Former Member

Two: male and female. Unless you’re not telling us something… ;–) That was an attempt to refer to his genetic contributory fluids in a more discreet [I always have to look the spelling up to make sure I get the right homonym!] manner. They are advanced enough to realize which factors are involved in pregnancy, aren’t they? (There is a story of a very under-educated married couple in the US who didn’t understand why they couldn’t have children even after they’d been literally sleeping together for a year. Their poor doctor had to explain how sex works because their parents neglected to inform them of the facts of life.)

If it turns out that N’than is not the last of his people, would he feel an obligation to continue his species? In such a situation, how many children is the right number? Keep going until you have at least one of each? As many as you can produce? Is merely providing your DNA enough? ;–)

I look forward to reading more Comments from you, Jack! It’s always a good thing to hear more perspectives. Wayne is guilty of many things, but I wouldn’t count this as particularly egregious. ;–)

I’m surprised the story ended so quickly, but that does leave the possibility for future ‘updates.’ Being the (apparent) last of his people could be something explored in a sequel. His relationship to Qa’s people begs to be explained as well… ;–)

…Or at least a toe or two. Someone more vicious than N’than and Qa would have left him his limbs, but ‘emasculated’ him. He’d still be able to be a soldier… ;–)

I’d bet CA1¢ (all I can afford) that it’d be Nicola or Jo. Robbie hasn’t seen the Retired Social Worker™ since that fateful night. Robbie would ignore anything Donnie & Susie said about the guys he dates. Daniel is a little inexperienced and naïve about dating. Rory is too besotted with Conner’s sister to notice that sort of thing. And Robbie would just think Alex was being jealous. Jamie is another voice of reason that Robbie listens to, but he’s been MIA for quite a while (in the hospital again?).

Nathan stole the Swear Jar money‽‽‽

So I figured out how to change my iPhone’s voice. Now it almost sounds like C3PO is inside my phone! ;–)

I would have expected Bailey’s app to say ‘question mark’ to indicate that a question was being asked. While kind of clunky, wouldn’t it be more useful than the potential ambiguity of no indication at all? Checking on MacOS just now, my last question has minor, but noticeable inflection to indicate it’s a question. And using my iPhone, the (female)Siri voice is slightly clearer (but I can’t figure out how to switch a male voice, preferably with a British accent). I know that MacOS has long had text-to-speech (and limited speech-to-text) abilities as part of Accessibility (and the separate Dictation & Speech) Preferences. I’ve only used it rarely, to amuse myself. iOS has similar capabilities in Settings>Accessibility>Spoken Content (not a surprise since they share core code). Apple’s technologies process things on the device itself rather than ‘phoning home’ the way Alexa, Google, Samsung, and other voice activated systems do to interpret what you’re saying.

I wouldn’t know about that. I’m too busy being overwhelmed to notice what’s going on around me. My best friend cannot understand why I’m “not panicking” because he doesn’t recognize my lack of action as being a form of panic. ;–)

I don’t recall anything in @Mike Arram’s stories that indicates the Alps. Those two articles locate Ruthenia further east than I would have thought. But I never read The Prisoner of Zenda.

In the Golden Portifor we return to Ruritania (later known as Rothenia), but hundreds of years before Henry Atwood’s time. If you’ve read other stories in the Crown of Tassilo or Peacher series, you might recognize locations, relatives (especially repeated family names), and hints of things to come. But it isn’t necessary to have read any of the other stories to enjoy this one. There is warfare in the era when guns were beginning to supplant swords, but hadn’t replaced them completely since reloading took so much time. There is a struggle between Christendom and the Muslim world. Because this is Ruritania, magical things also occur. What makes this story so special is the cast of characters. Many are deeply flawed. Some have very unique talents. But you’ll love how they interact, change, and grow!

Since the Elphbergs spoke German and the Rothenians spoke a Slavic language, I always imagined it was somewhere around Slovakia. Too much further to the southeast and the Turks would have occupied it. But since the Bavarians marched across the border, maybe the Czech Republic is more likely. Maps.app couldn’t locate either Strelsau or Strelzen. ;–)

I’m going to need to remember that description. ;–)

It will take a long time to heal that breach. The savagery of the execution nullified the effects of the marriage between the two houses. Henry’s banishment of Serge from his court has robbed him of a moderating, intellectual, and progressive council that he desperately needs. It’s clear that the Elphbergs do not understand their Mittenheim province.

Maria gave up a large part of her power when she surrendered the broach. Will Willi be able to return the broach to his mother so she can escape from her imprisonment? Now that Wilchin has done his job of distracting Maria and Dudley, and Boro has gotten away, what will Karl do?

So this is the calm before the storm. All the players are being lined up and readied. Interestingly, this time Serge is off in a protected space while Willi is deep in the coming battlefield, reversing the earlier situation. ;–)

I have a feeling that very few of your readers were aware of that connection until you told us. I know it was a complete shock to me! It was kind of like the mental map I had drawn was suddenly smaller and more complete because pieces I never thought were related, rotated into place! The problem for me is that I first read these stories many, many years ago (on a different site) and had multiple maps in my head that I never tried to connect.

While most are running around like chickens with their heads cut off (‘flight’), another large group is pedantically arguing about trivial, procedural, or tangental things (‘fight’). I have shut down and am panicking in the far less commonly known third mode: ‘freeze.’ @Wayne Gray, the calm, sure, and steady medical guy is invaluable in making sure what needs to happen is done. ;–)

I agree it's a shame Robbie and Daniel can't be together. Or can they. Daniel could be Bi or closeted Gay due to Don's homophobe influence. The fact that Daniel asked Robbie to go on the date with him shows his love and respect for his adopted brother. Maybe as much as Daniel tried being with the girl just didn't stir his juices the way he imagined it would. Nathan is too gayishly flamboyant with an agenda that really has no room for Robbie and Conner is just a big lug with a good heart but little sensitivity. So discouraging that the story has no ending yet. It's been on going for almost 5 years. I love it but it needs an end. Stopping and starting breaks the continuity. I read the first 134 chapters in the fall of 2019 and then a drip and now another. I so want to know all this boys are well and safe and happy with their lovers.

What a horrible shock to have Barkozy pop up in the last section! More nastiness, I’m sure. And poor Boro has no idea he should be wary…

Clever Ando! Pretending he and his men were Bavarian in order to infiltrate their troops. And a lucky happenstance with the dispatches! ;–) Mehmed helped Serge figure out how to catch up with the treasonous Dudley. Without actually knowing the geography, Mehmed prompted Serge in a way that got him to think things through logically to decide Dudley’s likely route. Combined, Mehmed and Serge are a formidable team – too bad they’ll eventually return to being enemies, albeit enemies who highly respect each other and each other’s strengths and talents. ;–)

How do you dry out the paste enough to make Nutella crumbs? ;–)

Lots of innuendo and jokes about heteroflexible Sailors and Marines, not just about Cabin Boys. ;–)