Ludub

Thanks Red Yeah, I'm not sure pressuring someone to talk (especially so soon after the assault) is that great an idea either. People tend to shut down and that's probably a natural defence mechanism. Making them talk before they're ready could be very traumatic. You'll just have to wait to see what happens with Smithy and Vasily Oh... and Happy New Year!

Loved all the banter between Matt and Evie (Mevie? Evatt? Lol!) and Phoebe. Very entertaining looks like Brody and Justin had a bit of a wasted trip with Phoebe skidaddling like that! Think people need to back off and let Pheebs make up her mind in her own time. It does feel a little bit like dogs sniffing around a bitch in heat! haha! Worried for Hunter. Wonder what Michael will do now. Looking forward to the next chapter x

Thanks Jarlie Yeah, for Josh's sake it's a good thing, but I'm a bit sad to say goodbye... Thanks Pembie! I think I'm gonna miss Alexei, and writing in the third person (and doing the accent, lol!). That was a lot of fun... I did say that I actually research the stuff I write, and this is what actually happened some man in South America trying to impress his young bride Very unfortunate (shudder). Glad you found him funny. He was meant to be funny, in a perverse sort of way. This is true, although he's packed in enough injuries in to last a lifetime. He's not really having a good year. What next, eh?! Hope to have a new chapter up tomorrow night x

Haha! Loved Matt in this chapter! He was so... 'Matt'. You write him so well! Loved his line about having fun until they were interrupted. Again, love how civilised the two boys are being, and Phoebe reacted quite well to them being there. Looking forward to seeing what happens x

Yeah, he's having a pretty shocking time of it really. Poor guy! Out of the frying pan and into the fire, eh? I feel sorry for him (and I'm the one torturing him! )

Great chapter! Love that Brody and Justin can behave in such a civilised way about things, with Brody even giving Justin a fair shot and not just going to the gig on his own, but I'm not sure ambushing Phoebe at the gig is a great idea. Looking forward to seeing how it plays out

You and me both, Suzza! You and me both I feel a bit like George RR Martin, 'killing' off one of my favourite characters! As repulsive as Alexei was, he was a lot of fun, but I needed him to go. Josh has other guys to worry about now though, so we'll see what happens with them! Glad you're enjoying it! x

Thanks Kristen! I'm a little sad that I had to say goodbye to Alexei. As horrible as he is, he's been a lot of fun to write!

I think he might be forgiven for being a little pessimistic, lol! He got 28 years for self defence, he's had his nose, ribs, and voice box broken, he's been locked up with a psycho, beaten to a pulp, strangled, and repeatedly raped. And it's only been a couple of weeks! ...I think that glass might be bone dry! Thanks for reading!

Haha! The boys are doing a good job of pretending they don't know. Looking forward to finding out what happens next.

Great chapter Evie and Matt are incredibly cute! Again, you write them really well. Worried for Hunter and wondering what's going to happen with this Michael guy. Looking forward to the next chapter x

Great chapter! The girls have a point. They've been doing all the cooking /housekeeping stuff while the boys have been larking about (true to life for the most part). I think that sounds like a pretty funny prank but then I'm reminded that this is Australia so there actually could be snakes in your tent! Wonder will the guys freak out? Looking forward to the next chapter x

Sorry I'm only catching up now. You know what they say, 'It's all fun and games till someone loses an eye!' ... or was that just my mother?! The boys don't seem too fazed by the pranks so far, so I imagine the girls will be getting more and more frustrated. Hope they don't take things too far Looking forward to the next chapter x

Just caught up on the last 2 chapters... Continuing to enjoy the way you write the Morgans, particularly Justin. I think you've really captured his tone and turn of phrase. Again, nice to see that he's not pressuring her, and waiting for her to make up her mind. Loved his bit with Tori (they have a great relationship!) Liked that Ash and Phoebe can be friends and that he genuinely wanted to help her with her Justin / Brody worries even if he didn't turn out to be much help at all. Quite funny that Phoebe thinks writing a song is going to help her make up her mind! Matt and Ellie continue to be very cute together, as do Hunter and Olivia. Looking forward to the next chapter x

Gnaww! ? what a lovely feel good ending. Loved that you brought Maddy and Oscar back for the closing chapter. Nice to know they're happy. Tori and Sid seems an interesting choice and certainly does complicate things for Brody and Indi, but sure... why not? I started to worry you were gonna hook Alf and Irene up right at the end there ? I'm not sure I can quite imagine that... Great story from start to finish, Red! Really enjoyed it! x

Loved the exchange between Justin and Phoebe. It really sounded like them, and I like that he didn't put any pressure on her. (I love Brody and Justin because they're a breath of fresh air when it comes to male characters on this show. They're both very grounded, reasonable people who treat their friends and family with respect). Enjoying the fact that you're writing them true to character here. Bit of awkwardness between Brody and Pheebs there at the end. Interested to see what happens.

Haha! I did say that my search history was very strange! The dangers are very real, and 6 pills would be an overdose even for an elephant! There are some very disturbing news stories of men taking massive doses to impress their partners, all with pretty disastrous results... I did wonder how you men would feel reading this chapter though. I kind of imagined a collective crossing of legs (sorry guys!) Hope I didn't gross you out too much! I promise, in my next story I'll leave people's todgers out of it! Lol! That he did! I have absolutely no sympathy for Cuddles or his swollen member. Just desserts really, isn't it?! Yeah, I think this was a massive risk to take and an incredibly brave one. It could have backfired spectacularly and he could have been there hours later 'thanking him' God, Alexei's creepy (and yes, I do know he came from my mind! That's what scares me...) Yeah, I think Josh just went somewhere else in his mind for a while to get through it. He disassociated in order to get through the trauma and it just took a while to come round again. Like being in severe shock. Very sad. Yeah, it's been coming but I don't think Kyle is really prepared for this loss. Aaron has been his coping mechanism in this cruel environment and losing that companionship will be heart wrenching sad times. I think Aaron was shocked at how bad Josh obviously was. He didn't see him in the infirmary that time so he only had Kyle's description of things, and it's gotten a lot worse since then. Seeing someone so beaten down, it would be hard not to feel sorry for them, especially when you know how much they matter to your significant other. I also think that Aaron's just a kind person so it comes naturally to him Thanks to everyone for the kind comments! And glad you're enjoying it! x

Yes, I actually think this was the right decision and the only smart thing to do if they're gonna go ahead with it. Plus, Ricky probably wouldn't mind a few months away from Casey if she did get caught! She's been trying to hand him to other people from the moment he was born, lol! Thanks for reading x

Thanks everyone! I know this chapter was a bit of a downer, and you'd probably be forgiven for thinking that I hated both Josh and Kyle, but I promise I won't make them suffer forever. I do feel incredibly sorry for both of them though, especially Josh. I can't imagine the trauma of what he's going through. It would be terrible. This is obviously a worst case scenario of what life would be like in prison, but sadly, this is what happens to some people. It's not that big a stretch of the imagination. Kyle has been lucky so far, actually finding love in a place as horrible as this, but that's about to change. I don't know how you'd deal with that kind of loss. It's all very hurty, this chapter... Trust me though, it will get better eventually.

Oh dear, doesn't sound good for Hunter ? Michael sounds like he might be trouble.

Amazing chapter, Red! Loved it! Liked that Alf didn't blow a gasket and talked to both Roo and Frank in a civilised way... and that he was basically happy for her because he could see that having the baby and the husband is what she wants. He was a good dad here. Absolutely adored the scenes with Heath and April (again, very surprised by this because of my long-lasting dislike of her but she was great in these scenes). Loved how you wrote Heath and Cheryl in that scene at Chez Braxton. "You'll do" I always loved Cheryl as a character. Great fun. VJ with the baby was sweet too. It does take a lot of work to keep a person alive. I don't envy him that. And finally, Brody and Indi? I approve Looking forward to the next chapter x (are we nearing an ending here, I feel like we probably are???)

Great chapter. So pleased Hunter did the right thing and told Zac about Michael selling the papers. Good that things went so well at the event and it was nice to see the older characters interacting, as well as the teens. Nice that the teens are accepting of Dylan and his boyfriend. I wonder if things will be as simple for Ash and Kat as they seem to think? Surely her boss will be just a little suspicious to discover that they're an item as soon as the probation period is over? Looking forward to the next chapter x

I was wondering if anyone would pick up on this aspect of the story. As I've said before, my search history is incredibly odd with all the random research I do for my stories (No! Get your mind out of the gutter, haha! ). I remembered something about Russian prison tattoos from the movie Eastern Promises so I thought I'd look them up. These are real symbols used in Russian prisons to identify people. It's essentially like a CV Your whole criminal history is inked on your body for everyone to see. Some tattoos are forced, for snitches or paedophiles, (they literally hold you down and tattoo you) but most are worn with pride. Really fascinating... spent hours reading about it... And yeah, pretty quick thinking, although it would be pretty humiliating to have to pretend that that was what you were into. 'Yeah, I love being choked to within an inch of my life!' Aww, I'm glad I do like Kyron. It's just a pity I have to split them up. Thanks for reading x

Basically, yes I did say 'like a big weirdo' haha!

I love this aspect of writing! It can really expand your mind. When I write Josh as blind, I really have to think about how he'd do things, and how he'd interact with people. I sometimes act it out myself like some big weirdo to make sure I'm getting it right. Really interesting!