Streak

[Bucket1]

I'm not sure Mark's taking Alex and JJ to an X-rating, but I'm sure they'll be at least a solid PG-13, which can still be pretty hot indeed.

 

I am trying to remember if Mark ever showed us Alex having "princess" sex - we had the wild passionate sessions with Matt, we had Wade complain about the lacklustre sex with Alex but I just can't remember actually seeing it?

[mmike1969]

I am trying to remember if Mark ever showed us Alex having "princess" sex - we had the wild passionate sessions with Matt, we had Wade complain about the lacklustre sex with Alex but I just can't remember actually seeing it?

Just imagine Bella and Edward from Twilight minus the bed breaking scene and the excessive sparkles and you got Wade and Alex.

[Timothy M.]

I love it when I'm right:

Will didn't interfere in the situation with JJ and Alex (except to tell Brad to back off - and JP backed him up).

JJ told all of them to mind their own business.

 

But I'm slightly disappointed in Stef, he used to have better instincts. 

[Kitt]

Will Brad never learn?  Being a parent I appreciate the urge to protect your child, but I also know you can only do your best to teach them right from wrong and then trust them to make the right decisions. That and be there to pick up the pieces if they fall.

[methodwriter85]

From JJ's point of view, the idea that ANY of these people think they've earned the right to talk about how to maintain long-term relationships is pretty laughable.

 

I also liked how Will pointed out how different JJ is. He won't blow up, and then cool down and forgive. His rage is cold, and it lasts for a very long time. I don't think JJ's even forgiven his mother at this point. And he's still rather chilly to Madison because of how she represents his mother's breakdown to him.

[impunity]

If JJ were a girl, he'd be a blushing virgin in white on his wedding day.

 

 

Yeah, no he would not be. But he can wear white if he wanted to.

 

The virgin statement was a commentary on JJ and Alex's courtship, rather than a general prediction for JJ. At the rate they're going, it looks like poor JJ will be stuck at first base for a very long time.

 

Also, I can see Alex's really liking the idea of marrying a virgin (Madonna). Given the option, I think he'd actively preserve his intended's "purity" until the wedding night.  

Edited October 3, 2014 by impunity

[mmike1969]

I am thinking of the word purity and absolutely no one that has hit puberty in the Hayes/Schulter/Crampton clans comes anywhere close to that definition.

 

No, not even Zeke or Trent. The words "trust fund" comes into play so I bet they all lost their virginity one way or another by now.

[impunity]

I am thinking of the word purity and absolutely no one that has hit puberty in the Hayes/Schulter/Crampton clans comes anywhere close to that definition.

No, not even Zeke or Trent. The words "trust fund" comes into play so I bet they all lost their virginity one way or another by now.

No one other than JJ. I don't think the rapist coach counts.

[Kitt]

No one other than JJ. I don't think the rapist coach counts.

I guess that would depend on if you equate purity and innocence.  He has certainly lost the latter.

[PrivateTim]

I love it when I'm right:

Will didn't interfere in the situation with JJ and Alex (except to tell Brad to back off - and JP backed him up).

JJ told all of them to mind their own business.

 

But I'm slightly disappointed in Stef, he used to have better instincts. 

 

I wouldn't let Will off the hook that easily. It was just 10 days ago that Will was conspiring with Matt & Wade about JJ & Alex and it was Will's idea that JJ should know and it was Will's thought that Matt should be the one to approach JJ.

 

Will has not narrated since then (it was Wade narrating in Ch. 11) so we have no idea what was in his mind other then HE STILL INTENDS TO TALK TO JJ TO INTERFERE in his life. How does Will get off criticizing Brad for getting involved with JJ's life when he intends to do the same thing? At least Brad is JJ's father and still has responsibility for him.

 

Will then goes on to TELL Brad, "don't you dare talk to Alex." Again, who is Will, who hates to be told ANYTHING, to tell someone else what they can and can not do? Will could say, "I think talking to Alex would be a horrible idea', but who is he to tell someone else "don't you dare", when he would burn  a car if someone said that to him?

 

When you read the arrogance of Will in that Ch 11 passage, it is like HE is the one deciding who should know what and who shouldn't and that they were going to develop a "plan." How is that not the kind of inteference he hates in everyone else?

[Timothy M.]

I also liked how Will pointed out how different JJ is. He won't blow up, and then cool down and forgive. His rage is cold, and it lasts for a very long time.

 

I think you may be right, but it's difficult to know, since we haven't seen much of JJ yet. What I like about him, is his self-restraint and ability to see how he should act to achieve his purpose.

Eg the way he knew not to go and knock on Alex's door after the discussion with Matt. He doesn't always work things out intellectually, but instinctively JJ knows that he needs to hold back and let Alex pursue him, and he prevents himself from doing what he wants emotionally in order to gain an advantage. In his way JJ is as manipulative and clever as Alex is perceived to be by many readers.

[Bucket1]

I think you may be right, but it's difficult to know, since we haven't seen much of JJ yet. What I like about him, is his self-restraint and ability to see how he should act to achieve his purpose.

Eg the way he knew not to go and knock on Alex's door after the discussion with Matt. He doesn't always work things out intellectually, but instinctively JJ knows that he needs to hold back and let Alex pursue him, and he prevents himself from doing what he wants emotionally in order to gain an advantage. In his way JJ is as manipulative and clever as Alex is perceived to be by many readers.

 

I liked this except for the word manipulative - it seems to fit better with Zach who has actively thought out his actions and followed them through to get a result (the ass coach for instance), JJ seems to be resounding to Alex at an intuitive level, using language like "this is what Alex wants" rather than if I do this Alex will love me and will get him into bed.

 

I guess my question is can you be manipulative on an instinctive responsive level?

Edited October 4, 2014 by Bucket1

[impunity]

I guess that would depend on if you equate purity and innocence. He has certainly lost the latter.

Purity is a physical concept while innocence is a state of knowledge. Between his early upbringing by a drug-addicted mother and being raised in the hotbed of sexuality that is the Schluter/Crampton household, JJ has probably never been truly innocent. However, he definitely aspires to purity.

From chapter 1:

I’d gotten hair under my armpits and in my groin, but I’d shaved it off. ...I felt cleaner that way. And I’d gotten a sex drive, which was really annoying.... It distracted me, and it made me feel impure.

In this context, "cleaner" -- in reference to the lack of adult body hair -- is just another form of purity. Somehow the idea of sex with Alex doesn't make him feel impure; however, he is also "saving" himself for the perfect partner. Alex, with his nobility, poise, elegance and sophistication, is precisely that partner. Given the opportunity, JJ would probably be content to remain monogamous with his one true love forever, not something we'd expect of any other CAP character. And that's what makes him the perfect fairy-tale princess. Edited October 4, 2014 by impunity

[methodwriter85]

I gotta correct you a bit on the "raised by a drug addict" mother- JJ never really knew Bitty except for the brief time when she tried to take custody of JJ and Darius in 1995. (And then conveniently died of a drug overdose.) He was pretty much claimed by Jeanine as her son from birth, because Bitty pretty much went back to the crackhouses as soon as she gave birth to JJ at the end of 1985.

 

But other than that, I agree. JJ aspires to purity even though he's certainly not innocent. Aside from it being what's he's expected to do, I think JJ needs a way to stand apart from his brothers, and not being a manwhore is one way to do it. He might have sex with Alex at some point (I mean, come on, this IS Mark Arbour writing and I'm not sure he'd let JJ keep his virginity through this entire story), but he's pretty vice-free compared to his brothers. He doesn't drink, he doesn't do drugs, and he doesn't slut around even though he probably could if he really wanted to. JJ does excess in other ways (I bet his closet is the size of a normal-szied bedroom), but he keeps himself relatively reigned in compared to his family.

 

 

Eg the way he knew not to go and knock on Alex's door after the discussion with Matt. He doesn't always work things out intellectually, but instinctively JJ knows that he needs to hold back and let Alex pursue him, and he prevents himself from doing what he wants emotionally in order to gain an advantage. In his way JJ is as manipulative and clever as Alex is perceived to be by many readers.

 

I think Mark's hinted that JJ is actually pretty good at reading people. When he tries to go for the obvious manipulation, he'll get called on it, but we've seen that JJ is actually quite astute when it comes to how other people act.

[impunity]

I am always happy to be corrected as needed.

[Daddydavek]

The latest chapter of Streak starts with Zach, moves on to JJ and ends with Brad.  

 

JJ and Alex manage to get hot.  (Jeremy was spot on with his comment earlier.)

 

Brad gets a little advice from everyone and just maybe realizes he he has to let go.  

 

It is a well done chapter, but in my estimation the writing describing Zach's little speech at the team meeting  was Arbour at his best.  

[mmike1969]

Re: Zach -->

"I laughed at how stupid these clowns were."

This one line makes me nervous over Zach and his overconfidence with the current situation. Typical teenager and the Superman complex he's suffering from. I know the feeling from when I was 16 and thought the same way.

 

Re: Brad -->

Everyone was telling me to let JJ make his own decisions when it came to Alex, but my own instincts were screaming at me to protect him.

Except your instincts were way off base when dealing with Will, Jeanine, Billy, Scott, Max and anyone else whom you had come within 20 feet from ya. Your people skills suck, Brad.

 

If course Mark would not put these one-liners that stick out unless there was purpose.

[Bucket1]

Poor old Brad does not have a good track record with fatherhood but he could do the supportive parent bit with JJ in this case. He could just take the wind out of JJ 's sails by telling him that he is there to support him, to help him. I wouldn't expect JJ to respond to kindly to the offer but letting him know that Brad will try to be the parent he thinks he is could be what JJ needs to hear.

 

Anyway at 17 JJ should be learning more about relationships from his own mistakes than from the advice of his part time dad.

 

Alex better have a ticket back to the UK in his back pocket because I wouldn't want to upset this family. And JJ won't do a slash and burn like Will, he will be much more calculated and cold about the whole thing. Maximum impact, maximum pain.

[Bucket1]

Re: Zach -->

This one line makes me nervous over Zach and his overconfidence with the current situation. Typical teenager and the Superman complex he's suffering from. I know the feeling from when I was 16 and thought the same way.

 

I do hope Zach realizes that this will never go away. His overconfidence is a big worry.

 

He will have to do this sort of thing every day until he retires.

[Timothy M.]

I was going to retract on the term manipulative in relation to JJ, but now I'm not so sure. But of course he's not in the same league as Zach.

 

Maybe it can be said that JJ manipulates his own behavior to conform to the expectations of Alex and hopes his actions will make Alex like him.

 

Zach manipulates the emotions and opinions of people around him in order to gain an advantage or protect himself.

 

But I guess since I approve of their intentions and goals, I'm fine with their methods. And Zach is telling the truth about his admiration for Will. I guess it's his dismissal of most people as stupid which grates, but at least he likes his coach.

[methodwriter85]

Most of the guys in this story have fucked first, and then fallen in love (or lust) later. There are a few notable exceptions to that, the biggest being Matt and Wade. I can see JJ ultimately being a little wild man in bed, but not until he was really comfortable with someone. He's no Will (or Darius

 

 

Yeah. The thing is, JJ can't have sex with people that he can't trust. He just can't. There's a lot riding on his image.

 

I really did like how that sexual encounter developed. It wasn't just oral sex, but some actual character development. JJ's playing a role, but it's mainly the truth, one that works for what Alex wants.

 

That Zach speech was just classic CAP. And the best part, it's all true- Will IS a hero, and a brave guy who faced down some very scary moments.

Edited October 7, 2014 by methodwriter85

[Henson]

Is it really manipulative to mirror a bit of what you know your partner likes, as long as you don't lose yourself in the role?

 

Dan Savage once told a group about a beautiful thing which happens in healthy relationships. You start out pretending that you're way more amazing than you are. Eventually your partner learns that you're just as human as the rest of us, but he pretends that you're still that idealized version of yourself - which motivates you to actually BE that better person. You do that for each other, and you literally make each other better by pretending you are.

 

Now, obviously, that's different in many regards from what JJ is doing here, but is it really manipulative to present what you know your partner idealizes about you, especially early in a relationship? Is it unhealthy for either person? I think it can grow to an unhealthy level, just as anything else in life, but there's nothing wrong with doing things your partner (or crush) likes as long as it isn't all one-sided.

[mmike1969]

I think the best part of the game playing of both JJ and Alex is they actually believe the other is not aware of the manipulations they doing to the other.

 

I wonder what is going to happen when they BOTH realize they are both wanting to be the top guy, both literally and figuratively.

 

And off-topic this message is being typed using Siri under iOS 8.0.2. I'm kind of impressed.

[methodwriter85]

I'm glad that Mark spared us a JJ meltdown. It just would have been too much of a redux of the Brad/Will rebellion stuff, which spanned over three stories. And in all honesty, Brad just did not earn the right to play "protective dad" now, when JJ's almost 17, after the many years that JJ was just an afterthought to Brad, who was almost always focused on Will. That's why I don't think that kind of story would have worked for them, because Brad/JJ don't have the baggage of having once been extremely close and best buddies, which is what drove so much of the Brad/Will drama.

 

I really liked JJ wondering if and when he's going to tell Alex about his molestation. I also liked that Brad pointed out how limited the future is with JJ and Alex, which JJ didn't really want to hear but knows that he's right.

Edited October 11, 2014 by methodwriter85

[Headstall]

Just one small point. For years it seemed JJ was all about his mom and vice versa. And for years it was the same with Will and his dad. Brad will win no parent awards but we should remember that he is the only parent left...there is no one else to rely on to pick up the slack and Brad may feel pressure from that. Also to consider, Brad's soulmate is gone which leaves a big hole...so if he tries to fill that hole by trying to be more involved in parenting, we should maybe cut him some slack. Brad is often a misguided control freak but with his concern for his four sons, I think more than ever before, his heart is in the right place and he just showed that with JJ.