Okay, Imagin8 has asked me to give my most brutal feedback. You don't like it? Sorry. Also, if you're a big fan of she-whose-name-should-not-be-said-by-anyone-with-an-ounce-of-decency, this review is not for you and you should probably read no further.

If you live in the real world and you've had to deal with the public, you've probably had some snotty ass come in and demand special treatment, all the while emitting an aire of superiority. Ah, you can almost taste the entitlement.

Well,that's every day...every minute in this world. That's what Imagin8 has shown us. Jack has grown up here and yet everyone of his friends has happily left him behind once they became alphas. We've seen no evidence that they are capable of loyalty or empathy....or character. None of his friends from childhood say hi in the hall. They don't make even the minimal effort to look out for their beta childhood friend. They are social climbing sociopaths (yes, I know, “anti social personality disorder” blah blah) more concerned with their status than things like friendship. I will be talking about Penny and Alex later.

I have to address some of the worst characters in the piece : Jack's parents. When I described them as dull, worthless creatures, just waiting for evolutionary forces to do them in Imagin8 said “Harsh” but I can find no better way to describe them. It has been made very clear: There. Are. No. Beta. Girls. None. Zip. When they decided to keep Jack a beta they said “Okay son. Outta the gene pool!” They did that to their own child. I mean what did they think was going to happen? Jack was going to get a mail order bride from Siberia? He was going to use their vast wealth to travel the 3rd world and meet someone special? What? And don't even try to give me some jazz about how maybe it happened after he was past the window. The window closes for boys and girls the same, if that were the case then there would be some beta girls around, slightly older than Jack and also as peers. No. His parents assigned him to a life of mediocrity, second class citizenship and loneliness, and there is no way that they did not know what they were doing.

Now, onto The Creature. You know of whom I speak. The giant psycho freak who thinks it's hilarious to ruin Jack's life. If you are a fan, well, that's your problem. My big issue with the character is she lives in a world without consequences. In a story attempting realism, she can do all this heinous shit and has no worries about any fallout. She has done this before and gotten away with it. Imagin8 clarified “as far as you know” but lets look at alternate scenarios. Okay, so there's a big freak who we know will kidnap and abuse a beta boy and there just happens to be a rumor about her kidnapping and abusing a beta boy that is completely untrue. Yeah....riiiight. Or she did deal with some punishment, there is after all a year of her life that seems to be missing. So lets say she had to go to some “Club Brat” sensitivity training crap and maybe she had to spend a year at a (GASP) private school of some sort. For those of you with no compass for this sort of thing: a punishment that does not result in changing behavior is not a punishment, it is an inconvenience.

We have seen The Creature getting everything handed to her. Her parents must be the worst things in the world....it's natural to love your child, but to allow a menace that bears your name to run rampant is just so defective that they probably don't even know how to blush. They are just one enabler of your favorite psycho.

For those of you looking for a human in there, sighting the tears scene, Jack summed it up: crocodile tears. Do you in your dumbest imaginings think that if Jack had revealed himself at that moment,she would've gone soft and let him go? You are not that stupid, and neither is Jack. She was crying out of selfishness. She wasn't getting her way. Any such tears that would not result in the character changing are by default croc o shit tears.

Lets revisit the subject of zero consequences. Suppose she did have a punishment for her last foray into Psychoville. Say it was severe. It was so severe she would never want to go through it again. What does that imply? Well, here she is doing it again. How could she avoid the consequences of her actions? Well, the only witness is Jack. The solution is get rid of the witness. In this world, it seems nobody is going to care about a dead beta boy, found in an empty field after a few months. They could have found him sooner, but who's going to bother to join a search party for some beta? Not a lot from where I'm standing. Ah but, you counter, she had here friends over. Wouldn't they be witnesses? Uh huh, sure. The word you're searching for is accomplice. It would never go to court, but imagine if it did. imagine The Creature's expensive lawyer at cross exam, “So you saw Jack? What were you doing with Jack? Throwing him around? I see. Did things get out of hand? Did you hurt him? Why should we believe that a girl from a good family would do something like this when you've been seen being cruel to him yourself. When Jack left (The Creature's) home of his own free will, did you follow him? Did you want to have more “fun” at his expense? Did things get out of hand then too?” Yeah, truth and the lives of betas are so valuable to Alphas.

Now, I have to feel a little set up for some Amber is worse scenario. Whatever Amber might do to Jack, that will do not-one-thing to make The Creature worthwhile. Nothing. Infact, if Amber does get ahold of Jack and get her pound of hell, it will tie directly to The Creature's actions. She has dangled Jack as a perfect victim right before her equally despicable friend. So when the even worse thing gets her shot at Jack you might get a lesson in relativism. Don't fall for it.

Okay, you say, you're being a little hard on all the Alphas. What about Alex and Penny? Let's look at Alex. So far she has shown some incredible character by....telling a lie and making a phone call. Wow, my new hero. What exactly is she risking? Unpopularity? Ohhhh. She has taken no risk and has done the minimum to sooth her tiny conscience, I'm sure somebody’s impressed. Not me.

And then, there's Penny. I love Penny, but there is no way she redeems all the jerk alphas. And for those of you who Imagin8 say's find her “boring as shit,” you really are lacking in insight. It takes incredible courage and character to be the only nice person in a world of assholes. You might have a hard time understanding this, but good manners and compassion mark you a target when the scum around you don't even understand the concepts. If you find that kind of substance boring, you need friends.

The real note here is that Imagin8 has created a world where almost everybody is a villain. Most through apathy, I'll admit, but I feel I'm being truthful. And it cannot be denied that Imagin8 has given us a work that is also truthful and compelling. I'm sure some of the audience is skipping to the “good parts.” If that's you, you probably are not the sort to read reviews, so I won't worry about you. But if you are reading this, you are doing yourself a disservice. The dialogue is real and revealing about the characters. The plot and story are compelling and pull you from scene to scene. Even Jack's moments of introspection are worthwhile and hold your attention. Even though I've been making the point that Jack and Penny live in a toxic world, that doesn't make them any less worthy of your praise and attention. Infact, it makes them more worthy. They are, for all purposes, alone. The few good people in a world dripping with evil,they are our guides and our heroes.

On the subject of Jack. Yes, he's a bit of a victim. Sure, but look at the way he held out against The Creature. If someone with that much integrity is so torn down, it only shows how completely screwed up the world is. Now you might think that I'm having it both ways. But I'm really saying the work is good and the world is bad. And no that is not a contradiction. I feel that most people are basically good, but these are not people, they are alphas. And they have made a world of crap and they are too stupid, spoiled and selfish to realize that.

A moment of speculation on the next chapter. I agree that Penny is acting odd. But I don't see her in the creature's camp. I think that Alex has summoned up enough courage to (gasp) make another phone call. She's told Penny that the creature is taking some action. Penny is there it protect Jack. It won't help Jack's self image, that she's not there for his company, but to protect him. Keep in mind his reaction the last time she stepped in to protect him physically. He called her a monster, and she has internalized that. She is a sensitive soul and has no desire to hear that again so she's playing it close to the vest. Now, I will admit, I'm a bit tired of the “useless good giantess.” So often, we've seen the nice one just get shoved out of the way when the bad one wants our hero. I don't think that is what is about to happen. We've gotten hints that there's more to Penny than “nice.” Remember how she handled the weights? Remember how she used to “play karate.”

I think The Creature is about to learn the difference between a bully and a fighter.

I think The Creature is about to meet The Monster.

At least I hope so. I hope there's some very painful consequences coming up for her.

I even imagine a triumphant Penny holding The Creature down and telling Jack “Go ahead, give her a good kick in the teeth. In fact, just keep kicking til your leg gets tired. I'll bet you can kick her nose right off.” In an attempt to allow Jack to get some back.

Keep up the great work Other 8 and happy writing.

Peace,

PixL8Ed

Nice! I'm glad we're getting more Penny and that she geniunely seems to care for Jack, at least as a friend. I'm actually hoping we get a bit of backstory on Caitlin or at least a perspective shift to see how she's doing right now. Anyway, great stuff, I hope you update again soon!