Mattyboy

This phone business is a preposterous plan that is doomed to backfire. Which is great, Jake's storyline has been slow recently while Nic got himself sorted out, and this gets us nicely back on track!

I was cheered by two of the revelations in this episode. Alec isn't a virgin, and managed to make some small steps on that front. And as gut-punchy as the breakup was, Alec isn't quite directly responsible for blocking Finn from whatever university possibilities he had. Maybe he got a kinesiology degree from Iowa State or something and is putting that to work at the gym?

Yay Finn!

The stories Arcade Junkies and Kiss of an Angel track some characters that turn up later. For Arcade Junkies around New Kid 14 and Angel 1 overlaps New Kid 38. I found it really fun to binge through the different perspectives, but you do you, of course.

Yay, that was fun to log in and see this up! And happy birthday! OMG, this series is old enough to drink in most states!

Yay, the boys made it to school! And many loose ends have been tied up! But we have a title that hints at more! Does this mean we get an Ariel update sometime soon as well? For lunch, perhaps? Thanks for continuing this wonderful wandering story.

It was going to be Lagavulin, but its smoke is not all that woodsy. And Ardbeg or rarer would be too obscure. Was going for the general sense that it's the good stuff. Macallan's rocketed out of my usual price range, but last time I had some it was a very Finn experience.

Exciting moment for Finn and Alec! One cathartic moment already today, and another (mostly internal) nemesis confrontation to go! Oh, I caught up! Right at a cliffhanger! (Ideally, no one's gonna get hung over the lookout, but you know what I mean) How often does this update? Daily, right?

Catharsis is way harder to get than people tend to think, but this feels like maybe its the real thing.

"A woodsy smell with a deeper note of something smokey reached Alec’s nose" Finn has always been very fine, but I see he's 18yr old Macallan scotch, as well. He's just that good.

Probably, and a good one at that. Iowa and Iowa State are quite good football schools. The line came from a drunk teenager at a high school party, but if Finn's getting attention from schools "a hell of a lot better" than Iowa, he's a major prospect. U of Washington is academically superior but is a peer of Iowa as a football school.

Great dynamic for the story though. People totally do this to themselves all the time, especially in HS. I have no excuse for just getting here now, I somehow didn't follow this from the start. But the binge-ing is fun (and of course totally healthy).

Poor Finn, as well. He might even be aware of the normal current if-they-say-no-leave-them-alone-and-don't-stalk-them rules, but Alec is so skittish all the normal social/flirting dance-steps sail over his head. AWKWARD! Good for Finn, though, the dinner at home was a good move.

Wow, Mr M. That's a change of pace for this series! Beautifully done.

Wild: 🍅 Krista: 🏊‍♂️🏊‍♂️🏊‍♂️🏊‍♂️🏊‍♂️🏊‍♂️🏊‍♂️🏊‍♂️

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)