Tris

With @drpaladin (whom I remember from Ravello days on the Amalfi coast), I too am now all caught up! And while I've suspected that Mark could not be as awful as originally seemed - for he had his own path he was constrained to follow - this flashback helped me see more clearly. It remains to be seen how @drown resolves it all, and I hesitate to suggest how he might do so: I'm never good at that sort of thing and am more than happy to defer to the Author / Creator, who is a Master of his craft.

@chris191070 has raised questions here not only for those readers who have reacted so viscerally in previous chapters, but also for myself - even though my issues pale in comparison with Harry's. I can only wish that I had been able to resolve, in my own life, questions that Harry, Stuart, and George encounter and deal with successfully. Ah, to be a character in someone else's story! That would be blissful indeed. Still, many of us have learned how to live with the tension occasioned by our inability to reconcile the seemingly irreconcilable. "Fiction" helps!

My mind (such as it is!) is on overload. This is all truly amazing - what a fertile imagination you have, @drown. I am in awe.

@drown clearly brings out the best in his readers. Not only is the Author's writing stimulating, but his readers are definitely "along for the ride." I'm so glad I "stumbled" across this story! Maybe that's part of the "nature" of GA. Before I even knew how to post comments, I was swept up in the world of Ravenna and the Amalfi coast. I think the author was James Carnarvon? There's some great stuff on this site.

As I've posted elsewhere, I tend not to read stories about animals / creatures / furries and so on. Fortunately, I've learned to make exceptions. Having read a number of perceptive and entertaining comments by @drown reacting to other writings on GA, I figured he was worth checking into. I was quite surprised to find only one story to his credit as an author. Someone so accomplished and engaging, I figured, was doubtless an "old pro" (well, not old as in superannuated) at this literary craft. I've got a number of chapters to catch up on!

This story raises so many conflicting emotions to the extent that I really didn't know which emoticon to choose (I finally opted for Sad). Too bad we don't get to select more than one. That being said, the amount of Judgmentalism I've encountered in some of these reactions disturbs me. Of course, that is what is "allowed" by such fictional stories (are they completely fictional? one wonders...): a chance to explore situations and experiment with ideas that might cause great hurt if we chose to "experiment" on each other in Real Time. I thank the author for having raised these questions here - questions that many men have to live with and deal with everyday. Great story! Is there more? I got the sense that this chapter may be the wrap up.

As I've said before - and I forget exactly where - The Mind Boggles. I guess I just don't get it ... but I love the story so I'll just keep reading!

Yikes! Only goes to show that, by and large, we gay men are more "advanced" than our straight counterparts... and if you believe that I have a bridge in Brooklyn that I'd like to sell you. Problem is, the gay and the straight we are comparing here are the same guy (or ARE they the same guy?). As the song says," Things are seldom what they seem: skim milk masquerades as cream."

The mind boggles - at least, mine does. This could go in so many different directions - I guess I'm here for an amazing ride. I just don't know which emoticon to use for this chapter: shock? humor? crossed fingers? Color me, um, Anticipatory. But I'll opt for a heart - I love my mind to be boggled.

I had just assumed Harper was a cross-dresser. Can't wait to see how all this develops. Man!

Utterly fascinating! Trying to imagine myself in either man's shoes. Oddly, I can relate to both - though waking up straight would be an entirely new experience for me. Looking forward to more!

Not so much sadness, but angst. Here's to hoping that the boys will meet again. Interesting that dad was able to locate Carey...

This is your best yet, Chris. I don't know if that's because of the subject matter (I'm rather musically inclined, to put it mildly) or because you've definitely hit your stride as an amazing writer. Kudos! Can't wait to read anything you'll publish.

Glad to make Toby's re-acquaintance from yesteryear. Looking forward to a lot more!

Meow! And since felines are said to have more than one name (with apologies to t. s. eliot or whoever it was), maybe Sylvester was really Kitty Marmalade (thank you, Ivor), who was said to have inspired the lyric "voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir" 🙂

True to life ... and I can relate, even though my personal story is a bit different. That, my friend, is a sign of a good writer. Thanks for giving me something worthwhile to read when I woke up this morning.

This brought tears to my eyes: "Never forget me. I'll see you again, one day." I swear, I saw him smile.

As Boris Badenough used to say, "Permit me to introduce myself." I am NOT writer, and have no pretensions that I might be. I have no sense of plots, twists, drama, or anything along such lines. I am content to let Real Authors (LIKE YOU) do all that heavy lifting for me. But I had to laugh to myself because, once upon a time, I possessed (how? I'm not sure) an old "noiseless" (was it a Remington?) portable manual typewriter. Oddly, I made up an inane little story about how it had been used by a British war correspondent at the Battle of Ypres in WWI. That's as far as I got. The typewriter, though, got me through my grad school days on the Continent. When I decided to return to the American side of the Atlantic (a mistake? perhaps...) I didn't bring it back with me (another mistake? I also left behind my first car, a 1965 VW). I miss them. I also miss (and still do) a number of guys - but that's another story. Maybe somewhere in there are the seeds of a plot. But in my hands and in my head, well, any potential plot will remain (alas!) still-born. THANK YOU, Chris, for NOT being like me 🙂

Joyeux Noel !

The chills and shivers down my spine began almost from the get-go. May each one of us be, somehow, answers to each other's prayers.

Can't wait to sink my teeth into this Dive. You guys are doing an amazing job helping us navigate the gayauthors goldmine. Thanks!

So glad I "found" you this morning, Justin4Fun. This is just what I needed, though I'll have a bit of catching up to do, not only with this story, but with other tales you've shared. Thank you!

I had to laugh at the thought of "not staring skills" because I was so near-sighted I couldn't really see much of anything in the boys' locker room once i headed for the showers without glasses. That saved me from popping boners at inopportune times since I couldn't see a thing.

It's the mark of excellent writer when the reader, despite differences of culture and time, can see bits of himself in the characters depicted. I don't know what happened to Jubal, but I see traces of my own insecurities in him: I sure can relate! Part of me wishes I was more like Lucas, but I don't resent him for his affability. Of course, it helps that both men are h*t as h*ll, but that's just me LOL. My thanks not only to our Author, but also to those Readers with whom I am privileged to share this journey. Oh, and I'm looking forward to some great fishin' in chapters to come.

Having lived three+ years in the U.K., I can appreciate a "system" where not everything is ideological 🙂