(no subject)

[deelaundry]

Blah-blah-blah, what is WRONG with me?  I now have five half-finished "front burner" fics, and all my brain keeps throwing me is scenes for a new TV series that revolves around outgoing and ruggedly handsome Paul, the co-owner of a successful fashion design company in New York.  (Yes, I know nothing about fashion, and it's only an excuse to have lots of pretty girls and boys standing around, but SHUT UP, I'm getting to the good part.)

Paul's co-owner is Charlie, a quieter, more bookish type played by RSL wearing his MF sexy glasses.  (TPTB buy him new ones, so they're not chipped.)  Paul and Charlie are also close friends, although a bit on the confrontational, arguing side.  We find out in episode three some of the reason behind this:

Sheryl:  Hey, Charlie.  Therese is going out on her first date with Paul tonight and she's feeling nervous about it.  I thought maybe you could give her some pointers, you know, share some of your moves.
Charlie:  My moves?  I have exactly three moves, she doesn't have the anatomy for any of them, and Paul would recognize them as mine, anyway, which would no doubt kill the mood.  *looking at Therese*  You're blond, you're gorgeous, and you have breasts.  With Paul, that's all the moves you'll need.
Therese:  Wait.  You and Paul?
Charlie:  Yeah.  Nothing to worry about, though.  We broke up four years like a year ago; we're just friends now.  Water under the bridge.
Therese:  I didn't think -
Charlie:  Nobody does.  And they're mostly right, because he's mostly straight.
Therese:  Were you two together long?
Charlie:  No.  Not at all.  Ten years.
Therese:  That seems like a long time to me.
Charlie:  *to Sheryl*  Well, I guess it would, considering it's half her lifetime.
Sheryl:  Shush.
Therese:  Why did the two of you break up?
Charlie:  We had different life goals.  I wanted to get a house with a yard, and a dog, and look into adopting a kid or two.  Paul wanted to date blonde supermodels.

In a later episode, Paul yells at Charlie for telling people that Paul's shallow.
Paul:  How do you not get this, after all this time?  The life I want to lead is just as valid as the one you want.
Charlie:  You're not Jack Nicholson.  The playboy bit's going to get pathetic after a while.
Paul:  That's not it!  It's not about dating lots of people; it's not about sleeping around.  It's about being able to go to the goddamn movies when I feel like it.  It's about being able to stay up until three and sleep until noon, or go away for the weekend on a whim, or immerse myself completely in a new hobby.  You want to have dinner at five, and wipe noses, and put bandaids on boo-boos, and I just don't, Charlie.

Will true love conquer all?  I don't know; I don't know.

Comments

[inlaterdays.livejournal.com]

Whoa. I can ~hear~ Charlie in RSL'S voice. Niiiice.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And wouldn't he look great wearing his glasses? Yum.

[hry2007.livejournal.com]

This is sounds really interesting, considering I'm pretty meh about fashion.

Will true love conquer all?

No. It will not. Love doesn't conquer all, especially when kids/no kids is the issue. Wait! I think I see a parade down the street. I should take my stormcloud over there!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I'm meh about fashion too - that's just what my brain supplied. The benefit is that it allows people to go in and out: models, photographers, store buyers, even individual designers. (Plus, just to be a total wonk about it, "mainstream America" would be more likely to accept bi characters in fashion than if they were, say, government workers or firefighters.)

I confess I can't see a solution to kids/no kids either but it would be interesting to see them work through it. It'd just be great to have the issue addressed in a meaningful way.

Not to mention how wonderful it'd be having openly bisexual characters on a TV show. : )

[hry2007.livejournal.com]

It would be a more sellable industry. It also tends to attract more interesting characters.

The kids thing, I dunno. It's a great topic to explore, but if that's that reason they're will they/won't they, it's tough to see the compromise possibility needed for tension there. You can have kids and have an interesting life, which is some of what Paul might be afraid of (I dunno, it's your character :) ), but there's no half-way of having a kid. It's a big part of your life, and someone's going to be bitter either way. A lot of the time media goes the route of the no kids person changing their mind, which I find harder to buy. Not having kids when you wanted them isn't as big a sacrifice has having kids you don't want, and the latter risks harming the kid.

It's like religion, or politics, or a significant age difference. Situational issues can vary the impact these have, but the more people have in common the better. There isn't a lot of room for compromise on the big things, because people don't really change all that much. Problems that will arise can be predicted early, but early on in a relationship hormones are going and by the time you realize those differences are a problem you're hooked.

I'm going all TL;DR again. Suffice it to say the issues they'd have would fascinate me, especially with your writing.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Not TL;DR at all; I like your analysis. I also happen to agree with you on most points, with this exception:

Not having kids when you wanted them isn't as big a sacrifice as having kids you don't want

Both are big sacrifices. As anybody who's ever struggled with infertility can tell you, it's extraordinarily painful to want a child deeply and not have one. Of course, the reverse is true as well.

[dangomango.livejournal.com]

I would watch your show religiously. *g* Will true love conquer all? It sure would be fun watching them try.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Wouldn't it be fun?

[bironic.livejournal.com]

This all came to you out of nowhere? How long have you been thinking about it? It's great. I just love the dialogue.

My moves? I have exactly three moves, she doesn't have the anatomy for any of them

You're blond, you're gorgeous, and you have breasts. With Paul, that's all the moves you'll need.

And they're mostly right, because he's mostly straight.

Well, I guess it would, considering it's half her lifetime.

Ya. Great fun. And I guess Charlie is already my favorite character, between RSL and the fact that all my favorite lines are his. :D

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Yup, it just started coming to me today. I was thinking vaguely about the people on TWOP who said House and Wilson had to be completely straight because otherwise TPTB would have introduced the issue of their sexuality earlier. So, my brain said, what about a show where the issue was raised very early?

Now it would still be surprising to viewers because the first two episodes would have Paul at his most flirtatious, and all with women. But they'd get over the surprise quickly because RSL is adorkable and would sell them on Charlie and make them believe that the relationship had happened.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Sweet.

You also totally need to have Tim Gunn from Project Runway show up as a love interest/jealousy-inducer.

[savemoony.livejournal.com]

I WAS THINKING THE SAME THING.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

BECAUSE. TIM GUNN.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Y'all have to write the Tim Gunn scenes for me, because, shamefully, I don't know a thing about him.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Oh, Dee, this is tragic. He's the designers' mentor on the show; he's a very handsome fashion design expert with a brilliant voice, has this sophisticated semi-effete thing going, and is known for the catchphrase "Make It Work" (see also Project Runway's own brief spoof of/homage to him, now on YouTube (http://youtube.com/watch?v=ojqvSCgLKZQ)!).

Tim Gunn at Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Gunn)

You won't get the full effect if you don't see him "in action" on the show, but has a video podcast archive at the Project Runway website here (http://www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway/tims_take).


...and because you made me go to YouTube, you deserve to see this RPS slash video I just found of Tim and one of the designer-contestants: Whatever Happened to Andrae? The Movie! Trailer (http://youtube.com/watch?v=MDmoQCrCUvQ)

[inlaterdays.livejournal.com]

House and Wilson had to be completely straight because otherwise TPTB would have introduced the issue of their sexuality earlier

What?! Why is straight the assumed default sexuality? Speaking as a bisexual who doesn't talk much about her relationships with either gender, I am now...er, a peevish bisexual who doesn't talk much about her blah blah blah. Oh those TWOPers.

>:| peeved face.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Oh, boy howdy was I pissed when that idea came up. SO ANGRY. Such a ridiculous, naive thing to say.

I did get a funny MST out of though, in which Straight!Wilson pwns all. Yay!

[alsaurusrex.livejournal.com]

Man now I really want to watch this show. That's really awesome.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It'd be fun, wouldn't it?

[jdr1184.livejournal.com]

I was all ready to pout and demand you stop playing with Charlie and write more Wilson(Hopefully more Pillory), but then I read the dialogue and I just love it. It would make for a great T.V. series. Complicated and interesting backgrounds and distinct personalities in just a few words.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

It would be so much fun. And to everybody who ever said H & W can't be bisexual because the idea wasn't introduced early on the show - ha. Here's a show where it is.

Happy news for you, though: for betteronvicodin, I committed to do a Pillory prequel, so by the end of the summer there'll definitely be more James.

[purridot.livejournal.com]

Did I miss who is going to play Paul? *g*

And HOORAY for both sexy glasses and more Pillory-verse!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Who do you think should play him? I've got no clue. He's about the same age as RSL or no more than five years older, and ruggedly handsome. He's also outgoing so he'd need a friendly-ish face (not an Edward James Olmos type).

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Ethan Hawke Are you thinking pretty/stuck-up Rupert Everett type or someone more down-home American?

[purridot.livejournal.com]

For some reason I see Daniel Craig in my mind, and I can't get rid of that image. (But unlike you two I am very un-with-it when it comes to pop culture!). I think he has a crackly energy, requisite ruggedness, and blondness that would contrast nicely with RSL (and they are the same age!). (What I like about HL and RSL is exactly the fact that they complement each other; like cappuccino and biscotti ;-)

*musing* Maybe there will be an episode where Charlie gets highlights!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I was thinking Daniel Craig too! Which is funny, because I've never seen him in anything.

And coincidentally, he seems very similar to RSL the person (according to IMDB):

Daniel Craig, one of British theatre's most famous faces... Craig's reserved demeanor and his avoidance of the showbiz-party-red-carpet milieu...

"I don't believe in self-promotion, really I can't be arsed."

"I always wanted to be an actor. I had the arrogance to believe I couldn't be anything else."

Heh!

[purridot.livejournal.com]

I really hope you write a bit in this universe someday; I kept musing on the premise all day yesterday. You have such a cool way of writing fun OC's in the Houseverse (which is an extremely rare talent!), it is only natural that they should have their own story someday!

[asynca.livejournal.com]

I love that idea! Run with it!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Run where? Know any studio execs?

[asynca.livejournal.com]

I'm sleeping with a writer/producer at the moment (or, at least, I think I still am. I can't decide). You don't want Australia to produce it, though - we'd make it all arthouse.

[thinlysliced.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that sounds great. Would make a fantastic sitcom. Could you be persuaded to write some fic in that verse? I hope so ;-)

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think of it as being a "sitdram" - funny but also dramatic (similar to how House is a drama but also funny). We'll see on the fic - ideas come to me as dribs and drabs.

[silsbee329.livejournal.com]

The first bit made me grin A LOT, and I could hear RSL in it, which are all good things. And you're right about how refreshing it would be to have bi characters in prominence on a tv series. People need to recognize that we exist!

What ya gonna do with it?? (I'd watch... )

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Paul and Charlie are both bi - with Paul being mostly straight and Charlie being mostly gay.

Don't know what I'll do with it. Wish I was Doris Egan, because then I'd write it up and start pitching it all over town. But sadly, I'm not. : (

[silsbee329.livejournal.com]

Doris Egan started somewhere... But fic in that 'verse will be lovely as well. ;D

[xaipw.livejournal.com]

Charlie: My moves? I have exactly three moves, she doesn't have the anatomy for any of them, and Paul would recognize them as mine, anyway, which would no doubt kill the mood. *looking at Therese* You're blond, you're gorgeous, and you have breasts. With Paul, that's all the moves you'll need.

I can hear these words coming straight from RSL's mouth!
Brilliant!
Who do you have in mind to play Paul?
I have to admit that I immediately assumed that Paul would look like House (because HL and RSL go together so well). But I can't picture a House-esque character working in fashion.

I was thinking vaguely about the people on TWOP who said House and Wilson had to be completely straight because otherwise TPTB would have introduced the issue of their sexuality earlier.
I love the fact that those discussions helped inspire this idea. I get so annoyed when TWOP folks start vomiting forth that argument. It's nice to see that they resulted in something good! ;)

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Who do you think should play Paul? purridot brought up Daniel Craig (who, it turns, out is a theater actor and avoider of red carpets, too). bironic and savemoony say Ethan Hawke. Because, dude, BFF, right?

Only potential issue with Ethan is that Paul has no slacker vibe at all to him. He enjoys himself, has a good time, but is very energetic, and mature.

I haven't decided yet - suggestions welcome!

[xaipw.livejournal.com]

Daniel Craig, huh? I never would've thought of him, but now that you mention him I think he would be a great choice. He has buckets of chemistry with both the boys and the girls. Ewan Macgregor would also be interesting.

However, I would like to suggest John Barrowman (http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z280/sauty75/barrowman2.jpg). (I'm a bit obsessed at the moment.)

He can sing, dance, and act. He goes well with other men. (http://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z280/sauty75/?action=view&current=jj.flv)

But, if need be, he can be deliciously sexy with women (http://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z280/sauty75/?action=view&current=tw.flv) and aliens (http://s188.photobucket.com/albums/z280/sauty75/?action=view&current=j9.flv).

Also, he has a great ass (http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z280/sauty75/13.jpg)!

I can't wait to read more!

[savemoony.livejournal.com]

LOLz.

No, it's not. Actually it's healthy. You should keep tinkering with it. If you're really concerned about getting the fics done, then use this as a bargaining tool. "Finish a fic; write a scene; finish a fic; write a scene."

And is Paul Ethan? LOLz

[bironic.livejournal.com]

And is Paul Ethan?

HA. *I* WAS THINKING THE SAME THING.

Also, WTF -- Dr. Who Puppet Pals?!

[savemoony.livejournal.com]

HA! Because... No. There's not Because. It's just there. If Charlie is Bobby, Paul is so Ethan.

WTF - NO IDEA. My friend found it for me. If I can ever find the source, I will die happy.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Only potential issue with Ethan is that Paul has no slacker vibe at all to him. (But I kind of get one off Ethan.) He enjoys himself, has a good time, but is very energetic, and mature. He doesn't have commitment issues; he's not immature or self-induglent; he just doesn't want to have kids. (Of course, you don't find that out for sure in the first few episodes. You learn more about Paul and where he's coming from over time, like peeling back the layers of an onion.)

[asynca.livejournal.com]

Ethan can do straight-cut. I'm trying to think of what I've seen him in; but whatever it was, he did shy/neat very, very well. He would have done interesting things with Wilson, for example. RSL and EH are both talented actors.

[hannahrorlove.livejournal.com]

Ethan can do straight-cut
He was in that mode for most of Gattaca; is that the one you're thinking of?

[asynca.livejournal.com]

I spent that whole movie wondering where the hell RSL was.

But yes, that's the one. (http://img5.allocine.fr/acmedia/medias/nmedia/18/36/17/53/18458819.jpg)

[xaipw.livejournal.com]

I know people are gonna throw things at me for saying this but...I just can't deal with Ethan Hawke.

*ducks*

He just seems so whiny, IMO. I know that RSL and EH are OTP in real life. But on-screen? I'd like to see RSL paired up with someone a bit more masculine.

[ghostwritten2.livejournal.com]

Psst; this is inlaterdays on my fanfic journal. I friended you over here too. Right now it's all Phantom of the Opera but I will be updating and adding more soon.

[daisylily.livejournal.com]

(Still catching up on the 'stuff I skipped over when catching up on my f-list' stuff XD)

This is very interesting - I'd definitely like to see more.

And I'm not keen on Ethan Hawke, either. I'm not sure why, but he just tends to irritate me XD I can't think of another candidate at the moment, but I'll let you know when I do!