LittleBuddhaTW

A chapter where Rory goes out and hooks up with some shady guy for a one-night stand, gets his brains f**ked out, ends up with an STD (something cureable, like the clap), and then needs Eddie to take him to the doctor to get it taken care of ... now that would be interesting ... a VERY good lesson for Rory, good opportunity for Rory and Eddie to have a good father-son chat, as well as a good subliminal message to the younger readers who might be tempted to go out and do the same thing (Dom mentioned recently in his blog whether or not the "condom" or "no condom" issue was setting a bad example for young readers). I don't think I've read an gay internet story yet where this has come up. Or at least he could get mono or something from kissing Seth ......

Maybe Rory just really needs to get laid, and deal with the romantic stuff later when things are more stable in his life ... **shrug**

It's been really warm here the past few days ... I swear, I hate the weather in Taiwan! Just last week, I had to wear layers of clothes just to keep barely warm, since they don't have heating here (and I won't get one of those space heaters 'cause I don't trust my cats around them). The past two days, though, have been really warm. I've had to open the windows, which hasn't really helped much (plus they're letting in a lot of mosquitoes) ... I've contemplated turning on the air-conditioner, but that just doesn't seem right in friggin' January ... plus, I like to save on my energy bill during the winter, since in the summer I have to have both air conditioners going almost constantly and ending up paying a lot on my utilities (and summers here are from like April until November). I finished the rough draft of the last chapter of my thesis. I've still got some revising to do, as well as the conclusion, but I feel like the hardest part is over. So, I've been totally vegging out so far this weekend and don't feel bad about it for once. I've even started writing my first ever story. I've already finished the first chapter, but I'm gonna wait until I've finished a few more before I start posting it at Nifty, in case I end up getting back-logged or something ... I hate it when I have to wait longer than usual for a new chapter of a story I'm reading, so I want to make sure that if/when I post it, people won't have to wait too long. I don't think I'm a very good writer ... I'm pretty confident in my research abilities, and I can write academic stuff pretty well, but fiction is something I've never really tried. Tentatively it's called "Someday Out of the Blue." Over and out!

I hope you restrict the crack smoking to only the weekends ..........

A couple of interesting things about this chapter ... Rory is starting to realize that Luke may not be so "perfect" when he realizes how stupid Luke was in his relationship with Aaron, and sees that Luke may be as impressionable, vulnerable (and passive), and in need of affirmation from others as himself. We're starting to see that Luke's seemingly confident and self-assured personality may hide something else underneath. Also, Rory has now been forced by Luke to start facing the prospect of going home. In the previous few chapters, Rory has sort of brushed it off or avoided it, but now with Luke taking Rory to task on it, Rory can't avoid it for much longer, he knows it, and it's creating a bit of turmoil in Rory's mind. He obviously isn't 100% keen on going back anymore, otherwise it would be a non-issue for him and he wouldn't have gotten defensive about it. The thing that doesn't seem too logical for me at this point is that if Rory *thinks* he's going back to Nevada, and Seth is also under the impression that Rory is there for the summer, then why are they even starting to pursue a relationship? It's more understandable for Rory in two ways: 1) he knows that he has the option of staying if he wants (I think Seth believes that it's pretty much a certainty that Rory is only there for the summer), and 2) since Rory is so new to the whole "gay relationship thing," he could just take this as an "experiment" or lesson. For Seth, however, I see him as being interested in something more serious and stable (in contrast to what he had with Aaron), so I don't see how he could even contemplate developing an emotional attachment to someone who will be leaving in only a month. I think this is an important issue that the narrative fails to address. As for Aaron not being able to accept being dumped, that may be so, but I'm not entirely convinced that's the reason he keeps pursuing Rory (wasn't it Seth who dumped Aaron? and what about Luke?) ... perhaps Aaron *does* have feelings for Rory, and perhaps that scared him ... as for his behavior, old habits are hard to break ... perhaps he *is* trying to change and needs help ... maybe he *does* like Rory but just doesn't know how he's supposed to express them. That doesn't mean that Rory is going to go back with him (I don't think he will), but Aaron's trying to talk to Rory may not be entirely malevolent. I'm not sure what the deal is, but I'm sure there's more to it than meets the eye, and I think the Aaron issue is far from being resolved. Perhaps this is the beginning of that, and in Ch. 27 we'll get some sort of resolution/closure, and thus our semi-climax. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold off until Ch. 27 before going nuts, though ... **sigh**

NO!!! EVIL EVIL CLIFFHANGER!!! AAAAHHHHHH!!!!! And my hopes for Rory & Luke have been visciously dashed ... I think I'll be crying myself to sleep tonight ....... But ... this chapter was nice and long ... thank u Dom

I predict the weekend at the earliest.

I think this "discussion" shows just how talented Dom is as an author ... there are so many little clues leading to so many possible conclusions, and I doubt that that's an accident. Good authors write and revise ad nauseum, very little makes it into a final draft that's not "on purpose." The good thing is, however, that eventually we'll get an answer ... unlike the Chinese novel "Dream of the Red Chamber" that I do my research on, where the last third of the novel was never circulated ... so all we can do is guess as to what happened based on textual evidence and some very sparse commentary left in the margins of the first two thirds of some early manuscripts of the book by one (or more) of the author's relatives who had seen the whole book (although the clues are vague at best). No one will ever know what really happened in its entirety, and it's *very* frustrating. So, let's all be thankful that this one will be finished!!!

With the discussion deteriorating to this point, I think it's time for Ch. 26 .......... PLEASE!!!!

Rory may very well like Seth more than just "liking being liked" ... however, *if* Luke does like Rory, that could certainly stir things up a bit ... who would he choose if it came to that? This is definitely interesting ... most online gay fiction doesn't deal with this kind of problem ... having to make a serious choice between two potential partners, both of whom give Rory something that he craves, although in different ways, and both with very different personalities. As for the big question of whether Rory is the object of Luke's affections, while the whole "Dave rant" was certainly intruiging (and I can't dismiss that possibility), the overwhelming amount of textual evidence STILL points to Luke liking Rory. I think this is a reasonably objective and convincing inference (although it could just as well be the author playing games with the reader). Regardless, though, someone is going to get hurt/heartbroken, unless Dave really is the one Luke likes and Dave miraculously realizes he's gay (and if that happens, IMO, it would definitely pull too far away from the trend of realism in Dom's stories and would definitely turn me off as a reader/critic). As for the implications of "the kiss," I agree that it lacked much passion, but at the same time, if Luke doesn't really think Rory is interested in him, or isn't sure, then kissing him with too much emotion or passion could lead to either him being rejected or Rory freaking out because he wasn't expecting that (not that he was expecting the kiss at all, but a "little kiss" is easier to process in one's head). I see it as possibly something like Luke "testing the waters." What I was surprised about more than the kiss was Rory's lack of over-analysis. It "surprised" him, but that was it. His reaction (or lack thereof) is what has me thinking ... On a more personal note, I like that Rory spiked up his hair in this chapter, I bet it looks cute! hehe

That was a very good (albeit short) chapter! Although ... I'm totally confused now ... about Luke ... but his comment about what isn't there to like about Rory, and then the kiss ... well, and his attitude from the last chapter and beginning of this one ... I still think it's Rory he likes. His little rant about Dave was interesting, and did make me think for a bit ... but at the same time, Dave's behavior is pretty annoying, and I've gotten annoyed at people (and have people been annoyed at me) for the same thing without it being a crush or jealousy or anything like that. But you never know ..... And I recall previous discussions of who was manipulating who ... usually focused around Aaron and Seth ... from this chapter, Rory seems to be turning into a little manipulator ... if he's not really interested in Seth, he shouldn't lead him on ... and I hope he gets it together soon ... but at the same time, he's never really had any experience in the "love" or "relationship" department, unlike the others ... so he probably has no idea how to behave. I also think Rory is really starting to settle in. Things seem to be going better between him and Jase/Eddie, he wants to have friends (you don't usually want to try to make friends when you *know* you're leaving in just a month) ... Rory has really changed a lot. And I just have to add ... when I first read the Luke kissed Rory, I had to go back and re-read it twice to make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me ... that was a *really* smooth move ... Rory just left himself wide open for that one!!! I sure hope Ch.26 doesn't take as long as 25 ... I'm already starting to go nuts in anticipation ... **sigh**

Well ... I guess Dom didn't make it on time ... we'll have to wait another day ... **sigh**

If Rory really did like Luke, and wanted to be with him, yet Jase and/or Eddie didn't approve or forbade it, then that might be enough to piss off Rory so much that he *wants* to go back to live with Grandma Alice (which Eddie doesn't want), rather than having to live with someone who he wants yet can't have. While they may not like it if it happens, I think Eddie and Jase would still have to accept it ... and "f**king like bunnies" shouldn't be a problem as long as Eddie and Jase feel comfortable that they are monogamous and safe ... and it would be awfully hypocritical of Eddie to forbid it since he got Rory's mom pregnant at age sixteen (and Rory and Luke obviously wouldn't have to worry about that). Interpreting/analyzing the story would be much better if it was done at the end, but the whole author - text - reader/commentator dynamic is interesting as well ... although I don't know if comments on the story influence Dom's writing at all. Any piece of literature is a dynamic, living thing ... once it leaves the author's hands and is read, it is no longer the author's, so to speak (and I'm not referring to copyright, etc.). The author's original intent and interpretation will not be the same as individual readers, and with a text being a living thing, neither is "correct" or "incorrect" (Dom may not agree, but in terms of literary theory that is the established view). But at the same time, for an interpretation to be valid, it has to be persuasive. In that regard, I accept the possibility of most theories (except the one about Luke shagging Grandma Alice ... that's just obscene and ridiculous), including Seth and Rory ending up together, or Luke liking Seth, or whatever. However, I haven't seen a really cohesive, logical argument to support either of those (very little textual evidence, and what is there is stretching it a bit, IMO). From the text itself, trying very hard to separate myself (the subjective reader) from my personal preferences, I still see the text pointing at a Luke/Rory matchup. With that said, authors often bait their readers and then twist everything around, so who knows ... I think how Dom finishes off such a complicated series of plots and sub-plots into one cohesive ending will be a sign of how truly good of an author he is (and I tend to think he's pretty darn good - at least in this particular genre, one of the best). Can't wait to read Ch. 25!!!

I'm sorry, but this particular argument for Luke liking Seth isn't particularly cohesive ... after re-reading the post a few times, I'm not quite sure I follow the logic. I don't find it to be impossible that Luke *could* like Seth, but this particular line of rationale isn't that persuasive. Sorry ...

I've had even more free time than usual over the past couple of weeks (and I had *tons* of free time before that!), but now that I have even more free time, the lazier and lazier I've become. I mean ... I *should* be finishing my thesis, but I just don't feel inspired. There are also a couple of other projects that I'm interested in, but I don't want to get caught up in any of those until my thesis is finished ... kind of like a Catch-22, I suppose. Anyway, one of the projects I want to work on is a paper (in Chinese) for the academic journal Chung-wai Literature. I'd like to write a summary/book review of a really great book that came out last year called The New Gay Teenager (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005). It's a really fascinating look at the "new gay culture" among teenagers in America, how they define/categorize themselves, and in general how American society has changed ... and in terms of gay youth and homosexual studies in general, things have changed *a lot* since I was in high school (9 years ago seems sooo long! hehe) Anyway, it's a really excellent book that I recommend to anyone, and it presents a fairly new theory called "personal trajectory," which is a bit different from the old "Social Constructionism" and "Essentialism" theories that were the main focus of gay studies only a decade ago. I guess I just need to find some sort of focus or inspiration ... or find my center again. I've even run out of new stories to read online, so I really have no idea what to do with myself. I KNOW I should just finish up with the last half a chapter and conclusion of my thesis ... if I really dedicated myself, I could finish it up within a week ... but after writing so much already over the past year, I just don't have the energy to do it. And to top that off, once that's finished, I have to start preparing for the entrance exam for the Ph.D. program, which will cover the history of Chinese literature ... and there's over 2,500 years of that to cover ... so, it's not going to be that easy. I also have to give an oral defense of my thesis twice, once for my M.A. degree exam, and again for the Ph.D. program entrance exam. That shouldn't be too bad, because I like to debate ... the only thing I'm worried about is getting some 80-year old homophobic professor on the committee who will shoot down my research just because it's "gay" ... oh well ... I think my research is solid, so I shouldn't worry. But besides all of this academic crap, I just really need to get a more interesting life. I had SO much fun in high school and college, tons of friends, was always going out and having fun ... and now everything is so different. It was a bit better when I was working and had stuff to do, but now I only work 6-9 hours/week (I have a scholarship so I don't need the money), so I just sit around ... and I don't know very many intellectually stimulating people ... and Taiwanese boys can just be *weird* sometimes ... so I just need to figure out what I want to do with myself now ... **sigh**

I wouldn't call that a true semi-climax because nothing was really resolved there. We don't know what Aaron wanted to say to Rory, no answers were provided, and it sort of ended up as an anti-climax ... the situation with Aaron is not over yet. The confrontation didn't really resolve anything. I'm not saying that the story is dragging *badly*, because obviously it's still keeping everyone (including myself) waiting with baited breath for the next chapter ... it's just a bit ... and that's just my opinion (could also be my insatiable curiosity! hehe), and it could be because the chapters are much shorter than we're used to. However, some of the greatest works of literature have points where the plot drags ... nothing can be "perfect" for every reader.

I think the moral of the story here (or one of them) is *communication*. None of these problems would be an issue if the characters had communicated with each other as they should have. Grandma Alice should have been forthright with what she new, Eddie should have been more forthcoming with Rory before Aaron and the letters, Seth should have told Rory exactly what was going on with Aaron instead of leading Rory to believe that he was just an asshole (pretty easy to infer from Seth's odd behavior at the time), Rory should have been more upfront about his relationship with Aaron (which I'm now thinking was to some degree a kind of subconscious rebellion, moreso than actually having "deep feelings" for Aaron), and Luke should have been upfront about his feelings, whoever he has them for. Everyone, to a degree, is to blame for a lack of good communication, but the more I think about it, Rory is the least at fault (although not totally), because he was put in a very new and complicated situation, confronted with a lot of life changes, as well as the death of his mother. In that state of mind, it's easy to see how/why Rory would behave the way he has. However, in the last few chapters especially, I've noticed that Rory has matured a lot in his relationships with people (especially Eddie and Seth). He's becoming a better judge of character and has started to lose the chip on his shoulder. The story as a whole is a bit fanciful, but fiction is supposed to be. Even "realist" fiction is still "fiction." Of course, the entire situation is very unlikely to happen in the "real world," but the point is to get across a lesson/moral, and I see a recurring didactic element in Dom's writing. I hope in his future stories he'll continue portraying the "gay world" from different points of view. Quinn, Owen, and Rory have all been very different characters with different personalities (although quite a few similarities as well). One reason I like the story "My New Brother" by Graeme so much is because it is narrated from the point of view of a str8 teenager trying to deal with finding out that his friends are gay. This is very unique to the entire genre of gay fiction. There are so many repeated story lines, plots, and stereotypical situations/characters in internet gay fiction over the past few years. One of the reasons that I like Dom's writing is because it is different, and I hope it continues that way. Even though it is "fiction," it's realist elements are much better than other stories which are, in my opinion, just too fanciful to have any real "meaning" behind them other than entertainment value (which is one of the goals of literature, but not the only one). Anyway, literary criticism is what I'm trained in, so that's why I'm babbling on about all of this. My only critique of "Desert Dropping" at this point (and I have to say that of the dozens and dozens of stories I've read, DD is one of the best), is that the plot is starting to drag just a bit. There's enough to keep the reader interested, but there needs to be some sort of semi-climax at some point soon, before the main climax of the story, otherwise readers may start to lose interest.

Luke is JEALOUS!!!

Luke's been aware of his sexuality (and open about it) for quite a while ... I don't picture him as the type of guy to get infatuated with a str8 guy. I only let that happen to me once in my life (sure, there have been plenty of str8 guys I *wish* were gay, but I never let myself get into them so much that I had to "get over" them to be able to date someone) ... that just doesn't seem like Luke to me. I've re-read all of DD over the past two days, and I see so many hints that Luke is the one that Rory likes, and that Rory likes Luke the same way ... I just think Rory won't let himself believe that someone like Luke would possibly like him.

My opinion on the Taiwan/China issue is the same as the US government ... maintain the status quo ... a "One China Policy," but maintaining a de facto "independent" Taiwan. I also support the US position that Taiwan needs to boost its military expenditures, which is having a lot of trouble in the Taiwanese legislature right now ... and the president (Chen Shui-bian) is pretty much a lame duck (and he still has more than two years left in his term). The guy to watch in Taiwanese politics now is the current mayor of Taipei city/chairman of the Nationalist Party, Ma Ying-jeou. He has a Ph.D. in law from Harvard, brilliant guy, speaks fluent English, and has a good understanding of international relations. The current president is basically a country bumpkin in a suit. And if DD24 doesn't come out within the next 24 hours or so ... I think I'm gonna have a conniption fit! hehe David

I'm starting to get a bad feeling ... and I hate to admit this ... but this story is quite different from TLW and TOU ... and there are sooo many clues pointing to Rory and Luke getting together (Chapter 10 ... I think ... when Rory 'comes out' to Luke and his family is just full of little 'hints'), that Dom may just end up giving us all a big surprise. Like I said before, in the other two stories it was obvious from nearly the beginning who was going to end up with who ... and we're already on Ch. 23 here and have no idea what is going to happen ... I think we may all get a big surprise in the end ... and I'm starting to feel as though I'm going to be disappointed when Luke and Rory don't end up together.

Rory likes Luke's butt ... has mentioned so on numerous occasions ... never said anything about Seth's though ... Butts are important ... if Luke has as nice a butt as Rory seems to think, then Luke's the one for Rory!

Maybe it's just me ... but Rory seemed A LOT different in this chapter, personality wise ... much more "with it." The getting out of the house thing seems to have been a VERY good thing for Rory, and even he realizes it. And now Rory knows that Seth likes him, and Luke knows it ... this doesn't bode well for the Rory/Luke duo ... But now I'm just wondering how long the whole story is gonna turn out to be, cause everything is just moving such more slowly than with TOU and TLW ... and in those two, it was so clear from nearly the beginning who was gonna end up with who, and after they ended up together, only then did the "drama" happen ... here, the "drama" is happening first, and still no clue who is going to end up with who ... definitely different. But, the chapters for DD seem to be much shorter than the other stories, which is kind of a bummer since I'm all excited for the 10 minutes that I'm reading it ... and then in misery for the 3-4 days (or more) that I have to wait for another chapter ... I really need to get a life!!!

Dom said "next year" ... and it's "next year" already ... even thirteen more hours into the new year for me since I'm all the way across the International Date Lane in noisy-as-frickin'-hell Taiwan (sorry if there are any Taiwanese guys/gals reading this ... but sorry, Taiwan is just a REALLY NOISY PLACE!!!!) ... Anywho ... Chapter 23 ... PLEEEAAAAAASSSSEEEEEE!!!!!!