Conner

Not that I would mind, but it's a bitty early for that. She's still Brad's half-sister, but, you're right, JP will not allow Brad's family to fall apart. Anyway, don't the lawyers get to make millions first?

Bitty's not too bright given her behaviour. Obviously she hasn't been getting very good advice. She's being the petulant child instead of the conniving bitch she needs to be. She doesn't even realize that the court will listen to what the social worker has to say. The video tapes are a great idea. I'm wondering if JP's brother, JJ's biological father, will play a role in all of this. I don't think he knows that he knocked Bitty up. Does Cody get to screw everyone??? "Well, Marcel, if you want to make things up to me, you can hand me your ass." Mind you, I thought that bringing up Bruno was a low blow on Cody's part. JP and Stef are doing great! Super chapter, Mark!

Is the pool still intact?

I sure would like to hear from Marcel regarding his earlier behaviour. All we have is Stef's best guess...and that doesn't count.

I clearly stated that Marcel was the author of his own undoing. In life, there are always mitigating circumstances. Marcel took the drugs to masked his pain. Assigning blame and holding grudges are not even short term solutions. They simply damage the relationship more. As Mark pointed out, Stef was hurting considerably as well at the time. I had overlooked that, I must admit. As for Marcel staying in California, you can't be serious. Stay and watch Cody f**k his lover for a month? I don't think so. On top of that, Max wanted him gone. He wanted to hurt Marcel back. He succeeded nicely.

I reall like the term "dirtbag" for Bruno! Thanks, Hoskins! I do feel badly for Marcel even though he's the author of his current situation. I can't get my head around why Marcel would find support in Bruno of all people. It seemed out of character for him not to rely on Max and Stef and JP. I had completely forgotten he was Jeff's son. I'm unsure his recovery will be an easy one. He truly must loathe himself. I must say I'm angry with Max. He admitted to having punished Marcel for the hurt and pain Marcel had caused him. As karma goes, that's never a good thing to do to someone you still love. Max will pay a price too. I'm pissed with Cody as well. He encouraged Max to stay in California longer. Telling Max that when he went back to Marcel in Chicago he'd be more of an equal vis-a-vis Marcel in terms of sexual experience. I must admit that I bought into that myself. So Cody's "people insight" fell flat on its face this time around. I'm also pissed with Stef. He had guessed, presumably correctly, that Marcel was having a difficult time in dealing with Greg's death...yet Stef didn't seem to do anything about it. He too was busy punishing Marcel, if only passively, for being disloyal. I'm so upset! I must have really enjoyed that chapter.

So, Eric, has a copy of Chapter 46 shown up in your mail box??? I'm still wondering about the bomb. So the bomb caused the volcano to erupt. But what about the bomb itself? I understand that nuclear bombs can be hazradous to health? You know, blast forces and radioactivity. :wacko:

Chapter 8 was magnificent! I really enjoyed it. The dialogue was excellent. Eric's letter to Jason was so sweet, so brave, so full of his strength and wisdom. The graveside ceremony was tough to read. It was enormously satisfying when Ronan chastised the whispering Baptists. So Jason will play a major role in the story, perhaps even as a Guardian. That's good, Rilbur, keep us readers drooling for more.

Clues, riddles and such things, make my head hurt. :wacko: Here is my entry anyway: The Great Goat from the Heavens <bows to His Majestic Goatness> comes down and throws a freezeframe on the whole mess. The reason being He was planning to vacation on this very Island in a few weeks and will not tolerate a bunch of humans ruining his fun. So He backs up events surrounding the bomb and the volcano. He then places The Scar and Eric in a sealed room. The only weapon in the room is a bottle of tequila. Whoever exits the rooms, once the tequila settles,is declared the victor. Eric wins of course. And then there's a pool party. I readily accept I won't win...but the real fun in life is in participation, is it not?

It has been quite the ride, this story has. Even the odd hanging was fun. Brilliantly told, Mark!

I'm glad you opened threads for your stories here in the forums. I far prefer a discussion over simple feedback. I'd be lying if I didn't say how distressed I was with Eric dying in Chapter 6. Then you went on to completely devote chapter 7 to telling us what a great man he was. Mind you, the ending of chapter 7 was really quite delightful. Oh well, it is your story. Perhaps I need to remind myself of the cautionary foreward you posted at the beginning of the story. Anyway, enough whining. So it turns out Eric was the subject of the first part of the prophesy laid out in chapter 5. I have no idea why I didn't see that coming. :wacko: Not only that, but it seems that Eric had more than an inkling that his time was up. Great story, Rilbur!

I would have preferred to have heard from Marcel directly, especially around his infidelity. All we have is Stef's assessment that he was grieving Greg's passing. With all the attention Max is getting from Stef, Cody and JP, I'm thinking he'll one day thank Marcel for his indiscretion. Cody has definitely added a great deal to the story for the last several chapters. His comment about Max getting more on an even keel with Marcel was quite insightful. A synonym for rooster??? I'll have to look that up!

Papa Granger!! Of course, Caroline does deserve most of the credit in this. I was pleased that Granger told her he was proud of her - twice! Yes, childbirth sucks. So why didn't the midwives have George boiling water? Isn't that the father's role during the delivery. So is George going to be handing out cigars? Tabacco is around, right? Michel will have a brother. Freddie's been outdone again. That Granger is one horny toad, I'll tell you.

I can just hear CJ saying, "Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat...and I'm not even wearing a hat!" I'm predicting that GA will set a new record next Tuesday for most members on-line. Either that or CJ will be the first de-Hosted Author. I'm sure CJ is just giddy right now from the high he's on at this point in the story. He is just dying to post the next chapter while at the same time trying to stretch out the suspence to the max. There's likely to be a few goat-gasims throughout this week.

Does this mean there won't be any more pool parties for a while???

For obvious reasons, it takes us longer to get our sea legs.

It seems some guys know how to shut down a thread.

I wish! Unfortunately, it seems his coping skills are over-developed. Travers is quite "randiless" these days. He's all career, except when he is with Granger. Travers is turning this story into a "chick flick". Mind you, Granger having at him in full uniform was totally hot!

This is so untrue. ...so different or ...no different? :2hands:

Splendid chapter! Georgie will make a fine Lord of the Manor. So congratulations are in order for Travers. I'm curious as to how this Teasdale thing will play out. So, if I lived in these times, I'd be dead.

So Cody was hired for his talent in reading people. That's cool; but is he going to be expected to identify a promising show biz type talent? I'm curious about that. Did he ever lay it on what's her name or what? Well, she did ask. All is good with JP and Stef. I'm glad that Robbie's getting a few punchlines. The fact that Marcel is there now really says a lot. I'm told crow is best eaten while still warm. Unfortunately, for Marcel at least, cold crow buffet is what's on the menu...especially since Max will be doing a lot of the serving. I suspect that Stef's insight into Marcel's behaviour for the last while will most certainly have an impact on Max. But why Bruno? That's what I'm having trouble with. Bruno's a pig. I get that Bruno manipulated Marcel...but to that extent? So we'll see (soon I hope) what Marcel has to say for himself.

You men keep this up and this thread is going straight to the Soapbox. For me, the ole days were simpler, less hectic. People wrote letters then. Divorce was the exception. You usually had one employer for your whole career. You weren't "reachable" 24/7. However, I will never give up my microwave and dishwasher.

I think it's important for an author to establish the main love interest quite early in the story. You've done exactly that. But, uhmm....you didn't mention in your end notes when the sex would start! Alright, I'm joking...sort of. Great, great story. As David has already mentioned, the roaming magic scene was most lyrical. I particularly enjoyed the dialogue between Taral, our sweet prince, and Aavin. Well done!

It would seem Travers was able to adjust his comfort zone around Caroline. But isn't it a law of "romance" that for every comfort, there is an equal and opposite discomfort? I'm sensing a three-way happening down the road with Granger, Travers and Caroline. Wasn't it in fact alluded to by Granger himself in an earlier chapter? Things like that tend to linger in my mind...and other body parts. The whole thing with Michel is so sweet. Maman and Papa Granger. I love it. Of course we must have politics and this chapter was most definitely devoted to politics. Granger is one sweet talking devil!

I like the gallery pics right where they are. It would be better if they changed more frequently, but I guess that's tied into how often members post pics in the gallery.