Fishwings

I just... wow. Well. That friend of yours needs to realize what he did is punishable by law. I would suggest going up to him and making him realize what exactly he has done, but only if you still consider him as your friend. Meanwhile, I would just comfort the victim and maybe ask her if she wants to tell her family members and press charges at a later date. Good luck with this... sorry I don't have better advice.

A lot of people in this world experience angst and self loathing for a variety of reasons -- from sexuality, to eating disorders, to lung cancer, and even for being jobless -- and are all stigmatized by society in a way that makes they want to hide that part of themselves. When dealing with such issues I think the important point is to take a step back and realize that we are ourselves, no one else, and because of that we could never fully understand what someone else is going through so should approach everyone with an open, non-judgmental mind. @YB and @Cyhort, I know the feel. To this day it still surprises me on the amount of internalized homophobia, prejudice, racism, and just downright not-understanding prevalent in some gay communities. You'd think that as a group that has undergone oppression in society for so long that we would all be more open minded towards people who are different, but sadly, it is not always the case. "Cliques" as Cyhort described, are formed by people of likeness, and as we all know, cliques ostracize people who are different. But good on you for seeking out answers here Finn. Listening to other perspectives/education is the best road to understanding. Let's all love more and hug trees and stop the h8 ok homies

That.... looks..... delicious D:

Hilarious Avicii MV

What you wanna do is get 2 shots of choco milk, 1 shot of hazelnut baileys, and top it off with coffee flavoured ice cream. Tastes like Tiramisu, it's so gooddd. Besides that, Cointreau mixed with some sprite and top it off with juice it pretty good. I hate vodka and I had bacardi 151 once... and never again.

Oh yeah, if CSR ever does discussions on shorter stories under 20K I definitely have some suggestions : D!!! But for now anything is okay!

I'm a little late to the party hehe. Anyways, I had previously started reading this story but never got the chance to totally finish it until last night -- and I am glad I did! One thing I really liked about "Memories of a Forgotten Love" was that the story arc was executed very well. The beginning was slow and confusing as it was meant to be, but when Noah received the suicide note about himself the tension began to rise throughout the rest of the story as things began to spiral out of control. Each subsequent event (Luke's apprehension, the suicide note, his father revealing his orchestration, the raping) was a notch more terrifying than the other, which definitely held my attention til the very end. I thought Nephylim did an exemplary job in establishing a well planned out and gripping story framework. Now onto the characters. Initially, I thought Noah's father fell a little bit flat as an antagonist as his motives seemed stereotypical and unrealistic, but as the story unfolded and his father realized his mistakes and expressed how he still loves his son, I realized that he was actually a decently well-developed character, and I really appreciate that. Sometimes, writers forget that antagonists are people as well, and write them into the story as plot devices. On the contrary, Nephylim created a villain who was evil yet not all-powerful, cold and loving, angry and regretful, and overall a humanizing sort of unstable. Several of you brought up the structure of the story and how it revolved around conversation heavily. For me, I thought it was an intriguing and different way to tell a story, but there were several parts where I had trouble following the characters who were speaking, and it became a bit hard to visualize what they were doing in between their spoken sentiments. But maybe I'm just old-fashioned in that regard With regards to other stylistics, I've always enjoyed Nephylim's descriptive prose. She has a way of putting things in an ethereal, beautified, romanticized light without overdoing it. One that I really enjoyed: And the lines that made me laugh (has nothing to do with descriptive prose but thought I'd just throw it in there LOL): Now, onto the parts of the story that moved me emotionally. I particularly enjoyed the scene where Noah goes back into his room and investigates his old life, realizing that he had grown into a different person. His subsequent discovery of his balcony was also written very well. My favourite scene though, would have to be when Noah's father comforted him. I thought it was a very big turning point in the story, where both of them had to reconcile their differences and mistakes. I think that's all I have to say. Thanks Cia, Trebs, for organizing CSR, the people who participated, and thank you Nephy for writing this great piece!

My favourite chapter in the WORLD!!!

My life has been a lie....

This is a very interesting revelation... especially since Lyme disease has been around for so long! Always helps if you wear long pants and sleeves when you're hiking to prevent ticks from waddling onto you when you're going through shrubbery, and I think you're supposed to remove the tick with forceps near the head so its mouthparts don't remain jammed in your skin. Poor antibiotics :< The business needs more love.

Ohhh I used to do these, but not very extensively. This is a great idea!!! I will be PMing Cia very soon.... like now.

This story was wonderful! I actually read it on your website so I'm not sure if there are any differences. This is one of the few stories wherest I really liked the protagonist. He definitely conveyed a certain degree of insecurity that I thought humanized him. And Sean is awesome. Keep up the good work!!

Cia, this is a great story! Halfway through I had a hunch that something bad was happening, and things weren't as they seemed :< I liked the theme. I definitely got a sense of how the protagonist didn't really want to move on with life, thus owing it to the fact that he didn't want to wake up. After all when someone is ready to wake up, they're going to wake up, and if they're not, they're going to stay pretending.

Pressed for time, Callen Worthwright drives down a treacherous route back from his snowboarding trip. The roads are icy; the snowstorm is a whiteout, and his car skids straight into the Pacific Ocean. Hanging desperately on to life, a supernatural presence grants him a second chance at redemption. Callen is propelled kilometres across the continent to visit a long-lost friend whom he never had the chance to admit his feelings to. The catch? He only has six hours to live.

This story was awesome, so glad I read it 'cause of this recommendation. Keep em rolling!

Oh god I just died of cuteness overdose, oh god it's SO CUTE. God. What an amazing story. I love how Brennan and Josh each have their own set of quirks and imperfections, and I really like Kristina -- she's such an interesting character! Btw who ties their shoelaces together LOL, Brennan is such a doofus. Besides that, I really liked your prose. Great quality writing overall. Keep it up, I'm so glad this story got featured so I could get a chance to read it.

That was such a cute and wonderful story D: I loved the exchanges between the wolf and Brax.

Great prompt Joann! I might try out one of these one of these days

He looks like a really hot muppet D:

AWMAHGAWD what a plot twist. I felt like I was kicked in the chest when I read the last part :< Great story!

Wow, this story is simply amazing. The characterization and the well crafted beginning and end of the story was so well done. Also, I love Chris D:

This is excellent! I feel like even good authors sometimes forget tips like these.

Thanks for featuring this poignant piece! I had originally read this story somewhere else a long time ago but was never able to find it again.

THIS STORY!!! I read this a long time ago, I think you might have posted on nifty or another site or perhaps it was on here. I just have a few qualms of the whole story being in italics, and that the prose in the beginning seemed to determinedly descriptive -- it might deter some readers. Nonetheless, this is an extraordinarily beautiful piece that I have remembered for many years to come. The horror, confusion, and pain that Tobias encountered and went through felt very, very real to me, and I love the ending that is open to interpretation. Your overall prose was excellent. Well done!

What the eff did I just see