Israfil

Lilith is too pure XD

This story has so much more resonance than it did earlier (and even then it had a lot) now that I have my own Pete situation. Hasn’t gotten to this point regrettably and not sure it will but it’s dead on for the first half of this story. Like Corbin, I’m trying to play it safe and not spook him while focusing on my own plans and goals. No man will dominate my thoughts and make me put myself second. Also, every time Corbin smacks down someone - namely Dom and Hutch, I cackle maniacally. I mean, they’re clearly plotting more after that but it’s a cool scene. Especially how Hutch comes in so confident and just deflates.

Fact: Animals make the best listeners.

1) The Connor hate is getting a tad silly. Yes, he wasn’t a good fit for Robbie and yes he had issues but he’s also a damn teenager - a kid. By and large, they aren’t paragons of social grace and navigating relationships. They’re still learning. Nathan has plenty of irritating qualities to his character but the only difference (and honestly the only one that matters) is Robbie likes him. 2) If Stephanie really is pregnant why in the name of hell is she not getting an abortion. She doesn’t strike me as the type to want to start a family early, let alone with Robbie as the father XD and we’ve never heard anything about her parents being particularly religious or conservative. Even if that were the case, Nicola would help her (unless she’s too embarrassed/stupid to ask her best friend for help - we all know Nicola would move Heaven and Earth for those she cares about). OMG if this is the case and Don finds out, he’ll try to make sure she keeps the baby as a way to force Robbie to be “straight” or more likely just to spite him by getting him saddled with a teen pregnancy.

I think part of it was Nathan was shocked by the role reversal. Usually he's the confident one and Robbie's the worrier. Here, Robbie knew what he wanted and didn't falter once - he was actually pretty mature about it (well, as mature as you can be when declaring your love for someone at that age haha).

Dang, Tracy surprised me here - he's seemed more clear eyed before so his siding with Jeff was unexpected. It really does sound like he agrees that Jeff can play the field but Jack has to be mindful of Jeff's feelings. Again, I get that Jeff may not be in the clearest headspace following his less than stellar social experience until now but I expected Tracy to be more the voice of reason.

Especially since becoming a couple was his idea in the first place and he pushed for it XD. He’s illustrating precisely why Jack was iffy about it. That being said, Jeff’s proven a good friend generally. I think he had a crush on Jack initially and the car incident freaked him out. He confused those fears of almost losing his friend, as well as the crush, with deeper romantic feelings. Topped with how our culture is saturated with the concept of riding off into the sunset together, it’s not surprising he got carried away.

I can understand Jeff enjoying not being an outcast anymore but I think the hypocrisy is an issue that goes beyond simple immaturity. He just doesn’t seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer. He loves the idea of having a boyfriend but wants to interact with every cute guy - yet gets angry if Jack does the same. He seems to get off on the drama...

Connor's not that bad. Just not right for Robbie. Honestly, he might have been a better fit earlier before the issue with Alex. Robbie might have been more likely to stand up for himself and make it more....equal. Teenagers don't take cues very well and can be very self centered -clearly Connor's no exception. And Don must feel his world is turning upside down - I wonder if he'll find a way to blame Dan dating an Asian girl on Robbie lol. That local girl line was BS - we all know he wouldn't have said a word if Ratana's family had been white American ex-pats living in Thailand or anything along those lines. I was actually waiting for Robbie to warn Daniel about that.

So.... Stanely is fucking scary. That is all.

That preacher is clearly smarter than Don - which makes him infinitely more dangerous. The dialogue between Matthew and Robbie was pretty interesting - I’m glad Robbie kept his cool and maybe even sowed some seeds of doubt As for Daniel, he’s young and impressionable. Teenagers often like to have causes - something to fight for or against - and a supposed oncoming tide of drugs and gangs is enough to fire his imagination. I remember that age - as much as I try to block it out - a quote like “they’ll come here if we don’t stop them” is the sort of melodramatic nonsense kids like to spout to sound important. They say it more for its own sake than any real belief

As amusing as that would be, his relationship with Nathan wouldn’t be the healthiest thing right now. We already saw what kind of stress dealing with his antics put on Robbie. Nathan clearly has his own issues and I think they’ve only gotten worse. Anyways, Robbie can spite Don just as well by simply existing and being true to himself.

Dude, it's college. Also bear in mind, we're seeing something of a summarized version from Corbin's perspective. Each chapter can jump anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. It's hardly a new guy every day - not that it would matter anyways as long as safety measures are taken. Other than that, everything else has been said, such as regarding how he compares to your average college kid. While I'm at it, you say social climber like it's a bad thing. It's a hyper competitive environment, everyone's a social climber. Hell, that's life. And on top of that, Corbin is trying to shatter a glass ceiling of sorts, being openly gay, in a very hetero-normative culture, so he'll have to play the game that much better (or be "manipulative" as you put it). Cast your mind back to that age - if you were out, didn't it make things harder? And if you were in the closet, I'm sure you were keenly aware of the difficulty. Lastly, "slut"? What are we, in high school?

Great to hear - I kind of assumed it was done. Or that you were doing something similar to Blinded where you added a part two after a little while, with both segments kind of being their own story.

While he did push it with losing his temper, I’d say making Don so blatantly show his homophobia in front of the family is a victory. It will eat away at this control. I’m surprised Robbie didn’t throw the affairs in his face as an example of “normal people” - but good thing he didn’t. It would have almost certainly cost him Sue’s support, which he desperately needs. Also, kudos to Nicola - she sacrificed a great deal of freedom going forward in order to back up Robbie.

Plans within plans...

Honestly, while I was surprised at how short it was, it's kind of perfect this way.

My initial point stands! 😛 Commenting that two characters seem nice together is far from your absolutist view of soul mates and there is only one true love for everyone.

Heh, someone's a bit of a romantic. It's sweet that some people can hold on to that level of naivete all the way into adulthood - but I can't imagine holding on to such beliefs will prove beneficial in the long run.... Emotions - desire, love, lust, it's all complicated and different for everyone.

On a follow up note, I agree with Corbin, he wouldn't have gotten to this point with Pete if he hadn't pushed him. So...kind of a no-win situation, honestly. Also, even though we know this is all being told by Corbin years later, it's still stings when he talks about people in the past tense like with Dave. Sure, it's quite likely he and Dave don't really go anywhere but the past tense makes it seem a lot more....final, like now we know for sure it doesn't work out but also that he's just not in Corbin's life at all. Especially when in that moment they really seem good for each other. Damn, I might be more of a romantic than I thought. Goddammit.

Oh come on! That cliffhanger was a punch in the gut 🤣

I think he's actually been alright about that. I admit I thought "second date sex" at first too but then I went back and read it - they've been dating for about a week, which isn't long but they've still gone out several times between their first date and when they hook up. So they seem to have built up something of a connection already. Also, some relationships move fast - emotionally as well as physically - and you're left wondering how you both got to where you are in just a couple weeks >_>

First thing I did - I edited my first response a few times so I guess I cut out the part where I said bisexuality is a very broad term. That was meant to be a reference to you - personal experience indeed carries some weight but is by no means reflective of the whole. Especially when referring to such a wide demographic. That would be as ridiculous as my speculating something about gay people in general because it applied specifically to me - the fact that I’m gay wouldn’t grant me the authority to speak with impunity. It would still be wrong. As I said earlier, one’s feelings on “romance” or “love” are separate from the genders to which they are attracted. Correlation does not equal causation. Someone can be romantically attracted to men and women and be asexual or sexually attracted and be aromantic. Or both. Or any number of combinations - these things cannot be explained “in a nutshell.” Though I daresay the world would be a lot simpler if that were the case.

You'll find that happens when you make (or even imply as you did) blanket statements about a massive swathe of people. In this case, it's not a question of being "convinced," which implies it's a matter of debate - it's simply not true.

Essentially, you're speculating that bisexual people "can't truly feel love for anyone." Really? I'm sorry but I have to say this is flat out wrong. Bisexuality means you're attracted to both genders in some form. It has no bearing on whether or not someone can feel "love" for someone else in the romantic sense. In this case, you may be right about Danny, however it has nothing to do with the fact he's attracted to both girls and guys (or maybe just one guy). It's particularly ridiculous when members of the LGBT demographic perpetuate this outdated and ignorant perception. Also, how do you think you sound to any bisexual members on GA? Do you think they appreciate being told this?