methodwriter85

LOL. Never in a million years would figure skating allow that as a costume. LOL I did love that version of Peter Pan. Kind of a shame that Jeremy Sumpter never quite took off. (He does seem to be doing a lot of obscure television work, so good for him in being a working actor.) Mark and I eventually agreed on a JJ- it's Dylan Sprouse. . I've always said JJ needs to look like he belongs on the Disney Channel. lol

I dig it. It's funny, because I was thinking about Taylor's co-star Nicholas Galitzine for Wade. He definitely has that prissy prettiness to him. (Yet at the same time, you can buy him being a jock.)

Chapter 77 -When the gang listens to 1960's surf music as they fly to Hawaii. "Surf City" by Jan & Dean -When Will and Trevor decide to spend some alone time together. "I Only Have Eyes for You" by The Flamingoes I really just want to use 50's and 60's music around Travis chapters. LOL He would probably agree with me.

I did think Mark made the right choice for JJ's first boyfriend experience. Alex is a gentlemen who will treat JJ with kid gloves and respect, and JJ needs that. Now, eventually I want JJ to have that bad boy Dylan McKay/Brenda Walsh on 90210 type of romance, but that can wait. LOL

JJ has for the most part sat back from the general drama tornado that Brad and Will cause, and I think it's made him a pretty observant person. Being a bitch also means less people think they can take advantage of him, so that helps. Brad should do pretty well. I'm picturing Henry Cavill, but lean. LOL

I think JJ tries to keep himself immune from the annoyances of modern life, like driving, cooking, and laundry. 🙂 JJ should have lived in the Edwardian era as a Rich American Cousin being pampered on at Downtown Abbey. Lol

Realistically, I think Mark will have to employ at least a few small time jumps when he decides to get to the Gen Z characters. Then again, Will is a drama magnet and JJ is an unintentional trainwreck so there's still plenty of drama with the CAP Millennials to cover.

I just mentioned Courtney Clearrault and I think model Kaia Gerber would be a good fit for an Adult Courtney. I could see her being Ace's daughter. You'll NEVER guess who her mother is! 😅 Kaia is currently dating Austin Butler. I'm pretty sure I had Teenaged Austin as a fancast for one of Mark's friends in On The Mark- I think Van? The Adult Him wouldn't be a bad Alex, though. (Still have Joe Alwyn as my official Alex Granger.) Maybe Ryan? (My OG Ryan pick is Hunter Parrish, but like I've always said, this list is fluid.)

I did like getting the different POV's. Will's fun but unless he's really pissed at you, he's generally got rose-colored glasses with people. Especially post-emancipation Will. Zach and JJ are ruthlessly honest about people. As for the "scary" part, despite JJ having issues, I don't think Mark would ever feel comfortable writing the POV of someone who was deeply disturbed. That's just not Mark's bag. Also why, while Mark does touch on drug addiction, it's from the POV of someone observing a loved one with a drug addiction instead of the POV of someone with it. Once upon a time, Sharon (Mark's longtime friend and editor) told me to keep in mind that this is a soap opera, and that we're supposed to be having fun. I just don't think Mark would have fun getting into that mindset. In the real world, it would be creepy, but this is a soap opera, and there's only so many characters that Mark can create and have our heroes interact with. Like Mark could technically have a 23-year Courtney Clearrault and an 18-year old Riley Danfield date in 2018, even with the questionable family closeness. lol

It's funny, because I never really did the (gay) club thing at all in my 20's- much more likely to just hang out at tavern type bars. Still basically true as I'm now approaching 40. When I have gone, I'm pretty much only there to dance my ass off to some Abba or Whitney Houston. Sometimes some straight girl will grind up on me and it's fun, but I'm good dancing by myself. Going to a gay bar with the hope of trying to hook up with someone feels like chasing a unicorn, one that gets harder and harder to catch the less you can be called a "boi."

A more apt comparison is likely Andy in Crosscurrents, who I think probably would have pulled the kind of bullshit that Will did/does if he had grown up as wealthy instead of merely upper middle class, and didn't have a "Matt" to ground him the way Matt grounded Andy. Both Will and Andy had that precocious puberty thing (it's commented on in Crosscurrents that Andy doesn't look like he's still in high school), and both had pretty hedonistic streaks. I don't think Will has Andy's dark mean streak, though. Will gets angry but he doesn't try to intentionally destroy people the way Andy does. At the same time though, both Andy and Will are very studious National Honor Society students so they get a bit more slack. Also, being six feet tall and good-looking helps a lot with people. LOL Again though, you have to remember that Will (and Andy) both have precocious puberty and it definitely affected the way they interact with people and the things they got into.

Let's be real here though- if Will was one of those perfect acting teenagers in those horrible Netflix teen movies that want to be as inoffensive as possible, Mark wouldn't have made him the star of so many books. I'm honestly kind of dreading how Mark will manage to cover Gen Z characters like Riley Danfield given how obsessed with political correctness that generation seems to be. Then again, Mark could make them into vapid influencers ala Olivia Jade and I'm sure it will be hysterical.

Chapter 77 -When the gang listens to 1960's surf music as they fly to Hawaii. "Surf City" by Jan & Dean -When Will and Trevor decide to spend some alone time together. "I Only Have Eyes for You" by The Flamingoes I really just want to use 50's and 60's music around Travis chapters. LOL He would probably agree with me.

I don't really re-read the stories unless you're asking for feedback on edits so this was a pretty cool experience. I can't believe it's been 14 years.

Chapter 27: Marie -When the clan leaves Claremont, this time for good. "Life In A Northern Town" by The Dream Academy -When Brad, Robbie, and Jeanine show up with the kids at their new house, a family now. "Modern Love" by David Bowie -When Brad and JP discuss the birth of Marie Hobart, and about the loves in their lives. "The Greatest Love Of All" by Whitney Houston -When Brad enjoys a tranquil moment before going off to talk to JP about the loves of JP's life. "Love Theme" (St. Elmo's Fire) by David Foster -When they celebrate Robbie's official HIV negative status, and make love. "Alive and Kicking" by Simple Minds

Chapter 28: Will -When Jeanine gives birth to to a baby boy, and Brad decides to name him after all three of his fathers. "Neverending Story" by Limahl And what a never-ending story it's been. We've been following this family through 23 years, and get to see the start of a third generation. It's been a pleasure playing DJ for you guys throughout the story of Brad's coming of age in the 80's. Hopefully, someday I'll be playing DJ again to showcase Darius, JJ, Marie, and Will as they navigate adolescence in the 90's through the 2000's. But until then....*takes a final bow* 2023 me: Holy crap, I had really had no clue what we were all in for, in the best meaning of the term. It really has been a blast over nearly 15 years of working with Mark on this saga. And you really can call it a saga now.

Chapter 26: Au Revoir, Grandmaman -When Brad and Robbie discuss the matter of Jeanine, and what this means to their relationship. "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins -When Stefan gets to watch Brad fist Robbie. "The Stroke" by Billy Squier -On the plane where Brad and JP wrap up the Paris adventure. "What You Need" by INXS -When Robbie and Jeanine go off to talk about what this pregnancy means, and Brad sees how sick Grandmaman is. "Left of Center" by Suzanne Vega -When Jim Crampton storms out after by blackmailed by JP. "Rasputin" by Boney M -When JP speaks at Maman's funeral. "A Deal With God" (Running Up That Hill) by Kate Bush

Sure.

Thirteen years later...LMAO. Oh, my sweet, naive 24-year old self.

Chapter 25: Careers -When Greg despairs over his movie troubles, offers Robbie a job, and Brad starts work with Stefan's company. (Greg's mood swings seem...familiar, for some reason.) 2023 me: I think I was making a joke about Adam Phillips mood swings here? Things got particularly nasty between Adam and I during 2009 if I'm remembering right. Thank god we both mellowed out by the end of Adam's time as an author on the internet. "Working in A Coal Mine" by Devo -When Brad and Stefan bond, and Stefan learns the truth about JJ's paternity. Why do I feel like JJ is going to find out about it in a really humiliating way when he's an adult? LOL "That's What Friends Are For" by Dionne Warwick and Friends -When Brad wakes up Robbie in the morning in a special way. "Wake Me Up" by Wham! -When Brad finds Marcel and Robbie in bed together, and trusts them that nothing happened. "I'm Your Man" by Wham! -When Brad is sat in stunned silence when the Space Challenger explodes. "Elegia" by New Order -When Brad talks to Jeanine on the phone, and discovers that she's pregnant. "If She Knew What She Wants" by The Bangles

Yeah, things were different with my peers, a.k.a. people born in the mid/late 1980's. Unless you were from a conservative Christian family or a military type family, the general gist is that most of us waited until we were at least mid-20's to get married, and late 20's/early 30's to start having kids. I have a bunch of friends from high school who became first-time parents in their early/mid-30's, and I'm not the only one my age who's never been married or had kids. No wonder Millennials been labeled the Peter Pan generation. LOL

It's still wild to me that it's 2023 and there still isn't an openly gay football player on the NFL rosters. At this point Zach would have to be done with his career. He would be 38 and the oldest running back in the NFL is 33.

Chapter 24: Engagement -When Brad and Robbie talk to Robbie's psychiatrist, Robbie admits that he killed Neil, and Brad thinks he'll be okay with it. "The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen -When Brad proposes to Robbie. "Leather and Lace" by Stevie Nicks and Donley Henley -When the happy couple discover that Greg and Stefan bought them a house in Malibu. "Once in A Lifetime" by the Talking Heads -When Robbie and Brad get the truck that Marty McFly had. And then have sex. "Walking in L.A." by Missing Persons *** 2023 me: From the vantage point of now, it's kind of wild to see 22-year olds trying to settle down like this. It was much more common with Baby Boomers to want this, much less so by the time Gen Xers came off age, and even less so with Millennials. Just a completely different mindset. Gen Z star Millie Bobby Brown announced getting engaged and there was all this hang-wringing about her being too young at 19 to get engaged. In 1986 nobody would have been doing that over a 19-year old getting engaged, even if it was with a guy twice her age.

Chapter 23: The Trial -When Grandmaman decides to accompany the clan for one last trip to France, her homeland. "To France" by Mike Oldfield and Maggie Reilly -When JP and Brad talk about who JJ's father is. And JP learns some disgusting truths about his family, and gets amused by the fact that JJ is really a Crampton. (While he's really a Schulter.) "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson -When the clan has to deal with French media circus surrounding Robbie's case. And Grandmaman turns out to have some connections that'll help. "Under Pressure" by Queen -When Robbie's case is thrown out, they scramble to get Robbie the hell out of there, and the clan breathes a sign of relief when they get back over the Atlantic, heading back to the US. "Major Tom" (Coming Home) by Peter Schilling Gee, I sure hope Robbie never goes back to Paris. - When Stefan realizes that Lou is the child he helped save from the sort of childhood he had, back in 1973. And the true meaning of Christmas is revealed as the Cramptons, Schulters, and Hayes close out 1985 strong after a tough bout. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid

Seven real-time years went by. Damn. Mark has decided to do a bit of "prequel"-like action as he's announced a re-write of A Summer Love. I've always thought that if and when Mark catches up to present day he'll do prequels or stories that take place in years that weren't covered, i.e. 1996 and 1997 could be covered in a story that takes place between If It Fits and Bloodlines. I'll be curious to see how Mark handles the transition to the Generation Z characters like Riley Danfield and Madison Graves because that generation is soooooo politically correct. He's also going to need to brush up on anime because that generation is obsessed with it. LOL