I mostly use the following side of Twitter but occasionally I do the for you. I don't even see tweets by Nick, and I do follow him. I still follow them all, I think. The only one I had stopped following was Brian way back when I found out he was full on MAGA. I just think ever since Musk took over my feed has been weird. I usually have to go seek out tweets of people I know I follow.

Maybe they are working on a new album or planning another fan event like the one they did in the Bahamas. Kevin might feel like they're selling out by playing those private parties. I can see him being morally opposed to that. But like you said, it's good he knows to bow out instead of getting burned out. Who knows he might be the band member who is in and then out then in then out. Duran Duran was like that for a bit, but no matter what, the core 4 always came back together.

I've noticed that about AO3 too. I wonder if they have too many stories going on and are overloading easier. If that's even a thing.

I could never write in another fandom either. I'd really have to be completely all in and hyper focused on it first. It amazes me how easily some of the Succession writers can just hop over to another fandom like that. One of my friends can just jump in and write a Bridgerton fic when that came back and now, they're all jumping to Severance. I would never be able to do that and would not be the slightest bit interested in reading those either. Even though I like Severance, the show is confusing enough to begin with. lol

Friendships in general are so hard, especially when you get older. Finding new friends or keeping old ones as interests wain or you move or quit your job is tough. I've been living here for going on 5 years now and I haven't made one single friend. I rely solely on my long distance and online friends which sometimes is great and sometimes not so much. It would be nice to be able to invite someone over to watch a movie or go out to dinner etc... Not that I can even go anywhere but still. Oh, and speaking of which. My sister took my car to work yesterday because it drives better in the snow and got into an accident. She's okay and so are the people in the other car, but my car was totaled! It could have been a lot worse. I don't drive anymore, and she has her own so there's not that kind of stress, but still. I was going to sell it this year. Now we'll see what happens.

They have to do something about the formatting of the Critics' Choice Awards. They actually not only announced both male and female supporting TV categories at the same time but then had them come up at the same time. It's like they weren't even allowed to have their own moment. They didn't do that for the movie side which seemed really rude, and you could tell how confused the actors were when they went up and got their awards. They had no idea who would speak first or how long they'd have. The speeches were SO boring. They desperately needed Kieran's chaotic energy.

Mare, that's sad that BSB posts aren't showing up on your Twitter anymore.  Do you use the For You feed or Following? They should still show up on Following if you're still following them, but if you follow a lot of accounts, they may get lost in all the tweets.  Nick is the only one who really tweets individually anymore; the other guys use Instagram more.  But the group account's posts hint at something being in the works.

As for Kevin, he skipped out on another appearance last fall and never said why.  I can't remember what country it was in now, but it was a similar situation - a random, one-night show on the other side of the world in the middle of their break.  I figured it was because it was during high school football season, and he didn't want to miss Mason's Senior Night or something, but who knows.  Rose made a good point on Twitter last night, which was basically that it's better for Kevin to bow out of these random gigs on the other side of the world if he doesn't want to do them for whatever reason than be forced to do them and get burned out.  It sucks for the fans in those parts of the world to not get to see all five of them, but it would suck more for all of us if he left the group again.

I heard AO3 was down for maintenance earlier.  It's back up now, but it's been having a lot of issues lately.  Hopefully they resolved that during whatever they did to the site today.

My other regular also lives in the US, but I know that doesn't necessarily mean English is her first language.  Sometimes people do just interpret things differently from how the writer intends, which can be both frustrating and enlightening.  But, regardless, it's nice to know there are a few people who are reading and looking forward to my updates.  Mare, I'm glad you're developing a following; that is awesome!  I wish I could get into fanfic for other fandoms, but I'm not even interested in reading fanfic for fandoms I love, let alone ones I don't.  I don't know what it is about BSB, but they're the only ones I've ever read and written about consistently.  I don't even read much BSB fic anymore either, though.

That sucks that most of the old BSB crowd doesn't interact with you much anymore.  That's the hard part of online friendships that are based on one specific interest.  When you lose that common interest, it's easy to lose touch and run out of things to talk about.  I'm glad we have other common interests and things to talk about.  I'm still Facebook friends with a couple of my oldest online friends, both of whom moved on from the fandom like two decades ago.  At least one of them is a Trumper now, and a lot of the stuff she posts makes me cringe, but I can't quite bring myself to unfollow her because social media is literally the only connection I still have to her and that period of my life.

I gave Grey's Anatomy a try a few years ago and got through the first two seasons, mostly because I wanted to watch Jeffrey Dean Morgan's arc after seeing him play Negan on TWD.  I did like his arc, as ridiculous as it was, but I didn't feel compelled to keep watching after that.  Compared to ER, it was just too soapy and unrealistic to me, and I know it only got worse the longer it went on.  I love that The Pitt is on Thursdays because that was always ER night!  It makes my heart happy to have a Thursday night show to look forward to again.  Most of my weekly shows are on Sundays and Wednesdays.

I didn't watch the Critics Choice Awards tonight, but I saw your tweet that Kieran won.  Congrats to him again!  I also saw the video you shared of his beluga Super Bowl ad.  So cute and random!

Boo! To me! I never scroll down far enough on the page to see the updated white blob for this board. I have read a few Harlan Coben books. He kind of reminds me of James Patterson in that they all kind of follow the same basic pattern. I have also watched a few of the Netflix series. I think I prefer those to his actual books.

I had to look up what interabled meant. Sounds interesting.

I am almost finished with a book called "I'm Starting to Worry about this Big Black Box of Doom!" It's such a perfect example of what it's like to exist in the bubble of social media. I am going to leave a review on my Book nook but if you guys don't follow that, basically it's about this guy who has a viral twitch, he plays video games and occasionally gives food reviews as he plays and he gets caught up in a situation where he helps this women transport a box across the country and it's really about how someone will take a spec of information and blow it way out of proportion to the point that suddenly there's tons of reddit posts and Twitter posts and Tik Toks about what's going on and it turns into a huge thing that everyone thinks is the harbinger of a nuclear attack on the Capital. It has the potential to be SO accurate. lol

I had no idea that BSB were playing a random gig in Saudi Arabia but I'm sure Kevin wouldn't miss the Super Bowl for that. I'm pretty certain that football is to Kevin what BSB is to their fans. lol Speaking of which, it makes me a little sad that I didn't know about any of this until I saw Rose say something about them being active for two days on a twitter post, which means that BSB is no longer factored into my algorithm on Twitter anymore. Unless nobody is talking about them on there. Regardless, I doubt Kevin is thinking of calling it quits. Especially if this is the only time he's done that. If it becomes a habit, then I'd worry.

A language barrier might make sense for your comment. I give credit to anyone who reads these things not in their native language. It always baffles my mind how great everyone is at that except for Americans. My person is from the US, and I don't get a sense that it's a language barrier. I just think she tends to misinterpret things. A review is a review though. It's nice that I know I can always count on hearing from her one way or the other and I do have a few people who leave nice, detailed reviews. This story has less random people just popping in for one chapter and then I never hear from them again like the other ones did. I tend to have more regulars now, with only an occasional pop in. So maybe that means I'm finally getting a following. Just in time for the fandom to die. I do miss your reviews. Both of you. BSB people in general. I wish the fandom wasn't so all or nothing. I know my BSB friends that are twitter (with the exception of you and Tracy. I know you're not on there anymore Steph) Only ever interact with me if I mention BSB. It's a bummer.

I have noticed how huge those K pop groups are. I wonder why? Maybe it's because of the dancing. I wish I could get into any kind of music again. It just doesn't interest me. Not great when that used to be your life.

My writing is going okay. I feel like I'm finally at the part of the story that I find interesting. Less the gushy stuff and more the action, so I've been managing to get a chapter a week out. I still haven't gotten ahead of myself though. I'm not sure if that's going to happen.

I started watching Gray's Anatomy late too, Steph. I stuck with it for a while but then when they literally ran over George with a bus I stopped watching. lol I am loving The Pitt though. I am also really happy it's getting such great reviews, and I'd love for it to be in the conversation come next awards season. Everything I watch now updates on Thursdays. The Pitt, Severance, Elsbeth, Ghosts and The Traitors. Why always Thursday? The rest of the week...nothing . lol

Okay time to cross your fingers and send positive vibes to Kieran tonight. It's the Critics' Choice awards. The second of the big precursors leading up to the Oscars. Since he won the Golden Globe, more critics are pivoting and making him the favorite to win the Oscar. The more of these things he wins the better! I don't think he'll be at the ceremony though because of his Glengarry rehearsals. Which is a bummer and something I didn't think about for the rest of these things. But he's also in a Super Bowl ad. As a beluga whale for nerd wallet. He's living his best life. lol

Some of the k-pop groups do have loads of members, I wonder how they all get a chance to sing!

I've also seen posts with just four members of BSB and wondered where Kevin had got to.  I hope he's not planning on leaving again, or maybe he was just busy with something else.  I'm ready for new music too, it seems so long ago since we last got anything.

I've seen some of your reviews and she doesn't seem to say a lot, maybe it is a language thing.  Where I'm at in the story is reminding me of when Tim was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, and how I didn't know a thing about the illness at the time.  The site seems to be down at the moment, which is a shame as I'm quiet in work and was going to read some more.

I've started watching Grey's Anatomy (I know I'm about 20 years late lol) and really enjoying it so far.  It'll take forever to watch though as I'm watching with Tim and he doesn't like to binge watch stuff like I do.

I'm glad you had a nice, low-key birthday, Mare!  And glad you enjoyed your concert, Steph!  It's funny your mentioned K-pop and the Stray Kids because some of the girls in my class are obsessed with them!  I'd never heard of them until last week when they were telling me about them, so you just reminded me to look up some of their songs.  I get the appeal; they've got some fun, catchy stuff.  I was asking my girls about them and said, "Back in my day, most boybands had 5 members."  These Korean boybands are so big!

It was nice to see 4 out of 5 members of BSB together for their show in Saudi Arabia!  Kinda weird that Kevin is not with them again...  I'm hoping it's just because his team is in the Superbowl again, although I think that's a crappy excuse to back out of a gig, considering his team won the Superbowl the last two years.  But hopefully that's the reason and not something else.  It does seem like the group is working on something, so that's good.  I'm ready for new music and more concerts!

I also did not watch the Grammy's.  I am also stuck in my 90s boyband bubble and haven't cared about most modern music for years.  Every once in awhile, I'll fall in love with a new song or buy a new album (most recently Linkin Park), but mostly I just listen to the same old stuff over and over again LOL.

Currently still comfort-watching old seasons of Survivor.  I'm watching the Millennials vs. Gen X season this week.  It's not as good as Second Chance but still entertaining enough.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to rewatch Survivor, but I've actually rewatched quite a few of the old seasons over the years and enjoyed most of them.  I can't rewatch the super recent ones yet, but it's fun watching the older seasons where I don't remember some of the players and events.  I'll have to give The Traitors a try!

It's also The Pitt night!  I love this show so much and am glad it's getting good reviews and lots of views!  Hopefully it will win some awards and get picked up for another season.

Have you had any luck writing, Mare?  It's a good distraction but hard to do when you're upset.  I'm still writing this damn photo shoot chapter I've literally been working on all year (2025).  It's over 6000 words now, but I'm so slow.  Last weekend was not a very good writing weekend, and I haven't even attempted to write on weeknights, so I've only been writing for 15-20 minutes each morning.

I can relate to the commenter issue.  I very much appreciate Steph and her coherent comments on the events of each chapter because not everyone leaves comments like that LOL.  I'm not sure if there's a language barrier with my other regular commentor or if it's something else, but some of her comments leave me scratching my head.  She likes one of my original characters better than I do, though, so at least there's that.  I'm glad to get any comments at all, but I do miss the kind of feedback people gave here.  Thanks again, Steph, for keeping a piece of that alive for me!

Sounds interesting!  I watched one or two of his Netflix adaptations but haven't read any of his books yet.  I'm often the same way; I read right before bed when I've already taken my melatonin, so I get sleepy really quickly and don't usually get far.

I'm reading a new memoir called "Interabled" by Shane and Hannah Burcaw, a.k.a. Squirmy and Grubs on YouTube.  They're a really cute and funny couple that I started following on YouTube a couple years ago.  They released this book a few weeks ago when the California wildfires were really bad and donated all their profits from the first week of sales to the relief efforts, so I bought it.  It's full of stories from them and other interabled couples, and it's a cute, interesting read.

I'm currently reading I Will Find You by Harlan Coben.  It's about a man who is in prison accused of killing his son but then finds out his son isn't dead and he escapes to try and save him. 

I've seen a few of his Netflix adaptations and enjoyed them, so hopefully this book will be as good as them.  So far, so good although I'm so tired by the time I go to bed that I only manage a couple of pages.

Sounds like Trump is making big changes then. I wonder what his voters are thinking right now and if they are regretting it.  I bet a lot of them are.

Yeah, the k-pop group did put on a good show.  Just the feel good kind of concert I needed where everyone of all ages, colours, genders etc are all happily singing and dancing.  I love concerts.

I didn't watch the Grammys, but I happened to see just a bit of the news showing some woman with Kanye West who appeared naked.  Why on earth would she do that lol.  Publicity I suppose.  I have no idea who most of these singers are these days as I'm stuck in my 90s boyband bubble with a bit of k-pop thrown in and I'm happy enough with that lol

I was just going to come on here and rant about Trump lol So your answer is No, Steph. He hasn't done one single good thing and I don't plan on that ever happening. So far, he's taken away all rights to trans people. They basically no longer exist within the United States. He's taking it so far that he's going to have prisoners relocated to prisons by the sex they were assigned at birth. He's fired everyone that had him persecuted. He's pulled us out of WHO and the Paris Peace accord. He's gutted USAID (these are the people in charge of humanitarian aid) and now he's dismantling the department of Education. He's basically signed into law that there are no more equal rights. Gotten rid of DEI hirings. They just voted RFK junior through to be in charge of health. He wants to relocate everyone from Gaza so the US can take over and build hotels or something. He gave Elon Musk pretty much permission to come in and look at everyone's private information. It's all very very bad. Oh yeah, and the whole Tariff thing with China, Canada and Mexico. I know I'm missing a ton of things, and he has only been in office for two weeks. Shit show. Phew! I needed to get that off my chest. 

Sounds like you had fun in Manchester. I bet those K pop kids put on a good show. I'm sure BSB will be popping up soon. I would imagine they'll be working on a new album soon enough followed by another marathon long tour. Did you watch the Grammy's? Seems like everyone was pleased with the outcome and the performances. As they were going through the list of performers and winners, I officially felt very old since I only knew maybe a handful of them. LOL My friends Dave and Gil did win one for Best Folk Album so yay for them. They are touring in Australia so weren't there. They are the ones that played at the Oscars a few years back.

I'm going to go attempt to write now, even though I am so angry about everything I want to just scream. I need to reply to some comments first. I have a person who comments after ever chapter I write, and I love that, but I feel like she never seems to quite grasp what's going on in the story. Have either of you ever encountered that? She's the sweetest person in the universe but then always based on what she says, which is usually her idea of solutions to the situations occurring in the story, it's clear that she didn't really follow what happened. I always end up trying to nudge her in the right direction, which is what I have to go do now.