BendtedWreath

This read like a stray episode of westworld or black mirror, even. I followed it alright, but I am familiar with the concepts of statuses and understood what was going on when I saw them. I can't exactly provide any suggestions for making it understandable for general audiences, but if you can figure that out, it'd be a smoother read for all.

This was definitely written with the theme 'hidden' in mind. But, I feel that not everything had to be so very hidden at the beginning. I would have liked a few more hints of Clay's Theran heritage shown from the start...like how he could heal a bit faster and better than other stunt doubles. Then, I would have preferred something bigger to have happened to leave him injured enough to then bring GLARIC in, lest their current liege die without being fully awakened. I did like that there were hints of good leadership in Clay when he came to take over at his parents' lands and kicked Rachel out. But, there were many opportunities to show even more hints without it being obvious to us readers that aliens were involved (I did catch the times when Clay felt watched, but for example, a scene where Clay took a good look at the woods and wondered why it felt like there were more trees and shrubbery than he remembered in his early childhood...or something along those lines to hint at his parents having set up hidden solar panels before that was mentioned). I felt that Clay changing his demeanor and way of speaking after having been awakened felt a bit sudden and even unnecessary. He was already a leader before all of that. This was a good read and I'm sure with more time you may have been able to flesh out more scenes instead of summarizing them towards the end. I was still very much entertained.

Unlike Elijah, who was able to redirect his thoughts, the baby shark song invaded mine for half the chapter. 😂 Ear worms aside, in this chapter, we've caught up with the wolf group!

I liked the way they described their limitations in shifting, tossing in origami for good measure (which made sense). I love their night outing. With how much they enjoy one another's company, I don't think Kage can keep Elijah at a distance for very long, let alone forever.

@Cia, have you been posting these entries by level of intensity, by any chance?

As I sit here staring at this text box, I am desperately trying to figure out how to convince you to read this. This was a most vivid snapshot of what it means to be human, illustrated and punctuated with symbolism that stabs you right through the heart as you immediately empathize with this character that could very well be someone you know, if not yourself. It felt that real.

How heartbreaking. It brought to mind times when I felt similar loss. I can only hope he eventually realizes he can fight for his own happiness just as fervently as he would have fought for that past relationship.

Well, I'm invested. Brendan did a good thing.

Jason has been struggling with a confounding secret. While he had his doubts over the years, he's closer than ever to figuring out his true feelings. Will he be able to keep this secret hidden from the vigilant gazes of his friends, or will he risk their close friendships by speaking his uncertain truth? Either way, it's a Christmas they'll surely remember.

These questions came to me a bit late so I'm posting them where they should go so that the author can answer them at some point: I feel like we were left hanging a bit on who Owen was that he was so insistent on Jason being in the same debate team with him and having forgotten him. Did Owen recently dye his hair or something? Did he wear glasses?

Posted in time to still be considered "Christmas in July." I'm glad his friends were so honest when it came down to it. Glad he no longer has to worry about how they feel about it, either. This was a great read. I was so invested in Jason's struggles that I nearly missed my train stop this morning. 😂

Would you believe she thinks they can ‘pray the gay away’,” she huffed, rolling her eyes, even doing the little air quote thing with her fingers. “If you ask me,” she continued. “She ought to be trying to pray the gray away. Have you seen that woman’s roots?” - 🤣🤣🤣

The arrogance of these two. 🤣 Kage's created a monster, indeed.

Time to look at my story history list and double check any I may have missed.

Not sure if this one was posted already. But, this is one of my earworms:

I enjoyed reading this. Wish fulfillment in several different ways. I can't speak for everyone, but it's a little bit of everything I wish everyone eventually gets a hold of, as dark and distant as it seems to be sometimes: love, redemption, unity, forgiveness, career growth...

It read like an episode of CSI fused with Perry Mason, along with a dash of Taking Lives. A solid mystery/thriller read.

Nice to know he decided to not follow orders and kill his lover. 🤣

I didn’t see him shift into a goddamn mosquito Elijah!” - I laughed for almost a solid minute. Kage the 'skeeter.🤣 I'm glad Tyler's been filled in on everything.

Thanks for all your hard work!

Aye, aye, captain! 🫡 I verified that the Help forum is indeed on the first menu of the app. For the FAQ link, I followed this path on the website: Help & FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions | Gay Authors - Gay Authors In this entry I am not sure if it was the way to do it before, but I found the status update to be a radio button hidden under the Profile Settings, which is how I was able to then post status updates: How do I post a status update? - Forums - Gay Authors The entire store section is alluding to a store which I was unable to find (unless it's referring to the Premium tab overhead). The store is also mentioned when changing the other status (member to author): https://gayauthors.org/faq/authors/authors/becoming-an-author-what-must-i-do-before-i-can-post-a-story-r25/ I seriously can't figure out how I navigated to the link that just showed the different membership statuses as buttons, but this link explained it all in detail, which is basically what I was hunting for: Step-by-Step Guide to Post Stories on Gay Authors - Step-By-Step Guides - Gay Authors Update: Also, I just wanted to mention that none of this has kept me from having fun exploring the website, authors, and stories. I know it's time consuming to make any changes on any website or forum and nothing I mentioned regarding the FAQ and Help sections give me any real cause for concern. It's just that I realized that I won't be the "new kid on the block" forever and wanted to try to help any "new kids" after me to find their way a little better than I did.

That makes more sense now. I couldn't exactly put two and two together on my commute to work. I was a bit distracted by the loud shrieking of the train wheels at one point. For a wild moment, I thought Malcolm was just another Alltopian citizen keeping watch. I just gave it a re-read and it clicked the second time. But I still want to read more. I want Nick to tell Malcolm about his crazy adventures in Alltopia when he comes out of the coma. I'm also hoping hard that's a "when" and not an "IF."

I'm glad Nick is slowly remembering things. I'm glad his partner is around. I'm confused how he got from Connecticut to Alltopia. This very much felt like a first chapter rather than a oneshot.

I haven't written anything in full yet, but I enjoy reading and watching sci-fi, romance, comedies, drama, and fantasy. Thus far, the stories I've read here are all creative and have their own flow. Sometimes, I think it takes more skill to convey what feels like a lot within the confines of smaller stories like the Secret Author one-shots that are being posted daily. Each one so far has felt bigger than they actually are, like the characters live in a world that already exists around them...friends, families, pets, ex-husbands that passed away...I've been so impressed with what I've seen and I hope to do something similar to that (though not at their level quite yet 🤣).

I did read about that somewhere, that there was a difference between site reputation and story reputation. However, I had no idea where those points could be even seen until you said "check the author profile." I saw yours as reference and I see both the numbers you mean (I don't even have an author profile to click on mine yet since, I imagine, nothing exists yet for me as an "author"). Thanks so much!