Graeme Leopard Spots

[Timothy M.]

I think I'll go to bed early, so Saturday morning can arrive soon.

it worked !

Edited July 24, 2019 by Timothy M.

[Timothy M.]

I also want to be that you're leaving us with a cliff hanger, but in fact we're only suffering along with Neil, who is in the same sort of suspense. He may need the life line Todd gave him.

Quote

Reply from Graeme (author)

To be fair, Neil's not going to have to wait a week to find out what happens next

Is that supposed to be a comfort ?! Now I'm even more worried.  

Edited July 24, 2019 by Timothy M.

[Graeme]

Speculation as to what happens next is welcome

[Timothy M.]

On 1/31/2015 at 7:22 AM, Graeme said:

Speculation as to what happens next is welcome

What, you want us to make fools of ourselves by trying to outguess YOU ?! 

Hmm, goes away in deep thought.....

Edited July 24, 2019 by Timothy M.

[Graeme]

The next few chapters are already written, so there won't be any changes as a result of comments being made here. I'm just curious as to the range of possibilities that people can see.

[Timothy M.]

Yes, I know that - which makes it even more likely that we won't get it right.   On the other hand, if by chance I do get it right, I know you won't change the text to make me wrong. 

OK, here I go, I can think of three different scenarios:

1. Neil keeps trying to stand up to his dad about Jim and in the end outs himself (on purpose or by accident) to counter the homophobic ranting or his mum's stupid worries.
2. Neil gives up and goes into deep depression, making Alf, Liam and Clarissa mad with worry about him, when he refuses to answer their questions. Oh and probably Todd and Ty, too.
3. Neil's dad forces him to confess, beats him up, and throws him out (although I can hardly believe you'll go with this cliché). Neil runs to Todd.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Timothy M.

[Rndmrunner]

I think that Timothy has the idea. I feel that there is a possibility that Liam's family will play a short term part of a rescue of Neil from his Dad's abuse. This could provide a turning point for Liam in his relationship with Neil (enemy to friend not yet to boyfriend though). Neil's mum will also likely be at risk as this plays out if she chooses her son over her husband.

 

Don't forget the football though. It ties everything together and bonds the Lillydale family.

[Timothy M.]

OK I have this conversation going around in my head, and I need to get rid of it.

Neil's mum comes into his room and asks "Why did you lie to us about your friends being footballers?"

Neil: "Because I knew Dad would react that way. He'd forbid me from seeing them, just because one of them happens to be gay. Which is stupid since I don't spend much time with Jim and his boyfriend, anyway. I'm with Todd and Ty and Paul who are all straight."

his mum: "We're angry with you for lying to us, Neil. And your friends, too. Why didn't they say anything about being from the football team?"

Neil: "Because I told them what a bigoted, homophobic idiot dad is!"

his mum: "Neil ! Don't talk about your dad like that!"

Neil: "You know dad hates gay people. I told my friends dad would prevent me from seeing them, if he realized they played on the same team as Jim. And I mean football team, not the other thing. They didn't want to start arguing with him, for my sake, and beacuse nothing good would come of it. Well, dad threw a fit and hit me, so I guess they were right!"

his mum: "But he only wants to protect you. He doesn't want you to be exposed to any wrong ideas."

Neil: "Is he going to forbid me from going to school, because there's an openly gay guy in one of my classes? And tell me to stay away from college, because I might meet someone who's gay there?"

his mum: "There is a gay boy in one of your classes? Do you talk to him a lot?"

Neil: "Not if I can avoid it. But not because he's gay, it's because he's a jerk and a bully. Contrary to dad I don't judge people on whether they are gay or straight, but on how they behave."

his mum: "Well, I guess if we tell dad you have nothing to do with any gay men..."

Neil: "I'm not going to avoid Jim, or his boyfriend. And how would I know if any of the others are gay but hiding it? Like Jim had to. Face it, mum, gay people are everywhere, most of them are good and some of them are bad, just like straight guys. Jim is a good guy and he doesn't deserve to be called names or suspected."

his mum: "Since I haven't met him, I can't really know this, can I?"

Neil: "You haven't met most of the other guys on the team either, but you don't worry about them."

his mum: "I'll try and calm dad down, but you understand why you can't see Todd and the others anymore, don't you?"

Neil: "No, I don't, but it doesn't matter. I'll be 18 soon, and then dad can't make me do anything I don't want to. Not legally, anyway. But I guess he can beat me up and throw me out."

his mum: "Neil ! He would never do that."

and then I cannot work out if this would lead to Neil outing himself to his mum or not.

I'm sure you have written something quite different - and Neil would probably never be so forthright, even with just his mum there. But he would be completely right in saying all of it, and I want him to convince his mum.

hope you don't mind me taking liberties with your characters.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Timothy M.

[Rndmrunner]

Graeme, don't listen to Toothy, he will have the story all wrapped up in 2 chapters and then where will we be  Interesting speculations though.

[Timothy M.]

On 2/2/2015 at 12:57 PM, Rndmrunner said:

Graeme, don't listen to Toothy, he will have the story all wrapped up in 2 chapters and then where will we be  Interesting speculations though.

  Who the fuck is Toothy ?? 

Edited July 24, 2019 by Timothy M.

[Rndmrunner]

Sorry Timothy, i was ambushed by spellcheck once again

[Timothy M.]

On 2/2/2015 at 11:38 PM, Rndmrunner said:

Sorry Timothy, i was ambushed by spellcheck once again

LOL that's hilarious. Just call me Tim in the future, surely no spell check can mess that up.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure neither of my three scenarios would resolve Neil's problems fast. In fact I'm hoping Graeme's solution is less painful and twisted.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Timothy M.

[Rndmrunner]

Sure thing, "Tom"

[impunity]

From last week's reviews:

 

Reply from Graeme (author)

 It's a pity that neither Jim nor Ty thought to mention the photo session that Jim had to Neil. He could've told them that Men's Health was one of the magazines his father buys each month.

 

I love it when an author faults his characters for being clueless.

[Timothy M.]

You know I hadn't thought about Neil actually running away as a precaution. He must have been more scared of his dad than I realized. Yet Phil Rosewood keeps looking for someone else to blame for leading Neil astray. Admittedly, this also prevents him from facing his own mistakes, but he does not reject Neil outright. But he's still a bastard.

I can't shake the feeling things are about to go horribly wrong, and poor Jim will be caught in cross fire - and maybe Ty too. Hopefully the Pride FM radio can be helpful - and Neil was going to work for them as well, wasn't he?

Oh and I'm dying to find out how Liam, Doug and Clarissa reacted to the revelation, and if Rose was distraught enough to blurt out the truth.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Timothy M.

[Graeme]

Don't forget this paragraph from chapter 26:

 

 

Mr. Rosewood took a step forward and raised a hand, painfully reminding Neil that his father was both bigger and stronger than he was. “Don’t you speak to your mother like that!”

When someone who is bigger and stronger than you is a threat, running is a very viable option.

[Timothy M.]

On 2/10/2015 at 6:41 AM, Graeme said:

When someone who is bigger and stronger than you is a threat, running is a very viable option.

True, but running away from home is a huge step to take. I'm not saying Neil was wrong to do it, I was just surprised he took this step already. We've seen his dad yell and slap him, but from there to being afraid for your life is quite a leap. But I suppose all those stories about teens not predicting this outcome and being beaten up by homophobic fathers illustrate what happens if you don't take the signs seriously. 

I also got the feeling Neil's relief was prompted by getting away from the oppressive mental influence of his dad as much as from the threat of violence. After all, Neil has been bullied in school and at home, and now he's finally free of both. It must be exhilarating.   

Edited July 24, 2019 by Timothy M.

[Graeme]

Running away from home is certainly a huge step to take, but remember that Neil's been planning on moving out of home. He's been talked out of it, but that was only a few weeks earlier. It wasn't as big a step for him because of that prior planning.

[Timothy M.]

On 2/10/2015 at 9:28 AM, Graeme said:

Running away from home is certainly a huge step to take, but remember that Neil's been planning on moving out of home. He's been talked out of it, but that was only a few weeks earlier. It wasn't as big a step for him because of that prior planning.

Oh, that's right - I'd almost forgotten that. This is what I like about story forums, they make it possible to have this sort of conversation.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Timothy M.

[WestcliffWriter]

Adding this one to my list....god, so many on my list

 

Sometimes I hate choice! lol

[Timothy M.]

Quote

And I cannot believe no one caught on to Phil Rosewood's threats to Jim. Eric or Peter should have told him and Mary that if they tried to publicly blame Jim for Neil running away, they would expose their behavior towards Neil and possibly sue Phil for slander (if that's possible in Australia). If Phil gets his version out in the media all hell will break loose. A shame Tony wasn't there, I'm sure he would have caught the implications immediately.

Sometimes I absolutely hate it when I'm right.

I had the feeling Phil would do something like this, finding some homophobic TV station and start creating a scandal. He's bound to have sounded convincing, since he actually believes his own bullshit. I hope Tony gets Radio Pride onto the case as well and that Neil appearing on TV telling the truth will end the matter. But I'm still worried.

Eric may have been stressed, but I think he was justified. No sports Club can afford to have such allegations sticking to them, and particularly not one with an openly gay player.

On the other hand they have no choice but to back Neil up and probably need to go on the attack in a general manner. Maybe have Jim point out (on Radio Pride) that the attitude of people like Phil Rosewood is one of the reasons hiding in a closet is necessary and the club is showing the same supportive attitude to Neil as they did to Jim. Maybe even mention it is one of the reasons he has agreed to do the school thing, to help young people who are scared or being bullied for something they can't help.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure the media will prefer the angle of the poor boy running away from his violent dad to the more novel and juicy matter of a gay football player corrupting teens. And in that case Jim may be better off keeping his mouth shut.

Will we get to know what Todd, Paul, Ty and Jim said in their interviews?

Edited July 24, 2019 by Timothy M.

[Rndmrunner]

Good use of the song in the story. I've seen this device used in the past as a sort of scoring for the storing and it has failed especially when verses of lyrics are included which break up the story. Here, it was woven into the plot and resonated in the moment, underlining the action. 

 

This is such a well written story that checking for the next chapter is now a regular Saturday morning routine.

[Graeme]

Good use of the song in the story. I've seen this device used in the past as a sort of scoring for the storing and it has failed especially when verses of lyrics are included which break up the story. Here, it was woven into the plot and resonated in the moment, underlining the action. 

 

This is such a well written story that checking for the next chapter is now a regular Saturday morning routine.

Thank you!

 

I checked and double-checked copyright laws and regulations. I wanted to have Ty singing a few lines of the lyrics (not the whole song, just parts of the chorus), but there's too much danger of that exceeding "Fair Use" rules. The only safe approach was to use only the song title. Of course, in this case the song title says all that's necessary

 

However, for those that want to hear it, here's the offical video for the song

 

[wildone]

So, a sub plot behind the plot...wondering if anyone else maybe sees it?

 

Deon has broken up with his girlfriend and Clarissa seemed to be interested that Deon had been protecting Neil like she thought she had been doing.

 

Lots of other stuff to discuss, but wouldn't it be nice tor Clarissa and Liam to go on a double date with not each others, but with their new dates Deon and Neil

 

Okay, maybe the sappiness of Valentines Day has done to me, but awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[Timothy M.]

On 2/15/2015 at 4:06 AM, wildone said:

So, a sub plot behind the plot...wondering if anyone else maybe sees it?

Deon has broken up with his girlfriend and Clarissa seemed to be interested that Deon had been protecting Neil like she thought she had been doing.

LOL, I wondered about it too, and Clarissa would probably be a lot more understanding about Deon's needs to engage in helping others, since she is the same way. Plus she's an independent girl with interests and friends of her own, and I can't see her wanting a doting boyfriend. But they both have a temper, so arguments might get rather heated.

But let's not write Pamela off too soon, and there are several other single players.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Timothy M.