Date: 16 Jul 2013 23:48 Title: Chapter 1
Eternal. Safe.
When things - bad things - happen we want such feelings. We want the sensation of a safe place, somewhere secure, somewhere where hurt and pain won't come visiting, where everything stays the same, stays safe and warm, cosy, secure, feels like family, feels close, feels like time will forget its relentless march towards inevitable change - all too often horrible changes that fuck up what we thought of as normal in life.
You get that sensation clearly here from Scotty. More than wanting to preserve this place of eternal safe feeling he wants to preserve Corry, keep him safe and eternal. And not in any kind of patronising way. It's the fact it will kill Scotty to see harm to Corry and to be the one to bring such horrible news to anyone else. And that, that breaking of such news it is a killer, it is soul breaking and Scotty has lived through something horrible and can only imagine, only fear such a thing happening again and such a thing happening to Corry.
Funny it is almost as though he feaars the bad thing happening to Corry more than himself. Whether that's Scotty's own assurance that things will work out or selfreliance or a certain fatalistic approach to things. But it is part of his character to care more for the safety of others especially those he sees as his responsibility. And the sense from the piece is that he wants a refuge, a safe harbour, a home away from space, duty, technology even, somewhere honest, kind without strings just cos even if that fact perplexes him.
No wonder he loves this little corner of the world and your own love of it and the bridge are palpable too here Steff and seeps into every word of it. And even more amazing is that this was the second piece you wrote on these guys together (I suppose that's one reason for the focus on the descriptions of the bridge, taverns, bait shops, and lobster pots, writing what you know but then I'm wondering if at this stage you had visited Maine yet or not by writing).Truly impressive for all the sense of history is there already between them. I'm somewhat unsure why it isn't in the Arc proper and is uncategorized but there you go. Wonderful piece.
Author's Response: Aw, Kev. Thank you. No, I had never been to Maine by this point; it really was the second piece I'd written for Corry and Scotty in AotW, and aside some technical work, remains the same as when I first posted it. And their history wasn't known to me, but they knew it, and I just kind of took dictation. You nailed every single point, right on the money, as to what this story means and your perceptiveness is both beautiful and scary. Thank you so much. It is canon, it's only uncategorized because I haven't named and defined the spans after Below Fifty South yet.