Bill W

A truly emotional story, with realistic and relatable characters that will tug at your heart as you read it. This is an engaging short story that will elicit a wide range of feelings, but will leave you feeling good when you reach the end.

Ian, I thank you for your moving words and I'm sorry you had to experience all of the heartache and loss from having to move so many times, and for the boredom you experienced and the lack of connection to the school setting when you reached high school in a foreign country. I know there is no way my words can channge what you went through during that time, but I hope this prologue not only reminded you of what you endured, but the upcoming chapter will bring you hope and maybe remind you of better times in your life. Thank you for the feedback and for sharing your story with us.

Empath, you have written a truly emotional roller coaster ride in this story, using realistic and relatable characters, and I will describe what I went through using vague general terms so I don't ruin this for others. Your story took me vicariously through your characters from severe disappointment, to a temporary reprieve, then to emotional abuse, to a loss, to another temporary reprieve, to another loss, to total emotional despair, to a new sense of hope, and finally to total happiness. It was personally draining, yet heartwarming and uplifting, and I thank you for this wonderful adventure. Well done, and I agree with @HARRYWALTER, Comicality would have loved your story.

Intelligible is of multiple origins. Either (i) a borrowing from French. Or (ii) a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French intelligible; Latin intelligibilis, intellegibilis "that can understand; that can be understood," In Middle English also "to be grasped by the intellect" (rather than the senses). In English, sense of "capable of being understood, that can be understood" first recorded c. 1600. Related: Intelligibly. The first known use of the word "intelligible" in English was in the 14th century, specifically in the Middle English period. It was borrowed from Latin, with the Latin word "intelligibilis" as its origin. The Oxford English Dictionary's earliest evidence for "intelligible" is from before 1382, in the Wycliffite Bible (early version). Examples of using Intelligible in a sentence: "How much can you leave out while keeping it intelligible, he asks?" " "What we need a program that can display this data in an intelligible form" "While it's clear and intelligible, a musical really deserves at least a stereo soundtrack." "By doing this, it would make the system more intelligible to the general public" "Why is the entire issue of footballers' pay invariably lost in a maelstrom of barely intelligible envy?" "He makes silly films intelligible." "The hurricane of 1938 followed a path that is perfectly intelligible, in retrospect."

I remember either a movie or TV show about "The War of the Worlds", or maybe it was on the movie poster that would have been in the theaters, but wherever I saw it, the mechanical Martian weapons looked very similar to that jumping spider.

You drew me into your story, but you left far too much untold. What was the prophecy? What changes did the transformation make on Judah, besides giving him wings? Why was everyone looking at him with their eyes wide and heir mouths open? There must have been more changes to Judah than just having wings, but what were they? If the prophecy was correct and Judah was meant to give the vampires additional or increased powers, why did the witches tell the others to kill Judah? I hope there will be a follow-up to this story that will answer these questions, because now that you've piqued my interest, I won't be satisfied until I know "the rest of the story"!

Thank you, Chris. I was worried that people might think that I was focusing too much on myself in this story, rather than on Comet, but I knew of no other way to tell this tale. I'm glad that you enjoyed it and realized what I was hoping to portray.

Comicality left this world way too early and far too young, and in the process left some of his stories unfinished. Lee took one of those stories and attempted to bring it to some sort of a conclusion, and he did it in a charming and devilish way that I believe Comicality would have approved of. I urge you to take a look at this short story and see if you agree with me.

Great job, Lee. I think Comsie would have approved at the slightly twisted and devilish way that Adler got revenge on Seth, and then pulled him into a naked make out sessions in a room full of their sleeping friends. Well done!

What a lovely, and comical, story about your young neighbor friend. Those are the types of experiences that will last you a lifetime, and maybe even longer. Thank you for sharing this, Philippe!

This is a beautifully written story about two high school athletes, Bryan and Michael, who are inwardly dealing with their sexuality, while keeping it hidden from everyone around them. You will feel the depth of each character's struggle and the anguish they're going through. You will also jump for joy when you see how their stories play out. Be sure to take a moment to read this wonderful and moving short story.

What a beautiful story MrM. The way you described both Bryan and Michael made me love them, and I could also feel their pain because they believer they couldn't come out. I am ever so grateful that Bryan was able to keep Michael from jumping off the bridge, and I'm glad they had some time together before going off to college. It also makes me wonder how much worse the harassment that Bryan was facing from some of his teammates got after this revelation. I also want to know the treatment that Michael received from the rest of the school once Sylvia outed him. It was a sad, yet sweet, story about Bryan and Michael. Thank you. By the way, I believe Comicality would have loved this story!

Yes, Ian, many of us had a troubled past and it took a long time to come to terms with our sexuality. Unfortunately, you and I took a long time to make peace with it. I'm glad you did and that Comicality was the one who helped you crack the amber. And welcome to GA, a safe harbor with lots of friendly and helpful people.

Tim, thank you for the feedback and your wonderful comments. I was wondering how many might agree with me about the stories on Nifty, because I'm not sure if the situation had improved over the years, since I haven't read anything there is quite a while. At the time it was difficult to find decent stories on Nifty, and there were a few, but then I found Comicality's stories and built a friendship with him over the years. I sincerely appreciate your observations and thoughts, and I'm glad you've joined the GA ranks as well.

Thank you for your feedback and observations, my doggy friend, and believe it or not, I did consider a dachshund for the kids, but I wasn't sure if it could keep up with a rambunctious Connor. I hope Cooper and Paul form a very close friendship, and maybe more, so I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.

A tender and moving tribute to a close friend, Comicality, who is no longer with us. Myr has beautifully described his relationship with Comsie, or Comet, whichever nickname you prefer for Comicality, and shared his continuing connection with him throughout the years. He also tenderly described his feelings of loss over Comicality's leaving us far too young, and his hope that Comet has now found peace in the great beyond.

Beautifully written, Myr, and a very touching tribute to a dear friend who's no longer with us. Some, like you and I, had known him for a long time, and others may have only know him for a few years, months, or even just found his writings, but he touched a lot of our lives along the way. May he find happiness in the great beyond and continue telling stories that will touch others. Like you, I will also miss him dearly.

Yes, drs, it took a while, but it seems that Cooper is overcoming his anger about having to move. I'm also glad you enjoy the dynamics between the two boys, and I also hope Paul's family is as open minded as Cooper's family. Thank you for the feedback.

Thank you, Ticklishboy, and I'm glad I was able to portray the families well enough that you've fallen in love with them. Thank you for the feedback.

You're right, Tony, and hopefully the friendship will blossom. Whether or not I continue this story will depend on the type of feedback I get, and this is a good start.

Thank you, scrubber, and because moving is never easy for a younger person, the hope of finding new friends is often the only consolation.

Thank you, drs, and moving can be very difficult, and seem catastrophic, for a young person. I don't know how some military children seem to survive as they follow their father or mother from one assignment to the next, and sometimes to different countries where they don't know the language. At least in Cooper's case, he was just moving from a northern to a southern state, so language wasn't an issue, although some southern sayings might seem foreign to him. I'm glad you made out as well as you did.

Thank you, drs, and I hope those memories included Comet's earlies stories, as well as about what it was like trying to navigate the new cyber reality and how difficult it was to find good stories by gay authors (no pun intended).

Thank you, Jeff, both for your kind words about this tribute to Comicality, but also for your kind words about my story "A Tragic Love". Yes, our time on earth is fleeting, and I realize mine is slowly running out, so I hope I leave some good behind that others can benefit from.

Thank you so much for your kind words and for relating the story about having met Judy Shepard. Although my story wasn't directly related to Matthew's death, it did address the bigotry, hatred, and meaningless violence caused by homophobia. I hope in some way it passed that message along.