Mark Arbour

My intent, unless I screw it up, if for Will to refer to Robbie as "Robbie" in his thoughts only, but to call him "Pop" when he talks to him directly. I can see him talking ABOUT Robbie to someone else and using either word. This has as much to do with minimizing reader and writer confusion than with any direct slam on Will's part. Will isn't always lovable; he's a teenager. The two are almost mutually exclusive. Was there any HIV risk there? I'm not seeing it.

Tony is Sam's son, but I guess you got that by now. Every story needs a couple of hot Italian guys. I'm glad you liked it. There was a lot of stuff in this chapter. I think the big fear Jeanine had was how Tiffany would react, and probably that was justifiable. As for Tony, well, we'll have to see.

I'm hoping it's a fun time on the Farm.

Just because Gathan hooks up with Tony, doesn't mean he ends up being his True Love. LOL.

Why?

Yep!

How many of you remembered Tony Carbone? (It's cute how that rhymes)

July 9, 2000 Malibu, CA Will “This is great,” I heard Robbie say as I neared the kitchen. “Did you tell Brad about this?” He sounded really irritated. “No, but I will,” I heard my mom say nervously. “I can’t believe you did this!” Tiffany shrieked. She was really pissed, but that was nothing new. She could be a real bitch. “I don’t know what I can say to make things better, besides I’m sorry,” Mom said despondently. “It just happened.” “An

I agree. I think he is redeemable. Or I may change my mind. :-)

Of course. You know what? We can't use emoticons when we reply to messages. How f**ked up is that? I'll bet it still bleeps out "f**ked".

He's 18. I don't think he knows what to think of all this.

Sometimes crying helps.

I know. Ever since I offed Jeff in 1968, I have to really think it through before I kill someone off.

A school for young men? I think Graner would have liked that.

Are you reader and author? I'm both, although the more I write, the less time I have to read. Do you participate on the forums, write a plog, chat? I participate in the forums, although I try to avoid the Soap Box these days. I rarely write on my blog. I even more rarely go into the chat room. I'm not a big fan of the chat room; I've lost readers who have gone in there and been treated rudely. Is GA your community and if so, what do you give back to it? Are you a regular or are you someone who visists us from time to time? My community? I'm not sure what that means. I post a lot of stories here, actively participate in the forums (mostly my own), and generally log on here a couple of times a day at least. I figure that being a hosted author here, that's my job, to post stories, so I do. If it weren't for my readers, it would be a thankless task. How did you find GA? I followed Dom here. Didn't everyone? More than anyone else, Dom has built this site into what it is.

October, 1796 Granger stared at the sea where Aurore had been, and where now there floated only debris from the battle. He wanted to flee to his cabin, collapse onto his cot face down and sob, venting the emotions that boiled within him, but he was a Royal Navy captain first and foremost, and there were others depending on him. He had responsibilities to attend to. “Mr. Roberts, where is that Spanish frigate?” Granger demanded. Roberts looked at him, surp

Things don't always work right here, but we make do. No worries. I understand what you're saying, especially when you have a personal history to influence your perspective on this topic. No one is trying to minimize the impact of what happened, but I think it has more to do with being supportive and non-judgmental at this juncture of Gathan's life. He's a sensitive guy, and the real pain and real remorse is not going to come from Stef or anyone else, it's going to come from Gathan slaughtering himself inside. I'm just saying that I think Stef was attuned to him enough to get that.

Disrespect? Are you kidding me? Relax and enjoy yourself. Besides, based on younger friends, I'd say your observations are spot on.

What is very clear is that those who voted think he should be older to bottom than to top. I'm wondering if this isn't a psychological gender residual from the attitude that it's OK for men to f**k around (top), but not for girls (bottom)?

Me too! I guess Stef could have said "Oh my God, you raped two people! That's horrible! You suck!" Stef would know that if you do that to an 18 year old guy, you'll send him spiraling into a self-esteem free-fall. If you think about the psychology, that's a really good way to set up a serial rapist, a guy who can't have real sex, only forced sex. In any event, I think Stef did the right thing by trying to help the guy he had in front of him (Gathan). If you think about it, Stef has never been about judgment. He's doing that here, accepting that what happened, happened, and doing what he can to repair the damage. I'm not saying he handled things perfectly, but I think he did pretty well under the circumstances. I got some crap about the unprotected sex from my beta team, and I can see that would be out of character, especially for a guy like Stef who lost so many friends to AIDS. I think the only real justification is that he was probably focused on the moment, on helping this f**ked up guy, and just didn't insist. In his mind, he was probably calculating the chances of infection with a guy who had two unprotected incidents. The riskiest, f**king the guy, wasn't all that risky since the guy he f**ked was a virgin as well (one would assume). The other thing to ponder is that these guys aren't perfect, and they do f**k up. Do all guys have protected sex? Do all gay men adhere to strict age guidelines, as in "I won't sleep with anyone more than 10 years younger than me?" I'm wondering how many 55 year old guys out there would turn down a smokin' hot 18 year old that threw himself at them? Just asking.

The results are not what I had anticipated. At this point, the majority of you want Will to start f**king around NOW.

"Poo-poo head"? It's not Sunday, Reverend. That's Sharon's fantasy, only she'd make me describe the actual pain and agony as the chest fills with water during drowning, and about how the rocks feel when they smash into your body.

San Francisco is neither small nor laid back.

I'm glad you liked the dual narration! I think Brad's attitude is more understandable when you think about him as a father.