All Comments on 'Love in the Age of Chemicals Ch. 07'

experience with family who have Asperger's made this very meaningful (and created some hope) - thanks!

Been waiting for this and it did not disappoint.

This story is on a porn site but it is so much more. You use Deke's condition to explain in concrete terms what love is actually about in a way that those without the condition do not even need to think about. In doing so you deepen our understanding.

I looked at my wife again after reading the previous chapter and saw her in a new light and with a new gratitude. I am grateful for the insight into how lucky I am. Very little in literature achieves such a thing.

each step of the development was true to the nature of the "condition"

and

all of the evolution was an accurate representation of the struggle as posed by a high functioning member of the autism curve.

then the final chapter was a cop out.

an emotional "epiphany" is soooooo not possible

the recognition of a non chemical or intuitive response "does not compute" and is without merit

almost, but not quite

it is too bad you could not have remained true to the representation of the "condition"

This story is on an erotic literature website so, of course, there has to be some erotic content and I enjoy that as much as the next person. However, many authors seem to forget that there needs to be a story as well and your unique story line filled that need very well. I was gripped, waiting for each new chapter to see what you would make happen. Of course there were some logical discrepancies - very early on I wanted to point out to Deke something similar to what Andrew said to him in the last chapter - but it is a story and a certain amount of license is necessary.

Finally, I want to say thank you for the ending. There is enough shit happening in real life without reading about it for enjoyment so I am a sucker for a happy ending. Also, my view of love is very much as described by Deke at the end. That does not make other ways of expressing love invalid - it is just that I have more difficulty in relating to them.

Since you are an expert in this field of study, I will go along with your written conclusion. However, Turning the ending on its' head and blaming his antisocial behavior on her, TB medication overriding the 'Pill' and becoming pregnant, was a way to get him out of a very damming situation, and coming out looking like Prince Charming. He wasn't, and you should have given him the time and space in this story's ending to explain himself to her, as she did, with her medication screw up. Why did you BLAME the woman, when it was the MAN who was at Fault. By the way, I am a heterosexual Man./Bob

All of your stories are fascinating, and have a depth of characterisation and personal evolution that may come from your experience as a counsellor. This one seemed truly wonderful; the way you kept Deacon's style of speech and thought (no surprise that it was exhausting), and the tortuous evolution of his ability to relate is a remarkable feat. The comment by Rightmove seems to assume that people with Asperger's necessarily lack the need for closeness and the relationships involved in love, which I doubt. Deacon's need for the extra intellectual input provided by Andrew to allow him to integrate his feelings seems to me very true to life, and his consistent respect and love for the process of life crystallized round his preoccupation with Miranda's scar provide a convincing basis for that aspect of the denoument, particularly as he had already decided to try to restore his relationship with her. I would guess that one of the most problematic elements for someone with Asperger's is to gain balance in a loving relationship, and that the 'totally on' or 'totally off' behaviour that you ascribe to Deacon is almost a symptom of the condition.

I read the other comments with much interest, and can't help but make note of both who is offering up criticisms (as in - the caliber of other writers) and the contents and viewpoints of their commentary. In your place, I would consider such august company and their commentaries as high praise for your efforts, indeed.

For my own $0.02, first easily 5*. It is unfortunately too rare a thing to find a story that "speaks" to who we are, and what makes us tick. Your tale achieves that, which puts it in a category which the vast majority of stories here fail to achieve. So, congratulations on a fine writing effort. I'm jealous both of and for your success here.

Someone else noted that you are a counselor, professionally, so it is not so amazing that you have the insights into Asperger spectrum issues that you do. But, to be able to take that understanding and craft it into an impactful story is still a noteworthy achievement, particularly in the context of sexuality and human relationships as you have done here.

Thank you everyone for the feedback. I am indeed encouraged that so many have found this story to be not only entertaining but also meaningful and helpful (if comments and private messages are to be believed). I appreciate all your comments and input, and please know that many of the observations you make in these comments are helpful as I craft future stories. A few responses to some concerns about this chapter:

@rightbank: I think the ending *is* consistent with the revelation of Deke's condition, but perhaps as an author I failed to make that clear in earlier chapters. Deke was experiencing many emotions throughout the story- fear, anger, love, shame, etc. However, his condition and his scientific commitments led him to deny these emotions or explain them in other ways. But since the story is told from his perspective, I had to be circumspect in how to narrate that. for example, while Deke wouldn't say "I was falling in love with Miranda." But he would say he felt content, he was choosing to picture her in his future, and he valued her above other people. Asperger's does not make a person unable to process or experience or express emotions. It just means emotions are experienced and made manifest in different ways. Andrew (and Miranda) helped Deke navigate that process of self-understanding that led to his "epiphany."

@Prolonged_Debut10: You are right that it might have been wise to include more of the later conversation(s) between Deke and Miranda concerning their surprise pregnancy, and so it ends up looking a bit Deus Ex Machina. There is a paragraph in which the content of that conversation is summarized, but I chose not to include all the possible dialogue. However, I want to point out that I am not *blaming* Miranda for the pregnancy in the story. She is blaming herself, and that is part of her psychological make-up as a character (in reaction to being raised by an irresponsible single mother, she is prone to be hyper-responsible, seeing in every difficult situation the way in which she is somehow responsible for it. It makes her a very capable person, as the story demonstrates, but it also makes her struggle with guilt and with a tendency to control others.)

Thanks again for reading, for voting, for commenting, and for offering feedback!

@rightbank, why do you think someone with a significant autism spectrum disorder can't have an emotional epiphany?We're just as emotionally dominated as everyone else. Not long ago, I figured out that my ex really didn't know the depth of my feelings for her, and it was devastating.Since the passage of time seems to do less to mute my feelings than it does for neurotypicals, it still is. If she had known, maybe she wouldn't have left. But I couldn't communicate it because I don't think the same way. I assumed that because she grew up around someone with more profound symptoms than my own, she would be able to read me more effectively than she actually could. If that realization isn't an epiphany, then I don't understand what would be.

-CAF

All of your hard work on this series is greatly appreciated by me and I suspect lots of my fellow readers. High quality writing with well developed characters and some interesting twists and turns. 5 stars throughout.

Best story ever on this site. Thank you.

that now I'm going to have to read your other stories. I am very glad I stumbled upon this story and found an author worth reading. Thank you.

Great Ending. Thanks for sharing.

I never got the last chapter. All I received was the comments page. Not fair. Where is the actual story?

This is a really interesting viewpoint - narrated by someone with aspergers. The nuances are really natural and intelligent. I really enjoyed reading it.

Thank you for a very enjoyable read!

If i could give this 10 *'s i would, as you scared me in Ch. 6 to expect a sad end. You came through with the very desired happy and romantic ending.

... to a beautiful story.

I first suspected that I had some form of autism about ten years ago. As an adult, it was difficult to find testing; everything was geared toward children. I finally found a center nearby. I don't know if this is typical, but I was hoping for a diagnosis of autism because of all the questions it would have answered. And in fact that's what happened.

I related to Deke and his story, and although I don't have a Miranda in my life I am learning the same foreign language. Slowly. And hopefully. It is never too late.

Thank you for this story.

My chemicals are making my eyes leak. Thank you.

I'm sad their story is done

I as well have one of the disorders on the spectrum, ( nld) and when I was 25, I had severe problems coping with life, I even tried to hang myself. Now at 32, I can read facial expressions, intuitively, not just because I have been studying them, but my understanding for other human beings have grown, so that he matured in his point of view in the last chapter, is for me an realistic consecvence of being a father... For my own life, I don't understand every aspect of non verbal communication, but it have improved at least 500 percent the last 7 years, a truly remarkable story you gave us, tyvm from Norway. 35 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Your writing moved me to tears. Thank you.

Thank you for a great story!

It seems a little exaggerated in respect to the dichotomy between his emotional and intellectual responses, but I have little experience with Asperger's, so I can easily accept his behavior. Very, very good.

I started reading this story last night, woke up around 1 AM to read two more chapters, and finished it this morning. This was quite simply a beautiful story, and yet intricately so.

Compared to your other stories, I had some trouble wholeheartedly loving this one. It felt more like a draft than a final copy, because your treatment of autism seemed erratic. I felt that you only achieved that point of view part of the time, and were inconsistent in being true to the autistic personality, or at least to my experience of it.

One of my in-laws was diagnosed as autistic back in the 1960s, before Asperger’s existed as a diagnosis in the English-speaking world.

Perhaps my experience is with a more severe part of the spectrum. But for me, your narrator too often spoke or thought or acted like an unaffected person, used words that I thought unlikely to be in his vocabulary, learned at a rate atypical of autism, etc.

In fact, you said it yourself: “I had to fight the urge *to write more descriptively* in order to remain faithful to his perspective.” (Emphasis is mine.) I do understand that without writing more descriptively, it’s harder to paint the picture you want the reader to see. You took on a significant challenge with this story, but didn’t quite get all the way there, for me anyway. It was close though. I still rated the last four chapters a 5.

Having led off with criticism, I now want to correct the imbalance. In spite of what I’ve written above, I am blown away by your writing. I love the “Ginaverse” that you’ve created. The body of your work as a whole makes me want to be able to rate it, and to give it the highest possible score. You are the first Lit author whose work I’ve want to rate in that way. The whole of your work is definitely greater than the sum of the individual stories.

No other Lit author that I’ve read has attempted (or achieved) what you have—a web of disparate stories, all of the highest quality, that are all inter-related, and whose characters all have unique voices. I’d love to see some sort of graphic that shows how everyone is related.

One of your readers once pointed out (perhaps in response to The Unfair Exchange) that if a story is written well enough, it shouldn’t have to be likeable to earn a high score. That made me consider the writing itself, separate from how much I liked the tale. I came to realize that I was seeing near-professional-quality writing.

There were still a number of proofreading errors, most of which I overlook, but there’s one that brings me to a screeching halt every time you use it: “grinded”. I’ve never before heard of that form of the word. For me, it’s like fingernails on a blackboard. In my experience, the past tense of “grind” is “ground”. My research indicates that “ground” is standard and “grinded” is nonstandard except apparently in some video games and certain sports. I’m curious why *you* write it that way.

Sorry for the long-winded comment. Many authors say they prefer any constructive comment to none at all. Having now read all your stories but commented on none, much of this applies to all of them. I hope you find it useful.

Barry

As I read and reread certain chapters I was taken in by the inner thoughts and chaos that both Deke and Miranda were experiencing. Telling a story of emotion and chaos without feeling the turmoil would make the effort meaningless and superficial. You made Deke real and brought more clarity to Aspergers. The subplot of the journey of Miranda toward wholeness was part of the glue that held the story together. Great storytelling. As a suggestion for the future episodes, I would help Deke through the unresolved terror of the sexual trauma he faced. It feels like that part of the story is left hanging with a potential mismatch between the desires of Miranda and the fear Deke has that could delay his journey to wholeness.

This was one of the most moving stories I have ever read! The character development, the nuisances that were written in were outstanding. It is definitely in the top five for what I have read on Literotica, and certainly in the top ten for those that I have read in my lifetime.

An absolutely amazing story. Thanks for sharing it with us! This is only the second one I've read of yours, so I still have quite a few to look forward to!

That being said, you said that you'd be on hiatus for "a few months", and well, it's been like a year and a half by now... Don't mean to hound you or anything, but it'd be cool to hear a little update on how you're doing!

All the best.

This is the second time I have read this absorbing story and it's just as good as it was the first time.

It covers a difficult subject with grace and dignity and as a huge bonus is literate, grammatically good and thoroughly well written.

An incredible and inventive story. Wonderful characters full of insight and humanity. (albeit in Deke's case a different take on humanity). Just a fantastic read.

Thank you very much for your writing I have enjoyed it very much and it has moved me I definitely hope to read more from you thank you again

All the superlatives that I know, are inadequate. This story is simply the BEST I've read in this, and most other, genres. I regret that I put off reading this story for almost a year. MY mistake.

Thank you nageren

What can I add to what others have written. Once again I am taken by the honest emotions but especially by your theme of the commitment factor in human love. And commitment doesn’t only apply in marriage and family, but in friendship—in all human relations. Thank you again. I truly appreciate your work.

Thank you from a retired pharmaceutical chemist, and currently maintenance mechanic for a large nursing home.

I have also done rehab work with schizophrenic residents.

Your understanding from various perspectives ... speaks of your gift of perception.

Keep up the good work.

This is incredibly well constructed and thought out. Thank you, I believe it to be the best story I have ever read on this site.

Great save from last chapter. AND a good footnote on ASD.

My only question is, can I have a Miranda please?

I also have some of the traits described in this story. My first wife was love at first sight and lasts to this day, despite her having died ten years ago.

Very simply, you are the best author on Literotica!! Thanks for this wonderful story.

I wished I'd have read some of these stores 50 years ago. It would have given a better understanding of the life I have lived up to now, I'm almost 80.

To little to late to share with my wife my new understanding. Excellent story. Keep writin'.

This story flowed beautifully. It is very different from Gina/Andrew, Gina/Garett, Ian/Dessi or Amelia/Scott. All those stories felt a bit abrupt at some point and there was something missing at the end. You do have a skill for setting a scene at the beginning and then spin the story through without focusing on too much facts, rather focus on the main characters and how the relationship evolves (almost like a professional author). Well done

Thank you! for writing a story where someone has Asperger's. I have a nephew who was diagnosed a few years ago. I understand him so much better. Wonderful story.

Novelist! Scriptwriter! Top 1% among the authors on this platform. Humor, wit, depth, HAD to keep reading. Not one dull moment. And last but not least, with empathy for the less priviliged, even if they are still among the priviliged. At the end of the day almost no one goes through life without at least some tragic, deep trauma. Love the stories about overcoming those..

For the author and anyone else's benefit. Those of us who are Aspie's vary significantly, for me at least emotion is something I feel deeply, but it took me a long time to understand myself and to learn how to better interact with normal people. Logic is a huge part of my life, but also major emotion also is, I have learned how to allow them to co-exist and work with each other not against each other. For me, my emotions tend to be far more concentrated in specific areas than it appears to be for normal people, however some people will still tend to view me as lacking in empathy or emotionally stunted in some ways. A good example that may help you understand would be my reaction to birthdays.

I don't understand why people are so attached to them, it's a day like any other, for me, I would much rather buy someone something or do something for them, because I want to, because I care about them, than because society expects it of me, because it's a specific day of the year. For me doing something because it's expected has little meaning, but doing something because you want to, to truly show what you feel has far more significance.

I would also add that I do not and likely never will understand a lot of small emotional responses that people have to certain things, they simply do not compute in my head. However I have learned that if I learn about them, understand what triggers them, then I can predict them fairly reliably and hopefully take that likely reaction into account in my dealings even if I don't actually understand them.

He treats her like shit for weeks, has a one time convo with the mechanic and goes to rebuild the relationship. Suddenly SHE is the one apologizing because of her pregnancy. I never got the feeling he bared his soul. 5* series right up to that final issue. Sorry.

I really loved this, it was an amazing story

Really amazing story, loved it.

Wow. That was great. There's a lot more that could be said, but the words aren't coming right now. Excellent work.

A beautiful story, it struck an accord.

I am not autistic, but I went to boarding school from a young age and learnt to keep my emmotions tightly contolled.

This makes me a good manager/ ship's captain, but makesme seem uncaring, makig close relationships more difficult.

As a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, I can say with confidence that this is one of the most accurate and nuanced portrayal of an individual on the high functioning end of the spectrum. That said, "Asperger's" is no longer a diagnostic term and the mention of it seems dated since that characterization is on longer used in clinical or educational contexts.

A great read to a well written story. Always good to read a story that has a strong story line, not having to rely on sex and sex alone. This is the first of your stories I've read and look forward to reading all of them. Keep them coming.