John Henry

Forked? 🤔

Thank you @Anton_Cloche. As mentioned before, Terra's subplot has been subtly playing out in the background, and may not be revealed in this story due to Gay Authors' guidelines but will play a part in the sequel series on Nifty, which I'm hoping to start late next year. The boys are due to testify (though I haven't written that part yet), and I think you guys might think what I have in mind will be okay.

@Arch Hunter, I know that English isn't your native language but that's not how you spell "Stalker."

Vacations are nice but being sick isn't. I hope you're feeling better and the vacation was relaxing. I'm going on vacation at the end of the month, myself, and time isn't moving fast enough for me. Lol Can't wait to read what happens next, but your health and well being comes first.

I am dyslexic, actually. 😁

@Arch Hunter What was the update?

Thank you @drsawzall. Many interesting theories in this post, but there's still more to come and to be revealed.

Thank you @Lee Wilson. Carp? Is the word you're looking for carp?

Thank you @Philippe. A lot of where things are going wrong is the lack of voter participation outside of elections. Voter initiatives are one of the best ways to get laws passed that local and state governments won't tackle. That's why it's important to listen to people who are collecting ballet signatures. You can make a huge difference by supporting laws and/or knowing what could be on the next ballet. You can set term limits for local officials, force transparency in politics, etc., through these methods; however, most voters would rather not "waste" their time, while complaining about how the courts and government keeps screwing them over. The power is in the hands of the people and it goes beyond voting for your favorite (or least hated) candidate. Court reforms are not exempt from this either. You can force your local or state government to update/reform laws through voter initiatives.

Did you? 🤔

Thank you @rdale. Now this is interesting....

Thank you @weinerdog. Yes, I might be okay at writing courtroom scenes, but I still hate them. The constant back and forth, bickering, procedures, the objections, etc. This is why Trump falls asleep in court. It's all really boring, to be honest. It makes for great fiction, hence why Law & Order is still on the air despite how inaccurate and biased it is. As mentioned before, I'm a fan of Boston Legal, which is also inaccurate and biased, but it also doesn't pretend to be anything other than entertainment with a good message. The real Calvin shoots himself in the foot whenever he's forced to admit the truth, so I felt that the fictional Calvin shouldn't be any different. Once the truth starts coming out and people can see him for who he is, then his "charm" no longer works. Yes, Terra's subplot has been in the works very subtly from the start, but will only have an impact in the follow up story to this, which will be posted on Nifty late next year. As far as any revelations in this story, I haven't decided yet, given Gay Author's rules and guidelines.

Thank you @starboardtack. Your objection is sustained.

Thank you @Robertmarcus. Very valid points, yet there's till more to come....

Thank you @Dan South. We're just getting started.

Thank you @VBlew.

Thank you, @Summerabbacat. If you thought this chapter was hilarious, you're going to break a rib in the next. It's Billy's turn to throw Judge Crustypants' ruling back in his face. Billy, like his father, is big on shock and awe tactics, so having 20 ex-girlfriends walk in all at once was fantastic to write. It took me a bit to sort out how to write you favorite line, so I'm glad it landed as intended.

Thank you @chris191070. Yes, Calvin is a piece of "work" (your word not mine), and it's only going to be more apparent from this point forward. And the ex-girlfriends will have a lot to say about him.

“Mr. Parker, your witness,” Judge Arthur said, once Court was back in session. “Thank you, Your Honor.” Billy stood and looked at Calvin who seemed to have a renewed confidence. Billy was certain that Clarke had a “heart-to-heart” with his client about how to behave. “Mr. Johnson, what do you do for a living?” Calvin's confidence was chipped. “I'm looking for a job.” “Does that mean you're unemployed?” “Yes.” “And how long have you been unemployed?” “Since Sunday.”

Definitely. Conditioning and brain washing is a serious issue.

Then I definitely will accept the complement. I think I saw something posted about his passing recently, but didn't delve deep into it, since I didn't know him nor was I familiar with his works. I'll definitely check him out, though. I seems that I'm always late to the party when it comes to finding good artists, both literary and musically.

To be honest, I have no idea why I didn't give the protagonist a name. In fact, I had to reread it to see if I even mentioned it. Lol The entire US West Coast is stupid expensive to live in, but I didn't have anywhere specific in mind when I wrote it. I wanted a gay-friendly vibe, and most large cities from San Diego to Seattle are gay friendly, while the ones more in land, like Boise and Salt Lake City, are more conservative and heavily influenced by the Mormons. As far as the legality of forcing freshman to live on campus, I don't think that would be an issue per se, especially for out-of-state students, as the dorms would be cheaper; plus, if it's part of the admission policy, you'd be agreeing to the terms at the start, similar to how websites and social media collect your private information without your constant consent, all because you agreed to it in order to use their platforms. I don't know who Comicality is, so I don't get the reference, but I'll take it as a complement, nonetheless.

I like opposites attract type stories from time to time. To me, it gives a little hope for those who feel like they couldn't have the person they really want to be with.

Glad you fell for it like the protagonist. I often think that everyone can see through my deceptions, so it's nice when it doesn't happen (or at least not too quickly). I think everyone would like a sly roommate like Tyler. Ugh, it would make life a whole lot better, to be honest.