Agincourt

This will probably be my last posting in the current series, unless there appears to be more interest. Perhaps a new schedule should be established for the fall. It is impossible to write about this story without spoilers. If you have not read the story you might prefer not to read any further here. Two boys mysteriously awaken in a pleasant but unfamiliar bit of countryside. Their memories are mostly missing, but they're pretty sure they should know each other. Bits and pieces of memory trickle into their heads, and the first-person narrator realizes that the other boy has the New Testament name of Luke, while they other boy tells the narrator that his name is Matthew (also a New Testament name). Matt has a vision of a cabin, and the boys set out to find it. It is a pleasant place, equipped with everything they might need (including lots of food), and backs up to a lake. They spend several days there getting to know each other. Matt feels affection for Luke; Luke is somewhat bashful around Matt, not wanting to display his nakedness when they go swimming in the lake. Eventually they decide to set out and try to find what else there is on this world. Following the river connected to the lake, they eventually reach a city. They are immediately greeted by someone who takes them to "guest quarters" for visitors to the city. Another city resident named Eric shows them around, and informs them that they have an appointment to see the Father (apparently the pastor of the church) later on. Throughout these events, memories start coming back to Matt, and apparently also to Luke. It turns out that Matt and Luke were lovers when young and in high school, but they tried to keep it secret. Matt's mother found them in flagrante delicto one day, however, and accused Luke of corrupting her son Matt. Matt behaves very badly in the aftermath of this, pretending that he wasn't attracted to Luke. He also puts up a false front of straight behavior. Luke is shunned by everyone at the school, including Matt. The culmination of Matt's bad actions comes when he leads a group of his "posse" to beat up on Luke for being a fag, injuring him seriously enough to be hospitalized. Luke drops out of school as a junior, and eventually hitchhikes to New York where he falls into a bad life of drugs and hustling. Matt, in the meantime, marries a trophy wife and has children who in turn get married and have children of their own. On the surface he is successful and "normal" in every way. Luke, meanwhile, somehow manages to reclaim his life, sobering up, finishing his education, and eventually returning to the same school that had rejected him earlier to act as a counselor to kids who needed help. The memories then turn to the deaths of Matt and Luke. Matt by this time is becoming overwhelmed by remorse at what he has done, how he has hurt Luke. In the course of meeting with the Father, who is also referred to as their Maker (i.e., God), it becomes obvious that Matt and Luke both recently died and are now in heaven (referred to as "paradise" in the story). The Father is obviously pissed off with both of them. He is unhappy with Matt for what he did to Luke, and for living a lie. He is unhappy with Luke for wasting so many years as a drug addict and hustler. "I should throw you both out of paradise," he says. Matt immediately insists, "Throw me out, but let Luke stay." Luke, amazingly, does the same thing in favor of Matt. Somehow, the Father decides that maybe the two have learned their lesson, and he lets them stay in paradise. As the story closes they have returned to their cabin and what promises to be the life together that was denied them during their earthly existence. ---------- It is a short story in the classic sense -- kind of like an episode of the original Twilight Zone. Unlike many Twilight Zone episodes, however, this one essentially has a happy ending. The story's structure worked, in that I didn't realize where they were and what the real context was until quite late in the story, during their meeting with the Father. The unfolding memories created an interesting kind of narrative, showing not only the shamefulness of Matt's hiding of his true self (while hurting Luke badly) but also the shamefulness of the social attitudes that led him to act as he did. Luke, at the same time, is shown to be a pearl without price, a genuinely good soul who didn't hold grudges and still, after everything, loves Matt. I thought it was nicely done. A

I never realized how much I missed when reading a printed text until I started listening to audiobook versions (unabridged) of the same books. All that careful description of scenery, all the stuff between blocks of dialogue, I tended to skim over without even realizing it. In the audiobook, of course, every word came out. It almost made it seem like a different book. It's all a matter of taste, and some authors simply will never be right for some readers because their tastes in pacing don't correspond closely enough. It also depends somewhat on the genre -- some genres seem inherently to call for more or less "stuff" per unit of story advancement. A

I feel like kind of a lone voice in the wilderness here. I hope other will participate at some point. A

The next story, "Gone from Darkness" by Bwctwriter, appears here: https://www.gayauthors.org/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=227 A

Here is my post actually discussing this story. There will inevitably be spoilers below. Please consider this if you have not read the story. The eponymous T.I.C. is a young lad named Tyson Ignacio Coruthers. Through an almost unbelievable series of bad breaks and institutional indifference, he has spent much of his time in prison. (It's unclear whether it's juvie; althoug unlikely at his age, it sounds like he was among an adult population, although this is never made clear.) As the story opens, he has just finished serving two years when he is busted again, within hours of his release. This will be his third criminal beef. He is offered a choice of going to trial, and likely getting another two-year prison sentence, or accepting a plea deal where he will plead guilty but receive parole conditioned on him going to the Ogden Castle Ranch in a rural part of California. He chooses to plead and take the ranch. A kindly officer named Bill takes him up to the ranch, opining that Tyson seems different from the other boys he has brought up there. Apparently the state has tried this idea before, but all the previous boys have either changed their minds on arrival at the ranch, or been sent back because they wouldn't behave. Tyson, of course, is already nervous, and now is convinced that he, too, will undoubtedly be sent back. That's just his luck. Somehow, Bill decides that Tyson is trustworthy enough that he removes the handcuffs that were put on for transport. Tyson sees his first deer on the trip to the ranch, which impresses him greatly. Upon arrival, Tyson meets Ogden Castle, who goes by "Oggie," the father and owner of the ranch, and his son Nick, who is Tyson's age. It is immediately decided that the new arrival should go by the nickname "Ty." Ty is pretty much a basket case on arrival. He is scared of everything, convinced that the countryside is filled with malicious creatures out to do him in. He is distrustful, after years in the horrid prison environment, and painfully naive about everyday things that most people take for granted. Nick takes Ty out by horse to a location where he is repairing a fence. Both boys are riding the same horse, with Ty sitting behind Nick and holding on with arms around Nick's chest. Ty quickly discovers that the motion of the riding, coupled with the proximity to Nick, has given him a raging erection. On arriving at their destination, Nick is revealed to have an equally raging boner. Nick playfully runs his hand over Ty's bulge, evidently thinking that the two of them might jack off together. Ty completely shocks Nick (and the reader) by immediately getting on his knees, unzipping Nick and getting out his cock, and delivering a professional-quality blow job. When Nick asks about this afterward, it comes out that this is what Ty has been accustomed to doing in prison -- taking care of more dominant prisoners and guards. He just assumed that was what Nick expected. This begins a series of events in which Ty reveals any number of hangups and fears based on his time in prison and his lack of experience in the outside world. Nick and Oggie try their best to reassure him that things are different now, and that he should trust them. More importantly for the story, Ty and Nick fall madly in love with each other, and in surprisingly short order are actively having sex. Oggie learns of what Nick and Ty are doing, and takes it in stride, much to the relief of both of them. Nick continues to introduce Ty to various aspects of country living, and hooks him up with a horse named Camille, with whom Ty seems to have an almost telepathic kinship. Ty also learns about gathering eggs and feeding the chickens. When a couple of chickens escape, Ty suggests adding a "sally port" to the chicken coop -- an entryway with an additional door, so that any escaping chickens can't get all the way out. His inspiration: The double-door entries to the prison buildings. Ty is revealed to have a special gift when it comes to drawing. This will figure prominently in later parts of the story (beyond chapter 5). Oggie decides to take the boys into town and stay at a place owned by a friend of his named Sharon. Ty amazes the other two by eating so much at dinner -- he is apparently making up for years of starving in prison, where others would take his food (not that it was particularly good to begin with) away from him. It becomes apparent that Sharon and Oggie are more than just friends. There is a hilarious scene where Nick and Ty are in their room having sex. Ty is on his hands and knees, doggy style, and Nick has put a belt around his midsection to hang on to, rodeo style. Nick is wearing a cowboy hat and boots (nothing else). Nick is f**king away, calling out noisily, and the somewhat rickety bed is banging the wall. Sharon, hearing all the commotion from outside, opens the door to their room just as Nick is coming inside of Ty. She nearly collapses in laughter, closing the door and deciding not to say anything to Oggie. * * * * * I realized after I had read a ways into this story that I have read other things by the same author. Specifically I have read The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of and at least part of Blind Sensations. The author has a unique style. He seems to like protagonists who enter the story with major strikes against them, and likes rural settings. The discussions between these young characters, as they talk about subjects like love, trust, and other life issues, seem old and wise entirely beyond their years. Many of the situations are rather melodramatic and somewhat hard to believe. Yet it is still an engaging story. My biggest gripe is that the point of view in T.I.C. wanders all over the place, especially in the first chapter or two. It is written in the third person. I am accustomed to third person that is written from one character's point of view. In T.I.C., however, we find ourselves not only inside Ty's head from time to time (he is the logical POV character), but without warning inside Nick's head and even Oggie's head, learning their reactions to story events. I don't appreciate that, because it kind of spoils the fun. I prefer to have a consistent POV based on the experiences of one character, so that we, the readers, discover things about the other characters at the same time and in the same manner as the POV character does. It kind of takes out a lot of story interest if we're simply told what the other characters are thinking inside. (Of course, sometimes readers will see things that the POV character does not, things that may foreshadow developments that the POV character does not suspect. That's different. My complaint is about being told exactly what other characters are thinking at various points in time.) Interestingly, as the story progresses, the POV steps back to becoming almost detached. Whereas earlier we were told what various principal characters were thinking, now all we get is objective description of events. I would say that this extreme -- great detachment -- has its own set of problems, because things just seem to "happen." My preference would be for a happy medium, with POV tied to one character (probably Ty). In The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of, the author quite unexpectedly inserted a story development as shocking as Bambi's mother being shot by hunters. I am hoping that this is not something planned for T.I.C. I do plan to continue reading it as time permits. This was a good story suggestion. A

I'm starting this thread a bit early to post the link to chapter 1 of this story: https://www.gayauthors.org/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1393&textsize=0&chapter=1 I'm moving ahead in the story and so far it looks like a good one. Even if no one else does, I will try to have something to say on Thursday, although I'm going to have to hustle to get to chapter 5 by then. A

Thanks for providing that info. I looked high and low for this and couldn't find it. I posted a request for information on where to find it more than a week ago, and no one responded. At this point I'm going to move on to the next story. Obviously if anyone wants to comment on this one they should. A

We probably should have skipped this one and gone straight to T.I.C. A

Meanwhile, I found the next story (T.I.C.) beginning here: https://www.gayauthors.org/efiction/viewstory.php?sid=1393&textsize=0&chapter=1 I get the impression that people are falling off this bandwagon, however. A

I'm perplexed, because the only trace of this story I can find comprises two chapters posted at the Shack Out Back chat area. The second chapter has a major glitch in that a large chunk of an earlier part of the story is repeated inexplicably about halfway through. This pair of chapters is quite incomplete -- there is no real story yet. It sets up a few things that are quite confusing, but there's really nothing to talk about yet. Does anyone know of a more complete version of this story posted somewhere? If this is all there is, there is really no "there" there. A

Since no one else has stepped up to say anything about the most recent 5CBC selection, The Pastel Cowboy, I thought I would at least start a thread about it, even though I have very little to say. I simply had trouble relating to the Forrest-Gump-meets-Holden-Caulfield quality of the main character (Zach), not to mention the rather extreme and often absurd happenings. There is an unremitting bleakness about the story, coupled with an increasing sense of the absurd. As I posted earlier, it really was not my cup of tea. I guess in a way it's the kind of piece that might appeal to someone who really liked the film Pulp Fiction. That, unfortunately, is not me. Perhaps someone else has something more substantive to say about the story. I don't. A

But how do you really feel? With all you have been through, it is nice that you have found someone to share your life with. Here's to many years together. A

The only "Darkness In Montana" I can find is only two chapters -- is that right? A

I'm just bumping this thread to remind people that I will NOT be starting a thread on "The Pastel Cowboy." Today is review day for that story. Someone else will have to jump in. A P.S. -- I actually read a ways further in the story, but find I really have nothing to say about it. It was not my cup of tea at all.

OK. It's also time to set up a schedule for August if we plan to continue. A

I went over to that forum, and immediately got nailed by a flaming (and unwarned-about) spoiler for the subsequent story. So I don't think I'll be hanging around over there. A

Me again. I've started to read "The Pastel Cowboy," which is the next 5CBC selection, but after slogging through much of the first chapter, I'm not inclined to go on. It's just too much of a downer for me. I think I'm going to sit this one out unless somebody posts strong reasons to press forward. A

Just a note to say that I'm up to chapter 36 of "Do Over" and it's definitely moved into some pretty amazing territory. Again, I won't say anything except to suggest that anyone who started might want to keep going. I should be done soon as the last chapter is Chapter 40. I don't know whether it would be appropriate to post a discussion of the full story here -- I assume this GA author has his own forum area (which I have not looked for as yet). A

The next selection, "The Pastel Cowboy," is here: http://carlholiday.gayauthors.org/cowboy1.php A

The next selection, "The Pastel Cowboy," is here: http://carlholiday.gayauthors.org/cowboy1.php A

Here is an initial post regarding When I See You Again by LittleBuddhaTW. Of course there will be spoilers below, so you are hereby warned. This is a really sweet coming-of-age-and-discovering-I'm-gay story that builds very subtly and naturally. It is in stunning contrast to the typical Nifty formula where, within the first handful of paragraphs, the lead character has reeled off his height, weight, hair color, grade in school, and "oh by the way I'm gay." In this story, we get to see Grady, the lead character, discover those feelings and wrestle with them in a very believable and organix way. Grady is twelve years old, and has been best friends with Brennan, another twelve-year-old, since the day Brennan rescued Grady from sitting lonely in the corner on the first day of kindergarten. Since that time they have been joined at the hip, special friends. Brennan is much more outgoing and adventurous, but fiercely loyal to Grady. Grady, on the other hand, really does not have other friends, and hates being in the spotlight for any reason. Grady's family life is poor in every respect. His parents pay little attention to him, and have little money. Brennan's father, Mr. Bellinger, becomes kind of a surrogate father for Grady. He teaches Grady (and Brennan) about baseball, and it turns out that Grady has become a formidable pitcher, while Brennan is an equally talented catcher. Because their close friendship creates almost telepathic communication between them, Grady's powerful arm and Brennan's skill at the plate make them an unbeatable combination. As the story opens, Grady's and Brennan's Little League team, coached by Mr. Bellinger, has just won a game that will send them to Williamsport, PA for the two-week-long World Series of Little League. Grady and Brennan are very excited about having this time together. Shortly after arriving, Grady makes contact with another young lad named David, who is on a different team from Alabama. Grady is strangely attracted to David, whose own teammates treat him badly. Partly from sympathy, and partly from an unexplained attraction, Grady befriends David, and invites him to hang out with his (Grady's) teammates. Grady reflects that it's weird for him to do something like this, since he normally steers clear of making new friends. He wonders how Brennan will feel, but rationalizes that Brennan had in fact encouraged Grady to make other friends. With his adolescent hormones kicking in to make every event an emotional crisis, Grady is wracked by concern when Brennan seems a little cool, and then when David doesn't show up the next day Grady is convinced that his whole life is headed for ruin. He starts to pitch an important game and is doing a terrible job. Then he looks up to see that David is sitting in the stands, watching and smiling. Suddenly Grady becomes a pitching dynamo. Relations between Grady and Brennan seem to become cooler and cooler, however. Grady sneaks out with David one night to see a movie in town, despite the fact that he is already on the coach's shit list for purposely beaning a fellow player earlier that day in anger. They have a nice time, with Grady impulsively holding David's hand (which he does not object to) during the film. They head back, with Grady expecting all manner of doom to crash down on him. He discovers, to his surprise, that Brennan has covered for his absence, telling Mr. Bellinger that Grady was out running laps. But Brennan is even colder to Grady, refusing to speak to him. Grady's next pitching assignment pits his team against David's Alabama team. Brennan is still being cold to Grady as catcher. Grady still pitches a good game, with his team well ahead. But when David comes up to bat, visibly trembling, Grady is visibly conflicted. His first pitch, a wicked fastball, leads to a wild swing and strike, and David's teammates heap abuse on him, even though virtually all of them had also struck out when faced with Grady's unhittable pitches. Grady gets pissed off and throws a slightly slower ball to David, which David hits out of the park for a solo home run. Grady's team still wins, but everyone realizes that Grady gave away that home run. Brennan is so steamed, in fact, that he socks Grady in the jaw when they get back to their quarters. Mr. Bellinger decides that enough is enough, and puts Grady and Brennan in the coach's room, tells them they need to work out whatever is going on, then leaves. Behind closed doors, Brennan apologizes and starts to cry, and Grady starts to cry, and they basically cry for a long while. At the end of it, they seem to have reconnected, but the deal is that Brennan will be included with David (i.e., as a threesome) when they're hanging out with Grady. Grady hopes this arrangement will hold. The next day is a semi-final game. Grady is not pitching. Grady's team wins against an opponent that probably didn't belong there. This was exciting, because it meant Grady's team would advance to the U.S. championship. But Grady is now facing the full effect of the strange new feelings he has been experiencing. Things become much more complicated and confusing for Grady as he realizes that he is looking at a number of the other boys with great appreciation for their bodies and good looks. This just seems to add to his panic. Grady discovers that he is attracted to another pitcher on their team, a lad named Tom. Tom is injured in a game-winning play and ends up with his arm in a cast. Grady discovers Tom in the shower one night, which gives Grady an embarrassing boner. Before Grady can escape, Tom asks for Grady's help to wash his back, which he can't do with the cast on. Grady greaks out, and when Tom tries to find out the problem, Grady explodes at him and calls him a pervert. This seems to crush Tom, but Grady can't bring himself to face the truth with him. He comes close to talking to Brennan about it, but can't bring himself to do that either. The next day, Grady's team wins the world championship in a total nailbiter. Both sides had pitched shutouts until Brennan, the last batter with two outs in the bottom of the last inning, manages to hit a game-winning home run - which he had promised Grady he would do. It is a stunning victory for these 12-year-olds from Michigan. As they get on the bus home later that night, Tom is sitting by himself, not joining the rest of hte kids at the back of the bus. Brennan, with unusual insight, insists to Grady that he needs to go sit with Tom. Reluctantly, Grady does so. After an initially chilly bit of conversation, the two decide to go to sleep: And so the story ends. Somewhat maddeningly, we discover that this is the "end of Part I," and there is no part II. Presumably someday we might find out how Grady ends up dealing with these scary feelings. I was quite impressed with the deftness and grace in the writing of this story. It just seems to ring true at every step. Even rather amazing events, such as a private coaching session with Orel Hershiser, come across as seeming perfectly plausible. It is also very exciting, in an almost cinematic sense, to see young people triumph as these kids did in winning their games. The author did an excellent job of keeping up the suspense and the tension, and making it clear how close the winners came to losing. Perhaps Brennan's home run in the world championship game was a bit of magic and a bit of a miracle, especially when he predicted it in advance, but somehow it all seems to fit in anyway. And Grady was amused when Brennan, who was perfectly at ease in front of the television cameras, was able to shine in the spotlight during interviews. Grady was not jealous, and not simply because Grady hated being in the spotlight -- he thought Brennan deserved it. This is in many ways a love story, but not a soppy one. It is, in fact, a very masculine love story, albeit one involving 12-year-olds. It feels very satisfying in a guy sense -- this is the way guys should relate when they're in love. What is implied, however, is that there are more kinds of love than Grady might have suspected. The story leaves us expecting that Grady will find he has different kinds of love for Brennan, for David, and for Tom. How that will all work out we can only speculate. This was an excellent story recommendation. I only regret that the remainder of the story has not yet been written. A

I'm only at chapter 19, but it;s still keeping me engaged. I noticed that there is something called "Do Over Redux" listed as another story by this same author. I don't want to peek at it until I've finished this first one, in case the writeup gives things away. At some point I should get back to the assigned reading for this week, though.

I just want to comment that I have been continuing in this story (Do Over) and it is a ripping good yarn. I won't say anything more, but it's definitely a page-turner (or whatever you would call it on a computer). A

The next story, "When Will I See You Again," is here: http://littlebuddhatw.gayauthors.org/WISYA/index.html A

I don't really have much to say -- this onion peels very slowly. During the first chapter, in fact, I was getting very impatient. But there is a lot of sweetness in it. And by the end of chapter 5 -- our designated stopping point -- it does seem like an ever-so-slight inroad is being made into Silver's wall of isolation. There are a number of clues that Silver has been subjected to unspeakable humiliation and abuse. The nature and extent of that abuse remain unclear, although there are signs that it involves heavy bondage and discipline with physical abuse. It is shocking to think that such things could be carried out on another person to the extent of driving them into the "waking dead" state that Silver is in. Can't say for sure how long I would stick out the Sartre-like slow unfolding of the revelations that presumably are to come. Good show for writing and posting it, however. A