C James

I found Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 to be both very moving, but in different ways. In Chapter 5, we got to see Sean, Davey's best friend, in effect die, and also see Davey's grief. In Chapter 6, we see a new character in very tragic circumstances. Personally, I found Chapter 5 to be even harder-hitting, emotionally, because Sean is someone we "knew", not a new character. Also, he really did die, at least to my way of seeing things. So, I was just curious as to what everyone else felt on this, hence the question, and the poll.

A very moving chapter! I liked it, in it's entirety. A few HUGE shoes have dropped: Several people have noticed the difference in Sean. I'm also betting that Brandon will be devastated when he finds out (that "his" Sean is gone), and maybe angry at Davey. Will he and Sean even be believed (about time-travel)? Jeremy: That's a tear-jerker. That's going to be a truly heart-wrenching tear jerker in future chapters, too. What did you do, Dan? Buy stock in kleenex, and decide to increase their sales? I was really moved by this chapter, and was also delighted to see my predictions be wrong: Brian isn't mad at Davey for the Disneyland thing, and no main character died. Back to Jeremy... What a heart-wrenching situation. I'm also wondering how Jeremy will react to finding out Davey is gay. Does he "blame" gays for his disease, because it's a "gay" disease?

ACK! But... But... I thought it was rumored that Dom didn't read these threads until after he'd finished a story? Besides, cooking and eating my avatar would not be a healthy meal! Pixels cause indigestion... Now, that WOULD be great!!! What an absolutely perfect wedding present for Trust, Sr....

Don't you DARE cook my avatar!!!

That line really got to me too, but the one that hit me the most was Davey referring to the overwritten Sean as "my Freckles." once he was "gone". It's clear that Davey already misses him painfully. The whole Disneyland trip and especially the conversation with Davey in the room really showed what a great guy Sean had become, and made his "loss" all the more poigniant. I don't like to admit it, but I had a few tears by the end of the chapter, and reading usually does not do that to me! Even though it's so very sad (but also very funny in places), this chapter is my favorite of the entire DO series. I never thought anything could replace as my favorite the chapter in DO (14, I think) where Trevor finds out his parents have known all along about the Barn, but this chapter does. BTW, Emoe, Thanks so much for all the work you do editing. This reader sure appreciates it!

ROFL! Careful, or someone willl combine the two, and we will end up with posts about Goat Soup!

This chapter was really good, and really different. It's a tear jerker, for sure, but it also had some of the downright funniest parts of the entire DO series, IMHO. What an emotional roller coaster! It's a darn tough call, but I think this chapter is my favorite of the whole DO series! Spoilers below! If you haven't read Ch. 5, DON'T READ FURTHER!

Hmmmm? I'd have thought that finding out that the person she is attracted to was gay would be the easiest form of rejection to take? Much easier than being passed over for another girl? Still, even if so, she probably still will be ticked at first. However, I think you are right in that Haily still has it bad for Nelson.. Calling him a "Hot Pirate"? She also leaped at the chance to go with him to the party. Hmmm, What if Nelson comes out to Hailey, and somehow she figures out who his BF is? That would be a sure recipe for a very displeased Milo... OK, my predictions for pairings at the end.... Milo and Nelson Joe and Kelly Caleb and (drumroll...) Haily! (If Caleb can ever settle for one girl) Thompson Trust Sr. and Juanita Jame and The Goat. (I hope the Goat proves to have higher standards than this!)

When I saw the above, I thought for a second you meant something entirely different as to what might be wrong with his hand...

Really great chapter! I found the way Nelson was acting to be mainly charming. I really liked him bugging Milo to take off his shirt! After all, hot guys really shouldn't wear shirts! I'm betting that the thing with Jame (assface) will blow up soon enough, perhaps involving Caleb. I think I can guess how Caleb would react if he saw Jame trying to push Nelson around the way he was at Milo's locker. The whole wedding-at-Nelson's idea sure took me by surprise, though it also raises some interesting possibilities! I sure liked Nelson's suggesting of turning the goat lose at the wedding. Hmmmm... Here is my prediction as to how the story will end: Emily makes clear her intent to ship Milo off to military school, and fire Juanita. Then, at the Wedding, the Goat makes an appearance, wrecks the wedding, and Emily ends up leaving. Mr. Trust ends up marrying Juanita, and all is basically well. (plus the Goat gets a nice meal of wedding cake and wedding dress.). One thing is bugging me though: Nelson says (paraphrasing here) at one point that he didn't realize THEN that Milo didn't have the family support that he (Nelson) did. Did anyone besides me get the uneasy feeling that we were reading Nelson's future account of what went wrong?

I really liked Chapter 4. IMHO it really illustrated the changes in Davey's father, and how things can change. However, Davey IMHO got off very easy after making two big blunders: being seen by his Father kissing Brian, and then reading Russian in front of his father. So, I'm thinking that his luck is about to run out in some way, and the ominous hints about Chapter 6 seem to indicate that something is about to hit the fan. Dan mentions in his blog that Ch. 5 is on it's way very soon, which combined with the details he posted about the April fool's joke makes one thing very obvious: Dan is one heck of a fast writer. He said (If I read it correctly) that he did the April Fool's part of chapter 3 that day, AFTER Treb's post. Given that it had to be written, then e-mailed to Myr for posting, and then get posted, showing up just a few hours after Treb's post, that's incredibly fast. Looking at the posting rate for recent chapters, that's a heck of a lot of writing in a very short time.

Speaking of Prophetic, I bought up another (there do seem to be a lot!) example over in Dan's "Mists of Fat" forum, regarding something in "The Wreckers", Dan's published book. Short version: In the book, Dan portrays a real-world election as having already occurred, along with the outcome that actually occurred. Not too unusual, except for the fact that he wrote that (and it was in the online version) long before said election actually occurred!

Tears in your eyes? From Chapter 11? Uhoh... This does NOT bode well!!! Poor Davey, what have you done to him now? Will this be another case of hearing screams from Florida (when Emoe gets it for editing)?

Uhoh... It looks to me like things are about to get all too interesting for Davey! This does indeed sound ominous... I'll add in my own bit of wild speculation: Sean's future self is due to arrive soon, so I'm betting that is part of it.

Maybe the Goat ate it?

I sure fell for the memory loss too. I jokingly predicted that either Davey would regain his memories, or he wouldn't. But, he still had them, so I was wrong in spite of playing both sides! My interpretation on the Coma (and I might have it wrong) is that opinion on the Coma is that Davey was sent back to a "self" too young to hold the memories, which caused his headaches, and then his coma. When he came out of the coma, he was without his future memories for quite some time (for real, I think).

For everyone who is still worried about Dan leaving, you might want to go read his Chapter 4 blog entry DKstories blog? for some great news! He also goes into detail about Chapter 4.

Welcome, Ratatosk!! Congratulations on your first post, and having it start a new chapter discussion! What a chapter, too... This sure changes things a great deal! I'll put the rest of this in spoiler (just highlight to make the text show)

I was only kidding (and should have been more clear about that, sorry). I have no idea when it will be posted.

EXCELLENT idea! I went and purchased mine as soon as I saw this. I've been meaning to buy the physical book, but this will tide me over until I can do so. Guys, we are talking all of $3.24 here, for a 261 page book!!! Thank you, Ibsu, for the Excellent idea!!!

Before anyone gets too sad, go read the latest post by Dan in the main forum. It's a follow up to his original open letter. open letter 2 Hope springs eternal!

I hope all goes well with your move, and in your new life in VA.

Don't worry. It should be up in a few weeks, at most. (sorry, couldn't resist! )

The April fool's one was both a great prank, and exceedingly hot! It's something I thought I'd never see in the DO series, as it's so out of character for the, er, characters, but that was one mind-blowing chapter! Thanks for leaving both up.

Everyone might want to go read the pinned announcement in Dan's main forum. open letter It's locked, and was posted today so IMHO it's most highly unlikely to be any sort of joke. I am extremely saddened by this. This forum has been a very special place for me, even more so than the stories. So, as I may not get another chance, I'll share my reasons for being here, and why it's so special to me. I stumbled upon Do Over well over a year ago, and looked very interesting due to the political/military parts, things I'd never seen in gay fiction before. I didn't have time for reading, so I bookmarked it. In the late spring of last year I suddenly had nothing but time, as I was in hospital. I wasn't expected to live, so it wasn't exactly a happy time for me. So, as a distraction, I began reading DO and other things I'd bookmarked in the past. My eyesight wasn't good at the time, so it took me a while, plus some special font settings on my laptop, but those stories, plus reading the forums, helped get me through some very dark days. I had a lot of rehabilitation to do once things improved medically, so I was offline again for the fall, and Dan was on a writing pause anyway. I joined GA as a member very early this year. I was, I'd thought, out of danger medically, having made what was thought to be a full recovery. Turned out I was wrong. Due to my injuries and complications, I had something go very wrong with my eyes (retinal macular traumas). For a few weeks, before my laser surgery, it looked like I was going blind, so I had another series of dark times. These forums were a great escape from that. I had the surgery and now it looks like I'll be fine, so I'm no longer in danger. But, Dan's stories and these forums were there for me when I really needed them, which is a big part of why I'm such a rabid fan. So, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all the regulars here, plus of course special thanks to dkstories, for helping me get through some really rough times, starting long before I'd ever posted here. For me, it's sure not just about the stories. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm sure going to miss dkstories and this forum even more than the future stories.