methodwriter85

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

That works.

Chapter 22 - Prison -When the clan strategizie, along with the lawyer, about how they can help Robbie. "Invincible" by Pat Benatar -When Brad and Robbie have some goodbye sex, and Robbie says he wants Brad to be free to mess around, so long as it's not with Max. "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister -When Brad gets to Claremont, plays with Darius until his nap, then bonds over watching Jeremy at the hospital, the newest addition to the crazy Crampton brood. "We Are the World" from USA for Africa -When Brad sees Bitty in a crack house. "White Lines" by Grandmaster Flash -When Brad and Jeanine have sex. "What's Love Got to Do With It" by Tina Turner

Chapter 21: Arrested -When JP and Brad talk about their options, and Brad is adament that he won't let Robbie go down for killing Neil. "I'm Going Down" by Bruce Springsteen -When Brad and Robbie's lawyer talk. "An Innocent Man" by Billy Joel - In the courtroom, where they succeed in getting Robbie out on bail. "The Confrontation" from Les Miserables (1985 musical) -When Robbie and Brad have sex, using fisting and letting Mouse watch the action. "All Through the Night" by Cyndi Lauper

Chapter 20: Murder -When Brad gets back to his apartment, paranoid as hell. "Private Eyes" by Hall and Oates -When Brad and Mouse screw each other, in the heat of the moment. "Add It Up" by The Violent Femmes -When Brad and Robbie work things out about what happened to Neil. And then have make-up sex. "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears -When JP and Mouse reconcile. "Better Be Good to Me" by Tina Turner -When Robbie gets arrested by the police. "Police On My Back" by The Clash

Mark just re-edited Man In Motion, the 1985-86 story about Brad and Robbie's stormy relationship.

Mark picked it. It's Kelly Slater: He was directly referenced in text as looking like Kelly Slater. I'm assuming Scott still has hair, though. I felt pretty free to pick a pre-surgery Lark as long as he had blue eyes because we had to assume he had extensive plastic surgery. Other Mark picks: JP's face is based on Rickey Nelson, but he's small and blond. Jeff Hayes, Fred Hayes, and Robbie Hayes were essentially based on Tony Dow: There have been various Stefans but none that really "hit" it, so to speak. Feel free to use your imagination on that one. Andre, who is Ace's father and died in 1962, is based by Mark on Bernardo from West Side Story: I don't think we've ever really settled on a Brad, although I guess if Mark likes my Asher Angel pick, just imagine Asher Angel as an older guy. Brad and Will are supposed to be pretty much exactly alike.

Lukas Gage as Lark's original face? He has this slimy feeling to him that feels perfect for the surfer boy formerly known as Lark. Like I would hang out with him a few times but would never, ever trust him. LOL

Chapter 19: JJ -When JP tells Brad that Mouse doesn't want a second chance, and Brad comforts him by reminding him of Roger. "I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues" by Elton John -When Brad and Robbie nearly get into a fight when they talk about their plans for next year, but Brad backs out of it before it happens. "Age of Consent" by New Order -When Brad talks to Marcel about Lou and essentially tries to set them up. "The State of the Heart" by Rick Springfield -When Brad confronts Robbie about his bitchy behavior, and then finds out Bitty gave birth to a baby boy that Saturday. "Time" by Culture Club -When Robbie gets blackmailed by Neil, leaves the apartment, and then Brad proceeds to kick Neil's ass. "Don't Come Around Here No More" by Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers

I think we decided that Jeff looks like Hallmark hunk Trevor Donovan in his Abercrombie days so he's got that going for him, at least. In all seriousness though, I gotta agree with you. Anyway, the Shane suicide storyline was quite intense. I did think it was interesting how Mark took this very secluded, very structured world that JJ was living in (being cosetted by both his mom/Tiffany and the rigidity of his skating life) and just shook everything up starting with this storyline. Like the skate world stopped being this safe space that JJ was allowed to hide in, and Mark forced JJ out into the "world," so to speak. He was always the more innocent one compared to Will, and a lot of that was down to JJ being smaller and less physically mature than Will is. (Remember, Will looks and acts like he's 19 years old in this story.) However, it's that physical immaturity that helped make JJ a target for his predatory coach. It's weird to think that despite Will's age, I don't think the skate coach would have been that interested in Will because he would have been too tall and mature looking for him.

It's summer 2023 and I'm definitely still seeing jockish guys rocking "modern" mullets. They're usually pretty subtle like on Jamie Flatters...you could just barely called that a mullet: But then there's the Morgan Wallen look: I can see Stefan and Wade Danfield recoiling at that. LOL This seems like the happy medium: Mark, have you been seeing the mullet resurgence in the wild at your university yet? I feel like over here it started showing up around 2021-22.

Chapter 18: Lou -When Brad and Marcel argue about Jerome, and then Brad talks to Robbie about making sure Marcel plays safe. "Safety Dance" by Men Without Hats -When Brad meets Lou, and drops some serious dough on the guy at the clothing store. "Sharp-Dressed Man" by ZZ Top -When JP finds out about Mouse and Marcel, and JP tells Marcel about our good buddy Jake, who's dying of AIDS in a hospital and has no visitors because of the selfish way he treated people. "All By Myself" by Eric Carmen -When Brad catches JP and Marcel having sex, and talks to him about Mouse. "Only The Lonely" by The Motels

Chapter 17: The Louvre -When Marcel admits what he did, and Brad and Robbie lay some ground rules about how they will deal with Marcel. Before having sex. "Borderline" by Madonna -When Brad gets seduced by Dr. Cambronne. "Get It On" (Bang A Gong) by Power Station -When Marcel ah, "steps in" for Brad with Dr. Cambronne. "Lovin' Every Minute of It" by Loverboy -When Brad tells Robbie about Dr. Cambronne and Marcel, and they make love without a condom as a sign of the trust they have with each other. "We Belong" by Pat Benatar