Krista

Thank you for taking the time to read through my stories. I'll admit that a lot of my earlier works are roughly written and in need of edits/rewrites. Some of the themes are a bit out there as well. But I'm proud of my stories, even if some of them make me a bit anxious when I see people reading them. We all have to start somewhere though.

I wouldn't go that far, there are still a lot of stigmas that makes coming out rather relatable here. In film, book, or entertainment though, like I said the formulas tend to change. It feels heavily weighted in Coming of Age, and Coming out at the moment. There are likely elements of both in most gay or sexuality based stories/films/shows. Even in Heated Rivalry, they're both closeted, in the main storyline. There will always be factors at play for certain people to be closeted outside of their personal circles. Maybe we've shifted away from that slightly. But speaking entertainment, yes the formula right now seems to be this coming of age or coming out sort of predictable formula. We're starting to see it shift from that to... "we don't care about effin' labels..." at all, and sexuality is a lot more fluid. The negative being that we're seeing a lot more sex-driven or toxicity in relationships in film/shows. Like Matty said earlier, it seems like no one can function enough to build a healthy relationship. Some films go as far as making healthy relationships boring, there's a lot of films and shows coming out and being made in which established relationships become stagnant. Wanting to have 'open' relationships. Adding a third. Or outright cheating being so intertwined with sexuality, that it sort of blurs into one mess. Not saying that doesn't happen, it often does... but for that to be the shift, then it can become a bit unrelatable.

Yeah, I have no problem with a story ending in tragedy or non-HEA. At one time though it was incredibly rare that it happened for gay characters in film. I kind of prefer things not being so pretty and wrapped. More open-ended, I would say. But yes, at least for me, Brokeback Mountain, felt very true to form for most gay films at the time. Which is why it doesn't age well. I mean, even my Coming of Age stories aren't aging all that well anymore. The 'closet' isn't as interesting to readers a lot younger than me. So coming out/coming of age seems dated to some. I sense frustrations surrounding characters that do not cope with their sexuality well. Culturally it signals something good. Younger people are finding courage and acceptance easier and far more rewarding. Being driven by fear, closets, and such isn't as prominent and relatable as it once was. As a writer of such stories, I did feel slightly burdened by those frustrations and thinking that maybe I need to leave the genre if I cannot adapt to a more current telling of them. Which I feel is just awkward first love sort of stories, which mine are, mostly. But, maybe not growing up feeling the pressure of keeping things not so inward. Although I find those characters interesting, readers may no longer. Adapting and not becoming formulaic in your creativity sounds easily done. But comfort zones are hard to break. Hollywood lives in comfort zones. Innovation is rewarded rarely and rarely is it commercially successful enough for there to be any lasting impact. That is why Studios are on their 20th Marvel film. I think we're up to what, 7 'Toy Story' films, 6 Shreks, 3 Frozens after 2026. Find the formula that works until it doesn't. Creativity be damned.

It would fall under the category that I have for films that aren't deep, but are decently done. I only watched in one time. There are parts of it that I loved, but mostly I liked both characters. I saw it more as a friend comedy/drama. Some attempts at comedy, mostly a drama with lighter elements. Then a bit of a punching latter half that made the movie better for me. I may like this film more if I watched it more than once, things are a bit foggy for me, but I think overall I remember enjoying the film. The actor was also in, "Handsome Devil," which I enjoyed a lot more, but I've also watched it more than once.

I feel like you double bluffed me and are trolling me. Or maybe the troll is in my response, admitting that I feel trolled. And you have won. And I hate when I don't win.

Thank you for putting it nicely that I am a bit of rambler when I write. Love you for it. I may or may not be currently working on a 10K+ word count chapter for Ellis at the moment to further prove your point. -- We also have to realize how Hollywood treats stories like these. If you look across film and time, Brokeback Mountain was a victim of the rule. It doesn't make it stand out as something bad, because it was still groundbreaking in the fact that it was so available to a massive audience. The star power in the film putting more eyes on it as well. It opened doors and got more "Yes" from studios than, "No," for later films to be be made. And who stars in them. It was also coming out in a bit of a renaissance for films in America. It pre-dated the Remake bullshit we're in now, but it was also along the timeframe where we leaned more heavily on telling nuanced stories with elements of art and reality. Memoirs of a Geisha comes to mind as well, made within the same year. That film also hasn't aged well. Before that, the message were AIDs and Hate Crimes in general. Either the story had to be where the gay characters could not have a happy ending. Or happily ever afters were rare and they were never true romantic elements shown, they were just gay and you were to believe them because the film told you to. Romantic and happy was overshadowed by social, health, and religious overtones that dominated the actual 'humans' and the negative human elements were often portrayed over the positives. Even if those characters were gay. You saw more sex workers, or sexually promiscuous than you did gay people who date, or only have sex with one person. Hollywood treated gayness somewhat like a fetish. Like others have said homosexuality was mostly meant for the shadows. Whispered about, not shown. All romantic elements behind closed doors, in the dark with poor lighting. It wasn't loud, it wasn't colorful, and it wasn't happy. Fear, anger, hate, mental illness, sexual elements, were the 'normal' compared to the characters just being human. It was as if they are GAY and then human. The distinction wasn't equally weighted. To the point where it felt to be gay is to be in fear, deviants in society, you can't be religious, and you will most likely die. You will die from AIDs, suicide, or brutally attacked/murdered. Usually alone and shunned by society, your family, and with little to nothing. Like I said though, those stories brought to light and made people aware. So, don't take this as me belittling the past and the importance of those films. Not my intention. Hollywood has always been: That gay people can only be human in a certain world, a certain way, with a certain outcome. And it all became formulaic. -- They haven't learned their lesson with this by the way. It is just the formula has changed. And Brokeback Mountain kind of leaned into that idea. They had to be secretive. They had to be closed off with one another in public. They had to be quiet/seen and not heard. They had to live in an unaccepting world, they had to ruin their marriages to women, and they had to suffer a tragedy. So, the film felt older than it was, even if the setting, story, and plot were strongly written for the setting and time it is based. And all that formulaic sameness is what made it boring. The difference now with 'Heated Rivalry,' and "Red White and Royal Blue,' alongside other more modern films and television - is that filmmakers and showrunners are starting to be more seamless with sexuality. It isn't something that's stigmatized, tropes, or flat-lined messaging with no other life support to carry the film or show forward. We are able to see that Gay and Human are of equal standing and to be honest, in doing so has made it more inclusive to a wider audience. But let's also admit to ourselves that half the reason, 'Heated Rivalry' blew up is because all four dudes the show is focused on all have nice asses too. The plot isn't the most groundbreaking thing on earth. The Main storyline is engaging, but it has been told, it doesn't break a special sort of mold. But the other thing that makes the show stand out, and what I feel is more important than the round butts and hockey are the two dudes are written as being very average in being human. So they're relatable. I think modern audiences are starved for that notion in entertainment. They're not these people that can only be understood by two percent of the population. They are people that you can meet walking alongside you on a crowded sidewalk. That and all Hollywood can seem to predictably produce are 3rd, 4th, 5th level remakes of the same damn garbage and shove it down our throats. Or lifeless live remakes of nostalgic animated films. I do not like Hollywood, I've made that clear numerous times. I pay a lot more attention to independent and/or foreign, or mostly foreign 'and' independent studios. They make better films across the board.

Wasn't pretty, wasn't pretty.

Hush your face Steven. As for the film it was a decent film for a one-off watch for me. And no, I didn't write it. The most interesting parts of the whole film were glossed over with not much depth, sadly. I think that was the entirety of the film, it introduced these small nuanced things and if you were blinking or not paying attention you missed them. Exploring a few of them slightly better and with more depth would have made a better film. Don't get me wrong though, I do like nuance and subtle clues in film, it's just when they sort of include the main plot, you might do better to flesh them out a little bit more. Anyway, I've only watched the film once, I may watch it again to see if I like it better now that I know what to watch out for as far as the nuance and subtly goes. A Film about a gay football player that shares the same name with the main character to a story I wrote. Similarity number one. I think the main character even prefers to go by his last name/a nickname, similarity number two. Has issues with his father - which is main conflict. Trying to come out from under his father's shadow... similarity number three. Coming of age story where the character is somewhat afraid to come out, explores his sexuality more, similarity number four. Seemingly only playing Football to appease his father and to springboard it into a future via college, but not really in love with the sport because his pushy father and lofty expectations from everyone else ruined that for him ages ago. Similarities numbers five and six. It was enough to make me go... "huh..." If there was a scene where he and his best friend -- who everyone thought he should be with, since she's pretty and female, similarity number seven. Finds abandoned puppies and he adopts one of them, then I would have mostly definitely cried foul and got me a lawyer. Mind you a lot of that isn't ground breaking and there are likely stories out there. A dime a dozen, really. So all the above is just me being cheeky and reaching as a joke.

I wish I could explain the characters better without giving away plot, but I wouldn't call them villains. Your description of villains are spot on though. They need to think their idea/convictions are worthy and what's necessary. But you go back to being you, I'd hate for you to have to take a lot of extra baths to get the ick of serious off you.

I'm finding it a challenge to write obviously flawed characters. I keep wanting to backtrack and defend their actions, and I have to get into the mindset that some people just do bad things. There's no reason for it other than being self-serving or whatever. There is psychology behind it, but at least for me and the story I wish to tell, that psychology is more for the readers, not me being bogged down in it within the writing itself. It should be something I may be considering, as a sort of base level or stencil to build from. Scaffolding? To make the characters more fleshed out and targeted in how and why they do what they do, but yes. I still need to allow them the freedom of movement within the story to do everything I need them to do. Not be over their shoulder like an auntie telling them off for their bad behavior, so to speak.

I don't think there's much distinction in anyone who writes here. Reasons are numerous, so I wouldn't wish to put a ton of weight, or a blanket over reasons why people write. I write when I'm bored, when I want to, I write when a character draws my attention. I write when I've fallen into a mental/emotional funk and I want a distraction. Hell I write in the winter, hoping for spring/summer, because I am a spring and summer person. So no, I wouldn't say there are two distinct kinds of writers here. Therapy seekers, or Learners. I think most people are a mixture of many reasons. I wish to learn more as I discuss writing, but I also want to connect with the people and stories that I write. I may write themes that I might have lived in, like sadness or loss, or whatever. But yeah, most people here are probably here for various individual reasons. The goals can be similar, they likely are.

I think I meant, interesting as they kind of treated their sons like collectibles and not people. So I liked the use of the word. Although fuck trophies is more on brand for this comment section, I'm thinking.

I also think someone should write: A Separate Peace - A story about co-workers who don't usually work together in close proximity, being trapped together on a project. Chaos, could also end bloody, because one co-worker, we'll call him Steve, is a cheeky little shit that gets up to meanness. And his co-worker's name, we'll call her Krista, a mostly sweet darlin that gets fed up with him and, get creative with how the blood gets everywhere, if you wish. You don't have to, but you know.

I have two ideas for the first prompt. The first one is a bit silly but the second one might lead me down a 300k rabbit hole, and I can't... I can't keep killing off the Main Character to hard stop me from continuing the story. The titles are: Twilight - even though I don't like horror anything, I thought about attempting to write a short story with some scary elements... probably won't touch this one though. and, Where the Red Fern Grows - and going full blown romance, because that's my safe and comfy spot. Nothing to do with vampires or the depressing story of a kid who loses both his dogs that wrecked me as a child when I thought it was going to be a cute little story about a kid and his two puppers... It was the first time I can remember thinking that I can't trust authors, they're evil critters. I may dabble with the second title though, truly. And just hope that it isn't this massive thing that consumes me in the attempt.

The real question is did you rush around first to get to second before the husband said, "Stop, we're in public behave your damn self..." Or, did he let you have second base because it 'was' your birthday? -- And I do not allow myself to act 21 anymore, because like you it takes me 48 hours to recover. But I also think I can do weekend long basketball and volleyball tournaments on a body that has a day job and no time for a gym.. although I still try to jog and do some exercise. Still two days, ten hours each worth of tournaments on tendons and muscles that can no longer be described as springy and/or flexible. And yes, the husband has to do them too, because he's allowed me too much power when he knew better.

Welcome y'all, have fun.

Thank you! Glad you like the characters through two chapters. Good luck with the rest of the reading.

May we someday see all this extra writing? Especially the Ethan ones, for reasons - completely innocent I assure you. Educational and what have you. Unless you plan on branching off with another story that requires a tighter grip on all the extra reading material. And, I thought you'd like the Filthy Fairytales, you're welcome. Well deserved.

Seeing works from all these authors that were around when I was a wee little new-ish author and realizing that a lot of them are no longer active is a bit bittersweet. I don't remember anything about the story I submitted for this Anthology either. I might be brave and take a look.

You'll have to edit that thing I do not speak of, because I am a natural brunette.

I think it is the blond hair. Because Five manipulated Percy to be involved with that dude on the boat, before the summer chicken thing started. The game itself wasn't all that bad, because they stopped short of ever crossing any definitively cheat-y line. Just 'because' him and Bethany were tired of seeing poor Percy go without and not sharing that big penis with the world... so to speak. Then the game of chicken started afterwards and that's when 'Five' wanted to experiment. He was honest with Bethany, but Percy didn't know anything about that plan until well after when Percy discussed Bethany. If I'm remembering correctly, Percy was starting to put a bit of a distance between anything physical with him and Five finally admitted that it was 'he' who wanted to experiment and that he had Bethany's blessing to do so. So that frees Percy from feeling most of his guilt, you can't fault Five or Percy if Bethany presses experimentation. If the woman is willing to open the door, she has to suffer the consequences. I'm thinking she will suffer them rather thoroughly later on. So, at least as far as Bethany is concerned, the only time Percy should feel any blame was doing anything with Five 'before' knowing that. The fact that Percy showed and spoke of a lot of guilt about hurting her makes him human and in an apologetic light. Still wrong, but here we are. Where I found fault with Five was that he didn't disclose any of this information until he had to, his experimentation was in jeopardy of causing a rift and/or stopping completely. So he 'had' to tell Percy. He didn't really choose to. Duplicity with reasons are lies with excuses. Sorry. Omitting important information is also a lie. It didn't allow for Percy to come to terms with what was happening. He held a lot of guilt he didn't have to. Which is a running theme with Five, he's been very consistent with omitting information, causing undue harm, and then coming clean. It is a very selfish fault he's had throughout. It makes him an interesting read, he'd be boring if he was given the green light from Bethany and there weren't any underlying issues coexisting in his character. The story so far hasn't created any conflict between Five/Bethany and Percy/Bethany stemming directly from the experimenting blowing up in all their faces. So, all this mess (I say mess with absolute love, because I'm here for it) that I've discussed are exciting to me. I may sound like I dislike Five, but his character is my focal point because he has driven this story, flaws and all. I just wouldn't date him. Although I wouldn't date Percy either, unless he shows me that he can be different when Five isn't involved as far as communication goes. And I'm far too innocent for either of them, far, far too innocent. So far Seb is the only one I'd consider. I never said Percy wasn't entirely blameless, I've went off on both of them for not communicating enough for it to matter. Living in filthy fairytales that can't function outside of PineCrest. But you also have to admit that On the boat Percy was minding his business and engaging in a game. At PineCrest he was minding his own business and Five showed up with more than just a simple visit to a longtime friend on his mind and went right to manipulating Percy shortly after. If he had been upfront not long after the stinky hug they shared, then all of this would be a moot point for me to make. And Krista should've saved Percy, missed opportunity. I'm only saying that of course, because her name is Krista and that is a very Krista thing to do, I'm thinking. But that is a comment I should've posted on the other chapter.

For most of my teenage and younger adult life I too was a blond. But I also know I can be rather blunt, scary, and mean. Five needs to learn lessons. Maybe if the dude didn't lie, be accusatory, and hypocritical. Didn't start his whole trip on a lie, manipulation, and experiment that never allowed for Percy to be on equal ground... who needs enemies... He's been lucky Percy is horny enough and in love with him both as a friend and romantically to overlook all the manipulation, gaslighting, lies, narcissism, and the assertion that he will want his cake and eat it too whenever he leaves Percy for Florida and Bethany. If Blonds get away with all that because they're blonds... well. Maybe blonds do have more fun...

I don't do horror, so no.

First: Oh my goodness me, I decided to read all of the comments this chapter. Why did I? Why did I pick this very chapter to read all the comments. Mind you, you know the ones that I'm talking about. You filthy things. Also, leaders do not tempt fate, harm, or destruction when other people are involved. Michael is no leader. He shouldn't be leading this team, his mind isn't the most important asset. Especially since he camped right over a sinkhole. He's obviously inept at leading expeditions. Seb and Elmer should be the ones leading. Even if they had to hog-tie and gag Michael's ass... I would've gotten him off his high horse and back to PineCrest. The women shouldn't have even been up there, maybe aside from Esmerelda, since she's obviously trained in advanced aid and triage. As she seemed to assess what she deemed necessary. I don't know what Krista does. Roads closed or not, triage can be tricky and you lose people if you're wrong on the severity of their injuries. Dynamite at thirty yards and superficial face lacerations for Krista, probably dealing with a concussion for he and more severe one for Percy, both of which would have to be assessed for severity or other damages before either of them would've been allowed to sleep. Percy's head and body injuries do seem rather significant. I can't remember the exact criteria and/or determining factors for sleep/withholding sleep for brain injuries and concussions it has been a bit and not something I deal with in my field of practice. But yeah, safe to say they were beyond lucky. And the sinkhole and encroaching storm should have told everyone involved that the day was a waste. It is better to pick up and leave, lose the day... than to lose a life. I am disappointed in all of them. This better make all involved millions, because right now they're down damaged equipment. Their host in Percy. A Snowcat, which I have to google now because I'm thinking it is different than what I pictured earlier in the writing and didn't remember to look up when I was first curious. They nearly lost Elmer and Sheila to a support beam. Five to the sinkhole. Michael and Krista to the dynamite. The people you can't get back, no amount of money is worth five lives. Seb's story about his brother Leo made me cry. I didn't want to cry, so I am angry with you. But... the words are important, so I'll suck it up.

At least Five fixed the mess that was Ethan. Maybe Ethan will go quietly, he'll have to eventually. This whole new game the two of them has started is interesting. It seems they keep falling into these games and I think it goes beyond them just attempting to keep this whole trip organic and fresh. Also, to keep from talking about the important stuff, so par the course for them as far as that goes. At least legitimate distractions are there, they do have to behave themselves a little bit, tending to guests and not be rude. Krista might need to sharpen her knife and do some gelding if Michael gets too lippy. He needs to remember that he too is a guest. One that could've very easily been told to eff right off the property ages ago. Sheila seems quiet. Esmerelda - flirty..? Might need to watch her. Seb seems fun and laid back. All of them seem okay with the situation, Michael aside, but we'll see. It seems like a new game of chicken has started, but in reverse. Now it is all about self-control, and not crossing a line. We'll see who wins this one. I like Five not getting his way, the man needs to learn this lesson... too bad Percy has been playful with it, so the learning won't be as significant as it probably should be.