For The Love

[EMoe57]

I think that maybe Eric is indeed a victim here, and could use a little help. Maybe rather than being judged on the circumstantial evidence, we can all wait for the final chapters to see if Eric is really evil, or is being blackmailed into doing the evil things. I tend to feel that it is the later.

I don't know what you've been smoking but I'm pretty sure its illegal in my state.

[TalonRider]

That leaves the possibility of another tunnel, with a secret passage, that perhaps only Eric knew about. But no matter what scenario, Eric was no where to be seen.

 

Jan

[C James]

My apologies to those to whom I did not reply; I can't comment on plot points, especially at this stage of the story, but I do read and enjoy them all! Thanks!

 

What absolutely appalls me is the general moral relativism of the Pro-Eric people, who gather more and more followers every week. What we're up against is a fictional villain. This kind, though it borrows some traits to a human being, is a creation of the author (whom we cannot identify for sure at the moment, since other threads carry the rumor that Shadowgod and CJames are one and only person) The fictional villain, as opposed as to your ordinary RL juvenile delinquent, cannot be redeemed or changed in any manner. Go back to the story, Steve, and gather evidence that prove your point. You'll find none. Blackmail, lies, illegal videos, murder attempts, assault on a police officer... Yes, this is all written in the book. The author controlling the fictional villain's genes may decide (and decided in this particular case) once and for all that he is evil. I do hope Eric gets caught, and that he didn't roast in the fire, but you'll never know with this author(s).

I have definetly got to say I hate Eric. At first I didnt think he was to bad and was actually a fun character to read about but what he did with the website thing was low and when he left Steve and Chris to burn at the stake was low to. To be honest I wished that they had left Eric up there but then that would have only brought our boys to his level! As for his escape through the tunnels he could have made it out of the church without Thaddeous knowing and then by the time Chris and Steve got into the church he could have been gone. I just hope Eric gets cought before the story ends!

 

Hi Trevor and Bondwriter!

All I can say is, Eric isn't gone from the story.

 

Just a minor correction. The rumour is that Shadowgod is the author and simply using C James as an alternative channel for publishing his work. The goat is a separate entity, but is not the true author of the stories....

 

My view is that Eric escaped well before the fire. He fled from the boys into the room which exited into the church. He wasn't in the first room and he didn't appear to be in the church (though he could have been hiding in there). Either way, he wasn't in the tunnels under the church when they went up, and would have had plenty of time to get out.

 

Ahhh, so this means that anything bad happening in the story is, of course, Shadowgod's fault, right?

 

I don't know what you've been smoking but I'm pretty sure its illegal in my state.

ROFL!!!!!!!!!!

 

Just a minor story note here. A few minutes ago, I completed the draft of FTL 38, the final chapter. Now all I have to do is touch up the epilogue. The epilogue, incidentally, was the very first thing I wrote for FTL.

CJ

[Jack Scribe]

My apologies to those to whom I did not reply; I can't comment on plot points, especially at this stage of the story, Just a minor story note here. A few minutes ago, I completed the draft of FTL 38, the final chapter. Now all I have to do is touch up the epilogue. The epilogue, incidentally, was the very first thing I wrote for FTL.

 

Thanks, CJ, for sending the residuals of the AZ monsoon season my way. Friggin' humidity that would curl a ________ (you fill in the rest). Lost my cable/Internet signal for most of yesterday. :wacko:

 

It worries me when the terms, "slam dunk" and "we won" end a chapter. The cauldron's still bubbling in the background. I also want to point out a tiny flaw. With all the flames, gasses and explosions, it occurs to me that Betty didn't have time to seal her bookstore off from the tunnel. Hmmm?

 

Since Eric is beyond salvaging, let's kill off the little pecker.

 

Action-packed chapter with a satisfying conclusion...especially the drunk losing his lunch on the Rev.

 

Jack

[Bob D.]

Since Eric is beyond salvaging, let's kill off the little pecker.

 

 

Is that why he was so bent on getting rid of his brother? Pecker envy? I mean he was the "little brother" and all... but I thought good genetics tended to keep to all of the family... I don't have a brother of my own, but I've seen pics of others.

[wildone]

It appears that the anti Eric side is winding up its ugly judgmental head :battleaxe: .

 

So, to stir up the discussion a little bit I will share some thoughts about Eric and the story as I see it. First of all, as in any great "whodunit", the author (CJ, Shadowgod, Blackheart, the Goat, whomever) leaves us all with different guesses who is the chief culprit. This story has been a great example of this as it has us all trying to figure out who the evilest of the characters are. Is it Eric, or the good Reverend Emoe Thaddeus, possibly Sheriff Johnson, or even the seemingly dead Blackheart? I think CJ has done a wonderful job of shifting the blame on to different characters through out the story .

 

So here is some reasons why I'm not really willing to try, judge, and convict Eric as of yet.

 

One, the story starts out with Eric blackmailing Chris and Steve over each others reluctance to come out to each other. Eric seemed to be able to do this effectively, making me wonder if he himself is being blackmailed.

 

Two, when faced with the prosecution of blackmailing, Eric steals Chris's Jeep and flattens the charger's tires. This is after Steve and Chris spend the afternoon convincing Eric that he is about to have a necktie party that they can easily cover up as a suicide. Hell, I'd run too!!

 

Three, when fleeing with the Jeep, Eric stashes away a data stick. One which Dex opines that the encryption is way beyond anything that Eric is capable of. Obviously concerned with being caught with this damning evidence he hides the data stick and forgets about the stolen credit cards in his possession.

 

Four, he meets up with Chris and Steve in a restaurant in Piedmont. Here a waitress makes a comment that the boys would be stupid not to make some money off of their looks. So we have Eric, about to go to the bank and turn over any disposable money that he has, and another opportunity presents itself.

 

Five, he kicks a Piedmont deputy in the balls in the bank and tries to flee. Nobody really sees this except the other deputy. And what punishment does he receive for this, a ride to see Uncle Johnson. Wonder if the deputes were in on this as well.

 

Six, the credit cards are found with his fingerprints on them. No charges. Hmm, maybe if he was charged it would bring in question his real dad and uncle had in the ring, thus could he be a victim of Stockholm Syndrome where he is now doing anything to protect his tormentors.

 

Seven, he goes home and seems to organize the porn site ring. Everything points to Eric as setting this up, but where does he get the money to buy this equipment. Really does he have the technical know how to set this up? Also there is connections to Piedmont and Hawaii.

 

Eight, now faced with taking the rap for the porno ring, Eric is about to be arrested. Fight or Flight kicks in and he gets in a struggle with a deputy with a gun. Did Eric fire the gun, or did the deputy. We really don't know. If Eric felt the gun was the difference of getting away or not, he may have made a bad judgment call here.

 

Nine, Eric somehow travels a great distance across the blazing desert and into the mountains to lay in wait for Steve and Chris to show up for their camping trip. So, how did he get there, and how did he get a high powered tranquilizer gun? Once again, is Eric being forced to do the dirty work.

 

Ten, we find out about Eric's relationship with the good reverend and his brother in law, Sheriff Johnson. In the chop shop, Eric is reminded by the cold words of the Sheriff, Blood is thicker than water. Thus showing that Eric is being influenced by these upstanding characters.

 

Eleven, and lastly, it appears that Eric is being treated as a slave. Being forced to live in a dark, cold, booby trapped tunnel with nothing more than a old cot. It seems like no hard he tries to please his relatives, they just continue to get him do the dirty work.

 

So I have just listed some of the reasons you may hate Eric, but hopefully you can read between the sentences and realize that maybe Eric's character has all been a masterful ploy by CJ to divert your attention from the real criminal .

 

I personally won't give up my hope for vindication of Eric until the final chapter has been posted. And, if I am completely wrong on his character, I will humbly accept all of yours' "I told you so" respectfully.

 

Until that time, take it easy on Eric .

 

Steve

[Bondwriter]

It appears that the anti Eric side is winding up its ugly judgmental head :battleaxe: .

(...)

So I have just listed some of the reasons you may hate Eric, but hopefully you can read between the sentences and realize that maybe Eric's character has all been a masterful ploy by CJ to divert your attention from the real criminal .

 

I personally won't give up my hope for vindication of Eric until the final chapter has been posted. And, if I am completely wrong on his character, I will humbly accept all of yours' "I told you so" respectfully.

 

Until that time, take it easy on Eric .

 

Steve

So, you managed to list eleven reasons to hate Eric, and that could explain his actions. I see your point, and I actually believed in this theory until the staking out episode. At this time, he acts on his own free will, he's not wired and watched, and though he obviously acts with accomplices (getting a ride and so on...), he comes across more as a leader than as a follower.

 

Of course, CJ not only writes a whodunit, he is also evil as was amply demonstrated in various threads on this site. So there could be more shocking revelations. Actually the Mr. Williams' theory would blend in well with yours. But then I would hate the author as much as I hated Agatha Christie when I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

 

Of course, being a gracious and considerate Eric-hater, would I be proved wrong and would he turn out to be a victim indeed, I would admit defeat in this very thread. We'll see how it turns out.

[Graeme]

So I have just listed some of the reasons you may hate Eric, but hopefully you can read between the sentences and realize that maybe Eric's character has all been a masterful ploy by CJ to divert your attention from the real criminal .

You may be onto something there. The smilie you just used is one that CJ often uses, which leads to the conclusion that you're saying CJ is the real criminal! I think if we dig into it, he's behind every nasty thing that's happened in the story.... That is, unless the theory that CJ is just a front for shadowgod is true, in which case it's shadowgod, but then he gets blamed for everything anyway.

[Bondwriter]

Do not forget about Beelzebub. Or Veronica. Or Rob and Joe (their body repair shop could be a cover for an illegal operation). And the worst is to think CJ/ Shadowgod is behind all of this.

[Ieshwar]

Guys, I'm trying hard but I'm not convinced that Eric is innocent. There're many loopholes in those explanations. I remind you that only Eric knew that Chris was gay so he could have simply shut his mouth. And Steve has himself said that Eric has always been like this. And why would someone blackmail him? And I remind you that Eric tried to kill our two doves well before tying the stake. You remember once when he puntured the Jeep's both tyres on one side so that Steve and Chris DIE! Why didn't he punture one on this side and one on the other? And from where in the Hell he got this datastick initially? And sell porno ppics of your brother on the net? That's so low. For me, even lower than trying to kill them.

 

And if ever, CJ 'innocents' Eric, I hope he does give a hell of explanation!!!

 

Ieshwar

[Bondwriter]

And if ever, CJ 'innocents' Eric, I hope he does give a hell of explanation!!!

Actually, CJ's "poor, misunderstood Eric" would be the most incriminating evidence against him. Or cloud of smoke, if he indeed is innocent. And I agree, there would be quite an explanation to give. The 1st person narrative also gets us to see reality through Chris' eyes, who starts the story completely despaired by the disgusting blackmail, and who has consequently a bad opinion of Eric. He is guilty, no doubt, he even admitted some of his crimes, the issue that remains is to know if he was forced to act the way he did (I doubt it) and if he runs the crime ring. I didn't join the Pro-Ericers, but of course a shocking revelation can still be in order. Well, make that "is in order". The epilogue has been written for a long time, I'm eager to know what's in it.

[C James]

Thanks, CJ, for sending the residuals of the AZ monsoon season my way. Friggin' humidity that would curl a ________ (you fill in the rest). Lost my cable/Internet signal for most of yesterday. :wacko:

 

I've been having thunderstorms every day for the past two weeks, over a foot of rain in the last week alone (but we needed it!)

 

Oh, but Jack, I should point out that this is likly due to global warming; increased sea-surface temps mean more evaporation, hence higher rainfall in some areas. Therefor, it's Shadowgod's fault. (He's to blame for global warming).

 

It worries me when the terms, "slam dunk" and "we won" end a chapter. The cauldron's still bubbling in the background. I also want to point out a tiny flaw. With all the flames, gasses and explosions, it occurs to me that Betty didn't have time to seal her bookstore off from the tunnel. Hmmm?

 

Good catch. I was worried about that too. This is one of the problems with a 1st person POV: How to cover things the protagonist doesn't see. I couldn't figure out how to get an explanation for this into the narration: The tunnel is a long one; it's a city block from the bookstore to the church. There would be no problem with fire at that distance, just smoke and vapors. The fire found itself an exit in Thaddeus' church. Much like the draft of a chimney, Betty's entrance would haver served as an air intake once the fire broke through into the church, with the air heading towards the fire, so no smoke or vapor issues for her bookstore.

 

Is that why he was so bent on getting rid of his brother? Pecker envy? I mean he was the "little brother" and all... but I thought good genetics tended to keep to all of the family... I don't have a brother of my own, but I've seen pics of others.

 

LoL!

 

It appears that the anti Eric side is winding up its ugly judgmental head :battleaxe: .

 

Wow, Steve, that's some thesis!

You have a superb memory!

 

I can't comment on whether you are right or not (becuase that would be commenting on the plot, and the Echidna would get me) but wow, that's a detailed set of supporting points,

 

 

So, you managed to list eleven reasons to hate Eric, and that could explain his actions. I see your point, and I actually believed in this theory until the staking out episode. At this time, he acts on his own free will, he's not wired and watched, and though he obviously acts with accomplices (getting a ride and so on...), he comes across more as a leader than as a follower.

 

Of course, CJ not only writes a whodunit, he is also evil as was amply demonstrated in various threads on this site. So there could be more shocking revelations. Actually the Mr. Williams' theory would blend in well with yours. But then I would hate the author as much as I hated Agatha Christie when I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

 

Of course, being a gracious and considerate Eric-hater, would I be proved wrong and would he turn out to be a victim indeed, I would admit defeat in this very thread. We'll see how it turns out.

 

What? Me, Evil? I'm not evil. I'm a sweet, quite, and shy goat!

I'm not familiar with Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, what happened?

 

You may be onto something there. The smilie you just used is one that CJ often uses, which leads to the conclusion that you're saying CJ is the real criminal! I think if we dig into it, he's behind every nasty thing that's happened in the story.... That is, unless the theory that CJ is just a front for shadowgod is true, in which case it's shadowgod, but then he gets blamed for everything anyway.

 

Minor correction: Shadowgod is, more correctly, too blame for everything, rather than gets blamed. (the latter leaves room for him to claim innocence, and we simply can't have that!)

 

Guys, I'm trying hard but I'm not convinced that Eric is innocent. There're many loopholes in those explanations. I remind you that only Eric knew that Chris was gay so he could have simply shut his mouth. And Steve has himself said that Eric has always been like this. And why would someone blackmail him? And I remind you that Eric tried to kill our two doves well before tying the stake. You remember once when he puntured the Jeep's both tyres on one side so that Steve and Chris DIE! Why didn't he punture one on this side and one on the other? And from where in the Hell he got this datastick initially? And sell porno ppics of your brother on the net? That's so low. For me, even lower than trying to kill them.

 

And if ever, CJ 'innocents' Eric, I hope he does give a hell of explanation!!!

Ieshwar

 

Eric could have been trying to help Chris and Steve... The blackmail did get them to come out to each other. The web cameras... Hmmm, he could have thought they'd like being famous? He knew that Steve isn't shy...

 

The Stake-out? Well, hmmm, he knew Steve liked to work on his tan... And he was very polite, he even said "Have a nice day."

Maybe he just wanted to give them something to do so they didn't get bored on their camping trip?

 

As for the money stuff, well, he's industrious!

 

Poor, misunderstood Eric...

[C James]

A few story notes...

 

FTL 36 might be late. I was late getting it to Emoe for editing.

 

My next story, "Let the Music Play" has the prologue and first two chapters online.

 

Thanks!!!

CJ

[EMoe57]

FTL 36 might be late. I was late getting it to Emoe for editing.

All work and no play makes EMoe a _____ - you fill in the blank and you'd probably be right...

 

At least I got the first read done before the world went to hell here.

Let me see what I can do about getting this off my plate - since I'm sitting here on hold waiting for a tech in Utah to answer the phone... *I'm third in queue*

[wildone]

CJ,

 

If it is late.....don't worry.

 

You can always blame it on Shadowgod .

[Bondwriter]

Yes, blame it on Shadowgod! (This marketing technique is known as shortage tooting: claim a product will cease being available soon so people rush on it. Lesson 2 at Caprine U.)

But once again, the warnings were in vain, because the chapter will be posted this Tuesday.

 

And once again,

it's composed of words, making up sentences.

 

 

I may even tell you it features

5,818 words for a total of 538 lines

.

[C James]

All work and no play makes EMoe a _____ - you fill in the blank and you'd probably be right...

 

At least I got the first read done before the world went to hell here.

Let me see what I can do about getting this off my plate - since I'm sitting here on hold waiting for a tech in Utah to answer the phone... *I'm thrid in queue*

Ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!! I sure hope it goes better tomorrow with the tech support run-arround!!!

 

CJ,

 

If it is late.....don't worry.

 

You can always blame it on Shadowgod .

 

Very true! All things bad are Shadowgod's fault. Heck, today I have major damage to my house (wish I was joking on that). A thunderstorm hit, and in the mountains they can be very violent. This one began typically, but seemed to stall out over my area; the rain and hail kept thundering down, for two hours. We had about a foot of rain, but the hail, whoa. Not huge, just marble-sized, but it kept coming, and I ended up with about five inches of what looked like snow when an hour before it had been in the 80's. The gound is still covered with ice, and it's in the 40's now. There were also hundred-mile-an-hour winds. My roof was asphalt-shingle. I emphasize "was". The hail stripped away all the grit, plus cracked the shingles all over the darn place, allowing some to pull free of the nails when the winds hit. The "zipper effect" took of about a third of my roof shingles, total. But that wasn't the end of it; I've got a wood deck, and wood siding. The hail chewed the hell out of it. it chipped and flaked all the paint, and if I don't get a new coat on soon It will start to peel, and I'll have to sandblast the whole darn house and deck.

 

I've got plastic sheeting covering my roof now, and I had some major water damage inside as well. Insurance will pay for some but not all, and I've got to do a huge amount of work.

 

Oh, to to it off; the dirt road up the mountainside (basically a rough jeep trail at the best of times) to my house is gone in places. Just gone. and in the creekbed that's part of the road, the flash-flood sent what looks to have been a 20ft wall of water through, and I've now got some rocks, one the size of a car, blocking my route. So I've got to fix the road (I can make it passable with a shovel within a day or two) and move the rocks before I can even get out of here. The big rock? it can't be got around. I've got to get rid of it.

Fortunately one of my neighbors (about a mile from here, I had to walk it in the mud) is a miner, and can help me blast the sucker Wednesday. So, I should be above to get out of here within a few days, but whoa, I've got a lot of work to do on the rest.

 

Eh, I might cross-post this to my blog. LoL.

 

Oh, regarding blaming shadowgod: of course I do! Thunderstorms feed off water vapor. Global warming could cause increased evaporation, so more water vapor in the atmosphere, so this storm may have been "enhanced" by global warming. And, as we know, Global warming is Shadowgod's fault.

 

Yes, blame it on Shadowgod! (This marketing technique is known as shortage tooting: claim a product will cease being available soon so people rush on it. Lesson 2 at Caprine U.)

But once again, the warnings were in vain, because the chapter will be posted this Tuesday.

 

And once again,

it's composed of words, making up sentences.

 

 

I may even tell you it features

5,818 words for a total of 538 lines

.

 

Due to, and only due to, wonderful, above-and-beyond and short-notice work by Emoe, Shadowgod, Bondwriter, and Capt. Rick, Ch 36 will indeed be posted Tuesday. Thanks!!!!!

 

I've been falling a bit behind lately, because of Category 5 and Let the Music Play being written alongside FTL. However, the last chapters of FTL are now in beta, so I can concentrate of LTMP, and I'm trying to build up a buffer again.

 

Oh, and Bondwriter, baaad spoilers! The Echidna might get you, if he was looking forward to a pictorial chapter.

[Graeme]

Oh, and Bondwriter, baaad spoilers! The Echidna might get you, if he was looking forward to a pictorial chapter.

I've been looking forward to lots of pictorial chapters -- especially around the time of the Chase and Shawn section of the story -- but I've been disappointed so far. The decent picture has been of Blackheart. I can't see why this next chapter should be any different.

 

I'm away for a couple of days, so you can spoil to your heart's content until then....

[C James]

I've been looking forward to lots of pictorial chapters -- especially around the time of the Chase and Shawn section of the story -- but I've been disappointed so far. The decent picture has been of Blackheart. I can't see why this next chapter should be any different.

 

I'm away for a couple of days, so you can spoil to your heart's content until then....

 

Don't believe him; it's a trap! He'll come back and see spoilers, then turn us all into pincushions!

 

However, I have a way out of this dilemma; it's not a spoiler once the chapter is posted, and it's just been posted.

 

FTL 36, Sleeping in the Light, is online.

 

[EMoe57]

... and it's just been posted.

I love how this chapter begins!

[TalonRider]

I love how this chapter begins!

I do too, but that ending.

 

Jan

[EMoe57]

I love how this chapter begins!

I do too, but that ending.

:scary suspenseful music swells:

[C James]

I love how this chapter begins!

 

Poor, misunderstood Beelzebub.

 

I do too, but that ending.

 

Jan

 

For the ending, well, I must admit it's a tad on the tense side. Not a cliffie, though, becuase I never use those.

[x Trevor x]

The ending! You got me craving to know what happens and I hope Veronica doesnt die because shes totally awesome! Anyway good chapter and evil EVIL ending! Keep the chapters rolling! ((Hugs))

[Bob D.]

Poor, misunderstood Beelzebub.

 

 

 

For the ending, well, I must admit it's a tad on the tense side. Not a cliffie, though, becuase I never use those.

 

I... I... there are no words to describe my opinion of you right now Cj... so hopefully the following picture will do.

 

 

 

 

Sith Lord Cj, before the transformation