Mark Arbour

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. :-)

I would have guessed Fresh Prince of Belair.

There are multiple ways to look at this whole issue, so I didn't quote your entire post, but I think it's important to point out that we really don't know how long Will tried to get their attention, or what efforts he made before he broke in.

June 13, 1799 Cowes, England “George, this place you have created is just wonderful,” Caroline said, as they strolled down to the cutter. “I love these basins, and those fountains from Italy are simply magnificent.” “I’m glad you like it,” Granger said with a smile. Caroline had come down here yesterday and brought the children, so they would be able to spend more time together as he fitted Valiant out. Having them here was wonderful, but it reminded Granger

I think that if they would have said "it's none of your business what we do," Will would have raised an eyebrow, shut down on them, and then had a long talk with JP and Stef. That's a good reason for them to engage with Will instead. You mention the term "moral compass", which is apt here. As I said in response to the reviews, Will is deriving his moral code internally, and from the influence of his family members, especially JP, Stef, Brad, and Wade. When Brad breaks the rule he so vehemently argued for when he was young, and he does the same thing to Matt that he and Wade were outraged with Matt for doing to Will, it decays their moral authority, and his respect for them. I think that's a reasonable response. That plays into what you addressed in your last paragraph. I don't think Will's planning to run out and fuck Matt, or Cody, or Scott Slater, or Lou. I think he was trying to lay it out to Wade and Brad that if they aren't going to play by the 'rules', he doesn't have to either, and those are the kinds of things he could feasibly do.

Actually, I think this situation damn near parallels the Matt/Tony and Jake/Sam deal. Will is probably thinking not just of his Dad and Wade, but of Matt, and how this will impact him. That's actually a pretty compassionate thing to do. And there's nothing that says that Wade and Brad couldn't become more significant partners. Wade and Brad may have saved themselves, but they're going to hurt Matt really badly with this, and they've thrown the whole moral code they preached into the air. I think that warrants some outrage from Will, and I suspect that JP and Stef will be less-than-happy about it.

I think that the one mitigating factor in this thing is the relative stress and emotional chaos that must permeate Brad and Wade. I can see how two men like that, who are hurting and alone, would rediscover each other in this situation. The fact that they kept their relationship hidden (even from Brad's shrink) shows they knew it was wrong, but then again, they were both probably so overwrought, that level of 'wrongness' wasn't enough to deter them. It's interesting that as soon as they're outed, so to speak, they both realize it's over, even though they don't want it to be.

Brad is going to feel way too guilty about this to have blazing guns. It's not about "support nookie", it's about Brad playing by different rules. When he brought a guy home, and Sam fucked him, Brad went ballistic (Be Rad) and basically established the rule that it was not OK for other family members to poach guys away from another family member. And keep in mind that in this family, 'blood relation' is no requirement for membership. Will bought into this concept, which is why he was so pissed off at Matt. So suddenly it's OK for Brad to change the rules and bang Matt's ex-boyfriend? At the same time, as I noted, you could see him mellowing in the limo when he realized that this was an important relationship for both Brad and Wade. But, one might ask, could they not have had a supportive relationship without fucking?