Welcome to Gaia! ::

w00t - works for me at home.

Too bad I absolutely hate coming home & my brother's cigarette smell has added to the unpleasantness.

You just have to let it sit for a minute, but it should load.

22: I liked the fact Rommy didn't kill him, but instead frames him: it adds depth either to the storyline or the character, in that opposition is silenced either by force when it private, or by guile when in public.

Gendou's form of attack is nothing less than a maelstrom. I wouldn't be suprised if Ruevian was the only one who could stand up to it, although potentially, Cal could use ice to concentrate sunlight on him, but I doubt Cal is anywhere near that focused or lateral thinking. What does intrigue me is what would happen in Jillian vs Gendou. Would he be immune?

And Hobson is just too cool. More on that later.

The addition of teachers to the visitors is... well, dynamic. They could influence, recon, etc. in a massive number of ways what happens. It makes for a powder keg, frankly; if they play nice, all might just go well at best, assuming students don't do something stupid. At worst, and most likely, someone's going to try and pull a stunt. Potentially, something that, if this academy's students found out about, they wouldn't be all too happy either.

23:

Hospital was clearly an excuse for missions, as far as I see it. It is, incidentally, very amusing to see the teachers as students. Nothing, of course, changes.

Cassi's gloves aren't much suprising, and it adds depth to her character, given her feelings about them.

Pryce's speech was interesting, in that, teachers are conducting experiments? If the students found out about their teachers, and about the nature of the research, that'd be problematic, at best.

The build up to the clash was nice as well; Cal's naivete in regards to Amy's guilt was nice, seeing as he clearly isn't the brightest candle in the chandelier.

Equally, the Robin/Kevin sequence is interesting. One must wonder, eventually, whether Kevin does actually have more than just friendship in mind, but knowing that Robin is otherwise inclined, keeps it back. Either way, they certainly seem more than comfortable with each other, even if Kevin doesn't always think of others first.

The Cal / Liz scene was lovely. Can't really say much more than that: well built up, well executed.

24:

And finally, something anti-Aberrant. I was wondering when that'd arrive: something normal humans could defend themselves with. A pity, of course, that they didn't find a way to defend the facility properly, but then, that would've required the use of the weapon which was being developed. Something of a Catch-22, that. Of course, it only becomes more deadly when used by Aberrants against Aberrants. And it's probably one of the few things capable of affecting Gendou properly.

Cal / Liz bears more ramifications: obviously, despite the elevator doors closing from Cal's perspective, Liz still has closure to find. It'll be interesting to see where other student's loyalties lie. To Liz, because she's dating Weston, who has a reputation, or against her, because she was dishonourable, or to Cal, because he's ASM.

Dave and Marty was interesting in its own right, but perhaps not placed well: personally, I was wishing to read more about the problem above immediately, and so, whilst it may have symbolised the time it took for Cal to reach Weston, or something else, and did explain the situation better, it perhaps could've been staved off a little.

The actual fight was nice; Weston's position of pacifism, and Cal's near immediate use of the ice trick in a combat situation were both good themes. I feel it was mere chance that Cal actually hit Weston, although the water shield vs lightning was a good point. Meanwhile, Rue's ending the fight was good, firstly emboldening her and West's position, and secondly perhaps hinting that she may have gained some control from the fight as well: she could quite easily have done much worse to Cal than given him a mouthful of eels.

The Ian/Laura bit was good. Quite a tall guy, he is, it seems. The idea that he's a spy is one to watch: a spy for whom, or what (Hobson, I assume, but why)? Is Laura for or against the academy? The fact that he, as a teacher, liked her as a student, and that she, as a teacher, likes Ian, as a 'student' is also interesting. Equally, that they're both teachers: obviously, the teachers have some agendas themselves, too.

How Weston is doing after the attack, what Cal's reprise will be (both from his father and the school, and how the ASM might affect the level of punishment) will be interesting.

And, on a random note... if Hammond can drain and use abilities, and Pryce is immortal, have the two been using that to their benefit?

They really fight now, that's no good. Cal is ruthless, but rightfully angry. Still, though, that was just mean. Clever, but mean. It'll take a long time to heal a giant hole in an arm, but at least it was iced so the blood wouldn't come out as fast. Eheh.

Cal's father is probably going to very proud. Perfect execution of his new son's new skills, and considered an alpha by the teachers. Will his father care about how he earned the new status? I don't think so. What punishment will Cal recieve? Hopefully something.

And Doll kills and kills and kills again....

From there we go to the drama that's blowing up with the kids.

And boy, Kij is gonna be mad...

Now, what concerns me in this chapter is the little fight between two alphas and a beta. I don't think the teachers were right to promote him to alpha. He was using the same abilities in a new way, his abilities have not grown. But that's not the crux of the problem.

Beta vs Alpha feelings are. There are nearly as many betas as alphas. But pair them up right, and there isn't a single alpha those betas can't kill (excluding teachers.) Not only that, but the party lines are getting more noticably drawn. Now that the first blow has been struck, you have to ask who will see it in a different light, and strike back. Dave and Marty would be ones to watch. Marty has already expressed dislike for Alphas. As well, since Cal struck first, it may very well be an alpha who strikes next. Though I don't think the real battle will come until the dance. The one time every single student will be in one place at the same time. By social obligation. Even Gendou will be there, by obligation to Hammond.

...question. sweatdrop

Since Cal uses the water in the air for his attacks, couldn't he logically use Weston's air attacks against him? Such as turning his air shield into a thing of ice?

...of course, the air's probaly moving too fast to be forced into a solid and I really need to study my vapor pressure* more. sweatdrop

((*And this probaly isn't the word I want. Mory, shoot me, to save Chemistry...))

That's a good point, I hadn't thought of that.

...you win again, Lady of the 5th and 6th circles.... stare