ColumbusGuy

I have to say that Hank isn't endearing himself to me; sure, he needs to deal with his myriad issues before he implodes, but until he begins that process, he's only getting a sad shake of the head from me. I too believe that the marriage would have fallen apart eventually with the unresolved issues on both sides, so it's better put aside for now. After 24 years, my parents' self-destructed because both were unwilling to accept any blame. My mom would yell or fight, my dad would go silent and avoid her....My mom remarried in the late 80s, but never once had any nice words about my dad and would try to get me to come over to her side. Later, my sisters told me the background, and while the initial fault and infidelity was my mother's, my dad restarting a friendship with his now-widowed second wife wasn't any help. He moved to Florida to retire with her around 1990. Dan's comment about 'gaying up' and spilling your secret desires to an old friend may be the 21st century thing to do, but even now it isn't an easy task. Back when I was a teen, and then in college it was not as open an atmosphere, as I found out the one time I did it. I had a good friend in college who I liked, and we kept in touch until after I moved to town in '87, and around 1990 I told him I was gay and had liked him, and that was the last I saw or heard from him though he lived only a few miles away. So, if it's a friend you've had for a long time, especially since your younger days, is it worth risking that or tell the person your feelings? Think long and hard before deciding, because a real friend is harder to find than someone who might be a future partner. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd rather keep the friend and find love in a different person that you find new joy in discovering. I don't know if Dawson will become more than a friend for Chase, but you're weaving a complex tapestry that is warping my mind... 🐈

I have to say I'm feeling sorry for Leo; his best friend is developing magical talents and acquiring trinkets that will help him, but all he's gotten are fighting lessons that won't last long against supernatural foes. Is it possible for August to turn him into a werewolf like the vampires can do? I hope that's something that could happen in the future rather than see him age while his friends and lover continue on with their longer lifespans. I have to wonder too, what Chris' uncles will think about the third in line for the throne eventually surpassing them in power....

The additions to the third chapter helped a lot, thanks for fixing the glitch. Manu may be bisexual rather than fully gay...so let's hope he can find a way to sire children if Phillip can encourage him in that direction.Perhaps he can think of his slave as he does the deed? The hunt was interesting, and I sympathize with the bruising...I'd have thought wrist guards would have been invented by this date? Manu is lucky not to have injured himself badly, but the Egyptians were very good at basic healing...even setting broken limbs. I wonder how much Elisa could help in such a case?

@droughtquake I'm trying to remember...wasn't Christopher Atkins the star in an 80s movie called 'A Night In Heaven' where he played a male stripper? As I recall, I taped it on beta and it gave me more than one fun times by myself....

Yep, been seen elsewhere ages ago, but you finally caved to wheedling and cajoling to post it here. Lots of possibilities ahead for the boys, and George at least is no longer alone after the loss of his wife. Most of all, I'm glad to see that Billy has found a good friend in Chris--something he's not had before. I'm dying to know what that third song was that Chris was laughing about when he set off, I love both of the two you did mention, and the curiosity is killing me.

Oh, Goodie--you really should check out the song links, if you open it in another tab you can keep reading and listen for the atmosphere. So many of these songs were my favorites growing up, and remain so to this day. I have nearly 500 in a playlist I gathered from online, and listen to them at times as I write. I stick mostly to classic rock here, but I love/d folk, classical and even Big Band back then. I have many vinyl lps and cassettes, and it's sad that only the more popular things hit cd. A bit later I'll put in a rant about most classical things being bastardized for modern orchestra or piano when they were written for smaller groupings or harpsichord. It's a more intimate experience that the composer meant for us to hear than we get now.

As you say, the other parts will follow, but they won't rush in the deep end of the pool right away...for our heroes it's all about the feelings first, and fulfillment when it seems right.

As you'll read later in comments, my family was a mixed bag. My father cut off contact once he found out, my mom was pretty sure and never made me doubt her love until the end...and my sisters had figured it out before I was even aware they suspected, mainly due to my gay nephew telling me one Thanksgiving as we headed out to his mother's. Once my mom died in 2007, and my oldest artist sister some six years later, the family as it remained just drifted apart. When I had my eye surgeries at the start of 2016, neither of my remaining sisters helped me out, so I spent the intervening weeks in Cincinnati with one of my oldest friends to assist with my meds until I healed enough for the retina surgery to be done. Even the gay nephew, who comes to town regularly to visit friends and go to bars, can't take a few minutes to drop by...go figure. Friends can be more steadfast than blood relations, as my California computer guru testifies...he flew in once I was back home, got me set up with a new computer and the software that got me back online via high contrast settings and narration software. He even contacted Gary while I was in rehab, and that led Gary to call me every week to keep me updated on GA and just to keep my spirits up. See why I owe so much to Headstall/Gary now--he's far more than an editor to me--an eternal friend and kindred spirit.

It's so nice to relive the early days again through new eyes, and I'm gratified that you are finding my story worth the time. My speed has dropped in recent days thanks to real life surgeries that affected my vision, but I'm getting things out even so. Jay's Song was written for a lyric prompt challenge by AC Benus, and is the only one I've ever done online. As mentioned earlier in the story, 'my poetry sucks'....got lucky with that one.

I've always been a hopeless romantic, and if things were right, I was all in. It took a long time to find that guy in the most unexpected way, only to lose him some ten years later....more about Kevin later as I work him in.

Jay's family is great, and as things move on, even Linda becomes more likeable. You're moving fast...guess I better get Chapter 60 done.

Yes, there's a lot more to come, ups and downs, but the link is being forged....

And to think we're less than ten chapters in...there are more events to come, and just as in life some are bad and others good. I believe in happy endings, so let that aid you in going on.

So many real emotions from my inner self here, but even in later life, I never got to the point of this fictional route. I'm not sure what kept me going, fear of the potential pain, some drive to go on? Perhaps it was the pain it would cause friends or family? Later on, another goal of this story will be to give a better life to one who meant the world to me....

Thanks, Goodie. That was a totally fictional episode as I never had to choose between interested parties. More often than not, I found myself being left behind for someone else, and once or twice the person came back later wanting to get together again. It just never worked because they'd broken the trust, and once that's gone it's very hard to build again. More adventures ahead....

Answers will come, but think about this: has he known Jay long enough to recognize his voice on the phone?

A new level in the Tower, and a huge surprise. Somehow I don't think Patry will be able to help as this sounds like another aspect of Chris' that lies beyond Elven experience. I hope this is a positive step forward, as the only other book he had a strong experience with was the demonic one. Does this mean Chris may be able to circumvent the Realm's barriers without a portal? I hope this book doesn't get lost, stolen or damaged...can you imagine the astronomical fines for magical tomes? Last time I had to pay fines, it was two cents a day...even then, after a while it could be cheaper to go out and buy the book at the store!

This was the first such call I got...the second one was a few months later during the Summer. Once more I was home alone, but picked up in my parents' bedroom since it was closer--no answering machines so you had to make sure not to miss calls. Lets just say this one was shorter as it felt too weird talking sex in that room.... There would be more phone calls later in my twenties, but they were with people I knew. A scary moment or two coming up in a few chapters, but hang in there...it works out.

Thanks Goodie! Once past the first few chapters, I gave up the prompt idea since it looked like this might be a recurring story rather than just a few short pieces. In the process I decided to deal with some lingering personal issues related to my life then, and a decade later when I unofficially came out. Later on, other issues will be dealt with, though I try to keep my players real...you can be assured that Miles and family are people, since Miles is me as I was then. Events might be fictional in places, but I have the tendency to toss in both real events and things too. I know what's real and what's not, if you get stuck, ask me.

Some things have changed since 1976, but it's odd how people remain essentially the same in most respects. In real life, I passed up Jay's offer, so I wondered for a long time what might have been. Around six or seven years ago, I saw a post online with a similar name, and it turned out that person was related to the real life Jay, who I'd long lost touch with. Sadly, I learned he died of a heart attack five years earlier, so there was no chance to speak again. So long as there's breath, it's never too late. Without knowing the details, what could it hurt to try talking again if only to try to make amends? Welcome to the family!

My mother died in 2007 of diabetic complications at age 75, and while I never actually came out to her, she asked once when I visited her and my step-father, and she said it didn't matter to her as I would always be her 'baby'...embarrassing, but I was the youngest and only boy, and she nearly lost me as I was two months early back in 1958 with perhaps a 50-50 chance to live. Well, other than being very near-sighted, I made it. I'd say she knew, mainly because she never asked if I was dating girls, and she asked a neighbor boy to visit me while I lived out in the country and she lived at our other house in town. I'd just finished college, and she was visiting me and knew most of my friends were now living elsewhere, so she stopped at a farm up the road and talked to one of the guys my age living there she saw out in the field. I guess they talked for a long time, and he dropped in on me a week or so later...we became friends, The one odd thing about him was his openness--he told me of his girlfriend and their kids, but at the same time had no problems with my being gay, and even asked for me to give him massages when his musckles hurt from farm work all day...even stripping down to his briefs. So, I'd bet money my mom knew, and hinted in ways she could that we were okay. My father was the only one of my immediate family who had a problem with me...and I'm reworking that situation in my Jay & Miles story here at GA. It will end up better than real life. I am one of the central players set in my high school years, where a chance was taken I passed up and things improved from thee.

@BigBen I'm sorry to read that the relationship between you and your father suffered after you came out. About all I can say is that mine was also affected, but was ended rather than damaged. We had been close, though it was shown more by actions than words...until he discovered my preferences by accident. I stayed with my father after my parents divorced as I lived at home while commuting to college, and it just remained convenient after that until we decided to sell our house in the country and move to separate places in town. Just before that day, he found a letter in response to a personals ad I'd placed in the Columbus paper, and while he didn't blow up, once we moved I'd talked with him once or twice on the phone, then he would have his girlfriend answer with the excuse he was busy or wasn't home. I informed him of my new phone number and address, but never heard from him again. That was in 1987, and I learned from one of my sisters that he'd moved to Florida to retire, and died in 2001 after a stroke two years earlier put him in a nursing facility. I'd like to say we could have reconciled, but he had kept contact with my sister, and even if he'd lost my number, she could have given it to him at any point...but he didn't ask for it, and I have to wonder if he told her not to let me know about him. I wonder this because I only heard of his death after the fact when things were all settled. So, keep the lines open...and perhaps your story will end up happier than mine.

And things were looking up for Chase until the garage scene... Chase is reconnecting with his family again, and it was great to find out his father's trip wasn't an escape, but rather a fulfillment of Christine's last wish. She was very astute in telling her husband to go relive the best moments of their life together rather than dwell on the loss itself. Chase too has begun that journey by bringing out his mothers paintings again, and having his family connections back will be essential to his rebuilding of his psyche. People being what they are, it's no surprise that some of Chase and Hank's friends have decided to take sides...it would have been better to remain on the periphery until the pain settled, but by taking sides now, they're only getting one side of the story; Stacey and Don have done the right thing by distancing themselves a bit while remaining open to both men. As for that final scene, Kevin, and particularly Hank's reactions were over the top. Perhaps they were sharing their break up stories, but it sure looks like commiseration led to something more. Classic guilt coming through loud and clear from Hank...who also realizes he's been caught in a lie to the one person he'd promised to be open with. So far, he's batting '0 for 3'. He's well on his way to destroying any feelings Chase might still have had for him. A mixed bag here, my dear Gary, but if the clouds haven't yet parted, at least the fog is lifting....

I think Phillip might still be able to begin talking, but at least he has something valuable to do with his time now. Of course, there is the problem that he ought to be able to speak the language if he can read it, and we know that won't work yet, so he's stuck. I think maybe a crushed twig or reed tip could be used as a brush for the teeth as they often served as pens, but some form of powder would be a problem as most would damage the enamel and promote faster decay. Perhaps vinegar as a rinse? As for Manu seeing his servant as a stand-in for Naha...well, I'm not so sure that would have been as frowned upon as we'd expect. Children were important for inheritance, but the Egyptians also practiced various methods of birth control, so some play with another male might be okay, especially as he's a servant. I know far more about the Greco-Romans, but was under the impression that the Egyptians were relatively open sexually?

Ah, Politics...the bane or the blessing of our Republic depending on how it's handled. For most of our history, it was a topic where we could talk about issues citing facts, opinions and even humor without descending into personal attacks or silencing the opposition by calling them practitioners of some cultural evil. This is no longer the case in our highly technological 21st century where the 'facts' are no longer statistically based, but assumed so because one shouts and repeats them often enough that listeners believe it rather than check for themselves. Someone said words to the effect that 'we support truth over facts'...my question is, and it ought to be everyone's is: When did truth and facts become separate ideas? Young people now assume the way we do things today: playing the blame game, silencing other views by shaming or even threats of physical attack, or banning them from appearing at public venues is the approved method for things to be done. They are wrong. This all began when some few decided they knew better ways to reach young minds in the classroom; dates and events became 'boring', so lets concentrate on the process of learning itself--, but they forgot that in order to think things through, you need a framework, and the context of the ideas to apply them in real life. Without a plan to guide the student, you achieve nothing but chaos. The Founders knew this when they said a democratic republic can succeed only with an educated citizenry to make the decisions So, what happened? We dropped teaching government or civics in our schools, and began simplifying even fundamental courses to the point of uselessness. History--more needless dates that don't matter in our daily lives....who cares what happened hundreds of years ago? It won't help me earn a living--until someone who has learned that history uses it to bend your vote to his own ends. Those who don't learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. To achieve a better society we are told each man is different and no one should trample on his rights, unless he doesn't agree with your own views. This is the politics of divisiveness and will destroy our country like no foreign invasion ever could, because it pits us one against another until no one is left standing. The remedy is not to point out our differences, but our commonalities: we are all human beings, equal and valuable and filling a role that we should respect. End of story. All else is a label someone wishes us to wear so they can exploit us for a cause of their own, to further their own power over the majority of our fellow citizens. Reject these labels if you truly want to be free. In my time, I learned from history and government classes that were aimed at presenting the facts without slant to either the Left or Right, and it's made me a more thoughtful voter and informed listener. My first election was 1976 when I voted for Jimmy Carter because he was highly educated and yet saw a path we could all feel part of that went against Washington's established practices. Since then, I've voted my conscience many times paying no attention to whether the candidate was a member of either major party. That could have been Independent or Libertarian, or indeed a Democrat or Republican. What mattered was if their position made sense, and I could see my life being better for it. What mattered too was whether the candidate came across as honestly concerned about the people he was trying to court, or just saying what would get him elected. So, I urge all of us, wherever we live, to look at the issues, think about them in a reasonable and clear manner, and then make up your own mind without regard to social pressure from family, 'experts' or even the parties themselves. Look at the facts, read up on the issues and the candidates views both past and present...and let your own informed judgment guide you and not emotional bias. I will make only one personal statement here: I am gay, not rich by any means, and am a fairly logical and unbiased thinker...as such, I don't feel that either party as they now stand, represents my spectrum of ideas. What will I decide? Perhaps fall back on the ancient Hippocratic Oath of 'Do No Harm'....