[Dark] Welcome to the Dark Side!

[Dark]

HELLO!

Welcome to my forum.

If you don't know who I am, you can call me Dark! I started lurking on GA last summer (2010) and officially joined and started posting stories in October of the same year.

My first story posted here was The Matchmaker is Grounded, which is about a boy and his father, and, above all, the kind of healing that can come when you open your heart to love. My second story (and currently my most popular one) is The One I Want, the longest story I've written to date. It was originally posted as individual stories on another site, but I decided to edit the whole thing together into one, consistent story, and so there you have it. That story explores how a couple men hit the restart button on their lives, find each other, and fight through the shadows of their pasts.

For those debating whether or not to join my army of darkness, those two stories are where I would start.

I have been overwhelmed by the friendliness and support here on GA and am simply astounded I didn't find it sooner, but I have my friend Twisted Hilarity to thank for sending me here to read dkstories and Dom Luka. The list of authors that I like is much longer now, and my friends even more varied. I thank you all for the generosity and friendship and all the wonderful stories!

__________________________________________________________________________

Here in this thread, I'd like to extend my welcome to everyone who visits. Say hello and ask questions of me if you like. I'll post any personal announcements in here (such as my quest for a job and my eventual relocation home). You can ask me anything, but I reserve the right to not answer.

For those of you posting in this forum or the thread in general, please remember to be courteous and respectful to everyone. We're not all as accomplished at reading between the lines as you are, so state your thoughts/opinions/comments with that in mind.

Right now this is just really really exciting!

__________________________________________________________________________

That shall be all for now, soldiers, except to Answer the poll!

Edited September 24, 2011 by Dark

[Frostina]

Hey there!!

how cool is this??

may i just say congratulations once again... I promise to not be bitchy to ANYONE on this forum!

u believe me, right?

 

okay.. now that we've got that out of the way... I have a couple questions:

how dark is the dark side? uh...

do we need to get our own night vision goggles, or are u providing them?

Are torches allowed?

what about candles?

ummm... Can i bite?

do we get chocolate? ( i was promised the dark side has chocolates... the DARKer the better! )

 

 

That's it for now... will be back later with more!

[Marzipan]

I'm a fan I live gladly on the Dark side

 

One thread per story makes it easier to follow.

 

I love the shorties from Dark, go and take a snack on those too! Go go go already!

[Conner]

I just wanted to stop by and say hello and, of course, offer my personal congratulations on your promotion to Promising!

[Nephylim]

You know me, I love to live life on the Dark side so any chance to step into the shadows is welcome

 

It is exciting having your very own forum and the answer to your poll is do what the hell you like with it

 

What I find works best is one thread per story with chapter updates on that thread. Then new threads for different things like which characters are your favourite or stuff like that.

 

Good luck. Have fun

[Dark]

Hey there!!

how cool is this??

may i just say congratulations once again... I promise to not be bitchy to ANYONE on this forum!

u believe me, right?

 

okay.. now that we've got that out of the way... I have a couple questions:

how dark is the dark side? uh...

do we need to get our own night vision goggles, or are u providing them?

Are torches allowed?

what about candles?

ummm... Can i bite?

do we get chocolate? ( i was promised the dark side has chocolates... the DARKer the better! )

 

 

That's it for now... will be back later with more!

Frosty! Love you, babe.

 

Lemme see ... the Dark Side is darker than the darkest night. Why bring light inside when it's more fun in the dark? You can bite ... Nephy. She likes that. You can bring me all the dark chocolate you want.

 

 

I'm a fan I live gladly on the Dark side

 

One thread per story makes it easier to follow.

 

I love the shorties from Dark, go and take a snack on those too! Go go go already!

You were one of my first fans, Maria. I'm glad to see you embracing your inner dark. Our kitties shall rule the world! mwahaha!

 

 

I just wanted to stop by and say hello and, of course, offer my personal congratulations on your promotion to Promising!

Thanks! For everything.

 

 

You know me, I love to live life on the Dark side so any chance to step into the shadows is welcome

 

It is exciting having your very own forum and the answer to your poll is do what the hell you like with it

 

What I find works best is one thread per story with chapter updates on that thread. Then new threads for different things like which characters are your favourite or stuff like that.

 

Good luck. Have fun

It's good to be neighbors! Fun we shall have! And Andy promised cookies.

 

I've seen it both ways with the chapter updates and was curious which way folks preferred. I shall not say which way I'm leaning ... not yet.

[Dark]

I know that many of you were following my job status the past few months and I wanted to let you know that the same high school I was teaching at this past spring has offered me a full-time job this coming school year! I'll officially be part of the staff once I sign the contract tomorrow!

 

Aside from the school being here in California, this is the best news I've received in weeks! It gives me something stable that I can depend on and buys me a little more time to make myself more competitive with Alaskan schools. Not to mention that I'll be able to save up the 10k I need to make the move!

 

I'll be teaching 4 classes of physics and 1 of chemistry. This is going to be so great!

[Nephylim]

That is such excellent news

 

Congratulations seems such an overused word so

 

:lmao:

 

 

 

[Andrew Q Gordon]

That's awesome news!!! Great to 'see' you so happy. A happy Dark is a good Dark??? Um well IDK I can go that far but

 

 

[Dark]

New Poll Question! You should be able to delete your previous response - this will allow you to vote again (assuming you voted the first time).

[Dark]

Because these things are never as certain as you think they will be, I just wanted you all to know that I'll be in Arizona visiting an old friend of mine from the 2nd-10th. I don't intend for updates on WC to get pushed back, but, like I said, you never know.

 

It's Friday!! Later, all.

 

:king:

[Dark]

So, a friend and I went to a free movie screening. It's called Welcome to People and I thought it was actually quite good. It was a movie about family, not what I'd classify a romance/chick flick (which is what I feared, lol).

 

Anyway, after the movie, we stopped at a frozen yogurt place. It was busy and we were standing in line when my attention was grabbed by a car key -- one of those big, black bulky things with the VW symbol on it -- sliding across the counter. It stopped maybe an inch from the hand I was leaning on the counter with. Automatically, I looked at it and stepped back. The next thing I know, this guy is way inside my personal space, by my shoulder, and he says, "I just got married" like some freakishly bad pick-up line. Nothing else registers at first other than that he was way too close to me. I say "Congratulations" and move back again.

 

Remember how short I am? The top of my head maybe came up to this guy's shoulder and damn was he good-looking.

 

Then and only then do I realize that this dude is one of 3 guys (one of them his new husband) and I felt like a total dumbass. I'm sure he thought I was a homophobic jerk and me being me couldn't think of a thing to say as he chatted up the parlor girl ordering the group's treats while flashing his pretty ring at everyone.

 

*sigh*

 

He'll never see it, but congrats, man. And sorry if you thought I didn't care or was disgusted. I think it's awesome. Good luck with your man.

[Dark]

So, how many days shall we celebrate? I joined almost a year ago, posted my first story a little while later, and of course my birthday is also coming up. Hm....

 

[Dark]

So, an update from my neck of HE-double-hockey-sticks ...

 

School begins for me next week -- I've a new teacher's orientation to attend Tuesday (yay ... ) and then what they call "program days" where the kids get their books, lockers, and schedules, take their school IDs, sign up for clubs and what-not, and of course freshmen orientation is Thursday night and Friday. Thursday is more for the parents and Friday is like school tours and stuff.

 

Then, the following week, we have two teacher in-service days (teachers work and have meetings but no school for the kiddies). And then, oddly enough, the kids' first day is Thursday. Yeah, that's what I said when we got the official calendar this week. Guess there's no real point in planning on teaching anything those first two days.

 

On a more personal note, looks like tomorrow I'll be driving home my first car in 3 years. Providing the salesman isn't a dick tomorrow, anyway. He started off trying to sell me the car for way more than it was worth, and then tried to tell me "oh, someone else is coming by to look at it at 3 pm" when I know very well that no one's wanted that car since June when it arrived on their lot. Plus, it's a manual transmission and no one in LA wants to drive a stick. Idiots.

 

Anyway, I didn't want to make the drive back up to Santa Monica tonight, so I should have the car tomorrow. It's a 2002 silver Honda Civic with just under 100k miles. I'm getting it for about a grand less than the blue book value and less than what my bank said they'd finance it for, so we're all fairly happy. Except maybe the salesman. Dick.

[Dark]

So... updates.

 

I got the car. It's comfortable and I like it but it makes me feel old and kind of stodgy. My first car felt like a friend right away. I get the nagging suspicion that this one knows I'm only using him and is refusing to show me any personality other than boring. He won't tell me his name, either.

 

My roommate bought 2 kittens. I was afraid I was allergic to them for awhile, but I think we've all adjusted. My cat went from running away from and growling at them to chasing them around. He's trying to steal their food now, which goes to show how much he's adapted, greedy gut that he is. My roommate hasn't the faintest idea how to train them, though, and if I wasn't so exhausted all the time I'd be more frustrated than I am. Good thing they came knowing a few things already.

 

School is amazing. Amazingly fun and amazingly exhausting. I'm there for 10-12 hours every day and when I get home I just collapse. I know I can't continue to do this, but I know this state is just temporary. Just got to hang in there. It's good that I enjoy it so much, even when I want to smack my students. Had to yell at them last week because they didn't turn their homework in. I felt so bad! I had to try and act angry -- even though I was pissed at them, I was more disappointed and worried for them. The population of my school is about 60% Korean and another big chunk is Indian (as in the country) so they're under a lot of pressure to do well academically. I want them to succeed, but more than that, I don't want them in my class if they're only doing it out of some misplaced sense of obligation. I told them that they should take advantage of their free education and do something they have an interest in and that sitting in my class and not caring whether they pass or fail is a waste of their time. I lost a few good students, but I'm happy because when they brought me their transfer slips they looked happy.

 

There was also the student I had last year who told me how happy she was to have me again this year. There's been a lot of schedule changes for the students because of schedule conflicts and making sure each class doesn't go over maximum allowed size. Two of my students who had their schedules 'fixed' told me that they asked to keep me as a teacher and got to switch into another of my classes. Even if it's just sucking up, it still gives me a thrill.

 

I also survived my first cold of the year. I lost my voice for awhile, but overall it wasn't too bad. If this year follows the same pattern as last, I'll get sick again around my birthday next month, and that should be it until the new year. I get a whole week off at Thanksgiving, and believe you me, I'm really looking forward to it!

 

Since I have this new job here, I decided to re-join the choir at a church I used to go to. I like going to church, but I hate sitting alone and I'm horrible at making friendship-growing overtures to strangers. I love the community at this church, though, and I'm close enough to attend again, so that's nice. My first night there they made me feel so welcome, and this week, after having missed a rehearsal because I was sick, they again made me feel welcome. I'd forgotten how good it was to just hang out with these people. I've been slogging along on my lonesome for so long now. I'm rusty with my singing and still feeling shy about it, because my voice isn't that great, but I know how to carry a tune and read music, which is more than many can say. I'm also the youngest one there, and that's always amusing. Helps that I have such a young-looking face!

 

Waylon's Crossing is so close to being finished that I itch to get the last chapter and epilogue posted. I'll probably bang away at these chapters and post them all up at once. I apologize for keeping you waiting! Will let you know as soon as anything changes.

 

[Dark]

Wow, it's really been far too long since I posted here.

 

It's 3/4ths of the way through the school year and I'm still mostly enjoying myself. I in fact did not get sick in october; rather, I waited until March to have a cold bad enough to give me laryingitis for a week and a half. Now, it's spring break and in between errands and things I've just let go over the past months, I'm trying to slog through the grading I didn't do while sick and hopefully manage to write a little.

 

For those who missed it, I posted an anthology pre-quel to James Place: http://www.gayauthor...rk/ashtonsplace

 

I had it in mind to do another anthology piece with Linus, but I couldn't get together the time to do it. The little writing time I've had this year has been tied up in my novella for the Secrets Anthology. I'll give you a sneak peek once I find out if that's allowed.

 

Other writing tidbits, I got highlighted in a review done on http://www.gayauthor...vertheprecipice for the weekly blog, which can be found here: http://www.gayauthor...uthor-showcase/ When Frostina said she was reviewing "Over the Precipice," I was a bit horrified. The technicallity of the piece is awful, but she refused to include in the review anything more scathing than a mention of the rabid head-hopping. LOL. Oh, well. Cia did a review of that one, too, at one point, that I thought was quite good, but I can't find the forum thread anymore, so you'll just have to take my word for it! Anyway, OtP was written shortly after my ex and I broke up. It was a long time ago now, but the story still evokes too many emotions to enable a re-write. It's on my list of things to do, though.

 

Let's see, what else is new? Um, I decided to stick around L.A. for another year to save up money for the big move home to Alaska. I'm fairly confident I'll be back at my current school next year as they've asked me to teach an Honors Physics class and I'm currently writing the curriculum as well as completing a writing task for my beginner's teachers class (mostly B.S., but you see what I mean by free time? Yeah, it's nonexistant). On the plus side, I just got notice today that I passed the state test for certification in Chemistry. Now I just have Earth Science and Middle School Math to do and I'll be beating off alaskan job offers with a stick. Can't wait!

 

I'll be visiting my parents in mid- to late-August to get in some fishing and see the State Fair. Late August and September is my favorite time up there.

 

No word yet on the SoCal GA Meet-Up, but if it happens, I'll be there. Was thinking about the Washington DC one, but I'm in school at the time they've settled on, so maybe some other time. I'd have loved to see Baby Q, though. And Paris! *sigh* I need a passport anyway.

 

I've got another chapter and a half done on http://www.gayauthor.../dark/thereturn, so hopefully I'll have that completed over the summer. I think what I'll do is hold off publishing them until it's all done. You've waited patiently long enough without me dragging it out further. The next story on my list of ones to do is a fantasy-alternate earth thing about a Ninja Academy. I've a general outline and more specifics of each school worked out already. We'll see how long it takes me to finish The Return because one thing at a time, right? I've learned my lesson. My mom always said I always had to learn things the hard way first.

 

Anyway, adieu, mon amies. Until next time!

 

Oh, and if you care, my car's name is George.