methodwriter85

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.

I just think it's interesting how Andy seems to ALWAYS be on the offense with people, like he's always fully on and never less than 110 percent. I can't imagine how stressful that must be.

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.

Here's a bit of trivia, Cyn. Mark gave JJ Schluter my first name, Jeremy, and my dob, December 7th, 1985. Kinda as a thanks for playing DJ for his CAP series, I think. Plus, Jeremy was a fairly popular top 30 name in 1985, so it fit that Bitty might name her son that. The best part is that he surprised us with it because JJ was supposed to have been due in February 1986, but Mark had him come early. I was really touched and honored by that, Mark.

I'm down for another Brad story, definitely. I want to learn more about his son, Will. We've gotten to know his nephews/adopted sons pretty well so far, but not that much about Will.

I'm bumping this thread up. Now...how about 'em 49ers?

Adam's gotta be the only person I know who doesn't like Stefan as narrator. But someone has to be the outlier, and I suppose it's Adam. Anyways, since Mark posted the Difranco family, I figured I had to post this...this one makes me think of Stefan and Roger's relationship in this one. I really, really did enjoy doing music for this story. Even the sappy pop music was really good in that era.

What don't you like about Stefan as a narrator, Adam? He's a fun, charming guy with a zest for life, especially men and fashion. At the same time, he's got his business side and his tender, paternal-like love for Brad. As for Aaron in The Box...I just dont't think he's the one for Steven. He's nice, but his zealous desire to go fight turns me off. Finally- A Summer Love wasn't horrible...it's just that I feel like we didn't really get to know Marcel, and following an enigmatic protagonist isn't easy. Marcel is a nice person, but simply lacked the gravitas to carry his own story. Although I will take some blame for that- I suggested to Mark that if he were going to do a story about 1991 he should use Marcel because Marcel should be going through interesting issues as someone who was graduating college. I thought it would make Marcel compelling, and I was wrong. So in that case, as your muse I failed you, Mark. I like to think though that the good ideas I threw at you that you used for CAP outweigh that bad one, hopefully.

You just want the names so you know who's on your hitlist, Adam.;-) Now, back to Land Whore- I really like how the suburbanization of central CA serves as a bit of a driver. I wonder if this means that Stefan will also be part of the soCal building boom of the 90's and first half of the '00's.

A Summer Love kinda dinged, but If It Fits and Bloodlines were really good.

That's some good insight, Adam. I had the experience of the lower socioeconomic middle school, and we just pretty much ran amok and did whatever we wanted while the teachers looked the other way. I mean, I had a health teacher who mimed rolling a joint, for Christ's sakes. Sometimes I wish I had been part of that world you're from, but another part is glad I wasn't pushed to excel like like that. Because I was pretty much free to do whatever I wanted, and in retrospect it was nice to have that. I'll never be a grades guy- but I think I turned out alright. I'll never be better than anyone at anything- but...I think I'm alright with that. I may have graduated high school with a 2.5, and college with a 2.6, but...despite some regrets, I think I'm happy with how things turned out. One thing I keep thinking reading this is that you and your cohorts really were honestly the last generation of kids to be treated like kids. I know you get pissed whenever I go on about how you and me are in different generations, but it really feels that way, reading about the way things were for kids your age growing up. Things just changed with the rise of the internet, with the rise of the cell phone, with the bigger awareness of what oral sex is because of President Clinton, and with the rise of older-type clothing for kids as precipated by the rise of the tween Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen fashion market. Twelve and thirteen for you guys was different for us when we got there- we'd been exposed to so much more.

It's a nice version, Adam, but it's also not true to the timeline of Be Rad. I made a directorial decision when it came to music recs that no songs that came out after the year the story is set could be used. Trust me, it got pretty frustrating, since this story is mainly in '80 and I wanted to use a lot more '81 music than I could. Billy was a jerk, but of course he didn't deserve to die. He was 15. He could've grown up into a better guy, but we won't really know that. I just thought it was interesting how Robbie is the catalyst for so much of the story- like because he looks so much like Jeff, it forces JP to confront his feelings about 1968. That was great. It was also interesting how Mark had Sam and JP's relationship implode- to be honest, I thought it was karma.