MIllennium

[B1ue]

He didn't, Matt did. Yeah he has that mixed up. Brian was too busy pissing Brad off and screwing other guys to do that.

 

Ah, right. I did mix that up.

[mmike1969]

Ah, right. I did mix that up.

 

Well to be fair, with everyone having sex with everyone else, you really needed a score card to keep track of everyone.

 

RE: Ch 22

What can I say.

 

Okay, now Robbie is getting on my nerves... Seriously... How can someone be a successful producer wind up like Robbie is acting like now? Sure, you had two bombs but he's not the first producer who had failures!

 

I just want Brad to just slap him... HARD... Maybe he will snap out of it.

 

And if Brad/Robbie break-up, I might get upset. But if Robbie keeps up his current attitude, I am not sure I would care then.

 

Except I think Brad is kind of obsessed with Robbie...

 

And Alejandro? Really??? :wacko: I think Brad likes 'em young because he himself is having problems with aging.

[Caedus]

Haha Maybe that's how Brad deals with his mid-life crisis: by servicing and/or screwing enough young guys so that that he doesn't feel too old.

 

Robbie needs to be hit in the head by something really heavy so he'll wake up.What is it gonna take for him to step up and stop being such a little b***h?! Maybe he's the type that has to lose everything in order to finally get it.

[Hermetically Sealed]

I think they are both bi-polar, I swear. One minute they're on the same page, the next they are both whiny and self absorbed. Quite frankly, the more Brad and Stefan throw the whole "we control more of the movie company together and can fire you," the more they come off as bullies. Not to mention that Brad seems to throw Neil in Robbie's face a lot, forgetting that Robbie was actually dating Neil, not him, and it was Brad trying to break them up. True Neil was being sexually and emotionally abusive, but it was still Brad trying to do the breaking up. Then, in both Bloodlines and the Box Brad was constantly making fun of Robbie's weight and hair loss, is it any wonder that Robbie has no real self esteem and that Carson was so easy to sweep in and manipulate him? I don't think Brad consciously means to hit at his esteem (at least in the past), but it was very clear that Robbie wasn't taking his ribbing well, and if Brad hadn't been so self involved he'd have realized that Robbie wasn't having fun with it.

 

I seriously hope that Robbie quits the movie company, sells off his shares and uses the money to start a smaller independent company. I think getting out from under Brad and Stefan's yolk, and Greg's shadow, and accomplishing something wholly his would do more for his self esteem than half the counseling he's getting. Not to mention might actually earn him more respect.

 

Glad to see the Amphion deal getting closer to a climax.

[Mark Arbour]

I have to say...I really enjoy all your feedback! It's awesome.

 

The best part is how we can have completely divergent views of our two main characters.

[Raistlinsama]

I think they are both bi-polar, I swear. One minute they're on the same page, the next they are both whiny and self absorbed. Quite frankly, the more Brad and Stefan throw the whole "we control more of the movie company together and can fire you," the more they come off as bullies. Not to mention that Brad seems to throw Neil in Robbie's face a lot, forgetting that Robbie was actually dating Neil, not him, and it was Brad trying to break them up. True Neil was being sexually and emotionally abusive, but it was still Brad trying to do the breaking up. Then, in both Bloodlines and the Box Brad was constantly making fun of Robbie's weight and hair loss, is it any wonder that Robbie has no real self esteem and that Carson was so easy to sweep in and manipulate him? I don't think Brad consciously means to hit at his esteem (at least in the past), but it was very clear that Robbie wasn't taking his ribbing well, and if Brad hadn't been so self involved he'd have realized that Robbie wasn't having fun with it.

 

I agree, the whole making fun of Robbie and/or complaining about his whining began to bother me somewhere between "Bloodlines" and "The Box". How many years it would take for someone's self-esteem to be affected by this? Not that this justifies all the mistakes Robbie did recently, but Brad attitude surely does not help: the "I was hurt, I need to hurt him back" justification is getting old quickly. And JP and Stef need to step down from their high horse: I seem to recall some spectacular f*ck-ups from their part in the past, and now they are all judgmental towards Robbie.

[gjtravel2a]

It was a great quote, in Chap 22, I thought the following fit the category as well:

 

 

“Yeah, well you didn’t dig below the bitchiness to find the worry,” I teased. The doorbell rang. It was 9:30. “I have to go. I ordered a snack.”

 

 

For whatever reasons, I laughed my ass off on that one! Thanks!

 

gj

 

 

 

Every once in a while, I write a line and crack myself up. There's got to be a term for that. Literary masturbation? Anyway, in this chapter, it was this one:

 

 

 

 

Just struck me as funny. That's all. Sharing time is over.

 

Edited August 26, 2010 by gjtravel2a

[gjtravel2a]

As to be expected, I think you set up and handled the Brad/Matt 'Event' beautifully. It had a very nice level or eroticism, played out most of their needed emotions/fantasies, and yet kept them from having to face the whole morality issue. I suspect that Matt was on the phone before the limo was out the driveway, however, pushing Wade to seduce Brad.....could be a nice way for Matt to live vicariously through his fantasy.

 

After all the sturm and drang, it was a nice conclusion to their current level of lust.

 

gj

[Mark Arbour]

It was a great quote, in Chap 22, I thought the following fit the category as well:

 

 

 

[Mark Arbour]

Well to be fair, with everyone having sex with everyone else, you really needed a score card to keep track of everyone.

 

RE: Ch 22

What can I say.

 

Okay, now Robbie is getting on my nerves... Seriously... How can someone be a successful producer wind up like Robbie is acting like now? Sure, you had two bombs but he's not the first producer who had failures!

 

I just want Brad to just slap him... HARD... Maybe he will snap out of it.

 

And if Brad/Robbie break-up, I might get upset. But if Robbie keeps up his current attitude, I am not sure I would care then.

 

Except I think Brad is kind of obsessed with Robbie...

 

And Alejandro? Really??? :wacko: I think Brad likes 'em young because he himself is having problems with aging.

 

 

I agree, the whole making fun of Robbie and/or complaining about his whining began to bother me somewhere between "Bloodlines" and "The Box". How many years it would take for someone's self-esteem to be affected by this? Not that this justifies all the mistakes Robbie did recently, but Brad attitude surely does not help: the "I was hurt, I need to hurt him back" justification is getting old quickly. And JP and Stef need to step down from their high horse: I seem to recall some spectacular f*ck-ups from their part in the past, and now they are all judgmental towards Robbie.

 

 

I'm thinking back to a time when I experienced that much pain (or maybe just close to it). There was no logic involved in my thoughts or action, it was just sheer emotion. I see these guys acting the same way. I'm worried that I may have drug the story out too long, but it seemed appropriate. Still, I think it would take most people longer than a month to deal with all of this stuff.

[Hermetically Sealed]

I agree, the whole making fun of Robbie and/or complaining about his whining began to bother me somewhere between "Bloodlines" and "The Box". How many years it would take for someone's self-esteem to be affected by this? Not that this justifies all the mistakes Robbie did recently, but Brad attitude surely does not help: the "I was hurt, I need to hurt him back" justification is getting old quickly. And JP and Stef need to step down from their high horse: I seem to recall some spectacular f*ck-ups from their part in the past, and now they are all judgmental towards Robbie.

Yeah, those two have no business really casting judgment on anyone about relationship problems. lol

 

What I find odd, or at least telling about Brad's treatment of Robbie (the jabs of his appearance and comments to stop being so insecure and needy, not the anger of the Carson sit.) is the fact that Robbie is not just a survivor of one abusive situation, but multiple ones. It's like Brad seems to think that he's been in therapy for a while, therefore he should be fixed by now, or at least since it's been so long ago he should just get over it. The fact is, most people start developing their identities as independent individuals during their teens and early twenties. It is then that we truly learn to cope on our own and establish our sense of self confidence. Unfortunately for Robbie, during the main part of that process, he was being raped by his cousins, in a public area (the school), and the authority figures that should have helped him, instead reinforced that it was all his fault. Then there was his own mother's fundamentalism that came into play to further shame him. Yeah, Brad and family gave him a couple of years break, but then he went off to college and started dating Neil. There it was another handful of years being mentally and sexually abused. Being submissive and insecure is just an ingrained property of Robbie's personality, and not something which he can just "get over it." Hell, even that wasn't all, as he ended up getting raped again while in prison.

 

I think it is that history that just makes the Carson situation just so evil, certainly more so than the corporate espionage at Stef and Brad's company. Lark, and to a lesser extent Dan, knew all about Robbie's past and had the full info on helping Carson tailor his act to play off those insecurities. They may have been going after Brad's ego, but they made a direct attack on Robbie's mental health to do it.

[Hermetically Sealed]

Still, I think it would take most people longer than a month to deal with all of this stuff.

No doubt, and the fact that there is so much going on, it's not like they can just stop and deal with it. Brad has to deal with Amphion and Nick, etc., Robbie can't really do anything to win him over while stuck at the house and Brad stuck dealing with work. I imagine both are near their breaking point.

[Canuk]

well Mark, , I think you really proved yourself this time (as if it were necesary), I found myself screaming "No!" at the computer at the Matt/Brad car scene , this followed by a sense of relief at "we can't do this can we" way more than palpable....... congrats on getting me so worked up.....

 

As for Robie's whining; you'd think that he would have worked out that this doesn't get him anywhere, ever, with anyone. Either his level of self-knowledge is non-exsistant or the whining is so ingrained that he doesn't know he does it unless he is told - every time. You'd think that a Hollywood-type of his stature would have some smarts..... perhaps that assumption on my part is a product on knowing almost no Hollywood types????

[gjtravel2a]

There is a lot being said about Robbie's past that is true as far as why he may be what he has become, but if this is justification for Brad having to stay in the relationship, I would exclaim 'Pish-Posh' (or some other dire invective). They came together and supported each other through a series of traumas (blanketed by insane amounts of cash, but traumas none the less), but Brad seems to me to be maturing and accepting more and more responsibility. Robbie, not so much. The critical ways that Robbie is not maturing are the ways that Brad needs support and finds his relationship with Robbie now unfulfilling. Like so many, Robbie is stuck with the past being an unmanaged force shaping his behaviour. I am one who believes that to some extent, we can move beyond the trajectory of our past. Not totally, but at least we can be less destructive to ourselves and others who may be affected by our own actions/attitudes/responses that our past has naturally thrust upon our psyches. Considering what Brad went through, he has, in my opinion, not allowed the negative to be the strongest forces in shaping who he is and who he is becoming but has tried to respond to life in a more postive manner than one might expect for such a traumatic early childhood. Your comment Mark about fearing that you have taken to much time in developing this part of the plot-line is a sensitive one you express, but I can not imagine how you could have taken less time in presenting this key relationship and what they are experiencing. For me, this is an extremely enjoyable and well-paced read. One of the joys of reading your stories is the detail and sensitivity with which you develop your plots and characters. Again, thanks!

 

 

[Hermetically Sealed]

There is a lot being said about Robbie's past that is true as far as why he may be what he has become, but if this is justification for Brad having to stay in the relationship, I would exclaim 'Pish-Posh' (or some other dire invective).

Oh i never suggested that. lol

 

I just don't think you should buy a rooster and then bitch that it crows.

[Hermetically Sealed]

As for Robie's whining; you'd think that he would have worked out that this doesn't get him anywhere, ever, with anyone. Either his level of self-knowledge is non-exsistant or the whining is so ingrained that he doesn't know he does it unless he is told - every time. You'd think that a Hollywood-type of his stature would have some smarts..... perhaps that assumption on my part is a product on knowing almost no Hollywood types????

You know I wonder about that sometimes. I think it's one of those behaviors that in a normal, non-stress moment would come off as innocuous or barely noticeable. But since Brad is usually in a foul mood when he mentions the whining, he's likely to find most of Robbie's behaviors grating. lol It's like that friend with idiosyncrasies that you find endearing or laughable up to the day they really piss you off, and then you feel like strangling them every time they move or speak.

[centexhairysub]

Great chapter, the writing and suspense were both first rate...

 

Robbie is getting on my nerves as well with the whinning but I do think that Brad's constant teasing about his weight and hair loss for the last several years is partially to blame for Robbie's behaviour. Now, that said, I am not excusing Robbie going out and falling in love with Carson. As it has already been stated, I do think that the people going after Robbie/Brad/Stef/etc... probably knew some of Robbie's past and coached Carson on how to act and treat him. While I don't think that Brad is truly abusive to Robbie, I do think that the constant teasing and remarks have worn down Robbie's self-esteem. I do want them to stay together but I do agree that Robbie needs to grow a pair and Brad needs to realize this isn't all Robbie's fault.

 

I find it funny that Dan hasn't aged as well as Brad, after all Dan was so physical and active in Be Rad. I still believe that there is someone else ultimately behind this, someone that is acting as the bank to finance all fo this.

 

Keep this story coming...

Edited August 27, 2010 by centexhairysub

[Mark Arbour]

Great chapter, the writing and suspense was both first rate...

 

Robbie is getting on my nerves as well with the whinning but I do think that Brad's constant teasing about his weight and hair loss for the last several years is partially to blame for Robbie's behaviour. Now, that said, I am not excusing Robbie going out and falling in love with Carson. As it has already been stated, I do think that the people going after Robbie/Brad/Stef/etc... probably knew some of Robbie's past and coached Carson on how to act and treat him. While I don't think that Brad is truly abusive to Robbie, I do think that the constant teasing and remarks have worn down Robbie's self-esteem. I do want them to stay together but I do agree that Robbie needs to grow a pair and Brad needs to realize this isn't all Robbie's fault.

 

I find it funny that Dan hasn't aged as well as Brad, after all Dan was so physical and active in Be Rad. I still believe that there is someone else ultimately behind this, someone that is acting as the bank to finance all fo this.

 

Keep this story coming...

 

 

There is.

 

 

[Hermetically Sealed]

I still wonder if Max's mom is somehow involved. She was funding Lark while trying to get him back with Max when Robbie and Brad went over and decked him on their front lawn.

[rjo]

Max's parents and Brad's half brother The Rev Carmichael, Kevin's father

[Hermetically Sealed]

So . . . Brad has to defeat the family's seven evil ex's? Hmmm (Carson, Brandon, Janet, Lark, Dan, Brian, Carmichael . . . kinda works)

[centexhairysub]

I doubt that Max's parents or Kevin's parents have the kind of money that the person truly behind this would have to have... Plus the fact that JP has now shown to still be a force in Claremont, and Mark hinting that the story might move back that way at some point, leads me to believe the person behind this is from the distant past. I think we need to look at one of the founding families of Claremont for the one truly behind all of this....

[Caedus]

Jim's the only Crampton left and it's unlikely that Nick Schulter is responsible, so that leaves the Hendricksons. If Bill's already dead, I don't see why any of his heirs would go after Brad unless they wanted JP off their backs. JP's status among the citizens and his plans to bring an urban renewal to Claremount could be a threat to the Hendricksons. All the Omega/Amphion drama could be part of a larger plan to gain prominence over Claremount once and for all.

 

How much of JP's money is tied into Schulter's investment firm?

[rjo]

Whoever the true mastermind is has planned this for years and knows a lot of things about the family and each member. Brad thinks its an attack about him I am not so sure. We have Dan Church ( former lover) Lark ( former best friend and part time lover) John and Janet Granger ( Max's parents who would be more upset with Marcel and Robbie because they rescued Max on Christmas Eve) Brian ( JP's half brother who is mad at Matt Robbie's son ) Rev Carmichael ( who I believe is Brad's half brother and whose childhood maybe ruined by his father's affair ) and the two spies Carson and Brandon ( could they be lovers and related in some way? They are to evil to be just hired hands ) The big question is who has the money to do it? I am not sure the answer is back in Ohio. If I remember Jim's ( JP's brother ) wife was Bill Hendrickson's daughter so I doubt that the attack comes from that family. Robbie's mother and her Rev. husband have a axe to grind as does part of the Hayes family none of which has that much money, do they?

 

A few other things: the person who has been hurt the most is Robbie. He is a mess. He could loose his business, lover, and family and be left with nothing. Part is this is his fault however Brad's throwing guilt at him all the time is not helping. If their relationship had been solid as they thought it could not have been wreaked so easily. David need's to point this out. David is another person who knows all the facts

 

Things would be better if Brad was ready to listen to JP. JP forced Brad to deal with Nick. Even though I thought Nick was part of the plan I am glad he is not. I guess we have to remember that Nick was screwed up by his mother. That is one reasons that I think the Rev Carmichael is Brad's half brother. Look how much Brad's life was ruined by guilt over the affair, could not Brad's father.s family been hurt too?

 

When Bloodlines came out I thought it was the best part of the saga. Now I believe that Millennium takes the crown. Mark you are only getting better and better.

 

PS I loved how you handled the situation with Matt and Brad. It only made me prouder

of both Brad, Matt and you. I sorry for ever doubting you. I should have known.

Edited August 27, 2010 by rjo

[centexhairysub]

I do agree that Rev Carmichael, might be Brad's half brother from his biological father Commander Kevin Carmichael. I have already thought of this and agree it would add an interesting twist, damn there is that pesky insest again, Brad slept with his nephew... There are still Cramptons and Hendricksons left in Claremeont. Jim, JP's brother, had at least two children and it seems to me that beside Brian, who was illegitimate like JP, there were a couple of other Hendricksons either mentioned or alluded to at some point. While I could see Rev Carmichael wanting to strike at Brad to punish him for their fathers affair, if he is his half brother, I once again don't think he would have the money. I still fell the person is from either Claremont or has some connection to it. There really hasn't been much talk in the last few stories of any other members of the founding families but some still are around unless like Tonto, their deaths were between stories and never really covered.

Edited August 27, 2010 by centexhairysub