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

Happy 29th Birthday Steve!! Here's hoping it is one of the best Steve

Or, in keeping with the Hawaii theme, may I suggest a Luau. Serving goat instead of pig Maybe we can tie in a pool party with it too!!

Well, in the fairness of equal opinion I am glad that Thaddeus is finally behind bars. but.....where I differ from Bondwriter, is wanting the demise of Eric. Once again, Eric is being judge, tried, and convicted on circumstantial evidence. I have read and seen documentaries on TV about criminal sweat shops. In them, usually people are being held against their will, and made to perform the "dirty" work behind the criminal activity. It usually involves the making of illegal drugs or using dangerous chemicals for such things as counterfeiting or credit card fraud. More often then not, the poor workers are treated as victims by the authorities, as they should, and the organizers are held accountable for the criminal intent and even though they are not charged, they are also accountable for human slavery. So we have Eric, living underground in a tunnel and a room stacked full of lethal chemicals and a booby trap. At any time, he could accidentally trip a wire and his poor life would be ended. He is being forced to live underground, I imagine with bugs, ants, and other nasty critters, with nothing for furnishings other than a barren cot. 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. Overall, a great chapter with lots of action. After the last chapter, this one really was a fast read. I am quite surprised that so much was revealed in one chapter, but was glad that it happened. I can hardly wait for next week, hopefully Eric will finally be vindicated once and for all. Steve

Here here to Judge Conner. When I read the previous blog entry, there was one thing that came to mind.... It was personal. I too noticed that there was only the one response, and felt that that one was more than enough. It was beautifully written, and left a warm fuzzy feeling in me. So, on to pout or not to pout, go with the not. Steve

So the last few posts got me thinking, so I did some reading First thing I thought of was when Dex came over to the William's house to try and break the login on Eric's computer when they caught him running the video site. This paragraph came to mind: Next came in the last chapter talking about the shortage of officers in town: Which got me to thinking that really Eric was never directly linked to putting the key logger on Mr. Williams computer. Second, since four deputy's got sick at a church picnic, I assume that it was Thaddeus' church holding the picnic. So would it be a far fetched assumption that the four deputies are members of his church? Could it be that Thaddeus has not only control over Eric as his real father, but is behind the corruption of the Lonesome Valley P.D.? Now here is my rankings of the characters so far: So I am beginning to think the evilest of characters is Thaddeus Followed up by Blackheart as he was directly communicating with Thaddeus. And Sheriff Buchanan is connected by blood to Thaddeus And then there is the poor minor, who obviously been unduly influenced by people much older than him. Not only does he have a evil father, but his Dad's rival, Sheriff Buchanan would also appeal to his mis-directed yearnings to be accepted. I figure that considering the above evidence that there is only one rating for Eric Steve

Congratulations CJ on the four thousandth post. I suggest you book all four of your hooves in for a much deserved pedicure. You need to take care of them for the next four thousand Uck, so much for spell check, I think I need an editor for my posts....anyone interested :wacko:

Hi CJ, That was a nice relaxing chapter to read. It mainly took me back to visits to Hawaii when I visited the Arizona Memorial. It is beginning to look that any lawsuit the guys have against Thaddeus will help ensure that they can afford to go to college in Maui. So for something . When the boys first met with the anal FBI woman (thought I'd use that word instead), she was wearing a black business suit, which got me thinking about the police in Hawaii. In most tropical places, police wear white as it is cooler than the black. Yet in Hawaii, all the police including the beat cops are in black. Why? Figured someone may know the answer to this question. And as far as Eric goes, I believe that he personally checked himself into a rehab centre and will change his ways. He will come out and become a peer counselor for other troubled teens and be very successful with it. Thus revealing the angle that Eric always was . As far as the locating device goes, does this mean another trip back to Piedmont County for Chris? It would make the story quite exciting and make us all wonder what Veronica will do to get back at him. Lastly, I loved the way that Chris finally got Steve back for all the speedo incidents. I can just visually imagine an eighteen year old guy in polyester shorts, a loud Hawaiian shirt, and a lime green ball cap. Steve P.S. I can't believe that you appear to be avoiding posting. Your still 6 away from the magic number. Come on, be the first goat to reach the lofty 4000!!! I'm sure there is money to be made here.

I'm sure that you had another certain Steve in mind when you were thinking of all the destruction and havoc when you were coming up with the name.

I have to agree 100% with Viv. It doesn't matter if you are writing about a Cat 5 storm or explaining a repair to a car, you either have a very vast knowledge of much, or you do your research to the max. I actually read the first few paragraphs of the story and thought I maybe had something that you had missed in your research. As a kid, I learned in school that Hurricanes were in the Atlantic and Typhoons were in the Pacific, thus making the possibility of a hurricane impossible in Hawaii unless the islands floated through the Panama Canal. So, I paused and did some research and learned that in fact you were correct. It turns out that in North America we call all tropical cyclones as Hurricanes. Elsewhere in the world, it seems they are called Hurricanes, or Typhoons, or Cyclones depending on their origin. I know I'm babbling, but I guess I'm amazed that you probably knew all of this already. As for the characters of the story, I was impressed with the bravery that Drake showed. He obviously sensed that there was something just not right with Cody. The first clue I picked up on was with the offered pop and sandwich for lunch. I love the way you throw in these little hints through out the beginning of the story, and they all fall in place at the end. It is always rewarding to re-read your stories and see what was missed the first time round. Thanks for the enjoyable afternoon. Steve

The debate on what is porn and what is not will go on forever. I think back to when Brokeback Mountain came out (BTW, was filmed near hear, know a few of the extras). Boy, did that stir up the controversy. The religious right all claimed it was a gay porn film. The mass media critics called it a gay love story. Some people called it a romance between two cowboys. Who is right? I guess they all are in their minds. I imagine if you took two guys and sent them out on a date and nothing more happened, it would still be porn for the religious people. Except it is not porn if it was a boy and girl, so I guess that skews their opinion right away. I think the word porn is used by people to scare people away from reading or watching something to fit within their definition. Imagine saying a work on coffee break that I read a story on the weekend, and someone piped up and said it was porn. You would immediately be in a defensive position, trying to justify that you don't read porn. Now as far as what is written here, I don't personally consider any of it porn. For that we can access Nifty. I would consider most of what I've read as just "gay fiction". After all, isn't that what it is? Steve

Well CJ, the old adage goes a picture is worth a thousand words, so I guess you have two options: First being to go back and edit out any pictures and second being to get those hooves typing away. (BTW , you mentioned earlier about doing your own research on the FFFF, and I was wondering if you had two or four flipflops on, and how did you get the toe thingy through your hooves?) Graeme, I'm sure one picture of Blackheart could get him to reconsider. If not, send him up to Canada, where right now he would fit in with the Calgary Stampede.

O M G !!! Thanks for letting me see the picture, but CJ.... I was extremely upset with Shadowgod for possibly killing off a character that was gorgeous, and a real head turner, and portrayed more than just a "blondie" in life.......Then you say that this is really a picture of the supposedly evil Blackheart !! Yes, notice the angel and not the devil? I think the devil should be definitely reserved for the purely evil ones...CJ . Now your trying to convince me that Blackheart (as pictured above) is the same person as Shadowgod??? If they are the same, how could anyone question the actions and morality of such a beautiful person? CJ , unless you want the wrath of a 48 hour grudge :battleaxe: , hopefully Blackheart is safe and sound! Steve p.s Thanks for posting the pics!

Sorry all, don't want to be a pest Any chance of either posting the actual pictures of muumuu.jpg and blackheart.jpg, or a message with them? Kinda feeling left out on the whole picture thing. Steve

Okay Steve, for posting that I've decided that neither one of us have to change our names . All is forgiven, plus I don't like to hold grudges for more than 48 hours. Now with Flip Flop Furor Fiasco (see, you do educate some of us CJ :graduated: ), or slippers if you prefer, I can personally attest that it is possible to run in them. But...only if they are new. After some age and use, the toe thingy tends to break quiet easily when breaking out into a run. What I didn't understand was as they were driving up Tantulis, it sounds extremely dangerous and a "white knuckle" experience. So, how did Blackheart and the henchmen drive with one hand on the handlebars while the other swinging a bat or swinging chains. Kinda reminds me of Arnie on a motorcycle shooting behind him with a shotgun in Terminator. :mace: Great chapter and I will only give it a 1.5 out of ten on the cliffhanger scale. Hopefully this is a new trait that your going to continue with CJ! Lastly, there was a promise of a chapter on Tuesday. Does this mean that we can expect 34 up then??? Yahoooooo! Steve

Let me tell you what really scares me !!! In the "real" world, Blackheart doesn't seem to have the least bit of hesitance to kill off loved main characters of stories. I guess we don't know what really is going on in his evil head, maybe he did kill someone, maybe he didn't. Either way the key word here is evil. Now in FTL, I am particularly scared that Blackheart may be the same one as in the "real" world. This would mean that Steve and Chris might end up dead, or worse, all of us not knowing about their welfare. Let's hope it is just a mere coincidence that they share the same name. Steve (I'm not changing it, I had it first, )

Interesting chapter, as it has been about 10 years or more since my last visit to Hawaii. It was nice to read of places and locations that I remember from the couple of times to Maui. I do have to say that I too had to stop reading and ponder the use of "flounced" in the story. Just how would you describe a flounce (according to the dictionary it is like a ruffle in a dress)? Is it like a prance, a sashay, a glide? Whatever, I got the point loud and clear, and had a real chuckle out of the word. Now, I take it the boys are camping off the road to Hana right? I didn't realize you could pull over and just camp. It sounds like it is pretty secluded with no one else around. Hmmm, sounds like another camping trip the boys took to a far out of the way, secluded, isolated place. I know the good Sheriff is under indictment and probably can't travel, but where is Eric? Also, I don't ever believe that I have ever been in the outdoors and not been able to see at least some shade of something darker than the surroundings that would indicated where the shore is, but then how long were they doing unmentionable things in the ocean. Let's hope those dolphins aren't the evil snapping kind. Well there is a positive about them being lost out in the ocean! I means they can't go over to Oahu and track down the evil Blackheart

Enjoy the holiday CJ :pickaxe: Maybe we will all wait until your gone to dissect the chapter paragraph by paragraph. Don't worry, it will all be good But, to let you know, might be one of the best chapters yet in my humble opinion! Great Job. Steve

CJ, Jack, or anyone!!! It appears that Jack's pics are not accessible to just us "members". I was wondering if it is a Author, Editor, Moderator thing? I have the same trouble Allie mentioned a while back about a separate page popping up and saying I'm unauthorized to perform this action. Doesn't mater if I'm logged in or not, still the same thing.

Sorry CJ, Nay!!! no sunglasses and he appears to be your white cousin. Newest commercial then click on the goat. BTW, hopefully that isn't the next chapter of FTL in the commercial!!!

Viv, This really got me to thinking about me I thought about what of the listed categories would I consider myself and realized that it is not really an easy task. But I thought that maybe you touched on what I came up as a conclusion, that maybe in different situations you fall into a different category. For example: When driving into work (which is retail like you), I would definitely fall into the pessimist category. As being responsible for 155 staff, I only can beat myself up wondering what could go wrong in the upcoming day. Usually a lot of it does happen, so does that make me a realist as well? When actually at work, I guess I portray myself as an Idealist or Realist to others. I try to uphold expectations of myself and also understand that **** happens. Outside of work, I believe that I am an optimist most of the time. I go forward hoping that everything will be okay. Be it family, love life, friends or sports, I feel that I have a positive attitude towards things. Although I even question this, as lets say I'm going out with someone somewhere new, I'm optimistic, but have a pessimistic devil sitting on my left shoulder. As far a faith goes, don't really know where that comes in. I guess I have my beliefs that I don't have any proof to back up. So in summary, I guess I wouldn't be comfortable with any particular label. Isn't variety the spice of life . Anyways, thanks for the thought provoking topic. Steve

CJ, are you being so bold as to suggest that you have made 3 posts and there have been 1000 replies??? Another great chapter !!! I really can't fault Chris for his picture taking skills though. Who hear can say they have taken excellent pictures without the aid of a view finder or being able to look at the screen on a phone? One thing I hate about cell phone pictures is in bright sunlight you can't see the screen, so it is a best guess. More questions are still around and some more seem to arise from this chapter than last. Things such as what caused the house to actually blow up? What about the "thicker than blood" idea? What is behind the wall in the bookstore? What is on the data stick? My guess is the Meth lab operation theory can tie everything together except maybe the relationship thing. Hopefully Steve's parents are doing okay. This might actually make me dislike Eric more than in the past. being the one responsible for causing the strife straining their marriage. Lastly, on the cliffhanger scale I'm going with an even 8 on this chapter! Great chapter CJ!!

Hmmm, I'm a bit confused :wacko: Are you calling us magical, mythical, beautiful people? Or just frauds? I'm going have to think this one over

Now we all know that these 3 guys were probably the 3 most evilest guys to walk the earth. But do we hate all Russians because of Stalin? I don't. Do we hate all Germans because of Hitler? I don't. And do we all hate all Cambodians because of Pol Pot? Once again I don't. When we look at these three examples we have people who followed them, many unwilling, to carry out there wishes. This is where I think CJ is really trying to get across to us about Eric. Maybe we all should hate Eric at little less, and focus on him being influenced, positive or negative, by the evil Blackheart. Correct me if I'm wrong CJ. But then again I'm a bit liberal and also from Canada.

Ah Ha!!! Eureka I missed this clue earlier but now I know that the evil genius behind all of the boys problems could be no other than Blackheart!!! I imagine that he is to blame for all the crap that the boys have been through. I would even say that Eric is not as evil as we all think if he has fallen under the influence, like so many others, of Blackheart. I would venture to say that this Blackheart is evil to the core!!! It wouldn't suprise me if he kills off some characters before the end of the story. Finally, could the answers to all the questions regarding the outcome may be encrypted on the data stick that probably only Blackheart thought he knew? I believe that there is already one too many Blackhearts in this world. Hopefully it is not the same one, as indeed, he is very, very, very evil!!! Now I'm probably going to have nightmares after this revelation.