Mark Arbour

I am so sorry. That's always one of the toughest things, when I write something that hits a reader close to home. I hope you manage to work through this with less drama than these guys do. I get what you're saying about the emptiness. I'm thinking that it may be less intense for Matt, since he's been dealing with this for six months. I wonder if, in situations like this, there isn't a finite personal amount of pain one must suffer before one is willing to let go. If my hypothesis is true, than Matt has already been building up some chits on the pain and suffering scale. I'll work on the sex part

I think it's important to put these events into context. Consider that Wade has basically been living his life without Matt for the past six months, so he's adapted to not having a relationship with Matt. Then Matt comes blasting back into his life, reawakening all those old emotions (and problems). Wade's natural reaction is to raise his shields.

I really thought that your review was spot-on. I kept trying to think of something to comment on, but in the end, I found myself just nodding my head in agreement.

Dude, you were so stoned when you wrote this! LOL! To answer your question, I didn't know this was the anniversary of the opening of Dartmoor Prison, and since I'm not Irish (or Catholic), the significance of St. Patrick's Day was lost on me. Rather, it was posting based on a bloodlessly deliberate posting schedule.

Thanks Maarten. You make a good point about Wade, but it's important to remember that while Wade is very deliberate and calm with most people, with Matt he tends to lose that. That probably explains some of the issues he's dealing with when he's thinking or a relationship with Matt...how vulnerable he is emotionally.

Very true re: Zach. I think he's one of those guys who lets very few people past the shields, but once he does, he's an open book.

It's important to remember (IMHO) that in a single narrator format, we only get one point of view. I think Wade has his reasons for the way he's acting.

May 23, 1799 HMS Valiant Portsmouth, England The water tanks had arrived early, before Treadway returned, so Granger was especially thankful that Andrews had gotten here with the men when he did. The two large tanks lay on the bottom of a lighter that the ironworkers had used to float them over. Lieutenant Garrett Weston stood on the quarterdeck, directing the men at the capstan. These men would provide the manpower to hoist the first water tank from the lighter, using the

Thanks for the review! I'll help you out with the question about the midshipmen in just a few minutes. ;-)

June 12, 2002 Stanford University, CA I stood outside Tressider, waiting for Wade. He promised me that he’d meet me here when he was done with his last final. I’d finished my last one yesterday, but I’d come down here to spend some time on campus, to enjoy what was left of my undergraduate years. A couple of freshmen walked out, acting goofy, but not as goofy as they probably had when they first got here in the fall quarter. College changed people. Sometimes, the change wasn’t al

Not at all. I think it was Manchester, but it might have been Concord.

Not to rain on your parade, Jeremy, but for Flux, the main narrators are Brad and Matt. Brad lives in Palo Alto, and sometimes Malibu, and occasionally goes to New York and Connecticut. Matt's moving to Chicago. If Wade was narrating (in Boston), that would make Boston more relevant. That being said, I've found this to be really interesting. The first time I heard "wicked" used like that was in New Hampshire. I used it to piss off my secretary for about a month.

I share your views, and your frustration.

WTF is a simulated child?

Sigh.

Thank you for that post. I love hearing pseudo-intellectuals bemoan the focus on the college social life, and smirk knowingly because they're almost always from the liberal arts. College is about so much more than what you learn in the classroom, especially at the undergraduate level. I am a professor, and I get to watch a lot of students evolve as they flow through the system. Speaking generally, my experience with them is that the first two years are largely a time of exploration. They are learning to balance their lives between social activities, work, and their academic obligations. They are discovering who they are. Those who drop/flunk out aren't stupid, usually, they just haven't found that balance. It's a clear sign that they simply aren't mature enough to tackle college. The last two years or so, they tend to find a field that interests them and focus their efforts in that direction. By then, they have mostly come to discover how to juggle the various challenges in their lives, and that often includes a boy/girlfriend. During the undergraduate years, I think that the personal growth, and learning how to prioritize and balance responsibilities, is at least as important as academic growth. Graduate school is an entirely different experience, where the academics take center stage, and things like a social life become largely irrelevant as part of the maturation process.

Thoughts: 1. You're such a snob. :-) 2. That would suck to set up a date like that, but Brad also gets to feel better about being a dick, so it's probably all good in his eyes. 3. A device to take Sean out of play? Perhaps.

I think that Matt isn't worried about Sean, since they had that threesome, and that makes it more innocuous in his mind. Besides, Wade is moving to Boston, and a long distance relationship would be tough for both Sean and Wade. That's a good call on the deal with Brad and Ben. I'm sure it's a nice ego boost to have a guy like that attracted to you.

Hmm. Transcending some of his past actions. I'm not sure if Brad is quite there yet.

Thanks Maarten. No scolding, and no talk of maturity. :-) I'm interested to see where I take Brad as well. I'll figure it out.

I thought that the way Brad handled the Sean-Ben issue was very indicative of how he's coming along. He saw that connection and backed off. It's a shame that Matt didn't do that when he was dealing with Tony.

The Brad-Robbie meeting was pretty cool...I'm with you on this one. And you're right about the love that's there. I think that keeps things bound together, even when it seems like everyone is flying off into a whole different direction.

Real drama? Why, when things are rolling along so nicely? SMILE. I think it's interesting that Brad seems much more tuned in to Will these days.

Kody, Thanks for the review, but you kill me with these long ones. This system it too kludgy to reply at length, especially since when I hit "reply", the window pops up on top of the review. Ugh. But I read your thoughts, and enjoyed them! I understand what you said about counseling, but I think that it's good for these guys to have another frame of reference. And I liked how you summed up Will's progress, and his 'to do' list.

The dating scene is not that clear cut, where you luckily stumble onto someone and it's just perfect. I wanted to show that, to show that things can start off well and just fizzle.