"people like 'V---' don't really come here nor stay long when they do"

Oddly enough, I come here just after being at a non-MAA board where a good acquaintance of mine was describing how she'd like to mutilate pedophiles (by which, of course, she meant child molesters) because they're "lost causes."

Because of that, I feel compelled to respond to this remark, which I might otherwise remain silent at, since I like to leave readers open to interpret stories the way they want to. You might want to know that this particular incident in the novel is loosely inspired by two that occurred at BoyChat. One involved a young man who only stayed at BC for a short time, until he fortunately found a home at a sexual recovery forum (though when we crossed paths a year later, he expressed thankfulness for the help that the BC members had given him). The other incident, unfortunately, involved a long-term, prominent member of BoyChat.

I think it would be too simplistic to say "people like that don't come here." I don't know the real-life history of most of the members of the BL boards, but one of the inspirations for Delius was a former offender who has played a very big role in building the online BL community. Not to get preachy, but if we build an us vs. them wall based on who has committed crimes in the past, a lot of hard-working, ethical boylovers are going to be left on the wrong side of the wall.

I seem to recall that St. Paul had a bit to atone for. :)

Dusk (who "couldn't keep it in my pants" with other adults quite a few times during college, but fortunately didn't have to pay a high price for that)