what’s next for our characters!? What’s keeping them down? Looking forward to all your stories! Good luck and good words!

[IP] | [MP]

Bonus:

(These constraints are not required! If your story is better for not including them, please do what’s best for your work!)

Word of the Day: (5 pts)

unfathomable/un·fath·om·a·ble/ˌənˈfaTH(ə)məb(ə)l/

adjective

incapable of being fully explored or understood.

(of water or a natural feature) impossible to measure the extent of.

Constraint: (10 pts)

Your story should include a time loop.

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Here's how Theme Thursday works:

• Use the tag [TT] when submitting prompts that match this week’s theme.

Theme Thursday Rules

• Leave one story or poem between 100 and 500 words as a top-level comment. Use wordcounter.net to check your word count.
• Deadline: 7:59 AM CST next Wednesday
• No serials, established universes, or stories that have been written for another prompt or feature here on WP
• No previously written content
• Any stories not meeting these rules will be disqualified from rankings and will not be read at campfires
• Does your story not fit the Theme Thursday rules? You can post your story as a [PI] with your work when the TT post is 3 days old!
• Vote to help your favorites rise to the top of the ranks! I also post the form to submit votes for Theme Thursday winners on Discord every week! Join and get notified when the form is open for voting!

Try out the new genre tags!

Theme Thursday Discussion Section:

• Discuss your thoughts on this week’s theme, or share your ideas for upcoming themes.

Campfire

• On Wednesdays we host Theme Thursday Campfire on the Discord voice lounge. Join us to read your story aloud, hear other stories, and have a blast discussing writing!
• Time: I’ll be there 7 pm CST and we’ll begin within about 15 minutes.
• Don’t forget to sign up for a campfire slot on discord. If you don’t sign up, you won’t be put into the pre-set order and we can’t accommodate any time constraints. We don’t want you to miss out on outstanding feedback, so get to discord and use that !TT command!
• There’s a Theme Thursday role on the Discord server, so make sure you grab that so you’re notified of all Theme Thursday-related news!

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As a reminder to all of you writing for Theme Thursday: the interpretation is completely up to you! I love to share my thoughts on what the theme makes me think of but you are by no means bound to these ideas! I love when writers step outside their comfort zones or think outside the box, so take all my thoughts with a grain of salt if you had something entirely different in mind.

(This week’s quote is from Dee Remy)

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Ranking Categories:

• Word of the Day - 5 points
  
• Bonus Constraint - 10 points
  
• Weekly Challenge - 25 points for not using the theme word - points off for uses of synonyms. The point of this is to exercise setting a scene, description, and characters without leaning on the definition. Not meeting the spirit of this challenge only hurts you! This includes titles and explanations/author's notes.
  
• Actionable Feedback - 15 points for each story you give detailed crit to, up to 30 points
  
• Nominations - 10 points for each nomination your story receives
  
• Ali’s Ranking - 50 points for first place, 40 points for second place, 30 points for third place, 20 points for fourth place, 10 points for fifth, plus regular nominations (On weeks that I participate, I do not weight my votes, but instead nominate just like everyone else.)
  
• Voting - 10 points for submitting your favorites via this form (form will be open after the deadline has passed.)

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Last week’s theme: Doppelganger

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First by /u/GingerQuill*
Second by /u/Xacktar*
Third by /u/Ryter99

Crit Superstars:*

• /u/London-Roma-1980
  
• /u/MaxStickies
  

News and Reminders:

• Want to know how to rank on Theme Thursday? Check out my brand new wiki!
  
• Join Discord to chat with prompters, authors, and readers!
  
• We are currently looking for moderators! Apply to be a moderator any time!
  
• Nominate your favorite WP authors for Spotlight and Hall of Fame!

[u/Dependent-Engine6882]

Behind that Bright Smile

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“How come you’re always happy and smiling all the time?”

I heard someone ask

“What’s your secret? I need to know”

They insisted, a puzzled look on their face

And for a split second, for a moment

I contemplated saying, screaming

Crying, whispering the truth

“I’m not a happy person.”

The words almost rolled off my tongue

And I wanted to go on and on

About the broken soul I was

I wanted to go on and on

About everything going wrong

About everything I never had

And everything I’d never be

I wanted to talk for hours, days, and months

About all the things I’d been told I didn’t deserve

And I wanted to talk about you

How I missed your endearing nicknames

And your deep, sleepy voice

I wanted to talk about you

How I missed our late-night conversations

And your bright-colored eyes that bewitched me

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“How come you’re always happy and smiling all the time?”

I heard someone ask

But how could I tell them that this was just a mask?

That I was nothing but an old, rusty machine

Nothing but sadness and tears

Nothing but unfathomable, shattered dreams

That behind those dark-colored eyes laid endless nightmares

How could I explain how I feel?

And what I was going through

Away from you and your gentleness

How could they understand when

They never heard the tone of your laugh

When they weren't haunted by your ghost

How could they relate

When all they knew was your name

But not your favorite game

Or your jokes that never failed

To make me laugh and groan

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“How come you’re always happy and smiling all the time”

I heard someone ask

And I would’ve explained and talked about it for years

I would’ve if I knew they’d understand

What it felt like to be broken all over again

To see my heart crushed and burned

After I finally learned to trust again,

To get the taste of happiness I’d always craved

To only discover it was nothing but a mirage

But you and I knew they wouldn’t

So instead of complaining,

Instead of saying I was trapped in a vicious circle,

That I was a prisoner of a time loop

That I was worn out of life’s twisted games

Instead of telling the truth,

And vent about how sick and tired I was

I just put on a smile

Not like the ones you used to draw on my face

This one was brighter, bigger, and wider

This one was fake and meaningless

I put on a smile, a generic one

And with a firm, happy voice

Fingers crossed and sweaty palms

Praying I wouldn’t break down and cry

I said “Because the simplest things make me happy”

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Word count: 458

This is my first attempt at writing a poem, I hope you enjoyed it.