Former Member

Leprechauns are from Mars? ;–)

Slightly off topic (but when am I not?): I think Charlie and Violet might be listening to the Pet Shop Boys. Bright happy music with sombre lyrics. Kind of a joke on all the people who dance to the beat, but don’t pay attention to what’s actually being sung… ;–)

I think Brian is like most other older straight people. Especially in small towns, most LGBTQ people their age hid their orientation all their lives and only Came Out to a few very trusted friends. So Brian never got to meet an Openly Gay person before. It wasn’t part of his experience, so he never thought about it before. Brian’s reaction didn’t sound like he disapproved or hated LGBTQ people, it was more uninformed surprise. Brian has shown his ability to overlook Eric’s curmudgeonly tendencies before. Eric overreacted due to inexperience and frustrations with the weather conditions. Both will realize their mistakes when they have time* to think about it more. I don’t think their friendship has ended yet. ;–) * Although having ‘Tim to think about it more’ makes a weird sort of sense too! ;–)

A lightning bolt scar? Another guy who wasn’t afraid to speak a name no one else dared utter? Harry Potter? ;–) Plus the ones who are most obsessed about sin are much more concerned about the sins others appear to be committing than their own sins! ;–)

Sorry, dude, you’re too far away – and it’s way too cold over there! ;–)

Beautiful Words and Guarded. ;–)

@Parker Owens and @Thorn Wilde lost today’s word game! ;–)

And today’s word of the day is obviously ‘Preceptive.’ ;–)

CA became a state in 1850, CA became a federation in 1867 and didn’t attain legal independence until 1982. ;–P

A preceptive person would realize that sounds exactly like the original hot tubs, a Japanese Ofuro. ;–) A cop is a good person to have your back. Especially if you’re a firefighter or military, since they all tend to share similar conservative views of the world. Not always the best if you’re LGBTQ, but Chad seems to be open-minded about his buddy’s sexuality even if he didn’t want to hear about Corbin’s ‘man parts.’ ;–)

I’m much more entertaining online than in person… ;–)

It only takes a couple of popular kids publicly standing up for the bullied for the rest of the student body to turn against the bullies. Most teens follow along with the majority. That’s why they usually dress similarly – that’s why I wore faded shrink-to-fit Levi 501s and t-shirt in high school! ;–) Neutrogena has been advertising little packs of wipes to remove smudged makeup. The ad shows a woman drenched in the rain. But they’d work for ‘man flu’ too! ;–)

Poor @Mikiesboy! Another redhead to avoid! But I thank you @Timothy M. and @aditus! This one’s probably more age appropriate for me anyway… ;–) I’m surprised that Guardian Angels and Cupids need to use the restroom. But I guess if they eat, they have to get rid of it somehow. If you have one, you have to have the other! ;–) Does Diego have a scar on his forehead? ;–)

More for me! Because of course, we’re competing for the same guys in CA! ;–) That was sarcasm folks. He’s in the younger, less populated CA. I’m in the warmer, more expensive CA.US. ;–)

The three H’s. Homosexual, hemophiliac, or Haitian. The gallows humor of the day had young Gay men pondering how to tell their parents they were Haitian. Not particularly funny, but an example of how people dealt with a devastating diagnosis. Parents on the other hand, would claim that their sons had died of cancer* or just about any other disease. Obituaries referred to their spouses as ‘longtime companions.’ Families often invaded a couple’s home and took anything of value. In many cases, partners were kicked out of their decades-long homes that they helped pay for because they weren’t listed on the deed or mortgage. * You have to remember that cancer had long been a hidden medical secret that was only whispered about during that era. Cancer was not something that anyone ever wanted to admit occurred in their family. Cancer sufferers were usually not thought of as guilty of causing their disease (even if they were life-long smokers). ;–)

Well that helps to explain why you use so many unusual words in your stories! ;–)

Don't get all tetchy on me, man

Yeah, the short and sweet ones are the best

lol, I never thought I'd be sharing this publicly, gulp, but since it's an interesting thread... Here's the list of "Words to Use" I keep in my email drafts. Several of them -- like puny, surreptitious, or ethos -- are hardly rare; I just never use them naturally, so have to prod them into my word bank (think sharp stick...) This is an ever growing and contracting list of words I encounter from various things I read. - privily - instead of privately - boke - vomit - tetchy - bad-tempered - "trammels of respectability" - bight - legerdemain (n. a skill with the hands; enough to provoke charges of conjuring) - Jackboot - Obstreperous - truculent; refractory - husk as a verb, as in a dialogue tag - conurbation - cogent - puny - copse - febrile - svelte - occluding - blocking a passage - ethos - surreptitious - grizzling

As far as I'm concerned, every writer coming to join the GA community should articulate a 'why I write' as well done and personal as this I'm glad you did. It gives me about a 12 month gain on where you're coming from, over simply reading the fiction you might post. Anyone who can construct phrases as lovely as "Characters with flaws, weaknesses, defects, and pain are beautiful gems that roll in sunlight and throw bits of chaos and color everywhere" should be proud to call himself a writer, Grammerly or not. Welcome, friend!

Powerfully and invitingly written. Reminds me a story I've yet to write, about a serviceman I met in Japan. He was being forced out by DADT. Thanks for posting this. Is it an excerpt from a larger piece?

Well I wouldn’t be throwing anyone over my shoulder! I’m sure that some thought of doing things like that to me when I was much younger and skinnier. But I was clueless until I was in my mid-twenties. ;–)

So I was half right! Harris is FBI, but Corbin isn’t a spy or special agent or anything like that. Being a polyglot is much more useful than @R. Eric’s Delkenzie machine translator. ;–) But unlike most of you, I’d prefer a Liam. He might be small, but he’s probably taller than me anyway (I’m 5’6¾”). Everybody knows I like redheads! ;–)

Hmmm. No comment or reaction from @Wayne Gray! Too close to the truth? Or too silly to even acknowledge? ;–)

That phone sounds like a more realistic James Bond-type tool. It’s no wonder Corbin was trying to reach it even though it was under water. But calling Harris couldn’t have helped him the way that Paul did. The phone is another sign that Corbin works for some sort of secret agency. But I suppose if he were a sniper-specialist, he’d have chosen a house on the ridge, not in the valley and his choice of gun wouldn’t be a handgun.