methodwriter85

Why are you assuming I'd be the bottom, Tiger? They used to call me "Top" back when I was a freshman. Okay, the nickname had nothing to do with sexual positions, but still. I've never actually bottomed before in my life. Now...back on topic. I don't think Wade would be hurt, but I do think Brad's sons would be, especially JJ, because he looks up to him. And because Darius and Will are protective of him, in turn they'd really grow to hate Matt as well. Matt would find himself without the brothers he's just gained.

I'd lose a lot of respect for Brad, but I wouldn't stop reading the story.

Really? I was thinking instead of that, Matt and Brad could eff like bunnies, and then Brad declares, "Sorry, Jeff- I mean, ROBBIE, I've got a new wonderful love now." And then Robbie goes beserk and accidentally dies by overdosing on a speedball. And then at the funeral, JJ, Will, and Darius talk about how they never much cared for Robbie anyway, and Brad talks about how Matt will make a much better father to the kids than Robbie ever did. I'm sure that would go over extremely well in the fandem, Mark.

Yeah, I liked how you brought John back in there. Although having it turn out that he's the boyfriend of Brad's oldest nephew seemed like a stretch, but eh, Claremont IS an inbred town. Isn't JJ like his own uncle or something? LOL. You know, I protested you giving Harry such an old-fashioned name, but now that I think about it, Nick WOULD give his son a name that hasn't been popular in 50 years. He's seems like he would be old-fashioned and stuffy that way. We'll see what JP cooks up to save Claremont. I actually think this makes a lot of sense in terms of his character- JP is 63 now, and in the twilight of his career. He's probabaly got retirement on his mind, and so he needs causes to campaign for. After reading Steven's diary, he probably has had nostalgic memories of what Claremont used to be like before the Rust Belt, and wants to make the town the way it used to be. Urban renewal has had VERY mixed results throughout the 20th century and early 21st, but I'm betting if anyone is going to succeed at renewing a whole town, it'll be JP. And it's actually a pretty timely story- attempts at urban renewal of rust-belt towns really kicked up during the 90's, at least in my area. In the case of the college town I went to in Delaware, it was actually pretty successful. It went from an economically depressed town in the mid-80's to a prosperous town with loads of construction going on by the mid-90's. Of course, the town also had a rising state university there, and it man did it capitalize on it. As long as Will doesn't meet and fall in love with some Hayes boy at the 2004 Fourth of July festival, I'm okay with it. I'm fine with Will and Brad having things in common. But having a repeat of Be Rad would be a little bit too much. It'd be like the last couple of seasons of Little House on the Prairie, where the show in its later years completely ripped off its own storylines from its early years. As for the manufacturing stuff, I don't think JP's goal is to try and make Claremont into a center of manufacturing again. I'm thinking he wants to attract new, different kinds of jobs and people there.

Chapter 20 -When Brad contemplates the past three weeks, and realizes that he's been trying to make Robbie feel pain as well. "Out Of My Head" by Fastball -When J.P. talks about the outing of John, a young guy who they met in Claremont last summer, and the need to improve things in Claremont. "What It's Like" by Everlast -When Matt tries to seduce Brad, and insists that it has to happen between them. "No, No, No" by Destiny's Child

Okay- from my point of view- it's not the right thing to do. Obviously value judgements are subjective and all that jazz. Happy with that qualification, Mark?

Thanks. That made me feel SO much better, Mark. Two years, man. Two frickin' years and nothing. Ugh.

Happy birthday, Adam!

It's weird. When I was 13 back in '99, I knew kids who were having oral sex and the like and it didn't bother me at all. I started having oral sex when I was Drew's age of 15. But now at 24, I get pretty squirmy at the notion that Will's engaging in third base right now. I guess that's how age and perspective changes things.

Right. Brad doesn't have just himself to consider anymore- he also has his kids to think about. And if it ever got out, I think it'd hurt his kids- especially JJ because JJ looks up to Matt. It doesn't matter whether or not it actually gets out- it's still not the right thing to do.

I agree with this. Since 1986, Jeanine has been essentially treated like the live-in nanny for Darius, JJ, and Will. After 13 years of this, she's got to be pretty pissed off, and I'm betting the Brad/Robbie shenanigans have to be the last straw for her. Brad and Robbie are not 17 years old, but they're acting like they are, so Jeanine is basically supposed to do all the parenting responsibility by herself when there are not just one, but TWO dads around in the household. With JJ and Will being thirteen years old, and Darius getting ready for college, I'm betting that Jeanine is really ready for finding a life of her own. Hopefully she does find a girlfriend, maybe even a career. She could become a tutor or a teacher or something like that- she does seem to enjoy being around kids. You do have to compare her to Isidore, who was treated as a full member of the household and even got to field her own career when it wasn't common for a woman to have one, and you do find Jeanine's relationship to Brad and Robbie to be pretty lacking in comparison. I'm hoping Brad's going to realize at some point, "My kids have been growing up, and I have been completely blind to it because I've been so wrapped up in my own life that I haven't taken the time to look at theirs." I also hope he realizes that he's been playing favorites with the kids, and overall that he really needs to tweak his parenting style before he can honestly call himself a great parent. But the good thing is that it's not too late- the kids aren't out of the house just yet. And I think it's really those last years- the high school years- that a kid needs their parent the most. I hope Brad and Robbie get it together to really be there for their kids. Brad and Robbie are just lucky that Darius, JJ, and Will are esentially good kids who aren't going to go off the rails when it comes to adolescence. JP, Sam, and Isidore's laconic, overindulged parenting styles had some consequences- Brad and Ace's anger issues, Claire's stuck-up shallowness, and Billy's self-centered attitude. I think it took the tragedy of Billy's death to help Brad, Ace and Claire learn to become better people. In contrast, this generation of kids seem like nice, mellow people with good heads on their shoulders, and don't seem stuck-up at all. Which is nice. Although JJ is really, really prissy. LOL.

He is, which has been nice. My beef with Mark has been that of Brad and Robbie's kids, Will had been developed the least. Mark's done a great job of developing Darius and JJ throughout If It Fits and Bloodlines, but I didn't really get a sense of what Will is like until this story. And I'd been stressing to Mark that if Will is going to be a protagonist in a future story, he's got to make the kid interesting. I've been looking forward to an eventual JJ story- I mean, come on, the issues that kid is going to deal with in terms of being a competitive figure skater, not to mention his paternity deal....that's going to be a dramatic goldmine for Mark. And JJ in general just seems like a fun kid. I'm really looking forward to a JJ story. But now I can also say I'm honestly looking forward to seeing Will in his own story at some point. What's Mark has been good at- and he did this with Brad during The Landwhore- is giving us an idea of what the future generation is like by having the kids serve as peripheral characters in current stories, and then letting us see them grow up on the story canvas, and then finally giving them a story when they're old enough. That's what soaps used to do with their kid characters, and Mark's done a great job at it. Also, I like that Wade has apparently taken a mentor role to Will. It's cute- Will has Wade as his mentor, while JJ has Matt as his. Although having Will view Wade as like an older brother pretty much kills any chance of having Will and Wade hook up circa 2004, I think. LOL.

Because she's bearing the sole responsibility of raising their three teenage sons while Robbie and Brad have their bitchfits and various affairs? Cody kinda annoyed me this chapter- if you treat sex casually and 'eff around often, don't be surprised if you're going to be treated like a sex toy by one of your friends.

Chapter 19 -When Brad runs into Cary Chase, his old "friend" from high school. "Rip Her to Shreds" by Blondie (1999 Live Version) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4Fn7VSRUFM -When Brad confronts Carson, who's trying to sneak into Escorial. "Get Rid of That Girl" by the Donnas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX3jCl14Xuo Just a heads-up, the song is empty air after the 1:50 mark, for whatever reason. Anyways,The Donnas...man. What a fun little throwback band from the late '90's/early '00's. -When Robbie explains why he pulled that trick on Carson, and he and Brad make love. "Cruel to Be Kind" by Letters to Cleo Ten Things I Hate About You...god, I LOVED that movie! -When the hot gay men of the CAP saga start arriving, and Brad has sex with Cody. "So Many Men" by Miquel Brown http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiwjOJwMWYU

I was a drama major in high school, Mark. Being a drama queen is kind of second nature.

Two years of grad school equals taking out about 41k in debt. Add the 26k I have in debt from undergrad. So I'm looking at about 67k total. Add in interest, and we're look at mid-70's kind of debt. Crazy, huh? It does scare me to think about the amount of debt I'm taking on. I have to keep telling myself about the boy who calculated that he's taking out 64k in debt JUST for undergrad, and then I feel a bit better, but it's still crazy. I am lucky that I kept private loans to a minimum- leaving Wesley was the best decision of my life, because I had to keep taking out private loans from this place called Campus Door to attend there. Federal student aid loans are just a better deal in general, so there's that. And I did get a lot of grants while at UD, which is why I'm not floating 40k in debt for just undergrad like some kids I know. Still, on top of this student loan debt, I've got 8k in credit card debt. A lot of that got racked up when I was going to community college for a year and didn't want to take out student loans. Grad school does buy me some extra years, but I've got to figure out a plan... So, what's the plan? Here's what I'm thinking... 1.) Get a part-time job while doing my two years of grad school. Use the money I make from that job to attack as much of the credit card debt as possible. 2.) Live as cheap as possible- get a cheap apartment, don't get a new car, don't spring for deluxe cable packages, etc etc. Again, so I can put as much money as possible into paying off that credit card debt while my loans are still deffered. I like to go out, but I'll be on a strict 20 dollar budget for those Saturdays I go out. 3.) As an extension of two, I have to pretty much put away any dream of getting a house within the near future. I've read of people who get a house just before they graduate from grad school because they know that debt will count in their income-to-debt ratio for mortages if they do it after...and...nah. Not going to do that- I refuse to juggle student loan payments and credit card payments and then juggle a mortgage just for the sake of owning a house.I will not consider ever getting a house until I'm credit-card debt free- that's a rule I'm setting for myself. It'll probably not happen until about 2025 or so, but eh. 4.) While I'm in grad school, I want to do my best to go after grants and paid internships so I can bring down the level of loans I'm taking out. I might look around for a cheap apartment in the area- right now I'm going to live on campus because it's a whole new area, but I'll try and network and see what happens. What would really help a lot is if I could manage to become a t.a., which would bring my tuition down by a lot. Mark Arbour, is my plan sound enough, or is there anything you'd like to add?

You can see I modified a little. You know me and my dramatic over-statements, Mark. Marcel wasn't a disaster, per se, I just think of all the characters we've followed, I connected the least to him. My old e-friend once said something like, "I still feel like I don't know who Marcel is, which is strange because he had his own story." I agree with that sentiment. Brad on the other hand, has really been a great character to anchor some really good stories on. I'm glad this story is a long one, because Brad and his issues really are fascinating enough for us to follow him into a long story.

Well, Brad Schluter is worth it. You went 53 chapters for Matt Carrswold's story, you can damn well hit 48 chapters for Brad. I'm just glad Marcel only got like 14 chapters. Damn, was he a wet blanket or what? Nice guy, but ugh. I again apologize for giving you the idea to follow Marcel because I thought following a Hayes going through the drama of graduating from college against the backdrop of the end the Cold War would be automatically interesting. It wasn't a complete loss, though- "A Summer Love" did serve as a transitionary point where we saw the family leave the late 80's and enter the early '90's. From the Paula Abdul Era to the Nirvana era, so to speak. This story has been pretty fascinating to follow- I've liked exploring where Brad is at the age of 37, and all the angst that comes with realizing you aren't as young as you used to be. A lot of what makes this story good is the fact that Brad is truly an interesting character, which is so important when it comes to making a compelling story. It's also been good at giving us a snapshot of pre-9/11 America...when the economy was booming, Clinton had handed us a major budget surplus, and the biggest worry was about computers possibly not working on January 1st, 2000. The decade the Cramptons/Schluters are about to enter is full of turmoil, and we're getting the "calm before the storm", so to speak.

I'd watch a threesome and think it was hot, but I wouldn't actually participate in one. I've realized that one-on-one action just turns me on more.

Yeah, Tony Dow didn't age well, but at this point in his life, he was pretty handsome in a very unique sort of way. Thankfully that point is preserved on film.You gotta love those eyes and pouty lips. I wonder if Will is going to end up with his own corresponding Hayes guy, but with Robbie being his dad that might make that a bit icky.Seriously though, it is kinda funny how every protagonist that is not a Hayes will usually end up with one at least once. Marcel and Matt are Hayes boys(although in blood only really), JP had Jeff AND Marcel, Stefan had Jeff, Brad had Robbie, and Steven had Aaron. Will in a future story might or might not snap that streak. Right now, I'm leaning towards Will NOT falling for another Hayes boy, because he grew up with Robbie as his dad and Matt as his older brother. It'd be a bit much.

I liked the reference to June Cleaver, since Robbie(and all of the Hayes men except for Matt Carrswold) are supposed to look like Tony Dow. Except I think they aged much better. (Well, except for Nathan.)

Chapter 18 -When Brad and Robbie start to get into a fight, Brad gets the hilarious mental image of Robbie dressed like June Cleaver, and they hug and kiss each other. "Friday, I'm In Love" by The Cure -When Brad, Kevin, and Robbie have a threesome. "Bad Touch" by the Bloodhound Gang -When Brad and Robbie talk their issues out in front of Robbie's shrink. "Don't Dream It's Over" by Crowded House (1996 Live Version)

Wild Reeds.

Chapter 17 -When Brad decides to comfort Robbie, they fight a little, and then make love. "Lately" by Allure -When Brad and Robbie have dinner together. "Human Nature" by Michael Jackson -When Brad goes over his romantic possibilities with JP and Stefan, and admits none of them really stack up to Robbie despite how great they all are. "88 Lines about 44 Women" by the Nails http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzMDcL0aiEk -When Robbie and Brad end the chapter with yet another fight. "How Do I Deal?" by Jennifer Love Hewitt I gotta admit, of all the tv-teen-queens-who-wanted-to-be-singers, Jennifer Love Hewitt was my favorite. One of the things I really get out of doing music recs is finding songs from that era that I never heard before, that are actually really good songs. "Lately" by Allure is one of them. Beautiful song, I think.

How would you feel about a bisexual narrator?