BendtedWreath

🤣That prompt! You really brought it to life. Amazingly done!

Yes. This.

I didn't think of that. Nice theory!

I have to give credit to the prompt itself when it comes to descriptions and details. I did my best to do what it said. Still, it was a delicate subject matter I never personally experienced, so I know I didn't really convey everything properly. I also listened carefully to the three people I reached out for help when it came to this story, and their input definitely elevated it several notches. It's so easy to become defensive or feel like a failure when you can't get something down the way you see it in your head (artists that draw have similar frustrations). But when you start truly seeing your first draft as a block of clay (the necessary base from which to sculpt anything at all), you will realize that with another set of eyes and opinions, you will be able to remove and add to that clay as many times as necessary until the sculpture that remains is the final polished draft. You have to see that first attempt as malleable and flexible.

Some things can't be fixed, and time doesn't heal all wounds, but we all find different ways to cope. Many, many thanks. My heart goes out to that family and I hope they are all in a better state. For Eudora, it was a little bit of both. The love wasn't all gone; she still wished him well, but their son was their everything, and she found she could no longer see Dalit as a partner but as the father of the son she'd lost. Depression can really swallow a person up whole. At least, that's how I interpreted it. Again, I've gone through none of this. I've seen others go through it and did my best to step into their shoes for a little while.

Back after reading them all. Not a weak one in the bunch, in my opinion. We got a little bit of everything: grief, war, escapism, romance, friendship, adventure, retirement, orientation, therapy, pranks, and even some crime mystery!

Rob's final office prank goes sideways in more ways than one. How is he going to get out of this one? Read on to find out.

And it would have worked perfectly had he not ignored our boss’ one cardinal rule and carried his coffee to his desk. It was strictly forbidden, announced by multiple signs with large red letters all over the room, even on the inside of the door, to take any food or beverage outside the breakroom. - Uh-oh! The handleless pot dropped onto the man’s shoulder and rolled into his lap, where ice-cold brown liquid spread rapidly, and dripped on light brown, probably very expensive, suede Chelsea boots. - No, not the boots! “Investing in preserving the health and ability to work of our employees might be a good selling point to the higher-ups.”/I scoffed. “And providing and making information available is not?”/He sat down on the edge of his desk. “That, dear Robert, we call politics.” - LMAO!! Ultimately, that prank netted them a jacuzzi. Nice!

Was the fire that burned down the Pink Flamingo the result of a hate crime? Read on to find out who was behind it and why.

Darn. I was expecting to see Danny actively drawing out the information from Matthew. But I'm glad he received the help he needed, and even more so that he grew up trying to correct his actions.

Just realized this one's ongoing. Guess I'm going to have to set up camp.

It had been difficult to get started, so the Prompt Journal in front him had been a valuable tool. - Hey! Prompts within a Prompt. I see what you did there. The man said a lot of things John Renkin didn’t like, but he had learned long ago that not liking something doesn't mean it’s not true. - LMAO! Those darn therapists. The page was still blank. He had decided to use every prompt in the order they were printed when he bought the book. He hated that rule now, almost as much as he hated the man who had made it. - Oof, cut yourself some slack. He wanted to swear, but swearing was against the rules. He set the tip of his pen on the paper and sighed. It was a profane sigh. There weren’t any self-imposed rules about that. It felt good, so he profanely sighed once more. - I didn't just sit here for a good minute or two trying to figure out how to sigh in a profane way. He was right, and John had doubled his grandfather’s gift multiple times through well-timed transactions. - Bravo! They were as bad as Communists or maybe even worse. God would probably forgive a Communist, while the homosexuals were just taunting God like the unredeemable men of Sodom and Gomorrah. - Right? Absolutely ridiculous. He didn’t think he was a Communist, but he was pretty sure he was a homosexual. That was the worst thing he could be. - There, there, heart. I know you know that feeling well. Settle down. It didn’t seem so wrong to love Georgio Marino and being loved in return didn’t feel bad or evil in the least. - Yes, exactly. Maybe the water level was a bit lower in his mental ocean of self-hate. - Title makes much more sense now. He decided to pay for yet another session with his seafaring charlatan of a therapist next Thursday at 3:45, hoping the man might throw another lifeline and finally pull him from the depths of his overwhelming shame and guilt. - Atta boy! Hot damn, empath. You made me empathize a little too hard there. The tears didn't fall, but they welled.

Theo's looking for a new job and maybe someone smoldering while he's at it. But maybe it's not quite the kind of smoldering he had initially imagined. An excellent read.

He’d cooked up a great meatless chilli over the weekend - hot, spicy, and packed full of whatever his body was meant to need. The good stuff, in other words. - I'm not drooling over here. May I ask why Infernal Industries is only now venturing into the online sphere? - Infernal Industries? Is there more to their burnt appearance, then? There again, he didn't actually know what II did, or produced, or sold. - Souls maybe? “Oh, no,” the lead questioner gasped out after a minute. “They come to us. They always come to us.” - How ominous. Standing up, his gaze snagged on something sticking out of Beel's back pocket. Was that a whip? Flail. Cat o' nine tails? - What about a demonic tail? “Can't they get a refund? A 'no fault' escape clause?”/An exasperated side-eye from his companion told him the answer was 'no'- LMAO! Not "infernal" without a reason. “How many of you–“ The tone was conversational. “Know the phrase 'gone to hell'? Anyone?” - LMAO!! Oh man, he's really trying, isn't he? This is revenge porn. A deepfake. Discrediting our most loyal, hard-working colleagues who've been with the company since the start. - LMFAO!! The message out on socials told of a new Hell. There for everyone – inclusive, responsive, and customer focused. - 🤣 That was a fun read. But what was the original prompt?

No, no. You'll get no spoilers from me. Just trust me and read. If you don't, you'll definitely miss out on a real gem.

As I've gone down the reading list, I haven't come across a single miss. AND YET, as soon as I saw that I was at your story, I perked right up in excitement like a kid receiving an unexpected Christmas gift. I just had to share that as I wanted to laugh at myself at my reaction. Now then, onto the story: It’s time for you to stop crunching numbers and for me to stop pimping myself out to bring in new clients. - He did what?? “Was that in the job description for your replacement?”/‘Yes, it was. Needed–one highly motivated individual to sell their soul and whatever else it takes to bring in multi-million-dollar accounts. You will be rewarded with pats on the back and, if you’re lucky, a blowjob from the CFO.” - LMAO!! John winced when he saw the one of his terrified face as he clutched the railing of the platform he’d jumped from when he idiotically agreed to bungee jump if his team met their fourth-quarter goal in 2002. - LMAO! William Knowles grinned evilly and nudged both of them toward Kelly and her evil box. - LMAO! “They also get to sing a song.”/The crowd roared its approval. - LMAO!! Those poor retirees!! Well, I didn't just print out the promotion unicorn lyrics to keep at my work office.

After being worked to the bone, Frankie goes on a vacation only to come across quite the surprise on his self-imposed adventure. Read on and remember that true friends can be found at the oddest times, and in the most unexpected of places!

The regular customers made frequent comments as to why he was always working. His general manager abused his offer to work every weekend./He scoffed. “Should’ve known not to say that shit in the interview.” - Oh no! Totally shot himself in the foot. Sociopath. He earned many bug-eyed stares and awkward steps backward, but he understood. - I mean, I'd much rather be a sociopath than a psychopath. It stated, "I’d turn back if I were you." The words dripped with red paint. - LMAO! The man pressed a finger to his bottom lip– a habitual gesture for him when pondering. After a moment, he registered how much hesitation was going on. I’m still alive, he thought. - LMAO!! “Dude, you’re really annoying,” the man accused. “And totally not normal. You got to be messed up to have a conversation with my other form.” - Right? You are annoyed at his joy, yet I would be annoyed he went to your thrift store and not a sports shop. That is what makes more sense. - LMAO! Right? Man, I really loved this one. I loved how the werewolf humored him at first and then really made a genuine friend. This was so good.

Thirdly's written yet another entertaining character as we get a peek at the life of fashion designer Kei. You won't be disappointed.

I'll have the last brookie. - Ha ha! I am a brookie enthusiast. I really didn't expect that first line, but color me invested already. So, I blinked a few times to try to dissimulate my reaction and waited until she was ready to let go. - Those eye allergies. I know them well. "Y-yeah," I stammered before saying the words I'd immediately regret. "If it weren't for that, I would have already gone out with you." - HA! Buried himself with that one. Though my eyes told me I was looking at a sharply dressed Gavin, half of my very being wanted to deny it. - Whoa! "You're staying in there until after the ceremony." - What an ass. Calvin went down faster than his favorite team tossed down their twigs after losing the game. - LMAO! I was sure we both wanted to cut Calvin's banana into slices. - LMAO!! This was a wild ride. Kei was such an entertaining character. I enjoyed reading his interactions with Leo and I'm glad Lilah decided to remain friends. How you got this whole story out of that one sentence prompt is a real mystery to me. I am as perplexed as I am impressed.

Oh, we'll see about that. I'm currently on @Thirdly's on the list at the moment. But I'll get to yours, too!

Hey, everyone, don't miss out on @W_L's entry just because it is linked! It was a good read- https://gayauthors.org/story/w_l/wls-prompts-short-stories/10

Though I don't think he even meant to this time, as usual, @Lee Wilson thought outside the box with his prompt for this event. He gave us a warm tour of his place, on top of that! I feel like a welcomed guest.

The hundreds of individual items contained on each of those. Each one containing things I can use to find myself in other places, other worlds, other times. - For a moment I thought it was a book, then an entire encyclopedia. But the item was singular, so maybe a computer?? Yes, that's the one thing in this room that makes me the happiest. It can take me anywhere I want to go. I can lead others to new places with it. Anywhere and anything the imagination can visualize is possible with that one item. - A cellphone?? But, alas, it is not a room I can spend every minute of every day in. That would garner suspicion. - Ha! The folks that work from home would surely disagree. Unless you mean the kitchen, in which case, humans need to eat. I take time away to use my escape vehicle. I need that escape more and more every day, but I must avoid using it too much. Much like a drug, overuse is not a good thing and can lead to troubles. - Definitely sounds like a mobile device. Oh, the people I've met using it. Granted, they are not real, but I get attached to many of them regardless. - I object. I'm real, last I checked. (I say while patting myself down to check anyway) But there are real people that I can reach as well. As real as you or me. - Oh, I spoke too soon. Whew. I take it back. I will write until I am unable to. - DragonSpeak or other speech-to-text software will help when the arthritis hurts too much. The only downside is if you have company over, they might end up hearing a chapter of a mystery novel and would think you're plotting something! But yes, electronics and the place you call home definitely count as a favorite place during Summer. I think it worked out just well!

Much obliged! I want to read something of yours, too. Don't hesitate to ask around for others to help via beta-reading or editing (and even I can help provide another set of eyes, any time)! Though they may think they don't have much to offer, everyone on this site has so many different experiences and storytelling styles that their own personal take on the world is more than enough to help with any writing!