Just a Little Magic Ch. 14

NOW, THIS IS A STORY...AN EPIC STORY...I am SSSOOO happy to have this come about...

And, now Pete can get on with his life, HIS MAGICAL LIFE, with Sophie, while being guided by Ann, Eileen, Rodney...people who are good, and will teach him!!

Five Stars!!🌌🌌🌌🌌🌌🌋🌋🌋🌋🌋

I laughed when I saw the morse code. Speak 'friend' and enter, eh?

I have to say. I did not see this twist coming.

Love the story, and the method it was delivered. I'd imagine you are fairly close to the ending at this point. Best thing I can hope for at this point, other then another huge plot twist where the people helping him remove the spells turn on him....his father showing up and doing something wild, but we definitely need some sort of closure about Janine and her mother. It's a hard pass if you just discard the antagonists at the end of the story!

Hey AE, I bet they tapered them in the neck where the coat is partially open…right? <hint><hint> <nudge><nudge> 😉

I really wish I could do justice with comments but I think I lack the ability on this one. The entire story was more than I could have hoped for and was so damn impressive.

You should be one majorly proud author.

J.D.

Re: Kvalentine

Umm ... they were coming from Atlanta?

Nah ... I got nothing. You're right; I forgot what month it was.

What a plot twist!

I do have a small realism/immersion gripe. The altercation with Lillian and Janine at Aunt Anna's takes place in Canada during the middle of January. The altercation ends with both being tasered. Janine is described as being tiny, and Lillian seems to be about average in size for a woman, and certainly not fat. I can't imagine either going around outside in the cold without a decent coat (especially since Janine is first introduced wearing a coat). For any who don't know, tasers work by projecting a metal diode into the muscle, through which an electrical pulse is delivered. If the diode doesn't penetrate the skin, there is no effect. Thick clothing like coats, wearing multiple layers, or tough fabrics like leather and denim are all known to stop tasers under many circumstances.

This being said, I understand why you chose tasering them. Killing them wouldn't have fit the feel of the story, and other options, such as subduing them with magic, could easily prove unnecessarily complicated.

Well...I'm conflicted partly with where we stand at this point.

I'm glad it appears Janine and Lillian are out of the way, but I question why Anna/Eileen/Rodney are not more transparent with what's going to happen to them. If he's "on trial," although he obviously didn't bewitch himself, then why doesn't he deserve to know what's going to happen to them? I concede you did a great job at clouding Anna's/Eilleen's involvement until now (although you foreshadowed their return and possible intervention), and that was a slick move, although perhaps it could have been in part from not talking about them much. I'm certainly glad Sophie's the real deal AND sticking around despite all these revelations. Sammy came through like a true friend...but it seems just as sad (or even a bit pathetic) that two guys styling themselves at Batman and Robin never rose to the intellectual level of either (even both of them put together). I suppose that's backhanded comedy at its finest, and this is the first set of friends/characters that even aren't the equals of some of your best characters from standout stories like Ljudevit, Borna, nor even the guy banished to the distant planets where Westrons was set; what we've got are two slightly different versions of Barney Fife, except what happens to them isn't that funny. I can see Sophie as Themis from Westrons, and I sincerely believe that unless you throw us some major curve balls with the ladies (I don't think you will), that Mirella will actually understand and try to stick with him, as she did see part of the real "him" when he defended her and saved her from being taken advantage of by that photographer. I also see Irene sticking by him, because her message was sincerely asking how she could help. I would think Tamara would REALLY stick to him, because she was so deeply hurt by her husband's betrayal, and would be the most likely to understand how Janine and Lillian used him. This is a remarkable opportunity to even turn around Kavia, who from her text was clueless...but what about this would rock her world? That someone else used HIM to use HER to try to claim her as a trophy...when that is precisely what Kavia started trying to do with Peter, then backed off the second time, and eased off more the third time. I frankly at first couldn't have given a tinker's damn about her, but now I see her needing some authentic redemption too via such an attitude adjustment. It makes me think if you're not going to use all these women to enact a stunning reversal, where instead of them all flying off into an incandescent rage, that they rally to help Peter in their own ways and stick together as a larger group of friends, despite their disparate cultures and long distances. There's a huge opportunity there--which could provide more fertile ground for continuing to explore this--and not necessarily in a huge, sexual way.

I'm also debating how Anna/Eilleen/Rodney really fit into all this. While I'd like to think they're really helping Peter now, it could be a setup where Lillian and Janine were indeed pawns so they could move in to win his trust and do something different. That would be the mother of all twists, although I don't think you'd have it so convoluted since your style seems consistent with hiding a few critical pieces, but largely resolving matters positively for most involved. Kind of reminds me of how Dr. Who went from Eccleston to Capaldi: lots of good content, some people died unexpectedly....but most were saved and lived.

I'm hoping this goes a little longer and that you stick to largely resolving most of the threads in a satisfactory manner, akin to Westrons. Most definitely a 5, although you did stick us with another "cliffhanger" of sorts, while getting some answers but almost leaving Peter in a suspended, uncertain fate despite him not doing anything wrong and really getting the short end without having much of a clue.

Glad to have some explanation for how he could believe the guff they’ve been pushing.

Would like to see some clue as to what J&L intended to do with the first baby being born at o months when he still had 4 more victims to impregnate.

After just skimming the previous few chapters, I'm back to being hooked. Can't wait to see where it goes.