raven1

Stick with math, your geography?

You wish. I personally extended my curfew by taking a 3 hour nap earlier today.

Gary orders online! The stud is obviously from Texas. I do have to apologize about Acme. They are a PA company.

Howdy Gary! I just finished Endings! What a great story!!!

Hey Drewbear! Good morning and stuff the curfew comments. It's the weekend!

Hi All! Hope your morning has been great!

Who says any of that is imported. The stud definitely was not an import. I am very sure Acme products are all Texas manufactured. After all they all have the same quality as expected from Texas.

Endings is one of the most beautiful and complex stories I have ever read. It was a challenging read for me, but also a very rewarding one. Hank and Chase have a very loving relationship that ends abruptly sending both men into some very dark spaces. Both men have a difficult struggle ahead. @Headstall has written a complex tale of difficult situations and powerful emotions that is very compelling. Gary has also written the entire story from just one POV. This form is very difficult, but with his talent, it is done magnificently. He has written perfectly balanced characters which is extremely difficult to do from one POV. While knowing what one character thinks, readers need to find the facts and clues to understand the motivations and feelings of the other characters. The clues and facts are all there. The fun thing is that you will have to find them and get to interpret them. (I was slow on the uptake the first time I read this story.) I loved this story and will read it again. I sincerely hope you will read this beautiful story of love, family, friends and new beginnings.

I feel so good about reading Endings this second time. I do not feel the ending to the story was rushed or should have been longer. It made perfect sense to me this time. The timing was what it should be, and I did not feel I needed to know more about Hank's healing. You at one point in the story advised that I just sit back and enjoy the story. Because that was what I tried to do the first time with very bad results, I didn't follow your advice. For me your ability to hook the readers' emotions backfired. The story was too realistic for me to handle the first read because of my personal experiences. Although you did a magnificent job of writing the story from one point of view consistently, my first read felt the story was told in a way that was heavily weighted in Chase's favor while reading and understanding Hank was like puzzling together a character in a dark Russian novel. Hank lost in every chapter even though I bonded more closely to Hank because of my personal experiences. Reader comments only compounded the problem for me. Again, I want to emphasize how much I love this story after the second reading. By leaving my personal baggage behind, I could observe and interpret Hanks words and actions much differently the second time. This time I saw the clues to what Hank was feeling and thinking and not blinded by the reactions of other readers. I also want to thank you for sticking with me, Gary. I know I have told you before how your talent in developing character and bonding readers to them was awesome. I hope you know and understand more clearly how sincere I have been in making those comments. I have a slightly different point of view for one aspect of the story. To me, Hank and Chase's first relationship had to and did end. The first relationship was like a beautiful Craftsman home riddle with dry rot. Pieces could be salvaged, but the structure and foundation could not be saved. (Silly Simile. 😊) To me this chapter was not a happy ending, but a beautiful beginning of their new relationship as strong, trusting, independent and loving men who will stay together no matter what challenges they face in the future. This will be a relationship strong enough to build a strong and loving family. I did like the suggestion of a longer story for Dawson and Brent. The short story was great, but I would like to know more about their childhood together, and their future in the Yukon. The funny thing to me is that I thought I remember even more of Dawson and Brent's story that added to their future success. I must have had a realistic dream after reading the one chapter that stuck in my mine. 😜 BTW, the Happy Ending sign was a nice touch and tribute to Christine, but that building has too much dry rot and creepy clients. It should be torn down.

It's very obvious that Hank and Chase still love and support each other. Going to the bar to dance of some stress from the evening sounded like a good idea, but I was not surprised when the creep reappeared. This time Chase did what he should have the first time. I hope Hank got to see the reaction this time, and invites Chase back to his place to talk again.

Which reminds me. Thanks for finding the crux of the problem on GA and fixing it last month, Myr! Bravo!

What a skillfully written chapter. It was a very complex situation with difficult emotions at play. The dialogue was brilliant, especially between Chase and Hank when the went for their walk and talk. That conversation was amazing to read as the two worked on not only Hank's reactions to his mom, but their reactions to each other as they dealt with their own confrontation prior to mom's arrival. Of course mom's telling of the story started roughly, and I can understand the reasons Hank felt she was trashing his father. At the end I felt her sadness for what she had done to Hank by trying to protect him. I also felt her sadness for Hank's father and what he had sacrificed for Hank (based on her assumption that Hank's father was gay). It is very clear how tremendously deep Hank's abandonment issues and where they originated. The hope in this chapter is that Hank will have the information he and his doctor need to help Hank heal, and be able to dump the baggage that was the root cause of ending their relationship. It is a very hopeful chapter and splendidly written!

This is a good news, bad news kind of chapter. I was impressed by Hank's reaching out to Chase for support. It shows that Hank is once again trying to reconnect and has trust in Chase. The bad news is Hank was unfair for several weeks after he learned the truth about Chase being in the coffee shop and still made false accusations. Also bad news is that Chase is still subject to reactive responses to information that upsets him.

This was an important moment in this chapter. Hank is now listening and not reacting emotionally. He is honest about having his own issues to deal with before he can find his own happiness. The apology and explanation that he didn't know why he thought Chase was lying, means there is a real chance for both men to establish trust in each other. This was a very important step for both men. To the reader, it's obvious why Chase asked the question. He does want Hank's trust. That was why he made sure heard the complete reason why Dawson left for the Yukon. Drinks with the girls also shows a change for Hank. Hank has once more tried to help Chase get the support of friend. This time he is courageous enough to tell their friends that he (Hank) was wrong, and encourage them all to reconnect with Chase. At the same time, Hank is also reconnecting again with friends. I think Hank will benefit more than Chase, because Hank will now have the support he didn't before in order to continue his own healing. The overall impression to me of Chase's comments is that he is still harbouring some self-defeating attitudes. I think he needs to understand that ending a flawed relationship does not prohibit a new and stronger relationship with Hank.

I remember enjoying this short story within the novel very much. I love it just as much now. Now I'm onward to finding out what happens next for Brent and Dawson. I may be wrong, but I thought there was at least one chapter more to this tale.

Obvious reaction for losing tax revenue. 🤔

There's a phrase for that. Lightweight! Had to laugh since one of the friends last night had two bottles of beer, and almost went to sleep. Not pass out, he wasn't even tipsy.

I went back and reread the discussion carefully again. I realized I missed key words spoken by Dawson. Dawson didn't start to repeat the unproved accusation as a fact. It was Chase who forced the issue in the following passage, so Dawson adjusted what he said to meet Chase's expectations. Whether true or not, what Hank did was his own business and spreading unproven rumors is evil in my opinion. Dawson is back in my good graces. 😊

I have to apologize for making you think I had stopped reading the story the first time. I did read it, but didn't comment or review it, because of how closely I had identified with Hank. If I had continued to comment I feared I would say something I would regret. I learned very young in life to get silent before I stick my foot in my mouth. I knew I needed to read the whole story, and wait a while for the emotions to subside. This has served me well, so I can now read this with a different mindset and strategy.

Great story and the chapter was well written. I enjoyed the plan in action. I do wish the choice of the villain(s) had been different. The Outcasts sound more pathetic than evil. Connor was only one step above them. Who I really, really wanted to be taken down and destroyed was Drew! 😄

I am happy that Chase is accepting some things like Dawson leaving. I understand the prickly raw nerves he still is dealing with, but felt encouraged when he corrected his initial thought that Dawson was his best friend ever. He is now focusing on the positives of Hank and why Hank is a wonderful guy. Hopefully, thoughts like these will happen more not that they both have an ending. This gives me hope for a new beginning for their relationship starting with a renewal of friendship first. At this point they might want to think of all the things that they need to thank each other for, and apologize for the shit they both hurled at each other in their highly emotion states at the time.

Hi Clo! I don't know about Albert, but I do agree from experience. Many experiences. Fortunately I didn't have a problem this morning because I spent most of the time reading and commenting. I am rereading Endings again and almost started binging. I just wasn't in the mood for company, but Aod was. Tomorrow I will probably have a hangover. It is the weekly friends' night out at our local gay bar, Orion. How are you doing today?

Oh so tragically true Myr. I love the gif you paired with the sentence.

I was surprised that you consider this a sad chapter. To me there were some very happy things that are happening and a hope for a new beginning. I do have to laugh a bit when I realized at the end of this chapter I knew as much about Brent in one chapter as I have learned about Hank in the prior 11 chapters. First great thing is that Chase has finally been able to get rid of the baggage he gathered when his mother died, and created for himself by his actions that broke up his relationship with Hank. I also felt it important that he truly feels that poisoned relationship has ended. It would have had many difficulties surviving all the baggage and weakness both Hank and Chase had at the time. Now the new and improved Chase has a chance at moving forward to a much better life and a strong relationship with a man he truly loves. Hank had ended the relationship already, and now is about to embark on dealing with his own demons and hopefully with be able to also get rid of all the baggage he has collected. Charles is ready to help them both. This chapter gave me the hope for them both. I forgave Dawson's impersonation of Hank in the last chapter. He is at least smart enough to take his own advice and learn from past mistakes. His excitement is very contagious! What Dawsom is doing is right for both Brent and Dawson. I am happy that Chase understand and is happy for them. It also knocks the last prop from Chase and forces Chase to be completely independent. Great and happy chapter from my POV.

I must have quit commenting the first time I read this. By this time, my emotions were very raw, and any criticism of Hank or Kevin really set me off. That said, I am very happy with most of this chapter. Dawson lost a lot of my respect, however. I know his motivation and goal was right. What felt ugly to me was that his delivery was exactly the same as Hank's, full of hate and accusations he couldn't prove. This time Kevin and Hank were the victims, not Chase. The other irritation was provided by Chase as he also started in on Hank and Kevin. At least Chase had the dignity to finally apologize for his bad behaviour. They may have went further than just a kiss, but with their history, that didn't surprise or disgust me one bit. I was pleased that they are no longer together. Charle is an amazing force, and I was impressed at his attempt to reunite the family. The things revealed about the rings show how much Hank loves not only Chase, but this family that has adopted him. I now feel that the depth of Hank's anger at first was for the loss of not just Chase, but the feeling of despair he must have felt as he felt his family being ripped from him at the same time. His love for Christine was just a deep as the others, but the others were unaware of how her death affected Hank. I hope that this is a turning point for Hank that will reunited these two again. I am hopeful that Hank will reach out to his mother. This was a very comforting chapter.