Summerabbacat

During the meeting at Fletcher's home when Killian was first introduced to the tribe council members Celia Vessey appeared to be very sensible and commanded the respect of all present, apart perhaps from Gordon Wallace. I don't think we should assume, as did Mrs Thompson, it was Miss Vessey who disclosed the possible theft of artefacts to her daughter. It is possible it was Gordon Wallace, who did so in an attempt to discredit Miss Vessey and/or cause sufficient trouble such that the dig will be shutdown. I was intrigued by Donald Thompson's revelation he has found "poachers" collecting tribal artefacts from his property. It would not surprise me to learn one or both of the recently caught poachers provided collected items to Professor Healy for "planting" at the dig site. Much to ponder @Josh Aterovis.

Virgil's mother did not seem overly concerned in discovering Virgil and Sam naked together. The fact she is going to refer further discussion of the matter to Virgil's father is I suspect because he will have a greater understanding of the "mechanics" of male sexuality given he is male (at least I am hoping this is the reason). I suspect if she had caught Virgil with a naked girl she would have had the same reaction. Sam's reaction is understandable and hopefully baseless. This appears to be another well received story thus far @Lee Wilson. A Lee Wilson lite thus far.

Not necessarily @weinerdog. I suspect the "default" position for many gay boys/men is that their parents will not accept them, unless there has been expressed support for gay boys/men via relatives or family friends.

When one thinks about it, many of the nursery rhymes and fairy tales we were taught as children were bloody - Three Blind Mice, Little Red Riding Hood, Three Little Pigs. There was invariably a "bad animal" who was evil and had to be destroyed. I guess these were quite tame in comparison to violent video games and cyber bullying though. I don't suppose there will be any vegetarian options at the sumptuous victory feast? Maybe a few boiled roots or some fried lichen? Very appetising, not.

Orel to Tarquin - Launch Declaration Protocol: Tarquin you're fucked. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Fraud and embezzlement, words of great "beauty" when used in the same breath as Tarquin Merrick. I wonder if "prisoner orange" will suit his skin tone?

"I can detect the scent of rendered animal fat from approximately three hundred meters away." I can sympathise with Orel, the stench is emetic. I was surprised he ate the gravy as it is invariably made from animal fat too. 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 I was even more surprised Jenny-Lynn accepted Orel is a vegetarian and packed left over roasted vegetables for him to take home. Tarquin's plot to double-cross both his brothers appears to based on subjugating them, whereas Orel and Finn are gathering facts which will hopefully bring about Tarquin's downfall.

The "chicken stuffing" was grotesque, but Jenny-Lynn was almost forgiven for her barbarity with this request: "Lydia, go set the table before I set you on the curb," Jenny-Lynn barked." This has to be one of the funniest, if not the funniest lines in this story to date.

“The artefact?” >’The Nimrud Panther’. A totem for Georges LaForge, lifted from a dig somewhere. Extremely old, certainly, but not excessively valuable. “Except to its owner.” >That’s about it. I do have one bad pre-war image of it. Except… “Looks like a fucking turd!” >That’s what you’re looking for. Best of luck! " Given its appearance Ian may have thought it was a cat shit and picked it up and disposed of it if Vernon had placed it in his or Ian's Aunt's garden. LOL. For a moment I wondered if the murderer was related to Louis. I had to check and found Louis' family name is Martinson whereas the murder's name is Thomas Masterson. Very similar family names and Louis' is not used that often. It appears we readers were right to have suspicions about Graham's dodgy clients. I daresay he will be cursing Daphne for having been murdered, thus causing the police to do some digging into his personal and professional background. Rather an amusing chapter @Robert Hugill.

Orel's synaesthesia was on full display when he described the different tastes of his birth name and his desired married name, Orel Grady. His desire to be Orel Grady sent a strong message to Finn there is nothing that he, Finn, has ever done which diminishes the esteem Orel regards him with or reduces the safety he experiences with Finn. "Then we must become the anomaly in his system," Orel stated, not looking at them. "We will be the ‘Virus.’ We will accept the host environment—the Gala, the ceremony, the spectacle. We will execute the expected functions. But our code will be different. We will not be performing ‘Merrick Union Version 1.0.’ We will be executing ‘Grady Declaration Protocol.’ We will give him his beautiful picture…" He finally turned, and his eyes held a flinty, determined light Finn had never seen before. "But we will be the ‘Cherry Lemonade’ in his silver cup." I hope this "act of rebellion" is not communicated to Tarquin before the wedding. I hope it is delivered after the marriage certificate is signed when the "virus" is introduced during the gala. Hopefully its effect will be lethal to Tarquin.

Tarquin is trash. The type of human who makes me question why rats and mice are referred to as vermin. A chip off the old block it appears. Oliver is way too trusting, even after he has learnt more and more about Tarquin's true motivations. He is the Bobby Ewing to Tarquin's JR. Unfortunately there does not appear to be much likelihood of an end-of-season cliffhanger, Who Shot Tarquin?

To quote the eloquent @drsawzall, who does not stoop to using offensive expletives like I do (he is a "blue blood" from Massachusetts, whereas I am a "commoner" from "Down Under" who does not mince words unless restricted from doing so), Tarquin is a c u next Tuesday. I, like many of my fellow readers, hope Tarquin has overplayed his hand and underestimated Orel and/or Oliver and/or Lydia. Let us hope hell hath no fury like an isopod-loving vegetarian. Vegetarianism/veganism - another reason to adore Orel. Perhaps he can force-feed Tarquin until his liver is suitable to be served as foie gras. And Sergeant McCormick, what a disgrace to Timmy's legacy.

Oliver is an enigma. One minute he seems to recognise the need to protect Orel from Tarquin and the next he is trying to sabotage Orel's safety by having him returned to Merrick Manor. I don't think it is just out of jealousy either. He has not been shown the red leather book as yet, but is he so clueless he has no idea what went on in the barn?

Given it is in Canada it might be Celine, in addition to Barbra, Liza, Kylie, Madonna, ABBA etc etc etc? LOL. Whilst not a big fan, the theme song from Titanic was the best thing about it IMHO. And Celine sang it beautifully.

Porn - "a sub-genre of cinema that defied every known law of logistics and hygiene." OMG one just has to love Orel's oral skills. The English language is a treasure trove of words for someone like Orel to mine. Never has verbosity been more amusing and charming than from the mouth of Orel Merrick.

Lisa and Jared's witness to Tarquins's demand Oliver misappropriate funds from Orel's trust fund may have been the wake up call Oliver needed. He refused Tarquins's request and essentially hung up on him. This is a promising sign. It appears Orel and Finn are as clueless as each other when it comes to initiating the "lean". The Ottawa intervention planned by Kyle, to be "ably" assisted by Garrett, will hopefully light a fire under both Orel and Finn, which propels them into action.

"When the stone walls narrowed, they turned their shoulders sideways and pressed on; when the roof lowered, they hunched like beasts. Rats scuttled away and water dripped, but otherwise the silence was whole." I shall possibly have nightmares after reading this @Mark Ponyboy Peters, LOL. Not a pleasant journey for anyone I should think, but for someone who is claustrophobic, musophobic or who has a weak stomach, it would be sickening. 🤮🤮🤮🤮 Who knew that long before Skippy was communicating with Sonny Hammond, other non-human animals were communicating with humans. The raven communicated with Judayah of Enkarra and "informed" him the enemy had entered the Castle of Carronne via the sewers. Frida read of this encounter between man and bird and informed me it was a lucky guess, the man was full of shit, rather appropriate given how the enemy entered the castle. Frida also confirmed @centexhairysub's statement "Never trust a black bird", although she expanded this to never trust a bird of any kind, they are dishonest creatures who are good for one thing only, eating. I shall leave her to the eating. Prince Raemande and Luther meet again, but there was no passionate embrace, no ripping off of clothes to allow for ravenous sex. Probably for the best at this stage given Luther has literally walked for miles through shit to reach Raemande, and neither has likely bathed for some time. A day spa, massage and attendance to personal hygiene and manscaping is needed before such events occur again. Breakfast conversation perhaps @Paladin?

A visit from Duran Duran and sizzling sex @Laura S. Fox, what more could a New Romantic ask for. But(t) more was what you gave us, unselfishly, with this further glimpse into Jack's childhood: "Safety wasn’t a sensation he often experienced. Memories of his childhood and adolescence rushed to mind. It had become clear enough, early on, that he wasn’t going to find a place to call his own, no matter how many foster families took him in. As the people around him treated him badly or indifferently, he had grown accustomed to retreating into a world of his own where he could be himself without bothering anybody else." The closer they get to the veil, the more lupine Vince and Jack are becoming. Neither is feeling the cold, and for Jack this is particularly remarkable, and both are craving sexual contact with Theo. It seems Theo's sex drive has now kicked into overdrive too, no longer is he maintaining the cold, supercilious attitude he has long held, particularly towards Jack. The increasing "heat" in the three led to the mutual blow jobs, hopefully a precursor, especially for Jack's sake, to the "butt drilling" Theo will deliver to both before they reach the veil.

Ms Patel has made a smart move, hopefully restricting Tarquin's efforts to portray Orel as mentally incompetent. Orel, like Britney, is becoming Stronger every day, he is more self-sufficient than Tarquin. Perhaps it is he whose mental capacity should be called into question.

A term for a hideous practice of abuse, but you are right, that is exactly what Oliver's acquiescence was like. I have no doubt Oliver loves Orel and recognises how positively he has responded to having Finn in his life, but I think like many other readers have commented, it is going to take something shocking i.e. the revelation of the contents of the red leather book, for Oliver to overcome his malaise. He is basically a decent, ethical human being, fighting a difficult battle against someone, a sibling, who possesses none of those qualities. I agree Oliver is jealous and I certainly do not hold that against him. His father and probably Tarquin have done a number on him too.

I hope when Oliver learns what the contents of the red leather book reveal he will be devastated such that the actions he has just taken in contempt of Orel and Finn make him violently ill. Tarquin has manipulated him yet again and Oliver on this occasion essentially invited him to do so.

A shotgun placed into a lower orifice (without lube) and then someone pulls the trigger by remote control. That sounds Shakespearian too (without the remote control), and a very fitting end for Tarquin.

Clearly Tarquin is going to cause a lot more grief for Orel, Finn and by default Oliver before all his crimes are exposed, hopefully in the presence of Will, prominent townsfolk and the press.

Orel is completely without artifice. Tarquin has "sheltered" him from the cruelty of the "real" world and replaced it with another form of cruelty, a more virulent and destructive cruelty. It is testament to his strength he has survived mentally and physically intact.

Old age? I don't think you are even 50 yet if I remember correctly. I thought I must have been going mad (old age), so this comment has cleared up my confusion completely.