Thirdly

Real life is dystopian enough for me. Give me rainbows and ponies any day.

What it Takes, indeed! I'm still reeling.

when he broke up with his girlfriend of the week - how many girlfriends has this guy had? He resembled Oliver quite a bit, which made me want to like him. - Is this a good thing or a bad thing? It dawned on me, for the first time, that Oliver might have clued in to how I felt for him. Shit. - Double shit! Following him was an older man clad in a tight black V-neck and too much gold jewelry, holding hands with one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Tia. - That hussy. Alex walked by, deftly plucking the now-empty Solo cup from my hand and replacing it with another one, giving me a wink. - I've a godbrother that does this kind of thing during family gatherings all the time. Sneaking the liquor around, making sure everyone was having a good time... Alex turned to me. "Can I touch your hair? It looks soft." - Sure it's just his hair you wanna touch, buddy? 👀 "Want to sit in my lap?" he asked, his voice soft in my ear. I grinned at him. "Maybe later." - Is it getting hot in here? I pushed Ricky aside and called her name, trying to get her to respond. Nothing. - I mean, as a Vet-in-training, you're the closest thing to a doc there. Also, the empty syringe that I had slipped into Ricky’s coat pocket had already drawn suspicion away from Oliver to the more likely suspect—the current boyfriend. - The syringe you WHAT!!??? 😱 But the truth was, I never intended to kill Tia at Alex's party. - Are you sure about that!? I went into her room and smothered her elderly cat, which should have been put down six weeks prior. When my sister returned home and found him, it made her cry too. - 😨! Sir, you have crossed the line. And that's the truth. - SIR!

Nope. I've got nothing. Burned up my last brain cells catching up with all entries, and this last one's got me stumped. All I can guess is one of the writers in the Notrth/South American side of the planet. I can be tall. I can be thin. I can be good-looking. I can be rich. -

Green Lightning? More like "Escape Room From Hell." I yell at fictional characters all the time, but I don't think I've yelled at any SA entry characters as much as I have at the ones in THIS one.

“What do you expect? It’s probably been ages since he washed it.” - I dunno, rot and death are very distinct smells that are unmistakable. I found an article reporting that two people have gone missing from here. - Yeah, see? Fishy fishy fishy. Get out of there. She said, ‘When in doubt, switch off the lights. - I wouldn't be switching any lights off! NO lights off. I get a decided sense of Narnia, here. - That's funny, cause I get a decided sense of GET THE HECK OUTTA THERE. These are brand new. Do you think I want them ruined by sand?- PFFT! It's your life or your shoes. Pick now. This place gives me the creeps. Let’s return. - THIS. This feels like shed snake skin. - Someone get bitten? The people who disappeared? Why are there so many flies? - That's not a good sign. I think it’s blood. - And you're not hauling ass immediately? Look at the head. Part of the hair is missing. Oh God. Do you think they took it and put it on the skeleton’s head? - Y'all are gonna be the prop skeletons in the next room if you don't get the heck outta there. Jovan shoved the door open, pulled Arden with him, and slammed it closed again. A loud wailing sounded. - Did you just survive by the skin of your teeth??? Nothing good! Out! - Freaking finally! And tell them what? We found a dead body on a holodeck of an escape room business? - Of course not! You found a dead body in a hidden AREA of an escape room. Jovan on his bare feet and Arden wearing only one shoe. - I love this detail. Do you think that body was real? And it belonged to one of them? - WHY are you still questioning this?? How about we give them the address of the house and send their phones to the police anonymously? Maybe they can find something. - Or you could have, you know, dialed 911 on one of those dead phones with gloves on and left the phones ringing near the escape room. Extraterrestrial beings — like aliens? We’re not alone, and I’m holding the evidence in my hand? - Or demons. Too soon to tell.

This... this was a joy to read for me. I ate every bit of it up.

Oh, good God, this is going to drive me nuts. I've read this person's writing style before, but I can't pin down the who. It's just such delicious drama, like a Latin American soap opera (drama is serious business in telenovelas, I assure you). My guesses are so off 99% of the time (except that one percent I guessed by luck). But I might actually have to do some digging now, too.

Ok, hear me out... I love all kinds of comedy, even the dark kind. There is only one thing I wanted: more. Was more necessary? Not really. This felt complete to me. It's just that I love the writing style that much.

This is another one that's absolutely worth reading.

I think I was about eight years old when I first encountered him. The flu had hit me hard, and I woke out of a deep sleep to see the man standing in my room, looking at me with a half-smile on his face. He appeared hazy and looked almost angelic to me. I felt a profound sense of peace, and I wasn’t afraid. I blinked, trying to clear my eyes, and he was gone. The whole encounter lasted all of one second. - You seeing ghosts, buddy? I couldn’t explain it, but something or someone had been looking out for me. It wasn’t until many years later that I connected this experience with the blond man with the blue eyes. While I hadn’t seen him, I firmly believed it was his voice warning me of the danger I would have faced had I taken the job. - Dude! Anger consumed me at their carelessness, then wonder at the fact that I hadn’t followed the car ahead of me. I looked to the sky and said, “Thank you, Uncle Phineas.” - Dude!!! “It was an accident, of course. The boys were target shooting and little Phineas idolized his older brothers, so he was hanging around them. They didn’t notice when he wandered close to the targets, and Harold fired.” - Oh, shit! My mom stirred in the chair on the opposite side of the bed. I stood and moved to Harold’s bed, taking his hand. His breath was ragged and shallow, but his eyes were open and bright. I turned to look where his gaze was focused. Phineas stood at the end of the bed, smiling. - *motioning frantically towards the ghost* He's. Right. There! “It was an accident. There’s nothing to forgive,” I said. “He loves you.” Uncle Harold visibly relaxed, closed his eyes, and took his last breath. When I looked toward Phineas, he was gone. - 😭😭😭

I usually root for humanity, but in this case, way to go cyborgs? Of course the child who had a beautiful rose hybrid named after her is the one that took everything for granted.

Is there some competition I'm unaware of about the second half of SA entries with the first half? Why are y'all going for my heartstrings so dang hard?

Right after a chicken tender sub - Why are you making me so hungry at this hour of the night (at least in my time zone)? I felt more wrecked than Jamie post-accident, that's how I felt. 😭Trapped in his own head for what felt like six months.

Dag-friggin-nabbit. I want to read more about this story's world and characters.

"The little git led us a right merry dance, and me and my droogs want a bit of payback."/"Ah well, I can't say I didn't try."/"What? You really think us fifteen are gonna be stopped by you, a lanky, goth, streak of piss, do-gooder?" - OMG, I'm so American I had to read this part some five times until I could have it "sounding" right in my head. But other than those specific lines, the rest of the entire story played so perfectly in my head, it was freaking glorious. I both love who wrote this and I hate them. I love their writing style and ideas. I hate where it ended because I want to read more about how those aves saved his behind, and where they are going, and how they could basically read his mind.

The Rainbow Unicorn was ascendant, indeed.

This is another highly recommended read from me. Much like the MC, you won't know what hit you.

Did you see that? I just dabbed on you. - Wait, people still dab these days? That phase has long past. This was a very fun read, considering we're witness to the unaliving of a person. 😂 Terrible, yes. But great.

Absolutely adored this one. Friends to lovers at its core. So lovely.

I loved this. I loved their names, I loved the Italian, I got most of it enough to tell what they were saying. Loved the ending. Love love love. 🥰

Alright, now that I'm about the halfway point of all the SA stories, I'm on a vendetta with all of you. Yes. Everyone. If you participated last year and are also participating this year, your writing's improved. If this is your first time participating, your writing is solid. If you were out to get a reaction from me, you got ALL the reactions from me. Every last one of you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pout here in my corner like a jealous brat until I start reading the second half of the stories. *grumbling* Doggone talented individuals making me feel all the things.

How ballsy to just show them the underwear. I think we've read about 5 different Neils at this point. Neil is a popular name this time around. Anyway, I loved this. Laughed a little too hard reading about this Ben. I know another Ben that also happens to be that height.

No Doubt About it??? But I have all the doubts! Like what were the aliens even doing just before all that????

I read the summary, and the summary itself distracted me so badly that I read the first few lines without actually consuming the words while my mind was still thinking of the summary and magically landed on "Liam was leaving." first and then I had to start all over again. All the while, a cold knot of dread twisted in his gut. - Awww. Let me squish you between my boobs in sympathy. It's ok, I don't even swing that way, you're safe. He bolted. A blind, frantic sprint for the darkness at the edge of the cliff. - Good Lord! Don't go and kill yourself now. His head was crushed against a rock, his face mercifully hidden, but a thick, black pool of blood was already spreading out from under him, glistening in the unsteady beam. - Good Lord!! Neil turned, his own anger and panic muted by the alien’s overwhelming sense of responsibility. - What a nice guy? Liam stretching, his spine flexing, his stomach exposed to the light. - You were really paying attention there, huh. Liam, having to completely shave off his pubes after losing a bet. The near heart attack Neil had later when he saw Liam’s massive dick swing unashamed in all its naked glory in the shower. - Hotdamn. You really WERE paying attention. LMAO The lost bet. The shaved pubes. The one impossibly specific detail Neil had burned into his brain in the gym shower that day when he definitely “didn’t look”. - LMAO!! Goddamn it. This was so romantically beautiful. The wait to find out who wrote it is so long. 🤣