[DomLuka] Desert Droppings

[totallyy]

Hi guys,

 

So basically, I've just finished Desert Dropping this second time round and I first read it back a couple years ago and never got to partake in any of the discussions. So hopefully I'm not too late.

 

Besides, after a couple years, it was like reading it for the first time again.

 

Anyways, can I just ask if anyone felt as frustrated as I was with Rory in the first few chapters. I basically had to walk away from my laptop before I did anything stupid. I was just waiting for him to get his heartbroken by Aaron and I was just annoyed with him up till then. 

 

I really expected Luke and Rory to get together too. I feel so sorry for Luke throughout though I really liked Seth's character and his relationship with Rory. 

 

Just my 2 cents worth.

Edited July 26, 2013 by totallyy

[Trebs]

I was one of those stick-in-the-muds who kept thinking that Rory would end up with Aaron, but I think it was the 3rd or 4th re-read, that I finally was happy to see Rory end up with Seth  ;-)

 

If you haven't, you might want to check out Hello Stupid - it has a familiar character   :-)

[Leftcoast]

Dom wrote the first seven or eight chapters (I forget) and then left them to work on other stories.  When he resumed writing, his comment was he'd forgotten what a brat Rory was.  And, I think, modified the character so he wasn't so much one-note.

 

There are tons of comments in this forum about readers' reactions to the pairing of Rory and Seth, but I always thought it was a smart move from Rory.  You don't find too many grown-ups of any age, and when you do, you should hold on like grim death.  And I think Seth is a grown-up.

 

Jim

[MikeL]

So basically, I've just finished Desert Droppings...

 

It's Desert Dropping (no "s").  The story is not about feces.

 

Edited July 26, 2013 by MikeL

[Leftcoast]

 

 

It's Desert Dropping (no "s").  The story is not about feces.

 

 

I think that Dom, who mistakenly titled one of his stories "The Log Way" would have understood the typo and been amused.  No doubt there were plenty of Chey's droppings in the nearby desert.

 

Jim

[Miles Long]

How ironic this thread popped up today, I am in the process of re-reading this story.  It was the first story I read here and it still has the same emotional impact it did the first time I read.

 

I struggle with Rory, on one hand I empathize greatly with his situation, but on the other he is so obstinate and almost purposefully irrational it was sometimes harder to appreciate his struggle.  I think Aaron was a good learning experience for Rory; I also found it interesting that he was so willing to offer a clean slate to Aaron for his sins against Luke yet not seeing hypocrisy of holding this grudge against his own father for things that his father had no control over.

 

So long answer longer, yes, I was really frustrated with Rory's penchants for jumping to silly conclusions and his mulishness throughout.

[PrivateTim]

I only found Rory mildly annoying compared to Quinn who I wanted to slap up one side and down the other pretty much the whole story

[Ieshwar]

Hi guys,

 

So basically, I've just finished Desert Droppings this second time round and I first read it back a couple years ago and never got to partake in any of the discussions. So hopefully I'm not too late.

 

Besides, after a couple years, it was like reading it for the first time again.

 

Anyways, can I just ask if anyone felt as frustrated as I was with Rory in the first few chapters. I basically had to walk away from my laptop before I did anything stupid. I was just waiting for him to get his heartbroken by Aaron and I was just annoyed with him up till then. 

 

I really expected Luke and Rory to get together too. I feel so sorry for Luke throughout though I really liked Seth's character and his relationship with Rory. 

 

Just my 2 cents worth.

 LRITE all the way!!! :D

 

I found Rory okay, like a normal teen. Now, Quinn is a completely different story (from The Other Us).

 

I think Owen-Aiden is the best pairing. 

[Krista]

Not into almost incest between Luke and Rory - they were step-brothers after all.. of sorts. lol. It was just nearly distant enough for people to 'think' of the sexual frustration hinted between the two sometimes.

 

I liked Aaron, I thought he added a lot of depth to the story. 

 

And yeah, I thought Seth was a bit boring, but I liked him... he was just totally over shadowed by the other characters with more depth and more personality. So, I was fine with Rory dating the "only" prospect left in the story, since Aaron wasn't a prospect as the story went on.

 

And I didn't find Rory annoying, but Quinn.. my god I wanted to strangle him lifeless.

[totallyy]

 

 

It's Desert Dropping (no "s").  The story is not about feces.

 

 

So sorry about the misspell. 

[sat8997]

 

I think Owen-Aiden is the best pairing. 

 

Oh...then you might not want to read In The Fishbowl.

[Miles Long]

...but Quinn.. my god I wanted to strangle him lifeless.

 

It's been over a year since I last read the Ordinary Us and I am still irritated at Quinn.

[Miles Long]

Oh...then you might not want to read In The Fishbowl.

 

I was wrecked about that; it might of had something to do with my pregnancy  , but still I was wrecked.

[Lisa]

I was one of those stick-in-the-muds who kept thinking that Rory would end up with Aaron, but I think it was the 3rd or 4th re-read, that I finally was happy to see Rory end up with Seth  ;-)

 

If you haven't, you might want to check out Hello Stupid - it has a familiar character   :-)

 

He never finished "Hello Stupid", did he?

[Trebs]

I think Owen-Aiden is the best pairing. 

 

 

Oh...then you might not want to read In The Fishbowl.

 

 

Gotta totally disagree - I think if you like Owen-Aiden, Fishbowl is a fantastic story.  Gives a real bit of realistic growth to both Owen and Aiden - and with the other pairing in the story, it's one of my favorite! (Though - saying what my favorite Dom story is, is like "Who's your favorite child")

He never finished "Hello Stupid", did he?

 

He wrote the first part with the four chapters, but it is obvious that there was meant to be a sequel and that never appeared (yet? - hope springs eternal)...

[Lisa]

Yeah, after I read "Desert Dropping" (I really thought the 's' was on there too, lol,), and which was the story that brought me to this site, I tried to read every story he wrote. I still have a few to go, but I got frustrated after "Hello Stupid" and the Milo painter story because they weren't finished.

 

One of these days I will finish the stories I haven't gotten to yet. I really love the way he writes and I wish he would come back. =)

[totallyy]

Dom wrote the first seven or eight chapters (I forget) and then left them to work on other stories.  When he resumed writing, his comment was he'd forgotten what a brat Rory was.  And, I think, modified the character so he wasn't so much one-note.

 

There are tons of comments in this forum about readers' reactions to the pairing of Rory and Seth, but I always thought it was a smart move from Rory.  You don't find too many grown-ups of any age, and when you do, you should hold on like grim death.  And I think Seth is a grown-up.

 

Jim

 

I liked the interaction between Seth and Rory very much. I still thought Rory was kind of a brat throughout though, especially when he got into the idea of Seth being a rebound, but it got to a point where it became bearable.

 

 

If you haven't, you might want to check out Hello Stupid - it has a familiar character   :-)

 

I will. I plan on re-reading all of Dom's stories. The last time I touched them was way too long ago and I'm excited to see if Luke ever got what he deserved.   Even if it is only 4 chapters. 

 

 

Not into almost incest between Luke and Rory - they were step-brothers after all.. of sorts. lol. It was just nearly distant enough for people to 'think' of the sexual frustration hinted between the two sometimes.

 

I liked Aaron, I thought he added a lot of depth to the story. 

 

And yeah, I thought Seth was a bit boring, but I liked him... he was just totally over shadowed by the other characters with more depth and more personality. So, I was fine with Rory dating the "only" prospect left in the story, since Aaron wasn't a prospect as the story went on.

 

And I didn't find Rory annoying, but Quinn.. my god I wanted to strangle him lifeless.

 

I guess for me, Aaron was someone I loved to hate. It was just easy to be mad at him.   I liked that Seth ended up with Rory. I guess it's a little bit more realistic for me?  The nice guy with an uncomplicated backstory. Don't we all want to find someone like that? 

[Cole Matthews]

I just wish Luke could have found someone.  He is such a great character. 

[Leftcoast]

I just wish Luke could have found someone.  He is such a great character. 

 

As Trebs says, have you looked here?  https://www.gayauthors.org/story/domluka/hellostupid

 

Too soon to say whether Taylor is the one for him--one of the things we're waiting for Dom to come back and tell us.

 

Jim

[Cole Matthews]

I know. I read that and it just felt like poor Luke will endure as a lonely soul. I don't know if I think Taylor really feels it. At least, that's the trajectory it seems to have taken. Doesn't seem Luke has a prayer. That's too bad.

But that's why I love this site... Lots of honest characters.

[Trebs]

Ya - it is such a gift of Dom's, creating realistic characters who each have their own real motivations and throwing them together.  Some you don't expect - like Kyle's reactions to certain things he finds out about Travis, but that's what makes it even more real.  

 

Even in his short stories, which to my mind are professional quality, he breathes such life not only into the situation, but into the people (or - erm, the kinda-people in the case of one of my favorites, Valentine's Day Goes to the Dog) and does this in just a few pages.  I've said it so many times - I am in awe of a good short story writer as I think it is a much harder thing to craft.  Isaac Asimov and Arthur C Clarke are favorites of mine - as is Dom Luka.

[joann414]

I love "The Dead Past", and "Nightfall".  But, Asimov didn't write anything bad

[faxity]

Hi guys,

 

So basically, I've just finished Desert Dropping this second time round and I first read it back a couple years ago and never got to partake in any of the discussions. So hopefully I'm not too late.

 

Besides, after a couple years, it was like reading it for the first time again.

 

Anyways, can I just ask if anyone felt as frustrated as I was with Rory in the first few chapters. I basically had to walk away from my laptop before I did anything stupid. I was just waiting for him to get his heartbroken by Aaron and I was just annoyed with him up till then. 

 

I really expected Luke and Rory to get together too. I feel so sorry for Luke throughout though I really liked Seth's character and his relationship with Rory. 

 

Just my 2 cents worth.

I was shipping Luke and Rory too lol. I didn't really like Seth, and I loved Luke. Dom made it so obvious that Luke liked Rory that by the time Rory told Luke he liked Seth I was ready to punch him. 

[Trebs]

Ya, but living together would have just been too weird...  I personally like how it ended up (so far)...

[Krista]

I think if Luke and Rory were to hook up, it would have broken up the aspect of 'family,' that Desert Dropping was about as well. They weren't related, they didn't grow up together, so they didn't have that familial love. So the entire dynamic of accepting ones place within a new family would have been disturbed greatly if Luke and Rory took that leap. So for an overall story standpoint, it would have broken down a lot of the overlaying themes just for a romantic relationship. So those smaller, just as important, themes would have been lost. It would have been a one-note story, instead of one that had a lot more depth.