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Post by Steve T. on Oct 8, 2018 10:44:53 GMT -5
I think I've mentioned before how, before I start a story, I look at the title and hope to figure out what the story is about. With some stories, after I've finished them, I wonder to myself, "What the hell did that (title) have to do with anything I just read"? Since this is a sequel, we pretty much knew that "Things We Found" would be about how Ehren would be healed and regain what he had lost in his childhood: a family who cares, security and stability in a home, sex as an expression of something more than a transaction that provides some of the other two, and the unconditional love of another. Even if I don't figure out what your stories are about from the title, I know you'll bring it all together by the end. And you did it masterfully with this one, and hit that recurring theme multiple times in the last few chapters.
I loved the way you created the significance and the importance to Ehren with the hoodie. Multiple times in the story, that hoodie made an appearance and provided comfort for Ehren. And the touch with the Christmas gift of a hoodie with a remnants of the shoes shaped like a heart brought on the tears for me. :-)
Thanks for another wonderful story!
Steve T.
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Post by Dabeagle on Oct 8, 2018 15:50:43 GMT -5
Thank you very much, Steve. I appreciate your comments quite a bit and appreciate you taking the time to share them. Ehren is a beloved character to me and writing the story was hard, emotionally. I think I can let him rest, now.
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Post by baddius on Oct 10, 2018 7:34:16 GMT -5
It WAS an amazing story, by the way.
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Post by Dabeagle on Oct 10, 2018 10:19:39 GMT -5
I'm glad a couple of people liked it enough to say so. Thank you.
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Post by paul on Oct 10, 2018 17:12:56 GMT -5
I was glad to have it, and more than happy to have paid for the full version right off. The only thing that kept me from enjoying it as much as I have some of your other stories is strictly a matter of my personal preferences.
THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ THE ENTIRE STORY
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I don't relate to situations in which characters experience extreme physical violence or emotional torture. I fully understand the reasons you depict such things in this one in order to tell the story you wanted to. But as far as my own response, I'll just contrast mine to, for example, The Meaning of Living. The way you depicted Chris's shame and emotional turmoil resulting from what was, in contrast to Ehren's experience, a more every-day kind of situation, has never failed to have me shedding tears whenever I've re-read it. The same goes for Nick losing Charlie in The Tull Unification - Chris's bravery, Nick's heartbreaking refusal to face the inevitable; the situation is a tragic one, but something I can easily relate to, the loss of a loved one in circumstances I can readily imagine myself facing.
That being said, I found wonderful things in Things We Found. Ehren's strength in facing the challenges of the "real" world he'd been thrust into, even though his responses may understandably be wrong-headed. Ehren's conviction that he'd lost Tris forever, and the tenderness between them as they worked it out definitely brought tears to my eyes.
Again, it's not my intention to be negative, only to give my own personal reaction. I look forward as much as I always have to your further work.
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Post by Dabeagle on Oct 10, 2018 22:24:21 GMT -5
Paul - I wouldn't mind if it were negative, so long as it was constructive. The things I write are not perfect, far from it, and there are always things I could do better. As always it gets difficult when people take and leave nothing behind. That irks me more than anything.
It brings back an old question of how to determine if a story is a success or what its worth is. Reader views? Messages? Pre-purchase? It seems to me that a simple number for how many times the primary page was accessed is a cold reward.
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Post by TeddyBower on Feb 2, 2019 23:21:55 GMT -5
This is another one I finished this last week. I've been gradually catching up since I was gone for so long. It follows so well on the heels of Things We Found. I can't help still but be super pissed off at Tristan's parents. I know they mean well, but sometimes intentions aren't worth anything more than ignorant, selfish shit that doesn't take into account vulnerable lives. Excellent story, Dave. Thanks :-)
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