HT100 Challenge #174: Past

[levitatethis]

Title: Living Sin
Challenge #174: Past
Author:  levitatethis
Rated: PG
Word Count: 100
Character: Ryan O'Reily
Warning: Nothing

“It is what it is,” they say. “Can’t change it. Can’t rewrite it.”

Can’t escape it, he thinks. It haunts him like a poltergeist, the dominos he tilted that took out everyone in his way-even loved ones-without missing a beat

Comments

[cmk418]

And to think that it all started with picking up a girl at a funeral.

I like the way the last sentence could be taken literally in light of how Ryan wound up in Oz.

Very nicely done!

[levitatethis]

You know for someone who does a lot of wheeling~dealing planning, Ryan doesn't always see the consequences of his actions. What seems simple or innocent enough tends to bite him in the ass.

Thanks!

[cwitch]

the dominos he tilted that took out everyone in his way

Yes! That's Ryan. Setting up an elaborate series of dominoes, then - with a flick of his finger - it all goes down while he walks away. But he never really forgets, does he?

Great drabble!

[levitatethis]

Thank you! He's a schemer, that's for sure, but he doesn't always foresee the full ramifications of his actions...and then he's left to live with it.

Great icon, BTW!

[ellu_ellu]

that's a good analysis of his character - i always thought he was an escapist character, the guy the audience secretly wishes they can be because he gets away with all sorts of horrible things, so i never got the whole redemption thing until now (like why he forgave his father)...

[levitatethis]

I also think Ryan was this character many of us were drawn to because he knew how to wheel and deal behind the scenes and seemingly manipulate people to turn circumstances in his favour -- there's something thrilling about that. Cyril's eventual execution was the blow to the gut for him. Sure he'd seen the downside to his cons before, but losing his brother I think really knocked him on his ass. It was something he couldn't make better.

Thank you!

[ozsaur]

Yes! That's Ryan! Always scheming and thinking he knows exactly how events will fall out, but never getting the big picture until it's too late. Very cool!

[levitatethis]

He's always working so many angles, but he can lose sight of the potential consequences along the way until they're overwhelming. Sometimes he can escape them by the seat of his pants. Other times he has to suffer the punishment.

Thanks!

[trillingstar]

"Doesn't think things all the way through" could be the tagline for like, every character in Oz, even - especially? - the admin staff. I like this bitter look at Ryan.

[levitatethis]

That's kind of what kept the show moving along -- everyone was thinking one or two steps ahead when they should have been considering the tenth step...while also taking into account that people are not entirely predictable.

Ryan can be a bit of a showman, but by the end of season 6 it was like the darkness he had tangoed with finally overtook him to a certain extent.

Thank you!