Cynus

I trust that you liked it, then?

“I can’t believe we’re coming back here,” Vladimir grumbled as he looked up at the Horizons hotel. Not only was he going to the place where Alexi had been tortured, but the weather was ruining his mood just as much. It was cold and rainy, and it made the thin line of his fresh scar itch. “Well, believe it, ‘cause we’re here,” Dante said as they turned along the side of the building toward the service door. He grinned at Vladimir to take the sting out of his sass, but Vladimir just stuck

Welcome, Brady!

Despite all the great advice from all of you, it seems that I'll actually be writing the sequel to "From The Cup of The Worthless" because chapter one is writing like a dream. Thank you all for your support, and I think you've all made some excellent points. I do need to trust my muse and write what comes to me, instead of playing to the audience. As for your advice, Ron, my muse has taken me down such paths before, and I've loved it every time I've stepped outside my comfort zone, though it was certainly daunting. I wrote my first historical fiction that way, and I joined my first writing contest that way, and both are experiences I'll never forget and I learned from. It's great advice, so thank you.

Welcome, Taquin!

Elliot immediately reminded me of one I've recently created. That sarcastic way of thinking combined with a flair for the profane . . . it warms my roguish teenage heart. I loved the back and forth between the parents and Elliot. I'm a sucker for green eyes. Hopefully this "AJ" turns out to be as wonderful as his eye color. My favorite line in this chapter: Need I tell you that this is probably why I was still a virgin… this godforsaken nuttiness I like where this is headed. I'll give you some more constructive criticism by PM.

I thought about claiming this as my favorite chapter, but then I knew tim would give me shit about it. (PS. Love you, tim) I planned Mikhail's affair with Luca from near the beginning, believe it or not. It's one of the few things about the ending I had actually predetermined, despite changing the ending several times while writing this. He's always been this wounded man who was trying to protects his children from a harsh world. A common theme in this story, actually. Masahiro did have a lot to deal with, didn't he? What an unfortunate turn for him all around. But he's a strong man, and he'll be able to come back from it. He's lost people before, though this is certainly a blow to everything he believed in. Thank you for the review. I'm excited to see you on the other end of the epilogue.

Yes, there are a couple of things missing, though there have to be some things left for the sequel. Pretend I didn't just say that. The fun thing about your protagonists and antagonists both being criminals is that you get to humanize everyone. It's a perk of the subject matter, I think. Most criminals are in the life out of necessity. Could Masahiro do something different with his life? He could probably run a legitimate casino somewhere, now, where it's not illegal, but it's his years in the Yakuza which gave him that experience. Nobuyuki has a chance to get out of the life, but will he ever take it? Masahiro would support that decision, but he's also grooming Nobuyuki to replace him, so what would be the outcome? I honestly have no idea, because I haven't written that. (Spoiler alert: Nobuyuki doesn't leave the Yakuza in the epilogue) Thank you for the review!

The problem with Daisuke, and why he had to die anyway, was that his actions directly led to the deaths of six other Yakuza operatives. The betrayal of Masahiro aside, that's something which could not be left unpunished. But Satoshi knew this as well as Daisuke did, and also knew Daisuke deserved a chance at honor in the end (which is the purpose of seppuku). Masahiro didn't want to do it, but he was going to order Daisuke's execution anyway, but at least he didn't have to kill his own son. Thank you for reading, and reviewing. I look forward to your thoughts on the epilogue as well.

I wanted to take the gun out of Masahiro's hand more than anything, and it all clicked together for me when I wrote this chapter, and I knew what I had to do. I identify with Masahiro more than any other character in the story. He's modeled off many of my own internal thoughts, though Nobuyuki and Nikola also have a lot of me in them. I'm glad I kept you guessing. This is by far my favorite among my own works, and I'm incredibly grateful that others have loved it as well. That it wasn't predictable also makes me happy, especially since that's something I try to avoid as much as possible. Thank you so much for the review!

Nicola Salvitici was amazed at the amount of grey in Mikhail Karimov’s hair. He hadn’t shared the same space as Mikhail in years, but other than his hair color, little had changed. Perhaps, if he looked long enough, he could admit Mikhail’s face was a bit more weathered, and his eyes were a bit harder, but he was still the same handsome man he’d always been. Standing from his seat in the hospital waiting room, Nicola stared at Mikhail until he was noticed, and Mikhail headed his way. “N

I liked this chapter even more than the first one. I loved watching this battle of wills between these two confident young men, though I still prefer Snowflake to Brian, and hope he comes out on top. (No double entendre intened) I think I'd fall in love with Snowflake, too, so I can't blame his popularity. Love where the story is going.

I'm sorry I didn't get to this before. I must have missed the original notification of the comment, as I noticed it for the first time today when I saw my "recent comments" section. Thank you for your compliments. I've recently entered a new writing crisis, so It's good to have this support here. Thank you so much!

At the beginning, I wasn't very fond of Brian, he felt a bet arrogant, but his thoughts flowed so well and were written to match the personality so I didn't struggle to read him. Then he admits to being empty and tired and I thought, "Oh yes, there's definitely a story here which I'll be interested in." I can't wait to see the different ways which Brian finds a bit of humility and enjoys life a bit more as a result. Seems as if he's already discovered a bit of a spiritual/introspective side, so there may be hope for him yet. Not sure how I feel about the switching first person perspective. It's not a style I think I'd ever be able to write convincingly, I think, so maybe I'm just projecting. I think it'll confuse me if I try to read it quickly, but I have seen it pulled off appropriately before, so there's still hope there, too. You do have a definite tone change between the two, so prospects are good. I like Snowflake a lot, and I'm looking forward to seeing how he handles Brian. Sabrina is interesting, too. You've developed quite the cast of characters, here. How will it all work out, I wonder? Thanks for sharing this story, M!

This is something I wrote to my Patreon supporters, but I figured I'd seek some input here, too. Hello everyone! I'm writing to inform you of a number of things going on with my writing at the moment. First, I will soon be releasing another serial titled "Fearless". It's a shorter work, only 11 chapters long, and it was fun to write, though I'm not sure what the reaction will be from my readers. I wrote it differently than I've ever written anything else, and I'm curious to see how it will be received. It will start posting midway through June, after From The Cup of The Worthless finishes posting. Second, I'm struggling a bit with what to write next, and here's one of the things which might impact you. This last little while has been a bit rough for me, and all the ideas which are coming to me are dark ones. I can't guarantee the next serial I release after "Fearless" will be a lighthearted one. I can attempt to write something fitting my normal stories. I can force myself to work on something which the muse isn't calling to me on, and I might just be able to finish something by the time "Fearless" is done, and it'll be okay. But it won't be great. It won't have my soul in it, because it's not what's calling to me right now. At the moment, the only things which go anywhere are stories which deal with a great deal of negative emotions I'm trying to work through. If I allow myself to work on one of these, I believe it'll be one of the best things I've ever written. However, in the end you'll be the ones reading it, and that's why I'm hoping for some input on what to write next. Which would you prefer? Something which isn't dark and brooding, or something emotional and visceral? All comments are appreciated. Thank you

Awesome! Seriously, in my opinion, there are far too few stories like this out there. I think this level of open-mindedness in a relationship is great, and I'm sure it can work for plenty of people who want to make it work. It's not like polyamorous relationships are anything new to the spectrum, but for some reason our culture shuns them, even if all parties are consenting and happy with the arrangement. I'm glad they were able to work it out, though I am a bit surprised they forgave the dishonesty so easily. I mean, dishonesty is the real killer to relationships, so THAT did seem to be forgiven a bit easier than I'd think it would be, but at least they all ended up happy in the end. Great story. Thanks, tim!

I did not see any of that coming. Well . . . I'm not going to stay around here, I have to read chapter 4, now!

You like soul food? I like you, don't I? I just reached the point where Sim says "I like you" in his thoughts, and connected the two thoughts together. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to find someone who finds my preaching passionate. The love-making was nice without being over the top. I'm glad it's not the entire focus of the story as it is for many stories out there. That feeling of it "being right" was there all along. Thanks for sharing!

I loved the internal monologue on Sim. It drew me into his character very quickly, and after reading for just a few lines, I already had a grasp on his personality. I think this one is my favorite: I wanted to fall to my knees and pray to the Lords of Lust to make it so The tone you set for this story fits the setting well. The language is smooth and casual, and you transition thoughts easily. Even with the constant interjection of Sim's thoughts, I didn't feel hampered at all while reading this. I'm excited to see where it goes, and what Ryan has in store for Sim.

This is the last one I'll add for today. This is actually the first one I ever saw, but I have no idea when it came out other than "prior to February 2006".

Welcome, Atheu! Welcome, Geoff! Welcome, Lee! Welcome, Alexander! Welcome, mefink24! Welcome, Tamy! Welcome, Artie! Welcome, Vitriol! Welcome, Louis! Welcome, Ash! Welcome, PTSJ! Welcome, Amanda! Apparently I've missed quite the influx of people. Welcome all of you!

This is another one I remember, which was made by NOM (National Organization for Marriage). It ran somewhere between 2008 and 2009, though I'm not sure when. Not long after that, however, some of the brilliant parodies were released. This first one is my favorite. And I discovered this one for the first time today.

This is one of the first ones which really made me smile.

Touches like glass, Smooth and clear, but shatters in seconds. An innocent question on my lips, Transferred to yours in a gentle kiss You didn’t know You didn’t see, How much this question meant to me. Your answer shattered me, Broke me down to shards of anger, Shards of bitterness, Shards of love. Your answer shattered me, But you picked up the pieces, Put me back together, These shards of love. Distance like horizons, Always out of reach, never out of sight, An innoce

For all she did to him, Masahiro still loves Katsumi. He couldn't bring himself to kill her, though he certainly felt the desire to do it. For a man ruthless in his discipline, he still has a heart, and that's what i wanted to show here. I'm glad you picked up on that. The brothers and their dad are coming up next Wednesday! I hope you'll all like how it resolves. Thank you for the review!