Former Member

Compared with a tattoo, a piercing is only semi-permanent. If you take the jewelry out, the hole will eventually close leaving only a tiny scar. Unless you decide to get a heavy gauge piercing – not a very likely first-time piercing!

“Orthopaedic” and “poutine” told me that the story is set in Canada! I either never realized or I forgot about that! (You need to include references to Tim Horton/Timmy’s/Timbits, CanadaTire, or Loonies in every other chapter to penetrate this thick skull!) ;-)

I’m not asking for any spoilers, but I’m wondering if they will ever find out why Liam's brother committed suicide – an epilogue could be the place for Josh to tell us. ;-)

Yeeeeeeeaaaaah, about that. Why are you so mean to them? What did they ever do to you? ;-) Liam did suspect that Toby fast pulling a fast one on him when he produced the Speedo. I think Toby had been planning the trick for a while. Since Toby is more muscular than Liam, it almost certainly wouldn’t have fit him. So the only other reason he would have had the Speedo around would have been for his younger brother! ;-)

Billy now has a reason to end his pity party and fight against a more worthy opponent than his mother: diabetes. Diabetics can live long and productive lives – just look at Mary Tyler Moore! I just hope to not join their exclusive club…

Most large, prestigious universities have to have developed protocols and procedures for dealing with security for famous or wealthy students. From the faculty point of view, this would be something that they’ve dealt with before. For students, it’s a novelty that will soon wear off. Across the US, LGBTQ newspapers have been struggling for years. Many have stopped publishing over the last few decades. Costs have gone up and consumer habits have changed. Probably even more so than with mainstream newspapers, readers have shifted to getting their news online. LGBTQ newspapers are no longer the only source for information about the local LGBTQ community anymore. A few exclusive interviews might keep some of them in business longer… ;-)

It’s never a good idea to promise a child (even if he’s a teenager) something that’s totally out of your control. If you’re wrong, he’s going to hate you for ‘breaking’ your promise. But I suppose in this case, he has nothing to lose since Nicky doesn’t really know weird Uncle Gene. We all have to hope for an End of Year* miracle for Joey! * Our End of Year, not the story’s timeline setting. ;-)

Dead-Composers Society proudly presents 12 Days of Christmas 2017 Music to keep you merry and bright Please enjoy and happy holidays! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ John Feeley, J. S. Bach, Chaconne in d-minor on guitar

Their conversation was much needed. They were both open and honest. (re: the actual conversation) Better late than never! ;-)

They’re both very young and inexperienced. They need to discover that it’s important to learn more about each other if they want their relationship to last. A relationship based solely on sex won’t last. ;-) At this point, is there really a lot of difference between Toby’s Friends-with-benefits arrangement with Mandy and whatever you call Toby’s shallow relationship-lite thing with Liam? ;-)

It’s somehow surprising that no one knew about Jake’s blog before Eddie mentioned it. I would think that investigators would search for an online presence as a matter of course. I know that many potential employers look for and sometimes demand social media account access as part of the job application process these days – not having the usual accounts is looked at with suspicion so I’d be in trouble if I were looking for work. I think that Rush or Ben should start looking to see if there’s anything else out there that hasn’t been discovered yet. As far as social media, I only have a Tumblr account, but should you manage to find it, you’ll discover that nothing has ever been posted there! (Oddly enough, there are close to a dozen ‘people’ who have decided to follow me! I think they’re all some sort of scam to get me to follow them back – which I refuse to do. Why would you follow an account with no content?) ;-) Will Twyla report whatever she found to Rush and the lawyers?

I thought you already had your ”Joel”! ;-)

I have friends who identify as bisexual. I have read that they bisexuals get a lot of grief from both the LGBTQ and the straight communities. Many people refuse to believe that bisexuality exists, particularly after a flawed study was widely reported. They are many who insist that they “pick a side” as if it’s strictly a binary question. Personally, my requirements for any bisexual men that I potentially would date are the same as for any Gay men I would potentially date. I would insist on monogamy. (If I’m not part of the equation, I am not bothered by others whose opinions on the matter differ. As long as it’s just between consenting adults, I’m not bothered by whatever arrangements they come to.) ;-) As long as Toby remains faithful to Liam, his actual position on the Kinsey Scale doesn’t matter. ;-)

Well the Judge killed two birds with one stone: custody and divorce! ;-) And the entire family is finally home! ;-)

I’m sure I’d be like Declan and not understand the significance of the blade that Bailey had in his backpack. I’m not aware of knowing anyone who cuts. But I do know plenty of other people who use other, equally unhealthy, strategies for dealing with emotional pain! Will Bailey ever be able to discuss his nightmares with Declan? It was good to see the athletic parts of the school community continuing to meld and coalesce into a more unified group. ;-)

@Kjamieson, men in general aren’t usually very good at talking about emotions. But Toby has a lot of ‘splainin’ to do! To both Liam and Mandy! ;-)

Dead-Composers Society proudly presents 12 Days of Christmas 2017 Music to keep you merry and bright Please enjoy and happy holidays! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Caterva Musica performs Wilhelmine von Bayreuth's Concerto in g-minor for keyboard and strings

You brought it up! ;-)

Captain & Tennille heard the America (in their original trio iteration) version of the song originally titled Muskrat Candlelight by Willis Alan Ramsey and decided to add it to their nightclub set, later including it on an album. America retitled the song. Both America and Captain & Tennille have said that the song is very polarizing among their fans with some loving and some loathing the tune. In 1976, Captain & Tennille sang the song at a White House dinner honoring Elizabeth II of the UK. The Captain & Tennille version is often included on Worst Song lists. US Billboard Hot 100 position America: 67 Captain & Tennille: 4 US Billboard Hot 100 Year-end 1977 Captain & Tennille: 89 US Billboard Easy Listening America: 11 US Billboard Adult Contemporary Captain & Tennille: 1

It’s interesting how Eric’s memory of the proposal isn’t quite what happened (according to the prequel). I would think he’d remember a boxer-clad Andy instead of a room full of diners. But maybe restauranteurs think more fondly of full restaurants than the rest of us! ;-) I agree with @Canuk and @BlindAmbition. My mother was much better at keeping her disappointment in me unexpressed. I think she knew I was too stubborn to admit that I should have gotten a college degree and a real job the way they wanted me to do – my parents gave up on the Gay thing too even though they had religious objections. ;-) I haven’t had any luck with the boyfriend waiting lists that I’m already on. I still haven’t heard anything from @Puppilull about a Joel – or from @Timothy M. about a Peter or a (Gay) Tor! There already seems to be a pretty long line for an Andy! ;-)

I think this is the first time I’ve ever read any of your stories, Caz. I’m not sure why that is, but I certainly enjoyed this one! I’ll be reading the linked story next. ;-)

Depression is insidious. It affects you in ways that you don’t even realize are related to your emotions. I am on Disability for Depression and Anxiety. I have had dysthymia from childhood. ;-) I would think that both Liam and Toby are still suffering from depression even though it is disguised by their new relationship and the sex they’re having. ;-)

And I wish all parents were able to accept the news of their child's orientation so calmly! ;–)

I am also wary of Toby. But they're both very young. They're both bound to make mistakes. Is Toby bisexual? That might explain Mandy. They might just have been using each other for sexual release…

When you're a teenager everything is so much more dramatic and exaggerated because you don't have the life experience that adults have. ;–)