Seems like Brenda's lack of confidence in herself really cancels out the apparent advantage she has over the rest in this challange. Mei also seems to lack the skill to backup her overconfidence, this will get interesting.

Also, thanks for adding another chapter, It always brighthens my day when you add a chapter to this story, and I'm to lazy to make a backhanded compliment out of this.

Thanks!

I just got to this story today and binged all these chapters.  I'm quite liking it. I like your style too; you're a good writer. It could use some more salicious scenes as far as I'm concerned. Anyway, I'm hoping for that threesome with Bren and Rebecca. I do like Rebecca. What can I say? I'm a sucker for big boobs. Who isn't? This, despite the fact that she chews and pops her gum.

     I have really enjoyed reading chapters 11 and 12.  The “episodic” structure covers a ton of ground character wise and is a bold formatting choice.  It reminds me of Robert Altman’s Short Cuts in it’s style.

     It was refreshing to see Izzy actually preparing and planning.  Yes she got herself in a predicament on impulse, but she put her brain back in gear and made efforts to recover...even triumph.  I love that she’s growing as a character and can take steps to take control of her own destiny. 
     It still seems she’s tied too much of that destiny to being with some idiot biggie, but we’re even starting to see her considering alternatives to that, visions of her independent and living on her own with her own business, in spite of how society has tried to program her.

     I’m a little torn.  It seems like Lisa has de-mystified and de-romanticised bonding for her and while I think she’s done her a huge favor by giving her a grounded perspective, she doesn’t get to find out for herself what all the fuss is about without now being influenced by Lisa’s more jaded point of view.  I would never say ruined, but one of the rites of passage of this world has been made more mundane for her. 
     Still, I think she should be grateful.  Izzy clearly has a hard-won huge intellect for one of her kind and a truly remarkable soul.  She’s not really a heart-centered person it seems.  She’s just been told she’s supposed to be her whole life...she may come to value love and romance, but she’s the type of person it’s much better for her to come there on her own, based on her own experiences, than to come there based on some “imposed norm.”

    A lot of the characters who have been mostly obstacles for Izzy are getting to show us their perspective. 

     Izzy and dad together are still pure magic.  I love seeing them have moments together.  It’s so sweet and loving and they way they support each other...though Iggy does still fall into a lot of the traps of his kind, they have something so good and healthy.  It’s one of the reasons I find the biggies of this reality so sucky... most would call his parenting completely wrong.  And they’d say it because “she has no chance of fulfilling the dreams you’ve allowed her to have.”
    As I’ve said, Izzy is not really a romantic...she just views things form her perspective and by her standards...which, yes, could be swept away by some cruel biggie at any moment. 
     She is strong and she is right, but she is so fragile in this world.

     Gloria getting jealous doesn’t really endear me to her.  Her jealousy is rooted in the fact she’s just viewing Izzy as a trophy here.  Not a shining moment for the wanna be Mrs Iggy.  Kinda wanna see her drowned in motor oil still.
     Though Linda is still a hoot.

    Sabrina... she’s is the prototype “intrusive biggie.”  It’s all about what they want.  And they just have to stick themselves in Izzy’s face....and her head it seems. 
     Okay, really, it’s pretty cool to see her trying to Izzy’s friend.  I like how she’s being less arrogant...for a biggie...and more helpful.  Points to the former big twerp.

    That woman in Izzy’s “house”... that must be mom.  God, what a sad yet sweet detail.  You are a writer with a lot of heart.  I really feel that image.

     In chapter twelve we see Brenda, so sad and vulnerable.  It’s like the girl who told that Winton punk off has been slapped across the nose with a rolled up newspaper and curled up in by her dish... I’m not really in love with the red haired menace, but she seems to have become a much less dynamic character. 
    “Shrinking” her and making her non-competitive takes some of the tension out of the story. 
     I’m not rooting for her...yet.  I think the thing that keeps me from liking her, is not really her fault.  My problem with her is she’s trying to work through feelings of guilt toward an empathic perspective...but she’s constantly getting the wrong kind of affirmation.  Weather her gal pal is telling her there’s nothing wrong with forcing herself on Izzy or her mom is telling her she’s not responsible for her actions...  She’s never going to grow into a enlightened, sympathetic character in this psycho world. 
     Though, I can see her trying...which is worth some pix points.  (Pix points...you could try to collect ‘em all...but I save most of them for Izzy.)

   It was a pretty stunning revelation that Mei was actually just being cocky when she proposed her contest... it makes her seem more interesting as a character that she can be not as smart as she thinks she is.
Not rooting for her though...too manipulative.

   Mabel ... she’s like someone made a person to be a parody of biggies.  Is there a hole to drop her in somewhere?  You can have Sabby’s old title of big twerp.  She’s not using it anymore.

   “The Search????”  More gawdawful televised biggie trash that exploits tinies?  Really?  Watch Deadwood ya morons.  Watch Battlestar Galactica...something...anything but sucky “reality”shows ... we all know they’re scripted by now anyway. 
   Though Randalf might be useful to Izzy...hope hope.

   It really feels like Izzy’s “specialness” has been slowly melting away as the mystique of the biggies has been similarly stripped from them.  The problem is that, as they are revealed to be more alike, they can never be equals.  I will miss the feeling that Izzy had some hidden potential ... something that would stun and surprise us and make all the biggies go Keanu Reeves “whoa.” 

   It seems she’s just an extraordinarily willful human being. 

   But that’s serving the story too.  Now I’m really wondering how she’s going to do in the game she allowed herself to be made a prize in.  If she has any chance of winning, could she actually win the respect of the stoopid biggies?  It would be amazing to have her grin and claim her prize with a “now leave me alone until I say otherwise.”  Tinies rule.

   Thanks for giving us such a fascinating world occupied by such interesting characters.  You have given us something of value and you should know it is appreciated.

Peace

pix