The name's Justin. I'm a nineteen-year-old gay kid from Springfield, Ohio. I'm transferring to the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music next fall, but I'm currently attending the local community college after spending the first half of my freshman year at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. It turns out that small Christian universities are not for me. Go figure.

I'm a music and film enthusiast, and I'm a musician, writer, artist, and athlete. I live my life by three basic principles: Love life, love people, and do everything I can to make this world a better place.

Oh, and check out my original stuff here: http://www.fictionpress.com/~s13jshaffer

Current works-in-progress:

Flaming Aground (Stand By Me)
This is my second Stand By Me fic, and also my second Stand By Me one-shot. Based on the positive response I received on my first story, I decided to write this one in a similar style. It deals with the concept of an intimate relationship between Chris and Gordie, but it's not really a "slash" -- in fact, it's more of an "anti-slash". I don't really like the idea of a relationship between the two besides the purely platonic one depicted in the film, and this story reflects that. This thing should be finished pretty soon.

(as yet untitled) (My Own Private Idaho)
Written from Mike's point-of-view, this story takes place shortly after Bob's death. Basically, Scott feels some sort of paternal responsibility to look after Mike and keep him safe, so he comes to free his best friend from the hustling life. I haven't decided if this will be a rather long short story, or if I will separate it into rather short "chapters". We'll see how it goes.

Finished stories:

It Should Have Been Me (Stand By Me)
This is another song based on a Stephen King short story, but I much prefer this one to the "Apt Pupil" song. It's about Denny's death and Gordie and his father's problems coping with it.

Apt Pupil (Apt Pupil)
This is a song that I wrote on the cuff one night while watching the Nashville skyline from the top of the highest hill on campus. It's not my favorite song that I've ever written -- but it is the first song of mine that has ever been based off another fictional piece of work, so I decided to post it here regardless.

Epilogue: The Final Encounter (Stand By Me)
This "short story" is actually set up as the epilogue to Gordie's book. It's about the last conversation that Gordie and Chris have before Chris's death. There are some chronological inconsistencies between my story and the film, but they are intentional. Artistic license, ftw.