[Jwolf] The Funny Thing Is

[Jwolf]

So I'm starting this thread to discuss The Funny Thing Is. The story is the continuation of The List. and follows the guys 20 years after we left them off in college.

 

It's not totally necessary to read The List to understand this story, but it will give you a better understanding of the characters and their sometimes ridiculous choices.

 

Check out The Funny Thing Is here and let me know what you think

 

(Let the Coop bashing begin...)

[Frostina]

(Let the Coop bashing begin...)

 

why do you sound so happy about it?

**sulks in a corner**

 

I LIKE Coop!

[Jwolf]

I'm not happy about it, but I know it'll happen. I like Cooper too. I like Choose even more.

[Jwolf]

the next chapter is up and available here. check it out, leave a comment, or join the discussion here!

[methodwriter85]

I'm really hoping that Devon cleans Cooper out, and he's forced to start over in a crappy apartment. Otherwise this would feel too close to the stories where people get magical inheritances that allow them to buy luxury houses.

Edited July 15, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Caedus]

^ I'm with Jeremy. call me biased, but this needs to be much harder on everyone, especially Cooper. I get his POV on why he did what he did, but he should be suffering a lot more

 

I guess it's still early, but since Cooper is the "bad guy" in all this, shouldn't he be more isolated? His dialogue with Spencer and was believable, but I would of expected them to be more raw with their emotions and be

giving Cooper a harder time.

 

 

Something about the Cooper and Chase dynamic bothers me. After everything that happened between them, it seems like its way to easy for them to fall back in with each other...

 

 

But overall enjoying the story, keep it up!

[Jwolf]

I agree with you and I disagree with you. I'm in total agreement that things should be harder on Coop-- and they get that way trust me. I'm all about the complications. My thinking so far, though, is that if he lost everything right off the bat, in a very Job like manner, it would seem unworth it to go back to Chase. I'm trying to paint a scenario where he doesn't immediately regret all of his decisions. If he woke up and all he had was Chase, I'm sure he'd rethink his move and deem the whole thing unworth it. That's where my head's at at least. More to come soon.

[methodwriter85]

I'm not saying that he needs to become Job, but at the same time, it would be pretty nauseating if he gets that perfect life in Oaklawn he's envisioning, where he and Chase are two affluent gay men in a great townhouse who get to raise the kids on weekends, and Chase becomes a second "Mom" to these kids.

 

I would imagine that Brittany is going to be on a total warpath with regards to making sure Cooper and Chase are persona non-grata in the Dallas society scene. At least, I'm hoping she does. Knowing her, I would imagine her social networking extends far and wide.

Edited July 16, 2011 by methodwriter85

[Torontotop]

Realy liking this story. I previously read the list which I enjoyed, though it was a bit too much about the sex and less about the story. That said I liked it enough to continue on to this story.

 

I like that this story is about real life and am happy that Coop is leaving his wife and chasing love and chasing Chase and that Chase has never forgot Coop and is after him. While I expect to see him have troubles along the way and issues with his children and of course some hot sex or else there will be no story. I want him and Chase to end up together happily ever after with each other. I want to see how there life together evolves, how Coops children handle things. I would suspect they will have a tough time at first. It will also be interesting to see Chase adapt to life with step children, It would be fun to see how Chase's fame and I presume money come into play both for Coop and his children.People are often awed or impressed by fame and money and those types of scenes can be fun to watch unfold.

[Jwolf]

Realy liking this story. I previously read the list which I enjoyed, though it was a bit too much about the sex and less about the story. That said I liked it enough to continue on to this story.

 

I like that this story is about real life and am happy that Coop is leaving his wife and chasing love and chasing Chase and that Chase has never forgot Coop and is after him. While I expect to see him have troubles along the way and issues with his children and of course some hot sex or else there will be no story. I want him and Chase to end up together happily ever after with each other. I want to see how there life together evolves, how Coops children handle things. I would suspect they will have a tough time at first. It will also be interesting to see Chase adapt to life with step children, It would be fun to see how Chase's fame and I presume money come into play both for Coop and his children.People are often awed or impressed by fame and money and those types of scenes can be fun to watch unfold.

 

Hey! Glad you're enjoying the story so far. You're right to assume it'll be a rocky road to happiness, but hopefully they'll all get there. Looking forward to seeing what you think as it unfolds

[Jwolf]

The next chapter is done and available here. Very emotionally charged, so check it out and let me know what you think

[Conner]

I'm going to wade into the fray here. Both feet.

 

Divorce sucks. No question. Coop's two kids will suffer for it, particularly the younger one. Kids often internalize their parents' failed marriage as their fault. That said, staying together for the sake of the kids isn't an acceptable alternative. The kids end up living with the walking dead and often the marriage turns into a battleground. This has the same effect as any divorce would.

 

I believe Coop can be faulted for not at least trying to make it work - talking to Devon, getting counselling, that sort of thing. Coop did what Coop does. That's all he knows.

 

Seeing that this story is from Coop's perspective, we really don't have anything on where Devon is with all this - other than the anger and the fact that she's quickly becoming a total shrew. Hell knows no fury...and all that. That won't help the kids at all. Devon is totally into her career, playing house and keeping up appearances. That's what she's about right now, in my view. Why would she consent to Coop having gay flings on the side? She can dispense with the sex and, yes, the intimacy necessary to keep a marriage alive.

 

How can you fault someone who wants passion in his life?

 

Frankly, there's nothing more I want than to see Coop and Chase together. How that is going to happen...well I have no clue. Chase is going to have to do some fast two-stepping, that's for sure. Chase's betrayal here is huge, almost insurmountable.

 

Who's really pissing me off is Kyle. He's totally wrapped up in himself. As I see it, he has no business judging Coop.

[Caedus]

I'm going to wade into the fray here. Both feet.

 

Divorce sucks. No question. Coop's two kids will suffer for it, particularly the younger one. Kids often internalize their parents' failed marriage as their fault. That said, staying together for the sake of the kids isn't an acceptable alternative. The kids end up living with the walking dead and often the marriage turns into a battleground. This has the same effect as any divorce would.

 

I believe Coop can be faulted for not at least trying to make it work - talking to Devon, getting counselling, that sort of thing. Coop did what Coop does. That's all he knows.

 

Seeing that this story is from Coop's perspective, we really don't have anything on where Devon is with all this - other than the anger and the fact that she's quickly becoming a total shrew. Hell knows no fury...and all that. That won't help the kids at all. Devon is totally into her career, playing house and keeping up appearances. That's what she's about right now, in my view. Why would she consent to Coop having gay flings on the side? She can dispense with the sex and, yes, the intimacy necessary to keep a marriage alive.

 

How can you fault someone who wants passion in his life?

 

Frankly, there's nothing more I want than to see Coop and Chase together. How that is going to happen...well I have no clue. Chase is going to have to do some fast two-stepping, that's for sure. Chase's betrayal here is huge, almost insurmountable.

 

Who's really pissing me off is Kyle. He's totally wrapped up in himself. As I see it, he has no business judging Coop.

 

 

That's not necessarily fair, Conner.

 

I'll admit, I absolutely loath Cooper in this story, but I understand why he did what he did. We don't get the same benefit for any of Devon's actions. We only see things as Cooper sees them, and as this chapter has proven, his views don't always reflect the current reality. Being in a relationship with a bisexual isn't easy, you have to appreciate the flexibility some of their partners have, and the trust they have to feel to open up a relationship. For all we know Devon may have been trying to be practical given Cooper's sexual past with commitment. So the gay flings may be her way of doing the best to make her marriage work since she can't fully meet that need for him, anyways we'll probably never know.

 

Also Kyle has every reason to judge Cooper, sure he may not have done his part to move on, but Cooper contradicted himself by taking Chase back so quickly. He discounted Kyle all that stuff that happened Freshman year, but takes Chase back after he left cold without explaining anything for 20 YEARS. I wonder how he'll react when he finds out the newest update to the CHOOSE drama fest..

Edited July 24, 2011 by Caedus

[Conner]

That's not necessarily fair, Conner.

 

I'll admit, I absolutely loath Cooper in this story, but I understand why he did what he did. We don't get the same benefit for any of Devon's actions. We only see things as Cooper sees them, and as this chapter has proven, his views don't always reflect the current reality. Being in a relationship with a bisexual isn't easy, you have to appreciate the flexibility some of their partners have, and the trust they have to feel to open up a relationship. For all we know Devin may have been trying to be practical given Cooper's sexual past with commitment. So the gay flings may be her way of doing the best to make her marriage work since she can't fully meet that need for him, anyways we'll probably never know.

 

Also Kyle has every reason to judge Cooper, sure he may not have done his part to move on, but Cooper contradicted himself by taking Chase back so quickly. He discounted Kyle all that stuff that happened Freshman year, but takes Chase back after he left cold without explaining anything for 20 YEARS. I wonder how he'll react when he finds out the newest update to the CHOOSE drama fest?

 

You make some excellent points in regard to Devon. As you pointed out, we may never know more about Devon than we know now. Then again, maybe we could come up with some strategies to drag it out of the author. I understand professional stalkers can be very helpful in such cases.

 

In Coop's defence, I'm just going to quote Henry David Thoreau:

 

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.

I can't agree with you about Kyle. Frankly, I believe Kyle would be fine with the divorce if Coop was leaving Devon to be with him. I'm hoping Kyle will come around. If not, Coop needs a new lawyer.

[methodwriter85]

You're married to someone for 15 odd years and they tell you they want a divorce because an old flame returned and they want a perfect 10 relationship? You're telling me any of you would take that well? Come on. I do not in any way think that Devon's acting out of line or petty. She's actually being much more adult here than Cooper's capable of being- "You want to leave me? Fine, but these are the terms in which we're doing it. You don't get the house. The kids stay here except for visits to your pad on the weekend. There will be as little disruption to these kid's lives as possible, so don't argue with me on custody because it wouldn't do any of us good to fight over it." Cooper just seems to want his cake and eat it to- he choose Chase over married family life with Devon. And that's fine- but you can't then whine and bitch about how you're not getting joint custody or the house. You made your choice- now you have to live with it.

 

And can I tell you guys how much I love that Chase does not seem all that interested in playing step-dad to Cooper's kids? Thank god. Chase does not seem like a fatherly type, as he was married for 14 years and didn't use adoption or surrogacy to procure them. Had it been written as Chase suddenly wanting to be best buddies with CJ and all that, it would have felt fake. Again, the way in which Cooper's fantasy kinda coincides with cold hard reality.

Edited July 23, 2011 by methodwriter85

[methodwriter85]

I thought I'd bring this over here:

 

The List Universe Timeline

 

Fall 2010-Spring 2011: The events of the List.

 

Spring 2012: Sebastian and Brittany graduate from SMU. I always felt like they came off more as being at least juniors. With Sebastian being a dorm counselor, he had to have been at least a sophomore. I'm going with them being the class of '12.

 

Summer 2012: Chase goes to the Olympics; Cooper and him break up; Chase never goes back to SMU. Sebastian and Brittany get married.

 

Fall 2012-Spring 2013: Devon and Cooper start dating during their junior year of college.

 

Spring 2014: The gang graduates from college. Devon stays in the area to attend...law school? Med school? Something that Dallas colleges are good at. Meanwhile Cooper goes to grad school as well, to get an M.A. in English.

 

Spring 2015: Cooper and Devon get married.

 

September 7, 2016: Sebastian's son Mike is born.

 

Spring 2016: Cooper finishes grad school; gets a job with a newspaper.

 

November 2016: Cooper starts writing for the Dallas Morning News.

 

February 15th, 2017: Lizzie, Cooper's daughter, is born. She is currently 15.

 

November 29th, 2018: Cooper's son CJ is born. He is currently 13.

 

Spring 2019: Cooper gets promoted and starts his column, The Funny Thing Is.

 

Spring/Summer 2028: All Cooped Up becomes a best-seller.

 

Summer/Fall 2032: The "present"-day for the crew.

 

Have we come up with exact ages yet for Cooper, Chase, Spencer, etc etc or are we keeping those open, JWolf?

[Caedus]

^ Shouldn't you update Chase's info as well for the timeline?

[methodwriter85]

I could, but eh.

[Jwolf]

The shootin' match continues. the next chapter is available here. Check it out and let me know what you think

[Marzipan]

Me thinks (and I know I am team Kyle) this was a hard chapter and emotional one. Cooper totally distracted his hurt from Chase by getting a rebound with Kyle. I hope there will be much much more dancing around the issue. IF you plan to make Chase Mr Right for Coop, I so wanna see how you make it happen. Right now the guy is a scumbag in my mind (with all sympathy). Ok everyone makes mistakes and obviously Chase did too, but Kyle... Sigh.

 

Great chappy! You are such a tease. I want more. Send it over ASP.

[Jwolf]

Me thinks (and I know I am team Kyle) this was a hard chapter and emotional one. Cooper totally distracted his hurt from Chase by getting a rebound with Kyle. I hope there will be much much more dancing around the issue. IF you plan to make Chase Mr Right for Coop, I so wanna see how you make it happen. Right now the guy is a scumbag in my mind (with all sympathy). Ok everyone makes mistakes and obviously Chase did too, but Kyle... Sigh.

 

Great chappy! You are such a tease. I want more. Send it over ASP.

 

Eek. I don't want to be a huge tease. It was a hard chapter to write, probably because I always wanted to go back there with Coop and Kyle, but I never really knew how. I felt like this way made sense, so definitely expect the repercussions to play out over several chapters.

[Conner]

Slamming the door in Chance's face was the right decision for Coop. I really believe he needs to take a step back and "take inventory", or as we Catholics say, "make an examination of conscience".

 

Is Coop up for it? Not a chance!(no pun intended, I think). He hasn't mangled up his life enough yet, let alone the lives of the people he cares about.

 

As I mentioned in my review, I'm not a Kyle fan; but Kyle has already paid the piper for his mistakes. I don't want to see him hurt again. Somehow it seems inevitable.

 

On a more positive note, I'm looking forward to seeing how much staying power Chance has. Will he continue to pursue Coop or fold his hand? Obviously, he needs to file his divorce documents and find a way to let Coop know about it. After that, I'm not at all sure He needs to explain his deceit and convince Coop that Taylor is history.

 

Speaking of Taylor, I'm wondering what chapter he'll show up in!

 

The pizza boy cover for serving legal documents? I loved it!

[Jwolf]

I'll address the less positive notes first. Kyle is a lot stronger than he was in The List. I love his character (albeit I can understand why people don't like him as much) because of his ability to stay cool about his emotions. We don't know exactly what he's feeling-- this whole nonchalant attitude could be a total lie-- but he won't show it out right, and certainly not to Cooper. I won't even begin to pretend that their little hookup won't ignite some emotions... after 20 years of pining for someone, it totally has to and I'm selfishly excited about exploring that dynamic. But to the extant that Kyle allows himself to act on it, well... we'll just have to see.

 

On a lighter note, Chase dropped everything in California to be with Cooper again. One door slam isn't going to keep homeboy down, I promise you that.

 

I'm glad you liked the chapter, Conner. More to come soon.

[Jwolf]

Chapter 6 is up and available here! Check it out and let me know what you think

[methodwriter85]

Cooper, you brought this all on yourself.