Northerner

Aww, healing all around. The calm before the storm 😇 Moar Matt n Wade, please! I think they deserve a young power couple story one day…

I sometimes had to get up and grind through it in college, I was also a kid for what I thought was the last time. Met some amazing people, did silly things and when the end came I was anxious to become part of the workforce for reals. I didn’t bawl, but steeled myself even though I didn’t have to. I was definitely a kid during undergrad; during grad studies I was something in between. What I didn’t yet fully realize was that the 9-5 grind confines you, boxes you in, more than what the me at the time would have liked. On the other hand, how becoming good at your craft and that when I can act as a sage trusted advisor is more fulfilling than any term paper done ever was. Still, my inner child sometimes needs to come out and play and I miss the wild me. Now, the stage is set for a showdown - tune in next week cause sparks will fly!

Sometimes I miss college life! Stares wistfully at my grown up digs.

Oh, the not brothers brothers are slowly healing. Our esteemed and devious author has to put some spanner in the works lest it’s going too smoothly. Also, hot times at Harvard Square! ¡Me gusta! Thank you Dr Arbour for yet another titillating chapter!

Haha, who knows? I just wanted to posit the WAGs as a counter to the various people involved in TV with Travis. Most would have bitten off more than they can chew when they’re up against the Schluter-Cramptons, but it’s fun to speculate.

Hmm, wonder if it’s Thor who’s behind this Travis harassment as a form of petty revenge? Or Schaefer? Or is it Fab doing something shady because of his connection with the late Marc Sievres? My spider senses don’t tingle because of Poster, but who knows what our esteemed author has in store for us? New college, new enemies 🤣

Wrote Claire, was supposed to write Marie. A Claire romp rampage would be fun though. She becomes hyper sexual after taking the wrong pill - one from Jays, and it’s off to the races. Of course she’s mortified after. Grand scolds her, but Stef finds it hilarious. Still, I like Claire as the upcoming matriarch just fine. She’s solid! The exhilaration of the weekend must have addled my brain. The Weekend by Michael Gray is playing in my head. It’s not period accurate - our family members have to wait until November 2004. Eric Prydz and Annie were charting in September though. I wonder if one of the kids would find success as a bedroom producer/DJ using software like Reason that started coming into its own around this era? Still, I wonder if Stef will take Fab as a protégé of sorts? Within this storyverse anything can happen!

Happy for JJ, dude needs a modicum of stability. Even happier for Will and Travis. Still, the Thorwill shipping is just smoldering so far. Where will this twisting and turning go, and how’s Claire going to be campus queen without some broken boys littering her path? Curious to see where the story ends up. Thanks for an immensely enjoyable read! Will is listening to “Call on Me” by Eric Prydz, original concept by Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk, vocals by Steve Winwood. Claire doesn’t know it, but she’s off to a romp rampage, keeping it classy of course! ”Chewing Gum” by Annie is in heavy rotation on her iPod.

Trouble, just like a cup of tea, likes to simmer for a while. Tensions are rising.

I’m just here for the fireworks. The lies will no longer be meticulously crafted, showing that the spark may be gone in the aftermath. We shall see what our esteemed author has in store for us. Campus hookups may yet be Will’s temporary savior. Thanks @Mark Arbour Your stories bring so much joy in reading!

Thanks for a wonderful chapter! The time of trysts is upon us. George will have to maneuver carefully and stay clear of the minefields ahead!

Awww, JJ! The rudderless pomeranian lion. I almost feel bad for him for a few microseconds.

Aww, JJ… I hope he can take it from romp du jour into a semi-serious direction, but knowing Mr Arbour that may not be in the cards. Do we expect some speed bumps ahead for Will? Hopefully everyone stays awesome, but it’s never that simple.

This is Will’s show and I love it! Adding some JJ, and perhaps Tom, clashing will be a fun read to look forward to. Here’s hoping for some fireworks! Still, I miss the Boston gang a little - wonder what they’re up to?

Oh Visby! Spent many summer days there... Looking forward to see what happens when George reaches Russia!

Poor JJ, ever the drama queen. I hope the meds will help him on the path to sorting out himself, but it’s going to be a bumpy ride ahead. Looking forward to Aunt Kat!

Thank you for sharing the story of the boys! It’s been an enjoyable ride all the way through. I hope you write more in the future.

Good luck out there by the Pacific! As long as there’s Cajun food there’s hope for the soul and palate 🍻

I just wish that the non-sluts like JJ and Wade would get their slut on a little just for variety. Then, hilarity ensues if the more slutty persons like Will and Matt would try to condemn this. Especially the latter did some seriously slutty stuff when he got it on with JP and Stef before getting involved with Wade.

Still happens ocasionally, but that font of PR money has ran out. Since the inception of Iridium, technology moved quickly way beyond very expensive satellite phone calls. That is, provided cellular service is up and running. Sat phones make a nice back-up if there's a disaster. It can be argued that services like Iridium were doomed from the start. Ubiquitous GSM made it stillborn as a mass product, but North America took a little longer to get with the program in that partcular case. Anyways, I just want another new chapter. Meanwhile, there's lots of stuff to read, but I'm addicted.

I think the story is sticking to facts and how things were, if you're looking close at the phone issue. Iridium filed for chapter 11 during the fall of 1999. The business got relaunched, but it is a very niche thing. There are a few reasons why there's no big number of subscribers using sat phones from them, or Inmarsat et al. If I ran a safari operation back then, it might have been tempting to spring for a sat phone. However, even for wealthy private citizens, these technologies weren't even on the horizon unless you sailed across oceans, or climbed Himalaya. There was no gear hype involved. Sat phones were and are relegated to really remote places like Antarctica, the Artic and unpopulated areas of the world. These days most of Africa, and most other populated places in the world are serviced by 3G networks with GSM 2G networks as a fall-back. Even 4G LTE Advanced services are being introduced in what might be considered typical 3rd-world countries. Huge parts of Asia, Africa and South America have totally leapfrogged wired phone service. GSM came to South Africa in 1994, so by the early 2000's it was pretty much in use all over the continent. It's a surprising success story in the world of technology. Since long, you've been able to use a GSM phone all over the world. With later networking standards harmonization, plus the advent of cross-network texting the US which was lagging the rest of the mobile/cell world back then - as well as using weird proprietary cell phone standards, these devices are now truly global. Your average 3G/4G WCDMA/LTE smartphone won't care if you're in Stockholm, Addis Abeba, Brisbane, Osaka, Busan, Chengdu, Vladivistok, Munich, Oahu, Cape Town, Dubai or even St Louis

I'm hoping this will lead to s schism within the Danfields: Poor Beau is not involved, the good people being Nana and assertive Wade who finally uses his inside knowledge about how the wicked gals Elisabeth and Mary-Ellen operate. Evil/assertive Wade then takes his place in the driver's seat with Matt along for the ride. Maybe it's just me, I want more Matt/Wade drama again Not that I dislike the other characters, rather I wish that those two, plus teh incorrigible Stef and Grand need some airtime too.

Once the ME bitch is gone for her prep course in how to behave in old Blighty, poor Alex will spend lots of time grovelling. I wonder if Wade will have to mediate, or if Matt will make JJ and Alex behave?

This latest development made me think about the implications of Will being disturbed by the mercenary attitude of his boyfriend, Wade finally being a little evil and possessive - I like it! The good kid with flawed parents finally descending into the world of less than perfect people; Will could end up being used by Zach... There are storm clouds on the horizon. Then again, Zach - I wonder when and if one of the gay Hayes boys will ever find true happiness? It feels like their lot is to suffer under their own errors. As for Alec and JJ, I read it like Alec could be perfect for JJ, at least until he grows out of the shadow of Will. I have a feeling that some of JJ's motivations and goals are far more complex than those of Will, at least that's a tangent the story could go into.

Coffee strong enough to quietly dissolve any spoon! Like, don't even talk to me before I've had the elixir of life.