As someone who *ahem* has used the drowning metaphor before, I really have to say that you presented it perfectly, from Fraser's physical injury to the difficult emotional waters he treads with Ray. Everything here was precisely and very carefully developed, and the imagery you cultivated here offers a lot of insight to the process of writing itself, and to the way metaphors build on one another until you end up with a theme and a context and an honest-to-God narrative. Watching you build a story up is like learning what it means to write all over again, and this was a really breathtaking piece of work. Bravo. *tips hat*