BigBen

Anything by Dabeagle, wherever you find it. Also pretty much anything by Andrew Todd, Jdonley75, and lomax61, here on GA. And Graeme (Aussie) and Nigel Gordon (English), wherever you can find their stuff (try Awesome Dude and Codey's World, and be sure to read Graeme's story, "My Roommate's Gay," which never fails to cheer me up). One of my favorite stories was Jack Schaeffer's Forever series, but he has recently pulled it off all Internet sites and wiped his Web site. Not sure what's going on there. Last I heard, he was stuck halfway through the second Forever novel. As disappointing as that news was, it's even more disappointing to no longer be able to at least go back and re-read the first one-and-a-half stories, even if he's never going to finish all four or five planned volumes. It's been a real lesson in waiting for the work to be complete before starting to read, I guess. 😢

Divergence, by C. J. Cherryh, the latest in a long-running series of hers. The Case for Keto, Gary Taubes's latest book on nutrition research.

I came out in the early 1980's when I was in my mid-twenties. It took that long to get free enough of the crazy Baptist crap. My mother actually asked me about the man I had just met, and what was going on. I figured she was ready to hear it, so I told her. She never wavered in her love and support for me, though certain issues took her a while to get past (lack of grandchildren was big, as I recall). Dad, on the other hand, gave me a big hellfire-and-brimstone lecture, and refused to speak to me for years. We eventually reconciled, but his opinion of gay people has never changed, despite his professed love for me. It still hurts, forty years later, to hear him on the phone with his conservative wing-nut friends, decrying how the gays are going to bring God's wrath down on America. Interestingly, I have managed to fall in with a crowd of loving, accepting Christians, and it turns out that most Christians are like them, and the virulent homophobes are a small, extremely attention-seeking minority. Who knew?

My name used to be Benedict for a while, in another life, but that name was generally taken on most online services when I went to sign up. Since I love London, BigBen thus became an acceptable replacement name, in honor of the famous big bell in the tower of Westminster Palace. I have since reverted to my birth name, but BigBen is still my name on many of my online accounts.

Queens regnant generally resist giving their husbands the title of King, because that tends to make their own positions unstable. (William and Mary of England were King and Queen only because he became co-ruler with her upon marrying her.) If Petro were to become King of Makarovia, it would be his choice, I expect, whether to make Eric his Prince or King Consort. In the Scandinavian countries, the heir apparent is called Crown Prince/ss. In England, the heir apparent is given the title of Prince of Wales. (Elizabeth II was merely Duchess of Kent, because she was heiress presumptive, not apparent, under the law of the day, and thus could not be made Princess of Wales; the revised law of succession now makes a Princess of Wales in her own right possible.) The title of Princess Royal is given to the eldest daughter of the sovereign, but is held for life once bestowed, so it skips around a bit. (Elizabeth II was never Princess Royal, because one of her aunts held the title until long after she became Queen. I believe her daughter Anne is now the Princess Royal, however.) The heir apparent to the throne of Spain is the Prince/ss of Asturias; cadet siblings are called Infante or Infanta. And of course, the heir apparent to the throne of France used to be called the Dauphin (but why a dolphin, I have no clue).

I believe it's already been mentioned that Alla is Olek's father's second wife. It would be weird, but not unheard-of to marry your father's widow (though I believe Leviticus forbids it). As an item of trivia, the rather silly term "Queen Mother" was invented by the late mother of the present Queen of England on the death of George VI, because she didn't want to be called "Dowager Queen Elizabeth." (I believe that she and Dowager Queen Mary, George's mother, didn't get along.) But "dowager queen" is the correct term for a widowed queen consort, historically speaking. And that term would actually fit Alla better, in any case, since she is not the current king's mother. (Of course, it would be a different case if Peter were to become King.)

Don't know how I missed this thread before. Werewolves and vampires are usually an automatic no for me, too, these days, but I have enjoyed stories in the past. The more recent take on vampires doesn't work for me, because as far as I'm concerned, Stoker got it right and anything that doesn't fit with his writing is just wrong, lol! Though I did like Anne Rice's vampires quite a bit. To answer the question of the thread, however, I'd classify most stories as fantasy, supernatural, or horror, depending. However, there are sometimes science-fiction stories that come up with a "scientific" basis for shape-shifting or vampirism, and those can be intriguing. For example, Zelazny's Operation Chaos is science-fiction that puts magic on a scientific basis, with an explanation of therianthropy that involves polarized light. On the other hand, while the magic in Leguin's Wizard of Earthsea, including the shape-shifting, follows definite rules, the story is clearly a fantasy.

As a reader, I've been burnt too many times by intriguing series that stopped in the middle, to be willing any longer to start a story that is not yet complete. Nothing like getting involved in a story, getting to the final posted chapter, and suddenly discovering that the story is now marked "temporary hold," or worse, "long-term hold." One of my favorite stories has just come to a halt after chapter 41 of the second volume of a planned five-volume series. The author has admitted that he's blocked, and has no idea when chapter 42 will come out, if ever. Not to mention that, at the rate the last few chapters were posted, I'm not likely to live to see the end of this project in any case. Bummer! The only disadvantage to reading finished stories only is not being able to participate in the readers' discussions at the end of each chapter here.

This story never fails to cheer me, no matter how many times I read it. You know, it just occurred to me that Alex is overlooking one important detail: the future may be scary, but until Kyle catches up with him and puts him in hospital, he will at least be experiencing abundant, mind-melting sex . . . five or six times a night . . . each orgasm more overwhelming than the last. He may die at Kyle's hands, but at least there'll be a smile on his lips! 😄

Such a shame this story remains unfinished. The Leopard family is a great group of people. Ah, well . . .

I love driving a standard transmission, but your left leg does get tired in stop-and-go traffic! My father was taught by someone who made him put a cup of water on the floor of the car and didn't consider him ready to take his road test until he could shift and go around corners without spilling a drop. A manual shift still gives a bit more control, but the automatic transmissions they have these days are now efficient enough to do away with the gas mileage advantage that a standard used to have. And the engine-braking effect of downshifting has been rendered unnecessary by power brakes. (I saw a couple of restored Model A's the other week, and the owners said that with them, you need to downshift and start braking well in advance, if you want to stop in time!)

Marcus! Yes!! ♥️

Oh, yeah, we need more! There are so many stories about high school kids (and site after site containing nothing but stories about young boys) that I am glutted with teenaged angst. Some grownup angst would be just the ticket, or better yet, a story about two adult men learning how to make a life together.

When I saw the chapter title, I was hoping it meant that Jex was going to find love at long last . . . (sigh).

I can't decide if I should be hoping for Jex and Augie to get together, or if I should be cheering on Marcus. 😊

Our Jex certainly leads an interesting life ("interesting" as in the old Chinese curse, I mean). The loss of his Dad is going to be difficult for him. At least Mum survived, though we don't know the extent of her injuries, yet. I'm hoping things will let up enough for Jex to find time to settle down with Marcus. Or Augie, as the case may be!

He doesn't let the dust collect under his feet, does our Jex . . .

I hate that Jex is giving up the airbase and his practice nearby, even though it never really got started. I wonder, will he be flying in to that area occasionally, to see patients? There certainly seems to be a need in that area. Personally, I would prefer to deal with an independent vet practice for my animals, rather than a large chain, so I am not convinced that the large chain is the threat that Jex thinks it is.

So Jake comes back, and I was hoping sparks would fly, but now Marcus is around as well. We need to find a way to get Augie to move in, so that the guys can all pair off nicely. Unless Rhodes might be interested . . . ? 😀

I'm enjoying it immensely. I wasn't going to read it, because I don't enjoy fantasies of royalty, but you made Makarovia a real place, and I really enjoy the depiction of what a gay refuge might look like. Also, as a character, Eric is a hoot, and Petro is a good foil for him. Yes, my relationship with God improved greatly once I got real enough to get honest about my anger. As you say, he can take it. And I, too, have not been a Baptist in a long time, though I did find my way back to church eventually, in a different denomination.

Homophobes like to quote the book of Leviticus, which calls sex between two men by a term that is often translated "abomination." Interestingly, the same term is used in Leviticus to describe wearing blended fabrics. So either that's a very serious sin, or homosexuality just isn't that serious, lol! It's also of great interest to me that the same people who always say we "can't pick and choose" what Biblical commands to obey never seem to have any problems wearing a cotton/polyester blend, lol!

What happened in Germany is not unique; it is human. Every country has its horrible stories. The Cambodian killing fields, the Chinese Great Leap Forward, the ethnic cleansing in what used to be Yugoslavia, the oppression of minorities in various African countries—the list is endless. For all that Americans talk about us being the greatest country in the world, we have our own shameful history. Every race and culture has its shameful history. But there are also decent people everywhere, let's not forget that. When the psychopaths were running Germany, there were decent Germans trying to stand up to them and put a stop to the atrocities. Human beings have a capacity for great evil, but we also have a capacity for great good. Milo's and Bren's story is not one of pain and heartache only, it is also one of victory.

I just want to say that, while Baptists in the North might have been a tad better on the issue of racial prejudice, they certainly were just as prejudiced against gay people as their southern brethren fifty or sixty years ago, when I was being brought up Baptist. It nearly caused me to commit suicide, but by some miracle I survived and eventually learned that not all Christians spew hatred in the name of the Lord of Love. Many actually do live out the commandment to love their neighbor as themselves.

It certainly means he passed his course. In the U.S., however, there would still be professional certification required.

You can get a lot of exercise, jumping to conclusions! 😉😁