Former Member

I thought the Feds reserved certain frequencies exclusively for military use. You’d think they’d encrypt their transmissions or something if they’re sharing frequencies with common children’s toys! Silly flyboys! ;–)

But dad! I was just doing research in my field of study! It wasn’t a date. I don’t know why the cops had to interrupt my experiment at the lookout at the lake… ;–)

In the Eighties, I gave a straight couple, who were close friends of mine, a set of three very stylish, plain cylindrical vases in graduated sizes for their wedding. When they opened up the Crate & Barrel box, they immediately identified the first one they pulled out as a set of Long Island Iced Tea Glasses. Because, of course, non-drinkers frequently give their friends gifts for less than common alcoholic drinks. ;–)

It was good that Nan survived long enough to celebrate Jared & Mason’s wedding as well as their return from their honeymoon. She was able experience the reactions to her very last prank with the “bright neon glass” item(s?) wedding gift. Many elderly people hang on for a special event or holiday. It’s a known phenomenon that has been statistically proven. Deaths drop right before christmas and rise for the next few days. Kaleb and the kids will have to carry on her juvenile and ill-considered pranks in her honor. ;–)

Maybe that’s the plan! Get kicked off the show so he can get back with Noah and David as soon as possible. Not very logical, but he’s under extreme duress… ;–)

Charlie’s only possible excuse is the stress he’s under due to the TV show. Or possibly the producers have been leaking misleading info to Charlie to ensure that there’s plenty of pointless drama. That sounds like something producers would do if they think things have been going too smoothly since the jealous b*tch got kicked off the show in the first episode. ;–)

You’re pure evil! ;–)

When I read this the first time, my email to Geron posited that his Zombie story had been turned into a movie and that’s what the boys were watching! I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought of his other story there. ;–)

It’s much worse if you don’t drink and you hate the smell… ;–)

Plus paparazzi, if they find out the location… ;–)

Ooooooo! I remember what happens next! ;–)

Quite possibly, if he rode his horse to the event! ;–) They still believed in very infrequent bathing in the West. Not like hot and humid Japan where they wore silk and bathed frequently. Or like the Polynesians (and others) who wore little or nothing until Western missionaries imposed their primitive views of clothing and morality on them.

My only very selfish reason for not encouraging @Aceinthehole to sell his story in other venues (which could also include Amazon, by the way) is that most vendors require that free versions of the story be deleted. As someone on a very limited income, that reduces the number of stories available to me. As I said it’s very selfish of me… ;–)

Is it possible the sideways ‘V’ is invisible to you until your cursor hovers over it like the Report Post link that’s next to it? (The upper-right-pointing-arrow-inside-the-square is not the icon I was referring to.)

I guess ‘vengeance’ would be equally inappropriate? ;–)

But unlike images and videos, there’s no reference to the action in the Text Editing Window. In the Forums, there’s a weird sideways ‘V’ (in a pale gray) in the upper right corner of each post that gives you a URL that tells a Browser to jump to that specific post on the page (It’s on the same row as the Poster’s name and the Posting date/time notation.). I searched for a similar icon on the Story Page and couldn’t find one. I think it’s an inconsistency in the GA interface – I can think of one or two other inconsistencies that annoy me. This is the link to your post:

That should really say, “I’ll tell you, but slowly over the course of several days…”

Black & Blue feels very real with well-drawn, deeply flawed characters. The residents of the institution believe they all have serious mental health conditions. They exhibit the usual insecurities of mid- to late-teenagers (but the story feels much more dramatic than soap operatic). Thorne has nicely balanced the serious issues with humor and friendship. He wrote a compelling story that you will be contemplating for a long time. He brings up some interesting topics you’ll want to discuss!

Maybe I missed the reference, but it sounded like they were in some sort of psychiatric facility. I thought at some point they’d be released back to their families or to the foster care system (group home?). But at their age, I guess they might be kept in that facility until they age out… :–( Edit: The Story Page indicates it’s a ‘foster care institution.’ ;–)

This is a wonderfully creative story that I was happy to see posted here after I enjoyed it on another site. ;–)

There were hints that Jake was expanding the definition of his sexuality. The fact that he had a stronger emotional connection with Alex than he experienced with any of his previous partners is an indication that this was different from any other relationship he had been in before. I think their biggest obstacle is going to be whatever happens to each of them when they leave the facility they’re living in – whether they are able to easily see each other, whether there are restrictions placed on them by their guardians, and what sorts of situations they find themselves as far as homophobia is concerned. But it is nice to think that they are able to grow their love even further and eventually get married or otherwise formalize their relationship. ;–)

As soon as I read the first line, I not only remembered the picture that inspired the story (and the challenge it was part of), but I actually remembered having read the story – and that’s not always the case! ;–)

As has been previously mentioned, you created some very compelling characters with very real motivations and reactions. The intense responses in the Comments are proof of that too. Your characters are very relatable. ;–) One of the friends I met when I was homeless had escaped her abusive ex-husband with her children and moved halfway across the country from Kansas to the Bay Area. Her clueless mother-in-law decided that she knew better than anyone else and not only told her son where she and her kids were, but also paid to let him join her! The MIL’s ‘excuse’ was that she believed that her grandchildren were better off being with the abusive man than protected from his violence. My friend’s attempt to get away from his physical and emotional abuse was destroyed by a naïve mother who just could not believe that her precious baby would ever hurt his ex-wife or her grandchildren! Once he was here, he did nothing to support his family and my friend was forced by circumstances to do outcalls to keep her family housed and fed. Somehow the police discovered them (she may have told me how it happened, but I can’t remember). The ex-husband told the authorities about her source of income. The kids were taken away from them and put into the foster system – his relatives still have custody and have poisoned their views of their mother and she hasn’t seen them in more than 5 or six years. Of course, his relatives let the disgusting ex-husband visit them. When I met her she was with a boyfriend who was emotionally abusive. When she still had visitation rights, she’d be so happy when she saw them. Almost immediately her aggressive boyfriend would start tearing her down, demanding to know why she didn’t confront the foster family (this was before the ex-husband's relatives got custody). She’s not an assertive person and confrontation is just something that’s out of character for her. I would see her physically crumbling and shrinking. When I noticed that happening, I’d get her to remember what she was feeling when she saw her kids. She and I both suffer from Clinical Depression and the actions of her boyfriend were not helpful. I remember sitting across from them while they were watching a movie on his laptop. Nothing was being said and I couldn’t figure out why she was cringing and looking up at him. So I decided to text her so that he wouldn’t be aware of our conversation. She texted she didn’t even realize that she was doing that! Unfortunately, all these years later, she still with the boyfriend. He’s a drug abuser who has crashed several cars. I know she doesn’t feel strong enough to leave him. I cannot offer to let her stay with me. I don’t have the resources to pay for a motel room for her. At one point, when I gave her money to keep her off the streets, she stayed in a motel with him! The only thing I can do is offer emotional support. She needs to make the effort to change her situation, I can’t do it for her. She needs to realize she deserves more than her boyfriend can offer her. She needs to realize that she doesn’t deserve abuse.

Since the next chapter has been announced as the final in the story, I hope it’s a really long one. One that includes an epilogue that informs us of their later exploits. ;–)