FanLit

It was excellent to see Chase and his dad make progress & great that he seems to have a place to stay for the time being. As for Hank and all that had to do with Hank in this chapter.... Can’t wait for next Monday.

SUCH a loaded statement!!!!

👏 👏

This was a healthy, gut punching chapter. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is that which is best for us but Chase did that and BRAVO to him. He took steps to reach out to his father (no one will be able to say “but you never said/asked”) and he took his Hank detox medicine like a champ. (As much as I loved him leaving the pillow the last time, I love even more that he took it this time.) Hank is confused himself, which is understandable considering how deeply Chase hurt him; When he said he wanted to be friends with Chase, he may have meant it....at the time. There is a deep well of anger (I think some misdirected at Chase) among the hurt and he has a lot of sifting and sorting out to do, he is choosing to do it on his own or at least without Chase and that is his right but there is some passive aggressive motions on Hank’s part that is annoying. I am proud as hell of Chase and have sympathy for Hank. I’m on to see what the next chapter will bring (still scratching my head on how I missed this one, lol). This was lovely, Gary.

I didn’t think of Mark being not his father’s son but it does make sense, in retrospect. It is stupid and so foolishly wrong that Mark had to pay for the indiscretion of his mother instead of she and her husband providing him with emotional support. It would be interesting to see a conversation with his mother about this but I doubt it would be productive. Seeing the friendship the guys were able to maintain in the midst of their fame reminds me that family is as much who you choose to claim as whom you were born to, maybe even more so....I thought Rachel would hook up with Jordan after her break up with Mark, who knows?

Reading about Mark and Rob’s connection and the deepening of their friendship into love has been very enjoyable; So enjoyable it’s made me nervous-they haven’t been caught by their folks with the potential for negative implications that might bring (at least from Rob’s dad). I fear how Rachel will react to the breakup, especially if Rob tells her the truth; Something tells me she may have news of her own for Rob (like a 40 week development), though I hope I’m wrong. It just seems to good to be true....

I loved the rhythm of this poem. My father suffered from S.A.D. but we didn’t know what it was until we were older. Your lyrical dance of the winter blues was spot on; You somehow made them seem more adventurous than sad while still effectively conveying how crippling this can be. Autumn is my favorite season, followed by Spring; I tolerate Winter and hate Summer. Thank you for sharing, Gary....I enjoyed this very much.

Please know Dayne, that my previous comment wasn’t a “Hurry Up” for you. My intention with your rewrite is to let a few chapters post and then read them at one time but every time I see an updated chapter, I can’t wait and I read it. I might be able to adhere to my intention later on in the story but knowing how excited I am to see the new developments, I doubt it.

I’m trying to let a few chapters post so I’d have a good read but I like this story so much and want to see the changes made from the previous version, I can’t wait, lol. I’ll trrryyy to wait but I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to, lol. 🤷‍♀️

Amen.

“He didn’t know exactly how he would do it—he just knew he had to.“ I was looking for more, lol. That chapter felt short, even though I don’t think it was; Just a sign of your usual....leaving us wanting more. 😉 This was a wonderful chapter for Chase. He was reassured he still had a valuable friendship (Stacey) and he made breakthroughs with his sister AND his therapist. It also reminds me that treating depression (successfully) is not a solo effort; The one suffering does have to do the heavy lifting as far as moving past the black hole that depression can be but a good support system is critical. This chapter also brought home to me how much more common place depression can be, I dare say Chase isn’t the only one in his world depressed-Cindy, their father and Hank I believe are in various stages of it. “Again. He heard the worry in her voice and it bothered him. She saw him as weak, and she wasn’t the only one. He saw some irony in how that made him feel, seeing as how he’d considered going back on his meds for all the wrong reasons.” I don’t know how I feel about that paragraph but I don’t believe depression is a sign of weakness, I think some people are predisposed to that mindset and that is beyond one’s control, like being left handed or having curly hair. What breed of dog is Rex? Would it do more harm for him not to hear from Chase? I feel like Chase and Cindy will be the ones coming out of this better, I think leaning on each other will make enormous strides in their respective progress. Their dad is in some major avoidance of life and Hank seems like he has a hero complex of some sort (to me); I don’t know if Chase created that in him or fed that more but Hank definitely has some issues that go beyond he and Chase. Looking forward to next week....do you ever post a bonus chapter on your stories? (Somehow, I think I know the answer, lol)

I don’t think dear Peter will switch teams but it is interesting to see how possessive he feels toward Amanda. It’s the first real relationship he has had with someone, an interaction that involves a mental engagement instead of mainly a physical one. It looks good on him. I forget who broke up the relationship between Amanda and Roger but were he eagle eyed, he’d realize the ring on her finger is the one he bought her. And Tommy?....he has to go. How on earth do you use a toothbrush as chopsticks, WHY would it be a refrigerator occupant or a bookmark for porno literature?!?! And if you were going to do these questionable things, why not do them with your own? Doug tried to warn him. I’m waiting for Cutie Pie (dude with the book in the first or second chapter and Amanda’s friend or was it co worker) to show up and make it hard for Trout to stay with this plan.

I fell in love with these characters as “Efrain and Cory” on Nifty and “Wolf Like Me” here (reading new chapters of W L M is what made me join GA so thank you.) I’m onboard for and look forward to this version as well. Welcome back.

Gotta love a guy who gives good....comment. 😉

Ooooo....I like the way you analyze.

This story is great.

What a good chapter. Chase reacted to painful subliminal (subconscious?) realizations generated by Hank’s proposal but was able to keep that act from spiraling out of control. Dr. Chorney helped Chase realize he wasn’t the total fuck up he thought he was. It’s liberating and empowering to realize you have the tools to conquer previous demons....to be able to cauterize the wound, if you will. I felt Chase’s lightness of being at his temporary victory; He knows there will be other battles but he now knows that he can handle more than he thought he could, on his own. That strength helped him to pick up his belongings at Hank’s. Hank has to play out his hurt, anger and disillusionment with the club kiss before anything positive can exist between he and Chase; Right now it’s too soon for anything more than he doing his thing and Chase doing his. I like Chase putting those two pillows back together. 🙂 Delving into your writer mind (if you choose to share, of course): Any significance to the names given in this story?

I’m glad Trout’s going to score, serves June and Marisse right, lol!!

We can expect Chase and Cindy to be walking wounded and it seems Hank was wounded by more than the kiss in the club. For what I said of his character before, there appears to be in him a distinct unease in dealing with emotionally messy situations, like there should be a certain timeframe that one should get themselves together, that of course, is unrealistic. Chase seems grateful that Hank was physically there but how much was he really emotionally? I think Chase used Hank as a motivational benchmark for progress in the depths of depression when it first hit but it seems his views of Hank’s role in his recovery is skewered. I was annoyed with Hank’s digs about he and Chase being broken up and Chase getting a new place while Chase was still sick but remembered that Hank was still angry and hurt, that was underscored with Hank’s tearful breakdown. This chapter made clearer to me that Hank has issues of his own that need addressing. Cindy’s bombastic attitude was off putting at first but that changed to respect when I saw that she was in therapy herself, I’m glad she offered to be there for her brother....we all think we should know our loved ones would be there for us but sometimes they aren’t, either by choice or ignorance of suffering-hearing it makes a big difference. On a superficial side note, I have a great appreciation for the color green, though I tend to like the darker shades; Olive isn’t so bad, lol.

Happy New Year, Gary❣️❣️ It took me a while to get to this story but I never doubted it would be a good one. We meet Chase and Hank at an emotionally fraught crossroads. There is an ending and a beginning because even if Chase and Hank reconcile (which I’m already hoping for), it will have to be a new start. Without knowing all his specifics, Hank seems very much a stalwart, sympathetic type....I don’t know if he’s ever dealt with depression personally or only through association with Chase and others close to him but depression is a singular experience; It is selfish and isolating and self defeating, whether one is being treated for it or not. I do not excuse Chase’s behavior but if he’s been dealing with undiagnosed, untreated depression, it could incite self destructive actions, of which he seems to be paying for now in the aftermath of Hank’s proposal. I already care about the both of them and am very interested where this journey will go. It’s nice to have you back in literary rotation. 🥂

I’m so sorry about your bird.