Streak

[methodwriter85]

So I was checking out Mark's replies to the reviews...

 

 

I think that Zach has his cadre, who he's intensely loyal to, and he could give a fuck about everyone else. There's something both mercenary and endearing about that.

 

And I really, really like that you're going this way with Zach. I love that he's not having some kind of epiphany about how much team work really matters and yada yada yada. It's a great departure from Wade and Matt, who dearly loved their teammates and made really close friends with them.

 

He's a lone wolf, with a few people he lets in, much in the way JJ is. Although with JJ's case, he pretty much latches on to one person and makes them his entire world. I don't think Zach does that, but he does appreciate having Will as an anchor.

 

As for the Streak description...I kinda like that you went succinct there, as opposed to the long, drawn out description we usually get that directs people to the other stories that they've been in. I mean, at 15 stories...

Edited August 17, 2014 by methodwriter85

[damejintymcginty]

 

As for the Streak description...I kinda like that you went succinct there, as opposed to the long, drawn out description we usually get that directs people to the other stories that they've been in. I mean, at 15 stories...

 

That is so funny. It's like saying 'If you haven't got the gist by now, probably not getting it!'

[methodwriter85]

Mark, you tagged the Streak as 20th century. Shouldn't that be 21st century?

 

Anyway....

 

 I was so tempted to just stay here, but I felt like I needed to check up on Matt, Wade, and JJ.  What kind of father would I be if I let my 16-year-old son move to a different city and I didn’t even bother to check out where he was living?

 

 

The same kind of father who basically dumped raising him to Jeanine for 14 years so that he could focus on being besties with his biological son?

 

I wonder if Brad even realizes that JJ basically considers himself lucky that they aren't very close because as JJ put it, being Brad's favorite comes with a pretty heavy price, one that both Will and Robbie had to experience.

Edited August 18, 2014 by methodwriter85

[mmike1969]

That is so funny. It's like saying 'If you haven't got the gist by now, probably not getting it!'

We got it:

 

The Streak -->

[methodwriter85]

There's this storyline on the Young and the Restless where a woman who looks like this guy's dead daughter is scheming to seduce him. Not that he fell for it, but it made me think about Blue saying how creepy it was that J.P. slept with a guy who looked like a copy of his dead son who died at 15.

 

Although Mark has really backed off on the idea that the Hayes men look exactly alike, starting with Matt's generation. I wonder if part of that was to avoid situations involving the weirdness of sleeping with people who look so much like another loved one. How weird would it have been if Zach had looked exactly like Robbie and Will still slept with him?

[mmike1969]

Wow. I forgot how much of a Whore Marcel was (is?).

 

At the same time, Brad sleeping and marrying Robbie, who also looked like Brad's still alive brother (at that time) is acceptable?

[JimP]

In Chapter 4, during JJ's discussion with Alex, Alex mentioned about seeing JJ and Tiffany when he came for JJs event in Germany.  That made me think.  Maybe Mark is going to have Alex start a relationship with both JJ and Tiffany.  The JJ could be his little princess and Tiffany could be his bit of rough.  That would then give him Tiffany to show off to the family so they will think he is straight. Wonder how that would work with Tiffany being preggers?  Just a thought. Who knows what Mark will actually write for those three. It is fun to speculate though.  

[mmike1969]

Matt gave me a dirty look, a look that changed to evil. “This is Princess.”

Best line in ALL of CAP!

 

“It’s fine,” I said. It was one of those things I would just as soon forget. So what’s you schedule?”

 

How many editors do you have reading for ya again Mark?

 

“He has a job, and they’re relying on him to be there,” I said coldly, irritated that Will had no concept of the responsibility that came with working for a business.

Hmm... Upper class teenager that has no concept of responsibility. Yeah sounds about right.

[Mark Arbour]

 

How many editors do you have reading for ya again Mark?

 

 

 

Your quote showed an absence of a set of quotation marks before 'So'.  When I checked the chapter here, the marks were there.  Browser issues?

 

Hmm... Upper class teenager that has no concept of responsibility. Yeah sounds about right.

 

 

Will has a very good concept of responsibility, just not as it relates to a regular job.

[Headstall]

---

Edited August 20, 2014 by Headstall

[methodwriter85]

Tiffany seems like she's a lesbian who will occasionally have sex with men, but wouldn't actually get into a relationship with one. (I was actually hoping she'd be more on the bisexual side, but that doesn't seem to be where Mark has gone with her because we only see her considering female love interests.) I'm not sure a Tiffany/JJ/Alex triangle could happen, especially considering that she's JJ's lone mother figure now. I also cannot see Tiffany willing to play the beard for anybody, given her own experience of getting crucified by the sport for refusing to play straight like Nicole Bobek did.

 

 

 I smiled briefly because it was flattering, but I had no interest in other skaters.  They were my competitors, not people I’d want to be romantically involved with.  Besides, sleeping with a fellow skater was like sleeping with a co-worker.  Every time it happened, there was all kinds of vicious gossip and backstabbing.  I was smart.  I was avoiding that.  In fact, I decided to be so cool about it, I didn’t even respond to Tiffany.  

 

    I looked up the guy, Craig Buntin. Not bad at all. Too bad JJ has his policy about not mixing with other skaters (although Evan seems like an exception), but it's probably smart to avoid that.

 

    I really like how many layers there are to JJ- he's so hard to read because he's so enigmatic. He wants to exercise utter control over his emotions, but he can't, and I like how that paragraph was juxtaposed with him talking to his infatuation, Alex.

 

    The other thing I thought was interesting is JJ responding to being looked at, in that way. He's used to being the little 12-year old looking shrimp that no one ever gives an appreciative once-over at, while they lust over Darius and Will. It'll be interesting to see how he handles that kind of attention, which will probably start increasing the further along he gets into his career.

 

      When we met Will at 13, he was already pretty developed in terms of his sexual interactions with people...with JJ, we're getting more of a neophyte who, aside from his abusive coach, has only ever really made out with people. It'll be interesting to see how JJ handles becoming sexual, especially considering that he's expected to hide that sexuality in order to be the perfect virginal asexual figure skater.

Edited August 20, 2014 by methodwriter85

[Timothy M.]

Your quote showed an absence of a set of quotation marks before 'So'.  When I checked the chapter here, the marks were there.  Browser issues?.

 

I didn't note the absence of a quotation mark, but I immediately saw the missing r on your schedule. I bet this is what mike was thinking of.

 “It’s fine,” I said. It was one of those things I would just as soon forget. “So what’s you schedule?”

Edited August 20, 2014 by Timothy M.

[mmike1969]

I didn't note the absence of a quotation mark, but I immediately saw the missing r on your schedule. I bet this is what mike was thinking of.

“It’s fine,” I said. It was one of those things I would just as soon forget. “So what’s you schedule?”

Bonus star for Timothy M

 

Unless it's some kind of new way young people were talking during this time: so how's you day?

[Mark Arbour]

I didn't note the absence of a quotation mark, but I immediately saw the missing r on your schedule. I bet this is what mike was thinking of.

 “It’s fine,” I said. It was one of those things I would just as soon forget. “So what’s you schedule?”

 

Thanks!  Fixed it!

[Timothy M.]

Don't thank me ! Mike was the one to see it. I didn't notice in the story, only when I read his post here.

[Bucket1]

 

    I really like how many layers there are to JJ- he's so hard to read because he's so enigmatic. He wants to exercise utter control over his emotions, but he can't, and I like how that paragraph was juxtaposed with him talking to his infatuation, Alex.

 

    The other thing I thought was interesting is JJ responding to being looked at, in that way. He's used to being the little 12-year old looking shrimp that no one ever gives an appreciative once-over at, while they lust over Darius and Will. It'll be interesting to see how he handles that kind of attention, which will probably start increasing the further along he gets into his career.

 

      When we met Will at 13, he was already pretty developed in terms of his sexual interactions with people...with JJ, we're getting more of a neophyte who, aside from his abusive coach, has only ever really made out with people. It'll be interesting to see how JJ handles becoming sexual, especially considering that he's expected to hide that sexuality in order to be the perfect virginal asexual figure skater.

 

I'm not quite sure if this will come out the right way but up until now JJ has really been more of a literary device rather than a character.

 

He has been the bitchy diva who chucks a tantrum if things don't go his way. Now we are seeing much much more of him and although he is still a bitchy diva, he is a bitchy diva with some character and depth.

 

The contrasts and similarities between Zach and JJ will be interesting to see develop - both will have great stories to tell but I think Zach will have a tougher time because he doesn't really have the support of his family in the same way that JJ does.

Edited August 21, 2014 by Bucket1

[B1ue]

I'm starting to notice an interesting pattern. Despite the note on the tin, we are hearing an awful lot from Will and Brad. I am curious if this is going to continue, or if it simply due to the events being depicted at this moment.

[methodwriter85]

    Well, it kind of makes sense that we're hearing a lot from Brad and Will, because we're hitting both the 1-year anniversary of 9/11, and Will's 16th birthday.

[B1ue]

Not really. These are important events for these characters, yes, but it's not like 9/11 is unimportant to Wade, or Will's birthday meaningless to Zach. And if the plot for Streak really is intended to be from theirs and JJ's perspective for the most part, it might even be necessary to see Will and Brad's reactions to these important dates from the viewpoint of the intended major characters. Will and Brad are volatile characters, given to extremes and outbursts. What do Zach, Wade, and JJ REALLY think about their histrionics? Especially JJ, since he won't always allow himself to carry on like Brad or Will, despite his clear inclination towards being just as big of a diva as those two.

 

I don't intend any of this as criticism, mind, especially not negative criticism. Mark should write what he wants to write, and I'll read it. I'm merely curious if Brad and Will are going to be a lot more central than Mark may have originally intended.

[methodwriter85]

   Well, to be honest, I thought Brad was going to be pretty central by nature of the fact that he's still recovering from 9/11 and he's going through the dating scene. Brad remains Mark's avatar for the things (and men) that he wishes he could do. As for Will...eh. Mark clearly loves writing for Will but it's not really his conflicts that are carrying this particular story forward.

 

    The last time we had a story that wasn't an ensemble piece was Millennium...ever since then, it's basically been either a dual-narrator, or an ensemble piece. Poor Man's Son really signaled that shift- we were set up with the idea that it was Gathan's story and he was the title character, and then Will basically went from being the supporting character to the dual character and then basically the lead character while Gathan got demoted to supporting. So after that experience, I don't really expect anyone to "really" be the star even if the title would indicate that they were.

 

    As for why we haven't seen that much of Zach and JJ as the marquee and title would indicate, you gotta remember that Zach and JJ's seasons are just getting started.

Edited August 23, 2014 by methodwriter85

[impunity]

I'm not sure I understand the issue here. Mark listed Brad and Will as narrators. Isn't that enough to expect that they'll narrate?

As an aside, Brad and Will are my perennial favorites, but JJ is becoming increasingly more interesting. I look forward to hearing more from him.

[Timothy M.]

I'm not sure I understand the issue here. Mark listed Brad and Will as narrators. Isn't that enough to expect that they'll narrate?.

 

Well, Mark didn't list Will as a main narrator, and so far he hasn't been, in my opinion. It's just that some readers break out in spots whenever Will is on.   But otherwise I agree with you, we're getting just what Mark promised:

 

The next book will employ multiple narrators. The primary people we will hear from are JJ, Zach, Wade, and Brad, with a little Will thrown in to spice things up.

[GLH]

OMG...  I'm so hammered...  WTF?

[GLH]

Moral of the story: Frozen margaritas and extreme heat lead to over imbibing and the resultant drunk texting/posting.

[Mark Arbour]

Not really. These are important events for these characters, yes, but it's not like 9/11 is unimportant to Wade, or Will's birthday meaningless to Zach. And if the plot for Streak really is intended to be from theirs and JJ's perspective for the most part, it might even be necessary to see Will and Brad's reactions to these important dates from the viewpoint of the intended major characters. Will and Brad are volatile characters, given to extremes and outbursts. What do Zach, Wade, and JJ REALLY think about their histrionics? Especially JJ, since he won't always allow himself to carry on like Brad or Will, despite his clear inclination towards being just as big of a diva as those two.

 

I don't intend any of this as criticism, mind, especially not negative criticism. Mark should write what he wants to write, and I'll read it. I'm merely curious if Brad and Will are going to be a lot more central than Mark may have originally intended.

 

I didn't take your comments to be critical at all.  It was my intention (probably poorly communicated) that Brad would be a major narrator in this story.  I expect Will to be more peripheral.