impunity

Poor Liam. I feel so badly for his plight. Although a small part of me wants to giggle with glee at his comeuppance. I really hate bullies. As much as I want to be a voyeur to the romantic reconciliation, I know I'd never start a relationship with someone who had treated me that badly. I just wish something equally awful would happen to Doug; seeing his friend's misery doesn't seem like enough. I like how you wove Mothers' Day into Ty's and Neil's stories with very different outcomes. I'm glad Neil has a chance of reconciliation with both of his parents. There doesn't seem to be any hope for Ty, though. His father really is a Grade-A arsehole. I was hoping Karen would find out about Ty's dad's little treachery but I guess you're saving that revelation for another time. Karen was awesome, though. I really wanted to hug her. Actually, I find myself wanting to hug most of your characters. Arsehole fathers excepted, of course.

Wow! Roger is the ultimate sleaze. And selfish to boot! I'm with the other reviewers who predicted that Roger has other partners. And, of course, he's the type who'd expect each of them to remain scrupulously faithful. I have a hard time believing that Josh would get so excited by such an unsatisfying sexual experience. Or maybe he's just convincing himself that he does.

Potential allies! And, even better, potential allies with information. Ha! I knew Will's parents were up to no good. Also, the combination of beta and gamma seems set to become even more significant. You know, I really admire the precision of these short chapters, but they make waiting a whole week until the next one so damn hard.

I just realized that I intended to write a review on this chapter so I am doing it before I read the new one. This is an unprecedented act of self-control on my part. I'm not as bothered as some of the other reviewers by the infidelity as it is an integral part of the plot. However, I thought that Galen might have shown a bit of discomfort and hesitation before he grinned and dove in. I think this would have been more consistent with his actions earlier in the chapter: avoiding the farm so as not to encounter Josh and his annoyance with Liam when he found out where they'd be riding. That said, it was a lovely chapter. And another delicious-sounding meal. Right, that's enough diligence. I have a chapter to read. Yay!

Wow, that was intense! I really liked the chaotic stream-of-consciousness effect, although it was a little dizzying. Looking forward to the next chapter.

Me too.

I liked this one a lot, especially the little hints of Theo's feral nature throughout. Matthew's distrust of Theo was excellent given his aversion to animals. And the meeting with Theo's family was brilliantly funny. Since this is an American Songbook, I will point out that Rick should have stepped off the sidewalk at the point of their collision, rather than the pavement. "Pavement" refers to the actual road here. It was very confusing to me when I got my driver's license here and the instruction manual said that no part of the car should leave the pavement at any time.

Sweet story. Very breathless. I, too, have noticed the recent increase in your unconventional use of colons. It's an interesting effect, although occasionally a bit jarring.

This posting was an unexpected but delightful surprise, especially because the system didn't send me a notification that you'd published something. Happily, I saw it in the 'new stories' list. I am so glad we got more of their story. It was also great to get a reminder that they have only been together for 2 weeks so far, and how little Miah and the two shifters really know about each other. I really hope you continue it through the confrontation with Gorseman and the success of the breeding operation.

I guess I'm going to have to jump on the bandwagon: that was a very sad chapter. Although, I loved the reminder of how far Ty (sorry, the brat), has come since Jim started mentoring him. And I'm not sorry to see the demise of 'Alf'. Also, Neil and Liam are at rock bottom now, so the only way forward is up.

Haha! I am just as ancient and had the same reaction.

No, not a cliffhanger! How am I going to last until next week? And, so, we start learning about gammas. I liked the "sticky web" metaphor. Besides conveying the complexity and trap-like (I really wish I had a better adjective here) nature of Teddy's thoughts, it also invoked an unspoken sense of fragility that is reinforced by Will's constant motivation to protect him.

I've read Hypnotic several times. I think it's time to read the others again.

I love haircuts and that sounded like a particularly good one. I hope Hel's last words weren't an indication that he intends to run away again.

You changed the ending...I like it.

I just started reading this. Very interesting! I'm particularly intrigued by the image of the temple, whether it is a real structure (in which case why haven't the scientists discovered it by now?), or a psychic projection based on the humans' memories. Looking forward to more.

Like Timothy, I was surprised at the Carlton Club's strategy to reach Ty. It definitely seemed a bit hit-or-miss. I would have thought a discreet phone call to Peter would have been more sensible. I really hope this turns out to be a genuine opportunity for Jim, too. I really don't blame Neil at all for his reticence to consider Liam as a potential boyfriend. While Doug was clearly the ringleader, Liam willingly went along with making Neil's life a misery for five years. Not only that, but the bullies managed to establish a culture of acceptability at the school so that the harassment continues even after Doug, Liam and Rod stopped their own campaign against him. Doug's defending Neil was lukewarm at best; he doesn't refute the assertion that Neil is a loser, only dismissing the "fag" comment. As much as I think the Liam/Alf/Neil storyline is endearing and will probably end with their getting together, a far more realistic outcome would be for Neil to reject Alf's "coming out" as yet more evidence of Liam's untrustworthiness (it is pretty manipulative and creepy), then take advantage of his new connections to meet other gay guys, while Liam is left regretting the bed he made for himself to lie in.

Josh's mysteriousness and Galen's extreme openness make for an interesting contrast. And another awesome meal! (I was also a little disappointed that Josh didn't make his own ice cream; it's not that hard.)

I can't express how much I love this story! Will's preserving the clues for a potential successor was awesome! Also, as much as we're getting hints that gammas are disparaged for their slow thinking, I am certain that the quality of their thinking is going to turn out to be extraordinary.

Damn, that was hot! Although I hope Ischa becomes more comfortable so that he doesn't have to project the slick, confident persona.

I'll admit I was surprised (and also relieved) that the TV show turned out so well. Oh well, I can live with a drama-free chapter once in a while. Haha! Neil's apology to Tony was wonderful. And I'm going to give a shout out to Dave for managing to be really funny as he struggles to get past his childhood trauma. Liam and Neil were adorable, as always. I think Liam's strategy, while flawed, does have a couple of benefits: the obvious one of letting Neil get to know him, both as Alf and as Liam, and also it gives Liam time to get to know Neil as a person rather than just rushing in to date the first gay guy he meets.

Great chapter! I loved the evolving interactions between Galen and Josh. And I really wanted to eat that dinner.

This story is too cute! And, by that, I mean just cute enough.

The scrap yard/sculpture park confused me until I realized this was another subtle example of their society's decline. I liked Will's acknowledgement that his powers are stronger with Teddy around. The brief history of Schvesla and Murci was also interesting. Looking forward to learning more about betas, gammas and their interactions.

Between the pending news story and Todd's final interaction with Liam, that was one hell of a cliffhanger. Not sure how I'm going to be able to wait until next weekend.