Jason Rimbaud

Perfect place to add some conflict,

Firstly, I really do not like having to put a disclaimer on a piece of literature. I'd prefer to discover things as the author intended. Normally I am pretty tongue-n-cheek when it comes to commenting on a story, I'm rarely serious. So I won't do that now. I am going to reach out to you because I do have a serious question in regards to something, as long as I'm off punishment. Completely off topic, kind of, I always found the contempt of incest to be puzzling. I believe, as to my current understanding, that I'm not as worried about who is having sex as much as I worry about getting consent. I would never classify any act committed by a parent, uncle, relative, to an underage person as incest. I would call that molestation. Due to the power dynamic, you never know if that child is truly consenting or has been groomed in some way. But if a brother and sister want to get it on, as long as they both consent, it's none of my business nor do I frown on it. Reasonable Consent is the key for me.

Hhahaahahaha All that planning and over analyzing and Alex just said, hold my beer. Nice left turn Justin4Fun!

I was there, hooked up with a real cute guy from Seattle. Great times!!

👍 So I was put on time-out by Justin4Fun or as I like to call him Justin4DJB. And I decided that 18 hours is long enough to be punished for only showing him that he was the author of his own discomfort. And since he did put me in punishment for such an unfair crime, I'm going to bash him in the nuts. And before you accuse me of certain things, I'm sure his nuts are perfectly nice, polite, and probably even give to charity. Well, I'm none of those things so I'm gonna get to bashing. Originally, my plan was to never comment on Book Three, I was going to read Book Four and then comment. But once I got to Chapter Three of Book Four, the following came out and since it mostly deals with Book Three, I am breaking my word that I gave each of you privately and without your knowledge, and I'm going to leave a review for Book Three. Hopefully while bashing Justin4Fun in the nuts. This might get a bit long, but I think he has big nuts and can take the beating. Double entendre intentionally used. As I finished reading Book Three last night, I saw a disturbing pattern slowly start to emerge. A pattern I think gives me unfettered access to the mind of Justin4Fun. I think I can say more than a few things and have them be more than guesses. Or in some cases, outright lies. We know the author can write compelling characters. We know his take on vampire lore and the genre itself is really remarkable and fun. He breathes so much new life into all the tired tropes by throwing them out the window and giving us things we don't even want. Think about the power of this statement, he has woven such an outstanding narrative about vampires with almost no vampirery things happening. Not only are we reading a vampire story with no vampires, he has made each of us crave more of the story. How is that even possible? I've already proven he hates infants. The first infant we encounter immediately gets murdered by the one person that's suppose to protect him. We know he hates machines. How? Five of the six people who have been allowed to die in this vampireless story has been killed by machines. I can honestly say and have evidence to back this up, a tractor ran over his foot when he was five leaving him with trauma that he has incorporated into this tale. We know he absolutely hates sex, and goes out of the way to make his characters decide to wait, or focus on other things instead of doing the dirty deed. And when he actually breaks down and gives us a bit of spicy narrative, he uses words like "seed", "release", "give him what I got". It's excitement instead of boner, erection, love hammer, or cock. I'm ashamed I had at first considering giving into my excitement and...well, you get the idea. We know that Justin4Fun (Justin4DJB) is obsessed with having his characters always be the smartest people in the room. We know this because every other paragraph Greg is having sofa's, chairs, or giraffes shifted around into semi-circles so they could have a management meeting or the occasional HR meeting. Yet these repetitious meetings is where he dribbles out bits of knowledge and interesting facts about his world from the head of his excitement. (See, I can do it too) We learn most about the plot and character in these mandatory meetings of drinking Bambi blood. The interaction of these characters is where this story really shines and gets the reader invested in this story. It's also where if you're not careful, he'll kick you right in the feels and your eyes will involuntarily leak your essence. (That might not have landed but I'll allow it). We also learn of overcomplicated solutions to rather easy problems there as well. The two that I enjoyed the most at the over-complication approach instead of reaching the easiest solution. The first is dealing with Brian's father, Jason. (Don't think I didn't notice that the only bad person in the entire story happened to be named Jason. Deny it all you want, but I'm positive it was directed at me) They discussed killing the man, they had over a two hour meeting where they enthralled Brian so he could discuss the situation logically instead of emotionally. And they decided to stage an intervention. After Josh's power emerged, Greg enthralls the man to forget that Josh attacked him. Why not just enthrall Jason (aka me) and instruct him not to be a bastard anymore? Problem solved in five seconds. The other one, that had me banging my head against the wall, was how far they went to find an excuse for Greg no longer wrestling. There was talk about breaking his arm, then later his wrist, then his leg was going to be broken, then they planned out this long drawn out rumor plot about the mob murdering his father and now wants to kill Greg even though all the evidence burned up in the accident. How about this, "Hey Coach, next year I'm attending Harvard, I need to focus on my studies so I won't be able to wrestle this year. Thanks, you're a peach, have some essence." And when they are not engaged in naked play, naked sleeping where no one even accidentally slips inside anyone else in their sleep, he gives us five or six pages in great detail the steps one would go to feed a vampire baby. Cut the baby feeding routine and give us some sex please. But no, instead of sex, he goes into one of the most touching scenes of the story thus far where Greg reads Charlie's thoughts. When he realizes that baby Charlie recognizes his father's and the role they will play in its life is another time when my eyes leaked my essence. How dare you make me care about a kid? As powerful and touching as that scene is, the one that solidified my love for this tale, was when he turned Josh and Chris. And yes, the author hit us over the head a few chapters earlier and we all knew that was going to happen. That's not foreshadowing by the way, that's shining a spotlight on.an event. And we all have come to realize that Justin4Fun is never going to allow on of his beloved characters to actually die, that scene was so brilliantly written it had even me believing the stakes were real. Knowing Greg is the only one that could turn someone successfully, him almost having to make the choice, Josh or Chris, was some really good prose on the page. Maybe Justin4Fun is so good he was justified in putting me on a time out. That doesn't mean the story is perfect, and there are lots of things I could complain about. Sometimes the narrative gets bogged down in mundane events, but while the circumstances may be mundane, the characters never are. It is very much a day in the life story. I think up to this point, there is not a single time jump in the story. The very real way that he teases a "cliffhanger" that turns out not to be a cliff hanger at all. But it made all of you wanting more didn't it. It is so well written you overlook these small things in your quest to go to the next chapter. And since this review is almost as long as the detailing feeding the baby scene, I'm going to end it by saying this. I don't think Justin4Fun (Justin4DJB) is actually a vampire. But if he is, I'm going to go on record and say he is a virgin vampire. But he's also a really fun author to read and I'm on the journey until the end. Thanks for two really good books!!

Heard!

If I remember correctly, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, I said I was finished with this story two books ago. You, kind of challenged me to continue. So this is all your fault. And all jokes aside, I am really enjoying your story. It's really fantastic fun, easy to read chapters, wonderful moments of feels, and you have redefined the vampire genre for me for life. So thanks for leaving the gate unlocked.

So you suckered me in for another book, congratulations! Anything dealing with the kid, boring...maybe when he's six I'll care. I hope he turns out straight. I'm glad you are still on track for re-inventing vampire lore. I'm sure you've put in a lot of thought concerning this, but it feels so effortlessly as you go into sometimes amazing details but treat them like they are little asides. The world building is really remarkable.. I really liked most of this chapter, as you go deeper into the past of vampires. Did I mention the kid is boring? I am in the middle of research regarding the origins of the christian god, and have found there were other religions far older than the ancient Hebrews and they appropriated extensively from pagans practices and near Eastern cosmology. So your little aside about vampires existing before the religion of the ancient Hebrews I found rather entertaining. Just because someone else did it, I'd figure I throw my hat into annoy the author ring. Vampires would not have served Greek gods, they would have been heavily influenced from the Romanian gods, perhaps the early Germanic gods and/or the Norse gods. But you couldn't count out the Mongols or their influences either. But for sure it wouldn't have been Greek gods. Especially since you pinpointed the timeline before or during Mesopotamia. Ancient Hebrew religion began sometime at the end of Mesopotamia or the early years of the Persian Empire. Greek influence was the Mediterranean and the Middle East with a few toes dipped into Egypt and Africa during this time period. The North was largely unexplored by Greeks during this time. 😜 I'd give a lot to peak around that damn Library of George's. I'd never leave, I'd even babysit the kid!

So if I could swear on GA, I would type out a word that starts with "F" and ends with "K" followed by a "you"! The following is a paid advertisement for Jason's against Kids...Human or Vampire. It's a non-profit organization that currently has one member but is actively seeking more members. Okay Justin4Fun, or what should be your name Justin(NOT)4Fun. I've put up with reading about two teenagers set up a business, not once, but twice. I've put up with a vampire story without vampires, for an entire book. I've put up with you deciding the current genre of vampire lore wasn't good enough so you created you're own kick ass lore just because you can. I've put up with the fact that two gay teenagers decide to wait to have sex. Like That's plausible. And if all that wasn't enough, you decided to have Greg tell everyone he's a vampire, which we all agree is stupid. He basically went on the internet and made a coming out video. I've put up with a bloodless vampire story. Who ever heard of vampires who are averse to killing those pesky humans. Instead of murder/death, your vampires drink Bambi blood and get emotionally aroused while drinking it. All of these things I put up with for you Justin(NOT)4Fun. Hell, I'm going to give you another name Justin4DestroyingJason'sBrain or Justin4DJB. I don't like kids, I don't like reading about kids. And have toyed with the idea of wanting to put a child through some real discomfort in my own stories for years. But I never had the balls to type out a sentence that said, not only am I going to kill a child, but I'm going to kill a newborn infant. The main characters haven't even been inside one another and now they are going to have a kid? No sex and the responsibility of a crying, stinking, pooping machine. And you want me to read about that? I don't have time to read a story about that right now, I'm planning my one year anniversary in two weeks of my restaurant. So if you think you are going to sucker me into reading another one of your books then you might really be crazy. Now leave me alone, I'm off to chapter two.

With the national poetry anthology, did you happen to ever attend an event at Disney Land in 94?

Number One: I'm an attention whore, good luck keeping up. Number Two: I'm the one that is supposed to make dirty comments Number Three: Self Edited, I've never spoken to @RainbowPhoenixWI and not sure if they understand my stupid sense of humor. 🤪 In all seriousness, and all bad jokes labeled number three aside, because I'm too lazy to look, do you have something of yours you'd like to recommend me to read? I'm always looking for new things to occupy my tiny brain on the train ride commute. Number Four: I always speak with my tongue firmly pressed into my cheek. It's all about the bad jokes, puns, and general mischief.

Speaking of which, how do you feel if someone would take the lore you have presented here and make their own unique story? Asking for a friend

So ends Book Two, leaps and bounds more entertaining then the first book. Some really cool vampire lore, three different vampire forms, cool mythology about the inner workings of the vampires. I enjoyed this book 99%. Good job turning the narrative around. Having the balls to let the father die, I applaud you, not many would have handled that situation in that manner. I was so hoping he wouldn't be turned and I was not disappointed. And add in that he died, well, kudos to some real good writing the last half of the chapter. Not gonna lie, Greg reading the note from his father got me in the feels. That's hard to do for a cynic like myself. I read a lot of stories on this site, I rarely comment on those stories because I really don't care where the story goes. If its okay writing with a decent plot, I'll play along as I love to read. Every once in a while a story captures my attention and I feel the need to comment. Usually when I'm really invested in the narrative and the author makes me care about the characters. And you did that. Not with book one, but you did something unique in book two. You captured my attention and made me want to criticize the decisions you put those beloved characters through, in terms of creative not in writing. I think you get what I'm saying. Are there some things I don't like, of course, are there more than a few things I loved, definitely. So at the end of the day, you did exactly what any writer hopes for, made someone else fall in like with your characters. I enjoyed book two, I'm sure I'll get around to reading book three sooner or later. Thank you for giving me such a rich world where I am inspired to take your lore and construct my own little vampire tale.

At first I thought the whole banana comment was some kind of straight euphamism I didn't get, it was a moment before I realized what was happening. That made me laugh. I got part of the answer to an early question, so maybe I'll stop bringing up those little things.

So I'm not sad Charlie is still alive with a decent prognoses that he will recover. If that is the case, you had me fooled, I will read on to see if I'm right in my guess.

OH perfect, I thought I had lost my mind and just forgot. Then I'll read on and find out the rules when you introduce it. By the way, most of your info dumps are well written and make sense in the context of the narrative, I just didn't remember reading about changing and I was being lazy not wanting to go back and search it out. So no complaints. I'm not scared to go on that journey at all, book two is highly entertaining.

Am I the only one hoping that Greg's father dies? Imagine, Greg asks permission to turn his father, he is denied, the father dies. Greg goes about changing things for the better. Or Greg tries to turn his father, his father dies, Greg realizes that he's not perfect. Or better even, Greg asks his father and the father declines to be turned, than dies. I promise I'm not a sadist, but before I smell roses (happy ending) I don't mind smelling some shit (conflict). It's been over a year since I read most of the first book, has it been introduced the rules of changing humans and how one goes about gettting permission to make new vampires?

This chapter and the last focus mostly on character building, or reiterating character. However, there is a big blazing bright spot, Tommy doing what protectors have done throughout history, ensuring their charge is protected fully. Logical solution to Greg's problem, kind of mad i didn't see it coming. I do think there was a bit of an opportunity wasted to inject conflict into the narrative. One of Greg's friends could have expressed fear, or disbelief, or realize that just being associated with Greg brings them into danger from others looking to harm vampires. But I'm not the author, and since I can't see the ending, I'll just STFU. Great scene starring that crazy Brit Tommy. Good job.

You have a point about drinking blood. And it is strange that it doesn't make me squirm thinking of drinking human blood but from animals...maybe I need some professional help. I never watched Twilight, I like vampires, good vampire stories, couldn't get past the first twenty minutes of Twilight, wasn't for me. And you're no comment comment, makes a big comment.

In every single vampire story I read, that is always the dilemma right. Should you tell your friends or not? I have always scoffed at this idea, I wouldn't tell anyone. Humans are incapable of keeping secrets. I know if my friend told me he was a vampire, I'd do one of two things, tell the entire world or pester him into turning me. Though not sure I'd wanna be this kind of vampire, drinking deer blood seems gross to me. Deer do nothing bad in the world, while humans, those pesky humans do so much damage. I just had a thought, if vampires need blood to survive, and deer blood does not have the same ingredients as human blood. (I don't know the correct terms, but I'm sure I couldn't survive if I pumped deer blood into my veins, what is the in-universe reasoning in deer blood being a substitute for human blood?) Greg, don't tell your friends, unless you have plans on turning them all.

Mine was a bad mortal combat reference, yours is better.

Over a year ago, I gave up reading this story in book one chapter eight or nine. My only issue was eight or nine chapters in and still without vampires, and I didn't feel like reading the exploits of two teenagers setting up a business. I made a comment and the author was kind enough to urge me to continue on and go until I read chapter one of Re-Forging. So I took the author up on the challenge. Though full disclosure, I did not read the chapters I missed in book one, I skipped right to the end of chapter twelve, read the re-birth paragraph, then jumped into Re-Forging. I just finished chapter six, and like I thought before, the characters are living, breathing, likable characters, all of them. We are over seventeen chapters into this story and I don't think there is a antagonist yet. But we have vampires, albeit watered down vampires that don't kill humans. But the author has crafted a pretty cool lore surrounding his vampires. The entire dialogue regarding Greg's inner beast reminds me of Venom in the Marvel comics, two distinct entities learning how to co-exist in one body. I am enjoying this new lore very much even if its familiar to me for reasons I get put a finger too. The author can write well, I have no issues with writing, characters, or lore. However, I wish I knew what the plot of the overall story is. You would think some eighteen chapters in we'd have an idea where the story is heading plot wise. Because if it's just chronicling Greg's change into a vampire, then just perfect Greg being perfect with perfect Scott, I might have to bow out again. But then why would the author take the time to continue to flesh out the vampire hierarchy if that is not going to come into play in the future? As of right now, I am fully invested into seeing where this goes, as book two is loads more interesting than book one. And if what I read in the comments is true, the author only gets better over time, then I'd be really interested to see what comes out of the authors head in later chapters/books, because book two, is pretty fun read. So I accepted your challenge and admit you defeated me.

I am in agreement with you, epilogue's rarely work for me, they tend to undo all that has gone before. Not always, but more than not, epilogue's can easily ruin the ending, especially when it's not to tease a sequel but instead when it's used to put that irresistible bow on the narrative. On a different note, can I open your brain and get more tidbits from you, asking for a friend of course.

In reading all the comments, the question I asked was flawed. Though I do have the answer I needed and @CassieQ said it best, happy or sad it must be satisfying. And completely off topic, why is everyone opposed to writing things out, I had to look up HEA, and in another thread, I had to look up DNF, which means do not fart, off topic I found out HEA means Hello every Asshole. Though how that pertains to anyone's ending is beyond me. Good thoughtful responses from everyone, thank you.

Okay, so now I'm really confused. DNF means do not fart, so you DNF'd while reading a It Ends With Us, a book you thought smelled like farts? Isn't that counter-intuitive? Sorry, asking for a friend? And thank you for making it dirty, I am a very happy man now.