Hunter Thomson

That was a lot of plot reversals for one chapter. It kept me guessing right to the end. I have to admit, I'm not super thrilled with the ending. I know polyamorous relationships can work, but it would have been more realistic for two of them to pair up and have a proper monogamish relationship, with the third person being a very close friend/lover that was less connected than the main partnership. Of course, that's mostly because I was cheering for Seth and Logan to make it work, and Grayson was sort of the interloper. So I suppose I felt the same way as the team, with even less excuse for it.

I actually enjoyed reading through both perspectives of the chapter. While it took away some of the suspense from Underdogs, it was interesting to see both characters' perspectives on the same events. A lot of my own writing ends up delving into the thoughts of the characters, and it was a really good way of fleshing out Grayson's character, particularly when he was such a late entrant to the story. I'm heartbroken for Seth though. That's a painful thing to realize that you're not meant to be with someone, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone so young.

Coming out and self-realization is a bit of a theme in your writing, and that's fine because you do it very well. Logan's reactions and thoughts are entirely realistic, especially for someone who's never had any same-sex attractions before. He's understandably afraid of how it's going to impact the rest of his life and reputation (like most teenagers would be), and it was smart thinking for him to contact the only adult he trusts that might know how to help. I'm glad it worked out for him though, and that it was going well with Seth as well. They're good for each other.

I loved the role reversal. Chapter one gave us an insecure Seth and a take-charge leader in Logan. Having them switch off roles and rely on each other in different ways was good for their friendship, and it was a cute disruption of what you've characterized as the norms in their behaviour. Interesting about the girls, and definitely something the boys should be thinking about going forward, especially since their 'relationship' was why the ladies asked them to begin with.

Cute little chapter. Your characters feel real and I can identify with them very easily. I found that a lot of what made the story work was the mundane stuff in the story. The individual descriptions of things like going to school or how Logan first caught up to Seth; they're not important for the plot in that they could have happened in other venues, but they flesh out the universe a bit more and add to the realism.

I appreciate how personal this writing was for you, Cynus. By writing in the personal mode like this, you've strongly captured what it feels like to be going through the myriad emotions of self-acceptance. The piece is strong because of how much of yourself you put into it. I hope that people take strength and comfort from this piece, and yet I also hope there comes a time where things like this don't have to be written, and people don't have to face the same struggles you did. Thanks for writing this.

Thank you for your review pvtguy. That's quite a marathon to read all at once, I hope it wasn't overkill for you. There's a lot of thinking that's going to go into the next part of the series, so don't expect anything new for awhile. But it'll be worth the wait, I promise!

Hello CG. Thanks for sticking around to the very end. As I noted with Skinnydragon, the whole idea of the rainstorm was that it was appropriate to the season. I hadn't been thinking about how it was a metaphor for anything, but the fact that it fits so nicely pleases me. Seattle and Colfax aren't too far away... but I think Devin's going to have an interesting car ride home, like when he has to explain that Bryce is in and Alex is out! More will come, but it's time for a break. Other pursuits and all that jazz. That, and I need to start from scratch here

The rain was a good metaphor for a lot of things in the chapter. I haven't added it to the story, but as is common in the Pacific Northwest, the clouds always break quickly, even on the other side of the Cascades. Read into that what you will Bryce was hurting. I think he expected that Devin would want to spend more time with him, especially after continually saying that Devin was going to miss him over the summer. But I can see it from Devin's perspective soon. It always hurts to say goodbye, and doing it more than once would hurt that much more. Better to say it once and then avoid potentially seeing Bryce again and opening up the raw hurt and pain again. Bryce coming back was important, and it's something that will stick in Devin's mind. I may do a couple one-shots for the summer vacation, but there's not enough material to do a full story there. Thanks for being a dedicated reader, Skinny

Hello Luxy, thank you for this last review of Extra Innings. I'm glad you appreciated the ending. I wanted to get right to the crux of the matter and to really hone in on how confusing the end of freshman year can be. Nothing can really prepare for that first year; Devin's in particular was more dramatic than most people's college careers, and that by itself would lead to a less concrete view of the year as a whole. There's still a lot that Devin has to address. That lingering insecurity about being away from Bryce... it's all well and good to be interested in spending time with someone, but when you're openly worried about not seeing them and thinking the relationship will fall apart, that's dangerous. That's getting very close to dependency, and it's something that Devin will have to deal with at some point or another. Time to close the books on this one. I hope you'll stick around when the next installment reveals itself.

The last weeks of school before the end of a semester were always the most hectic. Everything I did to try and make sure my papers were done ahead of time went out the window again. Though to be fair, I had some excuses for that. I didn't expect to be involved in an attack, and I certainly didn't expect to be involved in a criminal trial. A week after our final road trip of the season, Vincente and I went to the courthouse to hear the verdict of the trial. We were both hopeful that the trial

Thank you for your kind words, all of you. It's all very nerve-wracking and whatnot, and I dislike the idea of having to stress out over these things. So much to stress over, and so little time to do all the stressing in! I'll keep everyone aware of how it goes down, though hopefully I find out sooner than later.

Prompt #526 may become a one-shot from me soon, but for now it serves as a perfect way to start my stream of consciousness today. “Damn, where the hell am I supposed to go now?” I have no idea where I'm supposed to go. None at all. I still haven't found a full-time job. I'm lost and beginning to lose hope for my career prospects. Which I suppose makes me like most millennials. I've definitely given up hope for finding a teaching position where I live right now. Biggest city in the province and there's no jobs. Strange how that works out, isn't it? But, I have an interview on Tuesday! A teaching job, even! Full-time, in my subject area! What's the catch, you might ask? The job's about 750 kilometers away, as the crow flies. Or about 1180 kilometers as the car drives. That's about 462 miles or 733 miles, respectively. My high school community had more people in it than this whole 'city'. Which is fine. I've never lived in a place that small before, but I think I can adjust. It's a foot in the door... right? It's more than I thought I'd get or deserve, and part of me is waiting to fuck up the interview anyways. The other part of my mind is quick to point out that if they had *anyone* else, they'd have given the job to them. They're desperate. I'm desperate. It's a horrible match made in hell, and yet it might just work for everyone. It's not how I thought my teaching career would start. That's for sure. I thought I'd be a substitute for a couple years. Pay my dues. Instead I'm getting close to a dream job. It's my subject and the classes are small and there's a real need for people to come up there and teach. I could make a real difference, especially since it's an area with a substantial First Nations population. I want to make a difference, so it's a great fit for me. Except I don't know if I can do it. I actually wanted to be a sub for a couple years to give me a chance to build some more/new lesson plans. Perfect my technique a bit and see what other teachers were doing before I had a class of my own. Now here I am, potentially being thrown to hundreds of teenage wolves (not like the show Teen Wolf AT ALL, just sayin'.) Part of me is terrified beyond all belief that I'll fuck things up and make it impossible for these kids to get a proper education in the future. Or I'll turn them off learning and they'll drop out. That's not the difference I want to make with kids. I suppose my other worry is more personal than professional. I have nothing up there in DC. Literally nothing. At this point, I don't even have a place to rent prepared for me yet. That's how little I have ready for myself and the potential move I'd be making. It's a mind-numbing thought, and I've grown accustomed to a support network. I'm 26 years old and lived at home my whole life... do I really think I'd be able to survive on my own? Could I do the day-to-day things that make a household run without someone else to do it, or would I crash and burn and make a total fool of myself? I'd miss people. People important to me... people I love. I don't know what I would do without some of the people in my life and being able to see them every day. I'm always telling people that nothing lasts forever. It's a Buddhist view, the idea of impermanence, and it's very pragmatic. I even convince myself that I believe in it sometimes... but the truth is I believe in forever. There's such a thing as happily ever after. As loving someone until you die and beyond the grave itself. I'm giving up on that, potentially. Is that selfish or stupid? This is my career. Love can come after... but then what's the point of anything if there's no one there to share your victories and your defeats with you? I'm not particularly religious, though I do consider myself spiritual, after a fashion... if anything or anyone has guidance, I would hear it. I don't know what to do. I hate not knowing what to do.

Thank you. For all of this. For all of the work you put forward in this to make 18 weeks of Twoey a reality, you deserve nothing short of our complete thanks and accolades. This was beyond a work of fiction, and I will never, ever forget this story. On the most personal of levels, you have given hope. There's no greater gift than that. You give me hope for the things in my own life. A good story can change people in ways they will never fully appreciate. I have no higher compliment that I can pay you, beyond saying that you brought hope to someone. Take your bows, good sir. They are well-earned and entirely deserving of this monumental effort.

I'm glad you decided to post this Lilly, this is really sweet, and while there's probably drama ahead, I really like your characters and feel connected to Nicholas already.

I'm so very intrigued by what Danny's cryptic little dream response was. The last will and testament of one Danny McCane? Everything comes to an end soon. I'm glad that I stuck through this story, it was entirely worth it. So was this chapter, which was another bout of cavity-inducing sweetness. Interesting that both boys are becoming more versatile. I like that.

At the end of the day, they're all teammates. They may fight, and even hate each other at times, but the best part about being on a team is that everyone always has each other's back at the end of the day. Miles is a team veteran. He's seen it before and knows how to get his teammates back under control. Yes, I'll have some closure to the trial. Devin's been busy, and it takes a bit of time to get a judge through everything, but I promise everyone will get a resolution!

Devin does seem to be getting into his rhythm. It took awhile and had a few shake-ups along the way, but he's finally getting everything under control. Too bad about the lack of playing time this season though. Maybe next year he'll be on the hill a bit more. The sex was a bit aggressive, but I can see where that would come from too. Both of them are high on testosterone from two games and being around dozens of their fellow athletes, it sorta makes sense that they'd vent some energy a bit, even if it did catch Devin off guard a bit to start. At least it didn't get too rough. I'm glad you liked the ending, thanks for the review Luxy

Playing time is always good, even when the outcome is bad. It's the only way to improve as a player, and facing difficult situations as a player can help build character. That scene was hard to write. It reminded me of home runs I've given up in the past, and I absolutely hated the helpless feeling as you watch it take a long trip. I hate it almost as much as I hate my teammates' anger about it. Yes, one more chapter to close out the school year. We'll have to see what happens, since I won't be writing about summer vacation. DON'T WORRY! I have no intention of letting this little series come to a premature end. I'll be writing about Devin's final three years in college, but in order to do that, I have to end this year. Thanks for the review ColumbusGuy.

The bus showed up early on Friday. We weren’t like most of the other schools; we didn’t have the money to fly to most of our games. I mean, the school had money, but not for us. What was the old saying? “To the victors go the funding”? We weren’t a winning team. We didn’t bring home trophies or pennants for the school, so we didn’t get the same level of funding as some of the other teams in the school, like the men’s basketball team. All that meant was that we didn’t get flights for most of

I have cavities now. That was very sweet and adorable. Very worth the wait. Nice job Skinny. After all the emotional trauma, it's nice to have a soft, fluffy chapter.

Hello CG, thanks for the review as always. The criminal justice system's biggest weakness is that it always took just one juror to acquit, but it took 12 to find someone guilty. In the case of a trial by judge alone, there's less of a chance for one juror to create a mistrial. That, and a judge is less likely to be swayed by emotionalism, so things bode well, at least from the telling of the facts. Obviously, more victims would lead to a longer sentence if the attackers were convicted, but Devin doesn't know how many there were, or even if there were others. We know from previous chapters that he thought there might be, but he never did find out... Coach knew, or at least that's what the detectives told Devin. Hard to know what he did or what he told the team, though. Doesn't sound like he told the team anything. Onward and upward, two chapters left!

Thanks for the review Skinny! Coach Finnegan certainly could have let someone know, but the fact that he had to wheedle the information out of Devin after the attack (chapter 18-19) may have made Coach think that Devin didn't want this brought to light. The players are adults now; it may also have been that Coach thinks it's better coming from Devin. Perhaps not the best choice, but it's what's been decided and Devin will have to figure out how to mend those fences. The fact that Bryce knows about it too will help. Bryce came around quickly because he already knew about it. The rest of the team does know what happened to Devin, but they weren't aware of the trial date. Everyone is mostly reasonable, I'm sure once the situation is explained, it'll alleviate any hurt feelings that are on the team. Of course, Devin could be over-exaggerating the team's poor view of him. Revelations occur most often in moments of weakness. Devin certainly had a few of those this chapter, and he had someone to make him feel better. Speaking of revelations... Devin didn't stick around for the verdict. Stay tuned for details and the exciting conclusion to "Devin goes to court"!

I walked down the hallway as the two officers turned around. It was the first two officers from the hospital, Sergeant Peters and Detective Stevens. They looked grim, but that must be something all police officers learn in training because I’d never seen a cop look particularly happy before. They relaxed visibly when they realized it was me and that I wasn’t running away. “Devin, we were looking for you. Glad we could finally find you.” It’s not like they wasted much effort ‘looking’ for

Well, now we know. The saddest part about the coming out is that it is all completely believable. Everything about the parents' reaction was absolutely something that I could see happening. It's very easy for people to be open and unconfrontational in public, but once something happens inside your own family, people's true colours show up. Sad that Cory got it exactly wrong with his parents... his brothers are probably okay with him being bisexual. Hopefully Efrain can find him back on campus and help sort his new life out. And hopefully his brothers come looking for him too.