9.11

[methodwriter85]

    I'm going to say this, as someone who has been your beta reader ever since chapter 3 of Chronicles of an Academic Predator and even inspired you to create Matt in the first place- I never thought, at any point, Matt and Wade were acting out in character in terms of how their relationship is imploding. Sure, I didn't think Wade would have yelled at Matt at the the Halloween sorority party, but that's minor. I thought you've been laying out the groundwork for them to break up going all the way back to Paternity- yes, it had a happy ending, but it was also a rift that didn't really heal because Matt didn't really deliver on his promise to act like a partner to Wade and a father to Riley, and the stresses of 9/11 just ripped open the rift fully and totally.

 

   In an event, I really liked the talk that Will and Zach had about JJ. Of course, to a wolf like Zach, the idea that someone would be a virgin at nearly 16 while being cute and semi-famous would be shocking. I also kinda wondered if Zach's flirting with JJ reminded JJ of the coach who molested him. If I were in JJ's mind, I think he's going to wary of non-family members being nice to him. (I don't think Zach is quite considered a family member, and I doubt JJ would think of him as one.) He's going to view people being nice and flirty with him as there being some kind of ulterior motive, because his coach really did destroy the happy, cheerful, sociable kid little boy thrilled to meet new friends that we saw in If It Fits.

Edited February 10, 2014 by methodwriter85

[Kitt]

I keep seeing this huge meltdown coming for both Matt and JJ. Neither one of them is dealing with things in any meaningful way. The others have all had several moments of weaknesses, tears, rage and assorted other outlets. Darius seems to be burying himself in his roll as executor. I can't help but think when things hit the fan in JJ's universe that its gonna be a biggie, as will Matt's meltdown.

[PrivateTim]

I do not think that Wade, Matt, or Will are acting 'out of character' under the circumstances.

 

Me either.

 

I think Will's been a whiny, crazy bitch for three stories now!

 

But watching figure skating today I thought, OMG, it's JJ!

 

 

I see JJ a bit cuter, less goofy, but I thought the hair, body and costume was so JJ.

[KevinD]

Very happy to read this installment…

 

An interesting chapter all around and one that lets us catch our collective breaths, as appropriate and necessary apologies take place between Will & Frank. We shall see how JJ fairs and how his family will help him begin to finally deal with the events of 9/11. Though brief, the exchange between Will & JJ was very moving.  It was an interesting exchange between Will and Zach as they discussed their relationship and where it is being pushed, and of course the concept of needing to be safe because of what will inevitably happen while they are apart.

 

Part of me had hoped that Aaron would somehow work his way back into the storyline even though I felt it was unlikely due to the way that Mark had him walking away from the group when they were in Los Negros.  It was difficult to read how vehement Frank was in his reaction to news of Aaron's passing.  Though, recognizing what the family went through after he staged his death, it is understandable while at the same time, lamentable...

 

I expect that somewhere over the next few chapters that Brad will have a meaningful interaction with Matt. The question is how will that go and that begs the question of, what about Tony? There is so much for them to work through, first somehow trying to break through to Matt and pull him out of the spiral that he is in; and second, will the sexual tension that had been between Matt & Brad reignite? As part of the Millennium storyline they both had stepped back from the dangerous abyss of giving into their lust for each other. With Robbie now gone, will those prior desires reassertion themselves and can that be part of a healing process for them - though more so for Matt? Since Brad and Wade have been together I don't see that as being necessarily a dangerous thing to happen. Maybe that is what Matt needs – a good head clearing fuck from Brad, followed by a meaningful conversation to help Matt begin to heal and also see what Wade needs. But will this get Matt on the correct path to work his way back to Wade's side? If Brad is able to help Matt, is there a role for JP in helping Wade see that perhaps he wrote off Matt too early as part of his own grieving process?

 

There are so many different ways that this story can go and there seems to be way too much to wrap up in the remaining several chapters....

[rjo]

I hate to remind you but Frank is out there too. I honestly think Matt will be the hardest case.

[Daddydavek]

"There are so many different ways that this story can go and there seems to be way too much to wrap up in the remaining several chapters...."

 

I've learned never to underestimate Mark Arbour's ability to spin a yarn.

[Mark Arbour]

    I'm going to say this, as someone who has been your beta reader ever since chapter 3 of Chronicles of an Academic Predator and even inspired you to create Matt in the first place- I never thought, at any point, Matt and Wade were acting out in character in terms of how their relationship is imploding. Sure, I didn't think Wade would have yelled at Matt at the the Halloween sorority party, but that's minor. I thought you've been laying out the groundwork for them to break up going all the way back to Paternity- yes, it had a happy ending, but it was also a rift that didn't really heal because Matt didn't really deliver on his promise to act like a partner to Wade and a father to Riley, and the stresses of 9/11 just ripped open the rift fully and totally.

 

   In an event, I really liked the talk that Will and Zach had about JJ. Of course, to a wolf like Zach, the idea that someone would be a virgin at nearly 16 while being cute and semi-famous would be shocking. I also kinda wondered if Zach's flirting with JJ reminded JJ of the coach who molested him. If I were in JJ's mind, I think he's going to wary of non-family members being nice to him. (I don't think Zach is quite considered a family member, and I doubt JJ would think of him as one.) He's going to view people being nice and flirty with him as there being some kind of ulterior motive, because his coach really did destroy the happy, cheerful, sociable kid little boy thrilled to meet new friends that we saw in If It Fits.

 

Thanks Jeremy. 

 

A couple of years ago, a relative died, and I went through the same grief cycles as one of my cousin's did.  We're very close, and normally I'd consider him to be one of my best friends, but we really clashed at that point.  The reasons for that weren't that we were feeling different things, or that we had issues with each other, the reason was that our timing was very different.  When he was in anger mode,  I was in denial mode, etc.  We were distant for a while after that.  These are the kinds of things that happen to relationships when grief gets inserted into the equation, and this was just a friendship.  I wasn't even fucking this guy.

 

And for the record, Wade didn't yell at Matt at the sorority party. 

 

I keep seeing this huge meltdown coming for both Matt and JJ. Neither one of them is dealing with things in any meaningful way. The others have all had several moments of weaknesses, tears, rage and assorted other outlets. Darius seems to be burying himself in his roll as executor. I can't help but think when things hit the fan in JJ's universe that its gonna be a biggie, as will Matt's meltdown.

 

I think that Darius' role as executor is probably a lucky deal for him, because it prevents him from being in denial, but at the same time, it gives him something constructive to do.

 

Me either.

 

I think Will's been a whiny, crazy bitch for three stories now!

 

But watching figure skating today I thought, OMG, it's JJ!

 

 

I see JJ a bit cuter, less goofy, but I thought the hair, body and costume was so JJ.

 

I was watching this kid, and had the same reaction.  I didn't catch his name, because I was in the middle of something, but I kept glancing at the screen thinking:  JJ!

 

 

Very happy to read this installment…

 

An interesting chapter all around and one that lets us catch our collective breaths, as appropriate and necessary apologies take place between Will & Frank. We shall see how JJ fairs and how his family will help him begin to finally deal with the events of 9/11. Though brief, the exchange between Will & JJ was very moving.  It was an interesting exchange between Will and Zach as they discussed their relationship and where it is being pushed, and of course the concept of needing to be safe because of what will inevitably happen while they are apart.

 

Part of me had hoped that Aaron would somehow work his way back into the storyline even though I felt it was unlikely due to the way that Mark had him walking away from the group when they were in Los Negros.  It was difficult to read how vehement Frank was in his reaction to news of Aaron's passing.  Though, recognizing what the family went through after he staged his death, it is understandable while at the same time, lamentable...

 

I expect that somewhere over the next few chapters that Brad will have a meaningful interaction with Matt. The question is how will that go and that begs the question of, what about Tony? There is so much for them to work through, first somehow trying to break through to Matt and pull him out of the spiral that he is in; and second, will the sexual tension that had been between Matt & Brad reignite? As part of the Millennium storyline they both had stepped back from the dangerous abyss of giving into their lust for each other. With Robbie now gone, will those prior desires reassertion themselves and can that be part of a healing process for them - though more so for Matt? Since Brad and Wade have been together I don't see that as being necessarily a dangerous thing to happen. Maybe that is what Matt needs – a good head clearing fuck from Brad, followed by a meaningful conversation to help Matt begin to heal and also see what Wade needs. But will this get Matt on the correct path to work his way back to Wade's side? If Brad is able to help Matt, is there a role for JP in helping Wade see that perhaps he wrote off Matt too early as part of his own grieving process?

 

There are so many different ways that this story can go and there seems to be way too much to wrap up in the remaining several chapters....

 

 

I mentioned this in the reviews, but I'll chime in again here.  I think that Brad is probably going to have a tough time reaching out to Matt, at least as long as Matt remains estranged from both Will and Wade.  I think the reasons for Will's influence on Brad are obvious, but the situation with Wade may have an even bigger impact on Brad, even if he doesn't realize it.  Brad and Matt were very close when Matt first got to California, but if you think about it, they've been moving apart pretty much since then, while Brad and Wade have gotten much closer.  Brad and Wade developed a very deep bond during the Millennium crises, including the issues with Wade's mother, and that culminated in their sexual relationship.  I think that was more than symbolic, lining Brad up more on Wade's "side" of things, and Matt more on Robbie's. 

 

As Brad struggles with all the people in his life who are trying to deal with this, it is easy to say that he should just figure out that he can help Matt and jump in to save him.  That credits Brad with being much more magnanimous than he is, and it also assumes that he's firing on all his emotional cylinders.  It would be much more likely for Brad to decide that since Matt had all but divorced him and the rest of the family, he'd focus on those who were around him, needed him, and had sought out his help.  And it can't be easy for Brad to see Matt (or Zach) and be reminded of Robbie on a constant basis.

[methodwriter85]

 

I was watching this kid, and had the same reaction.  I didn't catch his name, because I was in the middle of something, but I kept glancing at the screen thinking:  JJ!

 

The body and outfit, totally. The face and hair- not quite. Like Tim said, JJ would be less goofy-faced and cuter- didn't Brad basically describe JJ as looking "stunningly handsome", and I don't think Brad's one to think his children are better looking than they really are. I do think he'd have elfin features like that, though. Like you said, JJ's hair would be short and spiky. But I did have the same reaction of thinking of JJ at the moment he came on, at least from the neck down. That is soooo an outfit that I could see JJ wearing, and the haircolor's right.

 

Speaking of JJ...

 

 

Thanks! Snowflakes landing on the ground, and figure skating on television (Olympics), makes me think of JJ and smile. Especially when I think of all the evil things I can do to him. (LOL).

 

It's fun now that we've got JJ at senior levels, and we know that Evan Lysacek exists, which means that Johnny Weir has to exist as well. It's going to be interesting to see how JJ plays into that 2000's rivalry, and see what parts of figure skating history we'll be re-writing to include JJ into it.

 

JJ could technically skate at 2014- Jeremy Abbott is his age, although both Johnny and Evan are done. My guess is that he'll be out by circa 2007, though.

 

 

Jeremy likes to give me crap about stupid things (SMILE), and he's been whining about the slow pace of the stories, how they don't really advance in years all that quickly. I've been doing some self-reflection, and wondering if I've done that on purpose, to sub-consciously avoid this event. I'll let you know if I figure it out.

 

Interesting theory. I used to think that it was because you just didn't want to end the story and have them hit current time, but I think I like your theory much better.  In my case, I've gotten over it, although I think I really wanted to see more of the 2000's get covered because they were a pretty big decade in my psyche as I went from 14 to 23 for that decade. There's a hell of lot of material to work with in any event, especially with 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008.

 

I also think I really wanted to have Will and co. hit college age so that we can stop having the "OMG, he's too young and precocious!" reaction stuff, and in general being more interested in college shenanigans instead of high school b.s.  That's why Bloodlines still remains my favorite. Is there anybody who would actually pick their high school years over their college ones? Every time I think of who I was in high school I just cringe even though I do have pleasant memories of it.

 

As for Brad and Matt, really good explanation as to why they've drifted apart despite once being pretty tight. It's a good thing Matt, Zach, and Gathan don't look exactly like Robbie, or else it'd be pretty hard for Brad to be around that for a regular basis.

[Mark Arbour]

Are there no Monty Python fans here?  Sigh.  

[Kitt]

I wonder why so many people in the story and in the forum/reviews seem to think Frank's reaction to Aaron first disappearing, then being found, and eventually passing to be so odd.

 

Aaron not only deserted the military - he deserted his family. He allowed the entire world to believe he was dead. While that may have been necessary to make his unauthorized withdrawal from the war and the military believable, it is hardly difficult to understand Frank being very angry when he found out about it. I think it would be sort of natural for Frank to use that as a way to tie his emotions over his dad's slide into alcoholism and violence into a nice neat little package. I am not sure I could be all warm and fuzzy with a long lost brother under those circumstances either, most notably after the way Aaron turned and walked away a second time after they found him on that tropical island.

[Mark Arbour]

I wonder why so many people in the story and in the forum/reviews seem to think Frank's reaction to Aaron first disappearing, then being found, and eventually passing to be so odd.

 

Aaron not only deserted the military - he deserted his family. He allowed the entire world to believe he was dead. While that may have been necessary to make his unauthorized withdrawal from the war and the military believable, it is hardly difficult to understand Frank being very angry when he found out about it. I think it would be sort of natural for Frank to use that as a way to tie his emotions over his dad's slide into alcoholism and violence into a nice neat little package. I am not sure I could be all warm and fuzzy with a long lost brother under those circumstances either, most notably after the way Aaron turned and walked away a second time after they found him on that tropical island.

 

One wonders, since  Frank wasn't in Los Negros, what version of the story he heard, and how that impacted his perception of Aaron.  I would have guessed he'd have gotten it from Robbie, in which case it probably would have been more charitable.  On the other hand, I can see Frank and Nathan having a major bitch-fest, complaining about what an asshole Aaron was. 

 

Regardless, I agree with you, and think that Frank just used that whole situation as a way to explain his miserable childhood.  Remember that he jumped into his father's fight with Jeff and beat the crap out of his old man...those can't be easy memories to bear.

[PrivateTim]

I also think I really wanted to have Will and co. hit college age so that we can stop having the "OMG, he's too young and precocious!" reaction stuff, and in general being more interested in college shenanigans instead of high school b.s.  That's why Bloodlines still remains my favorite. Is there anybody who would actually pick their high school years over their college ones? Every time I think of who I was in high school I just cringe even though I do have pleasant memories of it.

 

I think sometimes Jeremy you generalize your preferences and assume everyone feels the same. I think a lot of people would prefer their high school years over their college years. To me that is one reason the writings of Dom Luka were so popular as he concentrated more on the high school years. High school seems a more innocent time than college. I didn't see any less drama or BS in college than I did in high school and college drama and BS seemed more serious as the stakes were higher.

 

I really enjoy the pace of the story. I am guessing that the next story may have Wade as one narrator going to the U of Chicago so he can have the Bamster as a law prof, but I hope we stick with Will too as a narrator, his shenanigans are never boring and I want to see how long this long distance relationship can work or how long Will needs it.

 

I was watching this kid, and had the same reaction.  I didn't catch his name, because I was in the middle of something, but I kept glancing at the screen thinking:  JJ!

 

He is Kevin Reynolds from Team Canada and surprisingly, 23 years old.

[Daddydavek]

Over the past 12 hours Mark's story 9.11 surpassed  Paternity  to become the most reviewed story on GA.  Congrats to Mark Arbour!

 

Here is the link to the most reviewed stories:   https://www.gayauthors.org/stories/top/reviewed

[Mark Arbour]

I think sometimes Jeremy you generalize your preferences and assume everyone feels the same.

 

 

You are the first person to ever tell him that.

 

Over the past 12 hours Mark's story 9.11 surpassed  Paternity  to become the most reviewed story on GA.  Congrats to Mark Arbour!

 

Here is the link to the most reviewed stories:   https://www.gayauthors.org/stories/top/reviewed

 

Thanks!  That represents a lot of work on the part of readers, to post that many review.  Thanks to all of you who played along!

[Raistlinsama]

He is Kevin Reynolds from Team Canada and surprisingly, 23 years old.

 

Add me to the list of people that thought "JJ!" when they saw him. Impressive jumper, he made those quads look like a piece of cake.

 

It's fun now that we've got JJ at senior levels, and we know that Evan Lysacek exists, which means that Johnny Weir has to exist as well. It's going to be interesting to see how JJ plays into that 2000's rivalry, and see what parts of figure skating history we'll be re-writing to include JJ into it.

The clash of egos would be SPECTACULAR!    Pretty please Mark, have them meet (a Evgeni Plushenko cameo would be nice too   ).

[methodwriter85]

I think sometimes Jeremy you generalize your preferences and assume everyone feels the same. I think a lot of people would prefer their high school years over their college years. To me that is one reason the writings of Dom Luka were so popular as he concentrated more on the high school years. High school seems a more innocent time than college. I didn't see any less drama or BS in college than I did in high school and college drama and BS seemed more serious as the stakes were higher.

 

 

He is Kevin Reynolds from Team Canada and surprisingly, 23 years old.

 

     That's a really good point, Private Tim. I think there were some things about high school that were better than college, especially early college- in high school, it was easier to just hang out with people and talk....college everybody wanted to get fucked and party. I was thinking though that the sense of freedom you had where you could call up a friend at 1 a.m. in the morning and ask if they wanted to hang out at the late night diner, as well as being away from the tedium of classes from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. everyday that never changed up and having to ask for hall passes, risking detentions, etc etc really outweighs any positives that there were about high school.

 

    I think my favorite part about college, especially coming from a small high school like I did (Cab Calloway's class of 2005 had 82 members and it was the largest class they'd graduated by that point), was that if you didn't like someone, it was so much easier to avoid them as opposed to high school, where if you didn't like someone you still had to see them practically every day. Hence why college B.S. wasn't nearly as bad as high school B.S.

 

     However, like you said, people tended to take college B.S. more seriously because the stakes in college are higher- the fighting in my drama club was pretty damn bitch, not to mention the saga of my Resident Hall Council during the fall 2011 semester. Ugh. If you've read JWolf's The English Year, he does a really good job of showing how self-important people can get in college.

 

      Kevin Reynolds yeah...his face isn't right, and the hair isn't right because it's that purposefully messy hair that I can't see JJ doing, but the haircolor, the bod and the suit were so damn spot-on.

 

Regardless, I agree with you, and think that Frank just used that whole situation as a way to explain his miserable childhood. Remember that he jumped into his father's fight with Jeff and beat the crap out of his old man...those can't be easy memories to bear.

 

      Frank was 7 or 8 when Aaron "died", as opposed to Nathan, who was 17 or so, so Frank didn't really grow up with Aaron, and he likely didn't have enough pleasant memories of him to outweigh how pissed off he was.

 

     And you can't really underestimate what addiction can do to people- we can assume that Fred Hayes likely WAS a decent guy, but grief and the ensuing alcohol addiction really changed him.

 

The clash of egos would be SPECTACULAR! Pretty please Mark, have them meet (a Evgeni Plushenko cameo would be nice too ).

 

     Well, if Tiffany and JJ do wind up going with Wade to Boston, it's a given that they'd have to compete at the Eastern Sectionals to get to Nationals.  Johnny Weir is going to be interesting:

 

 

     At this point, Johnny Weir is the 2001 Junior World Champion, so I imagine his ego is pretty much taking off. I remember Mark and I had some back and forth about whether or not JJ would be as flamboyant as Johnny Weir, but Mark's been insistent that JJ would have more of a Junior GQ look.

 

     As for attitude, I feel like JJ's going to be more like Evan Lysacek in terms of following and obeying the rules set out by figure skating- he doesn't strike me as a Johnny Weir trying to buck against the establishment. (Who then paid for it.)

 

     One thing we haven't done yet when it pertains to JJ's career is seeing what it's like when JJ goes into "family-friendly image PR mode." I'd imagine it'd look sort of like this:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3z303ybN-E

 

      Notice that Evan is doing here exactly what Johnny Weir disparaged in his interivew.

Edited February 10, 2014 by methodwriter85

[jellybean]

I've been thinking about Matt, and what some have said regarding his past, and wondering how pertinent it is that he was an only child? He seemed to have a decent relationship with his parents growing up, but who was he really close to? What does family (especially new-found siblings) really mean to him? And how much has he actually come to terms with the idea of his relatively new extended family? He seems to me to be much more peer- (and team-) oriented, but still in a fairly superficial way. He's been much more of a peripheral character - pov-wise - for most of this episode, so it's hard to really tell who he was truly tight with in the family, other than Robbie (and perhaps therein lie his current problems). His relationship with Wade is now the only one of real significance to him, the only one which is a vulnerability - to insulate himself from the potential pain of losing that, he has sabotaged it himself. The rest of the family is a side issue, or at least of much less importance.   He can revert to being much more self-sufficient (safer). 

 

By contrast, Wade is all about family - expectation, reputation, loyalty (even when they don't deserve it) and a certain feeling of togetherness - which perhaps has enabled them to weather the emotional storm better than solitary Matt.  Wade has strong relationships with three generations of his adopted clan (the holy trinity of JP, Brad and Will...), whereas Matt has a sort-of affinity for JJ and Frank?

 

All the other issues aside, I wonder whether this is too much of a gulf for Wade and Matt to bridge - and perhaps always has been.  Plus, Matt really needs to learn to keep it in his pants - he's no Stef. The concept of a win-win scenario seems to not have occurred to him.

 

I'm generally wrong, though! Feel free to tell me so...

JB

[Hermetically Sealed]

 

I also think I really wanted to have Will and co. hit college age so that we can stop having the "OMG, he's too young and precocious!" reaction stuff, and in general being more interested in college shenanigans instead of high school b.s.  That's why Bloodlines still remains my favorite. Is there anybody who would actually pick their high school years over their college ones? Every time I think of who I was in high school I just cringe even though I do have pleasant memories of it.

 

 

 

 

Iono, it's the few times where Will has been dealing with HS that I actually liked him. Just seemed more believable than globe trotting seducer and child board member.  Really, except for JP and the gay club, most of the college stuff has been frat parties and sex. I can't speak for others, but for me high school had more enjoyable memories for me.  Of course, that's probably because I was dealing both with medical and mental issues and the whole gay thing in college. 

 

I'm not really surprised by Frank's feelings on Aaron.  I can imagine he associates a lot of bad memories which resulted because of his actions. While I feel for Aaron and understand what was going through his head, his actions pretty much destroyed that family.

 

I think I am in agreement with others that both Matt and JJ are heading for explosive breaks soon. I think the question is going to be how bad.

Edited February 11, 2014 by Hermetically Sealed

[Kitt]

In a review Shyboy85 said:

        I'm going to take a minority position again, I think: I don't like the apology Will gave Frank, for the arguably od reason that he was right to call bullshit on him. I get the feeling Will is opportunistic here. He apologises for show, rather than because he was wrong.  

 

​Sorry, but I can't agree that it was an apology for show. While I agree that Frank was off base and Will was right to call BS on him, the WAY he spoke to Frank was out of line.  Emancipated or not, Frank is still one of Will's grand-parental figures.  Just as I felt he was correct in what he said but not in the way he said it to Claire and Isadore back during the Bastille Day planning, I feel Will was disrespectful this time as well and he very much SHOULD have apologized for it. That he realized that on his own, and no one needed to tell him to go make nice shows he is growing up.

[GLH]

Great chapter!  I was a little surprised at the early posting, but the story had been on my mind this morning after an article had posted to my facebook time line that made me think of JJ:

 

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/02/figure-skating-hopelessly-corrupt

 

He's got a tough way to go ahead of him, but I don't doubt he'll triumph in the end. Kinda sad that 9.11 coming to a close, but looking forward to see what the next book brings. 

[Kitt]

Just a little side note - I saw an human interest clip on the news the other night about a luxury condo in Tribeca with a roof garden complete with lawn and hot tub. It was valued at $4.5 mil and all I could do was call my daughter into the room and shout "It's Jeanine's condo!"

[methodwriter85]

Great chapter!  I was a little surprised at the early posting, but the story had been on my mind this morning after an article had posted to my facebook time line that made me think of JJ:

 

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2014/02/figure-skating-hopelessly-corrupt

 

He's got a tough way to go ahead of him, but I don't doubt he'll triumph in the end. Kinda sad that 9.11 coming to a close, but looking forward to see what the next book brings. 

 

 

     Well, in terms of emotional healing, yes. In terms of figure skating, that's more of a question mark and depends on how much Mark decides to re-write skating history to accompany him. 

 

     Is JJ going to take off in his early 20's and become legendary like Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek did? It remains to be seen. I do wonder if Will's blackmail of the USFSA isn't eventually, years later, going to bite JJ on the ass.

 

     What I really loved about this chapter was JJ not even realizing his own strength, and that he kind of sees himself as weak and girly and that Zach probably couldn't even feel his punch. That was great insight into his mindset.

[Mark Arbour]

     Well, in terms of emotional healing, yes. In terms of figure skating, that's more of a question mark and depends on how much Mark decides to re-write skating history to accompany him. 

 

     Is JJ going to take off in his early 20's and become legendary like Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek did? It remains to be seen. I do wonder if Will's blackmail of the USFSA isn't eventually, years later, going to bite JJ on the ass.

 

     What I really loved about this chapter was JJ not even realizing his own strength, and that he kind of sees himself as weak and girly and that Zach probably couldn't even feel his punch. That was great insight into his mindset.

 

The USFSA and figure skating in general does not exist in a vacuum, and is susceptible to the same kinds of influences that other sports are susceptible to:  power and money.

[rjo]

I've always thought JJ is a lot stronger than he thinks he is.

[PrivateTim]

I don't give a crap how much figure skating gets rewritten, CAP is much more important than who placed 4th in the U.S. Men's Nationals in 2002. Quick!, Who was it? If you said Michael Savoie or if you have a clue who Ryan Jahnke or Scott Smith are, you really need a life