Timothy M.

Glad I'm not the only one who has difficulties remembering to use comments rather than reviews.

@Renee Stevens do yo mean story reviews rather than chapter comments with this Or do comments on the chapters count too, since they were reviews before the site update? for all the hard work on this.

Jonne left his home and joined the Guardsmen of Valdemar, partly due to lack of acceptance by his family. His attraction to men turns out to be an advantage when he’s assigned to the handsome Herald-Mage Vanyel Askhevron. His encounter with the dreaded Demon-Slayer prepares Jonne to deal with a minor demon of his past.

An imp from Hell teams up with an angel from Heaven for joint missions in the human world. But there are other forces at work, interfering with the team. Angel and Imp will have to deal with the consequences.

“I understand your family lives close to the Jagged Edges Ravine, Guardsman?” “Yes, Captain,” Jonne replied, keeping his face neutral. “And you’re familiar with the lay of the land along the border?” “Very familiar with the area within ten leagues of the holding, but I’ve roamed several stretches of land further east.” “Has your family been harmed or fled due to the Karsite incursions?” Bandits coming north out of Karse was a common enough occurrence, and mostly dealt with by

Ha, I loved Dean showing all those old f**kers where to shove their stupid opinions. And he did good on providing Alice with a nice step-dad.

Yeah, that's what I thought too, Gary. And I'm pleased Park finally got closer to Ritch.

Of course, I hardly need to say how much I admire and love @AC Benus and his stories. I'm very proud to be the editor of several of them, including the amazing Famous-Barr series. Truly an epic undertaking which has forever captured the spirit of Christmas for me.

@HinderToyBL just posted the third chapter of their new story Cuddlefish, which is another fun-and-hot human-meets-alien story. I warmly recommend it. I usually start my re-read of A to Z just before Andy arrives at the farm, and indulge in all the great stuff after that. There are still hardships but also good times. Definitely one of my favorite stories @Parker Owens I may have to give Catfish a try, even if the subject isn't my cup of tea.

Ohhh. a new chapter to celebrate your joint appearance in Ask an Author. I'd say they're bot doing very well at communicating. At least, on the important stuff. But it will be easier when Pip can speak English. I bet he can persuade Zane to come with him to rescue his friend.

Thanks, Gary. I think you'll like the story and I look forward to reading tim's and your comments on it.

Maybe if we say it enough times, Cynus will take pity on the hungry birds. Thanks, Def. Yeah, it's one of those which can be gainfully read more than once.

Well, I got the wrong poet, so that makes us equal.

thank you, tim. I'm always delighted when my review tempts someone to check out the story. I think you'll be able to relate to Silas Drake You both have the same kind heart and will to prevail.

Thanks, Drewbear I'm glad you liked the review and it made want to read the story again. I hope @Cynus will be pleased, too.

Yeah, Niels W. Gade is much beloved here, but I'm not surprised he's not very well known outside Denmark. Although, when he lived he was famous as Mendelssohn's assistant and as a conductor and composer. His most known piece of music is the Wedding Waltz from the ballet Et Folkesagn - all Danish couples have to dance this waltz at the wedding reception. Including Crown Prince Frederik and his Australian-born wife Mary.

Interesting, because I wasn't sure it was Goethe either. At first I just wrote 'the poet wanted to construct' - but then I saw the mention of Goethe, so I added that name. Thank you for clearing that up. And the name Herr Oluf sparks my memory, and I do believe we read both poems and did the same comparison.

Sorry, I have to correct you on this, AC. It's true that Ask Yggdrasil is the ash tree of life in the Norse mythology, but it's the alder which has caused the mistake with Erlkönig in German. You see Elf King was called Ellekonge in Danish which was a derivative (diminutive?) of Elverkonge from the words Elver = Elf and Konge = King. Now, when the poet Goethe wanted to construct a German word for Elf King, he looked north to Denmark. In order to translate Ellekong, he used a dictionary. First, he looked up Elle and he saw that El = Alder and Ellesump = Alder Swamp. So he naturally concluded Ellekonge should be translated as Alderking or in German Erlkönig, since the tree Alder is called Erle in German. I had this explained to me in high school by my German teacher when we read and heard the poem. And I agree about the music being utterly compelling, even though it made teenagers at the time. I'm sure @ColumbusGuy will enjoy this story too.

I'm not scared of spiders at all, but I've to admit the story freaked me out a bit.

so would you consider making a banner for me, even though I'm a plain author? - and very happy to be so, let me add, but I do feel a bit envious of all the nice headings on other people's profiles.

I guess it's mostly a case of them not progressing when the countries west of the Iron Curtain did, since we also have a nasty history (pink triangles, Alan Turing, etc) - but at least it's now mostly the past. In Denmark, there are only two groups left with archaic attitudes towards gay people: religious conservatives, and immigrants + descendants (mainly Muslims).

There's also another possible explanation which struck me as I wrote my comment for the previous chapter. I've quoted a slightly amended version below. Eastern European and Slavic countries have a long and nasty history of homophobia and violent abuse of gay people. To me that makes them natural bad guys in a gay shifter story.

So many great things have already been said about this chapter it's difficult to add anything new. Especially the part about Kellar and Tobyn being there for each other and for all shifters Each and every day. However, I'll try to express what the title and chapter note also made me feel. The Reversal of Fortune has happened to every character we've met in this story, though of course none greater than Kellar going from an unloved orphan to the potential leader of a whole pack of shifters ready to revere and adore him as their rightful Alpha. And your readers were as surprised as he was. Tobyn's destiny changed from a duty-bound youth who was buckling under expectations and denial, to a self-assured man who follows his path of supporting Kellar with joy and love and a supreme feeling of rightness Each and every day. Adelin and Tilly's fortunes changed from death and a probably barren marriage to being with their earth mates and looking forward to long and fruitful lives. They may eventually have to separate if Logan wants to resurrect Vega, but it won't be caused by the Malaise. Elinor and Denver went from frustration and loss to the prospect of building a new family and seeing shifters prosper once more. Clarence and Logan both experienced a huge reversal of fortune at the arrival of Kellar who by the grace of the earth mother prevented the Vega Alpha from loosing his son and eventually seeing the demise of his pack, and gave the future Alpha new hope and life without pain. Sybil and Arthur - well, their fortunes reversed from the joy of finding their earth mate to the horror of loosing them and now finally back to being together., getting to share their love and zest in life Each and every day. And Sybil saw her seer ability return, too. Warren could be said to have had quite a few reversals of fortune too, but ultimately he was lucky Kellar came into his life and wolfed out on him, even though it lead to him becoming a drug addict at first. And he still has the biggest life change ahead of him. Another human who has had a roller coaster life is Connor. He made the right decision to move north and he changed the fortune of Hugh and himself - and possible all packs in the future when he's set up that secure network. And now we have Fendral finally coming home and Kellar gets the chance to reverse the condition which has him stuck as a wolf - and indeed it was the way it happened as per Tobyn's brilliant idea. Create the connection to copper and reverse the flow. So simple and so obvious, once he said it. And hopefully it will reverse more of those feelings of loss and lack of family which has followed Kellar Each and every day since he was four. Of course, all the members of the Morningstar and Vega packs - indeed all packs have a Reversal of Fortune to be realized due to the arrival of the Savior and the determination of the Earth Mother. The Malaise and prospect of extinction which has haunted them Each and every day for decades are finally brought to a halt and pushed back. And all because Kellar is a healer - oh, he may be savior and alpha too, but he's been a healer almost as long as he's been a wolf, he's had the potential since the day he first saw his aura and shifted to start the amazing tale we're witnessing. Oh, and not to forget: The nasty Reznick hunters finally suffered the long overdue reversal of fortune which rids the world of the disease their clan has perpetuated for decades, or even centuries. Their bigotry and lack of tolerance for people who by nature are slightly different to the majority of humans, are chillingly familiar. I would almost say you seem to be a seer yourself, Gary, with the horrid reports we've heard from certain eastern-European states. There, humans who only want to live in peace, have to hide from cruel hunters and fear for their lives Each and every day. The story of Kellar's parents and other shifters being persecuted and killed by heartless, stupid, fanatical people shows us who the true monsters are. Anyway, I'll get off my soap box and end with another huge cheer for this fantastic story.

Be smart, Robbie, and take advantage of the fact everyone feels protective. You could have asked Sue if Nathan could spend the day with you, and called him your boyfriend. Oh well, there's still time to get it done. I found it worrying though, that Nicola didn't tell him her parents would be OK with Robbie being gay.

It certainly is for those two chapters I mentioned. to both of you for devising a solution.