Lux Apollo

November 17 2021 Talked to Vange today. No real updates on the lawsuit front, just that she’s got some boots on the ground in California. She was stalling Dom’s lawyers with some fake negotiations that were basically complete refusals of any out of court settlement without explicitly saying that was our position, but the walk down that avenue is likely finished. She applied for an extension on the hearing date and thankfully it got pushed back until just after New Year’s si

Well done, but

You really like writing girls that are pushy and like sending barbs into guys hearts, eh? An interesting development, and a window of opportunity for Chuck now that Sarah has put this idea in his head that he somehow has some obligation to do more for the School.

Great chapter! More of Toni's past, haunting himy, and Marc continuing to try and prove himself. These people need to start being blunt and honest. None of them really seem to see Toni's insecurities, though maybe that is changing now that this little debacle happened. I am curious to see what Marc and his friends discuss in the lobby (if you show us that).

Loved it! I definitely wasn't sure what was going to end up happening at this party, but it turned out to be a positive thing. You really shocked me with Lily and her putting the bug into Toby and Derek's head... Jackson's showing he's stronger and more sure of himself even as he is feeling disconnected from his past. It's definitely a thing, that feeling when you have changed or realized something about yourself and it puts you in a completely different context amongst old friends. I guess then you have to decide how you deal with it. I'm glad Jackson was able to reach through Luke's fear with the help of his buddies. I'm definitely curious to see what the aftermath will be in the morning. :-)

Well, we saw that coming from a mile away. I wonder how Jason will salvage this one?

Awesome as always. Hopefully this time there will be no kidnappings or drugging... what do uncle Radford and Ritch have to say, and what is in those files?

Wow. Clint and Zane's friends really came through with this surprise. The only thing that bothered me is... well, sex without lube. There must have been some blood in the pool after that, and Zane must have a pretty good pain tolerance. A very sweet chapter, with Clint and Zane connecting and Zane doing some listening to his young boyfriend's wisdom. I had a suspicion that you were going to make Clint test for dyscalculia, since this is the most likely cause of his issues. I really do like all these little things you do to make your characters real - to be honest, as much as dyscalculia sucks it really does add a level of cuteness to Clint (in my mind, anyway...). We know Clint, and we know he's not going to let that hold him back from living his life. Despite it perhaps being small potatoes compared to Zane's leg, I think Clint's outlook and approach to his disability will be a beacon for Zane. Now to see what's going to happen with Zane's father... Zane is so fucking black and white sometimes.

Happy-sad that it is finished. Great job skinny!

Nice chapter. Adelin's definitely a strong one, and called the guys on their bullshit exactly as she should. :-)

His self-blaming and whatnot is going to be a hard thing to break himself of. I think it's something that he's been guilty of for most of his life - probably something that started in his childhood. Hmm... when we learn about his parents, maybe we'll get a glimpse into that. I think the good thing is that John does know that his mental health isn't the best. He hasn't talked about it yet, I think, but it will be addressed.

His self-blaming and whatnot is going to be a hard thing to break himself of. I think it's something that he's been guilty of for most of his life - probably something that started in his childhood. Hmm... when we learn about his parents, maybe we'll get a glimpse into that. I think the good thing is that John does know that his mental health isn't the best. He hasn't talked about it yet, I think, but it will be addressed.

Thanks, Gary. I don't think any journey is without setbacks, whether it's when times are good or when times are bad. John has a lot on his plate, for sure. I doubt Xi'an was trying to spiral him into more self-loathing, but breaking him out of his immediate reality for a moment so he could think of the broader future was probably good for him. Unfortunately John chose to ruminate on Dom and what could have been. It's a thought pattern so many of us easily fall into.

November 10 2021 Xi’an asked me to help her improve the teaching resource library today. I’m not sure why she asked me, considering I only started teaching two months ago and I have no formal training beyond the Journalism degree I stumbled through while Dom was locked up. I wasn’t even asked to be a teaching assistant for any of the freshman or sophomore classes that I aced because they had a surplus of graduate students for that job. That was part of the reason my accounts star

This is a wonderful, happy and sweet Hallowe'en tale. Great job!

You've made the absolute whirlwind Alan and Peter are dealing with very real and relatable.

Well fuck... poor Jerry, his instincts were better than Geoff's knowledge. This 'family' just can't seem to catch a break. This can't possibly do much of anything but bad for Jerry's growing issues with sex. At least it seems that Jerry's actions and Gerry's reaction to his presence seems to have spared Gerry going through the same thing or worse. I hope Barry and Clarence get thrown under the bus for this - total assholes to give Jerry LSD without him really knowing what it was and then stop keeping him safe when he was panicking.

Awww... Marc'so getting better about the plotting! Hopefully Warren won't ruin this... As a side note, when Marc goes to talk to Bailey you've started referring to Marc as Toni by accident a few times. It goes back to normal after the scene break.

Cue ominous music...

Ah, resolution. I'm glad it didn't get worse before it got better. Zane's still going to have to deal with the depression that is rooted within him on a fundamental level - Clint may be a shot in the arm, bloodier than blood (thank you Wilco!), but he's not an elixir. But now that Zane can see his support network really is still there and they care maybe it will be easier to make progress. Can't wait to learn what the big reveal is.

I guess things that happened here were kind of inevitable. Zane completely misread his father's reaction to his statement. He expects his friends to just 'read' him, and even though he realizes that they have other things on their mind he just gets resentful that he's not the centre of attention - just like with his father. His line about being brought up too well to let his emotions take control was a clear foreshadowing of the outburst that followed. Poor Clint. He can't possibly know why that came about, but Zane has so much to answer for and if I was Clint I'd be hard pressed to fully forgive him even if I was told why it happened.

It just keeps getting more and more curious... was Henry's bonded soul stolen and not passed on? Is that why Lydia seems ok? Or is it because she's already in shock and despair over what her husband did to their son? Hmm.

Le sigh... (Of the best kind) Very warm, smiling, hot, satisfying. Tobyn just has to be the independent one, eh? Hoping that delaying doesn't turn into something that works against them.

Hmm, I am not sure it's forced oriental ism so much as an attachment to Slavic folk-style melody. Russian nationalism was still a strong influence in 1884/5 when this was composed.

It's not coming to me right now, and to be perfectly frank I haven't listened to nearly as much Wagner as I probably should have... So much of his stuff was too heavy for me back in undergrad (Early Music bias, perhaps?) and I used his personal and political deficits as reason to ignore him as well.