methodwriter85

The lesbian couple who led the fight for gay marriage in Massachusetts got divorced. Sometimes I think people got to look long and hard for what they're fighting for...

Here's what I see as some of the big things that JJ and Will come of age with: Music: Blink 182, Eminem, Good Charlotte, Brand New, Linkin Park, 50 Cent, The White Stripes, Timbaland, Kanye West, The Killers, Snow Patrol, My Chemical Romance, prolly a lot more. TV: South Park, 24, Jack-Ass, the Osbournes, Family Guy, the O.C., Lost, House, The Chapelle Show, Flavor of Love and other really bad VH1 dating shows Movies: Fight Club, American Pyscho, Van Wilder, Old School, The Forty-Year Old Virgin, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle, Wedding Crashers, 300, Borat, Superbad, The Hangover, Inglorious Basterds Misc Trends: Razor Scooters, 80's parties and dances, pajama bottoms to school, Timbalands, Trucker hats, popped collars, Halo, Guitar Hero, Livestrong bracelets, Live Journal, Myspace, Facebook, drunken texting, YouTube, Parkour videos Lots more, I'm sure, anyone who was born in the general mid/late-1980's and went to an American high school in the early/mid-2000's, let me know if I'm missing anything.

I kinda agree, but there are 10 years left for Mark- if he wants to, there could be at least 10 more stories. (I don't think he's going to cover every year, but you never know.)

So I thought someone brought up something interesting...they were suggesting that Darius become the next narrator for the story. Being that CAP is thought of as gay erotica, the thought of having Darius, who has no desire to experiment with gay sex, seems like an interesting proposition. Do you think it would be cool to follow a straight narrator, or would it turn you away from reading the story?

It would be quite the experience for Mark to figure out how to write a gay erotica story with Straight Darius as the narrator. Although I feel like CAP has moved past just being a gay erotica story- it's more of a sprawling soap opera saga. I did like Darius smoking pot with Brad, as Brad recognizing that Darius is 17 and almost an adult now, not a little kid. And I liked Brad discussing college with Darius- I'm betting he was startled to realized that there was a lot going on in Darius's life that he didn't know about, which is right for that age. Since Darius doesn't seem interested and JJ is a slacker in everything but figure skating, I think it's up to Will to continue on the Ivy League traditon of the Cramptons/Schluters. LOL. But he's in 7th grade, so he doesn't have to worry about college for another three years. I'm seeing Will loading up on AP classes when he's in 10th grade already. 'Cause we gotta have some academics in this family or else we really are deviating from the original title of this saga. We need Will to be an academic or else this becomes "Chronicles of an Academic Slacker." LOL. Well, the boys are going to Malibu High, which has a middle school combined into it. They're technically going to the same school, but I went to a high school that had middle school grades, and we never really interacted much with the middle school kids- they kept things pretty separate. (For good reason.) Will and Drew aren't going to have the same lunch period, they can't take classes together, they can't join the same clubs or play on the same sports teams, etc etc etc. I knew some kids who dated 8th graders but it never ended well because you're both at different stages of life. Will's in 7th grade, Drew's likely in 9th or 10th. When Drew gets a license, Will's going to still be in middle school. When Drew is looking at colleges, Will's going to be starting 9th grade. When Drew goes off to college, Will will be in either 10th or 11th grade. Two years makes a huge difference in people's lives until we're talking like a 18-year old and 20-year old. In any event, Mark's managed to make Brad's kids fascinating enough to want to follow. Darius because he's a party kid, really cool, and he's likely to run into some racism once 9/11 fits. JJ because he's cheerful, fun, and he's going to deal with the massive drama of the ice skating world, as well as come to terms with how he was concieved. And Will's finally started to become a well-developed character like his brothers are.

I don't think Mark plans on skipping over late 2000 and 2001, so I'm guessing Will isn't going to be the next narrator because Will is 14/15 for 2001. Still just a little too young to narrate- Mark usually likes his narrators to be at least 17. I'm guessing that if/when Mark gets around to 2004-2005, when Will is 18, we'll see a Will story. I think Mark's done a good job of making Will an interesting enough character in this story that I'm interested in following him as a lead when he gets older. And of course, there's JJ- I think a story about him would be awesome. JJ just comes off as a very lively and fun character- he'll be awesome to follow as well, plus the boy' is going to have a ton of issues to deal with... Will and Drew seem cute, but man...I can't see it lasting long. Will's in seventh grade. Drew's 15 and likely in 9th or 10th grade. Only a two-year difference, but man it makes such a big difference at that age...they're on two different levels. But it really works as an adorable first puppy love. Although it's interesting that Mark won't be able to use the first boyfriend/love angle for any future story about Will that he was able to use for JP, Brad, and Matt. It's reflective of how gay kids were coming out at earlier and earlier ages. By the time we see Will as a 17-year old or whatever, he'll be completely comfortable with his sexuality and have very little gay-related angst, for the most part. That's different from what Mark's written with the previous teen protagonist characters...

Chapter 15 -When Stefan gives a speech to the boys at the mission. "Higher" by Creed http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecXL_W2ZgWA -When Brad tells Tim that the mission is safe from getting closed now. "Reach" by Gloria Estefan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbdvdiKujuY -When Brad and Darius talk, and Darius reminds Brad that he's 17 now. Which means it's time to start getting high with his Dad. "I Wanna Get High" by Cypress Hill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_V5YvDyn3YE

As early as 2004, the protagonists could get married in Massachusetts....and let's not forget that Wade is from DC. So if he and Matt are still together by 2010, they could get married as the ruling looks safe.

Well, some people keep the bi label for themselves...but it all really does feel flexible. If memory serves, I remember "gay" as in "lame" becoming popular at just about this time in CAP-world, which likely means it will be in Will and JJ's vernacular. Sick becomes popular later, like around '04-'05. I did some research with a real-life kid who goes to Malibu High, which is where Will and JJ are attending, and they said that being gay was pretty much a non-event. You might get teased some, but mostly if someone has a problem with you being gay they'll just ignore you. And a guy can be openly gay at the school and still be popular if he's cool enough. There's also a GSA there as well. So since it looks strongly like Will is going to be gay, he should have a relatively easy time being gay, as opposed to Matt, Brad, and especially JP's experiences. Mark's never really done a story where the protagonist didn't have at least some coming-out drama, which should be interesting for him. It makes sense for Mark because he came of age where being gay wasn't accepted at all, but how will he write stories about a generation of gay men who grew up with gay civil unions and gay marriage as an option by the time they were teenagers, and were coming out at ages like 13 or 14? But I'm sure he'll come up with other kinds of drama- after all, there's something inherently dramatic about coming-of-age, whether you're gay or straight or somewhere in between.

Hmm. It'd be interesting to see someone of the core family who self-appoints themselves as bisexual... As for Matt, my guess with him is that he enjoys sex with both men and women, but he's emotionally attracted more to men than he is to women. Which is why I don't see him eventually settling down with a woman, and why Matt does indeed seem to identify as gay. (He called himself bi early in the story, but after the outing and after he got with Wade, he seemed to consider himself gay because he felt that fit him better.) He likes women, but not as much as he likes guys. I wonder if we're going to get someone who's about equal on both parts- likely we'll run into that person when Mark explores JJ and Will's high school/college years, when bisexuality becomes more out in the open. From stories I have heard, it does seem like you were either gay or you were straight back in the day, and you were pressured to conform to either label. It feels like only recently people have really started talking about bisexuality, but even now its representation in the media is pretty lacking, especially when it comes to bisexual males. Bi-phobia is definitely around, and sadly it does come from some lesbians and gays. I did think it was telling that in Brad's mind, 'bisexual' never come up for either JJ or Will- like they've gotta be either gay or straight.

Well, Courtney will probably be a fan, but I doubt the story will ever be focused on her. JJ and Will are going to be 24 years old in 2010, and while they might watch Twilight for shits n giggles, I can't imagine them being honest fans unless Will really likes looking at Taylor Lautner shirtless. For their generation, it's Harry Potter. Part of the charm and appeal about CAP is that pop culture contemporary to the period gets mentioned...so...I'm not sure that Twilight can be entirely avoided when Mark gets to 2008-2009, since it's so huge in contemporary culture. Although it does seem like Mark doesn't make nearly as many pop culture references in Bloodlines that he did with JP during CAP and Brad during Man in Motion and Be Rad. No mention of Dawson's Creek and Matt wanting to screw Katie Holmes...no mentions of popular movies of '98 like There's Something About Mary or Shakespeare in Love....although Matt did get to screw Tobey Maguire, so there's that. Mark does seem to be putting back in the pop culture references with Millenium, which I think is a good thing. Pop culture, for better or worse, is reflective of the times, and what I've loved about CAP since the beginning is how it reflects the mindset and attitudes of the time it is portraying.

Well, she's four in CAP time, but by the time CAP world gets to 2010, she'll be 14/15. And are you suggesting that Ace and Cass might get busy and give her a sibling? Ace and Cass are only in their mid-30's...reasonably young enough to have more kids. Mark, how do you picture the dynamics of the Hobart family? Marie's 13, John's 12. How do you picture the kids and the way they interact with their parents? I'm guessing they've got to be neat little teenagers, being how awesome Clare and Jack are. My guess is that Marie is a little fashionista like the Olsen twins were at her age(they ARE her age), and Jack dresses head to toe in Tommy Hilfiger.

Good point. And you gotta add in that she's the only child as well. Courtney would be 14, almost 15 now...part of that generation of girls who really made Twilight, the Jonas Brothers, and Justin Beiber happen. I bet she's had an IPod since she was 10 years old as well. And you're right- Ace is totally having armed guards disguised as "friendly guards" going along with Courtney on her dates. I'm assuming she'd start dating by 2010 much to the cornsternation of Ace. Lol.

Matt labeled himself bisexual to his teammates, but by the time he had gotten outed and was involved with Wade, he had decided gay fit him better.

Okay, you got me there- but still- the only bisexual we have in this story can't even own up to being bi. I'm thinking it would be great to have a character who not only owned up to being bisexual, but really embraced it.

Right. I'm just hoping we see a bisexual who is confident in their bisexuality, and makes it clear that it's not some sort of phase or that they're really hiding being gay, etc etc. Lark really isn't that character.It'd be great to see characters who come out as bi and are very unapologetic about it. I think bisexual people get a lot of crap from both sides- straight people thinking they're just slutty, gay people thinking they're just in a phase before declaring they're gay. I remember an article about a gay sporting group that refused to let bisexual men participate...man, that just seemed sad.

Well, Lark was bisexual, but it always felt like Lark was actually gay and using the bisexual label to hide behind. At least that's how I've always read it, and I feel like that's what Brad thinks.

You do have a point, as I told Mark. I just think that Brad's aging issues colliding with his eldest son leaving for college created a nice sort of dramatic tension. I've calmed down from my insistence. If Mark doesn't have the room for it, he doesn't have the room for it. Besides, we're going to see the graduation deal anyway when Mark gets around to showing Will and JJ's senior year of high school in 2004-2005. (JP is going to be SOOO enraged during the 2004 Election, I can see it.) And it'll be interesting to see how Brad and Robbie deal with becoming emty-nesters in '05. I just think it's weird that despite all the bisexual behavior of the CAP family- no one has ever really considered themselves bi, even Matt, who seems the most sexually experienced with women. I guess he considers himself gay because he leans more towards men, but it is something to think about. No one in the core families- the Cramptons, the Hayes, the Schluters- has ever considered themself bisexual. The lone self-proclaimed bisexual in the story was Lark, who was always portrayed as confused and it seemed to be suggested that Lark was just covering up being gay. I'd love to see an openly bisexual family member at some point, who is forthcoming about liking men and liking women and doesn't really want to label themselves. I do think that might change with this upcoming generation as Will and JJ grow up and meet new friends throughout high school and college- terms like "bisexual", "pansexual", "heteroflexible"- come into popularity during their coming-of-age decade of the 2000's. They'll see normally straight girls kissing other girls at parties, and even occasionally see a straight guy kiss another straight guy. The labels become much less rigid, and I can't wait to see how that gets reflected. (We're already seeing that with how Matt and Wade fool around with women, but it'd be interesting to see guys who don't use a label for themselves at all beyond "flexible".) I'll give it a shot at some point when I'm in the mood, but right now I'm not. Thanks! We do try our best.

Yeah, I never actually got to go to one, but my sister used to promote raves circa 2000-2002. And I knew kids who were in 9th and 10th grade that snuck out to them. So I'm betting JJ and Will are going to find themselves at a rave circa 2001...I'm picturing a 15-year old JJ rolling on X, and it's a HILARIOUS mental image. "The Real Slim Shady" made him popular, but it was the Marshall Mathers cd that put him over the top. I feel like there wasn't a single teenage boy in 2000-2001 who didn't love Eminem, as well as Linkin Park. Those were the two big groups with middle school and high school boys. Hip-hop plays a HUGE role with JJ and Will's generation. I've been telling Mark that I think Marie is going to have a total heart-attack at the kinds of clothes that her nephews and son are going to be wearing- most kids dressed at least a little thug. if you wanted to be "in". I agree the urban culture look really cranked up in the early 2000's- but then the preppy laidback look started to come back in because of the O.C. in 2003. I think the O.C. had a HUGE impact on fashion and the like- suddenly you were seeing people wearing Hollister and guys were starting to ditch the urban look. But hip-hop itself doesn't die at all- it's still probably the go-to music choice for most of this generation. You go to any party, and you're only going to hear hip-hop. Another thing that was huge with teenage boys of the time was the MTV show, Jackass. Premiered in October 2000, it was a show featuring Johnny Knoxville and company doing really crazy and stupid stunts. It really appealed to the prurient humour of the adolescent boy. As for the Bratz dolls, Marie is 15 in 2001, so I'm guessing she's a bit too old for it. But Courtney is 6, so she's totally going to have one, I think. Although I wouldn't be surprised if Ace totally refused to buy one for her. What appealed to both boys and girls were the Harry Potter books-turned-movies....I remember playing Harry Potter in 8th grade were some kids while we were goofing around in school.

Mark has fit not just one, not just two, but THREE stories into 1999. Damn. At this rate, it'll be 2010 in CAP world while being 2013 in real time. I think Mark took Tiger's statement about how we are running out of years to heart and slowed the timeline WAY down. I wonder if Mark can fit a second story into the year 2000...one more story after Millenium wraps up. Before we get to 9/11. I could see Wade working hard around campus to get out the vote for the Al Gore vs. Bush election. 2000 had a lot going on, in retrospect. It makes sense he's covering it. My guess is that he'll also cover 2001, 2004-2005, and 2008. I'm not sure he's going to cover every single year of this century's first decade, but we'll see...

I guess but I tend to lean towards light-hearted stoner comedies or satires or coming-of-age stuff. I'm sure its a good movie, but I'm not in the mood for dramas, generally, unless we're talking teen angst.

That's pretty hilarious! You know, I'll admit- I've never seen either Gladiator or Erin Brokovitch. EB never really interested me, and I'm not that interested in Russel Crowe as an actor so I never checked out that movie. My favorite movies from 1999-2000 were Ten Things I Hate About You, American Beauty, Center Stage, and Frequency.

Yeah, because Brad is an older guy, I feel carte blanche to use a lot of 80's songs, since that's the decade where Brad came of age.

I'm just saying I really think Brad seeing his oldest child off to college fits in too well with the story theme to pass that up. For Brad, aging isn't just about wrinkles, or bald spots. It's also about seeing that child you took in as a three year suddenly become this college man, off to take on the world. Then again, this could be covered when JJ and Will graduate from high school in 2005...so...hmm. You do gotta point.

So you're going to end the story in September 2000 instead of June 2000? Huh? I mean, I guess you got a point, but I do think in any event, a child leaving the nest has to figure huge into the pysche of someone who is grappling with aging issues. I think we need to see Brad and Robbie deal with losing one of their kids to adulthood- the inherent drama in that seems pretty irresistible and it's germane to the general theme of this story.