Simply lovely--downright beautiful!
I found the attention paid to detail was extremely effective. It was teeming with atmosphere indeed--I could really see the swamp.
Also I like the novelty of the Jimmy POV, since we don't see him that often as well as the portrait of his relationship to our heroes. It ended up being really heartwarming, but more than that, it showed a depth of friendship that is not usually focused on. Love how the title relates to all that the fic covered, it really made me stop and think.
Marvelous! I want to come back and comment more!
ETA:
So I'm back with more
this one was kind of handsome in his reptilian way. It was about fifteen feet long, black as coal and looked indestructible. And it was less than ten feet from the toes of Jimmy’s boots. Alligator boots. He gulped and took a step backwards.
This is what I mean with the description. It's so funny that Jimmy called the alligator handsome and the detail about the boots brought a smile to my face, I could see this unfold so vividly in such few words.
Jimmy knew he was playing with danger, but that had been priceless. He struggled to a sitting position and noticed that she was fighting back a grin herself. He poked her in the ribs and they both collapsed back on the grass, laughing.
And this is what I meant about the depth of friendship. Of course it becomes more direct later, but this is such an effective way on conveying the ease with which they relate to each other where Lois isn't afraid to laugh at one of her own mistakes. It's nice not to see her defensive--and really endearing.
He glanced at the boat keeper talking to a bunch of old ladies. He squared his shoulders a bit. If they could do this, he certainly could.
LOL. Another priceless detail. It really fleshes out Jimmy. I end up liking him so much when before I wouldn't even give him a second thought!
CK smoothed his hand over Lois’ back. She took a deep breath and glowered at Henderson, but she stopped talking.
And from that detail, I think we can pinpoint where they are in their relationship or close to it.
It was black, the surface so shiny that it looked like an oil slick. Their dark-haired reflections were perfectly clear, wavering with the ripples in the water.
Gorgeous. Exquisite detail here.
After he had to plunge his hand into the creek to rescue his oar the second time – the heron had been right there, so close he could touch it, he’d had to take the photo!
Again, it's moments like this when Jimmy just comes alive to me...and I just want to ruffle his hair.
I see how passionate he is about photography, how his surroundings are so interesting to him and how he appears to have this insatiable curiosity to capture it on film.
There was no way to convey to the outside world the entire scope of what he was seeing.
That's both the advantage and disadvantage of film, even in something so clear cut, the subjective eye breaks through. A picture ends up being just a fragment.
Aside from the occasional, ‘Oh man, did you see that?!’ they traveled up the river trail in an unspoken but mutually agreed silence.
Once more I really get how comfortable they are with each other. It speaks volumes.
Then the scene with the alligator...I hadn't expected it, so I was right there with Jimmy, just so surprised that what it could lead to never ocurred to me.
And this is my favorite passage:
A cascade of memories flowed over Jimmy: late night B-movies, bomb threats, playing poker on stakeouts, and one particularly disturbing day at Veda Doodsen’s house when he had been just minutes from death. All those years, and the world’s greatest protector had been sitting right next to him, was in fact sitting next to him now, in a canoe in a backwoods swamp in Georgia.
It really left me speechless. I think I'm still unable to express just how it all clicks. The flow of images in quick sucession has something to do with it. I can feel his wonder and it's actually quite moving.
This was really heartwarming and wonderful.
Thanks so much, Lisa!
alcyone
