WITHIN: Graded primarily on heat and narrative
WITHOUT: Graded primarily on narrative
Possible spoilers below …
WITHIN
Continuous/Updatable Neuropositive Therapy (mc ff in) (new) by If I Was Not You
–2.5/5 (not great, had some redeeming qualities)–
I’ve, albeit very slowly, come to enjoy most types of incest stories, and mother/daughter is certainly within my realm of interests now! The start of this didn’t exactly push my buttons. Whining, yelling, and running away does nothing for me emotionally for characters I met a paragraph ago. The traditional therapy presented didn’t exactly peak my interest either. It seemed all fairly obvious. They’re both fracked up, I got it! Otherwise, the writing was fine in albeit its own style. There is a strong suspension of disbelief here actually. This is talking about a kind of MC implant that probably doesn’t yet exist outside sci-fi, but there is no indication, other than the implant, that this isn’t set ~present day. No real heat until way after halfway through, and quite a bit of exposition, whose necessity is debatable. Had it’s moments, though, I’ll give it that.
(ReReadability: low / follow: no)
Lulu (mc ff) (new) by Garden Variety
–2/5 (so-so, maybe a good story to others but didn’t mesmerize me)–
Though perhaps redundant, it was interesting to see a cast of characters presented at the start in this context. Also, I was surprised and somewhat grumbly to see BDSM listed within the story and not on the archive listing, which does have BD (bondage) and DS (dom/sub) tags. Plus, as an observation, Coven V, which I’ve never read, is not on the Archive. So there’s that … Anyway, there appeared to be punctuation errors hither and thither, and the writing felt a bit stilted at times. The writing style was distinctly different by having the narrative in the present sense, but that’s more an observation than complaint. I also had mixed feelings about having an elaborate contract negotiation right at the start. Not particularly compelling, while I have no real concept of the pay presented being more or less than normal. I ultimately found myself skimming, not being particularly pulled in out of stated reasons. Just didn’t mesh with me.
(ReReadability: low / follow: no)
WITHOUT
Space Invaders of the Mind (mc mf ff md sf) (new) by If I Was Not You
~~3.5/5 (good, not quite earth shattering)~~
Had a somewhat wild sound to it, so I thought I’d give it a go. This was perhaps a bit heavy and obvious on the genre references, which I certainly got. Otherwise, this was very well polished. A bit of a genre piece at first, but it had a fine amount of reality bending. As a side note, having a single person on the trips presented here may have serious liability issues, for lack of better words. If I am interpreting the story correctly, that issue may be an intentional part of the underlying plot. Still, a single crew member seems odd to me, and that itself may also be intentional. Perhaps does get a little too wild and over the top, threatening to break down the story, but it was still a fine mind bending read. Like with South Park’s Grounded Vindiloop, I’m honestly not sure what happened, but I’m OK with that. 
(ReReadability: moderate / Follow: no)
RANDOM COMMENTS
Provided it’s all consensual somehow, I’ve come to the point where most kinds of sexuality doesn’t bother me.
The Realms of Mr. Potestas 