Ivy

great chapter Mark! (35) I'd forgotten how much I enjoy happy Brad and Robbie. even if they are not all the way back, it was a feel good moment!

Canuk-responding to your question about people enlisting....when I graduated from a high school just outside of Dallas Texas in 1987 there were three guys in my class who joined military, not so many. Now it is extremely common to see guys home on leave with their Army or Marine t-shirts worn proudly in the grocery store, at the gas station, or out runnining early in the morning. Our post office has a 'wall of fame' that shows pictures and articles about local soldiers. Many of these guys and girls have been in the forces for over 10 years from what I can see posted there. Before 9/11 the military presence in our town was almost non existent, mostly WWII vets that would ride in the parades. Now it seems like there is a family on every street that has a son or daughter in some branch. They even have an ROTC group at the high school now that was started in '04 or '05. So only speaking from my limited experience, I think the number of people knowing someone that has enlisted during that time frame would be close to what methodwriter is saying.

I agree they are going to have to give people a reason to want to be there besides a good looking riverwalk area and great loft apartments...what about a world class ice rink, with an attached "academy" for ice-skating hopefuls like JJ. They could try to attract a minor league hockey team to base there, (the Columbus Blue Jackets are not too far away and call ups to the NHL team wouldn't have to travel that far to get there). That would give locals and tourists an attraction that is not just business related. Just a thought.

Just wanted to add my congrats! I saw the CAP series referenced in a blog I used to follow and decided to hunt it down about a year ago. I have to say that was a fortuitous bit of google searching. I am a sucker for strong characters that I can follow from story to story. My favorite mainstream writers are authors that can carry a group of characters beyond a single title/book. Happy Anniversary Mark!

If Steph was a "redneck country boy" I would say he just opened up a major can of "whoop ass" and dumped it on Cary Chase! As he is much more refined than that, I will just say what a masterful powerplay that was to watch. Mark, I just don't know what to say about your writing anymore so I'll just say.....you're great...I love your brain...and leave it at that!

BTW, so not feeling sorry for Brandon, just understand why he was a crybaby. Ciminals always think their plans are the best and they will get the big payoff in the end. They don't invision getting caught or fired in this case. Reality set in and he knows he now has nothing. Carson's reality still hasn't completely hit. As for the Robbie / Brad happy ever after....its only ch 26 and there is soooo much more story to come (58 ch's and still writing didn't you say?) ...and I don't think I heard Brad say anything about giving up his boytoys yet...so bring on your evilness Mark.... angst is yummy!

The last two chapters were fab Mark. I really thought Bloodlines would always be the best for me personally, but I'm having second thoughts on that. As to Brandon's reaction, well, Brandon's the type of person that likes to make himself indespensible. He's been Steph's right hand for quite a while. Lately he's been the eyes and ears of Amphion and therefore indespensible to them. Now he is useless to everyone involved. What could he possibly offer to anyone at this point? He has nothing except a Mom willing to give him a ride home. He can't even go to work for Amphion legitimately because if they are ever sued by Steph, Brad, and Luke or investigated by whoever oversees venture capital firms, their "plausible deniability" would be down the drain. Plus who hires a known traitor? Makes you almost feel sorry for him, for being led astray, but. not so much. I do have one or two questions though. I know what Amphion was doing by having an insider leak secrets to them was illegal, but where do our golden trio stand in regards to the law? Is what they were doing with planning to lose some deals and all the hoops they jumped through to get the deals they wanted exactly legal? Not to mention what they pulled with the 'Go Chang' deal. Could they have something to worry about in the future if there are investigations? I'm just curious as it really doesn't affect the story at this point but could possibly in the future. Anyway, I am glad to see that Robbie has finally undergone the cranial rectal inversion surgery and everything is back where it belongs. Now if he could just get in on that magic boy wizard with glasses deal he would be totally back on track on the business side.

There's no reason Robbie can't pull his head out of his @$$ and get back on track. He did it once before after the mess with Neil. I'm not saying it would be easy or that its going to happen, but it could. His track record's not good...kinda like a roller coaster ride..he just happens to be at a really low point right now. The problem is he needed a lot of help from Brad to rebound the last time(s). I just wonder if Brad's willing to go through that again, his words and actions seem to say "not". I can't wait for Mark to get into the Amphion Smackdown that I know is coming...

Brad and Robbie seem so much like a married couple headed for divorce...the blow-ups, counseling sessions, the compromises that don't work, trial separations... The last lines in Ch 16 make me think that it's just not going to work out for the guys, and that would make me sad, but I don't like seeing them fight so much. I have to admit that I'm ready to kick Robbie to the curb myself at this point. If he snaps out of it and gets his act together then maybe things will be ok, I just don't see it happening. He'll probably get back in the saddle with a great movie, have tons of twinks throwing themselves at him, and focus so much on his career that things with Brad will continue to implode. It's hard not to side with Brad in this little conflict. He's always been one of my favorite characters (smart, strong willed, big dick). What's not to love? I just wonder what's going to make him happy in the long run...I'm having a heck of a time trying to figure out which road Mark is going to take us down, but I'm certainly staying on the bus. Keep up the great work Mark, the pace and action are great! Oh and I love the throwaway line where Brad said he should hunt down the movie guru and hire him since he was able to spot such failures dead on. The dude obviously knows whats up with the industry if he can spot a movie that's just good enough to get made but will bomb at the box office. Maybe a foreshadow of a future new character??

I thought that might be the case. Was just curious. I guess Wilcox could always say he was doing what he thought best to protect the convoy even though everyone would know it was BS. He could also say that George had faced off with Floreal twice before and survived so why not let him have the chance to take her down...Doesn't make sense, but what the hay, he's an Admiral. I remember watching a Horatio Hornblower movie in a "Literature of the Sea" class in college. We had to compare the movie version to the book. That was the best 400 level lit class because the Prof was a retired Naval officer and he would tell great stories. We read some greats for that class, Mutiny on the Bounty, Moby Dick, and several Hemingway stories. Most have stuck with me which may be why I started reading the Wardroom in the first place (I read that before I read the CAP stories). Of course there wasn't quite as much sex in those old literary classics which makes Bridgemont much less dry! (Plus there shouldn't be a research paper due at the end! lol)

I just can't wait to see how Wilcox tries to explain his actions to all of Granger's supporters back in England, not to mention the other Captains in the convoy. I'm not to familiar with Naval regulations, but it seems that this last course of action would merit some sort of courts martial. Would the Captains in the convoy have the authority to remove him from command till they returned to a port?

I'm personally not finding any issues with Steven's language in his diary. I think what we have to remember is that yes his family is wealthy, but at the same time this is a relatively small city/town in Ohio. Mark has not placed Steven among wealthy Chicago or New York society. Steven attends the local high school with not only his financial class, but all socioeconomic classes. He would be exposed to all forms of language, values, and attitudes. I think in Ch 4, the scene in his bedroom does reflect on the moral values of the time. Put two older teens naked in a room in 2010 and chances are they are going all the way when it comes to sex. When Steven's girlfriends says she doesn't want to go all the way, he accepts that readily. While he may want more he totally respects that at that point, he's not getting it. He doesn't even try to talk her into it before they are interupted. Who knows if more will happen down the road, but I think Steven would respect her enough for it to be her choice. I also feel the scene at the birthday dinner where he was not presented with a car as everyone expected was handled in a way very reminiscent of 'polite society'. Steven may be a tad spoiled, but a spoiled teen in 2010 would have thrown a fit, caused a scene, and made his feelings clearly known. This didn't happen. Dirty laundry was not aired in front of company regardless if they were family or not. What I guess I'm trying to say is that I feel the story for me is a plausible (there's that word again) representation of 1940's small town America. The journal is a tool for us to see into Steven's head. I certainly have no idea what a teen in the 1940's sounded like in public or private. It would be interesting to see if some of the elder statesmen here on GA had an opinion. JMHO, Ivy

Just watching the opening ceremonies and the part with the maple leaves...The act reminded me of a combination New Orleans street tappers, Kentucky blue grass fiddles and a Scottish highland fling...really cool. Love Sarah McLaughlin too.

I told myself to ignore Enric's posts and just move on, but Enric I am convinced that you are a very well educated person who just has an inflated view of your own opinions. The above statement is ludicrous if you look at soaps in general. Plausibility is NOT a factor in most. People come back from the dead (sometimes 2-3 times), Vampires live among us, Cops are sharpshooters with ordinary police issue pistols, Magic puppets that only come to life when no one else is around, Witches with magical powers, Angels, Almost every wedding has some sort of disaster....... I could go on and on and on listing impossible and unrealistic happenings in soap operas (daytime and night time television) but there is no point. What you said is just dumb. I am sure that Mark appreciates critique, but keep it logical please. And if you really have a problem with the way he writes his stories, then by all means stop reading them and find others. The CAP series is one of the most popular on the site, and if it had that many 'plausibility' issues that put people off I don't think that would be the case. And by the way, for those of us who live in Dallas, I would like for everyone who doesn't to know that we do not all wear cowboy hats and boots, we don't all own oil wells, and we don't all live on ranches with cows and horses. Some do, but the television show Dallas was not a totally realistic representation of our city, LOL.

I personally think that the sign of a really good author is when his/her fans are willing to climb onto opposing soap boxes and debate the minutae within the work. High Five Mark! Keep up the good work!

I agree with Conner, a lot of great humorous moments. I loved Bloodlines, but Box has really started out well. Mark, you're on a roll. Will we see chapters of flashbacks of Steven's life? or Tonto's? That would be cool and right up your historical alley. Looking forward to ch 3!

love the start of the new story! Yay for Steph as the voice! Can't wait to see what's in the box, mysteries are cool. Didn't realize you were going to start a new story so soon, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Ok so yeah, I was talking about Wade's convo with Daddy Danfield and Matt's health. Matt and Wade definately had a hot happy ending, but that was in the middle of the chapter and I don't see that as an ending per se, even though they did reach the obvious conclusion to that smokin little interlude. In my little brain, the fest has just begun with all the yumminess present in Escorial at the final moment of the story. Are you sure you don't want to write just one more chapter?

Great story Mark! truly enjoyed all my missed sleep and skipped work! Can't wait for the next one. till then it's time for a re-read. I loved seeing Ricky's comments on the first few chapters. thanks for the happy ending, even if it's not the type you usually enjoy, lol.

that's just downright psychic of you Enric! I will definately be listing Wade as hero when I get my nominations together. Paya you're funny ( "Cramer doesn't snore!" ) I had forgotten that. Oh well guess I will just have to re-read Bloodlines entirely to remember all the great moments. Such a chore! (NOT!)

Ha! your right Tiger, this is George we're talking about after all! It just remains to be seen how long Mark will torture him, lol.

ch 5 ended with Georgie sad and lonely that makes me sad! here's hoping he finds a new buddy to play with in the time it takes to get back to the Med. can't wait to see what Caroline digs up. Hope she doesn't stir up a scandal. Nah, she's too good at what she does to do that. sneaky, sneaky she is! And surely Travers is too smart to bite the hand that feeds him so to speak. (at least I hope he is)

Personally, I think its as hard to comment on something like Columbine as it is to comment on 9/11. It was so out of the realm of my own personal "normal" that I still don't understand how anyone could think that was the way to solve a problem. I've been to a point of helpless desperation myself, but my experience was to inflict damage inward not outward. What I do think is that Mark relfected the shock we all felt, as well as the various thoughts that went through many of us (how could this happen in the peaceful burbs?) And when it happened again and again, it forced a collective look at what's going on in our schools. There were many changes (good/bad/otherwise) that came about as a result of the 90's school shootings- bullying became a topic of discussion at school board meetings, school security changes, zero tolerance policies, school counselors took on new challenges, communication between schools and parents, the rise of different types of support groups. I do believe there are some teachers out there that realize it's more about just doing the job/teaching the class, there are just not enough of them to make up for all the absentee parenting that goes on in the world.

Ch 50. Oh so juicy!! I love it! The Matt/ Wade interactions were super. The "vote" meeting was just awesome...so much drama! I adore "evil" Steph! Really looking forward to re-reading when I get home from work tonight, so I can take it slow and absorb all the little details. (Reading on the sly at work sucks!)

Also I think that JP would much prefer to remain quietly in the background and let his actions speak louder than words so to speak while Wade has no problem stepping right up to the plate, front and center. They are both action oriented and get the results they desire, just very different methods. JP is used to hiding his feelings and emotions because he's from a generation that unfortunately grew up hiding their true sexuality, whereas todays generation have many examples of "I'm out and proud". Doesn't necesarily make it any easier for many kids but at least some figure out they are not alone. Can you imagine what would have happened if JP went to his college newspaper to announce his coming out during that time period? Wade could do something like that and still be accepted by his friends. Wade had other secrets to hide and I guess he feels they are a lot worse than hiding his sexuality or his relationship with Matt. I think Wade is kind of a combination of both JP and Steph in a way. JP's conviction and Steph's cult of personality. And Matt is kind of a cross between Brad and Robbie. Brad's hotheaded fight the good fight attitude and Robbies loving cuddliness (not really sure that is a word, lol) How could we not love these two young guys!