Ahhh here we go again making me cry! Back when I was in high school and reading this and everything was perfect and I didn’t understand relationships (lol do I really now tho no) vs this chapter and the beauty of ice and Velma and The FEELINGS this chapter gave me! I can’t even express. I loved the line about out of all the people on the world, if they could find their way back to each other and choose each other, but in the end it turned out so simple and beautiful and not happily ever after ...but kind of happily ever after, and I love that. Love the tony/Maria parallels and how all that pain and suffering kind of had to happen for ice to get where he is now. Cried a little over baby John and yes I think he’s going to be different too, if any of them have hope. “Walk tall” “I always walk tall in a jet” why’d you have to do this to me in another life I watched the film so many times I had it memorized and I totally read this in riffs voice and it was the perfect way to end ices reunion with baby John. And the scene with doc, it was all such a beautiful expression of humanity and it’s so bittersweet that ice isn’t a jet anymore but it’s so much more than that. The last line before the flashback (and the flashback itself) was my favorite, how he found what he was looking for where it was all along and I’m crying again, partly from nostalgia partly from this work of art you have written. Love the quotes you opened with and the whole thing reads like poetry in between the dialogue (and even the dialogue) and you should be majorly proud of this. I can’t beleive there’s only one chapter left, but it’s kinda the perfect ending.

HELLO?
Que moment of massive confusion seeing the notification followed by almost crying because I was 15 again dragging my laptop around so I could read this because I didn’t even have a phone. Now I’m 22 and it seems like yesterday and the NOSTALGIA! You are massively inspiring to never abandon this story and I truly mean that in the best way possible. I for one wouldn’t be able to pick up the threads and connect this story so seamlessly to the rest. It was STUNNING and i can really see how this story alone influenced my writing style and I love this chapter .

First the title, my lord of the rings obsession that followed (and preceded lets be honest) my west side story one is screaming and fits so perfectly! And like it hurts in the best way possible because yeah I kind of want the jets to go on and ice to lead them and be happy and that’s it but that’s not real and everyone has to grow up sometimes and ugh it’s breaking my heart because there really is no “happily ever after” in this west side story world but at the same time there is and everything’s going to be okay even if it’s not what I expect or want. Does that make sense? BITTERSWEET! I’m so nervous about ice and Velma reconnecting though like they’re meant to be but at the same time maybe too much has passed between them and it’s irreconcilable. Also living for Big deal and ices friendship my HEART! And the rest of them not yet moving on/ growing up it’s breaking my heart. And the scene with Juano and the sharks moving on too was flawless and sad but GOOD! And all the tony parallels to ice now omg is he going to die too pls no. I’m having trouble articulating my feelings reguarding everything maybe because it’s hitting too close to home maybe because your writing is heartbreakingly beautiful and captures humanity so well. Change is hard and thinking back to the movie/the beginning of the story wow it’s come so far and they’ve changed so much and all I can say is truly beautiful. I can’t wait for more to see how this all ends right after I go reread it again.

Thank you for your beautiful writing, it made a crappy day yesterday and I finished it this morning and my heart is so full! You are amazingly talented and I’m glad to know you are okay in our turbulent world (I vaguely recall in an old authors note you said you lived in nyc so even more so?) SIS. This story like got me through high school but it’s so much than that.
—shades (formally shadeslayerprincess111 which you probably knew me as at 15 lol)

Ok so I am made of fail and there's no way this should have taken me this long to review, but I promise it was just a "life happens" thing rather than a "putting it off" thing. Anyhoo, this was going to be super long with me quoting back my favourite bits, but then I realized I was basically copy/pasting the entire chapter and just adding a million exclamation points after because it is that perfect. Before I list the things you got exactly right, let me take this moment to also express how touched I am that Kate & Jim meant enough to you, and that you like my interpretations of them enough, to devote a whole chapter of your beautiful fic to it. Honestly, that means more to me than I can possibly explain. And now, for your reading pleasure, my List o' Perfection:

- The way the family interacts. From the kidlets, to Kate & Jim and all the combinations there of, you've perfectly captured what it's like to be part of the Farrell clan (ie. chaotic and unpredictable and always supportive and very very loving)
- Old! Kate & Jim. Like, ok, I've put a lot of thought into exactly how these two behave as elderly people, but other than that one teeny ficlet I wrote that one time (I think for the express purpose of showing you how they act) I haven't really done much with them. But you took my teeny ficlet and ran with the little details I gave you and made them perfect. They are EXACTLY how I picture them, from Jim still taking jabs at Kate's feistiness, to Kate still good-naturedly man handling him, to the fact that they've settled into a comfortable routine but are still obviously just as in love as they've always been. Just, yay.
- Jim and his carving knife. I honestly don't remember if I told you that Jim does the whittling/carving thing or if you pulled that directly from my brain, but every moment of him hanging out with Ice working with his tools and stuff was just spot-on perfect, quintessential Jim.
- Both kinds of support that the duo give Ice. Of course Kate dishes out life advice and gives him a bit of her blunt, tells-it-like-it-is opinions on things. And of course Jim is just quiet and listens and gives only the gentlest of pushes. That's what they do, and that's how they function, and they obviously sat in bed and discussed who was going to do what to help this poor stray boy.
- speaking of that, just the fact that they do take Ice in for this brief stretch of time is flawless, because Kate McGowan is the biggest collector of stray humans that ever existed.

It short, I love, love, LOVED this chapter and it made me intensely happy and I hope that Ice takes all the advice from my crazy Irish kids and GOES THE EFF HOME ALREADY. Gah, this was perfection. I loved it and I love you.

So, I read this chapter right after I saw you posted it (que tears when I saw the notification) and apologies for not reviewing right away, but after I read it I knew I had to go re-read this masterpiece, and I'm so glad I did.

Not gonna lie, this is now the best thing I've ever read on fanfiction, and up there with some of the best things I've ever read, published or not, and it was even better the second time. (it also made me watch the film all over again). Hopefully this doesn't bother you, but re-reading it made me see how much this story (and lots of your other WSS stuff too) has influenced my writing style, so thank you for that!

Maybe it was just the nostagia from re-living the story but also the time in my life when I first read, or maybe it was just that good, this fic is absolutely beautiful, and this latest chapter is one of the best. It broke my heart, but it was beautiful. It was nice to see what Ice has been up to, and it definitely leaves me questioning what I want for the ending, you get the reader so well into the character's heads, and to top it all off, they just started out just from a movie- it's amazing and I can't say enough about it, except please don't make me wait 3 more years!

Ok so I'm really out of practice writing reviews because my first attempt was just a series of exclamation points and the word GAH in block caps over and over.

Fact: no one should able to jump back into a fic after a three year hiatus and perfectly match the tone/ voice/ style of the previous umpteen chapter but you did it somehow which reinforced the thing I've always loved most about your writing, which is to say your absolute command over your characters and their voices. I've read literally nothing Ice-related since the last time you wrote a chapter for this story and he came immediately back to life. I didn't have to back track to remember what he was like, he was just back and I was like HEY ICE I MISSED YOU AND ALSO YOU ARE STILL A DUMB BOY GO HOME TO VELMA.

Also, all the little vignette's here were beautiful. Every incidental character Ice comes across has a purpose and feels like a person with a past and personality, not just a bunch of filler characters to throw into a story for the sake of giving \ice someone to talk to. From the taxi driver to the girl on the beach to the homeless vet. I loved all of them.

And I simultaneously want to hug Ice and slap his dumb face. YOU'RE SO SAD AND PATHETIC AND EMOTIONALLY STUNTED YOU POOR TRAUMATIZED IDIOT.

In short, I'm so happy you're writing this again and that you babbled at me and that I get to read more fta and finally get sweet sweet closure in howver many more chapters and whatever. YOU'RE BACK AND I LOVE THIS AND YOU.

This is genuinely stunning. One of the best fanfics of any sort I've ever read, and I don't say that lightly. I hope against hope you'll continue, but even if not, I've enjoyed myself tremendously, so thank you for that.

I enjoyed this story so much (besides all the babies at the end, but that's a weird hang up on my part,) that I read it in just 2 days. Your ability to novelize is tremendous, and I just love how descriptive you were. You really have a gift.

i am obsessed with this thank you so much for writing it

.ing but i have a correction Tony's last name is Ulzeck but you are the only person i know other than my best friend who knows that Riff's last name is Lorton. such a great story and Ice and Velma are incredibl fascinating.

Reaaaaally liking it so far and I'm saving the actual review till I've finished the story: I just wanted to point out like the smartass I am that Clarice is Action's girl, not Big Deal's.

And now I'm going to read on!

Love,
Miss Mello

This is so good! I have no words for your writing. Its incredible. I love the part at the end, with the disappearing fingerprints and all. That was super creative. Can't wait for more!

Can I just say, that this is definatly one of the best things I've ever read, if not the best? It is incredible and extremely inspiring how you take these characters, who were just actors who never really became famous (at least to my knowledge!) who just had names and few lines, and sang and danced, and you created an identitiy for each and every one of them? You brought life to all the extra characters of West Side Story. Not to mention your amazing writing talent! I can't even think of how to complement it because its so good. I watched WSS last night again, and I found myself watching Ice and Velma more than the main characters, and even the 'chorus' jets. This story is truly amazing-too good for words.

This is awesome. I love reading this! It's really good! I love you take the movie's basic plot line and add all these extra scenes, and go in-depth with the characters and all. Keep writing!

WAH CHAPTER. Now that I have finally had a moment.

First, because you asked - Midge was Midge. Perfect Midge. I haven't written anything to do with her in a long while so it was really nice to see her out and about again (I really should stop neglecting my brain-children, lol). And her last line was like, if Midge had a personal slogan, that would be it. Plus the idea of her running a clinical study on love tickles me. TOO LATE MIDGE. Bahahaha. As for Mrs. Kelly's Irish accent, you do perfectly fine. The biggest thing is never forgetting to cut the 'g' on the end of anything with and 'ing', including words like ' everything' which I would generally write as 'everythin' or, if the accent is really pronounced 'ev'rythin'. But that's fussy.

Second - LIESL AND RUDI. I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE.

Third - This chapter was great, as usual. I mean, I'm not being flip here, I just say 'as usual' to illustrate the sheer amount of consistent awesomeness you've managed to churn out in this fic. My favourite bits were the scenes with Velma and her brother, and the scene where she's watching Anybodys and ARab, both of which were pitch perfect. Loved it so so much. I likethat everything you write has a dual purpose, in this case to show how the Jets and other characters are moving on ad growing up, and also to examine all these other relationships through the glass of Velma's loss. Which I'm sure is why this chapter is named the way it is actually. But it is so important to see how Velma's entire experience of the world is being coloured by Ice being gone. SO IT WAS FABULOUS IS WHAT I'M SAYING.

So yes, I loved it. Like, GAH, LOVE. And I am desperate to know when Ice is getting is sorry ass back in the picture because seriously dude, NOT COOL. That is all.

I DID NOT BELIEVE MY EYES. You updated!

Okay, so first of all, you would never know that this has been on a two-year hiatus (jfc has it really been that long?). This feels just like all the other chapters, and I mean that as a compliment-nothing feels out of place, so props for being able to pick up your writing style so easily because not a lot of people can do that.

And can we talk about how heartbreaking Velma is here because...oh my god? I think this depressed me beyond belief and I just ICE NO.

Also that interaction with Anybodys (okay you knew I was going to comment on that) is absolute perfection?

And Velma just verbally slapping Schrank like damn son.

So...update soon...?

(also major congrats on the figure skating championship, that's so great!)