drsawzall

Thank you for this and making me use what's left of my brain, while it got convoluted at times for me, I would not change a thing.

Oooofff...Has Ingomar been cast as a man with no country because of who he loves...Can there ever be a future for him in his homeland? Is there the promise of a possible future standing with Rome and with Marcus? He had stepped forward without deciding to, in front of every free man who mattered in his country, and confirmed with his own mouth exactly what Segestes had wanted confirmed. He turned that over now with the wind pulling at his cloak, and understood, standing alone with the assembly’s noise still fading behind him, that he had been given his first taste of what it looked like when a man’s own people could no longer say with certainty which face of him was true, laid bare and public and impossible to take back — and that he had walked into it himself, plainly, when silence would have cost him nothing at all. And the 64-thousand-dollar question: where is the bottom? Will he have time to find it, or will the decision be made for him? “Yes.” Ingomar said it plainly, no softening in it, because he had decided, sometime on the long ride back, that plainness was the only honest gift he had left to offer tonight. “I find, all the same, that I am no longer willing to let the fear decide anything for me. I have watched what it costs a man to spend his whole life managing what others think of him. I would rather spend mine on something I have chosen for myself.” He let out a breath that did not quite settle him the way he wanted it to. “I do not think I have found the bottom of it yet, if I am honest. Only the willingness to keep standing in it.”

All I got is...time will tell...and hopefully they have broken the cycle...but, this gives me pause and food for thought.. Christopher watched him for a few moments before continuing towards the school. Halfway up the hill he looked back. Marco had already disappeared among the winter streets.

I wonder if the Princess will take the voyage to the island described below.. "Before that, I want your opinion on one matter. You are a well-read man — have you ever heard mention of a tower built on an island, and of the beast that sleeps within it?" Otello hadn't, but he leaned closer and listened as Andreuz Sandkan told of a tower beyond time and place, where an evil beast awaited the coming of the Deathbringer.

I'm not sure Dickoless's group has come to realize that he and Sizzler Boy are a couple. I would imagine the blank face is Dickoless nerves at the possibility of being outed... Vicky now needs to focus on Sizzler Boy, letting him know what a sanitary napkin he is... I also panicked when I saw the story withdrawn and managed to find it after sending an email to the author Harriet’s escorting me from Calculus to English, our last class of the day. Harriet’s explaining cubic equations to me when we turn a corner in the corridor and find ourselves face to face, not just with Nicholas, but with Nicholas and his entire group: Stu, Lisa, Darren, Carrie, Marcus, and Georgia Johns. They’re all laughing and talking over the top of each other. Nicholas doesn’t even notice me standing there. None of them do. I don’t realise I’ve come to a stop until Harriet prods me in the back and hisses, “Keep walking!” It’s too late. Stu notices me. “Sizzler boy! Where have you been hiding all week?” Nicholas looks up. For a split second, he looks blank, like he has no idea who I am. The others don’t stop talking. Nicholas is trying to remember where he knows me from. Eventually, he opens his mouth to say something, but I don’t get to hear what it is, thanks to Harriet.

I'm joining as long as he's wearing those shorts.... You might call that chapter...A Shorts Time In The Old Town Tonight...

I'm just tagging along for the ride......

Tim Cox Fine Art | Western Paintings | Cowboy Horse Paintings

Sometime I just can't help myself...In California, there was, and possibly are, a tribe of vacuous young teen girls known as Valley Girls, the following makes me think Dickoless would fit right in... You left without saying goodbye to anyone, which was really weird, but whatever.

Might this be the key? Christopher tightened his fingers around his. "But you stopped this time." Marco looked at him. "You let me leave." "Yes." "You didn't follow." "No." "You didn't try to convince me to come back." "I wanted you to come back because you wanted to." Christopher nodded. "That's why I did."

"It's only Richard!" keeps popping up in my Dickoless file. If we think about all the other comments Dickoless has made, it is fitting; hopefully Richard, with the assistance of Vicky, Mum, and Harriet, will begin to truly see the light... "It's Only Richard!" needs to come back and haunt Dickoless; it would be such sweet poetic justice if Vicky were to slip to Sizzler Boy how Dickoless has been leading him on, and the way he has been treating him. "It's Only Richard!" Hopefully Sizzler Boy is a stand-up fellow, one who wouldn't treat others as Dickoless has, someone who has some respect for himself and others.... "It's Only Richard!" WTF?????? “I have to talk to you about last night,” Nicholas says. “You left without saying goodbye to anyone, which was really weird, but whatever. Can you believe what happened? I’m still in shock, but in the best possible way. I totally thought he was a weirdo, but he’s really funny and super handsome. He said he’s had a thing for me since his first day at Crampton. He’s such a great guy!” “Yeah, he’s great,” I hear myself say. “You were the only one who saw us, but when we went back inside, Carrie was asking me a million questions about where we’d been. I’m sure you didn’t say anything to her, but I just wanted to make double sure?” “No, of course I didn’t.” “Okay, good. I didn’t think you would. I could be totally overreacting but when Stu and I went back inside, I felt like some of the others were looking at us funny. Stu says I’m being paranoid and maybe I am but ...”

That line alone captures the entire thesis of the alternate timeline: the Union did not lose because it was out‑fought, but because it was out‑maneuvered politically, its confidence shattered at the exact moment the Peace Plank gained traction. Sergeant Proctor’s ride north is the beating heart of the narrative. It is not heroic; it is desperate. The ledger he carries — thin, soaked, almost absurdly fragile — becomes the symbol of a republic whose fate now depends on scraps of paper and the judgment of one wounded man. The story understands something essential about bureaucratic conspiracies: they are terrifying not because they are vast, but because they are plausible. The postwar sections, especially the funeral at Rosemont, elevate the work even further. They shift the tone from battlefield immediacy to Cold War‑era paranoia, suggesting that the consequences of Grant’s death did not end with the Treaty of Louisville but metastasized across decades. The presence of Washington men, the veiled woman, the dispatch box — all of it transforms the alternate history into a generational mystery, a story where the past refuses to stay buried. What makes this timeline so compelling is its refusal to offer comfort. The Union survives, but not triumphantly. The Confederacy survives, but not gloriously. The peace is uneasy, transactional, and morally compromised. The ledger’s existence implies that the war’s end was not a resolution but a bargain struck in shadow. This is alternate history at its most mature: not a fantasy of different outcomes, but a meditation on how fragile the real outcome truly was. Thank you for this comment, you managed to distil the difficulty of interpreting the nuances, change one decision, fact or event and there is a host of doors that then require careful thought and consideration. Sort of like a row of dominos. The world has changed, what threat/benefit does the Republic of Texas poise, or the continuation of slavery? How do the threats and influences change from former friends and allies, near and far, from overseas? Again, I appreciate your thoughtful comments!

Thanks, this is greatly appreciated, and you managed to capture the gist of the story!!!

What will Julian find at the plantation? Is it prosperous, in bad shape, or is the manager robbing both he and his father blind? So many questions to be answered; might there be another plantation for sale? And another two months at sea holds its own terrors; with luck, it will be fair sailing and not a shipwreck or lost in a storm. Fingers crossed here!!

One last thought, when Sizzler Boy finds out about Richard's and Dickoless' back story, he kicks him, publicly, to the curb!!!!

If Dickoless truly wanted to hurt Richard, he certainly picked the right moment; all of his excuses after the meet-up are so frigging hollow. I can't find fault with Sizzler Boy; he doesn't have the backstory...For the life of me, I simply can't understand Dickoless at all... Hopefully this experience, along with the catharsis of the painting, will help Richard find his equilibrium...after being gutted by Dickoless... But what truly bugs me is Dickoless when caught saying : “Shit – oh, wait, it’s okay,” Nicholas says. “It’s just Richard.” They laugh, their eyes shining in the dark. And kudos to the author for crafting a story that has all of us pulling out our hair and expressing our feelings in the comments...well done!

Forgiveness is divine, and in Vale/Maelor's case, doubly so. If forgiveness holds such power, what power does a love like the following hold? Celyn turned towards him despite the cords binding his wrists. Their eyes held one another with desperate intensity, as though the chamber and all within it had vanished. It was the look of men who had already chosen each other over the world.

I read this as Xavier trying to push Austin to get him angry enough to force the wolf out...I just have a sneaking suspicion we won't see Austin's wolf until the fight.

I think they will be sucessful in mating... The four of them stood up, and Nos held a hand out towards Cal, a tentative smile on his face. Cal made a show of being indecisive, holding his chin with a tilt of his head for a long moment, before finally reaching over to thread their hands. His antics made Savvie snicker. She leaned over to whisper in Nos's ear. "At the bottom of patience one finds heaven."

I have read this and encourage everyone to read this fine story!

I would like to think Brent learned a lesson, but I doubt it. He won't let this pass, and once he is done licking his wounds, he'll be back for another beatdown... I would have quietly reported Andy's exchange with the "huge" donor; his security should have caught that exchange, but in all fairness, it was a large room...Perhaps he should let his security team know, so that some other young kid doesn't become either prey or a victim...Loved this chapter!

Matt may have silenced Casey for the moment, but I still don't think he is done with Levi, and glad to see Jimmy and Dan are letting the past transgressions go and are back to being good friends again...Brooke may need a different kind of napkin tho... Well, I now know what a Yowie, drop bear, and a Hills Hoist are. I could use a Hills Hoist for my yard and let the good lord dry my clothes! Another quiet and calm chapter, and I am suspecting another bump in the road...

The end of this chapter notes decisions made by 'free will'....will this be the key that unlocks the endless cycle? Or is it continuing the cycle?? “Stay here,” Marco said. “Absolutely not.” Christopher continued up the path. “If I died tomorrow, what would you do?” Marco already knows what the historical answer would be. He would search. Christopher waited. “What would you do?” Marco finally said, “I would grieve you.” Christopher pressed, “And then?” Marco looked towards the sea. “I would go on.” Standing above the storm, with the sea closing around the Tor from every side, Christopher understood that certainty was no longer possible. Perhaps it had never been. He did not know what waited above them. He did not know whether Vale was right. He did not know whether the choice they had discussed could change anything. But he was tired of waiting for knowledge before deciding how to live. Every step that had brought Christopher to the summit had been taken by his own choosing. From the prologue... Maelor's knuckles whitened around his staff. "You speak boldly for a condemned man." The centurion gave a humourless smile. "If I am condemned already, why should I fear boldness?" Celyn turned towards him despite the cords binding his wrists. Their eyes held one another with desperate intensity, as though the chamber and all within it had vanished.It was the look of men who had already chosen each other over the world.