Summerabbacat

I suspected Terry was the real "blackmailer" but would never have guessed it was a practical joke. Although it was not Terry's intention, the practical joke had the effect of "encouraging" Mark to stop pretending to be something he was not for political gain by attacking the LGBTQI community.The desired outcome of reuniting Terry and Mark was achieved and strong partnerships formed between all six men. The conclusion of the story was a delightful surprise @chris191070.

Valance; drop a few letters from his name and he would be right at home in a similar role and environment in 2026. How’s that for “progress”? Not.

The "Demon Horse" will leave no arse un-kicked, no face un-shattered, no skull un-crushed, in the protection of his humans, and by default the protection of the town. Go Jack go, there is vermin to be rid, the very worst of vermin, human vermin in the form of McCulloch, the Grizzly and Valance.

Go Jack go. Kick some serious arse lad.

I have never seen a real gun "in the flesh" nor any ammunition and do not wish to ever do so @Topher Lydon. I "skipped" over most of the description of the guns as it meant nothing to me at all. I hate guns being used to murder bears, wolves, coyotes or any other non-human animal, but when it comes to scum bags like Valance and the Grizzly, blow their fucking heads off Elias and Theo. "Men" with small cocks and guns as a substitute for their inadequacy, threatening the townsfolk, murdering innocent animals like Mrs Hickey's chickens, I say "kill those motherfuckers" with whatever gun(s) you have, but not before they suffer excruciating pain. Thugs paid to do someone else's dirty work by threatening law abiding citizens. Strange how much ICE there is around when these clowns are playing bully boy. I hope Jack gets the opportunity to crush a skull or two with his powerful front legs.

I now remember you saying baking cakes was a big part of your growing up. Was it a sponge cake, which I think you referred to as a Victoria Sandwich cake or something similar, that was particularly popular with you?

If I remember correctly @weinerdog, in an earlier chapter of this story or a later chapter of The Truth Of Yesterday, Killian had a discussion with Jake and resolved some of Jake's grievances against him. They appeared to be on much better terms and Jake was reportedly responding well to therapy. Your comment has given rise to another possibility in my mind @weinerdog; I wonder if Judy would be a good "mother" figure for Tad, something he has not had for many years and which he seemed to yearn for, to some extent at least in The Truth Of Yesterday.

Perhaps he could take them home to introduce to Edward and the rest of the household? Mmmmmmm, perhaps not.

The likelihood of Killian moving in with Micah and/or accompanying him to New York City decreases with each chapter. Both have their own goals in life, and those goals at present are very far apart. As much as Micah has annoyed me in this story, I understand where he is coming from. He has more life experience than Killian and is hungry for new rewarding career opportunities. For all his rhetoric he would be content to stay in Maryland with Killian if they lived together and forgo the career opportunities in New York, I agree with Killian in that Micah may well come to resent him later in life and blame him for having held him back. "He drove up to visit his mother for the weekend. She's having some health concerns and Kane figured he should make an appearance." My immediate thought echoed Adam's pronouncements, except mine was perhaps even harsher as I thought I hope it's terminal. A cancer scare. Evil rots from within." was also very similar as I thought she is "bearing the fruits" of her toxic personality. I shall not be displeased if her time is limited, very limited, very very limited @Josh Aterovis. Tad's reasons for his behaviour were as I thought they might be, apart from his assumption the teenagers he is going to school with are clueless when it comes to the harsh realities of life for some. By and large he is probably correct, but as Killian pointed out, he cannot assume all his fellow students lead charmed lives. I think a change of therapist and a meeting with Jake, at least once, would serve Tad well, and perhaps Jake too. No ABBA education for you in this chapter @Josh Aterovis. There was but a few songs I thought might be a suitable comment on the events of this chapter, but not quite what I wanted to say.

James and Alex appear to be enjoying the time with the circus, and Francesco appears to have reconnected with that way of life. I have a suspicion when the circus leaves town so will Francesco, thereby ending his relationship with James. Well that is what is known as well and truly fucked. I wonder if Kilby will have a rethink about his current profession. After this episode I won't be surprised if he calls a halt on his nocturnal activities.

I am not surprised it is Roland, what I am not sure of is his "real" motive for the blackmail. I am sure the money will come in handy, but for whom. I think Mark's twin Terry is involved somehow, either directly or indirectly. The following comment in chapter 3 “This used to be Mister Terry’s room,” Roland announced rather sadly." makes me think there was/is a connection between Roland and Terry which is not perhaps present between Roland and Mark.

Many of Robert's characters have enjoyed cake @pvtguy. I seem to recall him acknowledging once he was rather partial to it himself. LOL. I rarely eat it, but do find myself "dreaming" of a rich chocolate cake or a childhood favourite, my grandmother's plain cake with passionfruit icing, made from the juice of real freshly-picked passionfruit. She would always put some passionfruit seeds into the icing too because she knew I liked the seeds. Louis and Charlie's love of art, albeit in different forms, is a source of great enjoyment together. Neither is pretentious, and both are secure enough in themselves and their relationship, to allow the other time to explore art which holds a lesser interest to them. Their outings with Ian are also entertaining, particularly as one observes Ian's "childlike" wonder and innocence at times. He is much like the flowers he so loves, with Louis, Charlie and Tom to some extent, much like the sun, allowing him to open up like a bud and bloom. I am perhaps a little confused, again, @Robert Hugill about Charley's family tree. Not that it really matters, but am I correct in my belief Aunt Daphne was Charley's aunt solely because of her marriage/partnership with his Uncle Carl, and after he passed away she married/partnered with Graham. I am not sure if Graham is Charley's blood Uncle, or is he just someone Charley's father and Uncle Carl knew? If you have detailed this in an earlier chapter I have obviously forgotten.

@Lee Wilson at his very best has always entertained, often amused and challenged, and sometimes enraged his readers with well-written and realistic characters, some of whom have been truly vile (those who enraged). This story and its predecessor continued this trend and then some. The truly vile characters only made a brief appearance and caused a minimum of disruption to the lives of the two protagonists, Stephen and Michael. The reader witnesses their lives through a sympathetic, or perhaps more accurately an empathetic lens, and it was a joy to witness. Lee has outdone himself with this story. Built on a "slighter" premise than usual, the story which unfolded was sweet, without being saccharine, and moving, without being maudlin or overly-sentimental. Superb, a truly superb work @Lee Wilson.

Forget the tissues, I had to use the spare doona for the cats. This story has been a slow burner @Lee Wilson, gently pulling at my heartstrings from the very first chapter of Love Is Blind. There was however, nothing "gentle" about this and the prior chapter, the heartstrings were ripped from their moorings by the very best prose you have ever written. This story has now positioned itself at the top of the @Lee Wilson chart, and I doubt will relinquish that position for some time, if ever. Michael's victories at the Paralympics and his appearance at the Olympics, and his continuing relationship with Stephen were a joy to witness, a real treat for we readers. But wait, there was more, and it was not a set of steak knives or some other useless "bonus gift". "Michael continued to swim competitively. He’d occasionally compete at Paralympic events, and swam for his college at Berry College in Mount Berry, Georgia. He majored in Animal Science. Stephen was right there with him, majoring in Pre-Veterinary Studies, and continuing as his tapper. Stephen went on to the University of Georgia’s College of Veterinary Medicine. After graduation, Stephen and Michael joined the Veterinary practice at Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia. The summer after starting there, they married and were together the rest of their lives." Michael's and Stephen's love of animals led them to become vets. Upon reading this, any pretence to suffering allergies evaporated; I had a complete and full-on sob fest. There is nothing they could have done which would have moved and impressed me more. Freddie, who like me, adored cats, would have been very proud of them both, for they both are certainly champions in more ways than one.

Not just drunk @drsawzall, but hammered, plastered, mindless, legless, pissed as a fart or pissed as a newt. Chill Noah, you kissed your best friend and enjoyed it, immensely, passionately. You responded to his scent, the sea and fresh oranges. That has got to be a lot more pleasant than rotting prawns, cigarettes and halitosis. Leo is a cool customer, completely unfazed by Noah's little dummy spit. He has had a lot more time to come to terms with his attraction to Noah, although he does seem to be a chill "dude" in all respects. Hopefully he can ease Noah's fears with patience and more kissing, such that Noah realises Leo is his "thing", not Gina, Cassie, Luisa or Yvette. The more he tastes "forbidden fruit" the less attractive girls will be.

I agree @chris191070. Edward is no fool. I think he is waiting for Kilby to admit he is sneaking out at night and acknowledge what his nocturnal activities are. I don't think either Edward or Romel will be pleased, but I doubt either will judge him "morally". Kilby previously mentioned to Lucas and/or Caleb that he is a bit of a loner. Given this, I think he needs to spend more time with his "sister" Peggy. You will see there is a theme emerging in my comments @Wombat Bill. Peggy deserves more screen time.

Good man. Excellent taste.

Kilby, rent boy? This is the most obvious nighttime leisure activity Kilby is likely participating in. If it was he whom Lucas saw on Flinders Street he may have been plying his wares at The Wall that night. Having his own doctor would enable him to have regular check-ups for STI's and be on PrEP, without it coming to anyone else's attention. His comment his mother taught him to look after himself made me think his profession is one where he has to care of his physical health given she was a nurse. Very intriguing @Wombat Bill. If Kilby is a sex worker and DOCS find out I assume he will be removed from Edward and Romel's care post-haste. I think it is about time Peggy interrogated him.

I am glad Killian went out with Asher for dinner and dancing, even though I am not an Asher fan. I think Killian realised he can have a friendship with Asher and it does not have to be awkward because they were a couple once. Perhaps I am naïve, but I did not get a sense that Killian was "hot" for Asher again, regardless of the comments made by Carmen and presumably Steve. Micah irritated the bejesus out of me in this chapter. His actions continue to belie his words he is not trying to put any pressure on Killian. I am almost certain Killian will decide he is not ready to move in with Micah and that does not make him a bad person or someone who is afraid of commitment. He is only 19 years of age and this is his first adult relationship, something which I do not think Micah has truly considered when delivering his ultimatum. I am sure the song Asher loved at Inferno would not have been this one @Josh Aterovis, but I thought of it immediately. It is one to continue your ABBA education, a disco-tastic smash from 1979. A huge hit in the UK and in Australia, although in Australia it was the B-side of the single rather than the A-side. The video is not the original video as the original video is an edit of the song released as a single. This video has some additional "features" and is 1 mintue longer. I adore it.

The boy on horseback was revealed to be Drake, son of Drago, a blacksmith from Carronne who is known to Chandar. Drago informed the knights he knows of a way or ways to infiltrate Castle Carronne unseen by the guards and release Prince Raemande. Whilst the gathered knights and Chandar believe him, Luther expressed reservations as to what terror the Dark Lord, Septimus, will unleash on the surrounding villagers when it is revealed Raeamande has managed to escape captivity. Chandar and the other knights seem less concerned, stating they believe the adult males both present and apparently in hiding, will take up arms to defend all against Septimus' soldiers. Is Luther being too pessimistic or are Chandar and the rest of the knights being too optimistic? Given Willem the Warlock's vision I think it the latter. One can only hope that most of the blood he has seen in his visions belongs to Septimus' soldiers rather than the men of the surrounding villages. One thing I am very much hoping for @Mark Ponyboy Peters is to witness the wrath of Luther's stallion. I hope none of the other horses are hurt during the skirmishes to come (a foolish hope I know), but I really hope he (whose name I cannot remember if it has been revealed) kicks arse. He, the stallion, is highly intelligent and highly spirited if I remember correctly, so he could do some serious damage to some of Septimus' soldiers if given the opportunity. And perhaps Willem of Shalamar can conjure up a visit from Jody Watley. Girl was fierce in Shalamar and her first solo hit showed all just how fierce. Hasta la vista baby. Gotta love those hoops.

It just goes to show you cannot trust someone named Claus. I guess he was used to a cold climate, therefore retrieving the meat from the cool room was like walking into a sauna. If he goes to gaol (very unlikely) he can start on making all those toys by hand, rather than buying cheap crap made in China. Next time I have an IT issue I am calling Edward @Wombat Bill. Do you have a phone number for him? I will even offer to babysit Peggy for him, in fact, she can come for a visit anytime she likes.

If the "circus" brought a young David Essex to town I would be all in favour of it (assuming there was no animals). He was such a sex symbol in the mid to late 1970's, one of your very best @chris191070, although not quite as popular here in Australia as he was in the UK. He looks handsome in this video, although not his natural look, which was way sexier, jaw-droppingly so. Singer, songwriter and super stud.

I have heard of hell freezing over @drsawzall but never a wazoo. I hope you were able to find someone to soothe and warm it for you as one must keep one's wazoo satisfied.

Knowing Me, Knowing You charted at #14 in the USA in 1977 @Josh Aterovis, so was a 'bit' before your time. It was massive in the UK (5 weeks at #1) and top 5 in Australia. ABBA never stirred the hysteria in the USA like they did in Australia. If you have never seen ABBA The Movie it showcases some of that hysteria, which really affected Agnetha in particular. It was filmed in Australia with both concert footage and a "story" around their visit to Australia. They filmed a TV special when they visited which was watched by more people than the first landing on the moon. I will stop now as I am getting too excited and overcome with emotion.

The New Romantics were hugely popular in Australia @Josh Aterovis because at the time I think British music was more influential in Australia than American music. Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and ABC were the leading exponents in Australia, but there were plenty of other groups from the UK which were not New Romantic, who exploded onto the charts at a similar time e.g. Ultravox, Visage, The Human League, Yazoo, Eurythmics, Kim Wilde, Bananarama, Culture Club, Wham!, New Order, Thompson Twins and so many others whom @Summerabbacat adored. One of my favourite New Romantic-esque songs and videos from the time was by Visage. They were huge in the UK and Australia for a short time only, but unknown in the USA.