Paternity

[B1ue]

"Party" is relative, it isn't a party school in the same sense that San Diego State is because you can't afford to party too hard at a quarter school. UCSB is one of the highest rated public universities in the country (#10 last I heard).

 

It also was not always so laid back. It had major riots during the Vietnam war in Isla Vista, the BofA was burned down, the faculty club was bombed, killing one man and a student was shot and killed in the unrest.

I'm aware of UCSB's history. We even glossed over it in a couple of classes. The comments students made in response were not exactly kind. In any case, I was talking about when I went there, which would (barely) overlap Will going there, if he so chose.

 

The quarter system really wasn't that instense, in practice. Perhaps for the science and engineering departments, I didn't delve much into those. The liberal arts professors all seemed to hate the quarter system, and adjusted their courses to reflect the shortened class durations. They didn't try to cram a fifteen week course into ten weeks, they spread a two semester course series over three quarters. A good chunk of my upper division classes didn't even have midterms.

 

As to what I said about studying abroad, a foreign study program is a really great way to broaden the horizons of an average student, who otherwise might not have the means or connections to go live in another country and really thrive. Will is not so limited. He can go to school anywhere he pleases any time he pleases. Or, not even go to school, just take off for a year or two and live in a foreign country, if that's what he feels like. Why burden himself with excess structure and oversight when he doesn't have to? It's not like he'll find himself in a situation where he can't talk to locals or run out of money with no way of contacting home (not unless he's really trying to do exactly that). (And Tish is pissed at him).

 

Edit: Also, I will admit that a lot of the party aspect of UCSB is not actually from UCSB students, but locals, CC kids, and out-of-towners. But these were the people we partied with every weekend, worked with (for those that worked), and often lived with, so there's a good amount of social pressure to try and keep up with kids that had a lot less on their plates. Aaaand, let's not even get into "Fuck Towers." Which, while they've cleaned it up, is still a freshman dorm, with all the concentrated stupidity that applies.

Edited February 7, 2013 by B1ue

[methodwriter85]

    I'm much more interested in the possibility that evil Zach Hayes could wind up playing football for USC starting with the 2003-2004 school year, when Will and JJ are seniors in high school. That would be interesting, considering we know how corrupt the team turned out to be. Plus, Zach Hayes looks like Liam Hemsworth. Dear god what I wouldn't do for a ride on THAT.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5z6sVNNiaI

 

:wub:   Miley Cyrus is one lucky bitch. Liam really does look like a Hayes boy come to life, doesn't he?

 

 

JJ is a little harder to nail down. Maybe after all the crap his and the other Gay skaters have gone through, he will work to reform skating and the whole atheletic world to be fairer and more open.

 

   I can't see that. Will's the reform-minded one, not JJ. I think that while JJ cares about what happens to the world and he doesn't want bad things to happen(I really don't see him as a sociopath like MaryEllen or Zach Hayes), I don't think he's someone who wants to rock the boat too much...Mark has very much painted JJ from the first stories he's been featured as a 'go with the flow kind of guy' with very little rebellion tendencies. More likely I think JJ would play the same kind of game that Evan Lysacek does, where he appears completely straight in public and he follows what his coaches tell him to say to the media.

 

    I see him in the performing arts or liberal arts area. He's got the complete mindset and temperament of a performer. I don't think he has the kind of logic-filled, rationalistic mind that a science/math guy like Will does. He's also an attention junkie, and I mean how many figure skaters have we seen try to start "acting" careers once they get that first taste of their 15 minutes of fame?

Edited February 7, 2013 by methodwriter85

[MJ85]

I could totally see Will going to some school that's not Stanford, just for that reason...especially if (or maybe I should say when) he completely splits with Tony, and the split is ugly. Maybe he'd go there anyway...but I could see the "free spirit" side of him really want to go somewhere else, and if that's the case, then only Tony would be the overriding reason to stay put. Who wants to lay odds on them still being together (in any sense) by that point?

[methodwriter85]

   I think if Will had his "we're done" moment with Tony and Tony really did go bye-bye, Private Tim's reaction would be something along the lines of this:

 

 

   I'd probably play "I Believe I Can Fly" to score that moment, too.

 

   And hey, Blue, your school was ranked 12th in terms of the biggest party schools in the Nation. I'm jealous. UD was once a party school, but then they had to get all serious and strict when I went there, and shut down every big drunkfest we had while I went there.

 

    Penn State was 7th. I do kinda wonder if JJ might actually be a good fit for that school...I could see him, once he's in his 20's, reacting to all of his teenaged repression by throwing himself hard into the college party scene, to kind of make up for all the social stuff he didn't have in high school.

 

    I'm still kind of surprised that of all the party schools in the area that Darius could have gone to, he picked a boring school like Santa Clara. Maybe Darius could transfer out? That'd be another sign of the times...transferring colleges becomes much more common in this generation as opposed to Brad's.

 

Edited to add: Wow, I read the rest of the list and saw that University of Delaware came in as 27th. I'm truly shocked- I thought the Harker adminstration had really killed the party scene there. We're apparently on par with San Diego State University in terms of our party scene.

 

     Top 30 isn't bad, but I'm betting it annoyed the administration. They want University of Delaware to be considered an "East Coast Classic", serious Public Ivy school.

Edited February 7, 2013 by methodwriter85

[mmike1969]

I am sure Will can study in Europe to be a dancer...

[Mark Arbour]

The phone is for you, Wharton is calling and wants to speak to you

 

The only thing wrong with Scripps is that it is next to Black's Beach and you can't surf with your clothes on there. 

 

Those pinheads at Wharton are posers.    And you can surf with your clothes on at Black's Beach.  I'm hoping you don't, but you can. 

 

I get why Wade and Matt aren't doing it, but I do think it's weird that they don't have any friends who are doing it. Junior year just seemed to equal study abroad time to me, at least for my friends that could afford it. One thing I've gotta insist on would be Wade and  Matt doing summer internships- that's just an expected thing, especially with guys from their kind of background. You do a summer internship, either the summer before junior year or the summer before senior year. Sometimes before sophomore year, but not always. Of course, they could have already done it, but when we saw glimpses of Wade and Matt during the summers of 1999 and 2000, it didn't seem like they were doing one. So I'm seeing them spending at least part of summer 2001 in an internship. I do think it's telling that Wade already has a plan for law school post-grad, while Matt seems to be saying, "Pfft. Spring 2002 is so far away. Let's go party instead!"

 

Sometimes I get arrogant and forget that you're writing this story, not me. 

A few things to comment on here.  First of all, the purpose of an internship is to gain experience, but also an entree into a job.  For Matt, I can see it as a possibility, but neither one of these guys really has to worry about that.  For Wade, he's got so much to deal with in his life right now that an internship would seem somewhat ridiculous.  Why would he do that?  He's already stressing his time to the maximum now.  He's probably going to spend the summer trying to get a better handle on all of his assets, and on spending time with Riley.  Neither one of them has to do it, so why would they?  As for study-abroad, you're not tracking with what it's like to be involved in college sports.  They will build their world primarily around the team, and if you're on a college team, it's unlikely that you'll bail for a semester to go study overseas.  Granted, it would be more likely on the hockey team, where they're a club sport with no scholarship support, but still not a big, prevalent thing.

 

I am sure Will can study in Europe to be a dancer...

 

[PrivateTim]

    I'm much more interested in the possibility that evil Zach Hayes could wind up playing football for USC starting with the 2003-2004 school year, when Will and JJ are seniors in high school. That would be interesting, considering we know how corrupt the team turned out to be.

 

The team wasn't corrupt, one player was accused to improper conduct and one assistant coach. The NCAA's case against the assisant coach seems to be going south as documents are showing improper conduct by the NCAA are coming out as part of the coach's lawsuit against them. An LA Superior Court judge just ripped the NCAA for their behavior, more fireworks are almost guaranteed.

 

I could totally see Will going to some school that's not Stanford, just for that reason...especially if (or maybe I should say when) he completely splits with Tony, and the split is ugly. Maybe he'd go there anyway...but I could see the "free spirit" side of him really want to go somewhere else, and if that's the case, then only Tony would be the overriding reason to stay put. Who wants to lay odds on them still being together (in any sense) by that point?

 

Tony won't be a problem, Brad is getting him whacked in special two-fer-one deal with the skating coach

[MJ85]

Suuuuuuuuuuuure he is.

 

That news about the USC case is interesting though, got a good article on that for the football thread?

[methodwriter85]

    Alright, Mark, I'll withdraw my argument against the study abroad and internship for Wade and Matt. It would make sense for Will, especialy if he goes into the sciences instead of business. I can see it likely for John and JJ(if he goes to college), but I understand the reasoning behind Wade and Matt. I will say that college expectations start to change during the decade, where the people are expected to become well-rounded individuals on top of grades, hence why people like Will basically had themselves doing a lot of clubs and extracurriculars to get themselves looking good on a college app. He's a freshmen, so he wouldn't be freaking out about it now, but by the time PSAT's roll around for second semester sophomore year it starts to become crunch time. I could even see Will as the type of person who does early admission for junior year. The kind of 4.0 overachiever kid you've written Will as being starts to freak at first semester junior year and doesn't relax again until second semester senior year. I think you hinted that Will uses ADDERALL to stay up, which was a good touch. I knew a fair amount of people who were chowing down on Adderall or diet/caffine pills to stay up and study throughout high school and college.

 

     In some ways, Adderall was to my generation what cocaine was to yours. It was that prevalent.

 

      I tried that once, but instead of studying for some reason I wrote a blog about the merits of charter schools/magnet schools over the traditional public school system. I have no clue why that happened, but it was funny.

 

 

Tony won't be a problem, Brad is getting him whacked in special two-fer-one deal with the skating coach

 

I'm going to be honest with you, Tim. I can't see Tony going anywhere. He's a legacy character. He's also Mark's representation of the "classic tortured closet case", to be contrasted against Will's new-style "never been closeted" type of gay. Mark feels like Tony's story is an important one to be told, and I can't see Tony not becoming a major character because of that. I'm sure when 2004 rolls around in CAP Mark will give Tony some reason to stay around in California permanently instead of going back to St. Louis.

Edited February 7, 2013 by methodwriter85

[PrivateTim]

Suuuuuuuuuuuure he is.

 

That news about the USC case is interesting though, got a good article on that for the football thread?

 

Just Google "judge rips ncaa in USC investigation" and you get a boat load.

[sat8997]

Sometimes I get arrogant and forget that you're writing this story, not me. 

 

I was wondering when you were going to remember that.   My ability to bite my tongue is proportional to the fequency of Jeremy's posts. It is a constant struggle to keep it classy. 

[JimCarter]

I don't think anyone is above the law, but if we are passing out whackings, shouldn't Michel get one too?  He must have been complicit since he was there to take the pictures.

[MJ85]

So...did the tearjerker get moved, or was that referring to the Great Hall Christmas surprise all along?

 

Deceiving the readers is a downright UN-classy thing.

[GLH]

Beautiful.

[methodwriter85]

   As much as I like Tony, I was glad that he wasn't there for this scene. I can't see an Italian-Catholic mother letting him miss Christmas, and I liked Noah being there.

 

   Also, I'm pretty sure that if Mark had included Tony in the heart-warming family crest scene, Private Tim would have broken his lap top. Or tablet. Whatever he's reading this on.

Edited February 8, 2013 by methodwriter85

[Daddydavek]

After the past year in Paternity it was nice to see some genuine laughter and people at least trying to get along.   My biggest question from the chapter is about the relationship between Matt and Wade.  Wade definitely crossed a line along with Brad and Brad seems to understand that and is pulling back.  I'm not sure Wade understands.  Matt is having a hard time dealing with it and Wade isn't helping.  I think Wade needs a Nana talk, but it sounds farfetched.  Maybe JP instead?

[MJ85]

I sense at least one chapter of backtracking...ish...to get a better look at that before continuing on from where we are now. I get the feeling that a LOT will be said/revealed from that.

[centexhairysub]

Well, the new chapter was just great.  I thought the writing and research was especially well done on this chapter.  Mark obviously either did some serious research on ECT or knows someone that has been through it.  The scene with Jeanine and Will was spot on as far as how Jeanine would act after going through a couple of rounds of ECT treatments.

 

As I went into in my review, this chapter really showed why this family will always survive.  Ties may bend but they are almost impossible to break.  Whether you are born into the family or brought into it; the loyalty to the family as a whole is really important to everyone.  JP inspires an almost scary level of loyalty from those around him.  I have to wonder how strong that will be in the next generation after JP/Stef/Isidore are gone. 

 

I do think that Matt and Wade are going to resolve their issues and find a way to come out stronger in the end.  One of the big issues is that since they have been together; Matt has never seen Wade so enthralled by anyone but himself.  Matt is having to deal with the issue that Brad may have something that or can effect something in Wade; that he can't.  I don't think it is so much that Matt is jealous of Wade for sleeping with Brad as much as it is the feelings that Brad has awaken in Wade, that Matt fears.  For some people, giving up total control in the bedroom to someone that you really trust can develop into an almost addictive behaviour.  For someone like Wade that is in control of so many aspects of his life; the ability to give up control in one area to someone he trust, maybe more alluring that Matt can understand at this moment. 

 

I can't decide where Mark is taking the situation with Noah but much like Alistair; I think it is gonna be good for Will and I can't wait for the ride.

[Westie]

I was wondering when you were going to remember that.   My ability to bite my tongue is proportional to the fequency of Jeremy's posts. It is a constant struggle to keep it classy. 

 

When struggling to keep it classy, I find it easier to redefine "class" in my mind....

 

Anyway, this last chapter was so awesome I'm going to completely ignore the bit about the College of Heralds (ahem, College of arms) and revel in poetic license

 

Loved the writing Mark...

[B1ue]

   As much as I like Tony, I was glad that he wasn't there for this scene. I can't see an Italian-Catholic mother letting him miss Christmas, and I liked Noah being there.

 

   Also, I'm pretty sure that if Mark had included Tony in the heart-warming family crest scene, Private Tim would have broken his lap top. Or tablet. Whatever he's reading this on.

Well I'd have liked it, if only because the inevitable interaction between Tony and Noah should be interesting, depending on how attached Tony actually is to Will.

[sat8997]

So...did the tearjerker get moved, or was that referring to the Great Hall Christmas surprise all along?

 

Deceiving the readers is a downright UN-classy thing.

 

Bite me, Buttercup.

 

 

 

[methodwriter85]

Well I'd have liked it, if only because the inevitable interaction between Tony and Noah should be interesting, depending on how attached Tony actually is to Will.

 

That's actually pretty ambigious. I really thought that Mark was setting up Tony as the love of Will's life during Poor Man's Son, but I'm not so sure anymore we're going to see them getting married in 2012.

[davewri]

When it was leaked that chapter 91 would be a 'tear jerker', I was afraid something tragic was coming. What a pleasant surprise Christmas family reunion for JP. Will is becoming my hero in this story and his journey from a boy to a man is heart warming. There is still a lot of unfinished business in Paternity and I don't know how Mark can possibly wrap up all of this. Almost a year to cover before 9/11 leaves plenty of time to get everyone settled down.

[Mark Arbour]

 

That's actually pretty ambigious. I really thought that Mark was setting up Tony as the love of Will's life during Poor Man's Son, but I'm not so sure anymore we're going to see them getting married in 2012.

 

But as you pointed out in Poor Man's Son, Will was a full-blown dramatic adolescent, falling in love with any guy who so much as blew him.  Now he's more mature, and more stable, and he's able to look at relationships with a little more complexity. 

[GLH]

I don't particularly care for Tony and think he's bad news for Will, so I wouldn't care to see him make an exit.  Maybe something akin to his brutally mauling a hapless passerby after huffing bath salts, perhaps?  But alas, that's about 12 years ahead of the timeline.  I guess it would have to be something more chronologically appropriate, like alcohol poisoning.