Lockdown was a heartbreaking episode to watch, especially seeing Toby and Olivia so happy at the beginning taking those funny pretend holiday photos, and then by the end of the episode Olivia’s dead. I hated it that she died because I loved the relationship Toby and Olivia had, and I think given more time they would have gotten together again and this time would have made it work. So to see that potential future for them taken away was so sad.
I loved reading this story, as I was a bit annoyed that we didn’t see Toby’s grief over Olivia, like you have showed here. I would have liked to seen a reaction, a funeral scene, something!
So that’s why I loved your story, because it showed what we were missing from the show. This sort of scene definitely should have been included.
Even though this is meant to be sad and it was, seeing Toby drunk and obviously in so much pain, and Oz as well, it was also quite funny to see Toby like this, completely out of control of his telepathy and the consequences of that. Really quite humorous. Especially as he really disliked the colour taupe.
It was nice to see Michelle going to check on Toby as well, even if she didn’t stay. He’s her friend and she was worried about him, and I like the glimpses of the friendship she has with Oz as well, as we didn’t often see scenes between them.
Great story, I loved it. :) xx

You did a great job doing something that the show did very little of: delving into the characters' emotions after an incident. We rarely got to see the vulnerable side of Toby which makes this a nice addition. I like how you let Toby have some of the relaxed stupor that can come with drunkeness. Some authors make drugs react totally differently with Toby than with other people, but you added his ability to the mix instead of replacing it. In my opinion, this keeps the story more realistic and relatable.
Thanks for the fun story! This is one of my favorite shows and I would love to see more stories!

I never really thought what a drunk Toby would be like, but now I get that drinking would unfocus his mind and concentration and any walls that he had put up to block out other peoples thoughts would come crashing down and they would all rush in. Poor lovely Toby. Thoughtful of Michelle to want to check on him, but it was understandable how she felt about being around a drunk telepathic. And Oz, always the great friend, focusing on Toby even if it meant not really letting himself process Olivia's death.

This was really well written! Of course, a little sad, but a bit funny too (all the little snippets with neighbors' lives and his opinions on them).

But btw, Pickles and peanut butter is awesome! (especially if you got the right pickles) ... :)

That was funny and adorable and sad all at once.

awe! This is really good. I like how you mixed the humor in with it.

Great story. i love it. Oz is such a great friend

This was so cool. It never occurred to me that being drunk could effect Toby's abilities. Excellent work! He was so funny and cute! My heart breaks for him.

Totally love how you've captured the Oz-and-Toby dynamic here! Good writing! :-)

Awww this was so awesome and sad. It makes send that a drunk toby would do this. And I love Oz taking care of him. They both miss Liz. Thanks for writing! Hope you continue xP

I just wanted to say thank you for writing this fanfic. I love The Listener and this was so well written and I wish they'd show something like this on the show. So so so good. I'd love it if you'd write more Listener fanfic, I mean obviously only if you wanted to. Really really great job on this

Very well written. Would love a second chapter...

Thanks for a wonderful friendship story!

I'm actually surprised that they didn't have more fall out from Olivia's death in the show, but maybe that's still coming down the pipe.

In any case, I really liked this. Actually, I can see something like this happening. The thing with his gift going out of control when you mix in alchohol makes total sense and I think you handled that element of this oneshot very well. It brought a lighter note to keep the whole thing from becoming ridiculously dark.

There were a few sentences in the first paragraph that came off a little choppy, but then you really got into the story and the flow was excellent through the rest of the story. I know that was probably intentional, shorter sentences often carry emphasis, but I think that the way you used the technique messed with the flow a little. Even if you incorporated a few of those sentences I think you would be a lot happier with the result. That way the first paragraph would flow better and the short sentences that you left alone would actually carry twice as much impact.

Like I said, only in the first paragraph or so. You're at the stage where it's all about improving the little technical details, turning great writing into truly awesome writing. Good job and I hope to see more from you.

This is brilliant. You have the characters down pat.

I love this one, though I have to admit that I miss the times, when there was more Toby and Oz. I'm a bit annoyed by the whole IIB stuff. But thank you for this short friendship-story.