methodwriter85

UD wasn't that obsessed with sports, either. I'm just going with how Mark's been depicting Matt so far, but I gotta admit- you have a damn good point. Why is Matt so obsessed with having a great hockey team if it's just a club and no one really cares anyway? It'd be interesting to see how Mark would tackle a school where sports are everything, like Penn State, USC, or Duke University.

I knew I was right! This is a random iteration, but I always kinda wonder what would have happened had Stef and Greg had been about twenty years younger...if they would have tried having kids. I always kinda figured Stefan and Greg would have been parents who used a surrogate to have a kid if they had been a 30-something couple in the 2000's instead of the 1970's. I mean, I know that happened with JP, but that was also coupled with a straight marriage and because JP wanted to give Ace's son a home. In the 70's, to have a family meant you got married to a woman, not that you got married to a man and either adopted kids or used a surrogate. It's changing, but I've talked to gay men before who want families but have a hard time believing they can do it with another man because they just haven't seen enough of it in their own lives. Which makes me appreciate the fact that I had gay family role models growing up. Tim and Max are practically screaming "future dads" at some point...it'd be cool if they adopted a little baby girl from some foreign country, as a means of reflecting some contemporating trends in the gay community. I remember walking in Rehoboth Beach and seeing these two forty-ish white dads pushing a black baby in her stroller...so cute.

I don't think it's one-dimensional or lame of Matt to be at a place in his life where he just wants to focus on having fun because he's not really sure what he wants to do with his life, or that he realizes on some level that there's only a limited time for him to be able to be irreverent before having to assume the mantle of the responsible adult. *I* was one of those guys, who threw himself as hard as he could into partying junior year because I wanted to get the most out of the college experience as I could because I suddenly realized that I was almost done(actually, turns out I wasn't), and that didn't make me shallow or one-dimensional. From my own perspective, I noticed two certain types in college*- those who got out of sowing their wild oats by the time they got to sophomore year, and those who still needed to be crazy all the way up to their 4th or 5th year. I'm noticing in Matt certain aspects of myself, and of the guys I knew when I was college. Which is why Mark's characters are so engaging- they remind you of people you've known in your lifetime. Everyone has known a Will, everyone's known a JJ, everyone's known a John, everyone has known a Matt. *Before I get screamed at about how there were way more than two types of people and that I shouldn't just assume, I'm just noting two particular types of people, not that they represent everyone I've ever met.

I'm reading it as, Matt's hitting junior year of college. Instead of focusing on what happens next, Matt's immersing himself into everything that he loves about college, the being BMOC as captain of the hockey team. He wants to leave campus a legend, and everything is going into being Mr. Crazy Party Guy. Meanwhile, Wade's already past all of that, and he wants to focus on his future and raising his son. Matt's not yet ready to settle down into domesticity, which is understandable for a 20-year old. But Wade wants more, likely because he wants to provide a stable family environment for his son, and he can't quite get why Matt isn't ready to be the supporting partner yet. Wade's eyes are firmly looking ahead, while Matt's are firmly fixed in the college atmosphere around him that he loves so.

No, I'm pretty sure he did mention having sex with women, at least when he was a teenager. It's kinda interesting that of all the men who've had sex with both men and women, Gathan's the only one that doesn't identify as being gay. Which I like. I hope we'll meet more bisexuals at this point.

I really loved JJ's reaction here- it wasn't pretty but it was realistic that he would focus all of his anger about the situation on Wade, because he can't bring himself to talk to Tiffany and he needs someone to blame that isn't his beloved mother. Blue called it- Matt's slutty ways are coming back to haunt him.

Chapter 3 -When JJ lashes out at the family over the Tiffany and Jeanine situation. I fucking love this song because it nails exactly the kinds of emotions you have when you watch your parents breaking up. I'm tickled pick I was actually able to use it for JJ. Thanks for that scene, Mark. -When we learn that Tiffany's dad was involved in a 1983 plot to blow up the U.S. Senate. And that Tiffany's mother killed herself. "Owner of A Lonely Heart" by Yes -When we learn that an 18-year old Tiffany was involved in a 1994 burgalry incident with Nicole Bobek, and got sold down the river by her friend. -When we learn that all is not well with Matt and Wade. I consider that the video that jumpstarted puberty for me. Due to my pubescent crush on Brian Littrell I'll always have a soft spot for elfin-looking guys.

Story-wise, you've got a legacy character who is growing up in an extremely competitve world with insane expectations about cultivating a pristine image that goes completely against what his family and rearing would indicate. He also has to balance the heavy demands of a top-notch private school against a time-intensive sport. Already you've got enormous pressure and conflict coming at him from all sides. From all accounts, the world of figure skating has all kinds of crazy stuff behind the scenes that would provide a lot of dramatic soapiness. That's not even going into the fact that eventually he'll have to come to terms with the fact that he's actually the bastard son of a 60-year old man who screwed his 25-year old relative and gave her money for crack. For this story itself, you've got a character who's seeing the one true friend and mentor he has leaving the parent he's closest to behind. The storyline potential there is pretty damn good, if we're going with what works for the story. I'm not saying I'm against killing JJ off, but come on- you can clearly see where there's a helluva lot of potential there.

Is it annoying how every time on TV a high school couple has sex, there's ALWAYS a pregnancy scare? Usually seems rooted in some moralistic judgement deal, I think. It'd be interesting if Will had a hetero moment with a girl who developed actual feelings for him. Awkward. I do like that Mark's covered with Will the emotional consequences of sex.

Especially since he's one of Robbie's four sons. I feel like anything that would make Robbie cry would get the pitchforks out. It's especially why I can't see you actually killing off Darius, because Darius is closest to Robbie.

My mom had me when she was 39. Anyway, I'm not saying that Will should wait until he's 40 to have kids, but somewhere around his late 20's/early 30's would work fine- enough that he's done with his education and settled into whatever job of choice he has, and still young enough that he can really enjoy it. If I'm estimating correctly, Arbour waited until he was in his early 30's to have his son, and that seemed to have worked out fine. You gotta keep in mind that this generation is taking a much longer time to finish education and start careers, on average, than generations that went before them. White-collar people usually wait longer before they have kids because of the amount of education they have to get. Plus, being that this is a soap opera- I mean, if you get someone settled down into a family with kids, how much crazy soap drama can you put them in without majorly effing with their relationship or making them look like shitty, neglectful parents? There's a reason why Brad didn't get another story until he hit his mid-life crisis. Domestic bliss is great, but it's not something that makes soap. If you have Will settled in with a kid and a life partner at 20, it's a 'happy ending' but he'd essentially be done as narrator unless Mark decided to screw with Will's relationship with said life partner. Waiting for them to get older before giving them kids keeps the story field more open.

I'm on the verge of flunking a class that I need for graduation, which would mean I'd have to take four classes in the spring semester instead of three. Luckily my record has been pretty good, but my professor and I just don't really see eye to eye on what constitutes a research paper, and she completely trashed my first draft and told me to completely re-write it. I'm going to spend Saturday and Sunday on it, talk to her on Monday, and see where things are. She is probably the most notoriously hard professor at school; I wish I hadn't needed this class but I did. My other classes are going fine, however.

I can't see Billy happening, because figure skating and the vigor of Harvard-Westlake should keep him out of trouble during high school, but I can definitely see a repressed JJ throwing himself into the party scene when he's 20 years old to make up for lost time. That's a pretty common reaction kids have when they finally get to be more independent and with less rules. He also seems to have more of a backbone to him, which Billy never really had, and I think he'd be able to say "no" if some friends wanted to drive drunk.

I'm actually rooting for JJ to be a trainwreck. Someone needs to be of Brad's kids, and Darius and Will don't seem like people who'd go trainwreck-y. Diva personalities come with some pretty big highs and lows, and the crash down should be interesting. I'd rather JJ had drunken sex with Hunter Parrish and some Broadway chorus member at his 5th Avenue penthouse, though. Likely after chasing a bottle of Ketel One vodka with some oxy after spending the past couple of days "up" after downing some Adderall. Hopefully he got into a slapping bitchfight with Johnny Weir at some hot New York City nightclub, as well. It's always going to be cool knowing that Mark gave me a name/birthdate tribute in his signature online serial. The kid's a brat, but damned if I wasn't one when I was fourteen. It'd be funny if, for JJ's 15th birthday, Will gets Gathan to show up, and JJ throws an absolute hissyfit. Goddamn, if he's anywhere close to what I'm like when I throw one...geez...let's just say I have/had the corner on bratty hissyfits.

Happy 26th birthday, JJ. I hope you celebrated it with a threesome with Hunter Parrish and another hot cast member of Godspell in your penthouse that overlooks 5th Avenue.

We finally gave Wade a birthday.

I'm down with this storyline as long as Will doesn't get said girl pregnant. I'd like for Will to be at least in his second half of his twenties before fatherhood comes up...I always thought one of the roots of Brad and Robbie's problems layed in the fact that they settled down too young, and didn't really experience young adulthood as fully as they could have without being tied down in a family unit. Given the CAP track record(Jim, Robbie, Steven, Wade), I'm just a tad bit wary of Will becoming a daddy before his time.

If Will does indeed experiment with a girl, can we PLEASE not have her end up pregnant? I'd like for Will to get to experience the fun of youth in one's teens and twenties without being tied down with a kid like Wade.

That's my guess about what JJ will be like when he's older- he won't rule out finding love, but it's not something JJ will obsess over, because first and foremost his love is his career. I mean Darius and Will both seem like they'll need to be partnered up for happiness, so someone's gotta balance that out. As for Tiffany, I wouldn't blame her if she were thinking about running off with the kid to Canada or something. She's in WAY over her head. The Will and Darius stuff was funny. No one can quite cut you down like an older sibling. Cody's 30 years old at this point and I can't see him letting go of the Circuit Boi lifestyle. Of course, he also may not have any real sense about himself.

Well, considering that it's been speculated for years that Pink is a lesbian, or at least a bisexual, that works well.

Chapter 2 -When Gathan describes his dramatic teenaged breakup to everyone. -When Wade realizes the depth of his bond to his child. "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" by Bryan Adams -When Tiffany and Jeanine have another blowout. Remember when Pink used to be all ghetto? Damn, she changed like woah when 2002 rolled around. -When Tiffany meets La Danfield.

Madison and Riley. How nicely period. I remember when there was a 20-year old Madison on Everwood circa 2003. The amount of bitching about the historically inaccuracy of having a 20-year old girl named Madison was pretty funny.

Thanks. It pretty much seemed like Be Rad served to make JP deeper- he lost his big relationship with Sam, he saw the guilt of what happened with Jeff personified in Robbie and Robbie's El Dorado, and he lost a son. After that, JP seemed to lose his sociopathic edge.

The thing about JP was that he always had this detached quality to him; like he was a sociopath that knew how to play by the rules and could mimic human emotions, but there was always an internal coldness to him. Even when Jeff died, it seemed more like JP was grieving for himself than he did about Jeff, because it was still all about JP, and the emotions felt empty and more of an act than anything. That didn't really change until Be Rad. Wade, although being reserved, has never felt cold and detached the way young JP did. I think it helps that Wade was never awkward socially- Danfield basically came off as the nice sociable jock that everyone liked, not the awkward geek that JP was supposed to have been.

Have a good birthday!