Tug of war...

One of the joys I've found in writing is when a character starts talking back at you. You build him. Lay out his who, what, where, how, when and why...and then he takes that and says something like, Yeah, but isn't this better, for me? And it's not what you want to do.

Simon's started that with me. He wants to go left when I'm aiming right in his storyline. I want him to speak...mainly when he's angry and irritated at the other person, but he wants dead silence. Go internal on me, he says. I can think about anything, but I don't share with people. No matter what. 

This happened because I'd started writing sections that hit me. Then I arrange them into the story, once I have enough of them. One was a lovely little exchange between Simon and Walstead, set just before the beginning of the trial. Walstead's learned Simon writes gay erotica and it went like this:

Walstead: We need to talk.

Simon: You have nothing to say to me.

I dunno. Been doing some research. You write some pretty intense stuff. 

What’ve you read? 

I don’t read things like that, so... 

So you think you can discuss something about which you know nothing. 

The synopses alone tell all I need to know. Kidnapping straight men. Tying them up. Raping them. 

You’ve been perusing what’s on Gay Portal. You have to be a member, for access. Was that smart of you, signing up? 

I didn’t. I know some gay men, and one had a membership. He’s a pretty mellow guy but even he was freaked out. Said it got brutal in the...how’d he put it...non-con area. 

Am I supposed to respond to that in some way? 

Makes me kind of wonder if that’s what you planned for Paley. 

This is why you need to read the work, not learn about it second hand. If you had, you’d have seen that every one of the men in my stories who’s abused is described as well-built; hair on their chest, legs, arms and belly; middle-thirties; good strong features; and a thick mane on their head. Paley is their polar opposite. 

He’s well-built...

He’s a juicer who shaves the hair off his body. Including his pubes. 

How do you know that? 

Oh, stop it. I specifically note in every story I write that I despise that. It’s like they want to come across like a little boy instead of a man. 

Y’know, steroids are illegal. I mean, for muscle enhancement...and without a prescription. 

Oh, that’ll prevent its use. 

What makes you think he's on them? 

Look at his face. His jowls. His skin. How his hair is thinning and his muscles are blown up like balloons. He’s even getting bitch tits. It’s like, if I stuck him with a pin he’d pop. 

C’mon, man, you gay guys go for muscles and... 

Don’t be insulting. 

I can still use the stories against you. 

Do you want a list of my work? It’s not just on Gay Portal. There’s Plumbr. BDSM2. My blog on WordPlay has some of the more palatable ones, for you. Oh, and GayTrip. Queer2, too. 

You’re pretty cavalier about what these could do to you, in that courtroom. 

Did your gay buddies tell you whose name is on them all? Did you think maybe that was why they found them so quickly? Google me and the first one that usually comes up is "The Best Way to Take a Straight Man’s Cherry". It’s been banned a few times. People thought it was a how-to manual. 

It’s not? 

Again, the main reason you should read my work for yourself. Courtroom’s open. I’m going in. 

If we don’t deal, here and now, I’m aiming for jail time. 

How the hell did you even get into Harvard Law, let alone graduate and pass the bar? How?

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Walstead's dialogue is a fine start. Keepable, for the most part. But the only line that's important for Simon to say about his writing is, Whose name is on them? That, alone, tells Walstead to fuck off, without the hyperbole.