Celian

The next morning, a doctor entered Dante's room and introduced herself as Doc Mayton. Under her arm she carried his medical file, which she leafed through while the nurse who had accompanied her checked all the equipment. "Well," Doc Mayton then said. "I really didn't expect you to make it." "I'm too stubborn to die young," Dante said defiantly. He wasn't just bored, as a hospital stay probably always was after a while, but confined to the bed like this, he was completely helpless to boot-

Maybe, maybe not But I promise some answers soon...

@centexhairysub all very good questions and concerns.

~Damien~ He was more than just a little taken aback. Admittedly, he wasn’t very knowledgeable about the specifics of other types of mages—aside from the mundane type of mage—but he hadn’t expected anything like this. It even completely overshadowed his unease about having to contact Oliver. Once Atlas and Kellen had left the room, he leaned back and pondered for a moment what the ritual might look like, but then pushed the thought aside, since Atlas would surely explain it himself. I

Highly likely that most could have been prevented, yes. Although we don't know how fucked up Blaise's state of mind truly is, so he might have blown a fuse one way or another 🤷‍♂️ This is not only on Alice. Matthew didn't need to ask a second time when he could clearly see how distraught she was. But I don't think he saw the situation like us, more in the way that he offered help and support, plus knowing this "she will say yes you just need to ask her". There's even the possibility that Armand told him about the money Carolyn keeps safe for him and that that was one more asskicker for him. Let's pray for both...

Dante is medicated and has not much too lose, the worst aka Alice deciding to marry Matthew is happening. But you are right, the pressure of unspoken words blew off some softeners...

A steady beeping. A strange double hiss. Both monotonous in a way that was equally soothing and unnerving. His body felt like it weighed a ton. Or was he floating? Was he lying down? Was he sitting? The sounds were mostly coming from his left, he was sure of that, but otherwise he was completely disoriented. A while later, it occurred to him that this was probably a heart monitor and some kind of breathing apparatus - he was in the hospital. But why didn't he feel anything? Was he

I'm not dealing with those, thank you very much

Of course you don't, but are you - or in this case Alice - aware of this while in such a situation?

The blood had dripped into her dreams. A dream in which Deimos laughingly turned a garden party into a bloodbath, taking a badly injured Dante with him. She screamed, reached out pleadingly- -and awoke with a flinch. A strong heart was beating under her cheek, firm arms were holding her. But she was still stuck in the nightmare. It was Matthew who held her. Matthew, who had been sitting with her for hours in that damn ICU waiting room on a damn uncomfortable bench. While Dante was

He really does love her, since years. It's just that back then, Valentine was moving faster (nudged by his mother, but that's a different topic). He knows what a strong argument her money is, but he is more of the traditional and humble side and looks more at what he himself has to offer or not to offer, and he feels that he is thoroughly lacking in financial and familial means. I mean, his proposal is made properly for this society in the way that he is not asking her to marry him, but he's offering himself.

that's like real life, shit is happening all the time, everywhere. We get another Another Time chapter from Alice soon with some updates. For the last part: keep your fingers crossed!

It wasn't far till home, maybe another ten minutes of driving, and yet Alice stopped the car on the side of the road, her forearms on the steering wheel, her forehead leaning against them. If anyone who knew her saw her like this, there would be a lot of talk, but she didn't care. As it seemed, the papers for Frank's guardianship had come. At least Ma had written something like that. The message had also been the reason why she had decided to leave, even though she had wanted to talk to her

When it's about those two - whether as friends or lovers - I prefer one-shots, to be honest. Those little peeks and moments...

Matt and Valerian spend an evening with their oldest sons.