LadyRaven / Comments

It's okay but you know me. I love Zacky and I hate that he has to go through so much pain. I knew it was going to be tough with most of the pack (Brian, Johnny, and the Berrys) but I didn't see him having such a hard time with Kat and Matt. :( I also knew that his animal side was going to make it tough for him too. But it all just sucks.

This is true but I'm think more of, everyone will get off Zee's back (including Zee!). It is going to be interesting though. I wonder if this really will change anything.

Well I'm afraid your going to throw some crazy Vampire Diaries doppelganger shit in the mix (this is a werewolf story and there are witches so....). So it could be amnesia but I thought I'd ask just to be on the safe side. XD And yeah I did ask that question but at the time I was still mad at her so :P

Oh thank the heavens! I was afraid that this would be the end for a while and it is a BIG ASS cliffhanger to be left with. XD

And as always you are welcome! :)

Oh, jeez! I didn't mean for you to be crying because of the beginning of that chapter! I know, I know; Zee's thoughts were absolutely depressing, but at least they proved he cared and whatnot. And I totally understand what you mean about the hating Ava thing; don't worry! I'm following that train of thought.

Haha, yeah, it certainly appears that way, doesn't it? And no, haha, I didn't expect to see the day you were thrilled for her survival, but I'm glad! Let's see how long you stay thrilled, yeah? (;

And... yeah. I know.

I think so? I'm a little bit confused. If she doesn't remember who he is, than that makes it amnesia, does it not? Unless she's pretending, of course. Was that the alternative you were thinking of? Amnesia would certainly explain why she didn't go back to the guys, yes. (Weren't you saying something about how there was no reasonable explanation for her to have survived and let the guys go on thinking she was dead? xD)

Yeah, healing-wise, silver is definitely the hardest for them to heal from. Any kind of major injury can take a large amount of time, though, so it's not like major things are cleared up within an hour just because silver isn't involved. That said, they're certainly not invincible. If Ava was in that room on the monitor when the explosion went off, she would not have survived -- she could not have survived.

Don't worry too much! I plan on updating once more before my flight on Wednesday morning back to the States. After that, there's a chance I'll disappear, but there's also a chance that I won't, so, again, don't worry too much. I at least will not leave you with this big of a cliffhanger. That'd be downright mean.

And thank you for the comment--as always! (:

What can I say? I try. I'm glad to hear it was an exciting thing to wake up to! I've obviously decided to go with the update-quickly-then-disappear-breafly plan, if you couldn't tell. xD

...Which means the next chapter will be out soon, too. Huh. That one's pretty much got to be a Zacky chapter, don't you think? (;

I'm a terrible person. I know.

And I know it's tough seeing all of the guys so torn up! I'm sorry about that! But don't hate Ava for it! xDD After all, she even sent a note telling Matt to knock some sense into Brian; that's got to negate things, right?

Yeah... Bri's a bit... intense right now. He doesn't know how else to handle everything. Not that I'm making excuses for him or anything, but just remember that it's not just Ava; Jimmy's death wasn't that long ago, and none of the guys managed to even release the album since his death. They weren't over that, and to lose Ava so soon after... It's clearly hitting him very hard.

No, Zack didn't kill Ava, but he did have a role in that whole situation, obviously, and in all honesty, he can be held partially responsible because it was a reasonable assumption that he was leaving her somewhere that could get her seriously injured. It's funny that you say you're sure he wouldn't have left her if he had known about the explosion. Zacky actually talks about that in the next chapter. xD

Well, Matt did his best to explain it... (; But really, he hasn't figured it out yet, and neither will anyone else until he does. But I'm glad you're so interested in it!

You're of course very welcome. Thank you for being so awesome and commenting! (:

And I hope your final paper went alright!

I was teasing with the complicated remark. I LOVE YOUR WORLD!!!

Yeah it makes sense now. Thanks for the vague answers. XD

I can understand it being bittersweet. Enjoy what little time you have left and keep the memories alive.

As for updating or not, I wouldn't complain if you updated a few times before disappearing, but then again spacing them out isn't such a bad thing either. All in all I'd say that it depends on you. If you have enough written to make a few updates and not feel pressured to have to try and write a whole bunch during the holidays to get caught back up then do it, however if you don't want to spend your holidays writting a whole bunch then just space what you have out.

Now I need to get back to my final paper since it is due by midnight tonight. Hope to hear from you soon. :)

Haha, I bet it is the most informative comment ever, especially considering I'm usually vague as hell and entirely uninformative. xD Glad I didn't bore you with details!

Again; I'm super glad you were entertained by that! For some reason I got overly fond of his character as well. He reminded me of a less sassy, evil, manipulative, jack-ass-ish... you know, I'm not even sure why he reminded me of Drake because he's nothing like him, but for some reason he reminded me of Drake. Probably just because he was well-groomed, composed, and in a fucking suit. Fancy little witch.

Yeah, I completely get why you'd think that. Hell, that was going to be my original plan, until I sat down and actually really thought about all of the minor details of werewolves and mates and whatnot a few weeks ago. But yeah, regardless, Zee wouldn't risk it, so that settles that.

Ha, yeah, well... I try.
Not really, but I try to make it actually all logically connect at the end. It's complicated but somehow not contradicting. I hope. (:

I'M GLAD! Because you are loved, so you should always feel love. :D

Is she pretending to be dead? A: No. B: Yes.
HA! Vague answers for the win. But seriously, that comment was just for option B. If she really did write the letter like last week or something and only just have the whole thing mailed (if the original phone call was just about collecting the items and storing them) then she obviously is alive and pretending to be dead. I just mentioned the letter to point out that it still had that "if you're reading this..." line. ...Does that make sense?

--

Yes and no. It's bittersweet.

Short response is short. I'm toying with trying to update a few more times before suddenly disappearing for the holidays, or spacing things out more. Opinion?

WOW!!! I think this has to be the most informative message ever. I know you have given me lot so of background information but this is the first time you’ve given me “possible” answers! XD

Yeah we are planning to make brownies and hot chocolate later!!! I hate the snow but I do enjoy curling up with a good story and relaxing, nothing beats it! Okay well maybe my porch swing on a nice spring evening, or a lawn chair at the beach, BUT curling up in an oversized chair in the winter isn’t so bad either.

Are you kidding me! I found it to be very entertaining. Yeah I knew the package was from Ava and I was just as curious as the next person to know what was in it, but the man intrigued me and then when I found out he was a witch! EPIC!!! I just found the whole exchange to be totally hilarious and very enjoyable to read.

Well sometimes I have to be careful with how I word things. I was going to say that you had hinted at Ava being alive, but I thought that you would think that I think she alive rather than it just being a possibility. So yeah…it’s all kinds of complicated! :P

See I thought that Zacky would have stopped drinking it. I didn’t know that if a mate died the bond wouldn’t end (ie. the pain wouldn’t go away for Zee). But you make a great point that he would continue to drink it because if he stopped he wouldn’t be able to remark Ava to stop the pain. I didn’t think of that.

Complicated! I’ll say. :P

Just so you know I feel so loved because you are answering my questions!!!

A: Well that explains a lot. I didn’t really think a ghost wrote the note or anything but yeah I was just wondering why Kat would say Ava is pissed about being dead.

B: I’m a little confused by this: “The letter still totally said that, but she's just pretending to be dead.” So she is pretending to be dead?

--

I’m glad to hear that you are having a good week! Are you excited to be coming back stateside?

You are always welcome! :)

By the way that picture is beautiful! I’m glad you enjoyed your trip and got to see all the cool things London has to offer.

Oh! I miss snow! But yeah, I totally understand wanting to curl up under a blanket and read a story in that kind of weather. Hot chocolate is a necessity for me on snowy days. /nods.

Oh I'm so glad that you enjoyed the exchange between Matt and the witch! Seriously! I know everyone's more focused on the package and the fact that it's from Ava and everything -- and I get that -- but thank you for commenting on that whole exchange! I really enjoyed writing it. xD

Hinting at the slight possibility that Ava may still be alive? Pshh, I don't hint. It's straight up a possibility. Albeit a small one that would be super-complicated, but I think I've pretty much directly said it's a possibility, no? xD Good points, though!

Zacky: He's drinking the tea on a daily basis, just so you know. Regardless of whether or not he needs to, he's been making sure to just in case. It's a habit, and it's not one that he'd be willing to break, not if that meant he was back in constant pain and this time there was nothing to fix it.

But does he need to be? Yes. He doesn't know for sure if he needs to be, but yeah, he does. If she's really alive, then this seems rather obvious, right? If she's really dead, then it doesn't change anything, actually -- not for Zacky. His jaw pain is a result of him sleeping with someone else while he was mated to Ava, and a result of him ignoring the pain and never actually doing the one thing to fix it. It won't go away until he does fix it. Just because his mate is dead doesn't change the fact that his wolf half considers her to be his mate. Her not being there absolutely devastates him, but there's not really a way to explain to your instincts and animalistic half that his mate isn't ever coming back... if that makes any sense? The fact that a mating bond exists doesn't mean mates are able to magically know if the other is in danger or magically know to sever all ties because they're dead. It's not that kind of thing at all. So even though Zack knows she's dead, it doesn't change his instincts. The only way for him to not need the tea would be for him to take a different mate, and actually mate with her.

Now, if Zacky and Ava had parted on good terms, where he wasn't already drinking the tea to fight the pain and the craving and whatnot, then the tea wouldn't be necessary. The jaw pain only starts like Matt explained it, all those months ago, when he said that you have to be around your mate and in a particularly instinctual mood. Had he not already been feeling it, it wouldn't have suddenly reappeared without her being around. At least, until he tried to sleep with someone else without marking them.

So no, the fact that Zacky's drinking the tea, that he needs to drink the tea, doesn't prove that Ava is alive or dead. If you want a foolproof check on that, then you need Zacky to sleep with another woman and try to mark her as a mate. If that lasts, then Ava's dead, and if it doesn't, then she's not. The instincts don't know when to stop because of death, but the magic behind whether a marking is created does.

I come up with complicated worlds, what can I say.

Ava: You know, I could just leave you with all of these questions, but I'm feeling in an answering mood, so you're lucky!

TWO SCENARIOS:

A: Yes, these are the documents that Ava was so cryptically arranging to have delivered. Yes, Kat was the woman she was talking about. Yes, the unlabeled journal is what she wanted to make sure Zacky never found out about. Well, technically, it's the package as a whole, but obviously that particular journal is extra keep-away-from-Baker. Was this the only thing that was being discussed in that conversation? Not necessarily. The beginning of the conversation had nothing to do with documents or with Zacky.

Did she know she was going to die? No. I chose to pull excerpts from the letter and have Kat vocalize them rather than actually include the entire body of the letter, but I'll still share this. The opening of the letter was "If you're reading this, then I guess that means I'm dead. Son of a goddamn bitch!" and it continued on from there to explain how pissed she was that she was dead. Remember, when she made that phone call, she specifically asked if everything would go through even if she died before being able to sign the official forms. That wasn't her expecting to die, but it was just her taking the precaution, especially after what was going on with Drake. As Matt said, she was nothing if not prepared. With Drake proclaiming his plan to not rest until her death, it kind of seemed like a good idea to get a 'Last Will and Testament'-esque thing going on. So no, she didn't write the letter as a ghost or anything.

B: She totally arranged this just a week ago and had it delivered as quickly as possible. The phone call way back when was just to arrange to have them picked up and stored in a secure location. (Except for the beginning of that phone call; that really didn't have anything to do with documents or Zacky.) The letter still totally said that, but she's just pretending to be dead.

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PHEW! So much typing! But I'm having a good week, yes, thanks! I hope yours is going well, too! I fly back Wednesday, actually, so it's getting really close!! O:

And thank you for the comment, love, as always! I love hearing all of your questions, even if I don't always answer them directly... or, you know, at all. Thank you! (:

v. I need to start responding to your last comments just before updating a chapter so that I stop doing this awkward tacking-on thing.

I'm glad to hear you don't think Matt is in the wrong! I was worried for a second that you didn't think he was choosing the lesser of two evils and whatnot. Glad to hear it!

And yes, that definitely sounds better. xD And you're right, Zee isn't really technically at fault. Well, he is and he isn't. Obviously the real person at fault is Drake, though. But at the end of the day, Brian can't beat the shit out of Drake, so that leaves the next best thing. If it makes you feel any better, it's not just Zacky that Brian's been blaming. It's Matt, too. But Brian can't beat up Matt, so, again...

Yeppppp. Sounds like me. :D

It was grand! EXPENSIVE AS HELL, but still awesome! We saw, you know, the usual things. Tower Bridge, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square... Wimbledon? So this+ basically sums up the trip, pretty much. And thank you for the luck! I'll need it. xD

Yay, inspiration! I wish you luck with the writing, then, and of course with the job hunt as well!

Yeah I didn't waste a second once I got the email that Slip was updated I was that excited!!!

I didn't think it was overnight. I know that there has been a time lapse, of course, but it doesn't change the fact that Zacky is kinda being sent off on his own when it isn't safe. I honestly don't think that Matt is in the wrong here. He is, in a way, choosing the lesser of two evils here. It's either keep Zacky close by and watch him get himself killed by Brian because he won't fight back, OR get him to leave and hopefully clear his head, so that when he comes back he will be ready to take his place in the pack.

I KNOW RIGHT!!!! I never thought I'd hate Brian. I will concede that kill is a bit harsh. How about beat the bloody hell out of Zee? Does that sound better? I understand why Brian is upset. I knew he was going to take it out on Zack. But at the end of the day I don’t think that it was Zee’s fault that Ava is “gone.” So yeah I’m going to be pissed at Brian for as long he continues to blame Zack for what happened to her (even though it kills me to not like him).

You are pure fucking EVIL!!! and sadistic! How can you derive pleasure from my pain?!?!? XD

London!?!?! You are so lucky! How was it? What did you get to see? I’m glad you are excited to be getting your sister’s dog. I love my baby girl so I understand your excitement. Glad to hear that all is well with you. I wish you luck on your finals and hope that you do well on them.

As for me, all is well. Still watching my nephew, trying to find a job, homework, and working on a story. I was inspired from the A7X concert so I’ve been working on that in between everything else. Fun fun. Finals are coming up too so I’ve been busy with that, and then I’m hoping to get some serious writing done during the holiday break.

As always you are very welcome!

Man, you are on top of it today! I was just about to respond to that last comment you made and let you know I had just updated -- but you beat me to it! And on top of that, you asked a really fucking good question that I don't think anyone else would have thought of. It was something that's addressed in the next chapter a bit, too, but...

Is it safe for Zee to be on his own? No. You're obviously right, he's not safe with the pack either, really, but he's definitely not safe away from them out on his own. Drake's always wanted him dead, more so after he and Ava mated, and that hasn't magically changed just because Ava's gone, like you said.

I mean, in Matt's defense, the switch between 'don't go out alone' and 'take off for a bit' wasn't overnight. Or, it kind of was, because they obviously left him out alone that night when everyone was out by the grave, but for this suggestion, it wasn't overnight. Some time has passed, remember, and if it was obvious that Zack was still in imminent danger, I'm sure Matt wouldn't have suggested he take a few days and get out of there. Evidently Drake has been preoccupied, or at least appeared to be.

And, in Brian's defense, (holy shit, I never thought I'd have to play devil's advocate to defend Brian to you!) kill might be a bit harsh. I mean, it certainly seems that way, but we don't really know if Brian would be able to make that final killing blow, you know? Even with all of his hatred, he might not be able to do that. And, remember, he's not unjustifiably upset. He had to bury his sister -- the person he was closest to for all of his life and whom he always loved and was overprotective of. I'm not saying that justifies his actions necessarily, but it definitely justifies his anger. He's bound to be a little out of his mind with rage, you know?

But yeah, I get why you hate Bri right now and why you're distraught for Zee. Sorry for making you all conflicted with the love/hate stuff! ...kinda. xD

And all is well with me, thanks for asking! It's been hectic because I've just gotten back from London, and I'm only in the country for another week (!!) and I have a final I am totally not prepared for, but it's all good. It'll be exciting, especially because when I get back to the States I've already arranged to get my sister's dog, and I'm super super excited about this! What about you? How've you been?!

Oh! And obviously thank you for the comment, love! I always appreciate it. (:

Well I hoped that you were just busy but my mind is evil and plays mean tricks on me. I shit! I hope your grades didn’t suffer for blowing your studies off.

I could never like something that brings pain to any of the guys. But yeah I’d be worried about me too if I had liked it. :)

It’s okay. I got over it, and used it for creative goodness. Well that’s good to hear. It’s okay you have been busy, but thanks for telling me. :)

Well, I know that crazier things have happened but let me say this right here and now. IF she somehow managed to survive and the guys don’t know about it (which it can be fairly safe to assume that they don’t because of the way the epilogue went) then I’m going to hate her 10x more than I already do. I guess I will just have to wait and see, right?

Well when you put it that way, I could see the guys believing that she died in that explosion even if they didn’t find a body. But again if she really is alive and letting the guys believe that she is dead, I’m going to hate her guts and there is probably going to be no way to redeem herself! SHE MADE ME CRY! The guys are broken up about this and Zacky, don’t even get me started on Zacky. Whatever reason could be keeping her away is not going to be good enough in my eyes.

I don’t know how I feel about this idea of her being alive anymore. When I thought it wasn’t possible it didn’t bother me as much, but now that you’re playing devil’s advocate and saying that it could be possible I don’t know if I want it to be possible. What the hell!?!? Ahhh I hate it when you do this. XD

Oh no pressure. I knew it would be awhile before we found out anything. I’m not too terribly worried about it. I’m just looking forward to seeing what is going to unfold in the sequel when you are ready. XD

Oh, my! Nonono, that was absolutely not what was going on! I'm so sorry that I gave you that impression! No, I actually hadn't responded to anyone's comments from that chapter, because I had to pull two all-nighters (well, I took a nap between them, so does that count?) to finish two presentations I had completely blown off because I was power-updating What We Left Unsaid.

And you don't need to worry about pissing me off because you didn't like something; I love your honesty, even in the odd times when we have differing opinions on something. I like that I wrote a story that allows people to have their own opinions on things and view characters and events differently than others do. And, hell, if you liked the ending, then I'd be a little concerned. xD

Oh, yeah, I knew that, but I figured her death didn't redeem her or anything; it's not like she purposefully died (which would've been the fucking dumbest thing she'd ever done and therefore even less redeeming). But I totally understand what you're saying, and you definitely don't have to like her. She definitely was a grade A bitch, and she definitely was über-sketchy. I get that. I was only asking because I was curious if there was one specific moment that she still had to make up for in your eyes.

Aw, jeez! I'm sorry it affected your entire day, then! D: Well, on the bright side, the sequel definitely does not have tragedy listed as a genre, so there's some comforting news. (Have I told you this already? I can't remember if I did or I just meant to... forgive me for being lazy and not actually checking.)

I don't blame you at all for that hope. Crazier things have happened in the story. I just said that I would never let her magically get out unharmed... I never actually said that I would never let her survive...not that I did let her survive, necessarily, but I'll let you and the others keep that hope up. (; But, really now, that's not a stupid theory.

Actually, let's talk about this for a moment. There was an explosion with fire and rubble; you think they found her body? They don't need one to make a grave for her beside Jimmy, after all. Say she managed to get herself out of there somehow because she knew a way out, "magical" or otherwise; would she go straight back to the pack or would she want to stay away? She could be hiding something about the documents and the money and whatnot or she could just not want to deal with trying to deal with her mate, who tried to legitimately kill her and then just left her in a room to die (regardless of his massive misunderstanding and prior trauma). It's plausible.

Or she could just be dead. I'm just trying to point out why your hope isn't stupid.

I will do my best to not keep you waiting for too, too long! I might need a few weeks to re-analyze some details of the WWLU universe and make sure I don't contradict myself. I know the plotline and I know all of the major things that are going to happen -- hell, I have a lot already written -- but I just don't know some of the very very specific details that I'm really going to need to hammer down. Like timing. I never really gave a specific time of the year that WWLU was happening during, and I kind of need to know that because time moves forward and whatnot. xD

And alright, so noted! A Zacky one-shot is probably the easiest thing for me to write, so you can pretty much count on one of those appearing. (: You don't need to be specific at all! I only wanted people to be specific if they had something in mind for what another main character should be like or whatever.

I was afraid I pissed you off with how upset I was with the ending. I almost wrote you to tell you that I still loved your story even if it didn’t end the way I thought.

No! I know that Zacky’s mind was all kinds of jacked up at the time so I get why he would have left Ava there.

Well at the time of writing that I didn’t think she was dead, so I was in the mindset that she was going to start redeeming herself. Now I just…I’m going to be honest, I’m still not her biggest fan but I don’t want to hate her anymore. So I’m just going to have to say that I’ve forgiven her for the misunderstanding about the torture, I know that it wasn’t her fault but at the same…she still has a lot to make up for. It doesn’t change the fact that she was still a grade A bitch at times (and not just to Zacky but to the rest too) or that she keep a lot of secrets that could have been important for the pack to know.

Glad to see that I haven’t and can’t scare you off! XD

Yeah I cried pretty much the rest of the day! I was a fucking mess!

I have to be honest with you, I am like many of your other readers and I am hoping that Ava is somehow someway alive. I keep thinking it has something to do with the documents and money. But I know that it is stupid so yeah. Plus it would be really fucked up of her to engineer her death, crush her friends by making them think she is dead, and then somehow still being alive.

Yeah I know and that is why I’m so upset about this. I just know that it is going to be a rough road for everyone.

I don’t hate you. In fact I shouldn’t have been surprised that it ended the way it did. And you’re right, if Zacky had done what Brian wanted they might all be dead and just couldn’t handle that at all. I’m just interested to see what is going to happen now.

I’ve read your blog! And you don’t have to worry about me thinking you are trying to self promote! Anyways, I don’t really have much of an idea. I would honestly like for you to surprise me. XD I would honestly LOVE anything you wrote. I guess if I had to get specific I would like it to be about Zee. But seriously whatever you write I am guaranteed to read it just because you wrote it. So yeah anyways, I’ll just say that I’m sure you have already gotten a lot of requests too so I’m not going to assume that you are going to write anything for me, but if you did want to surprise me. :) I’m looking forward to seeing what you come up with though no matter what you write.

Hey girl! Sorry for the slow reply over here!

Yeah, she got him the key and he left her there, but he did still think she was either working some master plan or trying to save her own ass. Not that that really excuses anything, but I thought I'd play the devil's advocate for him since he's been through so much shit.

Haha, she still hasn't redeemed herself, then? That's unfortunate for her. Not that I'm complaining, of course, but just out of curiosity, exactly what does she need to redeem herself for? For being sketchy and doing I-only-know-what with the money and the documents and whatever else you don't know about yet, or for just in general being a dick to Zee? Because, I mean, at least she didn't have him tortured for four days or anything. That's got to be redeeming in some way.

You'll never scare me off, pshh!

And thank you for the comments on the story, of course! I always am super appreciative of them!

And it means the world to me to hear that you were actually crying over Ava! -le gasp!- I know how much you dislike her, so I'm super impressed that the epilogue was still able to get to you so much, even if it was the guys' emotions and not necessarily anything about her that you were upset about. Yeah, Matt and Brian both had some pretty powerful little speeches there; I was in tears as I was writing them, and I couldn't even write Matt's for the longest time.

Zee... is in for some rough times, I'm not going to lie to you about that. You're obviously right about the guys being pissed at him, and, of course, about how tough it's already going to be on him just for whether he forgives himself.

I know you probably hate me for ending it the way it ended, but it honestly needed to be done. You know by now I don't give my characters special treatment just because I created them; Ava can't walk out of dangerous situations unscathed just because it'd be happier that way. She can't magically break out of a locked, reinforced room without a key. And Zacky can't magically get over all of his issues just because he needs to. Not to mention, we should all consider the fact that if he had done as Brian said and lead them all back to where she was being kept, then they all probably would have been in the building when the explosion went off, and I know that's not something you would've wanted to happen.

I am glad that you find the story title fitting, now! His silence at the end definitely ties in with the title, but more than anything the fact that he didn't say anything -- that he purposefully left things unsaid or assumed, because he did have chances, they both did -- before the explosion... that's why the title is what it is. People leave things to be implied every day, and it makes sense why he wouldn't have wanted to talk about things, but the things that both he and Ava decided to leave implied or just unspoken in general, that's what the story was about, and that's why we never had a real clear picture of what was going on. Because we implied, too. /shrug.

Long theoretical comment is long. Sorry. xD

OHOHOH! You should check out my blog; I swear it's not shameless self promotion for no reason. xD I'm going to be writing a few one-shots as little Christmas gifts to different people while I'm also working on Slip (and don't worry, I won't get distracted so long as I'm still working on A7X things and not that Charmed fic I still want to start), but anyways, I figured you might have a few requests that you might want to make. If not, totally cool. But I know we've talked about how you've wanted to see different scenes from different points of view, and I'm sure you have a few 'what if?' kind of things you might want to read about (even though they wouldn't end up affecting the story or anything, obvs), or, hell, just some kind of one-shot you really want to read that has nothing to do with WWLU/Slip at all... I'm rambling because I'm tired. Check it out or no, I just thought I'd offer. (:

God I really hope she isn’t dead! AND Yeah this cliffhanger sucks! Well I kind of meant both. I figured it was an explosion of some kind, but yeah I’m also wondering about Ava’s wellbeing.

So she got him the key and he left her there?!?! That is just fucked up! Now I’m a little pissed with Zee.

Yeah I knew something was going to happen when Brian said something was wrong.

Oh well then nevermind on that one.

Well I could tell that, because if he had been, then as soon as the guards left he would have been by Ava’s side to see if she was okay (if not before the guards left). But now that you put it that way. Your right he could careless what happens to her.

Well my heart did, and still does go out to Zee because of everything that is going on right now. Even with some of his actions might upset me just a little bit.

Well I’m glad to hear that it is killing you because it is killing me to see him have to go through all this. :(

Yeah I’m sure Matt got some trash talk after this chapter, so I thought I’d let you know that I still feel for Matt.

No she hasn’t redeemed herself, I’m thinking of Zacky when I make that plea!

I’m glad you enjoy reading the insanity that is my thoughts! I keep thinking that I’m going to scare you off eventually. XD You wouldn’t be the first.

Well, that whole thing at the end may or may not mean that she’s dead... but either way, it’s not really a kidding situation. Yeah, that was the ending I was talking about when I told you a little while ago that there was a much worse cliffhanger at the end of one of the chapters. And I couldn’t end it like that, I know; that’s why there’s an epilogue. I’m guessing you mean what happened to Ava, not just what happened in general? In general there was an explosion; in regards to Ava... (;

Ah, yeah, I couldn’t describe that perfectly, because Brian couldn’t see it perfectly from the screens. Zacky got it when Ava was thrown to the ground up against the door; she was able to slip it under the door.

I’m glad you picked up on the whole fact that something like that could’ve happened. Originally, the chapter didn’t have Brian piecing together clues like that, but when I went and reread it, I realized I should probably leave a few more foreshadowing hints so that it didn’t sound completely off base.

Yeah, there were so many things that Drake could have done, but for whatever reason chose not to do. He would never have involved Alaric, though, for the record. For starters, that was Chase and Devan’s plan, not Drake’s, and even Ava stated that he would never have done something like arrange to have a sister of his raped. Drake’s a bad guy, but he’s not some kind of weird sexual predator, and he has... not morals or values, really, but he wouldn’t insult his only family like that. But, as you pointed out, she’s not really family anymore -- not after mating with Zacky. So, Alaric wouldn’t have even been interested. She’s not “officially” worth anything anymore, you know? And she’s not really anything for him to worry about killing anymore; if anything, he’s obligated to kill her.

Yeah... Zack was kind of a wildcard at that moment in time. His actions weren’t really predictable at all, but him helping her out wasn’t exactly predictable, either. He wasn’t worried over her safety, though. No matter what he thought (and he could’ve thought that she was behind the kidnapping or that she was just getting herself caught by doing something stupid or whatever), he didn’t think she’d necessarily be “safe”. Especially if she allowed him to escape. He just didn’t particularly care at that moment in time.

I’m glad you feel bad for Zee. You’re right, he’s in a really shitty spot right now, and there was a hell of a lot going on. I don’t understand the people who have been flipping out on him, because, like you said, it’s not something that you can process at the drop of a dime. I’ve been reminding most of the readers of that letting them know that they need to remember that this whole big secret/lie/whatever is something that Zack’s been dealing with for over ten years now. It’s something that devastated him at the time, and that he’s slowly had to recover from and get a hold of himself about. It’s something that changed the way he pretty much viewed everything, and something that certainly changed his interactions with and thoughts about Ava. It’s something he had evidence for, and something he thought he had all of the facts on. It’s not like a lightbulb moment could occur. He needed time.

I know, I know. Just... believe me, it kills me to do this to him, too. It really does. D:

I’m glad, too, that you feel bad for Matt still. He’s in a shitty place as well, and even though it is easier for him to process the new information that Zacky, it still took him time, and it still certainly wasn’t easy. He knew that Zack couldn’t process it quickly, but he also knew that they needed to try and get Zack to at least help out, even if he wasn’t completely convinced. I know that huge argument was a little hard to follow, but it was actually Brian that was doing more of the convincing arguments. Matt pretty quickly switched tactics to just trying to play on the whole she’s-your-mate thing, which doesn’t really depend on how Zacky feels about her. I mean, he knew that regardless of whether Zacky believed that Ava wasn’t behind everything, she was still his mate, there was still a bond there, and he knew he could try and play on that.

You’re right... all of those things will be discussed in the sequel, but none of them actually require her to be alive to reveal. (; But don’t worry, I’ll be posting the epilogue in a little bit, so you’ll have your answers soon enough. I am surprised that you are begging me to keep Ava alive, though -- who would have thought it? Has she redeemed some points, then? xD

Thank you for the comment, as always, love! It means the world to me and it really did make my night to read through all of your thoughts! (:

I noticed there was an update! XD

Yeah but he hurts Zacky so I can't stand that motherfucker!

Yeah I'm pretty cheesy!

Yeah I saw that and loved the shadows too! Did you see the one on Johnny. It looks like snake heads! And yes they all looked very hot in their black suits! But the video doesn't do the song justice. :(

Sorry for the slow reply! I was, you know, updating a story and all.~

I totally understand why your character ranking is the way it is... though I have to laugh at Drake being the least favorite. I love Drake. He's a sassy genius of a beast. :3

And haha, yes, I did get it! xDD I've got to love you and your corny puns, don't I? I think it's kind of a rule or something.

I saw that as well, but not until after I saw you say it. I mean, I totally knew that the guys had meant for the video to turn out the way it did -- I never doubted that it was exactly what they wanted -- but I just still am not really a fan. They nailed the vibe, and it has grown on me a bit because of certain details (lovelovelove the shadows behind Zacky turning into a devil's tail and everything) and the guys in all black suit-esques, but I just was hoping for something a bit more epic. /shrug.

It’s okay; I just thought I’d let you know I’d have it up soon. XD

Yeah I know. XD

Yeah, you are right on that one.

I will probably end up doing just that!

Yeah I started to think that both Brian and Ava were there for the torture but it just didn’t sit right with me and that is why I went back and reread 31.

Yeah I know, but he is my least favorite character in this story (not including Drake of course). Well with that background knowledge I won’t be so mad at him, but he is still my least favorite of the pack (him and Ava are tied).

Yeah now that I think about it protect is a bit of a stretch. And you are right; we can’t trust what she says because she could just be trying to get herself out of the doghouse. HA! Doghouse! Get it because they are werewolves. XD

I didn’t think you were going to tell me anyways! :P

Very true! And I totally understand why Matt would get into it, but I still there is a time and place for everything and Zee will always come first in my mind.

Yeah I know, I can’t believe that I’m felt for Ava there. I’m interested to see what happens with the next two updates as well.

That’s good to hear! I’m excited and at the same time sad that it is almost over. Fortunately I have the sequel to look forward to!

I know, then I read Papa Gates post on the video and apparently that was what they were going for!

Oh, I wasn't trying to rush you into commenting! D:

But, nevertheless, thank you for leaving one! I know you know by now that I always appreciate it and I always love all of your comments, butttt I'm just going to say it again. xD

You're totally right; you did see it coming at first, but then you just eventually started to believe the assumption, which is totally understandable. Even Matt didn't believe it at first, remember, and even he had been hoping there was some misunderstanding, but the evidence eventually piled high enough that it seemed like an impossibility.

It certainly seems that way, doesn't it? After I have the next chapter up and the sequel up, I really recommend re-reading the majority of the story, if you have the time for it, and just looking at everything with all of the background knowledge that you've gained through the story. Some of Zacky's and Ava's interactions and responses to things might make a bit more sense. Or, who knows, maybe they won't. I'm hoping they will, though.

And yeah, I'm glad you reread 31 and caught that -- I know a lot of people made the same misunderstanding after this chapter and I had to direct them back to that little distinction. Well, big distinction.

Brian's... a bit blindsided by the knowledge that Zacky was apparently tortured with silver for four days. He hasn't really processed that information yet; he's focusing instead on what he can process, which is what's happening at that moment in time. I know that doesn't excuse his behavior -- and I'm not trying to win points for him -- but I just wanted to point that out. There's kind of a lot going on, so it's hard to have the right response to everything. If it helps, though, it's not like Brian didn't help Zacky get out of those kinds of situations at different points in time, though. He was just saying that there were times when he was too outnumbered to do anything but stand and watch. (Which, to his credit, most of the times he'd hang around until afterwards, and actually help Zacky up and whatnot.) That's just background information that you don't get, because no one found it worth mentioning.

That's definitely something to consider. The keyword, of course, is paraphrase. She paraphrased, she didn't quote, and no one ever specified exactly how exact of a paraphrasing it was. There's always the possibility that it just sounded similar enough to set Zacky off, or that she just happened to say some key wording by chance. Or, there's the possibility that there's more to the story. Who knows? Some things definitely do not add up perfectly, you're right.

Ehhh, perhaps. "Protect" might be a bit of a stretch, there, just... "avoid having him actually get killed" might be better. And, anyways, that's just what she says, it doesn't necessarily mean it's true. With how much she and Zacky fight and insult each other, there's always the chance that she just wanted to watch him get beaten up, anyways. I mean, I probably wouldn't mind watching someone who was an ass to me (regardless of whether I was an ass back) get beaten up a bit. I'd probably not want to watch them get seriously injured, though.

I'm glad you're figuring out the role of the title, now!

No comment on Drake's motivations. Sorry!

Matt's timing wasn't really ideal, you're right, especially when Zacky needed saving. But, keep in mind, the video feed did show that he wasn't currently being hurt any more than he already had been, and, as far as Matt was concerned, confronting Ava was the only way to protect Zacky even more. After all, if you were sure that someone was behind the kidnapping as a whole (and a shit ton of torture beforehand), would you let that person go to save Zacky? If Matt's suspicions had been correct, letting Ava be the one to go could have ended very, very badly, and might have been the plan all along. But yeah, I totally agree, Ava's comment on that was right on point. It's just, as it turns out, Matt's kind of was, too. And I'm surprised that you felt that way! I'm curious now what the next chapter and the epilogue will leave you thinking of her. Hmm...

I promise I won't keep you waiting for long to know what happens next! I'll hopefully have the next chapter up soon-ish, and then the epilogue is already complete, but I might just separate that by a day or something... I don't know. It shouldn't be long, though!

*Also, I died of laughter at your description of the Shepherd of Fire video. That's so hilariously accurate!

@ addictedsevenfold.
yeah I'm writing out my comment right now and I did touch on some of those already. I'll have it up in a minute, I'm still trying to formulate all of my thoughts after reading this chapter.