I wanted to pass on a few updates:

My brother is doing better thanks to the pacemaker, but is still having breathing issues that we don't know the cause of.

My ex is taking her near-death experience seriously, and has started to look for a cheaper place that Sam could have going forward, but she is showing signs of a deep paranoia that is quite worrisome.

As for me, I've been trying to do a deep dive into understanding my manic phase, but I still got a lot of work to do.

Greetings Top Shelf Writers and Readers,

I wanted to bring back from way back in the Big Closet a writing challenge that Erin made way back in 2008:

"What might happen to such a person {'a troll'} who ran a foul of some of the mythical beings who lurk in the back of the BigCloset? :)" ~ Erin Halfelven

I take joy in being a part of this website as it has served transgender readers and writers. I answered the challenge back in 2008 with my story From Troll to Triumph . I would love to see what can be done in 2025 with this classic prompt from Erin.

Talk among yourselves.
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That's enough.

Now go forth and write!

I am too busy with other things. I think that it might be fun to do a story of when there was little or no ice in Antarctica. Sickem... Have fun. Get that sex change in there too.

Gwen Brown

That, folks, was the end of 'Closing Doors', as the last sentence carries a huge amount of freight for those who know the full extent of Mike's story. I feel it wraps up the story arc neatly, and didn't want to over-egg things. As I explained in a comment, it is the reason I chose Diane as the narrative voice, so as to bring neutrality to events that will have left Mike incoherent.