Episode #584

[Michael]

Episode #584 has been posted!

In this episode: Molly and Philip arrive at his mother's estate for the big masquerade ball... Word reaches King's Bay about where Molly really went... Claire brings Tempest to the Fishers' to meet Samantha, but there is someone else she has to face.

Thanks, as always, for reading!

[Michael_David]

Oh gosh, this episode was a good one. Love those references to Jersey Shore, and really? Did you just really do that? Lol. :]

Anyways, I love how even now Josh is still fighting with whats right and wrong. I like that he is growing up and not that punk he used to be but you still have him fighting with himself over what he should do. I like him with Lauren and I like how she will stick it to him if she needs to. They're great together!

As for Claire and Paula, was I in the artic? They have issues they need to work out, although I don't necessarily think its something they can work out together. Paula is just playing mother hen and Claire seems to just be reacting in all the wrong ways. I'm glad Sam's role in the series is getting bigger and having her tutor Tempest is just going to be interesting since they are two different people. I think they will be friends, can't what until Tempest meets the rest of the kids.

As for the whole Brent/Claire/Lorette storyline, this will only get darker, I can tell. Especially now that Loretta wants revenge on the Fisher's. I can't wait for this ball.

Great episode.

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Michael_David

Oh gosh, this episode was a good one. Love those references to Jersey Shore, and really? Did you just really do that? Lol. :]

I did. Bwahaha! It's going to get more ridiculous. I can't help myself -- this is my little outlet for whatever's amusing me at the moment.

Originally Posted by Michael_David

As for Claire and Paula, was I in the artic? They have issues they need to work out, although I don't necessarily think its something they can work out together. Paula is just playing mother hen and Claire seems to just be reacting in all the wrong ways. I'm glad Sam's role in the series is getting bigger and having her tutor Tempest is just going to be interesting since they are two different people. I think they will be friends, can't what until Tempest meets the rest of the kids.

I'm having fun writing this new Paula/Claire dynamic, just because they've been so close for the entire run of the series. Neither of them is really "wrong," per se, but they're both reacting too strongly to the other, and it's a recipe for discomfort.

Integrating Tempest with the other teens is going to be interesting. She has such a different perspective from them, which I think is sorely needed.

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts! You know I appreciate it.

[Andy Eckles]

That last scene with Loretta in her bedroom was intense. She seemed so nice and pleasant when Philip and Molly first arrived, then suddenly she turned into lady mafia. Her hatred for the Fishers, the big house, the henchman, the gin and tonic, it all lent an air of doom to the story. Nice touch having The Situation play Tony, btw. I was wondering how you were going to incorporate Jersey Shore into the story as you'd hinted at before. I'm so excited for this story to develop further.

Josh's hesitation in filling Brent in on Molly and Philip traveling together was well played. Brent's reaction even more so. I've been waiting for something to trigger him into moving forward with his investigation into Loretta, and this worked perfectly. I'm interested to see how him and Claire traveling together will impact their relationship. There are so many possibilities. A blossoming romance? Maybe. Dirty sex at least.

I really do not like Paula. Great job characterizing her because she makes me want to punch her face in. She's so holier than thou, which I guess is the idea, but nonetheless, she's anger-inspiring. I know she's meant to be very protective and all that, but she also could use a good stiff drink or two (or a stiff something else - where is Bill?).

The best line was where Samantha was asking Tempest to write down her strenghts and weaknesses and she just looked at her. I was waiting for her to say "are you trippin?".

Very fun episode. Thanks!

[tiesthatbind]

Keep up the good work Michael, #584 was a good one!

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Andy Eckles

That last scene with Loretta in her bedroom was intense. She seemed so nice and pleasant when Philip and Molly first arrived, then suddenly she turned into lady mafia. Her hatred for the Fishers, the big house, the henchman, the gin and tonic, it all lent an air of doom to the story. Nice touch having The Situation play Tony, btw. I was wondering how you were going to incorporate Jersey Shore into the story as you'd hinted at before. I'm so excited for this story to develop further.

I've been imagining writing that scene for a long, long time. We hadn't yet seen Loretta's true essence -- all her scenes with Philip so far have been kinda bullshitty -- but this is her: the woman who has caused so many problems for the characters we know and love ("love," as some might feel about Claire). We'll see more of her, and learn more about her vendetta, very quickly now.

Originally Posted by Andy Eckles

I really do not like Paula. Great job characterizing her because she makes me want to punch her face in. She's so holier than thou, which I guess is the idea, but nonetheless, she's anger-inspiring. I know she's meant to be very protective and all that, but she also could use a good stiff drink or two (or a stiff something else - where is Bill?).

Thanks. I see no need to make this matriarch -- who's like 65, not 100 -- be some generic, sweet grandma. She's certainly not a bitch or a troublemaker, but she has a perspective and flaws of her own. I enjoy writing Paula a lot more when she has a strong stance in a given situation. Plus, as I said above, the Paula/Claire tension is a new thing, and I'm having fun with it.

Originally Posted by Andy Eckles

The best line was where Samantha was asking Tempest to write down her strenghts and weaknesses and she just looked at her. I was waiting for her to say "are you trippin?".

Heh. It's hilarious for me to put those two characters side-by-side, because they're so utterly opposite.

Originally Posted by tiesthatbind

Keep up the good work Michael, #584 was a good one!

Thank you for reading and taking the time to stop in!

[kira]

Hey Michael, I read this a couple of weeks ago but haven't been able to respond, so I'll dash off my thoughts now, sort of in reverse order because I'm going from memory.

- Greatly enjoyed Loretta and her henchman. I can't imagine what her hard-on is for the Fishers, they're such an inoffensive bunch! (Except for Paula, obv.! ) The only thing I can guess is that they're responsible for her husband's death or something. Did Bill sell some poorly prepared Fugu to Mr. Loretta, who ended up dead? Seriously, it's been a while since we had a grande dame around, what with Katherine having gone the way of the west, and Loretta's more than picking up the slack. Of course, she's way scarier than Kate was. (Though I'm sure Danielle might feel differently.)

The Jersey Shore stuff went right over my head, as do most pop culture in-jokes (I don't even know what TJS is aside from, presumably, a trashy reality show), but aside from feeling like it takes me out of the fiction, it's no biggie. But I'm hopelessly old-fashioned about that, and it looks like both you and most of your other readers enjoy the camp stuff, so you gotsta go with your heart.

(Tech note: the pictures for both characters seem curious for some reason; are they styled differently? Brenda looks a bit washed out.)

- Josh/Lauren. Well, I love these two together, you know that! She's obviously having some affect on him, which is cool, but he's not turning into Caspar Milquetoast* overnight. I was surprised at how much angst he had over telling Brent. I'm way nicer than he is (oh God, at least I hope so!) and I wouldn't have been quite as torn! But they're adorable and good for him for telling the truth... and good for Lauren for not being too much of a stick-in-the-mud about it.

- Paula/Claire: Now this is a toughie. My two least favorite characters duking it out in a cat fight that sadly won't be fatal for both combatants. I was marginally on Claire's side, I suppose, because Paula's protectiveness for Molly seems unwarranted as so far I'm not getting any real feelings for Brent from Claire. And now I hate Paula even more for making me side with C-word! Damn you old woman! (shakes fist!)

- Loved Samantha's forthright questions to a bemused Tempest. Sam's a cute kid and I think these two could make funny, mismatched friends. Probably won't happen due to the age gap, but still, I think Tempest could use a straightforward, good-girl friend.

Tech note #2: I just noticed a slight weakness in the linking strategy you use. I was going back to double-check to see if a scene I'd remembered from this ep was actually in this ep (spoiler: it was!), and so I scrolled up to the top of this thread to click on the episode link. But in these threads, I belatedly realized that you link to the "current.htm" page, which of course takes me to #586 (as of today). I understand why you do it -- I know you don't keep the full, pretty version of these episodes in the archives, only the printable versions -- but it's a bit inconvenient if someone visits the threads once the link changes. (Not hugely inconvenient, I know, but still...) Maybe you could consider continuing to link to the current.htm page in these threads but also adding something like, "permanent/printable link here"? Just a thought. You might not have realized this is a problem, but since you do update so often, it's not like someone has to be very far behind in order to come across one of these incorrect links in the FP or Eppy forum -- all it takes is one week!

- Brent/Claire (This is the scene I was trying to confirm was in #584): I started a lengthy diatribe but then I figured: "Shut up, Kira, you're already the equivalent of the ant at the picnic here." The blissfully short version: I don't buy Brent's asking Claire along to Loretta's.

The wheels grind further en route to the Masquerade Ball from hell. Bring it on!

* That's the kinda pop-culture ref I roll with. Straight from 1924! I'm sooo hip!

[Michael]

Thanks so much for taking the time to catch up and chime in, Kira!

Originally Posted by kira

Greatly enjoyed Loretta and her henchman. I can't imagine what her hard-on is for the Fishers, they're such an inoffensive bunch! (Except for Paula, obv.! ) The only thing I can guess is that they're responsible for her husband's death or something. Did Bill sell some poorly prepared Fugu to Mr. Loretta, who ended up dead? Seriously, it's been a while since we had a grande dame around, what with Katherine having gone the way of the west, and Loretta's more than picking up the slack. Of course, she's way scarier than Kate was. (Though I'm sure Danielle might feel differently.)

This was really our first glimpse of why Loretta is out for blood, but we'll get the rest of the explanation pretty soon. A little speculation in the short term won't hurt anyone! (Maybe it all ties into the gripping "Moriani's Pizza" storyline someone pitched me years ago... or not.) She's definitely a meaner bitch than Katherine, even Katherine circa 1998, and I'm having fun with her over-the-top persona.

Originally Posted by kira

The Jersey Shore stuff went right over my head, as do most pop culture in-jokes (I don't even know what TJS is aside from, presumably, a trashy reality show), but aside from feeling like it takes me out of the fiction, it's no biggie. But I'm hopelessly old-fashioned about that, and it looks like both you and most of your other readers enjoy the camp stuff, so you gotsta go with your heart.

(Tech note: the pictures for both characters seem curious for some reason; are they styled differently? Brenda looks a bit washed out.)

The pop culture bits are definitely part of what keep me into writing FP. I feel like there's a balance between maintaining the story's integrity while still having an outlet for some of the crazy stuff floating around in my brain. Basically, Tony's casting is the only "joke" here; nothing about the character or the content of the story has anything to do with the show.

As for the pics: it has been really difficult finding good pics of Brenda Dickson post-age 35. She takes a lot of completely insane red carpet photos, but there's a real dearth of headshots and the like. I should've thought that through before I "cast" her, but she's so Loretta in my head now that I can't change.

Originally Posted by kira

Paula/Claire: Now this is a toughie. My two least favorite characters duking it out in a cat fight that sadly won't be fatal for both combatants. I was marginally on Claire's side, I suppose, because Paula's protectiveness for Molly seems unwarranted as so far I'm not getting any real feelings for Brent from Claire. And now I hate Paula even more for making me side with C-word! Damn you old woman! (shakes fist!)

I figured you would "enjoy" these scenes. I get where Paula's coming from, in the sense that Claire is certainly all up in Brent's business right after he's separated from her daughter. Doesn't really matter if there's an attraction on his part or not -- just that Claire is clinging to him. Plus, this is the first time Paula can see what people meant when they tore into Claire for hopping between Tim and Ryan. Always gotta have a man, no matter whose man it is. Then again, we know Claire's intentions are pretty straightforward, so Paula's reaction seems rather extreme. I'm really interested in the dynamic of having them clash, since they've always gotten along.

Originally Posted by kira

Loved Samantha's forthright questions to a bemused Tempest. Sam's a cute kid and I think these two could make funny, mismatched friends. Probably won't happen due to the age gap, but still, I think Tempest could use a straightforward, good-girl friend.

I love Samantha. She'll be getting more and more screentime as we go. There's actually not too big a gap between them, too. Sam just turned 16, since she got her license, and Tempest is not quite 18. I'd like Tempest to be integrated with the teens, and this ridiculously mismatched duo is a funny aspect of that.

Originally Posted by kira

Tech note #2: I just noticed a slight weakness in the linking strategy you use. I was going back to double-check to see if a scene I'd remembered from this ep was actually in this ep (spoiler: it was!), and so I scrolled up to the top of this thread to click on the episode link. But in these threads, I belatedly realized that you link to the "current.htm" page, which of course takes me to #586 (as of today). I understand why you do it -- I know you don't keep the full, pretty version of these episodes in the archives, only the printable versions -- but it's a bit inconvenient if someone visits the threads once the link changes. (Not hugely inconvenient, I know, but still...) Maybe you could consider continuing to link to the current.htm page in these threads but also adding something like, "permanent/printable link here"? Just a thought. You might not have realized this is a problem, but since you do update so often, it's not like someone has to be very far behind in order to come across one of these incorrect links in the FP or Eppy forum -- all it takes is one week!

I'm actually really glad you pointed this out. It's been nagging at me for a while, but the whole thing has been too overwhelming to deal with. I would love to keep the 'full' versions of each episode available, but I post so often that it's a lot easier to just keep standard Current Episode pages and reformat those each week. I seriously would lose my mind making new pages every damn week, just because of the repetition. But I think a permalink in those messages is the cleanest way to go. Thank you!