Paternity

[mmike1969]

New chapter is posted!

 

And now, I shall break with my usual commenting by starting off by saying: Will is getting on my nerves.

 

"undermine" him? Really? You are 14. You don't have anything to undermine.

 

That pep talk in a mirror? Obnoxious and really oblivious to reality. $$$ don't buy class and I've seen THAT way too many times in real life.

 

And wtf is with Ella?

 

Glad I was not running with this crowd of obnoxious and quite frankly clueless prats.

[Daddydavek]

Glad to see the new chapter! The teenage angst does get to be a bit much, but that is teenagers. However, I too am anticipating the change in POV with Wade going back to VA for Thanksgiving to see the machinations his mother tries.

[MJ85]

Well, well...is this a way of showing that Will just wouldn't fit in up at Menlo? I mean, really...why would he even want to fit in in a group of total stuck-ups who act like their shit don't stink?

 

Total at Darius's, erm...advice, for Will to stay confident. But totally hilarious that it backfired into...ah...another hook-up!

 

But speaking of hook-ups: With an anticipated switch back to Wade coming soon...well...both he and Matt have hooked up with Carullo at some point. No reason they both can't now...if you know what I'm sayin'.

[centexhairysub]

I laughed my ass off during this chapter; it was just freaking great...

 

I really like how Will went down and talked to JP. He, thanks to Wade, approached the discussion in a very mature and well thought out way. Will pointed out the issues he had with what JP said and then he and JP both clarified their points. It was a very mature display of communication skills.

 

I really like how Stef was so clued in to what the " kids " are wearing. He had picked up the perfect in pants for Will to try and make sure he wasn't out of place.

 

I just loved Darius's advice about the mirror pep talk and have to say that I didn't think it backfired at all... LOL... Will got a hot college guy at his first Menlo party. I do have to wonder how Pat will play it the next time they meet up; and you just know that they will again during the winter break.

 

Well, Will has his first friend at Menlo, maybe; but he definitely has his first enemy. I know the Will " haters " will be out in force talking about how he just brings it on himself, but I don't see how anything, other than spilling the drink, that happened at the party was Will's fault. Noah already seems to be a cool guy and Carter has already proven to be a racist bully.

 

Have to wonder what the problem with Ella is going to be??? I had hopes that Ella would not be the kind of person that was sucked into the superficial side of life with sudden access to wealth, but that doesn't seem to be the case from this brief view. Hopefully, she was just nervous about introducing Will into her group and that made her drink a little more than normal and react the way she did. I have to say that doesn't appear to be the case but here is to hoping. It is obvious that Ella isn't absorping what she should be from her exposure to Claire and Isidore. Neither of those classy ladies would have allowed the scene to develop the way it did; even back in high school Claire had her stuff together.

 

I am glad that Will was able to resolve part of his issues with Darius; always amazing to me how being in a fight together or against each other can bring two men together... Obviously, I just don't have the right level of testosterone for that to make sense to me...

 

Can't wait to see who Will seduces at Wade's family Thanksgiving... LOL...

[MJ85]

I really like how Stef was so clued in to what the " kids " are wearing. He had picked up the perfect in pants for Will to try and make sure he wasn't out of place.

 

Perhaps another sign that maybe Menlo isn't meant to be where he ends up after all. From the chapter (the key parts in BOLD):

 

“Boys don’t wear outfits,” I said, smiling. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Stef strolled into the room, conveniently enough, carrying some jeans.

“I bought these for you when I was up in the City,” he said.

I looked at them. “Diesel jeans? What am I, a trucker?”

“They’re all the rage, and you can only get them in The City,” Ella said. “Now you just need a different shirt.” She eyed me up and down. “Do you have an Abercrombie polo?”

“I’ve got a dark blue one,” I told her.

She handed me the jeans. “Good. Go change.”

“Fine,” I said, and hurried down to my room. The jeans actually fit me really well. They were loose, but somehow they still managed to make my ass look cute. I studied myself in the mirror and decided that I looked like an A&F drone, and that was pretty irritating, but I gave in to the inevitable, and went back upstairs.

 

Will doesn't strike me as someone who will dress well just to fit in on a regular basis...

[Clydee]

I also thought this chapter was great!!

 

Will is quite a guy for his age...fourteen, right? Sometimes I think he's the leader of this family! I think he and Darius may have made their peace and I am glad.

 

Will is my favorite and I think when he gets older he is going to be an awesome force to be reckoned with. He has the personality and the mojo to do whatever he wants, and if people don't like it they'd better stand aside!

I also think Will will end up in the sack with that Carter jerk...

[Westie]

Too... Soap opera-ish... Yeah I'm switching off for a while I think. Teen drama ain't my thing, or I'd be watching gossip girl, 90210 etc. but we have Jeremy for that ;-) (joke guys)

[centexhairysub]

Too... Soap opera-ish... Yeah I'm switching off for a while I think. Teen drama ain't my thing, or I'd be watching gossip girl, 90210 etc. but we have Jeremy for that ;-) (joke guys)

 

Well, I can't say anything about 90210 because I watched neither the first one or the new one but Gossip Girl is actually well written and directed. The acting is often over the top but then it is often called for because of the " DRAMA "... That being said, much of Gossip Girls storylines can be traced to several plays by William Shakespeare, so not sure your argument against teen drama really holds up with it.

 

Good writing and plot development should transcend the age of the people in the stories. Often, when we find we dislike a person or setting in the story; it isn't that person or setting but what that aspect of the story brings up in our own life. Of course, this isn't always true by any means, I truly despise Calvert, from the Mark's own Bridgemont series; and can't really find anyway a person like him has ever related to my own life...

 

I know this will horrify some but Will, as he is written, is actually more mature than a large percentage of gay men that I know at twice or thrice his age...

[methodwriter85]

When was CAP ever NOT a soap opera? The story started off with a young gay guy hitting a cop over the head with a fire extinguisher so he could take his trick for a romantic interlude down at the future gay destination Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, but not before a shopping spree at the best department stores in Philadelphia.

 

One thing I will agree with is that I don't think typical high school angst stories are going to work with Will, save for "I'm a gay guy among all these straight couples at my school" angst or "I'm working my fucking ass off to get into my choice college" angst. Those stories worked with Brad at Gunn High and Matt at The University School, because both really needed and wanted the social power that came with being top dog at their respective schools. High school angst is often rooted in just how insular it is, and how you can't really see past the b.s. because it's your entire world. That's why every little thing in high school just seems so important and matters so much.

 

I just can't see Will having that kind of viewpoint, where he sees his high school as his world to try and rule, because he doesn't have the same kind of power-hungry instinct that Brad and Matt have about expecting people to follow them without questioning it. And it doesn't make sense to play Will as the wide-eyed freshmen getting introduced to the world of ragers by cool and intimidating juniors and seniors a la The Perks of Being A Wallflower, because there isn't an ounce of naievte left in Will. I mean the dude has stripped in European clubs and has gone to more than one college rager- a simple high school party isn't going to move him that much. Will looks, acts, and basically feels like an 18-year old, so he's going to see these guys as his peers, not people to look up to. I mean seriously- why would a guy who just blackmailed his family into letting him become an adult four years early then turn around and let high school fashion edicts dictate how he dresses?

 

That's what I loved about the end of the chapter- Will flirts with the idea of being an Abercrombie drone because he thought he was friends with Ella and therefore wanted to make friends with her crowd, until he realized that Carter's an asshole and Ella's turned into kind of a bitch. Then he went back into Will mode and completely refused to play by their rules while not caring if it kills his social game because it's just not Will's deal to be Social King the way it is with Matt and Darius.

 

Speaking of Darius...man...what a great catch he got there. *rolls eyes* Seriously, I would have loved to have seen either Claire or Kristin there so they could have ripped Ella a new one for not having Will's back.

Edited October 23, 2012 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

Too... Soap opera-ish... Yeah I'm switching off for a while I think. Teen drama ain't my thing, or I'd be watching gossip girl, 90210 etc. but we have Jeremy for that ;-) (joke guys)

 

I have to say, that when I come home from a long day, these are not the kinds of comments that make me want to write. Not to bust Westie's balls specifically, since I like him, but after a long sabbatical, when I'm picking things up again, it's just not very motivating.

[methodwriter85]

Then don't focus on those reviews. Focus on the ones that are thrilled that CAP is back. Don't you ever apologize for writing four years of fantastic soap.

Edited October 23, 2012 by methodwriter85

[Westie]

I have to say, that when I come home from a long day, these are not the kinds of comments that make me want to write. Not to bust Westie's balls specifically, since I like him, but after a long sabbatical, when I'm picking things up again, it's just not very motivating.

 

Ok, I need to clarify here.

 

Yes, the comment was quite snippy, and possibly even rude. But I'm not going to apologise for it. I've never made a secret about the parts of CAP I enjoy and the bits I don't. The one thing I always think is that regardless of topic, each chapter is especially well written. However, I think there are times when everyone in this forum has come up with "I didn't like the part where..." Type of comments.

 

When I say this was teen soap opera-ish, it's nothing against a soap. More that the constant teen angst as a subject matter is for me a turn off. When you write about Wade's half of this story, I'm gonna be completely thrilled. It's a question of personal taste... I don't want to demotivate you in any way, but at the same time I'm not going to shy away from expressing a harsh view. So to rephrase what I said into a more constructive comment - I thought that although the chapter was well written, it's content seemed laboured, a filler, and so much of the same.

 

At the same time, because I think you're awesome as a writer, I will say that your skill really shows through in the latest chapters of Bridgemont.

 

I really couldn't be happier that you are back writing. I do get the sense though that this latest chapter was written in haste to assuage your impatient fans? If I'm wrong in any way, I will stand corrected, but while the writing was great, the content/story quality was sub-mark-arbour (in my view) and my suspicion is that is because you wrote more to give your group a fix, than to write for the sake of the story or your own pleasure??

 

(Ps, so glad the "neg" system has gone now, I'd so be a gonner!)

[methodwriter85]

When I say this was teen soap opera-ish, it's nothing against a soap. More that the constant teen angst as a subject matter is for me a turn off.

 

And that's understandable, and believe it or not, I'm with you in wanting to get more to Wade's side of the story. Mainly because Will as a character isn't suited to the kind of teen angst stories that Mark wrote with Brad and Matt, for the reasons I enumerated in my previous post. Poor Man's Son-era Will would have been, but not now. You can't have Will fight to have his independence at 14 while battling grown-ups, and then turn around and do a "Mean Boys" storyline with Will trying to sabotage the Homecoming King because Will as he's written just simply isn't going to care about high school social games. And you can't play Will like a wide-eyed freshman discovering new things, because he's experienced way more than the average 14 year old guy. He's had way bigger fish to fry than to even care all that much about whether or not snotty high school students like him.

 

I feel like Will's story arc in Paternity is essentially done. He's got his independence and he's made his peace with Brad. There's JJ and his mother, but that can wait for another story. Adding some "Mean Boys at Menlo" storyline would feel tacked on, but I'm not sure that's what Mark is doing. It feels like this chapter was more about demonstrating that Darius and Will still have each other's back, that Will isn't going to change who he is for anyone, and that Ella isn't the bland sweetheart that we thought she was.

 

I mean, as you guys all know, I love teen angst stuff(Matt's was probably the best), but I don't think it really makes sense with Will because, as Mark has constantly written, Will's more like a college-aged guy who just happens to have a 1986 birth year. It would make sense at this point for the story to shift more towards Wade.

Edited October 23, 2012 by methodwriter85

[centexhairysub]

Okay, while I would really like to see Wade's side for a while as well; I don't think that Will's story is done here. I think Will has accomplished his goal of a certain level of freedom, but we need to see what he does with it and how he fits in with his new surroundings. I think it is really important at some point before this story is over to either demonstrate that Will was ready for this level of freedom or he still needs to have more supervision.

 

I really think to just end Will's side of the story now and make him second fiddle to Wade's side would be leaving the ending out of his part of Paternity.

[MJ85]

I have to wonder if some of us have forgotten that the whole "Elizabeth Danfield's latest plot" storyline is still on-going, and Thanksgiving is coming up - i.e. those clamoring for a POV switch to Wade are wasting too much effort in doing so , because it's going to happen anyway.

[sat8997]

We need one of those Groucho Marx emoticons with wiggly eyebrows. I could really make use of one of those. I think if Vic can get his own emoticon, I should get one too.

[B1ue]

Okay. I read the above reviews, and I'm thinking something very polite right now. Very, very polite. Not at all a direct attack on another forum poster.

 

Okay, past that now. I found it hilarious that Darius and Will could go to a party still kind of pissed off at each other, but one little dust-up and they're bros again. Boys. (This has happened to me SEVERAL times, except with my sisters and a couple of my close-aged cousins).

 

Edit: I think I'd be alright with Will's story wrapping up with this chapter. He's in a new place, mentally, not totally balanced, but the big climax for him was really the emancipation. Continuing much past that feels like we're heading into the next story, unless we're skipping Will as a narrator for a bit.

 

Acually, no, I may be wrong here. We kind of do need Will to be in a more stable place, in order to have his reactions in the post-9/11 world to have something to be reacting against. I remember someone commented that 9/11 did not seem, to them, to really affect in a life-changing way those the generation that would now be between 20-35 or so. As someone that is right smack in the middle of that age group, I would disagree. The world was totally different by that afternoon.

Edited October 24, 2012 by B1ue

[MJ85]

I remember someone commented that 9/11 did not seem, to them, to really affect in a life-changing way those the generation that would now be between 20-35 or so. As someone that is right smack in the middle of that age group, I would disagree. The world was totally different by that afternoon.

 

That would be me, and honestly, it was probably in large part due to the exact way that day played out for me, with school eventually picking back up and continuing on (after like a couple of hours or so), and even having a student council meeting (already scheduled for that day anyway) later on that day.

 

Do I dispute that it was a life-changing event for people? Hell no!

 

But for me, it Just. Did. Not. Happen. That Way. And nothing you or anyone else could say will change that.

 

Anything that would have "changed" as far as how I live, or things I could do (like say, having to deal with airport security), would have involved things that I as a then-almost-16-year-old (only three weeks later) would not have had access to until much later anyway, or things that I just hadn't yet encountered anyway. (Again, like airport security - though in this case it's because the first time I ever flew on a plane was three years ago.)

 

I guess if nothing else, the point I'm trying to get across is that it affected me a lot less than many other people. But really...so be it, I guess.

Edited October 25, 2012 by MJ85

[methodwriter85]

Okay, past that now. I found it hilarious that Darius and Will could go to a party still kind of pissed off at each other, but one little dust-up and they're bros again. Boys. (This has happened to me SEVERAL times, except with my sisters and a couple of my close-aged cousins).

As a guy who had mostly straight male friends in college, I really have to agree with that. In my experience, it was the girls and queeny gay guys who tended to hold grudges. Will's only real grudge is against his mother, and that's for a very good reason.

 

Edit: I think I'd be alright with Will's story wrapping up with this chapter. He's in a new place, mentally, not totally balanced, but the big climax for him was really the emancipation. Continuing much past that feels like we're heading into the next story, unless we're skipping Will as a narrator for a bit.

 

Acually, no, I may be wrong here. We kind of do need Will to be in a more stable place, in order to have his reactions in the post-9/11 world to have something to be reacting against. I remember someone commented that 9/11 did not seem, to them, to really affect in a life-changing way those the generation that would now be between 20-35 or so. As someone that is right smack in the middle of that age group, I would disagree. The world was totally different by that afternoon.

 

I think it makes sense to check in on Will a few times to see how he's adjusting, but in general starting Will off on another frontburner storyline would feel extraneous. The emancipation was his climax; everything after for this story is more of dealing with the fallout. I think Westie's reaction was rooted in his intrepretation that Mark's trying to start to some new big "Mean Boys at Menlo" A-storyline with this chapter. I don't think Mark's really trying to do that- I thought the chapter was more about having Darius and Will make up, show that Will is going to stay Will no matter who he's around, and that Darius made a huge-ass mistake with Ella. But I can see why Westie would think that, and I can see why Westie would be turned off on the idea. I'm a huge fan of teen angst stuff, but Will isn't really suited for that kind of storyline. Now, if we were talking John or JJ, it would work well, but it would be incredibly hard to suspend my disbelief that a guy who mainly gravitates towards college/20-something people and who just battled his way into a 4-year early adulthood would somehow give two shits about who controls the social scene at his high school. That kind of "newbie challenges the school Alpha Male" storyline only works with a character who has totally absorbed himself into the social scene at his school, and Will simply does not come off as someone who would. Will re-affirmed my intrepretation of him at the end of the chapter when he was totally unrepentant to Ella about the damage he might have done to both their social standings.

 

As for the 9/11 stuff...Mark's said the boards that he's thinking about doing 3rd person narration for the 9/11 story, which could be interesting. As someone who's birthday is going to fall that week, it'll be interesting to see Will's reaction...there's also a chance that JJ could be in Bulgaria when 9/11 hits for a Grand Prix, so we could get some internation stuff. His career is going to take some hits because the Junior Grand Prix gets cancelled for the rest of the '01-'02 season, although that might just make JJ switch to skating as a senior. Wade's from D.C., so that will be interesting, plus if John Carullo is around, we know he's from Jersey so there's a good chance he's from close to NYC. Carullo gives off more of a NYC-Jersey vibe instead of a Philly-Jersey vibe(don't ask me why, he just does), so that could be interesting, as well.

 

As for me, school got cancelled that day because of the promixity to places people thought might become targets, like Dover AFB, the Delaware Memorial Bridge, Philadelphia in general...etc etc. Being 90 minutes away from D.C. and three hours away from NYC was pretty nerve-wracking, let me tell you. People at my high school were freaking out and our cell phones didn't work. I'll never forget getting driven home...the absolute silence in the skies was deafening.

[B1ue]

Do I dispute that it was a life-changing event for people? Hell no!

 

But for me, it Just. Did. Not. Happen. That Way. And nothing you or anyone else could say will change that.

 

Anything that would have "changed" as far as how I live, or things I could do (like say, having to deal with airport security), would have involved things that I as a then-almost-16-year-old (only three weeks later) would not have had access to until much later anyway, or things that I just hadn't yet encountered anyway. (Again, like airport security - though in this case it's because the first time I ever flew on a plane was three years ago.)

 

No one was attacking you. I'm not sure the bold type was exactly necessary to get your point across. And no, I don't think it was you. I could try and dig up the quote, but if I remember correctly, it was from someone in the 40-50 age range speaking about the generation behind him, and his perspective.

 

But, seriously. Calm down.

[samjones1]

It's interesting how just a couple of years can make a huge difference in terms of how events shape your life. I was 20 on 9/11, and I remember that day as if it just happened. I was watching the Today show with my brother, who just happened to have woken up late to take the train into Boston for work. I remember a professor at school not being able to get home from Boston for some time because they shut down the trains...the news kept speculating that Boston might be next. I remember my brother getting a letter from the Navy a couple days after the event, and how we thought it was him getting sent to the Middle East (it was actually his reserve discharge papers). I usually try to ignore 9/11 when it comes around, but I feel weird about doing so even this many years later. It's like I want to forget, but can't, but pretend I can anyway...

 

I'm teach college students now. The younger ones are either international students who weren't directly impacted or 18/19 year-olds who were 8/9 year-olds back on 9/11, The ones who are my age or older were quite pensive this year on 9/11. The people in their late 20s were a mixed bag...some are indifferent, some still have bad memories. It's hard to know how any individual will be impacted by an event like 9/11. Personally, I think Mark would be able to craft a beautiful story just focusing on how our CAP friends deal with the aftermath...I bet it would be a microcosm of the world around them. Will getting pissed of at JJ for not caring, Stef crying, Brad refusing to ground his plane, Robbie trying to buy into one of those conspiracy movies, JP shifting his research interests to the Middle-East, Darius trying to actively, rather than tacitly, trying to pass as Latino to avoid racism. Maybe something like "A Summer Love" - short, but intense and moving.

 

It's so nice to have had something from you to read, Mark. I hope, however, that you won't try to overtax yourself. Good on you also for letting your readers know that you need both time and additional positive reinforcement! If you aren't feeling it, you simply aren't feeling it.

 

Get some drinks, enjoy the changing seasons (if you have seasons where you are), and know that we will be here whenever you're ready to come back!

[rjo]

9 11 is one of those days I will never forgot. Just like November 22, 1963 and for those of us here in Minnesota the day the bridge fell. I think it is very important that the saga deals with is day. CAP had the guys watching TV the same thing we did that terrible day. Same days change the country. December 7th, November 22, and Sept 11 all changed America. We feel sadness. lose, and most of all a lack of safiety. how the family reacts to the attack is like a mirror it's how we reacted. That is the great thing about this story. It refects us. no matter what happens Mark will get it right. He always does.

[methodwriter85]

Personally, I think Mark would be able to craft a beautiful story just focusing on how our CAP friends deal with the aftermath...I bet it would be a microcosm of the world around them. Will getting pissed of at JJ for not caring, Stef crying, Brad refusing to ground his plane, Robbie trying to buy into one of those conspiracy movies, JP shifting his research interests to the Middle-East, Darius trying to actively, rather than tacitly, trying to pass as Latino to avoid racism. Maybe something like "A Summer Love" - short, but intense and moving.

 

I could see Will getting pissed off at JJ for whining about how the Junior Grand Prix season got cancelled because of 9/11, and Wade becoming pensive when his plans for Riley's 1st birthday are shot to hell because no one is in a mood to celebrate that week. The same would probably hold true for Will's 15th birthday, where he'd want to travel to somewhere cool but everyone's freaked out about traveling.

 

I can't see any situation where Darius is going to avoid hearing racist comments post-9/11. Hell, I got racist comments from people who thought I was middle-Eastern at a track meet in early 2002, and I'm filipino. For people who actually are middle-Eastern I imagine it was a lot worse. It would be interesting if that would drive Darius to enlist as a soldier to prove himself as an American. I could also see Ace enlisting himself- there were people who walked away from easy, cushy lives out of 9/11 furor like Pat Tillman. Gathan, though, is probably going to have a lot of friends who enlist in the war, if he doesn't do it himself.

 

But anyway...there's still 10 months to go in a pre-9/11 CAP. I kind of wonder if the reason why Mark had so many stories set in 2000 was to try and create a protrait of pre-9/11 America, and to contrast the chaos that would occurr after.

Edited October 25, 2012 by methodwriter85

[Henson]

I very rarely reply (obviously), but there's much more interesting possibilities in the move up north and the "mean boys" idea than that in itself, and that is an exploration of how Ella and Darius fit into such a storyline. It doesn't speak much at all to the paternity theme, but a look at the relative maturity of Will and Darius, combined with a strong Will locking horns with a newly-bitchy Ella and her crowd, and how that all affects the brothers' relationship, would be much deeper and more interesting than a simple, shallow, teen angst retread plot.

 

Especially with Will as a central character. Strong, confident, independent, volatile, (over)-reactionary - and often right. Watching Darius deal with that as well as having to deal with a girl that is changing for the bad before his eyes, well - there's a story there somewhere.

 

Some here have a habit of jumping to conclusions at the slightest clue. Me? I'm along for the ride. This is a pure escape for me.

[sat8997]

Brad refusing to ground his plane

Yeah, sorry, that's not happening. I've a long term family friend who works for the FAA, high up enough to count. She was at one of the mid-west hubs that day. The FAA was told to put every plane on the ground - now - and did just that. About five thousand planes in an hour and a half. She said it was extremely intense. Her friend at LAX said his view from the control tower showed plane after plane parked anywhere they could put them with their wings practically stacked on top of each other.

 

 

I don't think Will's done until he's had a semi-normal talk with his mother. They don't have to fix everything, just make a start.

Edited October 25, 2012 by sat8997