Elizabeth8338

Thanks for another excellent chapter, Dom! And I had finally gotten to the point where I wasn't checking your site every day for new chapters...now I'm addicted again! I hope chapter 15 is easier to write. I thought the scene at the railroad tracks was incredibly well-written and true to character (not to mention very hot!). It was nice to see Quinn lose a little control and just go what he was feeling. He didn't completely overthink things the whole time, but he wouldn't have been Quinn without those little interruptions of him freaking out. I was so thrilled to see Quinn finally admitting his sexuality to Brad. It was a major milestone for him, and I think your description of Brad's reaction was completely realistic. While as Quinn's best friend he should have noticed how terrified Quinn was and been more supportive, he was completely shocked by Quinn's revelation and understandably needed a little time to adjust to the news. I think if he had been really upset or disgusted and unwilling to remain friends with Quinn, he would have said so immediately. I think the fact that he was just going aside to wrap his thoughts around the idea was a good sign for their friendship. I wish he had realized how nervous Quinn really was and that leaving him alone probably wasn't the best idea, although that was definitely better than him speaking up immediately and saying the wrong thing. Again, thanks again for sharing your writing with us! This story is definitely my favorite of yours!!

That'll neverhappen...we are talking about Dom here, after all. By the time we're all in rest homes, Quinn and Jude will still be talking about possibly considering a relationship at some indefinite future time.

Glad I'm not the only one...also 0, at age 22.

*steps forward* I'm Dorky Gizzardhump...it's always nice to meet a distant cousin. We Gizzards do seem to be the prevailing family. Perhaps we should consider scheduling a reunion?

deleted double-post...slow servers are such fun!

I believe the "collective maturity" can be accounted for by one simple emotion: denial. It seems that we're all pretty focused on TLW right now, since we know for sure it will be ending soon. Once it's done, though, and TOU starts up again, I'm sure the maturity will come to an end. It doesn't take much (one chapter with a slightly ambiguous ending) to inspire pages of comments...we'll be back to our typical insanity on the TOU front soon. I love Quinn as much as anyone, but you have to admit he has a singular ability to inspire craziness in us poor readers. And once it hits that Dom is actually ending TOU (in a few years, of course), I'm sure any maturity you're seeing now will be a distant and fond memory.

I just read this whole thread in one sitting...love how it's gone off topic so many times and continues to come back to the story. And now for my analysis of "the punch." Here's the quote from the story:

1. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandmother's/father's first name + favorite snack): Bette Chips or Bonnie Icecream 2. YOUR FASHION DESIGNER NAME: (first word you see on your left + favorite restaurant): Dupe Border 3. YOUR SOCIALITE NAME: (silliest childhood nickname + first town where you partied): Bibabep Munising 4. YOUR "FLY GIRL/GUY" NAME: (first initial + first three letters of your last name): E Fre 5. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (favorite candy + favorite musicians last name): Reeses Kamin 6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: ( first 3 letters of your last name+ last 3 letters of mothers middle name /+/ first 3 letters of your pets name + first 3 letters of the town you live in): Freher Banker 7. YOUR NORSE NAME: (first 4 letters of your name + the second of your surname) : Elizr

I have a question about this forum. Our old forum had the ability to jump in a thread to the first unread message, so you didn't have to remember where you were or scan through pages to find your place. Obviously, these forums are different, but they seem to be based on the same system. Do we have that same ability here? Thanks!

I like these new forums. The Yahoo group is just not designed for continued discussions. This is just like the forums that plasticreality made for us (despite the bigger audience), and it brings the discussions to the same place as the stories. I don't think we really need to be worried about more people seeing our posts...if they didn't like Dom's stories, they wouldn't be taking the time to read these forums, so we already have something in common with them. Going a little off-topic here... You guys amaze me. My junior year of college, I moved into an apartment-style dorm with a kitchen for the first time. The girl who was supposed to bring a microwave hadn't had room in her car to bring it, so we were without a microwave until she was able to go home the next weekend and get it. I'm honestly not capable of cooking without a microwave...I use it for so many different shortcuts when cooking on the stove. I can't imagine how people survived without them!

I agree with Vic that Nicky's reaction doesn't seem to indicate that he's gay. Also, I hope that he isn't, because that's one thing I've noticed in too much gay fiction. Someone comes out (usually in high school) and suddenly everyone they know is gay. Dom has a good mix of different characters, and I think it helps keep his stories realistic.

Yeah...I always type things in Word or Notepad, then copy and paste them into the forum. I wasn't really aware of how long that was until I posted it. These past few chapters have inspired so many comments, though, that I wanted to address the opinions that had been expressed by others.

Is it a bad sign that as I was reading this chapter I was thinking about how much drama it would be causing in the forums? You guys definitely didn't disappoint. Long post ahead. First of all, I want to congratulate Dom on some of the most realistic characters I've encountered in any online story. While I may not agree with their actions, I can almost see them happening. Many authors seem to write the same characters over and over, but you do a great job at writing many different characters, all realistic. Thanks! I feel like I'm saying the same thing I said in my post about the last chapter, but I really think that just about everyone in this story is making mistakes, but they should all be given a chance to work things out. I have a big problem with Eddie's lack of honesty. He is the adult, and he needs to be providing an example to Rory. They already started their relationship with dishonesty, and he saw how much that hurt his son when he found out the truth. As a father, he should have come clean with Rory, especially since he and Jase are out in the community and Rory finding out from someone else was a very likely prospect. Regardless of this, though, I can see where he's coming from. He suddenly finds out that his best friend from childhood, whom he dated for a brief time, had his child, has been hiding him for 16 years, and is now dead. That's a lot of major things to find out all at once, and then to find out that one of her last wishes was for Rory to come live with him...that must have been quite the shock. Then, when he first met his son, Rory was hostile and judgmental. Eddie didn't know at first that Rory thought he had known about him all along, so he must have just assumed that Rory hated him for no reason. With that attitude, he must have been terrified to come out to him. All he seems to want is to get to know his son, and he probably thought that he would alienate him if he found out he was gay. If even his parents wouldn't accept him (as Rory's mom's letter implied), why would his son, who didn't know him at all? Many teens are not very understanding of homosexuality, and to find out a parent is gay would be a huge shock. He should have considered, though, that Rory's mom was the first person he came out to, and she handled it pretty well (despite her initial shock), so Rory was probably raised to be tolerant. Overall, I can see why he's doing what he's doing, but I think he just needs to start acting like an adult and be honest. Rory's actions, while not the best way to deal with the situation, seem very realistic to me. As many people have said, he's had huge events to deal with in the past few months, things most people don't have to encounter until they're adults, if at all. I'm sure he felt the loss of his mother more deeply than most due to his very close relationship with her. He then found out he had a father, and one of his mom's last wishes was for him to go live with him. He had to go from the only place he felt safe and comfortable to a completely new environment. Now add to that the fact that he is gay, and he already came out to his only known parent. He dealt with that fear and thought he wouldn't have to do it again, but then found out he had a dad and realized at some point he'd have to come out to him as well. After meeting Eddie (I haven't read the first chapter recently, but I think I remember from Dom's description that he's a pretty athletic guy), he probably thought of all the horror stories he'd ever heard and was physically afraid to tell Eddie. After all, he didn't know Eddie well enough to know if he would accept a gay son. I think a good way to have dealt with this would have been to hint around to see what Eddie thinks of gays, but Rory hasn't really been talking to him long enough to do that. While I don't think Rory should have hidden the letters, I honestly can't say I would have done it differently...he has been repeatedly lied to, and all he wants is for Eddie to be honest with him without being forced. Some people have posted that they think it was wrong for Rory to snoop in Eddie and Jase's room, but I think he was acting out of shock. Eddie and Jase took the time to make up a fake room for Jase, and Rory wanted proof of what Aaron was saying. And if all he did was glance in dresser drawers and closets, it's not like he was snooping too deeply. (Not that I'm justifying looking through other people's rooms, but there's a difference between a quick glance and an actual search.) I feel kind of bad for Luke. He was obviously asked by Eddie not to come out to Rory right away, and I think that having to keep that secret has forced their relationship to develop differently than it would have otherwise. From his other bold actions, he seems like the kind of person who would have come out to Rory pretty quickly after getting to know him. I don't want Luke and Rory to get together, but I think they could be really good friends, and they need to get things out in the open in order for that to happen. I think if Luke had told Rory he was gay, Rory would have reciprocated, and this whole situation could have been avoided. Just knowing that Eddie and Jase accepted Luke (even if Rory still wasn't aware that they were gay) would have made Rory much more confident. I'm a little undecided on Aaron in this chapter. I think he did a really good job of handling Rory's shock. He was acting as a "voice of reason," telling Rory that the situation wasn't the end of the world and there was even a good side to it. While Rory wasn't really in the mood to hear this, I'm sure it helped that it was said. I do have a problem, though, with Aaron's physical intimidation of Rory. He might not be aware that he is doing it (especially if it's something that his dad does?), but physically intimidating people when you are angry is just another form of abuse. I can understand why he was upset, since Rory had been dragging him around all afternoon, using him for a ride without being willing to talk to him, but he should have discussed it rather than grabbing Rory. Rory was being pretty annoying, though. Bringing up the car incident over and over without being willing to hear Aaron's side is just rude. Either listen, or drop the subject. Jase has been a pretty minor character throughout the story so far, but every time I've seen him he's seemed like a really nice guy. I feel bad for him in this whole situation. First, he finds out that his partner has a son they've never known about, and his dead mother wants him to come live with them. Then, his partner is afraid to come out to his son and asks him to participate in a charade. He agrees to it on a temporary basis, but it drags out for weeks. He's having to change his behavior in his own home, and Eddie isn't really making much of an effort to change the situation. I know if I were Jase, I would have left earlier. The one person whose actions I can't even begin to understand is Grandma Alice. Rory's mom's request was quite simple...give him the letter after the funeral, then when his father is found, give him his letter and give them a chance to get to know each other. Even if she knew the contents of the letters (and I'm sure she must have had a pretty good idea), she had no right to keep them longer than Rory's mom asked her to. The only excuse I can think of for her actions is that she didn't want to give Rory up. If you think about it, Rory is all she has. Her daughter got pregnant very young, and it seems like Alice has been helping out with Rory his whole life. I don't remember any mention of a grandpa (too lazy to read back through the chapters). She's just lost her daughter, who was only 30 or 31 years old, and now she's about to lose her grandson. I can't understand, though, why she would withhold the package for so long, and then send it now. Maybe as some people said, she was hoping for them to develop a relationship on their own, but she really didn't have a right to interfere. She could have talked to Rory's mom about the letters before she died, and if her opinion didn't change, she should have respected it. She was Rory's mom, after all. Overall, another excellent chapter, Dom! Looking forward to chapter 9.

I think Aaron deserves a second chance. I cringe just typing this (I hate making excuses), but he is young. It's been scientifically proven that the part of the brain that controls impulses is not fully developed in adolescents; they're much less likely than adults to think before they act. That's not to say that he is completely innocent and shouldn't take responsibility for his actions, just that all kids make mistakes and while he should be punished, he also deserves a chance to be forgiven and make things right. At least he is admitting that he made a mistake and what he did was wrong. I'm not really sure where I'm leaning on the whole Aaron or Luke debate. It doesn't seem to me that Dom has really hinted at much of a romantic interest between Luke and Rory. Luke is kind of flirtatious sometimes, but it seems like that is part of his personality. Rory finds him attractive, but that seems like it's pretty much a physical thing (possibly because he thinks he is related and is not allowing himself to think of Luke in a romantic sense). I see Luke as more of a big brother/cousin to Rory. It does seem to me that Luke and Aaron possibly dated in the past. Luke's reactions to Aaron just seem a little more extreme than if they were just friends...I know they were best friends, but he just seems really emotional about the whole situation, and to me that hints that they were possibly romantically involved. I think that Aaron really does have feelings for Rory. They don't really know each other well enough for it to be much more than attraction, but I think he is interested. He's really putting himself out there and opening himself up to be insulted and hurt, and he keeps on making an effort and pursuing him when it would be easier to just give up. I don't really think that he'd use Rory to try to get Luke back (if in fact they dated in the past). He seems a little smarter than that...dating Luke's "cousin" is probably not the easiest way to his heart. Might make him jealous, but I doubt it'd make him take him back. (and yes, I know, I overthink things...) I just LOVE your description of Rory's actions...for some reason, the way you put it completely cracked me up! It is now my goal to somehow integrate into a conversation the expression "sitting on a cactus" as a euphamism for reacting too quickly.