CincyKris

Fiona the firefighter?

I still think that GA needs a fire icon at the end of chapters! I love the slow burn relationship/FastFurious sex pace for this couple. Neither even realizes they are falling, not that they would admit it! As always, I loved Tara's contributions to the chapter. I'm really looking forward to her story.

Sam has such an engaging personality, that I think he will win over Graeme. As with real life, necessity is often the mother of not just inventions, but of opportunity.

The ending surprised me, that was one hell of an escalation by the good doctor. Has Kilroy ever had sex with a person he knew beforehand, and with whom he might see again? Daedalus was an ingenious inventor and artisan. He created the Labyrinth and the wax wings for his son Icarus. The Icarus that died because he flew too close to the sun, a metaphor for overreaching. Was Kilroy's brother Owen the Icarus to his Daedalus? Am I reading too much into the mythology, maybe? But I would be on the lookout for poisonous snakes if I were Kilroy!

This has been my favorite SA story so far! Funny, sweet, so well written. This is how you do a short story!

Hey, I got my gay vampire! Sort of. Gabe is like the out, confident master of his own universe that Ryan wants to be. And he made out with his secret crush! Which trope will Ryan follow next? Overt pda with Madison in the hallways just to prove something? Total withdrawal into an angsty tortured soul? Whiplash personality shift that would put Lex to shame, ending with a Three's Company worthy misunderstanding in which Sky walks in on Ryan kissing Gabe!

I think dancing in public with his boyfriend, after having a "meet the parents" dinner with his mum was a huge step for Matt. I had to laugh at the description of Matt's house. I have been to quite a few "patterned" homes, complete with the embroidered pillows, and the addition of doilies on the chairs. I grew up in a home with hideous patterned shag carpeting, but in my mom's defense it was the 70's. My current house has an addition in which lives my galley kitchen with a table and chairs at the other end, but no wall of glass.

Another heartwarming chapter about this loving and unique family. I love Aurelio's energy and crazy style. He expresses himself through style according to how he feels in the moment.

I agree with @Summerabbacat, I'm happy the family is doing well, but I didn't have enough chapters with "good Keith" to get over my dislike of "ungrateful, freeloading, bratty Keith" to like him. I've thought about why I took such a severe dislike to this character, when I have read other characters who said terrible things, but redeemed themselves. I think it hinges on two aspects: his brattyness and his freeloading. Even if there were underlying psychological reasons for his anger, that didn't change the fact that he was completely living off his mom, in her house, eating food that she cooked, not contributing even though he was a man in his twenties. And bratty is a personality trait I don't like or handle well. As for Jim and Jon, I think the story covered their growth as a couple and Jim's growth as a person very well. But he needs another set of rings to add to the promise ring!

I think you need to add a gay, brooding, teen vampire, he could show up at the beach party. Then you could add another trope, add the appropriate sci-fi tags to the story, which would put at the top of @Myr,s fantasy most read postings. More readers, more drama! Wait, maybe you already have added a vampire! A daywalker!

I'm impressed by both brothers in this chapter. Gray is putting himself out there into the public with his poetry. No more hiding behind his books! Vince made an empathetic and generous move supporting his brother. Add to that the festive and light atmosphere generated by Jacob and his bike, and we have a delightfully enjoyable chapter.

I’m betting it’s the kid he met at the town celebration.

I also googled St. Sebastian, I think you should go full on statue. Life size. A reproduction, of course, since author money is just as real as your story! Please tell me the future scene where Madison gets dumped will be public and suitably messy!

When Grandma Bridge disclosed the news of a twin brother I got excited. Thoughts of an evil twin murdering his brother's sex partners then pinning the crime on his brother, a la Criminal Minds or CSI! Then we learn he died many years ago, dashing my theories. Or did he??

I had Sheldon Cooper's mom in my mind during the Catholic Crusades scene, just with updated clothes and popes instead of pastors. I like Dad, he is the stabilizing force in the house. I hope that Madison does not discover Skylar's allergy to pine!

Do you have any idea just how many stories I have abandoned due to teen angst?! But this one, fun, fun, fun! I loved the start! I couldn't decide between my favorite quotes: And yet, somehow, if you dropped them both into a wet paper sack with a map and a flashlight, they’d die in there. Together. Beautiful and stupid and tragically damp. Or this: Madison Taylor Blake and the rest of the cheerleading Whore Corps™ had posted up like a judging panel at the main intersection of the cafeteria, strategically placed to intercept attention and testosterone. No doubt waiting for their football-playing boy toys to strut in like gods with GPA warnings. But since my favorite character is Lex, I choose this one: He’s five foot eight, but carries himself like a supermodel in a perfume commercial. His nails are always painted, his eyeliner is always smudged just right, and his outfits fall somewhere between fashion-forward and school dress code violation waiting to happen. His sexuality is a mood ring. His gender is “don’t worry about it.” And his personality? A cocktail of Red Bull, internet rumors, and the innate understanding that if he’s not the main character, someone’s getting cut. He’s the kind of person who shows up with condoms, iced coffee, and a new vendetta before lunch. He knows everyone, has dirt on half of them, and keeps secrets like other people keep receipts…meaning, only if it’s useful.

I find this beginning very intriguing. The idea of a fantasy in our minds is commonplace, but a 15 year old fantasy that your mind spends most of it's time in is unusual. It's similar but different from a writer creating a world in a novel, on TV, or a movie. Those worlds feel real to the consumer, but we know they are fantasy. Adam's fantasy is all-encompassing, but just to himself. I can understand his hesitancy to try to reconnect with the real Jamie, he has so much invested in his fantasy that finding a Jamie that just doesn't fit could shatter his world.

This chapter felt peaceful. Tony and Aaron let go the final piece of anxiety between them.

I think we can all assume that Josh is the project "Chimera", officially closed about the time Josh was born. All 3 deceased agents were then moved from Chimera to Cerberus. We can all safely assume that Josh is the owner of the genome in the key. I think that he will be informed of the numbers only when his AI thinks it is needed. What we don't know is why the 3 felt the need to encrypt Cerberus. Who are the killers working for? And the biggest wildcard in all of this is Walter Green. Is he Josh's best protector or his most dangerous threat?

I agree the titular "Flame and Frost" refers to Todd and Kilroy. But the method of murder for Guillotine was quite literal. If the killer was indeed trying to extinguish the good doctor with fire, I can't help but wonder at his "handle". If Kilroy was the intended victim, which seems likely.

I would imagine that a doctor might be a reasonable suspect for the police in the case of a surgical decapitation. Just because our OCD doctor was careful to compartmentalize and keep secret his BDSM activities, doesn't mean the other participants did the same. Since Guillotine was decapitated, I wonder at Dr. Frost's moniker, something to do with flames? Will the rest of the Hedons be targeted? Was the killer present the night of the session? What of Bane, FastFurious, and Cannon? So many wonderful mysteries!

We don't yet know why Todd has no friends and is so self isolating, but he does seem just as prickly as our self-hating doctor.

This is out of my comfort zone, but I love everything you have written, so I look forward to the adventure. The one thing that bothers me the most with BDSM stories is the humiliation factor, not the giving/receiving pain, not the bondage, just the humiliation. I just don't understand how anyone can receive pleasure from being humiliated, nor do I understand or enjoy characters who like humiliating others. It appears that Dr. Frost does not understand his need for humiliation either, as he is slowly killing himself.

Couldn't agree more! I haven't read the Harry Potter fanfic from @dkstories but loved the Do Over series. I loved everything that @Mawgrim ever wrote, especially the dragons.

I'm trying to get past my severe dislike for Keith, but then there's this from chapter one: The divorce unfolded with a quiet amicability, as I lacked the fortitude to contest or complicate the proceedings—I felt I had inflicted sufficient heartache. In the wake of our separation, Keith severed all communication, the silence between us a stark testament to his pain and disapproval. Alex, on the other hand, maintained a wary distance, interacting with me through a lens of cautious skepticism. My admission and our subsequent divorce had irrevocably altered the landscape of our family, leaving me to navigate the remnants of relationships I once cherished. And this from chapter 5: Are things okay with Keith?” I asked, curious but concerned. “Yeah, they’re fine. He can be a real ass sometimes,” Alex replied with a shrug. “All I told him was to lay off you, and he got pissed at me.” He shook his head, then added, “I mean, whatever, but he doesn’t have to be an asshole And this from when Cammie disclosed her diagnosis. Keith stood up suddenly. “This is all your fault, you know!” he shouted, his voice thick with anger. “You left, and now look at what’s happening! You had to tear our whole family apart, and now Mom has to go through this. Why did you have to come back? Why couldn’t you just leave us alone?” His very first instinct when told his mom has cancer wasn't to comfort his mother, it was to blame his father. And the kicker, the background flaw that painted the picture of "Keith" to me is that he is still living off mommy without contributing to the household. His dad left when he was 17, not 7. I can understand his anger to some degree, but he remains a spoiled brat to me.