Former Member

Hey @Dodger! I think Tyrone would hit on any young blue-collar-type worker even if he knew to be straight especially if the guy was uncomfortable with the attention – any guy he knew Dewsbury would be able to pay off or suppress. At this point, I'm not even certain that Tyrone is Gay – I think he'd hit on anyone if it amused him. I think he's an equal opportunity sexual harasser! ;–)

Dodger spends too much time on this side of ‘the pond’ and socializes with too many North Americans these days. ;–)

…And this story is proof that you are actually capable of ending a multiple part story! Now you need to get that poor boy out of the hospital and away from that deranged Canadian who has delusions of being an American. Yes, he's American, but he's not from the US, no matter what papers his record company produces! He might be officially ‘touring,’ but he was deported by the US! ;–)

I hope that Robbie has diverged considerably from your own personal history, @Dodger! I would hope that you have not suffered all the various troubles inflicted on and self-inflicted by Robbie. It'd be best if they were restricted to a fictional character instead!

Hasn't Robbie realized it's easier to talk to women than men? Especially when it's a problem with men! Women are generally more empathetic and understanding than other men. Even other Gay men tend to treat these sorts of issues as weapons for teasing at the very least. ;–) Admitting you have a problem is the first step towards fixing it. It won't be easy because Robbie has several different, intertwined issues that he's dealing with. Untangling and dealing with them is going to take a long time.

As is Joshua Jackson, but he must have been very young because he moved away from California at 8! ;–)

Are you a fan of choruses like the San Francisco Boys Chorus?

I'd never heard of a harp guitar until yesterday. It seems to add an extra (deeper) dimension to the sound compared with a regular guitar. And the closeups on some of his videos show the (regular) guitar strings vibrating much more wildly than I remember ever experiencing when I'd play with my brother's guitar. And Theo looks like he might actually be in his twenties! ;–)

You mean like this one? ;–)

It makes people disbelieve my very real clinical depression diagnosis.

I'm sure he would have seen them working with Beecher since he's a neighbor… ;–)

I think that Andrew considers them to be part of his family.

Caleb and Rachel seem to be confirming that he has moved out of Charles & Tracy's house and in with his partner, Wren. ;–) Everyone, with the possible exception of Rachel, understands that to mean more than merely business partners. ;–) But even Ragan, the old neighbor, accepts Caleb as Wren's partner. ;–)

Well your last story included nanny cams, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to think you'd come up with a similar solution again! ;–)

Harley and Freddie are part of Andrew's family. He naturally wants all of the parts of his family to get along – just like he wants all his friends to be friends with each other. He doesn't understand why Richie resents them. At least he's not insisting that the sperm donor join them, even he understands that's not going to work. ;–)

I think that Freddie lit a spark in Richie that he's not ready to deal with. He's still grieving Wade and isn't ready to move on with Freddie. He's not even ready to admit he feels an attraction to Freddie. So Freddie not only gets to be a stand-in for all of Richie's frustrations with the sperm donor, but also all of Richie's unresolved feelings! ;–) Thinking about Richie's relationship with his brother, Andrew, I think that he'd probably be better off explaining that he likes boys more than girls while Andrew is still prepubescent. I think Andrew would accept that fact easily at this point. Things will be more problematic when Andrew is going through puberty with all the hormonal impulses and identity struggles. Waiting until after puberty is the usual recommendation, but I don't think that's necessarily true. Richie is already Out at school and it's only a matter of time before an older sibling reveals the fact to one of Andrew's classmates. ;–)

It's a very poor self-image and low self-esteem. I can identify with Aidan's problems. I have a problem with intellectually knowing that other people see positive things in me that I just can't accept – I can't remember the technical term for it Cognitive Dissonance! For example, people tell me I'm a nice guy, but I cannot see myself as nice because I'm just doing what everyone is ‘supposed’ to do (due to our social contract). Of course, my behavior is much more pronounced where I currently live because the social contract I operate under is very suburban and the city I live in is very urban with a completely different social contract – my politeness is seen as an aberration. Many people say I smile all the time, but I don't think I do! I think my expression is very neutral and I think I rarely smile. One of my therapists told me I have ‘smiling’ eyes. It could also be that I'm not walking around with a scowl on my face (either to look threatening or due to the sorrows of living in a city with high unemployment and high crime rates). It's as if I'm adding one plus two and getting three, but everyone else is insisting it's ‘C’! It's very frustrating because my brain says I'm right.

Wouldn't it be funny if Podrick ends up on the Iron Throne after everybody else kills each other off? ;–)

If Michael hires Aidan away from his current employer, that would solve one of Aidan's moral dilemmas. ;–)

Think of how much easier this would have been if you had just said, ‘Wow, what a coincidence!’ or ‘It must have been the Imp who planted that line!’ ;–)

I can see it now. A typical day in the life of @Page Scrawler. Wake up to an Oscar Stembridge song. Eat breakfast. Listen to a random song on YouTube with a young male singer. Work. Come home for dinner. Read a new LGBTQ YA novel from cover to cover. Cuddle with hubby. Listen to another Oscar Stembridge song as he falls asleep. ;–)

Aidan is so convinced that Heath is out of his league that anything someone says that contradicts that must be a joke. He also undervalues his occupational skills, but his employer is partly to blame for that because they want to take advantage of him as much as possible. Michael points out what Aidan has to offer and Aidan dismisses him while also exhibiting those skills effortlessly. ;–)

So you had two weeks to sneak in an Easter Egg! ;–)

But it seemed so appropriate for you to have an Easter Egg in the chapter posted on Easter! ;–)

I guess I shouldn't complain about any tiny morsel we get… ;–) Rob really should explore the other possibilities that exist for him. If he's going to complain about not getting laid, he could increase his chances substantially. There are guys who would be interested in a short-term, no strings or commitment fling. ;–)