Former Member

A future that… ;–)

Gavin is Enoch! I’m older than you are, so my memory is even more suspect, but that location seemed very familiar to me too. One of the problems for me is that I’ve read stories set in both the past and the future (compared with the events in this story). The past and the future blend together in Rothenia… ;–)

The drugged water that Phil drank is going to cause him to doubt everything he experiences. But I’m wondering what Elijah & Enoch are planning to do now that Clive has apparently been killed and fallen into the well. I'm guessing E & E will take Phil to supernatural place to confront Clive.

[looks around carefully] Hey! What am I doing here? I’m not even remotely a leatherman in my preppy-ish clothes! And I’m not swapping recipes, I’m only enjoying the conversation. There’s a bake sale?

I actually had Brussel Sprouts for the first time when I stayed at the rescue mission. They were tasty and well prepared. They weren’t at all what I feared they’d taste like based on the stories they tell on TV and in books. ;–)

We don’t really have heater vents around here. But there are doorways and other places that provide shelter from the rain and wind that are highly coveted. There are never enough shelter beds available – the Fire Marshall limits the occupancy and shelters could be fined if they exceed the numbers. Some homeless people (especially Trans folk, but also other LGBTQ+s) fear the violence of some shelters and prefer to deal with the weather instead. Others stay outside because they have pets that aren’t allowed inside shelters. Still others don’t want to be separated from their human companions due to gender segregation in most shelters. In Berkeley, they have a storm shelter that only operates when it’s rainy or very cold. You are protected from the elements, but it’s crowded and noisy. And only available when weather conditions are severe. The shelter I stayed at in Berkeley is in the basement of an old brick building. Every evening, we walked past a sign on the building warning that it wasn’t structurally reinforced to withstand an earthquake. There was a minor earthquake centered in Berkeley while I was in the building for the night (but there was no damage). Berkeley provides many services either through the city itself, or through churches and other organizations. Many churches provide one meal a month, but it’s coordinated so you can eat every day, somewhere. And there are groups that take food out to where the homeless congregate, such as People’s Park. UC Berkeley students put on a free clinic once a week in the evening when school is in session that provides food, OTC meds, massages, haircuts, eye care vouchers, and medical checkups. Possibly a bigger problem than shelter is the lack of beds in recovery facilities. Even if you want to kick your habit, there probably won’t be a space available for you unless you have the money to pay for it (eg Betty Ford Center). The lack of sufficient services means that many people who could be living productive lives have not survived. There are studies that prove that it’s much easier to quit your chemical addictions if you are housed, but nearly all programs require that you be clean before they accept you into their housing program.

It’s always nice to be in Rothenia where you can count on supernatural assistance in the fight between good and evil. ;–)

So all the players are on the scene together. Now we get to see what Elijah meant when he said Clive won’t see the sunrise. And we’ll see how much of an action hero Ben & Phil can be, especially compared with the more experienced bunch. ;–)

Some languages switch the use of those two punctuation marks. Swedish, for example, uses a comma where we would use a decimal point in English. The movie Patrik 1,5 (Patrik, Age 1.5) is a good example. (The title refers to a typographical error in the age of a foster child.)

I always thought it was a variant spelling of Genoa. ;–)

Yet chocolate chip cookies can exist with other chocolate cookies with no problem? ;–)

Will Jett feel deceived when he discovers that April is the same guy he fell for as a young teenager? ;–)

Bruce & Jenoah! The perfect emissaries to send to Camp Refuge. They’d understand its mission and meaning much more than any other member of the Family! ;–) Will the Don gift The Raven to the Costas as some sort of peace offering? I don’t understand the connection between Costa, ‘coast’ in Italian and Spanish, and ravens. Is it a mascot or symbol unrelated to the name (like San Francisco Giants & Lou Seal or Oakland A’s & Stomper)? My county is Contra Costa – the other shore from San Francisco. Alameda County was split off from Contra Costa three years after statehood along with a bit taken from Santa Clara County. ;–)

I seem to remember these tunnels from the fairly distant future of this story… ;–) And it was about time for us to catch up with Clive and his illicit activities! Phil shows his inexperience when he doesn’t have a preplanned escape. He also left all his supplies behind when he went exploring and found Elijah. :–(

You’re still young! ;–)

I like tall, but more than a foot taller than me is a bit much. And I prefer thin and smooth. When they’re in their twenties (or younger), they might be pretty, but they don’t have enough life experience to be interesting to talk to for more than a few minutes. ;–)

Henri wants Swiss currency? Most of Europe is in the Eurozone. The French Franc disappeared years ago! ;–)

Will Jett’s Gay buddy be able to figure out their undeclared love for each other as soon as he sees them together? ;–)

I’m wondering how much of this is about Jay. Would April & Jett be able to survive as a couple if Jay’s mother reclaimed him? Is Jay the glue that binds them together? ;–)

I remember one summer, my parents went on vacation together and left my older brother to watch my younger brother and me. Both of my brothers had a friend staying with us, but I was working at the time. I had graduated from high school the year before and I didn’t have any friends to invite to stay… :–( I remember playing Go against my older brother’s sexy friend. We were both sitting cross-legged on the floor. For some reason, he was only wearing cotton boxer shorts that were gapping. It was distracting to see glimpses of his penis and lots of fluffy blond pubic hair while I was trying to concentrate on the game. I’m sure he was straight and certain that he thought of me only as his college buddy's four-year-younger brother! (I was definitely not Out at the time and I would have been too scared to do anything even if he had been flirting!)

Senator Edward M Kennedy, younger brother to President John F Kennedy (‘Jack’ or JFK) and US Attorney General and Senator Robert F Kennedy (‘Bobby’ or RFK) was nicknamed ‘Ted’ or ‘Teddy’ (they were big on nicknames in that family). ;–)

We used to make ‘butter’ cookies when I was a teenager. Back when margarine was supposed to be so much better than butter. Usually, we’d roll them out and use cookie cutters, but occasionally we’d use a press to form them instead. We always had fun decorating them too! My mother loved very crisp chocolate chip cookies with chopped walnuts in them. We only made cake-like brownies (with chopped walnuts) from the mix because that’s the kind she insisted on. We had several different recipes we’d bake for the holidays, all stored in Tupperware for freshness! ;–)

I usually avoid these sorts of stories online. I read lots of them in book form when I was younger, but most authors don’t have the skills necessary to pull them off. There are a very select number of authors I trust enough to bother reading when it comes to magical stories, the group of you, and my two favorite Tims (CA and DK) among them. ;–) Cute story, but it seems like we need to revisit Ruben & Joel again in the future because their story isn’t complete! ;–) Maybe next year your stories can be continuations of previous year's Advent stories! ;–)

Things are starting to get a little intense. But I’m sure things are going to build even further. Much, more intense! ;–) And I think Elijah and his buddy will be very involved… ;–)