Dr. John NYC

NOW, the fun begins... I hope there are no further "gotchas" from the Kardoval, but then again the writer is @Cia. 😜

What can I say but, “Hallelujah!” — and on multiple fronts. The twins are alive, they are Elijah’s and Tyler’s mates, and on a less positive note, life is going to be pretty stressful for awhile. Still, I’m confident E & T will find a way to bring A & A back from their feral state.

I’m very late reaching this chapter and haven’t read all the comments yet, but I’m guessing others may have the same thought: the twins will be mates to Elijah and Tyler. Time will soon tell, but I’m crossing my fingers for it being true! Besides, Becca and Devin would make fantastic in-laws to our boys!

Love the shadow merging/dancing gift, @Aditus! This gift certainly gives new insight into the title of the story and Kavan's (presumed) future profession. It reminds me of the shadow shifters of @kbois and the shadow mages of @astone2292, so it will be interesting to see how parallel the gifts are across the three stories. Of course, the real questions resolve around Konstantin: what are the details of the situations with Mlle. Delacour and with Mother. Somehow, I suspect we are currently missing big chunks of those stories -- big, very important chunks. Looking forward to further enlightenment in the coming chapters! PS: Definitely his brothers.

A bit late to the party, but I hear that the overall cleanup after Ian is going slowly, so I'll say "Thanks, @kbois, for all you are doing to move folks forward.", "Not to worry about delays in this delectable story: sometimes life has to come first, and we will all survive until you can post -- despite the whining and bitching. 😜", and "I'm so glad of Cameron's successful rescue and the phenomenal support system Sebastian, Reilly, et al. have created." Take care of yourself -- and pace yourself! Thoughts and prayers flowing your way.

Has someone else been watching “Below Deck?” I could picture the entire Prologue playing out in my mind, with a mixture of the casts from various episodes and boats. Now to see how the expectations play out — and if Nina will continue to be the b***h she’s displayed so far, or if she will be redeemed by the magic of CJ et al.

Ok, I admit it. Schmalz or not, there were tears in my eyes by the close. I'll attribute it to their choice of wedding song, but in reality it was the anniversary of Loving vs. Virginia that did it. With so many civil rights laws under attack right now from heads of states, parties, and judicial systems, it was encouraging to have that future reminder of one that had lasted -- and the implications that the others survived despite the current opposition. Heartwarming -- thanks, @Carlos Hazday!

Oh, no. I fear that Yakob’s last conversation with Vincent may have been prescient. He’s had an amazing life, but I will miss him, if he did indeed die as I suspect — maybe as much as Vincent. What a wonderful legacy to leave, however! I wonder if Yakob liked to dance? Queen Elizabeth II certainly did, so maybe they can do a Royal Shadow Rumba together. 😉

Major cliffhanger… so many directions things could go, as highlighted by the variety of comments. I don’t necessarily agree that Bouncer’s reaction at the end proves his sentience. He’s already shown himself to be exquisitely sensitive to emotions, especially from Essell. I think his reaction could have simply been his response to Essell’s emotional reaction to the “plan.” Having questioned the interpretation, however, I have to say that I do believe he is sentient—just that we haven’t seen the unequivocal proof yet.

My thoughts mirrored your own, @W_L. I have read a couple of the others, too, and my comments would be similar: worthwhile as a light read but a bit "tropy" at times.

It's been mentioned by others already, but the last few chapters have really impressed me with how much of the daily life of the Weyr has been displayed without it being pedantic. I suspect the action level is going to ramp up soon, but it has been delightful to get a good feel about daily Weyr-life as Kadin and especially Jevikel learn. Superb writing, @Mawgrim!

WOW!! That was the best, most visceral description of threadfall I can ever remember reading… although it has been more than a few decades since I last read the originals. In any case, it was amazing writing, so thanks @Mawgrim!

@kbois May peace be with you and your family as you embrace the passing of your mom. She was blessed to have y’all caring for her, and obviously you were blessed to have her nurturing spirit.

I thought about that option. Elijah certainly seemed somewhat understanding about Caleb, but they already met, didn’t they? If so, could the mate recognition happen upon a subsequent meeting, instead of the first meeting? My other thought was that Tyler & Elijah are going to grow into mates. Stranger things have happened…

Now THAT woke me up. The question probably on everyone’s mind is: who pulled the silver orb trick and what could they have done? My first thought was the Kardoval, but if so, it may have backfired. Between Garjah’s immediate and thorough response showing he’s still the Head of Security (at least by actions) & Ases’ technology neutralizing them, the outcome seems to favor our team. Of course, there’s plenty of room for plots within plots and CIA Twists to take into account. @Cia!!

Now THAT was a start…

There’s always a reason someone puts up with an abuser. At least we know part of Kathy’s reason now: stability for her and her kids. Nic’s putting up with it for Kathy, so they reinforce each other’s reasons for not getting rid of Amos. Maybe that will change…???

So glad Essell has both Garjah & Bouncer to protect & support him. Now, when is Essell going to realize Bouncer IS sentient? …& Garjah, does he already know?

Definitely one of your bigger cliffies, @Cia!

Perfect ending... frustrating but perfect. Both Ridley & Gabe are characters that touched my heart, and I wanted to know more about them. Even the secondary characters were touching -- well, my jury is still out on Matt (not sure how much he is just a douche and how much was Ridley pushing him away). As @weinerdog commented, the tux that no longer fit was a perfect metaphor for Ridley's state of mind. For me, Ridley was coming to grips with the reality that he didn't fit anymore in the skin he had created, but he wasn't sure yet what WAS going to fit. One thing I particularly loved about the story was that there was little angst about his new actions and interactions with Gabe "making him gay" or "dragging him out of the closet" as it would have done in my high school years. Part of what gives me hope is that the characters in this story (like a lot of the current generation of teens and early twenties that I know) seem not to care one way or another about where they fall on the Kinsey Scale. Thanks so much for the stroy, @Krista. It was perfect with a hot beverage on a bitterly cold day in January.

Wow, the plot really thickened into the beginnings of a delicious stew! What a good heart Ben has, and if he thought the townspeople had been nice to him before the Hunter arrived, I expect his integration into the town will seriously ratchet up now. Perhaps Zev or the twins are going to find their mate in Ben.

Schemes within schemes: how delightfully human! 😱

My question, too.

Experiencing prejudice of any kind first hand is the best -- perhaps the only -- way to really understand it. In NYC, there is a campaign going on now that challenges people who think there is no antisemitism to wear a yarmulke for a week and then report back. Don't know of anyone who has done it, but I thought it was a great approach to get people to open their eyes about prejudice.

Now THAT is a friend! My last roommate in grad school and one of my best friends still to date was a straight man who was neutral about gay rights (not unreasonable for Georgia in the late 70's) -- until I came out. Then he became the most awesome Ally that you could imagine, sometimes even standing up against prejudicial/homophobic crap that I had decided to ignore. I could see him doing something like Myles did! He became such a supportive friend that he was the only straight man who was routinely invited to the gay parties. Thanks, Bill, for four decades of friendship and support -- and thanks @Wayne Gray for a delightful tale!