Krista

Okay, the start of the story was so festive, tame, and endearing. Jason meets his best friend's parents, he takes a peek at a guy's butt. He's flirted with, has some small panic, but enjoys the smell of chicken. Then in the clubhouse it all falls to complete chaotic energy that as I pictured it, I wouldn't know where my attention was supposed to go. Which made the reading fun. Owen, fine he's the very outward confident gay person that knows who he is and that he's hot enough for people to care who he is. To me, he'd be better suited for a fling. So, I'm hoping Jason keeps the number, but guards everything else. We don't know Owen though, Owen may be able to kick the nicotine habit and show himself to be a little deeper than sex and flirtations. Owen can stay where he is. Cooking delicious chickens and being a flirt. I'm far more interested in seeing how Jason navigates the chaos of all of the information given him. He has a long drive to process everything. A lot of questions that may be answered, or already were... but who the hell can leave it at... "I didn't think my asshole could be gay..." in the middle of the rest of the non-filtered intoxicated bombardment of confessions. But in the middle of all of that - Jason still was able to piece together who bought him the secret santa. Timothy is a cheater at his own game. He went into a lot of effort for the night to go the way that it did. He did it because he knew Jason... maybe not that he was struggling with his sexuality, not until the iPad. But he knew Jason wasn't going to approach the subject without prodding. And since the other friend Stephen seemed equally against any prodding (whilst the other two seem very well versed in prodding), then he stepped in and turned a snow ball into an avalanche. Was he out of line? Possibly. Did he have good intentions with both his friends in mind, yes. So I can forgive him, they did, their lifelong bonds are built on a firm foundation. At least I hope so, when you enter in sex with feelings, then that might be more than they can handle. The banter was fresh and hilarious. I want to know the fallout from this evening, because there's going to be some aftershocks. This read so nicely for me as well. A group of friends at the age where they're burdened by things, but one of them isn't being completely adult. There's a sense of frozen time in the writing. It made them seem lighter. I liked it.

I liked it for what it was. I do want a season two, but with the announcement of the war, I may not. I'd like to know what happened with the platoon leader though. I didn't recognize Miles until much farther into episode one, thinking I should know who he was. Then it hit me it was the guy from Love, Simon. I didn't watch Thirteen Reasons Why.

That would be an interesting turn of events. Banging his noggin, or even wrecking his truck and his coma dream just had him stepping out onto the bridge.. and here we are. Food for thought. I've already added close to 40k in new writing, what's a bit more.. Tying my shoe laces together would get me, mind you. Back when I bothered with laces, I kept them so loosely laced that I didn't really need to tie them. I wouldn't have felt the tension on the laces until I toppled over. Of course, if that were to happen I'd have to retaliate and I aim higher than shoe laces. You'd be surprised how almost wrong you are about your expectations for the birthday and the likelihood of seeing wet underwear. Just saying.

I am bluntly honest most of the time. Whether people ask me to be or not. Even about myself and my writing. I'm glad 6-7 means nothing. I was afraid to even put it in the damn search bar. There's a lot of them that I've looked up and I can't just bring myself to use in writing. I have become the little old lady that tsks people for saying silly made up words, I fear. I pretty much know they did. I have learned their tells when they're fibbing. I just don't want to think about it either way. lol. And that was very brazen of you, I'm a light sleeper, I would've never forgiven such things going on in my bedroom floor. 😮

Well I mean, if I went harsh on Joel and no evidence of Jaxton being punished, then I'd be in hot water. Although, Jaxton's not shown that he's been given the warnings. Or they've not slowed him down any. In the original writing, she was a lot more firm. She told him that the shenanigans were done. That she understood, but expected him to act better. There would be consequences if he didn't remove his uniform... etc. I was told that it read like someone being too strict for something that wasn't that much of a disturbance. But yes, she watched them eat their little burgers, didn't she? Did I misspell Jolt? I think you meant Javin or Joy. I don't mean to bash your spirits on purpose. But the writing points to Colt and Davin never fooling around. I can't say, "yeah they..." I'm too lady to complete that sentence. I'll only write it in fiction. Which for them, didn't happen, apparently. Sorry for being the grinch that stole that present out from under the tree. I'm sorry for not following the outline. I barely follow my own. Maybe if you threatened something other than the shoe laces that I don't have... because this is 2025, shoelaces were so two decades ago. I do agree with you. Joel has opened his eyes a little bit. If I'm being colorful in my prose, it is like the sun coming out from behind clouds and turning shadowy figures into flowers. With Joel it's men in tight jeans and dirt smeared shirts. Who knew he had a bit of a type... although Colt is more of that type than Davin, so woops... *dangles the Jolt present I just took from you right in front of your face* He was showing frustrations with just existing and not knowing where his place was, or what decisions to make based on that. It's good he's finally started to see it, 25 and 200k words in. I'm glad you enjoyed this chapter. PS. Is it because you know I promised you things in the new writing and you're just waiting for that to be delivered? I have become a bit of a hypocrite for you, as I continuously say that although I do love theories about upcoming chapters, etc. I don't believe in changing the writing to implement them, just because they're popular. Well... I did make a promise, and I kept it. Enjoy. The birthday party was coming up in the next chapter. When I say new writing, it is currently three chapters, and I'm planning a fourth, if not a fifth. I guess I'm taking on the challenge of slowing down the pace of a story that's already moving along at a snail's pace. One could say, the damn thing has begun to go backwards... 40k words backwards. It is writing I knew I should have included in the original. I was told that a lot of what I planned to leave out was important. I was stubborn. I will give @wildone credit. He listened to me complain about the tedious nature of writing a story confined to the restrictions of a school schedule. Then listened to me complain about coming to terms with his suggestions about what needed included and I attempted to get around without writing. So he's listened to me complain twice about something he's been right about all along. Help that man find sanity, because I give him none.

Your poor glasses.

You're welcome. I like answering questions about how I got started. It is something I'm proud of over the years. Maybe not the writing I started out with, rough as it is.

Yeah, I thoroughly rambled, didn't I? Woops.

I grew up knowing two gay men. One of them was outed at fourteen, the other two years later. I stood by them when their families didn't approve, they lived with me for a few years. My family home had a spare bedroom for them and my mother was willing to take them in. With the internet being slow and unreliable in our area, we found that reading Nifty was the easiest way for them to have more options when it comes to media. So we read a lot of stories on there. Before they were outed I was already writing in my spare time, female protagonists. They read the one story I finished and since we had started reading Nifty, they told me that I should try to write gay male characters. They wanted to read them. Nifty was full of unrealistic characters to us. Too sexualized, too chaotic, too unrealistically messy with fanciful stuff that didn't happen to a lot of people in their everyday lives. Growing up where we did, sex wasn't talked about openly, to be honest it wasn't talked about in our teenage circles much either. Although most of us were active participants... So, the characters we read about felt really disconnected from us. They wanted to read stories that felt more like them and what they were going through. That's why a lot of my writing is around sports and in a more rural setting. They played sports. Both played Basketball and Football before they were outed. There are a lot of good authors that do write all this better than me, but at least with Nifty, those stories weren't that easy to find. We had favorite authors that we liked to read, I realized after finding GA that a lot of them had cross posted and had most of their stories on GA. They've since lost interest in reading online fiction, really reading in general. I try to get them to read books I've bought, but they never get around to them. So instead, we talk about films and shows, since they take less of a commitment. My two friends never dated one another either. They tell me they never fooled around, but I know their poker faces and I try not to think about it. I've always seen them more like my brothers since I've known them most of my life.. Honestly as well, I try to ground my characters in a broad and universal idea of humanity. I give them very human flaws, ideas, goals... I try to flesh them out beyond baseline aspects of life. I want them to feel like someone that you or anyone that reads can meet on the sidewalk. I write them thoroughly with that idea in mind. Maybe to where I get a bit bogged down in sections of the writing that I could have skipped and kept the realism of them. Like describing every article of clothing they put on. Walking to and from the dresser, to the closet, back to the bed. A lot of authors do write grounded and easily recognizable characters though, and I've read a lot of stories. Men and Women are different, but there's a lot of similarities as well. Our politics, religion, financial status, goals, personalities are different, but we all still fall under the basic interpretation of human. So, having characters comfortably written with that, in a realistic backdrop world helps. I like to 'think' I can manage the minds of teenagers grappling with coming of age and finding their way. It's just that these teenagers are male and part of them finding their way happens to be coming to terms with being sexually, physically, and emotionally attracted to other males. Language and mannerisms of teenagers is something that I try to keep. They do not take themselves seriously. They make up words, they swear, they say stupid things, and they're generally playfully mean to another. Grammar in speech isn't enforced. I will admit to be really far removed from currently slang. I still have no damn idea what 6-7 means. I've not used a ton of current slang in my writing. Coming of Age stories will never get old. Everyone has to come of age. Although I am sensing a general audience shift on expectations on what gay teenagers and coming out may look like now. I've seen that shift play out in the comments section of this story. Mostly for the good. So, my writing at least as far as I do Coming of Age/Out stories may start feeling a little dated. I'm feeling the pressure to adapt a bit. I don't do that easily, creatively, anyway. So I may depart from these types of stories. ---- My husband knows that I write gay fiction. I have allowed him to read my more tame short stories. He has accepted my gay friends into his 'social' circles. We try to do major holidays together whenever we have the time. Mostly the 4th, Christmas, and they may stop in for Thanksgiving. Both of my gay friends are married, so now there's four of them. I've also made him watch some shows. Recently we watched Boots on Netflix together. A lot of his friends are former military. His best friend a former marine. I kind of made his friend watch it, since his military service coexisted with Don't Ask Don't Tell. He did not like Boots, mind you. He said it wasn't realistic. Bootcamp was not a place for friendships, lasting bonds, that much open discussion with your superiors, etc. He said you barely had time to do anything. If you were awake, you were expected to be doing something. You barely had time to shower, shave, shit, or eat. Let alone talk. Down time is rare, and if you had any physical liabilities you were sent home.. even for something as small as being flat footed, slightly elevated blood pressure, or severe astigmatism. He said gay wasn't discussed, maybe at most joked about, but you didn't know anyone well enough to notice or care what they were doing or thinking. I think he said, "I was under so much constant stress and pressure I had trouble remembering my own damn name." He said the gay stuff, knowing anyone, and shit like that happened after Bootcamp. That's when bonds were made and stuff like that happened. My husband's friend is straight though, or he has a very good poker face. I don't know why I call him my husband's friend either, my children call him Uncle and I consider him a dear friend now as well. He gangs up with me against my husband when he defends his mother (my mother-in-law), so yeah, good friend. My husband and his friend do know. My children do not and I don't know when or if I'll tell any of them.

I think there is a frontal pic sent, but I highly doubt it is the actor's... if so, he was rather dedicated. But yes, the first two episodes provided a lot of what you described.

You're welcome. I am a bit ashamed if some of y'all thought that meant there'd be another chapter this weekend. Unfortunately, I'm busy... cleaning, shopping. My brain has been so drained that I just want to turn it off and focus on other things. The joke with Braden wasn't supposed to be a big thing at all. Just a stupid little comment, because Colt is a teenager and they say stupid things. Davin doesn't flaunt his sexuality. He's just a bundle of energy. There's differences between the twins that she probably notices. Gavin and Colt have successfully convinced girls to put with them. Davin doesn't seem as persistent with that or prioritizing it as much. If she notices anything, it might be that Davin is more sensitive to how his parents have treated him than Gavin is. And maybe if you were to ask her which of them are Colt's best friend, she'd probably answer with Davin. But that may be as deep as her thinking goes with that. Celia is more of a listener. She asks low-pressure questions to keep Joel talking, but she didn't put a lot of pressure on him to give her information that he wasn't willing to give. So, I don't think, even if she had any assumptions that she'd add pressure to Davin just to validate that. It is something that feels very self-serving to me, especially coming from a parent. It is one of the quickest ways to put distance between people. For me, the only time I cross that line is if I think the person is close to a crisis. Since Davin doesn't seem close to any sort of self-harm or crisis, there isn't a reason for her to act.

A relationship. I was shaking my head through a lot of Episode 2. Good character dynamics... mind you. But yes... I shooketh my head.

I don't want to burst any bubbles... So I'll just scoot right out of this comment. ... and I know with me saying that I don't want to burst any bubbles, likely popped them anyway.

I'm slightly confused by "no mention of him reacting after realizing what he'd done?" Because Colt did apologize to Joel a couple of times in the chaos of that scene. Then he kind of scooted out of there. Colt tends to bottle things up, a bit like Joel. When it comes out though, it comes out. Like the scene on the river bank, he had bottled up not wanting to continue to do ranch work after high school. That he had other plans. He kind of exploded and spilled all of that out with Joel, then went right into picking at the reason why Joel was there. Then here, in a lighter setting, he made that joke without thinking about the consequences. Or do you mean Joel didn't react to Colt? Because that was intentional. In the moment he forgot that everyone in the room didn't know that Davin already knew. So it hit him kind of late that he was supposed to have some sort of reaction. So he kind of frowned about it. Either way, I may be having a blond moment or a bit of author blindness with that scene.

On terms that make better sense for him. That's something he's not been able to find for himself for awhile now. It has forced him to plan ahead, probably in more detail that he had before. Still trying to find a place for him to settle mentally. Thank you for saying that I do this well with him. I struggled to reel in logical steps, time, and expectations. Sometimes I think I focused too heavily on that. Colt does have a big mouth. When he talks he doesn't waste the words. He's had a few examples when he was informative. It is almost as if he lives between silence and spilling his guts.

Lol. I was more concerned with the strut than the position. I mean, that's mostly the reason why I watch baseball. Nice 'form' on that first baseman too.

I was going to ask you about this the other day. The other trailers I've watched has kept my interest. I do not have HBO Max though. Do I pay a subscription just to watch it though?

yeah, if they were to look up I'm pretty certain a bad idea would smack them right in the face.

Going for the curveball. It could be cute for him to be the one that knows Joel the best and read him like an open book about Davin.

Yeah, if the boys started talking in that moment I think it would have went the way of chaotic. Luckily Davin still had food on his plate that he wanted to get back to. Colt was stuck in shock and apologies. And Joel was pretending to be shocked after remembering that Davin wasn't supposed to know despite what they've been up to. If anything the lack of chaos might throw Trace and Celia for a loop when they settle in for the evening to talk. In my head I see them decompressing and talking about their days before bed every night... because they're a perfect marriage on display and I hate them for it. To think I almost made Colt the Jaxton-type. Not Jockish, but a constant anti-voice. The one bothered by Joel's presence. I decided not to. That might have fed more Colt theories. Enemies to lovers... and all that. He's still grumpy and had his cold 'I don't care' sentiments about Joel mixed in. Joel may be slowly proving himself to Colt, or at least not being as scared around him so Colt 'can' take more of an interest in him. I think they were both stand-offish with one another based on annoyance/avoidance indifference and a tiny bit of fear. I have an interesting thought and opinion of Davin. It was brought up with me by Wildthing the other day when we were discussing the 'new' chapters. I can't say much about all that though. Your opinion of him does make me smile though. And the more guesses I read, I'm seeing more of you think Gavin will be the first to catch them out. Or say something. Colt if he's away from Sierra and wants to be around family does notice things. Boob blindness must really be a thing...

I do tend to spiral a bit. I think the story is close to over 250k now... I don't see my writing as this big groundbreaking fresh-idea sort of writing. Maybe the more correct word would be.... humble? Simple? I've been here since 2006ish and I'm still amazed when y'all take the time to read my writing.

Davin seems to be slightly paranoid that may be the case. He just doesn't know which way Gavin would go about it... quietly or loudly. Gavin seems to do things a bit... loud. Subtle is lacking with both of them to be fair.

I have my rare moments.

Yes, he has noticed the world around him a bit more and that includes cute faces in the crowd. It does seem like there's been a bit of him waking up all together. Celia is likely a slight favorite in the minds on who will figure it out. Lacey is interesting. She seems to bounce around the house. Maybe if she did it a bit quieter she'd catch them out. Cody... I have a bouncing in my head idea about Cody. We've seen so little of him for so long.

It is a 25kish monster of a chapter. That chapter... of course with the additional three to five chapters ahead of it, I'll have to go back and see if I oopsie double covered anything.