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      Even when Graeme reveals characters by small hints, they are always consistent.   What do we know about Rod?   Doug and Liam are best friends, leaving Rod as a third wheel among the erstwhile bullies.

 
      Already in Chapter 4 Graeme hinted that Rod was less intelligent than Doug or Liam.

Doug and Liam were scowling, while Rod seemed perplexed....

Doug didn’t look happy, but he didn’t follow. Rod look confused, but Liam’s face was expressionless.

 

      In Chapter 19 when Helena outed Neil to his bullies, Doug understood Liam's problem but Rod did not.   Liam explained it to Neil in Chapter 38.

“Yes, Doug.... He’s the one who sat on Rod to make sure he didn’t say anything after we found out you’re gay ...."

 

      Now in Chapter 45:

“Listen to him, mate. Doug knows what he’s talking about.” Rod glanced at Doug as if looking for approval before frowning at Liam.

Liam used to follow Doug's lead.   Rod still does.   Knowing that Doug wants Liam and Neil to break up, Rod reverts to straightforward bullying to achieve it.   All in all he seems a rather pathetic person.

Edited by Ken84050
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So I'm guessing tomorrow we'll find out whether Neil decides to follow Todd's advice and tell Liam about Rod trying to interfere. Another thing I'd like to know is whether Todd tells Paul and Ollie what the problem was, since they were worried too. Not details, but enough to make them aware in case Rod tries to corner Neil on Liam's birthday. But hopefully, Lian has made his opinion about Rod's silly behavior quite clear before then :pissed::lol:

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      Poor Alastair.   He invited Deon to check his bona fides in Chapter 45.

".... Kevin said to say that after you’ve spoken to me, he’s happy to talk to you about what I’ve done for him so you won’t have to take my word on anything I say.”

But instead of contacting Kevin, Deon and his family keep on harbouring suspicions.

 

      Poor Phil.   He is so ashamed of the TV programme which led to his dismissal, and so anxious that Neil should not blame himself.   But he can't keep it secret from Neil forever.

 

      Poor Todd.   He is the only person who knows Neil's problem, but he feels that it's too confidential to share even with Oliver.

 

      Poor Liam.   He has no idea why Neil suddenly became cool towards him.

 

      And poor Neil.   Of course.

Edited by Ken84050
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On 6/20/2015 at 11:50 AM, Ken84050 said:

Poor Phil.   He is so ashamed of the TV programme which led to his dismissal, and so anxious that Neil should not blame himself.   But he can't keep it secret from Neil forever.

I never thought any of us would arrive at a 'Poor Phil' moment. And I'm not sure I quite agree. Now Phil can get a taste of what it's like to be shunned and hated and discriminated against. Serves him right. But I do applaud his efforts to make amends.

Edited by Timothy M.
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Now Phil can get a taste of what it's like to be shunned and hated and discriminated against. Serves him right.

 

I've never been homophobic, but I have had bad attitudes that needed fixing.   Haven't you?   Phil's attitude is well and truly fixed.

Mr. Rosewood entered the room. He smiled at Liam and stuck out a hand as he approached. “G’day, Liam. It’s good to see you again.”....

 

".... Please, Liam, look after my boy. He needs you.”

 

From impunity's chapter review:

I am also hoping that Neil finds a way to fix his Dad's reputation; a joint interview on Pride FM would probably accomplish this.

 

Brilliant!  Or even the TV channel could be interested in a follow-up.

Edited by Ken84050
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From Graeme's response to my review:

I'm not sure of exactly how much Neil realises about his dad's reputation. Phil is clearly not telling Neil how people are reacting, and the only reactions Neil knows about are those who know him, which makes things personal. Neil doesn't know about how people who don't know him are reacting to his father.

 

Maybe I should have phrased as I hope Neil finds out about then finds a way to fix... :)

 

(I hate that I can't format on my phone and HTML doesn't seem to work. :/ )

Edited by impunity
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On 6/20/2015 at 9:20 PM, Ken84050 said:

I've never been homophobic, but I have had bad attitudes that needed fixing.   Haven't you?   Phil's attitude is well and truly fixed.

Phil's attitude towards his son (and his son's boyfriend) is fixed, but we have yet to see him apologize to Jim for the pretty nasty stuff he said about Dad. Or to the Lilydales for the accusations he made and the ruckus he caused.

And does he really understand what Neil has been through the last few years? How lonely he's been? How awful his Dad made him feel? Not only about the homophobia, but about the bullying at school, telling Neil to man up and deal with it. That's not a supportive, loving dad...

And let me tell you, as someone who hated most of my time in junior school due to teasing and shunning (although not bad bullying), you need all help you can get from your family and friends to cope.

Edited by Timothy M.
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And let me tell you, as someone who hated most of my time in junior school ....

 

      Let's not compete, Timothy.   There may be quite a few of us who enjoy stories about teenage boys as long-delayed escapism.

Edited by Ken84050
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I also was one who used books as escapism. I didn't hate school, but I didn't have any friends until very near the end. Acquaintances, yes, but no one I spent a lot of time with. Instead, I would read lots of science fiction and fantasy novels, and let myself escape by imagining I was part of the stories.

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On 6/21/2015 at 4:20 AM, Ken84050 said:

      Let's not compete, Timothy.   There may be quite a few of us who enjoy stories about teenage boys as long-delayed escapism.

yep, I agree

On 6/21/2015 at 6:13 AM, Graeme said:

I also was one who used books as escapism. I didn't hate school, but I didn't have any friends until very near the end. Acquaintances, yes, but no one I spent a lot of time with. Instead, I would read lots of science fiction and fantasy novels, and let myself escape by imagining I was part of the stories.

that sums me up pretty accurately :)

I actually didn't realize how much I disliked school until much later, at the time it was just the way it was.

Edited by Timothy M.
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      Subtle!   Peter hands over a bit more responsibility to Julie and Will, just in case he does disappear off to the Western Bulldogs.   Will Deon go with him?   Then will Clarissa become a Bulldogs fan?    :)

 

      Mary Rosewood understands what is keeping Neil at a distance.

“.... He’s ready. It’s we who aren’t.

.... I hope one day he’ll forgive us.”

But notice the "we".  She doesn't yet accept that the prejudice is her own and no longer Phil's.

 

      As for the powerful alliance between Doug and Neil - lucky Liam!    :joe:

Edited by Ken84050
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My sincerest apologies. The next chapter accidentally posted early. I've reset it to post on Saturday, as normal. :*)

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Hey Ken, where are you? I miss your astute analysis of the most recent chapter.

OK I'll start off then:

It was very clever of Graeme to use the real event of the Purple Bombers in the story. I wonder if any of the media got pics of the short kiss Jim and Tony shared. I hope Radio Pride had someone on the spot, or they will be really pissed with Tony for not tipping them off. And I look forward to seeing Jim's comments. I hope he says something about spectators shouting homophobic or racist taunts being utterly unacceptable, because even if he as a player rarely hears them while focused on his game, other spectators may be hurt by the bigoted utterings.

Roger is a great captain, he delights in the success of his teammates and knows how to direct others. He might be a good coach later.

Edited by Timothy M.
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Hey Ken, where are you? I miss your astute analysis of the most recent chapter.

 

      I thought cheerful chat too soon after the news about Phil Walsh would have been callous.

 

      Chapter 48 was one of the most cheerful yet.   In their chapter reviews, Cole Matthews called it "all positive" and Defiance19 called it "feel good".   Exactly!   Liam's football party brought out the best in everybody.   In the evening Liam in Neil's arms, with Clarissa and Doug, chatted happily like four friends.   Then the Purple Bombers kept up the warm and fuzzy atmosphere.

 

      Clarissa is not only smitten with Deon but seems just a little shy, amazingly enough.    :)

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      I thought cheerful chat too soon after the news about Phil Walsh would have been callous.

~sigh~

 

Yeah...and we still don't know exactly what happened. However, the AFL community has rallied around. At the end of the matches, the teams have been gathering together in a circle with the two teams interspaced to commemorate Phil Walsh.

 

Hawthorn Hawks and Collingwood Magpies in tribute to Phil Walsh

 

It was very clever of Graeme to use the real event of the Purple Bombers in the story. I wonder if any of the media got pics of the short kiss Jim and Tony shared.

I wondered the same thing. However, I haven't found any photos onlines...sorry :P

 

As an aside, I have been trying to use real events as much as possible. Most of the time, it's background events (like Ian Thorpe's interview with Sir Michael Parkinson), but sometimes the events are too important to leave completely in the background.

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For once I have no suggestions about what tomorrow's chapter might be about. The Rod induced crisis between Neil and Liam has been resolved, and the birthday party went well. Deon is getting attention and there's hope in relation to Clarissa. Roger seems to be doing well, and we can look forward to the next match with the Leopards at full strength, hopefully working their way back to fourth place. No drama relating to Dave (fingers crossed), nothing from Ty's dad, and Jim seems to be getting more comfortable with his status as the gay footballer. Only cloud on the horizon is Neil discovering his dad has lost his job, but even that might be resolved eventually.

It's worrisome, because this lull in the drama would be about the time Graeme drops a major surprise on his readers. :pinch:

Edited by Timothy M.
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      Another game lost.   :(    The Leopards urgently need to win from now on;  so Graeme has set us up for a series of football cliffhangers.


 


      Deon and Clarissa in the restaurant showed amazing maturity and honesty.    They really deserve each other.   Luckily some AFL clubs in Melbourne are taking Deon seriously, so he has a good chance of staying close to Clarissa.


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Just so you know, the way the draft works is that the team that finishes at the bottom of the ladder has the first pick. The second last team gets the second pick, etc. There's then a period of trading where players and picks exchange hands. So...Deon might get drafted, but who gets him will depend on a large number of factors. He might want to stay in Melbourne, but the terms of the draft is that he agrees to go with whoever picks him, regardless of who it is.

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On 7/11/2015 at 11:54 AM, Graeme said:

Just so you know, the way the draft works is that the team that finishes at the bottom of the ladder has the first pick.

So where are the Blues right now in the list? How many teams get to pick before them? And Ty has to be on the draft list, right? How is that list made ?

Once they get through the whole list of teams, do they then start at the bottom again, and proceed the same way ?

Edited by Timothy M.
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I see that you are determined to tease us about Jim's prospects in the AFL. He's is invited to a training session - to bring Ty along, a flicker of interest here, a comment there by a scout or recruiter. You string us along just enough to keep flickers of hope  alive. With 3 games left in the regular season and then playoffs (likely) you can create moments for each of the prospects to shine or struggle to dangle chances of promotion to the AFL in front of the key players. 

There is something heartless in you. Be kind if only for Deon, Dave, Jim and Ty's sakes. That all said, great job at creating the tension that the players would be feeling as they try to stay focussed on the team and the season.

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So where are the Blues right now in the list? How many teams get to pick before them? And Ty has to be on the draft list, right? How is that list made ?

 

Once they get through the whole list of teams, do they then start at the bottom again, and proceed the same way ?

I'll have to go back and check, since this was for last year, but I think they ended up with pick 6 as their first pick. They then traded that for a player they were interested in and then picked up a later first-round pick in another trade.

 

It's not really worth worrying about the picks they had at the end of the season, because there's so many changes to the list during the trading period before the actual draft. From memory, there was one particular draft pick that was traded something like six times in that period...

 

If you're really interested, here's the complete list of all the clubs' draft picks from a week before the 2014 national draft and an evaluation of what sort of players they should be looking for. Of course, that's real-life and ignores the option to draft from the Leopards... :P

 

To be drafted, a player has to nominate themselves. They fill in a legal form that is valid for three years that states that they agree to go play with whatever club drafts them, no matter which club that is. Ty and Deon filled in their forms last year (actually, Ty's father filled in his, which is why the only contact details the clubs have for Ty go to his father). I think the draft pool is around 1200 players, of which less than 100 will get drafted.

Edited by Graeme
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