B1ue

No, most accents aren't quite that slow. That's more of a beach/surfer thing than Californian. From my experience, Californians pace about the same speed as the Midwest, with inland Californians being slightly more laconic than coastal ones. And by that I mean we're glacial compared to New Yorkers but can talk rings around someone from Texas. All of that is general though. Since many people living in California aren't actually from California, and of those that are their parents usually aren't, there are plenty of individual variations that you'll run across. My own accent changes depending on who I am talking to, and I have all but eliminated the Spanish accent I had as a kid. His speech doesn't sound quite natural, by the way. He slows himself down when emphasizing numbers and sound bites, and speeds up when speaking off the cuff (such as about specific listings). Compare his professional voice with that of the other two, his is slower in a genuine attempt to appear knowledgeable, while they speak faster to sound more casual and friendly. He also says "um" too many times. Drives me nuts when salespeople do that. They should know better.

It is an excellent thing Brad's employees are so loyal to him. One photo, taken from a distance and released without comment to a news reporter could probably do a lot of damage, both before it was all explained, and then more afterwards. "Strippers hired by the mogul's 14 year old son..." Of course, a responsible member of the media would have done their research before printing the picture, and then would own up to their mistake instead of trying to spin it so the gaff is on their victim, not themselves. But how many of THEM are around?

Which clubs would these be, Tim? I might need to take note of them... Actually, I can probably guess at least one.

I think my biggest issue with the Ani DiFranco cover is that she is trying to sing coyly. All cut off syllables and small throat sounds, nearly to the point of sounding like she's hiccupping, and all of it delivered at a stage whisper. Which is the exact opposite of what the song is about. Compare the Dusty Springfield; THAT's a delivery that will fill a crowded auditorium, and she holds the words until they permit no argument or edgewise objection. Which does not due for every song, but for this one, yes.

Not sure that treating Alex like a whore would work very well. It'd be nice and neat if it could, but this is one situation where overt threats, ones that clearly regarded Alex as a threat and an equal to Brad (or, at least, pretends to), might work better than bribery.

I find it awesome that JJ is reaping both the benefits and the drawbacks of being the "youngest" sibling, even though he's really the middle kid. The drawbacks being overprotective older sibs, and parents that cannot believe that their precious widdle baby would want to hold his ankles too, and the benefit being that his parents are kind of worn out by the time they get around to you. Stuff that would have landed Darius in a seminary, and gotten Will a stern talking to, JJ gets a pat on the head and a simple "don't be stupid." I may be reading too much into it, being the youngest of four myself. And, naturally, my view is scewed by how remarkable the difference it was between my older sibs and me. I'm pretty sure my parents wanted to see me as the good kid so bad they turned a blind eye to some things I did, but in some cases they really did underreact. The first time I got in a fight, all my parents said was "did you win?" Both of my parents asked that separately, by the way. As a further example on how low the bar was set for me, it was pointed out that all I really had to do to be the "good kid" was manage to make it through high school without being arrested. In any case, I can see Brad working through a similar mindset with JJ. He really is a good kid compared to his brothers, and Brad really does trust him, which is why he tries so hard to use his career against him. I like that Will and JP got him to back off, and did it in a manner that Brad was able to see his missteps. AND it was consistent with both of their characters. Nice couple of chapters, really. Edit: Regarding Elizabeth Danfield, she's still breathing because she didn't f**k with the family, only Wade and Matt. That's within the rules. If Brad hadn't started messing around with Wade himself, he and Elizabeth would probably still be distantly cordial. Now if Wade ever wants her pushing daises, she's got about 20 minutes to live, but until that point I think the family is going to let him control her fate unless she makes moves against them directly.

Isn't Will known to be both rich and close to Zach? I don't think they'd even need any elaboration to their current cover story when Will is discovered in the same hotel lobby. "I felt like supporting my cousin" is all the explanation he needs to give. It's even true, if incomplete. I do agree with your arguments that Alex really hasn't done anything wrong. The "wrongest" action, for lack of a better word, is that he didn't treat Wade how Wade wanted to be treated, which only proves that they were ultimately incompatible, not that either party did the other wrong. I would go further from what you said about JJ, and wonder what exactly Wade and Will expect to accomplish by talking to JJ? Filling JJ's head with preconceived notions based on a past fling, when Alex provably does not enter into relationships with everyone the same way, will do no one any favors. Just as a for instance, how the hell will Wade, Will, and JJ know the difference between Alex treating JJ carefully because he thinks he's to precious for this world, or the far more laudable reason that JJ is super inexperienced?

I had a sad little epiphany today. Well, technically, last night, but whatever. I went out, as I am wont to do when I don't feel like staying in playing video games and there's damn little else to do all night, and found myself at a gay bar, where a pair of out-of-towners tried very hard to get me to come to their hotel with them. While I did ineptly flirt back (I am morally opposed to buying my own liquor), pssh, like that'll happen, but along the way, one asked if I was going to college, and if so what was I studying. I laughed, and without thinking told him that I graduated college about ten years ago. Then the words processed, and I realized I wasn't exactly exaggerating. I graduated with the class of 2005. My eyes must have bugged out comically as the number sank in. I couldn't help but say aloud, "Wow I'm starting to age." Seeing as they were both a couple years older, this did not go down well, but whatever. I got my free drink, and didn't even have to deflect much. I don't have one of my own dreams to share, but instead I am going to tell my sister's. Around the time one of aunts passed away, she had this dream: It was after the rapture, when we'd all been dead and buried for years. My entire family, all of us back and back and back (it was a very large courtroom, so large we could only see our immediate closest couple hundred or so), were in a court room being weighed against our own sins. The devil was the prosecutor, slamming us left right and center, providing video evidence to go along with his accusations, branding us the worst Christians since anything. His litany went on for hours, uncovering every detail and transgression, turning bright red in his fervor. And did we, my family, cower under this onslaught of our own misdeeds? Oh my no. That's not how we were brought up, and not how we lived. We REVELED in it. We patted each other on the back "Damn bro, how the hell did you pull that one off?", nudged each other when a particularly good one was coming up "Oh, you can't miss this, this is the best part!" and occasionally peacocked when our various mothers cried out "You did what!", meaning we really had gotten away with it until that moment. Look, there's a reason almost none of us will take communion, while we try to be good people, ain't none of us good Catholics, and it has long since stopped bothering us. And even there, in the literal moment of truth, we could only be what we were made to be. Finally, it was over. Jesus, our defender, rose soberly, although to a great amount of tittering from the crowd. He looked God, the judge, straight in the eye, and said, "I don't know what he means. It didn't happen." God nodded. "Very well, case dismissed." The dream ended there. We aren't sure if, in the end, we were admitted to paradise. It is one thing to not let us be sent to our damnation, but quite another to let us party with the angels. Perhaps there is more than one paradise, and the one we got sent to has a two drink minimum. And extremely durable construction.

Particularly since we have both highways and freeways here, and they aren't always interchangeable (highway 99 springs to mind of something that might be referred to as a freeway). Context would be important.

Guys come and go. Even friends come and go. But family can get revenge that lasts for YEARS. The appropriate thing to do would be to talk to JJ, if they ever wind up in a situation where they both like the same guy. Because it ultimately is Alex's (or whoever's) choice who he pursued, but you don't necessarily have to return those affections. And sometimes buying a bit of family stability could be worth it. Mind, that applies to an actual relationship. Mere sex can be gotten over, although you still run the risk of elaborate revenge.

I'm not sure you're talking about the same thing. It's very common to see guys wearing jeans completely below their butt. As in the waistline of their jeans is even with the top of their thighs. I think it looks extremely stupid, especially...no you know what? I was going to qualify that and say "especially in someone older than 18" but no, it looks just as stupid in someone who hasn't graduated high school.

Not really. These are important events for these characters, yes, but it's not like 9/11 is unimportant to Wade, or Will's birthday meaningless to Zach. And if the plot for Streak really is intended to be from theirs and JJ's perspective for the most part, it might even be necessary to see Will and Brad's reactions to these important dates from the viewpoint of the intended major characters. Will and Brad are volatile characters, given to extremes and outbursts. What do Zach, Wade, and JJ REALLY think about their histrionics? Especially JJ, since he won't always allow himself to carry on like Brad or Will, despite his clear inclination towards being just as big of a diva as those two. I don't intend any of this as criticism, mind, especially not negative criticism. Mark should write what he wants to write, and I'll read it. I'm merely curious if Brad and Will are going to be a lot more central than Mark may have originally intended.

I'm starting to notice an interesting pattern. Despite the note on the tin, we are hearing an awful lot from Will and Brad. I am curious if this is going to continue, or if it simply due to the events being depicted at this moment.

JJ's section made me crack up. I was the shortest kid at my high school for *ages*, and even after my growth spurt remained shorter than my friends. And I, too, greeted my sex drive with a cry of, "Oh, what the f**k now?" Although I got over it pretty quick . Which is funny, because Will is nearly a year younger than JJ. I actually am getting a bit weirded out by Alex and JJ's dynamic as well, where Brad/Armand and Will/the entire Stanford class of 2002 did not. I am curious what is causing it.

Interesting cast selection. Those are some people that thrive on high pressure, as compared to the more laid back Matt and Will.

Since I was curious, the tutorial relationship suggested would probably fly. He'd get the same education (arguably superior), and still qualify for a diploma. But not a GED. I'm not sure how it is in other states, but in California "GED" is too closely associated with "high school drop out" to be acceptable, even allowing for his special circumstances and needs. I think his ability to walk would depend on the institution itself. One woman in the year ahead of me took a year long course of study at USC instead of doing her senior year at our high school, but she was allowed to walk. In fact, she was technically valedictorian, although they selected another person who actually took the same classes as the rest of the senior class. But small town, fewer actual rules.

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.

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.

I couldn't decide which part to quote and say "Yes, good," to, so I just took it all. For myself, I wonder what's going on with Alex, but I don't hate him because he's beautiful. It is possible that people hate him because he's getting in the way of Wade and Matt riding off into the sunset together. It may not matter what exactly he does, he'll still be a jerk simply for existing, being desired, and wanting a relationship either or both of the "main" characters. It's a phenomenon I've only ever noticed applied to female characters, but there's a first time for everything. You know, this story is providing me a pretext to get an awful lot more use out of the English degree than I ever thought I'd use.

I agree with Mark on that one. A GED would be completely unacceptable by this family's standards. Here's the thing, a GED is *not* a diploma. It is not used as an equivalent by many employers, up to and including the US Military. California has an alternative exam called the California High School Proficiency Exam that is, by statute Education Code Section 48412, an acceptable substitute. Home schooled Californians would be directed to that exam, and I know it was available in 2001 as a couple of my friends took it rather than finish our senior year. I do not know if Massachusetts has an equivalent to that, or if they find GEDs good enough. Honestly, if JJ even suggested a GED, I can definitely see Brad, JP, et al, deciding right then and there to end his skating career, because it would at that point be threatening the entire rest of his life.

Alex was pretty weird. I'm not certain what to make of it all. Guess we'll have to see. After spouting off in the forums, I'm glad to see Wade's second go at JJ. That works where demanding obedience won't.

That's quite possible. Not all victims of sexual assault react that way, but some do. He doesn't seem to be asexual on his own; the Norway trip and a couple other encounters proved he had an interest in sex at that point, but who knows how circumstances have affected him since. He could shut down his own sex drive, or ramp it up to setting 11. He could even turn out to want sex at the same time that sexual encounters make him have panic attacks. I trended that way myself during my own recovery, but I have no idea how common a reaction that is. Or he could turn out to have fully recovered by the time he's in that kind of situation "on-screen," and the issue never comes up in any way again. I would personally be disappointed if that was the case, but in fairness to Mark not everyone would be interested in reading or writing that kind of story. I still think his libido is going to explode to such a degree that Will really does wind up looking like a prude in comparison. It would be an interesting development for both characters, and a preview of how Will might wind up acting as a parent 15-20 years down the road without actually needing to advance the storyline quite that far.

He's certainly not been a trustworthy one up to this point, which was key to my argument. Kids reaching the conclusion that their parents are being reasonable in their decision making requires a parent that is actually, or at least appears to be, reasonable in their decision making. Neither Wade nor Brad has achieved this goal. Well, it's up to Mark, but this is a point upon which we hit, "these characters will act a certain way because the author wants them to."

Almost every adult family member in Will's life is either promiscuous or unwilling to be wholly monogamous. That includes JP and Stef. And everyone is fine with it. If Will was an outlier that eventually would calm down, then yeah, I can see him trying to rail against promiscuity when his kids are teenagers themselves. But it would be awfully weird for him to say that when his kid could raise an eyebrow and say "Grandpa just banged my swimming coach, and Aunt Tiffany is sleeping with his wife. We haven't seen Uncle Matt in days. Uncle Jeremy has a harem living right next store. Also, your personal assistant was here awfully early. Again. But okay, save myself for marriage. Sure..."

I'm curious, but why would Will come to think that promiscuity was a bad thing? Unless you mean from an emotional stand-point, in which case the talk wouldn't be difficult at all. "I jumped into bed with my first couple of boyfriends a bit too early in the relationship, and got my heart broken. I also got a black eye from knowingly sleeping with a guy that was dating someone else at the time. I regret those acts. I hope you don't make the same mistakes." See, easy, and he doesn't have to admit that promiscuity helped him get over those early broken hearts if he doesn't want to.