Lux Apollo

That's a good summation of where David is at. We'll have to see what ends up happening after David resumes a normal office routine. How will that affect their relationship? Or at the very least, David's perceptions?

Jay, I agree David didn't tell Emily about Rain letting it slip, but I'm seeing that as more of an omission to be kind to both Rain and Mike. He wants Mike to feel he was successful with the surprise, and for Rain to stop feeling bad about his faux-pas. In any case, doing the party doesn't make up for not getting in touch with David after the job interview to hear how it went, or come home as promised and that was what David was upset about. I think it was a tactical error by Mike not to tell David about the party, because then he would not have expected them to go out and celebrate in the evening, and he would have been less upset and drunk, but he would still have felt ignored and disrespected and that was what he was talking to her about. Actually, Tim, David's omission about when he found out that Mike had planned the party has nothing to do with thoughts about either Rain or Mike... it was just one of those 'I'm emotional right now and not articulating well' moments where things get left out because you aren't speaking at length and the person you are talking with pushes the conversation forward with their interjections before you can get to it. I definitely agree, though, that doing the party as a surprise was a blunder given how things have been between themselves. It did Mike no favours in terms of duct-tape reinforcing the weak spots in their relationship.

I agree there are ways in which you could interpret what's going on with Mike's actions as 'for show', but I don't think that's the case - remember his reaction after he left Vicky's party? From my perspective it looks like he's just as insecure about their relationship as David is because he knows he's fucking up. They were both in bad emotional states at the end of chapter seven, and in the morning before this chapter starts, Mike is too busy getting the party set up to have the long talk that they need to have. It doesn't mean they won't have it... I'm playing with you guys, a bit, because there are things that happen 'off camera' that I only hint at, or talk about after the fact in vague detail. Thanks for hanging in there, and hopefully the next chapter won't be such an hassle to finish.

It wasn't so much a lie as an uncompleted or poorly articulated thought, actually. David didn't know about the party, not until he was already upset with Mike (though he was managing to keep a lid on it all day). And now in this chapter, he's talking to Emily from a very vulnerable position - he's both physically and emotionally exhausted. Maybe I'm just a weak person, but when I'm upset and vulnerable - especially when I'm upset with myself - it's easy to fuck up saying things properly. I don't know. I guess I'm just writing his reactions in a way that I know. Our characters are all facets of our selves, after all. I just hope I'm keeping things interesting enough that it isn't turning you off from continuing to read!

You've definitely got a lot of insight into my characters. Thanks for the reassurance that I am not just writing a bunch of unreasonable people - or at least writing the character's in a way that casts them in a very poor light. There are a couple people who are getting progressively more and more upset at David in particular, and I am not sure what to do about - or if I even *should* do anything about it. Maybe you are right and the prologue needs to go. I have had mixed feelings about it for a while now. It occurs at a pivotal moment in the plot, somewhere we will get to eventually... Maybe it needs to be restructured. Well, probably, if I am not going to eliminate it entirely. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I look forward to more comments!

The doorbell rang as I buttoned up my shirt. It was a casual but nice with a grey and pink madras plaid pattern. It suited me well, especially with the dark navy jeans I was wearing below. Looking in the mirror at myself, I sighed. I looked just as exhausted as I felt. I wasn’t sure if I had the energy for this party, or for much of anything today. It was my own damn fault, though. I heard Mike answer the door and the familiar sound of greetings from Rain. There was a part of me that felt on

Oh Parker, you are so good. This was so well composed, so many emotions and moments in such a short piece. Loved it!

Intense chapter. Eli better do something good about this, because if he takes Joey's threats... Fuck, you are really goingood to put us through a ringer here aren't you?

Poor Kraig... well, we knew it would be bad, but his description was barely a glimpse into the horrors he experienced. And the contrasting Kraig'so purring with Deke's growling! I love it! And alsothat the gun box combo was Kraig's birthday. How this Ritchie guy was able to disappear on someone like Park is a big mystery/problem. I guess next chapter will be revelatory... Cheers!

Yay! Well, this was probably the best case scenario. You were much nicer to the guys than I expected. Well done with not overpaying things sexually at the end and not making the narrative into melodrama. As good as it is that Jason has forgiven Corey, that doesn't mean they are out of the woods yet. What will the morning bring? Who will truly be the one who is unforgivable, if any of the characters in this story?

Love this family so freaking much! Your writing is so heart-warming. It has such a different and unique feel from other stories of yours that I have read (well they all do) and that is a good thing! So now we have to wonder what happened to Donny. I have a feeling it wasn't Brent. Was Donny in an accident? Did he hurt himself? Did someone else who was up at the mountain go after him? Looking forward to the next installment!

A nice, relaxed chapter... until the end. As always, something to look forward to. Tilly truly is a smart girl. I hope she and Adelin continue to have some role to play as the story moves forward. And Mace and Dane! Cheers!

I hate you (in the best way possible). So... it seems that my thoughts about some things are right. David needs to be very cautious with Donny. He's turning dangerous with the presentation of alcohol. Here we see that his wisdom isn't nearly as mature as people gave him credit - after all David shared with him, he doesn't see that alcohol is a bad idea. He is young and doesn't know what it does to the body and mind. If David fuck Donny, there is going to be repercussions, I think. I hate what David is doing to Twoey, even we can see why. He doesn't like it himself... the worst part of all of it is that he *knows* how he feels. Running away from Danny, acknowledging he has likely created more boxes, consulting Sigmund and Sinclair... his contemplation of having different faces for different friends... It's funny, sometimes, seeing in David some of the things he is doing to himself that I have done to myself at various points in my own life. Maybe the biggest thing to help David would be to talk to someone that can point out to him that a lot of the things he is going through are just *human* experiences, not fucked up ones, and he needs to slow down and chill the fuck out. Yeah, that ain't gonna happen.

Not so much of an epilogue as one hell of a cliffhanger. I'd say I hate you but that would be an absolute lie. Nice work, Dayne. Take a break if you need to, but goddamn you are going to get a lot of flak if you take too long.

He's definitely not easy on himself. Even before Dom really started doing a number on him, I think John suffered from some deep self-confidence issues. How much of his persona is just false bravado? It's more complex than one way or the other, I guess. We all have different parts of ourselves where we are weak and where we are strong, and some weak points we are good at disguising as strong - or at least pretending well enough to survive. No speculating, lol! My lips are sealed!

September 8, 2021 Emma’s such a total bitch sometimes. I know I haven’t been here long, but I’ve had enough meetings with her now that I can say that without reservation. We actually seem to be getting along quite well, overall, but there are these moments where one or the other of us starts getting incredibly pissed off. It’s mostly just clash between Emma’s controlling CEO side and my rebellious streak, but sometimes I feel like she’s mothering me and that gets under my s

Nice chappy. I like how you are building up Devin's insight into the world and giving him a mix of things to feel supported and nervous about. It feels very real. Of course, life isn't all peaches, and Devin's moments thinking about his attackers outside the stadium and then his assaults by Sean and Parker as he is led back in to the lockers...

God, what a mess you are in now David. Disavowing your father? Fuck. For a long time I felt like David's mother was a step-mom or something because of the disconnect, but it turns out he just takes people who hurt him and chucks them into a disassociated box. Sigh. So now we have Donny putting the pressure on David to deepen their relationship, and David is hesitant because of guilt but hormones. I'm glad he had some resistance today, but that isn't going to last very long against an assault like that. Looks like Donny or Twoey or both are in for some major hurting now. David can tell Twoey that he will always love him, but it isn't enough. Twoey is trying to reach out to him now, and David is reluctant to grasp at it because he knows that if he chooses wrong then it's going to wreak even more havoc. Oh look, the adults are all disappearing again! Even more of them! And it seems to be for absentee sister Liz who David suspects is getting married and she can't even bother to tell him let alone invite her siblings to her goddamned wedding!? Despite the coincidence there, that seems pretty far fetched. Would Liz honestly be that much of a bitch? Shouldn't she already feel guilty enough about everything with her brother? Sigh. David's dad only seems like a bigger moron than ever - if his son is a suicide risk, and Keating definitely should have warned dear old daddy that this was the case, why the hell would he be leaving his son alone with only Tommy around for a goddamned week? I know Ginny is there for the first couple days, but dude... To be honest, that's a hella 'convenient' setup for whatever disaster (maybe? probably?) we are heading towards. Well... onwards and upwards, I guess. Nice stuff skinny.

Looks like the first day with Luke there has not gone at all as Jackson planned. Not only was he *not* able to keep one another distanced, but he managed to double down by taking down Tuley's friend and disagreeing with Ally once bitch-mode engaged. Toby and Derek might be civil with Luke, for now, but it seems there's a house of cards being built up right now. Can Luke (and Olivia, too) ingratiate himself into the group on his own, or will it take effort from Jackson too? Ally seems pretty sharp. I'm wondering how long the boys can keep up a charade without getting hurt... One thing is for sure: despite Jackson's optimism in the last chapter, in the light of day reality can be much messier and out of your hands than you think. Jackson needs to find a way to relax or he's going to blow it - in terms of his grades, his swimming, and his relationships with everyone. I liked how you balanced things with little moments of Jackson being a little buoyed, and now also the tensions we see in his internal reactions to Ally and what he has to do. Great work, Krista!

Be still my beating heart... Well, that was a disaster, and pretty much the disaster we all saw coming. Not the sexual assault angle, mind you, but still... the cat is out of the bag with Angie and Brent and this is going to spread like wildfire now. What will the consequences be for Brent and Donny? For Clint? Oh dear. Great job.

Great job with this chapter. The build up of tension through the avoidance and the inevitable crash was son well done. Jason's anguish is palpable. Now the question becomes one of whom is at Jason's door... is it Corey? Past lover? The Italian guy? Zach? Argh! You tease!

Grim, chilling. I don't want to know more (but of course I do!). Ah, another good one. I really like the strength Kraig is showing right now, and the strengthening bond you are showing between Kraig and Deke. It's hard to always have to wait a week for the next bit.

It's been quite the run, indeed. Thank you for sharing your talent and inspiration with us through this wonderful story. Looking forward to seeing more from you, whether it's with these guys or beyond into other stories and other worlds. Cheers!

Oh the feels, they hurt so... Nice chapter.

Nice chapter, Hunter. I'm glad Bryce's attitude might be changing, and I'm also glad that Devin could still feel some safety in Bryce's arms. And Vicente? Continuing to surprise. Looking forward to seeing more of where that goes. it was an overall positive day for Devin. He needs it, and so do the readers sometimes.