Comment on On the Nature of Wind

  1. daraoakwise on Chapter 15 Thu 31 Aug 2023 04:47AM UTC

    Oh, there is something in there about the Legend of Montgomery Scott spreading. I’m curious—was that always part of the story? Or something you tweaked as you became aware of exactly how much Future Scotty hates the legend of himself?

    Either way, I find it kind of breathtakingly. (Because you are going to be a legend and hero some day, kid. People will know who you are, they will talk about what you do. Interesting that it’s already starting here. And that he is largely or completely unaware, although Cor sees it. And it amuses Cor, because Scotty is just his friend, he sees him for his good and his flaws. But there is truth, that even Corry doesn’t see, not yet. Scotty is extraordinary. The seeds of it are in him. Anyway, I just find that entire side fascinating.

    (Having looked into the eyes of the actual wolf, Corry does understand that part. And it puts a chill down his spine.)

    Aw, Maggie. I forgot about that part. Now I’m disappointed in you. Even if the boys still enjoy your lovely legs and hair and various other parts.

    Boys, threatening a guy on top of a dorm is … so age appropriate and so dumb. (They aren’t anywhere close to actually hurting anyone. Cor could, with enough anger. Scotty couldn’t. At least not *this* him.) The espionage makes for a great story. But 40 year old mom me is going “boys …. This is dumb. This is going to get out of hand….”

    (Love the detail about Scotty knowing a bit of French. I find it delightful for reasons I can’t quite explain. Just a little snippet of world building that tickles me.)

    And the enemy is confirmed. And it hits Corry harder than Scotty. Scotty, for all that they Grey was hurt and he almost got his head knocked off, is having actual fun with this. And up until now Cor was too. But suddenly these are then people that just about killed his best friend, and that has activated something deep in him. For the first but not the last time.

    (And Maggie, again. She was there. Girl, these are bad decisions.)

    Tension is starting back up again, and I still can’t remember what the plot does other than the broad strokes! I really am just about reading this for the first time, and and looking forward to seeing what develops (and trying to pace myself and not read ahead!)

    Last Edited Thu 31 Aug 2023 04:49AM UTC

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    1. SLWalker on Chapter 15 Thu 31 Aug 2023 04:11PM UTC

      I think I was pretty aware he became a bit infamous, only because later on in Forty-Eight, young Thatcher kept idolizing him and irritating him. I mean, he really was one of the first four cadets ever court-martialed. XD But on the latest pass-throughs, I did state it more explicitly here, how that kind of legend is going. I think my favorite part is that this legend isn't even for any engineering brilliance, but because he broke a bully's nose and then got tangled in arson and then the whole-- uh-- stuff that happens next. XD

      (Having looked into the eyes of the actual wolf, Corry does understand that part. And it puts a chill down his spine.) -snickers- Remembering the prologue where Cor definitely underestimated Scotty on both size and looking like he belongs in high school, and now he's like-- "Nope, I don't want no part of that." In terms of fighting, anyway.

      HA! One of my friends came up with the tag Age-Appropriate Stupidity because it very much is a young, dumbass guy thing to do. Perfect explanation of the phenomenon. It is very dumb, several things they do in this story are very dumb, but that is part of being that age and with So Many Feelings.

      (I always liked that bit; Scotty knowing some French. It's incongruous and he butchers it with his accent trying to speak it, but he actually can probably hold a limited, casual conversation with it if he had to. And, of course, he can swear in it because he's a young person and that's absolutely the first thing that young people learn if they can.)

      I kind of wonder if their differing responses have roots in their differing childhoods. For Scotty, being attacked out of seemingly no-where for doing seemingly nothing wrong was-- I guess routine? Like, obviously he didn't shake off a childhood of it, and we know that everything he is is informed by that fact, but it seems to oddly add a kind of-- I dunno, casualness about it now? Like, aye, someone could have killed him or hurt him way worse than a sliced open head and an ugly bruise, he's aware of that, but his nightmares are about the smoke and the fire, about fighting with Cor. He mostly blew off being attacked, which is how he can shake that off his back pretty easily -- after all, he's obviously survived worse.

      Whereas Cor's big upheaval was his Dad almost dying -- understandable -- but like, for him, assault is a Big Deal. Near death experiences are a Big Deal. He never had to fight for the mere right to exist with a mind of his own, and I guess that's why it shakes him. And then also a kind of truth that continues through the rest of his life: As good at Scotty is at surviving, he's also paradoxically capable of getting himself killed trying to do the right thing, so someone needs to be able to watch out for him, because his survival instincts are so wildly skewed to various extremes.

      I think a major part of this story for both of them is learning more deeply what kind of people they are.

      Thank you so much!

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