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A Jericho Fan Fiction Archive
Great chapter, Sandra!
This one was pretty emotional and intense. The beginning really surprised me by how much it got to me, and then the ending left me in such suspense.
First off, Emily, the character so often difficult to idenfity with and so often criticized for her self-absorbed behaviour. I think you've captured her very adeptly here. She is self-absorbed, it's true. But you also make her surprisingly easy to identify with. I believe everyone has a depth to them, reason behind their actions and world views, and a story we can understand, even if we may find them annoying or less than admirable. I think you did an excellent job considering all this here with Emily. Though she's not behaving particularly maturely, and she's the antagonist to our heroes, I really felt for her here, trying to deal with her past in a present where she feels a little lost and alone. I also felt for Jonah. Despite all the mistakes he made with his children, I can believe he also feels this failure keenly. It was an interesting side of him to see.
Hamilton's encounter with Emily was interesting. I still really like Hamilton!
Heather's encounter with Beck was also really interesting. I especially thought her take on Colonel Hoffman versus Major Beck, as she tries to sort through all her experiences with authority figures. I really felt for both her and Eric as I read of their harrowing experience in Constantino's custody, and was especially proud of poor Eric, though I expected him and Heather to stand up bravely for their town. I'm intrigued about what was going on in New Bern, as the mystery deepens, and of course, and completely in suspense, wanting to hear more, about what exactly happened between Heather and Travers.
I always enjoy reading Dangerous, and look forward to the next part!
Thank you for your comments, Penny Lane. As you know from the conversations we've had with one another, Emily is not my favorite character. Okay, that would be an understatement. I don't think that she's as vacuous as she is often portrayed, however. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that while she is self-absorbed, everyone, including her, has some depth. Her world view may aggravate the fire out of us, but I think it goes a long way toward explaining her mindset. I don't know that she and Jonah will ever have a solid relationship, but conflict is more interesting to write than happiness, anyway. LOL. So there's still plenty of conflict for those two to hash out. I guess what it boils down to is that I don't think any one person is all good or all bad.
Hamilton didn't have an ideal childhood. That is a trait he shares with Emily. Yet he does provide an interesting contrast to her in the way he's dealt with his adversity. I'm glad you're still enjoying him. He's been a fun character to write.
Heather's New Bern story will crack wide open eventually as she strives to come to terms with all that has happened. As I mentioned to Marzee, Heather's essentially got an internal battle between her intellect and her emotions. Logically, she knows that she did what she had to do for Eric and her to survive. Then there's that other side of her that feels her actions so profoundly. She is a resilient person, but getting over what happened certainly won't be easy.
Thank you again!
Oh, Sandra. You are certainly the brave one! I can't imagine taking the long, strange trip through Miss Emily's thought processes that you signed yourself up for. I am impressed. Not the least because I for one could not take Emily's pity party, 'woe is me' routine all in one sitting, and all I had to do was read it, not write it. Argh! She is so delusional and so aggravating! This was a magnificent piece of writing. I can't say I enjoyed it, but my hat is certainly off to you.
I will admit that you have finally induced me to agree with Jonah. He's the one reason I have, in the past, been able to feel sorry for Emily, but now I kind of feel sorry for him. Sure, his worldview is a little warped, but hers is worse. And I tabsolutely hink he had as much right to be at Chris' grave as she did.
As an aside, I have to ask WHY is Emily interested in being with Jake at all if he's still to blame for Chris getting killed? And, does her adored (immature, irresponsible) baby brother bear any responsibility for his own fate, because it sure didn't sound like it to me. Oh, and I did catch that Emily hated herself for wanting Jake.... Alll I have to say to that is: boo hoo!
Sorry. Got a little passionate there. But, that's what I love about your writing. It never fails to pull some sort of reaction from me. So please, take the above rant(s) as a compliment.
Never have I been so glad to see Hamilton! He calls a spade a spade. Too bad he exercised some restraint and didn't call this particular spade a bitch. The way Emily's attacking Heather behind her back just makes me want to scratch her eyes out.
Lastly, we have Heather's story. Oh my. I was riveted by it, and left with not much to say now, a week after I read it for the first time. I am outraged (but not surprised) by the news that Heather was branded. I'm gritting my teeth over the fact that Constantino might wiggle out of taking responsibility for his little town of horrors. And I just want to hug Heather and tell her it's going to be okay. I understand that it just proves her humanity and character that she thinks she's a monster for killing Bart Travers (at least part of the mystery of what happened to Heather is now solved) but still I just want her to know that it's okay, she killed a monster, and she's not one herself.
You've set up quite the heartbreaking situation here. All I can hope is that maybe Heather and Jake can get to the point where they can share their stories with one another, and both can realize that it is possible to move on. I can hope anyway.
Thanks, as always, for sharing!
Thank you for your comments, Marzee. Wading through the Emily woe-is-me spiel must have been difficult indeed, so thank you for taking one for the team. ;)
Getting into Emily's mindset isn't easy because I do think she tends to wallow in her misery. Nevertheless, I felt it was important to do, particularly to show the transformation of her character as the story progresses. Her desire for Jake makes no sense if she blames him for Chris's death. Then again, on some level, she must know that Chris bears responsibility for his own death. It's just a classic case of transference. Emily doesn't want to blame her dead younger brother, so Jake is a convenient target in that respect. Would Emily's life be easier if she could let go of the past? You bet. Unfortunately, people don't always do what's best for them.
Hamilton is too much of a gentleman to call Emily what he really thinks she is. His mama would probably whoop him if he did. LOL.
Re: Heather, the fact that she's agonized over what she had to do proves that she is not a monster. She really needs you to give her a pep talk, because I have to say that she's not exactly had the best of female friends to rely upon! Heather knows from an intellectual standpoint that she did what she had to do. It's the emotional baggage from New Bern that's been so difficult to overcome. It's not crippling, per se, but it does affect her. Complicating matters is the fact that she's lost her ties to the past with her family. She's forging some new bonds within the story, but it's still difficult, for certain.
As always, thank you for your comments. :)