Hot damn, this story packed a punch. Well done, if that was the goal. I really love that this story is is dark and dramatic without coming nowhere near melodrama (in my humble opinion at least).

I like your analysis of the characters. I agree with all of it. And most days, I prefer to find a way to ignore it or else I'd never be able to read the type of fluffy fics I prefer. *wry grin*

It's hard to pick a favorite line here, because you really didn't overuse the words, but gotta say, these here are the most reverberating:

[ Tony knows his boss wouldn't last a day in Baltimore, where villains were the heroes and people's minds changed like the weather. ]

[ The Sig that's always been strapped to his side is now complimented by three shiny new knives, thanks to his sudden doubts in his team. It's not that he doesn't trust them; of course, he just trusts them a little less. (DiNozzos don't trust anyone.) He doesn't want to end up in a pool of his own blood because McGee didn't know killers could be nice people.

He thinks he probably will, anyway. ]

These lines pack a punch for me (especially that last one-"He thinks he probably will, anyway"), for many reasons. Because it's the reason Tony is such a fascinating character. Because it's so true. And because it would be where the show would be heading, if the writers thought ahead before writing the episodes (and damn, I would really love to see that sort of fallout like you described).

So, long rambling short: Loved the story.

This OS rocks a lot !

Just found this wonderful fic. A great job of looking inside Tony's head at the end of season seven (I think). He certainly got the short end of the stick that season, and it's easy to understand his growing lack of trust in the team as you present it. Keep up the angst!Tony, you do it very well.

This story was really good. Keep up the good work!

Oh my goodness- this was gripping, haunting, and totally believable!

Excellent. This is one of the best NCIS character studies I've read! :)

creepy. and awesome. nice job:)

Wow. You do this so well. Thanks for a darker but very possible DiNozzo.

Wow. This absolutely BLEW ME AWAY. I don't say that often. But everything about this fic was a masterpiece. From the chilling analogies to the raw metaphors, and the blunt, amazing description...Wow. And the characterizations were SPOT ON. Everything fit together beautifully, even the title was perfect. My hat is off to you for this astoundig piece of work. Well done! :D

I loved it. Thank you for giving a voice to Tony's thoughts.

I'm analytical by nature so I'm very partial to character studies and you did a great job taking us into Tony's head. Love the juxtapositions of Tony's viewpoint and motivations vs. those of the rest of Team Gibbs.

Really, really good. I could feel the emotion, and I loved the way it was written. I'm beginning to really like these Angsty!Tony fics...

Very powerful. I can see this stream of consciousness coming from Tony's convoluted mind. Thanks for sharing! I hope we have much more to look forward to from you! )