Conner

A pool party with strippers!!! Now that's entertainment! Thanks, CJ! Conner

Personally, I think you're right on, Steve. I couldn't agree more. Frankly, I don't care what literary tool His Shadowyness used, it worked extremely effectively. Having a mentor to smooth out the roughness is one of life's joys. I think the boat metaphor goes even further than that of course...even with a smooth bottom whoever's steering the boat had better be paying attention. Conner

A 3-year pub crawl in Ireland! I'm serious! :2hands: Conner

I just know I'm going to love this story. As CJ points out in posting this first chapter, the genre is romance/relationship. We all know what that means.....Pool Parties!!! My first reaction to the name Carlshitski was that one of CJ's beta (maybe zeta) readers changed Carlisle to Carlshitski and CJ didn't notice it. Either that or CJ did it himself. In any event, I'm convinced that JT is the brothers' dad. I just love the sweet cuddly moments between Brandon and Chase. Getting married on a tropical beach definitely falls into the 'romantic'. It's just so great still having Helen in the story. The feelings that she and Eric have for one another and the constant tension between them, as they each give their best to outsmarting the other, is one of the more fascinating dynamics at play in the story....for me, anyway. I love it. Having a relationship like that in real life is a ton of fun. MORE, please!!! Conner

Happy B-Day!! Your Shadowyness

Excellent chapter, Dan! You would think that Brandon would have caught on by now that getting in shape might be a good idea - in his own interests as well as Worthington's. I still love him, though. This time, Brandon enters the fray. Way to go, Bran. Definitely a cliffhanger here, not so much from the ending, but the lack of information on how Jamie fared. His combat group had met considerable resistance. Just can't get enough of this story. Conner

Happy Birthday, James!!

Duncan, Enough already! :2hands: My tear bucket is full and we're only at chapter 4. How about a beach party next chapter? Your characters are so beautiful. They really are. There are some great observations from your other readers. I really enjoyed them. Congrats on being shared hosted (yes, I'm a wee bit slow off the mark). That's fantastic! Conner

Happy Birthday, Jamie!!! Conner

You can't go wrong with a team like this, Robbie! Conner

The Goat Sub-Committee is preparing a suitable award for this superb story. It will, of course, be made of paper mache and hay, suitable for eating. As all awards should be. Conner

All will be well! Trust the Goat! It's just that I can't picture a sequel without Helen. In addition to that, if Eric has a gay part to him, he will need Helen's support if he decides to do something about it. One loose end has to be the kiss he gave Cody. Conner

Helen is not dead. Her bed was transferred from the ICU to the hospital chapel for privacy purposes. Conner

Yes, John A. MacDonald, Canada's first Prime Minister. He's dead, though, so I won't be dressing up as John A. Besides, he's a Scotsman.....I'd have to wear a kilt. How about Celine Dion? Yes, there is. J'espere que La France nous souhait une belle fete! Conner

Whew! The only good Dimitri is a dead Dimitri. He was definitely a killjoy in this story. If there were to be a cliffhanger in this chapter, and of course there isn't 'cause CJ doesn't use cliffhangers , it would be Helen's fate. Not a single word. My take is Helen will make a miraculous recovery....I have no idea how, though. I'll leave that up to CJ. Besides, the body count in this story is too high as it is. My other reason is that the boys will be so bummed out if she dies, we'll never have another pool party! Thanks for all the technical stuff, CJ! :wacko: Two dudes who are afraid of heights fighting it out on a small piece of rock jutting out over a 200 foot deep ravine....now, that's irony. Happy landings! I loved that. Poor Jer, just when he thought he had bought himself a country. I'm betting that the military officers who took the bribes will put Jerry in chains and use him as a negotiating tool for a free trip out of the country. Of course, once their plane is out over the ocean.....WACK! KaBoom! What troubles me is Jerry is quite clever and may have an exit plan in place already for just this eventuality. If he gets away, he'll probably start a small business in South America somewhere call "Nukes 'R US" selling a do-it-yourself nuclear bomb kit with added instructions on how to take over a small country. Great chapter, CJ. Conner

Disneyland is a marvelous parallel to the mage world. It was so easy to understand how a mage (Worthington) could think that someone with magic was involved here in the creation of it all. I can see where one might think there was some "mush" going on in this chapter. That's not the word I would use. Then again, I'm 57. Do I really remember what mush looks like? I guess I just saw it as much more mature and honest behaviour on their part...meaning it didn't have that "I can't bear to be without you" element to it. Lyle was saying, "This is what I want to give you right now, and it's the best I can do." Worthington acknowledges that and accepts it for what it is. It's rather unique in many ways when you think about it. Mushy or nor, I loved this chapter. Thanks, Dan. Conner

Well, at least CJ apologized for the "slight tension" at the end of the chapter. Most considerate, CJ. Do your magic, goat-buddy, and give me a happy ending. Chase and Brandon can get married in California now. Dodger Stadium sounds good. I believe Brandon was wearing a parachute, wasn't he? Conner

Superb story, Steve, and beautifully written. Conner

People like Helen never die. They just go on living. It's simply a matter of will. I think it would have been far more exciting had the band's manager been male...perhaps even a gay man. There would have been more pool parties! I'm preparing myself for the climax! Superb chapter, CJ, as always. Conner

No one from Instinct will die. Simply put, it's not going to happen. CJ has learned his lesson on that one already. Let's not have anymore of this "great chapter, CJ" and "a rotisserie in your honour" in the same sentence. Let's support and trust the goat to do well by us. Dimitri will have his day in court soon enough (I'm talking sentencing here, we're skipping the trial) . My thinking is more along the lines of which Instinct member will be the hero of the day. Brandon's been the hero already, so it's going to be one of the others. It might even be big bro, Jon. Our lesbian lovers will survive. :2hands: Conner

CJ, goat buddy OMG!!!!! You were almost "Goat Flambe" or "Goat on Toast" or "Minced Goat" or "Goat under Glass....and Metal" Obviously, you lived a reckless youth. I'm envious! The best part is that you negotiated all the flying time you could use on the very plane that came with a harp. Yes, you are crazy. The Lord loves crazy people. Lucky you. No wonder this story is inside you. All those beautiful bodies, all those pool and beach parties, all the music, all the sabotage....it was all leading to this....this catastrophe in your life.....38 chapters it took you....my gawd....the orgasm must have been sensational!!! The tension you created in me in chapter 37 was unbearable. I had to leave my computer 3 times....to walk it off...or something. Robert Ludlum just became boring. CJ, I want to have your baby goat! Conner

Cross-pollination of stories... :wacko: Yes, I liked it. This could be the beginning of something huge. I can just think of all the possibilities. Helen tracks done Cody only to have an encounter with Saul, the bagel dude. It results in Helen financing a chain of goat-based bagelries. Conner

Dudes, Dechaun is not a mage....ergo...he'd make a lousy channel. Great chapter, Dan! So this gray path is alive in Jamie and Worthington. That is oh so It would make sense that there are others on that path as well. We'll see, I guess. Elves are sexy! Conner

Ok, that was a "feelings" chapter. It made me want to belt out Barbra Striesand's "People". OMG, was that gay?? I most certainly want the Cody-Joe thing to heat up. The only thing that worries me is Joe's apparent need to fix Cody. That's my sense of it. That's never a way to start a relationship. I also enjoyed the interaction between Cody and Saul. Great chapter, Steve! Conner

Yes, indeed, an excellent story. The presentation is most unique. The narrator describes his 'fall from grace' using a distant, almost unemotional, voice. His Catholic upbringing causes him to draw a parallel between his sequence of actions and a sinner stumbling his way through the seven deadly sins. Yet, his story telling is rife with sarcasm and irreverence, largely toward himself, but not in a self-deprecating manner at all. I sensed in him a quiet anger; an anger tempered with a surrendering to the reality of who he is. As Tiff aptly points out, there is strength in this young man. He has a dream for himself and, thus, the courage to persevere, to suffer whatever humiliation that is now his due, and survive it. To conquer it, actually. And that brings me joy. Conner