Krista

As curious as I am, the fact that you redacted it in a moment of self-reflection, I can't have you backslide on that. Growth and what have you, I'm sure. Also, if you're trolling me, then you can't also be my little attack minions. You're supposed to agree when the cheeky little Canadian pokes fun and mocks me... Otherwise you'll have to lose the banner, because you don't deserve the honor of having such a thing.

Oh, I'm also sure that you've probably answered this question, but I've forgotten: Does your husband read your stories? Does he read over your shoulder on GA?

I cried a lot when I wrote Ridley's story. It came to me from an idea that popped in my head. It is the opening scene of the story. "What does one see in their reflection..." but I chose a window and not a mirror. A mirror shows you everything right back in your face whether or not you're prepared to see it in the first place. A reflection in the window is blurry, unfocused. There's a lot going on outside of that window that you can also see, and to notice your reflection in all of that is something most people tend not to even do. It was also a bit geared towards an Anthology theme, but I can't remember the theme. But yeah, that vision in my head of someone sitting alone noticing their reflection in a window, even during a bright sunny day outside it made me want to write it. He was a character that had so much self-awareness, but none all at the same time. He felt like he knew exactly who he was in his own world, but in honesty he had forgotten too. And we know why, which makes him human. Otherwise someone so at odds with themselves wouldn't be relatable or reliable at all as a voice. That's where I'll always love this character and story. He is easily my most complex character ever written. As far as your homework assignment, I agree. I personally didn't see any sexual attraction or awkwardness between them. Something else caused the rift. A lot of somethings that I could build a story on, I feel. But there has to be a sexuality element to write Matt's story. But food for thought, the character dynamics that I could form between Ridley post Homecoming and Matt's own story leading up to and past Homecoming could be interesting. I'd have to honor Ridley's story first though. I can't break 'timeline' or 'cannon' for Matt's story if the timelines are the same as they do have conversations with one another. But yes, thank you for reading this little story. Overlooking the sports balls. and doing the homework assignment I gave you.

Pfft that wouldn't even get them into the following Tuesday... I'd find a away to turn 30,000 words into one long three-part day. I mean I think I did that more than twice already. Then went backwards once and started telling the story of a day that I had already jumped past.

Everything you explained in the first paragraph is why the story has to end, right? Joel wasn't any of those things on the bridge and he is all of those things now. So, what's the story's purpose in continuing? To show more of the same? You get to this never ending plateau after the effort to climb to the top of it. If the story continues on flat and solid ground, then it just doesn't end. It may be new to him, but for me to continue he'd either have to regress, which he has done some, who would want to read that? Or he needs to go 'too far...' which he has shown hints at and become a bit of a destruction to his own achievements... for lack of a better word. I don't think there would be any interest to see him get everything good and then toss it away because he doesn't know when to stop pushing, just because he's learned to start pushing. If you get my meaning. So yeah, the story needs to be about 'his' conflicts. The story is in his POV entirely. Anything else I bring up with other characters shouldn't overshadow or take central stage, so to speak. If Joel's story is over, it simply is over. Unless I can come up with some reason for a new conflict on the horizon that may already be hinted at in this story, I can't justify extending a story just for the sake of it. The only one I truly hinted on was Roy and Joel coming together as a couple, but that was set up in the writing more because I stayed on the fence too long with Davin. Now I love Davin, especially after the bonfire scene with Jaxton. Davin showed a lot of maturity and outright affection, support, and forgiveness with Joel in that moment. He wasn't happy with how Joel acted, but he stood up and walked beside him when he could've just told Joel to piss off and go sulk by the fire. As for the second paragraph thank you for being brave enough to share. We do need more Trace and Celias in the world. Those that can do better and not expect anything. Those that pay attention to people who struggle, and not record them for views and/or laugh at them. This world has taught people how to chew others up and spit them out... use and abuse them. That is why I made Trace and Celia as they were, because I miss people like that as they are few and far between. I do see Cody being a pill with his parents.

I'm amused that we're beating this to death. Yeah, one too many cupcakes can bloat a team's schedule and make them unreliable as a team of merit and worth in general. So when they've eaten a lot of cupcakes then the steak shows up and they can't take two bites out of it... makes you wonder, why so many cupcakes?

Way to try to get the topic back on sports balls, well in this case balls... and pucks. Sticks and uptight Canadian bottoms... But... then you derail it. Shame.

Yeah, in sports balls Cupcake just means an easy team. Usually homecoming schedules a team they can likely beat based on how they played them the year prior... or a school that notoriously sucks. Like a sacrificial lamb of sorts. It doesn't happen all the time, but that's the usual for when I played... who wants to play their last home game of the season and lose it? So schedule a team where that's a lot less likely. The rest of the team should have calmed their asses down and stopped making it about themselves in that moment and focused on the practice in front of them. But yeah, this was a very mixed small thing in the story. People thought if one messes up, all mess up and all should be punished with the laps. As a team learning experience and him sitting whilst the others were punished continued to place him outside a bit. But he was also the only one going above all of it, even when they were being shitty towards him, and did what he was expected to do. I guess in smaller towns, for a special sort of homecoming paper feature it would be a bigger thing. It is plot driven, as I think after Ridley said no and stopped cooperating with them, they would've moved back to the Captain and did a puff piece on him. Realistically anyway. But you know how the press is in real life too, it is the story no one has... that everyone wants. This was the 'last' time they were ever going to get a "Riddles" feature... as basketball is winding down and that's the sport he plays. Lol.. hush, we know how that interview would've played out... poor Ridley's butthole. I think this is the story where I had a lot of biting pieces of inner-narrative that I enjoyed. I didn't see a lot of that with, "Learned to Lie," but Ridley's narrative was sort of blunt and had bite at times. He was borderline bitter and heartbroken.

Yeah, you hit upon some of the issues that I had after reading it and calling it 'the final' chapter myself. So it is solidifying in my mind that I needed to do that last chapter. I'm not even calling it an Epilogue, I think it will 'be' the last chapter. It is a shorter chapter, only 6600 words, I'm thinking. I'm also not a miracle worker there's a lot of the stuff you listed above not in it... as all of that would take me a lot of time. Time I don't have with this story, not in the way that I would want to go about it anyway. I have a rather clean slate after the next chapter posts. I don't know what I want to tackle next. I know if "Book 2" of this, if it were to cross my mind to do... would need to take priority and be started rather quickly, with efficient writing. Otherwise I'll have people forgetting a lot of this story, and not be interested in this one. That's the biggest knock I have against even entertaining the idea. Time will get the better of me. If you look, this story was was first posted in what... 2023? As a one-off short story. People wanted more, but I had Elias posting at the time, and finishing up The Best Year to get that monster of a story completed. Then the writing started for this story and it took me over a year. I think I started reposting this story back in April and it is now January of 2026 and we're still posting. So yeah, if y'all are 100% willing to wait an entire year+ for "Book 2" which I have no idea how I'm going to do as it is - which may take the process longer. I'll begin to entertain that thought. Otherwise, I think this story will stand as it is and I can move along to something else. I do love these characters and I think they're in a spot where I can pick them back up. There's a lot of plot dynamics in my head that I wish to cover, but I'm not going to say it is enough to warrant a continuation or a book 2 either. Especially since the main two conflicts within this story are resolving. Joel's mindset/fears and the conflict and not knowing where he belongs. A whole book worth of mushy Javin won't get me very far, I need conflict... true and legitimate conflict. I don't think Jaxton has that in him either, being bested three times already, unfortunately. And who needs a Cliche bully being the main source of conflict. It would have to come in the form of Javin problems to make it worthwhile. Maybe if I never established a relationship with anyone, book 2 would be about "Finding Love.." since Book 1 was all about Joel finding himself, mostly... and Davin happened to be a willing body in all that self discovery. This is me rambling. Do not take this as any sign that my mind is weighing this option... for now I am just 'torn' on what to do next and I always have these 'what if' scenarios hopping in and out of my brain. I am a one project person it will also need to be a project I feel motivated to do and maybe Joel/Davin isn't all that motivating to me at the moment. What I will say though is that I've loved every minute of the posting of this story. There were chapters and writing that unnerved me, I was a wreck through parts of it, especially the slower and more bogged down Joel portions there in the middle. Then the New writing reinvigorated the story for me. But yes, there's no pushing conflict with this story anymore, just side-plot and character dynamics that I'm interested in. The main story is over. So, yeah.. that's where my head is at the moment. Like I said though it changes with the day.

Excuse you sir, but ladies do not burp. Edited: Also, I do get fussed at for my long paragraphs, especially in early writing. I seem to bog myself down in long paragraphs early in writing projects and it hurts the flow of information.

Did I clutch my pearls, yes.. yes I did. Do I agree that he can come across as a jerk, yes... I can. Who is the closet case? Ridley or Matt? If Matt is noticing boobies, then he can't be a closet case... or well full on closet case, he can still be bisexual and what have you. Ridley is too nice for a full on fuck and you, I'm thinking. Do I even swear that much in this story? I went all out with the swearing in, "Learned to Lie," and y'all don't know how many F-bombs I cut from that story because I thought I had done it too much... and there was still a lot. It wouldn't have gotten him anywhere, just another trip to someone else telling him that he has to cooperate. And no, feet pictures are creepy, no. And also my tense issue, sentence structure, and all that is why we could never co-write it would drive you too insane. Which I don't care, cause I have no interest in fixing things all that dramatically. It would cause me more harm than good, as in I'd be like, "if I can't be more me, then I can't be doing this..." and stop this writing thing. I know we should be in this thing to learn better writing habits and fix our issues, but I'm also well in the knowledge that I am stuck in my bad habits and it will take more effort than I am willing to put in.

Aww. I'm going to have to read Ridley again with this in mind, I think. If I ever wanted to revisit the story, I mean. It wasn't clear, I do remember that. I've always been of the mind with how you assessed Ridley. His very narrow focus didn't allow for much.

I feel conspired against... 😮 What's this? Oh no, no, no.

uhhh a pat on the back.

There's an ongoing thing with the character dynamics that I set up between Ridley and Matt that had people talking about sexuality, evidence for and against it. Some say he could be gay, some day no he's not... etc. And you know me, I never really confirmed or denied it, I don't think... I'll have to read through the comments to see if I did... I may have. But yeah, I don't want to break loosely established character facts for a story if there's no evidence to back it up. Edited: And aww, you were one post too early.

Ridley. There's sports balls though. Then you can tell me if Matt Ashby is gay or not so I can do a story on him...

uhhhhhhh I don't think anyone could handle that... but also mostly I wouldn't handle that. I doubt you'd survive me either. So yeah, horrible idea, definitely horrible. And scary.

I liked Mass Effect, but it was obvious that the Female Shepard is the 'cannon' option. Her relationships and writing as far as the RPG/Character interactions were the weighted favorite to a point. Her voice actress was a lot better too, I said what I said. Liara's romance arc with either Shepard seems most canon as well. With that said though, I've played it a couple of times. Was completely lost the first time I played it though. The dated graphics and controls makes it a challenge... and Mass Effect 3 was a cluster of good and bad, to be honest. As far as datable M/M relationships... Kaidan is boring, but he was my goto, but you have to pretty much accept a rushed story-line with him as you can't romance him as a Male Shepard until ME3. Steve Cortez was too far out of the way and also limited to ME3, so it doesn't really matter much. So, I always went for Garrus for Female Shepard, and Tali for Male. I did a Kaidan/Male Shepard just to see it play out, but Tali's story is by far my favorite as far as that is concerned. --- They are making a new game to expand it past the Trilogy, so we'll see. Bioware has been rather good at effing things up for their franchises though. -- 'Glares at Dragon Age: Veilgard.'

I would've skipped it. Hollywood award shows are so tedious and pretentious and they both seem like life-loving, fun guys... I would rather cut onions all day than watch ten minutes of the Golden Globes.

I'd rather just behave myself and remain innocent. Thank you for your offer though.

Fiction, because not only would the electric company charge you a fee for restoration, they would have been very unhappy about having to do all that to begin with. So, sending in a late payment for restoring electricity wouldn't have gotten it turned back on, you'd have to pay the fee + the late bill. I did not pay electricity bills when I wrote this story and I didn't believe in research back then... not at all.

You deserve all the attention... love... and drivebys... so there.

You're not wrong. Although, there is such a thing as dominant bottoms, that go beyond power bottoms and outright dominate the top like a... toy.. Not saying Joel would be anything like that... I wouldn't have it in my limited smut/filth writing bag of tricks as it is.

Yeah, Francine is a piece of work, isn't she? Makes you really thankful for Celia being who she is, coming from all that. 😮 I hope she comes around before it is too late. She doesn't have the most time in the world, living it estranged from her daughter and her family isn't the way to walk those years, I'm thinking. But oh well, that's people for you...

The "twink" that got really into the BDSM stuff during the "puppy play" conversation. I cannot believe you made me attempt to explain this twice. Remember your own filthy details, please.