Graeme

Mark has no support at home and now he's outed himself to a jerk who has no reason to keep his mouth shut. The pain is almost certainly going to continue next chapter.

Thanks, @shyboy85. I have had experiences with a number of people on the spectrum over the years. I guess it shows

@TetRefine sometimes one of the hardest lessons to learn is that other people are different. Yes, we all know it, but as you've realised, even when we're trying, we're still making assumptions that others act and think in a simillar way to ourselves. I know I still do it a times, even though I've had decades of experience to teach me otherwise. You're still young, don't worry about There's a natural tendency for people to associate with likeminded folks, so in places like New York City where there are enough other gay people to form a community, such a community forms. There's nothing wrong with that, and you shouldn't feel that there's anything wrong or odd about being part of that community. I'm sure there are many people who wish they could be part of such a community. But many of us are still isolated in various ways. There are many places where the number of known gay people can be counted on your fingers, and naturally the way those people live and act is very different to places where there is a vibrant gay community. That's why online communities such as GA form; they're a way for those people to associate with more like themselves than they can in person. None of this is right or wrong. It's all just part of the rich fabric of life, of which being gay is a small part. For some people it plays a bigger part than others, but that's okay. Life would be boring if we all acted and thought the same way

Okay, @Timothy M. Either Liam is a good liar, or he really was a virgin at that time. Since he started to chase Neil within a couple of months of that time, he's unlikely to have weakened and had casual sex, so it's fair to say he probably hasn't experienced casual sex himself. Which raises the question of where did his opinion come from. From the section you quoted, it sounds like it probably came from online, or from simply trying to discourage Neil from considering the idea.

I've known I'm gay since my teenage years, but I didn't accept it until I was 40. I consider myself to be part of the gay community, but only online. In real life, I'm a happily married father of two with a very understanding wife...but I don't do anything with the gay community in Melbourne. Australian has evolved considerable over the last 30 years, climaxing last year with an overwhelming majority of Australian voters saying they wanted to allow same-sex couples to marry. There is still homophobia here, but it's definitely a minority, and a small minority at that. Having said that, I'm still not coming out to the wider community here because my family is my priority, and I'm not going to endanger my boys in any way. That sounds stupid, considering what I said about homophobia in Australia, but there are private considerations that I'm not going to explain that, to me, justify my decision not to come out. Instead, my gay community life is here at GA and at other sites on the Internet. And I'm happy with that

Ah, but @Timothy M. how do we know that Liam told Doug the truth? Even if Doug was his best friend, would Liam admit to, for example, swapping blowjobs with a stranger in a public toilet? All we can say is that if he had sex before Neil, he wasn't willing to admit to it.

@Carlos Hazday no apology necessary. I never intend my characters to be perfect (unless it's satire or a parody) and they make mistakes. There is a multitude of opinions and views in the world on almost every topic, and sex is no different. As I keep telling my boys: everyone's different. When it comes to sex, some like monogamy, some like open relationships, some like casual sex, some like orgies, some like what others call "kinks" -- as long as all participants are happy, I don't see a problem with it. After all, it's only the participant's views that are important @Timothy M. thanks for your post. One thing we don't know is how much experience Liam has. Remember, he was in a sexless relationship for two years, so the chances are he's only had casual sex before Neil, and probably not that often (there aren't that many opportunities for a closeted teen in the outer suburbs of Melbourne) . If he's had a few bad experiences, that may have coloured his views. And, both of them know about what happened to Roscoe prior to the draft... (in Leopards Leap).

Kevin is a midfielder. They tend to not be as tall as the key forwards and defenders. Speed and strength are a couple of the key attributes of a midfielder. Deon is short for an AFL-level forward, as you've pointed out, but he's still taller than Mason The comment I heard once is that if you know one person on the spectrum, then you know one person on the spectrum. The meaning is that they're all different. Some, like Liam's brother, are severely introverted, but not all are. The behaviour can also change, depending on the social context. A person on the spectrum can be very different when they're relaxed compared to when they're in what is to them a stressful situation. Actually, that's true for people not on the spectrum, too No word on when I'll start posting every week. Real life is playing havoc with my writing time, so I'm not making as much headway as I would like All the characters are human At least I believe they are... Correct. Only passengers can go through security for international flights, but anyone can go through security for domestic flights. This was also implied in Leopard Spots, when Tony and Deon would meet Sam as he came off the plane. LOL You are, of course, correct, but please remember who Liam is talking to. Neil needs an emotional connection to a partner because he's been emotionally starved in his past. Liam put things in terms that he hoped Neil would understand, which meant not being 100% accurate. It's also possible he's trying to make sure Neil doesn't want to consider other partners by putting casual sex in as bad a light as he can do without going overboard. He wants Neil for himself and doesn't want to share.

Liam woke and smiled at finding himself spooning Neil. He loved it when Neil held him, but his favourite position was holding his boyfriend. The number of times they had spent the night in the same bed was still low enough for Liam to count, but the pleasure of waking up next to Neil hadn’t decreased. He lay there, enjoying the moment, until he realised that Neil was also awake. Liam kissed the back of Neil’s neck. “Morning.” “Er…hi.” Liam stifled a chuckle. He was getting bett

Actually, no. I've just got enough experience with kids on the spectrum to recognise it when I see it. Which is why I'm impressed when I see it in a movie because that means the kid is a real actor.

Thank you. Adam's life is certainly not the best, but he has determination, and that may be enough to get him through...

I'd like to talk about Author Promotion, what it is and how it works. As hopefully everyone is aware, here at GA we have a number of authors with either the Promising, Signature or Classic status. These are authors that we have "promoted" after a review by the Author Promotion Team (APT). The APT is a group of members whose job is to evaluation authors that have been nominated to see if they're reached the "next level" of writing. What do Promising, Signature and Classic mean? Well, that's an interesting question in it's own right. The details are to some extent subjective and each member of the APT has their own guidelines that they use but roughly: Promising Author: An author who has demonstrated a quality above the norm, that shows promise of the sort of writing that we want to showcase at GA. Because they're prominent, we're also looking for a combination of other factors, such as how they interact with their readers, signs that they want to improve, and a willingness to help make GA the place on the Internet for quality gay fiction. We don't expect a Promising author to do all of these things, but we're looking for indications that a Promising Author is going to help promote GA, predominantly through their writing, but maybe through other means, as well. Signature Author: An author who has demonstrated a high level of craftmanship with their writing. SIgnature Authors can still have areas that they need to improve, but this status is an acknowledgement that the stories they're producing are amongst the best at GA and indeed the Internet overall. Classic Author: Essentially, a Signature Author that has either retired, or only infrequently publishes new works. Sometimes a new author can become a Classic Author if they're posting their collection of stories previously posted elsewhere. So how does an author becoming a Promising, Signature or Classic Author? It all starts with a nomination. For various reasons, we only accept nominations via PM, not public posts. If you wish to nominate an author, or even if you want to nominate yourself, send a PM to the APT Lead (currently myself), providing the details of the author you wish to nominate and maybe a comment or two as to why you think that author deserves promotion. The APT Lead will then schedule a review for that author. Because the members of the APT have other jobs (and are generally authors themselves), and reviewing an author is something that's needs time and effort to do the job properly, we typically only review one author a month. Thus unfortunately means that it can take some time before an author is reviewed, so please be patient. Reviewing stories is an important task that the APT takes very seriously. Each member of the APT has their own views on the details of what makes a Promising/Signature/Classic Author, which can mean that we end up with a variety of opinons. Reviewing stories and documenting observations, followed up by discussing the differing opinions to come up with a decision, isn't something to be rushed. The outcome of the review is then shared with the author. This could be an offer for promotion (cue fireworks!), usually to Promising, but occasionally directly to Signature (cue massive fireworks!!!). If an author is not deemed ready for promotion, the APT team will provide some suggestions on areas in which the author needs to improve. Even if an offer is made, the team will usually comment on areas that we feel the author could focus on for improvement. Our goal is, after all, to encourage the authors nominated, as we'd all love to see more Promising and Signature authors. Once an author has been promoted to Promising, the process doesn't stop there. The APT will also review our current Promising Authors on a semi-regular basis to see if they're ready for promotion to Signature. With reviewing not only new nominations, but existing Promising Authors, and only being able to review one author a month, you can see why the process can take some time. Just be patient; we'll get to everyone eventually. What are the benefits of becoming a Promising/Signature/Classic Author? There are several benefits to becoming a Gay Authors Promising/Signature/Classic Author. These are: Each Promising Author gets a banner displayed above their stories. The banner size is 848 pixels wide by121 pixels tall. We can create one for you if you like, or you can supply your own. Your name, bio and banner will be listed on our Authors page under your new Author group. Your story updates will be listed in the weekly wrap-up blog. Story topics can be placed in the Promising Authors Discussion Forums. Upon becoming a Signature Author, your story topics can be placed in the Signature Author Discussion Forums. In some cases, you can also get your own forum, though that usually requires an active fan-base to keep the forum active. Signature Authors with published works, if posting regularly and above a certain word count, can place off-site buy links to their eBooks available for purchase on other sites, such as Amazon. Signature Authors are eligible for extra promotion through periodic featured blogs during our Signature/Classic week each month. Signature Authors may also use individual story banners for their stories, rather than their author banner, if they wish. What are the responsibilities of the Promising/Signature Authors? What we ask of GA Promising/Signature Authors in return: Post your stories on GA first or concurrently with other sites. If you post on other sites or a personal blog, link back to Gay Authors. Please do not remove your stories from GA for publication elsewhere. Should you later intend your work for publication, your story can be reviewed for possible inclusion in GA's Premium stories section. Actively participate with your readers by answering reviews and being an active member of the site. I hope this has been informative. Have a look at our existing Signature, Classic and Promising Authors, and then if you know someone you believe can join their ranks, let me know!

I enjoyed it A good action movie that had some great characterisations. The two leads had the almost-stereotypical interactions of an alpha male and an alpha female, but I found Pratt's interactions with the raptors to be very believable. However, the acting award, for me, goes to Grey. It's never explicitly stated, but he does an excellent job portraying a kid on the autism spectrum. It's the little touches that do it, like how when he was told to hold his brother's hand, and he tries to do so, or how he's passionate on one subject, and knows as much as he can on that one subject. I thought the ending of the big fight was unexpected, but it had been foreshadowed earlier in the movie. My only concern was that while it was surprising and dramatic, it also felt a little anti-climatic. Almost a deus-ex-machina... Having said that it's a movie that I've watched more than once with the family, and I'm sure I'll watch it again in the future.

LOL -- just conjecture, I'm afraid. He was definitely hiding a secret, but it wasn't that he was gay as a lot of people assumed. You can blame the author for writing it that way deliberately.

Thank you, @Timothy M. for your usual comprehensive review I apologise for not including Alex in the chapter, since I know he's one of your favourite charcters (at least you seem to keep mentioning him, so he must be popular ). Mason is certainly intelligent -- he wouldn't have gotten into the course he's in if he wasn't book-smart. Living in one of the more crime-ridden communities in Los Angeles has also given him a fair degree of street-smarts. @impunity, the problem that Tim didn't want to mention was that both Ross and Warwick started their relationship with the wrong expectations and for the wrong reasons. That resulted in the scene that Tim gave you the link for, that almost destroyed that relationship. As he indicated, they're still rebuilding (it's only been a couple of months since then). As for Daphne, simply put, she's scared. She doesn't know how her new friends will react once they know, and she's already lost friends because she's transgender. So, she's not saying anything. At least she knows she has Kevin's support...

Ben Driscoll carefully averted his eyes as a naked Oliver Bellasconi turned on the shower next to him. It was after a hard but short Friday-night training session, and everyone was eager to clean up and relax under some hot water. Ben knew Oliver didn’t have a problem if he looked—indeed, most of his Leopard teammates seemed blasé about showering with gay guys—but over the years of playing football Ben had developed a self-protective habit that wasn’t easily broken. “Remember, Ben, we’re g

University students raise money to allow cleaner to go visit his family

It's not quite what you've described (Jake's aphasia uses mainly song lyrics) but could it be Dabeagle's Long Day?

Congratulations!!!

To be honest, even the way I did it was a stretch. The university isn't that small, though the area with the old architecture is small enough it's not too much of a stretch that they would all visit that section -- it's just doing it all at the same time that's a big coincidence. Even so, the only real reason Mason approached them was because he thought he saw Liam and Neil kiss. If it weren't for that, they probably wouldn't have met.

Teenage airline passenger helps disabled stranger

I love how Ron wraps things up neatly, but in a way that's not forced. Melissa has been taken down a notch, and when Kyle offers her an olive branch when she tries to cook dinner, she accepts (though I refuse to accept that Chicken Kiev is an easy meal to cook; I know, I've tried). Brad's had a wakeup call and now it's up to him to determine if he can get his life back on track. I can appreciate that stress can make us overreact, but he's hopefully learnt that doesn't excuse what he did. I think the bowed head when he saw Buddy shows at least some remorse, so there's hope for him. Kyle's parents are finally putting up boundaries for their kids. It's early days, and I know from experience that maintaining a firm stance is tough, especially when you've been in a habit of being lenient, but maybe things will turn around and they can be closer to becoming a loving family. And, of course, there are our two young couples. Enough said...

@impunity there will be more in later chapters, but in summary, most Australian university acceptances are done on test scores. This is mainly the ATAR that was mentioned in the chapter, but there are a range of alternatives available, including the International Baccalaureate. For Sydney University, here's the list of international school qualifications that they accept as the equivalent of an ATAR. There's another document that I don't have handy that lists the scores requires for each course for each qualification. From memory, the SAT score needed for a Bachelor of Space Engineering (as it was called in 2014/2015) was just over 2000. The current document for American qualifications has it as 2010.

The interest in the jacaranda has surprised me, so here are some links about that particular tree. Sadly, it collapsed in late October, 2016, but nine months later, they unveiled a genetically-identical tree in the same location. @Timothy M., you left off one: Shelley, the baby sister he never had! Otherwise, yes, he's building a support network, even if he hasn't quite realised that yet. Of course, we still don't know if those people will be around long enough to provide true support, or if they're only there on a casual basis. @impunity, if Clarissa wasn't abrasive, you wouldn't recognise her Some people are like that, but that doesn't mean that they're not good at heart.

Mason woke up with a dry mouth, an aching head, and a sense that something wasn’t quite right. When he opened his eyes, he realised he wasn’t in his hotel room. “There’s a glass of water on the bedside table,” a voice next to him whispered. Mason rolled his head to see Dexter propped up on one elbow and smiling at him from the other side of the queen-sized bed. “What…?” “I’m sorry, but I let you drink too much last night.” Dexter shifted himself into a sitting position, reveali