Bondwriter

Oops, sorry, this was Gary. No offense, hopefully...

I'm the "Absolutely no preferences". What fits the plot fits the plot.

Yes, I didn't wonder about this EMP issue Lurker brought up, that Benji said is of no concern, but I thought that The Scar and Dimitri were quite close to the explosion to be completely safe (we just had news last year of illnesses of military personnel who attended the nuclear testing in the Sahara and the Pacific). Of course, a fictional villain has to witness his crime, if only to utter the eponymous phrase the author had kept planned for him.

Did you derive a similar feeling from both types? I love kink, but far is the day when I jack off reading a scene lengthily describing an explosion (of explosives, I mean). More seriously, I like the idea of the literary feat, but despite the parallel with Vlad (poor Vlad, by the way...), there is IMO a lack of link between the scene and the rest of the narrative. In CSI, or a movie, there'd be a clever 3D animation following the signal, as CJ does with his pen, but you need to see the thing happening, not know the ins and outs. Unless, of course, you intend to sell out to North Korea or Iran. As I'm (heavily) paid to read CJ's prose, I read the text with attention, but I doubt I've memorized much beyond "this is a complex process, in which an electrical signal travels from one part to the next, triggering various reactions leading to the nuclear device blowing out".

But sane people get a bigger kick out of reading a sex scene. Hopefully. I mean, is there an equivalent for people who get aroused by lengthy descriptions of bombs going off?

I've been a strong supporter of the CH theory, but I don't see it apply here. A cliff-hanger would have left us thinking Vlad could stop the explosion. The only unknown element is Mario and Instinct, but it's hardly a cliff-hanger, since we're not left with Mario about to push the button/ pull the trigger/ poison the drinks; we just know, as we have for some time, that he was given the go-ahead to kill them.

The portrays of the ladies were really well done, neither caricatures nor judgments. This adds to the strength of the drama.

The style and the story telling are great, even though I'm not terribly into this sort of plot. As it's short and adheres to the time frame of the narrative, it's rather brilliant. One small question: can't there be a font choice to make it look a bit more out of the ordinary? Simplicity is good, but there are other basic fonts that look like a little more thought was put into the online posting of the story.

Though I've often felt it sucked big time, coming to terms with the fact that we will never be movie stars or important CEOs or ***** (insert your dream of great achievement here) will be an issue for 99% of us. There was a "hero" thread in the Lounge at some point. I don't know whether it's heroic, but waking up in the morning, doing your job as well as you can, without crushing down others and pretending you're much better than you really are is somehow heroic. There are tons of ways to make the world a better place, and to see you're part of the whole scheme. And as you said, we don't have to complain too much. Being a white male in the western world with average prospects in the 21st century beats a lot of other human conditions.

Well, for all I know, A Friendly Face (aka Kevin, Kevvers and God knows what else) is very cute too. As for CJ, I'd bet that anyone into goats would find him quite attractive... Sadly enough, I didn't belong to the foreign legion.

Hope you have fun. For any member of the site needing cheap (well, free) accommodation , I live north of Paris, 1 hour away from Paris by train (which is 35 euros). You're quite welcome if plans are made in advance (I am away for business often, but with sufficient credits, I can manage to work a simple solution out). So, Dalmatia, if you have any trouble on your way back up, don't worry and ask.

A Happy Belated Birthday!

A happy birthday. Sorry about the missing 9, though.

Seconded. This got my vote. CJ's Petting Zoo implies his readers are his pets, which, frankly, my dear, I find insulting. I don't want to be a collateral damage in the Jsmith/ CJ feud.

When Worlds Collide So you both owe money to Rodolph Mat

CJ seems to surrender a bit too easily. I'd be Joe, I'd be worried that a Joe Smith pops up as a very evil character, or just a generally repulsive one. Or a victim of the Scar's wire.

What happened to you, CJ? How could you possibly change your rules to admit defeat to the Great Foe from Madison, Milwaukee and Austin?

I'm not sure fictional characters should be shared and lent (the Goat has quite a lawyer), plus you could have Eric drink tequila AND use motor vehicles afterwards. Let's say the AAFC (Adoption Agency of Fictional Characters could see some flaws in your application.

The Scar is a hard worker. And his concern for ridding the Los Angeles citizens of the Big One issue shows some concern for proactive environmental initiative. Nice chapter. Plus I now know that Vladimir respects some rural traditions that can only be praised.

I know the feeling. I try suppress a few, but it's only possible to some extent. I'd say I'm more of an "apostrophe adding" guy anyway. And CJ, thanks for the 250% raise.

This all goes to show how much a quiet, shy lurker can usually achieve when put in a proper environment. Same as Bob and Graeme. I disagree on many issues with CJ, but we always had constructive dialogs. And seen the insanely high raise (250%) I got last month for zeta-reading, I can hardly say bad things about him.

Sorry for giving up on Tim and his dysfunctional friends. On my reading list, but things are a bit hectic lately...

Yes, good question. There's a good chance he wouldn't be too far away so he could enjoy the mighty power of electricity. And implicit content. We have to infer Gerald's revelations from Dennis' pondering. And now, I feel quite certain we won't have the words about his parents as he tells them during the counseling session.

Happy Birthday!

What BSK said. Please let this not be seen as condoning post-whorism, though.