jkwsquirrel

You sound like Billy! "Don't fucking touch me!" lol Billy was always justified in his mind whenever he disliked someone, so seeing him act like a dick to someone we've grown to like can be irritating. I'm glad you enjoyed the Erie reference. I'm sure he never forgot that day, or sleeping in a bus station! As for Nate, yes, we really kicked the poor guy in the face in this chapter.

This was one of my favorite chapters too. The way these two let their guard down and let the other see them without the mask was very satisfying. And now they can begin to form a new bond without their relationship being about Billy. The war between the two is finally over.

Joey always meant more to Brett than Billy realized, and that relationship only got closer after what happened to them. Paula has come a long way from who she was earlier in the story. I enjoyed the detail about the parades. Billy, yes, he has grown up a bit!

It will all come together in the next chapter! Yes, I didn't want to get into the politics of abortion, and I think we threaded that needle as best we could. It was painful to Dustin because he saw the potential of having a child, and I found exploring that glimmer of hope being extinguished intriguing.

Mr. Johnston was fun to write. He clearly cares a lot for the kid who lives next door. I think he's more like a grandfather figure than a father.

Sarah's pregnancy will stir the pot, for sure. The Nate-Dustin-Luke triangle just got much more complex! Hopefully Nate and Dustin will lift each other up. We all hate Frank! lol The Brett-Joey stuff will come crashing into the Dustin story soon! (DW might just secretly be a Brett story too. Shhh...)

Glad to hear your thoughts again, Noah! I wouldn't say Nate had no help, and we'll find out where that help came from soon enough. Oh yeah. Version one was years ago. I was never really happy with it, which is why this one came along!

One of the things I really like about Billy is that he thinks he's more brains than heart, but the people who know him best know he's got more heart than almost anyone. He's very deeply emotional, and will invest everything he's got into his relationships. I really enjoyed seeing how Brett and Dustin interacted away from Billy. These are two guys who never saw eye to eye on much of anything, but grew to respect each other. (We're just getting started on those two. As the story takes shape, you'll see!)

It's the same crappy apartment complex Jake's dad lived in.

You have an insight they didn't have. And by the way, does Dustin's apartment building "look" familiar?

We'll find out about Billy's "condition" soon! I really enjoyed writing Mr. Johnston. We'll be hearing more from him! Know what we know about Dustin's "performance" with Emily, it's amazing Dustin was able to gut out a strong performance with Sarah!

Can't argue with that.

Protection from Abuse order. How'd I miss this?

Going third person for this one let me explore some of the darker places I couldn't go with Billy. We're just getting started! The "bad guys" won in WAR, but how did it work out for them? Just Billy being Billy. Just don't fucking touch him, for the love of god!!! And a half one too! (Another blond...)

Thanks! After writing WAR it was nice to get out of Billy's head! I enjoyed playing with the formula a little bit, like having Dustin and Nate hook up right off the bat, instead of waiting like Billy and Brett did. Hope you enjoy it!

It was fun to play with a different perspective on Billy. I'm glad you enjoyed it! As for Aiden, he was a bit of a pain in the butt, but he got it together once he got away from Mr. Hartley's manipulation, and Tyler was good for him. I'm glad you liked Tyler! At least someone did! I do enjoy a conflicted character! There was no conflict with Mr. Hartley, though! Everything about him was about manipulation and mind-fuckery, preying on vulnerable boys to get what he wanted. He screwed up Dustin so badly, and Dustin was beginning to show signs of following in his destructive footsteps until he realized Hartley had used him just like everyone else had, even worse because he'd trusted Hartley so much. It'll take a whole other book to put him back together. (So now you have to read Dustin's World! ha ha ha!!!!) I had intended for this to wrap up WAR, but then the Covid came and all work and no play made Jeff write another story! Seriously though, you've got to check out Dustin's World now! It might be my best (and darkest) work!

Yeah, the best Aiden could hope for with Mr. Hartley was a stalemate. All we know from String is that it won't end well for Jeremy, and Danny's dad will have to clean up the mess.

I'm afraid I don't get the reference. Alas!

Curve balls gallore in this one. I thought about writing something vengeful for Aiden to do, but he's just as guilty as Tyler is. They're more embarrassed they got suckered thanmad at each other.

What I found intriguing when writing this is the idea that everyone is the hero of their own story. I thought of Hartley as an Iago or Palpatine type character, always stirring the pot, but staying out of the fray, being the Chessmaster. But the idea that Dustin and Aiden are willing to do terrible things, but think they're doing what's right because of that manipulation... that really intrigued me.

I don't think Aiden cared all that much what Brett said about Billy at this point. His mind, manipulated by Mr. Hartley, is made up.

It was fun to play with the diner scene from the other side!

What we're seeing here is the undoing of all the work Dustin had put into recovery. Old habits die hard.

Mr. Hartley knows what he's doing, choosing two of the most vulnerable boys to manipulate.

Brett's a pretty good guy. This is kind of the first look at his perspective on his relationship with Billy. I'd go with Tyden over Aidler. Aidler sounds too much like Adolf Hitler! lol