Changing Lanes - Chapter 5 Expeditions is up

Enjoy

Hope Eric really does see Cody... It does seem he really wants to try guys out a bit. And I know he was using the cody bit for a cover, maybe I'm just wishing.

it's this part that gets me thinking

He couldn’t, though. Eric had, a little at a time, accepted that it was real; his sexual escapades, once the very core of his being, just were not what they had once been. Glancing at himself in one of the room’s mirrors, Eric wondered about the two girls he’d invited to share his bed that night. The old thrill he’d felt in the past was gone, and that, he decided, just wouldn’t do. With that thought came another: he needed advice, but from who? The person he was closest to was his younger brother Chase, but the one way they most differed was that Chase was far from sexually adventurous. Jon was another option, and Eric resolved to ask him, but as he did so his other option began to look ever more attractive, though Eric had no conscious notion of why. With that settled in his mind, and resolved to asking Brandon for some advice and opinions the next time they were alone, Eric snapped open a laptop to continue his research into dance and stripping routines for the stag party, determined to improve Jansen and Keith’s act.


Helen is cathing on to him

I love the easter egg you gave the fans CJ, but please have Cody show up unexpectedly for real, pretty please!

Eric needs some one stable and hopefully its a nice cute boy.

By the way, I hear Iranian weapons programs have interesting twists. What are they really hiding CJ? I know your style enough to know it is not simply another nuke, but I am guessing something worse. Biological would be the most deadly, then chemical next.

.....Poor Jon thinking he was the only str8 guy at the dinner table Wasn't he privy to Eric's plan to fly to the islands and secretly get away for 48 hours? Helen certainly remembered. Cleverly subtle hints on Eric's dissatisfaction of his tiresome sexual encounters leaving us believe Cody may have a chance? Is this the real reason behind the Title of this novel? Changing lanes? Will Jon too decide if you can't beat them join them!

I am confused about the General though, with all his connections surely he can obtain a fake passport? Well another great chapter CJ, I think it would be wise for Eric to watch out on the road for another motorcyclist having plates reading SHADY -1

Oh Eric, Eric, Eric... thinking you can outsmart Helen is really not too bright, is it? You should know better than that.

Another great chapter, CJ. I, too, hope that Cody makes an appearance in Changing Lanes. I don't know what Steve would think, but you have my permission. You already had Cody's author fly through the story on a motorcycle...so why not?

We have a favorite flavor for homemade ice cream...chocolate with a little crushed red pepper in it. Don't laugh; it's good.

Pulled myself away from school for a quick break. Great chpater CJ!

More later... *ducks back into my textbooks*

There is a group of gay men out there who happen to bed a lot of women just to prove that they're hetero. The only problem is that they eventually end up figuring out that what they're really missing is the men. I am starting to wonder if that's the case with Eric. Some may say it isn't possible, but it totally is.

Now onto Helen... It seems that she is taking a good approach for keeping tabs on Eric. She is pretending not to know a damn thing about his plans, but she has it figured out. It's going to be interesting to find out exactly what she is planning to do. I, for one, am extremely curious about that one.

Then there's Cody. Hmmmm... this leads me to wonder exactly what's going to happen with those two. Are worlds going to collide once again? If so, that is certainly going to be interesting. God, I hope there's a good Shadowgod sex scene.

That's what I was thinking too! Or at least that it was another interpretation.

Fascinating chapter, it looks like the Men In Black are on to the general!

I can't wait to see what happens at their meeting!

I still might think Eric is leaning towards Bisexuality, again this is cj's story we all know what the goat is capable of.

It's possible that Eric's sexual escapades with the girls was to convince himself that he's straight. It's possible that the kiss with Cody has ignited a spark that is slowly starting to grow into the flicker of a flame.

And since this is Eric's story, who's better than him to bring use the stories title. Jerry/Scar got to say it in Let The Music Play.

If the General does go to see Helen, I hope he thinks to check for a tail. That's all we need is for him to lead the FED's back to Helen after they've met with her.

I have to say, this is turning into a really good story CJ. I have to say i'm really intrested in seeing what happens in the next chapter.

Amazing job!

Eric

That was precisely the point I made earlier, Jan. I think for so long a lot of us have been thinking that it is the fact that he is bi or bi-curious, but the fact that having sex with women just doesn't really do it for him suggests just that. I'm sure Cody will help him see the light soon enough unless Joe gets to Cody first.

Okay, just playing devil's advocate here for a moment:

I mean, that could very well be the explanation. A lot of hints seem to suggest that it is. And I know a lot of readers are hoping that it will turn out that way, that the "emptiness" of Eric's encounters with girls is because he was chasing the wrong gender all this time, or at least shut off from the possibility. That's a perfectly possible explanation and it may turn out to be right.

But it's not necessarily the case. I'd suggest that it's more likely to be that Eric is merely finding his relationships with girls empty not because they're with girls but because they're not relationships.

Eric is in a unique situation for his age; he's got access to all the sex he could possibly want, and at the same time, he's never in the same place long enough to form real ties with everyone. He's under pressure, due to his career, to live up to his "womanizer" image. And he has a healthy appetite to try anything once.

But like I said on another thread, for people like that, when love hits, it can hit hard. Casual sex is empty in the long run, and "something missing" doesn't necessarily mean he's gay or bi, it could mean that he just wants more out of an encounter with a girl. Like, some actual emotional investment, maybe.

As for whether he's gay or bi, well, maybe, maybe not. Let's exaimine the evidence:

-He has zero hang-ups. None. He's not one to shy away from something because he's afraid of it.
-He kissed Cody. While drunk on Tequila.
-He's obviously supportive of his brother, Chase, and his boyfriend Brandon. And maybe a little jealous of what the two of them have together.
-He's taken it upon himself to choreograph the male stripper act for the bachelor party.
-He feels there's something missing from his current sex life.
-He told everyone he wants to go to SF to see Cody and figure out where it might lead.

When we examine the evidence, we see that all of it is pretty ambiguous; there's really two possible explanations for all of it. His lack of hang-ups could make him more likely to want to give men a try, or could indicate that, if he was bi-curious, he probably would've "experimented" a long time ago. He kissed Cody, but that could've just been the tequila or the desire for tequila talking. He is maybe a little jealous of Chase and Brandon, but is he jealous because they're gay, or because of their close emotional attachment, that Eric doesn't have? He is choreographing the stripper act, but is it because he's interested, or because he has experience with that sort of thing, being a performer himself? He feels something's missing, but is it men? Or love in general? He told everyone he wants to go to San Francisco to see Cody, but we know he's really going to the Canary Islands so that's just an excuse. Is there truth to it? Or did Eric just figure it was convenient, given his audience, and that it might throw Helen off his trail?

See, there's really no way of knowing, one way or the other. I suspect that, because this is CJ-land, it may well turn out to be Option A. But in real life, it's probably more likely to be Option B. I mean, Eric has not exactly suffered for lack of opportunity in his sex life, and Barbra's right, he's a little bit old to be realizing these things for the first time, maybe. Or maybe not. Wait and see, right?

You can say it was the tequila all you want. All booze does is lower inhibitions. Thus, it brings out the real "you" so to speak. Thus, he kissed Cody, because deep down he has always been attracted to guys but has been ashamed to admit it. Where did you come up with the idea that he has no hang-ups? Sure he likes to party and act like a complete jackass at times, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't have hang-ups in other aspects of his life. Obviously, he hasn't exactly allowed himself to really explore that side of himself, because he has been afraid. Now he seems to have no alternative but to face it, because he feels empty. As for the fact that he hasn't been in relationships, that may be the same thing. Maybe he doesn't feel that level of intimacy with women, and if that's the case, the serial one-night stands are symptomatic of that issue.

It is logical observation, sadly!

In our modern world sex is cheap and very lacking for both worlds not just straight. My generation could attest that the freedom and sexual allowances has left something empty in its wake. Promiscuity is still high, but I wonder at what time will it hit people that a one night stand is never fulfilling in the long run. Sex is an open interpretation, but love is something indefinable.

I would be happy as a human being to know that Eric finds some one he loves, whether it is a boy or girl.

As a reader, I would rather have him choose to be with a boy, with Cody at the top of the list. Is that kind of bad to add pressure upon the writer to make such a choice? Perhaps. Opening that line of logic brings me to a chilling idea, by conferring our own sexuality upon characters in stories are we no different than other who wish for us to conform to their sexuality in reality.....

Deep huh?

It was stated that he felt jealous of what Brandon and Chase have.

Here's another possibility to add to the discussion. If Eric is bi or gay, knowing what happened to Chase when the parents found out, he suppressed his tendencies and tried to convince himself that he's straight, but that kiss woke up something.

I also agree with Tim about the booze. If Eric had not wanted to kiss Cody, he wouldn't have.

But, his motive for wanting it is still in question. Did he want to kiss Cody because he is not straight? Did he want to kiss Cody because he is willing to try anything once? I think that if he kisses Cody, or another man, again, outside of sex, then we have our answer. Regardless of his toxicity.

...........Here we have a 'typical' rock star that can basically have anything he wants, Helen tries to keeps him in line, he looks at the relationship between his brother and Brandon and sees that there is no shallowness, they definitely have something together that he envy's, meanwhile he notes that the life he has been living is plastic in comparison there is no love, just trysts. Yet he try may attempt 'all sides' to seek his paradise. I think Eric is str8 and he is only seeking happiness.

Wow, some great speculation here!!!

I can't comment on what will happen (If I do, our anti-spoiler Echidna, Graeme, will turn me into a pincushion! I feat the spines!)

However... I can mention that I always bury clues to what will happen, earlier in the story. In this case, although Changing LAnes is supposed to be a stand-alone story, there are some serious clues back in LTMP. Remember the chat Eric and Chase had right after the "Worlds Collide" chapter and Eric's kiss with Cody? That's one good place to look. There are others, in Changing Lanes itself, but as the old saying goes, sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees....



Another nuke would IMHO be highly cliche and repetitive. I'm afraid I can't comment beyond that, other than to say that, like in LTMP, I'm striving to make certain the tech is real.

The Stealthed photo recon satellite, for example, is quite real, and so is the general description of how it is built.

Sometimes, I may have to make guesses. For example, I do not know, nor can I find out, the specific ORBAT (order of Battle) for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, nor their equipment and tasking manifest. I also don't know for sure where, exactly, their chemical weapons inventory is stored (it will be in several places). All I can do in cases like that is make extrapolations and deductions. Do I know that they would have NBC detectors nearby? No, but doing so is both logical, and has twigged photo annalists to other chem and bio depots in other countries in the past. In other words, it's operationally logical that they would do so, so I assumed that they would do so even though I do not know.



John knew that Eric was planning on the Canary Islands, but not that he was going to check it out in person. Eric couldn't tell him in advance, because Helen can read Jon like a book.

Obtaining a false, working passport is far from easy. The General's freind Bill works in the wrong side of the as-yet-unnamed agency (he's intel, not operations) to have any access to anything like that. The General's contacts are mainly military. No access to a false passport, nor the means and skills to do it himself.

And Yes, I suspect that the Shady One isn't done with Eric yet...




That does sound good!!

Ground black Pepper on vanilla ice cream is actually one of my own favorites... It's quite good! But then again, the peanut butter and pepperoni sandwich (with tabasco sauce) in chapter one is one of my favorites too.

BTW, I bet you know wone of the secrets of good chilli... Chocolate.

There are candy makers out there that mix chocolate and peppers together.

Very true! They are a good mix, IMHO.

BTW, anyone care to speculate on what this might mean,



What offer is the General thinking of?

BTW, the next chapter is entitled "Travel Plans"

That sounds like an interesting title. He's supposed to be going to San Francisco. I bet there are other places, because it says "plans" and not "plans".

I got the impression that Eric was just using Cody and San Francisco as an excuse to get to the Canary Islands undetected. Did I read that completely wrong?

.......No you did not get that wrong, that was the 'plan', CJ just misdirected as usual

I suspect that he may visit Cody before leaving town. I could be wrong though.

....he did bring it up, I suspect it was a rouse to rabble the masses

Nope, you read it right.

see... evil goat, turned poor Cody into nothing more then an excuse for misadventure.

and you say I'm evil...

pfftt

The impression I got was that Eric was greatly affected by the neer miss in the air plane and the battle with the Scar. Seeing Brandon and Chase work as one unit probably got him thinking. In a crisis they had each other and he was facing things by himself. It seems like he never gave any thought to who he was sleeping with and why. I suspect that he will be more concerned with the sort of person he dates than the gender of that person.

Cody was just the excuse that Eric used for going to SF. As far as I know, Eric doesn't know where Cody lives. He's just assuming that he lives in SF since that's where they met.

Oh, wait. There would have been the money Eric promised.

I have to agree I even looked up misdirection in the dictionary and found a picture of a goat next to it


Hmmmm... didn't think of that...


Uh-huh... i'll take the shadowyness one's over yours


You're not evil... compared to CJ you're the Diet Coke of Evil (just one calorie, not evil enough )

Eric, don't tempt him. Shadowgod is capable of evil cliffhangers and misdirection. If you keep telling him that he's not evil, he's going to be tempted to prove you wrong.

I personally don't think Cody is going to make an appearance in the next chapter of Changing Lanes, and here's why: The timelines of Changing Lanes and D&CW are off. Far off. D&CW is in the past compared to CL, even though they both exist in the same "universe".

So it's quite simple, really: If Cody shows up in the next little while in CL, it would be a huge spoiler for D&CW. No matter what happens. Unavoidable, really. And we all know that CJ and Shadowgod would get their butts kicked for that kind of spoiler, which is why it'll never happen.

Gay, straight, bi, whatever, Eric is just using Cody as an excuse at this point. If he ends up with a guy, I suspect it'll be with someone in the CL timeline, not with Cody.

That's my theory and I'm sticking to it. (At least, unless proven wrong).

Huh!!?!! Ummm, did somebody Tequila you, Eric? You know I'm not evil...

And bewares... Tiger is right.. Don't tempt Shadowyness.. Remember LiS 26? <shudder>



I can only address one point of this without giving spoilers. That point is the timeline. You are 100% correct on that; the Changing Lanes Timeline is months ahead of DnCW. However, this does not preclude future interaction; the timelines should sync up again around chapter 50 of Dreams and Cliffed wings. Also, there might be other interaction, of a limited nature, that can occur much sooner without being a spoiler. You'll see. Good catch on the timeline!!
CJ

.....Ahh, First of all the sequel is titled : 'Changing Lanes' His Shadowynes has picked the subtitles to bring us to the brink of disaster. AAcck the goat may be right on this one.

*Rushes back to edit post*. Dammit, been drinking too much tequila! Does weird things to me, like to Eric.

.....Not to worry, old Marine Corp salute, 'Heres to me and heres to you, may we never disagree, but if we do, F_uck you here's to me'