Here we go. Breakfast. This is a pretty long story, by the look of it. Already, I'm wondering -- when does this fit in, in relation to the other stories? Is there a sequential order they happen in? Or is that just not important to ask?

For a second, I thought that the bottles were at least partly Ely's own doing. But then I remembered that he doesn't do that. No, it seems like he's more suited to stand aside and keep watch. ... I can't believe he does that while his mother is working. I mean, I guess I can, but damn. I can't imagine what that'd do to a person's head.

If they're keeping the .45's magazine full of bullets, the spring is probably no good. I hope they never have to use it. Might not work correctly.

I see Ely still likes bugs. Oh my god, though, that bit with the bug in the bathtub is so true to life. I've gone through the exact same thing more times than I care to remember (though generally with house centipedes, for some reason). You keep putting in these little moments that are straight out of real-world daily life. It's relentless.

Awww, wet rat. That's still cute. I like the imagery of the slithering tail.

A side note: I've noticed a fair few grammar/spelling issues here and there in your story, but one thing about sentence structure is sticking out for me. You have a lot of sentences that use the passive voice when they don't really have to. "The shirt was thrown carelessly behind him," that sort of thing. Might want to tweak that, for future reference.

... They haven't even hung up the wall clock? I'm imagining it as being one of those cheap analog clocks you'd see on the wall of a personal office. That sounds terrible to put on a table. You wouldn't even be able to see it without going right up to it.

Then again, this is the same apartment where Ely has a practiced method for disposing of discarded needles used by his mom's clients. That's his life. (As someone who's had difficulty establishing healthy boundaries against inappropriate behavior by parents, this story makes me feel small.)

So the anthro rats here have shorter lifespans than humans? I suppose that's in keeping with their physiology -- heart rate, and so on -- being more like rats too. I'm a little curious how that differs from one species to the next.

Ely's incredibly lucky that he hasn't gotten more badly injured than he has. What if he'd gotten hit by traffic on one of his downhill street runs? No insurance, no money, no nothing. I'd say something like, "What would his mother think if she knew he was doing that?", but she's clearly got her own issues going on.

I was wondering why the only food they seem to have is eggs. Or, apparently, eggs and lunchmeat. I guess "cheap and nutritious" about covers it. Also, are three-packs of kitchenware just a thing now? I'm not familiar, but that was starting to amuse me.

You know, $100 is a decent amount of money for one day's (or night's) work. You could probably fix up a lot of the apartment with that, plus some elbow grease. But I guess it all goes back to drugs. That's really sad. Also it's making me slowly but surely hate drugs even more than I usually do.

Danny seems like an awfully submissive person. Motherhood must be an awkward fit for her.

Hey, Spencer's here! I didn't expect to see him in this story. On a related note:

"That door wasn't locked."
"It's never locked."
"You told me it was."
"It's supposed to be."

God. Ely might not talk much, but when he does... XD I had a good chuckle.

So I guess this is going to lead to Spencer seeing the kind of squalor that Ely has to live in every day? Should be interesting.

"... basing his comment on literally nothing other than social custom," yeah, I enjoy your wit. This is one of those lines that make me know it's your story.

I like Spencer's inarticulate and disjointed explanation of the contest, degenerating into a rambling aside about gayness. I like that a lot. Man, he just makes everything better. He's funny.

So this is what leads to the contest series. I'm interested to see how it'll resolve. And, if I'm to be honest, I'm kind of dreading the outcome, because there are so many ways that it could go wrong for Ely -- even more than he's predicting. It's not just a question of whether he'll lose because of his species. What if he wins, and some of the other contestants decide they don't like being shown up by a rat? Rich entitled suburbanites are not incapable of violence. This could end very badly indeed. And it wouldn't be overly out of place for the tone of these stories.

As always, though, well done. I'm enjoying all of these.

I'm starting to feel like I should pay you for these reads and comments. Very well, just gimme your paypal.

I notice you seem to have a weakness for wet anthros. Or at least wet rats. In any case, I'll shall harness this information so that I may one day destroy you, should your powers render you irresponsibly omnipotent.

Regarding sentence structure I've heard that before and I think I know what you're referring to but A) I'm not enough of a writing expert to see the big deal and B) I tend to just write things out as they appear in my head without much polish, especially for this story. I might consider dropping it if it'd stop the complaints I suppose. But whatever it is, expect to see more of it since a lot of these stories have been around for a while.

I have an "anthro guide" I wrote up a while back...could probably use an update...but anyway, it explains the lifespans of varying creatures. Rodents and things of the like tend to have shorter ones which is...well a little sad. In my Tim and Jamie story, I reference the fact that Tim almost wants to lead and unhealthy lifestyle so that he doesn't have to stick around too long after Jamie goes.

I considered it somewhat unrealistic that Ely hadn't sustained a horrific injury from skating. I guess in the grand scheme of things all stories have their suspension of disbelief so that one could be worse as it's not IMPOSSIBLE just very unlikely. I considered writing a story for him in the future where he does actually get a more serious injury but I haven't decided how he could realistically resolve it.

I feel I must warn you again, that contest story line will be long, the last part especially. Perhaps too long, even...I wouldn't blame you if it scared you off.

Anyway. Thanks again for the reads, it's very kind of you.

I find wet furry creatures to be rather amusing-looking and also endearing. You ever seen a wet mouse? Their fur gets all spiky. They look like little hedgehogs.

Regarding sentence structure: Given the length (and age) of these stories, I hardly expect you to go back and edit your existing work. Consider it a suggestion for future reference, if you like. In general, I don't want to make a big deal about tweaking your narrative structure or whatever, that one's just a relatively simple thing to change if you like.

That is interesting, with the varying lengths in lifespan. Also that makes me worried for Tim. That's not a good way to be.

It'd be interesting to see how Ely would cope with an injury like that. I assume he'd want to get it treated, but (as far as I can tell) he has no experience getting money fast. It'd risk seriously messing up whatever counts as a home life for him. Who knows, maybe Spencer would come to the rescue. (Ely would probably seriously resent him for trying.)

I'm sure I'll cope with the story length. We're not in a hurry.

And, you're welcome.

It's interesting to see Ely and Spencer interact. As if they are beings from two different worlds, feebly attempting communication. Maybe that is what they are, in a way.

A troublesome reminder that Ely's version of the world isn't quite absolute.