Briansboy

I've always thought that college Andy is the worst iteration of his character. This is the nadir of his journey of acceptance (self and other.)

This explains a lot. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/272885-beware-that-when-fighting-monsters-you-yourself-do-not-become Kudos for the self-awareness. It's not easy.

The title is so fitting; such a perfect metaphor. Everything in this story ties together so beautifully that it actually makes me become embarrassingly emotional whenever I read it. It's that powerful.

I love this story. When I joined gayauthors, I added this story to my favorites list or whatever it's called on this site. What blew me away about this story is the way he weaves the beach and the water and the endless waves into the timeline of his own journey. It's truly beautiful prose, and having grown up on the Gulf Coast, myself (though, I prefer the beaches of the Atlantic Ocean in Florida, personally, having lived the second part of my formative years there), I share Adam's love of the beach. The awe that comes over me every time I wander out into the seemingly-infinite-and-eternal-waters of the ocean never fades. Adam captured the same feelings I have about the beach. His musings about the beach are incredibly evocative and I couldn't but fall in love with this story. However, the ending... Well, doesn't it kind of feel like Andy's getting everything he wants, and yet still, because of his marriage to Angie, ALSO becoming what the world expects of him? He'll have a wife and kids and a career and nobody except a select few will know about Matt, will they? I know; he is bisexual and I certainly support and respect his sexuality; no one believes more than me that one doesn't choose one's sexuality, one's sexuality chooses them. He's in love with Angie and he certainly should, if he does love her, marry her. That's his right and choice. Still, I have mixed feelings about the way things turn out. Adam is, um, less than enthusiastic about those members of the gay community who look or behave in ways that don't fit the masculine "norm" (as he makes clear.) THOSE members of the gay community won't have the option of meeting the hetero-normative expectations of their peers, while still being in love and engaging in passionate sex with the man of his dreams on the side. And while things are better for openly-gay, same-sex married members of our community, one would have to be incredibly naive to think that a man with a wife and kids and their shared home that one can bring one's work colleagues to for dinner doesn't have a MUCH easier and better chance of succeeding in their chosen career than said same-sex married or partnered peers will. I guess that what I'm trying to say (not very well) is that while I do love the writing, the theme, the story, I'm not a fan of Andy, in general. He certainly comes across, at times, as a smug, entitled, gloating git, especially while he's in college (fair warning: his ego is MASSIVE.) That, coupled with the (frankly unbelievable) ending, leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth. Still, if you haven't read this story and you love a well-written story with some frankly beautiful passages, I have to recommend this one. It will take your breath away.

I like the character of Noah Bainbridge. It's interesting the way that Perry thinks of both George Rauch and Noah. From the beginning, and all throughout Perry's interactions with Noah, he takes a strong dislike to Noah; he thinks of him as obnoxious, full of himself, and a perverted jerk. On the other hand, Perry thinks of George Rauch as a hero, and takes to the "gentle giant" immediately and lets him have his hug while talking in the parking lot without hesitating. However, from what Noah told Perry, he suspects (and Arnie gloated) that George wasn't just blackmailed into sexual favors by Arnie, but that he had been willingly having sex with Arnie for almost a year. Doesn't THAT paint George in a somewhat different light? And while Noah was definitely perving on Perry most inappropriately, he realizes, too late, that he had blown his chance for a friendship with Perry and deeply regrets it. As he puts it, "What a fool I was. And what a loss for me." The revelation of Kyle and Miss Zimmerman's affair seems like it cut through the fog of lust in Noah's brain and make him see just how wrong his behavior towards Perry is. In any case, even with the issues I have with this story, I like the author's twist of having Perry perceive the faithful Noah as an obnoxious, salacious jerk and the cheating George as a good-natured, me llow hero. This underscores Noah's observation that Perry is too trusting at times.

Obviously, Kyle was with a member of the faculty or the staff. She smacked him for saying "bitch," remember? A Catholic school teacher or staff member would automatically (as we've been reminded over and over throughout the story) admonish someone for using strong language.

Hmmm. If I were Jackson, I would definitely be over-thinking the situation (no matter what Carter would say,) if I felt Carter's cock up against my ass. That said, I'm really enjoying this story. It's well-written, nicely paced and the supporting characters are fleshed out. So glad I found this one!

Put me on the Carson train, too, because she's an awesome character. As Lisa said, her rant in the cafeteria was a thing of beauty. She called out everyone, including herself. The speech felt like the climax; everything seemed to be building up that, Carson's exposing everyone for what they were and what they had done. It was explosive, poignant, and satisfying. I love it. I love her. I have a feeling we are going to see Kaitlyn again and she seems like she'll be a great character, too. I look forward to Caleb's going back to the football team, or at least what he says to the coach if he decides not to play. It's a testament to your skill as a writer that I have confidence that these upcoming events are going to be enjoyable to read.

I don't know why I'm not allowed to like this chapter; it's been way more than a day since I used that feature. Anyway, this story has gotten better as it goes along. In this chapter, I liked the snowballing reference. This: "...my life is snowballing down this huge gay hill and I don’t even know what to do but roll along with it. Yeah, it’s freezing and my back hurts when I hit a stone, but I’m not alone anymore, I can see all the other snowballs rolling with me and maybe at the bottom we’ll unfurl and melt in the sunlight and smile because we made it and it’s good." This was really beautifully written. At first, the stream-of-consciousness aspect of the story annoyed me (I've never been a fan of that style, but I do prefer first person point of view,) but as the pace of the story picked up, and Caleb's inner ramblings became interspersed with, well, everything snowballing, they seemed to be more relevant and not as much navel-gazey. I, too, offer my condolences.

I loved this one. It's really well-written, with some really intriguing characters (I especially like Jake and Ronnie.) It's definitely one of the wittiest stories I've read. I look forward to the sequel, as well as checking out your other stories.

Well, I had a better feeling about this chapter, since the first half was strictly from Ryan's point of view. First person point of view from one character=yay! When they reached the waiting area for orientation, however, the perspective changed as we see the world through Byre's eyes as he checks out the girls. Then, at the end, we see the world through cell-phone guy's eyes. Three shifts in perspective in one chapter. Now, this is strictly my personal opinion, but I really, really don't like this tactic. And then there was this sentence: "His affords were met with a few irritating grunts before Brye pulled his pillow over his head." Can anyone else see what is wrong with this sentence? You used the wrong words ENTIRELY. "His efforts were met with a few irritated grunts before Brye pulled his pillow over his head." That is the sentence as it should have been written. So, my constructive advice is: get an editor. If you already have one, get a better one. Also, google run-on sentences and learn how to avoid writing them. Disclaimer: I've been reading gay-themed books, novellas, and online fiction for a long time. I suppose I've come to recognize certain similar characteristics in gay themed e-fiction (I hate that term; if anyone has a better term, please PM me.) I'm old and tired of reading the same stories in different circumstances and different characters. So, you can write me off as a jaded, bitchy queen, if you want. I've pretty much accepted that's what I am.

First review, as I'm a new member. I don't know how to even begin to say how much I thought this chapter was a train wreck. It seemed like we were viewing the world through Ryan's eyes, but when the jock that knocked him over entered the room, suddenly the point of view shifted to him. That's jarring and confusing. I didn't think the roommate was realistic, nor did I find the four guys bursting into Ryan's dorm room a realistic or well-thought out scene at all. So, I know I probably made an ass out of myself by criticizing this chapter so harshly, but it left me with a big question: who is the protagonist? Ryan, Brye, his brother or Emmett? It seems like we've seen the world through all of their eyes. So, my constructive advice is to please pick a protagonist and tell the story from his, and only his, perspective. I'll try reading the second chapter in the hopes it will be better.