Thanks for making the point about the age differential!
It's interesting that Jacobs didn't do anything for Will...I'm not that up on the theories of counseling and how they'd envelope that scene. Looks like my intuition may have made me take a lucky stab at it.
Thanks for pointing out that utterance by Will. It was significant, and what was even more important was Will's mental observation that Wally didn't seem to notice that Zach didn't disagree with Will's assessment.
I do believe you are thinking of Jeff. I'm glad you got a connection there...Will's bond with JP is such that he's bound to emulate some of his attitudes.
Or maybe it's just because Zach is hot. :-)
I think you're right, in that Will does encourage Zach's disrespectful behavior. It's not all that unlike what Will dealt with when he was fighting with Brad: Zach is trying to declare his independence.
You make a really good point. Will being there probably wasn't good if they were trying to keep things calm, but then again, that wasn't likely to happen anyway. In the end, having him there to support Zach was paramount.
I don't think this is a spoiler, so I'll answer your question. We won't see a session with Wally and Clara and Jacobs. There are a number of reasons for that, but the most pressing is that I can accomplish what I need to by showing things through Zach's and Will's eyes.
I think that in situations like this, as JP noted, there has to be some pain before there's gain. I can't see how any progress can be made until all the issues are on the table, and that's bound to be rough.
Thanks Gary. One of the things I like about Zach's character is his basic boldness. I think that comes from not really giving a shit what most people think.
I think there's always that potential, but as was pointed out above, if any of those guys were older, their silence is pretty much guaranteed. Now if any were Zach's age, that could feasibly be a problem.
November 17, 2002
Claremont, OH
Will
I woke up slowly, and let my arm reach over to Zach’s side of the bed. When I didn’t feel him next to me, it jarred me out of my slumber. I looked around the room and saw him standing in front of the window, stark naked. He was standing far enough back that no one would see him, assuming someone was walking through our backyard at 5:00 in the morning. I paused to just admire his form. He was so ripped, that whenever he moved, his muscles
It's entirely possible for Zach to tell Wally and Clara about Will without Will being there, but that reverses the cause and effect. Zach wants Will to be there with him (to support him) so to do that, he has to explain their relationship to Wally and Clara.
I think you're right about Wally. As much as he may be pissed off at Zach, I think he'd be one of the last people to actually out Zach. It wouldn't serve his purposes, and he'd have to hate Zach to do that, and he doesn't hate Zach.
Thanks. I think it's going to be a tough battle for Zach. He has the talent, so he's on track at least into college. He's also very determined, and if he puts his mind to something, it usually works out for him. So it's going to be a huge, ongoing internal struggle for him.
Is JJ a top? We really don't know yet, but that was hysterical.
I think the issue with Marc is that it's going to be hard to get a feel for who he is until he recovers from the abusive relationship he was in.
Now Maarten, the temptation to bring Will along to the meeting just to really annoy you is almost overwhelming (Smile).
JJ isn't a character that demands kindness. He's a bit too bitchy for that. :-)
We're assuming that Wally doesn't want a relationship with Zach, and I'm not convinced that's the case. And if he does, he'd be pretty upset about Peebles too.
JJ does seem to be getting his confidence back, only it's based on the support of one guy, so it's not really "his" confidence.
A couple of things:
1. Frank wasn't raised by the same father as Wally. They're a generation apart. Wally was raised by one of Frank's brothers. We don't really know which one.
2. You know as well as I do that our personal life experiences are largely anecdotal. I've seen fathers like that who were flaming assholes, and made Wally look like a gem.
I really enjoyed writing the scene with Zach and the counselor, because I could really feel Zach's frustration coming through (even though it was styled as anger). He really is coming into his own, as you noted.