PrivateTim

I continue to be perplexed as to where things are heading and based on most of the reviews, wonder if we are reading the same story. Matt didn't move out of his and Wade's quarters, Wade did and did so very publicly. Wade is the one who didn't call Matt back while he was on the Georgetown trip, Wade is the one who rebuffed Matt's attempts to talk to him on the ride back from the airport. What is Matt supposed to do? And Will's reaction is typically over the top. He is done with Tony and has been treating Matt like shit (whereas before he just sort of tolerated Matt, never, ever treated him as a brother) so what right does he have to have any say in who Tony has a roommate? He won't even return Tony's phone call and screamed "fuck off:" in his ear? What gives him standing to be pissed off at either person? I am also perplexed by the "Wade & Brad would be a good couple" crowd? Wade and Brad as in such different stages of life. Maybe they had good sex a couple of times, but that isn't a great foundation to build a relationship on.

From my Chapter 71 Review: (Chapter 71 Review)Two lines in this chapter bother me greatly, as I think both illustrate something about Will I've been saying for a long while: “Everyone in this family knows that there are two people you don’t poke unless you want a good fight on your hands: Dad and Will. (from DariusO That got him an angry look, enough to make him recoil (Will talking with Stef) So everyone in the family knows Will is a psycho bitch and it is best not to cross him? Why should the rest of the family walk on egg shells worrying about how Will is going to react. The second one, Will giving a look to his grandfather, who has been nothing but supportive of him from his Roman holiday pole dance, through his running away, etc, bad enough to make him recoil says a lot about how completely out of control Will's emotions are and why he is deeply in need of real therapy. Sexual healing only works for Marvin Gaye. Reply from Mark Arbour (author) There are some people who pride themselves on not taking a lot of shit from other people, and Will's definitely in that category. It's not about him being scary or unpredictable, it's knowing that if you go after him, he's going to fight. That's his reaction. Some people flee, some people surrender, but Will (and Brad) don't do that. We can contrast this with JJ, who when embattled, will ultimately get bitchy, or pout. That's a lot different than how Will handles things. As for the dour look, it wasn't an "I hate you" malicious look, it was a "you need to stay out of my business" look. A warning look, if you will. Very common in my family, and it usually registers and the topic is changed. So here are my thoughts on Mark's reply. Will goes far beyond "not taking shit" and fighting back, he lashes out, he is vicious and then he flees. As to the interaction with Stef, it wasn't a dour look, it was an "angry look" that made him "recoil"; a recoil is a jump back in fear or horror. Dour looks don't make people recoil. It may seem picayune, but I think there is a big difference between angry (and the reaction it caused) and dour (and whatever reaction it would have engendered). As to what is going to happen when Zach has to distance himself from his cousin, surely by now tongues have to be wagging at Don Bosco given the amount of time Zach has spent with Will over the last few weeks. If Will is aware that Zach can not be out given that Zach hasn't admitted anything about his sexuality yet, he out to be coming up with a contingency plan where Zach can either disown him publicly as a "dirty little fag" (or whatever epithet he chooses) or they can have their denial stories straight (unless another Schluter forgets to lock a door). It is better to plan for denials then to have to come up with them on the fly.

Two lines in this chapter bother me greatly, as I think both illustrate something about Will I've been saying for a long while: “Everyone in this family knows that there are two people you don’t poke unless you want a good fight on your hands: Dad and Will. (from DariusO That got him an angry look, enough to make him recoil (Will talking with Stef) So everyone in the family knows Will is a psycho bitch and it is best not to cross him? Why should the rest of the family walk on egg shells worrying about how Will is going to react. The second one, Will giving a look to his grandfather, who has been nothing but supportive of him from his Roman holiday pole dance, through his running away, etc, bad enough to make him recoil says a lot about how completely out of control Will's emotions are and why he is deeply in need of real therapy. Sexual healing only works for Marvin Gaye.

Didn't really leave it out but I thought at one time there was a discussion about Chicago being too conservative for Wade because of the Federalist Society ties.

I think you misunderstand, "top tier B-school" is top tier Business school; Matt is going to graduate business school and he can get into top tier business schools like UCLA, USC, Haas, Kellogg, etc. The only ones he might not get into are Harvard, Stanford, Sloan, maybe Wharton, but even at a couple of those schools Brad or Stef might be able to call in enough favors to get help.

I guess I don't understand the question. The only plans made so far have been the general plans to do graduate school in the same area and that was a mutually understood plan, even if it wasn't much of a plan it was something they both understood. It wasn't Matt's plans, it was both of their plan. Matt being openly gay now would not preclude him joining the military. That was the whole point of DADT. The military was specifically barred from asking about sexual orientation. It would mean that Matt could not be openly gay once he joined, that is the don't tell part. But as long as he didn't tell and wasn't outrageous in his behavior he'd get along like all the other gays in the military. I have yet to see a U.S. Navy or Marine Corps base that didn't have a gay bar within easy reach of the main gate. Gays didn't start joining the military in 1994, they started in 1775 and have been there ever since. As to planning, yes you can blame Wade for making a clear cut decision if he didn't talk to Matt about it first. If it was only Matt who was bringing up "vague plans" about grad school together then when Matt brought up the vague plans, if Wade had different thoughts, it was up to him to voice those different thoughts and discuss them. That is what partners do. Senior year is when you make the decision as to where you are going, but you settle on your list well before that, usually not later than March in the year before you intend to start law school. So in Wade's case in March of 2001 would have been when he was making some decisions, like which law schools to have his LSAT results sent to for law school admission in the fall of 2002. He would want to take the LSAT in June 2001 so he has an opportunity to retake the test in Oct or Dec if he has(d) to, hence the March date to register for the June test. And who is talking about a B-tier law school (called Tier 2 actually)? Michigan, Boalt Hall, UVA, Chicago, etc are not Tier 2 schools, they are all Tier 1. Georgetown Law is rated below all these schools and barely above USC and UCLA. Wade doesn't have to compromise a single thing when choosing a law school since as long as Matt knows where Wade is applying, Matt can find an MBA program in the same area. It doesn't need to be the same school. And since Matt would have had to take the GMAT, probably not too different a process than the LSAT one, he'd have to have an idea where he was applying to already too.

You sure seem to have a hard time comprehending my points. My point is not about an aborted conversation, it is about the many, many opportunities for conversations, even before 9-11, to talk about the future that Wade never initiated. Wade is the one with family responsibilities (Reilly and Ethan), Wade is the one with more options and Wade is supposed to be "the mature one". There have been many general conversations since Bloodlines about going to grad school in the same area, but no specific discussion around GPAs and LSAT/GMAT scores. While I think it is understood that Matt's GPA isn't as high as Wade's, I think it is also pretty well understood that he good enough grades for a top tier B-school, maybe note Harvard or Yale, but certainly good enough for Boston College & UConn. And they could both probably get into USC/UCLA and that would be advantageous for family obligations. Since Wade is the one considering disrupting the general plans, it would have been up to him to broach the topic and not in anger or as part of a lashing out, but as an adult conversation. On the same line, since there were not a lot of rules in who Matt & Wade could bed, if Wade wants to change the rules, he needs to broach that topic too. You can't be mad at someone for doing something wrong, if they don't understand it is wrong.

I don't remember anyone saying Wade was being self centered for not considering Matt when it comes to his grad school. I also don't remember Matt & Wade having a conversation (recently) about which specific law schools Wade should apply to so Matt could go to graduate business school nearby, Here is what Wade thought in chapter 70: “I’m not sure I can get into their MBA program,” he said, broaching the issue we needed to talk about, but that I was dreading. So Wade was aware of the issue, he too had been avoiding it, but has already made the decision as he says later. “I’m going to go to the best law school I can get into. I’m going to make that decision based on my future, and my career. Whether you decide to join me depends on two things. First, it depends on whether you like the choice I made. And second, it depends on whether you can grow the fuck up, and quit acting like a fucking frat boy. So again, Wade was aware of the need to talk to Matt, but never broached the topic because he was dreading the conversation, but now he has made the unilateral decision and has said in so many words that he doesn't really care about what Matt's needs are. If Wade has never had the grad school talk with Matt specifically (about where each should apply) and they've never talked about what each other wants and expects in the relationship going forward, then centexhairysub is right, it IS Wade who is to blame for an ensuing break-up. Matt was making an effort in the car and Wade kept shooting him down. The Wade of previous chapters might have delayed the talk and not made rash statements and taken rash actions, but the Wade who is channeling Will's petulance didn't do that. Wade is being somewhat disingenuous with his "best for my career and future" speech. Wade has no worry for his future, he has enough money that he could make a full time career out of managing the money he already has and pay himself a salary double what any law firm could offer him to do it. Wade hasn't really laid out why he wants to law school other than vague notions that he ought to. He hasn't exhibited any passion for a business where the law degree is a plus, he hasn't exhibited a passion for the law to want to be judge and he's vaguely referenced politics. My law school classmates went to law school for four reasons and you could almost predict who was going where; group one wanted to go into law to get rich, group two had an existing passion that they wanted to pursue with a law degree, group three loved the law itself and group four was already laying out their political future. So some people may have changed directions after law school as they matured and found different interests, but by and large they all had distinct motives going in. I don't see distinct motives in Wade. As someone pointed out, Wade hasn't even considered his new little brother yet in his graduate school plans and and he indicates he has thought about Reilly, but apparently he hasn't had that conversation with Tiffany either about what her plans might be and where does she want to live. So while I don't recall anyone calling Wade self centered, maybe he is being self centered and for no good reason. My problem With Wade in this last chapter is that he is mad at Matt over a conversation they haven't had yet and he is equally responsible for that conversation taking place. Or not. No is it a direct way of saying he is spot on in his observations this time, he is just wrong usually

Really scary when centexsub and I are on the same wave length

I think Will is infecting Wade. Wade was uncharacteristically emotional and impulsive with Matt. Not once did he stop to listen to Matt or consider the effort Matt was making. He'd made up his mind and shut down on hearing what Matt was saying, which isn't how Wade has been. Wade is partially responsible for the structure of the relationship. If he wanted an exclusive relationship with Matt he should have said so a long time ago and if he knew Matt couldn't handle exclusivity that should have been a clue a long time ago that Matt wasn't the right partner. I thought JP didn't allow drama at the dinner table?

Dude, effin' A, it ain't like programming a VCR, the things are pretty self explanatory....

I came to GA because I discovered Dom Luka. I knew of Mark Arbour from having read On the Mark someplace else (still my all time favorite MA story), but avoided CAP because I was put off by the title "academic predator" because it made me think the story was going to be about something else other than what it turned out to be. I actually started reading the Odyssey series first until I finally gave CAP a try and then I started at Book 1 and read through chronologically. I actually put Odyssey aside while I read CAP because I had a hard time remembering which characters were which stories. I have no idea how Mr. Arbour keeps them straight in his own head.

It is usually required in high school to take foreign language, but the country is so big compared to countries in Europe the need to use other languages is minimal so you lose whatever language skills you had if you don't get a chance to use them. For example, driving 1300km, from say Amsterdam to Milan could take you through 5 countries and at least 5, maybe 6 different languages so it becomes more important to know another language. English became somewhat the defacto common language of Europe. Some countries in Europe even have multiple official languages. That doesn't mean a lot of Americans are not multilingual. In CA for example where the CAP families live the official ballots for elections come in seven different languages (English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog and Vietnamese) and in neighborhoods of So Cal you can go places where you can hear Russian, Armenian, Thai, Hindi, Arabic and more languages spoken as the common daily language. Those people typically all speak English as well, but among their friends and families they revert to their native language, even generations later sometimes. Then their are pockets in the U.S. where a language like Creole or Cajun French has been spoken for hundreds of years and still remain and of course the myriad of Native American languages, so it is actually rather complicated.

Reminds me of the blonde haired, blue eyed swimmer I dated early in college, who looked liked he belonged on a Joseph Goebbels' recruiting poster, but in fact had two parents who were Cuban born refugees. He spoke Spanish like a native of Cuba despite being U.S. born and would shock the crap out of Mexican bus boys and waiters when we ate out. Don't these people watch Univision?

Man it bugs me you can't like reviews because that is pretty much how I feel about the Will/Zach and Will/Family thing. As I said in my review, Zach has gone from trouble maker extraordinaire, to super supportive non-boyfriend boyfriend extraordinaire pretty quickly. Which Zach will appear when his "friendship" with Will threatens his football future?

Hunh..... you'd have thought there would be a lot more sex in a chapter numbered "69" Zach has gone from trouble maker extraordinaire, to super supportive non-boyfriend boyfriend extraordinaire pretty quickly. Which Zach will appear when his "friendship" with Will threatens his football future?

Ummm, you mean like BART and Muni??? As to expression, unless it is tied to a money (show me the money) I never remember when they start or stop, I just don't pay enough attention. My grandmother remembers Beverly Park and Ponyland well. She also remembers when Rodeo Drive had a green grocer and hardware store on it.

Right. But it was named "Frisco" because it had a spur of the St. Louis - San Francisco Railroad there and it was named to honor San Fran SF was called "Frisco" a lot in the old days and you can find it in lots of literature and old movies (can anyone say The Frisco Kid? And please, James Cagney version only). Getting uptight about Frisco is how phony transplants and the affected try to establish their SF bona fides. It wasn't until Sacramento transplant Herb Caen wrote Don't Call It Frisco that people had permission to get snobby about the name. Fornicate Frisco-ites if they can't take it

I think it goes well beyond safety in team sports, it is more fundamental. Team sport coaches hate individualism, they do all they can to build a team mentality not unlike what happens in the military. They don't want guys "doing their own thing", I've seen stars sat down for being too much about themselves. On the practical side a coach wants to know his star quarterback is on the bus and not rely on him to show up on his own. In cross country, if your #1 runner gets lost looking for the meet, it doesn't destroy a weeks worth of planning a game plan and prep, you just move the #1 JV or Frosh Soph kid up to the #7 varsity spot. Can't speak to NJ, but in CA a football (water polo, etc) coach would never release a kid to drive his own car after a game if the kid came on the team bus for liability reasons. He would only release a kid to his parents and then only for a very, very good reason (i.e., college recruiting trip and need to catch a plane). Again, they discourage individualism at every turn.

Some think it weird to nit pick details in a fiction story full of outrageous scenarios, but it is the attention to the details away from the main characters that help make the story so real and believable. The 9-11 days were meticulous in their tracking to the actual events outside of the family and that is part of makes these stories so fantastic. So an off kilter detail jumps out at me. Zach wouldn't have driven to an away game, the team would all go on a bus. Brad would have had to drop Will off back at Don Bosco. Your editing team should have picked up that minor detail, but I don't think any of them are athletes. And the difference between Will and Matt and Zach and Gathan, is that Zach and Gathan lived together as brothers for quite some time. Matt and Will never did. Maybe Will would never knowingly sleep with someone JJ was interested in, but he had no problem creating all kinds of drama for JJ in Norway by sleeping around in the middle of his world on a trip focused on JJ.

It is an interesting thought...... but where is the evidence of Will holding back anything? He tells Zach things he doesn't tell anyone else, JP and Wade included, he barebacks with Zach, he flies clear across the country to see him taking time away from his friends in CA, he buys him a car, he bites off the head of anyone who questions his relationship with Zach, including Wade. Sure Will can say the words, "If Zach fucks me over, he fucks me over," but such bradvo is very different when you actually DO get fucked over by someone you think is into you. You say the words others want to hear so they climb off you, but you don't believe them half the time yourself. Time will tell..

Except that Will has never trusted or defended Matt. Tony was Will's error in judgment. He had several opportunities to recognize what Tony was like and kept turning a blind eye to it because to be frank, Tony could fuck him so well. He kept forgiving Tony because the sex was good (which sounds like a Dr. Phil show in the making). He never thought of, nor treated Matt as a brother or family, but wants to pull the brother/family card when he wants to make Tony off limits, but doesn't want to have to see Wally & Clara as family as well. It is Will's morals of convenience and family connections of convenience that bother me. Either you are willing to live up to a set of community standards for behavior or you are not. You don't get to choose which ones you want to reject because they are inconvenient to what you want to do. By the same token, when you have two parents they each come with their own family. You don't get to choose which members are family and which are not. You may not like them, but they are still family.

So everyone thinks that given Will's current mental make-up (not that he has ever been terribly stable) a potential betrayal by Zach would be okay as long as it feels good for awhile? Wouldn't that be the worst possible thing? (a betrayal by someone you've been defending and trusting) Who knows if Zach is sincere with Will or Brent? You don't the context in which Zach said it. It could be flippancy, a defense mechanism or the truth. But wouldn't it be fun if Will burned up the truck he bought?

Oh Arbour, no one can write an out of control teen scene like you! =) I actually like seeing Wade being a bit less reserved

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