methodwriter85

Yes, that's who I meant. I cannot stop mixing up Carullo and Tony for some reason. The funny part is that I can't stand Tony but think Carullo is an awesome character.

See, I enjoy it. I'm not a Will hater but I think it's hilarious the disconnect you have with how Mark writes the character and how the characters react to him (aka the Golden Boy to end all Golden Boys) vs. the fact that you think Will is just a dime a dozen spoiled rich brat, albeit one with a genius IQ. (Because he never, ever seems to struggle in school.)

It's consistent with their track record, though. Look at Jeff. (Adam Phillips was never able to forgive Mark for that one. LOL.) Look at Bitty. Look at Jeanine. I also think that they really don't think Jeremy is actually mentally ill and he's just using it as an excuse to be an asshole. Both Darius and Will have said as much. Is it thoughtful and considerate? No, but at the same time, dealing with a family member who is mentally ill can get really draining, especially if they continually lash out at you and never apologize for it or feel bad about it. The good thing is that JJ is still very young (as opposed to my own family member that I'm currently no longer on speaking terms with) and can still learn better ways of dealing with people. That's why I'm interested in seeing where Mark takes Jeremy, because dude still has a lot of lessons to learn in a way that Will "the Golden Boy" does not. (Will at 25 isn't going to be that different from Will at 18, while I think a 25-year old JJ will look back at his teenage self and cringe. I know I sure as hell did.) Personally my read on JJ is that he's so socially stunted and so used to being given stuff by people just to get him to shut up that he's never really learned how to maintain healthy attachments to people. He never feels like someone is actually going to stay so he gets super-clingy and tries to create their own little world and hates when that world gets invaded by other people, namely his family because who else is really going to intrude on the small little bubbles that JJ sets up? I think Tony was doing a good job of easing JJ outside of the little bubbles he puts himself in, but of course Tony moved to Connecticut. In terms of Kris, he doesn't discourage JJ from the bubbles or try easing him into other worlds but he does call JJ out on being a dick to his family, which is good.

Mark liked my fancast the late Gaspard Ulliliel, this very cool-looking French actor that was the face of Blue de Chanel. I always loved this little short he did that was part of an anthology movie called Paris I Love You. His mid-00's shaggy hair in this just takes me back in a good way. LOL

So I decided to start training as a paralegal under University's of Delaware professional certification program. I've been saying I was going to do it for years, and thanks to a small inheritance, I could. It's set up as eight training modules over 11 months. Classes two nights a week. It's been an adjustment but it's also been a lot of fun, and really stimulating. I just finished the first module, with seven more to go. I'm pretty excited. I am hoping to become a real estate law paralegal. (I'd probably have a better chance with personal injury, though.)

I remember some quirky people used to call it Tar-ghey when Target clothes became trendy. They would get to do collaborations with higher end brands like Lily Pulitzer for the "affordable options" of their clothes. The quality was actually really good (never high end like you said) but like most clothing places the quality went down. In any event, yeah, Will's being snobby as fuck but being around Stefan that stuck-up attitude about cheap clothing was bound to rub off on him.

I looked up movies from that year when I'm checking out Pop culture references and I think the only ones I actually gave a damn about where "Mean Girls" and "The Notebook." I don't know if I still would sit through the Notebook again, but Mean Girls absolutely nailed what it was like to be in high school in 2004. In any event, I took Mark making Thor look like Ryan Gosling as a sly little reference to The Notebook. I remember really thinking he was hot as the evil teenager in Murder By Numbers which came out in '02. Then I really loved him as Noah in the Notebook, although I really don't think that movie's aged well. Lol

Hey though, there's all those cornfed farm boys. That's gotta be nice. Lol Yeah, in all honesty, I want JJ to have a debauched night, survive, and finally get over himself. Lol

Cruising was still a thing in the mid/late 2000's but it was definitely on the way out. The weirdest experience I had once was a guy called up my cell phone and said he was someone I met in a cruising spot and he gave me directions to go to his house. I looked for the house but couldn't find it. Ah, 2007. I also did the hybrid thing where I'd meet guys through online but then we'd hook up in a bathroom or a car.

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