Summerabbacat

Well done @empath, #2 on the 'Most Read Mystery' genre for the past month, further validation of your writing skills and the enjoyment they provide, free-of-charge I might add, to those of us privileged to read this story.

Do these angels ever kick arse @centexhairysub? If so, there is Jackie so kick her arse (amongst other things).

Congratulations on another Top 5 placing in the 'Mystery' genre for this one @Robert Hugill, proving once again that current male "stars" in England are not limited to Harry Styles and Ed Sheeran. You could show those laddies a thing or too, well maybe not the former, but certainly the latter.

I thought you might have used the vomit emoticon because I selected a song by Britney. She is beautiful and somewhat talented, but all her difficulties have been under the microscope since she was a teenager, which would only exacerbate her difficulties I assume. And what of her ghastly parents. I see similarities in her life to Amy Winehouse's, fortunately Britney does not seem to have gone down the drugs route, or if she has she has limited her usage.

I agree wholeheartedly @weinerdog, particularly as Cass did nothing illegal. Maybe he is a little sleazy or maybe he is just shy with limited opportunities. I vaguely recall in one of the prior stories Matt stating Luke is oblivious to other guys admiring him or even hitting on him, so perhaps his meetings with Cass have led Cass to believe Luke was interested, not that I am saying this is Luke's fault in any way. Personally, I think the only real concern here is if Cass linked high grading of his work to Luke "putting out". As for the arrival of Tony, the only conclusion I can draw is that the Monolith has kicked him out for being a "pervert". She may well have gone on a rant and told him to leave as she is concerned he will influence his brother and/or sister or subject them to his perverted ways. I wonder if she has recognised her own sins yet, gluttony is one of the seven deadly sins Margaret, so lose some weight you corpulent bully. The walrus look is not healthy or attractive. Oops and I now I have done it again @weinerdog, agreed with you again. It seems Britney has got to both of us. You may not like Britney either @Mark Ponyboy Peters, but I do. She is not a great singer and her private life has been a train wreck, but there is something likeable about her, and I love me some pop divas.

You have a distinct advantage @weinerdog with your crystal ball, tarot cards, tea leaves and fortune telling prowess. By the way, what are the winning numbers for the $100 million Powerball in Australia this coming week? Oops you did it again as Britney so wisely said. Now here is your prize, a kewpie doll courtesy of Perry Como (and OMG he was a good looking man when he was younger, and a damn good singer too, no lip synching).

Another example @Lee Wilson of when ignorance is bliss. So many unlikeable people in politics at present, and I am not foolish or arrogant enough to suggest that we do not have our share in Australia too.

If I may, I say, Jackie to the gallows and off with her head. She is like a STI, an unpleasant reminder of a tryst which may or may not have been enjoyable and makes one contemplate if it was worth it. In her case I would suggest it was worth it only to the extent Ludo gained a son whom he adores and to whom he is a great father. Ludo is still considerate of Jackie e.g. retaining her belongings for her to collect them, which is likely the socially acceptable and mature behaviour in such circumstances. His question “Shit. Did I make her out to be a complete bitch" further evidence of what an essentially kind man he is. Well I say "fuck that shit Ludo", portray Jackie how she deserves to be portrayed. She is not mother or spouse of the year. You don't necessarily need to bad mouth her, she has dug her own grave, now fill it in with manure and quickly. Gordy, another of your outrageously likeable minor characters @Robert Hugill. I was hoping he might have mooned the reporters, but I guess some of them may have then linked his behaviour to the sort of person Ludo is, particularly now Ludo has "that man of yours". Ludo's short interaction with Felicity impressed me, is she another Lesley? Another amusing, in part, informative and thoroughly enjoyable chapter @Robert Hugill. I expect more top 10 placings for it going forward.

She is a stupid, vicious, self-absorbed, hypocritical c*#t @weinerdog. I was reading the other evening how she has consistently misgendered Sarah McBride, the transgender female Democrat representative-elect from Delaware. She and one of her equally vicious cisgender Republican sisters have been incessant in their personal attacks on Ms McBride, showing a total lack of respect for her, respect which they believe they are entitled to and demand for themselves. I have just read with disgust Ms McBride will almost certainly be banned from using the women's bathroom on Capitol Hill, which no doubt these rabid jackals will claim as a "victory" for women brought about their actions. What a sad indictment of how pathetic these arrogant, churlish, small-minded, rabid cisgendered jackals are. Get a life you fucking trolls and do the job you are overpaid and clearly unfit and incapable of performing without drawing attention to yourselves. I note with great admiration Ms McBride responded with intelligence, class and restraint, qualities totally lacking in the Republican jackals, that she would abide by the rule that targeted her as she was not elected to "fight about bathrooms". Hopefully she will at least carry a can of mace with her to protect herself from these cisgendered "female" fundies.

I had a sense this was a very personal story you were telling @empath. Its authenticity is a significant part of its appeal and impact for me. Your revelation that reader encouragement is providing you comfort and a boost to your self-esteem is gratifying to know. Putting pen to paper, a cathartic experience for you, mirroring a similar experience for Thomas and Roger and ultimately perhaps for Qian Chang (whom I unforgivably misnamed as Qian Liang in my earlier comment), Melissa, Samantha and Sandra too.

A brilliant start to this story @Lee Wilson. A very difficult decision for Avery Sr and Lindy to make, do they tell AJ of Avery Sr's gift and the implication of AJ's aura regarding his health. Ultimately they did, but was it the right decision? Personally I don't think it was, but then it is easy for me to say. If they had lied to AJ would it have been worse? It may have reduced the need for frequent visits to child psychologists, but could the withholding of the truth have been more damaging, particularly if the withholding of the truth led to an undiagnosed illness? A real quandary for Avery Sr and Lindy, particularly given Avery Sr's strong convictions regarding the truth and his principles.

I seem to recall, perhaps incorrectly, you are an ex-Aussie @Bft. If so, this may account for the similar sense of humour.

A coven of ho's @Bft.

Bjorn from ABBA whom @Tris finds attractive.

LOL @weinerdog, proving that Ben is not the only "smart arse" (although I am sure you are not smug, just smart). I seem to recall some other stories we have both read in the past where you had an uncanny knack for predicting future plot lines such that I questioned if you had a crystal ball. It seems your crystal ball is working again @weinerdog, or should that be Madame Zelenska, fortune teller extraordinaire. How appropriate it was the partaking of a milkshake which returned Ben's memory. I seem to recall it was a spilt milkshake which set Tim and Guy's loins afire. And the connection between a milkshake and Samantha has relit their fire (fear not @Al Norris, I will not post the video for the Village People's Milkshake again, the one which heavily features Samantha aka Valerie Perrine); instead I have posted the edited version of Relight My Fire by the late Dan Hartman featuring the soaring vocal talents of the late Loleatta Holloway for your aural pleasure. If you like the song (probably not), the 9:43 version is much, much better. Wonderful writing as is your wont @Mark Ponyboy Peters.

If you have a Manzillian often enough @drsawzall you barely notice the discomfort unless you are exceptionally hirsute to begin with.

Thomas' interaction with Micah was extraordinary. No amount of training or theoretical experience would have achieved half of what Thomas achieved, particularly in such a short timeframe. Thomas is a "natural" fit in his new role as confidant or big brother to the abused boys, a role I can only see expanding as more boys are hopefully rescued, a role which both Roger and Qian Liang can also relate to given their similar experiences. It may take either one or both to provide Thomas with reassurance, particularly given his very distressing, but neither surprising nor warranted, guilt for not having reported Uncle Charlie earlier, thereby sparing the boys who have been used and abused by Uncle Charlie and his cohorts. Thomas and perhaps Brendon too, may benefit from counselling for this guilt as if allowed to fester it will harm them going forward. Amongst the chaos and heartbreak of uncovering this appalling boy flesh racket a family is growing, a family centred around two extraordinary gay men, Thomas and Roger. The respect for and understanding of that each has for the other is heartwarming to witness. In just a few days each has brought more joy, happiness and resolve to the other than one could have imagined possible at the beginning of this story. I sense Jason Rizzo's ego will be his undoing. I believe the "ancient Italian artefacts" are likely to clean up this mess before the police have to take action against him. I hope if he is silenced by his "own kind" the CPD do not waste taxpayer's funding on investigating his murder. Treat it as a "social cleansing project", collecting the trash and disposing of it in the least expensive and most comprehensive manner. A superbly crafted chapter @empath. Many of my fellow readers have complimented you on your story telling in this and the prior chapter, compliments which are well deserved in my opinion.

And another of your delightful Hugillisms appeared in this chapter @Robert Hugill, bandbox tidy. I don't recall ever having read this little idiom before and it is delightfully descriptive.

Dare I say @Cane23 their individual qualities and abilities complement each other.

Nolan, Nolan, Nolan. The man has the patience of a saint and the wisdom of, well I don't know who, but someone very wise. Not a hint of jealousy in his suggestion to Ralph to contact Gordon, "his" Gordon, “See him, apologise or whatever, then that’s it. Done and dusted.” If Ralph follows Nolan's sage advice, and there is every reason to believe he will, it will contribute significantly I believe to Ralph breaking free, breaking free of the guilt that has plauged him for close to 20 years. Nolan is the "perfect" boyfriend for Ralph, attune to his insecurities and there with wise counsel on how to address or overcome them. He receives a lot from Ralph in return, a comfort to his own insecurities. Such a harmonious relationship thus far. Russ Khan keeps on "growing" on me. Unless he is very dishonest and an exceptionally good actor, he is nothing like Frances Heyward. Independently wealthy (a self-made man), above board, generous with his time and money, and seemingly not a pretentious bone in his body. Is he too good to be true? He was never found wanting by Brian and Gordon, and has apparently impressed Morrie no end. His kindness towards Ralph was duly noted. A very moving chapter for me @Robert Hugill, with Ralph's emotions running high, soothed by both Russ and Nolan.

I don't even know who won any of the spring races, including the Cup this year. I miss watching them but I have to stick to my principles for the sake of the horses. The greatest female "dynasty" I can think of in Australia in my lifetime started with Denise's Joy (an outstanding race mare whom I assume you remember) who produced Joie Denise (QLD Oaks) who produced Sunday Joy (AJC Oaks) and Tuesday Joy (lots of wins and placings at G1) and of course Sunday Joy produced More Joyous, an outstanding racehorse who has produced nothing of note that I know of.

And of all of them, "Rosie" was the only one to ever throw a good foal, the best bred racehorse I have ever seen in Australia (when I used to follow horse racing). Kingston Rule by Secretariat from Rose Of Kingston. No wonder he was so large and won the fastest Cup ever effortlessly.

I was thinking she may be able to walk, or in her case hop, across water. If it was good enough for Jesus, then it would be good enough for Skippy. A female Aussie superstar long before Sunline, Makybe Diva, Black Caviar and Winx (even before Leilani, Surround and Rose Of Kingston).

It has always puzzled me that a person can wake up after having been in a coma for some time, have retained full language skills but have no idea who anyone, including themselves, is. The human brain is such a complex organ. And as expressed by several of my colleagues, Ben was lucky to have survived at all given he struck his head. I think the next chapter will be from Justin's POV @weinerdog. I believe Cye will retire as I suspect he feels responsible for Ben's accident. He is clearly fond of all his boys and to have one of them injured on his watch will devastate him. I think Justin's reason for being below deck with Ben was wholly "honourable" as someone had to watch over him. I am hoping the town will rally behind the four couples, regardless of the gender of their partners. I assume Cye knows at least two of the couples are same-sex couples, and if he lets it be known that he does not care it may have an impact. It will be interesting to see if Ben is still attracted to Justin. A very eventful and wholly believable chapter @Mark Ponyboy Peters. Now, just like Samantha, we impatient and greedy readers have to wait (although not likely for 2 weeks) for another instalment. The big question which remains unanswered for me is, where was bloody Flipper, and if Flipper could not have mande an appearance, then where was Skippy? She was Wonder Woman in a marsupial form.

Let's hope not @Celian, unless the ugly besets Jackie only. Maybe she attempts to escape or to kidnap Damian and is shot by the police.