Mark Arbour

I think it helps to look at in the context of a power struggle, where actions cease to be logical, and become purely emotional.

How awesome that you found that quote! You're right about that!

I'm glad you enjoyed it! The next chapter is definitely interesting. ;-)

Well put.

October 11, 2000 Arizona Will I woke up and was nervous, wondering how Ryan would react to what happened last night. I lay on my side, staring at his amazingly hot body. I was close enough that I could get a whiff of his body odor, which was a mistake, because that just inflamed my hormones even more. “Morning,” I said cautiously. “Morning,” he said, and looked at me funny. “What?” “You’re not upset about last night, are you?” “Fuck yeah I’m upset,” he said, and

I don't think Will was really trying all that hard. I think he was going on the assumption that it wasn't even possible. Surprise! It was. ;-)

I'd bet on Stef too. :-)

Go easy on Ryan. He's working his way through it. He's only 14.

Cutesy? Whatever.

Uh, yeah. That's it. ;-)

Now that's an excellent point. Still, I think he would have reacted better to that than "you should have woken us up." When I think of Robbie, I visualize this lovable guy who's pretty awesome, but makes stupid mistakes from time to time, and goes through periods of cluelessness. He usually gets there in the end though.

Thanks! Spring/Summer...hmmm. I think this will be a longer story than that. I'm slating this one to go well into 1798.

"Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me..."

I guess she dyed her hair in my mind. LOL. Good job Jeremy!

When I wrote that initial conflict, I was trying to capture that unique teenage ability to completely blow things out of proportion. Will (and to a lesser degree, JJ) are already upset and pissed off about being blown off by Will and Robbie. Then Brad and Robbie screw up and don't see them off, and it becomes this big, huge deal. Teenagers love pity parties, and this is a great excuse for one. That being said, and as I noted in my response to one of the reviews, Brad's comment that Will and JJ should have woken them up was pretty inexcusable. I really really hate it when people don't take responsibility for their mistakes. Visualize how much different the conversation would have gone if Brad would have opened with this line instead: "I just wanted to call and wish you guys a good trip. I'm sorry that we screwed up and didn't see you off this morning. I feel really bad about that, and so does Pop. We'll be there to pick you up when you get back on Friday."

Yep, only I pictured her as a brunette. I don't remember if I wrote that in or not, though.

Maybe Brad and Robbie were otherwise engaged? ;-) Regardless, it was a stupid move to not be there to see them off. I have to say that if I was Will, and Brad would have intimated to me that I should have woken him up, I'd have unloaded on them a lot worse than Will did. Then again, I have a personal pet peeve about people who are unwilling to take responsibility for their mistakes.

Hmm. I'm not seeing it that way. Will is doing a completely predictable 14 year old drama play here. Brad and Robbie didn't get up to see them off, so it's a BIG deal to him, and a way for him to fuel his pity party. But he's not the one who needs to be responsible here.

One would expect, but as you noted, they are all so defensive and polarized, no one is listening. Not to each other, and not to other family members.

Will is being 14. So are Brad and Robbie. ;-)

That is because you've read my stories. :-)

October 9, 2000 Malibu, CA Will “Dude, it’s fucking early,” I groused to JJ as we piled all of our shit into the Suburban. “I can’t believe we have to be there by 6am.” He yawned, and that made me chuckle. He’d been in a really good mood since Saturday, which made sense since he totally kicked ass at his competition. “No shit. Thanks for letting Michael drive us, and for not making a big deal out of it.” “S’OK,” I said, even though I was worried I was setting some sor

Thanks Danny! It's fun to be writing George again, although sometimes it's difficult to keep up with an ambitious posting schedule.

Which one? Gloucester? Good to see you, BTW

I wouldn't be too hard on the King. He wasn't known for his people skills. He likes George, he's just a bit odd. Remember, this is the same King that lost the Colonies. ;-)