Duck Duck Goose

[colinian]

I was just talking to my buddy, and he's fed up to HERE (nose) with people who are cracking the joke, "See you next year!" Like he says, "It was funny when I was a teen, but it's kinda lost its humor now that I'm in my forties."

Amazing! I have never heard that expression. It's sort of too cute for words. So I won't say anything more.

Colin

[Altimexis]

OK, now I haven't exactly had a lot of time to frequent the forums, here or at the other sites I frequent, and maybe I'm a bit naive here, but isn't the primary purpose of this form to discuss the story? Maybe it's that silky smooth cerebral cortex I have - after all, I'm only a bird. All you raccoons and dogs and other mammals with your wrinkly brains - how can I possibly compete? Maybe I should just give in and admit defeat. I'll just never understand the nuances of the forum - I'm just an obsequious little raven, after all. So please accept my humble apology for coming here to do something so inappropriate as to discuss the story.

OK, I confess - I've been a big fan of CP from his early days at Nifty. He tells a great story and has a wonderful way of getting inside the mind of kids - I guess it's just his child-like nature coming through. Anyway, I love the three primary characters Cole has so lovingly constructed for us. The way he gradually introduces us to each of them, making them real, is exceptional. The interplay between Kevin and Becky is priceless. Matt has really been undergoing a transformation, right before our eyes, from thinking he's a mature adult, to developing extreme guilt over what he did to Kevin. Kevin is obviously a rather precocious fourteen-year-old who has a much more mature way of thinking, thanks to what he's faced at home, but with still a bit of immaturity in there as becomes apparent in his reactions to things. It wasn't at all surprising Kevin would come clean to Matt, but for Matt to relate his story to Kevin took a major shift in his self-perception.

Matt is still in evolution. Knowing how Cole thinks, I still wouldn't put it past him to have him turn out straight (see Josh Evolving for an example of this), but I think we're getting very close to Matt accepting he's gay, if he hasn't already, and recognizing that the only one he'll fool in trying to put a lid on his feelings for Kevin is himself. So enter Timothy in chapter 18. I really thought we'd see Matt get jealous of Tim in chapter 19, but Cole never takes a straight path to his objectives, which is one of the things I love about his writing, frustrating though it may be. I'm still expecting jealousy to be the motivating force that pushes Matt into accepting his growing love of Kevin, but we shall see.

Chapter 19 was really classic. Here we had two teenagers who were intimidated as hell by each other and neither one recognized it in the other. All these years, Matt has been downright frightened of Brent and although he says he's moved on, his reaction to him clearly tells us he hasn't - at least not entirely. If anything, it was Brent's talking to Matt that will now allow him to do just that - seeing that Brent was every bit as much a victim of peer pressure and that although his pain wasn't as obvious as Matt's, he was hurt none-the-less. Both boys were able to come to closure on that episode of their lives, and I thought it was great.

Matt's refusal to win on a technicality was wonderful. Many of us can relate to the way he felt, but few of us will actually do something about it. Here he showed a degree of maturity that Kevin clearly lacked.

Great going Cole. Looking forward to chapter 20. Oh, and for those of you who weren't aware, the Dude often puts up the chapters as much as a day before he updates the AD page, so if you're a bit over-eager as I am, you can always go directly to the DDG page on Tuesday or Friday afternoon, or even manually type in the expected URL if you're particularly desperate. I, of course, would never do such a thing myself.

[Insomniac]

OK, now I haven't exactly had a lot of time to frequent the forums, here or at the other sites I frequent, and maybe I'm a bit naive here, but isn't the primary purpose of this form to discuss the story? Maybe it's that silky smooth cerebral cortex I have - after all, I'm only a bird. All you raccoons and dogs and other mammals with your wrinkly brains - how can I possibly compete? Maybe I should just give in and admit defeat. I'll just never understand the nuances of the forum - I'm just an obsequious little raven, after all. So please accept my humble apology for coming here to do something so inappropriate as to discuss the story.

OK, I confess - I've been a big fan of CP from his early days at Nifty. He tells a great story and has a wonderful way of getting inside the mind of kids - I guess it's just his child-like nature coming through. Anyway, I love the three primary characters Cole has so lovingly constructed for us. The way he gradually introduces us to each of them, making them real, is exceptional. The interplay between Kevin and Becky is priceless. Matt has really been undergoing a transformation, right before our eyes, from thinking he's a mature adult, to developing extreme guilt over what he did to Kevin. Kevin is obviously a rather precocious fourteen-year-old who has a much more mature way of thinking, thanks to what he's faced at home, but with still a bit of immaturity in there as becomes apparent in his reactions to things. It wasn't at all surprising Kevin would come clean to Matt, but for Matt to relate his story to Kevin took a major shift in his self-perception.

Matt is still in evolution. Knowing how Cole thinks, I still wouldn't put it past him to have him turn out straight (see Josh Evolving for an example of this), but I think we're getting very close to Matt accepting he's gay, if he hasn't already, and recognizing that the only one he'll fool in trying to put a lid on his feelings for Kevin is himself. So enter Timothy in chapter 18. I really thought we'd see Matt get jealous of Tim in chapter 19, but Cole never takes a straight path to his objectives, which is one of the things I love about his writing, frustrating though it may be. I'm still expecting jealousy to be the motivating force that pushes Matt into accepting his growing love of Kevin, but we shall see.

Chapter 19 was really classic. Here we had two teenagers who were intimidated as hell by each other and neither one recognized it in the other. All these years, Matt has been downright frightened of Brent and although he says he's moved on, his reaction to him clearly tells us he hasn't - at least not entirely. If anything, it was Brent's talking to Matt that will now allow him to do just that - seeing that Brent was every bit as much a victim of peer pressure and that although his pain wasn't as obvious as Matt's, he was hurt none-the-less. Both boys were able to come to closure on that episode of their lives, and I thought it was great.

Matt's refusal to win on a technicality was wonderful. Many of us can relate to the way he felt, but few of us will actually do something about it. Here he showed a degree of maturity that Kevin clearly lacked.

Great going Cole. Looking forward to chapter 20. Oh, and for those of you who weren't aware, the Dude often puts up the chapters as much as a day before he updates the AD page, so if you're a bit over-eager as I am, you can always go directly to the DDG page on Tuesday or Friday afternoon, or even manually type in the expected URL if you're particularly desperate. I, of course, would never do such a thing myself.

I agree with everything you've said. Chapter 19, while written in a slightly different style from the earlier chapters, had alot of important elements in it. It seems the style has shifted from 1st to 3rd to help incorporate the other 2 main characters. I like to think of it as Matt's shift from not having friends to having friends and his persepective on that matter and how he conducts himself has changed. Really, really, really looking foward to Chapter 20

[colinian]

OK, now I haven't exactly had a lot of time to frequent the forums, here or at the other sites I frequent, and maybe I'm a bit naive here, but isn't the primary purpose of this form to discuss the story? Maybe it's that silky smooth cerebral cortex I have - after all, I'm only a bird. All you raccoons and dogs and other mammals with your wrinkly brains - how can I possibly compete? Maybe I should just give in and admit defeat. I'll just never understand the nuances of the forum - I'm just an obsequious little raven, after all. So please accept my humble apology for coming here to do something so inappropriate as to discuss the story.

You never heard of hijacking a topic? It's great fun, annoys some, doesn't hurt anyone, and provides entertainment. All it takes for recovery is someone doing what you did, post something generic to the original intent of the post. Be aware, however, that there are posts (especially on GA) that were hijacked and recovery was never possible. If that happens, you can protest to a forum moderator; here at AD that's probably the Dude Himself. If the protest is upheld, the offending (to you, not to the hijackers!) posts will be collected and placed in some obscure corner of the Dudedom, and Wibby will be called upon to place one of his forumwide-famous deposits therein, irritating no one except the hijackers themselves.

Note that my partner Doug won't come into the room when I have your picture on screen. He's Chinese, and is positive that ravens pluck hair from the heads of Asians to line their nests. I've told him his hair is too short and spiky to be of any interest to a raven, but he's not willing to take a chance. Just thought you'd like to know.

Colin

[DesDownunder]

You never heard of hijacking a topic? It's great fun, annoys some, doesn't hurt anyone, and provides entertainment. All it takes for recovery is someone doing what you did, post something generic to the original intent of the post. Be aware, however, that there are posts (especially on GA) that were hijacked and recovery was never possible. If that happens, you can protest to a forum moderator; here at AD that's probably the Dude Himself. If the protest is upheld, the offending (to you, not to the hijackers!) posts will be collected and placed in some obscure corner of the Dudedom, and Wibby will be called upon to place one of his forumwide-famous deposits therein, irritating no one except the hijackers themselves.

Note that my partner Doug won't come into the room when I have your picture on screen. He's Chinese, and is positive that ravens pluck hair from the heads of Asians to line their nests. I've told him his hair is too short and spiky to be of any interest to a raven, but he's not willing to take a chance. Just thought you'd like to know.

Colin

And there blatantly, for all to see is the forum being hijacked by Colin discussing Doug's delightful hair style.

[Camy]

*looks around the room - pulls out spray paint*

Chapter 19 was waaay K COOL!

*flaps off*

[aj]

*flaps off*

Do Emu actually flap? I need to look into this more closely...I've never actually thought about emu sufficently to wonder if they flap or not.

cheers!

aj

[DesDownunder]

Do Emu actually flap? I need to look into this more closely...I've never actually thought about emu sufficently to wonder if they flap or not.

cheers!

aj

I don't even want to think about getting to flaps.

[Lugnutz]

*Snaps Des's undies and runs off........*

[Trab]

"I don't even want to think about getting to flaps."

Didn't they used to have flaphouses, back in the 60's? Des?

[Trab]

For what it's worth, even though the idea is that we discuss the stories, I find myself unable to really do so, mainly because, like music, I just enjoy it, and don't analyze it. Somehow (for me) doing that takes away some of the joy of the story, and seems almost impertinent (to me) in that I'm judging (in a way) something that would be completely impossible for me to produce. I don't want to be one of those "plebes" who walk through an art gallery commenting on all the art, whilst not having an artistic bone in my body.

[colinian]

*looks around the room - pulls out spray paint*

Chapter 19 was waaay K COOL!

*flaps off*

Do Emu actually flap? I need to look into this more closely...I've never actually thought about emu sufficently to wonder if they flap or not.

cheers!

aj

I don't even want to think about getting to flaps.

*Snaps Des's undies and runs off........*

"I don't even want to think about getting to flaps."

Didn't they used to have flaphouses, back in the 60's? Des?

See? Camy attempted to return this topic to it's intended purpose, but... all of the other above quoted posts are part of a perfect example of a hijacking in progress. If it wasn't for Trab (see the post immediately preceding this one), this hijacking would have continued. And, IMO, this IS the fun part!

Colin

[DesDownunder]

I am almost tempted to start a new topic on 'Topic Hi-jacking' and wait to see how that would get hi-jacked.

[Lugnutz]

I am almost tempted to start a new topic on 'Topic Hi-jacking' and wait to see how that would get hi-jacked.

I already have that thread going at Deweywriter. At 42 pages and over 1000 posts, it's been interesting.

I'd link it, but you need to be a member to view it.

[DesDownunder]

Okay to drag us all back to Cole's story, chapter 20 is up.

I'm not going to say anything to spoil it, but I am wondering if it is finished?

This is not a flaw in Cole's story-telling, it is just the nature of writing serialised stories on the net.

If it is completed, I think we will have a very lively discussion about what Cole has written.

On the other hand if there is more to come, then I would beseech us all to wait before we embark on a discussion of this chapter and the remarkable story as a whole.

[Camy]

I am wondering if it is finished?

Why, Des? I certainly didn't get that impression.

Good chapter, Cole!

Camy

[DesDownunder]

Why, Des? I certainly didn't get that impression.

Good chapter, Cole!

Camy

Oh it is probably just me, Camy.

[Cole Parker]

You have every right to think it might be over, Des, from the way that chapter ends.

You're also absolutely right that it's the nature of the beast, the serialized story beast, that makes you wonder. With a book, you'd see a bunch of pages waiting to be read and the question would never arise. On the net, how would you know?

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: I'm a great advocate of the use of the pharse, THE END when a story is finished. Just so everyone knows. Without that, any story I write won't have finished.

I wish everyone were that polite.

C

[DesDownunder]

Thanks Cole, You have made my day.

[Trab]

Hmm. Des is super happy when he can't find the end. Hmm.

[Cole Parker]

Trab, do you have a case of the red-ass?

C

[Trab]

Just one, Cole, not a whole case.

[Oliver]

Great chapter again!

You have every right to think it might be over, Des, from the way that chapter ends.

You're also absolutely right that it's the nature of the beast, the serialized story beast, that makes you wonder. With a book, you'd see a bunch of pages waiting to be read and the question would never arise. On the net, how would you know?

I've said it before, but it bears repeating: I'm a great advocate of the use of the pharse, THE END when a story is finished. Just so everyone knows. Without that, any story I write won't have finished.

I wish everyone were that polite.

C

Extra dimension to it, we don't know how many chapters will follow. With a book you can see how many paper is left; "the clue must be coming soon".

Now, we don't know. It is like you are feeling more of the insecureness (is that proper english?) Matt and Kevin are feeling. Keep it that way, don't tell how many chapters are still coming.

(Yes, deep inside I want to know, but no, you shouldn't tell.)

Cole, I don't want to tell you what to do, but since you are the writer; can't you give Matt a kick in the butt for being so... so... insecure?

[Trab]

LOL. Yes, Oliver, I'm sure a good kick in the butt would just make Matt soooo much more confident.

[Cole Parker]

Cole, I don't want to tell you what to do, but since you are the writer; can't you give Matt a kick in the butt for being so... so... insecure?

Oliver:

Colinian was 17 when he helped edit this story. You know how impatient youngsters are. His comment to me, while working his way through this story, was that Matt is the biggest drama queen he'd ever met and if he were Kevin, he'd just shoot him and be done with it.

I wonder how many readers feel exactly the same.

C