Danners

An interesting chapter to be sure. It’s fascinating to see how different people react to news as grave as Sandra’s. I respect her for not wanting to relinquish an ounce of her carefully crafted veneer because it’s likely the only thing she feels she can control anymore. I respect that but I’m happy she’s allowed William inside as someone she can let her guard down with. Despite what she thinks, she can’t — and shouldn’t have to — be strong all the time. Her love for Grant shone through this time around. Wasn’t so sure with the last phone call. So, silver lining, I suppose, that facing her own mortality has thawed the ice a degree or three where it really matters. Here’s hoping it sticks. Something tells me she’ll like Troy. If not for his devotion to her son, then because he lost everything and managed to claw his way back from the brink. Knowing Grant is in good hands will do wonders for her.

Agreed. You’re playing your role well, bard. Very entertaining! Elluin to the rescue again. He’s making a habit of it at this point and it isn’t because of a charm spell. You don’t need True Sight to see the kinship he’s beginning to feel for Hope, among other, baser desires.

Any time!

A small blessing, that. I’m glad you were able to comfort one another. That lifeline had to be so special, so important, for you both, even if the hope it provided was bittersweet. The memories are still there, it’s the link to them we lose track of. The brain can often forge new and increasingly convoluted pathways, which is how certain memories remain solid, others become associated with random (and sometimes heretofore unconnected) events, and some are entirely forgotten. The comforting fact remains, however, that they’re undeniably there (scientifically speaking). I like to think my grandma never had to consider her own mortality, only those who passed before her. A small gift I can hope her mind bestowed upon her towards the end, allowing her a certain level of innocence she wasn’t allowed in life.

How beautiful and bittersweet, Gary. My grandmother had Alzheimer’s and dementia, and she was basically locked inside her body by the time she passed. Your poems, though, give me hope that her gemstones, her treasured memories, were washed out to sea — not so much lost but drifting with the ebb and flow of the tide. We stand where the beach meets the tide, ours and their lives intermingling. Even when we think they’re gone, like a grain of sand — a hidden gem — a part of them remains with us, just as our memories will live on within our loved ones.

From chapter four, where we both learn her name and that she’s been incarcerated: A fierce-looking woman was holding Jett in a tight headlock and grinning. She had a certain appeal without being someone people would call beautiful. Her short dark hair was all spikes, and her wiry arms were wrapped around Jett, while her eyes weren’t turned toward the camera, like the other girls, but looking at Jett in what appeared to be unhidden affection. April shifted in his place. Looking at that picture made him feel like he was intruding on a private moment between two people who had feelings for one another. Jett looked happy in that picture, too. “What about her?” he asked quietly. There. You’re welcome.

Oh ho ho! The plot thickens. No wonder Elluin clings to order so religiously.

If he wants to hold on to his dagger, maybe Elluin could be coerced into tutoring him as a Spellblade or, y’know, lend him a wand. (Wink wink nudge nudge)

Someone’s a cleric or an arcane trickster. I’m leaning toward the former, given Hope’s chaotic goodness and how he banters with her. Hope’s dedication to the orphanage and kids in general redeems any mischief he causes in my eyes. I wonder if Elluin will come to agree? Another fun, exciting chapter. An indulgent read so far, bard!

It’s their flaws and their struggles that help endear these characters to us, even the ones we loathe (and who shall not be mentioned). You’ve set the stage beautifully and so well, in fact, that Christine, who we never actually met, is as present in the story as the rest of her family. You brought a dead woman to life through the lens of Chase, Cindy, Charles, and Hank and that takes talent. Dedication. If watching them struggle is endearing, seeing them overcome their shortcomings is gratifying. It’s what keeps us coming back for more and, chapter after chapter, you give us that. The anticipation of what’s coming next is mainly why I whine about you not posting enough, and that’s because you’ve made these people our friends. Don’t say this isn’t some of your best work because it is, you big dummy. Don’t make me get the hose.

No need to knock. That door’s so wide open it’s a loading dock.

Aha! So you are writing Dawson’s story!

At this point you’re more obsessed with Cave-In than Hank ever was. Are you sure he isn’t knock-knock-knocking at your back door? 😛

One of ‘em’s gonna be givin’, alright.

Wrong tense. Will be. After so long apart and surrounded by all those logs, they better make like beavers and gnaw some wood.

Well, except fending off the plumber and writing Young in the Yukon — the Brent and Dawson Story. Consider us your muses.

Yep, great minds think alike! The more of us piling on Gary, the better, I say. You’re right. It definitely looks like Chase has moved on to acceptance with the loss of Christine and of Hank. He let go of the diminished, pain wracked image that’d been haunting him since before she died and found the void filled with her vibrant, loving presence and warm laughter. In accepting her loss, he’s begun to truly forgive himself. Even though her painting didn’t have the desired effect, it was a gift nonetheless. It allowed Chase to listen to her soul sing and accept her wisdom, a comfort he lacked for far too long. She’s a vastly important part of his support network, after all. The scene was magical.

They don’t call him Fun Gus at the free clinic for nothing.

Now that’s playing hard to get!

Since I’m not a vulnerable and confused man on the rebound, I’ve nothing to fear from that red rocket. I’d be more afraid of a Q-tip.

He coming back to snake your pipe, eh? It’s good you’re making him use protection. In the immortal words of a friend of mine: “Wrap it before you tap it.” Cave-In is more of an outhouse. Simple but effective, so full of shit it stinks, and readily available to anyone in the area. Agreed. As much as I’d like to know the sordid details, I’d rather focus on Hank scrubbing himself down with heavy duty soap and anti-fungal cream. Get that stink off him and leave him fresh and new and ready to hold hands — er, touch elbows? — with Chase. Both literally and figuratively. As for nosy readers, if it’s a nuzzle here and there, we aim to please!

Don’t you mean sithy (sissy) lord?

I mean, they’re both victims here and I can’t help but empathize. It’s hard not to blame them for their mistakes but blaming them and holding them accountable are two different things. They need to come to terms with what went wrong so they can avoid making the same mistakes in the future. If I were one of them, I’d want the same from my friends. If they were my friends, I’d do everything in my power to help them. I can’t blame Chase for fleeing Hank’s proposal, nor for inadvertently leading some random guy on enough that he ended up being kissed in a bathroom stall. So, neither can I blame Hank for going off the deep end. I can fault them for how their poor decisions but I won’t blame them because the blame game is one in which there are no winners. It’s our conflicts which bring us closer together and they’ve had more than their fair share, individually and together. In keeping with that, I won’t give up hope for them ending up together because they’re not the same men who hurt each other anymore. That, and I’m an only child — beyond being a sucker for a happy ending, I love getting my own way. Consider my bubble reinforced. So there.

Aw, don’t be so hard on Hank. Neither of them was capable of unconditional love at that point in their lives, with all the unresolved issues each had. Didn’t stop them from giving it their all though. They were happy too — until Hank’s proposal set off a chain reaction. Hank is flawed and he was unprepared for the onslaught of feelings that overcame him that night and the subsequent months until, thanks to Chase, he began to understand and process. In this respect, Chase was leagues ahead of Hank in that he had more tools at his disposal to cope. It doesn’t excuse his behavior, especially where Cave-In is concerned, but it explains a lot of why he did what he did. Through all of this, I honestly don’t think either stopped loving the other. You’re right though: Chase does deserve a man who’ll love him unconditionally. I think, after doing what he did, going through what he has, and getting this wake up call, Hank will try to prove he can be that man. I hope so anyway.