Dark

Thanks!

no need for a gratuitous sex scene in such a short piece. I'm glad you enjoyed it nevertheless.

Thank you! and might I say you have a gift for a scenic verse also

Tough story here! I enjoyed the slow introduction of all the characters and how things got progressively worse and worse. All the little details you wrote in helped make Jake's transformation believeable. I think my heart stopped a little during the bathroom scene. It was really gritty. Thank heavens for happy endings!

The first part of the story, with the history of the team and the game itself reads like a journalism/news article which I really enjoyed.

Thanks for letting us see this snapshot of your life. Your description of Rory makes me want to meet him, too!

And the plot was that two parents hear their 15 year old son having sex in their house overhead and are not only okay with it but encourage the two boys to continue having sex? Wow, where can I find parents like that?

How very lovely! You paint such a vivid picture of the countryside and the people. Niki is adorable. This story has a dream-like quality to it like a great movie. The wording feels like English is a second language to you, but how amazing you were able to use English so masterfully! Beautiful.

This was heart-wrenching. It read like one of those docu-dramas or maybe a Law and Order episode. Great job.

I enjoyed the premise of the story very much, but I expected something much better from you. I really think your editing team let you down on this one. For example, you say "end" three times in one paragraph (twice in one sentence!) and your tense switches from present to past tense throughout the story. It was very distracting. There are so many things you glossed over that just don't make any sense. Sure, Damio bought the prince in amber but how/why would people suddenly start saying they're lovers? Other than Damio just saying so ...? And the letter... awfully convenient without threads to back it up earlier in the story. Who is the person who sent the letter? You mentioned her name earlier, but a tie-in needs made to remind readers who so far have just concentrated on the main character. And all the children are tested to see if they're going to carry a letter? Not The Letter? What? This also makes no sense. I leave this story feeling disappointed and a little at loose ends. It's so ... first draft-y compared to the level of work I've come to expect from you.

If all works out as it should, I'll be in Alaska during those dates. For suggestions, just check the previous thread.

Wow, so many comments! This just goes to show just how many definitions there are for what makes a "beta-reader" and/or "editor." I figure that arguing definitions is pointless. As long as my beta/editor and I agree on what services are being provided, I'm happy to give you whichever title you want.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Cailen. Your words are inspirational.

LOL. chubby yettie. I know someone whose nickname is sasquatch. I have not had a lot of nicknames because I detest it when people shorten my real name. As a young kid, my dad called me Pookie. He was in the military and was gone when I was born. I did not meet him until I was about 6 months old. Apparently, I screamed my head off. Somehow, our getting to know one another evolved into him poking my belly and saying "pookie pookie pookie." You can imagine my horror as a teen when this story was related to people. I made him stop calling me that when he started calling my youngest brother by the same nickname. I didn't have another one until I was 12, I think. I had the greatest fun on my little league team that year and we were the Kansas City Royals. The letters on my cap were KC. I wore that cap for months and months until the cheap thing disintegrated. At summer camp, the other kids just started calling me KC because reading the letters on my cap was easier than memorizing my name. **shrugs** I used that nickname off and on through college. I had a few other nicknames that came about through various sports and online, but none stuck until I picked up Dark a few years ago. Oh, I forgot to say that my mom still occasionally shortens my name to the last syllable. It was a big fight during high school to get her to stop and we ended up compromising in that she calls me by my given name most of the time.

I have a real sweet tooth. Ice cream stores used to draw me in whenever I saw one, but I've since learned to control that impulse to better manage my lactose intolerance. Candy stores, however...! I tell myself not to because half the time I don't eat it all, but there's so many different kinds of gummies these days, you just have to try them all and one of each just isn't a sufficient test population. Then there's taffy and jelly beans ....

Losing a member of the family at any age sucks. The decision you and Mike are facing is not an easy one. It's good that you have each other for support. If your daughter was older, I'd suggest that showing her your emotional side would be good for development, but I think you're doing the right thing. Good luck with everything and I hope for the best in your baby's last days.

Congratulations, Benji! I'm so glad that your family was so supportive.

For those who are interested, I will be at Venice Beach this Saturday (Aug 11) if you want to meet up and hang out for awhile. I'm sure we'll migrate up to Santa Monica Pier in the evening so we could do dinner. PM me.

You're at least looking in the correct area. It's probable that you need to make more posts in the forums first. For example, before you can get into chat, you need 5 posts. Have you checked the FAQs? They're regularly updated. If you can't find what you need to help you there, that's something our admin folk need to know. Good luck and welcome to GA!

Royal Rewards The racket of armored boots and weaponry jangling and clanking over the cobblestones preceded the victory parade through the streets of the imperial city. Slaves, free men, and citizens flocked to the streets, windows, and rooftops to watch the soldiers march by. Petals and streamers rained through the jubilant din, peppered with squeals of joyful laughter from people crammed into every available nook along the route, while a slow breeze made the standards flutter and the inc

The siege of the imperial city has ended due to the timely intervention of Dries from Analon. When offered his choice of reward, what will he ask for? and what will Prince Sikore say?

I do, too, but it's more like being a little kid again shoving a drawing in my mom's face or the pride only little kids feel when your dad posts your report card on his office cubicle. Only this time, it's a story and I want people to read it NOW! and be amazed by my genius. I swear that the delay between finishing something and having it public here is torture!

Yep, Mike wins. Ugh, what are people thinking? I guess what I find offensive is not the fact that the person in the commercial is in drag, but the idea that this is what people think they need to do to connect with a gay audience... Are you kidding me?

I saw this recently and I know it's supposed to be funny, but does anybody else find this offensive?