Timothy M.

Coming a bit late to this story I gobled all three chapters in one go. Poor Sim, he really got a shitty deal. I had the feeling Ryan was desperate to make them a couple, hoping it would save him from Levon, who is the real user here. And I bet once he sees Ryan and Sim are truly broken up, he'll take off again. Why should he marry Ryan, he just said so to get into his pants. I guess Sim should have stuck with the bartender, at least he wouldn't have gotten his Heart broken. I may be the only one of your readers who has no problem with the poly-stuff. Seems fine to me, but it does take a lot more work and a huge amount of honesty. In any case taking Sim into their bed and back in their relationship was the right thing to do, it gave him some stability and love. Once Sim recovers, he may be able to move on, and they will let him, as they did before. That's caring.

Not all the cards are dealt - no indeed not. But Nate has played his suite of trumps: the impossibility of returning to school including Josh, the need of unconditional support and acceptance without having to fear any relapse from Mark, and the ace: that his Dad has promised to give him what he wants. To me there is no way Nate can go back right now. He needs to develop his self-confidence as a gay teen, and that will happen much faster if he stays with Michael and Kendall and has his grandparents close. Getting a new best friend in the shape of Brodie will add another solid stone to the foundation he needs to tackle those challenges most out teens face. Because I can't see Nate going back into the closet for long. He may be discrete, but if asked I think he will tell the truth and stand proud. Or at least he will once he has spent enough time with M&K. In UK it's not unusual to go to boarding school when you're 13, I don't know if that's made it across the Atlantic Ocean? Having his daily life in Ontario and his holidays at home may be a good compromise, at least for Nate's remaining time before high school. But even six months may do the trick. Anyway, my guess is that Mark and Megan will close their business over Christmas (or finally bump one of their employees up as assistant manager and pay him/her to take over). They'll come to Ontario for Christmas and the final decisions will be made then. If Mark can win the trust of Megan, Nate, his in-laws and Kendall, Nate may be able to go home after New Year. Miracles do happen - particularly when the God of Writing is involved.

Lincoln held up a mirror to his parents, and they did not like what they saw in it and how it compared to their son(s). Ruthless egoism in contrast to unselfish devotion. Hateful behavior rather than loving support. Cowardice against Courage. Demanding and judging versus generous and forgiving. I could go on and on - but what really matters is they finally understand why their sons are disappointed in them. They must chose between losing the last vestiges of love and respect and redeeming themselves. Lincoln's father does it by admitting he is doing his first (truly selfless) fatherly act by signing that paper, and I think his mother did it by showing concern for him, not just here, but at the earlier meetings too. As Linc's parents redeem themselves, so do Jack's siblings. Hamish takes the first steps towards being a son and a man to be proud off. He lets go of the resentment and the feeling of being wronged and does his first (truly selfless) brotherly act, just as Christie got there by degrees and earned our forgiveness by persuading her older sibling to save their younger brother. As always your chapter carries this clever pattern of duality and contrast, which is not visible at first or even second reading. This is because the narrative flows beautifully, and the structure is never contrived or obvious. But it's there and it subtly heightens the impact of an already emotional tale. I've learnt to look for it, and I'm always impressed. Finally, we hold our breaths for the next miracles to happen. Like the chaplain says: I believe in faith. Well, we have faith in you, buddy, faith that you will take this story where it needs to go, and while we may rage and cry and laugh, in the end we know you wrote this from the heart and gave us your best, and we will emerge from the rollercoaster ride richer and with better understanding of love and sacrifice.

You can't win if you fold. Every time I see those words under the chapter title, I shudder. Nate's brutally honest descriptions of all the painful moments which made him want to throw his cards on the table and give up, are like daggers to the Hearts of those who love him - his father included. Knowing how close Nate came to destroy the chance to be happy - for the whole family - was so scary it makes my guts ache whenever I read this chapter. Oh and Megan's decision to send Nate to Ontario was shown to be the right solution, the way out for Nate, and the way to give him what he needs. He says it himself better than I ever could: I need to be with people who understand, and accept me completely. But I bet the part which hit Ace and Deuce the hardest was the one about why it was OK for his uncles to be gay. For two men who have been in the closet for all of their lives, too scared to be honest about their feelings, this must be a sobering observation. Sorry about the delay in reviewing, buddy, but better late than never, eh?

When there are only a few prompts written, I think it's great to mention all those who managed to do something. Like you did today. If there are several stories, I'd chose to spotlight a couple - and preferably new authors or those who rarely do prompts. If you feel up to it, you could list the names of all the prompt writers and add the link to their prompt to the name. But that's a lot of work... And of course you can do the 'everyone's prompts' on occasion just to pleasantly surprise us. Oh and by the way, I love today's first line prompt. A perfect Rob line.

Yes, you're right. One Nelson-Eric talk is next on the agenda. They are Young and their relationship is Young, so some immaturity is expectable and acceptable I hope.

Ha, Zombie rights, loved that! And yes, his coming out speech at school was hilarious. Yay for great friends and understanding parents. And for peer pressure used the right way.

This was great, I realized fairly early on that the narrator was the spirit of Halloween disguised as Jack the Scarecrow. It made complete sense and gave the story the perfect supernatural twist. I hope Finn and Max do the Maze acting together the year after, as I'm sure Jack will love to watch them with almost fatherly pride. Finn has obvisously given Jack his due, and he got his reward: Protection for Respect, and good advice for friendship.

If I don't find a suitable prompt I think I'll call the next chapter Mountain out of a Molehill, lol. Yes, that is most likely what it was, and let's hope Eric and Nelson can clear up the misunderstanding fast. You'll be the first to know.

Yes, yes, we'l get there in the next chapter. But there was no new first line prompt, so I may have to use an old one. Yeah, Rob and Eric's parents are pretty cool, so no Wonder their sons are great guys, eh? And a carrot works better than a stick

LOL, hold on to that thought, Adi. But yes, Nelson knows all about being the younger shy boy arm in arm with another guy at the prom.

So I'm officially hooked and will jump into the nest with the other hungry birds. I hope we'll be getting more memories of Merrick seen through Jenson's eyes, as a way of understanding the bond developing between them before Merrick grew up. I liked both of them instantly, and for some reason I think Merrick's mom was worried about something more than her son's loneliness. I bet Jenson insists on seeing Merrick as a boy forever (there's the age difference too, if vampires are long-lived as per tradition), and Merrick will do his best to convince Jenson otherwise. Should make for some interesting confrontations and discussions.

Well, perhaps the parents were on their best behavior too, since they may have wanted to impress their sons' future in-laws? But yet they are perhaps too ideal, but I like to think I would react like them if I had a son who was gay. I don't want to imagine having a son like Rob. though - even as an older brother I'm not sure I could have coped. Did you perhaps want to design more Team Rob T-shirts?

Glad you found the description apt. And considering the cliffies we suffered in RRS, I'm sort delighted to pay you back a little. But don't worry, it's nothing bad, so take the poor dogs for a walk.

Wow, when you said you were going to catch up on Sunday, you really meant it! I'm completely distracted from the work I should be doing, including editing three chapters for JAR. But I'm glad you find the interaction believable, because you write great romance yourself. So thanks for the reviews and the compliments.

Why not indeed? Jasper has been best friend to an out guy for years and Rob's mind is naturally open and tolerant. If more guys were like them, the world would be a better place. (But it's also AC's doing, because every time I let Rob and Jazz step over the line by mistake, I get flayed - kindly, but insistingly, lol.)

Thanks Aditus. I'm having to read the chapters as you review just to make sure I know where we are in the story, and it's fun to revisit those scenes. Glad you liked it for more than the hotness.

LOL, yes, Rob is a bit much at times, so Eric being annoyed with him now and then is quite fair. And you're not allowed to complain about the cliff hanger, when you can go straight on to the next chapters.

I think it's unfair to throw Gathan in Stef's face. As I recall it Gathan had some major anger issues messing him up when having sex, and being with Stef resolved them. It was one of the highlights of Poor Man's Son for me, because we got to see Stef's ability to heal a man's vulnerable mind/body through his exceptional sexual prowess. At least Will owns up immediately and tries to make amends when he has made a mistake.

Just as I thought I had caught up with the reviews... JK, thanks LL for adding your kind thoughts to all the other great comments. It seems to be unanimous amongst Team Rob and Team Jazz that their friendship is a good idea and meant to last. Rob as a dad - hmm let's hope his kids develop a high tolerance for embarassing situations and foot-in-mouth moments. You may be right, but before Rob gets married and has children, he potentially has another 8-10 years of freedom and fun, not least during college. (I don't even want to think about how many chapters this could fill ) Yes, yes I'm writing as fast as I can. Jeez - feed the hungry birds twice in a week and they immediately want more.

LOl, thank Suvitar, you're so right. When Nelson and Eric mess up, Rob and Jazz are happy to set them right - or at least nudge them along. But hopefully they'll soon know each other well enough to need very little help - although that might make the story boring... And make-up sex is supposed to be great.

Dear Gary, feel free to 'go on' in your reviews, I love every word and clever observation. Your insights about Rob are very helpful, because they show me I have managed to convey my feelings about who he is, and what his potential is. Your point about him being open and accepting of the oppotunities life may present him with, rings very true. Even more so the fact that his family is the cornerstone of his life right now. Rob will do anything to make his dad proud, his mom happy and to protect his brother - but within the limits set by his heart and innate sense of right and wrong. If he embraces the GSA as his 'extended' eamily, I think both he and thery would benefit. Thank you for another thought-provoking review.

Thanks Drew, and never worry about late reviews, they are most welcome. Yes, it's easy to forget Nelson and Eric have been boyfriends for less than a week, having spent so much time in their company. And since neither of them are mindreaders or as outspoken as Rob, there are bound to be misunderstandings. But luckily they have Jasper and Rob to 'nudge' them. I'm all that my readers like the friendship developing between the straight boys as much as the relationship of the love birds. Both are fun to write and I think it keeps the story balanced. I'm glad you're enjoying the story, Drew.

Another great insight from you, Eagle-eyes, thank you. I think you're right about Rob and how his empathy starts out from what he knows, but hopefully as he matures, he'll be able to take a broader view. Leading on a guy or a girl would be no-no, but a mutual agreement with benefits to both parties is another story (most businessmen and politicians like win-win deals). Only sometimes friends with benefits and high school girlfriends end up wanting or expecting more. I expect to devote the next chapter to Eric and Nelson, so you'll get your wish. Hopefully an honest talk and a cuddle will solve the matter. PS to dugh: I meant to say Jazz is as GSA member, lol

Thanks for reviewing, dugh and sorry I'm late replying. Yes, Jazz is a member of the GA, but not a very active one, particularly since he started dating Carolyn. But I have no doubt he (they) will join in college too. You're right about Rob and Jasper developing a closer friendship, as they find out more things they have in common apart from baseball. It was not somethng I had planned from the start (who am I kidding, I had NOTHING planned when I began this story), but as the story has developed it sort of came about naturally. Yes, Eric and Nelson need to work on their new relationship, which means more chapters are needed. Any objections?