Conner

So, tell me, is Tar a take-off on TR or something else? It rings a bell for some reason, but I can't place it. The banter between TR and Bill is excellent. I love great dialogue. This was a first date like no other - talk about laying all your cards on the table. Needless to say, I'm wondering where David is in all this. Julie promised him that a lover was in his near future. It seems he might already be out of that game. Bill is hard to say no to (pun intended).

Sweet, sweet story! Ok, it's early in the story and everything is going TR's way. I mean he's got a fish on the hook and he didn't even use bait. This isn't going to last, is it?

Ok, that was totally hot! So if the werewolf is a buddy/lover, why did he let Shade hide or at least "signal" Garrett in some way that an intruder was in the closet? I am also wondering why Shade would let the Vamp leave the penthouse. I imagine the answer will be...all in good time. I love vampire stories. More please!

I must admit I didn't notice the muscle thing - perhaps we have a similiar perspective on musculature! I liked it when Shade informed Garrett that the Queen had sentenced him. I thought, yes, skip the trial and verdict and go straight to sentencing. It must save the Queen a lot of time, money and, of course, lawyers. Ok, seeing that we're sending arrows in your direction :ranger: here's mine. It's stated that Shade has an arsenal of supernatural weapons, but he pulls out a dagger and a wooden spike. The shadows thing is awesome, really liked that. One last thing, the sexual tension is fierce. Please keep it that way!

As Sherlock Holmes often said, "It's elementary, my dear Watson!" The cliffhanger is nothing but a manipulative device used by lesser authors to gain and maintain some sort of fan base. These shameless authors plague upon the weak minded and the fuzzy-thinking to satisfy their larger-than-life egos. It saddens me deeply when I think about all the cliffhanger junkies who spend all their time checking for updates. CJ simply has too much integrity to stoop to this level. He respects his readership - I would call it just plain old common decency. CJ's standards are high indeed! How else could anyone become a Hosted Author and Admin here at GA? How does he do it? CJ largely writes mystery-adventure stories usually with high scientific content. Such stories require intensive and exhaustive research. That's the meat and potatoes of his work. Who needs cliffhangers? My arguments are irrefutable. :2hands:

I'm finding that several characters are becoming increasingly self-absorbed. Young adults, and I'm being generous here, trying to be mature adults and totally wondering why they're scewing it up. The Gathan/Kristen relationship is the best example. Advice offered by JP and Stef is acknowledged but quickly discarded. How Stef manages to continue to "direct traffic" is beyond me.

Mitchell is a creep for using his position the way he did. Not only did he abuse his position of trust, he fed alcohol to a client who has alcohol abuse issues for the purpose of seducing him. What a douche! I'm wary of how he might react to Coop leaving the way he did. Specifically, will he report Coop absent for Saturday's program. First time I'm reviewing here. Having read your anthology entry, I decided to seek out more. Great story - never a dull moment, that's for sure.

As a kid, I did a lot of hospital time. I wanted to be a doctor. It was obvious to me that they got all the respect! In high school, I discovered chemistry! I did go on to my undergrad degree in that field. Once I graduated, however, the last place I wanted to be was in a laboratory. "I'll be a teacher!" I said. I had spent about 6 years in the armed forces reserves (weekend soldier sort of thing)and I had done a lot of instruction. Yes, teaching was for me. Or so I thought. I registered for teachers' college. Then the first week of student teaching rolled around. I couldn't get out of that high school fast enough. I eventually settled into the pharmaceutical drug regulatory area. And that's where I've been - going on 40 years now.

I was certain you were going to say pole dancer.

I've always enjoyed your writing style, Jack - nice flow, great dialogue and good homour to boot.

No one's "normal"; you know that! Besides, I prefer abnormal. I came back to re-read the last 3 chapters. Nice. Real nice.

I don't know if you intended this, but, in my view at least, Robbie is being portrayed as a sad, neurotic fool who's only being tolerated because he's Brad's partner.

I'm betting that the answer to "who's me?" is Duncan. It would be consistent with his recent dialogue. He's the mage (at least on interim assignment)who doesn't believe he's a mage and will deny it even on his deathbed. Hopefully it won't come to that! Duncan just wants his former life back...well, he wants Jacen too but he's in denial over that as well. I always wanted to be a person who just knew things! That would be so cool....I think. Definitely a wascally wabbit are you, Dark!

I'm thrilled that Calvert is making an appearance again. I don't anticipate any "group" sex here. George has never made it a habit to be in bed with his lovers' lovers. He will want some alone time with Calvert, that's for sure, if only to admonish him for his decorum in public. Neck stretching is hazardous to one's health. I'm curious as to how Calvert will react in this instance. There will be some discomfort for sure, but certainly neither George nor Francis have any expectation that the other has been celibate. My hope is that they will rekindle their love. In any event, que sera sera.

Robbie was just being Robbie. He's had years of practice. Frankly, I admire the fact that he was ready to get in there and duke it up. Of course, he probably would have made things worse....that is if he actually figured out exactly what he was going to do. I don't know if this is a red herring, but wasn't there something in the last chapter about a high ranking policeman on the Paris force who was in cahoots with the bad guys? :wacko: I was thinking that that may have caused Stef to seek help elsewhere. It was very clever how Will managed to convince Gustave to use a condom. I think it's already been suggested that Will will need some Stef time to help him figure all this out. I know his dads will be there for him as well. Super chapter, Mark!

I would add my congratulations to the Boston Bruins. Edit to add: My only wish at this point is that both Horton and Raymond return healthy next year.

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Canucks will take a feeling of quiet anger into the most important game in franchise history. Canuck general manager Mike Gillis did a slow burn when talking about the hit that knocked forward Mason Raymond out of Wednesday night's Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final against the Boston Bruins. Raymond was injured when hit by Johnny Boychuk of the Boston Bruins early in the first period of Vancouver's 5-2 loss Monday night in Game 6 at Boston. "I didn't see the puck around him,'' Gillis said Tuesday. "I thought the Boston player used a can opener and drove him into the boards with enough force to break his back.'' A Canuck release said Raymond suffered a vertebrae compression fracture and will be lost for three to four months. He remained in hospital in Boston and did not fly home with the team. Gillis was careful when asked if he thought Boychuk should be suspended. No penalty was called on the play. "I'm not in charge of supplementary discipline, so I'm not the right person to ask about that,'' said Gillis. "I think when you see the severity of that injury, the way our doctors described it to me (was) very, very dangerous. It wasn't a chipped vertebra or cracked vertebra. It's broken through the belly of his vertebra, so it's a very serious injury. You never want to see any player on any team have an injury like that.'' The Canucks lost defenceman Aaron Rome for the series after he was suspended for a hit on Boston's Nathan Horton that resulted in a concussion. Bruins' coach Claude Julien wasted no time on the issue. "I haven't looked at it that closely,'' said Julien. "I don't really have time to bother with that when you've got Game 7 coming up. "We've talked more about what we need to do here, not analysing the injured players of the other team.'' Boychuk did not speak to the media. There has been heated emotions and blood spilled during the series. There have been slashes after the whistle, gloves in faces and punches thrown. The Canucks have complained the officials are turning a blind eye while the Bruins rough up players like Daniel and Henrik Sedin. When penalties are called, the Canucks are a laughable 2-for-31 on the power play. Gillis, a lawyer, declined to comment on the officiating. "That's a question I don't think I can answer without getting myself into trouble under any circumstance, so I'm not going to answer that,'' he said. Gillis publicly blamed the referees for the Canucks being forced to play a Game 7 in their first-round series against the Chicago Blackhawks. He said more penalties were called against the Canucks than Chicago. Vancouver won the game but his rant earned Gillis a fine from the league. The Canucks were forced to make another cross-continent flight after they blew the chance to win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history Monday. What was supposed to be a defining moment in Canuck history turned into an embarrassment when goaltender Roberto Luongo allowed three goals in less than nine minutes in the first period. The NHL officials who look after the Stanley Cup didn't even bring the trophy into the building because of the lopsided score. Luongo was replaced by backup Cory Schneider but is expected to start Game 7. The Canucks have been outscored 17-3 in Boston, but have limited the Bruins to just two goals in three games in Vancouver. Luongo has recorded two shutouts. "I just think we need to keep doing what we did at home the last three games,'' said centre Ryan Kesler. "Focus on our game plan, execute it to a T and impose our will on them. "Both teams want this, but we have to be the harder working team.'' The Canucks were the highest scoring team in the league, but have managed just eight goals in six games against the Bruins. Kesler said Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas and the Boston defensive deserves some credit. "They're a very good team and they play a very good defensive system,'' said Kesler. "We just need to keep getting shots.'' The Canucks rolled into the playoffs after the best season in franchise history. Vancouver won the Presidents' Trophy for the first time for having the best regular season record. The Canucks set team records for 54 wins, 117 points and 27 road victories. None of that will matter if the Canucks lose to the Bruins. What people will remember is Luongo allowing soft goals, the Sedins struggling to score in the final, and the Bruins pushing the Canucks around like school-yard bullies. Coach Alain Vigneault said his team will be ready. "I know we're looking forward to the opportunity,'' he said. "It's an honour to be able to play a seventh game in the Stanley Cup final.'' Raymond was hurt just 20 seconds into Game 6 when he got tangled up awkwardly with Boychuk. He was bent at the waist with Boychuk's stick between his legs when Boychuk ran him backward into the boards near Boston's net. Raymond lay face down on the ice for several minutes before his teammates helped him off. He wasn't moving his legs as his teammates guided him to the bench. He was taken a local hospital for evaluation. Gillis said "hopefully there won't be surgery'' but it could be November before the 25-year-old from Cochrane, Alta., is able to play again. Raymond has two goals and eight assists in 24 playoff games. In 70 regular-season games the speedy forward had 15 goals and 24 assists. "Mason is a popular guy on the team and we would love to have him,'' said Canuck forward Chris Higgins. "It's unfortunate that he can't play.'' Raymond joins a growing list of injured Canuck players. Defenceman Dan Hamhuis is sidelined with an undisclosed injury, while Mikael Samuelsson is out after undergoing successful surgery to repair his adductor tendon and sports hernia. Horton was ruled out for the rest of the series with a concussion after the hit, but returned to TD Garden for Game 6 to pump the crowd up by waving one of the Bruins' yellow towels. He also made the trip to Vancouver.

It's a cut and paste from the Canadian Press. I wasn't about to edit it. I'll be adding another one shortly. In any event, think what you want. I'm really not interested.

My experience in reading your posts is that you bludgeon people with your opinion. You're not interested in civil intelligent discussion. You're interested in being right, no matter the cost. This post is just another example of your attitude. You behave like just another online bully. Why would any sane person want to respond to you? By your own admission, you're negged a lot. Whether you're willing to admit it or not, that's still feedback. You simply toss it aside without a thought and call the people who negged you backstabbers.

VANCOUVER - Forward Mason Raymond will miss Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final and could be sidelined for four months with a back injury, the Vancouver Canucks said Tuesday. Raymond sustained a vertebrae compression fracture in Monday night's 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins in Game 6 of the final, Mike Gillis, the Canucks' general manager, said in a release. Raymond is expected to be out of the lineup for three to four months. No other details were provided. The Canucks will face the Bruins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final Wednesday. Raymond was hurt just 20 seconds into Monday's game when he got tangled up awkwardly with Bruins defenceman Johnny Boychuk. He was bent at the waist with Bodycheck's stick between his legs when Boychuk ran him backward into the boards near Boston's net. No penalty was called. Raymond lay face down on the ice for several minutes before his teammates helped him off. He wasn't moving his legs as his teammates guided him to the bench. He was taken a local hospital for evaluation. The 25-year-old from Cochrane, Alta., has two goals and eight assists in 24 playoff games. In 70 regular-season games the speedy forward had 15 goals and 24 assists. Raymond joins a growing list of injured Canuck players. Defenceman Dan Hamhuis is sidelined with an undisclosed injury, while Mikael Samuelsson is out after undergoing successful surgery to repair his adductor tendon and sports hernia. Defenceman Aaron Rome was suspended for a hit on Boston's Nathan Horton in Game 3. Horton was ruled out for the rest of the series with a concussion after the hit, but returned to TD Garden for Game 6 to rile the crowd up by waving one of the Bruins' yellow towels. Vancouver centre Ryan Kesler and defenceman Christian Ehrhoff are playing with suspected injuries.

Well, Karadur certainly has a commanding presence! Thank gawd for Azil speaking up, so to speak, or Duncan, Bryce and Jacen would be toast...literally. No news of our halfling. So I'm dying to know if Karadur meets up with the Dark Prince? There'll be singed feathers all over the place. Superb chapter!!

Leave it to Will not to panic in this situation and actually enjoy the sex. Of course, at that point he knew his death wasn't imminent. I'm glad he wasn't raped. I wondering if Brad is having a worse time of it. So will Stef involve the police or make use of his own crew in the rescue? There is going to be a rescue, right Mark? I suppose I was being overly optimistic in thinking that the kidnapping would be resolved in one chapter. :wacko: So, methinks everyone owes Robbie an apology for being anxious about this trip to Paris. Excellent chapter, Mark!!

An extremely entertaning read, Andy! I would have preferred that the young apprentice had lived and became an apprentice to Marcus. But that's just me being sucky. I had a little chuckle on first learning Kenard's name. As you may know, "canard" is the French word for duck. I won't bother you with the images that flowed from that.

I have to agree with ricky. Caroline will be George's "ace in the hole". Ok, I've been wondering forever about this Marquess peerage title thing. There's Duke and Duchess - the later being the feminine half of the equation. Wouldn't it be Marquis? But maybe that's French. Please enlighten me. Well I never thought I would warm up to this Chartley dude; but I have. I remember a very sexy, albeit brief, description of his body in the last chapter. Guess we'll have to wait that one out as well. Great chapter, Mark!

Right on. Wasn't it Bettman, that weasley-faced NHL commissioner, who was first quoted as saying, "The buck stops here!"