doesnt know jack

Oh. My. God. This story is soooo...interesting. :-p Ha! No, not really, it's anything but-it's fucking amazing. Brilliant. Beautiful. Heartbreaking. Gut wrenching. Tragic. And there's so much I want to say about it-but I'm having trouble pulling the thoughts back into focus. (It has something to do with that last scene being so much more than just the fact that Mrs. Harding is so right but then SO WRONG and that happening all the time to Elijah-ps.totally put me in his camp-that's just...YES!! But clearly I'm having issues articulating it.) I'll have to read it again and give you better praise next time (I swear I'm better at this and actually words that mean something), but for now just know that this is really, really, just...wow. Thank you.

That's it? Really? Gaaaa...I really need to stop reading WIPs... Best part of the entire chapter: Understanding made Bryce's eyes widened. He cuddled Delaur possessively and made an about-face, muttering, "You are far too young for this." With quick steps, he left the house. I keep telling you this, but it's those moments that make your stories so special. Also, I'm glad were finally getting more of Kynan's history (at the end); things are falling into place nicely. And I'm not sure if I can say this before the next chapter...but it seemed to end rather abruptly. Is it just me, or was this a shorter chapter than usual? Thanks!

My two cents...for what it's worth (probably not a lot at this point... :-): What do you mean by "likeable?" To me, it's the complex characters-those who could go either way-that give depth to the story. The characters I prefer to read about are those who you root for because of their circumstances despite the fact they might not be top notch people. I like Zen off the bat-because he's flawed and yet still seems to hold himself to a high standard. The not wanting to fight but having to is what drew me in so quickly. My attention was held until the end-something I've found to be rare for online stories, but something you manage to do so well. As for the confusing part...I think things will be fleshed out more as you go. One of the things you do so well is to show NOT tell what's going on. That's not an easy thing to do, and sometimes it feels like it's even harder to find. It's not about laying out the story from the get go, but rather, it takes a hint there and a nod here and suddenly, before you know it, the picture unfolds. That kind of writing puts demands on the reader-it's not sloppy and so you can't get away with just skimming it. It's also, in my opinion, one of the reasons why your writing draws people in so well; as a reader you don't have the option not to pay attention. Again, I'll take a complex, well written story that takes a few chapters to get footing over a simple, cliche one any day of the week. So I know I said this before, but clearly I've become more invested in this that I intended: I vote yes. Do I get two by the way??? :-p

Oh you had better keep going! :-p Please! I LOVE all of your stories...all of your characters. I hate WIP, but I always read yours because they are just that good (and you've done a good job at not abandoning them). I also don't usually review-and really need to do something longer to give your stories justice-but, well, I figured the need was immediate. So I vote for YES!! This has the potential to be different and different is always (well, most of the time) good. :-)

Wow. That's all kinds of awesome...and seeing as how, like Cia, I currently identify as most of the things on that list, I wonder what special section of Hell I'll get??? :-)

Like the post above me, I'm coming on this pretty late. (Congrats on becoming a hosted author by the way!!) First, off I whole heartily agree with all the compliments on your writing. You so eloquently and succinctly express your thoughts in a way that makes me, well slightly envious. As a lurker who pretty much just observes from afar, I vacillate between "struggling" to identify with a label, and deciding to just f*** it-who really cares anyway? But this post struck a chord with me about my own journey with labels and sexuality. When I was growing up, I had the fantasy of finding a boyfriend, getting married, having kids, and a car, and a dog, and "living happily ever after." There really wasn't room for any other narrative in my world view...coming from the small community I did, there really wasn't the option for there to be. I don't really remember when that view expanded, but gradually it did. In high school "sexuality" was two options: you were either gay or straight. Then came college, and suddenly, my world view expanded and I started lurking on line. Among other things, my best friend, who had been in a very serious relationship with a girl, came out (not to the surprise of anyone); my best girlfriend, who had come out in high school, fell in love with a guy; and I jumped on a whole new band wagon. This time, it was the "everyone's different degrees of bi" philosophy. At the time it was kind of a revelation of sorts. As we all do from time to time (or maybe it's just me0:)) I even prided myself on what "liberal" and "open" thinking I was engaging in. Oh my. I've since come to see that even that narrative is problematic. And, the issue I have with it really is more mathematical than anything. This is the progression as I see it: we (as in USAmerican "society") went from having just one point-or one option for the expression of sexuality: "straight" to having two: now you're either "straight" or "gay." Which opened up a lot of space for a lot of people, but still doesn't quite cut it. So, we throw in the line connecting the two points ("bi") and now we have a scale on which to place ourselves. However, that scale, or rather that line, is still confining and really doesn't, in my opinion, allow for all of the possibles ways sexuality can be expressed and experienced. You're still operating on a binary, you still really have only two (maybe three if you're lucky) options in that system. How in the world can only three possibilities account for the infinite number of ways that the human experience is expressed? Take my own internal reactions for a second. I am a female, I am very much a female and, while the identity of my gender is not in question, there are times, and ways in which I "identify" (if you can really call it that) as male-and, interestingly enough, sometimes it's sexual. And don't even get me started on the whole "asexual" aspect of my being. Because it is there (I've never had a "romantic" or "sexual" relationship of any kind with anyone for starters) along with strong sexual attraction to many people from many walks of life over the years. What then, is to be done with all of that? Should I just label myself as "confused" and go through the angst and worry of trying to "figure" out "what" I am, even though "what" I am changes moment to moment anyway? Personally, I would rather not. (I just wish I had the guts to actually live this...) Instead of trying to come up with labels and boxes that we can put ourselves and (even worse) others in, let's maybe add a third point, or rather another axis to the model above. Why not take binary system of black/white, right/wrong, yes/no, one/many, x/y and expand it so it's more spherical in nature-allowing for infinite points of expression along an infinite plane of possibility? It's kind of ironic, really, because I think I've come full circle in the quest for labels. Instead of putting everyone on the gay/straight/bi line, maybe a better "label" to have is that we're all sexual. And in that aspect of our humanity, we all have a myriad of ways to express and experience that sexual nature. (Including the negation of it.) Why can't we just leave it at that? Trust me, I understand the investment labels (it's one thing to say, another to do)...and how terrifying it is to break out of their grasp. They provide the illusion of safety and of ground. Unfortunately, they are no more than that- illusory; and, sadly, the tighter we grasp onto anything for safety, the more likely we are to cause harm-harm to ourselves and harm to others. So I just looked up to breathe and realized this was getting a little lengthy and soap-boxy. I think that's probably a good note to end on. Thank you for your writing and for getting the discussion rolling. And sorry for my rambling!

I found this and had to comment, it echoes my life? sentiments? ideals? so well. I say, f**k the game-any game. And it's not that you shouldn't play, it's that you shouldn't even go in the store to buy the damn thing in the first place. Of course, that's easier said than done; half the time I'm running back to the safety and comfort of what I think I know (i.e. what I've been conditioned to believe). No, it's not easy, but I have to look around me and believe that the alternative (i.e. The Plan) is just not worth it. I guess what I'm trying to say is congrats and good luck. Because someday, with enough of us out there, maybe we'll look around and realize not only have we changed the rules, but we've picked up a different pack of cards.

Yeah, me neither. Granted I'm half way around the world and practically one the equator, but still. I'm so jealous and so wish I was there! All of you out there who are buried 10 feet deep, enjoy the white fluffy stuff!!