Agreed with everything you said about Frank. To be honest, the show's biggest dropped ball was Ryan's entire life pre-Cohen...they kinda just used 'well he was abused and that's why he's quiet and angry a lot' as window dressing for his character but never made the slighest attempt to delve into what that realistically might mean for him and how he developed and I will never forgive the show for that lol.
And I know what you mean about trying to decide the right approach to take with the fic. That's kinda what's holding me up with the Ryan and Luke as twins fic, I've got another one I'm writing first. (And yeah it'd probably be set right around The Secret as that's one of my favorite episodes of the show and I love Luke and Ryan's totally unexpected friendship, and it struck me while rewatching it that the two of them actually look a LOT alike, Ryan's just smaller, which could definitely be due to being malnourished as a child. Also I kinda love the Cain and Abel aspects of realizing you almost killed your long lost twin brother in a house fire fighting over a girl, but its okay cuz you saved him instead dude. ANGST!)
I'm definitely here for more Summer/Ryan though! They are definitely my fave non-canon couple....well actually fave couple in general, probably. I've never really put too much thought into Ryan/Alex just because of how quickly the show skipped right past them, BUT I did always think it felt a little fake how hard the show tried to push the idea that Alex and Ryan had nothing in common and Seth was a better match for her after their disastrous double date. Like....you can't tell me they'd have NOTHING to talk about. There's a reason Marissa dated both of them, lol.
And yes, I love Good Enough. I've actually never really delved into Brothers and Sisters fandom or felt that fanfic itch to write or read fic set in it, but when I came across it on your LJ, I was just like....this makes total sense and I could totally see Ryan trying to find his footing in their wild, chaotic family. Any excuse to give Ryan a huge family with lots of love and attention to balance out the drama is good in my book. As much as I like the Cohens, and I do.....they failed to live up to the 'promise' of giving Ryan a family and a second chance at a childhood IMO. (Also part of why I enjoyed Good Enough so much....I am occasionally partial to fics that take a less than charitable view of Sandy. It's one of those things where I love Sandy as a character and an individual....but I really do not like how he interacted with Ryan on a lot of occasions, particularly the first couple seasons. For someone who was convinced within five seconds of meeting Ryan that they were cut from the same deck, he really just did NOT understand what made Ryan tick most of the time, and it...bugged).
But yes, Nora would absolutely see past her husband's infidelity to the bruised, damaged product of his affair and give Ryan the love and attention he needed regardless of how he ended up in her home. I like where Good Enough was set timewise, but I did also really like that AU version of it you did where they found out about Ryan before he met the Cohens.
(and umm yes please, I would love more of These Walls, I always really wanted to see how Ryan's first meetings with most of the other OC cast would play out once the Coopers, Summer, etc met the long lost Cohen. And I liked Caleb in it too. Caleb is one of those weird characters for me where he's fun in almost any incarnation. Like he really works as the evil old bastard who hates Ryan and makes his life miserable, but he also works when he has a soft spot once Ryan manages to find a way to his good side....and then everything in between).
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2017-05-10 04:59 pm (UTC)And I know what you mean about trying to decide the right approach to take with the fic. That's kinda what's holding me up with the Ryan and Luke as twins fic, I've got another one I'm writing first. (And yeah it'd probably be set right around The Secret as that's one of my favorite episodes of the show and I love Luke and Ryan's totally unexpected friendship, and it struck me while rewatching it that the two of them actually look a LOT alike, Ryan's just smaller, which could definitely be due to being malnourished as a child. Also I kinda love the Cain and Abel aspects of realizing you almost killed your long lost twin brother in a house fire fighting over a girl, but its okay cuz you saved him instead dude. ANGST!)
I'm definitely here for more Summer/Ryan though! They are definitely my fave non-canon couple....well actually fave couple in general, probably. I've never really put too much thought into Ryan/Alex just because of how quickly the show skipped right past them, BUT I did always think it felt a little fake how hard the show tried to push the idea that Alex and Ryan had nothing in common and Seth was a better match for her after their disastrous double date. Like....you can't tell me they'd have NOTHING to talk about. There's a reason Marissa dated both of them, lol.
And yes, I love Good Enough. I've actually never really delved into Brothers and Sisters fandom or felt that fanfic itch to write or read fic set in it, but when I came across it on your LJ, I was just like....this makes total sense and I could totally see Ryan trying to find his footing in their wild, chaotic family. Any excuse to give Ryan a huge family with lots of love and attention to balance out the drama is good in my book. As much as I like the Cohens, and I do.....they failed to live up to the 'promise' of giving Ryan a family and a second chance at a childhood IMO. (Also part of why I enjoyed Good Enough so much....I am occasionally partial to fics that take a less than charitable view of Sandy. It's one of those things where I love Sandy as a character and an individual....but I really do not like how he interacted with Ryan on a lot of occasions, particularly the first couple seasons. For someone who was convinced within five seconds of meeting Ryan that they were cut from the same deck, he really just did NOT understand what made Ryan tick most of the time, and it...bugged).
But yes, Nora would absolutely see past her husband's infidelity to the bruised, damaged product of his affair and give Ryan the love and attention he needed regardless of how he ended up in her home. I like where Good Enough was set timewise, but I did also really like that AU version of it you did where they found out about Ryan before he met the Cohens.
(and umm yes please, I would love more of These Walls, I always really wanted to see how Ryan's first meetings with most of the other OC cast would play out once the Coopers, Summer, etc met the long lost Cohen. And I liked Caleb in it too. Caleb is one of those weird characters for me where he's fun in almost any incarnation. Like he really works as the evil old bastard who hates Ryan and makes his life miserable, but he also works when he has a soft spot once Ryan manages to find a way to his good side....and then everything in between).