thismy

Hope your employment situation continues to go well. Once again, don't feel bad, we understand. It's perfectly acceptable. Don't feel like you're under any pressure from us. Do what you need to do, but don't apologize to us. You definitely do not need to.

I've only got about three weeks in my cast, so I'm on my way, thank you. - And I fell. It was pretty stupid, I was running and I tripped and that was that. Put my hand out, when I should have just turned my shoulder. In response to your first point, I'm somewhat inclined to agree. That's a pretty plausible theory, and Amanda possibly getting involved (though I don't see it) makes it much more personal for Jack, as you mentioned. However, I'm fairly certain that Helena is older than Jack. Amanda is a sophomore, but I think Helena is a senior. Older girls may be more developed, and more willing to put themselves out there. Shannon is still a pretty ambiguous or mysterious character, but from what I've drawn, she's a huge tease and nothing more. And she seems to have some aversion to relationships at least, and maybe she just flaunts her sexuality in a teasing manner as a cover/coping mechanism. (Not a whole lot of info on her, so I don't even know if that's a fair assessment. ) How I see it: a girl close (or formally close, in the case of Belle) to Jack gets involved on way or another, and Jack can't help it and tries to help them.

Thanks for the update jashley, hope all goes well with the job. We all understand.

I broke my wrist today, among other things. I'm still thinking that we're going to see someone else dealing the ring. I don't believe that Jessica and Rhona are involved, or at least not heavily. Belle could be involved, and it'd be interesting to see who she was talking to. (Some deep corner of me maybe wants to see Belle in action.)

I think that Jack and Kayla need to stop having Christmas sex. Along with that, what will the twins and Tara think? 'Oh boy, Jack and Kayla went to have sex and came back all pissy.' Tara will just roll her eyes and be like 'not again.' Once agiam I'm looking forward to this confrontation because we get to see what person Kayla is truly. If she'll accept Jack or deny him. To reiterate, I think, and hope, that if Kayla is angry, it'll be over the fact that Jack didn't tell her earlier. Also: when do we get a funky Kayla confession?! I want one of those. Where Kayla hesitantly tells Jack she has to tell him something or breaks down during sex, ect. That'll be fun. See how Jack reacts. Hopefully not like he did when he found out about Jeff. Edit: Oh! I forgot for this. Kayla counter confesses. Then we get one big mess.

Merry Christmas. Hope everyone is with someone they love.

Bad feelings about threesome? That's plausible, I didn't think of it. I could see it, being Christmas time with Tara around and such. I think we should note that everyone has some insecurities. I am, however, going to disagree with the rest of your post on some level or another. First things first, I think that the response was to Jack was just them being absorbed in talk or looking. We've yet to meet him. I don't think it's fallen apart yet, but I can see that it might, then trigger what you observed. The obsession thing, I took as Kayla being obsessed with her hair bows. Chapter 46: I take it that she meant the hair bows when she pauses and messes with her before pressing on. As well, I can see the motivation of not wanting to build types too deep before moving. I never hung out with people outside of school really in middle school. And I've lived the same place all my life. So if Kayla knew she was moving, then what's the point? Although I was good friends with some people, so Kayla's situation is a little depressing.

So I went back to read the first chapters for fun, and I've got a question: Have we ever found out which girl Jack saved his freshman year from being fucked over by the then bad Craig? Will we ever find out? (I'm kinda curious.) We still don't know a whole lot about Jack's past.

Reet deet deet Ahem. Spoilers below. Seriously. There's spoilers. Alright. So Jack confesses his perverted tendencies to Kayla. Another chapter ending with a broken sex scene. My initial thoughts? I don't believe Kayla will be too angry at Jack. She might be a little put off, or angry, but I'm thinking the most she'll be angry about is that Jack didn't tell her sooner. Not his actions, but the consequence of such actions. Here's how I look at it. Jack has some pervy tendencies. So what? Color me surprised if she really flips on Jack for that. Maybe well find that Kayla has her own little fetish. I just expect her to be angry at Jack for holding back. Now the chapter itself was fairly light, but the seeds were being sown. Jessica is going to want or do something in relation to Jack asking her about Belle. If we know Jessica, something is bound to happen. Rhona continues to flirt with Jack in a way that is almost over the line, but at the same time, seems very 'respectful.' I got a bit more of what I wanted, and as a result, find myself identifying a little more with Kayla. I didn't have a whole lot of friends when I was first in high school and before. I, of course, didn't meet 'the one,' as far as I'm aware. However, my own willingness to sit in solitude was only my fault. Here's to seeing more of Kayla's past. I'm still waiting for a reappearance of someone from Kayla and/or Jack's past. Shannon and Bynum continue to be an interesting dynamic. I can't wait for the future to see how Jack and Kayla tackle the prospective prostitution ring.

So let's first take a look at where it happens. Beginning of chapter 8, fairly early on in the story. He says it is in part important because it was his first job: "After all, its a first job. For good or bad, you always remember those." So he remembers it because it's the first time he's able to get real soild money to use. Stuff to take Kayla out with, buy new video games, etc. Joe, as far as I'm aware, hasn't gone back and edited the earlier chapters, so he may not have had a full plan. The story has somewhat taken its own path. Who knew what Joe meant then and what he means now. We're still missing a lot of the pieces of the puzzle. Second, look at with the frame of reference as him talking about his current life. No matter what you do, a job is going to be a pretty large part of your life. Jack's got Kayla, friends, drama, school, and GameStop. That's the most of it. So his job is, lets say, 20% of what he does. (Give or take.) Great, one fifth of his life is work. It's gong to influence time for school, Kayla, family, and so on. It's something else he has to manage. Third, I think Rhona is a big part. Joe has said multiple times that Rhona is based of a very good friend of his and that we've yet to see the full picture. Think about the chapters since she has been introduced. How many have gone without her? Nearly ever time Jack works, the scene is written out, and Rhona is in it. As I said, we don't have all the pieces. (I doubt we have the half of them.) I feel as though she'll continue to play a role. As well, remember those conversations about how everyone was impressed with Jack and they were talking about sending him to conventions and things? Well, we don't know what Jack is doing in the future, but maybe something happens at a convention. Maybe after Jack gets out of school, GameStop offers him a position high up, like in the corporate office, and he's there for a while. Or some coworker recommends him to someone. He might come back to work summers. Side note: this is my 201st post! I've contributed a total of ten pages to the forum.

Ooo, no thanks, I'd rather not. But if it does happen, can Joe break the fourth wall and invite us to the wedding? Kayla: "Jack, who's Joe Long, and why is he invited to our wedding?" Jack: "I don't know, I just had this feeling we should invite him. Family friend maybe?" Kayla: "Chester57, that-one-guy, thismy, YNP_Refugee, dark, Johnnybanana, Mr_fairplay, jc1138, Bill, beepboop, no_one, Delta4, dark lust, anduril38, COJimmyV, Nagyaki, DarkRomantics, AyeAyeRonald, Conman, Shaden, Ishmael, BigMan7307, starkz, Walrus lover 69, guest(s?). Jack who the fuck are all these people?" Jack: "Honestly, Kayla, I've no fucking clue. But something was just telling me to invite them. Like, I feel like we should." Kayla: "Jack, this makes no sense. Who's name is Walrus lover 69? Why on earth would I want them at our wedding?" Jack: "Baby, I don't know. But just trust me on this. I just have a gut feeling."

I've been digging through old forum posts and remembered this. Jashley has said "and Kayla doesn't know about what Amanda did... Yet." I've been wondering; will Kayla find out? I mean, it's not inherently voyueristic, but the circumstances certainly set up the opportunity for Kayla to see. (We know she didn't) I'd be interested to see how Kayla reacts. It happened before they were dating, so Kayla can't really be angry about that. Although, knowing Kayla, she still might be. She's ok with incest, so I'm just thinking she'll be generally pissed about the whole thing. But maybe the problem continues to stay dormant. It's one of three things on my foreshadowed stuff yet to happen list: 1. The pipe bomb 2. Chinese water torture (this one I'm most looking forward to, although it has rarely been mentioned.) 3. Kayla finding out about the Jack-Amanda interaction. (The first one, Jack told her about the later ones)

Oh fuck. This should be good. Is someone peeping on Jack? Is Jack peeping on others? Is everyone peeping on everyone? So many questions! Is this where the ring comes down?

I agree with Joe Long, get a username! I'm also inclined to agree with you for the most part. One of my biggest problems with "our hero," is his style of sex and how he zones out. It's been a problem in the past, and I don't think this will be the last time. Kayla hasn't seemed to have minded that much in the past, but her responses have been along the lines of "I knew you were thinking or blanking about x, so I didn't speak up." Which I'll stress is not good. To me that implies that Kayla feels she has to make sacrifices for Jack that aren't healthy. At the point, she is just a fuckbag for Jack's frustrations. To that extent, Jack's personal character is a little alarming, and Kayla's concept or understanding of that part of their relationship is wrong. Along those lines, Jack is certainly not the greatest person in the world, but he does seem to be a pretty decent person most of the time. He's not a shit, he just has problems he needs to get in check. We're all human, we all have flaws. There isn't a separation of emotion and logic. Now here's where I disagree. I don't think that Jack isn't seeing the blame in these things. I don't think he's avoiding taking the blame. Jack's problem is that he blames himself too much. He's constantly trying to fix things because he wants everyone to be happy, but also because he wants to get ride of the guilt. He sets to much on his shoulders. We've ended multiple chapters with Jack either lamenting himself or straight up crying in Kayla's arms about how he can't fix everything and it's his fault. I'm really loving the italics today.

I was thinking along those lines as well. That maybe she's watched more than once. I seem to recall in a chapter much earlier than this one, there was a time where Jack saw someone, or thought he saw someone. Very plausible. However, the person who post about how Kayla's "someone's..." Quote saying she might have just thought "someone's excited," or "eager." So many questions. Of course, he could have been imagining like he has in the past. There was when he and Kayla first hooked up on that stormy day where he thought he saw someone, but even Jashley admitted it was his imagination.

oohhhhhhh. Whoops. I didn't even think about it, but now that you mention... Amanda did react pretty freakishly. Damn it. Now you've got me thinking, and I went and reread te chapter there. That's something that he thinks about but then keeps going, because he's got other things on his mind. I mean, shit. I don't want that stupid relationship to start up again. For the sex point, well, I didn't actually see the part where Kayla said, "I think someone's." the first time, but I did see it this time. It could have been something to get Jack out of her, or, there may have been someone watching or coming. (Amanda?)

One of the more interesting cliff hangers. Not to discredit any of the others, but this one was different from the usually. It was a nice change up. I'm still expecting Mr. or Mrs. Hannigan to bust in on one of there sessions. If not them, then someone at least. Do I think Jack will pull out in time? Yeah. He seems to do that a lot in sex. Zone out. A little worrisome if you ask me. Why is Kayla not on the pill? Why didn't she tell Jack earlier? (it's the heat of the moment) These are all things that will have me thinking for days. I highly doubt that Kayla will get pregnant, but we may see a scare. (Late period, ext.) And man, that stuff is dangerous. Even pulling out still leaves a high risk. Looks like some of us got some of what we asked for. I liked to see Jack thinking about asking Kayla about her past. It was fun to see her get friends from work. Can't wait to see more of them. She and Becca did face off. Jack did go confront Joe. There was some decently serious stuff that went down. It was interesting end to the fracture saga, seems like many of the problems will carry over. I'm still looking for any one of the many foreshadowed events. (We seem to have got past a lot.) They may not come for a while.

I like the theory, however, I've got two main problems with it. First is Rhona. As much as she could be involved, I'm inclined to say that if Jack got in on the mix, she'd back off. I think Rhona truly likes Jack, and really sees him as a friend. She admits in passing that he's very close to her, but brushes it off Rhona-style. I don't think she's fooling anyone. Would she risk some cash over Jack? I think not. Even if she's not involved, which is what your theory pertains to, I think if Jack told her about who he thinks is in on it (which he probably will) she'll give Evan a talking to. If Evan threatens Jack, she'll probably throw down. Also (second), I think someone mentioned something about Evan being weird and not being "on the scene." Does he have the capital to be a pimp? However, it could be him, I like the wildcard. I've put a lot of thought into the pipe bomb as well, along with the water torture. They could come in here. (Maybe I'll do a write up of my idea of a scene.) It'll be interesting to see how Jack gets involved. What stake will he have with the ring. Who will pull him in? In what way can things go to shit next?

Yeah, but I think Joe specifically stated that he wouldn't write from anyone else's perspective in this story. I don't remember exactly when he said, but I do recall him mentioning that in a much earlier post. Although, I would enjoy that. The hardest part, I think, would be writing how a girl thinks. I'd assume he'd probably have to go to his wife a lot more. I'm not sure, but at least for me, writing a different gender perspective is hard, because I don't know how they think. If I did, I'd probably write some manual on that and get filthy rich. I can write how a girl talks and acts, but not how they think. It could stand for a window of perspective completely unique to Jack's. It'd be cool to see into her mind, and see more plot details. So I'd be behind it, but I'm pretty sure it won't happen.

Especially if it's a dude. We'll see how Jack deals with another main man in his (with regards to Kayla) life. Jacks texts Kayla, gets no response, assumes the worst. Granted, Jack hasn't really hung out with Rhona outside work or Kayla. Does Kayla get defensive when Jack asks questions? Is he some muscly college dude, as Rhona is a well endowed college (or post college rather) girl?

I hope no one dies. (Seriously, what if someone was in a car accident or some shit?) I've got a couple pieces to add. First, I'm looking forward to some serious throw down. Like something huge going down. I don't know what, and I don't know why, but that's what I'm looking forward to. Dues ex machina. As well, I want to learn more about Kayla's past, as well as Jack's. We knew Kayla kind of threw herself around for attention, feeling the need to fit in. I know Kayla and Jack are a package deal, but I'd be interesting to see Kayla meet someone. All of Kayla's friends are through Jack. Don't know if that'd be super relevant to the main plot line, but hell, it'd make for something interesting. (Even more substance!) What if Kayla's bestie from her old town came to visit? (Surprise! Jeff's back!) Just some sort of character development not based off Jack. You could argue, (and I'll argue) that this story is as much about Kayla as it is about Jack. She Is The One. Maybe we'll get it later, but I've been dying for some more background info on either of them. (Can Jack go meet Kayla's extended family? - does she have any?) Just adds for more analysis on the characters. I've got some rereading to do, and I may be back with some extra analysis on our main man. Talked to someone today who made me rethink a couple things about Jack. (In my own mind, they don't read or know about the story.) Furthermore, if this is the last chapter of the fracture saga coming up, then there's still a lot of problems to be resolved. Maybe the next saga will blend with this one. Obviously issues don't end with sagas, but in the past, the bulk has been resolved. Hmm.

Thank you! And the same to you. Hope everyone gets the chance to be with someone they care about.

Lol, yeah we've got their world down pat. So much so that we go over the top sometimes with connections and shit. I love it.

Either she's showing up for Jack, or she's using Jack as the excuse, she always seems to have one. She could be fishing for that extra money for an apartment. Rhona is still a mystery for the most part. We don't know a whole lot about her. I was happy to see Jack mentioning his grandparents. At least we know he has them. They could've been dead. (All mine are) Still no other family though. I can't remember if Mike has any siblings. And is it just Hannah and Blanche?

Pretty chill chapter. Not a whole lot happening, still fantastic. Plenty of humor and parts that had me smiling like an idiot. (I'm looking at you, end of the chapter.) Can't wait for the next chapter, as I feel we might have just had a Thanksgiving eye of the storm, but who knows. Still plenty of unaddressed problems. (Will Joe get suicidal?)