#but i'm just truly not interested even slightly in seeing her 'progress' in her relationship with gary | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

spookyclooky · 2 years

Text

Book Review 2: Electric Boogaloo (2022 Edition)

hello, everyone, I'm back once again to talk about the books I've read for 2022!

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Goodreads Book Description: Go and catch a falling star . . . Tristran Thorn will do anything to win the cold heart of beautiful Victoria Forester—even fetch her the star they watch fall from the night sky. But to do so, he must enter the unexplored lands on the other side of the ancient wall that gives their tiny village its name. Beyond that stone barrier, Tristran learns, lies Faerie, a world of lords and witches . . . and the most exhilarating adventure of the young man’s life.

My Goodreads Review: (Warning! Contains spoilers!)

(I gave this 4 stars)

Now that I’ve finished this book, I’m not entirely sure what to say about it other than I felt very mystified reading it. It was interesting to see the difference in ending between the movie and the book (since I saw the movie long before reading this), and I like the ending of the movie more. I’m not gonna expand too much upon that, but I was glad that it was more of an adult fantasy novel. It felt realistically magical and I enjoyed reading it, though Yvaine’s characterization is a bit off to me. I think that her feelings toward Tristran could have been shown in a much more natural progression, I don’t feel that the book truly did Tristran and Yvaine’s relationship justice? I think it could have been tweaked a bit. I also am slightly annoyed that his name is Tristran and not Tristan, because I have no idea how to pronounce Tristran correctly and it’s awkward so I’ve been more or less ignoring the fact that there’s another R in there. I’ve been reading it as Tristan. Also, I thought his mother was unnecessarily rough with Tristan? I feel like she should have been more delighted to see her son for the first time in 18 years rather than saying “I ask you ONE time to rule Stormhold and THIS is how you treat me?” It felt sort of gaslight-y and I wasn’t down for that. I sorta like that she had cat ears, though, that was cool. Not to mention the graphic sex scene that was somehow included in there?? It threw me for a loop seeing it just kinda sprinkles in toward the beginning of the book. I don’t think it really fit with the theme of the story and it felt out of place and jarring the way it was introduced to us. I also don’t understand why he was happy to see his sister, when through his whole life she’s been nothing but a bully to him. I feel that should have been addressed more, as well as the passive aggressiveness he was shown by the woman his father married and he had perceived to be his mother. ALSO, Victoria marrying the older shopkeeper feels weird, I don’t like that. I don’t know how old he is but the way they describe him in the book makes it feel like he’s too old for her, especially if she’s either the same age or a year younger than Tristan. Her age wasn’t very clear, though, like the only part of it that’s clear is that they’re close in age. I preferred the character of Humphrey being the romantic rival for Tristan, considering he seemed to be about their age as well. I appreciate that Victoria wasn’t as entitled in the book as she was in the movie, though it was way more satisfying seeing Tristan sort of stand up to her rather than simply being like, “If you’re in love with another man, I wish for you to be happy and nothing more,”. It does make sense, considering he cared for her enough to travel literal months to find a star for her. One thing I did quite enjoy about the book as opposed to the movie was the more dynamic nature of the environment and the more zany characters that were encountered along the way, (such as the weird little hairy man and the sentient forest that tried to attack them, for example.) Considering this is possibly the longest review I’ve written for goodreads, I’m going to stop here. All in all, it was a wonderful read and I’m happy I spent the time to go through it. (Shit, that was so long sorry lmao)

2) The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Goodreads Book Description: Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful. Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back. There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?

My Goodreads Review: I gave it 2 stars but didn't write a separate review for it. I remember really not liking it, though

3) Heartstopper: Volume 1-4

Goodreads Book Description (Book 1): Charlie, a highly-strung, openly gay over-thinker, and Nick, a cheerful, soft-hearted rugby player, meet at a British all-boys grammar school. Friendship blooms quickly, but could there be something more...? Charlie Spring is in Year 10 at Truham Grammar School for Boys. The past year hasn't been too great, but at least he's not being bullied anymore. Nick Nelson is in Year 11 and on the school rugby team. He's heard a little about Charlie - the kid who was outed last year and bullied for a few months - but he's never had the opportunity to talk to him. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn't think he has a chance. But love works in surprising ways, and sometimes good things are waiting just around the corner...

(I didn't add any more cause the first book sort of summarized the series)

My Goodreads Review: (I rated them all 5 stars but didn't write a separate review for any of them)

4) Blackwater by Jeanette Arroyo, Ren Graham

Goodreads Book Description:

Riverdale meets Stranger Things in this debut queer YA graphic novel, developed from a hit webcomic. Set in the haunted town of Blackwater, Maine, two boys fall for each other as they dig for clues to a paranormal mystery. "For fans of Heartstopper and Teen Wolf." —School Library Journal Tony Price is a popular high school track star and occasional delinquent aching for his dad’s attention and approval. Eli Hirsch is a quiet boy with a chronic autoimmune disorder that has ravaged his health and social life. What happens when these two become unlikely friends (and a whole lot more . . .) in the spooky town of Blackwater, Maine? Werewolf curses, unsavory interactions with the quarterback of the football team, a ghostly fisherman haunting the harbor, and tons of high school drama. Co-illustrated by Jeannette Arroyo and Ren Graham, who alternate drawing chapters in their own unique and dynamic styles, Blackwater combines the spookiness of Anya's Ghost with the irreverent humor of Nimona.

My Goodreads Review:

(I gave this 5 stars)

cute and lgbtq+ with supernatural beings! what more could someone ask for??? plus the art is fantastic. like, i honestly couldn't tell 2 different artists were illustrating

----

I hope you enjoyed my lil ramblings about these books and I can't wait to tell you guys all about what I read in the coming year!

If you want to find me on Goodreads, let me know and I'll figure out how to make that happen!

Till next time, y'all!

#booklr #books and reading #graphic novel #goodreads #spooky speaks #2022 books #long post #long post is long

0 notes

everythingsinred · 3 years

Text

Let's Talk About NatsuMikan: Natsume (pt. 5)

I'm back on my bullshit. I decided I'd post these, once a day, four days a week. Then I'll go on breaks for the weekend to let interested readers catch up while also further writing more entries. At the time I'm posting this, for example, I'm in the process of analyzing Chapter 39. That way, it's easier for everyone to enjoy this essay. Which I hope people do.

Anyway, this can finally truly be called a ship essay, because one of our key players has FINALLY developed feelings! Going forward, Natsume's behavior will heavily feature his growing affections for Mikan. We'll be analyzing Natsume's self-preserving hesitation as well as his immediate instinct to give up any chance he has from the get-go.

Chapter Seventeen

Natsume next shows up to walk into Class B during a commotion of Mikan’s retelling of the Reo incident. The kids all gather around him now too to ask questions and press about his condition. One kid even asks if he should teach Mikan a lesson for bragging about his rescue. Mikan smiles at him, under the assumption that their shared trauma has brought them closer and maybe even made them friends, but Natsume’s response is to simply turn away and ignore her.

He’s still Natsume after all. This is the first girl he’s ever liked, and she used to be somebody he despised, so the change in feelings is probably very strange to him. He’s confused and possibly embarrassed. He doesn’t know what to say or how to act.

Can't have her getting any ideas that he's completely changed his mind about her or anything.

Most of the people that Natsume likes at the school (although that is just Ruka and Youichi… so… you know) know that he likes them. He spends time with them, is gentle with them, does things for them, and can openly say kind things to and about them. Mikan is different. He used to be her number one enemy, so all of a sudden switching gears and becoming her friend would be quite odd.

Over time, Natsume will find ways to be gentle and sweet to Mikan, but for now his crush is brand new and he doesn’t know how to act quite yet. He’d rather avoid her entirely, or pretend like nothing happened, than openly approach his new feelings.

Furthermore his behavior is always and under all circumstances inseparable from his status as Persona’s favorite and as the Black Cat. He may have some loved ones, but he keeps the number low and tries to avoid getting close to people for a reason. Naturally, nobody could ever really understand his experiences so there will always be a divide between him and the rest of his peers, but even more than that is that considering people precious turns them into targets.

Natsume has probably learned the hard way that displaying closeness and affection for his friends can have dangerous effects, so he might now think of showing that kind of affection as selfish or even cruel. Why subject somebody to something like that, merely because he has feelings for them? It’s not fair.

In either case, it’s really not that Natsume is naturally mean and cold. He just doesn’t trust his situation enough to properly act. It’s safer in every way to just pretend like nothing changed. It’s too much to deal with otherwise. But sooner rather than later, the hard thing will be staying away. Eventually, maintaining coldness with her will be almost impossible.

Chapter Eighteen

This chapter further touches on Natsume’s new-found crush and its consequences.

Class B is used to being in an environment where Natsume hates Mikan and is bothered by everything she does. He gives in to her slightly, in small ways, and it shocks his classmates. Now, it’s understandable that, even if he hadn’t developed a crush on her, he might still be softer to a girl who risked her life to save him, but it’s still odd.

Mikan recalls asking Natsume for help training her alice. She needs an offensive alice to nullify, so Iinchou or Hotaru’s would be ineffectual in training. Natsume is really the best person to ask, and, to everyone’s surprise, he actually agrees to help.

Natsume doesn't need any convincing to help her, but what did she think practicing with a fire alice would entail?

And yes it does seem like he’s only doing it to torture her, because his alice is capable of genuine bodily harm and his admirers snicker with amusement at his antics, but I can’t help but assume there’s more to it.

He doesn’t really hesitate to help. He doesn’t need convincing at all. In some ways I think he did genuinely want to help. Her alice helped save his life, after all. Why not repay the favor by using his alice to help her train? To him, there's a lot of value in her alice, so training it is beneficial in his perspective as well.

And later still, Mikan spots Natsume sitting amongst the principal students. He stands out, as an elementary student next to upperclassmen. This moment is a good introduction to the arc. His crush on Mikan only grows stronger as the festival goes on, but there’s something looming over him too--he’s different from the rest of them. He stands out so much during the festival. He’s a dangerous ability type who’s not allowed to participate while also being a principal who has to sit on the stage for the opening ceremony. That's horribly ironic, but also shows just how singled out and under the spotlight he is. It’s a huge part of why he acts the way he does, so cold and mean and distant despite his growing affections. It’s all he can do.

He may see potential for a future, but he’d be foolish to think he should be able to acquire it, because his current circumstances have not changed at all.

The chapter ends with Natsume being asked by Koko if he wants to try out the special ability class event. He’s looking towards the special ability area, and we can tell the next chapter will be fun.

Chapter Nineteen

And how!

Natsume is here to see Ruka, his best friend, but he’s also here to catch a glimpse of the girl he has a crush on.

Sumire is also there, and it’s interesting to see that Natsume hasn’t changed in his attitude around her either, even though she also helped save him. She tries to embrace him and he dodges her.

This catches some people’s attention and they start to whisper about his presence.

In the anime, this moment is a bit more potent, hearing the murmurs and seeing a darkness over the gossiping kids, but the manga still establishes that the people waiting in line are by-and-large unhappy to see him. They whisper amongst themselves, rudely asking why he’d bother to come here, but that gloom only lasts for a moment (one singular panel and then Natsume’s responding bitterness) before Mikan appears jumping over the wall, calling his name and even smiling.

It’s almost like she was waiting for him to show up, running off from her post the second she heard Natsume was there. The dark looming screentones are replaced with flowery ones, and it’s hard not to think of this as his perspective: all is gloomy and then there is Mikan. All of a sudden, after hating her for so long, he thinks of her as bright sunshine, and he must have showed up just to see her and feel nice for a change.

It's Natsume seeing Mikan through floral-filter lenses for me...

Of course, he ruins the mood. It feels almost as if he does it solely because he knows it will upset her. She was so excited to see him, and he manages to completely turn her mood from eager to angry, just the opposite of how she was able to unwittingly turn his mood from gloomy to... as close to content as he can get.

He’s okay now. He doesn’t want her getting any ideas.

Now, in my opinion, his method of bothering her could be anything and the plot would remain the same. What matters is that he wants to piss her off, and this just so happens to be the way he does it, partially because it’s intended to be funny. Mikan has to get angry at him for this chapter to progress the way it does, but his actions could have been replaced by any other irritating action and it could’ve gone the same way.

Tsubasa then appears, drawn to the sound of a loud commotion. He sees Natsume and vaguely wonders why he’s there. Everyone knows Natsume, at all grade levels, because he’s famous. For Tsubasa, whose only real knowledge of Mikan’s relationship with the kid is that he causes trouble in Class B, it would be strange to see him at the RPG.

Natsume, meanwhile, has no idea who Tsubasa is. Seeing Mikan crawl all over her senpai, seeing him easily comfort her, is something that bugs Natsume. He glares at Tsubasa, somebody whose name he doesn’t even know, and then starts leaving with Ruka.

At first, Tsubasa is confused to be treated like this, until he hugs Mikan tighter and sees both Natsume and Ruka turn in jealousy. Tsubasa gets it immediately. Thus begins a strange and tumultuous frenemy relationship between Tsubasa and Natsume, where they both begrudgingly understand each other while also irritating each other beyond belief.

Natsume is not interested in playing the game, insulting it and wondering how anyone could get hooked on it. Ultimately, it’s not even Mikan who convinces him to give it a shot; it’s Tsubasa taunting him, “then you should be able to win, no problem, right?”

Tsubasa will come to regret saying this, because the answer is yes.

The RPG is designed to be tough. Nobody has won the whole game yet. Beating one or two students is one thing, but being able to outsmart or outmaneuver the entire special ability class is a difficult feat.

Natsume agrees to play, and gets a robot cockroach as a weapon.

Tsubasa is hugging Mikan as Natsume is about to enter, and that pisses him off even more. He decides that Tsubasa will be his slave, his motive being get your hands off her. This is silly considering that just a short time ago, Natsume hated Mikan. His feelings really did a 180.

The challenges pick up in difficulty as he goes on. The first one is effortless. He doesn’t even move from where he’s standing. The mirror-alice girl just freaks out about the cockroach and sends him on his way after two seconds.

The next one is trickier, and Natsume will need to put in more effort than just standing and waiting for the cockroach to do its job. But not that much effort. He sits next to Megane, lights a fire, and waits. It’s a scorching flame, and although Megane tries to tough it out, he gives in with two seconds to spare. Natsume, a smartass, quips sarcastically that he’s sorry--he really can’t tell how hot it is. (This is not actually important or anything, it’s just interesting that Natsume is not affected by his own flames and can’t feel the heat of them. I might end up referring to this a couple times.)

With the exception of the first and last challenges, Natsume uses his alice to beat the maze; either by heating Megane up so his soul goes back into his body, or by writing with fire instead of chalk. The next challenge is the one Natsume has been waiting for and he’ll use his alice here too.

Tsubasa is shocked to find Natsume has progressed so quickly, but he proceeds with the challenge: Natsume has to touch him in thirty seconds, but it’ll be tricky ‘cause he’s held in place by his shadows. He toys with Natsume’s shadows a bit, which really pisses Natsume off. Tsubasa even apologizes nervously, even though he’s the one in control. Or he is, until Natsume uses his alice again and gets rid of the shadows.

Natsume’s anger towards Tsubasa all stems from jealousy. It’s not just that Tsubasa was hugging and comforting Mikan, it’s that he can. Natsume needs to distance himself from Mikan in order to keep her safe, and he’s aware of that right from the start, but there’s more to it. He’s busy establishing himself as an enemy to Mikan, doing things to bother her to make her angry with him, but nobody rushes to their bully for comfort, and Natsume knows this. It’s not just that Tsubasa was hugging Mikan; it’s that he feels like he will never get the chance.

And so the next and final challenge is where he gets to be selfish.

Mikan is aggravated to see him, obviously not thrilled that he was able to make it in such a short time. Her task is that he has to get her off the carpet in thirty seconds. He can’t hurt her or force her off the carpet, and because of their alice training together, he can’t use his alice on her either. (They’d apparently practiced so much that she was able to sharpen her skills significantly. Before, her alice was a wildcard and she struggled with using it, but now she’s able to use it with relative ease. That’s a lot of training in a short time, and I’m sure Natsume wasn’t upset at all the time they had to spend together as a result.)

Natsume must feel relief regarding Mikan's nullification alice. She's nullified his alice in pretty big ways already, one time to save his life. The girl he's crushing on is capable of turning off the thing that decreases his lifespan. She really is a breath of fresh air, in more ways than one, and his appreciation for her alice, even if he doesn't voice it, will only grow. This is important, but I'll talk way more about this in the other POV.

He tries the cockroach, but she’s a country girl and unaffected.

Natsume is genuinely stumped by her challenge, admitting to himself that it’s a tough one. He then comes up with a risky idea, no doubt influenced by her rescue of him when they were kidnapped by Reo. He plays sick. This act only works if Mikan falls for it and is concerned enough to jump off the carpet, but he’s a good actor on account of all the sick experience he has and she does fall for it in no time. Her being concerned was a given.

She jumps off, meaning he’s won the game, but that’s not enough of a victory for him. He acts sick until she’s closer, so he can grab her and put his arm around her. Yes, he calls her an idiot, but this is the closest he can get to a hug… for now. It doesn’t matter that she’s annoyed and dismayed that he won. All he cares about is that he got to touch her.

She jumped down. He won already, but it's not enough! (Also sorry about two pictures. If it ruins the format, oh well.)

Natsume was jealous that Tsubasa got to do something he thinks he'll never be able to, and so he got a taste of what he wanted some other, convoluted way. He gets angry that Tsubasa is so touchy, but that's only because he wishes he could be touchy too. Natsume will get bolder and bolder with his physical affection, because he will want more and more to show it. When he starts being honest about this affection, she will be more eager to return it.

Natsume is the first winner, and Tsubasa admits it was never expected for somebody to be able to pass all the challenges. Part of the appeal is that it’s an unbeatable game, but Natsume’s feelings of jealousy and spite were enough to get him over the finish line. Though perhaps knowing it's beatable but only one person could is also appealing. It's possible to pass, but very rare for somebody to be able to, so they can draw in crowds by capitalizing on kids who want to the next person to beat the game.

He gets to choose a lamp, but he has no idea which one is whose. He cheats by asking Koko to tell him which one is the right one, but he ends up picking Mikan’s, because Koko assumed that’s the one he wanted. After all--Natsume was thinking about her. Natsume is lucky that Mikan was too anguished at being a slave to care about Natsume thinking about her, but it’s interesting to know that even when he’s supposed to be angry at Tsubasa, he was only thinking of Mikan.

Chapter Twenty

This chapter’s premise is pretty simple and light: Natsume can’t think of any use for Mikan other than to follow him and Ruka around the festival and carry their stuff. They navigate the technical ability class area and even encounter Hotaru, though only for a short time because she’s quite busy.

Most importantly, their time in the technical area makes Mikan insecure. Everyone in the tech class seems to know what they want to do with their lives, with their alices being perfect for research or creation. I’ll go into more detail with this during Mikan’s essay, but it’s important to note that Mikan asks the people around her if they’re prepared for their future only to see that they all are. Hotaru, Sumire, and even Ruka all have dreams for the future, even if Ruka won’t share his. Natsume has decided to leave the conversation and we don’t hear what his dream is, which makes sense because he doesn’t have one. Natsume doesn’t think he’ll live long enough to graduate, so why even bother wasting his own time and getting his hopes up for something unattainable?

It’s then revealed that Ruka is also a triple, and Mikan can’t tell, but the mood has been soured for Ruka. His triple-star status is a touchy subject that he’s unhappy with. His star rank is representative of Natsume’s suffering and he doesn’t like talking about it. He only says that he didn’t mention it because he didn’t get it on his own talent or effort before Natsume forces Mikan to walk in another direction, claiming to be hungry.

This is literally just a scan of the TokyoPop version, which is better than the other version I see floating around.

He can tell Ruka is uncomfortable and is ready to step in so that his friend can feel better.

As a result, they end up at the cafe where Anna is working (after all, Mikan has been perfecting her puppy-dog eyes routine and I think both Ruka and Natsume are affected, even if the latter would never admit it).

Natsume takes the first bite of Anna’s hell pie, just to see a rot demon (or whatever that thing is) taunt him about the trouble his stomach will be in soon. He really doesn’t have a choice but to throw the tea over the pie. Ruka is grateful, but Mikan is outraged at how rude Natsume is acting, and even angrier when Natsume explains that the pie was horrible. She demands he apologize but Natsume simply walks away, content to be the bad guy because he saved his friends from getting food poisoning while also sparing Anna’s feelings and reputation at her cafe.

"Your stomach will writhe" is such a potent threat. I feel sick just looking at that demon/scoundrel/rot thing.

This scene has more substance than in the anime. In the episode, Natsume sees the rotten scoundrel (or WHATEVER IT IS) before he can take a bite. He tosses the tea for all their sakes and ultimately nobody is hurt. But here, in the manga, Natsume has already taken a bite. We see the missing part of the pie, the residue on the fork. Natsume is already screwed. He's going to have food poisoning from Anna's pie, and he still puts her feelings before his own. He'd rather say that the pie is terrible according to his own tastes than to let everyone around know that she made such a health-risking mistake. He drenches the pie so that Mikan and Ruka don't get food poisoning, even if it's too late for him. Natsume leaves, knowing he will look like an asshole, AND with stomach problems on top of that, but at least he's the only one who will be seriously hurt.

This is a pretty insignificant example of a trait that we have seen before with Natsume but haven't really fully explored. It's going to play a major role for the rest of the manga, because Natsume has something of a martyr complex, where he is quick to sacrifice himself because he sees little to no value in his own happiness. This is a small example, and I'm not saying it's not kind of him, but there are consequences with his line of thinking. He's fine with looking like an asshole to protect people, or giving up things he wants so someone else can have it, or blowing himself up so two girls can escape safely. Whenever there's a chance to sacrifice himself, Natsume will take it every single time.

This may seem noble or romantic or admirable but it's not healthy at all. The way he was raised (no shade to Papa Hyuuga and Kaoru but also.... tentatively side-eyeing them for putting so much responsibility on him) and the way he is now tortured by the school has put him in a position where his self esteem is horribly low. This complex of his results in suicidal tendencies, even after he falls in love with Mikan (and even exacerbated by that love). For Natsume, love is sacrifice. He simply cannot love without feeling like he has to give something up. Ideally, he would grow out of this and maybe start seriously choosing himself sometimes. It's not evil to want yourself to be happy and to choose your own well-being, even if it occasionally makes others sad or upset.

In the context of the actual story though, we have yet another glimpse of a complex that will cause a LOT of trouble down the road for Natsume and Mikan.

Conclusion

Natsume has new feelings for Mikan and is having trouble navigating them. They will cause even more trouble in the next essay. We also touched more on Natsume's self-sacrificing tendencies and how devastating they will turn out to be. These tendencies will be consistent and persistent throughout the manga in regards to NatsuMikan's relationship, and cause more problems. These problems will pop up a bit in the next part, so stay tuned!

Also, small note: I call him Ruka and not Luca because I got used to it after watching the anime and through scans and fanfics. I heard his name pronounced that way and at first thought it was a Japanese name so I simply copied the pronunciation. When I found out it was supposed to be Luca, I'd already been using Ruka for a while. I don't really want to switch to using Luca most of the time because I know people in real life named Luca/Luka and I talk enough about GA on the daily where it might feel strange to me. I use Luca sometimes when I'm talking to others who prefer it, but Ruka is what I'm used to. I hope this isn't frustrating, but understand that I pronounce Killua's name (from HxH) like "Ki-ru-a" as well and in my head "Gakuen Alice" is pronounced "Gakuen Arisu" because I pronounce things based on what I hear when watching the anime ;-; These are things I have no real desire to change because they sound right to me. I'm sorry. (Nobody has said anything or complained, and this is not a vague or anything like that! I just wanted to say that I know it's supposed to be Luca and it's not my intention to be disrespectful when I pronounce/spell it Ruka. I am fucking crazy, but I am free.)

<- Previous Next ->

#gakuen alice #alice academy #hyuuga natsume #natsume hyuuga #natsumikan #sakura mikan #mikan sakura #my meta #ga #mine #ga meta #ga meta: nm #ga meta: manga #ga meta: manga nm #let's talk about natsumikan #let's talk about natsumikan: natsume #because of how jam-packed the alice festival is with nm content this might take two more parts to complete #stay patient with me please i am trying my best ;-;#i couldnt go into the haunted house knowing id only have two pics to work with. it would kill me.#theres just too much #the ten image limit is genuinely such an obstacle so if u wish there was more then blame tumblr and maybe theyll raise the limit to fifteen #they wont. tumblr is a disgusting landfill of a website.#edit for song: stupid by brendan maclean #theres some jealousy and tsundere behavior. love that for early love natsume

33 notes · View notes

raylangivins · 3 years

Note

hey I like going through your justified tags and seeing your random thoughts so,,, you wanna give a ranking of each season for me? it's really interesting seeing which ones are people's favorites since justified is one of the few 2010s shows that follows a complete hero-villain story arc in a season. each has a quantifiable Vibe and Message unique to that season. go!

first of all that is very sweet thank you ❤️

i love this question and thought about it a lot on my last rewatch so thank you for asking.

1. my personal favourite is season 4 because i LOVE the drew thompson mystery so much and how it weaves these ideas of like urban legend and folk tale into how harlan came to be and raylan and boyd's personal histories with harlan. the fact that bo and arlo started their criminal enterprise with money from drew thompson and then both went to their deaths hiding his secrets only for raylan and boyd to end up competing to unearth them!!! and all because they're both trying to be different to their fathers and build their own futures on the success of finding drew!!!! that raylan and boyd are forced to question what they knew of their fathers and what they know of themselves!!! that it ends with boyd alone in the house he wanted to build his clean future in and with raylan's darkest, most morally grey act of the whole series -- the exact opposite of what either of them wanted!!! i also love the boyd/ava stuff going on that season, and just ava's individual storyline with ellen may. it's nice to see who ava becomes when her stakes in the crime business are slightly more personal than being attached to boyd. and i'm sure i've said in many a post that decoy is my favourite justified episode because it is!!!! it's so good!!!!!! whole season makes me buckwild.

2. while 4 is my favourite obviously season 2 is objectively the best season of justified. all the bennett stuff is so fucking good. like, mags is by far the best season big bad in the entire show's run (excluding boyd bc he's a main), and absolutely everything that season does with history, with cycles of violence, with family, with the kind of loyalty you're expected to owe to your home and your people....delicious! i already sorta talked about the loretta/raylan(/helen) parallels but it's just such a lovely and heartbreaking little journey for raylan's character that season. boyd and ava's growing relationship is so compelling, and i like that boyd's a little displaced at the beginning. boyd takes a lot of shapes throughout the show, so it's interesting to see him just like...unmoored for a while. and how even just that puts raylan on edge. also i need to give a special shoutout to dickie bennett because...i LOVE dickie bennett. i love that he has raylan and boyd's problem of still clinging to some terrible harlan violence that happened to him as a teenager but unlike raylan and boyd he's in it by himself. raylan does not give a shit, and that makes it so much worse. like i constantly think about that scene where dickie has raylan hanging from a tree and after hearing about the baseball incident from everyone but dickie we finally hear just how angry dickie's been about it his entire life. dickie knew the number of steps a person takes every day off the top of his head!!! raylan crippled him and raylan truly does not fucking care at all. it's like that thing where someone's your best friend but you know someone else is their best friend, except raylan's dickie's worst enemy but dickie's not raylan's because boyd already took up the mantle. hilarious and tragic. DICKIE!!!

3. number three, season 3! i liked quarles as a villain in season 3. i like that he got progressively more unhinged the more he had to deal with raylan and boyd's shit. i like all the limehouse stuff and wish we'd gotten more of it, (obviously my preference tends to lean towards seasons where there's harlan "world-building" and backstory so to speak, and the internal politics of noble's holler was so interesting to me. and that in relation to the women of harlan especially frances givens would've been cool to explore, although i get why they didn't.) i also love the stuff going on with raylan/arlo/boyd because like....what the fuck lmao. i wish we'd gotten to see more of how boyd felt about arlo and raylan's whole deal. i get boyd being dismissive to raylan about it tbh because boyd has is own daddy issues and he's angry about it in completely different ways to raylan but i'd love to see how he reconciles all that in his head. if it's something he even needs to reconcile or if he truly just doesn't care. and also how raylan feels about it because the most we really get is a kind of general annoyance with boyd and arlo that mixes in with the crime stuff, and then his detached hurt when he tells winona why arlo shot tom bergen.

4. season 1 babey. it's the most procedural and i think the show is better when it's more of a serial story, but like, understandable, the show was still finding it's feet. obviously it kicks into gear when boyd comes back, but even before that it's fun. raylan's a real idiot in this one and it is very enjoyable to me -- a person who enjoys seeing raylan be an idiot. he kills 10 people this season!!!! insane man!! the entire scene with boyd/ava/raylan trapped in the cabin in bulletville is probably one of my all time favourites because it's so fucking silly.

5. i do like season 6 but to be perfectly honest i really don't care about markham or katherine hale and i wish less time was spent on them. i don't think the season needed a big bad other than boyd although i guess they needed boyd to be doing something for raylan to be chasing after him. there's stuff about that whole storyline which i do like--katherine fucking with ava was very nerve-wracking and good television--but idk. i think the most affecting moments of the season were with the characters we already knew--boyd murdering dewey, loretta trying to fill mags shoes, raylan kissing ava in her kitchen, raylan seeing arlo's "ghost" in the shed, all the scenes with raylan and anyone else on the marshal team just being tim/art/rachel: are u gonna be chill about catching boyd?? raylan: nope :^). i think the latter half where the build up for raylan and boyd's confrontation finally starts to crescendo is better than the first half, although i do like how viciously petty boyd and raylan spend the first half of the season being. the raylan/boyd/ava stuff is so, so good too, it's what carries the whole season for me.

6. for the record i do not think there is a bad season of justified, but 5 was like...the least fun? it's kind of a bummer season, i get why people tend not to like it as much. i do actually quite enjoy the crowe stuff. i think the dynamics going on between wendy, darryl and kendal are all so fucked up and painful, and i thought watching them tear each other apart, while not very satisfying (because it's a bummer), was told really well. there's also interesting stuff with raylan trying to insert himself into it, because he essentially offers kendal the same thing he offered loretta in season 2, but kendal doesn't really take him up on it, and then raylan's caught between his desire to wreck darryl's shit vs trying to protect this young boy who's caught up in it just because he was born into it. and then all of that's twisted up in raylan's obvious issues with fatherhood and the fact that he spends the entire season avoiding his daughter. love the stuff going on with poor dewey. ava's prison storyline is infuriating, again, because it's a massive fucking bummer, but i do like the journey ava goes on. the tension between raylan and art is also something that realistically had to happen eventually, and i thought it was good, but tied up a bit too neatly? i think the main issue with the season is just how split all the storylines feel. raylan, boyd and ava are all kinda doing their own thing for most of the season and i think they're at their best when their paths are clashing and converging on each other. like season 6, i think season 5 is a season with more individual good moments than good cohesive story/character moments.

#replies #anon #justified

25 notes · View notes

animetrashlmao · 5 years

Note

Hi, I'm a huge fan of your work. Your style is just beautiful. If you are interested would you write about sasusaku married life...Sakura losing her memory and Sasuke helping her go through their history together and a clueless Sakura realising how much Sasuke Love's his wife I hope you find the concept interesting Much love from Germany

Sending you love from the US! Thank you for the kind words. I’m so sorry that this has been sitting in my ask box for a few weeks, it’s been a rough time lately😭 I gave this prompt my best shot in as short amount a time as possible, and I’m definitely rusty from not doing any creative writing lately. Still, I hope that you like it!

The room slowly comes into focus as her eyes open with caution, sensitive to the sunlight that peeks through the curtains of this unfamiliar room. Her head pounds as she raises herself up carefully into a sitting position, only noticing that she wasn’t alone when she feels a strong arm wrap around her middle to help her. She turns towards the smooth, deep voice that the arm belongs to, trying to sort out her thoughts.

“Take it easy,” he had said.

Why? Where was she? How did she end up here? The questions swirling through her mind only make her dizzy. Worried, mismatched eyes meet her own as she thanks him quietly. Sensing her reservation, he slowly withdraws his arm from her waist, assuring that she is comfortable first.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

Sakura watches as the man in front of her avoids her gaze, clearly upset about something. He was handsome, she noted mentally.

“You’ve been unconscious for four and a half days. You may have suffered a traumatic brain injury after sustaining a substantial blow to your head.”

She processes for a moment before her medical training kicks in.

“I’m assuming after stabilizing me, there should be some imaging right? Can I see the MRI and CT scan results?”

His demeanor seems to lighten up a bit at this for some reason. Sasuke was unsure of whether she’d retained her medical knowledge and figured it would be a sure sign of whether she’d suffered any memory loss. So far, it seemed like that hadn’t been the case.

“Yes, I’ll go get them now.” He leaves the room for a few minutes, returning with a nurse who carries a file in hand. She passes the file to Sakura while asking a few standard questions about her current state. They go through some basic motor function tests together before the nurse leaves them.

Sakura runs her hand through her hair as she turns through the pages of her file, reading the radiologist’s notes. As she brings her hand down, the sharp prick she feels on her scalp indicates that she’s caught something in her hair. Carefully disentangling her hand from her otherwise well-groomed hair, she stares at the ring on her finger.

“Huh. I wonder when I got this ring,” she muses, unaware that Sasuke is watching her. She turns her hand this way and that, allowing the light to catch the ruby at different angles.

“I gave that to you, Sakura.” She startles at both his presence and the response to a question she thought she had been asking herself. Slow to look up from her hand, Sakura thinks of all of the possible situations in which she would accept such a precious ring from a man she didn’t know.

“I must be a bit confused, considering the head injury and all,” she laughs nervously. “Why would you give me this ring, doctor?”

Sasuke’s breath catches in his throat as he pauses to process what she just said. She’s smiling apologetically at him, her eyes curious as she waits for him to answer. He realizes she isn’t pranking him, as Sakura is sometimes prone to do.

“I gave you that ring, Sakura,” he starts slowly, “because you’re my wife and I wanted to make sure that others were aware. I’m not a doctor.”

The shock that crosses her face confirms it for him - she really didn’t remember who he was. The sinking of his heart into his stomach is accompanied by the heavy weight of anxiety on his chest at the idea of her not knowing who he was. Instinctively, his fingers curl into a fist with anger at himself for letting this happen to her in the first place.

Her gaze travels from his face down to the ring on her left hand and back to him again.

“Are you sure?” Her voice was meek as she was visibly struggling to grasp at any memory that would make this revelation make sense in her head.

He nods before pulling a chair close to her bed. He points to her name in small text at the top of her brain scans, his finger resting under the name “Uchiha.” For a split second, Sakura thinks she’s looking at someone else’s file before reading her own name adjacent to it.

“Uchiha Sakura...” she trails off. “I definitely remember my maiden name being Haruno. So you’re Uchiha...?”

“Sasuke,” he finishes for her, hoping that hearing his name will help to trigger some sort of memory for her.

As he awaits her answer, the doctor cheerfully walks into the room, greeting them both.

“Good to see you awake, Mrs. Uchiha. You gave us a bit of a scare the past few days! Though I wish it were under different circumstances, I’m pleasured to make your acquaintance. I’ve read some of your publications on the effects of war trauma in children and would be interested in discussing some of the treatment programs you use at a later time. How are you feeling?”

“I feel okay.” Sakura absentmindedly turns her ring back and forth on her finger. She and the doctor begin discussing her condition using medical jargon that Sasuke has difficulty keeping up with. He begins to reach towards her, a familiar motion he often initiated between them to comfort her. His hand hovers in hesitation midway between them before he pulls back, afraid to push her too much before she was ready. He listens until they’ve finished discussing her condition, noting Sakura’s unease when the doctor mentions that she is free to leave with her husband after a few days of monitoring. She makes no effort to let the doctor know that she’s lost this part of her memory before he leaves them alone together.

Uncertainty hangs in the difficult silence that’s fallen between them. Where are they supposed to go from here?

“It sounds incredibly familiar,” Sakura starts quietly. “The name Uchiha, I’ve heard it before. I understand that this must be difficult for you and I’m sorry to put you through this if I really am your wife, but would you mind telling me some things that might help me remember? Talking about our....relationship is often helpful in these kinds of situations.” Always sympathetic and worrying about others even with memory loss due to a traumatic injury, she was absolutely the Sakura he knew.

“Sure,�� he nods, “where should I start?”

“At the beginning, I suppose,” she says with a shrug and small smile. “How did we meet?” Her attention is focused solely on him as she studies the details of his appearance. Her gaze roams over his somewhat messy hair, noting that it covers his left eye, down his broad shoulders and strong chest, finally realizing that his left arm is missing halfway down his bicep. She decides to ask him about that later.

“We met when we were kids, studying in the academy together. I wouldn’t say we were close, but it was a small class so we knew each other’s names and relative rankings in class.”

Her eyes soften as she thinks through childhood memories filled with fields of flowers and mean little girls. “How lucky of me to say that I met my partner early on in life.”

He studies her quietly before reaching for her hand, hesitating as if to ask for her permission first. She looks down at his fingers near hers, abashedly raising her own hand, placing it into his palm. He wraps his thumb over the back of her hand, rubbing it gently back and forth across her skin. The motion comforts her as she waits for him to continue.

“We were placed on the same three-man squad as genin, along with Naruto. I was struggling a lot during that time, so I tried incredibly hard to keep you both at a distance. I didn’t want to form any bonds because I had decided to dedicate my life to fulfilling a mission for revenge.” His gaze moves away from her as he reminisces on those difficult times in his life. Sakura is patient, encompassed by his story. “But you were annoying,” he chuckles, as Sakura scoffs playfully, feigning indignation. “At first I thought you were just another girl who had superficial feelings for me like our other classmates, but you proved me wrong.”

“How did I do that?”

“On our first mission as a team, I thought that I was going to die. I couldn’t understand at the time why I had put myself in harms way, risking the loss of my vengeance in order to protect someone else. The first thing I woke up to was the sound of your sobs as I felt your weight on my chest. I still remember the pain I felt as you threw your arms around me when you realized I was awake, crying harder than you were before. That was the moment I knew that you truly did care for me, and it was when I realized I cared for you too. I can’t explain my reasons, but I knew I had to protect you, no matter what it cost me.”

His expression is sincere as he turns his gaze towards her, searching for signs of her memory returning to her. She ponders his words for a moment, her lips curved upward in the gentle smile he fell in love with.

“So did you also train as a medic? Is that when we started dating?” He does his best to hide it, but she notices his face fall just slightly at her question. She squeezes his hand gently, quietly expressing her regret. “I’m sorry, Sasuke. I can remember bits and pieces, the way I felt during these times that you’re describing, but the timeline is still fuzzy to me.”

He shakes his head, assuring her that it was okay before he continues. “I left the village in order to continue my training, because I felt that I wasn’t progressing quickly enough in Konoha. You tried to stop me the night that I left; you pleaded, made promises, cried, and told me you loved me. That rooted me in place, and if I’m honest, there was a moment that I truly did consider staying. I had become comfortable with the life and friendships I had built in Konoha by that point. Before then, I couldn’t remember the last person who had genuinely told me they loved me - maybe it was my brother, maybe it was my mother. But in the end, I couldn’t let go of the hatred in my heart that fueled my need for vengeance, and I left. That was the last time I saw you for almost three years.

“During that time, I worked hard to focus solely towards achieving my goal. Kabuto would feed me relevant information about Konoha from time to time, and that’s when I learned that you were training under Tsunade. I remember thinking it was a good fit for you - you always cared for others, you were one of the most intelligent in our class, and your chakra control was better than mine. I felt proud, but I quickly suppressed those feelings, knowing that any bonds I had would get in the way of avenging my clan.”

Sakura’s brows furrow together as she appears to make a connection. “The Uchiha massacre,” she says softly, “that’s right, everyone in your clan was killed. I remember now, hearing my parents talk about the boy in my class who suffered a great tragedy. That must’ve been when I became curious about you.” He watches the sadness creep into her expression as she reconciles with the idea of a child losing his entire clan in one night.

“Is there anything else that you remember?” He’s hopeful at this tidbit of information she provides, wanting to distract her from the feelings her empathy often engulfs her in.

“It’s not perfect, but I have some memory through the Fourth Great Shinobi War. I remember activating my byakugou seal soon after you had joined us, excited to be part of Team 7 once more.”

The corner of his lips lift up into a slight smirk at the memory of Sakura turning the battlefield into her personal playground as she uprooted the ground beneath their feet. “I always knew you were capable.”

The words of praise have her heart rate picking up speed as she remembers the surge of pride she had felt in that moment.

“So...how did we end up together?”

Sasuke runs his thumb across her fingers, watching as each one flexes downward under the slight pressure he applies before squeezing them slightly in his palm. He lays his head on her legs, looking up to see her trying to hide how flustered that makes her. She clears her throat to indicate to him that she’s waiting for an answer.

“You saved Naruto and I from bleeding to death after our battle.” He pauses to allow her time to think this over, wondering if she’ll remember all of the events leading up to that moment. The range of emotions that reflect themselves in her eyes tell him that she does; happiness when the war ended, fear when he announced his plans to take over Konoha, a tinge of pain when he had put her under the genjutsu, and finally overwhelming sadness and relief when she had found them lying next to one another.

“I had decided to travel after being forgiven for my crimes, wanting to see the world that I had blinded myself to for many years. We kept in touch through letters for a while, but I guess that wasn’t enough for you.” Mischief twinkles in his mismatched eyes as he continues, curious as to how she’ll respond. “You came after me one day, asking me if I’d let you join me in my travels. I objected at first.”

“Why is that?”

“Because...I had done enough to hurt you by that point. Not every part of the journey was easy or safe, and I would never forgive myself for letting anything else happen to hurt you on my behalf.” He averts his gaze to their intertwined hands that rest on her lap in front of his face. Sakura brings her other hand to rest on his head, running her fingers through his surprisingly soft hair, hoping to comfort him in his regret.

“I didn’t believe that I deserved someone with such pure intentions as company during this time, and honestly, I still don’t. I vowed to protect you through anything that came our way long before I gave you that ring, and I’ve unfortunately failed yet again.” She was in the hospital at this very moment, struggling to regain her memory of him, due to his own shortcomings. The irony of it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Strands of her rosy hair tickle against his cheek as she leans down towards him to place a gentle kiss on his temple. “I’m okay,” she whispers. “I’m still here because of you.”

He turns his head to look up at her, finding tears welling up in her brilliantly bright eyes. “I’m sorry for worrying you, Sasuke-k-“

He gently removes his hand from her grip, only to replace it on the back of her neck before raising his head up to meet her lips with his own. Raising himself into a sitting position before he breaks their connection, Sasuke pulls her into his chest. The steady pulse of his heart against his skin was a welcome comfort to Sakura as her tears soaked into the material of his shirt.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” his voice wavers. “I’m sorry that I let this happen to y-“

“Don’t blame yourself. It was a mistake on my part. If you weren’t there, I wouldn’t be here right now.” She feels his grip tighten around her as she brings her arms around his chest. Familiar feelings of the comfort of home encompass her as she breathes in his scent. The rhythmic rise and fall of his chest against her cheek would always be her refuge.

“Don’t think that I could ever forget you.” She raises her head to look up at him, the curve of her lips complementing the warmth in her eyes. Sasuke’s lips are soft as he presses them onto her forehead, imparting his relief and gratitude to her before pulling away.

“Me either,” he promises.

#sasusaku #sasusaku fanfiction #sasusaku fanfic #sasuke uchiha #sakura uchiha #mine #my fic

152 notes · View notes

innately-pretentious · 4 years

Note

Hi may I get a HP,Disney,LoTR matchup, please? I'm a 164 cm tall, slim bi girl. I have short brown hair and brown eyes. I wear black eyeglasses. I like skirts and dresses, in one word: girly clothes. Light makeup. I'm a very-very critical person and proud of that. Loyal,patient and caring one. Clumsy af. I mean really, really clumsy. I love to share my opinion about anything. I can be really silent and serious at times,dreamy. Pretty good at massage. Not so romantic. Often bottle up my feelings.

I ship you with Hermione!

The two of you would make such a power couple! She would usually take notice of you during class, with neither of you being the type to silence your opinions, she took notice of you right away. You often found each other studying in the library together, and a friendship soon formed, completely overlooking the fact you are in two separate houses, she trusted you. After weeks of side glances in between classes and casual conversations in the halls, she (quite bluntly) asked you out!

The two of you would be adorable, recommending novels to each other. With her being such a wide reader, she has no problem keeping up with both muggle and non-muggle classics. It turned into a sort of book club between the two of you, both rushing to tell the other what you had just finished and swapping them. You would love looking through the different annotations she had left there, some illegible due to her rushed hand writing, you loved seeing her point of view as you progressed through the book. The two of you still remained extremely opinionated, she is never one to back down from any intellectual debate or topic. You often find yourselves staying up for hours after you sneak in each others common rooms, just talking about the things that interest you, sharing ideas and beliefs is one of her favourite ways to spend the evening. The two of you love to pretend that you’re not needy, but you often find her knocking on your dormitory room, and getting into bed with you when she can’t sleep.

Loyalty is a huge thing for her, you both have a strong duty to the ones you love, both become extremely defensive when someone close to you is threatened. You have no problem calling out Draco in front of your house, truly believing his ego has gotten too large. Not only is she grateful, Ron and Harry can’t help but smile, knowing that someone else is looking out for their girl. You loyalty doesn’t stop there. The two of you fight together during the Battle of Hogwarts, both of you constantly trying to keep an eye on the other in case the worst happens.

You both push the other to achieve their full potential. When you tell her you want to become a lawyer she is thrilled! She is enamoured with the idea of you fighting for what you believe in and helping those who may not have a large enough voice. -

The song I associate with you guys would be ‘California Friends’ by The Regrettes!

I ship you with Aragorn!

This is such an adorable pairing! As you know, Aragorn spends most of his time on the road, usually surrounded by extremely masculine men. However, when he stopped off to restock and rest up for the upcoming journey, seeing your feminine style was like a breath of fresh air to him. Knowing that he couldn’t stand the though of leaving without saying something to you, he used this as initiative enough to ask you to show him around for the next couple of days. Of course you couldn’t say no!

He usually finds clumsiness slightly irritating, but on you he just finds it endearing. It gives him a more protective streak, constantly watching over you just incase something may happen. He knows he doesn’t have to worry much, you can carry yourself very well and have a good head on your shoulders.

The both of you have a tendency to bottle up your emotions, not wanting to appear ‘weak’ in front of the other. However, he always has a way of coaxing out your feelings, always insisting he knows when you’re hiding something. He listens tentatively to your problems, never pressuring you to continue or interrupting. He also never undermines them, always showing a great interest in what ever is bothering you, making you feel as though these weren’t some irrational thoughts making you appear fragile. The two of you rarely share secrets outside of your relationship, mainly looking for the other for logical advice. And when you are both feeling down, you both indulge in some of your vices together, ordering a drink or smoking a pipe whilst looking up at the stars can be very therapeutic.

He is extremely loyal to those around him, and loves how you stick up for your friends and family. He can sometimes get a little upset when he sees how well you interact with each other, sometimes wishing he could have had that with his own parents, he never really had the chance to get to know them fully. He can’t help but look up as he knows that you are slowly inviting him to your own family, the thought makes him smile like a child again.

When you show him your more outdoorsy side, he falls for you all over again. The two of you will literally disappear for days travelling on horseback, you take turns showing the other your favourite places around the country side, a new route through the forest, or a new place to explore. He loves watching your face light up when you reminisce about a different location, showing him places where you grew up. This is one of the times he is full of questions, wanting to know as much as he can about your life and upbringing, carefully committing each detail to memory.

The song I associate with you two would be ‘Ventura Highway’ by America and George Martin!

So sorry I didn’t include Disney, I’ve been really unmotivated for that fandom. Hope you like the rest of it!

#ship #ship request #matchup request #matchup

4 notes · View notes

orionsangel86 · 6 years

Note

I usually like bucklemming's deancas scenes so I'm hoping it's a good moment, but i'm taking the "important turning point scene" business with a big bag of salt, lol. Given that ERL seems to ignore the parts of the show she didn't write (Dean won't be affected by Michael? You mean YOU didn't write any eps where that was a focus). Other writers might have written similar destiely moments before. OR maybe the "turning point" refers to mytharc stuff, not relationship stuff. We'll see, though!

It’s true they have had their moments over the years:

A Little Slice of Kevin had the purgatory reunion scene

Paint It Black had Dean’s “People, Things, Feelings” confession

Hell’s Angel had well, all of Hell’s Angel

In later seasons Bucklemming haven’t really made much of an effort with the DeanCas stuff, spending most of their focus on writing nonsensical mytharcs that revolve around Lucifer and stroking Mark Pellegrino’s over inflated ego. The Destiel love story being mostly told by Yokey, Perez, or Glynn, so I am surprised that this supposedly important scene has been written by them at all.

You make an excellent point about Eugenie ignoring everyone elses narrative but her own. I believe it was @mittensmorgul who came up with the theory of the Bucklemming universe which runs parallel to the main SPN universe, only everything is slightly off balance and the characters all catch a nasty case of stupid. So anything that comes out of Eugenie’s mouth is only ever going to relate to her own episodes and never anyone elses (one wonders how huge her ego must be to so blatantly ignore the work of all her fellow writers).

I just can’t believe that what Bucklemming consider a “turning point” would be even remotely close to what we would consider a turning point. You know what I consider a turning point?

12x10 (Yokey) “Your human weakness”/Cas’s former female vessel

12x12 (Perez) Cas’s “I love you” confession

12x19 (Glynn) the fucking MIXTAPE

13x01 (Dabb) Dean wrapping Cas’s body like a grieving widow

13x05 (Yokey) The most romantic reunion EVER

13x06 (Perez) Everything about Dean’s mood and BROKEBACK SUPERNATURAL

These are what I consider turning points in the DeanCas narrative. For something to now be a “turning point” in their story, it would have to be bigger than ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Frankly, unless Bucklemming are actually going to textualise something, it’s not going to be a turning point at this stage.

But as you mention, Bucklemming ignore everyone elses canon but their own. So all of the above is automatically discounted. Only Bucklemmings own canon remains. So what is a turning point compared to 8x02 and 11x18 (being the two BL episode with strong Destiel themes).

Honestly? More of the same. Quick Jokes, longing looks, someone saying something that could be interpreted as gay but also totally platonic depending on how tightly you wear your heteronormative goggles. Someone trying to get either Dean or Cas to make a choice whilst threatening the other, and they of course choose each other. Because Duh. Something that will give us all something to gif and joke about and enjoy on Tumblr, but nothing truly substantial. Nothing anywhere close to a mixtape.

I agree with your speculative final point about it being mytharc related rather than relationship related. Bucklemming don’t do the heavy relationship stuff (since they suck at writing characters with emotional depth). Therefore the one interesting connection that I can put together from these fragments of information that Eugenie has provided us with (assuming she’s not totally talking out of her ass purposely to bait us) is that potentially, the DeanCas narrative will become part of the mytharc plot again.

This would actually be a real positive because since early season 13 Destiel hasn’t had any part in the mytharc. Since after Cas returned, any plot that might have relied on tension between him and Dean vanished from our screens. They were simply “ok” with each other - and yes there was still a lot of heavy subtext around miscommunication, but their relationship no longer took a fundamental role in moving the plot forward.

We are still in this position with the current season. Unlike in seasons 8, 9, 11, and 12, the underlying destiel narrative doesn’t guide the story. It’s why many destiel fans have felt frustrated with the season (and last) and are giving up on the ship. Unfortunately this has also correlated with Bucklemming having more mytharc control, so I do partly blame them for removing Destiel from the narrative. Eugenie now saying that there is a DeanCas “turning point” scene, may not be specifically Destiel related, but could potentially kick start a new story line in which Dean and Cas’s relationship is a vital driving force. This could open doors for other writers to then explore the deeper character relationship points that we need in order to get back on track in terms of relationship progression.

Of course, at this stage, this is all based on the egotistical ramblings of a highly unreliable and untrustworthy woman. So, I’m not going to get my hopes up in the slightest, and remain bitter that Bucklemming have any power at all over this show and the characters that we love. The best I can possibly hope for, is that any DeanCas scene they do give us, will be heartfelt, and true to the characters, even if it is nothing close to what we would truly want it to be. At least the following episode will be the 300th, so we can lick our wounds laughing at how the townspeople of Lebanon, Kansas see our boys.

#destiel #supernatural #spn speculation #wank for ts #buckleming #bucklemming #fuck you bucklemming #negativity for the show #season 14 #14x12 #spn spoilers #my thoughts #asks #flyingfish1

12 notes · View notes

streetlamphalo · 3 years

Text

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Rating: ★★★

Many thanks to Jo Fletcher Books, Quercus Books and NetGalley for the copy of this book.

A very strong 3.5 stars I'm familiar with Moreno-Garcia's work through Mexican Gothic and Gods of Jade and Shadow , and I absolutely loved her ideas, her approaches, her worldbuilding and her heroines. So when I was offered a copy of The Beautiful Ones, I was really excited to read a fantasy of manners, considering how she had approached her gothic work. Also, having read The Midnight Bargain a little while ago, I was interested to see how the two compared. But this time around, The Beautiful Ones didn't quite land for me. The story follows Antonina "Nina" Beaulieu, on her first Grand Season. Under the tutelage and instructions of her cousin Gaétan and his calculating wife, Valérie, Nina is ready to debut into the society of Loisail. But rumours dog her: for Nina has a talent (telekinesis), which she has long struggled to control and indeed she is sometimes known as the Witch of Oldhouse, something that might impact her chance of securing a good husband. But when she is introduced to Hector Auvray, there is a chance for her to find someone who can help her control her gift. As romance blooms between them, Nina is unaware that Hector is hiding a devastating secret, one that might threaten not just their relationship, but also Nina's heart. Well, this is first and foremost a romance. The magic (telekinesis) and the setting (an alternative post-industrial not quite France) are only so much window dressing, because I didn't actually feel like they served much of a point here. Nina's quirkiness is not just because of her telekinesis, but also because she is not part of the Beautiful Ones, people like her Valérie, who are gorgeous, whose beauty dazzles and wows. Nina's interests are also perhaps... uncouth for a young woman of her station, so the deck truly feels stacked against her. But she is by far the most sympathetic character of the narrative and her trials and tribulations just feel so real that there were a few moments in the books when I actually found myself crying, in desperation and upset at her problems. But the rest of the cast is... difficult. Hector himself is a complicated man and his past comes back to haunt him. Watching his relationship to Nina bloom was lovely, even if in the beginning he is clearly deceiving her; as the narrative progresses however, he clearly has a change of heart, one that affects how he sees her, and how he sees his own relationship with the rest of high society in Loisail. Valérie, however, is a vile character and I found absolutely nothing redeemable about her. I tried, for a long time, to try and find some level of sympathy for her but simply couldn't. She has no heart at all and her selfishness, her cruelty, her behaviour never seems to improve. I really thought that she might have a change of heart, something that might actually make her see the error of her ways - but no such luck. I don't actually mind that this is a romance with a fantasy backdrop to it, but once again I try to think about The Midnight Bargain and how it seems that both authors are trying to write a fantasy of manners with a very feminist twist. Unfortunately, I don't necessarily see Moreno-Garcia succeeded in this endeavour in the way that Polk did; Nina is a much more passive protagonist than Beatrice ever was, and her approach to everything up until the halfway point seems to be to wait for things to happen. Valérie's cruelty never stops and by the end she is almost a caricature of a madwoman - I wasn't really that impressed with how her narrative ended, because it felt rushed and just... over. Done with. It didn't feel satisfactory. And this ties in with my issues with the pacing of the book, that there are certain sections where nothing much seems to happen, only for a crescendo to build and then crash against the reader like a wave. For a book that's less than 300 pages long, it drags at times. However, I don't want people to think I absolutely hated this book, because I very much didn't. The romance is believable and realistic and the way that Hector and Nina grow to trust each other actually felt

well done. She matures throughout the book, but so does he, as he learns to let go of the past and actually embrace a future with her. I was absolutely rooting for them at the end, even as I knew that their happily ever after was going to happen (again, it's a romance). The fantasy of manners aspect is really well done, with balls and galas and the threat of gossip and shame hanging over Nina at every turn. It truly speaks to Moreno-Garcia's skill as a writer that she's able to craft these worlds and bring such interesting perspectives to different fictional genres. Although it's a completely different novel from Mexican Gothic or Gods of Jade and Shadow, it immediately felt recognisable as one of her works and it solidifies her place among a group of authors whose works I would deliberately seek out. Also, the fact that she is able to elicit such strong emotions in me (pity for Hector, sympathy for Nina, repulsion for Valérie) just proves how damn good her characterisation work is. But I wanted slightly more of the magic, I wanted it to matter more than it did in the end (even as it played such a big role in the climax). I would still recommend The Beautiful Ones: it's a really strong romance novel, with an emotional core that really tugs at the heartstrings and a heroine you can't help but cheer for. Check out other reviews of The Beautiful Ones:

#book reviews #The Beautiful Ones #Silvia Moreno-Garcia #romance #fantasy

0 notes

theartofbeinganerd · 7 years

Note

Hi Shayna! I'm infatuated by your little fic collection on AO3, and I was wondering if you'd like to add FS + pets to it? Thanks so much!

Hi!! I was actually really excited to get this prompt, because this fic ended up based on an idea that I’ve had rolling around in my head for quite some time, so thank you! :)

(Ao3)

Jemma had already searched every inch of her flat, twice, but just in case she’d missedsomething, she peered behind her couch once more, calling worriedly, “Queenie?Where have you gone?”

Frowning in concern, she knelt down to check beneath herbed, but still didn’t find the little ginger cat her friend Daisy had surprisedher with some months ago. Jemma’s latest relationship had just ended in apretty nasty break-up, and Daisy had gotten her a cat in an attempt to cheerher up – the only problem had been that she’d chosen while Jemma was back homevisiting her parents to pick out a cat from the local shelter. She hadn’t had aname to call her, so she’d jokingly started using “Queen Elizabeth”, but by thetime Jemma had come home to the surprise, it had already stuck.

Plus, she had to admit, with her cat’s royal attitude andpicky appetite, the royal moniker did seem to fit quite well.

However, in the short time that she’d been Queenie’s owner,she’d never pulled a stunt like this, seeming to simply disappear into thinair. It had Jemma increasingly troubled, and when another search of the flatcame up empty, she deduced that she must have somehow slipped out the frontdoor without her notice.

So, with that in mind, Jemma picked up the bag of Queenie’sfavorite treats and stepped out into the hall, calling sweetly, “Queenie? Here,kitty kitty!” She shook the bag of treats as she went up and down the halls ofher building, until she’d ended up all the way on the second floor. “QueenElizabeth! Come here, kitty! I’ve got treats! Queenie?”

Just as she was about to give up and try the ground floor, adoor to her right abruptly opened, nearly giving her a heart attack. Anattractive man stuck his head out into the hall, glancing around until theirgazes locked. “If you’re looking for the Queen of England, then I’m afraid Ican’t help you. But, if you’re looking for a little orange cat with thestartling ability to make me feel as bad about myself as human women do, thenI…may just have what you’re looking for.”

A wave of pure relief washing over her, Jemma turned fullyto face the man and nodded excitedly as she confirmed, “That’s my cat! You found her?”

“Well…” The man cleared his throat a tad uncomfortably, thenwordlessly opened the door further and gestured into his flat. Jemma could seepart of his kitchen through the doorway, and caught sight of a well-loved catbed in the far corner, on which Queenie was snuggled up with a striped, sandybrown cat.

Gasping, she rushed right past the man and into his flat, immediatelyscooping Queenie up and away from the other cat. Queenie struggled a bit in herarms, obviously unhappy with this arrangement, but Jemma held fast.

“I’m sorry,” the man apologized quickly, and Jemma turned tofind that his expression was truly upset. “I don’t even know how she got inhere.”

“That’s alright,” Jemma sighed, adjusting her grip onQueenie. “I’m not sure how she got out, so I suppose that means we’re even.”

He shifted slightly, reaching up to rub the back of his neckas he explained, “I tried to pick her up, but…”

“Yes, she’s not very fond of being told what to do,” sheadmitted with a nod of understanding.

“I figured it wasn’t doing any harm, and she and Albertseemed to like each other well enough, so…”

Frowning, Jemma glanced from the cat, to the man, and askeda bit disbelievingly, “Your cat’s name is Albert?”

He planted his hands on his hips, replying defensively, “Yes, his name is Albert; I named himafter the first monkey in space, of course.”

Jemma arched an eyebrow, pressing her lips together to hide theamused smirk suddenly tugging at them. “Right.Well, thank you for finding her, and for letting me know that she was here.”She took a step toward the door, but paused when he called for her to wait.

“Um, I just…I was…I…Fitz,”he stumbled out, his cheeks slowly pinking.

Unsure what to make of the jumbled sentence, she hesitantlyasked, “What?”

“My name,” he explained, “it’s Fitz. I figured Ishould…y’know, introduce myself since I don’t think I’ve ever seen you aroundbefore.”

“Oh. Well, I’m Jemma Simmons. Thanks again for findingQueenie for me, Fitz.”

Fitz chuckled, shrugging off her gratitude. “Yeah, well, itwas really more of a ‘she found me’ situation, to be honest.”

A little smile quirked Jemma’s mouth up at the corners, andshe took another step toward the door, Queenie still restless in her arms withher tail twitching impatiently. “I’m grateful regardless.” As she stepped outinto the hallway, she called back to him, “Perhaps we’ll see each other around,Fitz.”

Following after her to stand in the doorway, Fitz agreedwith a hopeful little grin, “Yeah, maybe we will.”

Little did either of them know, though, it would only be avery short time before their paths crossed yet again; it wasn’t even a weeklater that Jemma found herself knocking on Fitz’s door rather quickly. As soonas it had opened to reveal Fitz himself, she demanded to know, “Is Queeniehere?”

Fitz grimaced and nodded, stepping back to allow herentrance into his flat. “Yeah, I just found her. I was going to let you know,but I wasn’t sure how to get a hold of you.” He led her through the kitchen,further into the flat than she’d been the last time. They ended up in hisliving room, where Albert and Queenie were fast asleep on the cushions of hiscouch.

“I don’t know how she keeps doing this,” Jemma admitted, atad frustrated as she moved to pick up her cat so that they could return to herflat.

“Wait,” Fitz said suddenly,causing her to pause mid-motion. “It’s just…they look really peaceful, yeah?Why don’t we just let them finish their nap, then you can take her home.”

Taken aback at the suggestion, Jemma turned to Fitz andasked, “Oh? And what do you suppose I should do in the meantime, then?”

He flushed, shrugging widely as his gaze darted about theroom, looking anywhere but at her. “Oh, well…you could join me for a cup oftea, if you want. I was just about to put on a pot, after all.”

She mulled it over for a moment, glancing over to Queenieand Albert, who did look quitepeaceful, before turning back to Fitz’s hopefully raised eyebrows. “A cup oftea would be lovely, thank you.” They returned to the kitchen, and Jemma took aseat at the table as Fitz hurried about the room, preparing their tea. “So,”she started after a short stretch of silence, “how long have you had Albert?”

“Um…about six months now, I think,” he answered. “It justseemed logical that getting a cat would be much easier than finding agirlfriend to spend all of my free time with.” He shot her a teasing,self-deprecating smirk over his shoulder. “How long have you had Queenie?”

“My friend surprised me with her a few months ago,” Jemmaexplained. “That’s where the whole ‘Queen Elizabeth’ thing comes from; Daisystarted it as a joke, but it ended up sticking.”

“Well, it’s probably for the best, since it certainly suitsher.” Turning briefly from the pot of tea, Fitz asked curiously, “So why didshe surprise you with a cat? Was it your birthday, or for some other reason? Ifyou don’t mind me asking, of course.”

Jemma had to stop herself from making a bit of a face at thequestion; it wasn’t exactly a subject she was interested in discussing withanyone, let alone someone that she barely knew. Still, she replied carefully,“No, my birthday’s in September. She just felt that I needed some cheering upafter a break-up.”

Fitz was quiet a moment, before saying simply, “Ah, I see.” He turned away from thecounter then, carrying two cups of tea over to the table, where Jemma waswaiting. They prepared their tea in silence, and once they’d finished andsettled in, he cleared his throat and asked, “So…other than owning a cat namedQueen Elizabeth with a penchant for breaking and entering, what have you gotgoing on in your life, Jemma Simmons?”

Chuckling, Jemma set down her cup of tea and confessed, “Notmuch.”

For the next hour or so, they talked, getting to know eachother better, and Jemma had to admit that Fitz only seemed to grow more andmore interesting by the moment; truthfully, she could certainly see herselfspending a lot more time with him in the future.

But, when she and Queenie left Fitz’s flat, it was withoutextracting a promise to see him again soon. She didn’t want to be too forward,after all, and scare him away, so she just had to hope that things wouldprogress naturally; perhaps they’d run into each other in the hall sometime, orcross paths while retrieving their mail.

Queenie had otherplans, apparently, as she began to make a habit out of disappearing fromJemma’s flat, only to appear not long after in Fitz’s, and it wouldn’t be longbefore she was receiving a call that her cat had been found strutting aboutFitz’s flat as though she owned the place. As such, they continued to use theircats as an excuse to see each other, always lengthening Jemma’s stay byreasoning that if Queenie had gone to all that trouble to see Albert, then whowere they to stand in the way of love?

Things were going…well– really well, in fact – and it was making Jemma nervous. After all, this wasusually the time when things started to fall apart, always proving too good tobe true. And, she was proven correct some weeks later, arriving at Fitz’s doorand knocking a bit harshly.

It wasn’t long before it swung open to reveal Fitz’s face, twistinginto a confused expression as his gaze landed on her. “Jemma? Queenie isn’t…Idon’t think she’s here.” He shot a glance over his shoulder into his flat,shaking his head and frowning as he turned back to her, then offered, “I canhelp you look for her though, if you’d like.”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Jemma told Fitz flatly, “Iknow exactly where my cat is, thank you – we just got back from the vet.”

His frown deepened as he asked in concern, “Is everythingokay?” She glowered wordlessly at him for a moment, until he asked uncertainly,“…what?”

Unable to keep in her frustration any longer, Jemma criedout, “You got my cat pregnant!”

Blanching, he peered out into the empty hallway behind her,his eyes wide and filled with anxiety as he hissed, “Can you not yell that, please? I don’t exactly wantpeople thinking I’m going around getting cats pregnant.” He released a heavy sigh, then went on, “And are youeven sure it’s Albert’s?”

Gasping in affront, she took a step closer and lowered hervoice to demand fiercely, “Are you calling my cat promiscuous?”

“What? No!” he said hurriedly, still looking a bit confusedeven as he shook his head. “That’s not what I’m saying at all. I just…” Heblinked a couple of times suddenly, his brow furrowing. “Wait…I thought yousaid that Queenie had been spayed?”

“I thought so!” Jemma cried, throwing up her hands inexasperation. “Daisy promised me that’s what the shelter had told her!”Groaning in defeat, she dropped her head into her hands and shook it. “What amI going to do?”

When she felt a hand on her shoulder, she glanced up to findFitz smiling at her warmly. “We’ll figure it all out,” he promised, briefly squeezingher shoulder. “Come in, sit down, and we’ll talk over some tea, okay?”

Releasing a relieved breath, she nodded, allowing him tolead her into his flat and to sit down at his kitchen table. After a long talkwith Fitz, with her hands wrapped around a nice warm cup of soothing tea, Jemmafelt much better about the whole situation – and of course, she was no longerupset with Fitz, who had promised to help in any way that he could, and to takehalf the responsibility of the situation (however, she couldn’t help but giveAlbert a bit of a look when hewandered into the kitchen for an afternoon snack).

“I should probably head back to mine,” she said once they’dfinished their cooling tea, even as she lingered in his kitchen, only takinglittle half-steps toward the front door. “Queenie’s no doubt upset at beingleft alone for so long.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Fitz agreed, hovering a fewfeet away from her as he walked her the short distance to the door.

Turning the knob and opening the door, Jemma paused in thedoorway, turning back to face him as she told him, “I’m sorry for…how I actedearlier, Fitz. I was just so upset and I’d been blindsided by it and…”

“Hey, you don’t need to apologize,” he hastened to assureher, “you were completely in the right. After all, you’ve got the female cat,so ‘course you’re gonna assume all the responsibility is falling on yourshoulders.”

“But it’s not,” she reminded him with a grateful littlegrin. “Because I’ve got you.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you do,” Fitz agreed, his voice growing soft ashe gazed at her. “Always.”

It was those words, paired with the warmth and affection inhis tone, that had Jemma sucking in a sharp breath and throwing whatevercaution and reasons she’d had against this to the wind, surging forward tocapture Fitz’s lips with her own and wrapping her arms around his neck.

Fitz stumbled slightly at the sudden force of her bodycrashing against his, one of his hands flailing about wildly as he caughthimself on the nearby counter. His other hand, however, slid around her lowerback, fisting in the material of her shirt as he gave a pleasantly surprisedgroan against her mouth. Once he seemed to have regained his balance, he spunthem around in order to press her up against the counter, kissing her with apassion that took her by complete surprise.

However, when she eventually gave him a gentle push away,Fitz immediately reined in the passion and stepped back, his eyes wide withconcern. “Jemma?”

Smirking, Jemma found Fitz’s hand with hers, lacing theirfingers together as she nodded her head in the direction of his bedroom. Whenhis eyes rounded in shock, she informed him in a whisper, “Albert’s watchingus.”

Startled, Fitz threw a glance over his shoulder, towardwhere Albert was curled up in his bed, watching them with wide, unblinkingeyes. Turning back to her, he asked lowly, “But…are you…we don’t…”

Giving a little tug on his hand, she began to move backwards,taking little steps toward his bedroom. “I’m sure, Fitz, I promise.” With alittle laugh and a roll of her eyes, she added, “Besides, I think there’s aproblem if my cat has a better love life than me.”

Chuckling, he shot another look at Albert, and admitted,“Okay, yeah, you’re probably right about that.”

But, said problem was no longer an issue as far as Jemma wasconcerned, and when she woke up the next morning and entered Fitz’s kitchen tostart the tea, she wasn’t even upset (or really surprised, to be honest) tofind Queenie with Albert in front of his bowl of cat food.

It was like they’d always said; who were they to get in theway of love?

“No.”

“But Jemma!” Fitzaffected his best pout, holding up one of Queenie and Albert’s tiny, squirmingkittens up. “They’re just so cute.”

“No, Fitz! We already agreed that there was no possible wayfor us to keep them,” Jemma reminded him tiredly, folding her arms over herchest. “Kittens need constant care, and neither of us has all day to dedicatethat kind of time – and I, for one, do not want to be carting a box of kittensup and down between our floors several times a day.”

Fitz lowered the kitten, allowing it to slip free from hisfingers and hurry off to join its siblings as a contemplative look crossed hisface. “Well…”

“What?” she asked, arching a suspicious eyebrow at him.

“I mean…it’s not really fair for us to split up Queenie andAlbert, is it? Especially not with the kittens, so…” He pointedly raised hiseyebrows, but when Jemma shook her head in confusion, he swallowed visibly andcolored a bit as he went on, “So…maybe we should solve all of those problemsby…not splitting them up.”

Frowning deeply, Jemma looked over to Queenie, who was lyingdown in Fitz’s living room, keeping a careful eye on her kittens as theyexplored around her. “You…you want her to stay here, with you?” She had toadmit that it made sense, but she just couldn’t imagine parting with her cat,even for a short time.

“Queenie and…and you.” When she whirled around to stare athim with wide eyes, he hurried to explain, “You’re already here all the timeanyway, and Queenie clearly wants to be here, and…and if it’s too fast then wecan forget I said anything and just…figure something else out, but –”

“Yes,” Jemma interrupted, pressing her lips together in anattempt to hold back the brilliant grin she could already feel forming.

Fitz’s eyebrows rose in pleasant, slightly disbelievingsurprise. “Yes?” he repeated unsurely.

She nodded excitedly, dropping to her knees on the floorbeside him and throwing her arms around his neck, burying her face in hisshoulder. “Yes, yes of course. Itreally does make the most sense, doesn’t it? I can’t remember the last time Ispent more than a few minutes in my flat anyway; there’s no use paying rent forsomething I don’t even use anymore.”

He looped his arms around her waist, tugging her down ontohis lap and pulling her closer. “We’ll start moving your stuff here tomorrow,then.” Jemma pulled back a bit to meet his gaze, sharing a ridiculously wide smilewith him. Just as she was about to lean in to kiss him, however, she feltsomething brush up against her leg.

Glancing down, she let out a laugh when she noticed Albertsitting beside them, looking as though he was waiting patiently for something.“And what is it you want, Albert?” she asked, reaching out to scratch the topof his furry head.

“Ah, he probably wants me to thank him, the bloody beast,” Fitz admitted with a roll of hiseyes. “None of this would’ve happened if he hadn’t been such a Romeo, afterall.”

Giving a surprised giggle, Jemma told him in a hushed voice,“I can’t believe we were set up by cats.”

“Oh, with the way my life’s gone, it’s no real surprise tome.” He patted Albert’s head then, giving him a couple of pets. “Thanks, buddy.I owe you one.”

Jemma watched as Albert trotted back over to Queenie and thekittens, and she almost could’ve sworn that Queenie looked…smug just then. If she didn’t know better…she might’ve said thatthis had been her plan all along, to get Jemma to fall in love with Fitz sothat she and Albert could be together – fortunately, Jemma had more commonsense than to believe that cats had plots.

Still…

“Thank you,” shemouthed to Queenie, gratefully tightening her arms around Fitz’s neck to hughim just a little closer. With Albert sitting protectively at her side, Queenielooked even more self-satisfied then, if such a thing was even possible.

Jemma never thought that she’d owe a cat for helping her to find love, but…it’d gotten her Fitz, so shesupposed that she could be okay with it.

After all, who was she to stand in the way of love?

#shayna writes #fsfic #fitzsimmons #prompts #non-shield au #neighbors au #ish #it's more about the cats #I can't believe the amount of time I spent creating those cat characters #actually yes I can #whentheskyequakes

55 notes · View notes