jess30519

Awesome! This makes me so happy! But I must admit, I didn't realize who these people were until Carl called him "Chuck" - no doubt this was intentional on Skinny's part. Well done, and I can't wait for more! I hope we get to learn why David and Tom(my)'s father never came home, among other things. Thanks, Skinny!

If Jian picked up on Emmett's blue sadness after his lunch with Zeke, surely he also noticed how happy and conflicted Emmett was during their shopping trip. I imagine this will only serve to encourage Jian to renew his efforts to win Emmett over, especially if Zeke continues to piss him off! Given Jian's competitiveness and Zeke's possessive nature, I can see how this could escalate to the point where both of them wind up going north with Emmett for Christmas. That should bring about some melting of the permafrost! Can't wait to see how this develops! Thanks, Sasha!

Whoa. James shouldn't have snacked on those mushrooms earlier! ;-) nice one, Sasha - thanks!

"[...] they refuse to believe anyone who works in a shop actually knows anything about their own product." Ooooh, ouch!! That was me, years ago when I first got into hiking in a serious way! I knew *everything* about outdoor gear back then! After a few trail encounters with seasoned hikers it became clear that the difference between what I "knew" and what actually worked was very large. Emmett is going to find himself in a very difficult spot, soon! I can't see either Zeke or Jian tolerating the other's presence in Emmett's life. Cutting himself off from sex with Zeke would be tough, and Jian is (so far!) an unknown from that aspect. But indications are very promising! Will Jian somehow include himself in the class expedition to Killarney? I'm betting he goes home with Emmett to Moosonee, though. How is that going to work out with Rye? We can only wait and see! Great stuff - thanks, Sasha!

An excellent chapter! Well, any chapter involving boats, especially sailboats on the Maine coast, has to be good. I wonder whether Toph will become suspicious of the free ride at Abington, if a nagging idea that someone - Gary's family or England or someone else - has somehow managed things this way. But I believe that he has moved past that kind of thinking, especially now that he has definitely pinned the other instances on dear old Mom. Good that he cleared the air with Steve; one less thing to overthink. Love the crossover with 18 Weeks! The two Garys are very different, and a good thing, too! Thanks, Skinny!

Gah! I have to go back and read the first 6 stories in this series! But, no time! No time!! Busy season here on the farm!

Zeke seems to me to be less of a match for Emmett with each chapter. Sasha says he is deeper than he appears to be, so I'll have to wait and see how his character develops. I have a feeling that cousin tiger's arrival might bring on some turbulence in their relationship. Killarney is a beautiful, special place in summertime; I imagine it will be the same in wintertime. This camping trip should be very interesting! An "in tents" experience, you might say! Okay, I won't say that... I just hope nobody falls in the river! At least some of the students have a clue! I hope that polar bears are very patient! Thanks, Sasha!

Just when I think Kameron might make it, despite the hole in his lung, Sasha pulls the rug out from under. Not a happy ending! But why do I feel more sorry about the horses than the boys? Kind of dark, but it matched my mood this gloomy, rainy Friday. And more proof, as if we needed it, that Sasha is the master of many styles. Thanks for this, Sasha!

Wow. It never occurred to me that folks with ink would be subject to prejudice and bigotry to any extent. This is not something that I've ever witnessed, which means nothing at all. I learned something here, today. Oh, and green and yellow forever!! Thanks, Sasha.

Okay, I have no idea what's going on here! I have a lot of remedial reading to do, apparently. I'll be back!

Whoa. This was totally unexpected! But wonderful! I love the shifting repetition - it really kept me off balance. Ethan progresses from normal-ish to completely off the rails in such a short space, yet it works extremely well. Well done, Skinny! And thanks for this!

This is a very dense chapter! Toph is coming around to think rationally about his family's behaviour back in Euphoria, and we learn a lot about his past, as a result. The increase in both words and information in subsequent chapters, as this story progresses, seems to me to reflect how Toph must feel: somewhat overwhelmed by how his life has taken on new dimensions at a rapid rate. Without Gary, as well as the gang in New Glory, he would surely have retreated back into his shell by now. Happily, he is learning that he has inner strengths that were well suppressed, in his previous life. @Lisa: it is not unfathomable to me - neither of my parents ever hugged me or my sisters. And I don't recall ever seeing my grandparents hugging anyone, either. Seems to run in some families...

Cool! I've been everywhere mentioned, so far, including Moosonee. But not Killarney in winter - should be interesting! Emmett and Zeke don't seem to have anything in common other than hot and heavy sex; I can't see them sticking together for very long, especially after Emmett bulks up. But we'll just have to wait and see. Thanks, Sasha!

I'm getting a clear mental image of Emmett from all the little descriptive hints thrown in: padding to the kitchen, shaking the water out of his hair... and the image I get is of someone I would really like to have as a friend! Lucky Zeke! And lucky Ryley too, to have a brother as cool and interested as Emmett appears to be. All of their personalities have come through clearly, at least in my mind. Unless Emmett has some additional source of funds, the salary for an assistant lecturer must be a whole lot higher than I assumed! Yikes! All of that food, especially a whole salmon purchased in Toronto, even at a wholesaler, would cost a fortune! And he has to get that amount of stuff every month? I hope Dad's care package of salmon gets to him okay! This story is starting off on such a happy, easygoing note I am fully expecting a monkey wrench to get tossed in soon. Can't wait for the next chapter! Thanks, Sasha!

I am not inked; I've never even considered getting a tattoo, although I'm not sure why that is, really. Neighbours and friends have them but we've never talked about why some folks want ink and others don't. But after reading this story I have a greater understanding of what the attraction is, I think. Certainly, Canaan's devotion to the art form, and Ryker's desire to be inked come through clearly and naturally. As usual, Sasha has produced totally believable people of a very sympathetic sort, and in such an economical way. Magic. Thanks, Sasha!

Perfect! That what-am-I-doing-here feeling that city folks get when newly transplanted to the country is right on. In my experience, there are more folks like Frank and his friends here in rural North America than the stereotypical redneck our newcomer was afraid he'd been tricked by. Nice one, Sasha, thanks! Oh, and those must be imported tractors! :-)

Everything is falling into place for Toph and he is surrounded by some very generous and loving friends, too. But I have this niggling feeling that something is going to come out of left field to upset his almost-perfect new life. Skinny wouldn't do that to us, would he? Hm? Thanks for this story, Skinny - such a pleasure to read!

I'm not usually a big fan of shifter stories, but that this one comes from Sasha overrides all other factors. Emmett is already someone I want to get to know better! Looking forward to more, now - and thanks for this engaging beginning, Sasha!

Classic Sasha! Little hints and signals that make us wonder how it can be resolved, moment of doubt, then the happy ending. Yay! I've missed you, Sasha - thanks so much for giving us this!

It has been a thoroughly enjoyable roller coaster ride! Our two heroes have certainly endured and survived more than their share of trauma and despair, as well as good times and happiness, over the last 4 months of their lives. No surprise that they went off the rails from time to time! And your writing, Skinny, has made them and all of the characters in this story come to life. There were times when I found myself at work and fretting about what might happen next in 18 Weeks! Thank you for all the effort over all of these months that you have put into making this story happen! But now what to do, to satisfy my firmly implanted addiction to 18 Weeks?? Oh, wait, I know: I'll just give it a reasonable length of time to let it settle in my mind, and then start over again at chapter 1. [...][...] Okay. Time's up!! *click*

Good to hear that things are going well. Can you visit with Copper on occasion? Did the girls borrow the chickens as well? :-) Such a pleasant surprise to see the restored wolf avatar amongst the notifications! I hope it will be sticking around for a while.

Ah. Real contentment at last. Not the self-delusional kind that David indulged in over the last few months. Lovely!

If Twoey takes nagging lessons from Alex then he will have no problem keeping David from thinking too much and internalizing things. Although, he seems very capable of doing so all by himself. Of course, once they're back at school or if David doesn't wind up moving into Ginny's house, there will be times when David will be on his own and he will need to learn to share his thoughts and concerns with Twoey (and Ginny). He does appear to be aware of his worst tendencies, though, so there's hope. Such a good thing that all of their circle of friends are supportive. That will be a big help at school, even if half the student population seems to be gay - there is still the other half to worry about. We can only imagine how things will work out with the baseball team next spring. Unless, of course, there will be a sequel... ;-) Thanks for this lovely, warm and loving chapter, Skinny. Oh, and Yay Montreal! Go Canadiens! ;-)

Yay! After the storm comes the calm, and this chapter is a welcome relief from all the angst and trauma our poor David has been (and put himself) through. We knew that David would discover that all of his friends are on his side, but he had to do his apology tour to realize that. Now he and Twoey can reboot and start their relationship as they should have done 119 chapters ago! Two chapters to go - could Skinny spring a surprise ending after this warm and fuzziness? Surely not! But there are no guarantees in SkinnyLand! Thanks, Skinny!

Go Alex! At least there's someone in Daleville who knows when to leap into action! Her comments about the rest of David's friends are right on! I've gotta say, Twoey's excuses for not doing more than he did are a little weak. But at least he did make an attempt to find him, even if it was a little halfhearted. And thankfully her brother Ricky was around, too. He seems to have done more in two hours of talking than any of the adults have managed over all these weeks. Well, it seems as though David and Twoey are joined now, but I'm a little bit nervous of what Skinny might spring on us over the next few episodes - in Skinnyland anything can happen! :-)