Mattyboy

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.

Oh yeah generic is good. USA Rugby HQ is in Glendale, CO, so I thought maybe you were doing that.

hooh boy. I thought you were slow revealing for a while there, but then I found out you were not. At all. Also, is this this the Glendale in Colorado or Arizona?

Ooh, I didn't get that about the gate until you mentioned it. I had noticed that the "big fence" was a nice thing to offer but I hoped it wouldn't be necessary. Thanks for this lovely story of old attachments and new creations.

I guess poor Cindy had just had an oeuf.

I'm impressed with how you get so much flavour out of the little things. The ingredients are just a boy making soup and an iPhone, but something magical happens and a star is born.

That is a very beautiful ending. All is calm, all is bright.

🎄This is fun! Looking forward to the verses! 🎄🎵🎶🎵🎶🎶

🎄This is fun! Looking forward to the verses! 🎄🎵🎶🎵🎶🎶

This is fun! Following!

I was intrigued by the setting... when you mention the Atlantic at the beginning I'd thought we were down in New Jersey or Maryland, but then it comes clear that we're up at the north edge of Vermont ! And the Bobcat persona is fascinating - at the beginning it felt like Jeremy was a really basic archetype, but over time he becomes way more complex than that. I was sort of bristling for while at the lines about soccer and the football bullies which don't really reflect Newport and Derby very well, but it becomes clear that the Bobcat was way overdoing the hostility to everyone around him, and Noah eventually soothes him out of that. Which is a classic plot-line, but the story stays fresh with the setting and the way the characters develop. I really enjoyed this, thanks for sharing it with us.