Story Discussion

new chapter! O.O

So it seems like Jared is really getting to know Noah a lot better...
Or at least knowing the inside of his oral cavity

I feel like analyzing the characters themselves today, as opposed to doing much discussion about the story as a whole. Noah's becoming something of an ironic character for me. e's been through an awful lot, and the expectation and general social pattern is that people who face significant hardship in their lives mature more quickly, often out of necessity in order to protect themselves from further emotional/mental harm. Noah was originally the more mature character between him and Jaden as well, so it is rather ironic that in this whole series of events since the rape, it's been Noah that's been acting really immature and out of character for himself. Then again, sometimes that's a defense mechanism too, becoming something that you hadn't been before, as a means of destroying the 'tainted' version of yourself, that thing you don't ever want to be again because it was frail or otherwise no able to handle the stressing events in life that led to the personality change.

As for Jaden... I really want to identify with him, always liked him better because he seemed more relatable and kind of stereotypical for a teenage guy. I understand why he's angry and upset with Noah, I would be too if someone accused me of cheating on them when it was clear we weren't dating and had made prior promises to look and not touch. It'd be a violation of my trust of the person, and it would show that they never really trusted me, which would just suck on a whole pile of different levels. I just don't agree that it's being done the right way, Jaden's responding by pulling away, and that's making Noah try and latch on even more when it's clear that they need to get everything out in the open and have it get dealt with so that they can move on with their lives. As long as Jaden's not willing to have that fight with Noah, they're going to be stuck where they are in their relationship and it's going to hurt them far more in the long run than if they just get it over with.

I don't have that much to say about Jared, except that he's an absolute vulture and the very worst kind of person. Anyone not thinking with their cock would realize that Noah needs space right now, and that trying to put the moves on him is about as disgusting as you can go and still not break any laws. Well, except for the law of personal morality, but I think it's pretty obvious that Jared lacks that law in his own mind.

Short chapter, so I can't say too much about the story, except that it does seem like it's the beginning of the end for Noah and Jaden. Their stories together may soon be at an end, I can only wonder if there will be any continuations with one or both characters, as they drift away from each other's lives.

that was such a...more passionate opinion of jared than i was expecting hahahaha

jareds not interested in noah's problems. thats not to say he doesnt CARE about noah, but when theyre together, all jared wants is fun & a good time. which is not a bad thing, but sometimes, when u really wanna talk to someone about ur problems, u want someone whos mature enough to listen rather than wave them off & act as though u shouldnt be having any problems. if ur in a good mood, jareds great. but unfortunately, life is messy & hes not the kind of person who wants to acknowledge peoples pains. hes a free spirit...but hes just too free.

i agree about jade. hes going about it the wrong way. i think itd be better if they both just took a deep breath & talked shit out. but theyre both human, sadly, & so they BOTH keep acting purely on emotion rather logic (obviously noah more so). and its much easier to wanna push someone away whos hurting u rather than make up with them :/

and...PERHAPS..the descent of the story has begun...

cool cant wait 2 c what next

I don't have anything else to add that hasn't been said already except that I don't think what Jared did was disgusting at all. He just wants to make Noah have a good time with him. Good job Kellen.

You don't think it's predatory to repeatedly try and hit on someone when they're going through as much shit as Noah? Particularly when part of Noah's emotional difficulties stem from another boy and sexuality in general.

You're making it sound as if Jared is taking advantage of Noah's emotional weakness to have sex with him. As far as Jared is concerned (I think) Noah's problems and Jared himself are mutually exclusive.

I think he is. They barely know each other, and I accept that you generally have to know something of one another before you start helping them through their shit. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that making out with Noah, feeling him up and then pulling him into the bedroom is a monumentally poor decision.

it might be his way of helping though?

Amazingly, I'm inclined to agree with Ephraim here. Jared doesn't know Jaden at all. He doesn't know what went on between them, he doesn't know the depth of Noah's issues. If I remember correctly, he doesn't really know that Noah was raped, or at least he doesn't know much of the details. From his perspective, this is a guy he really likes who's moping over his ex and complaining about it to his new love interest. From Jared's perspective, Noah could easily be seen as self-absorbed. Sure, we haven't gotten any sign that Jared has any serious issues in his life, but he might be struggling with his own shit, and Noah hasn't really done much to investigate that.

These two aren't Noah and Jaden; they aren't friends growing into something more, they're pretty new to each other. And in that situation, not only would it feel like prying to get involved with the other person's old stuff, but it might turn the friendship in a direction you don't want. Jared isn't looking to be Noah's friend, he's looking to be his boyfriend. Obviously when you're going out with someone, you grow to know a whole lot about them and you mean a whole lot to each other, but when things are just starting out you don't want your prospective love to be thinking about his ex all the time. It's easy to take Noah's side as a reader because he's the protagonist. It might be called "Noah and Jaden", but it's Noah's day we experience, his thoughts and feelings we hear. From an outsider's perspective, it's a very different picture.

I believe good writing is measured by characters you can believe in, realistic dialogue, complex situations and tensions that don't easily resolve. But great writing is measured by a world you can believe in. Jared is more than just a potential love interest for Noah, he feels like a real character with his own life and feelings and problems. We as readers might not know about them, but Kell writes as though they exist anyway. And THAT's why Jared isn't a total douche asshole predator.

Tl;dr we like Noah because he's ours, but Jared doesn't know about all his problems, and that's a good thing because it shows this story is really well written.

Kell, you must be ecstatic. Everyone's posting massive essays about your stories now! You just have to keep it vaguely controversial from here and you're all set

ohh i am. ill spare the details, but as i told trev, im so happy im grabbing my wood bat right now.

Kell wrote:

ohh i am. ill spare the details, but as i told trev, im so happy im grabbing my wood bat right now.

Urgh. Mental image rematerializing, unable to take part in person. Sadface.

wait until the baby come into the story i hope noah get 2 take care of it he lest need that after all of this

Oh sweet Jesus no! Something tells me that if Noah gets the baby he'll hate it and make sure that the child knows about it and then the kid will turn out to be like Uncle Ray and Rory combo.

Sabazius wrote:

Amazingly, I'm inclined to agree with Ephraim here.

I'll take that as a compliment, thanks ><

ems wrote:

Oh sweet Jesus no! Something tells me that if Noah gets the baby he'll hate it and make sure that the child knows about it and then the kid will turn out to be like Uncle Ray and Rory combo.

wait, say that again?

Oh sweet Jesus no! Something tells me that if Noah gets the baby he'll hate it and make sure that the child knows about it and then the kid will turn out to be like Uncle Ray and Rory combo.

Happy?

no

no i dont think noah wood do that 2 the baby hes 2 nice & he be a good dad & he nothing like royat all

noah WOULD make a good dad. after all, he also wants to be a pediatrician

He's going to become a paediatrician? When did he decide to do that?

a long time ago if u PAID ATTENTION lol. i dont remember what chapter its in

win do u think the baby come into the story

soon lol. thats all im sayin xD

u tease