Summerabbacat

Funkytown? To The River?

As long as the "box" labelled Natasha remains closed, he should be OK. That one is likely a bio-hazard, a toxic waste dump of hatred and lies, not to be re-opened even if wearing a Hazmat suit.

I did not believe as @Cane23 did that Martin and Simon would become an item, although I did think an attraction may be brewing. I must have had my blinkers on when reading the above excerpt, although reading it again, it is way too subtle for me to have picked up on @Paladin. As I am sure you have gathered by now, subtlety is not one of my "strengths". I wonder if Rick, the randy redhead, has a penchant for toe-sucking.

I would only 'stop watching' if there was explicit description(s) of violence or cruelty against any non-human animals (including rats, mice and snakes), or against the human forces of good. If there are explicit descriptions of the execution of Septimus, Judayah of Enkarra and/or any of Septimus' soldiers, I shall not bat an eyelid so long as no non-human animal is harmed in carrying out said executions.

You are certainly a master at creating spine-tingling tension and suspense @Topher Lydon. For a moment or two it appeared Jean's luck had run out (which clearly was not going to be the case), and I had no idea how he was going to redress the situation. His eagle-eye and knowledge of con men saved the day. Brant McCulloch proved to be a cheat, someone who was prepared to win at all costs, someone whose arrogance would not allow him to contemplate losing even if it meant cheating to win. What surprised me was that Valance conceded defeat so easily, seemingly embarrassed by McCulloch's cheating, he surrendered the deeds without hesitation, the sneer wiped from his face. I hope he also faces gaol time for his part in the theft, although it appears McCulloch was the architect of the crime. With the knowledge of Jean's lineage I had an image of him as resembling Sammy Davis Jr in his finest of clothes, a bon vivant, a strutting peacock with charm unlimited, and a mind as sharp as a steel trap. He proved to be all those things and more. His vanity is not shallow, it is his presentation to the world, but it belies a man of principle who is ferociously devoted to those he loves and admires and whom he will protect to the death. He has shown this on many an occasion now.

Willem of Shalamar aka the Warlock certainly appears to be playing a dangerous game @centexhairysub. I wonder though if he has foreseen his own rescue by the Knights of the Order of the Dragon? And if said knights do rescue him, I am almost certain they will rescue young Caleb too @drsawzall as most seem to have their own page boy. I just hope the land to the north of the Castle of Carronne is more inhospitable than that to the south as this would surely slow down the Dark Lord, Septimus, and his soldiers when returning to Carronne. I assume at some point in time Septimus will realise he has been hoodwinked by the Warlock. Jamal's despatch of the two robbers was efficient and very gruesome. To his credit it troubled him to have taken a life, but as noted by Deven, he, Jamal, was defending himself, Deven and Whip. A rather gruesome chapter @Mark Ponyboy Peters, somewhat reminiscent of a scene in Reservoir Dogs which made me stop watching it immediately. Fortunately, your description was less explicit, and the use of a stiletto made me think of a drag queen from RuPaul's Drag Race delivering the fatal "blow" with one of a pair of sky high fuchsia coloured pumps. Perhaps Alaska Thunderfuck.

Well Steve is a regular Mary Poppins or Maria Von Trapp isn't he. His sole purpose for inviting the boys to the weekend away was to encourage them to cease sex work as their means of income. A "noble" idea, but how realistic is it. Time will tell. We learn Kilby is gay-for-pay, not surprising given he previously told Lucas and/or Caleb he is not gay. I wonder if he will discuss his nocturnal activities with Edward and Romel truthfully or if he will spin them another yarn.

A revelatory chapter @Paladin; no wonder Martin's head is spinning round (like a record baby, right round, right round). Much was revealed, Bertrand attended his graduation when he was awarded his doctorate, in fact, apparently he even shook Martin's hand; Bertrand has a title, what the title is is yet to be revealed; Simon and his cousin Rick are both gay and hot for each other; and, Rick's carpet matches his drapes. I suspect once Martin learns he will inherit a title he will not be comfortable with this at all. If he does not like being referred to as Dr Evans, I don't imagine he will be comfortable as a Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount or Baron. Whatever he does, I hope he retains his existing family name in deference to the man who raised him as his son. It also appears quite common for the upper class to have a double-barrelled family name in the UK, both hyphenated and unhyphenated. Dr Martin Evans-Montgomery, Marquess of Middlesex. 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Similarly to @Davide, I wonder if Martin may have already started to have feelings for Simon which extend beyond friendship. If so, I imagine he will suppress them now which may also contribute to his current and ongoing turmoil.

This surprised me @Gary L, moreso that an "illegitimate" male heir can inherit a title than that a female heir cannot. According to research I conducted, the titles are conferred by the sovereign or inherited. It appears incongruous to me the monarch can be male or female, but these peerages, which are "lower" titles, cannot. I imagine it might require an Act of Parliament to change this, but given the recent exposure of the behaviour of a former royal, there may be more of an appetite to abolish the peerages altogether. I cannot see the UK becoming a republic any time soon though. Shall we refer to you henceforth as Gary L...., Duke of Worcestershire or continue with Vizconde of Valencia?

Once Pandora's Box has been opened @drsawzall, Martin's life will never be the same again, hence one of the reasons for the story's title I assume. I think your suspicion might be spot-on. They may already have been making goo goo eyes at each other before their afternoon "connection" and midnight rendezvous, unbeknownst to Martin. It did pass my notice; I assumed Bertrand meant the title to the property on which the mansion sits, which I thought was rather odd.

Diddums, Professor Healy's pride has been wounded, his ego deflated. The man is a pompous condescending fool who needs to be reminded of why he is at the dig site and who invited him. Perhaps one or more of the spirits who have reservations about Killian's involvement might pay him a visit. I doubt Lily will be able to smooth things over with him, and I imagine he will dismiss Jacy as a child. Given the archeological dig is occurring on Fletcher's land he could always just tell Professor Healy to fuck off and find another interested academic, or at least threaten to do so. For this reader at least @Josh Aterovis Killian's words rang true with regard to this story. I am thoroughly hooked by this point. I am on the case for the long haul.

My comments are likely to be seen as insensitive by some of my fellow readers at least, and not really central to the story, but Mike Fraser and Mrs Slater are worse than pathetic and both really piss me off. He is supposedly doing double, sometimes triple shifts at the quarry. If this is the case, why is Axl having to work so hard to feed his brother? What is Mike's money being spent on? And Mrs Slater sits in her rocking chair "staring out the window, wrapped in her dead husband's coat, not seeing anything." Wake up to yourself lady, make an effort to deal with your grief, you still have a son who needs your care. Isn't she receiving some sort of social security benefit that could be used to help feed her son at least? Now that I have had my little rant about the pity party (and I do it myself, but I don't have human children relying upon me, and I look after my feline children regardless of how shitty I am feeling), it was another chapter showcasing a family which is forming, one built on the care of each for the other, the desire for each to make a contribution, to lessen the burden for all, to notice the other, and for Axl, Marshall-Lee and Aiden, the latter is something all have craved for such a long time. The best chapter yet I think @Topher Lydon, even though I totally lost what sympathy I had for the alleged parents. Mrs Slater in her fucking rocking chair. I wanted Aiden to grab her by the scruff of her neck and shout at her "Dad and my brother are dead, but I am still alive. Why don't you ever notice me, you selfish bitch?"

I had an influx of pollen too @drsawzall, although not from a snowstorm, mixed with a flurry of feline fur, and a deluge of dust from windy weather. Oddly, they all appeared at the same time, when Ollie was telling Axl how remarkable he is and that he does not have to do all this on his own, especially at the age of 17.

Gerald, Kofi Annan at his finest. I have no interest in isotopes, but I found this chapter and Orel's fascination with them wholly believable and quite moving.

This chapter brought back memories of the William Higgins classics from the 1980's The Pizza Boy He Delivers and Delivery Boys. If things get as raunchy for Axl and Oliver as what they did for the guys in those two films then they are in for a good time. Marshall-Lee and Aiden will be very pleased the Sausage Protocol 2 has worked out so well.

I am glad Axl expressed his frustration about the absent adults in his life, even if only to himself. He deserves so much more in life than his father and Mrs Slater, both of whom take him for granted, with little in the way of even a thank you in person. Hopefully Orel's "experiment" will be a resounding success. Terrific story @Topher Lydon.

Axl, 17 years of age going on 30. Still going to school, working nights to feed Mrs Slater and Aiden, and lonely. Mr Fraser and Mrs Slater both need to get off their respective arses and start acting like parents. Life has been difficult for both sure, but they have responsibilities for others they are clearly shirking, wallowing in misery presumably. Orel is certainly unusual. His manner of speech is somewhat "robotic" and I kept thinking of Robot from Lost In Space. He s clearly compassionate, his desire to find companionship for both his brother, Oliver, and for Axl, very admirable. And what of Finn, is he perhaps a descendant of Bobby Grady, and if so, how? Very enjoyable @Topher Lydon.

Life has been difficult for Marshall-Lee for half of his life at least (and what were his parents thinking hyphenating this as his name). His mother deserted the family when he was 7 years of age, an event which has had a profound effect on them all, not least of all his father who is emotionally distant from Marshall-Lee and his brother Axl, as he is working all the time to care for them. Axl is 17 years of age and at the age of 10 became Marshall-Lee's de-facto mother and father, at least as far as offering him emotional support and essentially raising him. Both boys are damaged, attributable at least in part to their mother's departure without a word. Aiden, we don't know much about his family yet, other than he has a mother and possibly his father is either deceased or incapacitated from an accident. I suspect it is the former. Aiden himself is very intelligent, observant and remarkably honest and direct. A delightful start to what promises to be a most interesting story @Topher Lydon. I was already investing in the story and its characters, but when Aiden revealed his knowing Marshall-Lee feeds an orange stray cat behind his house, I was hooked.

These were my thoughts too. Clearly the colour of Jean and Lauralei's skin was as important to the residents of Merrickville/Silver Creek as the gender of the person whom some of their "favourite sons" slept with.

I think I remember that now about him, but not about her.

It may have been stated in Buckshot or perhaps even in Deed, but is Jean of Haitian descent or something similar @Topher Lydon?

So much violence and death, with the killing of Scarecrow by Bobby the highlight of the melee. I too am glad Kieran atoned for his traitorous behaviour and lived to tell the tale. He proved himself to be far braver than he had previously shown; his pleas firstly to Jack and secondly to the railroad workers led by Big Angus McTavish, in an attempt to save the residents of Merrickville, not the pleas of a coward. The concluding scene featuring Bobby, Timmy and Timmy's father, very moving @Topher Lydon. The only debt left to be paid is the extermination of McCulloch and Valance. As much as I would like to see them killed by Elias, Theo or Bobby, I hope Elias is able to retrieve the deeds, arrest them and hand them over for justice to occur. To the gallows with both of them.

I assume Steve is well-off given the red sports car he drives, so providing "entertainment" for six teenage boys for a weekend away, feeding them and paying them for their time, is not likely to be a financial burden for him. And what does he get out of it, live "porn" to pleasure himself with. Peggy's appearance, albeit brief, showcased what a true star she is. With minimal effort she enchanted Edward, reminding him who is the master/mistress and who is the servant. Juanito's concerns for his relationship with Raj should not be taken lightly, nor should he be "judged" harshly for having such concerns. He may not cope with Raj's gender change, particularly if Juanito is predominantly or exclusively a bottom and Raj undergoes vaginoplasty.

Intelligent and observant. Perhaps there is a little (or maybe even a lot) of Josh Aterovis in Killian Kendall, so to speak. How are your driving skills? LOL.

After reading this very clever comment again @weinerdog, it has occurred to me Narcissus aka Daisy may even be involved in the disturbance(s) to the dig site and the assault on her father. She has enough hatred for him and Lily to seek revenge against them. What better way to do so than to discredit them AND cause disharmony in the community, a community she has completely divorced herself from. Although she is not involved in the community she may have learned of the dig site, particularly if Gordon Wallace has been bemoaning its existence.