Bill W

This story is a quasi-biblical story that is set in a small rural village in biblical times. It is actually a love story between a human mortal and a heavenly being, and the story is intense with many twists and turns. Although I had my doubts when I first started reading it, I was soon hooked and couldn't put it down until I finished reading all three chapters. I found it a truly enjoyable read and highly recommend it.

What a wonderful and intense ending to this fantastic story. I had a feeling you were going to let Jair become an angel, although I didn't envision what a powerful angel he would become. It's great that you let Epheriel and Eshiel express their love and remain together. It was truly an angelic romance. Well done and a pure pleasure to read.

A love story between an angel and a human. I think that's what is bothering Enoch. He was unable to have that type of relationship when he was human and now it isn't the same, even if he had a relationship with another angel. BTW, Enoch was Noah's grandfather. Thank you for another great chapter.

Thorn, thank you for this intriguing, imaginative, and innovative take on a semi-biblical story. I like Jair and am impressed with his maturity and how he dealt with Joseph, and I'm curious about Epheriel and this phantom 'evil' that seem to have it out for Jair. Great start and I'm glad that I'm backtracking to read the anthology stories I missed when the were first published.

If you enjoy werewolf stories, then you'll want to check this one out. It's well written, contains a romantic relationship, and a lot of drama. It's also only three short chapters long and you should find it a quick read, so it's perfect on multiple levels.

Wayne, I hope you can read this from where you are, but I truly enjoy this fantastic story. Kudos, my friend.

A very powerful chapter. I would have loved to tell Wayne that I felt that way about this chapter.

I wish I'd read this story five years ago so I could have told Wayne he was off to another great start with this story.

The earliest known use of "prude" as a noun was in 1676, in the writing of George Etherege, a diplomat and playwright. The earliest known use of "prude" as a verb was in 1736, in the writing of Richard Savage, a poet and playwright. The word "prude" comes from the French word prudefemme, which means "good woman", so it makes me wonder how it evolved into its current meaning. Prudefemme is the feminine version of prud'homme, which means "good man and true".

Cassie, this story was more hard hitting and dramatic that what I was expecting, and extremely sad. I can only reiterate some of the same things the others have already said, but I have a few questions. If everyone turned on Jack like that for what he did, how are they going to treat Damon and Will, since they're obviously a gay couple? And will any of this get back to Michigan and possibly cause the University to withdraw his track scholarship? Will Jack be able to get back to his house to sneak out his clothes, or get his mom to bring them somewhere that he can pick them up, since he has no money and can't afford more? And if I was Will, I'd be worried about staying with Daman, because I'd be thinking Damon might do something even worse to him if he and Damon have a major fight or disagreement. Now that he's seen Damon's dark side, I'd always have a nagging feeling at the back of my mind that Damon might do something far worse than that with me. There's a lot of disappoint to spread around in the way everyone either took part in what happened or reacted to it, and it does shine a very positive light or offer much hope about a large segment of the population in general.

I'm glad he finally broke up with Alyssa, but he waited far too long. First of all, he should have done it after what happened at the coffee shop when he had Damon and Alyssa meet. Then, he should have done it when Damon came to the house looking for a place to stay. Jack should have also dropped her when she stopped him from going up to Damon and speaking to him as he was resting under the tree at lunchtime. But he finally did it when he had a shot at teaming up with the vixen and possibly getting some nookie. I truly hope that Jack can finally patch things up with Damon.

Cassie, I'm enjoying your story, but Jack is so fucking thick. First of all, when Alyssa didn't heed his warning about bringing up the Bible when he had her meet Damon, he should have realized it wasn't going to work. He would be better off trying to hook up with another girl that wasn't as aggressive and opinionated so he could keep his friendship with Damn. And Jack's father and Claude (Damon's mom's bf) seem to have a lot in common, so if I is Jack smart he'll find a way to get out of that house as quickly as possible. First, by going to college, and as soon as he graduates getting a job far away from there. I'm happy to see that Jack is finally beginning to realize that he not only has a friendship with Damon, but also an attraction to him. And seeing he won't be having any fun with Alyssa if he doesn't dump her, he could still have the option of Damon. Maybe that will eventually work out better.

Yes, a great start, Cassie, and I can't wait to read the next chapter. You've got so many different ways you can go with this and I want to see where it leads. Kudos.

For those of you that enjoy mythology, take a look at this modern story that gives an interesting glimpse at a mythical classical Greek city, He Kalliste, and its relationship with the Pantheon of Greek gods. The story is well-written and an easy read, which I believe you'll enjoy.

As always, Adi, I'm late to the party and just found this story. Being a history lover, I found this modern Greek mythology quite enjoyable and very descriptive. Thank you for sharing this.

A Walter-Mitty-like tale about a young man, Devon, who daydreams to find a sense of fulfillment in his life that seems to be missing, both in his profession and personal life. Because of this, he often seems distracted and unable to verbalize how he feels. By the end of the story, however, he seems to find the fulfillment that he's been seeking.

An interesting story about a young man dealing with an unfulfilling job and a relationship that has become routine and lost some of its luster. Turning to dreams to find that spark that seems to be missing in his life, he often seems distracted and didn't seem to know how to respond to many situations. The students at his school had mockingly made a joke of his last name and seem to laugh at him behind his back, and his relationship seemed to have becine ho-hum. That is until two things happen: his partner goes out of his way to change things and reignite the romance, and a former student returns to thank him for not giving up on him, otherwise he wouldn't have graduated from high school and about to graduate from college. Both things seem to add a new purpose to both his relationship and his professional life. I agree with the others in that the dream sequences were a little confusing at first and you should have done something different to make them standout in some way, whether it was by indenting those sequence or using Italics, but once I realized what those scenes were all about, I was able to enjoy this story. I believe that Devon had also found his Horace Mann moment when Samuel returned to thank him, in that Mann had saud: "Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity." Samuel may have been at least one victory Devon had achieved.

From shrew +‎ -ish. Compare Middle English schrewis, shrewessh, shrewyssh (“wicked, malignant”). For Shakespeare's early modern audience, a shrew, or a shrewish person, was someone who lacked self-control, or who posed a threat to others. Simply put, someone or something in need of taming. The shrew – an unpleasant, ill-tempered woman characterised by scolding, nagging, and aggression – is a comedic, stock character in literature and folklore, both Western and Eastern. The earliest known use of the word "shrewish" was in the Middle English period (1150—1500). The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has evidence of the word from around 1480 in St. James the Great.

Yes, Mac's mom is a nag, and I'm not ready to dismiss Mac's claim that her nagging caused his brother and sister to make decisions to prove their independence, or maybe just to get away from her, and it cost them their lives. Mac isn't about to let that happen to him or Devin, even though Devin was trying to get him to soften his approach to how he deals with his mom. As far as Tom Ouray is concerned, it might have been some of the comments that the boys made when touring the Southern Ute Museum that let him know that they were knowledgeable about Indigenous beliefs and sympathetic concerning how the native peoples been treated by the Spanish, early settlers, and the US government that allowed him to cut them some slack. If you've got someone who's showed signs of understanding about the plight of native people, you don't what to reverse that by making a snide or snarky comment in response to something they've said.

There's a lot to consider and I think Devin and Mac are trying to be their own men and handle the situation on their own. As an aside, I'm not sure either one would get too upset if something happened to Mac's mom - she been getting on their nerves a lot more letting. Not only the time when Mac tried to set her straight and let her know that they weren't about to let her run their lives, but also in watching how she's dealing with them and Mac's dad on this trip. They also know what the evil skinwalker is and how dangerous it could be. They've already faced off with one, and a rather old one at that, if it can be determined by how quickly the body disintegrated into just a pile of bones. I believe they have more confidence in there are two of them and only one evil skinwalker, and I believe they'll call Gramps or Pops if and when they feel they are in over their heads.

I won't argue with you over you characterization of Mac's mom. You pretty much hit the nail on the head and laid out the problems Mac and Devin are going to have in the future. Yes, Mac and Devin can tell the thing watching them is an evil skinwalker, but that's primarily because they know they exist. The evil skinwalker may or may not know that good skinwalkers also exist, unless they've encountered the shaman or his son, or one of Devin's relatives previously. The other thing is that the longer someone has been an evil skinwalker, they not only become more warped, but their appearance becomes more hideous, both in human and animal form, including red, yellow, or totally black eyes in the process. That's why a possible confrontation is still possible, as the evil skinwalker attempts to figure out exactly what it's sensing about Mac and Devin. I hope that helps a little.

I've know a couple of the "princess" types, but why others turn out that way is beyond me. Maybe it's from watching their mother, grandmother, or an aunt. They definitely need a husband who's submissive, otherwise the marriage is likely to end up in a divorce.

That's all very interesting information and I'm glad you shared it with us. That's an interesting idea, calling them First Immigrants. I think the collective tribes are trying to get away from use of the term Native American, since they feel the use of the word 'native' elicits the idea of savages, so now most prefer using the term 'indigenous'.

Thanks, Danilo, and as I told drsawzall, I believe they'll tell all out what happened once they meet up with him for the trip to the Ozark cave. The boys are aware of the evil skinwalker, but right now it's just observing them and doesn't seem to be a threat, so they seem to be willing to hold off for now.

I'm sure they'll tell Gramps all about this when they get back. When Dad starts taking better care of himself, I believe Mom may let up, but until then, I don't think that either one of them will change.