methodwriter85

And for me, as someone who isn't bonded to his father, I like how JJ's an example of someone who doesn't have a strong paternal bond to either of his dads.

Hey, this is to Private Tim...would you mind contributing some of your 90's dance club hits (from '97 and before) to my Golden Oldies thread in the Lounge? I'd love to hear some of your favorite oldies that you danced to at clubs back in the mid-'90s. I bet you know a lot of the classics, like this one: God, it's so much fun dancing to the oldies! I really hope you'll contribute some of your faves. I know you like to post songs here, and I'm on a early/mid-90's nostalgia kick right now, so I'm hoping I can get you to add the songs that you loved dancing to way back in your day.

I think though that if Will wound up with a pushover, he'd get bored. Note that the guy he got the most hung-up on was Tony, who doesn't really fall at his feet. He wants a challenge. I see him ending up with someone who can call him on his bullshit and keep him grounded, the way Andy ended up with Angie in Cross-Currents.

I think Tiffany serves that function, at least when they interact. She never tells him what an amazing, mature guy he is, and she calls him out on his b.s. , especially during the Norway trip. She's not a ballbuster the way Claire is, but Tiffany usually calls them like she sees it. She comes off as someone who's really good at reading people. I do believe that if and when Will gets a guy that's in it for the long haul, he needs a guy that will call him out on his bullshit, rather than someone who enables him. I can't see a Brad/Robbie dynamic ever working for him- Will would need a guy who acted and felt like an equal partner.

On second thought, it's not really in Matt's character to hold a big grudge against anybody. He might be annoyed with Will and find him a spoiled brat, but Matt's pretty much the type of guy to get along with pretty much everybody. He's kind of like Matt in Cross-Currents that way. I do think, given Will's personality, it'll be natural for him to amass some enemies(he's likely redlisted from doing any of the USA Figure Skating Association events), but Matt will never be one of them. I do think it will be eye-rolling if EVERYONE just instantly falls prey to Will's charm...it would make Will way too much of a Mary Sue and less of a real character.

Damn. I wanted at least some people to remain immune to Will's charms. And I'm saying this as someone who likes the character.

Shouldn't Will still have braces? In Be Rad, Brad noted that he had a perfect smile which was due to lots and lots of orthodontia, so at 14 Will would still have his braces on, right? Of course, it's 2000 so it's a good chance that he might have the plastic clear ones. Those were common by then. Unless, of course, Will inherited Jeanine's teeth, and Jeanine had perfectly straight teeth without need for braces.

JJ would only move to Palo Alto if there was a coach that he wanted to work with. Considering that El Segundo seems like a pretty good figure skating club(Evan Lysacek arrives in 2003), I can't see him leaving. I also think he'd probably relish the opportunity to not be around Will in school, and no longer have to be in Will's shadow. I can see them as close brothers who skype regularly in 2012, but as teenagers the distance should be good for them.

So he's on the Megan's Law list if they get caught, too. Of course, I can't see that happening. Did anyone else think it was hilarious that the one time someone in CAP gets called on statutory rape, it wasn't an actual case because Kristin was of legal consent age in Ohio?

In the case of Will, they're easier on people if the age difference is within four years. Unfortunately for Tony, he's just a little bit more than four years older than Will, so he'd pretty much land himself on the Megan's Law list. I'm not sure when Jeff turned 18, but if it were after Will's 14th birthday, he'd be fine.

Yeah, I had Wade picked up all the way back in 2009. Nico Tortorella, a former model best known for being in Scream 4. Here's another picture of him, looking more like a grown-up. I love those blue eyes.

Good point. We should also remember that JJ is physically immature for someone nearly 15, which would attract pedos like flies, and it's entirely possible that he took those pictures of JJ before he did anything with Will.

Westie said that Brad had gone beyond the point of redemption, with his actions in Millennium and Poor Man's Son. Do you agree with him, or do you think Brad is no longer worth calling a protagonist anymore? In my case, I'm just disappointed with the way things turned out. Brad and Robbie set up a family in the 1980's, when it was rare for gay men to do so, and practiced a monogamous partnership for 14 years. Then that all went to hell in Millennium, and it turned out both of them were pretty shitty parents. Robbie decided to blow up the family on the account of his mid-life crisis, and Brad became a complete and total control freak who could no longer relate to his sons. That really sucked for me- I was hoping for a more positive portrait of gay families where the men could provide a stable environment for their kids and an admirably monogamous marriage for their kids to have an example of. Now Will's pretty much out the door, and JJ doesn't feel all that close to either of his dads, and it's just disappointing to me. I just hope Matt and Wade do a better job with Riley. So what do you guys think? Has Brad completely lost any redeemable qualities to you, or do you think he's still worth something as a protagonist?

Tim, just give it up. Please. PLEASE.

Ain't that the truth? A wife is always right.Thank god i'm gay and I'll never have a wife.

This is why you don't mess with a no-nonsense Italian mother from Baltimore, Private Tim.

I always kind of saw myself as being like a curious, bright-eyed student in Mark's class, who can be a little stubborn sometimes on certain things, but whom Mark can't help but love. (If still completely annoyed at, sometimes. Okay, a lot of times.) Of course, now that I'm pushing 30 that dynamic will probably have to change in the coming years, but for now, I love having that with Mark.

Will is never going to get a taste of reality, because Will isn't real, and this is a fluffy soap opera of wish fulfillment and erotica with historical events in the background, not a gritty documentary about rich kids who go over the edge and suffer real consequences for their behavior. This is a story of rich people who live in a bubble who can get anything and everything they want, except for love (sometimes). That's what Mark wants to write, and if you have a problem with that, there's always the door. Anyway, I honestly think that if Will gets emancipated, he'll realize that that there are a lot of things he'll have to change about his behavior. Will can't be the reckless teenager who did strip dances in Europe or used pot and alcohol on his field trip, because everything he does now is on him in a way that it wasn't as a minor. He's not a stupid kid- he knows that this could be revoked, and I can't see a person who's written as being that big of a control freak doing anything to jeopardize this massive amount of freedom that he's getting.

I just read this pretty great story about a father who is sticking up for his 5-year old son, who likes to wear dresses, by walking around in skirts in their small German town. In doing so, he's helping his son see that there's nothing wrong with it, and that the son should feel free to express himself instead of cowering to bullies. Dad protects son from bullies by Wearing A Skirt What an awesome dad for doing this for his son. I really liked the message of this- if you have a child who falls outside the norm, you should try and celebrate that, rather than trying to shame them into falling in line. I wish more parents could do that, instead of trying to fit their kids into molds determined by contemporary social mores. It's a nice change of pace from the stories about parents rejecting their kids for being GLBTQ, don't you think?

Great song, Mark.

Tim, there are some people you will never be able to crack under cross-examination. Sharon is one of them. I'd pay good money to see you go toe-to-toe with Adam Phillips, though. Dear god, that'd be funny. Adam would still win, but it'd be great to see you try.

You're right about that. When I was about 17, I read this interesting book called by Thomas Hine. The book chronicles the invention of the teenaged years by American society, which was necessitated by the Great Depression. Before that, mature teenagers that could work were essentially treated like adults- it would have been normal for a 14-year old to have a full-time job instead of going to school. When the Great Depression hit, more states made high school mandatory, which had the net result of trying to lower down the labor pool. The term "teenager" was invented around the 1930's/1940's, and the concept came into full bloom in the 1950's with the ascent of the SIlent Generation as teenaged bobbysoxers living in comfortable suburban households.

Do you think Will should get emancipated? Yes or no? Why?

I thought you couldn't stand Will.

You've written 18 stories, 16 completed, in a span of 4 years. We all understand if you want to take a break.