C. Henderson

You totally did, I recall you picking up on it right away 👏🏼

You bring up a lot of interesting points here! I do think that he's not in a place where he'd think that would be a feasible option. He's stumbling in the dark right now. The idea that he can choose something other than what's been outlined for him is far-fetched at the moment. Very good point. Demetrius has a completely different personality and is able to take his own agency with ease. Yes, Dani does respond particularly well to the way Demetrius communicates, even if he's coming off harsh at times. He doesn't play any mind games. I am curious, why do you believe that he trusts Luciana? You know this is where we disagree my friend 😁 but I still always appreciate your genuine takes and your interest in the story 🙏🏼

No it doesn't you're right 😬 Demetrius did a 180 on all of us, including Dani. Excellent point! You might be onto something...we shall seeee

19. THE SPECIALS SUMMIT Part II Have you ever wondered how long it takes to die? Let me tell you, it takes an age. In fact, you really have no idea how long it feels until after you find out that you are about to die. And then it feels like forever, and quick, all at the same time. I think that’s what we call duality…Vinicius once told me something about that word. I strained my brain to remember what he meant, as the three fearsome creatures bulldozed their way in a mad attempt

To start with, I'm happy by all the conversation this chapter is stirring up! 😊 It's great to see everyone's different takes! It makes this all the more interesting. And I most certainly appreciate you for standing up for your view on Vinicius and Dani. I can see how you think that Vinicius has failed as a Mentor coming from where we are in the story right at this moment. Maybe you will still think that at the last chapter as well. But I think as we go on with the story, Vinicius' plan for Dani will become a bit more clear, and we will get a fuller picture of who Vinicius was and why he did certain things the way he did them.

That was a beautiful way of putting it, thanks! I think it's easy for us to kind of forget that even though Dani isn't sitting around crying everyday, he is most certainly traumatized by all the tragic events that happened to him in such a short amount of time. He doesn't have any higher-up allies. He believes his current Mentor hates him and wants him to fail, he's not exactly sure where Trusting stands, and his Proxy is a human woman he doesn't know how to get in touch with. It is going to take him some time to find his footing in this new world. Once he does, we can hope that his stance and advocacy for humans and against the Deadnus' of the world will be much more stronger.

Thank you! And you'll have to read and see 😏

Yes to all that you wrote 😊 👏🏼

Thanks for reading! 😁

It can be seen as a failing, certainly. But on my end, there's a reason why Vinicius wanted to keep Dani in a certain mind frame and away from having too much power or the ability to interfere at this point.

I absolutely see what you're saying. I haven't really given the readers much of a glimpse into the political situation among the vampires as of Vinicius' death (aside from a few mentions about Trusting being somewhat scared of Deadnus, and that Van Sant thought she was having him followed.) But I hope to expand on that in the upcoming chapters. Again, Dani is coming into this kind of clueless and sheltered. Let's remember that as of recently he actually thought Deadnus could have him executed if he failed the Summit. It's only when Demetrius told him it was just a test that he realized there wouldn't be any grave repercussions to not passing. I agree with this, except with the death of Vinicius, Dani isn't considered anywhere nearly as important at this very moment. Yes, vampires are aware that he's a Special and he has power, but they kind of view him as a State weapon and someone who is going to eventually work UNDER Deadnus. They don't view his power as really belonging to him. It's more like he's a State worker with a unique skill.

I know you're not criticizing me, but thank you for the reassurance 😊 I always enjoy reading your comments, even if we may disagree on things here and there. I think this is where we might be of different opinions. What do you believe he should have done in that moment, physically try to stop the other Specials from performing their cruel tasks? Use his gift to stop them? Try to fight Deadnus? I understand, but 18 in vampire years is a little different than 18 in human years. Although Dani is actually 18, many of the vampires in that room were not "born" via Vinicius' method but were actually turned, and are far much older than him, thus he feels pretty much like a child among them. They may have centuries of experience on their side, he has 18 years. That's one way he could have played it, but again I don't think anyone--including some of the vampires on the panel--expected the Summit to proceed in the way that it did. We've known Dani to be quite unsure of himself, of his place at the school and as a Special, and so I don't think he has enough confidence to stand up to a senior government official in an authoritative type of way, outside of just shouting out that what's happening isn't right and hoping that some of the more senior vampires would back him up.

Thank you, I appreciate your input!

I think what I was trying to show--and perhaps I slightly failed at it--is that a lot of vampires are afraid of her. Even vampires in positions of power. They know that she's bad news and they do not want to be seen publicly disagreeing with her stance. They only express a somewhat negative opinion of what she's doing when Dani says something. Others are playing it strategically and not willing to openly state their defiance or show their cards...yet. While a few others in the room don't see anything wrong with what she's doing. I do accept your criticism of Dani, but perhaps you're expecting a bit much from him? While we know that he has great power, he still doesn't fully realize it yet and he's not exactly in the position to take on a full room of grown vampires and make the Summit stop. Him standing up to Deadnus in the first place is like a high school student defying an FBI director who has come in to administer a test--it's pretty unlikely.

Yes, very good point. It's all going to be revealed in Part 2 😁

You hit the nail on the head 👏🏼 Absolutely. And I agree, Dani is in a tough spot because he's been kept so innocent all these years. He grew up with no idea about any potential conflicts between what the State was supposed to be about, and what it is actually about.

Those are very good questions indeed! Almost everyone has sat by in sort of a daze and allowed Deadnus to get away with a lot...would they allow for Dani to be hurt as well? 🤔 As for Vincent, remember he is up to something else the night of the Summit. It was discussed back in the chapter when Dani spied on his conversation with Maratoni. It appears nobody really understood how dangerous the Summit would actually be.

It's hard to like her! Thank you for reading 😊

Yes, he would have 💙 Absolutely, it did just that. But obviously it wasn't dangerous enough for Deadnus...

Yep! That's a solid prediction 😬

18. THE SPECIALS SUMMIT Part I “I’m just so…painfully average,” I remembered complaining to Vinicius once upon a time. It was one of those days where everything I was doing seemed to be going wrong and I thought that maybe he had made a mistake in creating me, and that I’d never live up to all of my potential. “And you believe those who do great things should be…special?” He asked looking up at me, as he carefully watered one of his indoor plants. His kind voice was curious

Just going back over this comment because I didn't do it justice last time as I was out on pain meds after a dental procedure. But it's a great comment that deserves more attention. There's a lot to unpack here! Yes, he has never experienced being human and hasn't had prolonged contact with humans either. And despite being trained by one of the most talented vampires, and having one of the best gifts, he is very self-conscious. LOL, I'm not going to give away any spoilers, so I'll just leave it at that. Cracked me up! You did, you were the first one! 👏🏼. And indeed, it seems we have an answer for the reasons behind the sessions with Nurse Mildred. There is a childlike quality to his character for sure, and it is partly due to how sheltered he grew up. Vincent and Demetrius had to get savvy from the get-go, while Dani has had a quite privileged life up until Vinicius' death. Indeed, that wouldn't make any sense. Preach 🙌🏼

Yes, I see what you mean! Very good prediction.

Yes, Vinicius most definitely had a rationale behind how he chose to mentor Dani. Just to clarify, in case I wasn't clear in the story, Arani Deadnus is a vampire. She's the head of the vampire "police" force.

Very good questions indeed! You've raised some valid criticism regarding Dani.