methodwriter85

It was this chapter that made me realize there can only be one Taylor fancast: America's most hated Amber Heard. Seriously though, Taylor makes Mary Ellen Granger look like Princess Diana.

This was my sexual awakening moment at 11 years old: It was actually funny to learn years later that BSB had actually ripped off an earlier video from a British boyband called Take That:

Now that could be an interesting story Mark could rip off for John Hobart. I mean, the homoeroticism for boy bands is usually off the charts.

Aww, my once-Shane Jackson fancast doing promo with the new Superman. It's so wild to think Nicholas Hoult is 35 now. I remember when he was a wee bit lad trying to seduce a grieving Colin Farrell in A Single Man. (2009 really was 16 years ago- wild!) As for the new Superman, David Corenswet did a great job in Hollywood: The Series and I'm pretty excited to see what he does with the character. One thing about them Ryan Murphy pretty boys- they're not only hot, but they can act. I've been picturing Wade as Cooper Koch ever since that Ryan Murphy Menendez series came out. He does the whole "repressed prissy pretty rich boy who's secretly being molested by his powerful father" vibe exceedingly well.

I'm kind of fascinated by the Travis hate because Mark definitely wrote him as the "universally loved" type of character. In my own case it took me awhile to warm up to him but Travis won me over with the naked Scottish king roleplay he did with Will once, complete with a crown and royal mantle around his shoulders. LOL It did take me awhile because I was very much in love with the Zach/Will ship but eh. At least they'll maintain a friendship.

I've never been to In-N-Out but I'm aware of the brand because I read the book "Fast Food Nation" for a college course circa 2006. It was basically about how California set the tone for both fast food and suburban sprawl for the rest of the country. They mostly dog on places like McDonald's, but they actually had a rather lengthy chapter about how well the employees at In-N-Out are actually treated. Like they got insurance, better pay, etc etc and the food was only a couple more dollars than what you'd pay at a McDonald's. Hopefully that's stayed true.

If Mark is setting up Lesbian Sarah as Will's future baby mama, lord have mercy on her.

I am astounded at the people I've known that are in their 40's or even 50's who still keep making the same mistakes.

There's just something about those guys. Like they get to be hot AND really nice guys? Always so annoying. LOL It does mean that Will and Travis balance each other out.

I had so many goddamned unpaid internships. Deleted some of them; mostly deleted the short-term holiday gigs I had at retail stores in the early 2010's. Ah, the life of a Millennial. (I still get PSTD flashbacks to Justin Bieber's "Mistletoe" as someone who worked as a Victoria Secret's stock boy during Christmas 2012.) For context, I'm a 39-year old who had the whole "let me get an arts degree in a subject I LOVE" deal and ran smack head first into the Great Recession of the 2010's. I think my low point was getting rejected from Target. Been stuck working in movie theater for the past 10 years. (I also volunteer as a Facebook guru for a small local museum.) Great job but I gotta move on- so I've been working on getting a paralegal certificate since September. A small unexpected inheritance made it possible. I am finishing in about 10 weeks or so it's time to start sending out resumes! I'm going to try and be optimistic because you know what? It can't be any worse than trying to get a paid museum job in the 2012-2014 era. Anyone else trying something new late in life?

Really? I've always thought of Zach being pretty intelligent and manipulative. Like you'd think he'd be the dumb tall blond jock, but he's sharp as a tack.

I never said I was that versed in the Napoleonic era. I'm just here for the pretty Duran Duran looking dude.

Hey Mark, since I know you like the Napoleonic era, I figure I'd point you to a new French show on Apple that follows the rock star life of Antonin Carême, Napoleon's Chef. (And forced into spying by Talleyrand.) Not really my era that I'm interested in, but I'd probably would have watched this if I had Apple because the lead looks like he could have been in Duran Duran in 1981 and I'm so feeling that. LOL

You have nailed it. Seriously, that is pretty much how I've always read Brad and Jeremy's relationship. Brad let Jeanine take the lead with JJ, because he had Will, and Robbie had Darius. It all worked out well until everything went to hell with Robbie's insistence on trying out an open relationship, which came at a critical time with Will being 13 and JJ being nearly 14. Everything went to hell for two years after that, culminating in 9/11. With Jeanine and Robbie both gone, and with Jeremy being 18 years old now (meaning Brad can't threaten him with cutting off funds), they gotta figure some way out of relating to each other. Meanwhile Darius is blissfully out in California, enjoying his frat boy Malibu life. (It's going to be really interesting to see how he adjusts to the military when he goes. LOL)

I think what Jeremy finally seems to be getting is that if he wants people to be around him and interact with him, he's gotta moderate his behavior instead of saying whatever mean shit is on his mind. It's been great to watch.

Chapter 59 -When Will rushes to Travis's side after Travis is run over by a motorbike. "Wild Horses" by the Rolling Stones

I was 18 turning 19 when The Freshman takes place. Dear god time has passed so fast.

He has a mild version of what is now called the "modern mullet." Very popular late 80's/early 90's cut that made a big comeback these past couple of years.

An update on the Palisades rebuilding efforts- Palisades Charter School will be using the historic Sears in Santa Monica as their temporary campus! How neat! They did something similar in New England, using a department store as a temporary high school for a bit when their campus got damaged. Maybe when Palisades Charter High School is rebuilt this could get used as a satellite college campus or something. I believe the former Bullocks Wilshire (best known for the Luke and Laura department store dance on General Hospital) is a law school campus now. It's great seeing these buildings getting some new use instead of just being knocked down.

I think my favorite Internet catfish story was when I talked to a guy who claimed to be Lane Carlson (aka Abercrombie and Fitch model twin) when I was 14 years old. Lol My older and wiser e-friend Daniel (he was a 19-year old Southern Belle type) said bluntly, "Why would Lane Carlson be talking to you?" He then grilled the guy and reported back to me that yep, he was indeed a fake.

Word. So much word to the first part. I'm getting flashbacks to an episode of MTV's Made where the subject (a super obese effeminate gay teen who wants to learn how to play soccer) had the nerve to bitch that his new soccer coach was too old and only "passably cute." As for the second part, glad to see you're still lurking around. Now if only we could somehow get Blue back.

Four Brothers is the first movie where I know him from. That came out "next year." Lol

Personally I see Will as Jacob Elordi from Euphoria with green eyes, but again, your mileage may vary. (Jacob Elordi reminds me of Matt Dillon the 80's hearthrob if you made him much taller and Australian. Lol)

It's really funny how our mileage varies. Way back in the day I tried to get Mark to use Matt Long as a character model (he was a WB actor best known for the TV series Jack & Bobby as well having a stint on Mad Men) and he told me never because Matt Long reminded him of Tom Hanks. Lol

Mark is referencing the 2004 twink version of Garrett Hedlund that was in Troy and Friday Night Lights, but for me, it's his 2011 Men's Health cover photo shoot: He had such a fun "I'm going to be trouble and you're going to love it" chill vibe to him. That really appealed to the 26-year old version of me. LOL He also might have been one of my Cody fancasts before my head cannon Cody became Trevor Donovan.