Will Hawkins

Cole is manipulative because that's how a politician works, but you're right, Dale had better watch out. It seems he can hold his own physically, even against a member of the football team, but we don't know about mentally. Today we found out that Dale's father committed suicide. You are working the backstory in gradually. By the way, do I address the author as DK? To introduce the backstory by including references within the narrative is a super way to bring it to the reader. That means we are not inundated with facts to the point of drowning before we meet all the principals. Good show!

I think Dale's mum is a kick. In spite of being in pain and acting stubborn about going to the hospital. She believes as I do, that a hospital is a place you go to die, not to get well. Will H.

OK, Dale is going to be gay for pay? That is a twist and Cole will have to show interest in him to make the voters believe the situation. Many interesting possibilities opening up there. The only problem I have is, the story was published for the first time in 2013. Will the author ever see any comments from five years later? Will H.

Clever and playful are the exact words `i would use. I will be following this story, probably to the end. Will H.

Oh, I am just FULL of useless facts, but information for authors is not quite useless as it makes the storyline more realistic. Any useless fact you would like to know, just ask. While the time zone here is GMT minus three (Asuncion), if your question reaches my inbox while I am awake -- night-night is at 9.00, as I am an old man -- I will get back to you promptly.

I am very concerned about the cracks that are appearing in the Robbie-Nathan romance but encouraged by the improvement in Robbie's relations with Alex. I know you are tired, Dodger, of these characters, but I feel you could continue for another 99 chapters to resolve all Robbie's problems. I have said it before and will say it again, Dodger, you are a superior author -- no matter what language you are writing in. I look forward to reading other stories written by you. Are there more in the future?

All good things must come to an end I suppose. Before we close, I will apologize for all the snarky comments, Dodger. You are a superior author and the snarking I did was meant to improve, not destroy. It was never my intent to take Dodger out of the story and replace him with an English professor. Professors are so dull and you, Dodger, are certainly not that. If anything, the British-isms or Canadian-isms in the writing, set the scene for us benighted southerners. I will have to say that my vocabulary has increased because of your writing and, fortunately bringing up a screen with a translation then returning to the same spot in the story is a trick that I have mastered. But on to the wrap-up! Will

Several people have commented on Mr. Andrews possibly being a friend of or related to Walter, the retired social worker. I wonder if his relationship with Robbie might not be even closer than that? We do not know what happened to Robbie's real father. He just disappeared after impregnating Robbie's mother if I remember correctly. With Alex and his baby brother being added to the Taylor household, that certainly adds another layer of sexual confusion. Alex, though he is injured at this time, seems to be mellowing out. Another spanner in the works? I am sorry, but I think Nathan is a drama queen and not the best companion in the world for Robbie, though, if he were to move on, it would upset Robbie terribly. Roger, Dodger, you old codger, you really know how to stir the pot. I love your style, it makes for excellent reading.

Oh, Tesao, about Armistead Maupin; he attended a performance of the Seattle Men's Chorus while I was working backstage as Assistant Stage Manager. I took his two books to work with me that day and he autographed them. His is the only autograph I have ever gotten and the most valuable memento of my years herding those cats around backstage. Did you ever hear the expression 'herding cats', well you should try getting 180 gay cats out on stage at the proper time! They were all supposed to wear tux's, but somebody always came incompletely dressed. I had to take off the black six I was wearing one night to loan them to a singer who showed up without his, and we had to delay a performance for about five minutes at another time while we found the Director's shirt! Ah, the joys!

An attack of the caliber that breaks bones will have to be reported to the police by the hospital, though I am sure Alex will lie about what happened in an attempt to protect his father. If Social Services gets wind of it and investigates, even though they will do a shitty job, as usual, Alex's father may find himself in jail and Alex may be put into the system. An interesting upshot of that would be setting up Robies family as guardians for Alex... No, even the Canadian Juvenile Authorities could not be that stupid -- nothing special about the stupidity of the Canadian system -- just a typical stupidity of Juvenile Authorities generally. This series gets more and more interesting, Dodger! Fantastic work. Will

Good show, Robbie. Standing nose to nose with a guy like Mitch is the only way to win. I hope he doesn't have too many queer-baiting friends, but Robbie clearly set the tone for that confrontation. The occasional spot of humor -- yes, US spelling -- in your writing Dodger, just makes the examples of tension just that much more exciting, super authoring buddy, keep up the good work! Will

The following is information is for an author in reference to Tylenol poisoning: the standard size Tylenol tabled contains 325mg acetaminophen, the illness resulting from overdosing on Tylenol is liver damage. The dosage of Tylenol requiring emergency medical treatment is between 3,000 and 7,000mg (8 - 20 pills) with 7,000mg being at the danger range. Take a counter medication like N-acetylcysteine will prevent all but the most severe cases of overloading the liver. First aid treatment is to get the Tylenol out of the stomach. Chucking up is a homestyle remedy that cannot do much harm. There may be no immediate symptoms of Tylenol poisoning. So, Robbie should attempt to vomit, then drink copious amounts of water, but there is minimal danger unless he suffers abdominal pain from liver damage.

Robbie has had many setbacks in his young life; no father, ill and dying mother, move to another country with different mores, etc, etc. In some cases, these shocks would make for a stronger personality, however, that has obviously not been the case for Robbie. In his case, these blows have made him at best indecisive. I can only hope that his relationship with Nathan and Nathan's family will put a rod in his back. His reactions to life have an opportunity to turn around with his relations with Nathan et fam. Dodger, you are painting with words a portrait with many subtilties and places for stress and also improvement. Your readership is constant in urging you to write more and faster. That is sweet praise for an author. Certainly, few, if any, are dropping out from boredom. A big bunch of roses to you as your reward. Will

For the benefit of your US readers: Loonie, a dollar coin; twoonie, a two dollar coin, Newfie, a Newfoundlander. The Loonie and Twoonie are called that because they bear the picture of a loon on one side. Newfie was a slang term given Newfoundlanders when all overseas flights were stopped at Gander AFB because of the 9-11 attack. It became a term of affection by US personnel because of the generous and gracious way the Newfound-landers accepted the US invasion. Don is a bigot, Sue is a wimp, and Alex, well it seems that Alex has some potential as a friend, but as a boyfriend, I think not. As usual, you create characterizations with a master hand, Dodger. Excellent work. Will

Sorry, I don't trust Alex. Can the leopard totally change his spots? Considering the poor surroundings hampering Alex's bringing up, I fear that concrete and bars will be his endpoint. It is a similar case with Don, it seems that his prejudice is hardened by kowtowing to the opinions of his Mafia in the town, and he will never be able to accept Robbie's orientation completely. The remainder of the family seems to be moving toward acceptance. Robbie is one very mixed up kid, and he is not helped by his stubbornness and being unwilling or unable to communicate. Will

'It's against the law for a start.' As little as am I familiar with Canadian law, especially with recent changes, this statement is no longer true. Was it true at the time the story was written, or the time when the action took place? Sexual relations between men of the same or close to the same age, while perhaps not acceptable to the general public, are not against Canadian law. do not know when the law was changed, but this is the second time this statement has been made in this story. In general, however, this story is extremely well written. I am more and more convinced it is, at least in part, based on personal experience, not strictly fiction. If so, Dodger, it was a very trying time in your life and I feel that writing the story -- as fiction -- is partially cathartic for you. Will H.

Okay, there was a bit of a slowdown in this chapter, but I feel the change of pace is a requirement in any story to provide the reader with breathing space. Daniel's reaction is spot on -- it shows a bit of shock and confusion, but that is a very normal reaction to this type of news. We must remember that these characters are still very young. I am sure that my reaction at fifteen, going on sixteen, would be much the same -- 'huh, hey wait a minute'. A normal series of reactions over the next few hours or days might be disappointment -- why didn't you tell me? Then -- 'Oh, okay, it is your life.'

For the benefit of all out there in Reader Land: the difference between Solstice and Equinox is easy to learn. The word Equinox contains the clue 'equi' which obviously has to do with equal... So equinox means equal night, that indicate the night is equal to something and when we are discussing day-night lengths it becomes obvious, the night is equal to the day. The word solstice, on the other hand, is not quite so easy to figure out. It contains the roots, 'sol' for sun and 'stice' referring to stop or halted, and probably refers to the sun being stopped in its movement to the North or South.

Robbie had the benefit of a mother most of his growing up period and to see him behaving so marginally is embarrassing. Hopefully, settling in among Canadians who are well laid back and usually polite, will temper his reactions somewhat.

I think I missed something! We, Nathan and Robbie, are walking to the bus stop then suddenly Nathan has to go back into the bushes and spit to clean out his mouth. Did I miss the normal prelude to that action? Troll Alert: The North American expression (and I assume that includes Canadian) is for a dog to be in heat, on heat is British, and here it is Nathan speaking. Just a small slip Canuck! Mister Will

I just made some comments on the forum for this story. This is an experiment for me as I am not accustomed to using the forum. My continued use of it all depends on your activity. I enjoy discussing points with friends -- even if they are not so friendly -- so, we will see if my postings get any responses. Mister Will

Semen is made up if a whole bunch of things you really don’t want in your eye. A fructose-rich fluid makes up 65 to 70 percent of it and citric acid, enzymes acid phosphatase, and lipids make up 25 to 30 percent. Other components of semen include chlorine, zinc, sodium, lactic acid, uric acid, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, nitrogen, protein, antigens, DNA, and a handful of other nutrients. Just remember that semen has to keep the little wigglers happy while they swim up the fallopian tubes, and strong enough to get inside the ovum after they get there. While it is something you don't want to get in your eye, nobody has ever gone blind from cummy-eye. Mister Will

That Nathan was not able to "get off" during his first M\M sexual experience is very typical. I have noted even in gay porn, the actors almost always finish by hand. Some of that is to give the viewer the "money shot" experience, but according to psychologists, it is also a very normal reaction. We are more accustomed to the feel of "Righty" -- or, in some cases, "Lefty" -- and find the feeling of normality quite comforting during an early experience. That, of course, changes as we become more experienced with a partner -- especially a lover -- then the familiarity with him becomes the usual, not the strange, experience. Mister Will

Can I look forward to Nicola becoming a friend or ally to Robbie if I read far enough in the series?

A couple of points here. What the Indonesians have done is an act of war and Australia should take strong reprisal actions, probably in the UN. Now a bit of nit-picking; while this yacht is not an official Australian naval vessle, some of the traditions of the Navy should apply. The person in charge of a vessel is by courtesy the Captain. A Bosun is the highest-ranking member of the crew, true, but in this case, deserves some recognition of rank and should be addressed as Lieutenant. The person who does the cooking is usually a cook, not a chef. Okay, I have vented my spleen enough now so I will retreat back under my bridge and quit nipping at the author's bare toes. Mister Will