Timothy M.

Fucking amazing. I'm with Rex, loved the names of the bands, particularly Demons of the Crossroad. Did that name come after they almost fell apart? The magic moment created by weaving a song from and ending the performance with projecting their feelings about Silas was beautifully done and so fitting he should be part of the biggest moment of the band's history so far. I'm glad Mickey was rewarded for giving the band a chance by their success (judging from the reaction of the audience). I hope there's a music critic present the next night and he gives them a glowing review. Being a popular warm-up band can be crucial at this moment of their career, right?

A most interesting chapter and reading the various view points in the reviews only made it better. I tend to fall on the side not blaming Drake at all for his reaction to Jenny. We don't know what he's gone through in those two years, how much he's had to harden his heart and suppress his need for love and care in order to survive. And thinking about it I have three additional factors which could explain the way Silas overreacted. He'd already had one dangerous woman snooping and meddling in his affairs today. He couldn't very well tell the policewoman to fuck off, but his frustration from that encounter might have added to his temper here. Jenny is particularly 'dangerous' because she is a mother - and she reminds Silas of his own parents at the time he was loved unconditionally. Nothing has a better potential of breeching his defenses, and since he isn't ready for that, he needs to push her away as fast and effieciently as possible. He is a cornered animal lashing out, not a rational being. Why isn't he happy about hearing Ian has done all those things to get in touch? Well, apart from the whole 'abandonded eight-year-old' issue, learning the truth about why Ian left (his parents' disapproval) is tied to his own emerging identity crisis and eventual running away from home. He has had no chance to talk to anyone about this (and I remember him thinking he needed to, and hoped Ian might be the solution), and in the same way he hasn't deal with his feelings about Ian leaving. He coped by 'hating' his Brother, and you don't get rid of such an emotion, no matter how irrational, just like that, when learning the truth. Particularly not while being stressed-out already. I don't know whether any of the above has merit, I shall now proceed to the forum, and perhaps get more answers.

So Drake quickly learned to capitalize on looking young and bashful when hustling, huh? It's sad but also a testimony to his intelligence and good instincts about people. And having Adelaide by his side would have protected him from those who might have wanted to cheat him or force him. Look how protective she became when he tensed at the arrival of the police car. I also noted how Drake didn't overreact but stayed calm and pretended with great skill, offering the minimum of replies in order to elicit information - and him knowing he needed to find a way to talk to Ian if he could, was another sign of the maturity which endears him to me. (Oh and I'm out of likes for today, so you'll have to wait for more of those.)

What an interesting way of explaining Drake's issues with letting people get close. I loved this chapter for showing us the dynamic and tight-knit friendship of the band and at the same time letting us know Brady will be there for Silas when he's ready to trust and love again. And we already know who hurt Silas: his brother by abandoning him, his parents by rejecting him unless he lied about himself, the Church (ie everyone in his surroundings) by not accepting his sexuality. I prescribe the following therapy/cure for Drake: his brother to represent Family love and approval, Chelsea to be the religious acceptance, he's already had the band as friends accepting him, and hopefully he'll become ready for the final step: the love of a man worthy of Silas and good for him. Does Brady know Drake has Jack's number? Or is this another little secret kept by his best friend, lol?

How sad to see the innocence, trust and honesty of a young teen betrayed and berated by the people who should care for him. I suppose we cannot really blame the boy Slias liked for not keeping it a secret, because no matter whether he felt the same or not, the emotions might be too difficult for him to handle. But it's hard to forgive his parents for putting such pressure on him. I've always found it sad that a church, which for a short time in the past had a less strict view and diverged enought from the prudish victorian ideals and the mainline Christian faith to allow polygamy (which I'm OK with), did not manage to develop an equally accepting attitude to the love between two men. It's so heartbreaking to see the interviews with the young Mormon men who want to belong to their church, are adamant to stay pure until they are married, are good and caring people, yet still face rejection and condemnation. It makes me wanna Chelsea obviously knows her church is wrong too, and I wonder how she learnt that. But perhaps the other half of the town has some influence on what is taught and thought? Adelaide is great, but why do you have Drake treat her like a human? All dogs can drink from puddles or streams without danger, except for special circumstances. I naturally assumed Drake was making water for his own consumption, and he even needed to do so as per the next part. So giving the boiled water to the dog was weird, IMO.

I'm impressed with the way you give us hints about Drake's character and background story via his interactions with the band members and the casual comments along the way. He's been on the run since before (or just after) he was fifteen. There's been a 'life of crime', but we surmise it's been nothing really bad, since Drake is too intelligent for that. He thinks about things, he is good at reading people and he plans ahead. We learn he's gay and attracted to Brady, but whether it's mutual, I wasn't quite sure. He seems afraid of becoming attached, but why ? Since I've read the next chapters I won't speculate. The manager of the diner, I thought father at first, but then the reaction of the dog might go better with brother, although why Silas got so scared and ran away was very much a mystery and surprise. Did the woman recognize his surname? or perhaps even see the similarity with the cook? In hindsight some of her reactions were odd.

Fair enough, I'll accept getting the view they wanted meant only three bedrooms were available. But I'm sure Brad could have afforded a comfortable sofa-that-folds-out-to-a-bed in his office, if he wanted to. The fact remains Brad considers the condo a private place for him and Marc and noone else. He wasn't even happy to have Will and JP visit (did you notice how surprised JP was that Will hadn't seen the place yet?). I'm not saying Brad doesn't have the right to feel that way, but then he should have done the Sunday dinners with his Family, as Will suggested. If nothing else for the sake of Marc, who probaby would like to spend time with Brad's family. He certainly seemed happy to see JP and Will, and I cannot help feeling Marc might be a tad freaked out about Brad being all possessive and keeping his lover away from everyone else. Or am I seeing ghosts ?

I loved the car talk and the hike (with memories ) and the intimate scene in the tent. More than ever the connection with your lovers in the past, Junyad and Ahmed, becomes clear. Sil has the same understanding of love and divinity as Junyad and he is slowly bringing the love of his life, his Kapikulu, to understand too. I'm hoping their joint love will bring a different outcome than in the past. Please let them have a victory over the evil power of Lady G. But the vision of her and the hatred she bears for the offspring of Lazlo, even generations removed, scares me like Hell. Why couldn't you leave us with the beautiful image of Sil and Em entwined in the tent? But it's still a wonderful chapter, and the forest will forever stay in my mind as about the most infamous paranormal place in the world.

just avoid post 46 on page 2 and post 52 on the top of page 3 https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/topic/37906-spiders/?p=451688 and Zombie's post 78 at the top of page 4 (+ quoted in post 84 a bit further down) https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/topic/37906-spiders/?p=467819 then you can browse and enjoy the rest of the topic

So now we know how Junyad and Ahmed came to be in the place where Em saw them in his vision and why Ahmed had the sword. At least their mortal remains were treated with respect even as their souls entwined, hopefully in eternal bliss. Vlad would be an awesome ally, although he is as evil as Lady G. But Lazlo did him wrong as the behest of his wife, even as he did with the lovers. Putting it right and getting rid of his wife by letting Vlad kill her might be the easiest way to solve the problem, including not 'soiling' his own hands with murder of his spouse. A somewhat spineless way, but Lazlo needs to be practical too, and his King and Church would be more forgiving about 'Vlad escaped and killed my wife' or 'I freed Vlad because he swore to fight the Turks, but then he betrayed me and killed my wife.' The one bright spot was the love and devotion of Louis shining bright and unwavering. Oh and I wonder if the young man Lazlo sees resembling him is his son or Emeric?

Damn you, Krista, now you made me tear up again.

The lack of a guestroom or even a couch in his office indicated Brad's complete lack of interest in having ANY visitor staying overnight, including his children and any other family member or close friend (assuming he and Marc have any of those ). And surely you're not saying Brad couldn't afford whatever number of rooms he wanted, no matter the location ?! Or are you implying that all parents whose children are >18 or emancipated, are ridiculous when they give a guest room priority in the hope their offspring may visit for more than a day? We have seen time and time again that Will craves the interest and love of Brad, he simply does not want Brad to control his life. And in fact Will didn't complain about the lack of a guest room until Brad dismissed the notion of coming to Escorial for Sunday dinners, which Will saw as a nice compromise. How do you think JP felt when his son showed a total lack of interest in the Family like that? And you'll note JP didn't comment on the content of Will's reaction to Brad's behavior or defend Brad, he only noted the lack of diplomacy.* To me JP is the best indicator of whether Will is over the top. Which I freely admit he is at times, and he even noticed the struggle to contain himself this time. To me that says he's aware of his issues and tries to do better. I can't really say the same about Brad. But to Will haters he can never do anything right and any feelings he has are to be dismissed as nonsense. But that's OK, because I love seeing you rant, it makes the Will parts even more fun. * When we walked out of the condo building, Grand finally spoke. “That was perhaps not one of your more diplomatic encounters.” “Perhaps,” I said, then chuckled with him as we made our way back to Union Square.

I remember this story. It was beautiful - and broke my heart.

Happy Birthday Mark ! (or as we would say in Denmark) Tillykke med fødselsdagen ! I can't believe I got to make this topic...

How about telling everyone who your crappy internet provider is so all the UK readers know to avoid them in the future? Your hubby may have suffered Internet withdrawal but we have had SashaStory withdrawal, and it was painful!

LOL, you're right Eric and Nelson will never get a chance to rescue each other with Rob and Jas teaming up around them. But I think they have even better reasons to want some time on their own. Laughing and kissing is a lot more fun than trying to convince stupid bigot.

Tillykke med fødselsdagen from Denmark

These last two longer chapters have been everything we could wish for, both romantically and passionately. The way they supported and cared for each other was heartwarming, and the playfulness brought a smile to my face. The phrase 'made for each other' is overused at times, but not in this case. Somehow I can see their lives as parallel paths, both of them searching and hoping to find that special man. They both suffered bitter disappointment and betrayal, but it made them all the more able to recognize true love and commitment when they finally met. Their paths started to converge on the night Kendall came out to Michael, because that lead to Deuce going to the gym alone and start talking to Chet and to Ace coming out at work and Arron approaching him. Fate made them meet before Kendall and Michael could make it happen, but I'll still credit the love of those two men starting the chain of events leading to love at first sight for Chet and Arron. In Danish: øjne mødes og sød musik opstår (eyes met and sweet music arise). Chet and Arron finally found the right song - and the dance of their minds and bodies was a delight to behold. Thank you, my romantic friend, for this beautiful tale.

Oh, Brad when will you ever learn. I hope Marc doesn't become a casualty of Will the Volcano erupting if Brad doesn't fly out to see JJ. I bet Stef will go. So JJ got an injury to fuck up his career, that leaves outing for Zach.

Thanks - our Ginger Team will be thrilled.I wish the SSB was entirely made up - and to be honest I've never met someone like him, but everyone seems to think him believable. Which is sort of depressing when I think about it.

Oh Eric noticed his admirers, but sadly they were all female except for Nelson, and he very stupidly hid his feelings for ages.Model Brother but annoying as shit - thanks for that description, Adi, I'm glad you're still pleased with Rob.

You may be right, Adi. Rob's bravery could be all words and no substance, but I guess he (and we) won't know until he's confronted with the possibility. But having Eric and Nelson as close-up examples of male love might get Rob thinking and more curious. But basically , he's straight.

I agree with you and Nelson, buying clothes is boooring - now books on the other hand Glad the scene lived in your head - and that you're catching up on the story.

I can't believe neither I nor anyone else have left a review on this crucial chapter before now ! I'm slowly working my way through the story again, and I'm also slightly embarrassed about rarely remembering to pressing the like button. Anyway, rereading this chapter I can see it all about trust and how to deal with issues about trusting others. Neil is afraid to trust Clarissa (understandably), Charlie tries to deal with his problem with showering in Jim's presence, Jim is working on the lingering effects of being in the closet for so long, and in a way he's having to learn how to trust both his own feelings and for people around him to be accepting if he shows affecction towards Tony. The whole matter about helping Neil with somewhere to live is all about trust too. Noone blames Glenda and Anne for being wary of taking in a complete stranger, and Neil's initial stalker tendencies didn't help from a reader's point of view. And ultimately, Neil's situation all boils down to him not being able to trust in anyone, not even his parents' love and acceptance and help - the way his dad reacted over the whole bully issue was a clear warning. Todd is the first person to be there for him for years, making him feel safe and cared for. All in all coming back to this chapter knowing what I know now about the events of the next months,gave all these matters extra impact.

Hmm, no First Line prompt this time, I'll have to dig out an oldie, but godie. I was so proud of myself for finally managing to use a current prompt last week.