James Carnarvon

I'm keenly feeling the need for the trio to get back together for their own safety. You're a master at keeping them apart, it would seem. Also: "Right now, he wanted a donut. Everything else could wait." This part really spoke to me. 😉

I have this vision of the elves of Middle Earth, who surround themselves with beauty, being welcomed to our Earth via the suffocating heat and garbage stench of the New York subway! 😅 Yes, I've visited... I'm not sure how Tolkien you're planning to go with this story, but I prefer the human aspects of it. I hope you find a balance!

Freja's advice on calming the mind isn't bad advice for real life. Let the bad feelings out, face them and accept that you have them, so you don't tear yourself apart by burying them or fighting them. An interesting new character in the mix. Father, though... bleurgh.

A white direwolf? I don't think Jon Snow will be pleased. 🐺

I know pets can be therapeutic; but it seems like they REALLY can for Casper. I love the fact that he could read the dog's emotional state, but I can't help wondering by he doesn't get his thoughts drowned out by sewer rats every time he extends his powers? 😉 I'm still loving the use of smells in your descriptive writing. It's a powerful, and in my experience underused, evocative technique: "He scrunched his nose up in disgust, some part of his mind suddenly connecting his surroundings with the stale, slightly moldy smell of the place." "Almost immediately upon entering the place, his nostrils were assaulted by the aromas of incense and candle wax, utterly overpowering the lingering smells of car exhaust and morning moisture that clung to the street outside, drowning out even the fresher fragrances of the flower stall. He wrinkled his nose slightly in distaste, and glanced around."

James finally vocalised what happened to him. This is a good thing.

Oh, poor Casper. The overheard conversation explains a lot, but where does he go from here? I thought I'd read one more chapter tonight so I could be poised to start part three. I'm glad to know Casper kept his freedom, and his conversation with Lewis' wards was interesting. I wonder if Casper will run into the others at Tasha's apartment?

We seem to have stepped sideways into Middle Earth. I slightly share the others' confusion! How much of all that was real history, and how much an allegory for more earthly events told through Bex's dream? Was she given a power, or is she a reincarnated spirit? I guess she will have an important role to play at some point, but she's so very young. And now I need a pause for breath. We have had a lot of excitement and plot for the last few chapters, but what interests me most of all is the core character arc of the central trio. I hope we will be delving a little deeper into that soon!

Reckless heroics by all concerned, and there are bound to be consequences, but James and Tasha are in the clear for the moment and James has yet to be identified by the Family. Now let's hope that poor Casper can also find a way out.

Hmm, yeah. Maybe I'll pick up the pace just a little... as time allows. 😅

Yes, it's like watching three people sliding down a slippery slope towards a bottomless pit and being unable to help them. I'm rationing myself to three chapters a night so I can get other things done, but the suspense is painful!

Oh, dear... Tasha did the right thing by trying to keep Casper and James out of it, but now they will probably feel obliged to try to save her, despite what she said. Great twists and turns!

Well, the noose certainly closed quickly on Casper there. At least he was smart enough to cut his way out of it - for now.

Yep. My guess is that it's not going to work, or at least not for long.

Just an hour or so ago, James was having a full-blown panic attack about being grabbed by Casper, but now he's comfortable enough with it to enjoy a wrestle? I find that curious. But then, before, Casper did approach him unexpectedly from behind. I enjoyed James' moment of elation while he was flying, and he thoroughly deserved that burst of happiness, but now it seems there's a price to be paid for it. I'll be interested to see how the weight loss / physical strength thing develops.

I can totally relate to James not seeing the appeal of boobs but assuming that "Maybe he’d get it when he was older". That was me until I was, like, 15. 😅 Most of us were probably not brought up with enough of an open conversation around sexuality to give any consideration to whether we might be gay before it became blindingly obvious to us. From what I know of school life now, in Britain at least, I think that may finally be changing. It all seems to be much more open and less stigmatised - depending on where you live, where your school is and what kind of circles you move in.

Poor James is clearly going to get dragged deeper and deeper into Tasha's dangerous world. I wonder how much of the truth of James' trauma Casper gleaned from their brief altercation? It was so intense for James it was almost a flashback. Casper must have got a sense of some of it; his apologetic reaction points to that too. I'm still enjoying this...

An exciting couple of instalments! I got slightly lost in some of those mega-paragraphs and sub-clauses towards the end, but you certainly gave the fight plenty of energy. Tasha busting through all those walls was a great visual. Tasha has virtually declared war on these people now without even knowing what they're all about, although I can't fault her instinctive revulsion for what seems to be going on. I can't see how the kids could possibly be 'happy' there as the leader claims; but I'm sure we'll find out more soon enough. Like others have said, I hope she doesn't accidentally lead them back to Casper and James.

I'm getting the impression that Casper has taken a liking to James, but I may be reading too much into it. I loved this chaotic muddle: “Okay look. You find out that your new friend can tell what you’re feeling every second, right at a time when you’re kinda going through some stuff, and obviously, that makes you feel kinda awkward around him, and you know he can tell that you feel awkward, so you start feeling awkward about feeling awkward and after a few loops of that, you can’t really stop anymore!” I think James will need to find a way to open up to Casper if their friendship is going to last. Doing so will probably bring them closer. I wonder who this sinister 'Father' figure is, and whether there is any connection with the work of Peter or his own father.

Peter is clearly up to his armpits in some kind of conspiracy around people with powers, but at least he is trying to protect his own children.

Okay, things are getting pretty weird now. The mind boggles about what's going on in that place. Are they being exploited, or are they all there willingly (and why on Earth would they be?). I wonder if they're trying to activate powers through a form of trauma.

So, the trio have all met now. Casper and Tasha clearly both respect James' emotional boundaries, which makes me warm to Tasha more than I did at first. With the best will in the world, though, James will be feeling very exposed around Casper from now on. The question is, will he be able to trust him enough to stay friends? Whatever was going on in that apartment seems pretty creepy. I agree with the other commenters when they say these first few chapters have raised lots of very interesting questions!

There definitely seems to be something shady about Peter. I like the way James is experiencing moments of carefree normality, but every so often his trauma comes slamming back in and catches him off-guard. Seems quite true to life. His chat with Casper about superheroes and space Nazis was great fun. Also, flying... 😬

And with each iteration there is a risk it would get less good.

Never say never, I guess, but if I ever did write another one I think it would need to be quite different and not the same sort of story over again. Thank you for reading and commenting!