East of Midnight by Stargazer

[Graeme]

East of Midnight by Stargazer

 

Why couldn’t Chase just embrace the events that occurred between him and Xander and let that be it? Why did he have to analyze every damn thing?

 

:nuke: :nuke: Spoilers Below!!! :nuke: :nuke:

Edited December 12, 2010 by Graeme

[Graeme]

When I first read this, I had assumed that Chase was the one who pulled the trigger. But a careful re-read doesn't give any clue as to who was the one who fired the shots.

 

If it was Chase, I get glimpses of the motive from the earlier scenes, where he shows he's not capable of believing that someone could really love him. If it wasn't Chase, it's a case of regret for not saying something while he had the chance, but also reinforces that belief that life's not going to give him any favours.

 

I like the ambiguity. Thanks, Stargazer!

[StonedOrchid]

Great job with this, babe. Chase's reflections on his and Xander's relationship, such as it was, is both insightful and vague. I love that you left the identity of Xander's killer up in the air like that. It makes me want to reread the whole thing again to see if there were any hints I missed about Chase possibly being the one to do him in, lol. The ending was a bit of a surprise considering the beginning was enticingly of a sexual nature, and I believe that's what grabbed me.

[Stargazer]

Thank you both for your thoughtful comments. I really appreciate them!

 

I'll tell you what I love about 'reviews' of my writing ... they make me think of all the possibilities that I hadn't even consciously considered. Now I feel like its 'who shot JR?' lol

[Cia]

I really liked this story. While Chase's constant misgivings could have been a whiny turn off in the story for me you tread the fine line to expose his sense of worth (low) and his equal determination to ignore that as much as possible and simply enjoy what he is being given. The small glimpses you gave us of his life were awful, btw. You basically said he was a drug dealer that shared a bed with whoever wanted him in order to just get by and had been doing it for a long time. Since he's 19 that gives a very bad image to his life as a teen. It made the very things you highlighted the most, his self-esteem and his sense of fatalistic acceptance, make a lot of sense without having to go into the details. All in all, you wrote a very short story that somehow said so much more. Wonderful writing!

[Stargazer]

Thank you, Cia. I do like to walk that fine line sometimes. I feel like the glimpses said what I needed to convey and I'm glad they came across the way I intended.

[Toast]

A tragic life foreshadows an even more tragic lost. An interesting story. Well written.

 

 

[Stargazer]

Thank you.

[Kev de Cauchery]

Wow~ That was just a mean (meant in a good way), wicked turn at the end.

 

I felt for Chase. I could taste the regret and the sad loss.

 

My thought about the ending:

I myself was pretty sure it wasn't Chase who killed Xander. My belief is that Xander is involved in some kind of a gang and was killed by another gang, probably?. Well, just a few thoughts.

 

So well written.

 

 

[Nephylim]

I really enjoyed the story and I, too liked the way that so much was said without being said but I have to admit that I got reall confused at the end. One minute he was making love in the shower and then he was holding his dead lover. Initially I went back to see if I had misread and he had been dead all along. I just didn't get what had happened and when. That being said the whole story was delicate, charming and disturbing (in a good way)

[Stargazer]

Thank you, Kevin and Nephy.

 

Kevin ... you are in the ballpark for sure.

 

Nephy ... it was meant to be a sort of memory and at the end is what was actually the beginning. That sounds like it doesn't make sense but it's the best I can describe it! :wacko: