9.11

[methodwriter85]

The original destruction scene for Paternity was much worse.  I had him just mauling the whole house, but my team wisely talked me off the ledge.    Psycho Mark.

 

 

It wasn't the first time, either. I still wonder what things would have been like if you had gone through with the original version of Man in Motion. Holy crap. Everything would have been different.

 

The Brad "man scorned" scenes, plus the Will "scorched Earth scenes" really make me wonder what it'd be like to be in a break-up with you. LOL.

Edited August 13, 2013 by methodwriter85

[mmike1969]

I don't suppose you can post the original stories or the chapters someday?

[Mark Arbour]

It wasn't the first time, either. I still wonder what things would have been like if you had gone through with the original version of Man in Motion. Holy crap. Everything would have been different.

 

The Brad "man scorned" scenes, plus the Will "scorched Earth scenes" really make me wonder what it'd be like to be in a break-up with you. LOL.

 

Who would ever want to break up with me?

 

I don't suppose you can post the original stories or the chapters someday?

 

I'm not sure if I can even find them.  If I do, maybe someday. 

[B1ue]

I find myself rather annoyed with Will, Brad, and JP with this chapter. Will, for acting like a pill (you cannot simultaneously demand adulthood and act like a 5-year-old), Brad, for also acting like a pill (just admit you were wrong about the sex room, you're on firmer ground questioning the bar), and JP for encouraging them both by seeming to take Will's side. I'd have been strongly tempted to let Ace sit at the place of honor, and make Brad and Will both go eat in the kitchen.

 

Points to Robbie though, for trying to defuse the tension.

 

I'd also successfully blocked one aspect of being a hot-headed teenager, the ability to just turn anger into another emotion at the drop of a dime. I'm not sure how this surprised me, since I still do it, but Will's quick acceptance of Erik's pretty face annoyed me. Mostly because I'd have done the exact same thing. I know this through careful testing. Holding a grudge takes too much energy that I could better turn towards other pursuits.

 

Edit: Glad someone made the comment that Darius did.

Edited August 13, 2013 by B1ue

[centexhairysub]

Okay, I am going to start by saying that if anyone ever doubts Mark's genius, they only need to read this one line, " I decided that JJ probably wouldn’t ever be much of a pothead anyway, but he’d probably do drugs in college, or when he was done with his figure skating career, but only the really expensive, trendy, and popular ones. If Louis Vuitton made E, JJ would do it.  ".  This is truly priceless.

 

 

I really like how JP and Isidore handled everything.  I thought it was telling that once again, Isidore deferred to JP when making the anoucement.  I really thought the best thing about this was the scene with Isidore and Darius.  That was so well written and so heartfelt that it was just perfect.  JP giving the rings back to Will and JJ was well done and had the right level of seriousness about it without being to over the top. 

 

 

I do feel that Will and Brad are starting to act like spoiled brats with each other.  It is like to children or an old married couple that knows just how to push the other one over the edge.  I am not sure but I think maybe Robbie needs to spank both of them, in a really non-enjoyable manner.

 

 

You are just evil Mark; a commitment service on 09/11 at 9:11 a.m. in New York...  This will get almost everyone in the CAP universe there.  I do hope that everyone will be kept safe and unharmed but as I said in my review; I do trust you to handle this with dignity, honor, and a touch of humor.  The ability to laugh through the tears is something that so few can pull off...

[Mark Arbour]

I find myself rather annoyed with Will, Brad, and JP with this chapter. Will, for acting like a pill (you cannot simultaneously demand adulthood and act like a 5-year-old), Brad, for also acting like a pill (just admit you were wrong about the sex room, you're on firmer ground questioning the bar), and JP for encouraging them both by seeming to take Will's side. I'd have been strongly tempted to let Ace sit at the place of honor, and make Brad and Will both go eat in the kitchen.

 

Points to Robbie though, for trying to defuse the tension.

 

 

Acting like a pill?  Where does that fit into Jeremy's "Current Trends" thread? 

 

I'd also successfully blocked one aspect of being a hot-headed teenager, the ability to just turn anger into another emotion at the drop of a dime. I'm not sure how this surprised me, since I still do it, but Will's quick acceptance of Erik's pretty face annoyed me. Mostly because I'd have done the exact same thing. I know this through careful testing. Holding a grudge takes too much energy that I could better turn towards other pursuits.

 

 

 

You know, I think people underestimate the influence of things like beauty, and think that they will make their decisions rationally, without letting that influence them.  I think that they do make their decisions rationally, because I think that as they're buying into this total line from this amazingly hot guy, they're also factoring into the equation the pleasure (I almost used the economic term 'utility') they get from his positive attention.  (That's my way of saying 'we all do that') 

[Kitt]

Damn, reading the comments in the forum lately makes me feel like Mark is writing an upper crust version of "Mean Girls" and I never realized it. 

 

 

I will ask this, if Will had done what Marie did would any of you that are dying about her behaviour have even cared?  To be honest, Will has acted far worse that Marie over the course of the last year in CAP time and did not draw as much condemnation.  Now, Marie should have apologized to Will and really needs to understand that family is more important but I really did not notice her drugging anyone, running away, or doing hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage... 

I didn't see Marie being on a virtual lock down, having all money and credit cards taken away, being forced to deal with body guards she found personally repugnant or being turned over to a handler that was intending to rape her to teach her a lesson either.  Extreme situations beget extreme reactions.

[methodwriter85]

If anyone doubted your genius, they only have to read this one line....

I decided that JJ probably wouldn’t ever be much of a pothead anyway, but he’d probably do drugs in college, or when he was done with his figure skating career, but only the really expensive, trendy, and popular ones. If Louis Vuitton made E, JJ would do it.              

 

     Well, it's pretty true. Pot stays in the blood system for two weeks instead of racing through like amphetamines do, so JJ really can't touch pot since he's subjected to random drug testing. As in someone can literally show up at his house and demand a drug test. Besides, JJ doesn't strike me as someone who wants to be mellowed out. JJ is much more likely to use amphetamines like Adderall or the "will be popular again soon" cocaine. (Anyone else think it's kind of funny that coke made its comeback during the Bush II administration?)

 

     So since Mark decided that JJ doesn't carry around female Louis Vuitton handbags, I'm assuming JJ is probably all 'bout the sunglasses, the luggage, possibly the backpack. I'm not sure about the clothes, though. Were LV clothes popular in 2001? I think JJ would probably carry around these kinds of bags...they look a bit like a briefcase and are made for men:

 

 

     I could see JJ carrying that around instead of a backpack. Messenger bags were pretty popular starting at this period, and it wasn't considered a femme thing to do. I can also see JJ being big into Burberry, which was a pretty hot label in the early 2000's.

 

    Anyway...so the other shoe drops. You guys realize that Windows on the World Trade Center was a pretty big hot spot for weddings, right?

Edited August 13, 2013 by methodwriter85

[Kitt]

I think it is just devious that Mark has planned the ceremony for 8 min after the second plane hit.  All the family should be together (barring the usual family craziness and someones refusal to attend) and well within range of the devastation.  As fascinated as I am with the story and impatient to see how Mark handles it, I can't say i am looking forward to reliving the events. I live close enough that I was able to watch in horrid fascination from my upstairs window as the second plane flew into the second tower.  But as horrible as the day was, i think it was even worse when one of my kindergarten students thought it was happening again on the first anniversary because of all the media coverage.

[Kitt]

Quote from Methodwriter's chapter 28 review

 

I remember I first thought it was ridiculous that Hank would force people to do a wedding ceremony on a Tuesday just to have the letters 9/11, but then I remembered how it was such a big deal for "matching" dates like 7/7/07 blah blah blah throughout this decade. Luckily the last match we have is 12/12/12 so now that's all over.

Count on Ace to have a negative reaction. He's on the surface like Darius,but Ace is a much more judgemental and reactionary person. He strikes me as the kind who would to this day still defend the Dubya adminstration.

 

 

You are forgetting the other "matching combinations"  like 1/3/13. Wedding on Mockingbird Lane anyone?

[methodwriter85]

I love that they are finally tying the knot. It was a very touching scene when Isidore gave her ring to Darious. However, I am wondering why Darious and not the others. I get that Will is gay and JJ still confuses me. Is it because it is a women’s ring? If so why not give it to John? Or is it subconsciously an action to give the ring to Billy. Darious is the most like Billy than the other Grandchildren.

 

I think it's a tradition to give the mother (or grandmother's) engagement ring to the eldest male child, so that he can give it to his future wife. Darius is the eldest male grandchild of Isidore's, so he gets the ring. And it works out well, because Darius is the most tradition-minded of the kids.

 

How is Darius like Billy? Billy was an insecure follower with a lot of passive-aggressive action that ultimately lead to his downfall. The closest to Billy we have in the 3rd generation is JJ, and I think JJ is still more active than Billy was. Darius is more like a mix of Ace and Jack- he has Ace's love of the party life and women, but Jack's compassion and ability to get along with everybody.

[Kitt]

i can't speak for french family traditions ( something Isidore would be very attached to I think) but in an italian family it works just as methodwriter has said - it would go to the eldest male child who was not already married to give to his intended. It does show that nurture carries more weight than nature when you consider that Darius is actually the son of Bitty and a man that little is known about and less is cared about. Perhaps Isidore has indeed learned her lesson about treating family properly. According to strict tradition John would have been the one to receive the rings despite his young age considering he is the only male grandchild with a direct lineage to Isidore and JP.

[PrivateTim]

The problem I have with Brad is the Jekyll and Hyde aspect of the character. He is reasonable enough to not fight Will's emancipation, starts treating Will like an adult and talking to him differently and gets good results from it and then suddenly reverts back to crazy, controlling Brad? And because Will is drinking? Like Brad didn't drink like a fish and throw wild parties at Escorial?

 

 

And now Robbie is the reasonable one? When two months ago Will was so pissed at Robbie he couldn't see straight?

 

 

THC does not stay in the bloodstream very long, which is why when anti-doping agencies test they usually do urine tests. If they really want to know they do hair tests, but that is rare because hair tests are pretty expensive. The IOC just recently bumped the "positive" standard from 15 ng/ml to 150 ng/ml. Not eveN Cheech Marin would flunk that test.

[methodwriter85]

 

THC does not stay in the bloodstream very long, which is why when anti-doping agencies test they usually do urine tests. If they really want to know they do hair tests, but that is rare because hair tests are pretty expensive. The IOC just recently bumped the "positive" standard from 15 ng/ml to 150 ng/ml. Not eveN Cheech Marin would flunk that test.

   Good to know. I still think it's in character for JJ to not even want to take that chance, though. I actually think it'd be good for JJ to get stoned every once in awhile because he's so damned uptight, but it just wouldn't be him. He might use painkillers, but that's about it for downers. It's much more likely for him to wind up using "uppers" like Adderall or coke to keep himself perky and alert through long practices and travel days. Adderall will probably be especially important to keep his weight down.

 

   As for the Brad/Robbie stuff...

 

   You gotta remember that we're actually 7-8 months removed from the events of Paternity, and these people were "off stage" for 6 months their time. A lot of stuff can happen, and it looks like Robbie really learned his lessons from what happened when he decided to take it upon himself to become JJ's crutch, and Will/Robbie's relationship has developed in a really positive way during the off-time.

 

   As for Brad, I think that it's always one step forward, two steps back for him. As much as he wants to be positive and wants not to be such a control freak, it's really something that he can't help, especially when it comes to Will, who he on some levels sees as an exntension of himself.

[Kitt]

I think Brad isn't quite as Jekyll and Hyde as you think.  He treated Will well as an emancipated teen when Will was behaving like a well behaved teen. The biggest decisions he was making was to go to St Louis, spend time surfing in Maui, things of that nature. These are things he likely would have been allowed to do even had he not been emancipated. That changed when Will started making more "adult oriented" decisions without consulting him first ie. buying the house in Maui, having the bar stocked, and planning the play room. 

[B1ue]

Tim has a good point. I think an interesting exercise might be to reintroduce Brad as a narrator. The many glaring negatives, chief among them that Brad cannot sleep with nearly as many people as Will can, might be balanced if only we could see if all this makes more sense from his perspective. Kitt makes good points too, though. The more Will asserts himself, the more Brad cracks down (and, apparently, the more comfortable Robbie becomes with the whole situation).

 

Although I can almost see alcohol being a trigger for Brad. While none of us are comparing Will to Billy, Brad might be, what with Will's tendency to act out (and Brad's own tendency to forget his own acting out).

[MJ85]

I think it is just devious that Mark has planned the ceremony for 8 min after the second plane hit. All the family should be together (barring the usual family craziness and someones refusal to attend) and well within range of the devastation. As fascinated as I am with the story and impatient to see how Mark handles it, I can't say i am looking forward to reliving the events. I live close enough that I was able to watch in horrid fascination from my upstairs window as the second plane flew into the second tower. But as horrible as the day was, i think it was even worse when one of my kindergarten students thought it was happening again on the first anniversary because of all the media coverage.

Kind of makes you wonder if Mark's swapped brains with an Evil Goat on this one......doesn't it?

 

Although......one thing does strike me as odd about the whole thing. Who the hell plans their wedding for 9:11 in the morning?? Unless......

[Mark Arbour]

Kind of makes you wonder if Mark's swapped brains with an Evil Goat on this one......doesn't it?

 

Although......one thing does strike me as odd about the whole thing. Who the hell plans their wedding for 9:11 in the morning?? Unless......

 

Who said it was morning?

[methodwriter85]

    Yeah, I figured it had to be at 9:11 at night. I can't imagine anybody being willing to get up at 6 to 7 a.m. in the morning for a wedding.

 

 

Although I can almost see alcohol being a trigger for Brad. While none of us are comparing Will to Billy, Brad might be, what with Will's tendency to act out (and Brad's own tendency to forget his own acting out).

 

I do think it's stupid for Will to have a stocked bar...he's opening himself up to all kinds of legal ramifications if he gets caught since he can no longer play the "I'm a juvenile" card,  and they really tried to crack down on underage drinking in this decade. I can't tell you how many people I know got "underage possession" or "providing alcohol to a minor" charges in college. Although because Will doesn't really throw a lot of parties the way Brad did in high school, I don't think the risk is high.

Edited August 14, 2013 by methodwriter85

[PrivateTim]

I do think it's stupid for Will to have a stocked bar...he's opening himself up to all kinds of legal ramifications if he gets caught since he can no longer play the "I'm a juvenile" card,  and they really tried to crack down on underage drinking in this decade.

 

You obviously have no conception of what life is like when you are rich.

[methodwriter85]

   True that. Although even rich people get nailed for infractions from time to time.

 

    I liked how Wade, Matt, and Tiffany were over at Goodwell. It was a nice reminder that even though Wade is fully enfolded into the family, he's got his own family obligations to attend to...it's in stark contrast to Matt, who doesn't even really seem to do much in terms of Carrswold stuff. Although that might be more of the fact that Matt has a much, much smaller family- I'm assuming Matt's father was an only child, because it seemed like adopting Matt was a last-ditch effort to save the family name. I can't even remember if Matt has living grandparents. The Carrswolds have been such a non-entity since they came around to Matt being gay in Bloodlines, whereas Mark seems to be slowly but surely working the Danfields into being a core family of the soap.

Edited August 14, 2013 by methodwriter85

[centexhairysub]

I think Brad isn't quite as Jekyll and Hyde as you think.  He treated Will well as an emancipated teen when Will was behaving like a well behaved teen. The biggest decisions he was making was to go to St Louis, spend time surfing in Maui, things of that nature. These are things he likely would have been allowed to do even had he not been emancipated. That changed when Will started making more "adult oriented" decisions without consulting him first ie. buying the house in Maui, having the bar stocked, and planning the play room. 

 

Well, that is the point; Will is emancipated and he does NOT have to consult his father when he decides to buy a house or anything else.  Brad has a well established history of trying to control everyone in his life and this is just another example of it.  I don't necessarily agree with Will's decision on the sex room but part of being emancipated is being able to make those decisions for yourself...

 

p.s.

 

The stocked bar is really pretty much a moot point.  Tim is right that at this level of wealth he isn't going to get a ticket for minor in possession for something at this house.  JP, Stef, Robbie, Jeanine, Hank, Scott, Matt, Wade, and yes, even Brad if he stops being an ass will be staying at the house and they all have a drink on a daily basis so I would be more suprised if there wasn't a stocked bar then if there was one.  Unlike Brad, Will has no history of throwing huge keggers with hordes of drunk teens running around acting stupid.

Edited August 14, 2013 by centexhairysub

[Westie]

    The Carrswolds have been such a non-entity since they came around to Matt being gay in Bloodlines, whereas Mark seems to be slowly but surely working the Danfields into being a core family of the soap.

 

That might have something to do with Matt not narrating since bloodlines though.... focus sits with the narrator.  We might see mor of them if Mark bows to unprecedented public demand (i.e. ME), and returns to matt as narrator

[methodwriter85]

   I'm with you on that. I don't care if it sounds like a rip-off of Man In Motion (which tells you how much I want this), I really hope we get a story detailing Matt's transition out of college in the spring/summer of 2002. Matt was SUCH a total bro in college, and bros don't let go of college all that easily. There are so many issues with Matt and Wade that still aren't settled yet- where do they go for post-grad, how do Tiffany and Riley fit in, etc etc etc.

[Kitt]

   True that. Although even rich people get nailed for infractions from time to time.

 

    I liked how Wade, Matt, and Tiffany were over at Goodwell. It was a nice reminder that even though Wade is fully enfolded into the family, he's got his own family obligations to attend to...it's in stark contrast to Matt, who doesn't even really seem to do much in terms of Carrswold stuff. Although that might be more of the fact that Matt has a much, much smaller family- I'm assuming Matt's father was an only child, because it seemed like adopting Matt was a last-ditch effort to save the family name. I can't even remember if Matt has living grandparents. The Carrswolds have been such a non-entity since they came around to Matt being gay in Bloodlines, whereas Mark seems to be slowly but surely working the Danfields into being a core family of the soap.

May also have something to do with the way his parents treated Matt before finally coming around. It was bad enough to have been lied to for all those years about being adopted. To suddenly seem to have tossed him away just because he was gay was not only cruel - it was stupid. Hurts like that run deep. Forgiving is one thing - forgetting is completely different!