Score! Finally! I almost missed this, but saw Brandy's prompt. I wonder how that happened...
Great details in this chapter and you cleverly incorporate them from a variety of perspectives. Not only do you add so much depth with all the nuances, but the extra dimension of how other characters observe and perceive specific gestures and behaviors. The result is a game within a game where a variety of interaction and reflection occurs on different levels.
The description and imagery of both the phone conversation and the exchange at the pier brings both settings fully to life. The dynamic between Sandy and Seth establishes just the right mood with worry, tension, confusion and a desperate uncertainty. The interplay between Sandy and Kirsten is right on target as they jockey for position and information. Kirsten slipping into that formerly familiar combination of executive and parental decisionmaking mode is necessary and reassuring. Having her with her own agenda as she attends to both Ryan's (and Seth's) physical and emotional well-being with the heated towels for the band-aid and the therapist for the bullet wound, complements Sandy's focus on the legal and factual components.
Great job with incorporating continuity by referencing how Ryan sounds in comparison to being choked by Trey and how he responded after their first real, truly damaging crisis of trust that first year. I'm glad Sandy, for all he wants to help Ryan, is also aware of how wary Ryan is of anything resembling even informal therapy. They aren't remotely prepared or equipped to be what he needs here, but they have to tread very carefully or risk causing more harm to Ryan personally and to their relationship.
I definitely got the impression that Kirsten was wearing her own most confident mask as she used more bravado than she felt when approaching Ryan. Whether she admits it to even herself, she is still battling the guilt of labeling, judging and rejecting him. She is still frightened of what she can't control and doesn't know. She's terrified by what may have happened to him and how it has and could still impact him. She's still intimidated by him and uncomfortable around him under the best of circumstances. Despite it all, she rises to the occasion, puts her fears and insecurities aside, and concentrates on connecting with him to convince herself that she hasn't lost him, he won't hurt himself or withdraw completely, and if she can calm him enough to lure him home, at least they'll all be under one roof.
Again you leave us hanging. I'm not buying that Ryan has coped, but managed to suppress what surfaced so surprisingly. He's rarely caught off guard, but this shook him to the core and reawakened memories and feelings from a place so deep that he needed time to compose his facade and regain the appearance of control. I'm not sure how the Cohens will proceed to find the right person to help Ryan, if they will agree, if Ryan will comply or if fate intervenes before that step, but I'm guessing you do- and in far less time now please!
no subject
Great details in this chapter and you cleverly incorporate them from a variety of perspectives. Not only do you add so much depth with all the nuances, but the extra dimension of how other characters observe and perceive specific gestures and behaviors. The result is a game within a game where a variety of interaction and reflection occurs on different levels.
The description and imagery of both the phone conversation and the exchange at the pier brings both settings fully to life. The dynamic between Sandy and Seth establishes just the right mood with worry, tension, confusion and a desperate uncertainty. The interplay between Sandy and Kirsten is right on target as they jockey for position and information. Kirsten slipping into that formerly familiar combination of executive and parental decisionmaking mode is necessary and reassuring. Having her with her own agenda as she attends to both Ryan's (and Seth's) physical and emotional well-being with the heated towels for the band-aid and the therapist for the bullet wound, complements Sandy's focus on the legal and factual components.
Great job with incorporating continuity by referencing how Ryan sounds in comparison to being choked by Trey and how he responded after their first real, truly damaging crisis of trust that first year. I'm glad Sandy, for all he wants to help Ryan, is also aware of how wary Ryan is of anything resembling even informal therapy. They aren't remotely prepared or equipped to be what he needs here, but they have to tread very carefully or risk causing more harm to Ryan personally and to their relationship.
I definitely got the impression that Kirsten was wearing her own most confident mask as she used more bravado than she felt when approaching Ryan. Whether she admits it to even herself, she is still battling the guilt of labeling, judging and rejecting him. She is still frightened of what she can't control and doesn't know. She's terrified by what may have happened to him and how it has and could still impact him. She's still intimidated by him and uncomfortable around him under the best of circumstances. Despite it all, she rises to the occasion, puts her fears and insecurities aside, and concentrates on connecting with him to convince herself that she hasn't lost him, he won't hurt himself or withdraw completely, and if she can calm him enough to lure him home, at least they'll all be under one roof.
Again you leave us hanging. I'm not buying that Ryan has coped, but managed to suppress what surfaced so surprisingly. He's rarely caught off guard, but this shook him to the core and reawakened memories and feelings from a place so deep that he needed time to compose his facade and regain the appearance of control. I'm not sure how the Cohens will proceed to find the right person to help Ryan, if they will agree, if Ryan will comply or if fate intervenes before that step, but I'm guessing you do- and in far less time now please!