B1ue

I'll reserve full judgment until I can see exactly what you mean, but my kneejerk reaction is to disagree. I hate "Old West" and Southwest themed houses here in California. Especially when it's done by someone with no genuine respect or empathy for the culture surrounding it. I can just barely stand it in business in places like Santa Barbara or where my parents live, where it's unifying theme for the entire community. If nothing else, I've always felt interior decorating should be able to fit the personality/needs of the user. If Will could use or favor a cleaner, more metallic or modern look, why not go for it? Who else is going to be bothered by it?

Hadn't noticed this until my second read-through, but the family only took an hour to pack after dinner. Considering the people involved, and that the trip was spur of the moment, that seems like an awesome statement. I can pack that fast. In fact, I've gone from bed to car for what turned out to be a four day trip with zero notice within fifteen minutes. But while anyone could do that, not many people actually do. Especially when there's no time pressure. The obvious conclusion is that all of them are so used to traveling, and do it so often, that the motions are down to muscle memory, and that they probably have a bag with basic travel necessities (but stuff they don't necessarily use in daily life, like a spare unused toothbrush, extra shaving kit, the like) packed at all times. That even Stef can throw together a suitcase with minimum fuss when there's no particular rush is something I'd have flat thought improbable, but maybe he has a sense of urgency that JP doesn't.

I drink straight tequila when I want to get drunk (which is rare). Doesn't bring me down much, and is actually less debilitating than some alternatives.

13 years ago wasn't all that long ago. And she's a cop. People are going to react to the uniform before they react to her face, though breaking into a plainclothes position would be tougher.

No, I didn't misread it, though I take your point. I suppose it's due to the limitations of the medium. "Yeah," can be a non-committal answer, but it can be firmer. All depends on tone and context, and without the tone of both Will and Mason's statements, we're left to our imaginations. Clearly, I'm imagining the scene somewhat differently than you, but that doesn't mean I'm imagining it correctly, or as the author intended. In any case, any kind of positive response would have irritated me. Even if Will's only response was to laugh at the joke Mason (and Mark) intended it to be. But it's a personal irritation, so I'll let it go. I still hope Mason is trying to doublecross Will. He's had his share of idiot boyfriends. I'd like to see him deal with someone devious. Bonus points if Will and Brad realize what he's up to, and still give him an internship or whatever, because he's actually a good candidate on his own merits.

And, indeed, I do appreciate you stretching yourself to include country. "Friends in Low Places" is one of my favorite songs, because the singer absolutely refuses to feel sorry for himself or anyone else, despite the sad situation he's in. My freshman year of high school, two of the senior members of my academic decathlon club wrote alternate lyrics to this song, called "Friends in Lower Egypt," to act as a mnemonic for various ancient Egyptian cites along the Nile river. They then dressed in cowgirl outfits (I muttered "vaquerita" out of family loyalty a bit here) and had my cousin video tape them while I held their cue cards. More than fifteen years later, we can still sing the chorus, and did so at my cousin's wedding.

I fully agree with you on the character half of this statement, but not the "only 14" part. If I'm going to be comfortable with the idea of him having sex at that age, then I have to feel he can handle the emotional as well as physical aspects of sex (as Method pointed out a long time ago, I'm a bit of a prude). He's only 14, but his character demands that the reader consider him to be as emotionally and mentally mature as an average 18 year old. Perhaps even more mature, after all, he's had more experience than the average 18 year old, let alone average 14 year old. And that experience specifically includes guys that liked gay sex but didn't identify as gay, and the difference between the two states.

This is one of the few times I've been irritated at Will. "I guess this means I'm gay." "Yep!" No kid. It means he liked gay sex. I'm not arguing that the diagnosis was wrong, but he's basing it off the wrong symptoms. Edit: Further, I'm worried that Mason came to that conclusion after he bottomed, because he might buy into the idea that tops can be straight, but anyone who bottoms, even once, is gay. And quite frankly, Will should know better. I'm almost hoping that Mason was just using him for his connection to Brad, and thus the defense industry. That's how annoyed I am.

I'm not certain where you're getting that from. Will sleeps around, but he's not in a relationship, and so owes nothing to anyone. And he's come down hard on people that sleep around on him even when he only had an understanding with them, John and Tony being the primary examples that spring to mind. I don't think he really wants a committed relationship either (and I like that he's bright enough to know that), but I also don't think he'd break that promise first, if he made it. He's certainly not lacked follow-through on any other whims he's had. The opposite was usually true. I kind of dislike Carmine. I would have been pissed as hell in WIll's shoes, no matter how good-looking the guy was. But, then, I also wouldn't have messed around with Mason. No need to get into someone else's relationship drama, so perhaps Carmine was a better alternative. I wonder if Rick put him up to it?

Quite frankly, I find all these people hard to keep straight. The similarly spelled names don't really help. I had thought that Somers was Chartley's cousin, but apparently I misremembered. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the story. But all of these gentlemen are pretty much interchangeable to me, and aside from Travers I never really got the sense that Granger let himself love any of them.

I thought that as well. I hoped it was because Dana crossed the line, or that he decided that Will or not, he didn't want to be with Dana, but this was probably a factor as well.

Except that he's a giant walking bag of hormones that has been there and done that, so the pressure already has been relieved in some ways. Not totally, we saw Will can and will lose his stack, and I'm not liking how quickly he decided that Tony was going to have sex with Rick, but he's been sleeping around almost daily with various gentlemen for about 18 months now. Also, he just recently got a lesson that just because he can sleep with someone, doesn't make it a good idea. Besides, as it keeps being pointed out, Will isn't a typical teenager. He never really was, but that has been accelerated since he started becoming a viewpoint character. The fastest way (note, I do not claim best way) to gain maturity is to be expected to have it, in my experience, and that seems to be what's happening to Will.

I think it's because they were sitting when Will was really able to notice him. If they were about the same height sitting down, which does happen, Mason only coming up to his shoulder might be shocking.

Tony had a weekend planned that did not include her, and she forced herself along, even to the point of suggesting that Tony re-arrange his entire trip (renting an additional canoe, tent supplies, etc.) just to accommodate her whims. She also was extremely rude to Will, and outted him to Tony's friend. There are people that will let their significant others treat their friends like shit, because the friend is less important. There are many people that won't, though, and Tony could decide that he's one of them, if he's just looking for an excuse. Regardless of whether he wants to date Will exclusively, those are some pretty big warning signs. Her biggest issue with Will (since I doubt she knows about them screwing around) is that Will takes time away from her. What's going to happen when she decides he sees his family too much? Or his other friends? We've all seen people like that in life and in this saga. Dana is definitely showing signs she's one. I think she might also be the type to force her significant other to prove their love, over and over. And those people need to be cut loose too, in my opinion. From my experience, people like that don't need a boyfriend with friends and needs of their own, they need a dog that will love them unconditionally.

Will is correct about at least one thing; Dana handed Tony the perfect excuse to break up with her, assuming that's what he actually wants to do.

Ignoring the recession may have been a local thing. I certainly wasn't ignoring it (however ineffectively I could engage it as a high school junior) and considering how hard Stef and Brad would have been whacked by it, I doubt they brushed it off. Since that particular recession affected Technology companies (already struggling after 200) harder than most other industries, it might have been a minor recession from your point of view, but a much bigger deal on the West Coast.

That was the issue I had. It's not that Claire, Isiodore, or even Marie are evil. Well, probably not Marie; I am giving her the benefit of the doubt that she didn't pull this to punish Will in a backhanded way, same as Will. It's just that making this change without confronting Will about it right away was tactically stupid. What exactly did they think was going to happen when he found out? He's not exactly known for the ability to moderate his response to stimuli. But pulling him aside, telling him what was going to happen (without actually implying he had a vote) might have at least kept the screaming to a minimum. I also realize now that Will and Darius might have greater cause to exclude Eric and Carter than I'd originally estimated. Eric, sure, as that was only a week old, but I thought Carter was an odd thing to bring up. But I realize now that Will, as written, is at a basic level less inclined towards violence than I am used to, so it was difficult for me to grasp just how shocking someone trying to beat him up would be to his system.

I agree that WIll should not be the one making these decisions, but neither should Marie, and Claire is letting her. And, actually, Will isn't trying to control the decision. He's leaving that in JP's hands. He is allowed to have an opinion, and he is expressing that opinion, however indelicately. He is also pointing out that Marie is pulling the same crap that Brad and Claire did as teenagers, with worse reasons, that led up to Billy getting killed.

What a mess. I think the excuse that "you always look to the family," is looking weaker, because they clearly aren't. That or they don't consider Brad's kids part of the real family. I also think an arguement could be made that Will and Darius should learn how to deal with people like Eric and Carter in a social setting, that their fathers are able to schmooze with people they want to destroy, but the same should be said to Marie. And besides, they aren't going there. It really does look like Noah's feelings don't count, because he's middle class, or Will doesn't count.

Nice choice. Fits the theme of Jeanine and Hank's new life well.

But he was going to Stanford in 2001, so possibilities are still out there.

Random wild prediction: Remember when everyone had a minor freak out over the possiblity that Will might knock Rain up? If I had to pick where lightning will actually strike next, I'm guessing Tony. It would squarely pit all of his values against all of his goals, and give him the excuse he seems to be looking for to stay in the closet. And may well be the deal breaker for Will, as well. Otherwise, yeah. Tony and Will have wedding bells in their future, if for no other reason than WIll, Brad, and Stef would probably set the whole thing up and order Tony down the aisle without actually consulting Tony's wishes on the matter. As far as Team Hot Jeff, him and Tony are basically interchangable to me as actors in Will's life. For one, aren't they both the same age? Anyways, I think they're both just placeholders until WIll's age peers catch up with him in maturity, and I am ignoring all evidence to the contrary. Including the wedding, if it comes to that.

I didn't skip a grade. In fact, due to my birthday in February, I was usually one of the older kids in my grade. Which, hey, worked for me. Until Harry Potter got really big, about book four or so, most teenagers didn't read. That book series, and the Twlight series which followed hard on it's heels, in a very real way paved the way for the entire young adult genre as we know it. I don't think there were any mean girls at my high school. Or if there were, it was my cousin (she ruled my grade with an iron fist). Reading just wasn't that common a hobby. The closest library was a thirty minute drive away, the nearest big box bookstore (which has since gone out of business) a ninety minute drive. My parents and older sisters are all big readers, so we made the trek, but I don't think many kids that I grew up with had that kind of opportunity. Edit: I only just noticed the second half to your question. If Matt and Wade are into nerd culture at all, which I can't remember any evidence that they are, then Lord of the Rings is probably what they're looking forward to. My dorm floor also made a trek out to see that while in theaters. We all swooned when Orlando Bloom rode the shield down the stairs, and one-handed pulled himself onto a horse.

I'm not certain, to be honest. I felt I was kind of old for Harry Potter; most of my friends that were into the series were quite a bit younger than I was, and mostly the little brothers or sisters of my teammates. That may have more to do with circumstance though; most of my freshman dorm's floor trooped out to go see the second Harry Potter movie on release day (Dorks rule), but I couldn't have paid the other seniors at my high school to see the first. My cousin excepted; it was a big family outing with her mom, mine, my sisters, my cousin and I heading out to go watch. Also, neither Matt, nor Wade, nor Will really strike me as the "read for pleasure" type. Harry Potter may pass all of them by, until the films start gaining momentum. That was another thing I remember; a bunch parents had to ask their kids what was going on while watching the first movie, and so made sure to actually read up before the second came out. Matt and Wade may fall into this category. Last point, I was still in high school in 2001. No female my age at that time, again my cousin excepted, would have admitted to knowing how to read under torture. I was really, really weird for my social group, you have to understand. Under any circumstances but the tiny town I grew up in, I'd have been a social pariah, but as it was I was tolerable (if only just) because I grew up there.

I don't think anyone disagrees that Marie's actions were wrong. I am bringing up the idea that the situation is less black and white than many, including Mark, are seeing it, because while Marie owed will silence, Will owed Marie to not needlessly screw up her life. As for how she found out, and Mark indicated within his reply to my review that there were circumstances, it seems like everyone knew what was going on with Will and Kyle, certainly within the family. Which, if we accept your interpretation of this family, makes sense. Why would WIll even bother to be discreet within the family, if he could count on their absolute silence? So, all Marie probably had to do would be to ask Will, and it might not have even have been that pointed a question. Just casual curiosity that one of her friends is starting to hang out with Will, to which Will brags he's sleeping with him. And that's the root of the problem I have with this situation. Will and Kyle are allowed to do whatever, they are both old enough to be expected to handle consequences short of murder. But Will casually sets Marie's group of friends up for an explosion, and doesn't care, because they aren't supposed to matter at all to anyone. Further, by keeping silent all this time, Marie has been an accomplice in Kyle's indiscretion. But we see no trace of thanks from Will that she kept her mouth shut as long as she did, knowing full well that keeping her mouth shut was pissing her off. No, it's just taken for granted. Like her opinions don't matter. The word picture you painted of Marie snooping around, possibly hanging off a balcony with a camera pointed into Will's window (and John holding her ankles) makes more sense under my interpretation of what the fmaily owes each other. Because, with that, Will did try to be as discreet as he could, never mentioning it until caught with incontrovertable proof, and she just barrelled in where she had no business. And as the consequence of curiosity is living with what you found out, under those circumstances, yeah, Marie should ahve never told anyone anything in any venue, private or public, what was going on or how she felt about it.