TheZot

This'll be an interesting one to get responses on. A lot of authors write because they want the feedback. (Or, to be blunt, they want the ego-stroke ) There's nothing at all wrong with that, especially since the more traditional method of rewarding authors (that is, cash) generally isn't available on the 'net. There are some of us who write for other reasons, though. While I can't speak for anyone else, I know I write because I can't not write. Unfortunately this sort of stuff tends to not actually make it out there, or if it does tends not to be finished, since there's less of a push to get the stuff out and, when it is out the drive that's making us write tends not to be something that makes us finish things. (Which, I suppose, is where a bit of ego stroking comes in handy)

While I'm waiting as much as anyone, Dom's chapters tend to run in the 11-13k word range. (Chapter 8 was 11,487 words, for example) Even if it flows well, that's a lot of writing to do, and I hear rumor that Dom's got a life on top of it...

It would be the 'live chat' link in the top link bar.

Well, so much for that. Apparently some combination of OS X, Java, and Camino are unhappy with the current chat system. Don't suppose you'd consider switching to a back end driven by irc or Jabber? I'll even admin the server...

Does it bridge to something else (IRC, Jabber, MSN, AIM)? If so I'd use it, but if it's just another standalone chatroom thing I think I'd take a miss on it.

I think I'll disagree with this just a little bit. Don't forget the timeframe -- it's only been a few months since his mom died, and it's been two weeks since Rory actually met Eddie and company. In that time he's gone from thinking he's being shipped off to this guy who abandoned his mother before he was born and who his mom apparently cared so little about that she never talked of him, to finding that his father didn't even know he existed, to finding his dad actively lied to him, along the way finding that both his mother and grandmother knowingly lied to him as well. The whole foundation for his world's been ripped out and replaced, parts of it several times. He's scared, off balance, and desperately needs the people that he's supposed to rely on, the people who've turned out to be actively unreliable, to step up, fess up, and give him some solid footings he can trust. 'Course, the fact that his behaviour's understandable and reasonable doesn't make him particularly sympathetic -- he desperately needs a good smack. But, then, so does Eddie, and his grandmother needs a good whack with a two-by-four. Eddie's deception's not that unreasonable, since he assumed Rory was straight (a good guess unless you know you're in the middle of a piece of internet fiction) and would probably be at least unsettled knowing his dad was married to another guy, and wanting to build some relationship before dropping that bomb's not out of line. Grandma, though... no real excuse for what she's doing, not that I can see.

Not to change the topic back to, well, the topic or anything, but maybe if we could have the option to follow the preferences for the other parts of the forum (for those of us who've switched from the default dull ugly theme to one of the non-default dull ugly themes) that'd be cool. Non-dull and ugly themes'd be really nice too, but that's a topic for a separate poll, I think.

I've got to agree with this one. Aaron's been an idiot in the past, and he and his ex don't get along (for reasonable reasons) but that doesn't mean he's an idiot now, nor that he's not worth knowing. Besides, if he were that bad in general, I really doubt that all of Luke's friends would have no problem with him hanging around. Remember, he was at the park with everyone, and it was pretty clear he wasn't being shunned by the group as a whole.

Smart isn't perceptive. Lots of people are smart but utterly clueless or oblivious, and a lot of very perceptive people are as dumb as a rock. Yeah, maybe it should have been a clue, but that doesn't mean it was a clue. If he wasn't expecting it (and really why should he have been?) then it wouldn't have registered, at least not in time. Been there and done that, more than once. (though not for something like this)

I dunno about that one. Yeah, he's a twit, and may well not be worth much (though that's hard to say -- he's young and while Luke doesn't like him, that doesn't mean he's worthless) but you've got to figure he'd expect Rory to know. I mean, Rory's gay and living with his gay father, his father's partner, and his partner's gay nephew who's Aaron's ex. If nobody said anything, which since Luke hates him is really unlikely, how would he know that they're all dancing around each other? For this one I'd cut him a lot of slack, really. Maybe not for anything else, but for this... yeah.