The Kingswood Amelioration - Chapter 24
Added 2025-12-26 17:00:03 +0000 UTCComments
Tyler and Shane texting each other about David was cute (and not at all surprising) but seeing both of them misgender David was disappointing and jarring.
David
2026-02-12 08:11:52 +0000 UTCYeah, I like those sort of tongue-in-cheek moments. As for the fear of relapse, that's a tough line to walk. On one hand I absolutely want to convey the reality of the feelings and experience, but I don't want to make it look like it's something I just wheel out for emotional gravitas. It's always there as an underlying thought/fear but occasionally becomes more overt like this time. Hopefully the balance is right.
Matthew Smith
2026-01-03 14:57:59 +0000 UTCThat's a very Gray quite, it's so wonderfully nonsensical but makes total sense to him. And yeah, Tyler's a sweetie.
Matthew Smith
2026-01-03 14:55:43 +0000 UTCYeah, having the people who make up your support system becoming the cause of the issues is definitely a challenge when it comes to mental health. I'm sure he'll work it out though, probably just needs some time. Although it does show the more selfish/self-centred side of Danny we often don't see. Danny and Aidan was definitely cute to write, and an interesting way to really keep showing the boys growing up. Chris's discmofort with the thought of what his brothers will do at Kingswood really feeds into the overarching concept for the whole saga about the way certain things can seem so different depending on your perspective. What the boys got up to in Year 7 was perfectly normal to them at the time, but then seeing it from an older, more mature perspective helps them see a different side of it. Rob and Mikey is interesting as always. Rob has been selfish, but ultimately chose to come clean and put Mikey's needs first. But will Mikey ever change his mind on them dating? Even when he's ready, would he really want to cross that line withn a friend, when they are so important to his general mental wellbeing. Time will tell... Mark and Josh... yeah, it does seem inevitable. Let's just hope nothing else goes wrong frirst! Max is very protective of the boys, and he definitely cares for Mark a lot, although is he looking to be his dad, or just trying to be a good future father-in-law? He definitely expects Mark to be in Josh's life for the long term, which is a nice vote of confidence for their future. The Lads looking after their mentors is nice as it's another one of those 'same thing, different perspective' concepts. Both groups think they look after the other. In reality, they're all right, but that's what makes the bonds so strong. As for Gray... love makes you crazy. Simple as that!
Matthew Smith
2026-01-03 14:54:53 +0000 UTCThat definitely is an interesting thought... 😁
Matthew Smith
2026-01-03 14:45:34 +0000 UTCYeah, this was one of those occasionas where there was enough storyline to justify a separate story but at the same time I didn't really have a hook that would justify it being a separate thing (like Chris's daily Christmas tales last time I did a Christmas one). It's okay though, sometimes it's nice to just have a few chapters away from Kingswood.
Matthew Smith
2026-01-03 14:41:13 +0000 UTCMeanwhile, it's time to give your eyeballs a rest!
Rutabaga
2025-12-31 01:34:25 +0000 UTCI finished my re-read of the entire series yesterday. It was so much easier back in Year 7 and 8, when the series hadn't become an epic yet. Still, I'm glad it has become an epic and that we are all the beneficiaries of Matt's love for Kingswood. I'm dreading the day we all reach the end of Year 13.
Rich
2025-12-30 21:20:31 +0000 UTCWe've been getting a bunch of chapters taking place during the Christmas break and most of their plot lines have starting during this break. This makes me think the Christmas break chapters may have originally been intended as a bonus story. But I think Matt once said he likes to have those provide enough context for people who haven't read the rest of the story to read them, and some of this stuff involves too much backstory to summarise for them. So maybe that's why these became part of the main story.
Davide
2025-12-28 10:21:34 +0000 UTCOh, great catch. Sneaky Matt, slipping that into a bonus one shot. As for the different description, it's probably a continuity error, resulting from his appearance in book 5 not being fully nailed down when he wrote Bingo.
Davide
2025-12-28 10:13:58 +0000 UTCJosh missing Mark's arms is cute, but I think it's even cuter that Mark is also missing holding Josh!
Johnny Kape
2025-12-28 00:17:05 +0000 UTCTotally unrelated to this chapter, but an observation from my re-reading of the series. The sex club that Danny is now a part of was apparently hinted at in the story Bingo!, that Matt gave us between Books 4 and 5. It also seems to have the first appearance of Mr. Neil Farrier (as a student), although the descriptions in Bingo and Amelioration Chapter 1 seem to be different. But how many Neil Farriers can we have, especially since both are affiliated with Creative Writing?
Rich
2025-12-27 19:18:22 +0000 UTCThere is a new thought I have: In the second book there was a romantic relationship between Danny and Brian. Brian was from the group of older boys (the mentors) and Danny from the younger boys (the mentees). So what about one boy of our main group is coming together with one of the lads? It's an interesting thought for me...
Mr Luigi
2025-12-27 19:17:00 +0000 UTCWow a wonderful chapter with very cute moments. My favorite is still the Mark Josh relationship. They love each other so much. I really hope they come together again during this book. Josh missing Mark's arms is so cute! Mikey, Nicky and the three boys from the lads dorm have wonderful dynamics! This was fun to read. Our main characters have wonderful mentees.
Mr Luigi
2025-12-27 19:13:24 +0000 UTCDanny really needs to talk to someone about the stuff bothering him, but the issue is everyone he'd normally talk to is related to one of those things. That being said, I get that it's difficult because of multiple things happening at once, but he's worrying about things that he should learn to accept. Whatever's going on between his parents and Chris's parents doesn't seem to involve cheating, and Chris accepted a similar arrangement with his parents a lot better before. Finn is a good friend and he's straight, Danny should be happy he found someone good. That leaves the new thing Danny overheard, Levy and Blane planning to leave Kingswood. That can be harder, for both him and Chris when he finds out, because he was close to both. But the issue of catching part of a conversation is he doesn't know when they plan to leave, maybe it's not as quick as he probably believes. Still about Danny, I really liked his interaction with Aidan. Chris will need to get over that his brothers are growing up and that could mean having accept them going through the same naked and sexual stuff he enjoyed some much since the start of his time at Kingswood. We learn that Rob still has feelings for him, but that's not surprising. And I still think that, despite what Mikey told Nicky, they'll still end up together when Mikey feels like he's ready for a relationship. Meanwhile, the way things are going between Mark and Josh, they'll resume their own relationship sooner than Mark is planning to, they don't seem able to resist each other. Max's "I was going for ‘wise father figure’" comment is interesting, I wonder if we're working towards another adoption. It would make Mark and Josh be kind of like incest, but not really because they're not blood related. I like when we see the Lads almost act like mentors to their mentors, this reciprocal relation is very nice. Great plan from Tyler on recruiting Shane, while also respecting David's privacy by not explaining anything. Devon, Declan and Jorge were also really sweet in their interaction with each other, plus Nicky and Mikey. There's good chemistry in that group, I see they learned from their mentors to be very casual about nudity and sex around each other. Meanwhile, I don't know what the hell Gray was thinking and how else could he expect things to end.
Davide
2025-12-27 16:39:02 +0000 UTCWell, from the way Blane and Levi talked, and from the fact how Matt likes to torture his characters and readers, I'm not optimistic about this now... 😔
Johnny Kape
2025-12-27 04:58:56 +0000 UTCI think I'll vote the quote of the chapter to this: “Meh, he’s fine if you know how to handle him!” Gray shrugged, “So this is kinda weird, huh! You’re back together with Josh, but you’re not actually back together, and I’m back together with Nicky but we’re not actually together!” The sweetest character in this chapter, I'll vote Tyler!!
Johnny Kape
2025-12-27 04:57:56 +0000 UTCI love it when Matt occasionally breaks that fourth wall with subtle quotes like, “Yeah, nobody’d read shit like that,” Mark smirked, then cocked his head as he raised his eyebrows and went on." ....Thanks Matt. Also, thanks Matt for bringing up the anxiety Josh has related to worries about a relapse. That is a daily source of consternation for any cancer survivor.
rpcvrn
2025-12-27 01:09:43 +0000 UTCSo, does Max keep a fully furnished off-campus residence in addition to his rooms in the dormitory building? I didn't disagree with the prediction that Blane and Levi would want to move Monty elsewhere for growing up, but surely there was no rush to do that -- he wouldn't really have much awareness of the Kingswood environment as an infant. Maybe what Danny overheard was only one piece of the puzzle -- we'll have to see what develops. Good on Tyler for recruiting Shane to help David. I feel sorry for Gray.
Rutabaga
2025-12-26 21:05:33 +0000 UTC
