Conner

Happy B-Day, dude!!! Rock until you drop!!! Conner

Robbie, I want to have your babies!!! Ok, so that might not work. :wacko: But it's the thought that counts, eh? Conner

I just call 'em as I see 'em!!! Wasn't that so John Wayne-ish? Conner P.S. You do know who John Wayne is, don't you?

All of you young people have inspired me. I'm gonna post a pic...maybe ...hahahaha...I need to find out how to post a pic. Are there any "how to" instructions on the site? It'll just be a head and shoulders pic. Everything south of my neck is pretty scary....for young people anyways. Looking for more exposure, Conner

Your grandfather's wedding??? WOW! What a horndog he must be! So, does this run in the family or what? Great smile, gorgeous eyes....and look at those pearly whites! I'm not talking about your granfather, either. Conner

Well, aren't you the sweetest thing ever! You have beautiful eyes. Those eyebrows are to die for. Thanks for that! Conner

Chapter 6 was really hot...sizzling even. Jake's a sweetheart. Brad totally owes Caire on that one.. So Lark adjusted rather quickly to finding out his best friend is gay. 24 hours later and he's looking for a blow job. Not surprisingly, Brad gave him the green light for future accommodation. Oh my yes, friends with benefits. Conner

From my perspective, the jury is still out on how dangerous Brad could be. Interesting question, though. I'm hoping Brad won't have to be. JP's still the "godfather" of the family, at least that's how I see it. That said, seeing that you're the author, I'll have to keep a lookout. What is perfectly clear is that Brad has a very strong sense of family and part of that is knowing that his family totally supports him and will do whatever it takes to ensure his well being. In this instance, Brad was looking out for himself. The possibility of being outed at school was not something he would endure without a fight. As the old maxim goes...the best defence is a good offence. He had cause. Doug had threatened him directly. Brad acted. Whether Brad deserved it or not ceased to be relevant. Survival instincts kicked in. Brad certainly has a good set on him. there's no doubt of that. Conner

Thanks for releasing chapter 5 so quickly. I was quite prepared to do some begging or, even better, whining! So Brad executed the preemptive strike on Doug and, to some extent, on Lark, his best friend. It raises serious ethical questions....which, of couse, I have no intention of addressing seeing that I liked the outcome. No doubt, Lark has a whole new respect for Brad. The moral of this chapter is always exercise caution about whom you f**k with. I was surprised, but glad given Lark's reaction, that Brad came out to his buddy. It was totally not planned and speaks well of Brad's feelings for his best friend, the need to be honest....mind you, that must be tempered with the fact that Brad had put Lark on the sacrificial alter only hous before. Lark is obviously a survivor, too. Wait until Claire finds out what Brad has been doing with her suitor! Ok, I'm going to try this again....the next chapter can't come soon enough! Conner

A very complex story, indeed. Good on ya, Jovian, for taking that on. I hope to read more of your work. Conner

What secrets? What clues? :wacko: There's going to be a pool party and "exotic dancers". Who cares about secrets and clues? Conner

Jan, stay off the roller coasters! Not at your age. You're lucky, actually. Francois put dinosaurs on my last cake!!! I'm extremely pleased that you're trying to keep up with me. As they say, "Misery loves company!" Happy B-Day, Jan!!! Conner

Chapter 4 of Be Rad was excellent! The sex scene between Brad and Armand was totally hot. "Filling" would be another adjective that seems to...uhhh...fit. Actually, the scene leading up to the sex scene was tantalizing as well. Let's just say that Brad was able to make his case. I'm disappointed about how the Brad - Doug relationship has developed. It's obvious, at least to me, that Doug hasn't come to terms with himself. He's in denial abouit his sexuality and is blaming Brad for what has happened so far. At the same time, Brad seems to be trying to step in between Brad and his best friend, Lark. The webs we weave...ack! There are now ultimatims all around. The next chapter can't come soon enough. Conner

Gasp! Gasp! Not a cliffhanger! And you're in the "cool member" category? That was one of the longest chapters posted so far...and we never got to Jake and Ry getting together. Anxiety = cliffhanger. Plain and simple. I accept the fact that the cliffhanger is a tool used by many authors. It's only natural, I suppose. Nothing is better than a bunch of anxiety-ridden fans to ensure the next chapter will get read. Charles Dickens and Mark Twain started it all a long, long time ago. I happen to be the GA resident authority on cliffhangers, so there! I know what anxiety is. I've got the medication to prove it, too. :wacko: What is Jake's reaction, really? Coming out stories are always facinating especially around the "best friend" reaction. So far. he's basically said "we're not cool", "I hate you", and "I don't know how to find another brother". I appreciate the fact that "best friends" who are straight need time to figure out what's important to them. They need time to deal. To Ryan's benefit, he was very honest about what he was feeling about the whole issue. On the one hand, he has a friend whom he considers a brother. On the other (or as I like to say, "In the other corner, wearing no trunks at all....") he's confronted with the fact the his best friend is gay. Very often, straight guys become very concerned about what "all this " means to them and others. Will others think that he's gay because his best buddy is gay? That's always a factor - even in this case where Ryan has been characterized as not caring what other people think. I don't care how accepting any straight guy is - this is an issue; it's an assault on their very masculinity. It's obviously clear that Ryan has little tolerance for queers. Again, it's the masculinity thing - not necessarily his fault per se, but a place that many young men get to because of what they are exposed to in our culture. Ryan's initial reaction is that this is all about him. He hasn't taken even a second (that we know of) to consider Jake's feelings and how Jake is coping. I believe Ry's reaction is more along the lines of "How could you do this to me?" Even Chloe's reaction is not what I had expected. She was freaked out about it. She, obviously, doesn't have to deal with the masculinity issue...but she still thinks that it's f**ked up, though. If she was truly accepting she would have shown a lot more compassion for Jake, along with a willingness to get on Ry's case about it. She simply says she's not gonna take sides. She's going to do the Switzerland thing and remain neutral. What crap! What are your thoughts? Conner

Chapter 10 was great. Then again, I'm pissed off that I have to wait for chapter 11 for the Jake-Ryan conversation in order to get some basic resolution on their friendship. The anxiety is killing me. Even then, I have no guarantee that you'll give us any resolution whatsoever in chapter 11. This was a nasty cliffhanger, plain and simple. But I'll be there when 11 is posted, that's a given. Conner P.S. I believe GA allows readers to stalk authors who write nasty cliffhangers back-to-back. Just so you know.

The great thing about ghost stories is that the anxiety created by the story e.g. bloodstains on the ceiling, often causes the reader to almost hallucinate. I kept thinking that real blood was going to start dripping from the ceiling any moment. Very different and, yes, lots of fun. Thanks, jfalkon. Conner

Cute story, but way too short. I didn't care for Theresa...."stay with us girls and don't go play with those big mean boys." That's me paraphrasing Theresa. Gabe knew he would have to deal with whatever came up. Good on ya, Gabe! Why couldn't there have been more spins of the bottle? One lousy spin, that's all we got! Talk to me, Kanaye! Conner

Congratulations to you all! Well deserved, indeed. Conner

That was a great short story. WoW! Nick's conversation with Keith at the bar - really superb dialogue. Talk about turning the tables. I was stunned, really stunned. Nick gave Keith a gift. The kind of gift only someone who cares about you can give. The gift was Nick's truth about their relationship - the emotion was so raw, coming from such a painful place. He made himself totally vulnerble to Keith in doing that. That took so much courage. To Keith's credit, he took it in; he got it...and will be the better for it. Thanks, Com. Conner

Happy B-Day, Benji! I'm glad you're trying to keep up with me. Conner

Loved that chapter! The only way this chapter could have been improved is if there had been a pic of Eric in his skin tight leather shorts and mask. Standing on the bar, of course. It's good that Eric can read a crowd and made his exit before the hook came out. I hope his ego is not too bruised. He is such a cool dude...without tequila of course. I didn't notice any changes in the site formating. It's all good. I did notice, though, CJ, that you had your coat trimmed...yes, those unsightly hairballs can be annoying. Superb, as always, CJ. Conner

...and a heartfelt thanks from me, too. Conner

I'll post here, thanks. I followed all three parts of the saga. I enjoyed them all very much. I love good dialogue and, in my view, that's where your strength as an author lies. There was a lot of wit and sarcasm, and just plain honest talk between characters. A close second to your dialogue was the sex. It's there in abundance and very well done. I like sex in a story and I was not disppointed. I hope you continue to post more stories. Conner

A men's group that I'm familiar with has the following "Code of Honor" Commitment before ego Honor the truth Respect confidentiality Keep your word Be a three-dimensional man Be prepared Defend humanity Always be faithful to the men Defend the code Never engage in battles with weaker opponents Fight only honorable battles Earn and honor rank Be humble Embrace all men Be an example to children If you can do all this consistently, I would have to say you got the man thing down pretty good.

My take on Craig is that he's the gymnast who was going to be the bartender for the weekend event. It would be consistent with Keith's telephone conversation with the "loser". Will Eric be thrust into the role of bartender - with some sort of disguise of course? Maybe out of guilt Craig shows up and he and Eric find something...together. I like it. Godzilla on steroids - I absolutely loved that. Great chapter, CJ! Conner