Poor Man's Son

[methodwriter85]

I think if JJ said that he hadn't seen Will's junk before, we should take him for his word. Maybe there were occasional swim trunk slips, but likely JJ quickly averted his eyes and all of that. He's never struck me as someone that would be all that casual about nudity, given JJ's general prissiness. I thought the scene played out very realistically for a guy who's lagging behind his peers in development, and wanted to see how he stacked up against his VERY developed brother.

 

Tony seems like he'll add an interesting mix. It's nice to add legacy characters. The angst about his dad dying of AIDS and his own possible homosexuality seems like some interesting territory to explore.

[PrivateTim]

I disagree. These guys have their own bedrooms with their own bathrooms. I'm trying to think of a time when they'd be naked around each other, and I'm not seeing it.

 

They probably would have been naked as kids together as it wouldn't have been uncommon to bathe young kids at the same time and when you grow up in a house of mostly guys (moms don't count) there is a casualness about clothes and nudity.

 

These families never struck me as ones likely to be shy or prudish about nudity.

 

Why an outdoor shower? Why not a stone floor, tiled, or brick antechamber leading from the beach door and a shower room just off from that room? Rich as they are, and famous as Robbie is, an outdoor shower seems like a pretty big and unneeded risk.

 

I find it hard to believe JJ hadn't seen Will's dick, but for a different reason than Tim. If Brad managed to peek in on Will and Drew, why not JJ?

 

Most of the homes in the Colony have outdoor showers with nozzles also, at "foot level", but other than small kids, you don't see a lot of people nude-ing up to use them. You do see guys skipping the "towel change" to go from wetsuit to boxers, it they think no one is watching.

 

Great point. They'd probably have their own personal cabanas/shower rooms on the beach.

 

Because Brad was curious about what sexual orientation Will had, so he was actively listening in on what went on in Will's bedroom? And JJ might have heard, but I don't know how much of an inclination he would have had to actually watch his sibling have sex. I know I sure as hell wouldn't want to watch any of my sisters having sex. Any time I heard the sounds of sex coming from my sister's room, I turned up the music on my CD player to blare music, or I turned up the television volume.

 

The other thing, that's been strongly hinted at, is that JJ has pretty much isolated himself with all the figure skating stuff, and thus he just plain wasn't paying attention with whatever is going on in Will's room because he's practicing a single stance for hours on end in his own room.

 

I think just about any kid is curious about sex and if JJ could have watched John & Will, I think he would have. I might have watched my brothers once or twice or every chance I got , but if I'd had a sister, it would have been gross I think and I might have felt a need to beat the crap out of the guy alla Gathan.

Edited September 2, 2011 by PrivateTim

[methodwriter85]

These families never struck me as ones likely to be shy or prudish about nudity.

Right. I'm saying JJ himself is likely to be shy or prudish because of his prissy ways, and because it's embarrassing to be close to 15 and still not have really hit puberty yet. My voice didn't drop until I was 17. I got a lot of crap for that. He's lucky that he doesn't have to deal with locker room showers because he's not in a contact team sport that requires them.

 

 

I think just about any kid is curious about sex and if JJ could have watched John & Will, I think he would have. I might have watched my brothers once or twice or every chance I got , but if I'd had a sister, it would have been gross I think and I might have felt a need to beat the crap out of the guy alla Gathan.

 

I grew up with sisters, so that may be why I never had any sort of inclination to watch them have sex. The stray thought to watch might have come into JJ's mind, but he shrugged his narrow shoulders and went back to plotting his 2006 Olympic plans.

 

I like the innocence about JJ. It adds to the late bloomer feeling of him- his brother and his cousin have become young men, but he's very much still a child, and he's in a sport that encourages you to stay asexual and virginial. That should lead to some interesting conflicts later on when he finally starts to "bloom", so to speak.

[centexhairysub]

Well, I just finished the latest chapter of Poor Man's Son; it was very thought provoking for me. I really like Tony coming back into the story. The idea of Sam's son coming back into the families life really interests me. In some ways, Billy was like Sam's son and when he died and Sam left, it created a hole in the family that never got filled back up. Sam was a person that I really enjoyed when he came into the story but truly didn't understand or even really like by the time that he passed away. I really forgot that Tony would have been that young when Sam died.

 

I really like how Will gave Tony space and allowed him to go to bed and decide for himself how he was dealing with all these remembrances of the father that he never knew. It would be weird for him that JP and Stef really knew and maybe understood his father better than he did.

 

I think that Tony would be an interesting addition to the family as a whole and hope that we see more of him than just this one story. Keep up the great work Mark, and thanks for the visit down memory lane.

[centexhairysub]

I like the innocence about JJ. It adds to the late bloomer feeling of him- his brother and his cousin have become young men, but he's very much still a child, and he's in a sport that encourages you to stay asexual and virginial. That should lead to some interesting conflicts later on when he finally starts to "bloom", so to speak.

 

I am not sure that you aren't confusing the public face of skating with the reality of it. I knew someone really well that competed on the national level in the late 80's and early 90's and was always amazed at the stories of what went on at the skating events. He was in his late teens when he competed at his first Nationals and competed at that level for six years. My friend said that it was basically one big orgy during the competitions. He said that the sex and drugs were very rampant but hidden from public view.

I don't believe that the behind the scene activities suddenly got tamer as the years went by. Just read some of the books and interviews that skaters have given over the last few years about what it was like when they were competing.

 

Now, I do think that for the moment JJ is rather prudish and reserved but I think that has more to do with him not really entering puberty fully more than the public persona that skating places on the face of it's sport. I do agree with you though, when he breaks out, watch out, it will be wild....

[Mark Arbour]

Well, I just finished the latest chapter of Poor Man's Son; it was very thought provoking for me. I really like Tony coming back into the story. The idea of Sam's son coming back into the families life really interests me. In some ways, Billy was like Sam's son and when he died and Sam left, it created a hole in the family that never got filled back up. Sam was a person that I really enjoyed when he came into the story but truly didn't understand or even really like by the time that he passed away. I really forgot that Tony would have been that young when Sam died.

 

I really like how Will gave Tony space and allowed him to go to bed and decide for himself how he was dealing with all these remembrances of the father that he never knew. It would be weird for him that JP and Stef really knew and maybe understood his father better than he did.

 

I think that Tony would be an interesting addition to the family as a whole and hope that we see more of him than just this one story. Keep up the great work Mark, and thanks for the visit down memory lane.

 

Will is having a tough time trying to figure Tony out. He's not used to reserved guys, which is understandable. I think that whole thing must have been intensely weird to Tony. I'm not sure how an 18 year old guy will deal with all of that.

[Mark Arbour]

When I started to write Tony into the story, I had a clear vision of his personality, and it was based on an amalgamation of a couple of guys I know. These guys are very masculine, claim to be very straight , and have a very tough outer shell. I thought it would be interesting to toss him into the mix, considering that most of the other characters in this story wear their feelings on their sleeves. Now granted, Wade and JP are more reserved, but they'll let their hair down, so to speak, with their family members. I see Tony as the kind of guy who remains superficial to all but a special few, and I think what makes him different than the others is that he doesn't have to have someone in that role. I'm not advocating that as the way to be, but I'm sure we all know guys like that. Tony is that guy. At least for right now.

[methodwriter85]

I am not sure that you aren't confusing the public face of skating with the reality of it. I knew someone really well that competed on the national level in the late 80's and early 90's and was always amazed at the stories of what went on at the skating events. He was in his late teens when he competed at his first Nationals and competed at that level for six years. My friend said that it was basically one big orgy during the competitions. He said that the sex and drugs were very rampant but hidden from public view.

Now, I do think that for the moment JJ is rather prudish and reserved but I think that has more to do with him not really entering puberty fully more than the public persona that skating places on the face of it's sport. I do agree with you though, when he breaks out, watch out, it will be wild....

 

Right. It's a conflict. You have to hide the stuff that you do- JJ can't be that open about what he does the way the other members of the family can because everything has to happen behind closed doors while he maintains the image of the non-sexual figure skater. That's not hard now because he's only 14 and not particular sexual, but when he gets to about 17 or 18, I can imagine it'll be frustrating. For the mean time though, I think JJ has bought into what the image is, because he hasn't gotten to see yet all the crazy things that go on behind closed doors because they're behind closed doors and he's not getting invited behind them yet. It's going to be interesting. Mark's never really written a character before who has to be publically an asexual virgin for P.R. purposes- that's completely anathema to the way in which the family conducts themselves. LOL. I think JJ will like visits to Europe and develop an affection for it because the figure skaters there deal with much more relaxed expectations about behavior, and have the sort of orgy parties you're talking about. It'd be funny if JJ is like Johnny Weir in the sense that he "adopts" a Euro country the way Johnny adopted Russia, and affects the whole national persona.

 

Will and an 18-year old guy who doesn't live in his area and has some closeted angst/daddy angst going on. I'm sure this will end well. LOL.

Edited September 4, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Daddydavek]

When I started to write Tony into the story, I had a clear vision of his personality, and it was based on an amalgamation of a couple of guys I know. These guys are very masculine, claim to be very straight , and have a very tough outer shell. I thought it would be interesting to toss him into the mix, considering that most of the other characters in this story wear their feelings on their sleeves. Now granted, Wade and JP are more reserved, but they'll let their hair down, so to speak, with their family members. I see Tony as the kind of guy who remains superficial to all but a special few, and I think what makes him different than the others is that he doesn't have to have someone in that role. I'm not advocating that as the way to be, but I'm sure we all know guys like that. Tony is that guy. At least for right now.

 

 

Interesting info on how you perceive your creation. Somehow it fits though with Tony's conservative background, having been raised on the 'hill' in South St. Louis. Much different for Will than the expressive 'Berto.

[KYE]

When I started to write Tony into the story, I had a clear vision of his personality, and it was based on an amalgamation of a couple of guys I know. These guys are very masculine, claim to be very straight , and have a very tough outer shell. I thought it would be interesting to toss him into the mix, considering that most of the other characters in this story wear their feelings on their sleeves. Now granted, Wade and JP are more reserved, but they'll let their hair down, so to speak, with their family members. I see Tony as the kind of guy who remains superficial to all but a special few, and I think what makes him different than the others is that he doesn't have to have someone in that role. I'm not advocating that as the way to be, but I'm sure we all know guys like that. Tony is that guy. At least for right now.

 

It would be nice to have a character that is older than Will that would refuse to mess around with him sexually because of Will's actual age of 13/14, regardless of Will's mature appearance. That would actually be a realistic character, but I guess we will have to wait and see if Tony is such a character. Even Cody, as big of a slut as he is, wouldn't mess around with Alejandro until he turned 18.

[methodwriter85]

In Cody's case, he was 25 when Alejandro was 15. With Tony being just 18, things get murkier. It's not uncommon at all for an 18-year old to mess around with someone underage. Is it wise? No, but it does happen.

 

It does seem really dumb though because this is the post-Megan's Law era, and California seems like one of the more strict states about statutory rape/sex offenders.

Edited September 4, 2011 by methodwriter85

[KYE]

In Cody's case, he was 25 when Alejandro was 15. With Tony being just 18, things get murkier. It's not uncommon at all for an 18-year old to mess around with someone underage. Is it wise? No, but it does happen.

 

It does seem really dumb though because this is the post-Megan's Law era, and California seems like one of the more strict states about statutory rape/sex offenders.

 

I am surprised that since California is considered a Liberal state that it seems to have one of the higher age of consent laws in the country. I live in a conservative state with an age of consent law of 16 except when dealing with someone of authority over a teen such as a teacher.

Edited September 5, 2011 by KYE

[Matthew k]

I am not sure that you aren't confusing the public face of skating with the reality of it. I knew someone really well that competed on the national level in the late 80's and early 90's and was always amazed at the stories of what went on at the skating events. He was in his late teens when he competed at his first Nationals and competed at that level for six years. My friend said that it was basically one big orgy during the competitions. He said that the sex and drugs were very rampant but hidden from public view.

I don't believe that the behind the scene activities suddenly got tamer as the years went by. Just read some of the books and interviews that skaters have given over the last few years about what it was like when they were competing.

 

Now, I do think that for the moment JJ is rather prudish and reserved but I think that has more to do with him not really entering puberty fully more than the public persona that skating places on the face of it's sport. I do agree with you though, when he breaks out, watch out, it will be wild....

 

That is pretty much what I have heard about skating "back in the day", but every USOC Group A organization drug tests their winners and runners-up now and has since the mid 90's probably. How far down they test depends on how many qualify for a World's Championship. In wrestling since only one guy goes, they only test the winner and the 2nd place finisher, in case #1 tests dirty. In a competition where three qualify, I would assume they drug test the top five.

 

But I still think some steamy sex happens in that post competition jacuzzi,,,,

 

When I started to write Tony into the story, I had a clear vision of his personality, and it was based on an amalgamation of a couple of guys I know. These guys are very masculine, claim to be very straight , and have a very tough outer shell. I thought it would be interesting to toss him into the mix, considering that most of the other characters in this story wear their feelings on their sleeves. Now granted, Wade and JP are more reserved, but they'll let their hair down, so to speak, with their family members. I see Tony as the kind of guy who remains superficial to all but a special few, and I think what makes him different than the others is that he doesn't have to have someone in that role. I'm not advocating that as the way to be, but I'm sure we all know guys like that. Tony is that guy. At least for right now.

 

Tony would be a "standard guy" who was raised with being gay not being acceptable and having to wrestle with his own feelings (if he has any), his feelings about his father's sexuality, and the added burden of how his father died. This world of people being open and accepting of all things homosexual and being open with their feelings would be all new to him as it is for a lot of college freshmen when they no longer have to conform to the "high school" mentality. While there are schools in CA that are progressive, like Gunn, Gunn is the exception in the public school world in CA, not the norm. Despite the face that CA public educators try to put on, the reality in Fresno, Bakersfield, Tulare, Humboldt, San Bernardino, etc. is far different from that of Gunn. In fact, you don't even need to go as far as Fresno, I bet it is far different at Overfelt or Independence in San Jose.

 

It would be nice to have a character that is older than Will that would refuse to mess around with him sexually because of Will's actual age of 13/14, regardless of Will's mature appearance. That would actually be a realistic character, but I guess we will have to wait and see if Tony is such a character. Even Cody, as big of a slut as he is, wouldn't mess around with Alejandro until he turned 18.

 

Actually as for realism, from my experience in the gay community, age doesn't seem to stop anyone from being with whomever they are attracted to. Now a lot of guys don't like young guys, they want older muscular guys, but everyone has their likes and dislikes. I had a friend who when he was 15, wouldn't date anyone under 25.

[KYE]

Actually as for realism, from my experience in the gay community, age doesn't seem to stop anyone from being with whomever they are attracted to. Now a lot of guys don't like young guys, they want older muscular guys, but everyone has their likes and dislikes. I had a friend who when he was 15, wouldn't date anyone under 25.

 

I don't know what Gay circles you run in but I have Gay Friends from Southern California, to Chicago, Atlanta, St Louis, Indianapolis, New Orleans, several cities throughout Florida, Montreal, London and several other places and I don't know of one that would have a sexual relationship with a 13 year old, or at least admit it.

[methodwriter85]

It would actually be interesting if Tony was primarily straight, but it's just that 20 percent that haunts him...I don't think I want him to be totally gay. We already did that Jeff and I suppose Aaron.

[PrivateTim]

I don't know what Gay circles you run in but I have Gay Friends from Southern California, to Chicago, Atlanta, St Louis, Indianapolis, New Orleans, several cities throughout Florida, Montreal, London and several other places and I don't know of one that would have a sexual relationship with a 13 year old, or at least admit it.

 

I think you miss Matt's point that being a guy being under 18 doesn't stop the guy who is attracted to him even if he is 18 or over. I think he was more envisioning a 25 year old dating a 17 year old, not a 53 year old and 14 year old, that is a very different dynamic. But I am sure he will speak for himself when he has the chance.

 

It would actually be interesting if Tony was primarily straight, but it's just that 20 percent that haunts him...I don't think I want him to be totally gay. We already did that Jeff and I suppose Aaron.

 

Well hell, then you are the only one!

 

I don't know that you can put a percent on how gay you are and what would it mean if you could? If you are 20% gay does that mean every fifth person you firetruck is a guy?

 

What would be more realistic, to me, would be Tony not understanding his sexuality at 18. We've seen all these characters who just know they are gay and know it from the get go. There are those guys. But there are plenty of guys at 18 who had no idea who they were sexually and some at 30 and probably even some at 50. If you aren't raised in an environment where homosexuality is acceptable you might ignore or shove away feelings that don't conform to the norm.

 

In high school I was about 50-50, guys to girls and none of the 11 or 12 guys I fooled around with turned out to be gay (or at least not yet) and one of the girls is a lesbian now. In college I was 90% women going on an Adam Philips like tear and that was partly because of my fraternity house, partly me trying to prove something to myself and partly fun. Eventually I met a guy and that guy slowed me down with anyone else and then eventually it became him exclusively. So even though I have not been with a woman in 8 or 9 years now, I still firmly classify myself as bi, but it took me a while to get over the notion that my attraction to guys was more than a phase.

 

Point being... it would not be unusual for Tony 2, 3 or 4 on the Kinsey Scale and not understand that those designation exist.

 

 

I think it possible, even likely that there are "2's" in satisfying homosexual relationships and even more common to see "4's" in satisfying heterosexual relationships.

[Mark Arbour]

I think you miss Matt's point that being a guy being under 18 doesn't stop the guy who is attracted to him even if he is 18 or over. I think he was more envisioning a 25 year old dating a 17 year old, not a 53 year old and 14 year old, that is a very different dynamic. But I am sure he will speak for himself when he has the chance.

 

 

 

Well hell, then you are the only one!

 

I don't know that you can put a percent on how gay you are and what would it mean if you could? If you are 20% gay does that mean every fifth person you firetruck is a guy?

 

What would be more realistic, to me, would be Tony not understanding his sexuality at 18. We've seen all these characters who just know they are gay and know it from the get go. There are those guys. But there are plenty of guys at 18 who had no idea who they were sexually and some at 30 and probably even some at 50. If you aren't raised in an environment where homosexuality is acceptable you might ignore or shove away feelings that don't conform to the norm.

 

In high school I was about 50-50, guys to girls and none of the 11 or 12 guys I fooled around with turned out to be gay (or at least not yet) and one of the girls is a lesbian now. In college I was 90% women going on an Adam Philips like tear and that was partly because of my fraternity house, partly me trying to prove something to myself and partly fun. Eventually I met a guy and that guy slowed me down with anyone else and then eventually it became him exclusively. So even though I have not been with a woman in 8 or 9 years now, I still firmly classify myself as bi, but it took me a while to get over the notion that my attraction to guys was more than a phase.

 

Point being... it would not be unusual for Tony 2, 3 or 4 on the Kinsey Scale and not understand that those designation exist.

 

 

I think it possible, even likely that there are "2's" in satisfying homosexual relationships and even more common to see "4's" in satisfying heterosexual relationships.

 

Well-stated.

[methodwriter85]

I came out when I was 14; fully accepted myself by seventeen. I've never really known what it was like to try and date girls to prove something to myself- I wasn't really going around saying, "Hi, I'm Jeremy and I'm gay", but I never tried the beard thing, either. It's interesting for me to see people for whom sexuality wasn't so clear and cut...I was kinda hoping for Tony to be along the lines of Matt in Cross-Currents...generally straight but with a few kinks thrown in there. That could cause some interesting issues- if you're guy who mainly responds to girls, but there's this thing you have for guys that you can't really ignore...well, I think that's pretty interesting because it's so outside of my own experience.

[Matthew k]

I don't know what Gay circles you run in but I have Gay Friends from Southern California, to Chicago, Atlanta, St Louis, Indianapolis, New Orleans, several cities throughout Florida, Montreal, London and several other places and I don't know of one that would have a sexual relationship with a 13 year old, or at least admit it.

 

I think we have discussed the "age thing" ad nauseum in this forum.

 

There are not a lot of 13 and 14 year olds out in West Hollywood, but more and more you see 15 and 16 year olds. (but then I am guesstimating ages, remember Will is 14 (close enough) but looks 17) When I see the dances (that is figuretive, not literal) being done at Starbucks, Greenwich VIllage (pizza place), O Burger, etc. no one is checking ID's before they talk to each other.

 

I came out when I was 14; fully accepted myself by seventeen. I've never really known what it was like to try and date girls to prove something to myself- I wasn't really going around saying, "Hi, I'm Jeremy and I'm gay", but I never tried the beard thing, either. It's interesting for me to see people for whom sexuality wasn't so clear and cut...I was kinda hoping for Tony to be along the lines of Matt in Cross-Currents...generally straight but with a few kinks thrown in there. That could cause some interesting issues- if you're guy who mainly responds to girls, but there's this thing you have for guys that you can't really ignore...well, I think that's pretty interesting because it's so outside of my own experience.

 

You never had the attraction to women in the first place to cause confusion it sounds like. A "6" by the scale Tim posted, but you can't generalize your experience to all gay or bi men. There are probably even guys who were 6's, who for reasons of their own, wanted to be 0's. I certainly know guys, now in their 50's and 60's who were that way, did the whole marriage to woman and family thing before they figured it all out. I also know guys in their 50's and 60's who were out in their late teens in the 1970's and these are guys all from the same area, so you can't even blame cultural pressures. It is all internalized and people have to deal with their sexuality in their own way and at their pace, no one elses.

 

I want to punch the little sreaming queen at The Abbey who sits there and says he'd never date a bi man, because he needs someone to commit to their sexuality and stop trying to be someone they aren't. He just doesn't get that the possibility exists that that is exactly who that person is. A bi-sexual, but because the SQ doesn't have those feelings, he assumes no one can.

 

I'll be fine with Tony taking his own sweet time to figure out who he is.

[methodwriter85]

I'll be fine with Tony taking his own sweet time to figure out who he is.

 

Me, too. And it does bother the hell out of me how some gay men tend to treat bisexuals as being confused and in denial about being gay. Adam Phillips has talked before about getting emails that told him that he needed to come out of the closet about being gay and the like. Ugh.

 

I like the development of Tony so far- I like that he's interested in cooking and BMX biking. That's pretty cool. I also liked Will displaying his knowledge about marine life. Adds to the whole "different feel" of this generation as opposed to the Be Rad generation.

Edited September 5, 2011 by methodwriter85

[KYE]

It's interesting for me to see people for whom sexuality wasn't so clear and cut...I was kinda hoping for Tony to be along the lines of Matt in Cross-Currents...generally straight but with a few kinks thrown in there. That could cause some interesting issues- if you're guy who mainly responds to girls, but there's this thing you have for guys that you can't really ignore...well, I think that's pretty interesting because it's so outside of my own experience.

 

Sounds to me you are describing Gathan's character. Do you want 2 Gathan's in the story?Maybe Gathan and Tony can be together at college and then go back home to their girlfriends after they graduate.

Edited September 5, 2011 by KYE

[methodwriter85]

Gathan's more along the lines of not seeing gender when it comes to attraction. It's different from the bisexuality of Andy Sharpe in Cross-Currents, where he distinctly needs both the male and female form in his life to be happy. Gathan isn't attracted to someone's sex- just whether he likes them or not. It's why if he gets married to a guy he won't need to be with women to be satisfied; if he gets married to a woman he won't need to have sex with men to feel fufilled.

Edited September 5, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Daddydavek]

Chapter 39 is up and Tony kissed Will on the boat after visiting Alcatraz. Will was impressed, Tony about apologized for leading him on....and then Will was disappointed that Tony didn't take any more steps or kisses! Tony did talk about his past straight failures with girls. Tony is a bit of an enigma yet and I am not sure Mark has decided which way(s) that apple will fall. The past includes his one-time encounter with Gathan. So anything is possible.

 

The heterosexual encounters between Gathan and Kristin appear to have been daily or more and the encounter on the hood of a car was described. The chapter indicated that Gathan's budget included visiting Kristin in Ohio every other weekend which appears somewhat unrealistic. Once school starts, there will be homework, papers, projects, activities, sports, etc and a long-distance relationship is going to be tough.

[PrivateTim]

I hate that Will is falling for what I think is the wrong guy again. I've known guys like Will who seem to want someone to be with, they always want to be in a relationship and can't just relax and enjoy the moment. There is a happy medium between screwing every person you meet in an emotionless NSA encounter and falling for everyone who blows you and thinking they are the one. I hope Will finds it.

 

I also think it is a mistake for Gathan and Kristin to want to see each other every other weekend. Gathan has no idea what is in store for him when he starts classes at Stanford (please note my very tolerant, correct spelling of that place because I am being serious here). This ain't some public high school in Claremont where you can skate through classes by being fairly bright, this is one of the elite universities in the country. Everyone of your classmates is from the the top 1 or 2% of high school students in the country, even the athletes. You have to study and study a lot just to keep up, let alone succeed. I don't blame Kristin for wanting to see him and I know she has no idea of the crushing load of class work that any university can have, but especially a top university. I hope Gathan can cancel a trip or two and show his seriousness about school. I'd also hate to see him miss out on the fun of college because he is dating a high school girl. There is just something very special about college football at major DI schools and all the surrounding events.

 

Don't get me wrong, Kristin is sweet and I understand there has been too much character development done with her in the context of this being a story to drop the character, but Adam Philips experience his freshman year in college seems a more realistic way of how things go down. You should enjoy yourself in college, especially your first couple of years, before the realities of facing the world hit you. The real world seems so far away your freshman and sophomore years.

[methodwriter85]

I think it will work after college, when Gathan goes back to Ohio to help out Nick with his plans for Claremont. But for now...no. I don't think they can be totally done, but I think a "pause" might be good.

 

I gotta agree with you about Will. I'm hoping all along that Will's character arc is not about finding him the perfect boyfriend, but about Will realizing that he doesn't need to get serious about every guy he has sex with- to enjoy the moment and not expect that he's found his soulmate in every guy that gives him a blowjob. That's where I'm hoping he ends up, not settled in some "soulmates" relationship.