methodwriter85

I loved the contrast in this chapter where Will thinks enough about Zach to congratulate him on his football, and JJ deleted Alex from his speed dial. When JJ cuts people off, he really cuts people off. I don't think he's going to do the same kind of thing to Carullo, so maybe that's progress?

Chapter 70 -When Wade and Alex debate on what to do. "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue Oyster Cult -When they deal with skeptical cops, and the car they were driving in explodes. "Horse with No Name" by America -When Wade gets off the phone with his mother, and returns to dealing with the cops. "The Bitch is Back" by Elton John -When Will and Patrick listen to Zach's game in the car, and Will decides to put away his issues with Zach for the moment. "All Kinds of Time" by Fountains of Wayne -When Will finds Patrick waiting in bed for him. "The Boy From New York City" by the Ad Libs -When JJ drops on his bed, exhausted by people actually expecting him to think about other people. "I Am A Rock" by Simon and Garfunkel

That seems about right.

Joe Alwyn (aka Taylor Swift's British actor boytoy) as Alex Granger? He came to my attention last year in "Boy Erased" and "The Favourite." He has that brittle aristocratic look to him.

TIL that Los Angeles has a neighborhood named for Wilmington, Delaware. Cool!

Chapter 69 -When Alex visits his comatose mother with Wade. "Trouble" by Coldplay -When Lord Preston details the plot, and then kills himself and his wife, with Alex and Wade having to look at their bodies. "As Tears Go By" by Marianne Faithful

I get a kick out the fact that Will seems to bring out Patrick's redneck southern cornpone side. So adorable. Who doesn't love a hot Southern hunk? I'm waiting for it to turn out that Patrick's real name is like Cash McCall or something Southern like that. LOL.

I mean, hey, Will is a gorgeous 17-year old surfer boy who is in like the top 98 percentile of his class, has tons of people wanting to fuck him, and his immensely powerful family worships the ground he walks on as he is the heir apparent. Of course he's an arrogant cock.

1980 (not 2000) but I thought you'd get a kick out of this, Mark. 1980 Sacramento commercials. I figure you have to be at least somewhat familiar with that area. I think this would be like the equivalent of Scranton for me.

I think he'd prefer JJ because JJ more or less follows the rules. The closest to rebellion JJ ever got was purposefully flunking out of 9th grade because he chose to focus on skating, but in general JJ follows the status quo. Hell, he's finishing up high school instead of getting the GED I thought he would have gotten at 15 because it really is a base expectation from his family. One of my favorite scenes in this story is when Carullo moves in and JJ instantly starts playing the host despite not being happy about it because that kind of thing is just ingrained in his DNA I wonder if you could ever get Private Tim to enjoy Tony.

When I first started doing the music recs, I felt like I had to keep to music that had come out within 3 years of the story time setting. After staying in the Y2K era like forever, I pretty much got over it. LOL. Although now that our characters are living in 2003/getting ready to enter the mid-2000's, I'm kind of chucking 90's music right now out of the playlist. 1980's nostalgia is in full-force right now in 2003, but the 90's music is passe. Anyway... Chapter 68 -When Stefan admits to his mid-life crisis. "The Circle Game" by Joni Mitchell -When Will and Patrick have their booty call. "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode -When Will helps Patrick get ready for his show. "Lucky Star" by Madonna -Patrick's show, which gets an eyebrow raise of approval. "Fascination" by Human League

It's kind of mind-boggling that JJ was literally named the best male figure skater in the United States of 2003 and he still can't get over his jealousy of Will and needing to find some way to "win" against him. He's not really like that with Darius but Darius seems to exist as the peace keeper of this trio of brothers.

Chapter 67 -When Will and Tony have friendly sex. "The Wanderer" by Dion and the Belmonts -When Will tries to convince Tony to make up with his boyfriend. "You'll Lose A Good Thing" by Barabara Lynn -When Will and Stefan and JP talk on their way to the school talent show. "Duke of Earl" by Gene Chandler -When Brad pulls up to the Menlo School talent show. "Locomotion" by Little Eva -When John's band performs "Puff the Magic Dragon." "Puff the Magic Dragon" by Peter, Paul, and Mary -When the kids perform 31 Flavors. "31 Flavors" by The Shirelles -When the actual lead singer of the Shirelles does a medley of their greatest hits. "Foolish Little Girl" "Soldier Boy" "Dedicated to the One I Love" "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" -When the cast performs "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" by Joan Baez -When the mooning happens. "Blue Moon" by the Marcels -When the crowd gives JP a standing ovation. "With A Little Help from Friends" by Joe Cocker -When Will is changed back into his street clothes, and he and Stefan set off for their trip to New York City. "Downtown" by Petula Clark

I liked that Will has reached the point where he can have enjoyable sex with Tony because in the end, he's just a friend with benefits and he doesn't want or expect more than that. The JJ/Luka flirting was cute. I believe they'll do the time-honored bonding ritual of bitching about a mutual ex-love interest. LOL

Somewhere in the wilds of Orange County, California, Private Tim has had a shudder go through his entire body and he's not really sure why.

Chapter 66 -At the Bryant fashion show, where JJ hangs out with Britney Spears. "Boys" by Britney Spears -When JJ and Luka flirt. "I love Rock N Roll" by Britney Spears -When they watch Luka's collection. "I'm a Slave 4 U" by Britney Spears -When Will notices Tony's car in the driveway, and has some mixed emotions. "Stronger" by Britney Spears -When Will decides to go for another round with good ol' Tony. "Oops, I Did It Again" by Britney Spears

True. John would probably just go to Arizona State and have a ball. Edited to add: I just realized JJ still hasn't mentioned any college plans yet. Could he be forgoing college, or at least taking a gap year?

Nice to see you posting again!

How to Cheat and Lie in L.A.: Vanity Fair article on the College Admissions Scandal Interesting stuff. Hey Mark, can we have John get designated as a fake water polo recruit for USC? LOL. Private Tim can have a cameo as a 20-something assistant coach who blows the whistle on the scheme.

He's so odd because the lone wolf thing really goes against the general vibe of his family. I did like his friendship with Carullo because I felt him getting nudged out of his comfort zone, at least a little bit.

Chapter 65 -When Brad and Jake have some mushy talk, and then have sex. "Bubble Toes" by Jack Johnson -When JJ reads the letter from John, who has moved on to Connecticut. "How You Mend a Broken Heart?" by Al Green -When JJ reads the letter from his dad, and fumes. "I Started a Joke" by The Bee Gees -When Will sets up a 3000 mile bootycall with Patrick Christian. "I've Got to See You Again" by Norah Jones

Chapter 64 -When JJ decides to shame Stefan in an email chain. "Whip It" by Devo -When Will goes on Zach on the phone and hangs up, then takes a quick but angsty shower. "Keep Me Hanging On" by Kim Wilde

I had a conversation with someone at work who went to Los Angeles and got to see Disneyland. He talked about how people from there think Disneyland was the best thing ever, but of course, it doesn't compare to Disney World. He was like, "I mean, to them, it's the only Disney they get, but my god, it's so small compared to Disney World." Then we had a conversation about its complicated relationship with Anaheim and the fact that Disneyland is just surrounded by neighborhoods. I like to imagine that if Private Tim had been there, he would have tried convincing my friend how much better Disneyland is over Disney World. LOL.

JJ pulling the fire alarm was hysterical. I love what an immature little shit he is sometimes. LOL. He lives this high-powered lifestyle where almost everyone he associates with is well past college aged, but then he does shit like this where you go, "Oh, yeah. Dude's still in high school." I don't really put John as the bad guy here because he's been pretty upfront with what he's able to give JJ, but again, JJ's still a kid. JJ would probably be better off messing around with kids at his school but again, he doesn't really associate with anybody his own age save for Will and I guess the Olsen twins? He's kind of a kid playacting in a very adult, grown-up world but not really able to go back and hang out with friends his own age.

Chapter 63 -When JJ and Carullo have their moment. "Transatlanticism" by Death Cab for Cutie -When JJ walks into another Stefan party, then finds John having sex with somebody. "It's Raining Men" by Geri Halliwell -When JJ decides to put the alarms on, ending the party. "Freak Out" by Le Chic