Thirdly

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. 🤣

Hmm...methinks if I mark this story "World Building" we might get more of it? Maybe?

Ok, first of all, I loved the intro conversation. "Almost two! B***h, that's stretching 'almost' and you know it." (though obviously not in those exact words. “Angel, you shouldn’t tease your brother.”“But it’s fun, papa.” - PFFT! Sibs be sibs. Second of all, I freaking loved this. I don't love that Darren's parents just up and died at the same time, but I do love that Angel and Luca's parents stepped up inmediatamente to help.

This isn't Drama, this is Thriller/Suspense... though this coming from me, I'm not the best at using the correct genres.

No, battery, you can't die on me. I have to ask just how splintered is splintered! - The black shards in his head splintered Henry’s consciousness.

His first bite of his sandwich was interrupted when his phone rang. - Oh no! That's already a travesty. I haven't eaten ham in months and my mouth was watering, and here Jules wasn't even able to get a good bite. Daywalkers, they call them, and they look human, just stronger and stuff. And they hunt their own kind. - Ah, so that's what they're called. Though they think Ross is one, I think Jules is. This was an intriguing read. I'll have to wait until after the event for the next part to come out. I hope there is a next part.

How do I explain how much you don't want to miss out on reading this without spoiling the everloving sh*t out of it? *thinking face* Got it. I TRIPLE DOG DARE YOU to read this one. *winks*

Football players. Upperclassmen I barely talked to. Guys I hadn’t thought of in years leaving casual, almost friendly remarks. As if I had belonged more than I ever realized. - My heart! It's melting! 🫠 “Don’t get used to that feeling. Nobody likes a guy who’s always right.” - Either he was jealous or crushing hard. I had a few of those, both types, too. I blushed so easily and had such an expressive face, people really loved teasing me. Thinking back, I understand and can laugh about it. But at the time it just made me such an awkward mess. *slaps cheeks* But enough of getting lost in my memories, it's Jacob's memories we're reading about. “Derek,” I said, managing to keep my tone even. Cool. Just barely. - Why am I so proud of a fictional character. Whoever wrote this (if it isn't already me, as I don't mind shamelessly claiming this one): amazing job. I hesitated, my voice tightening. “I was hurt because I liked you. And I wanted you to like me back.” - My heart! It can't melt anymore; it was a puddle long before this. Awww I loved this one so much! 🥰

I'm giving this one a re-read after this year's event. There's a beginning, middle, and happy ending. Just try not to read too fast or you'll start seeing things that didn't really happen.

Ok, I think it's because I've been trying to speed read between workloads at my day job. But for the smallest of moments, I was worried this was going to be a wild AF incest mix up kind of story. Glad it wasn't. And I still would have totally read it because I don't start things I don't finish. So, to the person who wrote this: I'm sorry my mind is that perverted. This sweet story does not deserve my naughty brain's distortion. And I loved it.

Not gonna lie, I already lost track of which story I left off on. Blasted busy season at my job. Anyway, I love the details here- Her long, carefully braided, blond hair stood in stark contrast to the expression of disgust that was etched on her now red face. The gemstones interwoven in her blue dress shone in the morning light. Calmly, Tomas said, “The difference, Cousin, is that I don’t love. I fuck. As you well know.” He grinned as he trailed his left forefinger along Jonah's jaw. - Well, then...not me getting attached to Tomas even though he's kind of a jerk. Tristan walked over to the bodies and ran his sword through their throats to be sure they were dead. - Hot damn! All that effort to get that teleportation spell for nothing??? Wait, is Tomas still alive? 👀

Loved it. The Phantom of the Opera's "Masquerade" song kept fluttering in my head every time someone mentioned masks. Flash of mauve, splash of puce, Fool and king, Ghoul and goose, Green and black, Queen and priest, Trace of rouge, Face of beast, Faaaaaaaaaaaaces~

Wait, wait, wait, is there a past love triangle implied here? - Though her eyes were hazel and not green, she looked remarkably like an Indian version of his sister. One twin liked one sibling and the other twin liked the other? Either that or the last story has me reading between the lines a little too hard. 😂

I rarely disagree with Bennie, but I read Lucas fairly clearly. This story has so many layers, it IS a painting on a canvas to me, meant to be interpreted differently by whoever is reading. While I personally dislike reading stories that force you to think a little too hard, I have to give this story it's dues.

The theme here is pretty clear, Lucas gradually sheds his inhibitions until only shame is left and then with Morris's help, he eventually lets go of the shame, as well. Focus on Lucas, and you see a teen that's so desperate to accept himself, he latches onto the only similar-natured adult he's come across. Focus too hard on Morris, and it feels like grooming behavior, even if nothing blatantly non-consensual is happening. Quite the fine line this story treads on.

Get better soon!

someone unashamedly posted a letter on the club's notice board, accusing me of carrying AIDS and threatening to infect the entire team. - That sucks. Through the collective effort, we garnered over $20,000 from the vibrant Laguna Beach community, fostering a small yet determined army to stand by my side in support of this vital cause. - Sweet! I think I might just know who wrote this one, hue hue hue hue hue 😈

Yay! You're Gay! Now What?: A Gay Boy's Guide to Life- Not me looking up if this book is actually pink or not. 😅

Same here! I'm just strolling in all late running on Hispanic time.

Ryan is in big trouble. In trying to hide his involvement, Jeff's sister reveals something Ryan didn't expect. How will Jeff react to Ryan's blunder?

I doubt it's the desktop, though the slow boot time is concerning. Retighten the cables behind the monitor to see if that helps or swap out the cables for new ones. You can also swap it out for a new monitor, AND new cables (which usually come with the new monitor), but make sure to check what plugs you have on the desktop for monitors. Are they the white head cables, blue head cables, black head cables, hdmi? You'll want to replace the monitor with the cable that connects with the same type. (Why do I say this? Because I hate conversion plugs. Most don't work half as well as they should unless it is a conversion cable that is wired one way on one end and another way out the other.) As for the slow booting, I suggest starting to transfer things over to an external hard drive (make sure it's not a western digital passport brand, as I had trouble with those in the past). Make sure it is at least 1tb to 2tb big. Make sure it can connect via USB and NOT "USB-C" as I imagine your desktop doesn't have that plug. Be sure to boot the PC up first completely before you plug the external hard drive in. Then, start transferring as much of the important files you want to save over to it. After they have been transfered, you can delete the "heavier" files like videos and music and pictures off the desktop to lighten it's load (the files will now live on the external hard drive instead). This also serves as a back up in case the desktop does die on you, you will still have all your important files (only up to the day you did the transfer, at least. The more you remember to copy things over regularly to the external hard drive, the less files you have to lose). Remember to only unplug it after 1. Everything has fully transfered over and 2. After you shut the computer down to prevent any files from warping. There is also a way to do this digitally with a cloud storage like Dropbox, but that gets pricey and they charge every month, I believe. Too rich for my blood. You only have to pay once for an external hard drive and then it's yours until it, too, eventually dies (which won't be for years...for example, if you only plug it in to transfer/swap out things once per month, it could very well last up to 8 or more years). Edit: As for RAM, it's easy to upgrade and replace, but you have to verify the amount that specific desktop can carry (the exact name and model, which you can find out the next time you turn it on by searching for "computer info" and it will tell you the exact brand and name, then you can google the maximum amount of RAM it can have). For example, some older desktops can only hold up to 8gb of RAM and not 12gb or 16gb. Some desktops only have one slot instead two slots for the RAM to sit in. So, if there is only one slot and its max is 12gb, you'll have to hunt down one RAM stick that is 12gb big. If it has 2 slots and its max is 12bg, you can either hunt for one 12gb stick or for the 2 sticks of 6gb each (which is likely cheaper). Even if there are 2 slots there, you can't "double up" with 2 12gb sticks, making it 24gb thinking it will help because the maximum amount for that example is 12gb. The desktop would just not start back up because it becomes confused. It's like trying to shove a double A battery into a triple A battery slot.

Those two prompts could be rolled into one, and I'm trying desperately not to become distracted by that fact.

I've recently gone into a rabbit hole regarding overactive imaginations (they keep trying to call it "maladaptive daydreaming")... and I'm starting to understand why my mind is overflooded with plot bunnies and ideas that propagate and multiply. So, if anyone needs help bouncing ideas (and not just for this event, but for anything, really), I don't mind shaking a few of those bunnies out of my ears and handing them over.

I might have to go to grade school as an assistant to learn/re-learn genres. I feel like I keep mis-categorizing my s***. 😂

Ah, GBBB, magically sitting there despite my getting more laughs on Ash's Marriage Trigger, which I didn't even categorize as comedy. 😂