Paladin

Thanks for your comments @Summerabbacat. I was hoping Ronald McDougal was close enough to Ronald McDonald to amuse. Pleased that it did. Straight talking dyke! Hmm. More will be revealed about Ollie and his mother. Remember, he has been having sexual assault therapy which is helping him adjust.

LOL. And more organized than me and with more able bodied help than I would have. They had most of their "stuff" already boxed up and they did have a lot of physical help from their tradie friends to move furniture.

Andre looked at the dining table. “What’s this parcel?” “Oh that. It arrived this afternoon. Judging by the sender, it’s electronic or games stuff for review.” “Why haven’t you opened it?” “Because it’s not addressed to me. It’s addressed to the awesome foursome. Each of them.” We both started laughing. “Come on let’s have dinner.” The next two weeks were busy and seemed to pass quickly. The first big thing was Beau and Skye finalizing the purchase of their h

While @Mark Ponyboy Peters is right that at that time the HSC results were released in early January, that has changed. The results are now released before Christmas. It is supposed to be so the students can enjoy Christmas without having to worry about their results! The exams are now also held earlier. The HSC results and the university entry score are not, and were not, based just on the HSC exam results. They are both based on a combination of exam scores and a scaled school assessment. What might surprise readers from outside Australia is that the Higher School Certificate is a state wide exam and assessment for all school and Year 12 students in the state.

This chapter has explored the turmoil Luke is facing at present in his life; situationally, emotionally, physically and psychologically. Excellent writing. Matt is there for him all the way, providing the stability he needs.

Manny is slipping very comfortably into his new life. Perhaps, a little too comfortably. He may need to employ more caution. There could be more than just Brewster monitoring what Manny is doing.

I agree with @Anton_Cloche that even though this story is not set in the present, the key elements of the story remain the same. Even though gay sex was decriminalized here in 1984 the police, a decade later, were, as seen here, still showing little interest in gay hate crime. As Luke noted "I knew what they were trying to do, of course, trying to twist the story around or get one of us to slip up". If the police established that Luke and Dwayne were gay and were at the toilets for that reason, then they could ignore the assault. There is now some change and the police have recently formally apologized for this attitude to gay hate crime, including murders. I'm assuming Luke and his friends attended a Catholic high school (there was an end of school Mass) and therefore assuming that Luke's father is Catholic and also the principal, Old Shep. What a contrast between the two of them in their attitude and response to Luke. Luke and Matt are firm in their love for each other and have some family support but I'm sure they have a lot to face in their future together that will test that love.

I agree that everyone has the right to decide when, how and to whom they come out. Having said that I can understand the anguish that Matt went through. Does he lie to himself and family by saying he's not gay or does he tell the truth knowing that that will implicate his lover? Not the easiest decision for him to make. Denying being gay can push the person into a closet of continual denial, making coming out even harder, but coming out doesn't necessarily mean acceptance.

You can almost tell the age of someone by how much they use their smartphone to make phone calls. Younger people tend more to using their smartphones for everything except phone calls. OK, I'll admit it. I prefer to use my smart phone to talk to people. I can't stand extended text conversations; a phone call is easier.

The boys are fully into helping solve this murder, well series of murders. They are coming up with a lot of suggestions for identifying the killer and for where he might strike next. It has obviously become personal for them. The mystery is progressing nicely and I'm enjoying the ride.

A great start to a new mystery. A new location, just arrived, a gay resort and a new murder. So far a very brief encounter with the victim and no clues about the murder. I'm keen to find out how will our four crime fighters will help the Miami police solve the murder and catch the offender.

Luke's world is crashing in on him, and he has now ended up in the world of gay bashing. I'm not sure when this story is set. It seems to be at a time when mobile phones were relatively new. That was also a time when gay bashing was all too common and the police took too little interest is apprehending offenders. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Luke (and Matt) come out of this not just OK but stronger.

There is so much happening with this chapter. Stanley is not in a good place. Arrested for shoplifting and, we assume, unable to go home because of his father. What happens to him now? Foster care? And, what happened to Maxwell who also ran away from home? We thought they were together. A lot of the chapter revolved around openness in a marriage/relationship. Phil may have had a vasectomy without telling Eloise, but it also seems she decided to get pregnant without discussing having children with Phil. The contraceptive pill was available and widely used. Did she just stop using it? The place of sex in a marriage/relationship is also touched on, as well as the place of love. As suggested by @Summerabbacat they probably continued to love each other after the divorce. Eloise in the window seemed to say that. In Jason we see a boy living in a hypocritical family which implodes when the truth is revealed and leaving Jason almost homeless. Abandoned and vulnerable his cousin introduces him to drugs and through that to prostitution. Jason's ability and willingness to pull himself together and change his life (admittedly with the support of a teacher) shows how change is possible and achievable. Colin is becoming an important support for Phil.

I'm with you on this @Al Norris and I think I've got it sorted out in my head but, don't give me a spot test

Another terrific chapter. I was hoping that this chapter would be the meeting with George but still it didn't disappoint. Chris and his friends have to navigate their way through the human world and this chapter did some of that along with plenty of humour. So we are heading for a showdown between Greg and Baron Evans. Of course we all want Greg to win which would mean that he takes over from Baron Evans and Greg would be "seated". Will it be that straightforward? Greg and his court are seeing George before he can deal with Baron Evans. Will George intervene? I'm staying tuned.

I have but one question to ask though @Paladin, do they both display the much lampooned, but secretly much admired by many I suspect, builder's crack? @Summerabbacat, you asked the same question back at Chapter 2. My answer is probably much the same and I'll add that they are both well built attractive guys. Enough for your imagination? Yes, it was unfortunate that Cassegrain were caught by the unrealistically high Chinese tariffs on Australian wine which happened on top of bushfires and Covid. The good news is that they are still operating and the Cassegrain family are still the wine makers.

Chris' dad was a surprise, especially with him outing himself to Luke. I suspect he will be source of real support for Luke and Matt later on.

Well, Luke and Matt are having a wonderfully restful break following their HSC exams and really getting to know each other. They are learning to be comfortable together in public, even if more slowly for Luke. Luke's surprise birthday party was great and the legal over consumption of booze not surprising. Now, has the next morning resulted in them being outed and how will that play out with Hoss and DJ? Can't wait to find out.

A very enjoyable chapter. Manny is certainly changing and definitely moving into the role of guardian/parent. Rocky is responding to the discipline Manny is administering. A promising start in providing Rocky with some social skills. Looking forward to see how the relationship between Manny and Bass progresses.

A nice tidy conclusion to this case and hopefully Ken has learnt to keep his detective skills in focus. Hmm, two weeks vacation for the four of them and not become involved in solving a crime. If you believe that, I've got these lovely blocks of land on the moon for sale. A real steal!

Thank you both. You are certainly more informed than I am, and I'm happy to be corrected about evil skinwalkers. However, could it still be that this college student is a skinwalker or has Navajo knowledge of skinwalkers? It just strikes me as both strange and somewhat knowing for someone to suggest that Devin had changed into a dog. Also the comment, although disturbing to Devin, don't seem to have been malicious.

“Did he buy your explanation?” “I’m not sure, especially after what he said next. When I told him my version of what had happened, he made another comment that concerned me greatly. He said my explanation cleared up why I wasn’t was you, although at first he wondered if I might have just changed into the dog that you had with you. That scared the fuck out of me, because you know I can’t afford to have people questioning what I’m doing, especially not something like that.” My first response to this was that the other student is also a skinwalker. He had previously met both Devin and Mac and may have sensed something about them and that made him curious when he saw Mac by himself with a dog. My next thought was that if he was a skinwalker, was he a good or evil skinwalker? The comments from @Bill W above suggest that the comment, although weird, is innocent, so I must be wrong. This is a very gentle chapter and moves the boys along. Hope their exam results are as good as they expect. I'm continuing to enjoy this story.

There is another slang use of the term 'bicycle' or 'bike'. Calling someone a bike or bicycle carried the suggestion that they were promiscuous and anyone could ride them. Great entertaining chapter, as can be seen by the entertaining comments.

I'm quite happy to accept your transcription of the local pronunciation of Lake Cathie, even though I still think there is a aspirated 'h' in there. I was really wanting readers to be aware that it wasn't the pronunciation they might presume. I am envious of you because I didn't I didn't get to see any naked men in Lake Cathie. although, I'm sure you enjoyed it. Today! With the new M1, you hardly know it's there. Sadly.

I think @Talo Segura you are judging Phil's early life behaviours though the prism of modern acceptance of diversity (at least where that exists). In many respects the past is not only another place it is almost another planet. In an age where being gay was illegal was it actually an option to "Much better to be honest, never mind the odds.? And I mean illegal, a crime. Where I live, homosexuality was a crime up until 1984 (yes, an ironic date). Phil was not alone in his era in believing he could suppress his homosexual urges (at that time gay only meant 'happy') by getting married, having heterosexual sex and a traditional family. Many men at that time married women they loved emotionally but not totally sexually. They still had sex, often satisfyingly, but still with gay urges. They also had children that they loved in the way the vast majority of parents love their children. It seems that while Phil still loves his son, it is the son who has rejected Phil. And this in in the present age when diversity is "accepted", not the past. As I said before I am concerned about Stanley and Maxwell. They need more than just one another. Maxwell's parents look like the best bet. The restaurant scene does include some comments considered not appropriate by today's standards. And it is appropriate to judge them by today's 'norms', just as it is inappropriate to only judge behaviour at another time my today's 'norms'.