Graeme

:wizard: Happy Birthday, Valkyrie! :wizard: :music: :music:

:joe: Happy Birthday! :joe:

100-year-old grandmother raises money for charity by jumping out of a plane

A very nice touch, seeing things from the media's point of view. Henrik is still probably going to get into trouble, but the team management can't be seen to be doing more than giving him a slap on the wrist. If they tried to do more, they'll get a massive backlash from the fans. It's a case of since Henrik has stated the 'official' position, they have to be seen to fall into line or they'll risk a very public schism between management and the team captain.

Yes, yes, yes! Nothing more to say...

Ouch... We have Patrick contacting Ezra (at least Ezra knows who he is now), and we still don't have that press conference. At least Henrik has had time to think, which no one was giving him last chapter. I also couldn't help notice the apparent double-standards revealed by Nicholas and Lukas with their comment about Xavier and the Victoria's Secrets girl. I say 'apparent' because we don't really know if he would have been subject to the same pressure that Henrik is receiving if that had become major news. I'm going to give the teams' management the benefit of the doubt and assume they would have done the same to him. Henrik is just in the unfortunately situation that his personal relationships are a lot more newsworthy than Xavier's. Now we have to wait for another chapter to see if Henrik has had enough time to think about things and can do more than react. As he himself realised, he has a 'hockey' mode that involves reacting and quick decisions. He still needs to develop a 'boyfriend' mode.

Another great chapter (sorry about the late review, but I wasn't able to find the time to sit down and enjoy the chapter until just now). That opening scene was brilliantly done -- playful, but with a growing sense seriousness and sorry as what had been done to Indie was revealed in a tender but evocative manner. Thank you! The shopping scene was just playful. Efrain's personality just shone in that scene, and we could see how relaxed Indie was with him. And then there was the final scene, of which I'm sure I don't have to comment Now, for my favourite line, I think I have to go back to the start of the chapter, because there was one there that brought an instant smile to my lips when I read it: Indie invited his squeak toy (as ‘Rain had taken to calling him) because Preston would have invited himself anyways... Preston as a squeak toy is just perfect.

I absolutely loved those opening few paragraph. A beautiful and evocative set of descriptions. Thank you! I'm a little surprised by Clarence. I can see how Toph's boycott of Christmas would have changed the family dynamics and made Clarence think, but trying to reconnect by text message seems still a bit cold. I'm not sure how it could have been done better, but Clarence really felt the way he did, I would have thought a face-to-face encounter first would have been best. That way Toph could see his expression and hopefully get a real sense of the remorse being felt (assuming he's actually remorseful). What was more surprising was the short narrative about how Gary analysed the relationship between Toph and Clarence. That analysis would have been flawed because Gary could only get Toph's view as to what had happened, and that means it will have been distorted. Yes, he may have some hints as to why Clarence has been the way he has, but Gary is unlikely to have worked it out in detail. I hope Gary only suggested things to Toph about his brother, because there's still the possibility that Clarence isn't as nice as he's trying to make out. I hope for Toph's sake he is, but I can see the possibility that he's not. Overall, a really enjoying chapter with, as usual, lots of depth in what's going on. Well done!

He inspired a generation. There weren't many names more recognisable than Muhammad Ali when I was growing up.

Thank you! I added the draft order information at the end because otherwise some keen-eyed reader was going to call me out on it. I'm trying to stick to the timeline and events of the actual 2014 draft, and that means in an earlier chapter I had Carlton with draft pick 6, but because of the bonus pick awarded to Melbourne, that became pick 7 and that will be referenced in future chapters (not really a spoiler, I hope ). I'll make a post in the forums about the AFL teams and the various characters, but I'm not going to list all the recruiters. Some of them appear for a chapter or two and disappear again. The significant recruiters in the story are Isaac (Hawthorn), and Brendan (North Melbourne).

Thank you! Since Todd has been going out with Lorraine, he's been the sensible and non-judgemental one. He can be aggressive when he needs to, but most of the time he's laid-back. He's trying to teach Neil to be the same, to try to look beyond the surface to who a person really is. As for Kevin, even he admits that he's confused. He's not sure what he wants, or why.

Thanks, Tim! I won't say too much here because a lot of your comments will be covered by future chapters, but I'd like to talk about Wu. Wu is Ross's best friend, and it is clear that the two have shared a lot. The way that Wu just drops in without bothering to ring or knock shows that they are very comfortable with each other. As far as Wu is concerned, they don't keep secrets from each other. That's why Wu feels he can speak his mind. He wants what's best for Ross -- he's just wrong in what that is, but Ross isn't correcting him. As for Wu telling Ross's mother about the date, Ross himself made the comment that he usually tells his mother everything. Wu knows this, so it's not unreasonable for him to have asked her if she knew about the date. Yes, he probably shouldn't have done so, but given their history, he didn't realise that Ross was also keeping secrets from his mum.

Up to 2014, the most players drafted from a single second-tier competition, such as the VFL, was 4. However, in the 2015 draft West Adelaide, a second-tier team in the SANFL competition, had 6 players drafted. This was well after I started on this story, but I will leave it up to you to decide if the Leopards are that good

Aussie, aussie, aussie! Oi, oi, oi! Welcome to GA. The Australian takeover continues...

“Why is he here?” Neil scowled at where Ty and Ross were running around the oval trying to keep the football away from Sean. “The brat invited him. That’s good enough for me.” Todd leant on the metal fence that circled the suburban football ground. “The guy’s a prick.” “And why is that?” Todd knew the answer, but he wanted Neil to articulate it. “He’s homophobic! I’ve told you what he was like in the gym during the week. He wouldn’t even look at me and was as short as possible with Liam. He

New Zealand's youngest heart transplant patient I dare you to not cry when you read Lily's story

I have a different view on Jackson's behaviour. I'm wondering if, maybe subconsciously or maybe at the back of his mind the whole time, he was trying to have his punishment extended. Why? Because while he's being punished, his mother is pushing him to spend time with Luke. Once the punishment is over, he won't have an excuse to do so. Yes, he could be with Luke anyway, but being punished allows him to use that as an excuse with his friends as to why he's with Luke so much. It's not the best justification for what he did, but when combined with his fear of Luke's mother detecting his feelings for Luke, I can see him justifying skipping the day in the park as the best option going forward.

I don't think Henrik is weak or spineless. His life has suddenly gone out of control and he needs to regroup and give himself time to think. It would be great if he had enough self-confidence to take Ezra with him while he took that time, but I appreciate he's human, he's only known Ezra for a short time, and his coach (and team management) are putting enormous pressure on him. There are a lot of things that can happen from this point on. What I'm hoping is that Henrik and Ezra find a way to meet halfway. But Henrik needs time to think and no one is giving him that time. Not even Ezra.

That's why I wrote it. Thank you!

Meet refugee turned poet Abe Nouk Stroke survivor Adrian Eagleton can't speak -- but wait until you hear him sing Unchained Melody

For the spider lovers of GA, may I present what is described as 'adorable' spiders that like to dance (check out the animated GIF at the start of the article.

Congratulations, Albert! Reading your stories has been a real pleasure and I look forwarding to reading many more in the future

An insightful, if painful, view into the life of a young transgender girl. Thank you. I could easily imagine the story happening in real life.

Addicted to Random Acts of Kindness

Here's an interesting challenge: crossing the width of Australia (roughly the same distance as west coast to east coast in the USA), starting with no food, no credit cards, no money...and no clothes. All you have to get by is the generosity of strangers. Can it be done? Are people really that generous? Brent McIntyre hitchhikes from Perth to Sydney...starting nude. An eight-year-old's selfless birthday wish SPCA = Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.