W.a.r. By Jeff Wilson (Jkwsquirrel)

[jkwsquirrel]

3 minutes ago, Shadow086 said:

Mystic River?

Well it does have a Penn brother...

[Shadow086]

1 minute ago, jkwsquirrel said:

Well it does have a Penn brother...

I had to look up what other movies Kevin Bacon was in and picked the first one.

[glennish]

Tremors???

[Former Member]

Hollow Man?

[jkwsquirrel]

Reading and responding to the comments on the story always gets me thinking.

 

Questions:  Has Billy become the villain of the story?  When did it happen?  Was it accepting the bribe that pushed him over the edge, or did he fall before that?   Are you looking forward to his comeuppance?  Can he be redeemed?

[Israfil]

20 minutes ago, jkwsquirrel said:

Reading and responding to the comments on the story always gets me thinking.

 

Questions:  Has Billy become the villain of the story?  When did it happen?  Was it accepting the bribe that pushed him over the edge, or did he fall before that?   Are you looking forward to his comeuppance?  Can he be redeemed?

 

No, that’s too simple. Maybe an anti-hero but even that’s pushing it.  He’s a kid having to deal with more than he should - kind of like he was in earlier books.  

 

Other readers are quick to point out (and rightly so) where he’s come up short but not being saintly doesn’t necessarily make one a “villain.”

 

That being said - I always do love a good villain story.

 

Ye gods, I need to start writing again....

[Former Member]

43 minutes ago, jkwsquirrel said:

Questions:  Has Billy become the villain of the story?  When did it happen?  Was it accepting the bribe that pushed him over the edge, or did he fall before that?   Are you looking forward to his comeuppance?  Can he be redeemed?

No, Billy is not a villain, but his flaws have become more egregious. The villains are still Don, Jack, and the Taylors. Joey has started to shift from being a villain into something more neutral now that his flaws and motivations have been more fully exposed. The mothers have moved into and out of the villain category several times.  ;-)

[Freerider]

8 hours ago, jkwsquirrel said:

Reading and responding to the comments on the story always gets me thinking.

 

Questions:  Has Billy become the villain of the story?  When did it happen?  Was it accepting the bribe that pushed him over the edge, or did he fall before that?   Are you looking forward to his comeuppance?  Can he be redeemed?

 

He certainly is not the hero. I think his development has been lacking in regard to others like Dustin and Brett. He has been left behind gradually.

He keeps repeating his old mistakes and these make him seem weak and in some regards even stupid. Not qualities that endear him to me.

But of course he can finally grow up and be the hero he is meant to be

 

[Shadow086]

9 hours ago, jkwsquirrel said:

Reading and responding to the comments on the story always gets me thinking.

 

Questions:  Has Billy become the villain of the story?  When did it happen?  Was it accepting the bribe that pushed him over the edge, or did he fall before that?   Are you looking forward to his comeuppance?  Can he be redeemed?

I don't think so.  He obviously sees himself as the hero, and maybe sometimes the villain, but I think he's just a kid who's awkwardly and clumsily trying to find his place in the world.  But if we were to say that he became the villain, I'd say it happened way before that.  Being scared of losing Brett and taking the easy way out makes Billy a coward, not a villain.  For me, Billy would've become a villain during the whole "Brett is a stoner" thing.  That's when I think he shattered Dustin and pushed him on the dark path which led to his suicide attempt.  And in a way, he did get his comeuppance for that by having to deal with the consequences.

 

For me, this book is all about Billy redeeming himself and finally doing the things he should've done a long time ago.

 

So no, Billy's not the villain.  But if he's the hero, he's certainly not a likeable one.

[FormerMember4]

10 hours ago, jkwsquirrel said:

Reading and responding to the comments on the story always gets me thinking.

 

Questions:  Has Billy become the villain of the story?  When did it happen?  Was it accepting the bribe that pushed him over the edge, or did he fall before that?   Are you looking forward to his comeuppance?  Can he be redeemed?

Billy is not a villain. I wouldn’t say likable either. He’s self absorbed and selfish. He repeats the same mistakes. Even though he’s intelligent. He is a young man who is guided by emotion, not intelligence. His biggest flaw has always been maturity. His slow learning is always from a major life changing event. I don’t think he’ll ever be a hero, but I do think his struggles will produce a good man. We see the sparks of someone who wants to make social change.

[jkwsquirrel]

Maybe "villain" is too harsh?  I look at him as someone who has lost his moral compass, mainly his father.  George was the one who Billy could always go to and get put on the right path.  Nobody, not even Brett, understood Billy like his father.  Without his dad, Billy seems lost and directionless.  He also spent most of the year since his father's death estranged from his mother, who despite her flaws is yet another pillar on which Billy relies for his strength.  Would Billy have lied to Brett for two years if George were still in the picture?  Possibly, but it's more likely that George would have pried out of Billy what was wrong with him and convinced him to do the right thing even if it was difficult.  So, I would say Billy began to drift when his father died.  That is the wound that is still open and bleeding, never properly dealt with.  Just because he cut his hair and seemed to put himself back together on the outside doesn't mean he's healed. He's still bleeding inside.  He's unsure of who he is on his own, and a couple of predators have swooped in and used his insecurities for their own purposes.  He's definitely being pulled toward the darkness.

Edited March 12, 2018 by jkwsquirrel

[jkwsquirrel]

12 hours ago, Israfil said:

Ye gods, I need to start writing again....

Yes you do! 

[Former Member]

4 minutes ago, jkwsquirrel said:

Maybe "villain" is too harsh?  I look at him as someone who has lost his moral compass, mainly his father.  George was the one who Billy could always go to and get put on the right path.  Nobody, not even Brett, understood Billy like his father.  Without his dad, Billy seems lost and directionless.  He also spent most of the year since his father's death estranged from his mother, who despite her flaws is yet another pillar on which Billy relies for his strength.  Would Billy have lied to Brett for two years if George were still in the picture?  Possibly, but it's more likely that George would have pried out of Billy what was wrong with him and convinced him to do the right thing even if it was difficult.  So, I would say Billy began to drift when his father died.  That is the wound that is still open and bleeding, never properly dealt with.  Just because he cut his hair and seemed to put himself back together on the outside doesn't mean he's healed. He's still bleeding inside.  He's unsure of who he is on his own, and a couple of predators have swooped in and used his insecurities for their own purposes.  He's definitely being pulled toward the darkness.

Billy will never fully recover from George’s death. Diabetics often have wounds that take a long time to heal, or might never heal at all! Are you being clever and using his physical health condition as a metaphor for his mental health condition, @jkwsquirrel?  ;-)

[jkwsquirrel]

Just now, droughtquake said:

Billy will never fully recover from George’s death. Diabetics often have wounds that take a long time to heal, or might never heal at all! Are you being clever and using his physical health condition as a metaphor for his mental health condition, @jkwsquirrel?  ;-)

Who me?  Metaphorical?

[wenmale64]

I can not add much to the thoughts above.  I agree with the feeling that Billy is not the "villain", but it definitely No Hero either.  He is immature and reckless.  He is slowly beginning to see the right path. The only question is:  Will he figure it out before or after he destroys his relationship with Brett and his friendship with Dustin?  I think he needs to come clean with Brett about his father or he is going to drive a wedge between himself and Brett that may never fully heal.  Trust, once lost, is VERY hard to find again..........

[glennish]

Billy was caught up in a web of lies spun by others.  Unfortunately he is now so tightly entangled and is also spinning his own that he may suffocate in this cocoon he has made.  Also he is telling himself half truths and I don’t think he truly understands even himself right now.  He seems to think the “Roberts” last name means nothing in the town but forgets that his dads funeral was the largest Denora may have ever had. George had the respect of almost everyone in that town. And those that didn’t respect feared him.  I think while on the surface he believes the valedictorian thing would be for others he is glossing over what it would mean for himself.  

[jkwsquirrel]

Your WAR preview for the upcoming chapter, Idle Hands, coming tonight:

 

     I read the biography aloud, “Graduated from NYU, magna cum laude, December 1986…”

 

     “I was reading it as magnum cum loudly,” Brett joked.  “That’s what I want on my bio."

 

 

[glennish]

From one math nerd to another, Happy ℿ day Billy and everyone else!!!

[glennish]

Beware the Ides of March......... Happy Birthday Brett!!!!

[Shadow086]

Billy's probably too busy partying to let us know what happened after his sleepover at Dustin's.

[glennish]

......must........continue.......to be..........patient........

[jkwsquirrel]

Sorry for the delay.  I need to make a confession.

 

For a long time I have been living a double life, a normal everyday life offline and a secret hidden life online.  My regular life was happy and ordinary, I'm happily married and have a beautiful son.  My online life is the opposite, full of secrets and lies.  I've allowed that side of myself to consume too much of the real me.  I've been horribly addicted to pornography, to the point where I can barely function without it taking some part of my time, time which rightly belongs to my wife and son.  Yesterday, my worlds collided.  My wife found out about everything.  I'm glad.  I need to become a person of integrity, and being full of secrets has been eating me up, keeping me from being the man I should be.  I've invited her to check out this site, where I've spent some portion of time that should have been spent with her.  I don't want secrets anymore.  I want her to see the conversations I've had here have been rooted in the story, and that I have been true at least in keeping my real life and my online life separated.  I feel like such a dick, and please don't try to make me feel better about that.  I need the humility that comes from this to propel me into living a more healthful life.  And so, I'm going to finish the story, with her permission and completely out in the open, and then I'm going to leave this life behind, hopefully forever.  I've made some friends here, and I value that, but I have to do what I have to do.  And my wife, being an avid reader, has told me not to leave you all hanging, so we'll at least wrap up WAR before I go.

 

Thanks for understanding.

 

[Former Member]

Does this mean Commencement will be the conclusion of WAR?

[Shadow086]

Just now, droughtquake said:

Does this mean Commencement will be the conclusion of WAR?

Wasn't it always meant to be the conclusion? I think that definitely means the previously hinted at Dustin sequel isn't happening, though.

[jkwsquirrel]

2 minutes ago, droughtquake said:

Does this mean Commencement will be the conclusion of WAR?

Yep.  And the end of me too, sort of.  Online me anyway.