methodwriter85

The one who came off the most distinctive was Cody. I can't think of anyone else in the CAPverse that is like the guy. Danfield as well. Matt...I think he's pretty distinctive, but you can see shades of Brad there, but definitely without any of Brad's internal shyness. What's your favorite line in the series? I love the one where Danfield calls the Kennedy's nouveau-posers. I like how Mark explores the upper-class...the Carrswolds seem like a well-established family, and from an area certainly more prestigious than Claremont. And then there are the Danfields, which seem like the top echelon of society. It would have been interesting if the Cramptons had been a little intimdated by that, but eh. I don't think the Cramptons/Schluters feel intimidated by anybody. LOL. The chapter where Matt plays the aghast upper-class snob about the limo driver to Mrs. Danfield was great. Robbie, for all the money he's made, just could never do that- it seems like something that gets instilled at birth. I really did get a kick out of seeing a Hayes grow up as a blue-blood. Of course, as a white, healthy, blond baby boy in 1980, he probably would have had a lot of adoptive parents in line. I imagine that the Carrswolds probably put out all the stops to get him.

I get the feeling most people would volunteer Brian Parnell for the job now, I think. I like that Mark is slowing down the pace of the stories and time jumps we take- I think it's good that he won't tackle a 9/11 story until at least later in the year, or early 2011, which would be 10th year anniversary. I feel like a lot of 9/11 stories kinda jumped the gun in being too soon. Enough time has passed that I think a reflective story on 9/11 would be great. At first, because they were based in California, it seemed like they were going to be far removed, but adding in Wade Danfield of D.C. does put an interesting possibility that they'd have reason to be on the East Coast during September 11th. Stanford doesn't start school until late in September, right? So Wade Danfield would still be in Washington, D.C., and perhaps Matt Carrswold is visiting him... Or they could be flying to New York because Darius goes to college in the area. Hmm. Ace went to Princeton, right? I could see Darius going there, and then wanting to spend the weekend in the City with his family. Who would you want to be narrator? I think it would be interesting for Mark to experiment and have each chapter for the p.o.v. of the different character- 9/11 was such a watershed event, and the way people experienced it varies so greatly. Mark, here's a link to a youtube video that talks about the way people experienced 9/11. 102 Minutes that Changed America There are more parts linked to it. It's really fascinating- the college students videotaping it gripped me the most, I think. 9/11 was my generation's JFK, I think.

One of the things I really liked about this story is that it showed us the change- Matt's teammates supporting him, his parents coming around- as well as how far we still need/needed to go- re: Matt Shephard. I think the 90's was the start of when accepting gay people started to become politically correct, at least for younger people and in this certain area.

Aside from Brad's dick, I think his wavy, thick, lustrous reddish brown hair and green eyes are just dreamy. I love guys with thick, wavy hair. So what would you guys say are some of Brad's most memorable moments? Two words. Fisting Neil. Man, that was awesome, in a gross way but nevertheless awesome.

Here's a really good song from that time. God, I love it. I can just picture this song playing on the AM radio as the guys go at it...

Here's another B/R rec...and for MiM again. I thought it kinda fits for how they sneak around behind Neil's back at the start of the story. "Tenderness" by General Public don't know when to start or when to stop My luck's like a button I can't stop pushing it My head feels light But I'm still in the dark Seems like without tenderness there's something missing Tenderness Where is the Tenderness Where is it? I don't know where I am but I know I don't like it I open my mouth and out pops something spiteful Words are so cheap, but they can turn out expensive Words like conviction can turn into a sentence I held your hands Rings but none on that finger We danced and danced But I was scared to go much further with it Just half a chance Make sure that one night you're here, But next night you're not It always leaves me searching for a little Tenderness Where is the Tenderness Where is the Tenderness? Whistling in the graveyard Calling up your girlfriend Just trying to make her understand You're squeezing the telephone like it was her hand No question (so many questions) She's going to catch you out boy It all seems so underhand Now she's the only thing that ever made you feel like a man, man Madman, madman Tenderness Where is the Tenderness Tenderness Tenderness Where is it? I held your hands Rings but none on that finger We danced and danced But I was scared to go much further with it Just half a chance Make sure that one night you're here, But next night you're not It always leaves me searching for a little Tenderness Where is the Tenderness? When you're sick to death of second best, pet Why should the morning always find you unimpressed? Is your love like a button? You can't stop pushing it? Oh this all night longing can be such a long time... *** Any of you guys remember this song from earlier than the '95 movie Clueless? I didn't realize this song had been much earlier than movie until later.

I dunno...I think it's a good thing that Mark switches around perspective for CAP. Sometimes we get clunkers like Marcel, but then we get the real gems like Matt Carrswold and Wade.

Nah, Stef looks like Tab Hunter, who was an absolute hunk back in the day. Paul Welsley plays a character named Stefan on his show the Vampire Diaries. Paul Wesley doesn't really look like anyone in the CAP series- he does kinda remind me of a younger, more cut version of David Boreanaz, who I had the biggest crush on when I was 14. Ian, however...I totally think Ian looks like he'd make a great Lou. Or Jack Hobart, but I'm leaning more towards Lou. I'd been stumped to find a 30-something actor pretty enough to be either one, and then I realized Ian totally fits the bill. I mean, those eyes. Geez.

Heh, maybe.

I guess. Although I tend to go for the happy chick flicks. I was traumatized by the ending of the original Stepford Wives for weeks. You know, in retrospect, I really liked how Mark managed to make little kid Bradley a pretty compelling child character in this story. It really made me feel eager for Be Rad, and I loved that we got to know the dreamy little kid before he became the headstrong 18-year old. I thought 10-year old Brad and 17-year old Brad definitely felt like the same two people- teenage Brad was less shy and more of a social butterfly (but I always thought it was because of the fact that he was hot and rich that made him popular, not because he was particularly outgoing), but they both had that same stoic way about them.

The Andrew's sisters...man.

Another good song for this story...really captures the essence of the go-go 1980's, I think. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spVaO0xrzSs You know, one thing I thought was interesting is how Brad gets settled down so early at the age of 23. I feel like for gay men, it tends to be later, or not at all. I always figured it was because of Stefan's relationship with Greg that Brad didn't want to play the field longer.

You know, the more I think about it, the more plausible it seems that Aaron and Steve faked their own deaths so they could lead a tropical life away from the oppressive nature of Claremont. All they would have had to have done is switch their dog tags with a dead soldier who is barely recognizable, and there you have it.

I get what you're saying. I'm not saying that JJ needs to talk to Matt about how he wants to have sex with girls. I'm saying that we haven't gotten any kind of hint that he's got these chaste, innocent crushes on girls in his team/school or on TV, either. Even though not all 13-year old kids are hardcore chasing dating, most are still going to express some kind of interest. Like I remember- there were some kids in middle school who were going hot and heavy, and there were also the kids in middle school who treated holding hands with their girlfriend/bf at lunch as going "steady". What Paya said about how some guys just don't know how to approach girls at that age and don't know how to ask advice about it would make sense, but then you gotta consider how you've written JJ's personality. JJ is outgoing and an attractive kid. He's charming, friendly, and vivacious. He's also a guy who doesn't really think before he says something, and doesn't really think about proper boundaries. I was similiar in blurting out how I felt with no filter- and at 14, I was telling my 18 and 19-year old sisters about how hot I thought David Boreanaz was. I think JJ is the same way- if he were straight, he'd blurt out how he wanted to marry Katie Holmes, and if he's gay, he'd blurt out how he wanted to marry Josh Hartnett. I really think that JJ would have leaned on Matt for advice like that, because JJ isn't the kind of guy who holds back what he's thinking and feeling. And it's not like JJ wouldn't have a straight male role model to lean on- he has Uncle Jack and Uncle Ace to go if he were interested in the idea of dating girls. JJ's also a guy who knows how to act around girls- he has his cousin Marie and his aunt Claire, and he's also on a team with girls on it. One of the things I hear constantly about guys who are on teams with that are mostly made up of girls is that it makes them, very quickly, incredibly comfortable about approaching girls. So it's not like JJ is going to be a 13-year old boy who's clueless about how to strike up a conversation with a cute girl if he were so inclined. I'm just sayin'. Your mileage may very, of course. It's been an interesting thread, in any event- does a person's eventual sexuality manifest itself in childhood, and if so, how? In my case, I used to play around with my sister's Barbies to enact Paul Abdul's "Cold Hearted Snake" video, while seeing a parachute in gym class reminded me of the 1990 American Music awards, where Cher incorporated one into her "If I Could Turn Back Time" performance . Big clue. LOL. In Brad's case...well...he wanted to have sex with guys at 10. Bigger clue. LOL.

Chapter 13 -When Steven deals with Aaron leaving for war. "I'll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time" by the Andrew's Sisters

American culture's pretty different. In America, kids usually start dating in middle school- around 12 and 13. It's usually the cute, we're-going-steady-because-we're-holding-hands, although it can also get pretty heavy, depending on the kids. And judging by how cute, outgoing and friendly JJ is depicted as, I have a hard time believing he wouldn't have started approaching girls by 13 if he were so inclined to do so. And the reversal idea is kind of cute at first...but when you rethink the idea, isn't that exactly playing into the fears and arguments that people use against gays adopting- that straight kids adopted by gay people will feel uncomfortable about being straight and pressured into acting gay because of their gay parents? I'm not sure having a boy tortured about his straight feelings because he's surrounded by gay parents is really a mesage that should be made.

I'm just commenting more on the fact that JJ is 13 by Bloodlines, and in Bloodlines seems to have absolutely no interest in girls. That's why he's setting off the gaydar for me, not so much because of the figure skating thing. Because I know that when I was in 7th/8th grade, there is nothing that occupied the minds of my 13-year old comrades more than the thought of girls. When Mark resumes having Brad as narrator with the next story after the Box, I feel like Brad's gotta start seeing signs about where Will and JJ lie. Darius is 17, so his sexuality is probably much more concrete and apparent than JJ and Will's, though. And I'm glad you agree with me that JJ would be good a narrator, straight or gay. Torino '06, here we come!

True, but I've heard people say that rich O.C. kids are different from rich Malibu kids. Still, it's prolly a good primer for Mark when he gets around to it. I also think Mark needs to rent Mean Girls. It's about kids in Illinois, but I still think Mean Girls is great at capturing how high schoolers talked and dressed in the early/mid-'00's. So what do guys think Mark will go in terms of narrating this generation when he gets past Brad and Robbie's? Right now, I'm guessing: Will narrates his, JJ's, and John Hobart's senior year of high school in 2004-2005, which Mark can have some stuff about gay marriage in Massachusetts, as well as George Bush's re-election, and Hurricane Katrina. Then we follow JJ as a figure skater at the 2006 Olympics- where he will have copious amounts of sex, be it straight or gay. Because I think JJ will end up as big of a slut as Stefan, LOL. Then we switch back to Matt and Wade for the 2008 Presidential Election, where Wade is working in D.C. on Obama's campagin, and Matt Carrswold has to deal with the financial meltdown. Then the CA gay marriage debacle of 2008- Brad n Robbie get married? I would say JP and Stefan, but I honestly don't see those guys really being for the idea of getting married themselves, although they will be adament about keeping up the battle to get it legal. Maybe end the series with Matt and Wade getting married in D.C. in 2010?

Mark, I think what he's saying is that because Darius, JJ, and Will are being raised by two gays and a lesbian, they're going to be much more comfortable with exploring any sort of curiousity about the idea. Those three kids are going to be very comfortable with the GLBT community, even if they're straight. Either way, I think it's going to be great to see stories narrated by JJ and Will- especially JJ. I think JJ will make such a great future lead at some point. And I'm not just saying that because he's my namesake. Part of it, yes, but the other part is, JJ really has the kind of charisma and zest for life that will be really engaging to follow. I see him as like the next generation's Stefan. Will- not sure about him just yet, but I do like him a lot. Darius- he reminds me of Ace in the sense that he's a great supporting characte, but I can't see him anchoring a story. Again though, I think all three kids are pretty interesting little background characters. I'm kinda waiting with baited breath for Mark to start following them, to be honest. Maybe it's also because they're my contemporaries(Will and JJ are Class of '05 like I was), so there's that going from them. I'm really looking forward to dragging out music from high school- the Killer's Hot Fuss album, Postal Service, Linkin Park, etc etc- to score these guys' coming-of-age. I do agree with KJames that I really prefer the coming-of-age stories, in all honestly. I think Mark is really great at capturing those emotions. Here's a question though- are any of you guys familiar with Malibu and teen SoCal culture of the early/mid-2000's? I'm playing dramaturg and want to help Mark with research in recreating that world.

I'm going with JJ being gay. And it's more than just the figure skating thing. He's a 13-year old boy with a hot blonde girl (Tiffany) as his skating coach? If he's a straight 13-year old boy, JJ should be painstakingly drooling over her. But JJ doesn't really seem to be expressing all that much of an interest in girls, and if I remember being 13 correctly, all the guys around me couldn't shut up about girls. Still, if you make him straight, that could be cool- but I would hope that it means you aren't going to relegate JJ to supporting-character status because he's straight. I think he's way too interesting as a character to not have him take lead at some point. He reminds me so much of what Stefan would have been like if he didn't have a traumatic childhood. Gay does seem to be out with Darius, but bisexual could be interesting. Darius is seventeen now, so we should be getting a more concrete feel for what his sexuality is. Then again, he's right on the brink of college, and they say that's where a lot of experimenting happens. Will does seem a lot like Brad, so I wouldn't be surprised if he is gay and does have that big dick. LOL. I do hope we get to know him some more at this point- it feels like you've definitely put in more about what Darius and JJ are like than you have with Will. If you intend on having Will take on a story at some point, we need to know more about him, I think. One of the things that I really loved about Be Rad is that Brad had been built up as a character in the previous two stories- we really got to know Brad as a child before we to know him as a teenager, and to me, that really elevated Brad as a character. We've gotten a lot of scenes with both Darius and JJ as children that hint at their character, but not nearly so much with Will. Just one scene with Stefan in If It Fits, if I remember correctly. Question though- why isn't bisexual an option for either JJ or Will?

Don't worry about it, Mark. Adam knows the score. I doubt he's going to blame you for Aaron's death like he did for Jeff's death. Aaron's fate has been preordained- there's no fighting against it.

I won't be. If he does though, man...it will really contradict how he's written so far as a 13-year old. But you're the maestro, so...hey. Just remember that you already made Darius straight, so one of them's gotta be gay. I can't see your readers being all that interested in following Gen 4 of the Cramptons/Schluters if all of them are straight. Although that could be an interesting experiment- have a straight boy as the narrator. Could be interesting. Cyn, here's another pick...this is for the end of the story, when Brad names his newborn son, Will. Damned if this hasn't become apropos of CAP saga in general. I love that Mark had Brad have sex with a guy who looked like Limahl. LOL.

I really like that this episode didn't feature much of Rachel. I like her, but god I think we were on overload with her. It was great to see Mercedes get some due.

Yeah, Adam. After that one Texas college boy, I think you realized I'm not so bad.

Adam wasn't talking about his post here, KJames. He was talking about my effusive post thanking Mark for giving me a namesake in the CAP series. At his Yahoo group, if I get a bit cheesy in a post, he can delete it. Not so here. So it don't matter if he finds a post to be lame, 'cause he can't do a thing. To which I say...nyeah nyeah nah nah. Anyways, here's a song for MiM: This is for the early part of the story, when Brad and Robbie were still broken up. I love the Furs.