methodwriter85 Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 One of the things I really liked about this story is that it showed us the change- Matt's teammates supporting him, his parents coming around- as well as how far we still need/needed to go- re: Matt Shephard. I think the 90's was the start of when accepting gay people started to become politically correct, at least for younger people and in this certain area. Link to comment
Adam Phillips Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 I see him as more a blend of Brad and Stefan than Brad and Robbie. I have a novel idea. What if he were his own distinctive person, and not a guy who's "like" anybody else? Link to comment
methodwriter85 Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 (edited) The one who came off the most distinctive was Cody. I can't think of anyone else in the CAPverse that is like the guy. Danfield as well. Matt...I think he's pretty distinctive, but you can see shades of Brad there, but definitely without any of Brad's internal shyness. What's your favorite line in the series? I love the one where Danfield calls the Kennedy's nouveau-posers. I like how Mark explores the upper-class...the Carrswolds seem like a well-established family, and from an area certainly more prestigious than Claremont. And then there are the Danfields, which seem like the top echelon of society. It would have been interesting if the Cramptons had been a little intimdated by that, but eh. I don't think the Cramptons/Schluters feel intimidated by anybody. LOL. The chapter where Matt plays the aghast upper-class snob about the limo driver to Mrs. Danfield was great. Robbie, for all the money he's made, just could never do that- it seems like something that gets instilled at birth. I really did get a kick out of seeing a Hayes grow up as a blue-blood. Of course, as a white, healthy, blond baby boy in 1980, he probably would have had a lot of adoptive parents in line. I imagine that the Carrswolds probably put out all the stops to get him. Edited May 1, 2010 by methodwriter85 Link to comment
nightsky Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 I'm loving Bloodlines so far. Matt is very mature (mostly) for his age, and seems to really (mostly) have his stuff together. I'm reading about Matthew Shepard right now (well. at that point of the story) and I had to take a break. Looking forward to continuing to read about how Cole and Matt's friendship evolves, Matt's relationships with his teammates, with Cody, how everyone is going to deal with Brian's manipulative ass.... Meanwhile. it's hot as hell here in New England (well, maybe not RIGHT now), and we are having a state of emergency where we can't drink the tap water w/o boiling it first. Makes a bitch thirsty as all get out. Link to comment
Mark Arbour Posted May 3, 2010 Author Share Posted May 3, 2010 I'm loving Bloodlines so far. Matt is very mature (mostly) for his age, and seems to really (mostly) have his stuff together. I'm reading about Matthew Shepard right now (well. at that point of the story) and I had to take a break. Looking forward to continuing to read about how Cole and Matt's friendship evolves, Matt's relationships with his teammates, with Cody, how everyone is going to deal with Brian's manipulative ass.... Meanwhile. it's hot as hell here in New England (well, maybe not RIGHT now), and we are having a state of emergency where we can't drink the tap water w/o boiling it first. Makes a bitch thirsty as all get out. The parts about Matthew Shepard were really hard to write. I built him up as a fictional persona of what I could factually learn about him, and then it got even more depressing because he had become real to me. Link to comment
nightsky Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 The parts about Matthew Shepard were really hard to write. I built him up as a fictional persona of what I could factually learn about him, and then it got even more depressing because he had become real to me. You did a beautiful job. Bloodlines is a favorite around here? 51 pages? Eureka. I'm around chapter 30 now. Matt is a very engaging, charismatic young man. And I love to see Brad and Robbie from his POV. Link to comment
methodwriter85 Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 (edited) I had so much fun doing the music for this story. I was 12 in 1998, so I really remember a lot of the music that came out at the time. One online friend told me I totally lost him on the music recs for this story. LOL. This one's actually a bit older than '98- from '92, but I remember it from this rather interesting scene that Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon did in a movie once. Not to mention the fact that it appeared on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I used this as a music rec for when Matt and Danfield ride horses in Chapter 29 and have joint talk. (So I went for the obvious. Sue me.) I was TOTALLY in love with David Boreanaz when I was 12. I mean, TOTALLY. Gah. Angel was so hot. But back to Danfield...do y'all think he's the one for Matt, or is it just a college romance? I'd kinda be surprised if Matt really settled down...he seems too young for that. I don't know if I see him getting married in his early 20's like Brad did. Edited May 3, 2010 by methodwriter85 Link to comment
nightsky Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 I had so much fun doing the music for this story. I was 12 in 1998, so I really remember a lot of the music that came out at the time. One online friend told me I totally lost him on the music recs for this story. LOL. This one's actually a bit older than '98- from '92, but I remember it from this rather interesting scene that Mark Wahlberg and Reese Witherspoon did in a movie once. Not to mention the fact that it appeared on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I used this as a music rec for when Matt and Danfield ride horses in Chapter 29 and have joint talk. (So I went for the obvious. Sue me.) I was TOTALLY in love with David Boreanaz when I was 12. I mean, TOTALLY. Gah. Angel was so hot. But back to Danfield...do y'all think he's the one for Matt, or is it just a college romance? I'd kinda be surprised if Matt really settled down...he seems too young for that. I don't know if I see him getting married in his early 20's like Brad did. Ok... Um. Where do I find all the music you've chosen for the stories? I saw it for the first few CAP stories, but not since... maybe the second story. Either I started automatically skipping over the editor's notes with links to music, or the lists are somewhere else? Link to comment
methodwriter85 Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 Ok... Um. Where do I find all the music you've chosen for the stories? I saw it for the first few CAP stories, but not since... maybe the second story. Either I started automatically skipping over the editor's notes with links to music, or the lists are somewhere else? They're somewhere else. I'll bump it up for you. Although word of caution- youtube deletes a lot of vids, so there will be music links that don't work. Still, that's why I left the song title and artist up- you'll be able to find it, I think. Link to comment
PrivateTim Posted November 29, 2010 Share Posted November 29, 2010 Wow, 51 pages.... people must feel pretty strongly about this story.... I am only halfway through and I won't read the 51 pages of comments because I am sure there are spoilers in it, but I am not wild about Matt. He has a temper issue worthy of therapy. He manipulates people into sex or coerces them and I think both of those are very bad things and he uses sex as a weapon and to mess with people and I think that is wrong too. He also uses sex as an emotional crutch and that isn't healthy. He finds out his friend Matthew has been attacked so the answer is sex with three guys in what, less than 12 hours? And he has unprotected sex in college? In 1998? Seems to me AIDS was still a major worry in '98. From a story standpoint, the people at Stanfurd are partying way beyond what actually happens at Stanfurd. When I was at Cal I'd go visit friends there and there was no partying during the week and limited partying even on Friday nights. Saturday seemed to be the only night they would cut loose a little and even then, they all managed to study some. In the story they are partying like it is San Diego State, not a highly competitive U. 2 Link to comment
PrivateTim Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 Wade is much more complex than you guys give him credit for. That doesn't mean he can't be in a relationship, it just means that relationship will probably be just a bit stormy. I posted earlier today I didn't like Matt and I like him even less now. I had to speed read through 22 pages of discussion to find the spot where I am now (just finished Ch 32) and express my dislike of Matt. He reminds me of the totally selfish, self-absorbed brat Brad was. He knows Wade can't be out and he has to deal with it, it was what he agreed to. And for a guy without enough sack to be out to his parents yet, he is pretty preachy about that. If he and Wade stick together at the party like a couple, people are going to talk and figure things out. If Matt really loved Wade and not just Matt, he'd figure that out and do whatever it took to help keep the illusion that Wade is straight. It might not be the long term solution, but on Day Two (or Week One) of their relationship, it ought to be what Matt is doing to help support the person he is supposed to love. If you really love someone you don't run off and frick someone else to spite that person just because you are mad. Matt needs serious help for anger management. Part two of the equation is that Wade obviously isn't happy about who might f**k him when he goes home. Does it not occur to Mr. Insightful that maybe there is someone who has a hold over Wade, emotional or blackmail, like Brian had over Cody or Neil over Robbie? I just wanna cross check Matt's pretty face into the glass...... 1 Link to comment
methodwriter85 Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 (edited) He also uses sex as an emotional crutch and that isn't healthy. He finds out his friend Matthew has been attacked so the answer is sex with three guys in what, less than 12 hours? And he has unprotected sex in college? In 1998? Seems to me AIDS was still a major worry in '98. Keep reading. It should still be a major worry for people Matt's age, but when JJ and Will get to college-age, it won't be. You'd be really shocked at the utter lack of the fear of AIDS in a circa 2005-2009 college campus. The Stanford stuff actually makes sense, but I'm assuming that they get their homework and studying done off-story. I'm more interested in seeing them party. And besides, it's the first semester of freshman year. Everyone parties that semester more than they probably will for the rest of their college experience. I'm giving that one a pass. Edited November 30, 2010 by methodwriter85 Link to comment
PrivateTim Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 Keep reading. It should still be a major worry for people Matt's age, but when JJ and Will get to college-age, it won't be. You'd be really shocked at the utter lack of the fear of AIDS in a circa 2005-2009 college campus. The Stanford stuff actually makes sense, but I'm assuming that they get their homework and studying done off-story. I'm more interested in seeing them party. And besides, it's the first semester of freshman year. Everyone parties that semester more than they probably will for the rest of their college experience. I'm giving that one a pass. No trust me, I have seen it first hand how little concern or understanding there is about AIDS. As to Stanfurd, the freshman year is one of the toughest, everyone is so paranoid about failure and competition that they almost never party. The joke about Stanfurd women, not noted for their beauty, was that they were just guys who had studied their balls off. 2 Link to comment
Mark Arbour Posted November 30, 2010 Author Share Posted November 30, 2010 No trust me, I have seen it first hand how little concern or understanding there is about AIDS. As to Stanfurd, the freshman year is one of the toughest, everyone is so paranoid about failure and competition that they almost never party. The joke about Stanfurd women, not noted for their beauty, was that they were just guys who had studied their balls off. You're right. I had friends who went there and freshman year was pretty intense, primarily because in high school they'd been at the top of the heap intellectually, and then they got to The Farm and they were little fish in a big pond. On the other hand, I'm going to balance that off with the fact that these guys are hockey players. Check out the Stanford Hockey sight. They're a playful bunch. Link to comment
methodwriter85 Posted November 30, 2010 Share Posted November 30, 2010 (edited) Well, there's that, and I just view as Matt being one of those guys who just don't have to work very hard to pull off a 4.0 GPA. We all knew that guy in high school/college who could party as much as he wanted to, and still get straight A's. I thought that added to Matt's whole "Golden Boy" aura. Edited November 30, 2010 by methodwriter85 Link to comment
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