What Happens Next In CAP?

[methodwriter85]

So, this is basically split off from my "How Do You Think CAP Saga Should End?" thread, because the topic became less about how the CAP saga will end, and more about how we get to the end. I thought it'd be cool to start a thread where we speculate about what we see happening to the characters as they navigate the first decade of the 21st century.

 

So what are some things you see happening?

 

- I no longer see Matt and Wade getting married when gay marriage becomes legal in the U.S. I think they're going to be more like Stefan and JP; committed to each other, but not in a mongamous marriage setting. I like the idea of them raising Riley with Tiffany.

 

- Gathan's going to lose friends in the Iraq War. That feels like a given.

 

- JJ's going to distance himself from his family because of the demands of figure skating, not just time-wise, but in terms of personal image. Really, it wouldn't be that hard from him to slink away anyway because no one likes him as much as they like Darius and Will. And besides, JJ is going to get run over a bus and die anyway.

 

- Will's going to have this messy, "will they or won't they" flirtation with Tony for the next four years, until one day finally realizing that Tony, although he's a cool guy, isn't the right one for him. Or Tony changes and comes out of the closet. I'm still not entirely sure even that would make them right for each other.

 

- Brad and Robbie jet the whole family off to Provincetown in Massachusetts for a wedding ceremony, in the summer of 2004. That would be a hell of a lot of fun, seeing them spending a weekend in a gay beach town.

 

- Will meets John Hobart and his new 8th grade girlfriend, and it's about as hilariously awkward as you can imagine it to be.

 

- Will has some extremely awkward sex with Rainn, the cute blond emo girl, but it's still a fun experience.

 

- Will has sex with Ryan, and they never talk to each other again because Ryan freaks out.

 

- Jeanine gains her sanity, and moves back to New Jersey with Maddie to be among her family for a bit. That could be a way to tie her into 9/11 somehow- some New Jersey towns lost a lot of people to 9/11.

 

-Frank dies of a heart attack. Or cancer. Either way, I don't see him living a long life like JP or Stefan.

 

 

Events I'm hoping get covered in CAP:

 

9/11, the start of the Iraq War in 2003, gay marriage in Massachusetts in 2004, the Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, Torino '06, The Duke Lacrosse scandal, the Virginia Tech massacre, the '08 election, the financial meltdown

 

Trends I'm hoping get covered in CAP:

 

Puka shell necklaces coming back, skater bois, emo kids, hipsters, the metrosexual "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" craze, trucker hats, Livestrong bracelets, Uggs, Northface jackets, Myspace, Facebook, "sexting"

 

What about you guys?

 

Thread disclaimer: This is not a spoiler thread. I am not a fortune-teller, nor can I read what's on Mark's mind when he writes. None of the scenarios described throughout this thread are necessarily what will happen within the CAP saga. In fact, for legal purposes, just assume that these scenarios are not going to happen at all.This is meant to be a whimiscal speculation thread about what one person can see happening in the CAP saga. Posters in this thread shall maintain polite and civil discourse, though colorful language may be tolerated given the context of the conversation. Posters should feel free to become engaged in a lively debate and/or discussion of the series without feeling harassed, coerced, threatened, humiliated, or intimdated. Any offensive, denigrating behavior towards Mark Arbour, other posters, and any other people living, dead, or fictional will not be tolerated. Thank you.

Edited January 15, 2012 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

So, this is basically split off from my "How Do You Think CAP Saga Should End?" thread, because the topic became less about how the CAP saga will end, and more about how we get to the end. I thought it'd be cool to start a thread where we speculate about what we see happening to the characters as they navigate the first decade of the 21st century.

 

So what are some things you see happening?

 

- I no longer see Matt and Wade getting married when gay marriage becomes legal in the U.S. I think they're going to be more like Stefan and JP; committed to each other, but not in a mongamous marriage setting. I like the idea of them raising Riley with Tiffany.

 

- Gathan's going to lose friends in the Iraq War. That feels like a given.

 

- JJ's going to distance himself from his family because of the demands of figure skating, not just time-wise, but in terms of personal image. Really, it wouldn't be that hard from him to slink away anyway because no one likes him as much as they like Darius and Will. And besides, JJ is going to get run over a bus and die anyway.

 

- Will's going to have this messy, "will they or won't they" flirtation with Tony for the next four years, until one day finally realizing that Tony, although he's a cool guy, isn't the right one for him. Or Tony changes and comes out of the closet. I'm still not entirely sure even that would make them right for each other.

 

- Brad and Robbie jet the whole family off to Provincetown in Massachusetts for a wedding ceremony, in the summer of 2004. That would be a hell of a lot of fun, seeing them spending a weekend in a gay beach town.

 

- Will meets John Hobart and his new 8th grade girlfriend, and it's about as hilariously awkward as you can imagine it to be.

 

- Will has some extremely awkward sex with Rainn, the cute blond emo girl, but it's still a fun experience.

 

- Will has sex with Ryan, and they never talk to each other again because Ryan freaks out.

 

- Jeanine gains her sanity, and moves back to New Jersey with Maddie to be among her family for a bit. That could be a way to tie her into 9/11 somehow- some New Jersey towns lost a lot of people to 9/11.

 

-Frank dies of a heart attack. Or cancer. Either way, I don't see him living a long life like JP or Stefan.

 

 

Events I'm hoping get covered in CAP:

 

9/11, the start of the Iraq War in 2003, gay marriage in Massachusetts in 2004, the Asian Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, Torino '06, The Duke Lacrosse scandal, the Virginia Tech massacre, the '08 election, the financial meltdown

 

Trends I'm hoping get covered in CAP:

 

Puka shell necklaces coming back, skater bois, emo kids, hipsters, the metrosexual "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" craze, trucker hats, Livestrong bracelets, Uggs, Northface jackets, Myspace, Facebook, "sexting"

 

What about you guys?

 

Wow.

 

Not.

[methodwriter85]

Wow.

 

Not.

 

I don't get it?

Edited January 14, 2012 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

I don't get it?

 

I'm suggesting that some (or many) of your hypotheses may not materialize.

[Daddydavek]

Whew, CAP is currently in the Fall of 2000 or more than eleven years in the past. I'm still waiting for Mark to introduce Mark Bingham into the story line working our way up to 9/11 or use some other way to bring our cast of characters into that historical perspective where it actually touches them and has a pronounced effect.

 

As to how it will all shake out relationship-wise and other-wise for the cast of the story, I suspect Mark has some ideas and sometimes he lets his stories tell themselves and lead where they take him.... His muse has an historical bent so he will continue to provide context and background apropos to the time.

[B1ue]

I'm suggesting that some (or many) of your hypotheses may not materialize.

 

That's pretty interesting, since I don't see many that are all that far-fetched or out of the established character paths. A bit contrived, but that's not out of place either. Well, okay, the Provincetown one, and Jeanine moving back with her folks. Keeping Will AWAY from a setting like Provincetown would have to be a high priority with every adult in the CAP series, and I can't think why Jeanine would want to move back to New Jersey. So much to lose, and not much to gain. I could see her moving herself and possibly JJ to NYC proper, probably with Brad's financial blessing. I think he'd let the two of them try and find a fresh start somewhere, with better coaches on hand. But going back into her childhood, to face all the "I told you so's" and crap about being a lesbian with two children? Nah.

 

Anyways, I'm eager as always to see what happens next. And now I see there's a Bridgemont chapter to devour, so I'll just be getting to that.

[methodwriter85]

That's pretty interesting, since I don't see many that are all that far-fetched or out of the established character paths. A bit contrived, but that's not out of place either. Well, okay, the Provincetown one, and Jeanine moving back with her folks.

 

I'm admittedly stretching with that one, but I don't see why the Provincetown one would be that out of wack- it's 2004, Massachusetts is the first state that gets gay marriage, and Provincetown would probably be pretty well-known to Stefan and JP. (They seem more like Fire Island people, but I don't think Provincetown is out of the question.) We already know from Millenium that Brad and Robbie like to put on a good wedding, and it seems like a no-brainer to take advantage of the fact that gay marriage is now legal in Massachusetts. And we know from established story patterns that each time we have a group of family teenagers in the summer in some different locale, dramatic stuff happens. The backdrop of a gay beach town during the first summer that gay marriage is legal seems like a pretty damn good backdrop for some interesting teenaged shenigans. (Not to mention that it's the summer of an election between Bush, who you know for damn sure that Brad and JP will absolutely despise, and Kerry, a guy who seemed like such a meh choice but the lesser of two evils.) I suggested the Jeanine storyline to get her(and the CAP family) back in the orbit of New York City, and therefore setting up more personal ties for when 9/11 happens.

 

But I think a good portion of what I wrote really fits within the established character paths/historical context. Gathan's friends/cousins historically fit the profile of the kinds of people that joined the Iraq War. JJ's choice of career pretty much mandates that he would have to distance himself from the Crampton/Schluter image as much as possible, in order to sell himself as the squeaky clean Disney boy-next-door. Especially since, as Daisy put it, the Powers that Be in figure skating started to get really controlling with their figure skaters by the mid-'00s, i.e. during JJ's run for the Olympics. And the Will stuff I posted all seems incredibly likely- him having this years-long flirtation with Tony, and him getting with Ryan and Rainn at some point. All of that feels like it's been foreshadowed.

Edited January 14, 2012 by methodwriter85

[B1ue]

And we know from established story patterns that each time we have a group of family teenagers in the summer in some different locale, dramatic stuff happens. The backdrop of a gay beach town during the first summer that gay marriage is legal seems like a pretty damn good backdrop for some interesting teenaged shenigans.

And this is exactly why Will will not be allowed anywhere near Provincetown, or anywhere like it, until he's at least 40. You do remember Rome, right? The real danger heading into his adulthood will be West Hollywood and the parties surrounding the Hollywood industry, but between them, Stephen, Robbie, and Brad have the connections and money to make sure Will is blacklisted anywhere worth bothering with. I'm not certain they'd have the reach and penetration needed to do the same elsewhere, though.

 

I suggested the Jeanine storyline to get her(and the CAP family) back in the orbit of New York City, and therefore setting up more personal ties for when 9/11 happens.

 

I still maintain that personal ties to this event would be unnecessary. This was a tragedy that belonged to the entire country (I would say the entire world, but no, it was an attacked directed at us), not just those that directly lost kin or acquaintances that day. I realize your experience was different Jeremy, and that everyone you knew knew someone who died, but you live pretty close to ground zero. The Cramptons, frankly, do not.

 

Honestly, a lot of the personal ties the story has found to historical events have pulled me out of the story, and made me enjoy it less. The Matthew Shepard storyline for one, and the bit about the Concorde crash, for example. That isn't to say they weren't well intergrated into the plot, they were, and the events of the story followed smoothly and naturally from both of those points. But they still left me underwhelmed.

 

However, it's pretty apparent I'm in the wrong on this topic; if a connection was found for Matthew Shepard and the Concorde, then there will certianly be a character at ground zero. It just feels false to me. Like they couldn't possibly care unless that had something to lose, and that's an attitude I find insulting when it's directed towards me. I wouldn't want to insult even imaginary people the same way.

[methodwriter85]

And this is exactly why Will will not be allowed anywhere near Provincetown, or anywhere like it, until he's at least 40. You do remember Rome, right? The real danger heading into his adulthood will be West Hollywood and the parties surrounding the Hollywood industry, but between them, Stephen, Robbie, and Brad have the connections and money to make sure Will is blacklisted anywhere worth bothering with. I'm not certain they'd have the reach and penetration needed to do the same elsewhere, though.

I don't really get the idea that Brad and Robbie are going to do everything possible to prevent Will from going to those kinds of parties. It's like what Donna Martin said on the episode of 90210 where West Bev parents were outraged at the idea of distributing condoms to students. You can build a pool. You can put a fence around it, and tell your kids that they can't go in it. But if you know that eventually, those kids are going to find a way in, don't you think you ought to teach that kid how to swim? I don't think Brad and Robbie are going to condone Will partying, but they won't explicitly forbid it, either.

 

I think Will would probably handle himself fine in those parties, and probably not get taken in like what happened with Armand in The Land Whore. I'm more worried about what will happen with JJ when he finally gets into partying- people who don't get it out of their system when they're younger tend to go crazier at college than the people who started sowing their wild oats earilier.

 

 

I realize your experience was different Jeremy, and that everyone you knew knew someone who died, but you live pretty close to ground zero. The Cramptons, frankly, do not.

I wouldn't say I live pretty close to Ground Zero- New York City is about a three-hour drive away. But I went to college with a lot of people from New Jersey and Long Island, so yeah, 9/11 hit them hard. I personally thought adding in Jordan Pfinster from Connecticut, as well as the Danfields from D.C., was a roundabout way of adding ties into the East Coast. (Well, aside from Brad, Robbie, and Ace being alumni of Ivy League colleges.)

 

They did close school in Delaware on 9/11, because there were concerns that air force bases might be targets as well, and Dover Air Force Base was fairly well-known. There were also concerns that the Delaware Memorial Bridge and Philadelphia might be targets as well.

 

However, it's pretty apparent I'm in the wrong on this topic; if a connection was found for Matthew Shepard and the Concorde, then there will certianly be a character at ground zero. It just feels false to me. Like they couldn't possibly care unless that had something to lose, and that's an attitude I find insulting when it's directed towards me. I wouldn't want to insult even imaginary people the same way.

 

I really hope you don't take it that way. I think that Mark just likes adding personal ties into the historical context of any given era of the story he's writing- going all the way back to the original CAP, where JP met the Kennedy's in 1962. It's part of what elevates CAP from being just another soap opera- the use of the historical era to drive the story in some way.

 

Anyway...

 

-The 2000 election brings outrage to JP and Brad, who feel that Bush cheated his way into the White House.

 

- JP gets really, really pissed when there's no massive student protest movement against the Iraq War that materializes, and tries to get Will and JJ into mobilizing their fellow HW students into a protest.

 

-Zach Hayes winds up attending some southern California university, and terrorizes Will and JJ during their senior year of high school. (Zach is the class of '03, Will and JJ are the class of '04.)

 

-Marie Hobart becomes a hipster who joins the Occupy! movement. (This is mainly just because I think it'd be hilarious for uber-prep Claire to have a hipster vegan corporate protestin' daughter, not that I really think it's likely.) It would be interesting for one of the trust fundies to join the Occupy movement. I don't think Will would join, but he probably would have some hipster friends that joined.

 

-Will and JJ have a senior skip day of sorts to the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with their friends in the spring of 2004. That sounds damn cool senior skip day. (My senior skip day I just cut school and went to visit a college I had already been accepted to and already visited so I could get away with having an excused absence. Most of my friends went to Six Flaggs in New Jersey.)

 

-Matt uses some of his Google money to invest in Facebook. Meanwhile, Luke Carruthers invests in Myspace.

Edited January 14, 2012 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

Figured I'd chime in a bit, and use Jeremy's post as a prod.

 

I don't really get the idea that Brad and Robbie are going to do everything possible to prevent Will from going to those kinds of parties. It's like what Donna Martin said on the episode of 90210 where West Bev parents were outraged at the idea of distributing condoms to students. You can build a pool. You can put a fence around it, and tell your kids that they can't go in it. But if you know that eventually, those kids are going to find a way in, don't you think you ought to teach that kid how to swim? I don't think Brad and Robbie are going to condone Will partying, but they won't explicitly forbid it, either.

 

I think this is a good way to look at it. They can't put Will on lock down, and I think that as he grows up, they're going to have to rely more and more on his judgment, because in the end, that's the only thing that will have any major impact. Brad likes to be in control (control freak, anyone?) and that's a tough thing to grapple with if you're applying it to your teenage son. Paternity (the theme) is as much about him as it is about Will, Wade, and Matt.

 

 

 

I wouldn't say I live pretty close to Ground Zero- New York City is about a three-hour drive away. But I went to college with a lot of people from New Jersey and Long Island, so yeah, 9/11 hit them hard. I personally thought adding in Jordan Pfinster from Connecticut, as well as the Danfields from D.C., was a roundabout way of adding ties into the East Coast. (Well, aside from Brad, Robbie, and Ace being alumni of Ivy League colleges.)

 

They did close school in Delaware on 9/11, because there were concerns that air force bases might be targets as well, and Dover Air Force Base was fairly well-known. There were also concerns that the Delaware Memorial Bridge and Philadelphia might be targets as well.

I agree with Blue. 9/11 was a national tragedy. I live in the middle of the country, and didn't directly know anyone who was killed. That did not mitigate it's effect on my life. The issues are so much bigger and broader.

 

 

 

I really hope you don't take it that way. I think that Mark just likes adding personal ties into the historical context of any given era of the story he's writing- going all the way back to the original CAP, where JP met the Kennedy's in 1962. It's part of what elevates CAP from being just another soap opera- the use of the historical era to drive the story in some way.

I was initially surprised by Blue's comments, and glad that Jeremy interpreted my motives. My point was to try and show how history can impact lives. One of the things that has changed in these stories from inception to now is that my emphasis has changed to focus more on the characters and less on the events. Blue picked up on that. Still, I like to think of the events that had an impact and bring them into the story, just to remind us all of the context.

 

 

 

- JP gets really, really pissed when there's no massive student protest movement against the Iraq War that materializes, and tries to get Will and JJ into mobilizing their fellow HW students into a protest.

No way. This would be completely out of character for JP. He'll be pissed off about the Iraq War, but he won't be pissed about the lack of student protests. Disappointed? Yes. Pissed? No. He is smart enough to understand that self-interest is a driving force here, and that without a draft, there won't be an impetus to capture buildings. But JP never was a protest rabble-rouser, and I can't see him pushing his grandsons to do something like that, ever. If they did show an interest, he might encourage them, but that's the extent of it. You have to remember that JP's passion is largely beneath the surface, and he is an analytical person at heart.

 

 

-Zach Hayes winds up attending some southern California university, and terrorizes Will and JJ during their senior year of high school. (Zach is the class of '03, Will and JJ are the class of '04.)

I can definitely see Zach playing football, probably at USC, but I don't think he'll be terrorizing Will and JJ. Watch for the subtle changes in Zach. He's not out to hurt other people, he's simply out for himself, and only himself. Collateral damage to other people's lives as he gets what he wants really doesn't register for him.

[methodwriter85]

I can definitely see Zach playing football, probably at USC, but I don't think he'll be terrorizing Will and JJ. Watch for the subtle changes in Zach. He's not out to hurt other people, he's simply out for himself, and only himself. Collateral damage to other people's lives as he gets what he wants really doesn't register for him.

 

He'd be about two years ahead of Brian Cushing. What a sad case of steroids destroying what had been a beautiful, beautiful boy.

 

Zach's college era would be 2003-2007('08 if he does a 5th year), so it'd be during the Reggie Bush era. Lots of interesting stuff, apparently.

 

Good point about JP. Although I think he's going to be excited when the Occupy Wall Street movement props up, finding it delightful that student voices are finally rising up again after activism lied dormant for so long. I don't think he's going to think it awfully pragmatic, but he'll like that young people are finally standing up for something.

 

Brad likes to be in control (control freak, anyone?) and that's a tough thing to grapple with if you're applying it to your teenage son. Paternity (the theme) is as much about him as it is about Will, Wade, and Matt.

Brad was only really a control freak with Will. With Darius, it seemed like the kid got away with murder. With JJ, it seemed like Brad pretty much relied on Jeanine's judgment calls. I wonder if that's going to come up at some point- I won't call it a "lack" of a parental bond between Brad and JJ, but they definitely aren't close. It would be hard for me to buy those kind of "father/son" scenes with JJ and Brad like you write with Brad and Will. It worked fine for Brad to let JJ gravitate towards Jeanine and let her handle him for the most part, but with Jeanine out of commission, I'm wondering if there's going to be some negative consequences coming up because Brad didn't build a tight bond with JJ.

Edited January 14, 2012 by methodwriter85

[Henson]

I've held off a few weeks before posting this, because I don't want to misinterpreted, and also because I never almost post in this forum, so you don't all know me. Suffice to say that I read both the stories and the forum religiously. One entertains me more than the other...

 

Point of order: This is Mark's story. I like the way he tells it. They are his characters. It is his setting. Our imagination must grow to encompass his reality, not the other way around.

 

Thanks Mark, for giving us a glimpse into a different world. It's a fantastic escape for me - not that my real life is all that bad to begin with. May I never feel possessive enough of your characters or settings that I see myself entitled to speak for/against or denegrate other readers' mental models of them.

[methodwriter85]

Thanks Mark, for giving us a glimpse into a different world. It's a fantastic escape for me - not that my real life is all that bad to begin with. May I never feel possessive enough of your characters or settings that I see myself entitled to speak for/against or denegrate other readers' mental models of them.

 

First of all, thank you for posting. Welcome! This is meant to be a fun speculation thread about what we can see happening in CAP, based on character paths/historical context. It's not meant to denigrate other's people views of the story, or force Mark into doing something he doesn't want to do with the characters.

 

I'm part of an online board called "Television Without Pity", where people post speculation threads about what they can see happening on their favorite shows. It's part of a lively discussion, and in no way intended to be disrespectful to the creator of the series, or to the other posters who take part in the discussion. The same logic is being applied here.

 

It can be pretty fun, especially when some predictions turn out right, like when Blue posted that at some point Matt's sluttiness was going to become a liability for him in his relationship with Wade.

Edited January 15, 2012 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

I've held off a few weeks before posting this, because I don't want to misinterpreted, and also because I never almost post in this forum, so you don't all know me. Suffice to say that I read both the stories and the forum religiously. One entertains me more than the other...

 

Point of order: This is Mark's story. I like the way he tells it. They are his characters. It is his setting. Our imagination must grow to encompass his reality, not the other way around.

 

Thanks Mark, for giving us a glimpse into a different world. It's a fantastic escape for me - not that my real life is all that bad to begin with. May I never feel possessive enough of your characters or settings that I see myself entitled to speak for/against or denegrate other readers' mental models of them.

 

Thanks. As Jeremy said in the follow-up post, it's all in fun, but I appreciate your concern. I think that it's really my responsibility to listen to all of this stuff and then write what I want to write. Sometimes these threads generate some really excellent ideas for me.

[B1ue]

Besides, I don't think anyone takes Jeremy or I seriously. We've been arguing over small crap for, what, a year now? Longer?

[methodwriter85]

Sometimes these threads generate some really excellent ideas for me.

And that's what I love. One of those things about soap operas was that fan feedback used to mean a lot to the powers that be- it's how Luke Spencer went from being the guy who raped

into a guy who set up a romantic fantasy date for her just a year later in department store. (The Luke and Laura couple was one of the biggest things on t.v. back in the early '80s.) The chemistry between the characters was that powerful. A writer will have an idea of how two characters are supposed to interact, but then it doesn't work for the fans or the writer, and they'll change the story. I remember when Mark seemed to clearly have Max set up as Brad's serious parter, because it seemed like Robbie was never going to get his act together. But then Max didn't work for Brad, and it didn't happen.

 

Besides, I don't think anyone takes Jeremy or I seriously. We've been arguing over small crap for, what, a year now? Longer?

 

I'm a theatrical personality. If you took me seriously or weren't entertained by my antics, I'd be worried.

[Mark Arbour]

Besides, I don't think anyone takes Jeremy or I seriously. We've been arguing over small crap for, what, a year now? Longer?

 

I take you seriously.

[methodwriter85]

Aww.

 

Now back to the speculation....

 

-Will has a hipster friend who becomes involved in the Occupy! movement.

 

-Claire becomes horrified at the way emo kids and hipsters dress

 

-JJ becomes good friends with Evan Lycasek, while despisng Johnny Weir

 

-Robbie goes on the Atkins diet circa 2003-2004

 

Please make this happen, Mark. It would be freakin' hilarious, and very, very period.

Edited January 18, 2012 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

Aww.

 

Now back to the speculation....

 

-Will has a hipster friend who becomes involved in the Occupy! movement.

 

-Claire becomes horrified at the way emo kids and hipsters dress

 

-JJ becomes good friends with Evan Lycasek, while despisng Johnny Weir

 

-Robbie goes on the Atkins diet circa 2003-2004.

 

Please make this happen, Mark. It would be freakin' hilarious, and very, very period.

 

Robbie would have no problem eating just meat.

[methodwriter85]

-Stefan recoils in horror the first time he sees an emo boy, and immediately offers a total makeover. Ditto for hipsters.

 

-Will travels the world after he graduates from college, and runs a v-log where he documents all of the different coastal reefs throughout the world. (That would actually be really cool.)

 

-John Hobart and his friends dress up as the Duke Lacrosse team for Halloween '06. When Claire gets wind of the Facebook photos, she rips John a new one. (The lacrosse team at my college seriously dressed up as the Duke Lacrosse team. It was hilarious and awful at the same time.)

 

-Tony gets married when he's 22 to a woman, has three kids by 2012, and frequent "fishing trips" with his buddy John from work.

 

-Courtney gets into the Twilight Craze, prompting Robbie to invest in the movie adaption in 2008. I'm thinking Courtney will be Team Jacob.

 

-Will gets hit on by Daniel Radcliffe at some Harry Potter premiere party

 

-JJ sets up a twitter account to document his attempts to break into acting after his figure skating career stalls.

 

-Ryan and Will enjoy watching episodes of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy together. LOL.

Edited February 1, 2012 by methodwriter85

[Mark Arbour]

-Stefan recoils in horror the first time he sees an emo boy, and immediately offers a total makeover. Ditto for hipsters.

 

-Will travels the world after he graduates from college, and runs a v-log where he documents all of the different coastal reefs throughout the world. (That would actually be really cool.)

 

-John Hobart and his friends dress up as the Duke Lacrosse team for Halloween '06. When Claire gets wind of the Facebook photos, she rips John a new one. (The lacrosse team at my college seriously dressed up as the Duke Lacrosse team. It was hilarious and awful at the same time.)

 

-Tony gets married when he's 22 to a woman, has three kids by 2012, and frequent "fishing trips" with his buddy John from work.

 

-Courtney gets into the Twilight Craze, prompting Robbie to invest in the movie adaption in 2008. I'm thinking Courtney will be Team Jacob.

 

-Will gets hit on by Daniel Radcliffe at some Harry Potter premiere party

 

-JJ sets up a twitter account to document his attempts to break into acting after his figure skating career stalls.

 

-Ryan and Will enjoy watching episodes of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy together. LOL.

 

Too funny. You think way farther ahead than I do. I don't see Tony getting married that young, though. Remember, he's got some serious scars because of what his father did, so he won't want to jump into anything permanent until he's sure of himself.

[methodwriter85]

Too funny. You think way farther ahead than I do.

Well, you gotta remember, Mark, the 2000's were to me what the mid-70's to mid-80's were for you-i.e. teen years and the first half of twentysomething. So this decade profoundly shaped how I view the world. You gave me four contemporaries in this story, so it'll be interesting to see how the events of this decade shape them. Plus, since you're obviously planning on doing more than two or three stories for this decade, you'll need to mine the source material a little more than you had to when it was just two stories a decade. Luckily, with the exception of years like 2002/2007, a LOT of stuff happened in the 2000's.

I don't see Tony getting married that young, though. Remember, he's got some serious scars because of what his father did, so he won't want to jump into anything permanent until he's sure of himself.

 

Good point. I was thinking Tony was going to get married young and get a girl pregnant as a way of proving to himself that he's not gay.

 

Joining the military after college would work just as well. Maybe he and Darius join together in '04 a year into the Iraq War? Tony definitely wouldn't be the first guy to join the military to prove he's straight.

Edited February 2, 2012 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

-Harvard-Westlake has an 80's Dance, and Will enlists Claire's help, who dresses him in Brad's old early 80's prepster style.

 

Come on Mark, you gotta admit, that would be HILARIOUS. Will would probably feel uncomfortable in the short-shorts that early 80's guys wore. And 80's theme dances/parties were pretty popular for this decade.

Edited February 5, 2012 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

-When JJ turns 15, he becomes the record holder for the longest amount of time a contemporary Crampton/Schluter family member has lived without ever smoking pot.

[methodwriter85]

Going by the info of this chapter and what Mark's said...

 

-Wade winds up going to Berkeley, Matt gets a job with some corporate firm in San Francisco, and they live in some gentrified hipster area where they raise Riley when Wade has custody.

 

I could see Matt settling in Los Angeles, but I'm not sure that would work with Wade. I think the only way would be if Tiffany goes back to L.A., and Wade decides to hit up UCLA Law so he can be close to Riley.

 

If they do settle in San Francisco...damn, that means for sure Mark can't ignore the hipster kids like he ignored the grunge kids. (To be fair to Mark though, he skipped 1992 through 1994, which was the bulk of the grunge era, and he didn't really focus on teenagers/college kids, who were the kids that were doing grunge.) It really was one of the major archetypes of the era on par with 1980's yuppies, and Mark does like to reflect the major trends of the time. (See: Mouse becoming a punk.)

Edited March 8, 2012 by methodwriter85