BendtedWreath

Agreed. My Trans sibling and friends are having a rough time. When someone you always looked up to as a kid for their strength of character loses heart, that really stings.

That's part of the reason why I live on the west coast, and an even greater reason why I am glad a forum like GA exists. Every day I logon, I'm grateful to be reminded I'm neither alone nor going insane. I know everyone has their own demons to struggle with, but I appreciate every single person just the same.

As Chris said, this was a surprise, indeed! 😄 Thanks to everyone, and to @chris191070himself for trusting me with his visions.

Thanks on behalf of us both!

Unlike Snoopy, I wish for a New Happy Year, though it might be 10 years from now instead of 2026.

Thanks so much!

Also, I just saw the "AI Consciousness" category, which might be new and fits what you're working on.

I never thought of it that way! Thanks for sharing.

What is the difference between Science Fiction, Science Fantasy, and Supernatural when it comes to Vampires? Or is it due to what you feel is the "predominant" element? For example... if the story world is dystopian and time travel is involved, it leans more into Sci-Fi despite vampires being involved? Or in the case of Science Fantasy, the world is fantasy in nature, but the story focuses on an alchemist trying to create advance weaponry?? Last question: Does a Utopian themed story require humans?

With a title like The Rim Job, I expected this one to have more of a comedic flair. But it read like like a rogue scifi akin to Han Solo and Outlaw Star.

We lucked out is what I'm understanding. 😂The roulette gave you Ancient East and you at least had some firsthand experience for the setting.

Even requitted love can have its share of hardships. As beautiful as it is sorrowful.

Considering the genre you were given was historical, how did you decide on a monastery setting? I'm not complaining, just curious. “Remember, you are a sapling of the Dharma. Winds will test you. It is how you grow roots that matters.” - Right. But, I don't think the ancients of pasts had to deal with THOSE pairs of eyes. Didn't you take a look at those lashes? Ashok’s throat was tight. He looked at the Bodhisattva’s smile, a smile that knew all sorrows and all joys. “I think… some meetings change the course of the river. Whether the gods intended it or not, the banks are altered forever.” - That's both beautiful and sad at the same time. After Ashok burned the morning rice because he’d been staring at the steam as if it were a departing spirit, Venerable Thom finally summoned him. - A departing spirit! 😂 It was a nod from Soria to Ashok. An acknowledgment. A farewell. A shared, sacred understanding that their impossible garden would forever bloom in the hidden chamber of memory. It was enough. -😭 "Both beautiful and sad" sounds about right for this entry as a whole.

Do incubi count? If so, I've been working on one for over 2 years now.

I thought it was brilliant and heartfelt!

Gay demons? I wonder if Demon Slayer has anything to do with that. Or maybe Baldur's Gate?

Definitely at least a Grammy award. 😂 Andy is indeed @Ticklishboy30, and Kat was borrowed from @kbois. Bran was 100% borrowed from the Raisin Bran cereal because I couldn't think of a simpler last name, which is why I nearly lost it when you mentioned that. 🤣 Chris chose most of the cast and their acting roles. I did what I could to "direct."

I'm glad it read alright. At one point it felt like a queer High School Musical without the music, not intentionally, I assure you, but it would be 100% my subconscious's fault and not Chris. 😂 Thanks on behalf of us both. Yes, and then other firstborns act as a third parent. Good to hear your older sibling realized what he did. And, yes, I imagine all Lee's are a handful, fictional or not. 😂

A unique, imaginative world where the consequences of your actions hold a lot more precedence than one would think.

delicately decorated with Aztec geometric designs - Aztec!? I have a feeling I'm not going to like where this is going, conceited youths aside. The building was the first in Mexico DF to have been built in the new Art Deco style, although combined with an Aztec ethos given its dedication to the God of the Sun himself. Everywhere Callum looked there were symbols of the great god. He was captivated. - Aztec ethos. Oh dear. I want to be the Sun God, I want to be the new Tezcatlipoca! - Of course you would wish for something that unreasonable when Callum kept trying to remind you to do some good. They came to the great staircase, and he saw dozens of ornately dressed priests bowing before him, each carrying a simple obsidian dagger as a symbol of their caste. - Daggers? That's not a good sign. He held aloft the black dagger and the noise around them became even loader. The priest bend over and whispered, “Hello Jaime, do you recognise me? What did I tell you? Be careful what you wish for.” - Callum got his comeuppance, that's for sure. He just waited in the wings.

I've read enough of Lee's work to know that I will never know what to expect. Guaranteed you've never read anything quite like this.

“If you didn’t have blinders on, you’d be able to see it.”/“I didn’t put them on myself. I don’t got no thumbs. I lost them in that calf roping accident, remember?” - Just how many wild adventures have these two gone on??

Frozen!? This exchange couldn't have been warmer! This was a moving tale of a friendship and love forged on a battlefield that was never forgotten.

“My father thinks you eat nothing but slogans,” Miroslav replied./Mo Wu rolled his eyes. “Slogans are not very filling.” - This is the very essence of a pair of teens interacting. “I tried to learn,” Miroslav said softly, in imperfect Mandarin. “To show that I listen.”/“You did well,” Mo Wu replied. His throat felt tight. - I'm greatly concerned about their getting blown up at this point. On impulse, Mo Wu reached into his pocket to give something to Miroslav, his cherished possession./“Take this,” he said, holding out his harmonica. “So that you do not forget my songs.” - These doggone eye allergens are killing me. That night, Mo Wu dreamed of the river running red and harmonicas floating on its surface like dead fish. - Don't blame ya. The two boys did not see each other again for the rest of the century. - I had a feeling they wouldn't. They stepped closer and, for the second time in their lives, exchanged harmonicas on the same soil. - Where is that darn box of tissues?? For the first time since the ice had cracked beneath their boots so many years before, Mo Wu stepped forward hand in hand with Miroslav to a future both could share. - 😭

Raven's Secret Crush A Chris & Ben Collaboration Altair was an S-rank shithead. Raven Bran came to this conclusion after the fourth time one of his teammates flat-out ignored him and refused to pass him the ball. Each time, a fresh wave of resentment rose in his chest. Was it the wasted openings in the last quarter, or the way even their ocelot mascot, Mani, seemed to mourn the invisible divide splitting the team in two? Of all the games, his brother just had to sabotag