methodwriter85

I came out when I was 14; fully accepted myself by seventeen. I've never really known what it was like to try and date girls to prove something to myself- I wasn't really going around saying, "Hi, I'm Jeremy and I'm gay", but I never tried the beard thing, either. It's interesting for me to see people for whom sexuality wasn't so clear and cut...I was kinda hoping for Tony to be along the lines of Matt in Cross-Currents...generally straight but with a few kinks thrown in there. That could cause some interesting issues- if you're guy who mainly responds to girls, but there's this thing you have for guys that you can't really ignore...well, I think that's pretty interesting because it's so outside of my own experience.

Not a bad tune. Hey, why don't you go ahead and put it in the fan music rec thread that I set up and asked for all of you to post at instead of in this one, okay? Cool!

It would actually be interesting if Tony was primarily straight, but it's just that 20 percent that haunts him...I don't think I want him to be totally gay. We already did that Jeff and I suppose Aaron.

In Cody's case, he was 25 when Alejandro was 15. With Tony being just 18, things get murkier. It's not uncommon at all for an 18-year old to mess around with someone underage. Is it wise? No, but it does happen. It does seem really dumb though because this is the post-Megan's Law era, and California seems like one of the more strict states about statutory rape/sex offenders.

Since Will is apparently fluent in French and Italian, would Harvard-Westlake basically exempt Will from needing to take a foreign language? *looks at Tommy, Tim, and Matt K for the answer*

I decided to go with the juxtaposition of innocent Disney songs with Will's blossoming sexuality. Besides, they're movies he grew up on. There really is a method to the madness here. LOL.

I gotta agree with you. Tony's the highlight of the chapter. And I'm hoping we focus back on Gathan once school starts up.

Right. It's a conflict. You have to hide the stuff that you do- JJ can't be that open about what he does the way the other members of the family can because everything has to happen behind closed doors while he maintains the image of the non-sexual figure skater. That's not hard now because he's only 14 and not particular sexual, but when he gets to about 17 or 18, I can imagine it'll be frustrating. For the mean time though, I think JJ has bought into what the image is, because he hasn't gotten to see yet all the crazy things that go on behind closed doors because they're behind closed doors and he's not getting invited behind them yet. It's going to be interesting. Mark's never really written a character before who has to be publically an asexual virgin for P.R. purposes- that's completely anathema to the way in which the family conducts themselves. LOL. I think JJ will like visits to Europe and develop an affection for it because the figure skaters there deal with much more relaxed expectations about behavior, and have the sort of orgy parties you're talking about. It'd be funny if JJ is like Johnny Weir in the sense that he "adopts" a Euro country the way Johnny adopted Russia, and affects the whole national persona. Will and an 18-year old guy who doesn't live in his area and has some closeted angst/daddy angst going on. I'm sure this will end well. LOL.

Chapter 38 -When Will trips over himself to try and impress Tony, the hot college boy from St. Louis. Mark, you have nooooo clue how much I've wanted to use this song. I honestly never thought I'd get a chance to use it because it didn't seem like the kind of song that could apply to Will, but thank god you chose to go this route with this chapter. I've been in love with this song since I was fourteen years old; THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!*Gives Mark a big bear hug and a kiss on the cheek* -When Will shows off his marine life knowlege to Tony. - When Tony decides to cook dinner for his hosts. "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and The Beast

21. , 2001 In retrospect, the irony to this song is that it came in 2001, the last year of the boyband pop boom. (Until the Jonas Brothers came out in '06, but they were never as big as the Nsync/BSB juggernaut, I think.) 22. , 2001 Britney Spears at her prime. She made the whole "thong sticking up over low-riding jeans" really popular. 23. When it looked like after an iffy 2002 and early 2003, Britney was on the top of her game again... 24. , 2002 You. Could. Not. Escape. Avril. Seriously. She was promoted as the anti-Britney Spears, and people were ready for the boyband/blond pop princess era to be over, I think. 25. Hey Ya! by Outkast, 2003 This song was everywhere in 2003. Seriously. 26. 27. , 2003 I distinctly remembering being at the beach in early fall 2003, for a camping trip. This song came on, and one of my teammates let out an audible grasp of disgust. I remember straight guys HATED John Mayer back then. 28. Caring Is Creepy by The Shins, 2003 29. , 2003 30. , 2004

Right. I'm saying JJ himself is likely to be shy or prudish because of his prissy ways, and because it's embarrassing to be close to 15 and still not have really hit puberty yet. My voice didn't drop until I was 17. I got a lot of crap for that. He's lucky that he doesn't have to deal with locker room showers because he's not in a contact team sport that requires them. I grew up with sisters, so that may be why I never had any sort of inclination to watch them have sex. The stray thought to watch might have come into JJ's mind, but he shrugged his narrow shoulders and went back to plotting his 2006 Olympic plans. I like the innocence about JJ. It adds to the late bloomer feeling of him- his brother and his cousin have become young men, but he's very much still a child, and he's in a sport that encourages you to stay asexual and virginial. That should lead to some interesting conflicts later on when he finally starts to "bloom", so to speak.

I think if JJ said that he hadn't seen Will's junk before, we should take him for his word. Maybe there were occasional swim trunk slips, but likely JJ quickly averted his eyes and all of that. He's never struck me as someone that would be all that casual about nudity, given JJ's general prissiness. I thought the scene played out very realistically for a guy who's lagging behind his peers in development, and wanted to see how he stacked up against his VERY developed brother. Tony seems like he'll add an interesting mix. It's nice to add legacy characters. The angst about his dad dying of AIDS and his own possible homosexuality seems like some interesting territory to explore.

Great point. They'd probably have their own personal cabanas/shower rooms on the beach. Because Brad was curious about what sexual orientation Will had, so he was actively listening in on what went on in Will's bedroom? And JJ might have heard, but I don't know how much of an inclination he would have had to actually watch his sibling have sex. I know I sure as hell wouldn't want to watch any of my sisters having sex. Any time I heard the sounds of sex coming from my sister's room, I turned up the music on my CD player to blare music, or I turned up the television volume. The other thing, that's been strongly hinted at, is that JJ has pretty much isolated himself with all the figure skating stuff, and thus he just plain wasn't paying attention with whatever is going on in Will's room because he's practicing a single stance for hours on end in his own room.

I have to agree with Mark. This isn't a jock boy household like the Hayes family is, and we're also talking about a generation of guys who did not grow up with the mandatory junior high school gym shower with everyone under the same spigot. And so far JJ has been written as a pretty prissy guy - I imagine that if he DID have to take a shower- maybe during swimming week in gym- he'd keep his towel around his waist while he changed out of his swimsuit and put his boxers on. If JJ and Will were into the same kind of sports and played on the same team together, I do think it would have been inevitable, but that hasn't been the case. I think Tony can be interesting- there's a great backstory there.

I gotta admit, I enjoy Tony. Helluva lot more interesting than his dad was.

"I don't like porn." Good to know that JJ's incorporating the pristine, asexual image of the figure skater into his conduct. LOL. I'm glad that he's still, for the most part, pretty innocent and very much a child. The precocious sexualization of Will and John Hobart isn't unrealistic, but it's nice that we're getting another side with people who DON'T lose their virginity at 12 or 13. I'm glad that JJ watched but didn't actually partake- I don't think that would have been realistic for what we know about JJ and what we know about his relationships with his brothers.

Chapter 37 -When Will puts on a show for a curious JJ. "Longview" by Green Day -When Will meets Tony Carbonne, falls head over heels, and schemes to get with him. "Sexy Boy" by Air -When Gathan goes over his financial plans with Stefan and JP. "When I Grow Up" by Garbage

Alright, here it goes: Of course, just remember that if you go this route, you're not likely to get anything real out of it.

Because Mark has said that JJ is now a bitch and a diva? I personally enjoy JJ being somewhat of a bitch, but then that's coming from someone who likes Poor Little Bitch Girls, such as Blair from the Facts of Life or Season 1 Blair from Gossip Girl or Blair from One Life to Live. And of course, the mother of them all, Faye Dunaway from Mommie Dearest. Jeremy's never come off as cruel, just a guy who makes these little comments to get under someone's skin but in a way that, if you confront him about it, he can feign innocence. Which is...familiar for some reason I can't really think of... I think it's his way of getting attention. You say that he gets enough attention from Jeanine, Tiffany, and Matt, but I'm thinking JJ is a total attention whore. Which is very, very common in performers. Plus, remember, JJ's fourteen. Very few people look back at when they were 14, and go, "Wow, I was such a mature, poised 9th grader back then!" His behavior is annoying at 14, but he's young and has plenty of life experience to go through yet. I'm thinking the disapointment at not being at the '02 Olympics as a competitor will be the first reality check he gets.

Okay, now that's entirely unfair. There WAS some actual damage.

True, but people usually like someone who's been through puberty. JJ hasn't, quite yet, gone through it. As Mark said once, it's always the guys who developed fast like Andy in Cross-Currents that get laid first. The nerdy late bloomers have to wait longer. LOL. More than anything though- it would be JJ's prissy diva personality that would be a turn-off, and his lack of a social life that would be the ultimate c-block for him. Considering that Zach's tastes so far indicates he likes masculine tops who make him into their bottom bitch, I can't see where JJ would appeal to him. I mean, I could be wrong, but JJ doesn't seem like he'd be Zach's type unless he somehow butched up and no longer looked 12. It'd be cool if it were a professor that Will liked and respected when he is in college, and I agree that it'd be great if it were someone that no one else in the family was acquainted with. Will does seem like he marches more to the beat of his own drummer, so why not pick people who aren't shared family lovers? I think this is one of the reasons why A Summer Love left so many people cold. There was something very creepy about 55-year old JP having an sustained love affair with his dead lover's 22-year old son. Marcel was the same age that Jeff was when he died in 1968, adding to the ick factor. It didn't bother me so much at the time, but now I just think it was majorly inappropriate. Although to be fair to Mark, I don't think we were ever supposed to think it was a healthy relationship for either of them. I do think that Claire and Jack are...I guess not so much "strict", but I can't in any way imagine Claire putting up with Will's bratty behavior the way Brad and Jeanine do. And I don't think Darius would have ever been allowed to slack off in school, either. I do like that we're seeing the results of what a lax and permissive childhood will turn a kid into- Will isn't a total bitch like JJ, but he is awfully entitled. I think they could both use a cold, hard reality bitchslap. JJ's in the form of watching the '02 Olympics from the stands; not sure what Will's would be.

God, I wish you still had a BMW. Or was it a Mercedes-Benz? It would have been one hell of burn ride. I'm sure you drive a Range Rover now like a dutiful Suburban Middle-Class Dad now, though.

That's a damn good question. Brad never stopped to think, "You know, maybe I shouldn't put my son in a situation where there's a damn good chance my 38-year old friend without a moral compass is going to hit on him, even jokingly, and that would be pretty inappropriate and damaging to a son that just went through getting raped by an older man?" And Will's actual 14th birthday is going to feel completely non-eventful since everyone seems to think he's already 14 anyway. LOL.

Something to think about: would anyone think it was okay if that scene had taken place with 14-year old Marie instead of Will? Why is there such a double standard about this?

I didn't find the scene hot, but if Will really has to get with a middle-aged guy, I guess Scott's an okay choice. I don't want it to be Max because that would require Max to have a falling out with Tim to happen, and I really don't like the way Cody seems to be working his way through the Crampton/Schluter/Hayes family.