I see what you mean with the overbearing mother comparison. If I didn't know this was a commission, I'd swear you were channeling your Sofia frustrations into Natalie/

Actually, Amanda might want to steal her mom's microwave before heading back to campus. You know, just to be safe.

But Natalie is such an interesting character. Internal struggles like the ones she's going through usually makes characters more relatable, but the fact that I think most people would find her general demeanor and approach to life unlikeable kind of throws a monkey wrench in that. So I find it particularly intriguing trying to figure out exactly where her head is at regarding everything that's going on with her family.

For example, at first glance, the scene at the end of the previous chapter, with a drunk Natalie letting her bigotry hang out in front of her son, makes her seem pretty heartless. But then there's the question of why she was drunk in the first place. Yeah, she clearly meant the things she said to him and even enjoyed putting him in what she feels is his place, but if that was really the extent of her feelings on her son's condition, why would she need to go on a drunken stupor and take her bitterness of the situation out on him?

Oddly enough, to me, this clearly signifies a deep love for Ry on her part. All of that RP hatred is real, but it's in direct contradiction to how much she loves her son. But I've also noticed that she tends to bury her real feelings under a need to be in control, often expressed through a few layers of harshness. So while I think she feels bad for him and wants what's best for him (hence why she scheduled the appointment for this chapter), none of that comes out in her actions.

Actually, I kind of thought she'd feel some remorse for the previous night at the start of this chapter. While the bigotry that she expressed is obviously real (as seen in this chapter), I don't think she wanted to be quite so direct with it toward Ryan, and it was probably the alcohol that let that hatred bubble to the surface when dealing with her son. I still think that, if she remembers how she acted then, she probably actually does feel this way, but I don't think she'll let that show even if I'm right about that. The "weakness" that would show could threaten her authority, after all.

Another indirect example of this love is actually something that I think most people would consider a cruel thing on Natalie's part: not giving him privacy with the toilet. When she said that the reason she was staying there was because she didn't want him falling in, I assumed this was going to be followed up with her saying that she didn't want to have to touch the water fishing him out or something emphasizing an inconvenience to her. Instead, while her hypothetical was, in fact, ridiculous, it showed a level of concern for his safety and wellbeing. This, unlike most of her actions this chapter, wasn't purely about control for her; she just doesn't trust Ryan with his own safety anymore. Still, I actually count this one in the nice column, as she actually cares about what happens to him.

But aside from her love of her son clashing with her worldview, there's also the conflict of Natalie being upset that her children "lied to her by keeping Ry's condition from her a secret for five days and the fact that she knows exactly why they did. We saw this when Natalie first found out about Ryan; it was a passing thought of maternal guilt for realizing that she made Ryan feel like he couldn't come to her with this. Of course, she couldn't accept this, so she buried that shit deep, and I think that has led to some of the passive aggressiveness we've seen from her in these last two chapters. She's in denial, so, ironically, she's doubling down on all the things that made him (and now Amanda) so hesitant to tell her in the first place.

But maybe the most interesting thing about Natalie is the reason why she hates RPs so much. Mainly because we have no idea what that is. This really didn't hit me until the end of the chapter, when she was giving that hateful look to the RP called back. He had done nothing to her, not been an inconvenience at all, yet she had so much disdain for that guy. Why? Up until now, I assumed her bigotry was just based off annoyance at society accommodating RPs or some shit like that. But now I'm wondering is she has a particular reason for feeling the way that she does.

This made me think of the scene just before, when she sat on that guy (which was fucking hot, by the way! Her attitude about it and how slow she was to get up was amazing!). When Amanda called the RP a man, Natalie thought of her late husband and how the way he made her feel when she sat on her lap made him a man, making her feel even more angry at poor Ethan. I can't recall, but did we ever find out what happened to old Jack? Maybe there's a reason that Ryan was susceptible to the virus while his sisters and mother weren't. A little bad luck in the genetic lottery perhaps?

I also love how the start of this chapter uses her to highlight what I feel like is one of the major themes of the story: that there's just no way for a big to properly comprehend what it's like to be an RP. Natalie going about her morning routine, ignoring Ryan for most of it, only to rush him and forego the standard that she holds her normal-sized children to leaves him feeling so hopeless. But when he tells her that, if she can't except that he's not staying with her, then he's going to cut off all contact, she seems shocked by the prospect (this is also another sign that she really cares about him despite what her general attitude implies). What was such a devastating morning for him wasn't even a thought for her. What seemed an effort to be cruel to him was just simple thoughtlessness. This is something that we've seen from all three of his family members already, albeit in different ways.

Going into this chapter, I wasn't quite sure how to take Brooke. Some of her actions toward Ry seemed harsh, but I also saw signs that she still saw him as a person rather adopting her mother's stance on RPs. There was her listening when Ryan yelled at Amanda and her to stop arguing, her guilting him into applying sunscreen on her back instead of just making him do it, and even how she dimmed the lights and suggested moving her conversation with Amanda into her room when Ryan was clearly upset at Amanda's deception about staying the night, with it being noted that she didn't want to disturb Ry. Of course, that all was weighed against carelessly almost killing him and the ass-kissing/farting incident and potential blackmail, so she was still a bit of a mystery to me.

Seeing her defend Ryan against her mother, however, settled things for me. Like Amanda (more on her in a second), she sees her brother as the same as he always was, which you would think is a good thing (and, in some ways, it is). But she doesn't understand how fragile he is, both physically and mentally. I think she thought Amanda was being dramatic when telling her that she almost killed Ryan by tossing him like that. She surely thinks the video she has on him would just be a little humiliating if she posted it, not realizing that it would not only out his condition to everyone but would also permanently change the way everyone who sees it would look at him even more than just becoming an RP would. In other words, she's a bit immature and doesn't understand what he's going through.

But seeing her tell her mom to let him finish what he was saying and giving her mom that look that made Natalie fear that she was losing even her youngest daughter in this fight, I now have no doubt that Brooke has Ryan's back when he needs her to. It's just a matter of her figuring out that Ryan really needs her support and that he's not necessarily doing as well mentally with this as he'd like everyone to believe. This is part of why the next two weeks at the Miller house will be so interesting. I could see Amanda really driving this point home to her in order to have her protect Ryan from Natalie whenever she can. I could also see her continuing to fuck with him until she either accidentally hurts him or pushes him to a mental breakdown without realizing it at first before she figures out that she fucked up.

Or maybe she remains blissfully unaware throughout Ry's stay, and his time away from Amanda is all the worse for it (although we, the reader, would still have some fun with it!).

Speaking of Amanda, it's been pretty clear from the start that she sees her brother as the same as always, just smaller. Unlike Brooke, though, she's more aware of how hard being tiny is for him and is trying to help. There are two problems she has, however: she's impulsive and, again, she can't understand what it's like to be tiny.

Things like deciding that Ry needed to get out and stuffing him in her pocket, for example, are impulsive decisions that she made with good intentions. And honestly, I could see her dragging her doing the same thing if he were full-sized and depressed, only dragging him by the arm instead. She impulsively decided to "help" him get over his issues by getting him out of the apartment, but she didn't understand how different it is to do this to him at a tiny size nor how demeaning it can be to just be stuffed in a pocket. She realized her mistake later and felt like shit about it, though, which shows that she's trying to understand at least, which is more than the rest of his family can say.

That same impulsiveness is what led her to lie about staying overnight at their mother's house. She truly believed that Brooke and Natalie would rally around Ryan like she has, and only now, in this chapter, does she realize how wrong she was. I'm glad she already felt like shit seeing his reaction when he learned the truth last chapter, but now, seeing her mother in action, she's starting to realize just how right Ry was about all this.

I liked how she initially thought he was overreacting when he told her that Natalie had taken him to her room in the dead of night, only to do a 180 once she heard about the appointment and her mom taking him away from her. I loved (and maybe that's not even strong enough a word) how strongly she defended him during that first confrontation with Natalie. Even Ryan was surprised, and I admit that I was too. I knew she'd fight her mom on this, but I didn't expect the fury with which she did it. This was fantastic.

I also enjoyed how almost overly protective she was of him for the rest of the chapter. She was almost too paranoid to let him out of her sight, which only makes the fact that she's going to have to leave him for two weeks all the more stressful for her. If anything, this chapter has shown that she's not just watching her brother as a favor to him or some obligation to family or anything like that; she wants him with her. While she'd never admit it, I bet a small part of her is happy that Ryan shrank, if only because they now have to spend so much time together.

But not only is she now realizing that Ryan was right about Natalie, she's also starting to compare herself to their mother. That moment when she compared Natalie sitting on Ethan to the time she herself sat on Ry was heartbreaking, because we know he's not afraid of her (and certainly not in the way that Ethan feared Natalie here). She's starting to overanalyze everything she's done with Ryan, which can be a good thing to an extent, but hopefully she's not too hard on herself. Despite the mistakes she's made, she doesn't deserve to be lumped in with someone like her mother.

I do think that whenever Ryan gets back to her, they're both going to have a new appreciation for each other. Between all of that shit I said above and going (at least) a couple weeks without her brother around, Amanda is going to stew in her guilt over how it's her fault he's not there and how she should have listened to him when she had the chance. She's going to continue reflecting on everything, I think, while worried about what he's going through at the same time. I think this is going to lead to her adjusting her approach with him once she has him back (I could even see her doubting her decision to keep him from contacting his ex and reluctantly letting him meet with her; I mean, she's been wrong on so much, I think her doubting herself about that makes sense, too).

Ryan, meanwhile, is surely going to have a new appreciation for Amanda. We're already starting to see that in this chapter, actually. The rough way that Natalie handles him made him think of Amanda right away. I can only imagine how living under Natalie's rules, especially as an RP, is going to make those petty complaints he had about living with his sister feel. I don't know if he'll vocalize that to Amanda (he tends to keep shit to himself, kind of like his mom; don't tell him I said that!), but I would be shocked if he didn't feel a deep sense of gratitude toward her for everything she's done for him once he gets back.

As for Ryan, he showed exactly why someone like Amanda would so vigorously look out for him. Contrary to how Natalie views men, he was a real man throughout the chapter. The way he stopped that fight between Natalie and Amanda, taking the blame and agreeing to go to the appointment was so great! He could have easily asked Amanda to leave on the spot and I'm pretty sure she would have, but he knew that leaving things between Amanda and their mom like that could have lasting damage on their relationship. So he sucked it up and agreed to do the thing that he didn't want to do for their sake (I like how he hardlined not living with Natalie, though). Natalie, of course, was too obsessed with her "authority" to realize that Ryan was doing this for her sake!

Then we have him agreeing to stay with their mom for the duration of his appointments. Amanda was more than willing to skip classes for his sake, but he refused to put her in that position. He already knows how awful Natalie can be to him and I'm sure he's still not sure what to think about Brooke, but he's willing to put himself in a terrible spot strictly for Amanda's sake. That's incredibly selfless of him. There's no visible benefit for him in doing this. Part of what makes him great as a character is that, while he can be a bit of a jerk from time to time and make some bad decisions, he really is a good person overall. This makes him feel more real and relatable.

So yeah, I'm really interested to see what happens next here. I've already talked about Brooke, but what happens next between Ryan and Natalie. It's obviously going to be hard for Ry at the start, but will it get better or worse by the end of his stay (and will his stay end when it's supposed to)? I could see Natalie not changing and even getting worse in her treatment of her son, but I could just as easily see her love for him winning out and things getting better (which is part of what makes her character so great!). The ideal outcome of this is that Natalie and Ryan get to a point in which they can start the long process of fixing the gap between them by the time he leaves her house. This could be Natalie's only chance to do so.

Well, if you're still reading this, congratulations! You made it! If the length of the review wasn't clue enough, I really liked this chapter! Keep up the good work (to both you and the commissioner who's mapping this out)!

Great chapter, like the continued world building, with the introduction of other RP's views. Was a bit confused at the sudden use of RP in the kitchen scene instead of Ryan, like was used in most of the scenario, but other than that, really good.

Looking forward to what situations Ryan finds himself in staying with Natalie. Possibly more inattentive shenanigans and perhaps see we'll Natalie learn she likes RP's, just not the way Ryan hopes.

Another great chapter, I would have loved to see Ryan interact with his mom more physically, but genuinely enjoyed seeing Ethan being sat on.

On another note, the writing style and the dialogue is honestly really enjoyable, it really builds a nice family interaction, it's both so unique and well written, that this story is easily one of the best on this site.

I'm looking forward to more chapters and seeing where it goes from here, do you think you'll write over Christmas? Or is it more likely we'll see something later into the new year?

I'm REALLY loving this Natalie character. Haven't followed your stories for awhile, but this one's def a new fave of mine. Hoping to see more interaction with her and perhaps a tiny of her own. She seems to have so much disdain for them, almost like deep down she gets a kick out of dominating them.

Would've preferred step-family, but it's a commission and it's still fantastic. I love the foreshadowing of Natalie's looming crotch as she crouches down. I'm definitely looking forward to the next entry.

Author's Response:

Glad you're able to enjoy it considering. Certainly seems like Natalie's threats cast a pretty heavy shadow over Ryan. Stay tuned to see how everything pans out. 

Thanks for reading!!

Feel like this chapter isn't getting enough love imo lol. Plot is moving forward monumentally and the new gts are performing wonderfully.

Brooke being playful to the point of Ryan's mental detriment makes perfect sense. She's too playful, which as already established, and she's new to this situation. She can't fathom his mental state unlike Amanda.

Natalie is trying to make up for not having her son believe in her but is still so pissed, and is just a bigot lol, that she can't help but belittle. Even doing the parent thing where she compares her children to make one feel worse. Despite this, she still wanted to get him some kind of help. A bitch, a real bitch, but I like the character so far.

I really like the "Trapped" description btw. Did a good job showing his feelings. It really does feel like he shouldn't have came huh. Not to mention staying here would really suck ass, no Brooke.

Keep up the great work!

The character dynamics in this story have been a real treat, but boy, are Ryan's worse fears being validated in terms of his mom...I know it's the alcohol talking, but her calling him a 'them' now and taunting him to say if he 'feels' like a grown man is CUTTING to come from his mom.

Really on the edge of my seat to see where the character dynamics play out, but I do hope Amanda finds a way to clock this and earnestly stand up to her mom for her brother, because as much as he wants to, Ryan needs to start learning quickly not to pick fights with the far larger ladies in his life and both him and his mom may do something they both regret.

Then there's the baby of the family Brooke kinda vibing and trying to joke with Ryan even considering his new stature, liking her teasing energy as some levity here.

Looking forward to more, the character drama in this story is *chef's kiss*

And we are back to more abuse. Lovely...

Wish more people stuck to their tags, instead of swinging it around.

Can't believe I have not commented on this story yet! I'm enjoying it very much. Can't say much that others here have not already stated, but I certainly want to encourage you to continue.

Although not resolved, I was worried that Ryan's mother was going to be less accepting of his new status. She is more upset about the lack of communication. Of course the story is not over yet.

Also, I assume Ryan's girlfriend is still in the picture somewhere. I thought that once he got his phone back, he would be all over texting her big time and trying to meet up. Looking forward to their physical encounter and how Amanda will react.

Would love to see Ryan get trapped on an unaware Brooke in the future!!