Shattering

I finally caught up with this story after you posted chapter 8. I think I initially shied away from reading because jealousy is probably the one human feeling I cannot relate to at all. But so far it has not really been of importance, except for Mike lashing out at the party, so I'm enjoying this well-written love story.
However, I wish I hadn't read the prologue, and I'm doing my best to forget about it. I think it gives the story too much of a pessimistic tone. Without it this would be a story about relationship problems due to lack of communication. Mike and David are both making mistakes, but they do love each other and want to be a couple, and indeed they are good together. So I would prefer to be able to hope they can sort things out.
Anyway, I found it interesting to read all the reviews before mine and the subtle shifts in opinions about David and Mike. I don't think David is being unreasonable at all. We see his honest reactions and thoughts, including the times he chides himself for maybe getting or doing things wrong. But even if he whines in his own head, he is outwardly supportive of Mike. On the other hand, I certainly don't believe Mike is cheating or ignoring David on purpose. He is simply under huge pressure at work and he won't admit how badly it's affecting his relationship. That's why I think he needed the wake-up call of David's outburst to get his mind set right. I honestly believe Mike wants to give love priority over his career if he has to choose, but so far he hasn't understood the danger.
Contrary to most readers I also found Vicky's relationship advice and comments about Rain spot on. David needs to talk about these issues, and without Brady there he's floundering. Vicky is doing her best to guide David through the potential scenarios, which I think is helpfu even if also painful. Even admitting he's attracted to Rain is better than denial; I noticed how it lead to an immediate avowal of his love for Mike, and Vicky's delight in his reaction. She is not trying to stir up trouble, and if she is the one to say the 'bad' stuff, David gets to refute it - which is harder if he's the one painting matters black. Her point about it being a bad sign that David does not know what's going on with Mike's work, I saw as a subtle criticism of David not asking and showing enough concern in the past months (of course he was also dealing with being laid off), and less as her saying Mike is hiding something. And as everyone else have said, her advice of talking with Mike was solid gold.
I don't think Rain is deliberately trying to get in between David and Mike. I bet Rain feels lonely and homesick and perhaps a bit trapped in his current relationship, which he doesn't want to give up, since his new circle of friends has come via his girlfriend. He is envious of their relationship as compared to his own shaky one. I bet he's bi and loves to flirt (especially when alcohol has loosened him up), but at first he pays attention to both men in equal measure. If they had been in a good place (which I think he assumed was the case until ch. 8), they would probably have had fun talking about how attractive Rain is and how it's sort of nice to be hit on by a guy like him. They would then have made love and confirmed their mutual affection was better than anything Rain could offer.
Instead, David feels upset and guilty about how he reacts to Rain in spite of the fact he has never even entertained the idea of doing anything about it. I noticed he didn't jump on the chance to play racketball with Rain, he has done nothing to follow up on the offer to met to practise Estonian, he likes seeing Mike and Rain bond over comics, and he's uncomfortable with Rain's flirting. If David ever got together with Rain, it would only happen after Mike had killed their love and relationship with distrust and jealousy. You cannot help your feelings (of attraction), but you can decide what to do about it. So far all David's decisions have been focused on how to work things out with Mike and deal with his anxiety.
OK, enough for now, I shall endeavor to leave chapter reviews from now on.

On 07/30/2016 12:54 AM, Timothy M. said:

I finally caught up with this story after you posted chapter 8. I think I initially shied away from reading because jealousy is probably the one human feeling I cannot relate to at all. But so far it has not really been of importance, except for Mike lashing out at the party, so I'm enjoying this well-written love story.

However, I wish I hadn't read the prologue, and I'm doing my best to forget about it. I think it gives the story too much of a pessimistic tone. Without it this would be a story about relationship problems due to lack of communication. Mike and David are both making mistakes, but they do love each other and want to be a couple, and indeed they are good together. So I would prefer to be able to hope they can sort things out.

Anyway, I found it interesting to read all the reviews before mine and the subtle shifts in opinions about David and Mike. I don't think David is being unreasonable at all. We see his honest reactions and thoughts, including the times he chides himself for maybe getting or doing things wrong. But even if he whines in his own head, he is outwardly supportive of Mike. On the other hand, I certainly don't believe Mike is cheating or ignoring David on purpose. He is simply under huge pressure at work and he won't admit how badly it's affecting his relationship. That's why I think he needed the wake-up call of David's outburst to get his mind set right. I honestly believe Mike wants to give love priority over his career if he has to choose, but so far he hasn't understood the danger.

Contrary to most readers I also found Vicky's relationship advice and comments about Rain spot on. David needs to talk about these issues, and without Brady there he's floundering. Vicky is doing her best to guide David through the potential scenarios, which I think is helpfu even if also painful. Even admitting he's attracted to Rain is better than denial; I noticed how it lead to an immediate avowal of his love for Mike, and Vicky's delight in his reaction. She is not trying to stir up trouble, and if she is the one to say the 'bad' stuff, David gets to refute it - which is harder if he's the one painting matters black. Her point about it being a bad sign that David does not know what's going on with Mike's work, I saw as a subtle criticism of David not asking and showing enough concern in the past months (of course he was also dealing with being laid off), and less as her saying Mike is hiding something. And as everyone else have said, her advice of talking with Mike was solid gold.

I don't think Rain is deliberately trying to get in between David and Mike. I bet Rain feels lonely and homesick and perhaps a bit trapped in his current relationship, which he doesn't want to give up, since his new circle of friends has come via his girlfriend. He is envious of their relationship as compared to his own shaky one. I bet he's bi and loves to flirt (especially when alcohol has loosened him up), but at first he pays attention to both men in equal measure. If they had been in a good place (which I think he assumed was the case until ch. 8), they would probably have had fun talking about how attractive Rain is and how it's sort of nice to be hit on by a guy like him. They would then have made love and confirmed their mutual affection was better than anything Rain could offer.

Instead, David feels upset and guilty about how he reacts to Rain in spite of the fact he has never even entertained the idea of doing anything about it. I noticed he didn't jump on the chance to play racketball with Rain, he has done nothing to follow up on the offer to met to practise Estonian, he likes seeing Mike and Rain bond over comics, and he's uncomfortable with Rain's flirting. If David ever got together with Rain, it would only happen after Mike had killed their love and relationship with distrust and jealousy. You cannot help your feelings (of attraction), but you can decide what to do about it. So far all David's decisions have been focused on how to work things out with Mike and deal with his anxiety.

OK, enough for now, I shall endeavor to leave chapter reviews from now on.

You've definitely got a lot of insight into my characters. Thanks for the reassurance that I am not just writing a bunch of unreasonable people - or at least writing the character's in a way that casts them in a very poor light. There are a couple people who are getting progressively more and more upset at David in particular, and I am not sure what to do about - or if I even *should* do anything about it.

Maybe you are right and the prologue needs to go. I have had mixed feelings about it for a while now. It occurs at a pivotal moment in the plot, somewhere we will get to eventually... Maybe it needs to be restructured. Well, probably, if I am not going to eliminate it entirely.

Thanks for reading and reviewing! I look forward to more comments!