methodwriter85

You didn't need to know people who die, but it's very likely these people WILL know people who die, especially Wade and John Carullo. And they're definitely going to know people who go off to fight in Aghanistan and the Iraq War, especially Gathan.

Just one thing to add...I LOVE that Mark uses period-correct names in the story, names that reflect what were popular names at the time the characters were born. It bugs the hell out of me when writers of tv shows and movies use names that are popular currently instead of what was popular when those characters were born. On Mad Men, they have a character named Megan. It's set in the 60's, and she would have been born circa 1940. Megan. I mean, really. Considering that Mad Men usually does such a great job with naming their characters- Joan, Sally, Harry, Betty- the Megan being thrown in there still bothers me. It's so blatantly anachronistic. And there was an episode of Cold Case set in 1965 that had a twenty-year old character named Tiffany. God, that one bothered me, too.

Since Gathan and Will are going to meet a whole slew of people as they start college and high school, respectively, I thought I'd bring this one up. Top Baby Names of 1982 Top Baby Names of 1986 For some contrast, these are the names that will be familiar to Tiffany and Jeanine's kids: Top Baby Names of 2000 It would be cool if Jeanine named her daughter Madison to be correct to the times, but story-wise I'm thinking it should be Gale. Or what about Madison Gale Van Den Boss-Graves? I like that. Madison Gale...kinda flows together nicely, I think. As for Tiffany's son, Danfield Carrswold Van Den Boss-Graves would be a cool name...the names would both pay homage to the families while allowing them to give their kids their own last name.

Here's an article that talks about the Mall at the World Trade Center. Considering that the majority of this family loves to shop(save for Will and maybe Robbie), I figure they'd stop at the mall at some point. http://www.labelscar.com/new-york/mall-at-world-trade-center About five years ago, I was at the Metro D.C. station, which had an underground mall. People told me that was what the World Trade Center Mall was like.

Good point. And since Will was born in 1986, and John was born in 1987, that would pretty seal the feeling of them feeling like different ages since they were born in different years. Although in my case, I was born in December, so I tend to identify more with people who were born in 1986 because for most of the year, I'm the same age as them. I bet JJ would feel the same way, since he didn't get placed in the class of 2003 like Zach did. He's in class of '04 which averages out to people born in 1986. It's weird, in a way. These are my contemporaries, yet they're 13/14 years old. I'm not sure how to describe it, but it's just kinda weird that my contemporaries are in the story and they're all in 8th/9th grade.

Bumping up this thread to wish you a happy early 48th birthday, Mark!!!!

And there are indeed some Hayes kids around Darius's age. Bumping this one up because CAP time is now only fourteen months away from 9/11...so who do you think gets affected? Wade's inevitable because of his ties to D.C., I think. And I wouldn't be surprised if he knew a lot of people from New York City as well. And in a roundabout way, I believe the Hayes family will see a lot of members who go off to fight in the War on Terror- I think they're genectically programmed that way. Gathan's friends - the ones who aren't going to college- seem like prime future soldiers in Iraq as well. I don't think Gathan himself will fight, but I think Zach, if he doesn't get into a good college football program, will as a means to prove to himself that he's straight. I'm sure that Brad's going to see a lot of people in his joint company with Jordan Pfinster who know people that die as well. I know the office is located in Connecticut, but I'm betting those guys and gals will know a lot of people who die in the World Trade Center since we're talking all the elite business people. I'm hoping Mark brings back John Carullo, since John will without a doubt know people who die in the WTC, because he's from Bayonne and it's within viewing distance for them. I think Jeanine might know people as well, as well as Robbie and Ace, since they went to school in Princeton. I also imagine that Will's 15th birthday is going to be a total downer. It'll be like having a birthday right after the JFK assassination- this country's going to be in a total funk. One thing that seems certain- Mark didn't work on building ties to New York City during "Millenium" for nothing.

Yeah, so can I. Actually, it'd be funnier if they lip-synched to this like these two guys are doing. Considering the generation, I can totally buy Will and John, with their friends in college, doing a video like this as well so they can post it on Youtube.

Well, "Poor Man's Son" is Gathan's theme. "Man in Motion" by John Parr was Brad's theme for...you guess it, Man in Motion. "The Bitch is Back" is Stefan's theme. "Killer Queen" is Alexandra Carmicheal's theme. "Pretty Fly for A White Guy" is Harry Schluter's theme. This is a year off because Mark insists on milking 2000 for every last drop, but this is what I see as Will's theme: I thought "Teenage Dirtbag", but I'm not sure that one fits. The Kristin idea is cute, but how much drama would it cause? Everyone has known that J.P. isn't a biological Crampton since 1995.

I think it's safe to say after this current chapter that it's not really a given that Gathan's going to end up with a man. He's got a definite hetero side here. And it doesn't feel like Matt fooling around with girls, because Matt doesn't seem to get emotionally attached to women- that's why Matt's gay. Here, it seems like women turn Gathan on not just physically, but emotionally. I really liked Kristin. And if Gathan's going to be the future mayor of Claremont, she'd sure be a good match for him. And that fact that she's not a Crampton or Schluter really works for me.

I really like Gathan hooking up with what seems like a great girl. And I like that Jack stood up to his mother like that.

Which....that was pretty much me as a teenager. I would insinuate things but in an innocent, "I don't really know what I just said" way so that if I was called out on being an asshole, I could feign innocence. It's downright scary sometimes just how much JJ reminds me of myself when I was a 14-year old. The only thing that's really missing is that JJ needs to be skipping school, and he needs to be obsessed with the WB line-up and David Boreanaz. (Actually by then I think I was all about Jason Behr and Nick Lachey. I also had a big crush on Chad Michael Murray come the premiere of the Gilmore Girls in fall 2000. Shut up.) Anyway, I was a little disapointed that Will had to worry about John turning out straight because he's not definitively gay, but it was realistic that he did worry about it. Will going, "You know, I'm not going to worry about this because I think labels are meaningless" would have been great, but I realize it would have been way too much maturity and nuance expected for a 13-year old. Hell, there are guys in their 30's who couldn't handle dating a non-totally gay guy. I liked Kristin and Gathan together. It might be just a little TOO out there for you to send her to Stanford. Ohio State or Kent State seem more likely, but whatever. Finally, I loved that John Hobart stood up to his mother. John's an only child, right? And they're Blue Bloods, and it makes sense that his mother is scared that the Hobart family name won't continue if John winds up with men. Of course, the fact that IVF makes it possible for two husbands to raise kids together doesn't really register with her. Of course, John having kids would be at least 15 years away or something like that- I think Claire and Jack's kids would definitely delay parenthood until they're at least in their late 20's. Trophy kids like that delay parenthood for awhile. I doubt John would be married in 2011 at the age of 23. Now, if they were a Southern family, things would be different, but in this case, things like that get delayed with this generation.

Chapter 11 -At Bastille Day, when Will plays the instigator and manages to get Tiffany and Jeanine back together. "Stop" by the Spice Girls -When Gathan flirts with Kristin, the hottest girl in school. "Got You Where I Want You" by the Flys -When Gathan and Kristin have sex. "American Girl" by Tom Petty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aZAh1I_z6I -When a father stands up for his son's right to love who he wants to love. "I Won't Back Down" by Johnny Cash

I chose my own high school as well. Of course, that's because in Delaware we have an option where people can "choice" into other school districts, and you can get in based on a lottery. Will could use some guidance, but frankly, Will seems to have it better together at 13 than Brad did at 17. He seems like a pretty self-sufficient kid. When he gets himself in a jam he'll need his parents, but I don't think he needs them to guide his entire life at this point. I think for Will, it's annoying that he doesn't get credit from his mother about how well he's handling and conducting his own life. When you're doing that well for yourself, you want recognization that you're not a little kid who needs his mommy to still hold his hand. Although Will's going to find that making a honor roll in high school is going to much harder than it was in middle school, that's for damn sure. I wanna see that confident little shit squirm a little bit. Things are coming way too easy for that guy, and if we don't see him struggle at anything it'll get boring really quickly. Anyway, here's a video about junior year at Gunn High. Malibu looks so much cooler, but I like the racial diversity at Gunn. Given Brad's "Jap" comments, it might be good for Will to go a school that's like 34 percent Asian. From what I've read, Gunn sounds a lot like the math and science charter school that was upstairs, except they have a good football team.

You are going to be extremely brave walking around in a Bruins jersey now.

You guys have to remember that Baby Boomer parents like Brad had a much more indulgent parenting style than previous generations. There was also a strong push to make sure that the kids who went to elementary school in the early 90's were constantly told that they were special to encourage higher self-esteem, and everyone should get a ribbon just for showing up to play. Translation: Will's generation and co-horts are full of narcissistic, over-entitled twentysomethings who believe the world should change to suit their own needs, not the other way around. Mark's actually doing a pretty good job depicting that less-than-pleasant aspect of Generation Y. You're pretty much seeing what happens when a dad decides to be a friend instead of an actual parent. Way too common with this generation.

Obviously that face is photoshopped, but are you really Asian? I totally had you pictured as a WASP frat kid from the tony suburbs of Texas.

Go, Flyers!

Mark, can I tell you how much I loved that John hasn't committed himself to being gay, or putting any label on what he feels other than the fact that he's in love with Will? That's awesome. I really loved that. It becomes more common- to be "flexible" as the decade goes on, and it makes perfect sense that someone raised within the Crampton/Schluter circle wouldn't get caught up on sexual labels. I'm now thinking you might be building a good future protagonist in John as well. (The 2000's has enough material for at least four more stories, I think.) It's in stark contrast to Brad's generation, and it's even a constrast to Matt Carrswold and his "born in the late '70's/early '80s contemporaries. The "likes" and the "dudes" were used perfectly. Good job with the dialogue, again. You're really doing a good job of distinguishing how different this generation speaks when you compare it to Brad and his contemporaries. You just need to work in "chill", "beast" and "that's gay" at some point. You've already gotten in "like a champ". Another common phrase I remember was "Are you on crack?" That was what you'd say if you had an incredulous reaction to something a friend did or said. The truck convo was funny since we know it's pretty much inevitable that Stefan is buying Gathan a car for his 18th birthday. If he bought Alejandro and Cory BMW's for their 16th birthdays, I would imagine he'd buy the guy who saved his surrogate son's life like a 50k Lexus Hummer or something like that. Anyway, Mark, this was really good- I liked how you got into the character dynamic and relationships in this chapter. And I also liked that you've touched on how parents play favorites with kids, re: Will talking about how his mom lets JJ do whatever you want. Finally, I liked that you have Gathan hooking up with a girl.It seemed like his hetero side had been lying dormant for awhile. And I like that she's a Hendrickson, and inherited the Blonde Beauty Hendrickson looks.

Chapter 10 -When Will and John make it official. "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" by the Ramones I'm glad that the Ramones pretty much transcend generations. And punk had a revival at this time. So I can get away with using the Ramones for a bunch of 14-year olds in 2000. I had a friend who was a major fan. -When Will talks it out with his mother, and comes to some sort of peace and understanding. "Porcelain" by Moby I am so freakin' glad I can use Moby now. God, he was at the top of game in 2000. -When Gathan hooks up with Kristin Hendrickson at a party, the girl every guy at Claremont sweats. "Thong Song" by Sisqo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S87ww-QNPkg I've been waiting to use that one, but I couldn't use it until Gathan got with a girl. Let's just assume Kristin was wearing the whale tail look ala Britney Spears. By 2001, that look had filtered down to 9th grade girls, so I'm betting the older ones were wearing thongs to high school a little earlier.

People think we're all tweaking circuit bois. I think that's the root of why people get so bothered by Cody in the CAP saga by Mark- he reminds us of a negative stereotype in the gay community.

I'm embracing my age, Blue. It's just weird to think that the college kids of the 1990's are in their 30's now, and many are pushing forty. And now, bands like the Stone Temple Pilots have become nostalgic acts. It's kinda crazy to think that, because 1996 feels like it was just yesterday. And it made me think that in 2021, I'll be 35, and I can easily picture myself being like the middle-aged folk I saw Friday night at the STP concert, only it'll be for Blink 182 and some reiteration of the Vans Warped Tour.

Mark, I LOVED Pieces of Destiny. Unfortunately it's unfinished, but I still liked it a lot.

Yeah, you'd really like Do-Over.

I really, really, REALLY want to use this for Will and John. But I can't, because this song came out in 2001 instead of 2000. Damn you, Mark, for keeping the story timeline so damn slow now. (I still heart you, though. ) Blink 182. They were the best at capturing the silliness of the angst of being fourteen years old.