Thirdly

I just realized I forgot to type a whole word in that sentence: lost* in Adi's writing style... 'in Adi's writing style' sounds as if I'm one of the characters in those worlds, which would be equal parts awesome and frightening. Anyway, the point is I love you, Adi, don't feel upset if all the stories blurred together in my head after reading them like three times.

Up at the Crack of dawn, and I wonder if Valkyrie was behind Family Secret, Liminal, or Carpe Veritas.

Now might not be the time to say I read like three or four of your stories and forgot to comment half the time cause I was so absorbed in reading...

But, Lee, you don't understand... the amount of time I've spent in Adi's writing style is lowkey stalker level. I should *know* this.

I'd totally pin Liminal on @Aditus, too. The problem is that Adi could have very well written half the stories.

There's not enough guessing happening in this thread. I've been sitting here for the last hour trying to figure out if @Aditus wrote Septima's Potential, Can I Tell Ya a Secret?, or Unmasked. Probably not Unmasked, that one was a little too "chill."

I watched over Talon as he placed the twelfth stone in a ring on the cavern’s unobstructed ground. He worked with careful precision, using a sky blue acrylic pen—a trick, no doubt, picked up from a particularly practical Academy instructor. The symbols came alive beneath his hand, each line deliberate, reflecting hours of study and an innate calm. As the ring took shape, I caught the faint scent of minerals and cool earth, a reminder of how deep we were below the world’s surface. In hindsig

Yes. This. Exactly.

Depending on how you found out, I'd ask which one... but if you found out because you got it directly from the horse's mouth, maybe don't say which one it was. Feel free to pin Well, That Just Happened on me if need be. I don't mind claiming that one, either.

Dagnabbit, Jeff. Stop giving Bennie more ammunition to dig up. He was a detective in a past life.

Oh, come on, at least half of us did this.

No, no, one of my twins wrote that one. Trying to pin that one on Bennie when I want to claim it myself. 😂

If you wrote what I think you wrote, it was one of my favorites of the lot.

My initial guesses are usually 99% wrong, but some of those names are actually on the list! I'm proud of myself? Ok, my reworked guess is this. And let me tell you, it was a lot more challenging doing a strategic shuffle of two people's work than it was to just make a plain guess, but that's what I'm doing this year: Busted - Aditus Well, This Happened - Astone2292 A Chorus Director’s Dilemma- Lee Wilson No Doubt About It - Inkognito Thirteen - Gunther Allen Unmasked - CassieQ Can I Tell Ya a Secret? - Lorenz Qatava Angel Keeps a Secret - Chris191070 Thetis - drsawzall The Rainbow’s Unicorn - Jeff Burton Septima’s Potential - Camy The Case of the Scallopini-ed Mayor - kbois Liminal - Lawfulneutralmage Family Secret - Mikiesboy What It Takes - BendtedWreath The Reunion - E K Stokes Exposing My Own Reality - northie Green Lightning - Jack Poignet My Dead Ex Is Haunting Me Through Grindr - Valkyrie Carpe Veritas - Thirdly Fledgling - Cole Matthews Four Hours - Topher Lydon Adrift - Mark Arbour I swear, if I got any one of these correct, I am going to be very confused indeed.

No, it's just been a very long while since I last opened an actual HP book instead of just watching one of the movies.

I just got the sorting hat reference now.

You really got all 23 in there.

Nooo, that's the worst! The first time I was hit with Covid, I had phlegm for what felt like two months. 😱 You hang in there, Gary! And I'm glad you're writing more. I'll be reading them hopefully within the next couple of days. I've been trying to finish a really old project so that it's concluded forever (well, at least for that cast of characters... there's an even bigger story in that series that is more a spin-off than a sequel that I am also working on).

Sleep needs to be the number 1 most important thing. And not downing too much sugar and processed foods. And more hydration with actual water. I'm still working on the exercise aspect of things, as I walk everywhere regularly but none of that counts because my body's already acclimated to walking, so I have to be creative. What were talking about again? Right. Projects! They're the reason I do my best to stay alive long enough to finish them. 🤣 That and the privilege of harassing my friends to finish their incomplete projects so I can read all the endings.

Let the chips fall where they may.

I still can't decide which story to vote on this year. Everyone has a different metric. I usually go for the one I felt fit the theme and I enjoyed the most. The problem is there were a whole BUNCH of them that downright dominated the theme that I also enjoyed tremendously. All of the Romance-heavy ones this year were brilliant. Even Septima's Potential had some romance in it, the guy did what he needed to do before he died. So many truths were revealed all over the place. I think I'm really going to have to go with Family Secret, which is surprising, because I'm a self-proclaimed advocate for very comedic romances. The reveal here wasn't wrapped up in layers. It didn't feel particularly calculated (on the reading side, I mean, I'm sure the writer worked hard to calculate and lay out things), and while there was some shock factor, that wasn’t what the story was really about. There was a clear goal full of heart, "What can be done for Uncle Harold? What can *I* do for Uncle Harold, this family member that means so much to me?" That was the real reason for digging up the truth, and it paid off. Uncle Harold found his peace. A close second, of course, was My Dead Ex is Haunting Me Through Grindr (which may or may not have been written by me). Sheer comedy with a romantic heartbeat. And, while I loved everything about The Reunion, Well, This Happened, Unmasked, Green Lightning, What it Takes, Lumina, Angel Keeps a Secret, and Adrift... my third favorite this year has to go to No Doubt About It. I need to find out who wrote this one to gain more answers. I also need to figure out who wrote Thetis and Septima's Potential.

That gif right there is a snapshot of my mind full of all the plot bunnies that keep proliferating left and right!

In all seriousness, though. Picking just one is going to be REALLY tough this year. Can there be a top 3 or something?? Not that I can even decide on 3. Family Secret is one of my top ones, as is Well, This Happened... but so was that wild No Doubt About It (which left me with all the doubts), the even wilder Green Lightning and My Dead Ex Is Haunting Me Through Grindr (*cough* which, obviously is my subconscious that wrote it, as the title is reminiscent of other titles like My Faceless Bus Stalker Alpha *cough*)... not to mention the twistier ones like What it Takes, Four Hours, and A Chorus Dilemma. And I loved The Reunion, Adrift, Unmasked, Angel Keeps a Secret and Lumina so freaking hard.