RJAdept

Damnit man, you can't just go sniping innocent people...wild? high? gone? Damnit! 😆 I can't say anything others haven't already said better but absolutely beautifully done! You do an amazing job of bringing us into Gus' performance; the music and the physicality of playing are tangible. So the music venue, stroke and forestry service... Well played! Marta becomes a luthier, Rick and Gus stand [...and kneel] together, Zoltan gets his hand smacked but comes along for the ride, and Rick becomes a beacon of integrity and self-truth. This really was a joy of a ride and really well setup to bring it all home. I truly look forward to any dalliances or indulgences our heroes might get up to after your much deserved break. Thank you for bringing us into this world of yours!

I'm not sure if spelling it out is more helpful or undermines the experience of the story but it is a matter of context; Roan's character is (as are the rest of them) overdeveloped in a particular dimension, work; where the stakes are higher for him, he struggles to weigh the options and see the choices. He's the 'nice guy' of the lot but that is hardly all roses or without costs; at work, he can play safely as the option to find another job makes it game, a place to be confident and take measured risks; at home... He's compromising because he's compromised - We take risks when we believe in the reward: Our friend doesn't have high hopes for a reward. I hope that helps or, at least, doesn't reach or detract from the story.

I don't think anyone will argue with the overarching questions you pose. I am curious what you feel has shifted between Roan before and now? As always, thanks for following along and sharing your thoughts!

Thank you; I'm glad you think so. Our cast has a lot to learn about caring for each other. We'll see if they develop some new tools or if the edges of old ones get filed down a bit...or not.

“Woooah!” The crowd of people clustered around the pair men standing before an arcade machine cheered and whooped at each other; the press of hands clapped the back or ribbed either man as the loser vacated his seat and a new challenger cycled into the seat. Roan watched the commotion idly from his perch in the booth on the raised platform of the restaurant overlooking the game room floor. The developers had picked the place, Game-On!, for their evening outing. The place was a half-bar, ha

The difficulty in redemption is finding both the moment to truly grasp that what you have done was wrong or, at the very least, damaging enough to rock or break your perspective...then finding a context in which to not only show that change and the commitment to it but to reconnect with or participate in a new role in the life of those you have hurt - shamelessly my perspective on the matter. Given that, Willy couldn't possibly have time for that in this arc of our friends' story since he doesn't even regret the past enough to have stopped haunting Rick's present; Heinrich Sr.'s return to family could tie up a story of nearly equal length to this one - his crime isn't even about oppressing his son but about transferring his grief onto his remaining family, investing his son in being crippled, ... not going to down that list, too deep; *years* of transgression rarely resolves in days or weeks, no? Zoltan and Magda, too, have a similarly ingrained perspective of entitlement and history of maiming those in their care to retain power over their outcomes and potential...that feels hard to resolve lightly - They know Helene is violently abusive [N.B.: I'm curious to 'see' the moment of when she broke Gus' arm] and are returning Gus to her company. By comparison, Rita seems a pickpocket among war criminals. Don't misunderstand me; I very much hope for and appreciate it when any and all find recovery and redemption in themselves and in the lives of those they have hurt. I am just saying that they weren't evil to begin with so if the scope of their transgressions is long or broad, the source is deep. ...or to my reasoning it is at any rate. -bows- No, no, thank you for putting up with my presumptions. Your writing is moving; it is my pleasure to be able to share in response.

A sweet, warming reunion and a grounded, satisfying escape through downtown. The nervous tremors of uncertainty and the anticipation for the dream to be brought back to reality are both poignant and very much shared between our duo and myself...though for slightly different reasons. I hope Rick gets all the reassurance he needs to stand tall and make this his new world. Something about the remaining pensiveness or tentativeness in this moment still feels in play and ripe for resolution after so many years of self-inflicted isolation and setbacks. I can picture Rita being a salvageable character still, perhaps M. Gustavo would be a strong centerpiece in a proposal for a new symphonic center project, perhaps Rick's expertise could connect him to the leadership of the water and public utilities authority, ...perhaps something else entirely; however, or if ever, it comes about I'm sure she'll make quite the colorful ally for someone. As ever, thank you for sharing the lives of your characters with us; this was a great ride! P.S.: I am totally in favor of this being the opening arc in a broader story-verse of the adventures of G&R...if you have any desire to follow such a path.

Bravo! I kind of guessed that you would pick up on that. It's all part of the show; though I guess, in this case, it's just how the machinery works for this person.

Roan took a swig from his water bottle and grabbed his towel as he climbed down from the stair-climber. He stretched his back and hamstrings while he waited for his heart rate to come back down from his cardio. He liked spending his lunch break at the gym across the street from his office; he found the exercise made the afternoon of stakeholder meetings and paperwork bearable. He threw his towel over the side of the dip stand and hopped up to balance his weight over his shoulders before dro

-laughs- That take could be an entire story of its own! This ride has only left the station so be patient with me and, maybe, with our characters as we get everything into motion. It's a pretty interesting dance to place character traits in positions to be loud enough to be seen but not make them into mindless placeholders...it's part of what makes this fun to write. We will get to all of the history though some of it none too soon.

Absolutely, the worst things we do to each other are always things we claim 'just have to be this way' or 'I had no choice about'. Therapy works when a person is genuinely driven to find change...but that doesn't erase the damage done - we'll have to wait and see how all of this plays out. Thank you for reading and taking the time to respond!

I certainly cannot speak for anyone else; however, I would even welcome questioning of events or character traits - It likely won't change my story but it does inform me about how the characters are being received. It isn't always easy to know how to cheer lead a reader making negative comments but that doesn't mean it isn't appreciated just the same. I do agree that typographic concerns are only compelling when a surprise so...once or twice.

I'd also like to point out that having a reader genuinely moved to respond is what makes the response useful. If we leaned to a system where every reader had to make a response, what would result are a lot of watery and insincere reactions. Sometimes a chapter is just moving the characters around and there is nothing to feel particularly polarized about; having readers forced to say 'like/dislike' on such content would quickly end up with us getting the feedback that they liked it just so they could check the box and move on. I would much rather receive ten hate responses where they were moved to explain their concern than a hundred meaningless or context-less likes. I think the complaint about posting to a deceased author/story is valid but, in the context of the site, what do we want to use such feedback for? Users (authors and readers) are motivated by the sense that they are making a difference or contributing. If you make the role that such feedback plays make sense to the reader and the community, I suspect we will see a rise in useful feedback.

Jared turned off of the road and smoothly pulled into the parking lot; it was late and he was beat. He parked a few spots away from the door to his unit and cut the engine of his truck. He gripped the steering wheel and slouched down in the seat, sighing as he lay his head back and closed his eyes. He rubbed his face with the back of a hand and willed his nerves to quiet as he sat in the empty silence of the cab. His mind wandered to Cheryl and he groaned. It was always the same useless brooding

So, what do you do when you want to write characters with daily lives, jobs and such? How would you go about doing research for the day to day life of a medical student, medical laboratory worker, or director of the CDC? I completely agree with geographic considerations, local flavor, and even cultural idiosyncrasies but, as a programmer, it is hard for me to envision the life of a saw mill worker...even though I might be tempted to cast one into my work - We can't all be programmers!