Mattyboy

woo, I'm glad this story is back in business

Good for Amy! Ugh, what the hell is Rylee up to?

I think Heated Rivalry got a bit lucky that voting was right during its "peak buzz" period. Yeah it was a kinda average year otherwise. There's quite a good cop show called St Pierre that I enjoy (not particularly gay). A few cringe comedies I think pulled votes from each other.

Michelle maybe didn't think about the treehouse much, but I hope she gets around to an appropriate level of alarm that her property has been attacked by an arsonist.

Ugh, I hope that was enough convincing Michelle not to stampede George into murdering Noah. The "it's easy and we won't get caught" plan to attack Brett is ominously worrying.

There's a rather recognizable style of cover art for the hockey romance books; but I have no idea what's well-done and what's just trying to jump on the bandwagon. Do you ( or @W_L ) know anything about authors other than Reid and Sarina Bowen/Elle Kennedy? Just tried to look this up and there's 409 books rated on Goodreads . I've heard of Tal Bauer too, on there.

Hudson Williams had a date for the CSA who he identified as a partner (Katelyn Larson). He wearing a pair of rather feminine or drag-coded diamond earrings (and had one less button done up on his shirt each time he went on stage). So seems to be hetero but Hudson also seems to quite clearly know who his fans are and why he's now getting the invitations and awards of an A-lister.

Actually wouldn't be that hard to explain; Colt could use, "I've been making friends with Noah, who's been using the treehouse to escape from bullies, and they didn't like that." Any ranting about how Noah had it coming because he's a f-- would just corroborate the story. While Amy talking probably triggered this, I can't imagine she approves.

I see Heated Rivalry won a Peabody Award. It's not eligible for Emmys as it wasn't a US production, but last night at the Canadian Screen Awards (previously known as Genies) it won for Best Drama Series, Direction, Writing, Lead Performer (Hudson Williams), Supporting Performer (Sophie Nélisse), Photography, Picture Editing, Sound, Production Design/Art Design, Costume Design, Visual Effects, Casting, Original Music, Original Song for “It’s You,” and Best Guest Performance (Nadine Bhabha). Also the Cogeco Audience Choice Award and Sophie Nélisse was also presented with the Radius Award (for emerging talent and international success). The 16 trophy wins is a record. Last week Rachel Reid was down to only one book on the bestseller list (Heated Rivalry at #8). Elle Kennedy, who got her start with M/M hockey books, is on the list at #'s 3, 5, 6, and 10, but all four seem to be M/F hockey romances. The Kennedy books are linked to a TV adaptation called Off Campus, I hear. Hockey lit has been a thing for a long time, but this thing that the fiction bestseller list is mostly hockey lit is absolutely a new thing. And I did not have on my 2026 bingo card that M/F hockey romance would ride the coattails of M/M hockey romance to dynastic control of the Globe and Mail bestseller lists.

If Brett for sure knew about the treehouse and has threatened that, then yes maybe, but I'm 50/50 it could have been George. The dinner thing does seem to line up with the poisoning/drugging hypothesis. I hope Colt tells Michelle that someone's attacking their property and setting stuff on fire. Awkward to explain why, of course.

Yeah, we really don't have much to go on for this. Colt gets some points for being honest with Amy, but would have been better if he'd thought over whether doing it in front of Brett was a particularly great idea. And I hope Amy got the car home safely.

Hmm maybe. Does seem to be a town where status depends on who you're paired up with, and "Amy wants a boyfriend" doesn't rate in the top group of crappy things people have done so far. People have gone for the "beard" deal before; a ultra-low-maintenance sure thing date for major events has its appeal for some folks.

Amy might be smarter/ more socially aware than we think. She lives nearby and may have an opinion about George. And she might be acting to make sure Colt and Noah can be friends with each other without getting beaten up by Brett or murdered by George. The cute boyfriend play might just be bonus points.

Fair enough. I support her being treated well, in this town that doesn't seem to be a hotbed of that.

Amy gets status points for dating "the new guy," and some cock (which she seemed to like), and Colt isn't otherwise asking for much. It's a better deal than Rylee and Brett are getting with each other.

Small town, Colt may be the best bet for Amy out of maybe a pretty limited field. And a very useful relationship for keeping the heat off Colt for being friends with the gay kid.

I've had the "fix the wording in one line" bloom out into "delete the scene." This can be overthinking, alright, but it can also be that the little hunch that something wasn't right with it all was sensing a real structural issue. I've often had people reading my (nonfiction) stuff say to me "so what's the point here?" and I then say a solid summarizing line that does a good job of making that clear. I know, but that can't do this for myself. You picked out the bit that needs work because you kinda know it needs work and there's something not right. It's way easier to start with a subordinate clause than it is with "what's the point of this scene?" but that's sometimes the start of pulling the cord that unravels the veil and exposes that what's underneath is an unnecessary side-quest. (My sense is that AI can't help you here, but I'm aware that people vary on that issue) Cut and paste it into a "deleted scenes" folder. If it turns out your story needs it, you can put it back in later.

Hmm, still many mysteries but it does seem like maybe "George is awful" and "Noah has a health problem" might both be true and maybe aren't even related (unless its ulcers or something). Some nice quiet moving forward in this chapter. (Which probably means something terrible is about to happen, this is a @mastershakeme story, after all)

Or something even weirder like poisoning? Ivermectin pills dressed up as vitamins? I don't have any doubt that George is awful, but it's also possible Noah has a cancer or something and that "I was sick" was true. We do not know much at all for sure about what goes on next door.

Colt's a teenager but it's bit annoying how unevenly he's getting there. He absolutely thinks Noah being abused, but hands him a joint without looking over his shoulder to see if George is watching. Colt's annoyed that Noah doesn't entirely trust him, but Noah can't afford to trust people that might set George off.

Feels like it might be very good for Colt. A lot of "sounds-good" things weren't all that great, and he stood up for himself. He's going to need the practice, but perhaps some lessons learned. And Amy seems to be actually nice.

Yeah, Simon needs to get going on the Ben and Justin legal defense sidestory before they get sideswiped again.

Oh no, I've caught up just in time for the cliffhanger! Ugh that was rude. Oh no Nathan has been stabbed!

Justin obviously needs a new car. If only he had a father-in-law who's recently inherited a fortune to lean on for that. Or, y'know, something.

I was expecting a good deal more of Simon swinging into action on Benjamin and Justin's behalf. I wonder if Ben's passport app can be amended so he's listed as a full Monty?