Dayne Mora

Congrats, Cat Daddy!

I could see Indie coming to appreciate her special brand of sauciness, just as he enjoys Preston's. Jimmy and Josie, along with the as-yet un-met members of their household, will show up again. Elle was too much of a fun character to not revisit! The phone will be addressed next chapter.

I'm sure Efrain will call Indie out on being a hypocrite if he complains about Lola. I mean, he does let his little terrier run all over the place. Lola is a dream come true, literally. Cory can at least see that much. I do wonder how Lola and Efrain will react when they realize they'll have to share Cory.

Wild Card – Chapter Three – Whatever Cory Wants Dusk stole over the roofs and treetops. The stark tree branches etched into the shades of pink and orange that broke over the horizon, painting the clouds before bleeding back into the dark. Sounds of life rose despite the chill in the air—the rustle and call of winter birds, the foraging and chittering of squirrels—all echoing in the light morning fog. The newly dawning day was a poetically beautiful sight, but I was too occupied to apprecia

I can't bring myself to try them yet. I will, however, eat their fudge like there's no tomorrow. Oh gawd, and the lemon pound cake they do in the Spring!

Cory definitely has big shoes to fill, which is a part of why he left Texas.

Thanks, blueirealand! I put out chapters when I can. Sometimes it takes me a week to write a chapter, sometimes it can take a month.

Quite strange that both Efrain and Cory misjudged their respective parents' acceptance (trust me, I didn't plan it that way in the beginning). But, to fool Keenan, too, there has to be something else at work...wonder what that could be..... At any rate, I'm rallying the troops. You and Spikey are right about Cory's reactions--he IS depressed, and really doesn't have much control of his moods at this point. But, Cory has made a lot of friends and connections in his short life, and will continue to make them. He may have lost his family, but his clan is growing faster than he realizes.

The boys will do what they can, and have done well so far. Efrain still has a ways to go in controlling his moods, as does Cory. Good thing they have each other, eh?

LOL, thanks HoHo. I dunno if we want to go burning houses and stuff. Could go for some pranks and public shunning, though.

Oh hey, they have Cory, too.

Man, whose shit-list is Diarmad not on?

Have you tried ModelMayhem.com? I use this site when I'm trying to visualize my characters, or diversify their looks. I like it because you can use their search feature to narrow down age, weight, ethnicity, height, etc. I know you're looking for images, not models, but it might be easier find a model who looks like what you want then see if they have an image in their portfolio already (or if you're really desperate, pay for a selfie ). Might have to search for adult models who look younger for shirtless pics, but it couldn't hurt to try. Found some matches that could work (the last 3 are minors): http://www.modelmayhem.com/anton3ch http://www.modelmayhem.com/3934222 http://www.modelmayhem.com/sebastiannvidal http://www.modelmayhem.com/michaelkettaneh http://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/3756580/0 http://www.modelmayhem.com/JohnDome http://www.modelmayhem.com/stefanstankovich

There was a great discussion in the "Writer's Corner" sub-forum debating whether or not main characters needed to be likable. There were several reflections that you might find useful. I've found some other threads over there that helped me grow.

Efrain's "animal" brain is still very much in control sometimes, so "eat it", "fight it", and "fuck it" seem to be his most common reactions to new stimuli. He may be older than Cory, but he still has some growing up to do.

Since he was so wrong about his parents, he lost trust in his perceptions. Leaving himself in limbo allows him to deal with the pain of losing his parents without the pain of losing his brothers, which he feels is only a matter of time. However, I don't think he's even considered what would happen if his brothers help him. Oh yeah, I accidentally deleted you review and can't get it back. Here's what I was going to reply (thank the light I ctrl+C responses before I hit enter): Cory is a very happy guy, which makes his depressive episodes that more noticeable. The gradual return of his VT family will heal some of his pain as he reminds himself that he's not alone in this, no matter how much he tries to isolate himself.

It's almost like he's trying to hibernate until the bad stuff goes away. He is depressed, but I think the rest of EPIC already has plans to stage an intervention. And, yeah, he and Toph would get along like a house on fire (a carefully sectioned off house).

Cory has known this for a while, but is letting 'Rain (who has never been in a real relationship before) come to it on his own terms. Still, it's a pain in the ass (I can't even get 'Rain say it in my own head!)

You're right--he has more people who care for him than he realizes. His pain is too raw to recognize it, but once given time to mourn, he will come around.

Hopefully, it's an upward trend!

I agree that the three of them were being harsh, but a lot of their frustration and anger are at Cory's situation, rather than Cory himself. Some of that anger and frustration is with themselves. His best friends (Keenan, especially) blame themselves for what has happened, and Efrain feels like everything he does to make Cory better either does nothing, or makes it worse. As for the man himself, Cory isn't very skilled at battling his own problems. Of course, he's been somewhat protected and sheltered (despite being in the closet in a conservative state). He's got a steep learning curve. Lets hope he can make it.

Nathan visiting Robbie, coupled with Robbie and Nathan acting giddy and the statements "I met Robbie at the mall", "I saw a movie with a friend", and "oh yeah, I broke up with Fran" have probably tipped off Sue and Nicola (if they didn't already suspect). Something tells me that Sue would not only be on Robbie's side, but would force her husband to pull his head out of his arse on her nephew's behalf. Also, I think Daniel probably figured out Robbie ages ago.

Wild Card – Chapter 2 – The Barrier Method A big black Tacoma with a “Puro Pinché Beavers” bumper sticker on the back sat in what had become its usual spot in Indie’s driveway, and for some reason that pissed me off. That’s it? I just go home and he’s there? No going out to find him. No long searches. No lying awake at night worrying if he’s all right? Nothing. Cory’s just here. That’s really it? Anger surfaced, boiling up through what should have been relief. He should have called m

Interesting that Skinny released a chapter of "Toph" in which he reveals that two boys he and his partner met on vacation inspired a story similar to "Twoey".

I'm glad that it's against the Texas educators' code of ethics to out a youth to their parent/guardian.