Krista

If it fits within the context of the story and characters, then you're only writing the story you want to write. When readers start dictating where and what your story is, then it is no longer your work and it most likely will not be finished. Earlier in my writing, I let readers dictate what they liked... and that sort of writing nearly drove me to quit completely. To a point, if you want your story to be a lesson for living, as there are movies/films, novels, and such that do that. Then yeah, you are a bit morally obligated to tell a certain story. If you are writing a story that you want to tell, but not put yourself on any soapbox, then no. You owe the readers no such thing. You can't stay within everyone's comfort zones, there is just no way to realistically do that. One of my favorite published YA authors second novel in a series felt like a Social/Political statement, with a little fiction mixed in. To me, that is far worse than characters that live outside of some people's comfort zones. It would have been fine. as well, if her first novel went along those lines, but it didn't. She lost the entertainment factor and what entertainment she put in it (so far, I haven't finished the book) has been pointless. So if you're writing what you want to write... then I wouldn't worry too much.

Happy Birthday!

Well.. you wanted a response.. lol. That was the only one I could give you. Haha. I guess you can rest assured that I don't have that many evil intentions for my characters with this story.

You'll have to wait and see.

Happy Birthday!

Yes, I liked all the characters with substantial screen time. It was a very low-key well done film that I think I am appreciating more after a bit of time after watching it. Being 17 is another one, although I thought it moved a bit slow. Those being the two more recent films that I watched. I'd definitely recommend both though.

Thanks for reading! Yeah, a nice little high, and some really unfortunate lows for more than just Jackson this chapter. Toby's small story line was planned from the beginning, I just hadn't really thought of a way to incorporate it into the story until now.. especially after all the "Christmas," talking that went on in the last chapter or so. It just made sense that something like that could happen. The ending came on the fly as I was writing.. I kept thinking, 'this could be the spot where...' well you know what happened.. lol. So I just hope everything flowed and went nicely, made sense to the story, and cleared up a few things, introduced a few things, etc. It was definitely a roller coaster to write, hopefully the next one won't be as bad for the digestion. lol. Thanks for reading! Yeah, I could only imagine reviewing last night's surveillance and seeing that... then having to handle it. Not a place I'd ever want to be, for sure. Toby is a really nice guy and yeah, he does deserve a better mother. We'll also see what Ally does with her new information/realization. I think it was definitely a shock to her system, maybe someone will calm her down before she makes it all worse for Jackson and especially Luke.. who has some very valid fears at this stage, I think. Jackson has the great Mom because he finally decided to meet both his parents half-way instead of going completely against them. He realized, that they were right in a lot of ways.. and the parents, Mom especially, thought that some of what he was doing was okay as well. It just shows that the relationship of Parent and Child isn't a one way street.. of.. Parents are always right.. and Children aren't.. that whole.. "You are supposed to be seen and not heard," idea comes to mind. Thanks for reading! Just for you Benji, I will write the next chapter.. then date it to publish when the next Eclipse happens. His life took a turn fast, but maybe not all of it will be bad? In a way, he is now out to what ever he is, to his Coach, out to all of his friends, and closer than ever to his parents. That can be a very good support system in place for the most part. Then with Heather and Ally, he will know where they stand and there won't be the secrets between them causing everyone to strain and censor themselves to keep it. Jackson has also always took that stance of, "I'm not gay, I don't know.." I think it is still realistic for people to be on the fence with their sexuality, no matter what they've done or who they're currently with. So he may not know himself. He talked to his mother about that a couple of chapters ago. I hope to manage that aspect of his character in a realistic and good to the story way. I don't think I'll get a chapter out before, 'Neptune Opposition,' day, but it could be a goal to set? Thanks for doing the research and attempting to put me on a deadline, lol! Thanks for reading! Luke did take a risk. I'm glad you liked their interactions, I'm definitely taking my time with their growth as a couple, I think the story needs it to go slowly? I also didn't want their first time to happen in a locker room.. lol. Their awkwardness about kissing and sex, I hope I'm not the only one, but I find it endearing to both of them. They're both learning at the same speed with one another... neither of them more practiced/experienced than the other. They're equal. The story, I feel, needed a kick in its butt to move things along. Some things happened that were bad on the surface for sure, but there could be a silver lining, like you said. It is up to me, but it is up to what is best for the story as well... hopefully I can find that before I start on the next chapter.. lol. Thanks for reading! I'm glad you think it is consistent with growing pains and teenage angst. The characters are still feeling things out and it all won't be easy, clean, or good. Growing pains is a good word for what Jackson is going through. He's changing this year, his senior year, and it has been a quick one. One that he didn't really see coming and fell into anyway. Toby's relationship with his mother... you'll just have to wait and see what happens with that. It does seem like Jackson has the only sane mother in town, but I assure you there are good mothers besides her living there... lol. I just haven't really talked about them much. I'm happy you think the ole Coach handled himself well during that whole thing. I am in love with Jackson's relationship with his mother as well. Thanks for reading! Poor Toby is right. I was struggling with when and where to introduce this conflict for his character and the Holiday season of winter/christmas seemed like the best place for it. Their relationship will definitely highlight something for the story's end, if I can pull it off. Thanks for reading! I'm loving your insight on Ally and Jackson's confrontation and their relationship as a whole. It made a lot of sense to me and lessened some of my worry that maybe I had rushed the interaction or made it clunky or goofed entirely. It was a difficult chapter for me to write, managing all those characters, their interactions, and for some, their own stories like Toby. I like seeing Jackson as good friend. He may have totally shied away from Toby's pain earlier in the story and focused on himself. So definitely some growth there with him, it would be so hard to be in that situation, I'd feel helpless, there's nothing you can really do there. Jackson's Mom... oh, you saw that. *whistles innocently* Good question. We are getting a one sided view of Ally, they haven't had very many positive interactions for us to really know how she will respond to this.. or if she is who we think she is. I think it will be fun to write Ally a bit in the next coming chapters.

The acting was really good. The one Teacher, both leads, and the headmaster were really well portrayed and done. It is definitely worth the watch. Gay films are either so unsteady acting wise, fall into so many cliche' and stereotypes, move either too fast or way too slow, or end in a death/tragedy. It was nice watching a film where none of that happened, you're left with something good.

“Shit, I better hit the road, I scheduled the pool for tonight,” I sent after pulling my eyes away from the tiny screen for the first time in hours. I wasn’t running on a whole lot of sleep, Luke and I had talked away the entire night and most of the next day. He still had to hang out with Cindy some during the day and meet with his teacher. Being grounded and Cindy not knowing that Luke had a brand new toy, allowed him more time to text than he probably would have if Cindy hadn’t started holdin

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

No, I don't use anything like that - although, I do find it interesting how theories and such are created based on star, planet, birth month.. etc. is concerned.

I saw that short, then I watched the Elders React version. Very sweet short film. The reactions was very nice as well, since they're from a varied spectrum of people who grew up in a, "we know it happened, but we didn't see it or talk about it," generation. I wouldn't mind seeing an animated full feature film within this genre/style for sure.

Happy Birthday!

Aww, thanks for liking this story. It is one of my earlier Anthology works.

Happy Birthday, Renee!

I think it looks visually nice, but I'm not sure if it will be on par with Dragonage as far as story-line and characterization goes... and that's why I play what little video games I do play. But yeah, can't say much wrong about the visuals, the landscapes and open-world look pretty.

Thank you for reading! This was my first attempt at the, "Anthologies," as a new author on GA when I first joined. So I'm glad you liked it.

Glad you enjoyed the story!

Thank you for reading. I'm glad you enjoyed the story.

Happy Birthday LBO!

No, I have thought about a sequel, but I'm kind of leaning towards a no as far as that goes. I will definitely have to re-read it before I would commit to any more work on this story it has been awhile and my mind is full of TBY.. lol. I'm glad you liked the story and characters. It may help me out if you explained/listed or expanded on the issues you thought needed a bit more closure would be nice. Maybe it will inspire me to do a few short stories since you have a fresher perspective on it right now. Thanks!

Ah, I like Christian. I wrote it around the same time as Corey's story. (I had a thing for C names back then, I think... mercy) so it isn't too bad. As far as SU and GGFL they would need more than a heavy editing, they could do with a complete re-write.. lol.

Thanks for enjoying the story! I think the worst for them is over... they handled the worst from Cj - outing them to everyone. All the friends knew, and Dad stepped up to the plate and defended Corey. So I think there would only be minor bumps in the road for them as they went along and got into college and such. Aww thank you for reading! I'm glad you enjoyed the story. It is still one of my favorites as the writer. Oh goodness. Be kind if you read Something Unexpected and Good Guys Finish Last.. lol.. they were my first stories, I wrote them whilst still in high school and they're rough.. rough.. rough.. I wanted to keep them available for reading just because they were the two stories that got me started. I hope I've grown considerably since those two stories came about, but I'm not completely ashamed of them either. lol. I'm glad you like my writing and enjoy reading my stories.

Happy Birthday!