Symphony

oh my dear GOD - i just read the entire thing in one go, and i was chuckling to myself SO many times - especially at the 'like the hamsters' bit. you have such a real gift for writing i absolutely love what you're doing with this :D

Just watched it and logged straight on here afterwards. I had tears in my eyes at the end too - Overall, thought it was slow moving and a little TOO 'mysterious' at times but - what a storyline it was!

i really enjoyed reading this - you did a great job with it, and keeping it interesting! The only part I would have a thought on [if it's ok for me to say!] is where they're explaining what happened to Belle; it seemed a little 'crowded' to cram them all into the same sentence - the alternative ending was far better, in my view, because Aden took the time to explain it more. Although, I'd suggest using "attack" instead of "bash" - just a personal thing though. Really enjoyed it though; Im gonna go see if you've written any other fanfics now

ahhh no, it's awesome - i totally didn't want to go see it but loved it all

"Taken" from 2008. Heartbreaking - would recommend it to everyone to watch. About a father, ex-CIA, whose daughter is kidnapped for the slave trade - daughter is 17 years old. Film is amazingly done, brought tears to my eyes - and well, just watch it!

I'm not much gone on them now, to be honest. I was, in the beginning - where Jai was the new 'troubled teen' to come to the bay, and Annie had to really work at getting him to even notice her let alone have a conversation with her. Then, the way she worried over him, and constantly tried to be his 'light in the darkness' I really liked too, because to be honest, he was the "odd one out" and it's always refreshing to see someone befriending the kid everyone avoids / bullies. Then they gradually grew a little closer - we had the whole Annie on the school roof scene, and Jai thinking he was invincible, and then that sweet sweet first kiss - it was a really adorable storyline. But now, all of a sudden, Jai fits into the bay like he's been there his whole life and we never see him being a little sad, or thinking of his family or anything like that anymore; it's just, as others said, they follow along with Ruby now, like tagalongs, and I feel like we're missing out on a lot of them. Thought the scene where Ollie called him Jay-Jay or something like that, and Jai lost the plot was fabulous; it really brought to home what had happened to Jai, adn that, beneath the fitting in, he was still hurting and healing. Now - they're just another two a penny couple, in my eyes!

lawl, the 'just sitting down' one is good ;) nice job on these!

Luke [Angelo] smiled at me yesterday and I nearly fell over. What a killer smile! I've never really been an Angelo fan, mostly because he comes between Aden and Belle, lawl, but, looking at him from a different perspective, I think he was mostly wrong place and wrong time. I'm stepping back now, hands up, and saying I was way too biased towards him - getting annoyed at how sleazy he was with Belle etc towards Aden, but then again, he was just trying to keep his girlfriend. I really felt for him though when he was talking to Charlie about them in the car, and then later saw Aden and Belle together, like his face just fell, and I was like, omg poor fella it's not his fault that she has an ex-boyfreidn that she's in love with. And yes, he was adorable towards Charlie when she was getting over Roman. While you can't excuse his temper towards Belle, to find out you've been cheated on - well I guess a few people on here have been cheated on IRL and reacted differently, yknow? Violence is never the answer, but just showed the passion in his character - and now trying to do the right thing in the wrong way, well jack always does that, to protect those he loves and is closest to.. Looking forward to what the new year brings

haven't watched the video, but if it's todd you're talking about - no surprise lol they share an apartment ;)

i'm looking forward to reading more of this too, especially if it's not predictable

Australia is fabulous - put that next on your list. I totally DIDNT want to go see it; am SO glad I did

Tried to watch Wall-E when we got in on Christmas Day, but boy was it boring! My sister fell asleep, and I turned it off after he got zapped up into space. Very disappointed!

The Black Balloon Watched it last night at Sydney Open Air Cinema in Centennial Park

Anybody know when the cast are stopping filming for christmas break? Am in Sydney now, and don't know whether I should head out to Palm Beach this week - or if they've finished? Any responses would be much appreciated; i know it's here on the site soemwhere, just can't find it!

awesomeeee!

i just want to applaud your comments - you said everything i was thinking but in such a better way than i did! bravo!!

See, that's where I would disagree [in a friendly manner of course] with you entirely - because i think you're missing the whole depth behind it all. Any journey, like Aden's story is going to be emotional, hot tempered, and on occasions, offensive / rude. Sure, to the outward eye, if you didn't pay any attention to the 'serious' themed storyline running around it, then yes - they're like a couple of irritable kids with all the fighting. But - to look at it, from Aden's point of view. Going from the outcast of society because he couldn't be himself; didn't know who 'himself' was around other people - cast into a dark mindset because of the actions of his grandfather - and thus rebelling agaisnt every rule that he could - because after all, if his Grandad, who was a medalled war hero could break the rules, then why shouldn't he - going from that - to someone in a reasonably stable relationship, with a steady job, steady income, safe place to live - and actually studying in school to get somewhere in life ... To me, when I take a step back and look at that side of the storyline, I'm thinking, "Wow, the writers curved that nicely - because to anyone who has been abused in real life, even though this is a soap, they portrayed it as the rocky journey that it IS to go from trusting nobody - to placing your trust in someone ; and, because it seems so lifelike for that reason, I believe it's quite inspirational." It's so easy for anyone brought up in a stable home to trust - to laugh and be happy - and not have to worry about what's coming next, or what's going to come into your room in the dark. Aye, I'm an Adelle fan - but even if I wasn't, I like to think I'd be able to look at them objectively, and see how the writer's handled such a sensitive subject with remarkable aplomb. Personally my favourite 'section' of their relationship is the fact that they've proven they can go through anything together - and still come out the other side. Going from despising each other, to like, to falling in love - to Aden's bouts of insanity, and Belle knowing she can't trust him ; but then Aden's path to self-renewal, and learning to be accepted in society again. To their gradually getting back together ; and most of all, proving to Aden that he's not 'tainted' just beacuse of his past - and that he can actually do something with his life. Inspirational, to all - even if it is just a soap - is the word I'm looking for, I believe

oh my god i love the ones of belle in hospital - well, they're heartbreaking, it looks like her face is covered ni burns but - they're brilliantly done, well done you!

Sure! Here's a screenshot! I had asked was Palm Beach the best spot to find cast members, and also, was it ok to approach them down there - or would they prefer to be left in peace to work.

the annie and scruffy ones are gorgeous! i still don't understand how they still have no pets on H&A

I agree with some of your points there actually! He does seem quite hypocritical in that sense - about wanting people to give him a second chance, but not willing to open up to give others those chances. Indeed, I find it quite odd as well how he can get on alright with Geoff now - but we never [or did we, maybe I'm forgetting it] really had a scene where he came out and hoenstly apologised to Geoff for what he did to him [the time they got him drunk!] In my own thoughts, I've reached the conclusion that the writers themselves had no idea how big this was going to scale out when they first included Aden as a 'main storyline' character - as in, you're right in that his life seems to be a bit jumbled up with him being normal - then emotionally depressed - then 'normal' - then off the walls etc. I haven't sat down to analyse it too far [guess I just figured out what my train of thought is going to be on the train home tonight! ] With Belle though, I think he sort of 'latched' onto her as his buoy for getting himself out of the mess. You know the way some people make 'deals' with themselves, like, "if I drink two litres of water by lunch, I can have a slice of cake" or "if htere's a bar of galaxy next to the till, I'll buy it - but if not, i won't buy any" type deals. I think that to Aden, he's sort of like, "If Belle is with me, and loves me, then everything will be ok. But if I don't have her, my life is going to be a shambles" - because it seems that she's the first person that truly believes in him - and again, this is a confidence booster for him, but he still doesn't [this being at the start of their relationship] trust her 100%, but wants to - because he sees he could be onto a good thing there. And then in the clinic, he started to realise that maybe he could get by without her - but then we get the whole rigmarole of "i did it for you belle" - because he so desperately wants her back. Which, is 'normal' in relation to real life i think - but then she still won't be with him, taht was great - beacuse obviously she couldn't go back to trusting him after he kidnapped her, and she saw him trying to murder his father. I think that's why the trial moved me so much - because he needed her there, his eyes on hers, as he spoke out about what his Grandfather used do to him, but you could see him latched on her eyes - he couldn't hold her hand, or clutch onto her, but he still needed her there in order to be able to say it, and I think that he too, did it for her - because she didn't want him to go to jail, but later realises that he needed to do it for himself too. He's taken some pretty big steps as a character when you think abotu it - even going to see his father in hospital was pretty huge IMHO. As you can see, the storyline of Aden's history is pretty close to my heart; and seems to be becoming more and more widespread across the world now, which is horrific, but true So many people you talk to online today have been there, and it's heartbreaking, truly so. H&A were brave to take it on, and manage to carry out out the storyline without any backlash from media / people writing in complaints. I look forward to seeing Aden's life settle down now; it's been turbulent, and confusing at times - hopefully he'll get to a par now, and stay on a level for a while. Sorry for another long rambling post!

I'm guessing you don't have any experiences in dealing with abuse? Apologies if I'm mistaken, but I wanted to step in here and say that I think that the writers dealt with this topic line incrediably well. Mostly, for victims of abuse situations, you can't stop it because nobody will believe you - that's drummed into you by many abusers, if not because you feel nobody will believe you, because you feel dirty, because you think you somehow deserve what's happening to you and so you don't have a right to say anything about it. Aden, as he grew older, became disruptive from the abuse, and began to abuse others in his own way, as is natural - because he's learnt that 'trust' doesn't mean anything, and there's no point in caring about anyone because they'll only end up hurting you anyway - his grandfather sexually abused him, his father is an alcoholic and his brother is in jail. hardly a 'home life' situation at all. And then, to find out after all that, that your father went through the same agony as you - and could have stopped it happenig to you but DIDN'T. Went out night after night, KNOWING that the person you'd been left alone with could be doing the exact same thing to you - having the memories of what had been done to you, and still allowing the possibility of that happening to your own two sons. Imagine finding out that your father knwe all this, and still let it happen - because HE was afraid. parents are supposed to be there to protect us from that sort of event. And so yes, I think the writers handled it remarkably well; abuse is a touchy, upsetting topic for many people - and, many of those people will admit that yes, they've occasionally come towards the edge of temporary insanity, as constant abuse/punishment can do to people. Aden simply went over the edge; his father had done so much already, and bear in mind Aden is only - how many years old on the program? His father had knowingly murdered someone - but wouldn't hand himself in. His father had knowingly stolen huge amount of money from Aden's girlfriend - but woudln't hand himself in. His father had KNOWN taht Aden was being sexually abused but didn't do anythign to stop it, allowed his grandfathers 'good reputation' be carreid on - and wouldn't hand anyone in, let alone himself. If you ask me, I'm only surprised Aden didn't flip BEFORE then! So, Rachel shows up; Aden is mad with grief, with fearful memories, with painful times - and wanting to get rid of the one person who either directly or inadvertantly caused him all this trouble. Obviously once she sees his Dad there, he knows he has no choice; he can't let her go back to the 'outside' world because she'll dump him in it - and I think a small part of his brain also thought, "Dad will get off scot free, and they'll JAIL ME!" - And that had me wondering, did his brother get abused too, and is that all that happened to send him down the wrong road of life, and therefore, is Larry inadvertantly also responsibel for his brother being in jail. I found it suspicious that Belle just happened to call by the house; that never particularly added up for me, but again, once Aden saw her; what choice did he have but to take her in. He didn't hurt her, we saw that - yes he stopped her from leaving, but he didn't hurt any of them, it's not like he tied Rachel up and smacked her across the face to keep her quiet. And, as for Axel; Axel raped Melody - more abuse, and Aden COULD fight back to him so he did. Granted no, it might not make it right - but to Aden, it would have felt like he was punishing his grandfather some, and Axel too, deserved it. Any beast who takes a girl/boy like that deserves a beating. To say that you can't trust Aden? I find that heartbreaking, because I think of applying that to some 'real life' people who have been abused. It's not that you can't trust them, it's that they can't trust you - and when any tiny thing goes wrong, it makse a huge dent in any 'trust' that might have been formed, bceause you're constantly living on edge, waiting for the people you care about to betray you / hurt you again. So yes, I find it quite acceptable that he was given the 'temporary insanity' issue, and put to the clinic. Ok, he might not have been there for ages - but in summer bay terms, it was quite long that he was there! They could hardly have him in a clinic for an entire season - and they did show him workign through his issues, I thought taht the particular one with his counsellor, when he realised that his father had been too afraid to say anything was remarkably well done. Again, I applaud the writers here, for not rushing his return to sanity. I realise I've gone offtopic here, so I don't know if the mods will allow this to be posted at all. But, I did have reason for posting it - Again, I don't know if Ranger has any experience with abuse / people who've been abused, but it's very easy to make sweeping statements if you haven't, and not understand the background scenarios. Again, personally, I think Todd did a most amazing job of Aden; acting as someone that emotional, and with that sort of 'history' cannot be easy to try and put yourself into their places - and as for the writers, I do commend them, for managing to do this in a way that would mirror, and touch the hearts of many of those who have had similar experiences to Aden. Bravo.

Todd Lasance is an amazing actor; truly, I do think his character is one of the most complicated to bring off on the show; think about it - - starts off a bad boy / bully, which perhaps most actors could do. - then goes into the whole 'underdog' scene where you see he WANTS to open up / be helped, but is too used to being a bully - then as his life unfolds we start feeling so sorry for him, as we see Larry is an alcoholic but still have no idea just how bad things were - and so on, and so forth. Truly, Todd has brought Aden to life; and deserves many congrats & huge appreciation for all the interest he has caused in home & away. It's because of Adelle that Itoo, made my way back here!

Its a Facebook and I'm surprised that its public, although he probably wouldn't add fans. His friends on it seem to be all people he knows, Christie Hayes, Todd Lasance, Rachel Gordon etc and others who are obviously friends of his. Maybe he doesn't realise its public. I laughed when I saw that he is friends with Liz Alexander on it (at least I assume its her, her photo doesn't show) because I read on HAAC that someone said they are a couple I doubt its true. For some reason I'v had it in my head that he's gay i messaged Bob the other day, and got an email response yesterday!

oh my god, i just read from page 20 to here, since 10am this morning [three hours ago!] - it certainly helped the morning at work fly past [yes i worked as well!!] have tears in my eyes after reading that last chapter; you write with amazing talent girl, seriously - i could honestly see this being part of a tv series .... wow ... can't believe i have to sit and wait for updates like everyone else now!