ChromedOutCortex

Soon! I promise, very soon!

Streetlights combed through the cabin in slow stripes as Jamie pulled away from the curb. I settled into the passenger seat, the night soft around us. “Do you think any coffee shops are open?” I asked. “This is Vancouver,” he said, grinning. “There’s gotta be one. Worst case, the hunt’s the fun part.” “I’ll text my mom. Want me to ping your sister too?” “Yeah. You text your mom first, then shoot Sarah a note from my phone.” He passed it over. I fired off a quick message

After lunch, instead of diving into our manifesto, we cleaned up and took a short walk. Before we knew it, the buzzer sounded, it was time to head back. Time always slipped away too quickly when we were together. “Guess we gotta go,” Jamie said. “Unfortunately.” I gave him a small grin. “But hey, it’s Friday. Just a few more hours till the weekend.” “Right. I’m looking forward to tonight… still a little nervous, though.” I nudged his arm. “Nothing to worry about. I promise.”

So I've been using Google Docs for my writing; I've tried one other tool (yWriter7) but don't like it very much (though I haven't used it a lot - so maybe I just need to get used to it). I was looking for an easier way to do word counts from Google Docs. I know you can get word counts for the full document, but what I do is create two "chapters" for each chapter I'm working on. So one is "original" and one is "rewrite" and to get a count of the "rewrite" (what I will publish) I end up highlighting that section to determine the word count. It was a pain. I came across this extension called Word Counter Max for Google Docs and it's pretty good! I can keep this on the screen all the time: You can also have this floating, instead of "permanently" attached to the right side of the screen. There is also a minimal setting. Floating doesn't work as the box with word count shows up in the middle of the screen; and minimal only shows the top half of what I've shown above (everything below "Advanced" is not shown). I found the power to be in the Generate report option. Click that and after a few seconds you will see: I LOVE this! Lets me know if a chapter I'm working on is too short/long then I can adjust accordingly. If you click on the arrow beside the number, it gives you a breakdown by paragraph. Not something I need/use, but you never know when it might come handy. There are options available on how it should count: Another neat feature was "Generate reading time estimate": You can change the WPM to any number, and it will tell you how long it would take to read that entire document. Might not be particularly useful, but I thought it was a neat feature. If you are using Google Docs you an download this from the Google Workspace Marketplace. There might be other tools to help writers, but I was specifically looking for something like this and happy I found something useful. Hope this may help someone else using Google Docs. Enjoy!

OK. This looks awesome! I was wondering how they'd add a comedic twist to this, and after watching the trailer I really wanna see this!

@Summerabbacat @CincyKris Yeaaaah... I may have to look at that synopsis again. BUT if I do, I'll probably spill the beans. The story doesn't deviate too much from it. 🤫 @PWS @VBlew Thank you for the kind words!

We finished dinner on a high note, and, for once, Jay actually handled the clean-up without getting “lost” between the sink and the dishwasher. Cindy ducked out early; her shift started at ten, but she wanted an hour on the couch with her eyes closed first. I went up, showered and padded back to my room, skin warm, hair still damp at the ends. Jamie’s hoodie was waiting on my chair. I pulled it on. Soft. A little heavy in a good way. It smelled like him. I cracked my books and, somehow

@Ron Thank you for the kind words! Yikes... sorry about the error. I usually re-read everything a few times, apologies for letting something slip through! 👀

Thanks! Food, is apparently my middle name. 😁

@Summerabbacat Thanks! Little brothers have to be a little annoying otherwise they lose their membership card. 😉

I must’ve dozed off, because the next thing I knew Jay was pounding on my door. “Mom says wake up, Adam! It’s seven a.m. and your boyfriend’s gonna be waiting for you!” “Jayden!” Mom barked. Yeah, at least the whole house heard him. “What? You said wake him up. I woke him up,” Jay muttered, already padding away. It didn’t bother me. I’d been floating since yesterday; even Jay’s drive-by commentary couldn’t knock me off cloud nine. Before getting up, I checked my phone, n

@drsawzall & @VBlew - Thank you! 💕

OK. That was not what I expected!

Such a sweet story!

Coming back to this town feels like stepping into a photograph left too long in the sun, colors faded, edges worn, but the shapes still familiar. The streets are just as quiet, houses lined with porches where neighbors still wave. Doors look like they could still be left unlocked. Walking past the park brings back the heat of one long-ago summer. The swings creak in the breeze, the slide gleams faintly under the sun, and for a moment it’s easy to see a younger version of myself waiting ther

This story is in response to the prompt challenging writers to write a story without using >> I << in it: Write a short story (at least 500 words) in first person without using the pronoun “I”. I hope you enjoy this!

We kept talking, lighter stuff this time. Fries went cold, his shake kept sweating, and somewhere between a dumb would-you-rather and a story about his sister, he handed me the rough map of his life in ten minutes flat. I wanted to believe we could write a new chapter together. But fall already had a date stamped on it. My ticket said Toronto; his plans still sounded like mountains and coastlines. Could we stretch a thread across the country and not snap it? Are midnight calls and shared pl

An older song, but this is pretty good!

Really like this one... from my playlist. Foreign but English subs. English words, translated via ChatGPT: Grow Old Together Lyrics: Zhou Meiling | Music: Shi Yuanjie Hey~ Hearing the sea breeze in my ears, Feeling the waves between my feet, Rippling. Hey~ I remember the day we met, The sunset dyed your face red, So lost. Following your silhouette, Ignoring storm and rain, We leaned on each other. You said we can’t give up, Even if the road is full of thorns, I have you. Let the wind and rain outside the window come, Let the journey be full of twists and hardships, You still hold my hand, I will always have you. Even if time urges us to grow old, Even if youth is no longer beautiful, How many true companions can one have in life? In this vast sea of people, I only wish to be with you. How could I ever forget Those storms, The way we clung to each other? You never once gave up, Even if the road was full of thorns, I had you. Let the wind and rain outside the window come, Let the journey be full of twists and hardships, You still support me, I will always have you. Even if time urges us to grow old, Even if youth is no longer beautiful, How many true companions can one have in life? In this vast sea of people, I only wish to be with you. (Let the storms rage, let the road be rough, You still hold my hand, I will always have you.) (Even if time makes us old, Even if we are no longer young, In this vast sea of people, I only wish to be with you.)

I've found some great BL and Asian dramas and shorts on YT - I usually find them from IG or TT and keep track of them over on MyDramaList but my "to watch" list gets longer by the day (sometimes hour) and just not enough hours in the day or week to get through all of them. Sigh.

I’m usually good at focusing on my classes, but today I couldn’t keep it together. I had a boyfriend, an actual boyfriend! Every time I tried to pay attention, my mind wandered to lunch. The thought of meeting Jamie gave me full-on butterflies. As soon as the last morning class ended, I hurried down to my locker, heart pounding. Jamie was just getting there too, backpack slung over one shoulder. I opened my locker, tossed my bag inside, and tried to look casual. “Hey, Adam… ready to he

Another great song from my playlist...

This isn't really a new song, but they've mixed some of the most heartbreaking scenes from BL dramas... they've done a really good job on this. ⚠️ warning: Get your tissues!

Thank you! I don't even know what to say... saying too much could ruin the story. I'll just have to keep people guessing. 💕

We got home late in the afternoon. Cindy was staying for dinner, one big happy family, minus Dad. That thought always hung in the background like a shadow, but tonight felt... good. Whole, in a way. As soon as we stepped inside, the warm, rich smell of dinner greeted us. “Mmmm… something smells good,” Jay said, immediately bounding toward the kitchen like he hadn’t eaten in days. I turned to Cindy as we slipped off our shoes. “Hey… thanks again for convincing me to go. I really ha