jkwsquirrel

There's definitely not enough room for that! (Billy alone would take up a full screen.)

There's not enough space on the page to list them all!

Welcome to the WAR Slap-O-Meter! Every incident of one character hitting, slapping, or beating up another character: Pre-WAR - Frank pushed Dustin down the steps, breaking his arm. 1-3 - Billy punched Brett playfully in the arm. 1-5 - The Black Eye Incident 2-3 - Brett punches Billy in the mouth 2-6 - Billy pokes Brett in the eye while wrestling 2-8 - Dustin throws Billy down face first into the snow 2-8 - Dustin and Brett fight 3-2 - Amanda twists Dustin's arm behind his back 3-3 - Carol Smith slaps Frank, a brawl ensues 3-5 - Carol slaps Dustin over Frosted Flakes 3-7 - Max roughs up Billy at school 3-8 - Joey fights Billy 3-8 - Amanda throws a lamp at Dustin 3-9 - George slaps Billy twice and roughs him up 3-12 - Billy punches a mirror and breaks his hand 4-3 - Dustin pushes Billy against a wall at school 4-3 - Dustin slams Billy into some lockers and threatens him 4-5 - Dustin kicks Billy's broken arm 4-7 - Jenny slaps Brett for being a jerk 4-11 - Dustin hits Billy in the face with a basketball when Billy yells at Emily 5-3 - Joey assaults Billy in the bathroom at church Offscreen - Frank brutalizes Dustin Offscreen - Brett throws his laptop at Jenny 5-6 - Joey pushes Billy into a wall in the restroom 5-6 - Carol tries to murder Mike with computer equipment 5-6 - Carol slaps Brett 5-7 - George attacks a furnace with his cane 5-8 - Dustin destroys Brett 5-14 - Paula slaps Billy for accusing her of cheating on George 6-13 - Sarah slaps Billy, Billy schedules a trip to his behind for her. Boy, there's been a lot of violence, but not so much in part 6. Things kind of culminated with Dustin's vicious beat down of Brett.

So, "The Kids Aren't Alright" - Definitely a breather chapter after the intensity of Brett's accident and the aftermath. It was a lot of fun to mine the more comedic side of the boys. Both Billy and Dustin are in rare form, Billy as the affronted seeker of justice, Dustin as the playful tormentor of his best friend. You know, some parts of WAR go to some very dark places. But through it all, it think it's the humor that is the true heart of the story and gives the characters their humanity. Billy, for all his seriousness, bluster, and insecurity, has this sarcastic side that sees the ridiculousness of his situation. Sometimes he's quicker with his tongue than with his brain. Dustin has always had a bit of a cocky side to his personality. He knows how good he is. The ease with which he talks about the size of his unit or the number of his sexual conquests reveal a side you wouldn't expect from someone whose life sucked so bad for so long. Even the way he subtly jabs at Brett about the way he kicked his ass so thoroughly reveals a playful cockiness. And of course, Brett is always trying to make someone laugh, especially himself or Billy. He sees getting Billy to laugh at something totally stupid as a crowning achievement. He likes the low-brow toilet humor. When he can get Billy to laugh rather than roll his eyes at his goofiness, that makes his day. I don't think you could ever classify WAR as a comedy, but WAR definitely would be the same story without the humorous elements.

Definitely "quasi" mature! Though Aiden is right. Billy isn't someone who likes to get physically rough. He does his fighting with his mouth. Any time Billy's been in a physical situation, he's been slaughtered. Even the girls beat him.

Sort of. It gave us insight into her reasoning. She really thinks she's earned what she has in spite of her father, not because of him. Of course, we all know what Billy thinks she's earned! I'm glad the real Dustin is back. As for a three-way relationship? Brett doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who would share his boyfriend. Did I pair the spares in this chapter? We'll find out! As I described up above, Aiden is a different breed than Billy. If the school thinks Billy is bad, they haven't seen anything yet! Although Billy threatening to slap the braces out of his mouth isn't exactly the best way to deal with someone!

There's a very short fuse between his brain and his mouth! Of course, sometimes it backfires on him! He's just really good at it, too much talent to let walk away. I'm sure his coach and the other players were begging for him to come back. He won the batting title as a freshman. Even without the intervention of the police, he was going to fall. Too much pressure, too weak-willed. Getting caught was probably the best thing that could have happened to him. Exactly! We only get half of the Brett-Dustin phone call, but what a phone call it was! The relationship between Em and Dustin is going to be quite interesting in the next couple chapters. Indeed. He's going to make Billy look downright cooperative.

Both classic Billy snark moments. I also liked, "I'll slap the braces out of your stupid little mouth." Such a "Billy" thing to say!

I got the MTM reference! lol I think allllll the way back to chapter 1-1. Billy was moving on to the baseball field, but he couldn't help but stop and watch the kids who had taken over his old section of the playground. Aiden represents those kids who had taken over the swings. Billy is reaching the end of his high school days. Soon he'll have moved on, and the younger kids like Aiden will inherit the school. Aiden is just bold enough to call out the older kids and call them on the way they used their time at school. Just think, here is this sophomore, barely five and a half feet tall, calling out two six-foot tall seniors. Mon Valley High better watch out, because Aiden and the kids like him aren't going to back down when things get difficult.

It was a lot of fun writing this chapter, especially Dustin. It took him a lot of work to get there, but we're finally seeing the young man Dustin could have been long ago if not for his abusive upbringing. Can't say the same for Joey though!

Billy has his moments, but for someone younger like Aiden all he sees is someone who was too ashamed to be honest about who he is. When I think about Billy and the era in which the story takes place, he's almost the last of his kind. He's grown up right on the edge of when marriage equality is about to become a reality. His whole world is being flipped upside down, and he's trying to find his place in that coming world. He's a walking contradiction, conservative upbringing clashing with a liberal sex drive. It's fun to play in that sandbox as a writer, yet frustrating for the people who have to live with him. (and sometimes for my readers!) Aiden represents the younger generation that is coming up behind Billy's era, ones who are not so willing to put up with the bullshit, and less patient with the lack of progress previous generations made.

It was one of my favorite Billy moments too. Glad you enjoyed it!

The new chapter "The Kids Aren't Alright" is up. It contains some of my favorite "Snarky Billy" insults of the whole series. And we add another tally to the WAR Slap-O-Meter! You should read it!

Brett was in the hospital for about a week. In that week, I helped Dr. Reilly get the living room ready for Brett. She borrowed a hospital bed for him so he could keep his leg up. He wouldn’t be allowed to put any weight on it until April. Then he’d be in rehab. The doctors were optimistic that he’d be able to go back to school by mid-April. He’d be on crutches, but he would be able to be there to graduate. At least he’d be home for his birthday. Jen and I didn’t talk much about the deal

Joey is far too afraid of his father to try anything like that.

How dare you, sir! I may be sneaky and a bastard, but being called a "rat" is highly offensive to the squirrel community! Some folks call us rats with bushy tails!

Yeah, I might have been too dismissive of Joey's emotional abuse. I've made the case that Brett and Dustin were both neglected by their parents. They've adjusted well, mostly because they found other role models. Particularly, Brett had George and Paula and Dustin had Miss Winston and his coaches and therapists (and later his sister who took him in for a year). Joey hasn't had that interested adult in his life, and so his response to his pain is to seek relief from drugs.

Billy is definitely discovering just how petty and small his little town is. I think many of us eventually come to see our childhood community as a place that we must break away from in order to grow. I also think people see what they want to see. Lots of people look alike. We see all the clues because Billy sees them. Someone else in that community would have no reason to be looking for a family resemblance between two relatively unconnected friends. Jack has lived in the community for years. Dr. Reilly moved in when Brett was eight. Even though they went to the same college, how many people in town even remember that Jack was away for a few years? In a small town, inertia is king. Jack "always" lived there. Dr. Reilly moved in years after her son was born.

I've thought of Jack as an adult version of Brett without the redeeming qualities. Brett can be manipulative too, but Jack has had more practice. And his earlier treatment of Dustin reveals how vicious he can be to someone he doesn't like. Jack is a bully. Joey learned his boorish behavior by example.

I saw her initial sending away of Billy as more of a heat of the moment thing. She was angry and didn't feel like having Billy hanging around, and there really was nothing he could have done at that point and it was better that he get some rest. I think the heart of the story is about finding one's own way, even when one's parents or society tries to make you conform to their way. It's not a perfect journey by any means.

We haven't heard the last of the bribe. As for the next chapter, I think it's a little more the adult reaction to these crazy kids than the kids themselves. "Boy, those kids aren't alright!"

We'll explore Jenny and Jack's "relationship" in a future chapter. But there is a hint of what Jen thinks about Jack waaaaaaaay back in chapter 2.7 when Brett describes the conversation Jenny had with her sister: “You said he hurt you! He used you! He ruined your life! I heard you say those exact words!” Brett thought she was talking about her boyfriend then, but now we know who she was really talking about.

I hate to do this, because it started a good discussion, but I meant for that line to come from Jen, not Jack. Entirely my fault, as I wasn't as clear as I needed to be. I've edited it to clarify it better.

True. There's not a single person in this story who thinks what they are doing is wrong.

Of course, Billy could use the speech to ask Jack to give the internship to the son he loves the most, but he'll be screwed out of valedictorian before he gets the chance anyway, right? But anyway, yes, you may be on the right track in thinking that Joey knows. The funny thing is, that if he does know it just proves how right he is about his father. After all, Jack and Jen are going through so much trouble to keep Billy quiet, yet it never occurs to them that Joey could have possibly figured it out.