Date: October 29 2014 9:36 AM Title: Pieces
(OT) it seems that /whenever/ I start reading this story someone needs me to do something,... this is the second time TODAY, and I'm still at "don't touch me" - is there a curse or something?
Author's Response:
Well, I'm glad to see you persevered to review the chapter after this one too. :P
[Report This]Date: October 20 2014 11:09 AM Title: Pieces
Once again you've made me feel sympathy for Nathaniel. His fear is a pretty reasonable thing to have, though once again he went overboard in his actions.
Alexandra is not as broken as I thought she'd be. She's still generally functional, though if she needs to run away, then she clearly has some issues to sort out (as she should).
Author's Response:
Thanks for reviewing. I had hoped that readers could, if not condone Nathaniel's actions, see where he's coming from. Lexi's in a state now where she just needs plenty of time to be alone.
[Report This]Date: October 19 2014 6:24 PM Title: Pieces
This chapter was a heavy info dump, which is usually very bad. But for a story that holds its cards this close to its chest, it was much needed, but it still does not reaffirm nor refute my theory of what really happened the night Alexandra was framed. It's also weird to see how Aegis is reacting to this colossal fuck-up of bureaucratic proportions. Before, it was a very MarySueish organization that was always portrayed as the side that was always good, and all opposing it was terrible. Now, even they are realizing this problem with themselves. It was a good way to deconstruct this entire series' premise.
Author's Response:
Thanks for reviewing! Aegis is pretty wounded by this event, to say the least, and its effects are definitely going to be felt in other parts of the Omega stories after this.
[Report This]Date: October 19 2014 5:50 PM Title: Pieces
Ack, Bridget should have tried to visit her on the roof! She had enough presence of mind to interrogate Nathaniel, she should have been brave enough to visit her best friend too. Would it have been painful? Yes. Would she be rejected again? Probably. But still, c'mon, deal with it Bridget and keep trying to apologize.
Watching Omegas deal with Betas is weird. I mean, does this world have capital punishment? Because it would be ridiculous for an Omega to kill a Beta. The size disparity is too great. An Omega executing a Beta just feels wrong.
Even the interrogation seems out of place. Bridget should not be allowed to handle Nathaniel. She herself noted the brief thought of crushing him between her fingers. There's no way that should be allowed if Omega's are capable of having such thoughts. It seems simple enought to allow the Betas to serve as judge and jury for themselves. One day, an Omega is going to squeeze too hard and kill a Beta (or several Betas with a misstep) and this 'mixed zone' nonsense is going to be questioned. Omegas and Betas shouldn't be allowed within a mile of each other.
Anyway, great chapter!
Author's Response:
It isn't that Bridget didn't want to try to apologize, but after what happened, she's been implanted with a sizeable fear of doing anything to hurt her friend ever again, so even going near her in the aftermath of all this makes her too scared. The fact that Bridget was allowed to handle Nathaniel goes back to the fact that Omegas simply cannot conceive of one of their own doing something so drastic, even someone so wronged by the offending Beta. That flash in Bridget's mind is something that only could've come from the sheer amount of hurt inflicted by these events. The concern about an Omega accidentally crushing a Beta does seem like a fair one, but there are considerable measures in place through their training to prevent this, and there hasn't been such an accident before. Thanks for reading!
Date: October 19 2014 5:05 PM Title: Pieces
Wow, the wait for this is truely agonizing when your so close to the end. Please can you get this last chapter out before you update the time-out story, we're so close!
Anyway, I agree with people when they said they don't understand Nateaniels motivations. I mean I could understand revenge and i understand being angry at Agies for pushing their agenda on everyone the way they do, but I don't see how his plan helped anything. How does getting Alex tortured for a few weeks help beta kind? I'm really confused on that point.
Finally, If that woman is Kayla, I am hoping for a lot of sarcasm and bitter contempt. Seriously, i would really really hate if this story ended with roses after all thats happened. i want some justifiable anger here! Personally i think ageis are a bunch of hypocrites, using their size to bully people into not using their size to bully so i would love to see them get some comeupance.
Author's Response:
Nathaniel hurting Lexi like he did was intended as a statement to Alphas, who he fears may think the Omegas no longer have power over them. It was to show that Betas are not going to be oppressed again. His actions aren't necessarily meant to be defended by readers, but they are what they are.
Whoever it is, I can say there will be a fair amount of bitterness in the upcoming interaction.
[Report This]Date: October 19 2014 4:16 PM Title: Pieces
It's her mom.That's my guess...It might not make any sense or maybe it makes all the sense in the world I don't know I'm not the writer.
Author's Response:
We'll find out soon!
Date: October 19 2014 2:53 PM Title: Pieces
Excellent chapter man. I can't wait to see how it all ends.
Author's Response:
Thanks!
[Report This]Date: October 19 2014 2:43 PM Title: Pieces
Damn you and your plot twist, let the poor girl rest! ;)
Author's Response:
She can rest when she's dead! O_O
No, that was not foreshadowing.
[Report This]Date: October 19 2014 2:33 PM Title: Pieces
Well the cats outta the bag now! I can't blame Lexi for hating on Omegas right now, especially Bridget. Is that Kayla at the end there? Anyway. I gotta give credit where credit is due...
Nathanial is a fucking boss. He crapped on an entire organization full of mountain sized powerhouses, and didn't even give an inch during the interrogation—even at threat of his own death!
I can't really say he was the villan either because if anything, he's had the most screwed up backstory outta every character in the series! I could easily see myself in his shoes if I had it like him...
Still, I think there is something fundementally wrong with the way Aegis handles things if a couple of betas with a grudge can stir shit up to this degree!
Great chapter though! I'm a little sad to see this story reaching it's final chapter but it was a hell of a ride while it lasted!
Author's Response:
It's indeed outta the bag. I didn't necessarily intend for Nathaniel to be thought of as villainous. He's the antagonist, for certain, but his extremely troubled backstory is meant to at least provide some reasoning for what he does. Thanks for reviewing!
Date: October 19 2014 1:38 PM Title: Pieces
Kind of have mixed views on this chapter. I love the guilt with bridget and her mom, I love Alexandra's slow recovery and bitterness. However I just can't get Nathaniel's reasoning at all.
If he had just done it for revenge, fine. If he had done it as some statement that all Alphas were evil and needed to be done away with, fine. But to acknowledge that Lexi had nothing to do with his parent's murder, and was completely innocent, yet still say he was protecting Betas is insane. Granted that might have been the point but it left me with a sour tast in my mouth.
Author's Response:
I can see where you're coming from in that Lexi is good to Betas. Ultimately a combination of Nathaniel's emotional hurt over that night with his parents, and the threat to Betas with Corey's attack, override that fact. It's a response in kind to the fact that a fiercely protected Beta was able to be hurt by an Alpha; now, a fiercely protected Alpha has been hurt. In in the eyes of Nathaniel and his friends, it shows what the class is capable of.
[Report This]Date: October 19 2014 12:40 PM Title: Pieces
Excellent chapter especially with the Nathaniel guy. That scene was perfect. Now as for Alexandra's intruder... At first I thought it was her mom but then I thought nah that's too easy. And then I think its Bridget because at the end of her interrogation she did look at the camera and say "I'm done" which could mean she doesn't want the omega "gift" any longer if it means never seeing Alexandra again...(far fetched absolutely but still possible) However now that I think about it, its probably just some random woman we've never met and couldn't possibly have guessed correctly haha(you could throw that in just to screw with us).
At any rate, fantastic chapter and I cant wait to see what happens next.
aaron
PS I appreciate the fact that you are one of the few authors who actually responds to every review(at least all mine) and I commend you for that. Too many authors beg for reviews and either rarely respond or they pick and choose who they respond to. Just wanted you to know that I appreciate.
Author's Response:
Interesting thoughts on who it is; it'll be shown soon enough. And I hope I'm not mean enough to just throw someone in as a tease. Thanks for reading. Sure thing for the responses; particularly when people take the time to not just say what they thought but also analyze the content of a chapter, I always enjoy entering into a little conversation with them.
[Report This]Date: October 19 2014 12:24 PM Title: Pieces
Lady with glowing eyes ? Obviously Kayla, shrunken down to Alpha size. I hope she's not gonna easily convince Lexi to stay, that would make her a real Deus Ex Machina (pun totally intended :P )
From the first part of the chapter, the "Dont. Touch. Me" was really powerful. She's in agony but she still manages to spit out those 3 words at Bridget ? Ouch ! Uppercut to the gut !
Lexi wanting to flee far away is also a very natural reaction.
As for the rest, in good parts, I agree with Nathaniel. That's actually a thing we talked about with other readers and I made that point then : if Aegis/Omegas truly wanted all Betas to be safe, they could make it so instantly. All they would have to do would be to build Beta-only cities and protect them. Forbid any (unsupervised) interaction between Alphas and Betas. There, problem solved.
But of course, that wouldn't feed Kayla's ego, who, despite claiming she's not a god and doesn't see herself that way, still plays God by trying to force Alphas and Betas to live together in harmony. With lethal consequences for the latter group (be it voluntary harm or accident). In Abigail's words to describe Kayla : "The woman who was the living embodiment of evolution itself, that supreme force of will that guided all progress. All life. The woman who had set the course for humanity for millennia to come."
So I agree with Nathaniel : Omegas, and especially Kayla, say they want to protect Betas, they might even genuinely believe that but that's not true. They want to impose a new model for all Humanity, no matter how many Betas get killed in the process. And of course, that gives them a twisted justification for their torture sessions against Alpha offenders.
Author's Response:
I see where you're coming from with your points on the Omegas, though I'd say it seems more like Kayla would be playing God to dictate where people have to live apart from and who they can interact with. She doesn't force anyone to live together; this is just one city, so there are assuredly places a Beta could travel in the world where they'd encounter fewer Alphas. The point for all this is to eventually have peace, rather than just keeping a conflict from breaking out again. I appreciate hearing your thoughts.
Date: October 19 2014 11:27 AM Title: Pieces
Must be Kayla , she apparently mastered size changing.
Author's Response:
I guess we'll find out.