Former Member

Twenty years from now, when this story is transmitted via direct neural link that bypasses computers, keyboards, and monitors, we’ll still be waiting to find out who Rob takes to the Prom, what Patrick’s cousins are like, and what happened during that previous visit to Denmark! Maybe by then we’ll get an update on one of the stories per year. I might even remember Jasper in my decrepitude… ;-)

You could have been Rick and Tricia! ;-)

My ex-boyfriend and his fraternal twin were named Jim (James) and John. Apparently they always thought Jim was the older brother until they checked their birth certificates when they applied for college. John is kind of a bully – towards his twin while they were growing up, and towards his nephews more recently. ;-) I never met their younger sister, but I met their sexy younger brother (her fraternal twin) and their two (non-twin) older brothers. All the brothers are thin, except John who is big-boned. Their sister is estranged from the family, a self-imposed separation. The sexy younger brother is bipolar (I don’t know why I have been attracted to so many bipolar guys). ;-)

The world needs the DelKensie device! ;-) I could use a DelKensie device! My neighbors and I laugh about my horribly broke Español! But I also have neighbors who only understand a few words in English and speak other languages (Arabic, maybe?). ;-) Of course, one that could bridge political divides would be even more important! ;-)

I think Kevin will find out that he has more support among the ‘silent majority’ than might be apparent from the very vocal bigots. ;-)

Mr Shepard chastises Kevin and Cameron, but doesn’t think homophobic slurs are worthy of discipline? Doesn’t the school have rules about that? What kind of teacher allows that kind of behavior in their class?

I’m sure some of you needed the Kleenexes after reading all the excessive details of Vic’s sex life! Voyeurs! (At least you’re cleaning up after yourselves.) ;-)

Lots of minor misdirection in this chapter! ;-) Everyone still keeps comparing Oli to Teddy, but they really have very different personalities. Of course there are similarities, but the two react to many things in contrasting ways. As is common with First-born or only children, Teddy excels at adult-endorsed activities like school and work since he grew up with lots of adult attention. Quite often with children born after a large gap, the younger child is the de facto first-born child of a second family. But Oli is definitely a second child in how he interacts with his family and the world, he is very rebellious at times! ;-)

Someone wondered who Brett’s revenge boyfriend would be, maybe Billy’s rebound boyfriend will be Joey! ;-)

I can’t believe it’s nearly two years since you started posting WAR! In some ways it seems like I’ve been reading about Billy’s stupidity for much longer! And in other ways it seems like I just started reading about him… ;-) Brett practically spelled out to Billy that he knew that Billy knew that Jack was his sperm donor. He repeatedly told Billy what the consequences were for lying to him. But Brett knows Billy well enough that it should have come as no surprise that Billy was too cowardly to admit to Brett that he’s known for a long time! Once again Billy has failed Brett and himself.

Aargh! Another cliffhanger! You left a blank section where Troy told Adam why he thought Adam might not love him anymore! 😉 I have to wonder how professional that detective will be after he quite pointedly made his homophobia apparent. I’m surprised he was allowed to talk Adam without a guardian present. Even if he’s not a suspect, aren’t there rules about that? Couldn’t that sort of rules violation cause his evidence to be thrown out of court?

Don’t look at me when you say that! ;-) Besides he already has Ryder! ;-)

I have the feeling @Wesley8890 already talked to Liz and got that job first! ;-)

Ryder’s been a very busy boy! First he’s apparently sleeping with a teenaged boy! Then he’s sleeping with a (male) nurse – the proof, of course, is that the nurse can describe, in detail, Ryder’s genitalia and any birthmarks or scars! Has washed up former rock god Ryder Sullivan no shame? ;-) But Ryder gets his holiday wish to take the entire family on vacation! It took Blake to convince Dr Theodore. And it took Oli to convince pester his mother into agreeing! ;-) In most other Gay fiction stories, an abandoned and abused baby or young child would turn up in the hospital emergency room just after Teddy returns to work after the vacation. Or maybe it would be a Gay teen who was beaten and kicked out of his home on Christmas Day because he Came Out or was Outed. Noble Doctor Theodore would naturally bond with the child and pull every string possible (and then some, if necessary – bribery is possible with Ryder’s money!) to adopt the child (probably a boy). ;-)

In San Francisco, someone was jeering an egotistical TV reporter. The thin-skinned ABC7 Investigative Reporter couldn’t take it anymore and started chasing his verbal tormentor (it was caught on camera). Amazingly Dan Noyse still has his job! ;-)

National Inquirer banner headline: Baby Slaps Doctor! ;-)

It’s almost surprising that the clueless commentator didn’t think that the scandal-plagued rock star impregnated the woman he drove to the ER! ;-) Or speculated that the teen he was with was the father! ;-)

It’s interesting that neither Ryder nor Oli asked the most obvious, most common question of the new parents! Of course, it’s relatively rare, but the third possibility is an intersex child (1 in 2000 newborns have ambiguous genitalia). There is a long list of non-gender-specific names if that is the case. ;-)

Riccardo Muti conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir in Cherubini's Messe Solenelle, 1819

I wonder how much longer the teasing of Paul becomes belief that he really is Gay? Right now, I don’t think his friends are serious about their taunts. But he’s exhibiting signs that his close friends will pick up and the tide will turn. It won’t matter what he does or says unless he gets intimate with a female classmate. He’ll have to go much further than the other guys to ‘prove’ his heterosexuality.

Most people who attempt to write a fairytale are not very inventive and creative with their plots and characters. Most are kind of flat and boring. Few have such a large cast of characters and few last as many chapters as this one eventually had! ;-)

Thank you for not ending the story (for now) with a cliffhanger! Thank you for not introducing an artificially traumatic event in a misguided attempt to keep us nervously waiting for you to resume writing new chapters. A car crash or medical emergency would not fit the tone of the story as you’ve set it so far! Thank you! ;-) Almost everything is fairly settled in their lives except Coming Out to Geoff’s mother and dealing with Tony’s ex. And those two issues are just kind of simmering right now anyway. They need to decide how to approach their two problems and that will take more time. ;-) I’ll be calmly anticipating new adventures for Geoff and Tony when you return to them refreshed and renewed! ;-) Besides, that means more Eric, Andy, and Adam, right? ;-)

You posted this while I was doing my taxes. I get a refund of all the tax deductions they took from the money my father left to me when he died: 10% for the IRS, 1% for the FTB (Franchise Tax Board – California’s tax agency). But they kept the tax that was deducted from the interest on my Credit Union account – all $23.00! ;-) Alix is going to be so excited when Ivan and Katya visit! @Wesley8890 is going to be thrilled! I don’t know which one of them will the happiest! ;-)

I think Liz (and Blake) needs to replace the couch! Ryder didn’t do it! Liz did! ;-)

And for the first time, I actually know the lyrics to one of the songs you mentioned! There have been one or two that I’d heard of, but none that I knew well enough to sing along with! There’s finally an intersection between Ryder's music and mine! ;-) 🎶 Once there was a way To get back homeward Once there was a way To get back home Sleep, pretty darling Do not cry! And I will sing a lullaby Golden slumbers fill your eyes Smiles awake you when you rise Sleep, pretty darling Do not cry! And I will sing a lullaby Once there was a wayTo get back homewardOnce there was a wayTo get back homeSleep, pretty darlingDo not cry!And I will sing a lullaby… 🎶 A new earworm for one of my favorite people! ;-)