wildone

Hey Bondwriter, I like to usually check into people and places where I'd drop 5 grand. So....if you open a new browser window and type in hitmen dot com, you will see the errors in your ways . $5,000....Wow CJ, I loved the final chapter and epilogue . What a great way to finish up a great story. The one line from my favourite character, to be left unnamed , "I shot the sheriff, but I did not shoot the deputy" had me howling with laughter. From the epilogue, I took it that the story was somewhat a mask for being a biography of Blackheart's life. Very interesting on how you managed to work that into the story . Once again, great story, great finish, and a great way to start your hosted page! Steve

Congratulations!! CJ I'm excited for you that you have your own home at GA. As far as I know, you are the first goat to reach this status. You mentioned that you have five stories posted there, but I'm sure if we cut and pasted some of your 4200 posts, we could have a lot more stories there Actually I believe this will be my 100th post, so what better way then to congratulate the lurker who never posts . I have enjoyed your writing and contributions to the forums, anthologies, and administration in the past, and hopefully with you being hosted, I will be able to enjoy a long time in to the future. Once again, congrats on receiving a much deserved place to call your own. Got to go now and hopefully read the conclusion of FTL. Steve

I'm guessing that the Sheriff Buchanan, Sheriff Williams, Veronica, Chad and Dex are all in the storage building. I don't believe that any of them escaped and got past everyone outside and into the mineshaft. I will still go with that the mystery person is Eric and that he was in the mine shaft all the time hiding. He heard the Sheriff revel his plot to Chris, and was now understanding that maybe he wasn't part of the little gang that he thought he was. The sheriff took credit for doughnuts, he came up with the plan to kill off all the captives and the story to follow up. If it was Eric, he heard this: And he also heard this: So, maybe Eric realizes that his position to the Sheriff is nothing more than the "damn nephew" and that he wouldn't be needed anymore as well. I think that would be motivation to act. Steve

Cj, I have to admit that I was chuckling or outright laughing my way through the entire chapter!! Right from the start when they are putting Brandon in front of the mirror, to when he gets asked to guess who is gay in the hot tub, I was in stitches. I don't know if you planned the chapter the way you did, but inserting the little segment on "The Scar" kinda had me laughing even more. But I'm sure we will find out in the future more about him, and what he has against Instinct or if it is or is not personal. The thing I liked about the chapter the most is that I think a lot of people can relate to Brandon through out the chapter. The way he is among new friends, unsure if they will accept him. Then when they have no problem with him, it builds his confidence and he is ready to make decisions with his gaydar. Hilarious . With the references between Betty and Helen, I'm wondering if Helen will have some traits of Betty. Will she start showing some feelings towards a guy in this story? Hmmm, maybe they will be towards Gabe since he really is the only other male character so far. . Finally, loved the way you set up the end for Brandon to guess yet again wrong which brother is gay. We have Eric giving Brandon the lycra shorts, letting him use his shower, offering him clothes, and deciding what pictures of Chase to put on the cover of the magazine. The start of the next chapter should be as good as the start of this one!! At least Jon won't be the only one to be mistaken for being gay, and can enjoy in a little payback. Steve P.S. Hopefully there is more hot tub or pool parties in the future

And since you're to blame for everything......... Thanks Steve!! Steve

Yesssssss!!!! CJ, you have made my day The clues are in the story!!! I feel so good, so happy, so relieved. Since Bondwriter and Ieshwar have started the discussion, I will ask these two questions of everyone: First, the mystery male in the mine shaft. Who, I ask, is capable of picking the lock of handcuffs? Who has got out of multiple situations by supposedly being slimey, sneaky, and underhanded? Could it be the true hero of the story? Wait, there is the second question, and possibly the second hero of the story. and previously . Now does Betty seem like the type of gal to sit around and idly wait for the phone to ring?? So once again CJ, Thank you very much!!! Steve P.S If I'm wrong, which I have been, then everything that LOst Cause said, ditto!

I decided to check out GA rules on the harassment of Goats and Echidnas, and found this rule: So, there is nothing suggesting that we can't have some fun with goats and other families of the animal kingdom Oh wait, I guess your members, so it is all inclusive. Darn Steve Must be a Monday night, the forum has reached a new level of silliness . Hopefully there might be a new chapter at the stroke of midnight.

Ummmm......does this mean that CJ is Shadowgod's hand puppet??

Thanks Guess this means that there is not much of a chance of both sides just apologizing and tipping back a few as they all celebrate Steve and Chris's birthdays, eh?

Ohh, this chapter sounds like it has Betty all over it !!!! Now for something . Can anyone explain this to an ignorant, non gun toting Canadian what Lock and Load means (we'd much prefer to both apologize and go out for a beer than pull out a gun in most situations ). My understanding of it, even though I've never handled one or fired one, is that this expression came from the old Westerns with a rifle or shotgun. Wouldn't you first load the gun, then lock the barrel in place, then fire? So shouldn't it be load and lock? Just curious Steve

CJ, I finally figured out why there is a bomb in the prologue!!! You have finally created a plot that you can use the seldom used :nuke: icon in your posts!!! Steve

I'll add my two bits on the subject as well. I sent something to Shadowgod the other day that touched on this subject. Lately, I too have been wondering if attitudes have changed. I may be biased, as it is now legal to marry in Canada for gay couples. But here is kinda the way I have seen things progressed. Ten years ago, the topic of Gay marriage came up in Canada, and up to that point, I would say a majority of people were dead set against it. Jokes were abundant, you could openly express your opinion of your dislikes at work, home, wherever you wanted too, and generally nobody would disagree. Then, people started to challenge the marriage law in the provincial courts of several provinces. This if anything, got people more riled up. Suddenly we had parades and marches to defend the "traditional definition of marriage". But something happened. The courts looked at our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and the judges made decisions that they were being discriminatory to a segment of the population. Since there was now a few more rulings from courts in the different provinces (which do have jurisdiction over marriage laws), the federal government had to wade into the controversy. Without too much detail, the Supreme Court was asked by Parliament to make an opinion on if they could stay with the remaining status quo, or maybe redefine marriage, or give gays and lesbians a civil union. The court said that it had to be marriage for all. As this was proceeding through the courts and Parliament, I noticed a major difference in opinions. People seemed to start listening to both sides, and not to the mob mentality. They actually thought about the core of the issue, if two people love each others, can they not be married. People stopped listening to the conservative right, and started questioning their churches teachings, and the momentum began to sway the other way. The above is really what happened in my family with my Dad, and probably quite a few other people. The part about the heroes, I would agree that in a way they are. I believe the heroes are ones who don't accept the status quo and take on the difficult challenges. I would say here, the heroes in this story is probably the original 11 gay couples and the 11 judges that ruled in their favour. For it was them that made it into a issue that was big enough to make ordinary people think. Don't think I'm saying everybody is happy with the decisions, but now in the workplace, homes, bars, etc,, it is now the opposite as far as someone expressing their dislikes of gays, they will usually get a heated argument from a lot of people who don't agree with them. Hopefully in ten years, you in the states can tell similar stories. Let's all hope!! Steve

Well lets see how I can give some opinions without sounding like a jerk about this latest chapter. :wacko: First off, I guess the word I'm looking for to describe how I felt after reading the chapter, might be underwhelmed. Probably with all the revelations in the past chapters and the action, this one seemed to be lacking a bit of that gusto. It must have been difficult to write the chapter as it seems you wanted to wrap up the Thaddeus and the lawsuit line, continue the mystery behind our beloved Eric , and to build on the relationship or non relationship between Dex and Betty and set up the supposedly Meth lab in the desert. It sort of felt that the ending was put in to liven up the chapter, which it did. Maybe part of the problem I'm having is that you answered so many questions in the last chapter, that you opened up a few different cans of worms in this chapter. For that you are Evil . Not to mention the cliffhanger . If anything, it does make me wonder how you can possibly wrap up all the loose ends over the next two chapters. I know you ask for criticisms of your stories, and hopefully I have been constructive in this. In no way have I meant any of it to be negative. Steve

CJ, If it is late.....don't worry. You can always blame it on Shadowgod .

I'm going to agree with Rigel 100% here. I believe that Brandon was kicked out of his family, his band, and his life for the simple fact that he was gay. What other secret can usually evoke these responses from everybody to wards someone (except maybe if his parents found his secret Milli Vanilli CD collection) . I also believe that Lump is the homophobe. With the brother's and their parents having a falling out, it is usually the parents and their generation that don't accept homosexuality, not the younger generation. Lump obviously saw the boys dad as being his ticket to have the money to buy the booze, drugs, and sex, so he would stick with their Dad. There was also a reference to the brothers waiting to see how Brandon would react to the family secret. How many homophobes keep their feelings sheltered and away from anyone who will listen? Whereas the opposite, telling one is gay is still very much a decision most people have to make on an individual basis after they learn a bit about other people. My guess is that Chase is also gay, and Dan and Eric will stand by their brother. Chase's obvious hate of Lump being the strongest, leads me to think that he is the object of Lump's homophobia. Some of the things giving that away was Chase immediately taking off his shirt, and the way the Chase had to immediately get into the shower after the rehearsal. Both brothers seemed to know why Chase needed the shower so quickly and also knew his answer for letting Brandon join when Helen called. One question for you CJ, you made reference to "Drumbeat" magazine that made Brandon uncomfortable when questioned about it when he didn't play drums, which Chase was also very excited with the prospect that maybe he did. You also made reference when Chase first took off his shirt that drummers did this because of the intense workout. So what is Drumbeat magazine? I'm expecting a magazine with pictures of hot drummers without their shirts on. Steve

Nice first couple of chapters CJ The prologue kinda threw me for a loop, since you released chapter one in the sneak peak area. Even more so with the second chapter, you can be assured I will always be wondering what 3 bombs will have to do with this story. I liked that you established Brandon's character pretty well at the beginning. It seems you decided to make sure we all know what Brandon is like physically, as well as emotionally at the time. BTW, I don't like Gabe and hopefully he exits stage left very quickly. As far as Jon, Eric (hmm, something about that name ), and Chase, it will look like we will have to wait for future chapters to have their characters developed. While everyone else reads the first three chapters, it will be interesting to see what they feel the "family secret" is and who is the cause of it. Also on how Brendon will react. Well, you've got me hooked already, but that is to be expected with the quality or writing in the past and present . Looking forward to see how the brothers let Brandon see the expression on the new guys' face when they announce the person. Maybe a mirror or a camera, should be comical. Steve

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.