Krista

I applaud your poetry in this comment. Well done, well done, well effing done.

I know what would have happened if I walked by a guest struggling with something and not offering to help. If I left an elderly family member standing while I sat down in the last open seat, and so on. Not asking a dinner guest or friend if they wanted the last roll or whatever before taking it, and so on. I think we had similar expectations growing up, by the sounds of it --- despite entirely different circumstances in our earlier lives. Not saying that is how Celia and Trace run the ship though, but there is some evidence out there showing how they do things and what they do expect. and sigh... Monday can't come fast enough. But, knowing Work also comes with Monday, I'mma want Sunday to slow its ass down so I can relax.

I think it is safe to say they do have expectations for all of them. Maybe not so much Joel, giving him a grace period. But, Lacey, Colt, even the twins. They both want certain things to be shown and done, and they expect them to be done. We have seen some cracks in that though, both Colt and Lacey have pushed back a little bit, challenged that some. So, there's something there. I will look at my character notes for both of them. I know they are rather skeletal, because I only wanted them to be a certain way *to a point. Then I wanted to organically build from that point onward. That's how I write most of my characters. Something may end up being missed or lost in the translation for me, but something better may come from that too, I don't get too fussy unless I set out to make them a certain way. Ridley would be a good example, probably my most glaring one. I 'needed' him to be how I wanted him to be all the way through the writing and I was a bit more careful with that. I think I was more careful with Trace than I was Celia, Lacey, the twins, Colt, and those you've yet to meet, because I knew I wanted to be. When it is all over, I hope to have fleshed everyone out well beyond their character sheets at the very least. I'll post the character sheet in the forums whenever I post the last chapter, so y'all can see it. I promise not to touch it. Remind me if I forget. Colt has been the most surprising to me in the comments though. I will give him that. I didn't expect to be dodging so many things about him specifically, but it hasn't been a bad surprise... just a surprise that has me thinking. And by answering the way I did, I hope you see that I again... dodged.

Joel and hiding, shhh... don't give him a complex, he's nearly already there with one. Grouchy could be Colt's go to mood, who knows. lol. When I first got married and moved in with my husband, although I was 100% comfortable with him as in, I was in love with him and trusted an respected him... the newness of it all, we'd scare the absolute shit out of one another all the time. It was almost an unintentional game for us that left both of us laughing or annoyed, depending on what we were doing. I mean the man could just be walking down the hallway and I would full chest scream and clutch a frying pan for protection. New can make people jumpy, good or bad. Bad is probably worse. I also don't want you reading this and thinkin that I scare easily, that is not the case. And, thank you for liking this chapter. I know the last two were larger and feels like a big ask to read all those words. I think we jumped from 30k to over 60k with just two chapters... I'd have to look at the math to be sure, but they were big. Knowing that "The Falls" chapter was once tacked onto this one... yikes. (It still is in my documents). I may need to logout and not look at GA to keep from posting the next chapter before Monday. Sunday may be a better day for it... Mondays are ick.

Yeah, it would be an intimidating thought after what he's been through and what he's attempting to reconcile. -- He may be jumpy because his surroundings have changed. He's not comfortable and these are voices he's still not used to hearing. Until he settles in and he can feel comfortable, I'd say his body at least will be on high alert.

That's one of the first things I noticed when I read back some of the earlier chapters. That Colt openly did backtalk his parents some. More than I thought he did. I don't see it as a flaw or an issue, it just surprised me a little with that early dynamic. And by early chapters, I mean the ones I've already posted. so I'm not spoiling anything... I also feel right now there's so many characters hovering in the periphery. That's kind of what first person narratives have to deal with. Joel is how we get the information and he's reluctant to pay attention to the people around him, so he's not going to know them and by extension, we aren't either. Not until something changes anyway. We'll see if it does.

I hope I don't let y'all down. Or built it up to be bigger than it is. 😮 That would be a little tragic. Glad you liked this chapter, as I felt it had a whole lot of little nuanced interactions, thoughts, etc that added up to 'something' of value. Then the ending being a bit more meaty than the rest of it... as far as actual movement in the plot.

Yeah, one thing about thinking you're a liar, is having to come up with lies to carry you along, over and again. If Joel doesn't know there's going to be questions, he's going to be hit in the face with them. Maybe he'll be prepared and they won't catch him out. *whitles* I guess we'll see if he can or cannot face what's to come.

I wonder about half the things that comes from my kids and younger sibling's mouths most of the time. I have to stop and be like.. "Did I just hear what I think I heard?" and then that is likely followed by, "What do you think they 'really' meant by saying that?" Because you never know... Also, they were at the kitchen island... with Celia, Trace, Lacey and the poor dogs all in earshot. Making a sex joke about lunchmeat may have been a bit of a wrong place and time situation. I get my arm slapped all the time and most of the things I say are innocent, it is my own mother taking it THAT FAR into the gutter and slapping ME for it.

Aww. When I read this I smiled. He has to do so much. Transition from living with his family to not, recovering from the fall out, but he also hopefully has to grow from the experience too. It sounds like a lot. I'm glad at least, that you see he may be slowly coming around.

Ugh... do I have to keep to that Monday rule I made? I do wonder if I have to...

You're Canadian, you all chose to live up there in the great frozen north... so all this sounds like a you problem.

Teenagers... am I right? They're like cats, we're just living in their worlds. Some will take you hostage, some are okay as long as you feed them, some will try to smother you in your sleep, and some will stare death into your soul from across the room because you dared talk to them. I am not looking forward to my kids getting deeper into those years... I have four of them. As for Colt, there most definitely is. That is a fairly safe thing to say, I think. --- It is so hard to break that mindset when it is there and you have no other choice. He may feel that way until he feels like he's truly contributing.

"Don't make me shake you again!"

Yeah, I think they would both know that Joel would need some reassurances with everything still being new. We're only on the.... third? Yes.. third day of him staying in that house with them. I know I'd still be wondering if the people around me have their limits.

Mayyyyyybeeeee....

I guess it would depend on the county size in general. Some are huge mini-states within a state, and some barely count as anything. Either way you slice it though, three counties and still in the same general "district" isn't that far away. Not for someone who wanted distance really. But, there is a difference in geography, sometimes three counties away could almost be across an entire state. I don't think I outright say what state they live in, I hardly ever do with writing. Ironically, for Ellis I do, the state and county. I think I've done it with some of my older stories. And who knows with Colt, it might just be that he doesn't want to play babysitter for the stray.

Thanks! I ended up making the call and splitting this chapter up, but I'm thinking about posting the next chapter Monday Evening, since it is a shorter chapter than this one. I think this chapter has a lot of small interactions in it really. You can get a sense of dynamics through a cluster of small interactions, I hope so anyway. 😜

The next morning, I woke up to an arm being lifted off my back just below my shoulder blades. Opening my eyes, I watched Davin retreating from my room, stumbling as he rubbed his eyes. He didn’t look back. It turned out that Gavin wasn’t the only one that took up most of the bed, as he had nudged and draped different body parts over me through the night. His snoring deepened but wasn’t annoying. Having someone else in the room had been less distracting than the room itself. Rolling over ont

Thank you, the pacing speeds up more in the next few chapters... But, it definitely speeds up. I mean - they finally slept again... so, wasn't that Joel's 2nd night? Yikes... 7 chapters in and only two nights into the story. I still think most of the slow pacing was necessary, if I jumped from chapter two for example, to the part I'll be posting Friday (because I'm still in the mood to behave myself), then I think it would feel flat. I'm also not going to touch the rest of that comment.

Glad you had fun, now get back to work. Hmph.

And you're saying that cohesion, "togetherness," and "heart" is somehow more important and an ingredient 100% of the team must have in order for a 'player' and team to be successful. And that isn't a true statement to make, it is a hypothetical. Do you want everyone on your team to get along and be close? Yes. Does that happen? No. Does that mean those teams and players within those teams cannot be successful together? No. Look around at the landscape of all college sports and there is ample evidence of that. Before the transfer portal you had the "One and Done" high school farming teams. They bring in 5+ freshmen that's never played a game together and won championships. Chemistry can happen throughout the season, sure, but it is also just as likely that it doesn't. Duke and Kentucky lived on the farming of freshman that stayed one year with little to no upperclassmen. They were successful. You can be committed to a system, a collective goal, and not be committed to the people around you and be successful. All of the final four teams on the Men's side were formed in the off-season and were successful. You cannot convince me that all of those teams had instant chemistry and led with chemistry and a collective commitment to one another. If that was at all true than landscape of sports would look vastly different than it does. Transfer portals dismantle and reform teams every season, sometimes 90% of the teams leave for other teams, disrupting all chemistry. The last three National champions in men's basketball have come from teams with players that played elsewhere the season before. But those players are heavily skilled in the positions they played and they were coached through the system with formed fundamentals and overall skill, you can overcome chemistry issues if the team allows for that. It's not like Joel is a contemptable asshole that causes a disruption, he simply exists. At least that's how he's depicted as far as the writing goes at the moment. And throughout history there have been famous feuds that disrupted chemistry but the teams were still successful. Jordan/Pippen/Rodman didn't get along and built a Bulls Dynasty. Shaq and Kobe feuded the entire time they were teammates, they were successful and All-stars the majority of those years and the team did well despite all that. Derek Jeter and ARod didn't like one another and they were the face of the Yankees for years. There have been teams that disliked their managers/coaches that still made post seasons and had success. Lebron James has a feud with someone on every team he's ever been on and he's been the face of the NBA for decades, but he's also managed to be on successful teams in the process. So, one singular player that doesn't have the most chemistry with the team they're on is not a make or break situation for that team. It isn't an environment to where 'that player' cannot succeed within that system either. I honestly don't know where that disconnect is. I also never wanted to get that deep into the discussion either. And Little leaguers are children and children weigh things differently than teenagers and adults. You want young people to weigh fun experiences high, because you lose them forever if you don't. The LLWS players would list the experience over learning new fundamentals, or skillsets, or whatever.

I am aware, I played team sports. You can be engaged and have a presence within that social structure, but you can also be distant with yourself. It is no different than walking into a job, knowing your role within that setting, and doing what you are there to do. You can have a comfortable relationship with everyone in there, and they still be strangers to you. Where most if not all of your connection to them is themed around what you're all there to do. It is more or less what travel teams are, they come together for a season, they don't know one another, they never get to know one another, but they can still function. Not being close with his teammates won't hurt his batting average, for example. That is his own developed skill and is in direct competition with opposing pitchers. He will get most of that information through tendency scouting and adjust accordingly. His batting stance, box management, and swing are all fundamentals. As is his fielding, is more weighted against what is happening 'in the moment' when the ball is in play. Depending on where the ball is hit in the field, he has a fundamental place on it, if it is hit a certain distance between the third baseline and the second, depending which direction the third basemen has priority of space and/or he does. Same with Second. If it is hit a certain distance into the outfield, then he has a fundamental place to stop and let the outfielders take priority of the fielding. It is something learned by playing and being coached, knowing your role within that system. He can do all that and walk to the end of the dug-out bench, grab a cup of water... smile and say hey to the person next to him, and be done with it all. You see it all the time with pitchers. When they're in the dugout they want to be left alone, the only person they want to talk to is a coach or their catcher. Because they know their only function is to get as many people out and be efficient and accurate with their pitches. They have some fundamental scenarios for fielding, like backing up home plate when the catcher is receiving the ball. Covering first when the first basemen is fielding away from first, etc. Mostly they have a routine and for a lot them, that's sitting and decompressing alone. So, is isn't at all out of bounds for a Short-stop to adopt a system similarly. If you're wanting cohesion, you can have that through having strong self-awareness backed by fundamentals where everyone knows what is expected when they're out in the field. He has been that way since he was 10 years old, which means he's been in that routine through little league, middle school, and high school. The team he is on will know that about him, just as he is.

Aww, thank you. I think I'm still confident with my teenage voice. Although, I am well aware that slang has taken a significant shift. You will not see me have my characters say: "I'm all dripped out, cope." Meaning, "I'm well dressed, and you're jealous." If people start losing the teenage voice in my writing because of that, then I'll just hang it all up and retire. The issues, I've been writing about for decades. The characters I'm thankfully okay with mostly, although there's only so many ways a person can write these stories and they will all have similar elements. So, your words have put some of that to bed. and, to be fair second-guessing isn't an inherently bad thing. If I write it, quit it, and stop thinking about it, then I've lost some growth opportunities there. You can second-guess yourself to a fault though, but I feel I'm too lazy to be that second-guessy, I will throw my hands up and say, "it's as good as it's gonna be..." eventually.