Mark Arbour

October 9, 2001 Escorial “Have a great day!” I said to Dad as I finished up my breakfast. “You too,” he responded with less enthusiasm. I grabbed my backpack and tossed it over my shoulder, then went to meet the car out front. I was riding with John and Marie. Marie had called and asked me to go with them, since they probably wanted to hear all about my exciting weekend. “Hey!” I said, greeting my cousins cheerfully. “Shoots!” John said, imitating Au

Thanks for the review MDK. The review that scolded Will came from Tim. He likes to scold, so don't get all excited. :-) I think that the person who's helped Brad the most is Will, although I have to believe that the rest of the family has been instrumental in being there too. I think, though, that Scott/Lark was good for him, if only because he showed Brad how much he cared about him by having some restraint.

I don't equate respect of parental authority as being an indicator of right or wrong, or maturity, especially in this case. There are certainly more factors involved than that. Will is definitely clouding his own decisions with his own perspectives and experiences, so in that regard, I think the maturity card does come into play. It takes a while for some people to learn to think objectively, and to subordinate their emotions, and some never get there (as some threads on this very website will attest. ;-) ).

November 20, 1798 Paris “I hope you gentlemen do not mind dining with me alone,” Talleyrand said. “Your company is more charming and entertaining than that found in all the salons in Paris combined,” Granger said smoothly. He wondered if, when he returned to England, he’d retain this excessively flowery language he was mastering here in Paris. “I am not sure how flattering that comment is,” he joked, making Granger and Eastwyck chuckle. “I act

I think everyone can use an Austin or a Jack in their life. :-)

I think that it's OK for Austin to play Will's boyfriend, since really, no harm was done. It probably made Kai and Ron more comfortable, and it probably made Will feel more secure and confident, and it probably gave Austin a role to play, so he wasn't just a bud who tagged along.

This one was very fast, courtesy of Jeremy's birthday. I think that Stef must have considered JP's words about that room, and come to the same conclusion that you did. With a place like that, maybe he'll focus on self-pleasure instead of the latest hook-up. We'll see.

LOL. Thanks Miles. I thought the advice from Darius and Austin was so very high school, which kind of shows you that Darius' mind is still there. Not unusual for a freshman.

I've had straight characters in here, but they tended to play (like Ryan) or end up like saps (like Noah), so Austin is my bid to have a cool, straight guy in Will's life. We'll see if I can resist the temptation to have them hook up. ;-)

You know, with Scott, you always have to wonder what his ulterior motive is. I don't know that he does anything without having a plan behind it. So maybe he's just being nice to Brad, or maybe he knows that's the way to stay in Brad's good graces...you know...in case he needs something.

Brad's a tough guy, and while this is an awful time for him, there really isn't a question as to whether he'll get through this, it's a question of how long it will take, and how it will ultimately change him. And Lark/Scott is still creepy. :-)

Yep...I've known a few Austin-esque guys. The completely straight thing is kind of a disappointment, but it clears that sexual tension off the table.

I think it's nice for Will to have a straight friend who can basically tell him how things are...and actually have him listen to the guy. Lark/Scott, well, he's kind of high-maintenance, but he really does care about Brad.

I'm glad you liked this one. I hope dinner was good!

Your mind is erotic.

October 6, 2001 Palo Alto, CA Darius, Austin, and I sat in the back of the plane, kicking back now that the rush of our takeoff and initial climb had faded. “Dude, this plane is kick-ass!” Austin said. “Yep,” I agreed. We were in my father’s G-V, and it was one awesome plane. “Want something to drink?” “Grab us a couple of cokes,” Darius said. “That work for you?” he asked Austin. “Works for me,” Austin confirmed. I undid my seatbelt and wandered u

So my confusion cleared up your confusion? Sounds like a typical day for me. :-)

Thanks for being such an integral part of my team. I know this has been a tough year for you, with your share of challenges, so I hope the next one is a little easier. I was going to wait until midnight my time to post this, but I want to go to bed, and I figured it's already your birthday in Delaware!

Will's gift for Zach was less about him being a good piece of ass, and more about Will feeling an affinity with Zach and his situation. I guess one of the big missing pieces to this is how Zach approached Will about the car in the first place. How you fill that in will probably answer the whore question.

No. For someone to be a true Scrooge, they have to have the Money Worship disorder, and JJ doesn't have that issue. I don't think he worries about money, or thinks about money, and I don't really think he obsesses about it. He buys what he wants, when he wants it. But it doesn't dominate his life. It's unusual for a person who was raised in a household where money is not a problem to develop that particular disorder. I'm not sure Zach was flirting with JJ to get something out of him, I think Zach was flirting with JJ to annoy him, and to annoy John. I see it as a classic situation where John and JJ are sitting there, acting like they're so far above Zach, and by flirting with them, and making them want him, he brings them down to his level. I don't think Tony has that much clarity. I think he's so confused, he's floundering around like a rudderless ship. For that reason, he shouldn't probably be in ANY kind of relationship. What Tony is like when he figures this out, IF he figures this out, is anybody's guess, since I haven't figured it out either. I don't think that's a very fair description of Tony's friends. They were largely just a crowd of straight college kids, doing their thing, so other than Rick, they didn't seem douchie to me. Tony tried out for the soccer team, but we never heard about him making it, and he hasn't talked about practices or games, so it's more likely he's not on a team. If he does anything, he plays intramurals, but even then, we've heard nothing about it. I'm not following your point on this one?

Listen to you, being Debbie Downer. I didn't even get a ZOU from you. You forfeit your Missouri card for the weekend.

Narcissist that I am, I like it when people agree with me and think I'm wonderful, but in all seriousness, I love the different perspective you bring to this discussion. I think much of that may stem from our backgrounds and professions, which are an extension, to a degree, of our personalities. It makes complete sense to me that you would favor a general adherence and respect for rules, and for those in authority, just as it makes complete sense that those things are much less important to me. In my world, intellect and education would be more important. So when we look at the Zach-Will and Wally-Clara matchup, I understand where you're coming from, but it's just not the same perspective I have. That just makes it more interesting. I do have to disagree with you, though, on Will wasting his money on Zach. What Will (individually or through his family) has done for the less fortunate isn't necessarily correlated with what he does for a friend (and a shirt-tail relative). I know in my own family, there are relatives with ample amounts of cash who wouldn't throw a dime even to their friends. I don't see that in Will. I think he genuinely has a generosity of spirit. Of course, that makes me think I need to add a truly Scrooge-like figure into the mix. I'll even really poke you in the eye and disagree with you on Will's reaction if Tony were to pull guys off the table. I think that he would actually handle it really well, primarily because he tends to learn from his mistakes (and those of others), and that thing with Wade-Matt-Carl sits pretty high on his psyche. I think he's willing and able to make that part of a commitment. The thing with Will is that he's got to know the 'why', so when JJ was losing it in Norway, that wasn't logical, it was just, in Will's mind, petty. That's a whole different deal. I'm totally buying your argument on Tony's attitude toward other guys, and his "it's just a hookup" rationale. It seems to me that he has more of an issue making commitments, and an even bigger issue living up to them. That's bound to be a problem for whomever he ends up with.

Kody, Thanks for the review. Casey I think that what Will doesn’t get (and Tony doesn’t get) is that Casey knows Will pretty well, if only through his interactions with him, and with his discussions with JJ, and now with his discussions with Tony. Casey probably sees Tony at a stage where he’s dangerous to guys who are into him. Will and Tony don’t see that. Tony His deal with Rick was that they were “together” but could mess around with other people (except Will). What Tony’s doing is ending it, so they’re not together at all. It’s sort of that whole open relationship thing you were referring to. That actually may work with a long distance thing, but without the communication you’re talking about, it’s going to be tough for Tony and Will to make it work. Gathan I think that it’s interesting to watch these two guys who are pretty good friends (Gathan and Will) find themselves unable to find common ground here, and that just tells us how disjointed their read on Zach is. For Will, he sees in Zach a kindred spirit (someone who is being chained down by idiotic parents) and a guy he’s learning to appreciate, while Gathan sees him as this toxic younger sibling who is nothing but a shit-disturber. Gathan should know that trying to guilt Will over Wally and Clara won’t work. Will isn’t all that big on parental authority figures, since from his perspective, they haven’t made the best decisions. Brad I think Brad is at a place where he doesn’t want that kind of intimacy (sex) with anyone, and if he does, he’s going to want the physical, not the emotional aspect of that. Any kind of relationship would include some emotional baggage, more or less, even a fling with Cody.

Thanks Kitt, and I have to say that both of those analogies are apt. I think that humans are extremely resilient, and I think that all of these people can recover, but I think it will take the one thing not many of them have: patience (and time).

Tim, that is such an excellent point. That's one of the problems I've faced, in that the aftermath is too plot-rich to be ignored, but at the same time, I can't move the characters along as quickly as I'd like. I struggled with that very issue, and wasn't finding a whole lot of places to chop off time. Maybe I'll be able to do that in the future.