Cane23

@LeeSA and our Australian friends are a bit ahead of us - already in 2026! 😄 Wishing you all a Happy New Year 🎆

What strikes me is that Luke confronts Lyn about whether to tell or stay silent, yet Luke himself avoids the bare minimum of honesty. He never tells Brad that he initiated contact with Lyn or that he deliberately pulled him into this situation. If silence is supposedly the ethical choice, why is that responsibility placed entirely on Lyn, and not on the person who started the chain of events in the first place?

At this point, whether Bella knows or how much she knows is no longer what matters most. This is no longer a question of ignorance vs. knowledge; it becomes a question of chosen blindness vs. imposed truth. Up to this point, Lyn’s moral framework is relatively stable - Bella is being deceived, deception causes harm...so, telling the truth means prevention, even if painful. That’s a rescue narrative; it allows Lyn to act without ambiguity. But... Bella shatters this - “Don’t make me explain what ‘all’ means.” “I’m marrying him so I can make sure he can never tell.” This is not ignorance; it is strategic non-knowledge. Bella is not asking to be informed - she is asking to remain un-informed on purpose. At that moment, telling is no longer “saving” her...it becomes overriding her agency. Her hope is not that the truth is harmless - her hope is that silence can be functional. That makes the marriage not a lie, but a contract... I won’t ask...you won’t tell...we’ll call this stability. But the crucial mirror is - Lyn seeing himself in Bella! He recognizes wish to make things “work” at any cost, readiness to absorb discomfort so others don’t and desire to believe 'this time it will hold'. Once Bella chooses not to know, truth loses its automatic moral priority. Now the ethical question becomes - do we have the right to force truth on someone who is choosing illusion? - Is chosen blindness less valid than imposed knowledge? - Does harm avoided justify autonomy violated? This is the sentence that changes everything “Don’t ruin this for me.” Even unspoken, it’s unmistakable. At that moment, Lyn is no longer standing between truth and lie, he is standing between a person’s chosen illusion and his own belief that illusion will fail. So, once Bella chooses not to know Lyn can no longer frame himself as a savior. Truth loses its innocence, and the story asks a much harder question - is it more ethical to respect someone’s chosen illusion, or to destroy it because you know it will fail? And the most brutal part - Lyn knows exactly how seductive that illusion is because he lived inside it for years. That’s why this chapter doesn’t end with action - it ends with weight.

Of course, he’d enjoy it - but would he ever admit it? 😁

Hmm, interesting - the alpha’s ultimate sacrifice for his mates 😁

I agree with this. While Trace and Celia are clearly kind and accepting, I don’t see them as especially liberal or as “Flower Children”–type parents. I see them more as devoted Christian parents who deeply cherish the core value of their faith - love and acceptance. That said, I don’t believe they would allow Joel and Davin to live as a “married” couple under their roof. The same standard would apply to any of their children, as you mentioned. It’s not about limiting freedom, it’s about decency, boundaries, and mutual respect. That said, I’m sure the teenagers, like teenagers all over the world, would try everything they could to bend or break the rules anyway. 😉

I share the feeling about Adam… ever since that scene at the cemetery and Maddy's words, 'Good riddance. I hope you stay dead,' something tells me something was off with Adam.

This is so on point. I'd add that it is fear - fear is the glue holding the status quo together in Misaligned. It’s a mutual, learned fear that has hardened into structure - fear of loss (if I speak, I lose what little I have), fear of collapse (if the truth is named, the whole triangle falls apart) and fear of self-recognition (if I say this out loud, I must become someone else). Over the years, that effort turns into codependency. What makes it especially compelling in Misaligned is that this codependency does have genuinely beautiful moments - loyalty, familiarity, shared history, even tenderness. That’s why it lasts and why it feels noble to the characters themselves. But the cost is enormous - the relationship doesn’t collapse because it’s dramatic or toxic in an obvious way; it stagnates because no one is allowed to want fully. All three of them are emotionally and honestly unfulfilled. For any of them to feel satisfied, something in their dynamic would have to change, and that kind of change is exactly what they’re afraid of.

Oh, I read that one - great story. I still remember the impression it left on me. I even mentioned it in my review - An Englishman in New York becoming a Yankee on King Arthur’s Court. 🙂

And if you do, please don’t drive 😉 Happy New Year! ❤️

You’re tireless!!! It’s like you’re writing for your life! I absolutely love your writing, but I never know where to start - or even if I do, I’m not sure I’ll ever find the time to make it to the end (kind of like reading @Mark Arbour).

I never thought about it before, but looking back now, you’re absolutely right. 😁

I remembered the excerpt you shared with us in a comment on - what was it...chapter two? 😄 I had to go back and reread it because I’m a bloody impatient reader! Tomfoolery - I had to google that word, and yes, Mama Bella isn’t wrong at all. It’s definitely time for Dennis to live out his “high school crush” era (by the way, the phone call with Bethany was hilarious). And Klebber - what a drama queen! I honestly wasn’t even sure what the “fight” was supposed to be about. I can hardly wait for the next chapter!!!

Davin and Joel – Beefing UP 😁

Well, it's still too early to make any predictions about the future, but based on what we know so far, it seems like Colt isn’t really interested in farm work at all. As for Lacey, who knows - she might get married and leave. So, Joel could end up becoming their adopted son and taking over the farm. Anyway, didn’t he choose agriculture (or whatever the name of the subject is)? 😉

I suppose, somewhere in between, Joel - Learned to Ride! 😁

I’ve just checked, and I’m honestly speechless - 199,253 words for one chapter! I officially take back every time I said @JJQuinn's chapters were too long. 😁

As an author, you’re not allowed to say that- it’s blasphemy! 😜

I was thinking the same - I even wondered whether Hunter might be on PrEP. The behavior feels reckless, almost more dangerous than dealing with cartels.

The scarificator (I had to google this device) is a brilliant, disturbing choice...and not just aesthetically. On the surface, Lyn’s logic is simple - Alexander dislikes emotional displays, therefore, give him something sharp, intellectual, historical...a gift that “cuts” instead of comforts. But symbolically, this is deeply ironic - a scarificator is an instrument designed to create wounds in order to heal, based on a false theory of illness. It is medicine built on misunderstanding. That mirrors Lyn perfectly at this moment - he senses Alexander is suffering and wants to help, but his method is based on a flawed premise about what the suffering is. Even the shopkeeper’s monologue reinforces this “They used to think people got ill because of bad humors accumulating in the body.” Lyn believes something external is wrong with Alexander - stress, illness, death around him...when in fact the “bad humor” is emotional, relational, and very close to home. On some intuitive level, he selects an object that matches Alexander’s inner violence toward himself. And yet, crucially, Lyn frames it as a practical, tasteful gift. He never once considers whether this object might be too intimate, too invasive, too revealing. The scarificator, wrapped in brown paper, is the perfect metaphor - a beautiful, dangerous object, bought with love, destined to hurt before it heals...if it heals at all. Alexander’s “death by a thousand cuts” Lyn hears as self-destructive darkness, but Alexander means it as truth wrapped in irony. Alexander's is almost a relief. For the first time in a while, someone has come close enough to touch the shape of his pain, even accidentally. He’s my brother.” Brotherhood allows Lyn to keep Brad without hoping for him. It’s a way to preserve attachment while amputating expectation. The feelings don’t vanish, but they are rendered inactive, archived under a name that forbids desire. What does end is the fantasy that Brad might someday see him differently. Calling Brad “brother” is Lyn telling himself - this is not where the story goes. By contrast, Alexander is framed as “My best friend.” This is psychologically fascinating, because best friend is not a terminal category. Whether Lyn knows it or not, this framing leaves Alexander unfixed. Best friend can remain best friend...or become something else. Alexander hears that “I’ll settle for being your best friend for now.” - he confirms that he understands the temporary nature of the role. “For now” is hope, but also strategy. What we’re witnessing here is the birth of a strategy that will define Alexander for years. What’s crucial is that for now is not directed at Lyn, it’s directed at Alexander himself. This is Alexander setting an internal checkpoint - I won’t ask for more yet...I won’t correct him yet...I won’t unmask the truth yet. This self-imposed delay gives Alexander a sense of control in a situation where he otherwise has none, and that’s why, much later, we repeatedly see him say...calmly, almost with satisfaction - “that’s enough for now.” It’s the same mechanism, matured. Alexander has learned that love, for him, must be managed like a long game. “Do I look like the marrying kind?” This line is brilliant in its ambiguity. On the surface it’s dismissal, but underneath, it’s a half-truth. Alexander does not look like the marrying kind - not because he rejects commitment, but because the kind of commitment he wants is not available and because the kind of marriage that happens later is not born of desire - it is born of necessity, structure, timing, and avoidance.

Wait - does this mean we won’t find out who Jep Braden is dating?!

I absolutely LOVE your comment - you’ve perfectly captured the essence of the chapter! Brilliant! 👌

What a magnificent and terrifying mind game! Just when you think one side is gaining the upper hand, the other strikes back. As much as Alexis is using Griffin’s secrets to her own advantage, she isn’t entirely wrong - Griffin should be using his ability to see ghosts to help find the missing children, even if it means exposing himself in an already hostile FBI environment. This just keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait to see how this psychological thriller mystery unfolds. By the way, thank you for this wonderful Christmas gift @JJQuinn . Happy holidays and Merry Christmas! 🎄

Lyn tries to rebuild walls... and Alexander refuses to let him. Lyn's instinctively retreating into risk management - spacing...weekends only... “until we figure something out”. That language is classic Lyn - conditional, provisional, reversible. Alexander names it immediately - fear of commitment, and those naming hurts, because it’s accurate. What matters is that Lyn doesn’t deflect or counterattack for long, instead, he admits it. That’s new. Earlier versions of Lyn would have intellectualized or joked his way out. Here, he stays in the discomfort long enough to answer honestly - “Fuck, yes, I want more,” he said, knowing that his aggressive tone was out of character. Like other things in Alexander’s presence, it just slipped out. Lyn still cannot see how far back Alexander’s feelings go. He can finally see Brad’s flaws and the falseness of the old idol, but he still can’t imagine himself as the object of long-term desire - especially not in the past. What Lyn cannot yet tolerate is the idea that Alexander may have been choosing not to act despite wanting him, because that would retroactively reposition Lyn as desirable when he believed he wasn’t. That realization is still too destabilizing. “Sure,” Alexander said, but nothing in the way he said it made that single word sound sincere. This line confirms Lyn’s intuition, even though he doesn’t follow it to its conclusion... Alexander, insincere? It was unfathomable. We can see what Lyn cannot yet bear to name - Alexander isn’t lying outright, but he’s withholding emotional truth for Lyn’s sake and his own. Lyn doesn’t only fear of intimacy - he fears losing the dynamic. Lyn’s hesitation is not about sex, affection, or even commitment per se. It’s about preserving the specific relational chemistry he values - challenge, friction, intellectual combat...being sharpened, not soothed. So, when Lyn says “You will have to promise that you will fight me…” he’s not joking - he’s articulating a relational need. He doesn’t want a relationship that dulls him or pacifies him. He wants one that engages him. “I don’t think it’s just because it feels so good”. This is the closest Lyn gets to saying love - and he stops just before the word because he rejects purely physical explanation and admits meaning he cannot yet name. That’s Lyn - he recognizes affect before he recognizes attachment. “You’ll get it.” That implies Alexander already knows what this is - and is quietly relieved that Lyn has crossed far enough into honesty that the rest feels inevitable. That’s why he’s pleased, not triumphant...settled. Alexander’s “we should’ve done this sooner” carries the weight of long-standing feeling. It’s not just sexual euphoria - it’s the release of a narrative he’s been carrying for years... if only, it was always there, we wasted time. From Alexander’s perspective, this feels like the correction of an old injustice, but Lyn’s internal response is wiser and harder won. This moment was perfect because it was happening at the right time. Lyn doesn’t deny that something could have existed earlier, but he understands that it could not have survived then. This is one of the most emotionally adult moments Lyn has in the entire story. Alexander speaks from longing; Lyn speaks from integration, and that doesn’t make Alexander wrong - it just shows that Lyn has finally exited the fantasy logic of if only, which governed his feelings for Brad for so long. This is very important message the "Misaligned" gives: Desire can exist for years but love only begins when two people can actually meet. Finally... Wishing all my fellow readers - and the wonderful author - a very Merry Christmas and joyous holidays! 🎄🥂❤️