PrivateTim

Based on the latest chapter of 9-11, I am so glad Tony has to be in NY next month to meet with his financial advisors at Cantor Fitz. Here is an interesting point to ponder...... does Will's satisfaction with Tony as a sex partner get in the way of a potential relationship with not just Kai, but anyone else as a future partner/spouse and at the next level of pondering, does it then give credence to the notion that promiscuity and sex before marriage are bad? Not bad on a moral level, which would be "it is bad just because we say it is bad", but on a practical level? It is slightly encouraging that Claire is worried about Marie, but surely if Claire is who we all thought she was, why hasn't she called Will to apologize about excluding Noah? If she is who we thought she was, while being disappointed in how Will chose to approach the exclusion of Noah, she would surely have seen by now that her own actions were wrong (back to that pesky Golden Rule) and taken the first step to restore her and Will's relationship and then worry about how the rift between Will and Marie is going to effect the family. So it is one thing for Claire in conversations with Isidore to feel badly about what has happened with Will and to be worried about Marie, but it is another to acknowledge that publicly or even to acknowledge it to JP, who is still smarting over the fact that Claire and Marie didn't go to Claremont for the dedication. It will be interesting to see if the Claire we'd grown used to and thoughts was the heir apparent to JP will reemerge.

I am so glad Tony has to be in NY next month to meet with his financial advisors at Cantor Fitz. Here is an interesting point to ponder...... does Will's satisfaction with Tony as a sex partner get in the way of a potential relationship with not just Kai, but anyone else as a future partner/spouse and at the next level of pondering, does it then give credence to the notion that promiscuity and sex before marriage are bad? Not bad on a moral level, which would be "it is bad just because we say it is bad", but on a practical level? It is slightly encouraging that Claire is worried about Marie, but surely if Claire is who we all thought she was, why hasn't she called Will to apologize about excluding Noah? I'll finish my thoughts in the forums. Anyway, lovely chapter, arranging the deck chairs just before we hit the ice berg

Is it a sport if no one's keeping score or timing you? Isn't it just an activity then? I mean yes swimming is a sport, its in the Olympics, but when I swim in the mornings it is just an activity. Sports I love are water polo, college football, wrestling, beach volleyball and indoor volleyball. I still play tennis and golf on occasions, which are sports because we are keeping score and then I surf and snowboard, which are activities. I'll watch soccer, pro football and college football on TV, but baseball and basketball bore me to tears. I think if basketball banned timeouts I'd actually enjoy it. The first 19 minutes of a 20 minute half take about 30 minutes and that last minute takes another 30. It kills the mood.

Dude, Will is such a slut.... I'm sure he's done guys even you don't know about All those hot, horny surfer dudes in Malibu out front of his house! Here is what I have so far off the top of my head: Will’s “loves”; Drew, John, Gathan, Ryan, Alistair, Tony, the taxi driver to Santa Cruz, Berto, Jeff, David (ice dancer), Shane, tech guy, Kristoffer, Kyle, guy at Paly party, weight room guy, Vic the masseuse, Trevor & Hayden, Jake, night club in Chicago, Carmine, Mason, Steve (Maui), Kai, Malcolm...... That is like 28-30 so far depending on how many guys in Norway he actually hooked up with. I'll need to find that chapter(s).

No one dislikes Isidore because she is female, but because she is French.... no one like the French.... not even the French! Freaking A...... we have ZERO idea of what Isidore was like as a parent because of the few snippets we've seen of her. This story so far covers 40 years or so and we've only seen very small scenes with Isidore in the last 17 years. We know that she has been a gracious host welcoming all kinds of people, rich and not rich into the house over those years. In order to plot a trajectory you'd have to have a lot, and I mean a lot, more data points. Norway was an assault only by a technical definition, show me the prosecutor who is going to file because Will had "marks" on his arm where his mother gripped his wrists. Jeanine has never been described as an especially large woman, but Will has been described as a big guy for his age (13 in Norway) so he is certainly larger and stronger than Jeanine. Will played that "oh she assaulted me" drama for all it was worth, but it only made him a whiny little bitch who was playing passive aggressive games. Even a drunk/stoned lawyer would have had no problem getting rid of that issue given the physical differences between the two. As to Michael and the pictures, the lawyer wouldn't have to sober up for that one either. Jeanine, the concerned parent, had heard awful stories about her 13 year old son having sex with multiple partners and she just couldn't believe it! She needed proof to confront him and his father who was turning a blind eye to his son's behavior. And I am not talking about Jeanine's legal right to know what Will is up to, but the moral one. She is still his mother and always will be. It would be interesting to research the legality of Will's emancipation while she was incapacitated. I don't remember if she and Brad were married, but there was no one there to represent her legal rights as a parent. And we are really rehashing old ground, but a huge part of the problems between Will and his mother were caused by Brad and him allowing Will to treat his mother like hired help and like her opinion didn't matter. A real court battle amongst these people would have made a lot of lawyers rich.

If you go back and read what I said about emancipation when it was being contemplated I said that emancipation is a very long road and the last resort of the court if the parents oppose it. First the court tries counseling and reconciliation, then the court might appoint a guardian and temporarily sever parental rights, emancipation would be the last remedy. Financially Will was a better candidate than most, but had Brad brought up all that Will had done in his running away the court would have thrown the brakes on the whole proceeding and ordered all kinds of tests and evaluations. Will could have gotten the emancipation in the end, but it would have been a long, ugly process. That is why Brad made the right decision then because the long ugly process wasn't going to help his relationship with Will which is partly why his behavior this last chapter was puzzling. Brad the smart business guy figured out how to start repairing his relationship with Will and then blows up all the progress over trite things like alcohol when he knows Will drinks and smokes pot? I get that there needs to be a vehicle to drive drama, but Brad and Robbie as foils have maybe run their logical course. As to "Norway", Norway was nothing. It would seriously drive you completely nuts if you saw the households that courts let children remain in every day in family court. It is partly the court is loathe to remove children from a parent and partly the system is just not big enough to place every child that should be removed. There would have to have been a half dozen "Norways" before any court would even raise an eyebrow. And the crux of my problem with so many people with Will is that they alternatively promote him as "wise beyond his years, smarter than the adults around him" and then immediately fall back on "he's just a kid" when he messes up. A lot of teens show flashes of maturity followed by incredible moments of immaturity, but most 14 year olds have parents to encourage one and discourage the other. Where is Will getting that moral input from on a daily basis?

The Golden Rule is "Do unto others as you would have them do to you". So simply, treat people as you want them to treat you. He didn't do that with Kyle & Eric, he only worried about his own pleasure; he didn't do that with Tony, he fooled around with Mason as retaliation; he didn't behave that way at the dinner table at Escorial and now maybe there are other consequence and reverberations from that behavior. I know some people will say, 'oh but they disrespected him first'; that isn't the Golden Rule, "Get even", it is the idea of being better than that and modeling the behavior you want from others. Will wants others to give him respect, but that is a two way street. Treating Malcolm the way he did, especially as an adult working for him, wasn't respectful. It isn't really difficult to get emancipated, it is quite easy because about the only way you can do it is with parental consent. If Brad had chosen to fight Will's emancipation, he would never have gotten it. At best he'd have had his guardianship changed to JP, but even that was a long shot. The first go round a judge would assign a social worker and they'd work for family reconciliation. Since Will was in no physical danger in the house, his being removed would have been highly unlikely. Why shouldn't Jeanine know what her 14 year old son is doing?

Malcolm was taken advantage merely by the fact that he does work for Will. He doesn't have to say "no, stop" and Will doesn't have to say "sleep with me or else" for this to meet the legal definition of either rape or sexual harassment. Whether or not Will would have fired Malcolm if he had said no isn't the issue, the mere fact of Will putting Malcolm in that position is the wrong. Even if Malcolm had flopped on his back and said "do me, do me, please do me" Will would still have been vulnerable to sexual harassment claims. Yes, some people do get off on rough sex and being told what to do, but you don't usually do that in the first 20 seconds of an encounter. I'd love to be Malcolm's lawyer looking at that Schluter bank account As to the new chapter, Brad had every right to be concerned about his 14 year old son putting in a sex/kink room, but he obviously approached it the wrong way. Like I said in my review I think Brad would have figured out by now how to deal with Will, but the character Brad has to do the things he does to keep drama in the story and set up the next situation. Someone has to tell Will no. Someone has to tell will he is fucking up. This notion that Will is going to mature and become wiser getting whatever he wants isn't realistic. In my anecdotal experience teens who don't get told no, who don't have limits set on them, who don't have guidance from adults (usually their parents) don't turn out well. Look at what a hot mess Justin Bieber has turned into because the adults around him have indulged him and not told him no. Look at all the child actors who become hot messes and the children of privilege too. The most indulged do not turn out well. I don't know if it is going to be Wade or JP or who, but someone needs to give Will some direction on right and wrong and respect and maybe a quick revisit to the Golden Rule, the REAL one, not the one that little rich kids think exists.

Fire all your editors! "Coke" should be capitalized unless Will was going to get a line to snort I guess I have a different take on Isidore. I don't see her wanting a divorce because of the drama with Will, but because of wanting to marry Frank. Maybe the fight with Will precipitated some conversations, but I found it strange that she and JP stayed married long after it was necessary. And I am not sure what JP has done for her "over the years", she is a wealthy and successful woman in her own right with her construction company. I was going to say I'm a little surprised at Brad's behavior, but no, he is just doing what the author needs him to do to move the story to the next level/scene. Brad is a very successful businessman and I think he'd have figured out how to manage Will by now, but if he did, we wouldn't be able to have a continuing level of drama in the story or we'd have to have new protagonists to bring the drama. So for now Brad has to dance to the tune his creator plays. As for Stef, he needs to reexamine his actions. He is someone you'd never want to tell anything in confidence because he can't keep a secret. It is a maliciousness on his part, there are just some people you can't trust to keep things secret. They might be able to keep the really big things secret, but they can't help talking about things that seem minor to them, but are a big deal to the other person to whom they are a big deal.

This may not be 2000 or 2001, but it isn't far off. 15 Ways You Know You Go To Private School In LA

Well maybe at this point on August 1, 2001, but was six weeks ago (?) he was in St Louis and he was full ready to be Tony's boyfriend and just a year ago he was deeply in love with John and wounded when John hooked up with Zack. Will's "new" attitude really is new after a year of heartache with trying to find Mr. Right vs Mr. Right Now. The question wasn't, who should Will settle down with right now at 14 (since he isn't 15 yet), but who would we like to see him wind up with. Stef and JP were an item when Stef was 16 or so when he first moved to Claremont, but it took another 30 years or so before they became a couple again. On the Mark remains my favorite Mark Arbour story and is the one that lead me to this site. I still hold out hope that Mark will finish it one day out of pure selfishness (my selfishness) because I'd love to know how young Mark got to where "old" Mark is. I don't think think Will is unlinked to real life though, I think Will is directly linked to Teen Son Arbour and that pieces of TS Arbour are in many of the teen characters that we see, but especially in Will. As to the question of who would I like to see Will wind up with, if I had to choose one person at this point it would be Alistair since I see a lot of JP in Alistair and I think he would be a good balance to Will's Brad tendencies and Alistair is someone that I could see being completely loyal and faithful. That might make for some boring stories in 2020, but I would be okay to trade off drama for happiness.

Make up your mind Jeremy..... you are one of the ones who keeps pushing Will the Man Child, wise beyond years and mature and responsible enough to run his own affairs.

Okay..... so my thoughts are that Will needs to be with someone who compliments (supplements?) him; meaning Kai is compatible because of the surfing and a love of the ocean, Alistair is going to be a successful something because despite his diminutive stature I get an impression of toughness and determination. Being Ryan's brother-in-law (Jeff) could be interesting and keep Ryan in the story. Tony doesn't really matter since we all know he DIES in 41 days (right Mr. Arbour??) I think Kai would be a good partner only if he goes on to get his college degree or becomes accomplished at something, ditto for Jeff. I can't see Will really being happy with someone who is not accomplished and just going to be a kept man.

Actually I am fine with barebacking as long as the couple is safe with everyone else. I understand the desire for no raincoats when it is someone you really care about. It might be strictly emotional, but I just don't feel the connection is the same when you have your rubbers on. There is a reason they call it safe sex not safe love making Here is what I said in my review and I'll discuss some of the other reviews too: I am pretty disappointed in Will. I was hoping he'd matured enough that he wouldn't try to bed every guy he meets just because he can. It would also be nice to see someone flat out refuse Will and his charms. I thought his behavior with Malcolm was almost predator like. How is Will ever going to be in a serious relationship if he can't control himself? How is he going to mature if he thinks he can have anything/one he wants? I will give him credit for feeling guilty, but I think he felt guilty for the wrong reason. Yes there should be some small guilt about Kai, but I think how he treated Malcolm was wrong and that is what he should feel most guilty about. Malcolm didn't really want to do because of professional standards, but Will made an aggressive mood on him and despite the fact that Malcolm got into it, I still think it was wrong that Will was so aggressive. Its a shame about Kai's dad, but I was glad it was his father and not a baby, which wouldn't be uncommon on Maui, that he was caretaking. We are down to less than 30 days now until school starts in Menlo and just 41 days until everything changes. Will is going to have leave his idyllic life pretty soon and face his problems at Escorial and at school with Marie. I will say that I can see Kai as a partner for Will more than most guys we have met. Obviously they will be separated for long periods of time which means they won't be dating for now and UH has a great oceanographic dept so I can see Will or Kai going there and then heading off to the South Pacific to do reef research when they graduate. ************************** People keep talking about Will being "15", but unless I am very much mistaken, he is still 14, a not insignificant distinction in the eyes of the law. I do expect Will to be hormonal as a teen, but hormonal with peers not with adults in their 20's who work for him. Why can't he get laid like a normal teen with guys from online? Malcolm might have wanted what happened to happen, but it wasn't anything he would ever have initiated, especially with Will being 14 and a client. If Will preyed on his weakness, it is still preying. The "grabbing of hair" and "orders" also made it seem more predatory. I do have to say I liked the idea of Kai's family caretaking the Spreckelsville estate, especially since it has a nice guest house that could be a caretaker's cottage. Along with housing, the Schluter's could pay Kai's mom a small salary that would let her quit the waitress job and give more attention to he husband and free up Kai to go to college on Oahu or Mainland.

I am pretty disappointed in Will. I was hoping he'd matured enough that he wouldn't try to bed every guy he meets just because he can. It would also be nice to see someone flat out refuse Will and his charms. I thought his behavior with Malcolm was almost predator like. How is Will ever going to be in a serious relationship if he can't control himself? How is he going to mature if he thinks he can have anything/one he wants? I will give him credit for feeling guilty, but I think he felt guilty for the wrong reason. Yes there should be some small guilt about Kai, but I think how he treated Malcolm was wrong and that is what he should feel most guilty about. Malcolm didn't really want to do because of professional standards, but Will made an aggressive mood on him and despite the fact that Malcolm got into it, I still think it was wrong that Will was so aggressive. Its a shame about Kai's dad, but I was glad it was his father and not a baby, which wouldn't be uncommon on Maui, that he was caretaking. We are down to less than 30 days now until school starts in Menlo and just 41 days until everything changes. Will is going to have leave his idyllic life pretty soon and face his problems at Escorial and at school with Marie. I will say that I can see Kai as a partner for Will more than most guys we have met. Obviously they will be separated for long periods of time which means they won't be dating for now and UH has a great oceanographic dept so I can see Will or Kai going there and then heading off to the South Pacific to do reef research when they graduate.

There were plenty of gay athletes out before these peeps. What made Jarron unique was being the first active athlete in the Big Four (NBA, NHL, MLB, NFL). The day is fast approaching when an NFL player is going to come out. it may start with former players coming out and then active. Given how many gay rugby leagues, gay volleyball, gay basketball, gay water polo, wrestling and so on, there are and these guys were mostly college athletes at one time it is coming soon.

Fancy smanshy food trucks were more like 2003 on and really got going in 2005.I can see Will being more into the traditional tamale truck in LA, not the Korean types. Robbie would be into it because he is a young person's industry where trends and hotness are important to them. I don't see Will being that shallow, Robbie I do because of his insecurities.

As a father it is always tough to think of your kid as a sexual being, getting laid etc. There are the Neanderthal dads who loved their kids conquests. When I was in high school a nearby town had a bunch of athletes in a thing they called the "spur posse" and they were nailing girls for points. When it came out they interviewed one of the fathers and he was actually proud of his son, he didn't see any issues. As to Will's numbers and conquests...... we only see small bits of Will's life. How many guys was he hooking up with from AOL chatrooms, planetout.com and gay.com after Mr. Arbour goes to bed in the Midwest?? Can you imagine him when grindr & jack'd come into being? There are so many other apps popping up (no pun intended) it makes your head spin. I have a 41 year old friend who figures he is in the 900+ range right now and this is someone who didn't really start until he was 25 or so. What has changed from JP's generation to Will's is that you don't meet guys in bathrooms anymore for a 5 minute frenzied hook-up, you can meet them in real places now and take them home to your apartment and your roommate won't freak out. I am appalled that there are still guys who want that bathroom/sauna thing. Centex postulated that Kai is a daddy and I am liking that theory..... time will tell

And yet another song for Will and Kai, but mostly Will since he used the "v" word. <media>

Oh centex you are good..... I'm think you nailed this.... mom is working as a waitress so Kai is watching the kid, I like it! I liked the chapter, it continues to build complexity and set up future stories and story lines. Everyone assumes Brad and Robbie make it to "old age", but maybe not. I like it when Will gets introspective and Brad follows suit. Not much in the way of hotels close to Spreckelsville other than the Inn at Mama's and Pai'a Inn. Those could be two interesting places for a lesbian from NYC. As to keeping track of guys, one of my roommates in college kept a spreadsheet with names, dimensions, acts and fun tidbits. I think he was up at around 35 or 40 when he was 19.

I don't quite think that was Jeremy's point, that to date younger guys you have to look/act younger, but that much of gay culture is very youth oriented and that you become invisible at a certain age or worse than invisible, if you dare show up in a club and you are over 50 you actually get scorn and derision. I can't speak of gay culture outside of CA because other than random nights out in clubs in ATL, Dallas, Miami, Chicago, NYC & DC (among a few other U.S. & Canadian cities) I've not had prolonged exposure, but there is a definite culture on how you have to look, what you can wear, who you can talk to and where you can club. There are a lot of 40+ year olds I know busting their hump at Crunch to keep that accepted look and they aren't guys into twinks (not mostly at least), it is an unspoken Zeitgeist. Mark has captured bits and pieces of this in his Hollywood parties, but those are just a subset of the overall gay culture in So Cal. If you are over a certain age you are expected to banish yourself from WeHo and go to Silverlake where old gays (35+?) go to whither away. The worst part is of course that the young guys will go to the parties thrown by the aging gay mafia in L.A. and then turn around and slam them anonymously in WeHo Confidential.

I don't find it weird at all that Will is bursting with curiosity over Kai's secret, that is just human nature. But if were something as simple as tutoring someone I think Kai would not be mysterious about what he is doing. We will see as a measure of Will's maturity in how long he holds off on pressing Kai for details. I also think people are being way, way too understanding over Tony. I think he deserves a swift kick in the balls, but then his behavior and attitude aren't anything that I didn't predict when they were in Italy and Tony was getting all romantic and burst out with his declaration of love for Will. I knew it wouldn't last once they were back in the U.S. and Tony was back in his routine. I'd have left it where it was with the first email and let Tony stew in his own juices. All his actions in Italy were nella passione del momento. I also think we have a new 9-11 potential, a certain 28yo New York investment banker.... 28 and 17 isn't much of a spread for people to be assuming Kai was hustling. 17 and 37 maybe...... but even then, a lot of people don't understand how a 17 year old could legitimately be attracted to a 37 year old. It is a weird bias in the gay community that wants the world to understand how they can be legitimately be attracted to other men. And don't even get me started on potatoes, rice and beans.....

Kai and Will <video>

Please..... grandson of one of the wealthiest men in the world, grandson of a department chair at Stanford, who is also a highly regarded scholar, son of another incredibly wealthy man whose other father is a heavyweight in the movie industry (which is very important in LA in general and very important at UCLA specifically), throw in minority status and you too could get into UCLA. All the UC's except UC Riverside and UC Merced are very hard to get into. Those two will be hard to get into one day as well. And it is Berkeley.

Great chapter and love the pacing. I don't find it weird at all that Will is bursting with curiosity over Kai's secret, that is just human nature. I also think people are being way, way too understanding over Tony. I think he deserves a swift kick in the balls, but then his behavior and attitude aren't anything that I didn't predict when they were in Italy and Tony was getting all romantic and burst out with his declaration of love for Will. I knew it wouldn't last once they were back in the U.S. and Tony was back in his routine. I'd have left it where it was with the first email and let Tony stew in his own juices. I also think we have a new 9-11 potential, a certain 28yo New York investment banker.... hey you know why New Jersey has all the toxic waste dumps and Manhattan has all the investment bankers??? New Jersey had first choice! < push the button >