methodwriter85

Yeah, right back at ya. Anyways, it has been interesting learning about why the Hayes family fell apart, and that they weren't always such a toxic, dysfunctional family.

*shrugs* You were the one who called it an Interlude. I was running with it. I do think it's been a good thing for you to brush people up on the history of the CAP saga, before we enter the first decade of the 21st century in CapWorld.

Well, the Box is supposed to be an interlude, which means it's not supposed to be a very long story. I doubt it's going to get beyond maybe 25 chapters. Probably less. We've gotten through most of that diary, I believe.

That's the thing though. Finn doesn't know that Kurt isn't going to try in touch him in a sexual way. Kurt has done nothing but prove time and time again that he won't let up on this crush, and Finn has every right to feel uncomfortable with being naked around someone who he knows likes him in *that* way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2iS8XctJKo&feature=related I always liked this one.

A lot of us are interracial, or have been in interracial relationships, so that makes sense.

I got an A in Public History, an A in Theatre 104, an A- in, and a C in Italian. That means I got a 3.3 for the final semester of college, which brought up my GPA from a 2.64 to a 2.75. Alright!

Yeah, there is. I think slowing down the storyline works- you still have a whole decade to play around with.I mean, as Tiger noted, we ARE running out of years, but there's still some good ground to cover. And I trust that, maybe four or so stories away from this one, you're going to bring the CAP saga to a satisfying conclusion. Anyways, Mark really likes to include pop culture and world events into his stories. Since we're hitting the year 2000, what do y'all think Mark will cover? Or what would you like to see covered? I'm guessing... -The tech meltdown. -The break-up of Microsoft, and the rise of the IMac. -The Y2K scare. (That turned out be a few minor glitches on some posting boards, but eh.) -The phenomenon, which kicks off the explosion in reality TV for the 2000's. I will never forget that "Snakes and Rats" speech. Has it really been 10 years? -The 2000 presidential election. JP will go absolutely livid over George Bush getting "elected". -The Summer Olympics in Australia. I can already picture Stefan and JP inviting some young Olympic stud into their limo. LOL. -The implementation of Civil Unions in Vermont. 2000 had some interesting things go on, but in retrospect it feels like the calm before the storm that was 2001.

I guess that makes sense, PrivateTim. Cyn, I agree with you that it's REALLY hard to believe that only one person has called Cross-Currents 'angsty'. It'd be like only one person called Fraternity Memoirs by John Walsh 'sexy'. Here's my second angsty tune. What's wrong with the world, mama People livin' like they ain't got no mamas I think the whole world addicted to the drama Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism But we still got terrorists here livin' In the USA, the big CIA The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK But if you only have love for your own race Then you only leave space to discriminate And to discriminate only generates hate And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah Madness is what you demonstrate And that's exactly how anger works and operates Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight Take control of your mind and meditate Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all People killin', people dyin' Children hurt and you hear them cryin' Can you practice what you preach And would you turn the other cheek Father, Father, Father help us Send us some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love (Love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love The love, the love It just ain't the same, always unchanged New days are strange, is the world insane If love and peace is so strong Why are there pieces of love that don't belong Nations droppin' bombs Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young So ask yourself is the lovin' really gone So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin' in Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug If you never know truth then you never know love Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know) Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know) Where's the love, y'all People killin', people dyin' Children hurt and you hear them cryin' Can you practice what you preach And would you turn the other cheek Father, Father, Father help us Send us some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love (Love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love The love, the love I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder Most of us only care about money makin' Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction Wrong information always shown by the media Negative images is the main criteria Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity Whatever happened to the fairness in equality Instead in spreading love we spreading animosity Lack of understanding, leading lives away from unity That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found People killin', people dyin' Children hurt and you hear them cryin' Can you practice what you preach And would you turn the other cheek Father, Father, Father help us Send us some guidance from above 'Cause people got me, got me questionin' Where is the love (Love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love (The love) Where is the love (The love) **** I had a moment, about fifteen months ago, where some friend made me really, really, really horrible. I had to sit around and listen to this song for quite awhile while I tried to feel better. We eventually made up six weeks later, but god I felt like crap for awhile.

100 years is an angst song? I always a thought of that as a cheerful song that celebrates the great moments that make up a person's life. Anyways, here's a major angst tune for me. I'm always going to associate this song with the summer of 2006, which was a major angst time for me. "Where'd You Go?" Where'd you go? I miss you so, Seems like it's been forever, That you've been gone. She said "Some days I feel like sh*t, Some days I wanna quit, and just be normal for a bit," I don't understand why you have to always be gone, I get along but the trips always feel so long, And, I find myself trying to stay by the phone, 'Cause your voice always helps me to not feel so alone, But I feel like an idiot, workin' my day around the call, But when I pick up I don't have much to say, So, I want you to know it's a little f*cked up, That I'm stuck here waitin', at times debatin', Tellin' you that I've had it with you and your career, Me and the rest of the family here singing "Where'd you go?" I miss you so, Seems like it's been forever, That you've been gone. Where'd you go? I miss you so, Seems like it's been forever, That you've been gone, Please come back home... You know the place where you used to live, Used to barbecue up burgers and ribs, Used to have a little party every Halloween with candy by the pile, But now, you only stop by every once and a while, Sh*t, I find myself just fillin' my time, With anything to keep the thought of you from my mind, I'm doin' fine, I plan to keep it that way, You can call me if you find that you have something to say, And I'll tell you, I want you to know it's a little f*cked up, That I'm stuck here waitin', at times debatin', Tellin' you that I've had it with you and your career, Me and the rest of the family here singing "Where'd you go?" I miss you so, Seems like it's been forever, That you've been gone. Where'd you go? I miss you so, Seems like it's been forever, That you've been gone, Please come back home... I want you to know it's a little f*cked up, That I'm stuck here waitin', no longer debatin', Tired of sittin' and hatin' and makin' these excuses, For why you're not around, and feeling so useless, It seems one thing has been true all along, You don't really know what you've got 'til it's gone, I guess I've had it with you and your career, When you come back I won't be here and you can sing it... Where'd you go? I miss you so, Seems like it's been forever, That you've been gone. Where'd you go? I miss you so, Seems like it's been forever, That you've been gone, Please come back home... Please come back home... Please come back home... Please come back home... Please come back home... *** God, this song never fails to rip at me.

And in your case, you get to revisit music from high school. *ducks*

Chapter 15 -Christmas, 1942, where Steven realizes that Nathan has moved on, and an awkward dinner conversation with Tono ensues. "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mjb4yLMeK8 -When Steven gets with Nathan. "Tangerine" by Jimmy Dorsey

Well, you know, Frank may only be seven years old, but....(KIDDING.)

Paya, you do realize that you're in a thread that is inherently about fans giving Mark storyline suggestions, right? Paya, the reason I give so much feedback to Mark's stories is because of the fact that I serve a function on his writing team. On Mark's Gay Authors homepage, Mark has outlined my function as this: As Mark has said, he doesn't use all of my ideas, but he does use quite a few, and that's why I serve as his muse at times. Note how I brought up Will being into parkour, but Mark sees Will as much more likely to be into skateboarding. If he shoots down an idea, I'm not going to try and force him to change it. The only time I've ever gotten particularly aggressive about something is a storyline with Bloodlines. Mark was going to have Cole be allowed to go right back to living at his dorm at Stanford after his suicide attempt. I told him emphatically that there is no way in hell a university would ever allow a guy who tried to commit suicide go back to living on campus without assurance that it would never happen again. I had some personal experience with something similiar, so I really wanted this to be done in the right way. I asked around for feedback, talking to R.A.s and such, and they agreed with me that at the very least, the university would have made Cole take off the rest of the quarter and undergo mandatory counseling before he was re-admitted to Stanford with a doctor's note stating that he was no longer a danger to himself or to others. Mark took that idea, and gave us the storyline of Cole living with the Cramptons for a quarter, which was a nice little subplot that worked well and served to repair Cole's friendship with Matt. There was another time when another person on Mark's writing team got somewhat upset at an upcoming storyline with Mark's then-current story, Man In Motion. This person, who I will refer to as Austin, did not feel that the storyline made sense for the characters. Austin felt that the storyline made the main protagonist, Brad, look extremely bad, and it went against who Brad was as a character. Austin laid out an argument for why the storyline didn't work in a very calm, methodical manner. Mark wrote what he wanted to write anyway, but then Mark realized in writing the story that Austin was right. So Mark backed up and re-wrote the chapters, and I think the finished product of Man in Motion turned out well. So those are two examples of when feedback changed a story direction. But that feedback only changed the story direction because Mark himself felt that it made sense for the story. I put this on the front page, but just in case you don't check it out... Added May 26, 2010: Paya just made a very interesting point. I myself have been guilty of not talking about how the story should end, but instead talking about what should happen as we get there. So I'm expanding the scope of this thread to include just general speculation about what the future of the characters are. So it is now on-topic to include discussions of where the kids will be in 5 years, or where Brad and Robbie's relationship will go, etc etc. This thread is no longer just about the ending of CAP- but also about how we will get there.

I was over at my favorite bar tonight. I was there for an acoustic guitar show by a guy named Jefe. Afterwards, I was watching a good amount of people crying their eyes out. Because it was the Jefe show they'd ever see at the Deer Park Tavern as a college student, you know? I was seeing one guy in particular. He was just bawling his eyes out, and comforting and being comforted by his friends. It went on for at least half-an-hour. I had a bit of a cry later in the car- you know, the "Oh no this is the end of college and it makes me emotional" deal, but I think in general I'm not feeling that sort of despair that guy is feeling. I contrast that to when I graduated from high school five years ago, and I just don't feel that same sense of,"my world is ending", that I did back then. Back in high school, I felt like the world was going to end as soon as I stepped off that stage- that because the world I had taken four years to build was over, that my life is over. And I don't really feel that when it comes to college, and I don't really feel that much despair about things ending. Part of it, I think, is just the fact of the matter is that I'm a 5th year senior. I mean, I know that technically I'm the class of 2010, but in my heart I'm the class of 2009. This isn't really the class I grew up with. I went through the feeling of saying my goodbyes to my fellow seniors last year, I think. This year has felt like an extension of college, but my heart's already moved on a bit. And I don't really have the tightknit, "we do everything together" kind of group that a lot of these kids seem to have. I transferred into UD during my sophomore year, and I just never really became part of any one group. I was more of just a "floater", I think. So there aren't really any huge emotional ties tugging me to UD. I mean, there's my friend Steve, and I do have some good friends, but University of Delaware just wasn't the center of my world that Cab Calloway High was. I'm ready for it to be over, and I'm ready to move on to grad school. I mean, I'll still always be the silly college kid at heart, and I don't think that will ever change, but I really think doing a 5th year of college prepared me for the end of it. It feels time, you know? Time to smile, time to reflect on my accomplishments and all the fun and all the tears and all the tediousness and the joy and the sadness...and just..walk forward. I might be a total blubbery mess on Friday on Saturday, but for now...I'm happy that I'm marching towards something new and away from the familiar.

Meanwhile, here on the East Coast, private schools seem de rigeur. In the state I'm from, you either send your kid to private school, a charter school, a magnet school, or you hope and pray you can choice them into a more decent district. The public schools are horrible because we have low property taxes. Even in nice areas, the public schools are horrible. I was really shocked when researching for you where Darius, Will, and JJ would go to high school, because in my experience, there's a private high school for almost every town here in Delaware. There's only one actual private high school in the Malibu area, called Colin McEwen, but it seems like a special-needs school that has about 23 people. For middle school, there's a little more choice, but I cannot see Robbie and Brad willingly sending JJ and Will to Our Lady of Malibu, a k-8 Catholic school. So Malibu High it is. Although if Robbie and Brad were really bent on sending their kids to private school, they could bus them out to Santa Monica. The boys could attend Crossroads School or Concord High School, which are the two secular private schools in Santa Monica. I don't know if Robbie and Brad would really want to give the guys such a long commute though when Malibu High is right there and has such a great reputation. Plus, with Robbie and Brad having great experiences with really good public schools, I don't really seem them having the snobbery about sending their kids to private schools that you see a lot here on the East Coast, or in the mid-West with the Carrswolds sending Matt to the University School. I found something pretty neat on Youtube, though. It's footage from the actual rehearsals and show of 42nd Street at 2004 Malibu High theater production. So they're the contemporaries of JJ and Will. Pretty neat, huh? Mark, aren't you glad you have me to do the bitch researching grunt work so you don't have to?;-)

Come on, you gotta admit that parkour is pretty sick. And eh, I guess Will could be skater, but I just figured I could keep you up-to-date about likely subcultures that Will, JJ, and John Hobart will run into during their high school years, which are circa 2001-2005. Details like parkour, which I remember popping up when I was high school, do a good job of keeping the story current. (For the time frame.) You don't want the story to stay stuck in the early 80's when Brad and Robbie were in high school, right? Here's a cool clip I found of some rapper performing at Malibu Inn for some Malibu High students. It's from 2006, and it gives you a good idea of how the kids dress and dance in that era. Hair seems to be generally straight, and strappy tank tops seems to rule. Note especially how the girls dance with each other onstage. [url=" And here's a short clip of a guy skateboarding late at night at Malibu High School: [url=" Malibu High seems like the typical Western school- lots of open hallways. I've been reading up on it- the town of Malibu itself doesn't seem to have a lot of private high schools. So it looks like Darius, JJ, and Will are most likely attending Malibu Middle and High School. If they were living in Santa Monica, it would be different- Santa Monica appears to have more private schools. But Malibu doesn't. Which I thought was pretty interesting for such an affluent area.

I actually had a conversation with a girl from the White Rock Lake area of Dallas who told me about a rave club in Dallas called After Life. I guess raves actually became more of a thing AFTER your youth in in your area. Here, they were popular around 1999-2002, but then seemed to die out. It's kinda interesting to wonder about what this next generation of kids will get into as they come-of-age in the 2000's. What if Will got into parkour? It 's a pretty interesting subulture that emerged in the past decade, and it'd be a way to make Will his own character instead of just having him be into surfing like his father. I can see parkour being something that a guy like Will could be into- it's almost poetry, the way these guys work: There is no way in hell JJ would ever dirty himself like that, fussy fella that he is, but I can see the quiet intensity that Will has working for something like parkour.

Hey, Nephie, if you like him in scruff, you'd like this picture. http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l2j5ycledc1qc0skdo1_500.jpg God. Ian Somerhalder has to have one of the most beautiful male faces I've ever seen.

LOL. Mark, you missed your calling...you should've been a high school counselor, I think.;-) Anyways, I've got a team that I'm pulling for that is doing well. It's pretty nice.

This one's for you, Mark.

Chapter 14 -When Steven checks out Nathan while he sleeps. "Who Wouldn't Love You" by Kay Kyser http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-54ixopJw8

Nah, I'm more broad-shouldered and stocky, although I do have the tree-trunk legs Nathan has. Back to the story...Brad is bringing up the events of 1985. Hmm. Wonder if that's signifcant, or foreshadowing something...maybe Brad and Robbie still have some issues to work through...

I don't think Darius will want to join the military, given the shit he's likely going to get for being middle-Eastern. As for the story...Nathan and Steven...I kinda like 'em. Maybe it's because Nathan reminds me of a guy I know, physically. Although Nathan isn't as dumb as a box like my sweet but really dumb friend is.

The only Hayes I can think of that could fit that would be Fred the Third, who we saw in Bloodlines harrassing Matt. I'm assuming he's the son of Fred Junior, and he must've been one of the cousins who raped Robbie back during the fall of '79. So he's roughly the same age as Robbie. Did he say in the story that he had kids? I think the only thing we knew for sure is that he's the town resident drunk. If he had kids though, I wouldn't see much of a point bringing them in because they're prolly just as abusive white trash as their dad is...Robbie doesn't seem to have a high opinion of his cousins or their kids. I'm assuming his brother and sister didn't have kids, because Frank seems to treat Matt as the only grandkid he's ever had. Of course, it's just as likely his two oldest shut out Frank and Robbie and sided with their mother and her church.