Sam Wyer

I think I said this before, but I find anything other than first person very difficult to write. For me, I think of it as inhabiting the characters world, walking around in it, and experiencing it. My stories tend to be about a specific person, and yes, to some extent, their relationships and what happens to them, but ultimately, it’s just about them. There are obvious limitations though - unless they have a conversation or read something explicitly, they don’t know what is going on for other people with any certainty. Yes, this mirrors reality, but from a creative perspective it’s sometimes problematic too as I have to work a bit harder at getting to a particular point, or else give up and approach it differently. Ultimately the answer is almost always the same, it’s about how people communicate (or not), which I happen to find fascinating anyway.

It was a multi-purpose response

Great - it’s almost as if he’s finally growing up

Hope is a good thing, and you’ve left me with some, so thanks for that

I like this, maybe because I remember that feeling, thanks for the reminder

Damn it all @Timothy M., something has gone wrong, I’ve run out of chapters!? How am I supposed to manage now, without this wonderful, romantic, sappy, special warmth that I get from these guys?

What an amazing family Patrick has found himself a part of - I’m definitely feeling a little jealous.

Sooooo good to see things looking good for everyone.

I’m nervous but happy

I think I like the adult Teddy and Ryder more than the teenage versions of themselves - even if they are still trying answer the same question(s) about themselves.

There’s so much in this chapter I think I need to read it again, but first impressions are - awesome as usual.

I think I’m with the consensus view - Farmor needs to get over it!

It’s really good to get a more balanced view of these two guys, it makes them feel more rounded, and more real. As for Michael, he’s cute and everything, but honestly, I could live without him (!). I don’t think I’m a heartless monster, he just doesn’t come close to the fairytale/fantasy heart warming Mmmm-ness (it’s a word) of Patrick and Peter.

It’s great to get TJ’s experience of how they got to that moment in school, it adds a lot of useful (and sad) context to him. Although I really hope we don’t get every scene from multiple, perspectives

Yeah, sorry, I got way too engrossed in the story and was just too impatient to read more. I’ll try harder I promise

It was obviously going to happen, and I happy it did. Your story is somehow nourishing, thank you.

Hell, could they be any cuter?

Awesome story, and yes, I know there is lots more ahead, so that makes me even happier

I’ve only just found this, and what a very happy find it is! A proper story, with actual grown-ups

Personally, I’d rather have a reader disappear after telling me (briefly or vaguely as it may be) why, rather than just a big fat nothing. Maybe they do hate my ideas, maybe they do think my story is going down the drain, and maybe they really don’t want to carry on reading it because.. whatever, whatever, whatever. It’s their right to decide whatever they want. Sure, there are ways of saying that stuff that can be less confrontational than others, but that’s the price I accept for posting my work in a public forum that allows people to feeely comment. I’m aware of the incident in question here (no, not my story), and I have no idea what, if any, ulterior motive there may or may not have been. But just because someone doesn’t like something doesn’t mean they are inevitably being mean/disrespectful/ignorant/aggressive/arrogant. Maybe they just don’t like it. And I’m definitely not aware of the alleged GA blackballing movements, but maybe I’m either too uninteresting or too naive to notice. I just think we should do whatever we can to encourage feedback, including public comments.

It’s going to be fascinating to see how, or maybe if, these guys can work through this. And @Aceinthehole, do your college work! We can live with slower updates.

Wow - you sure know how to open a story

OK, let's get the 'only 4 stars' thing out of the way first. This is a good story, and I'm not at all hesitant in recommending it. But I really don't like the ending. This isn't about the content, but about the style. I think Ace has sold himself short at the last moment. So, this is a story about love, although maybe not a love story. The kind of searingly painful, cutting, and desperate love that only soulmates, no matter what their origins, can experience. The broken and chaotic reality that Ryder and Teddy share is sometimes painfully well observed, and there's certainly no shortage of drama should you ever feel as though things are settling down. Ryder and Teddy are also very well written characters, who you will most likely find yourself caring about just a little too much for your own comfort.

It's just weird. And disappointingly not surprising either. I'm assuming that book 2 follows on somehow, but right now, it kind of just looks like @Aceinthehole got bored writing this - which I'm sure isn't the case. Maybe he's right, maybe it will all make more sense in the future. But I guess I'm a little traditional in my view that a book/story, whether or not it's part of a wider series, should at least be able to stand up on it's own. But this... it's all the wrong shape and the wrong pace. I don't get it, and I'm left feeling confused and annoyed, and not because of the events of the story.

I can appreciate everyone's desire for something good to happen - but seriously? Have you not been reading this entire thing already? It's obviously going to get worse. And then, I really hope it gets better too. But Teddy isn't magical, and Ryder is only superficially resilient, so the odds are not great. People frequently crash and burn in circumstances like this (and mostly without the added super-pressure of being a newly minted rock star). It's not right, it's not fair, and it's not inevitable, but it happens all too often. But like I said, I really hope it gets better, eventually.