Timothy M.

This chapter was sort of a pivot point in some matters. He realizes he likes teaching and his colleague have him support with the compliments. He's also taking pride and joy from getting in shape and feeling good about himself. The improvements in both fields are good to set against those moments when he feels worthless.

I agree with Gary. Johnny tried to be a good friend to Bobby. And I can see he still cares about him, but so much bad stuff has happened, he doesn't want to open up to more hurt in that direction. I totally understand that, and avoiding Bobby makes a lot of sense. Using the gym is a great idea too.

Reading this chapter again, I had a moment, when I got to this sentence: the rest are assigned to hell and might as well be sent their as quickly as possible. Seriously - after what he said about his students mixing up there/their/they're. PS Gary, if you could increase the font size on your comment, it would help old eyes like mine.

I can totally relate to how he feels about the versatile matter and Dom's refusal to bottom even once. Fair enough if he'd made an effort but couldn't stand it, but to me it's telling of his lack of genuine feelings for St.John. Possessiveness yes, love no. But I don't blame St.John for not figuring Dom out as an asshole before the break-up. And you're not an enabler if people purposely take advantage of you.

Awesome, now all my favorites are up there. Although to be honest I liked all of the stories in the contest, each for different things, and they were so well written.

If I have to correct ‘there/their/they’re’ on my Writers’ Craft students’ work one more goddamned time, I’m seriously going to lose it. Yeah, that's one of my pet peeves too, together with 'you're/your' mix-ups. On one hand I think he's being too hard on himself (but not on the students, lol), but on the other hand it's a sign of a potentially very good teacher. At least he's talking to Emma about it, and I for one have NO doubt about her common sense and kind intentions.

Hmm, so how many people did he get involved with like that? There's the guy who shan't be named, from his teen years, and Dom, but who are the others? Two cases doesn't really make a habit, although we do have this Danish proverb: En gang er ingen gang, men to gange er en vane. (One time means nothing, but twice is a habit.) Anyway, the more we learn about Dom the more it seems like he was always a parasite.

I liked his decisions to take walks / trips into nature and try to settle some of the anxiety over his (lack of) writing and other stuff.

Cole was the greatest trickster of them all. The only story no one guessed the author for was Fool's Gold @Cole Matthews

LOL, I just noticed it's Anonymous Jester's birthday today.

Sometimes a writer defines a new genre, and everyone else has to take their creation into account. Anyone writing about robots must decide whether to comply with Asimov’s rules, and writers of fantasy or magic will be measured with Tolkien, Rowling and a few others. The visions and the worlds these signature writers manufacture are so compelling they set a standard for the particular genre. On GA, anyone doing gay (wolf) shifter stories cannot ignore Rob Colton. Thus, if you’re writing gay shifters, particularly wolves, you can either run with the type casting he sets up, of the dominant Alpha male finding his mate (whether human or wolf), who is often smaller, weaker and definitely a complete bottom. Or you can decide to break away from the mold and do something different, like Sasha Distan does with Born Wolf. Both choices can be found at GA, and this review is about the most epic norm-breaking story I’ve come across so far. JohnAR’s Meta series actually spans several genres and is probably even more in opposition to Twilight than Timber Pack. Though I guess JAR does stay within some traditions. We get vampires as arch-enemies of werewolves, all living in secret amongst clueless humans. There are the usual pack dynamics of Alpha, Beta, Enforcers and so on, plus also a clever college nerd with an unhappy family background. However, one reason Meta fascinates me is JAR’s unconventional ways of solving various problems I’ve always had with ‘traditional’ werewolf/vampire stories. First of all, the fact normal dominant Alpha behavior is sort of obsolete in the modern world and can bring trouble on your pack. JAR’s answer to this Gordian knot is brilliant and obvious – after you’re told. For once it’s brain over brawn. Secondly, JAR’s wolves are much more like real wolves than humans. Genetically based instincts and smells affect them profoundly and even rule them, and if you judge their behavior by human standards you’ll get it wrong. In a real wolf pack only the alpha female has cubs (by the alpha male of course), and JAR’s werewolves have their own traditional version of a breeding based hierarchy. Since this cannot hold for gay wolves, something else has to be devised. JAR’s solution for the Inner Circle of his Meta pack will probably be considered perverted by most of his readers. The biologically imperative loyalty demand is certainly weird and hard to accept – for a human. Thirdly, there is no biting and turning, and that goes for vampires too. JAR’s vampires arise and behave in ways which are more believable and scary than most stories. But interestingly some of them can actually breed with normal humans. As can JAR’s wolves – or at least they seem to attract plenty of sexual interest from human females as well as wolf bitches. At times to an uncomfortable degree for gay wolves. Apart from the supernatural stuff the most fascinating feature of Meta is the main character, Colt. He is the nerdy genius with issues and he also has somewhat kinky sexual interests - almost obsessions. Be prepared to feel annoyed and shocked, but at least he judges himself as relentlessly as he does his surroundings, be it fellow students, teachers, or relatives. Some of the most delightful moments in the first book are Colt sparring with his business class lecturer. I’m quite intelligent myself, but Colt is in a league of his own, and I’m in awe of him – and by extension his ‘creator.’ In case I haven’t scared you off yet, let me conclude with a few warnings. JAR loves cliff hangers, obscure hints, confusing and provoking his readers, making fun of gay stereotypes and romances (especially those favored by women), and – as mentioned – being contrary to shifter story norms. He and Colt are into non-conventional but possessive polygamic relationships, hot sex with more than a hint of D/s, and hunky but non-hairy guys with lots of muscles. Preferably Marines. I dare you to try out Meta, and I know JAR would welcome you ranting at his stories in reviews or the story discussion topic. But please be aware this is not a challenge to be taken by soft-hearted, vanilla-loving believers in soul-mates and hetero-normative relations. So don’t blame me if you come away shaken and disturbed.

Yeah, that's what I mean together with you attempt to confuse us afterwards. Of course, it was easy for me, since I edited yours and AC's story.

Misunderstandings by BigAKHorton is a story I return to whenever I want to feel good about life. I forget how I came across it, but whenever I think about the main characters, Davis and Luis, I get this warm, cuddly feeling inside. The slightly scary title and the short description hide an unusually sweet story in spite of the almost trite theme of two guys who are attracted to each other but assume the other man isn’t interested. The main theme is explored in the first chapter which is the same length as the two subsequent chapters combined. But each chapter contains several important issues which Davis and Luis must deal with in order to find their happiness. The odds are stacked against them, mainly due to Davis being a lot older than Luis, but also because of how people perceive the big guy. If anyone deserves the epithet Gentle Giant it’s Davis. I love the way AK describes him and how Davis deals with being lonely and desperate for a relationship. He likes himself and has plenty of humor and a dignity and honesty which are beautiful to witness. It’s hard to say what I like most about this story, which is a wonderful mixture of funny scenes, like the one where Luis tries to explain ‘bear culture’ to his co-worker Shelley, and of tender and sometimes sad moments when Davis and Luis try to work past the misunderstandings and define their relationship. There are some truly breath-taking romantic moments in there, and they are even more awesome for being unexpected, unsentimental, and utterly sweet. This story review is a shorter version of a Featured Story blog review.

Now that we can add story reviews to Completed stories, I'm thinking about copying my blog reviews to the stories themselves. Maybe in slightly shorter or amended versions. Any objections or comments?

I think AC Benus is the winner of the guessing game. He got five right. I got four, and Puppilull (+ W_L), Spikey and Slytherin got three each. @Puppilull I didn't count you guessing your own story. Everyone else guessed the same, so you didn't fool us.

Hmm, this first line prompt may be just what I need to get Nelson and Eric's 'suspended' date ending written.

I've been wanting to reply to this ever since you wrote it. Thank you, bft, for liking my comment to bring me back here. yeah, Helena was ignorant of important information, rather than really stupid, but even so she knew Neil was in the closet in relation to his parents and school, so she should not have outed him to anyone, gay or not.

Hey, Dodger, don't be too hard on yourself, this was an absolutely AWESOME comment, and I loved it. You're right about Frankie being almost institutionalized in his booth, but the alternative might have been an institution for mentally handicapped people. Frankie is deeply autistic with mild OCD, and he would never have managed going to a normal school. imagine the special school he needed was either not available or affordable for his father, who did the best he could to make his son happy. People who enjoy socializing often feel sorry for autists for not having a 'normal' social life, but most of us prefer to interact with fewer people and in shorter amounts of time. When I was a kid, I loved spending time with adults and I disliked other kids, except for a few close friends (usually one at a time). Books were my best friends, and today it would probably have been the internet. Frankie loves the safety and predictability of his tollbooth and I think he would reject the idea his life has been sad. But I do agree with you he needs to broaden it and get out of his booth. Detective Kasumaki may be exactly the right person to achieve that. for reading and leaving such a wonderful review comment on my story, Dodger.

Thanks, Gary. Yeah, the notification went out when I uploaded the story, which was very soon after the site update. Thanks for mentioning it in the COTT topic. I love that you realized Frankie is autistic, which is what I wanted to convey without saying the word. After all, he may never have gotten an official diagnosis. I love your prediction of his future which is what I want to believe as well. Thanks, buddy.

Tillykke ! Not surprised Downhearted was number 1, that was my bet to win. I guessed four authors correctly apart from the two stories I edited.

My Grid&Dice prompt story went live today (April 1st 12 am). It shows as the newest story on the bottom of the main story page. However, it is not on the New stories list or on the Story Actions list. None of my followers seems to have gotten a notification - but I guess that's because the notifications went out when I uploaded the story. I think Renee's advice about not uploading stories until they are ready to publish is probably the best thing to do. Thank, Kitt, that's good to know.

I have the feeling he will soon find out teaching is a lot of hard work. Did he even ask Emma or Pete about what he missed in the staff meeting?

Lots of nice gossip to chew on here. And I agree about the Nile.

Obviously, everyone else knows all about the past history between Bobby and St.John . and I haven't got a clue. But guess what, it doesn't matter at all, because you describe it so well, I get the idea at once.

Yeah, the title made sense, although he didn't really come running home on his own initiative, did he? It was interesting he had a better impression of the two people he knew than what we remembered. I recall wondering if he had misunderstood them at the time. Oh, and I noticed a spelling mistake - but then I thought Nope, he's doing a pun. Am I right? Emma thinks I’m just being melodramatic. Guess I do have a flare for that