Mark Arbour

Thanks. I'm not sure what the return home holds in store for our Spanish sodomites. I think Granger will simply be glad to be rid of them.

When Roberts returns, things may get interesting. I think the "nice" part you see is a reflection of Gatling and how he is.

LOL. One of my editors asked me that, and I told him that we can assume that was taken care of, and that Granger wasn't bothered with the details. I think if Granger sends those copies to anyone, it will be to Caroline.

No shit, right? Silly, but convenient!

I think that it is unlikely that the state would take any kind of action here unless they had a really good reason to do so. In other words, if someone was pushing them to have a reason to do it, or if there was a detective with an ax to grind. Nothing like that is apparent here. What I'm interested in, though, is how the lawyers reacted to reading the chapter. Are they gay?

Anything that ends orgasmically has some basic appeal. ;-) Granger must spend much of his free time wrangling with what devilment his sister-in-law is plotting. Can you imagine how dangerous a position he'd be in if Caroline wasn't at his side? He'd be like, well, Bertie.

I didn't really think through the details of Ramsey's choking, but I figured he'd used the chains to choke himself, putting his body into a position that he couldn't get out of. He would be considered a warrant officer (like a petty officer) since he was carried on the ship's books as the clerk, so he'd be subject to the same discipline as the others.

Thanks! I think that having Ramsey meet his demise in a very public and dramatic way wouldn't have been in anyone's best interest. And keel hauling was banned by then. ;-)

Next? It's time to go to sea again.

December 31, 1796 The two marines from the manger were standing at attention, both of them sweating despite the cool weather, so great was their fear. Jeffers stood next to them, looking a little nervous himself. Granger let them stew for a moment, not because he enjoyed torturing them, but because he was contemplating the plan he was about to set in motion. He knew now that Ramsey was a threat to him, and with his sister-in-law behind him, he was a potent threat indeed. And

I was pondering whether to let other people weigh in before I voiced an opinion, but I changed my mind, if only because I've got a spare moment or two and this may be my only chance for the next few days. There are basically five ways on GA readers can voice their opinions, and my views on these have evolved over the past months. Here's where they are now: 1. Star Ratings. These are pretty vague. As KC noted, they're not all that instructive for the author. In theory, they could be used to guide other readers to, or away from, a specific chapter or story. In reality, I doubt that really happens. If I'm reading a story (on the main page), then I probably like it, so I'll give the story a 5 (star rating). If I don't like it enough to do that, I won't rate it. On the chapters, if it was OK, I'll give it a 4, and if it was really good, I'll give it a 5. I tend to be overly generous, since I figure that authors do this for free, and there's no reason to be a hard ass. For my own stories, anything between a 3-5 doesn't bother me. If it's lower, it only bothers me if the person is doing it maliciously. That's what sparked a few of my comments, when I'd note that I'd publish a chapter and it would drop pretty low right after it was posted, then pick up as time went on. That suggests to me that someone sees a chapter posting, clicks on it, and gives it a 1, probably without even reading it. Even then, though, it's not a big deal to me. I mean, it's possible that my engaging personality has alienated people to the point that they'd do that. I don't really worry about those votes having real meaning though, and that's because real readers would take the time to express themselves if I pissed them off bad enough. 2. "Plus" buttons. I use these, and see these as a generic sign of appreciation. To me it's sort of like an internet pat on the back, as if to say "I appreciate you taking the time to write and post." I find this useful in the forums, where you can see if people liked a certain comment or thought, and weigh it accordingly. I also appreciate it when it's attached to a story or a chapter, but in a different way, because this time it's directed at my writing. Plus ratings are good, they're nice, but again, they're not that illuminating. 3. "Like" button on authors or stories. You'd think this one would be the most meaningful of all, but to me, it's the least. I've actually "unliked" some authors that I really do "like", simply because if I "like" a story, I get notifications, Every time an author goes in and edits a story I "like", I get a notification, so if an author is a prolific editor, it floods my e-mail box. I did this to people when I went in and formatted my stories after the move to the new system, and it had to bug the shit out of most of them. 4. Reviews. Some authors live for these. Personally, I like them too, but they're not my favorite medium for meaningful feedback. I got into them when we first moved to the new system, but I've grown to like that format less as we've used it. That's not to say I don't appreciate your reviews. I do. It's just that a review is a one-on-one conversation, and there's no chance for an exchange. You leave a review, and you're done. I leave a response, and I'm done. 5. Forum posts (if applicable). This is my favorite way to get feedback. I love the discussions in the forum. Sometimes I feel good when you all got what I wanted you to get, and other times, it came off wrong. In that case, it becomes a learning experience for me. I get to go back and ask myself what I missed that gave such a different perspective/impression. And you guys are so f**king awesome that you tell me in great detail why you feel the way you do, and that just makes it so much more valuable. Not only that, but it often sparks comments from other readers, and then I get even more info. They also give me a chance to jump in and explain where I was going with something, or to explain my rationale. A caveat: if you're dealing with a new author, be more generous. Nowadays I can handle a kick or two, but when I first started writing, I was pretty sensitive. It's sometimes tough to find the balance between offering positive feedback while not demotivating the author. That's another reason why I like forum posts, but new authors don't have that luxury.

That is some excellent perspective!

That works great if you have some feathers to go with it. And by the way, I have fun toys.

Ah, facts. How inconvenient they can be at times.

I think that Scott is one of those guys who never misses an opportunity. I would bet that if Will gave him an opening, er, so to speak, he'd jump in and take advantage of it. Let's remember that this is a guy with limited scruples, and generally lacks a moral compass. The only time we've seen him act like a good guy (as an adult) was in Millennium, and even there one could say that was nice, noble, but also purely in his own self-interest. That's probably why it seems like he's preying on Will, because in his own way, he probably is. But he also has to balance his motives against the fact that he's Brad's kid, and Scott knows what Brad is like when he's pissed, and protecting his family. So in that context, he's basically teasing Will, and having been where Will was some tens of years earlier, he figures it will fire the kid up and give him one hell of a jack-off session (which it did). And if Will had strolled in there and blown him while he was beating off, well, that would have been just fine with Scott as well. He probably could have talked his way out of that one, more or less. "I was just beating off on MY patio (the one off his room) when the guy came up and blew me. I was horned up. I wasn't thinking straight." Scott wins either way. What 14 year old gay guy, in that situation, wouldn't have watched a hot, 38 year old guy blow his load? Especially when he thinks he's doing it anonymously. I think the fact that Will watched, and did nothing more, is what makes it NOT creepy, since he showed the self-control in that situation. So the external forces keep Scott from blatantly trying to sleep with Will, and Will's own internal forces keep him from being weak enough to do the same. This is about as close to an encounter as they can legitimately get. For now.

It's posts like this that make me miss the "negative" button. First of all, you're not a moderator, so it's not your place to "restrict" comments you consider to be off-topic. Quite frankly, a moderator would have to be militant to worry about this thread going off topic. Second, you imply this is some serious, in-depth discussion. Here's the original post: It's a legitimate question. But if it was a massively emotional issue, don't you think the original poster would have elaborated a bit more? Don't you think the word "love" would have been there instead of just "like"? And did you bother to scan the thread to notice that the original poster never bothered to weigh back in and comment on the thread he started, so desperate was his need for your words of wisdom? Instead, you decide you're in charge, and start loading crap on other members. If you look a little deeper, you may notice some latent self-esteem issues which are common to teenagers in general, and gay males in particular. If their off-topic discussion helps that in even the slightest way, that's way more important than maintaining order in your world as you see it.

Yeah, I always thought that little cliche was too shallow. I mean, if you get Herpes in Vegas, it comes home with you, right?

Yep. Money behaviors are a big problem. Hopefully Gathan is on the right track now.

I think that was a good way to put it...yanking Gathan back into line. Lark's never been a relationship guy. Why would a new identity or plastic surgery change that?

Lark wasn't really trying to seduce Will, he was just flirting with him. If you think about it, it probably made them both feel pretty attractive. I think JJ is just bitchy. I'm hoping he grows out of it before the bus runs over him. :-)

You got the chapter just the way I was hoping people would get it. I thought that the way JP handled Gathan was spot on. Stef would have let him off too easy.

Thanks for the five stars. I need that to make up for the people who try and trash the ratings. Probably the admins. :-)

Oh for Christ's sake. Will watched the guy jack off. Big deal. "Scott" is being playful, and flirtatious, but he didn't touch Will, and it's unlikely that he would. Maybe he has a bit of an exhibitionist streak, or maybe he was channeling himself when he was that young, and decided to give Will a thrill. I think that's pretty innocuous.

August 11, 2000 Las Vegas, NV Gathan “That was the best time,” Kristin said as we drove out of Vegas. “I will never forget that as long as I live. That flight over the Grand Canyon was unbelievable.” I’d spent a shitload of money, way too much money, so much money that I probably wouldn’t have much for school next year, but hearing her say that made it all worthwhile. I had all of the receipts stuffed in my backpack; I figured when Darius took his turn driving, I’d total the