Mark Arbour

Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the preparations. I feel bad about that, to some degree, since it has dragged out the beginning of the story, much like it did with Odyssey. Hopefully we'll have some fun with this as we go along.

I suspect Spencer was trying to find someone to go that St. Vincent would find palatable, and someone diplomatic enough to deal with him. ;-)

I think it's a bit disingenuous to pull those sections out of Paternity as the definitive verdict on Brad and Wade. It ignores the subsequent problems Matt and Wade had, problems so intense they had to schedule an emergency meeting with Dr. David. And in that meeting, Matt even offered to move away from Escorial with Wade so he wouldn't be tempted by Brad. Regardless of how you feel about them sleeping together, it didn't work out very well the first time around.

Welcome to the club, KC!

That just sounds Heart-less.

What's been really fun about this story is how I can get such completely different reviews on the same chapter. On the one hand, you're saying that Brad (and Wade) are scum, and should be all but crucified by the family. Then I have others who think they make a cute couple. Then there are those who bitch about Will, just because. ;-) Truly, it does make writing this story fun.

If it's that obvious, then that's probably what will happen. ;-)

Caught up on my review responses and I discovered that I chimed in similarly to your point: Not everyone handles Grad school the same way, and not all Grad schools require the same amount of work and effort. I would expect that Matt will be pretty busy with school, but then again, he would have been busy at Stanford too. I don't know that Matt went out more than two or three nights a week during his undergrad years. We know he partied more than Wade, but that's not saying much. Frat boys at a place like Stanford still have to work hard to get good grades, but they can party like rock stars on those nights when it's allowed. In that vein, I'm not sure that Matt's actual lifestyle will change all that much, but we'll see. I would expect it to be similar to what you laid out there, but then again, he may be able to balance things better.

I'm glad you're enjoying the story. You make an excellent point about sex being part of the relationship. I guess I was saying that it doesn't have to be that way, but as you noted, it's more probably than not in this world that it would be.

Thanks mm! I'm not doing an April Fool's chapter this year. I didn't get organized for it. Maybe next time around. Chapters have to end somewhere...this seemed like a good spot. ;-)

Thanks for the review. Definitely Jerry Springer-esque...but that makes it kind of fun. I think you're right about Matt and Will at this point as well. One correction: JP and Stef THINK they know what happened, the don't actually know what happened. A big difference.

I read through your review, trying to think of something to comment about, but found myself nodding through the whole thing. I especially liked your point that Brad would have reacted similarly to Matt if he had been in Matt's shoes. I think that's a given, and may explain part of why Brad isn't making this an issue.

It would be easy to write off the violence as "a guy thing", and that is probably somewhat realistic. It's a problem for men who can't verbalize and deal with their emotions. I think Matt's always vulnerable to anger-management issues, but I think it's pretty easy to see why he lost it this time. He lost his GMC, he's wounded and hurting, and he finds out his stepfather has been sleeping with his ex-boyfriend. That's probably enough to make most guys like him lose it.

Good point Jason. I think Stef does that, and will do that, in his own way. Sometimes his best interventions are subtle, and sometimes he makes the most impact by holding a mirror up to JP.

I think it's disingenuous to say there was no verbal ban by Matt on a Brad/Wade hookup. The first time they got together, it almost destroyed all of their relationships. I think that's a pretty good way of saying "don't sleep with him." I think it's unreasonable to think a guy has to tell his step-father or boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend) not to sleep together. That's something they should just know, and get.

Graduation as a happy time: my personal experiences are that it's actually an extremely stressful time. Usually it's surrounded by a lot of uncertainty, and a massive change in lifestyle.

Thanks for the review. I'm going to disagree with you on Wade's dominance issues. I don't think he has any, unless he's in bed, and I think that's entirely allowed, and not unhealthy. I'm not sure if Will is really going to let Brad and Wade off the hook...I think this incident will change their relationships in more subtle ways.

I'm glad you liked the chapter. I think there are more differences between Will and Brad than there are between Wade and JP.

Some interesting speculation in your review. I think that the one thing I can say is that Brad won't go postal on Matt. Brad is feeling much too guilty about this. In reality, the smashed nose is probably a relief, because it lets him offset some of the guilt he feels toward Matt.

Good points by both of you. Something else to consider is Matt's one huge advantage: his looks. Now I'm not saying that the gay community overly values handsome faces and fit, taught bodies...oh wait, maybe that's exactly what I'm saying. You can't tell me that a hot guy can't get away with more than an ugly one. That's worked for Matt his entire life, and it still does. It will until he gets old and fat. Wait...Tim dated "Tony"?

Thanks so much! I'm glad you're emotionally attached, even if that means a roller coaster ride. Matt wants to go to Boston to try to maintain a connection with Wade. Of some kind.

June 14, 2002 Stanford University Hospital, CA “And so we meet again,” Jack said, using some weird villain accent. “You look even hotter in your doctor coat,” I said, flirting with him. He chuckled. “This ensemble was a gift from Stef for Christmas,” he said. “I’ll bet you didn’t know that Hugo Boss designed medical wear.” I laughed and that hurt my chest. “Will I live?” “Yes, and it’s official, since I already promised JP you would,” he said. “We’ll

I'm guessing you'll be as happy as me when the new review system is launched, allowing for edits. ;-)

Great review Jason! I really like how you captured Will's issue with his father and Wade, and his response, which I thought was remarkably insightful for him, even if he didn't do it all that gracefully. The one thing I would question is your conclusion that Brad has a sadistic need to dominate men. I think that we have seen him act that way with Wade, but he's doing it largely to accommodate Wade's own submissive desires. It would also be easy to see him that way in an emotional light, but I think that his controlling and dominant behavior in that arena is largely a result of insecurity in the relationship. I think that if Brad was with someone he trusted, and loved, he would be a lot less controlling.

Why thank you! Every once in a while, I go to the edge with words, like this one, and assholishness. :-)