Duck Duck Goose

[Richard Norway]

Does this brand me as irredeemably drippy? I don't read gay fiction because it mirrors real life, I read it because it allows me to imagine what life COULD be, or at my age what it MIGHT HAVE been. So generally I love happy endings. If it's a good story I don't mind the odd sad ending but mostly I like them happy.

The clue is in the title: it's fiction, if it was reality I wouldn't have to read it, I'm living it. I like my fiction to be different from reality, and to provide me enjoyment and boost my happiness quotient. Okay I hold my hands up and confess: I like escapism. So shoot me.

Bruin, very happy that there is so much excellently written escapism here at AD for me to enjoy.

<- Happy Bruin with a bunch of AD mates

I couldn't agree with Bruin more. People read for basically two reasons. One, to learn something, and two, to be entertained, to escape their own lives for a moment and live vicariously. I for one want to believe that there is hope, that I can be better, that there are people out there that do not live by the standards of those we read about in the tabloids or watch on the evening news.

So, like Bruin, you can shoot me too.

[Cole Parker]

I can add another reason for uplifting endings other than Bruin's, which I agree with.

One of the several reasons I write is to speak to gay teens. I like to think some of those who fit this label are readers, as I was as a teen. I like to think that if they are going through the problems that beset so many of them, they have a source where they can find stories about kids like themselves that do have happy endings, that not everything has to be bleak or sad or even black or morbid. So, I tend to write stories where they can see happy endings modeled for kids like themselves. This may be escapist literature, but, when I was that age, it was the kind of stuff I loved to read. And I hope that some of them, needing that outlook, that ending, have a place to find it.

C

[Trab]

I write (and read) for escapist reasons too, and watch a lot of my TV for the same reason, as, I think, do most others. Even things like characters who seem to be a bit 'far out' in their reactions don't bother me, since my own reactions and bahaviours are 'far out' to others who meet me. I just write it into the story (in my mind) that this or that character is like that, and don't try to psychoanalyze them. Think of it this way; there's a reason we have dessert at the end of the meal, and not the broccoli. We prefer to be left with a good feeling at the end, not a bad one, even though the reality is that we have good and bad, happy and sad in our lives.

[Camy]

Day to day life is miserable enough as it is, so I see no reason why fictional endings shouldn't (provided they work in situ) be light hearted and uplifting.

In fact I think a happy ending should be compulsory!

Camy

[DesDownunder]

Yes Pecman, you have had me wondering how Pieces of Destiny will end for some time. I can see so many possible alternative endings that the one you write will indeed be worth waiting for.

However, I again take issue with the idea that fiction should stick as closely as possible to real life. Just what is 'real life'?

So many modern films and stories are supposed to reflect real life and yet I find myself increasingly bored by them because in promoting life as the author thinks it is, we the readers, may be led away from seeing life as it actually is, let alone the possibilities of life as it could be.

Pieces of Destiny is very much a story of possibilities; of the way it might have been and yet it is also the way of imagination of what might yet be, in that you keep you us wondering, wonderfully. I have no expectations other than that it will be worthwhile.

But Brandon, despite enjoying Cole's writing seems to me, to miss out on this point that Duck Duck Goose is a story about Matt's development as an independent human being, striving to make sense of his place in a world where reality is often not pleasant, but holds some promise for his life.

Matt's personal and psychological contemplation on his developing awareness is the vehicle for the reader to go on that journey with him.

I also think, it is one of the reasons that we at AwesomeDude seek a better form of story than just another titillating, thinly disguised porn story, (even if many of us do find an excursion into that field, shall I say, 'interesting.')

The point is that literature, does offer an opportunity to share, to stimulate thoughts and emotions beyond the mundane and mediocre forms presented by trash fiction.

In great and popular literature, we often find the happy ending is not so much 'ever after' as much as it is a resolution of thought, emotion or action.

Look at Gone With The Wind for example. Readers who sit and wonder if Scarlett gets Rhett back, have totally missed the the author's philosophical meaning of the last line, "Tomorrow is another day."

For this is really a happy ending for the reader, who should now understand that Scarlett, and thus by extension the reader, has realised, that hope is eternal, hope sustains us in life, from one day to the next. This is author Margaret Mitchell's point of her huge novel.

Yet so many people do not seem to understand it; do not seem to revel in this insight as the logical conclusion, an uplifting if not happy resolution, at least for the reader.

It is the curse of modern times that people have misunderstood the role of the villain in literature. So many films (in particular) and stories in general show only the downside of the characters. Frankly, human beings are never all evil, there is always a redeeming feature, that may be subverted, hidden or even unexplored; but it is always lurking.

The master of revelation of the human condition in terms of misery is without doubt for me, the author, Hermann Hesse. Yet in all his stories of the down trodden, the miserable, and defeated, the reader cannot help but come to realise the significance of the human spirit; not because the characters are inherently evil or prone to disaster, but because they without doubt, are human with that spark of hope. So while the happy ending is not the aim, the resolution with revelation most certainly is, and that is most satisfying.

Escapist entertainment is one of my greatest pleasures. I just love an impossible Shoot'em Up or a silly romantic comedy.

But what I can't stand is the epidemic of meaningless characters who have no redeeming feature or explanation of the loss of their humanity. Too often an assumption is made that everyone is in reality, basically evil, and will therefore act without honour. These types of movies and stories only promote the idea that humans are unworthy of life. They are the escapist movies and stories of those who have never found hope, or have given up on it. They are the country of hopeless men and women. Being hopeless they are only capable of claiming there is no hope; and that, is not an acceptable resolution for those of us who pursue happiness. It is not an acceptable outlook for life or an honourable example to set before the next generation.

Real life is not the evil of the emperor in Star Wars, Or Hannibal's flesh eating, the homophobe, or even Hitler's final solution. Real life is about what made these people the way they are.

Such stories may reveal these as answers or questions. Such stories can give us hope for a better world, and even a better humanity.

Oh and by the way, such writing is never easy, either, but that is real life too.

[Camy]

there's a reason we have dessert at the end of the meal, and not the broccoli. We prefer to be left with a good feeling at the end, not a bad one, even though the reality is that we have good and bad, happy and sad in our lives.

Are you saying that Broccoli is bad, sad and unhappy?

[Cole Parker]

Right on, Camy!

Except hard to imagine it for Gone With the Wind.

C

[Trab]

In response to Camy's query: yes.

[DesDownunder]

Right on, Camy!

Except hard to imagine it for Gone With the Wind.

C

It wasn't broccoli

Scarlett ate the parsnip (I think) just before interval, (halfway through the book) after which she threw up, and then while shaking her fist at the sky, she uttered the immortal line,

"As God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again."

cue grand music. (Tara's theme)

[Guest Brandon T.]

Des: I agree with you, that stories should in some way offer revelation as to what makes the characters tick and fucntion and should showcase that development. Slowly pulling away the layers until the reader is left with a sense of that character's humanity and motivation, no matter what form that may or may not take. My issue wasn't with that. In this story, I felt that the ending just didn't fit the chararacters and their overall personalities. At large, I disagree with the host of pleasant, tie a bow over it endings where the characters are neatly arranged in some plastic, picturesuqe scenario. I'm not saying an ending needs to be gruesome or terrible. It doesn't. It can be content and perfectly fine without being "happy!" Happy is my catch-all adjective for those syrupy, drippy, "I love you so much, -stares longingly into each other's eyes-" endings that leave what were once striking and interesting characters dull and insipid. They take away the will of the character and makes them slaves to this fantasy that for life to be fullfilling, it needs to end with this grand mass delusion of what happiness is.

It isn't always two people madly in love with each other. And it needn't even be a neatly trimmed relationship at all. Real life is messy, complicated, and confusing. IT doesn't exist in a world of black and white, but in between them, entrenched in the gray. And plenty of people find happiness there. What bothered me about the ending of Duck, Duck, Goose was that it felt contrived and wasn't all as interesting as I thought it might be. And why is it that these two characters, who've been with each other since their young days, the very nascence of their sexual development and awareness, are so cozy and complacent with each other? There lurked no sense of boredom or agitation. Even couples who love each other get annoyed, get sick of seeing each other all of the time. It doesn't mean they're not happy, it means they're human. My biggest problem with endings like that of Duck, Duck, Goose is that they is little to no realism in them. The characters are mindlessly pleased with each other and they don't feel human at all to me. Which makes the ending hard to relate to. At least for me.

As for Cole's aims as a writer, I admire and respect them a great deal. It's a wonderful thing to wish to give glimmers of hope to young gay men like myself. But what I take exception to is that for a lot of gay young people--like with young people in general--it's a very cynical world and endings with neat bows typically have eyes rolled at them. It's a very, "Yeah, right." Place to live these days. I would rather read an ending where there exists a nice contrast in the attitudes of the characters in the end rather than see a couple of one, single mind thinking in unison, talking in unision, and being basically mindless. I don't want a sad ending or a heart-wrenching one. Just one that doesn't feel fake or forced or so out there that I have a hard time see a couple actually live that way in real life. Because if the aim is to give hope to young people, why set them up to fail? Why give them something that they cannot possibly live up to? It sets an impossibly high standard. A contrast can be drawn to little girls having dreams of Prince Charming and how perfect he is. Well, that little girl grows up and for YEARS she's disappointed in love just because no man measures up. Eventually, she learns to settle. =/ And no one wants to wake up one day and have their lover tell them they've settled.

THAT. Would be an interesting ending to a story. "You know, I'm okay with not being madly in love with you."

I get how Matt came to terms with loving Kevin. His entire transformation was great and interesting and kept me reading. But I would have almost preferred if the story had ended with Kevin and Matt right there, on the bed, being together. That was the moment the story felt complete to me. But the epilogue ruined it all for me. Well, not all, because I still enjoyed the story, but it felt superfluous and a little tacky. NOT THAT IT WAS BADLY WRITTEN. I love you, Cole. But when compared to the rest of the story, it felt messy and extra and hard to look at. Like a huge, pink, sugar-coated bow at the back of a lovely evening gown.

SO. I guess my problem isn't with happy, just unbelievable.

[Cole Parker]

Brandon, what you're saying is, any ending that results in people being in a situation they like, you wouldn't buy. That being the case, what you're also saying is your world view is different from mine. I don't think all love affairs have to have edges to them. Not all young love ends up tragically.

Also, I don't think a writer has to talk about bad breath in the morning to make the story have either angst or realism. We all know everyone takes a dump sometime during the day. I don't want to write about it. I also don't have to say that Matt and Kevin quarrel sometimes, get their feelings hurt occasionally, go for a couple days not talking to each other. Yes, that's the way the world works. We all know that's the way the world works. As a writer, you can decide that's the focus of your story to make it real, or you can say that everyone understands all relationships have their ups and downs and write about the parts you find more interesting than that.

If you feel this strongly about showing the rust and squeaks in the car you're writing about, then do so. By all means. But accept the fact some people would rather write about the joy they get from their car, and don't want to spend a lot of time criticizing the thing. They find the exuberance they feel owning and driving it, the freedom it represents to them, the ego boost it gives them, more interesting. Writing is about making choices. Don't expect everyone to make the same ones you do.

C

[The Pecman]

Brandon, what you're saying is, any ending that results in people being in a situation they like, you wouldn't buy. That being the case, what you're also saying is your world view is different from mine. I don't think all love affairs have to have edges to them. Not all young love ends up tragically.

I see Brandon's point. To me, the reality is that almost nobody who falls in love as a teenager is going to stay with that person for the rest of their lives, and that goes for gay people, straights and everybody in between. I don't buy that somebody that young is emotionally mature and stable enough to end up happily, not long term. (Keep in mind we're in a world where 60% of all marriages end in divorce.)

What I like to see in these stories is a normal give-and-take, bumps in the road, fights, making up, and so on that you encounter in real life. And when it comes to sex (if any), I think it should be as clumsy, messy, and occasionally embarrassing as it sometimes is. I'm not saying your stories aren't believable, but I'm conceding that Brandon brings up a good point -- that a lot of the stories out there present a much more positive conclusion than is believable.

Then again, I've had my fill with the stories that are choked with teenage angst, suicide, despair, dead parents, sudden inheritances, car wrecks, and all the other cliches we see far too often. It's really hard to avoid these cliches, when trying to artificially inject some conflict into the stories. (And I'm just as guilty of this crap as the next guy.) I think there's a happy medium between a "too upbeat" ending and a overly-dramatic, grim ending. My rule of thumb is, I want to feel better when I finish reading a story than I did when I started it, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the story's characters have to get everything they ever wanted.

[Guest Brandon T.]

The world would be a very dull place if we all made the same creative decisions, Cole. I understand that. Just as I understand that I'm allowed an opinion. And my opinion was that I didn't like the ending. Does it make the ending bad? Well, to me it does. But not everyone feels that way. I respect how you stand beside your views and your writing and how you wrote the story demonstrates your creative voice and makes a statement for your belief. I just happen to have a different point of view and I was merely stating that point of view. My views on writing at large and things I feel personally. It wasn't my intention to insult or offend anyone, but I feel that I have. And I apologize for that.

I also didn't say that you need to point out every single flaw in a relationship or every little speed bump. You wrote in several of those along the way, and their relationship I felt was fine. Before the epilogue. Which I found to be trite and a little bit beyond reality. There appeared to be nothing indicating faults or flaws with relationships and it all felt a little Suzy Homemaker to me. That's my belief, obviously others feel differently and I'm okay with that. But your words felt a touch in the vein that just because I didn't like that particular thing, I want to read gritty, dark, angsty things. Which isn't the case at all.

I'm not here saying that a writer should go so far as to detail all of the little things in a person's life like crapping, urinating, and belching. But as far as relationships go, I think glossing over the negatives is doing that relationship a great disservice. Outside of the epilogue, I didn't see where you'd done that in your writing at all. But I guess we're talking writing at large now. And your own tastes. What a writer chooses to showcase is up to them. The reader can agree or disagree. I don't agree with what you said insomuch as it's how a lot of relationships are written and I don't believe in perfect relationships that run so smoothly. If a writer never writes that things are at times rocky, how can we possibly infer that there exists a time in that relationship when things are that way? It's not like with bodily functions. It's simply not the same.

And. That wasn't what I was saying at all, Cole. Love doesn't always end up tragically. I'm not saying it does. I'm not saying that sad endings are more realistic. I'm just saying that endings where the characters are no longer 3-D or where they're happy to the point of having NO problems at all, that I don't believe it. I'm skeptical of all happy endings, yeah, but some are believeable. Sometimes, a character's just happy. Discovering Gregory ends happily, but it's a very believable happiness. Martin is still Martin and Greg is still Greg--a somewhat changed Greg due to his life experiences. I just feel that the degree of happiness potrayed in most teen stories isn't really earned by those characters. They've had a little rough times in their lives, and then suddenly they have the love of their lives and this incredibly bright, searing future, and everything's all sewn up and neat. At that age, things should be a little uneasy, things should be somewhat undone, and there should be room for the future.

But, again, that's just how I feel. What I've observed and perceived from reading online stories. Everyone thinks and feels things differently, and that's what makes this so much fun and such a wonderful experience. But, I mean, if I've offended you, I won't say anything else on the matter.

----- Edit 1 : Haha. Pecman pretty much just said everything I was hoping to clear up. Thanks! =) I should refresh more before posting.

[Rubilacxe]

I understand what Brandon is saying; however, for me I'd side more with Cole -- it's not so much I want a "nice" and "happy" ending but rather I'd prefer to feel better for having read and internalized a story/body of work then to feel I've seen a real slice of life with all its warts.

I think a story such as "Discovering Love" is an example of that and so, in its own way, is "Duck, Duck, Goose".

[Trab]

I don't buy that somebody that young is emotionally mature and stable enough to end up happily, not long term. (Keep in mind we're in a world where 60% of all marriages end in divorce.)

then suddenly they have the love of their lives and this incredibly bright, searing future, and everything's all sewn up and neat. At that age, things should be a little uneasy, things should be somewhat undone, and there should be room for the future.

I think the above two quotes are pretty much the same, or remarkably similar. While they are undoubtedly true, there is a missing point, and that is that stories are generally cut off at exactly that point in the characters' relationship when everything IS happy, and searingly bright. If the story continued, undoubtedly newer angst would surface, and different tribulations would need to be dealt with, which, once again would end with the story at a relative high note.

The "I don't buy that somebody..." is all very well, but some people are more able to suspend their disbelief and enjoy the story regardless. There are lots of things that "I don't buy" either, but I read on in most cases, to enjoy the story anyway. Some stories are so unbelievable to me, that I will quit reading them, but seldom (pretty much never) do I express my disappointment, and certainly not in a way that implies the author has really made a serious error in judgement.

[The Pecman]

While they are undoubtedly true, there is a missing point, and that is that stories are generally cut off at exactly that point in the characters' relationship when everything IS happy, and searingly bright.

And to me, I think that can be a cliche. I was a huge fan of Keith Morissette's work, particularly The Boyfriend, which depicts the disintegration of a teenage gay relationship over time. They eventually have a messy breakup -- despite the fact that one of them practically saves the other's life in a terrible street fight / gay-bashing incident -- but they stay broken up at the end.

I edited the story for Keith, and I bludgeoned him into adding a coda in which, months later, the lead character gets a postcard from the other guy, now at college, with a photo of the two of them from happier times. On the back was written just one word: "Sorry." To me, this struck a more wistful, poignant tone, instead of just leaving us totally despondent at their break-up, and I thought it added a hopeful note. Keith also expanded this out to include the lead's two friends (another gay couple) taking him out for dinner, which left it open-ended. I thought that worked well, but it's one of the very few online stories I've ever read that had the courage to have the lead character unattached at the end.

I have to confess, though, some online stories where everybody's happy, everybody is accepted, everybody has friends, everybody's parents understand them, and everybody's together at the end... that whole thing makes me slightly nauseous. I'm not trying to be a cynical cur, but I think this kind of story isn't nearly as interesting as one about somebody who goes through emotional changes and winds up a different character than they were at the beginning.

BTW, I took Brandon's suggestion and am currently reading Call Me By Your Name. This really is a brilliantly-written book -- on the surface very simple, but very well-told. I can see why it was a such a huge literary success. Very complex characters, some of whom are not exactly who they seem, and even the narrator has layers and layers going on. Quite a compelling story -- and it definitely ain't a "happily ever after" ending.

[The Pecman]

The "I don't buy that somebody..." is all very well, but some people are more able to suspend their disbelief and enjoy the story regardless.

I think as I get older, my bank account of "disbelief" grows smaller, and I'm not able to suspend it as well as I used to be.

The story has to make sense and not make me say, "hold up. Somethin' ain't right here." If that happens, everything grinds to a halt.

What infuriates me is when this happens and yet one or two sentences of explanation could've solved the problem. These little lapses in logic are maddening -- even worse when they're committed by otherwise good writers who should know better.

BTW, with all due respect to Cole, I have no problem with any of the stories he's posted online, and I think much of what he's written is thoroughly entertaining. I mention the logic thing only in passing, and it in no way is directed at his work.

[Trab]

I can't disagree with your need to have an explanation for 'bizarre' behaviours. I have pointed this out a few times, and can only hope that the author incorporates the suggestion in the next 'printing' of the story. I never go back to check.

On another topic, there is one story series that I read eagerly, and it is certainly not namby pamby cotton candy sweet and blissful, and that is Duncan Ryder's enthralling tale. http://awesomedude.com/duncanryder/index.htm

I highly recommend it/them (there's more than one in the series)

[colinian]

THAT. Would be an interesting ending to a story. "You know, I'm okay with not being madly in love with you."

So sit down and write that story!

Colin

[Rutabaga]

I definitely think it's time for this story to come out of mothballs. (I hope I don't accidentally preempt the Picks from the Past again.)

I thought I had read all of Cole's stuff but somehow I missed this one. It's definitely worth a look, but make sure you have a decent amount of time set aside.

R

[Lugnutz]

I need to read this one yet again. I finished the last one, so the timing is right.

[Cynus]

This is the story that broke me...

It's the story that made me realize I was lying to myself, that made me decide to come out.

There is only one story here at AD that has touched me more than this one, and I am very glad to see that it's been brought out and shown off again. It's positively wonderful; brilliant in so many ways...

Though it certainly makes me wish that Kevin was still around.

If you've never read this story, do so. It is among the greatest stories I have ever read. If you have read this story, read it again. Always something new to get from it.

[Cole Parker]

Wow! Never, ever expected that! Thanks, Samuel!

C

[Cynus]

Wow! Never, ever expected that! Thanks, Samuel!

C

It is I who should be thanking you. There are not many stories that I can say truly changed my life, but this one did. :)

[JamesSavik]

I read the whole thing over this weekend.

It's simply one of the most beautiful stories I've ever read.

This is what it looks like done right.

Cole- you're awesome.

Now- there something wrong with my eyes and I need to lie down a while.