Rory's a big pain? When did this happen?

He's not such a bad guy. It's just ... it's complicated ... there are things you don't understand ... can we talk about it later?

Kitty

This is cheaper and much more fun.

Get a bottle and drink it with your friend and watch his clothes fall off.

LOL, Dom, I had one of your Monday's maybe we should compare notes, I think I bet you this week. Check out my blog I think you even got an mention as a result. Not in a bad way, at least I hope it wasn't in a bad way.

LOL, Dom, I had one of your Monday's maybe we should compare notes, I think I bet you this week. Check out my blog I think you even got an mention as a result. Not in a bad way, at least I hope it wasn't in a bad way.

Doms mondays are rubbing off on me too, I fell alseep in two of my three classes today, and did homework for the third that was due in that period, so I basically missed all three lessons. But that's okay, Chemistry is easy, Biology is all in the book (shit I have a quiz in that on wednesday), and Pre Calculus.... well we did long division of some kind and I hate long division so I'm kind of screwed there (shit I have a quiz in that on wednesday too, but neither of those quizzes have anything in them that we learned today YAY!). Anyway, feel better Dom! Just listen to Freebird by Lynard Skynard, that always makes me feel better

Ah, poor Dom. Sorry to hear you're getting sick. Ignoring it is an interesting course of action. I personally go for the 5,000% calcium boosts. yum. calcium.

Are you sure he's straight? Absolutely positive? Don't trust the straight ones. *sigh* Yeah...

And don't pick on Rory. I rather identify with him, even if he is just a tad dense... hahaha. Seriously though, if I were in that situation, I'd be flipping out too. All of your protagonists seem to feel as if they've lost control over their lives, but I think Rory is the only one (well, maybe TLW) who is justified in his continual state of panic. Plus, he ends up in the most fun situations... So hmm, depends on whose knee he ends up on

//shadows

Hey Dom. Sorry you're not feeling well. Are you sure you want to ignore it, though? My doctor has always said that most of the people that come in with a cold or a virus are sick a lot longer then they should be, because they just go to work sick, instead of resting. I know, sometimes people don't have a choice--I know I've had to go to work sick before, but if I'm working a job where I don't HAVE to be there, I try to rest. Your body can't fight the infection if you're exerting yourself even a little bit. Okay, that's the end of my meddling in your business, I promise. I really want you to get better, though. Being all stuffed up just sucks. I'd rather throw up; at least you feel better after you heave, whereas with a cold you're miserable for days.

I may be in the minority here, but DD is my favorite of your stories. I think it's because I have this huge netfiction-crush on Luke. He sounds so hot. Though, the way things are going I am guessing you're going to pair Rory off with someone else? Aaron? I guess you're going to be giving him a second chance and all? I guess that would be nice, from a dramatic standpoint, but after Ryan turned out to be straight (and he was the hottest guy in TLW), can't you please, please have Rory mess around with the hottest guy in THIS story? I mean, wrestlers! Maybe Rory doesn't have to be spanked, but you can always have Luke...pin...him. That should be chastisement enough.

Anyway, if Rory really pisses you off, you can always do a crossover with Service: Vampire Jarred 2. The state of mind he's in, he'd probably love Euphoria.

Excellent plan. Just take a coulple of shots of Jack and get on with life. Just be sure to post the last chapter of TOU before keeling over.

Sharon

Hmmmm, while you ignore this cold and go into work, have you thought about the consequences of those around you as your pollute them with your germs ?

Or maybe that's your plan, get Mr. Hot 'n Straight sick...

'Oh Mr. HnS, you are burning up with a fever! Quick take off all your clothes, lie down on this bed, and I'll wipe you down with a cool washcloth.'

'There, there, Dom will make it all better.'

Vic

As an official motherly type, let me first say:

1. Sometimes the best thing to do with a cold is to ignore it. Really. I can't tell you a rule of thumb for how to tell when you ought to "take care of yourself" and when you ought to push yourself. I guess you just pick one and see how it goes.

As I sometimes have had to tell my kids: if you're going to feel bad anyway, why not feel bad while --- doing whatever it is you're trying to figure out whether or not to do?

2. As for the guy -- I don't know that avoiding an inappropriate crush object is always the best way to put them into their proper place. I mean, if you just met him -- maybe he's not so compellingly attractive when you get to see how he behaves? (well, if he is, that's something else)

About Rory:

Yes, he's a pain in the ass. That's the story, though: he's in a sustained state of panic and he's doing all stupid things. Quinn, and Owen, and Rory have this in common: they are panicked boys who demand a lot from the world and the people in it before they will trust it at all. They each feel that the people around them lie to them, conceal things from them, and that it is dangerous to reveal the truth to them -- they're very frightened.

I've pointed out before about how they also have in common the condition of unavailable parents -- but in spite of these things in common, they're each their own boy with their own story. Owen had no available parents: Quinn's mother becomes available and he doesn't know what to do with it. Rory's father is becoming available but there's this truth thing between them.

It's like they are exploring the whole world of how truth and mystery affect relationships.

Get well soon! And I know that people will hate me for this, but if you have to rest, quit worrying about the stories! They'll be there when you get better! Try a shot of whiskey with honey & lemon, turn up the heat in your house, wrap up in a comforter and SLEEP!

Hey everyone. Well first I don't think Owen belongs in the same category as Quinn and Rory at all! (LOL ok so he is my favorite, but still). I mean I found Owen twice as mature as the other two, and facing more real problems than Quinn, and depending on how you look at it, nearly as much as Rory. Owen had one really great quality that the other two have so far mostly lacked, he's not COMPLETELY self-absorbed. He makes it a point to be there for Aiden, he's almost saintly in his support of Denis (who treats him lousy and rejects his help most of the time), he's very much there for his brothers (the birthday party) and helps Tony (in steering him and Jake together, and later telling him it's ok for them to move in together), and all in all he seems like a really good friend to the rest of the characters too. Sure he has a few bad reactions and does a few things that make you want to snap at him, but mostly that seems normal and human enough. And sure he was wrong to not give Nicky the benefit of the doubt, but I think he handled it pretty well (for the most part) when he realized he was wrong. and yes he did treat Dan badly, but the fact that he feels so guilty about it, and dwells on it so much, and makes it a point not to do that again, is very compelling. I think the key thing is that Owen's faults and major flaws develop right before the story starts, or right at the beginning of it (and for good reason with all that trama and abuse). The story itself, to me, seems to almost always show consistant growth and improvement on his part.

Quinn on the other hand starts out with a pretty good life, and then handles things horribly, it's just painful to watch (not that I don't love the story at least as much if not more than TLW, it even rings very true, it's just more painful to watch lol). At least he seems to be handling things better in the end though.

As for Rory, well he can catch some break because of all he's been through that's beyond his control, and the fact that so many important people in his life are lying to him. But nevertheless, he does still strike me as immature, and annoying much of the time. And he does seem totally self-absorbed, he just never seems to think of anyone elses feelings, or try to figure out what other people are going through. I guess for me what it comes down to, is that if I put myself in the other character's shoes, it would be harder to see Quinn and Rory as people you'd want around in your life, I'm sure the other characters do want them around because, they're family/really old friends who in the past have "been there"/ they just plain care about them/the other characters are really noble and want to help them. But for Owen I wouldn't think twice about what he's got to offer as a friend, he's simply just not as selfish, more caring, and seems to have a better since of right and wrong. (Plus as a bonus he sounds much cuter than the other two :-P)

LOL ok sorry about my rant about the main characters, I love comparing them. Hope you feel better soon Dom, actually I think your strategy is a good one if you're not THAT sick. I tend to be a hypochondriac and an all around big baby when it comes to being sick or hurt, I'm also highly suggestable. I find that I feel alot better and get well much sooner if I can convince myself I'm not dying and move on with my day to day life. Just DO take care of yourself, get at least 8 or 9 hours of sleep, plenty of fluids, healthy food etc. But if you feel up to I'd say try to live as normally as possible too. It'll take your mind of it, just take care and get well soon :-D

Hey everyone. Well first I don't think Owen belongs in the same category as Quinn and Rory at all! (LOL ok so he is my favorite, but still). I mean I found Owen twice as mature as the other two, and facing more real problems than Quinn,

I pretty much agree with your whole post, except that I found Quinn even harder to get used to, and I'm pretty much annoyed by everyone in DD.

TLW is still my favorite, but after a few chapters of TOU, I became just as obsessed with that story and was just about as emotional at the ending of chapter 24 as I was at the end of TLW.

I'll keep reading every chapter of DD as it appears, and probably click on the refresh button on the index page just as much as I have lately with TOU. If Dom manages to get me to care about those characters to any degree, then it will be amazing. But then, he's an amazing writer.

Oh, and about colds, I find that if can get some rest and take care of myself at the very first sign of a cold, the symptoms don't seem to get as bad later. That also takes me out of contact with other people while I'm most contagious (not counting the time just before I know I'm coming down with the cold). And then I can usually ignore the cold after that.

(That is except for when I get a cold in December, and then I think I'm over it. So I decide that I'm well enough to get out in 20-degree weather and go caroling. Then I discover I was wrong.)

Just want to second the thoughts above suggesting disbelief that you're finding Rory to be a pain after, you know, Quinn.