Celian

Oh but Tom is pro-consent! We get his story and background only in bits and pieces and definitely later than now, but the free him would have never touched a slave. What he did with Dante means, his reasons to do so are stronger than his believe in consent. Ah and Alice, oh yes. She has a strong and fierce side (Carolyn's daughter, huh) but her life is mostly marked by long depressed times. Those kind of happy, joyful outbursts are rare. (We don't get to see them all as kids, but let me tell you, Alice was more of a tomboy. If Dante would have been in that mix, he and Anthony would have been either BFFs or the worst enemies.)

"Hey, Remy!" Remy, who had just placed two fresh carafes of water in the girls' living room and was already halfway on leaving, turned back around. "Yes?" Sarah, sitting at the table with Keira going over what looked like the beginner's folder, waved him over. Joy and Claire sat together on the couch, with Joy holding a laptop on her lap, and didn't dignify him with a glance. They'd been discussing things in their shared field of study- Industrial Architecture- in a decidedly seri

As mentioned in a comment before, I'm a divorce child and although back than no one would have thought of therapy, we - as in my father, siblings and me - did have a mediated talk after it spiraled down for years. Just one afternoon, but it helped already a lot to reflect. And seeing how Damian appears to have stabilized somewhat in his moods, a real therapist might feel forced to him and doesn't help at all. Anyway, @Robert Hugill will give Ludo the right reasons to send or not send Damian to therapy

Tom might be a firstclass asshole and did some shit, but he still went through some shit as well. What exactly do you mean with Frank?

The Abbermills had invited. And when the Abbermills invited, it turned into a lavish party. Alice didn't care one bit. There was still time before the big barbecue, and until then the children played a mixture of tag and hide-and-seek, with the older ones eager to use the game to secretly make out somewhere. If she was honest, she had no idea whose turn it was to search, but it didn't really matter. She ran across the courtyard, accompanied by the happy chatter and laughter of the adults, and da

You speak a true word on that. Break what little personal strength Remy build over the years and then wiggle his way into the shards to take roots once more. Is it that? Is he sincere? If he is lying and/or dishonest in general- how far will he go to get Remy back?

Nope, Remy spent really just few weeks with her and more than using him as living toy and presenting him in sexy shows she didn't do. Which is bad enough, but for our poor boy nothing new. Seeing her die in such a way was the worst. (And, well, let Belinda have her fun with him.) Nice imagine. Really, I like it. Would solve us a lot of problems for the future. I dare say trust your instincts...

Oh? I love theories!

Keep that title in mind Winter is coming and they are often long and dark... Or it's just her interpretation of what a good mistress should do. Anyway, their relationship is taking an easy note and that's for sure something positive. Frank is met with expectations for him all day every day. And Dante just takes him as he is. Doesn't treat him like a kid. Everyone would feel more comfortable around someone who takes you for what you are. We will hear later one more about Victor, but seriously, aren't you afraid those two could hit it off and become an even worse power-couple? *shudder* Nothing this farming community would need, if you ask me... If we believe Tom he cares brotherly for Frank- and I see no reason not to- than his encouragement might be sincere, but clumsy. A "subtle" hint that liking women is not a must. After all those years of dealing with Frank as "grown kid" he might find it difficult to deal with this changes now all of a sudden. And, okay, Tom is a real dick, but do you think he's THAT stupid and ignorant or arrogant to invite Dante for a playtime like this?

Sometimes I get this feeling too. Carolyn is too much preoccupied with keeping the farm running- a lot of lifes depend on it generating money. Blaise might live in the easy-going north, but he is still dependent on Carolyn and for sure doesn't want to risk losing everything. Sarah is too much of a dreamer and Britney... oh well. She's doing her part, but she loves money and is egoistic and you've seen it. Dante is a sort of wildcard at the moment and could evolve into different directions. Let's hope so. On the other hand, he would have to be extremely blindsided and stupid not to.

Dante sat on his bed, drinking the bitter herbal tea and admiring his newest possession. It was a strange feeling to hold in his hands a world created by his mistress, characters and destinies designed by her. He put the cup down and read the summary: A princess on a quest for revenge. Five warriors to protect her- and all with their own plans. Six fallen angels stirring up the darkest fears and desires. The kingdom is on the brink, but is this fellowship the death blow or salvation? T

I feel with Arthur on this and love this suggestion of a solution! I'm not an expert on this, but "only ten" is a very adult-thing to say. The hormonal changes from puberty start way earlier than visible changes appear. I don't want to jinx it, but stress can influence all this- though honestly, let's hope it's not that. Them starting on this, like voice changing (they are old enough for it), would add unwelcome stress on top.

We don't know how much Emmett adjusted the menu parts, what he might have requested or added. But he definitley seems to have picked up on Finley's love for peaches... @Danners as always, I just love everything about your comment! ❤️ Guess we should keep our fingers crossed for when Finley reveals Emmett as centerpiece of his hoard. With Emmett's experiences of trying to sell him like an object simply because of his healing abilities this might not go down smoothly.

The dealmaker/dealbreaker for Emmett is most importantly Finley's reaction to what he (Emmett) is.

Nervously tugging on my new coat, I looked up at the shimmering golden windows of the Golden Leaf. A Fae restaurant, built on a Fae hill, of course, and vegan. My stomach growled, whether from hunger or protest was hard to tell. A couple, looking ancient by human standards, slowly climbed the steps, each holding a walking stick with one hand, the other placed in their partner's hand. The sight made me smile wistfully. I would never grow old with anyone, if only because dragons only rea

To be honest, when I wrote those early chapters, the relationship of Alice and Dante was one of the few things fully fleshed out, while I tried to stitch together the plot points, depict the whole situation/family, develop Frank and hoped to get Tom to not look like the archetype of the "he had a shitty childhood" high school bully. So yeah, Alice is fully intentional. The rest might be deeper than I was aware at the time.

You should neither trust Anduin, not his mistress. Claire, as a spoiled girl with the prospect of inheriting big time from her aunt, could go many ways from here. But in comparison to the other girls she does has a position of power and that alone screams trouble (or at least girl fights).

Seeing Anduin sitting relaxed between Cain and Flavius at the table, shoveling scrambled eggs and bacon into himself, thoroughly destroyed Remy's morning peace, even though none of the slaves spoke. That Flavius was already neatly dressed for taking Mistress Ellen for an appointment to Denser's Port made Remy kind of nervous; his cornflakes were unusually tasteless. "What's Claire like?" Flavius asked then into the silence. Remy, but also Marc, winced. He looked to Anduin, who shrugged

Ah, I expected a Hannelore behind! Though my great-aunt would have been mortally offended by a nickname like this. We were only allowed to call her Hanni because we were the kids of her favorite nephew...

Just a question @Robert Hugill, why the name Hansi? It's a male first name and in Germany we don't tend to gender-cross-name kids. Might pass as nickname, but then she would most likely not introduce herself with it.

Admittedly, I was annoyed by Ludo as well. At first. The adult-me, the one with relationship-arguments and breakups, was annoyed. But the teenage-me, who had years of parents fighting, breaking up and divorcing, understands. Because it fucking hurts when a parent "abandons" you in whatever way. It fucking hurts when a parent speaks bad about the other one (it does even now, more than 15 years later). It fucking hurts to hear "oh but they are your parent" - yeah so what? They are hurting me, hurting the parent I love, hurting my siblings. I wondered how my mother was able to stay so calm, to never say a bad word about my father, to keep it all hidden inside, but I guess she knew all this. How it would hurt us. How it would make this torn feeling even worse. And guess what? My father managed to destroy our (his/mine) relationship all by himself. So, taking the position of grown-up Damian here: please continue like this, Ludo. Yes, you are hurt, but Jackie is the mother of your son and your son needs you. Try to stay neutral. It will help Damian the most.

@Danners Reading this, I'm quite sure you'll shed some tears over the course of the story. It's difficult to assess Frank properly and I guess he doesn't even know himself either. He's treated differently on the occasion- he's a simple worker, sometimes his parent's baby, sometimes the free man with duties towards his family and society. @centexhairysub Tom sure is an ass, but he held onto his promise, did nothing Dante didn't want, didn't push for things... For sure he didn't tell Dante about Blaise because of the embarassment, his wounded pride, and the others... most likely put that topic into Tom's responsibility apart from the thought that Dante might already know. In such a close group it's easy to forget a newcomer can't know all the details from day one. Generally speaking, I agree that Frank, next to sexual curiosity, is developing feelings for Dante. But Dante has to tread carefully... And let's hope Alice keeps showing her good heart and doesn't decide in the wrong moment she needs to follow into her mothers' and grandmothers' footsteps...

@Danners Part of your comment gave me goosebumbs. Big part, honestly, cause all those characters will change and develop and evolve - in better and worse ways - but you put the situation down with greatly fitting words (as always). I'm thanking you for your compliment and wait nibbling on a fingernail for your thoughts on further developments ❤️

I totally agree on the first part. And, well, the world is big. While the continent this story takes place is ruled by the belief in the Great Mother, in Arkjon (another continent) they originally believed in a male version of this. After getting in contact, the belief in the Great Mother and Her Daughters got merged with the on of the All-Father and his sons. And there is a religion about "dead desert gods" though there will probably never get more details up. I mean, there are lots of religions in our world too, so who's to say there are not many more in theirs as well? Alice is a well read woman, she for sure does her research before writing

The warm water stung on the burned areas, so much that Dante almost bit his lower lip bloody; the emergency shower, right after Mikey had accidentally dumped the acrid cleanser down his neck, had brought tears to his eyes. He turned off the water and wrapped himself in a towel, then stepped out of the shower, wincing when Frank opened the door briskly. Cold air swirled around his feet. "Oh", Frank made in surprise, but then stepped inside and closed the door. "Does it hurt a lot? It doesn't