Jjeffalch

In the time I was typing this comment, two others picked up on the Vega Vixen link. Bravo!!

"Across from them a small family was bickering and trying to stop a four-armed alien from eating all the pudding. Their kid laughing and saying something about them not painting space ships yellow. His father gesturing wildly, and grinning at the man who was obviously his long suffering husband sipping a cup of tea." It seems I'm the first to pick up on the MOST IMPORTANT THREE SENTENCES IN THE WHOLE CHAPTER...Do you not see it? It's the CREW of the Vega Vixen, with GREMLIN!!!!!!!!!!!! I've been thinking for MONTHS , it feels like, in a grumbling sort of way, that I need more Gremlin in my life. My dear @Topher Lydon, it seems you agree, because this wee little cameo feels like the intro to the re-intro of Gremlin. My dear fellow readers, if we all join in a concerted chorus demanding this, perhaps we can hurry the re-intro process along (hint, hint). Of course, I've been thinking for EVEN MORE MONTHS, and this definitely in a grumbling sort of way, that I need more Carter in my life. Now, of course, re-introducing Carter won't be easily accomplished in this futuristic context (at least, not without a time machine and that wouldn't really feel right), but, my dear @Topher Lydon, I'm hopeful that you are feeling the same compulsion, for how else can one explain the similarities of slogan and personality of Tripp the Dictator with "Him-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named"? Tye narrative bridge is almost there, I'm hoping. This not to say that I/we, your loyal reader(s), are not hugely enjoying the diverse adventures of Darien and Wylan and Ser Val, and especially Ashot: and the Vega Vixen crew, and especially Gremlin, and now Flynn, and especially Poitr, but....

This was your best yet, @Tony S.. There were times when I truly feared that Kent would not beat his demons. He struggled, and it sometimes felt that it would prove too much for him. But although Kent didn't really want to and his instincts were telling him to flee, he didn't, he stayed. He found the people whom he needed to help him stay--Marvin, Pete, Dr. Ratchanon, and Devon--and he let them help him to learn how to stay, maybe without really realizing the role they were playing. The whole story flowed toward this wonderful, quite perfect ending. It was masterful, emotionally compelling, and deeply, unexpectedly deeply, satisfying. It wasn't easy to read the first five chapters, but this ending has made it all worthwhile. Tham you for sharing this disturbing but beautiful story, and your skill and talent, with us. Please do it again soon!!!

It is now beyond doubt. EVERYONE NEEDS A GREMLIN!!

What an unexpected twist! This is a doozy of a cliffhanger. I hope the next book is well underway. No pressure of course!😉

Maybe this is Will's way of punishing Travis for his neglect leading up to the Xmas holidays. It really is a shame that Travis needs Will so much more than Will seems to need Travis, and that his father-induced insecurities won't allow him to just tell Will to enjoy his time in Australia while Travis enjoys his time in LA and they'll both decide where things stand when he gets back.

I may be missing something--- 😕 Will figure that Travis getting with Kendo would damage their relationship, maybe permanently, and he is insisting that Travis not get intimate with him. Travis feels pretty much the same about Austin getting closer to Will, Austin who has just shed the boyfriend who was holding him back from getting involved with Will. How are these two situations different? Will is heading off on a "honeymoon"- like trip to Australia with the one person whom Travis really feels threatened by, and Will feels justified in telling Travis "you know where I stand on this, and if you fuck him, you’re no longer the cloud hovering over my boxes. It’s just that simple,”. Sorry, that is glaringly one-sided, and almost guaranteed to send Travis into Kendo's bed, the next time he flirts him up. It's strange and actually sad, but every time it seems as if Will is maturing away from being a very self-absorbed and self-righteous person, something happens to weaken the facade and his inner asshole comes roaring out, proclaiming "I'M STILL HERE!!!!"

Is this self-inflicted Xmas fiasco the thing that sends Teavis spiraling down unto the self-destructive behavior that was announced in the initial description of this story? Seems like it might be. Travis seems to realizes he has fundamentally messed up his relationship with Will, to the point where Will is taking Austin with him to Australia, making the arrangements without even informing Travis. I guess this means Travis will now stop resisting the flirtations of Kendo, and allow himself to be sucked into whatever emotional cesspool Kendo is swimming in. As fragile as Travis is emotionally, and, with his family background, that is very fragile indeed, he is in for a traumatic ride. Will would be the natural one to pull Travis back from whatever disaster he is stumbling towards, but with Will in Australia at first, then back in Boston with a newly minted boyfriend, who seems incidentally to be WAY better at satisfying Will sexually and probably intellectually, Travis is probably going to fall into his disaster before Will is even aware of what is going on. But, maybe this is a good thing. Both Will and Travis are deeply self-indulgent young men, but Travis lacks the self-confidence to be the kind of foil Will realIy needs in his partner. Will really does make appalling poor choices for his boyfriends!!! Maybe this will wake him up a bit and help him recognize the problem. Maybe he needs to spend some time with that therapist who seems to be on retainer to the family in Cali. Or maybe he just need to date casually for a year or two, without the pressure of trying to build and maintain a relationship with some high-maintenance, spoiled guy who is too emtionally immature to carry any part of that responsibility. But now, with Will heading Down Under and his mind increasingly focused on Austin, maybe our attention can at last be fully directed toward Travis, as we anticipate his dissolution with morbid fascination.

The father seems to be somewhat resigned to his fate, not putting too much hope in the treatment--it was never going to cure him anyway. The best would be for the treatment to fail, and for him to pass on quickly. Then, James can go back to his life with Evan, and leave his mother alone with her favorite child. Sam is as useless a human being as last month's lettuce, and Mommie dearest will soon have to come to James for help. And now James has to stand firm - not a penny for Sam. She'll probably continue to give him what money she does have - James must stand firmer still, "no, no more money than what I have already given you to help with this month's bills." And above all, he needs to stop hoping for any kind of positive change. She is what she is, and he needs to stop contorting himself into believing that it is somehow his fault and that he can fix it. Then perhaps, he can put himself fully into his renewed relationship with Evan.

If his mother refuses to accept him,then he should redefine for himself the terms so under which he engages her. First, every single thing she wants or needs, she must ask J for, individually. No more volunteering. No more doing the lawn. They kicked him out of that house years ago, the lawn is his dad's concern. Second, nothing more for Sam. James must stop conniving in his own denigration. There should no more buying spring rolls or more groceries for Sam, in case he shows up. Sam wants spring rolls he should ask James for them himself. Which he can only do if he's there. And third, no more inconveniencing himself. Mom won't let him sleep in his own room because of "how Sam gets", James should get in his car and drive him, and tell his mom he'll meet her at the hospital tomorrow. How she gets there is her concern. If he decides to pick her up, it's at a time that suits him. And when she starts to bitch and complain, as her type always does, he should simply suggest she contact her other son to fill in the gap. It will not cause her to change, and James should accept this once and for all. But he needs to take away her "power" to distress him. From now, he needs to stop hoping for change from her. And I'm doubly glad that he has reconciled with Evan, especially because he comes complete with a proper set of loving and supporting parents who see James as another son. No one ever wants to write off their parents. But James is better off without his. Refusing to allow them to put him down any longer will make him happier and more settled, and better able to devote himself to Evan without this parental baggage.

I really appreciate this chapter. It gives insights into James, his backstory, it helps explain his stoicism, his steadiness, his ability to focus, and his patience. It also helped me understand why he seemed unable to pin Evan down and force a discussion of their issues before their breakup. The poor guy was used to infrequent, superficial, one-way exchanges with his mother, not conversations where they talked about their lives. I like the insights into Evan as well. How he turned himself around, and put himself in a place where he could appreciate James fully. I had been wondering what was his epiphany moment. But maybe there wasn't any one thing. Maybe being out of the relationship gave him the time and the space to grow some more, to mature to the point that he was ready to commit a serious adult relationship and work at it. I'm glad he was brave enough to seek James' forgiveness and convince him to try again. And I particularly like Evan's stance on James' parents. He supports James but when the final confrontation comes. That support is what will help James draw the line and stand up for himself.

So, Tyler's back in the mix. That was very deftly handled, @Topher Lydon! That physical fascination of Charley's for Taine did feel a bit like a knee- jerk reaction, à la "he's wearing my body, so of course he fascinates me" . But now Tyler needs to be back in the kitchen, as does Chloe. Kitchen-brigadingvfrom a distance wears thin and has unintended consequences. Matt has become far too settled since taking over the family photo archivist role, witness his dutiful and surprisingly steady apprenticeship. Something has ro give in time for the showdown with Riccardo and his smooth family thugs.

Does anyone still see Tyler as part of the narrative? The two most 'normal' of the erstwhile kitchen brigade, Chloe and Tyler, both find themselves pursuing mundane normal activities at some considerable distance from the Hartley kitchen. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, dramas unfold, legalistic demons parade through and have their equanimity shaken in its foundations, the kitchen's denizens learn to excel at fire prevention, and the undead evolve into new (dare one actually say it?) "life forms". What possible role remains for Tyler? Even his tea-making has been usurped by Gregory, who through osmosis, apparently, has realized that the waves of tea somehow have to be organized into batches of seventeen pots (there is surely some diabolic, soon to be unveiled significance to the number seventeen as it relates to pots of tea). I confess, I miss Tyler.

Don't know how Tyler is supposed to compete against that. This might be the end of his relationship with Taine, who was deeply conflicted about it all at the best of times. It's a shame you wrote sTyler as such an amiable lovable character without flaw.

Well, Daniel has finally 'found' Malik, and it was clearly preordained to be thus--finding the "real" Malik will hopefully force him to recognize that the imaginary Malik he'd fixated on could not be part of his future and would never want to be. Maybe this inadvertent realization is just what he needs to give himself entirely i to hus new life, with Max, and to lay t he ghost of Malik to rest.