I was wondering the entire time if they'd commit to the faux-incest plotline. I guess I'm a bit conflicted about it (I was pretty conflicted when I read the books, too!). It stretched on so long that — you're right — it became a pretty integral part of the next two books (not only with Jace and Clary's relationship,…

Twilight doing so well when it was so bad was the weird thing, not that these other similar movies are doing badly.

No. I get so tired of people assuming that just because a movie flops that the entire genre is a failure and people are sick of it. The Mortal Instruments flopped because the movie was shit. The Host (which wasn't YA, but billed as Stephanie Meyer's first adult novel, but I guess we'll play this game) flopped because…

stop pretending you care.

Yes, I definitely agree. That's a really good suggestion. I'll see about asking his friends. Thank you!

Brother Antoinette, is that you?!

I know how you feel about disagreeing with the department. My dissertation is completely outside the norm in my department and is generally looked down upon as a frivolous and unimportant topic. But I'm quite a good writer, so when presented with my work, those in my department are often pleasantly surprised. It's…

That might be it. My sis and I aren't really in the position to be involved in a family meeting — we live on the other side of the country. So that makes this a lot more difficult because we're not near enough to put pressure on him from our end. Neither my sister and I are close enough to him to call or email.

I found that taking online practice tests — a lot — was really helpful. I was able to pinpoint similar questions and patterns of questions on the final GRE because I had practiced so often. Once you get used to the layout of the GRE, being something that you've seen before on practice tests, it's much easier to just…

I know. So sad. :(

I say this with absolute love and respect: please, please, please don't armchair diagnose my parents' marriage. They are absolutely enablers with my brother (which I can't argue with), but I've said nothing about the state of their relationship with each other in my original post.

Yes, it very probably is. I have my suspicions about what it could be, but I'm just being cautious and saying "mental illness," because I'm not anywhere qualified to diagnose.

I think it seems that moving is the best solution for petulant adult-children. It's really sad, because I can honestly see my brother's relationship with my parents disintegrating if they ever left. And I think my mom knows it, too, which probably adds to her brokenness.

I don't think it's stingy at all to ask your 28 year old child for rent, especially if they show no signs of saving up to move out, and don't contribute to the household in any other way. But that's another issue.

Me too. Thank you so much.

Agreed, I don't think either. Like my brother, your cousin may have a mental health issue that needs addressing. It's just so hard, because you can't make an adult get evaluated without a huge event. I know my mom once tried bribing my brother to see a psychologist, but that didn't work.

It feels so helpless doesn't it? I'm so not close to my brother, so I actually don't even know what his email is. I live on the other side of the country (near my sister, actually!) so we can't even box him in with a family meeting.

I really hope this just ends up being the case and that my parents move. I'm so sorry your 'rents went through the same thing. It's tough, but sometimes shoving them from the nest really does teach them how to fly.

The cops could only keep him in hold for a certain amount of time. My brother has mental health problems and violent tendencies, so changing the locks would be a very big mistake.

Without a doubt there is. It became very clear in his teens and I was after my parents for the longest time to have him evaluated. Unfortunately, his behavior got even worse after he turned 18, and now they can't make him go because he's an adult. It's really sad.