andy cannon

Another great chapter, racheting up the tension to a fever pitch!

Really beautiful verses.

An interesting chapter with a lot of the background information on our narrator, Hunter, a model of the prototype of littlebuddhatw's characters, 16 going on 35, curious, intelligent, sexually advanced. I look forward to seeing this story unfold.

A fascinating summary of a complex country. I visited Cartagena a couple of years ago, and I was struck by how Escobar is still revered there. He generously shared the wealth he amassed by building roads, schools and hospitals in neglected regions of Colombia, and the grateful citizens in turn protected him.

“You know I’m straight, right?” Denial is not just a river in Egypt, Len! That really was a simpler time. One was either 'normal' or queer, end of conversation, and if a guy took a walk on the dark side from time to time, his self-evaluation as straight was in no way threatened as long as he wasn't in any way penetrated. Jody can do better, IMHO, but this may be a lesson he needs to learn.

This is a great chapter! After many pages of tense, thrilling action, we get Steve and Brian talking quietly, deepening their characters. Then Enrico Alvarez comes back on stage as deus ex machina to turn the plot in a direction more to his liking. Spectacular!

The pat earned him a toothy grin from Barghast and a reciprocated pat on the shoulder that sent the practitioner stumbling back a few steps. Before he could hit the ground, the lycan caught him, his grip instantly stabilizing and gentle, settling him back down on his feet. Barghast has quickly become my favorite character in this story!

A lovely tribute. I am sorry for your loss.

Great chapter! What could be hiding in gathering shadows?

A lot of pain to work through here. Great chapter, though!

I am probably overthinking this, but the town is 19 minutes ("depending on traffic") from the dam and 25 minutes from an airport with daily service to Montreal, so I figured everyone in town works for either Hydro-Quebec or Avery-Woods. I'll just sit back and let you continue your spellbinding tale now !

Ian and Charlie are assets for sure. Nicky may prove to be one yet, but as Mother always told us, you only have one chance to make a first impression.

Hmmm... very interesting development! Radisson must be the base for the people who maintain and operate the dam. I wonder what their reaction is to Wolf's takeover. Would they have sounded an alert somewhere? Also, the secret Avery-Woods server farm would have operators living as well in the town. Are they panicking over the sinister presence of Wolf's men and sounding an alarm as well?

This is a small gesture but a big moment in the story: With the trading of names and the shared terrors of the incubus, Crowe sensed a profound bond had begun to form between them - a silent, hopeful alliance forged in the horror of the night and sealed by the smoke of a necessary fire. This marked the end of their solitary journeys.

I suspect that isn't just a pickle.... it's a whole jar of pickles.

For a "barbarian", Barghast has complex rituals with respect to his belief system, and an amazing capacity for empathy. I am hopeful that Crowe will see this soon.

"There's Always One Special Kid" peers beneath the glossy surface of a privileged Catholic high school to expose the panic, lust, and bewildered hope simmering underneath. In this autobiographical story, the narrator returns to the years when desire first hit like a wrecking ball, raw, relentless, and aimed squarely at Jim, the beautiful boy who became an obsession long before the narrator would even name what he was feeling. Caught between strict morality, raging hormones, and the terror of being found out, he navigates a maze of stolen glances, accidental touches, and a moment that could have changed everything... if he’d only dared to speak. Jim is a fantasy, a catalyst, and a warning, all wrapped in one enticing teenage body. This isn’t a nostalgic coming-of-age tale. It’s a confession from the bloody trenches of adolescence, where shame and desire collide, fantasies become survival, and one boy can make an entire world tilt off its axis.

Wonderful story!

To me, this is always the flaw in criminal masterminds' plans. They gain a trillion dollars in a financial meltdown, no doubt triggering a societal collapse, then in the catastrophic post-crisis world they are sitting on mounds of money in a world where money is almost worthless.

The situation is heating up in Chapel Hill. I hope the guys are ready for the semester to start, 'cause it looks like it will be a scorcher!

That chapter runs a gamut of emotions and then turns quickly to drama at the end!

A fascinating chapter as the two reluctant companions make their way through a grim, inhospitable landscape. Barghast's language is interesting, Very sparse use of vowels.

Quite a twist at the end. One aspect of situations such as this one that I can never grasp... when someone is holding one hostage because they control the purse strings and use money to make one's life a living hell, why not just walk away? Being as miserable as Julian is just doesn't seem worth enduring the golden handcuffs and the abuse. That said, Arthur seems like the type to have Julian killed rather than letting him go free, so there's always that to consider. Great chapter.

They probably both craved for something else – Marcel for the ideal girl he still had not met, Åke for the nice boy prepared to be his partner. Yet they settled for what was within reach at that very moment. A sensible and practical solution to keep one's bed from being too lonely!

Now the table is set for the next escalation in this confrontation.