W_L

Thanks for picking up that point, I have known a few police officers, state and local, over the years. I've read about arrests of corrupt city officials and high-ranking local police leadership (bribes and kickbacks). Also, very few people realize there's a difference between the levels of law enforcement that go into the different types of police forces. Municipal and town police are more tied into local politics due to direct funding with a lot of things getting played around by government officials and their top brass throwing their weight, but there's another police force outside the local system organized by the State, beyond just the highway patrol and border check troopers. The State police forces are quite useful in specialized functions (Search and Rescue, Air support, and Tactical aka SWAT function are handled by State Police, not local). In my humble opinion, these guys deserve recognition and should be highlighted as distinct from local law enforcement. @Geemeedeehad a good point about how I structured the exposition. I would still keep the bombastic language of John Abrams though because his character is capable and willing to jump into a fight. His rank and team description could have been written in better, maybe I should have introduced it earlier, but it has to precede the car ride. I think @bottomguy you understood why I highlighted two aspects in his speech. Police officers, who make it into State's Tactical team are proud of that honor, it's like an Army guy making it into the Army Rangers or Navy guys into the Navy Seals. These are the special forces in the scope of law enforcement. Police ranking is also important, too.

Good point about the speech, it's one of those things that a beta reader/editor probably would help with if I had one.

Very true, kidnapping and sexual assault are bad, plus Chip is a minor. Gary Gaston did not expect Beau to be outside Keller Hall with the "real" Morris, nor did he expect that Sammy would join them, along with the resources of the state law enforcement. (Fun fact: In Massachusetts, we call our State SWAT team, the STOP team) Though most of the team had to perform transport duty, Sammy's dad had to rush off to the hospital with Cook, along with 3 of his other colleagues for the injured residents. There are still 2 members of the police team on the scene to arrest remaining members of the violent group and probably an additional EMS (Emergency Medical Service) crew for members of the mob, who got injured, plus additional law enforcement from nearby state troopers. Usually, local law enforcement from a township and a university's campus police force handle most disturbances (when you dial 911, you are patched to local resources: Police/Fire), but this is a major disturbance and the local authorities may be uncooperative.

Two events inspired me, the one you referenced is logistically how I envisioned the mob stirred by Gary Gaston and the violent group who went inside Keller Hall was inspired by something that happened several years at Pizza restaurant. Bad judgments and mob mentality of groups are dangerous.

Thanks, social media has become a force multiplier far worse than firearms, because ideas and groups can be set loose on innocent people for no good reason, other than a rumor. Most readers probably assumed Gary would just use his group to go after the residents of Keller Hall as a gang mentality thing, but few readers focused on the hint I dropped 2 chapters ago about the rumor Gary had circulated on Wednesday and the football game he was headlining bringing in thousands of people from off-campus. Gary still uses his group in the confusion and disorder to abduct Beau, it's quite a multi-layered plot with various things he hoped to resolve: 1. He wants to get rid of Brad and Keller Hall; either through violent intimidation or death by other people's hands. Legally, speaking, Gary only helped spread a rumor to the right audience through social media and prodded a popular intoxicated mob to form and join the violent group, he never physically took part in the act. None of the promoters of events have been sent to prison, only perpetrators. I think the realism here is that as a society we haven't updated our mindsets to proper behavior and legal liabilities. Freedom of Assembly has its own limits that need to be tested in the 21st century. 2. Of course, his secondary objective is also important, grabbing Beau. He got access to Keller Hall and innocuous information from Beau, which he used to go after him.

Chapter 19 is now live, here are some author's notes -Well, Sammy turned out to be very helpful. In addition to being an upperclassman, barista, and bartender at night, he's got an unique background. -I got the inspiration for this scene at Keller Hall from a combination of real-world events. A concept from the "January 6th" insurrection/riot in Washington DC was logistically how I organized the mob and invasion force within Chapter 19. The most violent groups relied on non-aligned groups and sympathetic individuals, i.e. rally goers and political support groups to act as cannon-fodder for a two-fold reason: 1. The total number of people would intimidate people inside the building, and 2. The number of people would also cut off any easy route of exit or assistance from outside without having to confront non-violent groups, who would be inspired to be violent if provoked. People who believe they are acting based on their individuality by showing support for a cause are co-opted.. As for the violent group with a mission to invade Keller Hall, I drew inspiration from the infamous Pizzagate conspiracy theory and how it led to a North Carolina conspiracy theorist to stage an attack against a family-oriented restaurant in an attempt to save imaginary children in fictitious sex dungeons. One of the sad truths about modern society is that sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Even to this day, people will cling to bad information, dreaming of being heroes, when their so-called injustice requiring heroes is nothing more than some dream concocted by an internet troll or political operative to stir up emotions from an increasingly apathetic populace. Sociopaths like Gary Gaston, who are actual criminals and far worse sexual predators than the conspiracy theory itself, are sometimes main proponents of the conspiracy theory and can gain power through its belief, like a cult. That is how Gary inspired a mob to form to attack Keller Hall. This parallels the scene where Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, led an angry mob of the townspeople to storm the Beast's Castle at the end of the Disney movie. This scene more than anything was what I had imagined with vivid detail for re-interpretation with a modern mob formed by social media and demagogic popularity. -Some Japanese terms: Bokken- A heavy wooden sword, made of red oak or other similar heavy wood. It's used in various Japanese martial arts Shinai- A light wooden sword, made from bamboo. It's meant to simulate a lightweight sword and is also used in Japanese martial arts. Kitsu Rei- Standing Bow, it's a sign of respect in Japanese culture to bow to someone you appreciate. Sammy shows this respect to Min and Min returns it with a deeper bow in response. -Yes, there's a hint in there about Min and Sammy. I have an idea if I do pursue a sequel. It's an interesting concept: a disabled gay Japanese former baseball player with ties to the Yakuza being involved with the bisexual son of a decorated high-ranking state police officer with martial arts skills. -Cook's tragedy is fully revealed in this chapter, it's quite tragic what happened to his partner. It also highlights a bitter truth about reality and perception. I wanted to draw a parallel between Cook's partner Brian Brownlow and the people in this violent group, who pretend to be heroes for the entertainment of their followers. Real heroes don't live stream their heroic acts or seek praise from others, they do it for others out of virtue. One of the greatest dangers in our modern world is the need to be acknowledged or appreciated by followers, the desire to be a hero out of self-interest via things like streaming. -Some will complain about it, but I've been hinting at Chip being mistaken for Beau since the first chapter I introduced him. Mrs. Potter even commented on how close they resembled each other.

I needed to get back to Campus. I needed to get help. I needed to…breathe as the weight of everything became overwhelming. All I had was Morris, who was too drunk to drive, and the StrikeLight taser, which I’ve kept inside my jacket’s inner pocket as Mrs. Potter had instructed. Its metal tip flashlight head and metal back, along with the taser function, were strong for defensive action, but I can’t face down a dozen of Gary’s student watch guys alone. All of my issues came down to one fact

Thank you for hosting my story in the anthology, it's been quite a few years since I last posted a story in a GA Anthology

Thanks for reading, Very true, I was hunting for a gay ghost story with some modern twists and entertaining concepts, but only found a handful and most of them dealt with more traditional ghost themes and no mention of non-western customs, i.e. the practice of Ghost Marriage. I hope someone will come across this story and be inspired to think outside the box and explore other traditions in how they write gay ghost fiction.

As an author in this anthology, I want to thank @Valkyrie, @rec, and @Renee Stevens for all the hard work you all put in. Creating and conceiving a story is difficult, but organizing and proofing is not easy task. You deserve some love, too!

Thank you @Mikiesboy, I appreciate these kind words and I am glad you liked reading this story.

Hmm...Do you think Jake can turn evil in a future sequel? There's a belief originally from Buddhism, later added into Chinese Taoism, which is tied to the idea of dislocated spirits becoming malevolent due to alienation and desires lingering from their prior life. I think if you apply some of the ideas about extending love and humanity to a ghost in Buddhist and Taoist traditions in the same way to an Artificial Intelligence, you would be able to keep the nefarious level down.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34664699-enemies-of-the-state I can think of no better Action-Adventure book to review than the first book of the Executive Office Series by Tal Bauer. I have all three of his books in the series, plus the Christmas special novella that takes place between books 1 and 2. I’ll review all of them in the coming year, but I want to focus on this book that launched the series. As a gay male author from Texas, he weaves a tale of intrigue, high political games

A beautiful story on dealing with bullying and how kids try to adapt. As someone who was bullied in school, I understand exactly what Chandler's secret place is and why it's useful. Even as an adult, I still go there in my mind just to find a place to help me cope

The best gift of being you Thank you for the poem

A neat little story about preserving memories and reclaiming the lost physical manifestations of joy. I do wonder how the technology works, I have theories but those would requiring mental imaging software (could happen one day). Good job @Bill W

Thanks for reading and hugs back

Thank you @Bill W, you were the first person to pick up that little nod to A Christmas Carol. I liked how Charles Dickens started his story with certainty, like death of Jacob Marley, in order to set the stage for the amazing things to come through his narrative. I've always had a soft heart for Dickens and the humanity within his stories AI and its role for the future of human existence will be major issues within the 21st century, Asimov's old ideas I think will seem quaint as people begin to relate what is possible with humanity's ability to cope with such progress.

It was fun to write this story

I am glad you enjoyed my story

Thanks for reading

So like my current novel-length story True As It Can Be, I want to share some thoughts about the story I submitted for the Fall 2021 Anthology: -I had a wild idea of trying an unusual combination of story elements: a. A western holiday story with a gay wedding b. A funerary rites exploration with commentary on little known details involved in Taoist funeral practices. c. I also wanted to write a ghost story that starts off heavy with melancholy, but ends lighter with potential (maybe an actual novel if readers liked it). d. I want to use concepts that I'd considered from years ago in one of my abandoned stories about modern technology and the creation of a digital vessel for a human soul. Black Mirror's Be Right Back inspired me, but I wanted to take it in a different direction. -Joey Lam was inspired by a guy I knew and briefly dated, smart and work-driven like myself. He had an MIT background, but he was weirdly caught between traditional Chinese family and modern sensibilities along with technologies. Cool guy, but we're too similar to be more than friends. -The Taoist funeral ceremony I depicted is based on the funeral of my maternal grandfather and grandmother. I've rarely read anyone describing how Funerary rites actually work in gay fiction stories, let alone Taoist variant. Christian funerals and Taoist funerals like the traditional Christian bonfire are almost parallel concepts. Not inverted, as some would claim pagan rituals must be devil worship or something, but they have different priorities. Christian ceremony emphasizes the element of grief and the memory of the deceased, while the Taoist are more pragmatic and prepares the deceased for the afterlife with clothes, money, cars, houses, and possessions, along with sending messages via fire (I guess underworld email). -Additionally, unlike a Christian Wake continuing the funeral, the White feast is meant to be a launching point into life for the surviving relatives. It's a reminder of light (hence, why it's called a "white" feast) in the lives you are currently living. Again, I haven't read anyone depicting this in gay fiction, or the difference between spiritual and realist contrasts in these belief systems. -As for the spirit summoning ritual, yes, supposedly it exists and I did depict parts of it, including the infamous chicken avatar. Those are the ingredients to summon your dead loved ones according to what I have read, but I would highly highly tell readers to take this with a gram of salt. According to Chinese Taoist stuff I read, you shouldn't do this after 7th day of a deceased loved one's passing or else you may get uninvited ghost friends like putting a message out on Craigslist for "Missed Connections". Also, it's not meant to last more than a few hours at night, if it works, because ghost cannot survive direct sunlight. -The computer algorithm in the story is what I'd imagine a brain would be, being a blank slate and building upon its functions with the right program, i.e. a human soul/consciousness. Jake is not possessing a piece of electronics like a standard poltergeist, he's actually bonded his soul to the computer. -The Chinese have one of the few belief systems, which holds an ancient marriage ceremony between humans and ghosts, it's been a common practice for nearly 3 thousand years. However, these rituals have been shunned in recent times as being superstitious or too disturbing as reasons by various groups from Evangelical Christians in Western cultural centers like Hong Kong and Macau to Communist purging in the mainland China. It's not necrophilia, the actual ritual actually doesn't require the deceased body if you follow the rites for those without a corpse. It's an interesting practice and a show of undying love between widows and their spouses, but its concept is dangerous to certain social views. (Typical for me, I found the one topic Conservative Christians and Communist party leaders agree on) -As for "New Age" and more Open-minded Christians like Reverend Amanda Clarke, who is based off Unitarian priest. Some modern Christian leaders are far more interested in other cultures concepts and experiences, rather than drumming only the Strict Text of the Bible as the absolute truth. For one thing, Purgatory as I indicated is a concept that no one really highlights in Christianity with any details, but it's approximately slightly above what we knew of as Christian Hell. However, in Taoism, the entire concept is expanded into a spiritual society (Yes, Japanese tradition has the same if you have watched the anime or read the manga Bleach, you know what I mean). To her, Taoism is just adding details to a portion of the Bible that no one really explained in-depth, and also the pragmatism of Chinese ceremonies would make sense in such context, i.e. people need money, clothing, and shelter if the underworld is the same as the living world. -------- I don't know if readers will respond to this story as well as so many have done with my longer novel, I'll probably hold off on writing a novel unless I see comparable interest.

Thanks Chris, your words mean a lot to me.

Thank you, I am considering widening up the story into a novel, but I'll have to see what reader reactions are to these cultural idiosyncrasies and observations about comparative rituals and ceremonies. Funerals, Bonfires, and Weddings are quite interesting subjects, along with a mixture of Technology, Robotics, and digital infrastructure. The best of ancient and modern, I hope were on display

Thanks, I know it's different, but I am glad you enjoyed it. I added some cultural observations and real-world Taoist issues in the mix, along with things I don't think most western audiences have encountered yet, regarding Taoist funeral rites and Ghost marriage ceremony, which overall isn't that different than traditional marriage, except one of the partners is dead.