methodwriter85

True. It just feels like it'd be fun to see JJ as Drunken Lush Uncle JJ.

Why do you keep killing my fantasy that JJ is destined to be "Lush Uncle JJ", the drunk uncle sitting off in the corner table at family gatherings saying bitchy and inappropriate things to Riley and co.? Lol

It's pretty close to the MacKenzie Phillips situation. She initially talked about how her incestuous relationship with her father was consensual as she was an adult. Years later she's recontextualized that relationship as a "grooming situation." Of course, Bitty died at the age of 37. (15 in 1973 would make her 37 in 1995.) Maybe she would have looked back on what happened with Jim as rape; maybe not.

We'll go with Kris's father being a bachelor who lived it up until he was 40, and then settled down with his 26-year old wife circa 1977 or whatever. Kris's dad definitely wouldn't be the first guy to marry someone significantly younger, and he sure as hell won't be the last. That would mean that Kris's dad would have been JP's age if he was still alive, and therefore having a dad who fought in World War II would make perfect sense. We did go with Kris having been born around 1979-80. We had to fit it so that the Asian financial crisis would have started around the time of his senior year in 1997-98. That would put him at the same age as Matt and Wade. (I think Carullo is a year or two younger, and Tony and Darius are two years younger.)

We found out about JJ's abuse shortly after he turned 15 in December 2000. It's been three years, close to four.

Maybe seeing his bio mom "die of an overdose" when he was 9 years old gave JJ this sense of "Don't mess with drugs, they will hook you." It's probably reasonable for him to be worried about having any genetic dispositions towards drugs.

Hey, Private Tim, glad to have you back! I could see that happening. I think JJ's general life plan is to enjoy his "mailbox money" (as a trust fund kid on the tv series Southern Charm calls it), and maybe open a business or two to keep himself amused. Mostly he'll just go from function to function, hanging out with liberal New York elite types. (I'm kind of surprised he hasn't tried worming his way into the New York debutante crowd.) Regarding volunteer work, I will say that Mark seems to really like forcing JJ out of his comfort zone so anything's possible. Hell, when I was 25 I spent one week working with Habitat for Habitat painting the bathroom of a Florida woman who's husband died in his 40's while they were trying to build their dream house. Habitat sent people in to finish the house- no clue what happened to the lady though, and they couldn't put photos of the finished house on the website because they didn't want to give people the wrong impression of what a Habitat home looks like. It was a pretty rewarding experience overall although I learned I really didn't like painting walls. lol

If we're being the most realistic, JJ would probably get sent to some well-ness retreat to Carmel, California where he can drop some acid and get in touch with his feelings.

A couple more fancasts that Mark and I are aligned on: Booboo Stewart as Kai, Will's Hawaii buddy. Booboo was a Disney star about 10-15 years ago. This is him when he was around 17. Football player Jimmy Garoppolo as John Carullo, the well-loved friend of the family. (Jimmy's career definitely seems to be winding down but if he isn't the textbook example of a beautiful Italian American guy, I don't know what is.) This isn't my fancast but Mark has Elizabeth Danfield as Meryl Streep in Devil Wears Prada.

I definitely remember people talking about how Nicholas Galitzine is a real life Russian prince. Dude has even spoken Russian. This makes him even more perfect for Kris. LOL

Cody is one of the ones that has never really been set in stone. My fancast for him has been a former Abercrombie model and current Hallmark actor named Trevor Donovan, but your mileage may vary. Drew Starkey's actually the Big fancast, Travis's asshole brother. I love that Drew Starkey is on the verge of hitting it big, because he's really good on Outer Banks. Yeah, I used to love getting drunk and going online when I was in my early/mid-20's. There was time I made the mistake of drinking 4Loko and I was Yahoo messenging with Iowa Alan, and wrote a bunch of things that pissed him off because 4Loko REALLY fucked with me. You pretty much grow out of this though. I save drunken sloppiness for like Halloween and New Year's now. LOL

Yeah, I just consume a shit ton of pop culture, especially when we first started. That means I stay pretty well-versed on who the current pretty boys are. lol Like my current actor eye candy is Nicholas Galitizine, who I had in mind for Wade but Mark likes him for Kris instead. Chapter 29 -When the gang celebrates Will's 18th birthday. "In Da Club" by 50 Cent -When the gang rides back to campus using the Segway. "Forever Young" by Alpahaville

Mark started that with the original CAP story. JP is described as looking like Rickey Nelson, but short and blond with green eyes. Robbie Hayes (and basically the original line of Hayes men) are supposed to be Tony Dow from Leave It To Beaver, but bigger and taller. Andre is supposed to look like Bernardo from the 1961 movie West Side Story. When Mark re-edited Cap, Stefan was described as looking like a tall blond Montgomery Cliff. Crazy Neal from Man In Motion is supposed to look like a 1985 Rob Lowe. (Which would explain so much about how Neal was able to get away with so much crap. LOL) We also used "future" celebrities for character models which means it can't be referenced in the story, or sometimes it's not really set in stone. (I kind of think of Brad, Will, Cody, Roger, Wade, and Matt being up for grabs.) John Hobart (and I guess that means Jack also) is supposed to look like Colton Haynes from Teen Wolf. Zach Hayes is supposed to look like Liam Hemsworth. MaryEllen is supposed to be Miss Barbie herself Margot Robbie. Alex is supposed to be Mr. ex-Taylor Swift Joe Alwyn. Ryan is supposed to look like Hunter Parrish from Weeds. Marie Hobart is supposed to be Taissa Farmiga when she did the first season of American Horror Story. So I kind of wonder if that means Claire is supposed to look like Taissa Farmiga's very beautiful older sister Vera Farmiga from the Conjuring franchise? Personally I could see Rosamund Pike from Saltburn and Gone Girl as Claire because she's got that haughty WASP blonde beauty thing down pat. I've also pictured Julia from Nip/Tuck, which would actually be a contemporary reference as Nip/Tuck is a currently airing show in the CAP timeline. (I would totalllllllyyyy see Nip/Tuck being a show that Stefan would be tivo-ing.) Mark really liked the very hot Taylor Zakhar Perez for Darius. Oh, and I forgot- JJ/Jays/Jeremy/Remy/Rey/Ryry is Dylan Sprouse, who is someone that Mark could actually reference in the current CAP timeline but it'd have to be in terms of JJ/Jays/Jeremy/Remy/Rey/Ryry looking like an 18-year old version of as Dylan Sprouse is currently 12. I've always gotten a kick out of the thought that JJ tries to intimidate people with his face, but he looks like a cute Disney kid. LOL Yeah, this is the Dylan Sprouse photo that I posted where Mark officially signed off on that fancast.

No, the whole thing is that Travis is training on the New York City soap opera so that he can be ready for a teen soap opera they're developing that's supposed to be a rip-off of The O.C. This gig is supposed to last until the beginning of the year, at which point Travis supposed to do a small part in a horror film. The teen soap opera will start filming around March '05.

I really like Cooper Koch as a Wade Danfield fancast. He's got that stuffy prettiness that I picture Wade having. He's currently playing "Erik Menendez" in a new Netflix series called Monsters.

Chapter 28 -When JJ ruminates about life while checking out the New York City skyline, and feeling mellow despite his memories of John Carullo. "A Lack of Color" by Death Cab for Cutie -When JJ reads Kris's letter trying to convince him to get back together. "Against All Odds" by Postal Service https://youtu.be/Pf7ob01yNwA?si=WOrk-TmrWgqIfe_4 -When Kris makes the romantic gesture to Jeremy, who is touched. "Brighter Than Sunshine" by Aqualung

I don't think they were hiding it from JJ so much as a "well, this really isn't important since Jim Crampton isn't going to come back and try to get custody now that Bitty is dead." Speaking of, I have finally figured my Bitty fancast- 1970's through 1990's Mackenzie Phillips! It's practically meta. It would just be JJ's luck that he has a tall mom but still winds up short.

There's actually ironic tourism now of really bad cruises where people go specifically because it's supposed to be really shitty so they get content for their social media. I'm kind of tempted to go one of those bad cruises just for the hell of it.

I still lean towards thinking 2008 should be the next book if we want to do a Matt/Wade story. There are so many interesting things that happen that year.

Will making fun of the guy for rocking the "too lazy to shave" look made me laugh because that's going to be very, very, very in by the end of the decade/start of the 2010's. LOL Especially when No Shave November becomes a thing with young men.

No, but I loved that name in 1996 because of Jasper Jax on General Hospital. LOL

Oh, okay. That gives JJ another tie he probably doesn't like having. LOL I think his next name should be Jasper. Or he could go by Jamie, but styled like Ja'meh. In any event, Jim's shocked face was priceless.

Ella was created by Rich Crampton having an affair with Zach Hayes' mother.

Chapter 26 -When Jays shows up to Claremont. "This Is Hell" by Elvis Costello -When Jays destroys the model park. "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett I never thought I'd ever dedicate that song to someone as uptight as JJ, but here we are. Mark really is taking him places we wouldn't normally see him go. LOL -When Jays returns to New York, deflated and ready to seek help. "Vienna" by Billy Joel -When Brad and Claire talk about the end of her marriage to Jack, and Claire finally feeling accepting of it all. "Coming Around Again" by Carly Simon

I was watching the trailer for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story and thought that the "Erik" (Cooper Koch) would make a a pretty good Wade Danfield. He's got that uptight, prissy vibe down pat. Also, Nicholas Alexander Chavez (the "Lyle") is so damn hot. LOL