Stellar

As a teenaged boy at the starting half of my adolescence, I had already endured many things beyond the 'normal' experience of others my own age. Most of those experiences were not ones that I thought of as positive; many were very negative and disruptive to my life. Some were downright horrible. Some were intensely strange and extremely unnerving for a quiet kid from a cloistered suburban background. However, at that point, absolutely nothing could compare to the sheer surreal absurdity of t

Happy birthday!

Thanks very much Conner! Self-criticism is ingrained, it's hard to stop the endless cycle of "must fix the damned flaws in this!" But I will try to relax. Glad you enjoyed it.

Hey Cia! Thanks for your review. Perhaps I was too ambiguous about Shay's condition. He has (or had!) a genetic disorder that is unrelated to events on Lucere and was simply inherited from his parents. The intention is to give more information as the story continues, as they are both important to the plot for differing reasons. The flow and phrasing is definitely something I've always found hardest to get down. There's a tendency for rambling run-on sentences that still do make sense, but are twice the length needed. Also, segueing suddenly from one scene to the next - I do that a lot more than I want to. Definitely seeing the use in having an editor and reader though. I've always been one to "fly solo" but as you said, that's not going to help me grow and improve so much. So I will have to begin that search xD Thanks again for taking the time to comment.

My first and most enduring memory of the day we arrived was as the new horizon slipped into view out the shuttle window. Spread in front of us was the vast curve of a foreign world, the surface a mesh of blue and green shapes, much like Earth, though the pattern of land and sea was unfamiliar. Yet it was the sky of Lucere that drew my attention more than anything. Cloud cover spread in great windswept banks, interrupting the view of the ground but not enough to spoil the vista; solar heat was st

Facing a life-changing medical procedure, 14 year old Shay approaches it with the same detachment, confusion and dread that has haunted his emotions for as long as he can recall. Yet what follows instead is something that he could not have anticipated in his craziest dreams, and everything he knows is about to change forever.

One of the few stories I watch out for all the time. This chapter was very satisfying and I'm so glad the bump in communication was navigated. There are a few suggestions of where things will go from here, but I will reserve my judgment. I can't wait for the next part.

Happy birthday Anyta!

omg LOL .... that looks like it may have hurt.

If a women was being unnecessarily aggressive towards me and that attitude was unwarranted, then I would respond with appropriate force to make her back off. For me, gender ceases to be a rhetorical defence against violence when it becomes a shield for an aggressor. If you intend to hurt others, you should expect retaliation.

Shower, always. I don't know, there's something sensual and almost hypnotic about running water. Everyone says baths are relaxing but a hot shower on a cold day is the best.

10 celsius (50 F) here right now. I hate winter, so eager for the summer months to come round again

I suppose I should probably introduce myself here though heck knows I'm so lax at this kind of thing. My (real) name is Hamish, I'm 28, live in Hamilton, New Zealand, and have been bouncing through various types of job and tertiary education thus far in life. I have a little background in tech support and programming and my work is mostly centred around that but my interests lie in other less productive and more whimsical stuff; MMORPGs, fantasy/sci-fi books, movies of all kinds, politics -- to name a few. I've been reading gay-themed literature on the 'net since I discovered my sexuality when I was 18 and was lucky enough to begin with Comicality's fare, which opened an entire world of imagination and amazement to me; not just because it was part of a catalyst in self-discovery as far as sexuality went but also to prove that other people had the same kinds of dreams as me and it made me feel very much less alone that I did before. I also have asperger's syndrome. It's a form of higher functioning autism and it brings its own little collection of problems with it and sometimes makes my reactions to stuff a bit weird. I just wanted to mention it 'cause I don't want people to think I'm a total spaz. Not that I think anyone here would be judgmental but ... knowing can change things. So I'm gonna apologise in advance for that. Oh and also to say thanks to those guys that welcomed me initially - Nephylim, Mark Arbour and Nightowl ... thanks so much you guys!