Mattyboy

Yay! This feels like Luke and Jackson have made it through the wilds and maybe have some clear sailing ahead. This is a brilliant little gem of a chapter, just a Saturday morning and the boys go for a run, so not really very much happening (well, a little action by the spring). But Jackson's parents correctly see he's focused on Districts and Georgia, and even Cindy seems to have calmed a bit (I guess we're depending on Luke saying "it wasn't that bad") for that. I'm pleased Jackson seems dialed in about the swimming- that's his and Luke's ticket now, and he needs to get it punched- and he seems to be taking that fully seriously! Spring break week should be fun!

Scrubber nailed it with "threaded the needle," and that it's a great chapter bringing stuff together. The tensions and comedic obstacles have been great, but the characters all mean well, in their individual ways, and there's only so many episodes in a row where you can do the "what's-the-worst-thing-I-can-do-to-these-guys" move. What a wonderful chapter of the guys finally getting over themselves and working on their problems. Which people want to do in their clueless, individualist ways. As Maddox says, it's not the Middle Ages anymore. I hope this story goes on for a while yet, but I feel I can almost see a soft landing coming up. But unexpected turbulence can be unexpected, so I guess we'll see. p.s. I'm intrigued about the Xpress losing their grip on this story. I had Ray pegged as the informant, but maybe not?

Wow, that's a fairly awful path there, but I'm glad Nic's making it out over to the Ensings! Great story development the rugby scene was great, and Nic and Shiv's night was a fun positive !

"Their bodies weren’t fools; they knew the deal. Only their owners were freaking morons." These are very fine words.

This is fun that Clint likes Demons of the Crossroads. Navigator was a great story, and I love thinking all these kids are in the same world.

Krista, sometimes things take a little longer to get done. Your engagement with your readers is wonderful. Thank you for doing it. I'd read your stories whether I got to chat with you or not, but it adds so much to have the thoughtful (and sometimes hilarious) interactions with you and the community here. 👏👏👏 🌹🌹🌹

I'm glad Nic's getting out. If only he had somewhere he could take Joey at 6:30 to be with other people and Luke and all.

Yay, the boys finally had "the talk" about Georgia. That part of the story has been stuck for a while. Perfect pitch on the tension; the evening's escape and the adventure of finding out what's beyond the next bend in the river, while knowing that trouble with Cindy awaits. Date night and the river walk feels like we're back in business for it being "The Best Year." "What happened in the best year, Jackson?" "Well, I was grounded a lot. Weeks of detentions." " But also..."

Heh, there's lots of it alright. Keen to hear what you think of the series when you're done. (Yes, I'm aware you have 4000ish pages to go)

Sam Miller's Art of Starving was a fascinating read. He manages to paint a picture of some issues that I don't have much experience with but that I recognize are really important, and that I've been trying to think about. Some very fun moments, and some haunting traumas, that somehow work together without clashing. Sam Miller seems to be what you might get if you crossed daBeagle with Yann Martel. (I wouldn't normally recommend such a thing, but I'm stuck on the thought)

I just finished Dante and Aristotle dive in to the waters of the world, and was still processing it when Donovan Carillo turned up at the Olympics doing his thing. It was a lovely read, and a weird bit of synchronicity in my day.

The End, eh? That was a beautiful and cathartic conclusion. But I have my fingers crossed that maybe we'll get a Ridley-cameo in TBY or maybe a full sequel sometime in the future. He's an outstanding and fresh character.

Wow, those are some powerful emotional currents flowing here. I realize that last chapter I'd been thinking about Ridley's alienation more than about how for him "It was hard for me to think when I had over two years of things I wanted to say to a man that couldn’t respond. " Those last three paragraphs you've written are dazzling. The every sentence has its own plot twist, yet they just unfold into new perfect shapes. And I'm haunted by that that final image of Gabe and Ridley driving around town aimlessly, and crossing paths at the gas station without interacting.

"I had every intention of posting this at the appropriate time..." Well, sometimes, a little after Christmas, you just have an Epiphany. It was a wonderful unexpected visit.

I was really into Ridley's perspective of the homecoming game; key participant but wearing his 'this-is-all-bullshit' lenses. Every big event has someone on the periphery saying it's bullshit, but Ridley's right in the center. I've been the jaded cynic but never at the same time as being the scoring hero. I have had 'I'm-having-a-completely-different-day-from-everyone-else,' though. That was pretty wonderful of Gabe to see that in Ridley, it's usually pretty hard to see, and even harder to get a handle on when it's happening. I've read a lot of sports stories here and elsewhere, and that really struck me as a fresh moment. From that perspective, the kiss was the natural chapter conclusion for me; Ridley getting the connection he's failed at with Matt Ashby.

"Sweet and Spicy!" and maybe crossover episodes with the "Oh! Billy!" channel ! Looking forward to the regularly scheduled programming. 🤞

This feels enough like a nightmare I'm trying to evaluate whether it's a dream-sequence. Ethan needs to get his head out of his ass and take one of the doors out that he's been offered. I get that this situation can be a hard one to think your way out of as a high schooler, but the thing he was scared of is now actually happening, and Patrick and Jermaine (and maybe Joey and Billy would as well) have actually offered to help. And I'm with Shadow and Dodger on this - that locker door ought to be triggering some adult intervention at the school, both janitorial and admin. I guess this is set in the year that Comsie started it, or earlier, but this angle is making it feel like a period piece.

Wow, "Riddles" is the first word of the story. You seemed to brief us on the backstory, but I'm suspicious there are more riddles here than it appears. "I didn’t care about the history of a place that would never amount to anything" Ridley is completely distinct from your other characters, but that line is a Krista-classic!

And the boys are back on the front foot! I hope Billy gets redeemed somehow, eventually.

Aw, now I feel like a kid who's grandpa is telling them a story in bed. Very cozy. I was kinda expecting bagpipes or something, but this was very fun.

But that might be the end of this story! I'm sure they can go around the block a few more times. (and the title drop was fun! well worked in!)

January 5 of a new year is coming up in a few weeks! Could be a great time for a COTT anniversary check-in and for Nate and Bodie to finally make it off to school !

Very fun! Thank you all for this series, it's been brightening my days in this otherwise stressful time of year.

I was wondering when the bird jokes were going to start this time! Lovely story, Val.

Can goose warriors be a series? I think this might a strong creative path.