Boosting in case folks need a reminder.

It's over! It's done! The contest is finished, the polls are closed, and we have the results you've all been waiting for!

Just as a reminder for folks, today is the last day for entries to go up in the 2023 "Abducted!" story contest! I'd originally intended to give people 'til midnight their own time zone and go on trust, but for simplicity's sake I've been asked to move that to midnight PDT (or, just under 16 hours from the time this blog will post.)

First of all, big hugs to all of my brothers and sisters here at BCTS. We have an amazing community of diverse and creative people.

That said, I feel like it might be a good time to remind everyone that we're all in this together. We have many different views, many different concerns, many different backgrounds, but we're all here for much the same reason: to enjoy a quality community and some quality stories.

Welp, folks, here it is, the first competition of 2023, and it's a fun one!

According to the internet, March 20th is Alien Abduction Day, so what better way to celebrate with a competition built around stories about all things extraterrestrial in origin?

I fished my keys out of my messenger bag and handed them over to Brian, getting a shoulder-pat in thanks.

"Next week we're taking separate cars."

"Next week it's my gas we're burning."

"Maybe the week after that then," I decided, pausing only a moment when we reached my car to circle around to the passenger side while Brian hit the beeper to unlock the doors.

POLL TIME!

Alright, so. My life is hopefully moving in a direction where I'll be able to spend a LOT more time hangin' out with folks here, like I used to. I'm super excited for that, and I'm excited for some of the opportunities that potentially opens up...

Like more contests!

I know it's been a long time since I've ran any, but honestly, I'd really like to start doing so again. They were always a really fun way to get writers posting, and more than a few of my favorite stories have come from them.

I feel like a lot of people around here expect a lot of the moderation and maintenance staff here at BCTS, but that they don't tend to get nearly enough recognition for all the hard work they do.

As such, I would like to take a moment to list them all, so we can all show each of them the love they deserve.

BCTS is probably the most important constant in my life.

Some might consider that hyperbole... but in so many ways, it's 100 percent true.

Without the community this site has provided, the outlet for both creativity and pain, the *outreach* it has allowed me... I wouldn't be here today.

Without the wonderful people here, who are so incredibly generous in so many ways, and the love and support they have given me, that I have done my best to return in kind, but know I can never truly match... I wouldn't be here today.

Without Erin.

Without Angie.

Because sometimes your brain won't let you sleep, and instead insists on another round of beating the dead horse that is your shitty emotional state.

What does your trans-ness mean to you?

For all of us, it seems to be something different. For some it's about freedom, from societal expectations or toxic masculinity. For some it's about expression. For others, it's something as simple as a fetish, or as complete as a feeling of cosmic wrongness needing made right.

For me, my trans-ness is about despair.

Heya folks!

So, I know y'all see 'em popping up a lot of times on the front page of the site here, the hand-drawn covers for a lot of Doppler's ebooks?

That's my work!

I am friends with Erin. Quite good friends, I would like to think. So, when I'm talking to a friend of mine and they're a bit miffed because of response to a story they're writing, naturally I want to see what's going on.

It truly would.

I could wait until my parents are gone and take a bottle of painkillers or muscle relaxers from their room. By the time they got home it would be done.

I could break into my dad's gun cabinet. Glass doors are only a deterrent when the person getting in is worried about damaging them, and what would I care, given the end goal?

I could simply walk out to his shop. A rope from the rafters, or his chain wench, or any of the various knives, power tools, and so on, depending on how much I wanted to make myself suffer.

Lately I've been working on a group project with a few of our other authors/authoresses here, and one of them has been asking me about something I used to do....

See, many many moons ago, I posted multiple forum entries containing a year's worth of story challenges at a time: one for each week, one for each month. This person has expressed that they found these challenges a lot of fun, and would love to see me produce something like that again.

So, here's my question: would anyone ELSE like to see a new edition of my Ultimate Writer's Challenge?

I know that today -- November 3rd, 2020 -- is going to be a rough day for a lot of people, regardless of what country you're from or what you believe.

I'm going offline completely until everything is over with. I'll be back on shortly after midnight local time on November 5th.

Everyone, please stay safe, stay calm, and make sure those around you do the same.

*hugs*

Melanie E.