Cynus

Bill, I only meant to imply earlier that there was a tangential connection between the two stories, so I hope I didn't lead you down a false pretense. Glad you enjoyed it anyway, though. The story does continue, though I haven't released the latest few stories here at GA yet. I should really get on that. I'm still excited to check out your story! Thanks for the review.

I'm glad, tim. With any luck, we'll keep things that way. Three of my four favorite chapters are still to come, and I hope you like them. Thanks, Def. Now, if only I could figure out how to advertise . . . lol Thanks, Spawnling! I'll look into it in depth sometime when I have a free moment.

All three are brothers in terms of the Shinto tradition, anyway. They're bound in much the same manner as Nobuyuki and Satoshi are, though a bit more directly. Nobuyuki, Daisuke, Satoshi, and all the other Yakuza who are close to Masahiro all shared sake with him at one point, and therefore are brothers to each other in a sense, even though their only direct connection is with Masahiro. This, of course, is a stronger than that, because they directly shared sake with each other as part of the ceremony. On another note, I spent weeks trying to find the actual protocol for the ceremony, and pieced it together as well as I could from what I could find, but the information was difficult to obtain. This, I hope, is accurate at least to some degree. As for the confusion in the relationship, the next few chapters pertain to that in many ways. It will definitely cause a hiccup or two however. Viktor and his dad. Now THAT I can't talk about. Thank you for the review!

Although I already answered this question, this is probably my favorite of the "games" forums, and so I like to keep it going, so I'll add another form of weather. I've had the pleasure of being in a typhoon before, and though most people find such weather appalling, I loved every second I spent in that drenching downpour. It was probably the closest I've ever been to being truly overwhelmed by the power of nature. New Question: If you were to haunt something/somewhere when you die, what would it be?

I have somewhere around ten, I don't know if that's considered a lot or not, but I do enjoy playing board games, and thankfully my friends do as well. The person below me does not believe in perfection.

It's possible, once I work out how that's done properly. I'm glad you enjoyed the latest chapter. I hope you enjoy the direction the story takes next.

Masahiro actually cares for Nobuyuki more than it seems. There's certain rules he must follow as part of the Yakuza culture, and he simply didn't see another way to respect that culture and spare Nobuyuki pain. I'm not trying to excuse his actions, merely explaining Masahiro's thought process. As far as he is concerned, he spared Nobuyuki pain by giving him an opportunity to save Viktor, but he needed restitution in order to even things out. But in the end, despite his brutality, Masahiro does give a damn about Nobuyuki's existence, and until Viktor and Dante came along, he was the only one who did. The brother ceremony was the base idea for this story. When I first learned about Sakazuki, I found the idea romantic, and really wanted to bring it out in writing. Nobuyuki was the first person created for that purpose, then Viktor, and the rest all fell into place to make it happen. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope you'll enjoy the next portion of the story as well. The next adventure for the group will be . . . Thanks for the review!

Nobuyuki surveyed the scene in the locker room with a look of approval. There were medical supplies everywhere, and plenty of blood as well. The bloody and torn shirt was lying perfectly where Dante had discarded it underneath the showerhead, looking as if Nobuyuki had cut it away from Viktor’s body. The place looked as if it had been ransacked, which is exactly what Nobuyuki had been going for, though the real test would depend on how Masahiro and Daisuke reacted to the illusion he’d created.

This book is now available on Kindle, for those who'd like to see the cover I had designed for it. Here's a link to the blog post talking about it: https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/blog/622/entry-16126-from-the-cup-of-the-worthless-now-available-on-kindle/

A short time ago, I received the cover art I'd commissioned for "From The Cup of The Worthless", and went ahead with my original plan of publishing it on Amazon. It's now available through Kindle, for anyone who would like a copy. For those unfamiliar with the story, here's a brief description: Family isn’t only a matter of blood, and sometimes the only blood required is that shed in defense of those you consider family. In the world of organized crime, the family you belong to is everything. Nobuyuki Sato, a young member of the Inagawa-kai Yakuza Clan, is eager to prove himself to his father, Masahiro Sato. When he attracts the interest of Viktor Karimov, the son of the Chief of Police, Nobuyuki is certain he’s gained an important foothold in the city of Vladivostok, but it all begins to fall apart as Nobuyuki develops feelings for Viktor. Nobuyuki must learn to balance love and loyalty in order to keep his father’s favor, and Viktor alive; not everyone is happy with Nobuyuki's actions or position. For those who may be worried that I won't be posting it for free anymore, don't be. I'll still be posting the chapters at a rate of once a week, and the story will finish posting in June. You're welcome to continue to follow it here and I hope you'll let me know what you think. The edition on kindle is the same as the one posting here. If you're interested in the eBook, click here: http://www.amazon.com/From-Cup-Worthless-Samuel-Roe-ebook/dp/B01D234T5I?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0 Thanks everyone!

tim, Sorry it took me so long to get to this. I completely spaced it! I didn't think you'd forgotten me, don't worry. Nobuyuki has recently found some good people to keep at his side. Obviously Viktor at least is looking out for Nobuyuki's best interests, and Dante seems to be as well, at least for the moment. I like to think Satoshi came into the Yakuza in a similar way to Nobuyuki. He wasn't seeking to become a gangster, he was just a kid who wanted off the streets. Anyway, glad you enjoyed the chapter, and thank you for the review!

Loved it, tim! And Faris definitely deserved what he got in the end. Both of the things he got in the end . . .

I wanted to give you all a tidbit of information on some of the character names in the story. Specifically "Daisuke" and "Satoshi". Daisuke and Satoshi are the two Japanese names I'm most familiar with. The second manga series I ever read, DN Angel, features two main characters with those names. I've always been fond of the names since then, and I tend to use them for my Japanese characters often. When I started this story, I was laughing with Brad, my best friend, about how I wasn't going to use either name for my main characters. I was going to research other names to use so I wouldn't end up abusing those names in yet another story. Of course, then I ran into a problem. I was about to introduce Daisuke's character and didn't have a name for him. Just as a placeholder, I used the name "Daisuke". Well, after writing Daisuke's name a number of times, I realized I couldn't change it. I like the name too much. Then the same thing happened with Satoshi, and the rest is history. Of course, Brad laughs at me every time I bring it up, but I can live with that.

I'm eager to see how you react to Daisuke's last moments in this story. (I will neither confirm nor deny if he dies, but everyone has a last moment in the story where I no longer write about them.) To me, it's an emotional scene, but if there's one thing I've learned about writing, it's that the writer experiences different emotions than the reader. I assume it's the same for all other art forms as well. I think Nobuyuki's willingness to sacrifice for Viktor shows that he's not the bad guy he makes himself out to be at the beginning. As to Masahiro's reaction, THAT you'll just have to wait for. Wednesday will come soon enough. Viktor's reaction is definitely something we're looking toward now. There's certainly some questions there, and especially considering Dante's relationship with Viktor in the past, it's going to be a tricky situation for them to navigate. And that kiss . . . what a way for a first kiss, huh? Satoshi . . . I'll talk about Satoshi on the forums. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. This is one of my three favorite chapters in the story, and the other two are yet to come. Thank you for the review!

Oh, the next chapter will certainly answer a lot of those questions. I enjoy chapter 12, personally, but it might be a hard chapter for some people. I honestly had hoped more people would be interested in chapter 11, since it's one of my favorites, but I'll take what I can get. What will Masahiro do? And what does Viktor think about what's happened? How will Dante's role change? There's a lot coming up. Thank you for the review!

Thunderstorms. The primal power of nature as always inspired me and renewed my energy. Same Q

Nobuyuki stepped into the elevator along with Masahiro and Daisuke, unsure of what he’d find waiting for him. Daisuke had been contacted about another intruder who had been caught attempting to sneak into the stairwell. Satoshi had escorted the Russian to the fourth floor and Daisuke had instructed the guard to wait there. They had been in the middle of a meeting about tightening security and covering the blind spots which Daisuke had allowed in the hotel’s defenses when they’d received

FOr you, Spawnling.

A great line I heard today from a documentary on the state of LGBT rights in Japan: "Homophobia is invisible here, and we have to fight this silent avoidance." Silent Avoidance. I've not heard of homophobia put that way before, but as I contemplate that phrase I realize that this is what my family does to me, and why there's still a wall between me and them. I also realize how often it happens all around me in Utah. Silent avoidance is bearable, but it's still not good enough.

If you thought that was intense, wait for the . . . Anyway, I'm glad it kept your interest. Viktor really is in a tough spot, huh? And Nobu, too. How are they going to get out of this mess, especially when the whole clan is watching? Daisuke may not seem like it, but he's a complicated man. I am by no means attempting to excuse his actions, only trying to say there are reasons for the way he is and the actions he takes. As to those reasons, you'll learn about them by the end. And yes, Viktor definitely knows too much now. What will be his fate? What IS Nobuyuki planning to do? Those are all great questions, and the answers are . . . available in next week's episode. As for Mikhail's plans/involvement/knowledge . . . he definitely knows something, considering his interactions with Vladi and Viktor already, but the extent of his knowledge is another matter altogether. With the war about to come to his city, he has some big decisions to make if things don't calm down. Thank you for the review.

tim, I've been meaning to get back to reading some of your work again, but since I'm doing it at work I have to stay away from the Mature tags. I can say that I certainly wasn't disappointed in the choice I made of those remaining. What a delightful first chapter, filled with a wonderful mix of romance and comedy. This promises to be a great story, and I look forward to reading the rest of it. Have to get back to work for now, but I'll get to more of it tomorrow.

When the muse is with me, I write. When the muse is not, I go in search of him/her. Often this involves engaging in entertainment or art of some sort. Same Q

Virtuous enough to fall. Isn't there some axiom about success being "getting up one more time than we've fallen"? I'm pretty certain those pretty angels who never fell don't know what success is.

Devils, my spawnling, are the most virtuous of all. After all, according to the legend, was it not the serpent who gave free will to man? Man was not free to choose virtues until we extended them the opportunity. At least, that's what the Bible teaches.

That's really cool, spawnling! Thanks for sharing. How do you plan to learn Russian? At university or do you plan to teach yourself? And please root for Nobu, he needs support right now. Thank goodness that . . . thanks. I feel better. One week. Ah, yes, Zen and patience is advised. Ask yourself, WWDD? (What Would Dante Do?) He'd play the long con. Patience is important in the world of the mobsters. Thank you all for your support. You rock.