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The Administration #5.3
Then And Now
Another short story in The Administration series.
Warrick and Toreth talk about their past.
Warrick and Toreth talk about their past.
9 pages
First published November 25, 2002
About the author
Manna Francis
46 books609 followersI'm the author of The Administration Series, a near-future SF dystopia published by Casperian Books. You can find the series in paperback, e-book, or (partly) on line at the Mannazone website.
I've been writing original slash since 2002 — or homoerotic fiction, m/m romance, yaoi, as you prefer. Original slash is my personal term of choice because I feel it best represents my writing in terms of style and what readers can expect to find there. Individual stories may or may nor be sexually explicit.
I've been writing original slash since 2002 — or homoerotic fiction, m/m romance, yaoi, as you prefer. Original slash is my personal term of choice because I feel it best represents my writing in terms of style and what readers can expect to find there. Individual stories may or may nor be sexually explicit.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
July 26, 2018
As always, it was nice to have a quiet and intimate moment between Toreth and Warrick. I was relieved to hear Toreth opening up (to some degree) to Warrick about his childhood, it was about time! Now, I would like him to go farther back into his past and tell us about it.
My reviews of The Administration series’ books:
Book 1: Mind Fuck - 3 Stars
Book 2: Quid Pro Quo
Book 2.1: Unlucky Break - 2 Stars
Book 2.2: Friday - 3 Stars
Book 2.3: Pancakes - 5 Stars
Book 2.4: Surprises - 4 Stars
Book 2.5: Family - 4 Stars
Book 2.6: Mirror Mirror - 4 Stars
Book 3: Games & Players - 5 Stars
Book 3.1: Game, Set - 4 Stars
Book 3.2: As Long As It Lasted - 3 Stars
Book 3.3:Fuck of the Day - 3 Stars
Book 3.4: Wine, Women and Cushions - 2 Stars
Book 3.5: Playing with Fire - 5 Stars
Book 3.6: All Work and no Play - 3 Stars
Book 3.7: Gee - 2 Stars
Book 3.8:Shopping & Fucking - 5 Stars
Book 3.9: Pool School - 3 Stars
Book 3.95: Without the Game - 4 Stars
Book 4: Control - 4 Stars
Book 4.2: Wait For It - 4 Stars
Book 4.3: Caged - 5 Stars
Book 4.4: Unaccustomed as I Am... - 3 Stars
Book 4.5: Helen - 4 Stars
Book 4.6: Shopping, No Fucking - 4 Stars
Book 4.7: Losing It - 4 Stars
Book 4.8: Coming from America
Book 5: Quis Custodiet - 3.5 Stars
Book 5.2: Gratuitous Kink - 4 Stars
Book 5.3: Then and Now - 4 Stars
Book 5.4: Friends in the Right Places - 2 Stars
Book 5.5: Smoke & Cameras - 4 Stars
Book 5.6: Sunday - 3 Stars
Book 6: First Against the Wall - 4 Stars
Book 7: For Certain Values
Book 7.1: Family Values
Book 7.2: Boy's Toys - 3 Stars
Book 7.3: Make it a Surprise
Book 7.4: Prodigal
Book 8: Blood & Circuses
Book 9: Corpora Delicti
Gratuitous Epilogue
My reviews of The Administration series’ books:
Book 1: Mind Fuck - 3 Stars
Book 2: Quid Pro Quo
Book 2.1: Unlucky Break - 2 Stars
Book 2.2: Friday - 3 Stars
Book 2.3: Pancakes - 5 Stars
Book 2.4: Surprises - 4 Stars
Book 2.5: Family - 4 Stars
Book 2.6: Mirror Mirror - 4 Stars
Book 3: Games & Players - 5 Stars
Book 3.1: Game, Set - 4 Stars
Book 3.2: As Long As It Lasted - 3 Stars
Book 3.3:Fuck of the Day - 3 Stars
Book 3.4: Wine, Women and Cushions - 2 Stars
Book 3.5: Playing with Fire - 5 Stars
Book 3.6: All Work and no Play - 3 Stars
Book 3.7: Gee - 2 Stars
Book 3.8:Shopping & Fucking - 5 Stars
Book 3.9: Pool School - 3 Stars
Book 3.95: Without the Game - 4 Stars
Book 4: Control - 4 Stars
Book 4.2: Wait For It - 4 Stars
Book 4.3: Caged - 5 Stars
Book 4.4: Unaccustomed as I Am... - 3 Stars
Book 4.5: Helen - 4 Stars
Book 4.6: Shopping, No Fucking - 4 Stars
Book 4.7: Losing It - 4 Stars
Book 4.8: Coming from America
Book 5: Quis Custodiet - 3.5 Stars
Book 5.2: Gratuitous Kink - 4 Stars
Book 5.3: Then and Now - 4 Stars
Book 5.4: Friends in the Right Places - 2 Stars
Book 5.5: Smoke & Cameras - 4 Stars
Book 5.6: Sunday - 3 Stars
Book 6: First Against the Wall - 4 Stars
Book 7: For Certain Values
Book 7.1: Family Values
Book 7.2: Boy's Toys - 3 Stars
Book 7.3: Make it a Surprise
Book 7.4: Prodigal
Book 8: Blood & Circuses
Book 9: Corpora Delicti
Gratuitous Epilogue
December 19, 2012
I can’t seem to pinpoint why or how this quick, quiet story with Warrick and Toreth spending time together talking became one of my favorites. But damn it got under my skin!
Perhaps the beauty and simplicity of sharing words. Exchanging stories. Intimate moments in bed in the dark just talking, sharing, revealing, and trusting each other with their pasts and pains made it special. Toreth talking about his childhood breaks my heart every time. But then to add Warrick’s experiences side by side created a powerful effect. The juxtaposition of their sexual pasts was sad, brutal, and very telling.
I did not want to leave this one. Why can’t I stay right here in bed with Warrick and Toreth? Haha…The pages felt safe, warm, and comfortable. The tension was still there, but not nearly as scary and intense as in the past when they tried to talk about family or past fucks. I felt a new layer of ease and trust in their words. Gawd, it felt like they fit. *Running away now before I really get corny….*
I savored every word and touch in this story.
November 14, 2012
Since details about Toreth are so hard to come by, any tiny tidbit that can give the reader insight into why he is and behaves this way is CHERISHED and like a droplet of water to a dry parched mouth!
I devoured the crumbs that Manna Francis throws to her readers in Then & Now.
Again, sad...so sad. Sad for what Toreth faced as a child and how he ended up dealing, coping, rationalizing, shrugging it all away...
Sad also for Warrick, trying to figure out how to maneuver the minefield that is Toreth and his reactions.
But all in all, so telling...and so appreciated...
February 1, 2021
RE-READ 2021
Ahh, these moments are precious...few and far between...but oh, so good.
Sharing history, opening up, and building trust.
With these two- moments like this are few and far between.
I enjoy each and every one of these rare snippets.
Ahh, these moments are precious...few and far between...but oh, so good.
Sharing history, opening up, and building trust.
With these two- moments like this are few and far between.
I enjoy each and every one of these rare snippets.
February 7, 2012
Loved it! It was so nice to see just the two them in bed, in the dark and Toreth opening up. There was something so heart-warming when Toreth said "Let me fuck you." To me it wasn't his typical sarcastic fuck line but it was "I need you."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 9, 2013
So fucking clever. I accidentally opened this one on my Kindle and..well, maybe not so accidentally..and suddenly found myself hooked all over again. God, I miss these guys and can't wait for our buddy read in 2014. :')
April 15, 2013
These kind of little stories are the reason why I really like The Administration.
Toreth being in a rare sharing mood and Warrick trying to handle the now unCaged tiger. Beautiful and painful, and showing the increasing trust and knowledge and attunement of the pair.
Toreth being in a rare sharing mood and Warrick trying to handle the now unCaged tiger. Beautiful and painful, and showing the increasing trust and knowledge and attunement of the pair.
April 12, 2018
I love these little snippets of Toreth's past, I wish we could hear more of them and praying that we do at some stage. I still have so many questions.
October 13, 2012
How can Manna Francis say so much with so few words? Unbelievabley good--
April 2, 2013
Okay, my heart just cracked a bit. But I won't feel sorry for you Torreth, I wouldn't dare!
March 1, 2012
Toreth talking about his past. No wonder he's such a psycho...
August 25, 2016
I'm relieved.
Because to see them together, talking, intimate, cozy, *sigh*, it is why I like this series so much...
September 7, 2013
I said I'd take a break from TA.
I lasted 3 days. *headdesk*
Well, I had to get back to my babies, at least for a little while. I start feeling a bit lost and disoriented if I spend too much time without them.
That's when you know the situation's serious, I guess.
Anyhow, this one - despite the fact that I still had, and still have, a rather powerful bitter aftertaste from Gratuitous Kink - gave me back some of those fuzzy warm feelings I get everytime I see these two talk, just talk. Especially when they talk about their past - Toreth, you're still a lying slut, but I suppose opening up a bit more is a step forward. *sigh*
I don't sound very enthusiastic, do I?
I'll make it clearer: this one is good, even though there aren't actually any surprises. The events that come up here are slightly horrifying, but nothing that wasn't mentioned before or easy to imagine. It just feels warm and nice and cosy - as weird as it might seem to see these adjectives associated with Warrick and Toreth.
I lasted 3 days. *headdesk*
Well, I had to get back to my babies, at least for a little while. I start feeling a bit lost and disoriented if I spend too much time without them.
That's when you know the situation's serious, I guess.
Anyhow, this one - despite the fact that I still had, and still have, a rather powerful bitter aftertaste from Gratuitous Kink - gave me back some of those fuzzy warm feelings I get everytime I see these two talk, just talk. Especially when they talk about their past - Toreth, you're still a lying slut, but I suppose opening up a bit more is a step forward. *sigh*
I don't sound very enthusiastic, do I?
I'll make it clearer: this one is good, even though there aren't actually any surprises. The events that come up here are slightly horrifying, but nothing that wasn't mentioned before or easy to imagine. It just feels warm and nice and cosy - as weird as it might seem to see these adjectives associated with Warrick and Toreth.
May 1, 2011
This is a short about Toreth, out of the blue, telling Warrick abit more about his childhood..
Oh, I absolutly adore these shorts, where its just Toreth and Warrick. Talking. Flirting. Whatever.. Could read about these two all day long..
Which is what I've been doing for the last couple of days, actually..
Oh, I absolutly adore these shorts, where its just Toreth and Warrick. Talking. Flirting. Whatever.. Could read about these two all day long..
Which is what I've been doing for the last couple of days, actually..
October 26, 2014
Moving intimacy in the darkness. Toreth reveal a bit more of his sad childhood.
December 24, 2018
The way Toreth talks about his past is always terrifying. He was abused and raped multiple times as a teen and the way he describes it feels like he's reminiscing, in a perverse way, missing "the good old days".
He says to Warrick that Gee Evans, a pedophile who molested countless of underage children, was "not a bad bloke". Absolutely horrifying.
He says to Warrick that Gee Evans, a pedophile who molested countless of underage children, was "not a bad bloke". Absolutely horrifying.
January 25, 2021
We get a bit of quiet time with Toreth and Warrick, and Toreth reveals a bit more of his childhood, but like usual I found it sad and disturbing. Another piece of puzzle for Toreth's mysterious past that he loathes to talk about.
June 8, 2018
3.5 'Toreth in a unusually insecure, open mood opens up to Warrick giving us a small glance into his past' stars.
October 25, 2020
Happy to see some progress.
August 19, 2023
I love when Manna Francis lets us inside Torreth's childhood, it certainly explains so much.
February 11, 2013
I understand why Toreth told Warrick some of his memories from RC. He felt connected to Warrick and wanted to share his childhood. While Warrick doesn't know how to ask the questions without scaring Toreth off, the para-investigator feels more at ease with Warrick, so much that he can open up and recount his past. Not his family (that will require more time and patience on Warrick's behalf) but still an improvement to grouchy and reserved Toreth from the start of the series.
The change in point of view was nice, considering the ending of the previous short story. It made me less angry with Warrick for giving Toreth so much freedom in their relationship. It was funny seeing Warrick freak out about having his ornaments moved around. OCD much? It sets the men even father apart in terms of personality and characteristics. And yet, they've managed to stay together for more than 2 years.
The change in point of view was nice, considering the ending of the previous short story. It made me less angry with Warrick for giving Toreth so much freedom in their relationship. It was funny seeing Warrick freak out about having his ornaments moved around. OCD much? It sets the men even father apart in terms of personality and characteristics. And yet, they've managed to stay together for more than 2 years.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2014
This one was meh. Toreth and Warrick talk about the past, sharing childhood memories. The most significant part is that by the end, Warrick now knows what happened to Toreth in the rehab center where he spent a lot of his childhood. But my complaint there is that this is old news for us readers, who already found out a lot of similar information in "Gee."
November 3, 2013
Second read: Oct. 29, 2013
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First read: Sep. 28, 2010
Warrick and Toreth share a bit of their past together, something almost unheard of before this! Watching them get closer is always riveting.
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First read: Sep. 28, 2010
Warrick and Toreth share a bit of their past together, something almost unheard of before this! Watching them get closer is always riveting.
December 9, 2012
Toreth speaks about his awful childhood and his first sexual experiences (rapes, mainly). Interesting.
June 15, 2020
*sigh*
Moments like this are few and far between.
Moments like this are few and far between.
August 11, 2015
First read on December 20, 2014.
Re-read on July 11, 2015.
Toreth and Warrick, talking about their pasts...
Maybe they'll even move in together before they're ninety!!
Yeah, right.))
Re-read on July 11, 2015.
Toreth and Warrick, talking about their pasts...
Maybe they'll even move in together before they're ninety!!
Yeah, right.))
August 8, 2015
Learned a lot of stuff about Toreth here.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews