I have to say, this was really depressing. Which, really, was what I was looking for in the first place, but... agh it was just so sad. T_T

i. It is SO hard seeing Ghetsis as a derp with that cape around him and such. Pretty weird, especially with his manipulating personality. If only he stayed a lovable dope.

ii. I wonder if that was what got Ghetsis to become who he was - bullying and such. I didn't play through the whole game yet, but I study (I'm a real Pokefreak) on Bulbapedia, and as far as I know, they didn't give any backstory to Ghetsis. It makes me wonder...

iii. Understanding others. As a person who wants to be either a psychologist or a writer someday, it really saddens me to think Ghetsis would be using books to learn how to manipulate others, rather than understand like how N's mother believed.

iv. Experiments. Using feelings as an experiment is just, just wrong. And N's mother doesn't deserve the pain, of course she wasn't used to it... N took after her.

v. And there comes the abuse... abuse really gets me depressed. Not just domestic violence, but abuse in any way, especially that of hatred.

vi. "Her precious little mop of green." - that mental image made me smile and giggle in my head. X3. I think this one was my favorite part - it really showed the Ghetsis before all of the turmoil, and little N who is a symbol of hope and the future.

vii. I was assuming that this man was one of the freakin Sages... and my gosh how I despise those old dudes. Well, at least one of them. I've only met one in the games so far, but if they're willing to submit to Ghetsis being how "intelligent" they are, I don't think I'm going to like the rest of them. Anyways. DANG IT. Fragile glass broken again.

viii. No, no, no. Ghetsis took N away for his experiments and manipulation again... I can't believe it. And when she fought back... just to be abused again...

ix. That jerk... and no. He wasn't all that she had left. It saddens me to think there are people who believe that...

x. OH HELL NO. Screw the love me crap. And I can't believe how broken down she got... freakin Ghetsis. But if anything, I really hope he meant that "I love you." My intuition left it pretty vague. It was a half/half thing for me, going either way. The optimistic side of me wants to believe that he did mean it, because I love and believe in happy endings. But then the very last line holds me back. I guess that's what you wanted - to leave the ending up to the reader.

I really enjoyed reading this - you captured the psychology of all this perfectly. I think I would've liked to see more of N incorporated into it, and perhaps Concordia and Anthea, but I suppose you just wanted to focus on N's mom.

This is a beautiful fic; thank you for writing this. _

Call me a creep, but I often find myself contemplating the idea of love as a means of control. Love is such a powerful emotion. Love between two people should be mutual, a partial emotional dependency on another person. When it becomes anything more than partial, it becomes unhealthy. And I believe that you've done an amazing job at capturing just how unhealthy this dependency can be. The 'love' that this woman so desperately needs is merely an illusion.

But anyways, I like this. Your description of the woman's descent into an emotional wreck is quite spot-on, with her constant need for Ghetsis' approval, as he has become what she sees as her only redeeming quality. He has beaten her down, convinced her of a world in which she is worthless, and closed her off from anyone from whom she could seek emotional support. No, he has appointed himself to that position, and in doing so is able to manipulate her in any way he pleases.

So I'm sorry for nearly writing an all-out lit crit regarding love and the like. Reading Lit crit is all I've been doing for the past 72 or so hours, and I have yet to revert back to normal speech.

...awww DD:

tis sad, but surprisingly first fic about N having a mother I've read, and well, it does seem like how it would have gone... If you have more ideas, go ahead and run with them!

Very interesting. n-n Love it.

Ah, yes. The whole N and Ghetsis deal raises oh-so-many questions with oh-so-many possible answers. I myself have a different theory which I'm working on, but that doesn't doesn't mean I don't like others, such as yours.

Wow.

It almost made me cry, poor unnamed mother.

Beautiful [L]

I love this even though it is quite depressing. I like how you didn't give her a name. It made it darker in my opinion. Also, I like your writing style you used here.

Love it. A good break from the light and fluffy stuff. Very dark and shows what Ghetsis is all about. Good job!

Poor unnamed mother. I like that you didn't name her, by the way. I don't know why, I just like the effect it had.

This...was a little confusing though. Was she around the entire time N was growing up, and just not allowed to see him? Or did something bad happen to her when he was a baby? You should clarify what Ghetsis is doing with N a bit more.

Also, I didn't really like how the paragraphs were numbered. I get that its to show passing time, and change, but it just kind of breaks it too much. Maybe if you centred three x's in a row? Something like that.

Anyway, depressing and dark and lovely. I've strayed too far from the dark side...I really should get back were I belong.

This was dark and sick in the head. I loved it. A good way of showing how Ghetis turned into a manipulative person and came to hunger for power. Great job.