Jason Rimbaud

Is The Christian God Of The Bible Moral? Part Six: The Punishment of David An InDepth Look At Morality From An Atheist Perspective Written By: Jason Rimbaud Most of us have heard the story about David besting the giant Goliath with just a sling. How, when he was still a young boy, was anointed to be the second King of Israel. He wrote numerous psalms, left his kingdom to his son, Solomon, who was reputed to be the wisest person who ever lived. Did you also know he made a lifelong friend with King Saul’s son, Jonathan? So close they were, when Jonathan died in battle, David wrote a psalm about him. Saying Jonathan’s love was so extraordinary, it surpassed the love of a woman. Gaaayyy! I’m not here to talk about whether or not David and Jonathan were tending to each other's peens. Though if you read between the lines, it kind of looks like they did. Today we are going to talk about a story that many people do not know about our beloved King David. And this story takes place about halfway through his forty-year reign. That would put David in his mid-fifties. We pick up the narrative in 2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. For context, the Ammonites were descendants of Lot, you know the one whose wife turned to a pillar of salt because she dared look back at her home as god destroyed it, and they served Molech. They were also thought to be extremely cruel during wartime. David had newly united Israel, so though the King was supposed to go to war, he might have been needed in Jerusalem to oversee his newly formed kingdom. Yet others say this dereliction of duty resulted in his sin. Let that be a lesson to all you Kings: if you remain back while other people slaughter their enemies, you might stick your peen into another man’s wife. 2: One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, I like it, David was a peeping Tom. I guess Jonathan’s allure had worn off by this time, and he was looking for some strange. 3: and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Bathsheba means: daughter of the oath. I like that David, from his perch atop his palace, was stroking one out as he watched her bathe. And he liked her so much that even after he came off the roof of the palace, he found someone and said, what do you know of that hot piece of ass. 4: Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home. I wonder if those messengers might have been soldiers. Considering he was the king, the ultimate power in the land, and she was married, do you think it was consensual? I’d bet dollars to donuts it wasn’t. I also like how the writers of 2 Samuel made sure to mention it was her time of the month. Like that was a bad thing. Her uncleanness. Lucky ancient Hebrews had multiple wives so they didn’t have to be around those horrible women when they were on their periods. They could just bang one of the others. 5: The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.” What rotten luck? On the first try, David put a bun in the oven. That’s some powerful sperm. But knowing what we know about women’s cycles, when he saw her, she was performing a purificatory ritual after her period. And the first time he banged her, she got pregnant. This couldn’t have happened on a single day. That meant David was obsessing over this naked woman for a few weeks. Or maybe he banged her more than once. 6: So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David. Remember, Joab is leading the armies David is supposed to be leading. And Uriah is one of his soldiers, fighting for David’s cause. And he just banged his wife. Just a fun fact, David had six wives already. So each time one of these fuck heads says that gays getting married destroyed the sanctity of marriage, show them this passage. When marriage was invented, it was never between one man and one woman. That came much later. Not to get off on a tangent, but why was it perfectly fine for men to have multiple wives, but it's never been okay for women to have multiple husbands? I guess, when men are the ones who wrote the book, they’d stack the deck in their favor. 7: When Uriah came to him, David asked him how Joab was, how the soldiers were and how the war was going. 8: Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king was sent after him. 9: But Uriah slept at the entrance to the palace with all his master’s servants and did not go down to his house. David makes a pretense of inquiring about the war. Though why he’d ask a soldier instead of Joab, well, that becomes clear quickly. After a few pleasantries, David’s like, hey bub, you’ve been away from your wife fighting these bad guys. Why don’t you go home, wash your feet, stick your peen in your wife so you think you’re the father of my rape baby. But Uriah is like, no dog, I’ve been banging my fellow soldiers so I’ll sleep in your doorway, you know the place all your servants sleep. Must have been a bitch getting in and out of the palace if all the servants were sleeping at the entrances. 10: David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” So he asked Uriah, “Haven’t you just come from a military campaign? Why didn’t you go home?” Hey Uriah, aren’t you horny after killing so many people? I know when I’m done killing for the day, I want to fuck my wife. Why don’t you want to fuck your wife? 11: Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my commander Joab, and my lord’s men are camped in the open country. How could I go home to my house to eat and drink and make love to my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!” Uriah was like, my god, my commander, and my soldiers aren’t here; I’d rather be there sleeping with them instead of my wife. Uriah’s refusal to fuck his wife is really pissing David off. He needs to cover up this rape, he needs Uriah to raise his bastard baby. 12: Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13: At David’s invitation, he ate and drank with him, and David made him drunk. But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his mat among his master's servants; he did not go home. David tried to get him drunk. After a few mugs of wine, everyone wants to bang their wives. But not Uriah, he was more concerned about his comrades in arms than he was about banging Bathsheba. Which makes you wonder what type of shrew did David fall in love with if her own husband didn’t want to plant a seed inside her. 14: In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15: In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fierest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” Damn, David is cold. Hey Uriah, go back to your comrades. Here’s a letter; make sure you don’t fucking read it though. Imagine if you’re Joab. He gets this letter from the king, essentially ordering the murder of one of his soldiers. Obviously they’ve been fighting in this siege for a hot minute. And he is being told to sacrifice one of his own men and doesn’t even know why. What’s a boy to do? 16: So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. 17: When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died. Oh snap. To cover up a rape, David has the husband murdered. That’s some next-level chess playing right there. I can see David justifying this murder in his head. I know I got her pregnant, but I brought her husband all the way back here so he could stick it in and think he was the father. He said no. Then I got him drunk, did some over-the-robe hand stuff to get him primed. And he went to sleep in my doorway. So I had to kill him. Right? He gave me no other choice. Upon being informed of Uriah’s death, David sends this message back. We pick up in verse 25: David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Don’t let this upset you; the sword devours one as well as another. Press the attack against the city and destroy it.’ Say this to encourage Joab.” David basically said, don’t worry, shit happens. Joab has to be thinking, no, shit didn’t happen. You made me murder my fellow countrymen. If anything, you are the shit that happened. But David is king, so I’m sure Joab just went about murdering more people. 26: When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him. The male writers of the bible couldn’t even say her name. Just called her the wife. I know you were raped, and then the person who raped you murdered your husband, but we’re only going to refer to you as the wife. Just up and take it. 27: After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the LORD. So after he murdered her husband and after he raped her, he forced her to live in his house as his latest wife. And I can hear you saying, we’ve heard this story before. This isn’t even the story I’m getting to. This is the lead-up, the amuse-bouche as it were before the main course. Buckle kids, the next chapter is a doozy. Samuel was the prophet, and the one who contributed to writing 1 Samuel. But by this time, Samuel is dead, and Nathan is the new prophet. And shortly after the events we just referenced, Nathan comes to the king and tells him a story. 2 Samuel 12:1-7 tell of two men. One is rich, the other is poor. The rich man had everthing, sheep, cattle, women, slaves, while the other poor man had a single little ewe lamb he had raised from birth. The scripture says this little lamb grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drink, and he even slept with it in his arms at night. And that it was like a daughter to him. That might be code for this poor man was a lamb fucker. But be that as it may, a traveler came to visit the rich man. And instead of killing one of his many animals for the evening meal, he took that little ewe lamb from the poor man and served that as dinner as well. Upon hearing this story, David raged in his anger. How could someone in his kingdom treat another this way? He promised that man who did this should die. For he took everything from another. I guess with all his servants sleeping in the doorways, they must have seen Bathsheba being snuck into the palace and then out again. So all the servants were talking and that must have gotten back to Nathan. Let’s pick up in verse 7: Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul Well, technically it was David’s lover, Prince Jonathan, that saved David from Saul’s wrath, but why quibble? 8: I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. Look dude, I gave you this palace, and all of Saul’s wives. Because women were thought of as property to be given to anyone a male wanted to without their consent. Was every woman in the bible raped if they were given out like the door prize at a Secret Santa Party? 9: Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. I don’t think David despised the word of the lord here. I think he despised Uriah for not banging his wife when he was given every chance. 10: Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own. It is estimated that 2 Samuel was written anywhere from a few years after David’s death to a couple hundred years. I know that’s a huge window, but this verse was written to explain why Israel always seemed to be at war with their neighbors. I know we’ve been at war with our neighbors forever, but it's a punishment from god. You see, one of our ancestors raped a girl and killed her husband, so as punishment, our god, the one that loves us, punished all of us because of what he did. And if you think that is fucked up, that because of David’s sin, all of the Israelites were punished, then the next verse is going to make you see red. 11: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. 12: You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’” Yep, the always loving and moral god of the bible, decided that David’s punishment was to make Israel always be at war, and his wives are going to be taken to the roof of the palace and raped for all to see. And the rapist is going to come from David’s own household. That means one of his sons; that is who makes up David’s household. God was like, I know you were the rapist, but because I don’t give a shit about justice, I’m going to have your innocent wives raped in front of all of Israel to get back at what you did. On a side note. Do you know what the punishment was if a married woman had sex with another man? Stoning. So not only were the wives possibly raped by their own son, but all those good Israelites who followed their loving god were bound by law to kill them afterwards by throwing stones at their heads. 13: Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14: But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the LORD, the son born to you will die.” What the actual fuck? You said you were sorry, so I won’t kill you. But I’m going to kill your fucking kid. Because it was the child’s fault somehow? This is the shit you get when you read the bible. And as irreverent as I’m being, I’m not taking it out of context. I am reading the book most Christians have never read. This is not a moral action from a just god. This is cavemen writing down stories they told one another after banging their wives at the end of the day. Sheep herders with the understanding of a toddler. You hurt me so I will hurt you back. 15: After Nathan had gone home, the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David, and he became ill. Still can’t say the bitches name. It's Bathsheba, and she lost a child because she was taking a bath one day. David prayed and fasted for seven days before the child finally died. Not only did god strike down the child, but he also made sure it fucking suffered for seven days first. And you expect me to believe in this god because a bunch of shepherds told a story around a campfire one night to explain why a child of the chosen one, David, died after childbirth. That’s all this is. A fucking story to try to explain something they couldn’t understand. For seven days, David wept, prayed, begged, anything he could think to do to get god’s mind changed. And when the kid finally died, you know what happened next. We pick up the narrative after David gets the news his child is dead in verse 20: Then David got up from the ground. After he had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went to the house of the LORD and worshipped. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate. I know you just killed my child because I raped someone, but glory be to you anyway, you wonderful, loving, just god. 22: He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ 23: But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” I figured it was worth a shot. But he’s dead. I’ll go on about my day; I have a lot of murdering left to do. 24: Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The LORD loved him; 25: and because the LORD loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah. If god was just going to give him another son and love that one, why did he have to kill the first one? Just fucking love two! And what kind of punishment was that? The only thing that was punished was the kid that suffered for seven days. I know you are wondering, if god renamed him Jedidiah, why do we know him as Solomon in the histories? Those devilish sheep herders had an explanation for that as well. Solomon remained his family name, the royal name, the historical name. But Jedidiah, which means beloved by the lord, was his secret spiritual name. And you still think this story really happened? You still don’t think this is a bunch of campfire fairy tales people told to amuse themselves. But we still aren’t done. Because if you’re thinking the bible doesn’t go into detail about the rape of David’s wives, you are mistaken. Because god must swing his dick around. The rest of this story gets messy. Because, as usual, god’s punishment doesn’t happen right away. It's twelve years down the road before this punishment comes into affect. And along the way, Amnon rapes his sister Tamar. Then David’s other son, Absalom, kills Amnon, David’s eldest son. Goes into hiding, finally returns, and then chases David from Jerusalem. We pick up the story in 2 Samuel 16:20 Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give us your advice. What should we do?” 21: Ahithophel answered, “Sleep with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace. Then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself obnoxious to your father, and the hands of everyone with you will be more resolute.” 22: So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. So a priest, who once was loyal to David, is now pledging his loyalty to Absalom, tells him to rape a bunch of women on the roof. But the button is put on in verse 23: Now in those days the advice Ahithophel gave was like that of one who inquires of God. That was how both David and Absalom regarded all of Ahithophel’s advice. Absalom thought he was being told by god to rape some women. That’s our great lord of the bible, a rapist. I bet if Absalom burned a sacrifice when performing said rape, god might have joined in on the orgy. The next chapter is Ahithophel giving more advice to Absalom on how to capture David, who fled with his loyal soldiers when Absalom took Jerusalem. Then he gets different advice from another who convinces him to change his plan. This is because god now wants to destroy Absalom. Remember, Absalom started this quest because David’s eldest son raped their sister and was not punished. Or, if you believe Nathan's prophecy, God was going to bring trouble on David’s house. Now that the women was raped because David did a thing, god wants David back on the throne, because now David has learned his lesson from twelve years earlier. And Absalom served his purpose. We take up the story in 2 Samuel 18:9 Now Absalom happened to meet David’s men. He was riding his mule, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s hair got caught in the tree. He was left hanging in midair, while the mule he was riding kept on going. One of the soldiers ran back to tell David’s servant Joab, remember him, the commander of the armies. Hey dude, that man is just swinging in that tree. David said not to touch him, to be gentle. But Joab was having none of that. He said I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a warrior's belt if you had killed him. But the servant was like, nope. I’m not gonna piss off the king by killing his son. We pick up in 14: Joab said, “I’m not going to wait like this for you.” So he took three javelins in his hand, and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while Absalom was still alive in the oak tree. 15: And ten of Joab’s armor-bearers surrounded Absalom, struck him and killed him. Did you see it? Joab stabbed three javelins into Absalom’s heart, then his men killed him. So did he die twice? Or is this just a fanciful tale sheep herders told around a campfire at night? But this story still isn’t finished. Because I’m not here talking about the politics of ancient Israel. We are trying to figure out if the god of the bible is moral. And we still have one more button to add to this tale. Because we pick up the final piece in 2 Samuel 20:3 When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace and put them in a house under guard. He provided for them but had no sexual relations with them. They were kept in confinement till the day of their death, living as widows. That is a mic drop if I ever saw one. David rapes a woman, then causes the murder of her husband, and is punished by having his firstborn die, and then god causes the rapes of ten women, who are then forced to live as widows locked in a house. Just to be clear, this wasn’t a whim on David’s part. The custom of the day had rules and laws that said a king’s wives or concubines who had relations with another claimant to the throne could no longer be part of the active royal harem or marry anyone else. When god ordered that rape, he was condemning those women to more than just bodily harm. He was condemning them to a life of misery. They were victims of an immoral god who couldn’t figure out a better way to punish one of his beloved males. And this was allowed because women were treated as property. A thing that could be bought and sold and passed down to children as inheritance. Your holy book doesn’t even think women are people. But I am far from being finished with this series. And next I’ll talk about a subject that is so clear and so blatant, I never understand how good, honest people can look me in the eye and wave it away with apologetics. And that’s slavery. Next time we meet, we will see if god condones slavery in the bible and if treating humans as property is moral. And if not, when did it change?

I don't fully understand everything myself. But if you look at the "task?" bar, under help, is FAQ's that helped me tremendously. There is a bunch of info there.

Thanks! I know it's one of my more sedate stories, mostly narrative-driven with little action. But I have a soft spot in my heart for this story.

December 11th, 2017 Central Park Tower New York City, New York “Justin Atwood,” Mrs. Winterbourne said with a thoughtful expression. “That would make his friend, Courtney Williams.” “How did you know that?” “My niece watches that show all the time. It still is extremely popular in reruns,” She explained as she tapped her cheek with one finger. “I thought I recognized Justin from the photo, but I wasn’t sure until you said the name.” “Then you know how big a celebrity he w

I don't get tanned. I don't go in the sun long enough to get burned. And my skin is the color of milk, so I am really pale. I often joke my legs haven't seen sunshine in forty years. I even swim only at night. Though I'm bald and I dont want those ugly sun spots when I'm older. If I casually meet someone disabled, such as in my restaurant, I do ask if there is anything I might be able to do or adjust to make it easier for them. I let them dictate what help they might require. But I am not a curious person by nature, and I probably don't care what happened to them so I would never ask. My main concern, is there anything I can do to help? If not, then I'll go about my day without thinking of that disability again. If you are my friend, and I do have a great friend who lost his foot in a motorcycle accident, I probably would tease you mercilessly. I kind of take my friends where they are at, the rest doesn't matter as long as you are a good person who doesn't cause me drama. I have another friend who can no longer walk due to lots of back injuries. When I am around her, I know what makes things easier for her, so I automatically adjust my behavior to compensate and make her feel included. Though I have been known to drag her along to certain places where her wheelchair gets me access to shorter wait times. . She's one of my best friends since I was in my twenties.

If you are the master of the SA Contest, and you make all the rules, how can anything you do be cheating? Asking for a friend.

For what's it worth, I actually sat down and wrote this the other day. I am trying to figure out a way to marry the second and third books together. I don't know when or even if that is going to happen. But I am trying to reason it out. So I guess there is still hope. Scott Nevison glanced nervously at his watch as he paced back and forth across the hotel room floor. He tugged at his suit, the expensive fabric felt foreign as he took a drag from a half-smoked Marlboro. The chubby man was not a hands-on type of guy. He preferred to be the man behind the scenes. Happily allowing Gabriel to assume the risks of working in the field. He needed the safety of anonymity. He relished the idea that he was mostly a ghost. He paced the room back and forth and grew more annoyed with each passing moment. His contact was already thirty minutes late, and with each passing moment, he would let loose a string of curses directed at his employer, Gabriel Foster, for roping him into this mess. If he only knew where Gabriel was currently. He always felt better having the man close in case of emergencies. He would give a good portion of his fortune to see Gabriel’s stupid face. He’d give the rest to be out of Washington, D.C., period. He hated this town. With all its political bullshit and constant maneuvering for power and money. Greed he could understand. He had stayed with Gabriel all these years for the millions of dollars tucked safely away in numerous accounts worldwide. But those who played in D.C, cared more about the power than the money. The money was just a way to keep score, a secondary benefit to those who tried to shape the world. And the person he was meeting tonight was one of the most powerful men in the world. A man who played the Washington game better than anyone in recent memory. In the year and a half since that incident in Hershey, Pennsylvania, they had scoured the world looking for Mehment. But each lead just sent them down the next blind alley. But hopefully, after tonight’s meeting, they’d actually get some actionable intel on the elusive Broker’s whereabouts. He lit another cigarette with the stub in his hand and looked at his watch again. Gabriel owed him for making him come to this cesspool of a town. Once this was all over, he deserved a nice vacation, preferably a place with a tropical beach where he could buy love for an hour at a time and forget about everything for a while. A knock on the door interrupted his musing. With a quickness that would surprise most people, a 9mm appeared in his hand. He walked over to the door and peered out the security hole. Even though he was expecting who would be on the other side, he was still taken aback. Just because he was the spitting image of Gabriel didn’t stop him from putting the barrel of the gun against the door before he called out, “Yes.” A deep, raspy voice replied confidently, “I’m here about the drapes.” Scott opened the door and stared at the man for a moment. “I knew you were twins, but wow.” Special Agent Timothy Cain grinned. “Hi, Scott. Nice to actually meet you.” Scott motioned for the man to enter. “Last time we met, you shoved a syringe in my neck.” Timothy chuckled as he walked inside the room. He couldn’t help but notice Timothy entered an unknown room exactly like his brother, his body tense and ready for anything. Timothy quickly walked through the suite, and then, once he was satisfied, returned to Scott. The two men stared at one another for a long moment before Scott blurted, “What do you want?”

Maybe Andy can finally have his food enjoyed. He seems to have wasted a lot of his time cooking for Greg. Let’s see how Justin handles himself now that his secret is out.

This is not one of those stories chris. No sexytime, no perverted things like my other works. This is a wholesome tale about good boys.

That is kind of what I was going for.

My poems are snapshots of my life at that time. I've always been good at writing what I am feeling/going through in the moment. Most I don't share, but there are times when I can't help myself.

That should be the end....it normally comes in three's. Dolly, Tim, and now Optimist Prime Death, go ahead and take a break. We're good for now.

Nope, He goes home and we never see him again. Maybe in another when. There are 20 chapters written, and for the time being , I haven't changed many things, so 20. But who knows, I always seem to add more for some reason when I'm feeling frisky. Well, so far, two of these characters have been in Tyler's Dilemma, and who knows who else might make an appearance from say, Gabriel's Gambit. And Greg was mentioned in Frosted Hearts as the owner of NenTek Technologies who bought Blake's mineral finding tech. So its a good bet, that you'll get more from all these characters. Any Glacier Bay Story that is not part of the Christmas stories, are connected and telling one giant story in reverse.

Atwood...Atsoft...really Mr. The Paul? You mean the one where Mrs. Winterbourne helps save the company? Maybe in part to Greg's suggestion.

Wednesday, August 6th, 1997 1101 Davis Way, Douglas Frienz Island Glacier Bay Greg Winters woke rather late the next morning with a pounding head and a mouth that could’ve been used for sandpaper. They had finished off a bottle of bourbon and about half of another before he crawled into bed sometime after midnight. He barely remembered Andy leaving. He hoped the man had arranged for a ride. He threw off the covers and walked into the bathroom to empty his bladder. He splashe

I was a confused, depressed boy back in the late 90's. I had to leave home due to a similar set of circumstances, no doubt why I wrote it. But I never had to live on the streets. But I was very upset back then. Trying to find a reason for how this could happen to me. And my brother wasn't a superhero; he fell in line with the rest of the family.

When I saw this, I was like, oh, a singer died. So what. Then I read a few of the comments, and I was confused by what I read. So I decided to do some research about her and why people cared that a singer died. Wow, her charitable works, her reading programs, her help during COVID, all the songs she wrote...she seemed like a pretty cool lady. Don't know if the world lost a musical talent; to each their own, but the world seemed to have lost a giving human who only seemed to want the best for everyone. I guess we could all be a bit more like Dolly after all. RIP you short wonderful woman.

His lungs burned as he ran down the alley, casting terrified glances over his shoulder every few steps. With each passing moment, the pain in his side intensified until he could no longer bear it. He collapsed against the wall in an exhausted heap. He leaned against the brick wall and wiped the sweat from his eyes, or was it blood? He peered back down the alley, his ears searching for any sounds of pursuit. Maybe he had finally lost them, or they had given him up for dead. Either way, the

Nope. Though that would be kind of cool if I would have thought of that.

Or we can both keep trying to get better. .

hush, if you say that outloud, they'll make me change the tag and I'll lose the only list I'm ever on. .

I made another list...not a humble brag...nearly arrogantly. .

Im not sure that is how I would phrase it. Sometimes other people have gone through or dealt with things that we haven't personally experienced. Doesn't mean they don't like good acting, just means the story might hit a bit too close to home. Take me for an example, I don't like reading stories about younger characters, especially if things turn sexual. That's my own trauma rearing its head. Doesn't mean you can't write a good 13 year old love story, it means I can't comfortably enjoy it. I don't like BL stories, to long on angst and weird drama for me. But that doesn't mean I want them to stop being made. Its just not for me.

I did not realize the Secret Author Contest was Cia's baby. I learned that this year. The Secret Author Contest was the sole reason I started participating in GA two years ago. Please don't send her any hate mail, even though she is responsible for me taking part in the forums. It wasn't all her fault. I was annoying long before she thought up Secret Authors. I just want to say thank you for all the work it must take to put this on every year. And this year, going even further and introducing new games for everyone to play along. It is by far my favorite part of GA. Gary kicked it out of the park, as well as the other authors who kept everyone guessing. Except for Cassie and Ieshwar's entries, I had no clue. Though Gemma was my favorite, followed closely by Sweet & Sour Paradox Logic. Every story I thought Lee wrote, he didn't. And the one I would have bet a bunch of money on Mikiesboy being the culprit, Ben wrote. And who would have thought Myr would write a straight-up romance without a magic ball in sight. And lastly, I want to thank Cassie for nearly getting me to change my mind. I was close, but I stuck to my guns. Thanks everyone!

Nothing so dramatic. Life intervened with a few emergencies and before you know it, six weeks disappeared. .