Lux Apollo

“Oh my god, you’re here!” Mike and I were glomped into a messy hug, a very tipsy Victoria pulling us out of the doorway and into her foyer. Her Emma Frost costume was… revealing, to say the least. And that cape! Holy shit. But I won’t say anything to her, not right now. I’ll say it when we’re sober and I can enjoy making her squirm, ‘cause chances are I’m going to need some dirt to counter whatever embarrassing moment I have that she’s going to notice tonight. We weren’t horribly late,

Oh Jackson, I seriously thought you might just for once grow a pair and stand up to your friends. Apparently Luke shook you up enough to negate that. Keep up the great work, Krista. :-D

A cute, easy flowing chapter. Talk of Christmas plans was a bit of a tease, especially since I'm still really not sure how far in time you are planning on taking this story.

And now the complications of family begin! So much for Kraig to deal with all at once when he really could have used some time to decompress. How much can Kraig handle right now, without feeling completely stifled and overloaded? I hope Deke will be able to give him the reassurance he needs, because this is going to be a long road and we're only just beginning...

A study in contrast and awkwardness. Corey not missing Zach (and especially his roommates) is something we were expecting to see. Despite being snubbed, Corey should be glad that being snubbed is all he's getting from his asshole ex and not a beating. Corey is showing how good of a person he is, hurting because he can't apologize. He has an ability to feel remorse. I'm glad things are moving slow between Corey and Jason. It will be interesting to see how Corey deals with (or not) his deep seated anger at his father and how it colours his relationship with Jason going forward. Whether friends or more, Corey needs to come to terms with that part of his psyche if any friendship or more is to develop in any stable way. Ah, but this is a story so there will be plenty of bumps in the road to keep us on our toes, won't there? No road in this world is truly straight, and nor any meaningful relationship truly straightforward and simple.

Aaaaaah! So good! So much got tied up and worked out, and Mikhail's relationship with Dante's father was totally out of the blue but a wonderful development. The choice to give Daisuke the honourable end (as it were) was also perfect given the development you gave him last chapter. Despite all the grief, it took the gun out of Masahiro's hand. I'll be curious to see what you have for us in the epilogue. I have to say, though, that this story has kept me on my toes. It has not followed the path that I originally saw in my mind after reading the first few chapters. But like all good things, it comes to an end.

Well, everyone hoped Henrik would be stronger than this. I don't know where this is going to head in the immediate term, but I hope Henrik and Ezra don't put each other completely through the ringer in the immediate term. We know this isn't going to be the end of the story in terms of paparrazi and media intrusions into Ezra's life, at least not for a while. What is Ezra willing to do to fight for Henrik? Will Xavier push Henrik in the right direction or the wrong direction? One can only hope...

I'm glad you felt it! Dom really did do a lot of damage. I was in a toxic relationship once (though not nearly this bad, and only for a bit less than a year) and it took me a long time to get over, even after I'd moved on and dated a couple other people. John will definitely be feeling the after effects for a long time to come.

Thanks! I totally connect with the self-doubt. With John and his history, it's easy for me as the author to see how he would judge himself so harshly, but not quite as well for you guys - we have to take his word for it. His doubts will become very interesting as you learn more about how his life has been and what motivates him as the story progresses. (how's that for some breadcrumbs?)

What a relief to have this come. Was looking forward to it for so long. Hopefully Mark's paranoia is just that. He knows some of what Trey's been through, but not everything and it will be interesting to see how you handle that with only a couple chapters left to go!

Sam so evil! Getting Alex on board to force David back into therapy was genius. Sometimes I wish we got to see more of David's dad, because I feel like I'm always missing something. It didn't matter as much before David's accident, but now... I mean, clearly his dad has a major avoidance issue considering all that's happened under his roof, but still... God, it's a bit grating to see Twoey not quite getting how fucked up his relationship with Erik has become. One of your best friends is finally back in school? And you let your bf talk you into *not* being there to support him? God, he's so vulnerable and desperate for love... Oh well, it's an interesting ride anyway. I'm glad he at least brought his mother into the loop about David's head being on the verge of a meltdown.

Some great explanation of Kellar'so ability, highlighting his isolation and confusion about who and what he is, beyond just the wolf. And poor Tobyn, he he knows he's staring down De Nile, but you can't block a river that is a force of nature in and of itself. His wolf will be very unhappy if he doesn't follow his heart

Ethan demonstrates once again he is worthy to be an alpha in his own right. I like that you are reminding us that he still hasn't been part of the Lycan world for long and there is still a learning curve for him - and there will be much more as he and Aiden take on Alpha-designate duties. Hopefully John and Jackie will be around for a while to help them grow into the roles and aren't going to suffer an early fate. We finally get to see the trial of the council cabinet and executives. It was nice that this took a bit of a slower pace allowing us to relax a tad after Ethan's fight while still keeping up the anticipation. The question is, what will happen next? Will the verdict be interrupted? Will Aiden and Ethan be forced to put their trump card on the table for all to see? The Alphas have seen the flames, but they have not seen what the two of them are capable of with the elements in command. And where has JP been in all of this? Hmm... As always, looking forward to your next chapter!

There's a lot more than what's here - I guess it does channel a little too much negativity. For whatever reason this is what came out in the narrative flow as I wrote. I think what I wanted to focus most on was macrostructural arcs in my life. Everything else becomes details and themes hanging from a set of support structures, whether they are solid or not. I read your story about how you met your husband a couple years ago and it really touched me. I appreciated how bare and honest you were about things. It's tough to make yourself vulnerable to an audience like that. One could say something about the anonymity of the internet, but nowadays that's as false as a mainstream American soft drink claiming to be corn-product free. Personally, I'm actually not doing to bad all things considered. I'm still making bad decisions and avoiding things I should be confronting head on, and at times I wish my partner would be a bit harder on me about it. In the end, though, I'm an adult and I need to stand on my own two feet (maybe with a hand on my shoulders). Right now life is just one day at a time, you know? Thanks for the offer, I'll keep it in mind. I'm the type that is more often the shoulder being cried on, so I appreciate.

There once was a boy who grew up first out in the country near a big creek and then in a small town. The boy liked living in the country near the big creek, but he also liked the new bigger house in the small town. The new bigger house in the small town had a bigger back yard with climbing trees and an apple tree and a basement with a toy room that the boy liked. But the boy was not allowed to climb the climbing tree and the apple tree brought wasps to the yard when the apples fell and the boy d

A brief take on my life up until now written in a very stylized idiom inspired by Gertrude Stein.

Devin is so out on a limb, dealing with all these feelings. He fucked up with Alex, there is the looming cloud of Vicente back in the dorm, and then there's this silent treatment from his dad. Bryce, whatever his intentions are, is putting Devin in a bit of a risky place emotionally even if he means well in one way or another. I loved the little talk about moving from going home from university city to a small town compared to going from university city to the big city, or over a distance, and how that can effect feelings about going home. You are capturing really well all the push and pull of these different emotions and realities that come the first year you are away from home and are on your own (to one extent or another). The worst thing for Devin is that it seems he has not built much of a support network, and what he did build at the start of the year has crumbled or become awkward for one reason or another. I'm looking forward to the next chapter, because there are so many different things that could happen to address these different problems (or make them worse), along with adding even more issues in to the mix if you are really mean.

July 18, 2021 I can’t write worth shit. It’s all garbage, everything I’ve been working on for the past year and a half. I don’t need to send this shit away for an evaluation by my publisher to know it. The last two weeks have been even worse when I’ve worked up the energy to try and put pen to paper. I can’t get going, can’t find my muse. I can’t make headway on the old stuff and I have no goddamn inspiration to start something new. I’ve even tried doing a deep read th

Hey, I appreciate you hanging in there so far. No worries if you have to tap out.

Thanks! I'm definitely trying for naturalness in this piece because of the first person perspective. I'm glad you are liking it.

Mike isn't a bad person, definitely not. David wouldn't have survived in a relationship with him for eight years if that was the case. Both of them are guilty of getting tunnel vision sometimes.

Great chapter. So much of the truth is finally coming out into the open for the others to know. And Kye, at the end, made me want to jump up and down and squee. Now the question is how much wrath Ashton and Tareth will be sieged with, if it makes them wreckless, and whether or not they pay a price for it. This will never end until Barrett is dead.

Sometimes we lose ourselves in things and can't see outside of our tunnel vision. Mike had been suffering from that problem lately, and it seems David has been too timid to call him out on it. And like I was saying to skinny, it seems that we can't entirely rely on David's perceptions of what's really going on, either. David notes this, to an extent, when he berates himself after they get into the tub. Mike's behaviour when he gets home was modeled after someone in my own life that has trouble setting aside frustrations at work after coming home. It's something I plan on examining further as the story progresses. The prologue should make more sense when we come back to that moment much further into the story. Maybe it was a bit of an unneeded or confusing hook, but I guess we'll know when we get there and you all let me know what mistakes I'm making.

We always have to remember that things seen through the lens of one individual are just that - their own perception of what is happening. David is human like any other, and has his own set of flaws that will perhaps play as much of a role in how things go as Mike's actions.

So much awesome in this chapter! I love how you had David be with Sam when so much of the stuff in his mind that was buried, that was percolating, all of it came together. David has stepped off the driveway and onto the sidewalk of understanding himself and what has happened. Now that he's starting to admit to himself what is wrong and what is right, it will be interesting to see what direction he chooses to follow down the road. Will he take the driver's seat? Or will he stay on the sidewalk?