Davi Medrade

You remember what happened to Jimmy with regards to Lee, right, Billy? Just checking.

If it happens… I wonder if Jimmy will share the happiness…

I have nothing to add.

I'm wondering if Billy considered the possibility that Brandon might not go to his party alone.

I don't understand this friendliness with Bobby. I mean, Billy didn't set out to hurt Brandon, but when Bobby told Brandon, it was malicious. He intended to destroy their relationship. And why did he do that? Because Billy wouldn't cave to his blackmail like he did before. And I can't just forget that besides that attempt there was at least one time when Bobby actually succeeded in blackmailing Billy. That literally amounts to rape. I should clarify: Billy is not innocent. Even if it was just that first time, it would probably be enough for Brandon to dump him. He did cheat. But as guilty as he is, Bobby is worse in my book. A lot worse.

Oh, Joanna. What a difference a chapter makes.

PLEASE don't tell me that he'll end up so alone that he'll go back to Bobby. Pretty please?

Would someone PLEASE give this kid some Ritalin already? I thought I had a hard time focusing, but damn…

Is Billy really that dense? He was having sex with someone else behind Joanna's back, and yet he has the gall to be mad at her for taking up with Sam? I'm not saying what she wasn't wrong, not to mention Sam's part in that, but talk about pot and kettle. I know teenagers are supposed not to be that mature, but this kind of thing shouldn't be that hard for him to see. Considering how insightful he is about other things, I sometimes struggle to believe he wouldn't have realized that a lot sooner.

Not a lot of information just yet, but at least I'm kinda happy it was described as him trying to kill himself.

I usually don't stop to read short stories, but this one was just too sweet.

I love Zack and Brody's relationship. I hope they get a HEA. I also hope that Zack's dad gets everything that's coming to him, and maybe a little more for good measure.

Maybe one thing that bugs me so much about how Billy acts (acted?) towards Cid is the fact that I acted a lot like that in my teens… I mean, it's easy for me to judge his actions from the point of view of a 30-year-old who has the benefit of hindsight, but it's also easy for me to forget how… intense everything feels for a teenager, specially a first love.

Billy is not entitled to is Cid's life story, if Cid doesn't want to tell it. “What if I love you?” It sucks, really, but since Cid has made it clear he doesn't want to be in a relationship with him, from that point on it's up to Billy to manage his feelings. Though maybe that's a bit too much to expect of an 18-year-old, specially one as inexperienced as him.

Jesus, another pusher. Regardless of if it's been three years or ten, if Cid isn't ready, he isn't ready. Getting into a relationship before he is ready for it isn't usually a recipe for success, and then if it crashes and burns because he got into it too soon, it will take even longer for him to be well enough to try again later. So far I really don't think it's fair to put all the blame for Billy's reaction on Cid when Billy is the one putting all the pressure despite Cid saying multiple times that he just want to be friends for now. Billy isn't entitled to a relationship with Cid just because he fell in love with him. Maybe I'll change my mind if I learn what happened to Cid in his previous relationship and in those intervening three years, but so far all I see is Cid telling people he isn't ready and people ignoring him.

I'm not too comfortable with Billy and how insistent he is. I guess I could even argue that in some aspects Billy and Kurt's approaches differ more in degree than in kind. Both of them seem to have a hard time taking no for an answer, for one. To me it feels a bit less like Cid is leading Billy on and a bit more like he's acquiescing due to Billy's pressure. In any case, despite my guess that if I were in the shoes of either of them I'd have broken things off by now, it's still a bit early to have a firm opinion so I'll just keep reading and see where things go.

I like the parallel in the theme of going out of your comfort zone. Louis is frustrated that Don is having a hard time doing that—and I can certainly see where he's coming from; were I in his place I would be too, probably even more than he is—, but let's see how he feels when the shoe is on the other foot and he's the one who has to do something completely outside of what he is used to for Don.

With an ending like this, I can't even bring myself to be annoyed at the fake-out at the beginning. Cheers.

Ha! It does, doesn't it? Now I'll always see his avatar as a smiling yellow gas tank.

I understand Teddy needs time and introspection and work. What I don't know is if it's fair to put that burden on Ryder. He seems to have enough problems to deal with without Teddy's issues adding to it. Maybe they'd be better off as friends for now. But then I wonder if Teddy wouldn't drop him altogether if he ever suggested that.

And that is why I'm a @craftingmom fan.

I can't really say much that hasn't been said yet. I've read this story a few times already, and I'm sure I'll read it again. It feels authentic, and I really like that you tackle taboo without being preachy or spending too much time rationalizing/excusing such things. Sometimes, when writing about things readers might not like, authors will go out of their way to push the idea that “it's not as bad as it seems”. You just tell the story, and let it stand on its own. I appreciate that I didn't feel preached to at any point while reading this.

This is a good story. I liked the characters and how… human they seem. The plot wasn't a classic “love conquers all”—it certainly doesn't conquer death—so I liked it too. Not that I don't love those kinds of plots—I'm a sucker for a HEA after all—, but it's good to get down to earth every once in a while. This is one of the few stories I've read with a character whose lover died and that character was able to move on in a believable way: without Jae having to appear as a ghost, or in a dream, or by manipulating the weather to give them his blessing. I do believe Dave and Jae would have gotten over their issues if they had had the opportunity. Dave was shocked when he learned about Jae's past. That is understandable. He'd have a lot of groveling to do to apologize for his callous reaction, but I'm sure he'd have done just that. What I have a hard time getting over is Jae leaving when he did. Did he really expect Dave to learn that he had killed people before and just shrug it off with no surprise? Then Dave is shot, almost killed, and before he even regains consciousness Jae leaves. That leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. If Jae loved Dave as much as we're led to believe, I'd expect him to at least wait to see if Dave was going to be alright before taking off.

Life isn't fair, and this story shows that. As much as I'd have liked for Brett to find happiness, I don't think it would be fair to expect that Corey gave up Adrian to try and make Brett happy. I think this is as good an ending as it could be, based on the premise. Plot-wise, I like it that there wasn't a nice person coming out of nowhere to make Brett happy. It feels realistic.

Brett's mom seems to want Corey to sacrifice himself for Brett's sake. Brett is moping and played badly, so it seems from his mother's point of view that he needs Corey right now, and fuck Corey if he needs more time before he can settle things with Brett, right? Or, if we go by the other interpretation—that she wanted Corey to give Brett a second chance—, Brett told Corey he didn't want them to be together. He started dating someone else—behind Corey's back, by the way—and then when Corey told him he was in love with him, he refused once more. Sure, Brett's mom might not know all that, but still, why and for how long does she expect Corey to wait until Brett resolves his feelings—which for all we know could end up meaning that he won't want Corey as a boyfriend anyway? I'm not saying she's a bad person per se; her kid is hurting, and in this case she can't really make the pain go away, so she might fumble a bit trying to help. I think she's wrong for pressuring Corey, but I think it's understandable. Her kid is hurting and she's only human.