Flux

[Kitt]

Ok - I gotta say I don't think it would be good for Matt to be living in Boston WITH Wade - not yet. I do think it would be good for him to be in Boston with his own place, spend time with Reilly and Maddy, be around to help support Tiffany through the pregnancy, have regular contact with Wade and generally let things grow again. They have been through so much they need time to adjust.

[Mark Arbour]

 

Wade needs to open up about what's really going on but I can't see Wade doing that with anyone other that Matt. No scratch that I could see him talking to Brad but only to say he has issues then talking to Matt to work them through.

 

Bring on 45.

 

 

 

I think that Wade is much more likely to open up to JP than anyone, other than Matt.

 

 

[B1ue]

Can I be annoyed at all of them? Will for the elitist crap he said last chapter (and oh how I wished Zach had called him on the difference between stupid and uneducated, and which category Will himself falls in), Zach for not standing up for himself, Matt for not standing up for himself, and Wade for jerking Matt around.

 

Whatever, their lives are their lives. Just, haven't these characters already been in these places already? Will doesn't have nearly as many answers as he thinks he does, Zach needs to grow a spine, Matt needs to figure out who he is when he's not with Wade, and take a damn hint, and Wade needs to make up his damn mind about what he actually wants and stop jerking Matt around.

[Mark Arbour]

Can I be annoyed at all of them? Will for the elitist crap he said last chapter (and oh how I wished Zach had called him on the difference between stupid and uneducated, and which category Will himself falls in), Zach for not standing up for himself, Matt for not standing up for himself, and Wade for jerking Matt around.

 

Whatever, their lives are their lives. Just, haven't these characters already been in these places already? Will doesn't have nearly as many answers as he thinks he does, Zach needs to grow a spine, Matt needs to figure out who he is when he's not with Wade, and take a damn hint, and Wade needs to make up his damn mind about what he actually wants and stop jerking Matt around.

 

It is your right as a reader to be annoyed with whichever (or all) of them.  Feel free. 

 

The realizations that you want, and the actions you seek, take time.  We're seeing them work things out.  I think that they've been in these places already, because that's who they are.  Will doesn't have as many answers as he thinks, but he's smarter than he used to be.  Zach...I'm not sure how he's supposed to grow a spine.  That one confused me.  Matt is working on who he is, and this chapter brought a bit of an epiphany for him.  And Wade is probably doing the same thing, although to be fair to Wade, he's probably entitled to jerk Matt around a bit after the post 9-11 crap Matt pulled on him.

Edited August 2, 2014 by Mark Arbour

[Robertmarcus]

Matt needs to have another epiphany. Wade wants/needs a committed strong solid relationship with a grown man who can share the responsibilities of fatherhood. I think Wade matured much faster than Matt partly because he became a father and embarrassed it.

 

matt has very often commented how well he knows Wade. He has fooled himself into thinking that. He does not. Part of that is Wade's responsibility because he has never come out and told Matt what he wants/needs. He wants and needs a monogamous relationship at this point. He recognizes that most solid longterm relationships need an extremely solid foundation before opening it up to others. Otherwise you are inviting in over-night guests before the roof is even on the relationship house. Most of the time, that house is never finished. Some will say that he should just tell Matt that but I disagree. If Matt doesn't understand and get there on his own, it won't work either. Matt still has lots to figure out. He should be talking with JP, Stef and possibly Brad. Considering Brad's "friendship"(yuck!!!!!!! What a scum!!!) with Wade , he is probably not the best choice. Perhaps they can give him the advice he needs to see where Wade is coming from. I'm pretty sure Wade is not ready to share his heart with Matt in the way Matt wants. He shouldn't either. Maybe Matt will figure it out. If he gets there, they have a chance. 

 

Moving to Boston is the right thing to do. Their relationship is likely doomed if he doesn't.  

[Robertmarcus]

My guess is that Alex didn't want to give Matt up and Wade can't figure out why he can't find a man to leant just him.  That's how I'd feel. 

[Bucket1]

It is your right as a reader to be annoyed with whichever (or all) of them.  Feel free. 

 

The realizations that you want, and the actions you seek, take time.  We're seeing them work things out.  I think that they've been in these places already, because that's who they are.  Will doesn't have as many answers as he thinks, but he's smarter than he used to be.  Zach...I'm not sure how he's supposed to grow a spine.  That one confused me.  Matt is working on who he is, and this chapter brought a bit of an epiphany for him.  And Wade is probably doing the same thing, although to be fair to Wade, he's probably entitled to jerk Matt around a bit after the post 9-11 crap Matt pulled on him.

 

There are two important topics here - Zach and Wade.

 

Having been involved with someone in Zach's shoes - its a fucking awful mess and I do not envy him in anyway. Pursuing his dream will cost him and cost him dearly regardless of which option he chooses. Even abandoning football would be a great cost. It's not fair, it sucks, but thats life in the fast lane. (now taking deep breaths)

 

Wade is not entitled to jerk Matt about anymore. 9-11 vs Paris. Both major fuck ups. Matt and Wade forgave each other and drew a line and moved on. No more being a dick (unless its important to a story line).

Edited August 3, 2014 by Bucket1

[Bucket1]

My guess is that Alex didn't want to give Matt up and Wade can't figure out why he can't find a man to leant just him.  That's how I'd feel. 

 

The guy that Wade is looking for is Mature Matt

 

Matt needs to have another epiphany. Wade wants/needs a committed strong solid relationship with a grown man who can share the responsibilities of fatherhood. I think Wade matured much faster than Matt partly because he became a father and embarrassed it.

 

matt has very often commented how well he knows Wade. He has fooled himself into thinking that. He does not. Part of that is Wade's responsibility because he has never come out and told Matt what he wants/needs. He wants and needs a monogamous relationship at this point. He recognizes that most solid longterm relationships need an extremely solid foundation before opening it up to others. Otherwise you are inviting in over-night guests before the roof is even on the relationship house. Most of the time, that house is never finished. Some will say that he should just tell Matt that but I disagree. If Matt doesn't understand and get there on his own, it won't work either. Matt still has lots to figure out. He should be talking with JP, Stef and possibly Brad. Considering Brad's "friendship"(yuck!!!!!!! What a scum!!!) with Wade , he is probably not the best choice. Perhaps they can give him the advice he needs to see where Wade is coming from. I'm pretty sure Wade is not ready to share his heart with Matt in the way Matt wants. He shouldn't either. Maybe Matt will figure it out. If he gets there, they have a chance. 

 

Moving to Boston is the right thing to do. Their relationship is likely doomed if he doesn't.  

 

Matt and Wade evolve in very different ways - Wade is very incremental, evolving, developing all the time. Matt is evolving all the time as well but does it in leaps and bounds. I think there have been a few times in Flux where Matt has been more mature than Wade. His decision to leave Escorial is a good example. Wade was happy to have the fiasco (emotive term i know) continue but didnt get what it was going to Matt. Matt knew he had to leave so he did. The same is true for Matt leaving Bridgemont. In 9.11 Wade was ahead of Matt, in Flux Matt has been streets ahead of Wade.

 

In terms of solid foundations, I agree with Kitt. Matt needs his own place in Boston and from there he and Wade can develop the real life long solid relationship that they should have and deserve. 

[B1ue]

Zach...I'm not sure how he's supposed to grow a spine.  That one confused me.

Telling everyone in his life to back the **ck off and let him figure things out, without criticism, would be a start. I'd settle for him simply saying, "I don't want a girlfriend, or a one night stand, right now." Is it really that unbelievable that he has bigger things going on than getting off?

And, really, does he think becoming a church boy is going to help? His best friend is gay, so are several of his closest family members. People are going to talk crap about him no matter what he does.

[Bucket1]

Telling everyone in his life to back the **ck off and let him figure things out, without criticism, would be a start. I'd settle for him simply saying, "I don't want a girlfriend, or a one night stand, right now." Is it really that unbelievable that he has bigger things going on than getting off?

And, really, does he think becoming a church boy is going to help? His best friend is gay, so are several of his closest family members. People are going to talk crap about him no matter what he does.

 

The macho culture of various football codes doesn't make that easy. You either have a girlfriend/fiancé or you fuck any girl within walking distance. Those seem to be the accepted choices. 

[methodwriter85]

I mean, think about it- you're young, you're hot, and you're someone that women are throwing themselves at. Unless you have a girlfriend/wife, it really doesn't make sense why you wouldn't take advantage of that. That's why Mark Arbour has refused to believe Tim Tebow's "I'm a virgin" deal is real.

 

I believe Tim Tebow is a virgin- with women, in any event. Seriously though, all those "wait 'til marriage types" like Mormons are usually married by their early 20's.

Edited August 3, 2014 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

Telling everyone in his life to back the **ck off and let him figure things out, without criticism, would be a start. I'd settle for him simply saying, "I don't want a girlfriend, or a one night stand, right now." Is it really that unbelievable that he has bigger things going on than getting off?

And, really, does he think becoming a church boy is going to help? His best friend is gay, so are several of his closest family members. People are going to talk crap about him no matter what he does.

 

I've been reading Esera Tuaolo's book (Alone in the Trenches) about being a gay football player.  It's an interesting read, especially when he describes the macho environment of the locker room.  It's a more intense situation than I've been in, but from what I've seen, it's a really rough and tumble world, where locker room talk often evolves into a discussion of sexual exploits.  Here's a clip: 

 

“Football is a man’s sport. Walk into an NFL locker room, and you can feel the energy. Testosterone seethes from each player. The good old boys reign. These strong, young, virile men earn their living by smashing into and overpowering one another. The effects of this testosterone-crazed culture often play out sexually.

The locker room banter is prevalent and graphic. Guys brag about a girl they just “fucked.” Married men boast about the girl they just “plowed.” I couldn’t believe the way these guys talked about women. Being a gay man, it wasn’t my style. It was hard to hear that negativity toward women. When somebody degraded a woman, I’d think about my mom, or wonder, Don’t they realize they’re talking about somebody’s daughter?

Homophobia peppered the banter. They called each other “fags,” “fucking queers,” “fudgepackers”—they took it to the crude and graphic limits. I laughed at the gay jokes to be part of the conversation. I hid behind my laughter. Inside, I cried.”

 

Excerpt From: Esera Tuaolo. “Alone in the Trenches.” iBooks. https://itun.es/us/2oM1w.l

 

[Bucket1]

I've been reading Esera Tuaolo's book (Alone in the Trenches) about being a gay football player.  It's an interesting read, especially when he describes the macho environment of the locker room.  It's a more intense situation than I've been in, but from what I've seen, it's a really rough and tumble world, where locker room talk often evolves into a discussion of sexual exploits.  Here's a clip: 

 

I know the Esera Tuaolo quote only touches on the depth of that culture. These athletic, attractive, well-paid young men have women groping them in the street expecting the guys to fuck them there and then. There are group sessions, male bonding over fucking the same girls in their hotel rooms. Guys are expected to fuck all the time and to brag about it. If you don't then there is something wrong with you. It was and mostly still is a homophobic and misogynist environment. It is just plain ugly.

 

There are exceptions and in recent years there are teams that have tried to weed out that sort of behaviour. In Australia, that has usually been in response to a scandal. Let's just say that our rugby players haven't really respected the female population especially its younger members.

 

The fact that some gay men survive that environment says a lot about their strength of character. The heartbreaking thing is that not all of them do.

[Fitzhugh]

I agree with him being open to JP, second to Matt. But I think that if any of the 3 (Matt JP or Brad) we're available he'd talk if he needed. But if he's looking for pure objectivity JP is e man. 

 

 

I think that Wade is much more likely to open up to JP than anyone, other than Matt.

 

 

 

[Fitzhugh]

I haven't been a Wade fan in since he seduced Brad. But Matt loves him, so I'm willing to give him a LITTLE slack after Ch 44. 

Will told Zach to grow a spine and a brain, Wade may already have both those but he needs to pull his head out of his ass and look to the person that will give him unconditional love and support, out in the open, not cloaked away from the public. 

 

[Bucket1]

Since I wasted my review by telling you off for making me cry on my birthday, I just wanted to say a beautifully written ending to a very powerful roller coaster ride. The final line summed Matt up beautifully. 

 

And no pressure but I'm ready for the next book. No rest for the wicked 

[impunity]

Since I wasted my review by telling you off for making me cry on my birthday, I just wanted to say a beautifully written ending to a very powerful roller coaster ride. The final line summed Matt up beautifully.

 

And no pressure but I'm ready for the next book. No rest for the wicked

Happy birthday!

[methodwriter85]

I know the Esera Tuaolo quote only touches on the depth of that culture. These athletic, attractive, well-paid young men have women groping them in the street expecting the guys to fuck them there and then. There are group sessions, male bonding over fucking the same girls in their hotel rooms. Guys are expected to fuck all the time and to brag about it. If you don't then there is something wrong with you. It was and mostly still is a homophobic and misogynist environment. It is just plain ugly.

 

king thing is that not all of them do.

 

    I don't know if you've ever read Cross-Currents, but there's a chapter where a guy comes out as gay on the bisexual protagonist's soccer team, and I thought this quote was apropos:

 

 

The soccer guys had bonded with each other early. We'd gotten to campus a few weeks before the rest of the fall student body. By the time school started, we'd become a tight-knit group. Kyle was one of a couple of dozen. He ran with the pack; he told the same stupid jokes everyone else did; he drank with the boys and socialized with us; he bantered around like the rest of us. We were brothers-in-arms.

 

Sports teams are that way. You routinely put your body out there on the line for your buds. It pulls you together. Kyle was a part of that brotherhood.

 

But Kyle had his quiet side. Especially when the sex talk started. If the conversation ever turned in that direction, he rarely had anything to say. Usually there was so much cock-of-the-walk crap being thrown out by two or three in any given bullshit session that not everybody could get a word in edgewise anyway. But I took note.

 

The rest of them did too. Kyle came from a family of pretty devout churchgoers; most of us figured it had something to do with that. It's an odd experience, conversationally, when you're joking around with someone and the talk turns to sex and all of a sudden your guy-talk is met with silence. It makes you feel a little uncomfortable when the other guy doesn't join in. You wonder if he's judging you, what his deal is.

 

    In any event, I wish Zach the best of luck because he's really going to need it.

 

    I'm going to admit, I kind of wanted Matt and Wade to take a few years off and then get back together, and co-parent responsibly. But they are a pretty good couple and I like that they're kind of taking on the torch of the newer generation's stable couple that forms the central family for the next generation.

 

     I'm positive that Matt, Wade, and Tiffany won't fuck it up nearly as badly as Robbie, Brad, and Jeanine did.

Edited August 4, 2014 by methodwriter85

[Kitt]

I still think the boys should take a little time and let things grow, but hey- it isn't me in the relationship!

[Timothy M.]

The best part abot this ending is the hope it gives me that people will stop grumbling about Wade being a bad guy.

[Bucket1]

I still think the boys should take a little time and let things grow, but hey- it isn't me in the relationship!

 

I used to agree with you on this but have changed my mind - firstly the occasional bump up against each other will give Mark something to write about and I want to see more of Matt and Wade. Secondly, they have been dancing around each other and it hasn't worked, I think they are at a Yoda moment - "Do or do not. There is no try".

[Headstall]

I just finished reading the last chapter again(fourth time) and while the temptation is there to write a long post, I will refrain and just say that when two people love each other as much as we know Matt and Wade do, I have no doubt that the decision they both made is the right one for them...and I am just basking in the afterglow...cheers all...Gary

[GLH]

Once again we've come to the end of another book in the "Chronicles" saga and it never ceases to amaze me at what a talented and prolific writer Mark is and the dedication of his editing/beta team as well, even if they couldn't keep their 'priories' straight. Thanks again Mark and team for another fine read and as a reward I shall once again torture you with the numbers my spreadsheet produced over the course of publication.

 

Sincerely,

Gerry

 

Shortest posting interval:  Chapters 38-39 - Two days, two minutes. (2d, 00:02)

 

Average posting interval:  Three days, thirteen hours, six minutes, 45 seconds (3 d, 13:06:45)

 

Longest posting interval:  Chapters 5-6 - Four days, fifteen hours, thirty minutes (4 d,15:30).

 

Length of Publication:  149 days, nine hours, 25 minutes; or five months, three days, nine hours, 25 minutes  (149 d, 09:25)

 

Number of chapter posting intervals that fell within one hour of the average posting time:  one (Chapters 26-27)

 

Individually, the average posting interval of each story breaks down to (from Chapter 52 of Millennium):

 

Millennium  ------------  2 days, 21 hours, 7 minutes, 23 seconds (2 d 21:07:23)

 

Poor Man's Son  -----  5 days, 11 hours, 7 minutes, 15 seconds (5 d, 11:07:15)

 

Paternity  --------------   4  days, 19 hours, 50 minutes, 6 seconds (4 d, 19:50:06)

 

9.11  --------------------   4 days, 1 hour, 35 minutes, 42 seconds (4 d,01:35:42)

 

Flux  --------------------   3 days, thirteen hours, six minutes, 45 seconds (3 d, 13:06:45)

 

Thanks again Mark and crew!

[Mark Arbour]

Once again we've come to the end of another book in the "Chronicles" saga and it never ceases to amaze me at what a talented and prolific writer Mark is and the dedication of his editing/beta team as well, even if they couldn't keep their 'priories' straight. Thanks again Mark and team for another fine read and as a reward I shall once again torture you with the numbers my spreadsheet produced over the course of publication.

 

Sincerely,

Gerry

 

Shortest posting interval:  Chapters 38-39 - Two days, two minutes. (2d, 00:02)

 

Average posting interval:  Three days, thirteen hours, six minutes, 45 seconds (3 d, 13:06:45)

 

Longest posting interval:  Chapters 5-6 - Four days, fifteen hours, thirty minutes (4 d,15:30).

 

Length of Publication:  149 days, nine hours, 25 minutes; or five months, three days, nine hours, 25 minutes  (149 d, 09:25)

 

Number of chapter posting intervals that fell within one hour of the average posting time:  one (Chapters 26-27)

 

Individually, the average posting interval of each story breaks down to (from Chapter 52 of Millennium):

 

Millennium  ------------  2 days, 21 hours, 7 minutes, 23 seconds (2 d 21:07:23)

 

Poor Man's Son  -----  5 days, 11 hours, 7 minutes, 15 seconds (5 d, 11:07:15)

 

Paternity  --------------   4  days, 19 hours, 50 minutes, 6 seconds (4 d, 19:50:06)

 

9.11  --------------------   4 days, 1 hour, 35 minutes, 42 seconds (4 d,01:35:42)

 

Flux  --------------------   3 days, thirteen hours, six minutes, 45 seconds (3 d, 13:06:45)

 

Thanks again Mark and crew!

 

I love it when you do this!   

 

I understand why Poor Man's Son took the longest, because I had the toughest time with that one, with deciding exactly what to do with the last fourth of it.  I'm not sure if Millennium was so fast because it had more cliffhangers (I try to post faster when those happen), or just because the storyline seemed to need it.

[methodwriter85]

Flux definitely felt like it went a lot faster, which makes sense as this was the much shorter story than 9/11.