MJ85

I think the re-posting of Dan's stories is triggering interest in and of itself simply because his stories are "fresh" for members who weren't here for them previously. Really, any way to direct people to them (besides just telling them to go search the stories out) helps. As to backing away from author forums, while many may not be terribly active, there's a couple of them that may likely have to be pried from their authors' cold, dead hands if it came to it, if their activity is any indication.

Is it me, or can the number of Hosted Author forums in general that have much activity, whether or not the Author is adding to their stories, be counted on one hand?

As an everyday "escape" from everything else? Oh, no doubt. But to the point of being in competitive events, at least in the closer near future? Even in a total soap opera, that seems like a hard sell.

Considering what's happened, any "skating season" would likely be done and over with for him anyway, even without getting yanked from Boston beforehand.

The shit that was able to happen in this story...no point of view, potentially unreliable or otherwise, can counterbalance all that. Not being "soccer parents" is one thing, too, but it's almost like the real point all along was to show that their lifestyles prohibit them from being able to be parents to any meaningful degree - i.e. almost to the other extreme.

I didn't say that they were failures as parents. But I do think that they've been depicted in this story as parents who "failed" as opposed to parents who "struggled".

"Funny" wouldn't be the word I'd use.

This story really seems to be an expose on their failures as parents...in general, really. Add everything all together...and how else can it really be considered? Having struggles as parents is one thing, but everything that's happened in this story...to call it "struggles" just doesn't cut it.

Hmmmm. That could be...what made it seem like they didn't even do that much was that what Brad told Will was such a condensed version of things.

Now that I think about it...does anybody else think that it was a really really stupid move by Brad to give JJ the news and just leave him to deal with it? Seeing as he was one of the few who knew what happened, one would think that he should have at least anticipated a greatly upsetting reaction from JJ. Reading that part again, he came off as more of a messenger than a parent; his mistake in judgment right there could have been fatal.

I don't agree that Will is "the" one to show JJ what love is. Not all by himself. I just don't get a vibe that it would be something, or even should be something, that is to be done by one member of the family. That's imposing a lot of importance on the one person. And in any case, yes Will and JJ had a Christmas moment, yes Will called for help, but there's still the lingering effect of their having grown apart. I have to think it'll come up at some point. I guess, if nothing else...why should it be just one member of the family who shows JJ what real love is, anyway?

A monogamous relationship, boring? Only if you really want it to be. There's still plenty of ways to make such a relationship "not perfect", though. I'm not so sure that you quite succeeded in the sense of there never being a risk of them breaking up. I think it was definitely there throughout a good chunk of December prior to Christmas. The "X"-Factor in there, so to speak, was that there wasn't really a sense of Robbie reaching a point of turning around, and working on making up with Brad. Not up until Christmas happened, anyway. Lastly...this thing with JJ might be your darkest storyline yet, Mark. EDIT: I also kind of figured that people were jumping to conclusions on the coach's death being a killing. Maybe it just seemed like too obvious a thing with so many making that assumption, but...an accident like that seems like a pretty elaborate plan for a death with those specifications.

What if Michael was the one who was "offed", and that's why we haven't heard from him all this time, while it's the coach's death that was an unplanned accident?

Probably that, and the fact that the death happened so quickly after meeting the family members (never mind still being around them as well!). Unless...maybe it really was an accident that happened before any "planned accident" was able to be carried out? That would be a first, wouldn't it? The family "plans" for "an accident" to happen, only for God to beat them to it?

Where exactly does "six months" come from as a timeframe? I specifically pointed to this story, and this story has been three months long, not six. The two may be separate constructs, but there's been much more overlap than not in that time, enough that it counterbalances any "difference". And that makes the onset of that seem sudden. Add that to his self-discovery, and yes, it does come off like a shift, or a "relapse", or however you want to put it. It has nothing to do with "weakness". Not all the time? If what you say is true...then let's see it happen!

Mari: I don't agree that it's the submissive who's "in control"...no matter how much the submissive wants to be the one who "yields" per se, it's the Dom who controls whether that happens or not - i.e. For example, the Dom can hold out on the Sub in the bedroom. The Sub can beg and plead for the actual sex for however long, but the Dom is under no obligation to the Sub to follow through. (P.S. I don't know how gratifying it is to give up that control? Trust me...I do know. ) You know what though...you mention how this is a "break" from his OCD. If that's all this was, if this was simply showing that he has a strong submissive streak, rather than it being that's who he is, it wouldn't seem like such a reversal of how he's been up until now. But with the counselor saying that being submissive is who he is...it doesn't come off as just being a "side" of him.

You just don't get it. This has nothing to do with any justifications, or how Matt would or wouldn't react, or whatever, for how Wade's been turned submissive - it's that he's been turned submissive in the first place. I know damn well that abuse survivors aren't bound to turn out one certain way disproportionately, but...WHY did this HAVE to be the way to go? Why not instead show that he's able to go from absolutely in control to absolutely submissive, and back again, even with points inbetween (meaning anytime he's not at either extreme)? Why box him in to one extreme? It seems like such a U-turn to go with this after his breaking free and establishing his strong "in control" side. It's not that it's unrealistic - nor is that even the issue. What is the issue, and what bothers me so much, is choosing a submissive preference to put onto Wade now after what he's been through, and after how he's been as a character up until now. You say that being submissive has nothing to do with bottoming. I would agree that the two are not ALWAYS linked, but I would also disagree that the two are NEVER linked, and in Wade's case there has been such a link throughout this story. Since their relationship opened up, he's topped...what, twice not including Matt? And both times after having already been "dominated" by the guy in question? For trying to argue that there isn't a link between the two, the anecdotals don't reflect that argument very well at all in the case of Wade. (For what it's worth, I'm not inclined to accept a "heterosexual" perspective on this so strongly, either, as I would consider that a totally different animal simply due to the sheer difference in sexual mechanics for heterosexuality vs. homosexuality.) In closing, from a characterization viewpoint, it does come across as a consensual version of having to have control taken from him. This is not the same as saying so from a "significant other's viewpoint", don't confuse the two.

Well...thanks a lot, Mark. Wade is now completely UN-appealing, sexually...and he's ruined as a character, all thanks to this retcon that you've pulled. It's like...it's like you flat out lied, when earlier you said that you imagined him as versatile. It was better when he was the one in control, able to show that his abuse didn't necessarily define who he was. Now? Now the specter of his abuse will forever loom so overhead that that's all there will be to him now. If he's even "in control" in any way now, it's a purely obligatory counter to the submissive bottom bitch that he's been made into now. Frankly, it makes me sick. Between everything that's happened recently...it makes me wish that this story didn't exist. That's how bad it's gotten.

All fraternities, whether social or not, have a pledging process. Period. The non-social ones won't have anything that is the stuff of urban legend, but there will still be some things that are required. This is where I will differentiate between fraternities and organizations that just happen to have Greek names (most of them honor-based, probably), as it's the latter that would not require meeting the requirements of a "pledging" process per se in order to get in. I have no idea as to the history of such organizations having Greek names just like fraternities and sororities do, but the difference is worth pointing out. And as has been mentioned already, one would think that Will would one day be a good candidate for being inducted into an honor-based Greek, assuming his grades don't nosedive once he hits college.

I just don't see Will wanting to bother with it. Never mind any of the other nuances involved. For future reference, though, calling them "frat" or "frats" for short is nowadays considered to be quite a put-down. Just FYI.

A gay guy getting into a social fraternity? It's do-able. The vibe I get as far as ones who would be accepting of gay guys and ones who would not be, is that it'd be pretty much hit-or-miss...but not so "out there" that it'd be so unrealistic. I don't, however, get a vibe that Will would really WANT to join one, though. Honestly...what for? A non-social Greek (and there are PLENTY of them out there!)...maybe. Depends on what it'd be. As for Darius and the military...this is a guy who was all but bound for Annapolis at one point. Hello! How is this even still a question?

A Single Gay Man's Guide to Surviving Valentine's Day

You say that writing for you is an escape...what about when the writing is a problem? What would your "escape" be then? If you don't have one in that scenario...this may be the time to get one. Crazy...but who knows? It might just help.

Darius I could see as a good bet unless a compelling reason not to go gets dropped in his lap.

I don't think that's the only thing. That factors in in a big way, yes, but I have to think there's another big part of it that has nothing to do with Matt at all. In any case, should Brad bring up the "open relationship" pitfall, I think that'd be a conversation that needs telling to the both of them - but then again, it doesn't seem likely that Matt would listen to a word from Brad. While we're at it, though, the whole entire relationship "saga" (if one wants to call it that) between them now seems so stilted for this entire story in retrospect, mostly because Matt's initial "guy on the side" turned out to be a plant, supplied by Elizabeth. Suppose she hadn't set the proverbial Pandora's Box in motion?