Living Life by WL

[Graeme]

Living Life by WL

 

What is the essence of life? Is it merely living moment by moment or is there more?

 

 

:nuke: :nuke: Spoilers Below!!! :nuke: :nuke:

[AFriendlyFace]

Living Life

By WL

**Spoilers**

 

 

I really enjoyed this story a great deal. I thought it was incredibly sweet that Cody's ghost was protecting TJ and looking out for his best interests and I think it was incredibly selfless of Cody to set TJ up with Kevin.

 

My favourite scene was definitely when TJ freaked out about leaving Cody behind and Kevin went along with it even though he didn't know what was going on. It's just really amusing to imagine the absurdity of the situation.

 

I think this story fits the theme of "Carpe Diem" extremely well and I'm so proud of TJ for finally seizing the day, letting go of his pain and fear, and going after life. I think that those things are always what our departed loved ones would have wanted for us.

 

Way to go, WL!

 

-Kevin

[W_L]

Living Life

By WL

**Spoilers**

 

 

I really enjoyed this story a great deal. I thought it was incredibly sweet that Cody's ghost was protecting TJ and looking out for his best interests and I think it was incredibly selfless of Cody to set TJ up with Kevin.

 

My favourite scene was definitely when TJ freaked out about leaving Cody behind and Kevin went along with it even though he didn't know what was going on. It's just really amusing to imagine the absurdity of the situation.

 

I think this story fits the theme of "Carpe Diem" extremely well and I'm so proud of TJ for finally seizing the day, letting go of his pain and fear, and going after life. I think that those things are always what our departed loved ones would have wanted for us.

 

Way to go, WL!

 

-Kevin

 

I would also like to take the chance to thank my editor, Kevin.

 

The Ghost idea is poignant and interpretive for each person; you can say Cody is a psychological ghost or a paranormal manifestation for TJ.

 

By the way, I wrote this story as a tribute to a fellow writer, who died in 2001. I recently re-read some of his old stories and remembered how they amused me as a young closeted teen, when he was on nifty for a while. In some ways, this story serves as closure both for the characters in his story and reality of the situation. I hope it provided people, who remembered those stories, a fitting closure and others, who remember this forgotten online writer a fitting goodbye story.

 

This was his site and now serves as a tribute page to the life an amazing writer.

 

Cody's Pad

 

Here's the story that was almost forgotten:

 

Story page for Cody and TJ

 

This story can stand on its own as a tale of rediscovering life after tragedy or it can stand as a final conclusion to living life to the fullest from whose stories will not continue again.

[AFriendlyFace]

Awww

 

 

It was certainly an excellent story and definitely works from a number of different perspectives.

 

I personally am inclined to see Cody as a psychological manifestation. However, it certainly could be a physical manifestation, especially at the end with the photograph!

 

I confess that I have not read the original story by Codey, but I shall certainly give it a look!

[hh5]

I started to figure out the story as it went along.

 

As when Cody was encouraging TJ with Kevin and being left behind.

 

Read or saw a story similar to this.

[C James]

The reveal took me by surprise. Very moving. Thanks, WL

[Dolores Esteban]

I'm glad things worked out fine. Thanks for sharing

[W_L]

You know in the first drafts, I thought TJ and Kevin should have gotten married, but it would have been a bit too unrealistic and cliched in my mind to go from intimate spiritual connection to marriage.

 

Moving in together is much better and it builds on the theme I was trying to portray that "seizing the day" means going out both metaphorically and literally of you own surroundings, yet keeping something from your past with you.

 

TJ will never forget Cody, but he will no longer be haunted by things that could have been or would have been if Cody did not die. The first journey out was a slow breakthrough, if you interpret Cody psychologically, he is TJ's subconscious mind trying to get him to move beyond the grief. If you interpret Cody spiritually as a ghost of a former lover, then it's the process that spirits are supposed to go through to move on to the next plane of existence or reincarnation depending on your interpretation.

 

It's classic theme, but the ghost aspect can be real or psychological.