Paladin

Turophile is not a word I'm familiar with, and don't even believe I've hear before now, however I can identify with it completely. Next to my reference book on pasta and pasta recipes I have my reference book of cheese. My fridge is never bare of various cheeses. Any reference to cheese and cheese shops always reminds me of the Monty Python Cheese Shop Sketch.

Patrick looked at Joshua. “Our cybercrime guys have selected a few videos that might include Daniel. Are you ready for me to start the first one?” “I should be able to tell quickly if it’s one Daniel’s in. I’ll let you know.” “Right. My guys have pulled some stills from each video so we can move to those for photos of Daniel.” Joshua smiled, “Thanks I appreciate what you’re doing.” “Josh you don’t know how much you’ve helped us and I understand what you’ve been through. I

The truck was an expensive gift and beyond what Aaron could afford or expect, even though he needs it. The win was that it was given and accepted with love. They really are good for each other.

Generally we scoff at and make fun of politicians but still vote for them. Are they scoffing at us?

The battle lines are drawn. The Wolf and WSIII wanting the death of Walter, the three witnesses and Qian on one side and the police along with the forces of Liberty wanting to catch the killer and after Roger's observation those paying a professional killer on the other side. Time is of the essence. There are certainly clues to the killer strewn around but will they lead to any more than a false identity? Like so many others I'm wrapped in this story and am looking forward to the next chapter.

This all takes place at night and it is dark. What sort of pic would be taken without a flash? Yes someone who doesn't want their identity exposed is spying on either Jamie or Hearst or both. Who is being spied on? There are a number of contenders for clumsy spy but Wen seems to be high on the list.

I gather from both @Bill W and @sandrewn that numismatics is a word coined to describe people who collect coins. At least it has currency.

Thorough he was! It was reported that Caligula wasn't the only X-rated movie Fred Nile and his staff had watched on his Parliament Office computer. It was all in the name of "research" claimed Fred Nile.

Surely not the dreaded whiteboard. That would be scandalous!

Demurely, I would suggest too little too late!

I don't think I've ever been called demure. Lots of other adjectives, but not demure.

A very appropriate end to Christmas day. I have fond memories growing up and seeing the adults all fall asleep in the afternoon from a lunch of over eating and drinking. Charlie is taking great care of his mother's grave. It was after all the only link he had to someone who loved him. He now has Kieran back in his life so maybe he won't need to visit the grave weekly, but I hope he still makes regular visits. I too would like them to meet up with some of the other guys in T'ville, if only so they can get to know there are other happy gay guys in town. Turning the book from spine in to spine out was beautifully symbolic of Kieran's coming out.

Don't worry, my memory from 74 years ago has gaps too.

I also wondered how Aaron will react to Tony buying him a new truck, but then I remembered how accepting he was hearing about Tony's wealth. I think Aaron will be accepting or at least gracious. Randy Thompson? NO NO NO! Definitely not a name at all associated with that notoriously dreadful family. An entertaining chapter.

We know that after his dreams Tony wakes, types what he remembers and stores it for a possible future story. With this dream he didn't just do that, he thought about what it meant about their relationship. Tony sees this dream as "real" rather than just "fiction". And, while he knows they have to keep moving forwards, it's obvious the path back together isn't just going to happen. They have to make that path happen. While Tony is changing the direction of his life and looking to move to T'ville and reuniting with Aaron, he is also serious about changing the direction of his writing. How will that go down with harry and his readers? @Al NorrisTony opened up about "how loaded" he is to Aaron in the last chapter. It went surprisingly well.

The red jewel still exists in this dimension. Have we really seen the end of the Crimson Warlock? The lads certainly need breakfast to build up their energy after all that erotic ejaculating magic tickling.

Magic, tickles and a hot sexy villain. What's not to love!

The surprise with Souris is that it is a before and after story. A tale of despair and hope. We follow young Souris through his coming of age experience in a reality we would normally rather not think about. Be prepared for an emotional journey reading this wonderfully written narrative. But, don’t miss reading it.

With 8580 words of text scrolling up and down to check a translation was tedious, however I don't think it is necessary to provide translations for numbers. I have never studied french but quickly worked out the numbers and only checked where it was something spoken. That I found very manageable.

Another one of your amazing emotional stories. Thank you for the story and for its tribute to @Comicality.

Wakes and we ask are anagrams of askew.

I looked askew at today's Word of the Day trying to decide if it was an adjective or an adverb.

Quote: As he had thought before, he would tell Jamie the truth before they parted ways for good. It sounded like a great escape plan, and even if Jamie got mad at him, it wouldn’t matter because they wouldn’t ever be seeing each other again. Where have we heard that before? That's right, it was Hearst's roommate Matty and how did that work out for Matty? I hope it doesn't get to the stage where Hearst tells Jamie how he feels just before they part for good, but I also expect a few more obstacles along the way.

Things are coming together for Tony and Aaron. They are discovering their old feelings for each other and even talking about a future together. Importantly it is not just about sex because they love each other far more deeply. As Aaron said Not tonight. It’s not that I don’t want to, I do, it’s just . . . Having sex is there but it can wait. Aaron took the difference in their wealth extremely well. I loved him expressing the view that each doing what they are happy doing is the important thing. If only more relationships could be like that!

Talk about the chapter being loaded raises the topic of Tony's wealth. It was touched on briefly between Tony and Aaron but Tony will need to be more open with Aaron if he is going to buy the house on the hill. He will also have to be sensitive to Aaron's feeling when he does so. Aaron is better than being made to look like a charity case, needing to be looked after by a rich boyfriend. Jess has me confused. I never really understood what happened when you left and you could have come back, but later in the call she shows she knew about Aaron. Even before she gained a girlfriend she has had enough years to put one and one together and come up with a gay Tony and Aaron, two. And I'm sure her mother would have provided enough anti gay comments for her to understand what had happened. Is she really very naive? One thing I liked about the restaurant scene was showing Charlie aging and Tony's response. This is so real. So often going back to a town after being absent for some years carries with it the expectation that the people there haven't changed, especially if they where adults at the time. It can be a shock to find that like you they have aged, and in their case may even have become frail.