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Thanks, Sanguine! First person is often only one viewpoint, though I've been known to change that up from time to time. I appreciate you reading my chapter, and thanks so much for the review!

Turnabout's fair play! I don't read HP fanfic, either. Just yours! Thanks for reading, hun.

I know a lot about abuse, Zombie. Abuse is about control and the exercise of power over another person or situation through that control. It's about seeing someone, a adult or child, forced to endure/do something for their abuser's pleasure, whatever their twisted purpose and the method that comes out in. Sexual abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, and murder--the ultimate way to control a person--is not disconnected. There are exceptions, crimes of passion or by someone who is mentally unfit... but the classic and all to common abuser fits exactly into those parameters. A man who hits his wife to ensure control over her actions so she does what he wants when he wants, a father who beats his kid under the guise of discipline until they are afraid to move or breathe for fear of doing anything 'wrong', a mother who mentally berates and blackmails a child until they are sick to their stomach when they're alone with her, the family friend who is all too willing to babysit so he can spend alone time with young kids unsupervised, to the wife who catches her husband cheating so she devises a way to slowly kill him... these are abusers. These are people who are hurting someone else, for their own reasons/pleasure/satisfaction. These are far different elements than you find in a lot of kink porn 'movies'. They might hold similar elements, the dark connotations and the control/fear/abuse of another person... but those aren't real. They can't be viewed in the same context and lumped all together.

Lisco is definitely dirtier, LOL! Hmm... I think I might need to write Moshe, just to dispel that Lenny vibe, then! Hidden depths, and all that. Simple speech and transparent intentions doesn't always indicate the depth of thought and consideration from a person. Miah's POV would be interesting too, simply because the next two weeks in the story will be such a revelation for him. I like the idea of showing that without telling from his POV too, though. It'd be a great challenge. Thanks so much for your review, Puppilull!

Well a first line hook is very important! I'm glad you enjoyed the story. I always try all sorts of styles and plots, but I've had a real shifter and alien kick lately. Miah is a complex being. Shy, lonely, but not a pushover. I think he, like many men, want to be pursued instead of being the pursuer. Society looks down on that though, and he's not exactly the usual man of the city. So many places to go, but I can explore his dynamics from any point of view--though his internal thoughts would be interesting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the POV too!

Thanks! I really like Moshe too. Gotta have my gentle giants. Thanks so much for the review, Valkyrie.

The trouble with having a shifter POV is that shifters know their culture and history. Making it natural to share with the reader is set up from that angle, though, by the way I ensured Miah knew next to nothing 'real' about them. So the reader can learn alongside him, even if I don't continue in his POV. I'm really glad the chase scene didn't come off too drawn out, boring, or just not make sense. It was a challenge! Thanks so much for the review, Cole.

LOL, who knows? Yet another contemporary plot bunny that could be fun to expand. I can just 'see' the dye exploding and Mal's reaction.

One never knows! Prompts are great places for plot bunnies. I have so many in my head, they often end up here.

Uh huh! Be careful what you wish for, right? I don't know if the doctor could tell what they were, more like they'd have had to tell them what happened to Miah when they brought him in to be treated. My goal with shifters is always to bring them into a story where it feels real, even if they aren't. Sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, contemporary... that's always the goal. Thanks so much for reading, even if it isn't your genre, Jo Ann!

Oh, aliens that transform into human shapes? SOOOO many places I can go with that, right? LOL. I do try to make each world I create new and distinct, though there are so damn many I'm always fighting to keep the lines from blurring. I'm glad you enjoyed the story to share Miah's journey. He was the first one who came to me, with his quiet shock and hidden needs, but I have really strong character views for Moshe and Lisco too, enough that I can tell the story from any of their eyes. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with me, hun!

Thank you ateneact! I really like shifter stories, and alien stories, so I thought I'd combine them. Obviously I didn't get far into the various elements of the culture, but it was already 9.5k, lol! Thanks for your preference on POV, though you don't really seem to have too much of one.

*IF* the situation is taking advantage of a person against their consent, or happens to someone incapable of consent, then it's wrong. Snuff, pedophilia, abuse--that's about power and control. Some people get off on the illusion of force, in porn and in person... and it's usually easy to tell what is and isn't staged. If you believe you watch a porn that includes any real criminal activity that falls along those lines, it should be reported. Otherwise, enjoy what you enjoy and don't worry about what someone else enjoys watching or making for people watch.

Interesting story. I like hurt/comfort so this trope is a good element to hook me. I had the hardest time figuring out WHY David's friends had such a hard time with Robert, though. It felt like you were hinting at something, like Robert dressed as a leather Dom or something paranormal. The first person POV with such formal, stilted language could have hinted at Robert being from an earlier time because it did not fit with the scenes in the story or the written dialogue. If he thought flowery, his speech should have followed the same pattern because we think how we speak. Flowery or descriptive language can work in a story, but it should be consistently used and relevant to the character's 'character' so to speak. For me, the writing got in the way of the story, which I actually really liked. The slow relationship build up was great because a person should never rush into a relationship with someone they know was abused--so that felt realistic and well thought out.

LOL! I love the weaving of all the little myths and legends into the story. I love those little quirks and they make for such an interesting tale when you think of all the possible mystical events passed off and ignored that could be the fury of the nature beings. Not quite sure how the bruises, dip in the lake, and poisonous fungi would lead to the tests the brother needed, but I'm glad we know they're mostly okay in the hospital from the beginning of your story. This was fun!

Interesting, and very much a story in retrospect. We got a single scene, but within that scene you shared an entire relationship in summary. I liked the reality of the storm. I could nearly hear and feel the wind and the crash of the tree. Great job!

The way the friendship grew between TJ and Stephan seemed natural. The reality of the storm, and dealing with living in it with the cold/radiator, fire, etc... was realistic enough to feel, but not come across as too much detail. I must echo Suvitar though. I found the idea of the teens vandalizing the car contrived to bring about that moment of realization. It didn't make sense. What were they doing all the way by his cabin? How did they get there? Where was their vehicle? Why would the kids confront two grown men with guns? Teens might be stupid, and bigoted, but not that stupid. Most would try to take off. Also, why would they pistol whip the kid and treat it like business as usual? That's pretty excessive force, plus with him unconscious they'd have to address his injury and the possibility of a concussion when they called the cops. Then, when they showed up, where was the reaction from the cops? It seemed like they didn't know either TJ or Stephan, but they should have--TJ because he grew up there part-time and Stephan because he's transferring to their department, right? The town mechanic knew TJ by name, so the cops definitely should've known him at least. Knowledge that TJ and Stephan were cops would explain the deputies calm arrival and lack of 'hands up, weapons down' take on the situation, if you'd gone that route. Overall, though, there was a lack of realism to the entire scene that takes away from the really great relationship and bonding between the guys in the beginning of the story that felt very realistic. I especially like that you didn't have them fall into bed with each other either.

Or start at the end and work your way up! Sometimes I read one at the top, one at the bottom... make it fair, lol! Most people go straight for the top, but I'm equal opportunity.

Love, love, love, science. Especially the natural science geared toward animal biology or ecosystems. It's a lot of fun to research.

She worked really hard trying different styles of posts to do something new within the formatting the blog editor wouldn't remove. I'm so glad someone noticed! Thank yous need to go to everyone else who helped make the anthology happen, authors, beta/editors, proofers, and techies!! I love it when events come together on the site like the anthologies. Just goes to show how much we all enjoy the same thing--a great site full of great stories!

Yay, can't wait to read everyone's stories!

Thanks Wicked! I know a lot of worlds I write can be expanded, so I'm trying to do things like using my flash group and the anthologies to do that without messing up my serial story writing too. It keeps me motivated to go back to the stories and write more. I'm glad you liked it, and thanks for sharing your thoughts on the POV!

Aww, thanks Mann! I thought it was funny to use shifters who aren't natural to earth as the 'hunters' for the company (even if Moshe and Lisco didn't actually work there)in the story which had the theme as the company name would be slightly ironic. I'm going to see what the consensus is for the POV. TBH, I can see the next part from any of their sides, so I'm really open to that aspect of the next installment of their story. Thanks so much for reading!

Sure, alien shifters lost their planet lived on Earth. Miah'd never met one, so he ignored all the gossip. Then he moved to the city for school. After years of focus he let loose on the cusp of graduation and headed to a bar with his roommate. How could one conversation about shifters hunting humans would cause so much trouble? Ambushed and trapped, he refused to give in. His life, everything he'd ever wanted, is at risk. Will he find the right way out?

“Seriously? That’s a real thing? You can pay someone to do that to you?” I gaped at him. “Something, not someone.” Keon gulped down half his beer and then belched. He gestured toward the hologram screen on the wall. “They even have advertisements for it.” “That’s ridiculous.” I smacked my glass down on the table. “How can shifters demean themselves like that?” Keon rolled his eyes. “You are such a rube, Nehemiah.” I glared at him. “Not everyone can come from the city.” “Yeah, but you’ve bee