Red Ranger 1

Well, it certainly makes things interesting.Although I am in severe danger of forgetting exactly who's doing what to who and why here.(Gonna need to read a few chapters again, I think.)Looking forward to what you do next.

Just read all of this, good stuff.I'm just glad to see someone doing something different with Aden.(Or should that be someone different doing...no, let's not go there.)Loved Geoff winding up Aden with the disease and their type of relationship.Looking forward to more. (Although going by that last chapter, you should probably change your spoiler warning to "Yes".)

Now that would definitely be a show I'd want to watch... (By the way, going back to the subject of Belle and Aden's ages that someone mentioned earlier, Aden used to be the same age as Belle and still is sometimes, it depends on the episode.Personally I tend to assume he is.)

Seriously, I'm not offended, I've got no hard feelings and you're as entitled to express your opinion on here as I am.What I'm saying is that the writers shouldn't please the majority just because they are the majority.They should ignore the viewers and do what they think is best.I'm not even sure how they'd even decide what the majority think, short of asking every single person that watches the show whether they think Aden and Belle should stay together or not.There may, or may not, be thousands or millions of people who watch the show and hold a strong opinion on the subject but would never even think of writing a letter or hopping on the internet to have their say.The writers are, after all, the professionals and should know what's best for the show and characters.I don't think they should keep Aden and Belle together just because they're popular.I think they should trust their own judgement.

It wasn't in one of your chapters but in the original fiction Roman says that Belle was spending time with Drew because he'd lost his father. And you can kill off as many people as you like.I was just worried you were going to run out.

It'll never happen but I would really love to see Aden and Belle have the sense and maturity to turn around and say "We've been through a lot together, we'll always be close but we just don't work as a couple" and just try and be friends because I seriously, genuinely think that would be best for them. Keeping them together just because they're popular...I'm in two minds about that.I really don't think that polls on websites should dictate the content of the show and I don't think that fans necessarily know what's best in story terms.(Even though I'm sitting here acting as though I do...)I accept that the show's a business and they want people to watch it but the idealist in me thinks if it's in the best interests of the characters and the story to split a couple up, even if doing so would upset a lot of viewers, they should do it.I find it hard to believe(although it may be true)that a sizeable portion of the audience would suddenly stop watching if Aden and Belle weren't a couple any longer.The show did last 20 years without them, after all.A few might and many more might think it's a bad decision but if the writers know their stuff then they should be able to come up with something else to keep them watching.

^Actually, when I first came up with this idea and that scene, Xavier wasn't even in the show.(Some of my stories have long gestation periods.)It was a toss up between pretending he didn't exist or splitting them up and I eventually went for the second one.

Aden and Belle shouldn't last because, seriously, all they ever do is hurt each other.Apart from a few isolated scenes, I've never really seen them happy together.So it does seem strange that the writers seem to keep trying to push them as their new golden couple whilst simultaneously splitting them up every five minutes.I think for whatever reason, whether it's because they're popular with a lot of fans or because the writers are genuinely convinced they make a good couple, they're going to keep their association for the foreseeable future.I hope I'm wrong because they just don't work for me.I hate it when couples keep splitting up and getting back together because half the time there's a very good reason for them splitting up which then isn't addressed at all when they get back together, which makes everything going wrong again frankly inevitable.

Just want to say, I was a massive fan of Sally and yet I had absolutely no problem whatsoever with what Rachel said to her.Sally handled the situation appallingly and humiliated Brad, not even bothering to tell him her decision in person.I was glad Rachel stuck up for her brother and every word she said was true.

Er...I thought the body count was going to get less in this story?!That's Hugo and Roo you've polished off in the last chapter!(And isn't Peter Baker dead too?)So many twists and turns there, Cassie knows Ric and Mattie's secret(but we don't), Sally knows Cassie's secret(but we don't, exactly), Angelo knows Rachel's secret(and we certainly do).Really want to know what happens next.

Just caught up on those two chapters.Ooh, Ric and Mattie.There's a back story there.What are they up to?And what's Cassie up to?And what's Katie up to?(And who is she?)Seems a bit too easy for Rachel to paint Hugo as the bad guy.Not that he made it that hard... Really looking forward to the next chapter.

Er...mercy killing?I think that was "revenge killing".He was on the verge of phoning for help when his dad told him he'd been abused and when he did refuse to help him he didn't say "It'll be better for you if you die now", he said "You don't deserve it."I really don't think there was any danger of him trying to euphanise Belle or even of him being reminded of that situation.He probably just couldn't cope with having another addict persistently betraying his trust every time he thought things were going to be all right.

Hmm...When Belle and Aden first got together, I thought he seemed very much like Drew Mark II, an angsty bad boy with a short fuse.We have seen different sides to him since then but I think there's still that aspect to him.

Good update!You really wrote the relationship between them well and I liked the way you went into such detail with Drew's thought processes and showed how confused he was.

I do wonder sometimes if Belle perhaps isn't as "certain" about their relationship as Aden is.I don't mean that she loves him any less or isn't as committed but we've seen Aden make big speeches about how they're meant to be together but I don't think Belle has ever said anything similar.I think that having been in love before and it not having worked out, she's less sold on the whole "Love is forever" idea than he is.

I've looked over the episode summaries on the main site and they appear to have met in 3674.Irene was arriving at school when she saw Barry telling Kirsty off for kissing Kane goodbye outside school and sarcastically commented that she was really looking forward to meeting her new boss.Then Irene's phone went off in assembly while Barry was giving a lecture about how everyone was to have their mobiles switched off in school, which obviously impressed him.Then Irene was talking to Sally in a classroom when Barry came in to ask Irene if she'd done the work he asked.They tried to explain to him that Irene was having family difficulties(I think Hayley was in hospital at the time)but he made it clear he expected school work to take priority and if she wasn't happy with that she should find a new job.Which obviously didn't make her very happy either.

Oh...my...god.Glad Sally's coming back(don't really care about Cassie), glad about Ric and Mattie (although that throw forward has left me worried), glad things didn't backfire on Roman but, seriously, I can't believe Rachel did that.Actually, I can't believe Angelo did that.Looking forward to the next chapter.

I try not to fall into the "It's all Miles' fault" camp but I was disappointed that he seemingly didn't even attempt to get her to reconsider ending her counselling.He just sat there looking defeated.I also think part of the problem was the complete lack of stability in her home life.Her nice, normal family broke up almost as soon as she moved in with them and on at least two occasions Miles actually seemed to be taking it out on her.Then they broke up again when she was at her lowest point.No wonder she thought she was a burden.Her comment about how long Kirsty was going to be a part of the family may have been more telling than it seemed.

Good chapter, loved the way you broke the tension between them.Looking forward to more.

Pretty good so far, a lot of incident.Hope you continue.

^^ My thoughts exactly not sure how he would put them both back together after the events of the past couple of chapters Ahem.Er, sorry, people.It's the first time I've split them up so it was probably their turn.

Hey there!Finally finished reading this and thought you might like to know my thoughts.I loved it, it was really sweet.I like how you brought in all the other relationships with Tony and Jazz, Kirsty and Miles, Geoff and Nicole and how you brought Lucas and Brad and Tam back and fitted them into the current characters.And I liked the central romance between Leah and Ceri, I thought you handled it well.The ending with the party and all Leah's family there was perfect.Although I was surprised that Ceri's quest for his mother apparently went unresolved so I'm also wondering if there's going to be a sequel...I'll read it if there is!

^Yes, Gus is a new character.It's always hard finding a name that doesn't already have instant Home and Away connotations.And yes, Kim and Mattie slept together.

Good chapter.Oh boy, Rachel really is cracking up, isn't she?Shame she didn't listen to Leah.Glad to see Sally and the others back.

Ha-hah!Haven't commented before but I've been enjoying this fic, it's something different.Loved that scene with them both being nice to each other for their own reasons and not knowing what the other one was doing.Looking forward to the next one.