austinbiguy

I am also concerned. Maybe he will respond to one of our comments.

Dylan and Troy have an undeniable chemistry that was beautifully shown in this story. Dylan needs to give himself physically and completely to someone, and Troy so far is that someone. I know some of us are cheering on Elliot. I, on the other hand, have been Team Troylan from the first chapter. I love this story.

Who can not love that brave, loyal man who never got to be a boy. I too look forward to whichever character Casualwanderer82 matches him up and I have my eye on Weston. Hopefully CW does not kill him off before his happiness!!! (knocking on peckerwood, CW, stay away from Cash's demise, however noble it might be.)

Ride that bull, Jackson!

I was unprepared for the rush of memories for me, being from the deep south and living adjacent to what others would call poor white trash, like Cash's family. The names and faces of the children who were beaten at different times and how we all accepted that their beatings were a way of life. Spare the rod; spoil the child. It was hard for me to be around those innocent boys and girls with their shabby clothes and hungry bellies without being overwhelmed by empathy and anger, but helpless to do anything about it. My own father had his own rage and a big belt, but his rages were not as savage or as frequent as Vernon's (Lord knows one or two of those awful daddies was named Vernon.) Behind every beaten child was a bruised mother. This chapter brought them back to life, and with that, all the pain of innocents suffering at the hands of brutes. I am sure it still happens. My children were not raised in the same environment as mine. Poor "white trash" would be a label they would hear but not someone they sat next to at school, or watched go hungry at lunch. In some ways, I wish they did know; there might be more compassion for those that never had and may never have what they have and take for granted. Such a beautiful chapter about friendship, family, and protecting others from real harm. I love the way @CasualWanderer82 shows Jackson and Daisy bonding in aiding Cash and his family! Excuse me while I whip up a batch of cornbread and brew some sweet tea. My roots are showing!

I agree 100% this has been a journey from hopelessness through hope to some kind of calm. I was most happy that we ended with Adrian. Everyone is worthy of redemption. Nice touch with August! I will also need time to reread and absorb more from this awesome chapter.

To be clear, that quote did not come from any of my commentary. One of the things I love about your writing is how dimensional you make your characters. We even feel for those who are less than heroes but more than villains. One of the reasons I love Blood of the Wilde so much is the possibly happy ending you gave William, whose own chance for love was crushed by a domineering father. You don't make him pay for the sins of his father when he has already suffered the loss of the love of his life. He ultimately steps aside to let Bowie and Lucas experience their bond of desire and love. I cherish every story you have written even when a worthy character like Elliott suffers a tragic fate.

@CasualWanderer82 Even though you might disagree with some of us about our reaction to Nick in this chapter, you must be pleased how your readers have promoted discussion back and forth, supporting and disagreeing with each other. We would not be doing that without your brilliant writing and our love for your characters. Congratulations!

I see Nick leaving Bobby without a word as a kind of abandonment, maybe even cowardice. I struggle with this because I like Nick but you don't help a traumatized person by leaving them. In a metaphorical sense, it cost Nick $20 to abandon Bobby. We will see how this all plays out but I have been struggling throughout the day with the feeling that we see behind Nick's wise-professor persona and it's not a flattering mask.

I read this chapter moments after it was published, early this morning. My thoughts were scattered. Throughout the day, I read your comments, thoughtful, sincere, hopeful. Then I reread the whole chapter. Still I keep coming back to the thought that Nick is not what he seemed in the beginning--the professor with his books and his literary-based insights. Now I see him as a secret poisoner. Slowly betraying the man who betrayed him, I can rationalize that maybe Adrian deserves what he got in this chapter. But Nick's role in it seems contradictory to the persona he projected in the beginning. He's an unreliable "narrator"--he holds back truths. But still I can understand that, as a man who has felt "hollowed out" by a narcissistic lover, he would ultimately betray Adrian. (Adrian is not entirely unsympathetic in this chapter.) But Bobby--I can't get past Nick leaving him the way he did. That's betrayal--letting that wounded boy begin to construct a life he could imagine living happily, and then walking out, leaving a 20-dollar bill on the table of some mediocre cafe. This exquisitely written prose has broken my heart. Bobby did not deserve this. The following passages leaped out at me as I reread them. The diner was quiet, the kind of hush that settled thick around cheap coffee. Outside, dusk fell in slow, syrupy folds across the cracked concrete of the gas station. Inside, Bobby was talking something about housing in New York, the subway lines he liked best, professors he'd researched. His voice carried a softness laced with hope, each word carefully laid out like bricks of a future he was just beginning to believe in. "So, the dorm is right off Amsterdam Avenue," he said, a flicker of excitement in his voice. "Close enough to Columbia, but not too close. You'd love the bookstore on the corner. It has that juicy smell of old paper." Nick gave a faint nod, his eyes fixed somewhere past Bobby's shoulder. Bobby chuckled to himself. "I was thinking…maybe we could do weekends. I come down for a few days, or you come up. I mean, I know it's not ideal, but...hell, it's a start, right?" Still, Nick said nothing. A flicker of a smile, hollow at the corners. Nick, now T.S. Eliot's hollow man, destroys Bobby's hopeful attempt to construct a new persona for himself around universities and books and ideas. I shudder to consider what he must have felt and thought when he came out of the bathroom to find himself seduced and abandoned by the man he chose to believe in. I hope CW gives Bobby some satisfaction in the end.

The great Mississippi writer Eudora Welty reading her short story Why I Live at the PO gives one a good sense of the phrasing, pacing, and story telling involved in Southern stories: (hope the link works)

Steel Magnolias. Louisiana not Mississippi! That explains why the setting seems appropriate for Louisiana, as well as the characters. Love it! I am from Alabama, now living in Texas, and have been to New Orleans many many times. Where I'd stay there were plenty of gay Louisiana bayou boys who were hotter than Tabasco. I remember a few of those big buckles! Went to a Mr. Louisiana Leather contest where they had to hold the door to prevent the police from coming in. One contestant was showing how he put on his sexy leather jock. Cannot wait to read more @CasualWanderer82

Tight jeans with cowboy buckles and boots. Funnel cakes with powdered sugar. Hot men in a bar brawl. This story begins with a sizzle and ends with a bang! Can't wait for the next installment. Can you provide a map to the holler? I sure would like to do some sightseeing.

I love this passage: Bobby's fingers moved to the button of his jeans. The soft flick of metal. The slide of denim down lean hips. He stepped out of them. Now only in his briefs, Bobby paused. A breath. A beat. Then he let them fall. The fabric whispered to the floor. I wonder what the fabric whispered to the floor. It had to be something like--Bobby has been released! The (cries and) whispers in this chapter are riveting, beautiful and meaningful. An awesome addition to a story that has, to be honest, caught me by surprise. (I was expecting the next chapter of Futile Devices.) A delightful surprise. Thank you , @casualwanderer82, for another masterpiece.

I did not know this was the Caleb from Man Up. Now I am wondering why he was absent the day Nick was coached to basically tone it down in class.

In the flashback to Nick's classroom, Caleb is notably absent. I think perhaps his parents complained about Nick's pushing of boundaries. Maybe that has something to do with Caleb's absence????

This chapter is beautifully written, with the characters of Nick and Bobby softly and sweetly unfolding. I love how Nick is here with Bobby. His empathy deep. The attraction between them was strong. The short scene with Adrian was perfect Adrian, possessive, unforgiving, cruel. He did not remember hitting his son and giving him a black eye. And then, back to sleep. Your nuances with Nick and Bobby were perfect. So much was said through silent body movements: Nick's hesitation at the top of the stairs, Bobby's eyes following the contours of Nick's back. Yesterday you told us you might have the next chapter within a week. And what a thrill it was to login and find the next chapter, juicy and sweet, waiting for us to enjoy. Thank you so much for sharing you extraordinary talent with us.

I am quite proud of NIck in this chapter. He does not back down from confrontation. He controls his hunger, even not eating the meal he has carefully prepared. (If it were me, there would five crushed sleeping pills in Bobby's pasta.) I am almost certain the comp lit retired professor from Amherst is a better suited mate for Nick, but we do not yet know what made Nick hunger for Adrian, except that he must be gorgeous. Then again, that often is enough to stimulate the appetite. I love Caleb (named like the character in Man Up). It will be interesting to see in which direction Nick moves. So far, Adrian is the weakest character among the three. Maybe he can man up now that the cork is out of the proverbial bottle. @CasualWanderer82 you've done it again. Want to read the next episode tonight!

Devin is described as brittle and not a problem, confirming previous suspicions that he was especially vulnerable in this emerging dark story. @centexhairysub notes that Luka is afraid of losing Devin from his life. There is a definite connection between Hartlieb's book of forbidden spells and that tree of souls. Perhaps Mezenga has been rejuvenated before. But I've learned not to guess at @CasualWanderer82's plot twists--the man is a mastery of mystery. In the meantime, I fear for the safety of divinely innocent Devin while at the same time I am hopeful that Luka will eventually return his love, perhaps to save Devin. In time, much will be revealed.

Go Solomon! Never too late to learn to use what the good Lord gave you!

Delicious and funny. Is it wicked of me to be happy for Solomon experiencing the joy of sex, with handcuffs no less?

@CasualWanderer82 what a stunning accomplishment. I loved the way you echoed the first couple of chapters with Ryan and Caleb making passionate love in front of Nate, who was made to sit passively and "enjoy the show." But what a difference. Instead of being isolated, Nate is welcomed into the erotic love of his two boys in one of the hottest threesomes ever written. Yes, I have already rewritten the showdown between Nate and the gang. We never really saw him dead! Maybe he's out there like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid after they jumped off that cliff. But that's not this story. Nate is still there at the end, embodied in the boy he raised and the grandson named after him and Enzo. Bravo!

The master wordsmith has woven together a beautiful and sad story of love and betrayal where love seems to win out in the end. The love of Nate for his mother and Caleb, Ryan for Caleb, Caleb for both his brother and his step brother. Then surprisingly and so beautifully, the love of Enzo for Nate. Bravo, @CasualWanderer82. And thank you!

So far, Sammy is the only character showing heroic behavior. Neil is fortunate to have one true friend who is willing to stand up to the bullies and backstabbers. I hope Lucas gets the support he needs from the police. (Hope springs eternal!) @Ronyx Closing the Barn Door has become one of my favorite stories. I look forward to the next episode!

Wow! Thank you @CasualWanderer82. This chapter was satisfying on so many levels, especially the bonding between Ryan and Caleb. Illumination on so many mysteries. And by golly, Jenna looms in the background in her villainous role. Thank you for the this chapter. And the countdown to the next chapter begins!