Date: 01/11/17 10:11 pm Title: Chapter 20
Hooray for Tom! Catharsis and progress and emotional growth! This is not a sad chapter- this is a glimmer of light.
Author's Response: Sometimes you gotta cry it out and face facts. And these boys are def overdue for a little upswing.
Date: 01/11/17 05:34 pm Title: Chapter 20
Great chapter :)
Author's Response: Thanks!
Date: 01/11/17 06:21 am Title: Chapter 20
Another achingly sad chapter. I hope Bill takes his dad's advice and talks to Tom soon.
Author's Response: Yeah, we're ripping hearts out pretty hard here for awhile. But, uh...at least there's a puppy?
Date: 01/10/17 08:31 pm Title: Chapter 19
I really like Bill's parents. I hope his mom manages a welcomed hug from Tom someday.
And, of course, Delphine is perfect. Always!
Author's Response: His parents are actually fairly lovely people, regardless of how Bill may have wanted to paint them earlier. They love their boy, and their glad to have him back. *hearts*
And wee Delphine can't help but be ridiculously precious. ;)
Date: 01/05/17 06:26 am Title: Chapter 19
Aw Bill's parents were so hearty and welcoming, it was nice they were trying to integrate Tom into the family. I felt so sad for Tom in the end, for blaming himself since It's not something he can control. Knifes are sharp, and could potentially kill someone. It was obviously posing a hazard to Tom :(
Oh now i'm excited about how Bill is gonna react, or if he got wind of it at all... A really good chapter!
Author's Response: Tom's the nicest boy Bill's brought home (maybe ever), and Bill seems to like him, so they're absolutely going to be as welcoming as possible. :) This one just might be a keeper.
Poor skittish Tom. He and knives don't have the nicest history. It's all fine and dandy when they're being used for their intended purpose, but they start waving near his face and things get twitchy.
Date: 01/04/17 09:56 pm Title: Chapter 19
I love how Simone is clearly trying so hard to be careful around Tom. So very different from Tom's mother in the earlier part of the story.
Author's Response: Well, in Tom's mom's defense, Simone knows what happened. Lillian just thought Tom ran off and took up with some hot dude. Oh the difference communication can make. ;)
Date: 01/04/17 06:24 pm Title: Chapter 19
I can picture that last paragraph/scene so clearly in my head and it's absolutely heartbreaking :(
Author's Response: He is a sad, sad boy. :(
Date: 01/04/17 05:23 pm Title: Chapter 19
Great chapter :)
Author's Response: Thank you!
Date: 12/31/16 02:37 pm Title: Chapter 18
I'm sorry If I came off as too pushy in my latest review. It's just.... I'm enjoying this fic so much you know? :/ Real life has been really getting out of control lately. And resorting to fics like this just seems to be the right thing at the moment to make things more bearable. Nevertheless I really don't want you to stress yourself or feel cornered in any way. You may just write whenever you feel inspired enough and not just because you /need/ to or feel pressured to do so. I'm gonna bear with this, and willing to wait, if that means you're continuing at all :)
About the chapter:
Oh I have to say, considering that he was internally freaking out, he was doing better than I expected, (Except the clippers-part obviously.)
I feel so sorry for both of them. Bill doesn't have the slightest hint of a clue that Tom is doing all those things, not because he is mentally ready but because he wants to suffice Bill and prove his point to him. It's heart-wretching seeing how Tom is almost on the verge of breaking down and how close he is to glide off of the edge, but everytime he can manage to push himself harder. Until even he isn't capable of holding up to it anymore, and everything is going to fall apart. Poor puppies. Oh i'm excited for the next chapter!
Author's Response: No worries! There was no snark intended. :) This story literally seems like it never wants to end (right now there's, like, at least 11 more chapters waiting. I remember there was once a time when I could write wee one shots....), and I thought you might like to know that there's an update schedule so you wouldn't have to wonder when another bit might be coming out. :)
Tom got really good at taking himself out of the moment and just doing what needed done back in the circus days. You don't have to like it, you just have to get through it. Even if it breaks off a new little piece every single time.
Date: 12/30/16 07:41 pm Title: Chapter 18
THis was just so sad, so much in THis chapter had me feeling as if i could cry. when he remembered getting kidnapped and THe way his dreads were nearly ripped out..even his reaction to THe razor cutting his hair. THis version of Tom really gets me in THe feels. I know he wants to be strong because he THinks it's what Bill wants him to do but I don't THink he can keep it going much longer, sooner or later he's gonna lose it and have a major meltdown...which Bill would love because he got to look after him some more.
Looking forward to seeing what's next and how it all goes down.. I wanna take emotionally traumatised Tom home and love him forever! XD
Author's Response: All the feeeeels. *wiggledy fingers*
These two are really mired deep in the biggest of all relationship issues right now: not talking about shit. Honesty! Openness! Maybe telling the person that you're with that you're right on the edge of a giant panic attack and maybe you need to take 5 and chill!
But it's hard to play pretend that you're fine if you ACTUALLY tell the other person that you're not.
Date: 12/29/16 10:39 pm Title: Chapter 18
These boys both make me hopeful and break my heart. I look forward to seeing how they (hopefully!) eventually work everything out for the best.
Delphine just makes me smile always, though. :)
Author's Response: That's pretty much what I was going for. :)
Puppies make everything better. They should get 20 more. And a farm to raise them on.
Date: 12/29/16 04:50 am Title: Chapter 18
I've read your story all at once and I must say that I like it !
I feel so sorry for Tom. He try so hard to be good, to push his capacities and it's sad to see that he's scared of everything.
He made big progress since the start of his "new life" but I don't know if it will work out at the end ? He seem very lost and so much broken that maybe the damages can't be repair ?
Bill is strong, since the beginning he was determinate to escape, to do something. And he did good. But it must be hard to live with Tom everyday, sure he loves him, but I don't know if he's happy that way.
They're both stuck in something they didn't want but they found love, I just hope that love will be enough to save them both.
Author's Response: Man, that's a fair chunk of reading all at once! Good thing you enjoyed it or that would have been a hell of a slog. ;)
Tom is a sad, broken little creature. He wants so much to be something he's not, which is never a good way to go.
It's def hard to live with Tom, but Bill makes it work. He knows things might not work out they way he wants, but hopefully it works out somehow. And, really, it's still better than the circus.
Date: 12/28/16 05:13 pm Title: Chapter 18
Great chapter :)
Author's Response: Thank you. :)
Date: 12/25/16 07:50 am Title: Chapter 17
oh Tom :( update soon?
Author's Response: Since the story is, as of this moment, still being written (or as I've started calling it 'oh my god, why can't I end thiiiiis'), it's getting updated weekly. Next post is slated for around midnight this coming Wednesday. :)
Date: 12/21/16 09:58 pm Title: Chapter 17
Poor sad panicky Tom! This will not end well for him, I suspect.
Author's Response: One way to find out....
Date: 12/21/16 07:31 pm Title: Chapter 17
As someone who could barely read THe second chapter THe first time, I can hardly believe I'm reviewing chapter seventeen. THe only THing I can say is, dark as it is, I THink I've grown attached to Tom. he's just so very broken and I need to give him a hug, (except it wouldn't help at all.)
I can't help feeling it's all gonna go wrong for him in THe near future, he was making such awesome progress and now THat Bill is wanting to give evidence on THe case, it's probably gonna set him off on a whole new breakdown. Dying to see how it all plays out.
I just have to say, every time you meantion THeir puppy Delphine I can't help but laugh. I've used eiTHer Dell or Dellphine as a penname for myself since I was a kid, (Dell is even in my penname here)and it just makes me smile.
Author's Response: It went and got better. Ish. ;) And, yeah, this Tom wouldn't do well with a hug, but he'd appreciate the sentiment (as long as no one touched him)
Eventual repercussions of allllllll this are a-coming. We'll see how it plays out.
Funnily (maybe), I got Delphine because I was playing a LOT of Skyrim when I needed to name her, and there's a char you have to adventure with a bit by that name. I rather liked it, so the puppy was named. :D
Date: 12/21/16 05:07 pm Title: Chapter 17
Great chapter :)
Author's Response: Thanks much!
Date: 12/21/16 04:18 pm Title: Chapter 17
Tom is stil so, so lost :(
Author's Response: Yep. :( Poor lovely.
Date: 12/15/16 05:25 pm Title: Chapter 16
Great chapter :)
Author's Response: Thank you!
Date: 12/15/16 07:04 am Title: Chapter 16
Such a lovely chapter, all cuddles and kisses and normal homely activities. But sad too with that undercurrent of trauma running through it, having to be so careful even choosing a film to watch. I just love all the little details you included and how it tugged at my heart strings. Love Helen xx
Author's Response: A nice, snuggly little movie night could be ruined so quickly by some, normally trivial, joke or action. Even kid's movies aren't entirely safe. O_O But, hey, at least they have grilled cheese and documentaries. :)