Fools In Love

[kym667103]

I love this story but I wish you would update more often.

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How do I love this chapter, let me count the ways. ;D

Excellent opener, with Lilly finally realising where Scotty's issues lay, via a brief but expected detour via lustland, heh. These two... honestly. Anyhow, love how she figured out the Elisa issue, finally, and realised that she's not the only one with abandonment issues. It's about time she got that bloody memo, hehe. Also deeply deeply love her choice of means by which to fix the problem. Much in the way of awesome, and it's leeway for a much-needed angstbreak.

On which? Still giggling. Vera not wanting Scotty to know about his choice of lunch, not 'cause he knows it's his family, but because of the Cheez Whiz? ROFL. Just... ROFL. That whole little section is awesome, from Eduardo picking up the phone (which was sort of a combination of genius and funny without too much of either to override the other), to Anita calling Lilly m’ija. Just... awesome.

And then there was Kat, and I'm gonna deal with the Lilly conversation and the Scotty one here in the same paragraph, 'cause if I don't this whole review will deteriorate into a never-ending tidal wave of Miller!Love, and you've no doubt had waaaay too much of that from me already, so I'll restrain myself and just reiterate what I'm sure you already know - that I freakin' LOVED those two scenes (and the Scotty one in particular). I love the change in her attitude between the two conversations - funny and silly with Lilly, even though she understands the gravity of the situation... then sober and ass-kickish with Scotty, because that's all that can get through to the big lummox. She really is an excellent lens through which to focus the other characters, isn't she, and you pull that off so well, in so many different ways throughout your fics, and yet remain perfectly true to character through each of them. Hence the love for these two scenes in this chapter - you've got those two utterly different conversations, and yet she's doing her thing perfectly in both of them. LOVE.

Also loved the scene with Stillman, how he doesn't push, even though he knows something's going down. He's sort of quiet and unobtrusive, but he's there nonetheless, ever-present and softly observant, and again you pull that off so well. His absence hereuntil actually kinda reinforces that - makes the point, when he does show up for a scene, however brief, that he's still there. You may forget about him, but he never forgets about you. It's cool.

Sandwiches? Oh dear God, where do I begin with the sandwiches? Inching back to the previous point, I love that Stillman comes out from his little hole in the wall to eat lunch with them, 'cause they're special sandwiches that cause all things to cease. XD. Adore the freakin' hell out of the banter between Eduardo and Vera, 'and Lil's realisation that they're two of them. Seriously, still laughing, 'cause I'm picturing that whole section so vividly. Ditto, Eduardo's riding Scotty for his 'suit'. ROFL. And, just... eeeee. These scenes, with everyone mocking each other and enjoying the food and laughing and just... I love these scenes. Just like the awesomeness that is Chapter One, with all the angst disappearing for a little bit and everyone just being content to enjoy themselves if only for an hour. Or possibly just ten minutes, since that seems to be as long as it takes for Scotty to start freaking out again. Hehe.

The end section, though? GUH. Scotty automatically assuming that Lilly needs him 'cause that's what he does, no matter the circumstances, and Kat laying the freakin' SMACK down on him because she is just. that. awesome... and him actually listening to her. GUH. Did I say "guh" yet? 'Cause GUH. Oh, and Eduardo offering to marry Kat, and Vera's subsequent glare? I just about died laughing. Seriously.

Yea. There's a tonne of little things I would've picked out and specified as exceptionally awesome, but that would've taken more than the word limit allows. Everytime I go to re-read this chapter, I find another little quirk that I missed the first time around, telling me that it's now the Most Awesome Thing about this chapter... until another new thing makes its presence known and overshadows the last one. It's a categorical whirlpool of awesome, literally - it's awesome goes on and on and on in a great big spiral. Can't wait for the next one.

;D ;D ;D

[cellogal]

Chapter 13...

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/13

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Have I mentioned for this particular fic how much I'm loving the appropriate smileys? 'Cause this one in particular made me smile like you wouldn't believe. Well, this and the popcorn one...

This chapter was so sweet I think it gave me cavities. The good kind, I hasten to add, 'cause serious 'AWWW', but still. Anita Valens really is the coolest human being in the multiverse, isn't she? And she has the mystery (wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a pastry wrapped in a lie) that is Lilly Rush down absolutely perfectly. There's enough of herself within Lilly that she can empathise, without them ever running the risk of being the same person. Just enough to give us a baseline foundation for empathy between the two. As ever, I remain overwhelmed by the vibrancy with which you bring your original characters to life, and Anita is absolutely the most shining example of that we've thus far seen.

I absolutely adored the cooking banter - Lilly's line about the nutmeg was hysterical, and you know how much I adore the "Anita Valens struggled with pancakes!" bit. That just clinches the awesome for me, right there. Also, the flashbacks. OH, the flashbacks!! Again, you've crafted such a perfect image of Scotty's upbringing and of his entire family, it's quite terrifying - in the awesome way - and I feel that I know him so much better for it, because his entire character just fits in so well with exactly the kind of stories you tell about his childhood.

Lilly's breakdown amuses the hell out of me, because it's so freakin' Lilly. I'd go on for a bit about why this amuses me so much, but it'd come off as rather painfully snarky and anti-Lilly, when the only point I'm really trying to make is that you got her character down SO perfectly for that section... so I'll just say that instead.

Back to the empathy, which is again so beautifully heartfelt. I love that Anita has that same capacity for knowing exactly what Lilly's thinking without her having to say a word, in much the same way as you write Kat doing with Scotty, so it's a fabulous contrast. In this case, I love how it's knowledge and experience and possibly a little of the age thing that colour Anita's insight... that she knows what Lilly's thinking because she's thought the exact same things herself many times. I love that they both have utterly different reactions to their own sorry childhoods, and Anita is EXACTLY the kind of example that'll make Lilly realise she'd never follow in Ellen's footsteps with her own children; 'cause Anita was there - different circumstances, but there's still that underlying pain - and yet she's grown into this warm, loving, wonderful person surrounded by life and love and... yea. Lilly could stand to learn a thing or two from this woman.

The photo album? SO PRICELESS. Don't even get me started on Superman, 'cause I'd be squeeing for a year and I only have an hour before I have to go out, so you'll just have to settle for a single supersonic "SQUEE!!!". Again, you paint this picture of Young!Scotty so vividly and so perfectly a reader can't help being sucked into it utterly and entirely. Also loved the counterpoint to that flashback in the Lilly/Scotty/Elisa one - you're right, it reads much more effective when they're both told through flashback form. On which, I love the brutal honesty of the conversation about Elisa - Anita's certainty that it would end badly, Scotty's insistence he could save her, and how you didn't shie away from Christina as a coping method but at the same time didn't fixate on it. The whole thing, really. So tragic, and again so honest. Kinda tugs at the heartstrings.

The end scene? GUH. Scotty in the hoodie really drives home the state he's in, which makes the "you're back" moment all the more powerful when it finally comes around. Because she is. And she knows it, and Anita knows it, and the readers know it... so, when Scotty FINALLY gets there too, it's a sense of overwhelming accomplishment. There'd be more about that scene, but it's just so utterly perfect... in its construction, its execution, everything... attempting to pick individual parts would cheapen the whole effect. But suffice it to say it's a fabulous way to end an utterly adorable chapter. Which I realise sounds weird, since I'm usually throwing "adorable" around as a means of describing, say, Little!Scotty, but it's just the best way I can describe this chapter as a whole. Well, except "just like the turnovers", but I think I used that metaphor on you already...

Anyway. Beautiful chapter, on many levels. Very much looking forward to what's coming next. ;D

[cellogal]

Chapter 14...

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/14/

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Another great chapter, but then you knew that already. ;D

First and foremost, before I forget, because I've been meaning to mention this for like a dozen chapters and I always forget and now it's done, I really need to mention it in a now-or-never sort of way... I have loved your outlining of the Janet Finkelstein case. Every interview, every off-hand reference, every little moment brought about by it, have just been utterly fabulous and so very enjoyable. The funny little inside-jokes and references, the way one or two of the interviews helped as sort of springboards for the actual plot... everything. But anyhow.

Love the L/S moments through the beginning section, in particular Lilly's point that the turnovers are a symbol of love and not one of proof. A very important distinction to make, and one that sort of sets in stone the fact that the hard part - at least in this point of the story - is behind them and everything to come is just icing on the reconciliation cake.

Scotty and Vera? Oh, what can I say about that? Does 'squeeeeee' ring a bell? No, seriously. I love the subtlety of the conversation they have, Vera respecting his lady's privacy, Scotty making the obvious leap to 'Toni'... just the whole thing. If I didn't know better, I'd say the entire section was designed solely to make me squee. As with the entire subplot, to be fair. I just... I always worry when reviewing these parts, that I'm gonna get so caught up with the squee that I don't make the point of how well-written and true to character they are, but they really really are. It's just difficult for me to be objective when dealing with stuff that makes me so freakin' happy. But yea, I do adore the way you're dealing with this relationship and, while I do desperately want to join the hoardes of "MORE K/V!" fangirls (hee!), I realise it's a L/S story, and I realise these guys have gotta take a backseat. It just makes it all the more enticing when you give them moments like these.

Lilly and her turnovers. Heeeeee. I love that she manages it for the most part on her own (and the 'one panicked phonecall' bit made me laugh 'cause those damn spoon sizes are confusing at the best of times). I love that she mostly gets herself through by reassuring herself, in much the same way as she seems to have gotten through most of the hurdles in her life. It's kind of symbolic, I guess, her life and her love coming together in the same way, and her dealing with them in the same way... just, yea. A sweet little scene, showing exactly where Lilly is with this, and exactly how she's going about making that gesture of love (not proof!). It's simple, quiet, understated, and yet it really gives some fabulous insight into who Lilly is as a character, how she feels about Scotty, and her perception of their relationship. Kudos.

And then there's Scotty and his visions. GUH. So many levels of awesome in so many differen ways, it's almost impossible to glean one from the others. The actual visions part, the assumption that he's in heaven, and the realisation that he's not, and just... so many levels of awesome and awww. So many levels of awwwwwwesome, in fact. Heh. Also, I adore his rumination on the use of querida, how he never used it on Elisa, and how it was utterly unconscious with Lilly. Just, again, aww... and I'm trying so hard to sustain my non-shipper status. Good thing the show and the ficverse are so different or I'd be in trouble. But, yea, a beautifully well-written scene, funny and touching and sweet all in the right places. I want to wax lyrical about it for a while longer, but it would just involve me repeating the same thing over and over again. So I shall refrain, but suffice it to say it's a beautiful ending to a lovely, lovely chapter, and quite possibly the best 'last two lines' of a chapter thus far. Just wonderful.

As ever, very much looking forward to the next one. *squees in advance*

[cellogal]

Chapter 15!

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/15/

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You'd think, after almost a day, I would've stopped squeeing at this chapter...

This is probably gonna be a shorter review than usual, on account of the fact that - if I take every little thing that I loved, I'd just end up quoting the whole thing, and not being at all productive... and also there's not a lot of very specific points to be made, so much as a bunch of sections that I want to put in my pocket and keep to cheer me up when I'm sad... so suffice it to say this whole damn chapter rocked the frellin' casbah.

First up, Scruffy!Scotty!!! Do I really need to elaborate on this one?

Loved the conversation about the meeting of the families, Scotty's relief that The Christina Issue wasn't going to be revisited (and rightly so; that bridge has been crossed and both have made their peace with it, so it works best as a passing footnote), his enthusiasm to meet Ellen and Lilly's insistence that he's not going to. Lilly's angst over the situation was very much true to character - very very reminiscent of Show!Lilly there, so you've captured the essence of who she is, and how she feels about that particular issue, so well, it's scary. Needless to say, I kinda wanted to kick her, but that just means you've characterised her perfectly. Hehe.

How much did I love the work-related banter? Scotty and Vera being manly men about the pick-up game, Lilly and Kat having none of it, Jeffries and Stillman being curious in spite of themselves... just so much awesome from so many different angles, it absolutely made me grin like you wouldn't believe. LOVED how the boys were so busy with their metaphorical measuring sticks that they absolutely failed to notice the girls had up and left to, y'know, work on the frickin' case. Just, love. Looove.

And... the donut thing? I think this fic may kill me of squee before it's done. Seriously. I don't even know where to begin with why I loved this part... but it involves Kat Being The Most Awesome Human Being On The Planet, Scotty Being Utterly Adorable, and Vera Being Unexpectedly Innocent For once, all of which just absolutely make for a level of "eeeeeeeee!" of which you have no idea. Seriously. I can't actually give any kind of detail about what I loved 'cause it was all just so... EEEEEEE. I honestly cannot express myself better than that, at this point.

Oh, one little thing I will make a point of singling out, that last little Kat/Vera exchange totally made me melt into a gooey puddle of fangirl. I love those two in a way that words simply cannot define.

Apologies that it's a short one this time around, but there's just so much awesome in this chapter, and it's all intertwined with so much other awesome, it's impossible to pick the awesome apart without it unravelling into a mess of me going "eeeeee!!", which it kind of did anyway, but hopefully less so than it would have done had I tried to pick things apart. In brief, though - GUH Scruffy!Scotty, GUH Kat/Vera, GUH DONUTS. And, just in case that isn't quite general enough... GUHCHAPTER.

;D ;D ;D

[cellogal]

Chapter 16 is up!

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/16/

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Another good chapter, wonderfully self-contained and yet as ever a fabulous continuation of the long, arduous process that is these characters' relationships.

The first section, obviously, I freakin' LOVED. Scotty realising that he's a gullible fool, and Lilly taking amusement in the fact... and, of course, Kat being insanely awesome. I love that the donut wars are escalating, and that Scotty totally called Nick and Kat on their obssession with the damn things (HEELOVETRIANGLE!)... Nick naturally being unable to let the pick-up game slide... and just, yea. A fabulous start to yet another great chapter, and one that left me squeeing all the way through.

Nothing in this chapter managed it quite so much, however, as the Kat/Vera moment did. Seriously, yet another of your too-numerous Moments that is now on my list of "scenes that would be printed off and stuck to my wall if that wasn't weird". I adore these two so much - as you know - and, just as you write Lilly and Scotty and their relative issues so well, you also write these two so well, encapsulating their relative issues with such subtlety and yet utter perfection. It kind of saddens me that they never take centre stage, simply because I'm biased... but those moments you do give them are just that much more savoured, this way, so it works out just fine. Anyway, LOOOOVE.

The Bar Scene? Awesome. I love the introduction of Ellen, Lilly's instant realisation but the need to deal with the case stuff first, coupled with Scotty's obliviousness. Poor boy seems to be getting into a habit of obliviousness lately, doesn't he? Heh. Anyway. Loved that, loved the interview with Joe - characterisation is, again, top-notch, and I absolutely loved the fact that Ellen is the one to instigate contact with Lilly instead of the other way around, and the way in which she does so. Completely true to character, for both of them, and a fabulous eye-opener for Ellen's introduction.

Also loved the conversation between the three of them, but it was a painful sort of love because you captured the emotions of the three players so well. It's one of those scenes whereby each of them is fighting their own demons, and each is almost oblivious to everyone else's, and it's quite heartbreaking to see... but then, most things involving Ellen Rush are heartbreaking, so it fits neatly. You paint a beautifully tragic image of Ellen, one that's both utterly dislikeable and yet at the same time so deeply pathetic you can't help pitying her a little. She hits all the wrong buttons with both Lilly and Scotty, but it's as if she's completely beyond her own control when she does so... it's difficult to hate a character like that, but at the same time it's difficult not to hate her too. Very perplexing, and very complicated, as is the way with alcoholism, and you've really brought that out frighteningly well.

The fallout from that was interesting too, Scotty getting it - or believing he gets it - and Lilly knowing the truth of the matter so much better than he does. It's always interesting when you have their perspectives so completely at odds with each other, and this time is no exception. I loved Lilly's moment of realisation that - even now - she doesn't trust herself to trust Scotty, and how that reflects her childhood. Again, wonderfully true to character, and I adore the fact that you made the observation of it being a rare moment of self-honesty. 'Cause it so is.

And, again, their conversation on the subject, brief as it is, is just so wonderfully honest, both of them with themselves and with each other, and that is such a rare thing with these two, it really makes us as readers appreciate it all the more. Even though Lilly opts to sweep her own issues under the rug for the time being, it says volumes about her development that she's willing to even consider them at this point, and so even the act of not-saying is saying something - albeit, in this case, to the reader more than to Scotty. Who, naturally, manages to do what he does best... saving her without saving her.

The last little section is just utterly beautiful. Again, it cements the differences between them, and yet through those differences, the innate honesty in that moment. I love the spontanaeity of his offer to take her out to dinner, the simplicity and the ease of it, and everything it represents, and the way he's so quick to dismiss Lilly's accusations. It's so quietly subtle and so beautifully effective and exactly the sort of 'saving' that he's such an expert at... and the whole section is summed up perfectly in that stunning final line. It just perfectly encapsulates his character and hers, and their relationship together in just a small handful of words, and it's just... GUH. One of those rare moments whereby Lilly's involved and it still manages to render me speechless. Kudos.

And that's all I can think of to say on this one, I'm afraid. I think I've rambled on long enough, anyhow. Looking forward to the next installment, as ever.

[cellogal]

Chapter 17 is up!

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/17/

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Apologies for not getting around to reviewing this one last night, hard as I tried to do so... but here it is. And, yet again, another awesome chapter.

Love the first section - but then, you knew that already, right? I very much like the way you mix the case stuff with the subplot stuff, so that neither overwrites the plot proper and yet both manage to get their place. As ever, you're a veritable expert in getting the cases to overlap and impact upon the plots you're exploring with your characters, and as the story progresses and grows more intricate so too does the connections with the cases, which I think is shown wonderfully here, both with the newspaper article / exercise article bit, and the fabulous jewellery store section (on which, more in a bit).

Have I mentioned my love for the Scotty/Kat dynamic, yet? I mean, in this story... I know I've mentioned it a few times in general and through ETTFC. I adore the way you have these two playing off each other, in comedy and in seriousness, too. Granted, we've not seen much of the seriousness, at least not between these two, in FIL yet, but... as with a lot of the interrelationships here, you're again building on the foundation you've set in ETTFC, and you know I love how you pull that off. It just randomly occurred to me that, through all my love for the Donut Quadrangle subplot, I've never remembered to compliment you for actually pulling off these wonderful inter-personal relationships so beautifully. So, yea.

On that same note, I love Scotty's little observation about interviewing with Jeffries - the connection between Will being a man of few words, and his using them all in interviews is just such a FABULOUS piece of character insight, for both of them, it's sort of awe-inspiring. As, in a similar vein, is Scotty's perspective on the fallout from the Ellen encounter, his realisation that - while Lilly had barely shown any reaction at all - it was still far more of one than she'd usually show, and that in itself means something. Also LOVE his fear that one day, she'll need him, and he won't be there... and this is another example of those moments I feel privileged to really be able to fully appreciate, in light of the story as a whole, and it's just... GUH. Have I used 'guh' yet in this review?

The Elisa flashback is also GUH-worthy, too. So much insight into such a complicated relationship and in such a way that doesn't even focus on her illness at all. In a relationship wherein we don't really know a huge amount more than 'she was sick' from the show, you've inferred so much depthless stuff and made it so utterly believable, it just fits seemingly with no effort. It's just such a wonderfully-constructed reminder of the fact that he and Elisa were a couple, a real genuine couple, and one that should be characterised by so much more than simply the fact that she got sick.

And, again, so many of his trademark character features - the Superman thing in particular - resound here, even more so as her illness cements it all towards the end and focuses that innate Superman!Scotty resolve to be the hero all the more... and everything just clicks into place so neatly, it almost makes me wonder if one of the many many episodes I've not seen in s2 include all these details in their entirety. Y'know, if I didn't already know how hard you'd worked to piece them together all by yourself. *g*

Off the back of that, I love the interview with Denise Sweeden (XD), and how it revolves around without ever explicitly fixating on, Scotty's ring distraction... how Jeffries observes his thoughts but - being Jeffries - makes a point of waiting until after the interview to raise the subject because, when all is said and done, the job comes first and their personal issues come second. He is SO awesome, and once again scenes like this just utterly focus that awesomeness so much so that it's almost tangible... and, again, you've taken what little character traits the show gives us, and evolved them into this insightful, intricately-developed character who sees these things, knows them, and understands them. Your ability to choose exactly which characters to deal with every scenario is just utterly terrifying, and I mean that in the good way.

And, yea, that last line? Pure magic, on every conceivable level. I honestly cannot say anything more on it than that, 'cause any amount of words will just taint it. So, on that note, I'll just say, yet another kickass offering, and very much looking forward to the next. Again. XD

[cellogal]

Chapter 18 is up. Finally.

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/18/

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Another complicated yet awesome chapter... it's a little difficult to pull it apart for the purpose of reviewing, since the flow is so very seamless but I shall do my best.

I love the quiet evolution of Lilly's thoughts in the beginning... her observations that there's something off in the way Scotty's behaving, the slow and gradual realisation that it has to do with her and with Ellen... right through to her chosen method of distracting him - which, of course, works perfectly. Not that our boy Man Candy is easy, or anything. *g* But yea, I love that section, the way it develops and the way we're taken through Lilly's stream of consciousness to reach the inevitable conclusion alongside her. You're very good at working through a character's thoughts and issues from their perspective, and leading us to the same conclusions and realisations as them. It's a difficult skill to pull off without it leading to confusion, and you do so wonderfully. Even given my disdain for Lilly, you once again express her thoughts in such a fundamentally human way, it's beyond my power to keep from empathising with her anyway. Damn you for that!

Jeffries's interview? GUH. I want to say more about this, but damn if he doesn't say it all for me. Will Jeffries is, quite simply, made of win and awesome, and you totally deserve a medal for reminding us of this fact in scenes like this.

In counterpoint to the above RE Lilly's perspective, I adore your take on Scotty's side of things, too. There's no better way of reflecting conflicts between two people than by literally showing both perspectives, and you're doing that quite literally here, so it's impossible not to see where both of them are coming from, and also why both of them are failing to see what the other is seeing. Again, it's a complex aspect of human inter-relations and again, you pull it off remarkably. All the more so in this situation, in the aftermath to one scene, depicting the utterly contradictory things both characters walk away from it with. Lilly knowing who her mother is and what she's capable of, Scotty being utterly unprepared and as a result prone to overreact in that way he's so good at.

I freakin' LOVED the Elisa section. The way his thoughts about Lilly and his thoughts about Elisa and his thoughts about marriage are all pretty much utterly intertwined, and there's really no way for him to disentangle himself from all of them... and his knowledge that he can't do what he's thinking of doing until he's able to do that. I can't even begin to go into how amazing it is, the depth into which you've gone into both of his relationships - Elisa even more so than Lilly, 'cause you've built his relationship with Lilly up yourself through your fic, but the Elisa stuff is still firmly steeped within a canon that's hazy at best. It's simply phenomenal how well you infer so many things that make so much sense, from such little as the show gives us, and I just... yea. I can't even tell you how awesome this section is, so I won't try, but suffice it to say it's a fabulous piece of writing. And the way it ends, with him bringing the whole situation back around to the case without so much a second thought? PERFECT.

Also LOVE (in capital letters, but for totally different reasons) the scene with Vera. He doesn't often get to be the smart one, but when he does, he's SO unnaturally good at it, it's scary. His line about women that he'd brag about and women that he wouldn't... GUH. And even more GUH in light of his relationship with Toni in show canon, 'cause he DOES brag and... GAH. See, this is what you do, you make me re-evaluate things in canon to see how they fit around your world. Damn you, once again. *g* But yea. I adore that scene, in part 'cause my inner K/V shipper just about died, and in part because it's just another lovely, gentle, inspired little scene.

As is the final one, actually... and it's all the more so in following directly on from the previous. The way Vera expresses his feelings on love in the previous section is a perfect, albeit utterly surprising, setup to Scotty's physical expression of his own with Lilly in this scene... again, the two scenes, so different, complement each other so well, and it's completely inconceivable that post-basketball boys' chitchat and a tender moment between a couple could possibly complement each other, especially when Scotty is a major player in both scenes, and yet here it is. There really are so many sides to that boy, aren't there, and again you capture them so effortlessly.

And just, yea... a chapter that combines an awful lot of emotions in some surprisingly innovative ways, and ends on such a beautiful optimistic note, it leaves you smiling like crazy. Which, again, I'm in a somewhat priviliged position in knowing just how precious that is, and how much to cherish it. Which I can't really say more of, which is possibly why I've found the review of this chappie so difficult to write. Damn you and you're multi-faceted, multi-layered intricate fics!! In the good way, of course, but nonetheless.

Oh, and while I'm at it... damn you, Sweden, too. ;D ;D ;D

[cellogal]

Chapter 19 is posted!

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/19/

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Now that I'm finally done giggling at this chapter, with any luck, I can actually get a cohesive review out. Well, hopefully...

The whole first section had me in hysterics, seriously. I want to pick out invidividual things, but there are just so many of them, and all I can really think of to say is how freakin' astonishing it is that you managed to get all the hilarious banter between all the main characters, with everyone getting a moment and (almost) everyone getting their share of snarkability (and even Jeffries let you snark on him, yay!!), and somehow actually get something case-related out of the whole thing. Granted, it's not a huge contributor to Plot Development, but who says every scene has to be, and it's just so much fun, who cares? It's very much like those adorable little scenes we get in the show, totally unrelated to anything at all, but damn if they don't make the whole episode all the more worthwhile for having been there. You know the ones. And, as with most things, you capture the essence of those moments so brilliantly. Honestly, just re-reading it for the purpose of reviewing, I'm giggling all over again.

Little things I like, assuming I can single anything out. Lilly's playfulness in this section is lovely; in a lot of these types of scenes on the show, she's the one brooding in a corner and wrecking the amicability of it, but you've got her here and happy and giving everything back just as much as the others are, which is a nice reprieve from Angsty!Lilly. Scotty's history-skipping, which makes such a TERRIFYING amount of sense in canon, as the others are so quick to point out. Vera neatly remembering to mention Kat and Lilly in a bid to get himself out of doing the interview. The fact that Kat's the only one who escapes snark free (of course, XD). The whole Uniform!Lilly / Nun!Kat section... I can't even go near that section without starting to laugh again, seriously. Oh, and the snakes. HEE. I think that's all that needs to be said about that...

The second section, and therein the meat of the chapter... again, somehow you manage to combine hilarity with Actual Significance... and actual Plot significance, too. I don't even know where to begin 'cause, like the first section, there's just so much genius and so much humour and so much general awesome, it's hard to pick apart. It's amazing, really, how completely you get into the boys' heads - Scotty not having a clue what in the hell he's doing, Vera trying to be the big guy on campus who knows everything when really he's just as clueless, and Jeffries who has been there before and actually taken it with the seriousness it deserved (which is more than can be said for the Two Stooges), just knowing. It's such a great contrast, and it captures the characters of all three of them so well. They're all guys, and Scotty and Nick in particular are such typical guys... and yet they are so completely different in their typicalness at the same time.

Again, little specifics. LOVED the way Vera gives Scotty a hard time over his propsoal and Scotty gives it right back to Vera about his. They're both freakin' useless and I love how they both see that uselessness in each other but - again, typical guys - refuse to acknowledge it in themselves. So awesome, and so true to both of them. Sixers Tickets!!! I love how you make an actual point out of that and how Vera has somehow managed to think the whole thing through so hard that it actually does make real serious sense. Scotty's reaction as he realises he's actually seriously considering it, by the way, is priceless.

As a whole, I just love the humourous sentimentality of this section. The boys, all three of them, reminiscing about their prior experience with proposals, all different and yet all managing to contribute something different to the genius and gentle humour of the chapter. It's so real, so believable, the whole thing is just a sheer outright joy to read. And I'd happily squee for a few hours about Vera's subtle 'paying close attention' bit at the end, but I think it'd ruin the almost-serious point I'm making (though, since I raised the subject, SQUEE!!). I have NO idea how in the hell you managed to put this section together the way you did, but the characterisation and the flow in it is, I think, some of the best you've ever produced. I can't even say how, or why, I just do. And that's all I can think of to say, heh.

Looking forward to the next installment, as ever.

[Gina]

Awesome! Awesome awesome awesome! I loved your fic!! I just read almost the whole thing last night, and finished 17-19 this morning. I loooooove it!

Like Collider, I was laughing so hard at the first section. I fell off the bed laughing.

"So how does that rule you out?" Oooooh, burnnnn! Score one for Kat!

I am so looking forward to chapter 20!

[cellogal]

Chapter 20 is up!

www.fanfiction.net/s/4404565/20/

[Gina]

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I'm gonna read it. Right now.

[Collider]

Another great chapter, and I also feel obliged to make the point on this one that I love the choice of title for the chapter. Very fitting and very aww-worthy.

Rosalia is, as always, one of the most awesome people in the known multiverse. I love Vera's reaction to her, and Kat's reaction to that. I love Scotty's reaction to BOTH their reactions and... pretty much the whole aura of camaraderie throughout this scene. You've got that almost-but-not-quite brother/sister vibe between Scotty and Rosalia down to a fine art - it's family, but in that 'chosen family' way, which in way makes it even more natural than actual family and it's just so comfortable and easy it's a joy to read.

So much love for her response to the whole situation - "I'm ageing, here" is a particular favourite, but the whole section is just fab. Your 'family' characters, and their little personal quirks and reactions just add SO much to your fic, it's really phenomenal. I can't picture that scene working as well as it does here, with any other character, and certainly not with anyone from canon. In particular, his observation that they ARE family, no matter what their bloodliness say. GUH. It's just utterly perfect - as is, actually, the description of the ring... beautiful yet subtly understated. Oh, and it might just get a few billion points from me for Scotty's whole Rosalia / Kat vibe at the end. 'Cause that right there is a chat I'd love to overhear.

The family pondering? GUH. I love how he reached the inevitable conclusion, working through it, rather more as Detective Valens than as plain ol' Scotty. I love that approach and I think it works wonderfully here, both as a preface to what follows, and as a lovely moment of simple realisation in itself. It's something he should know by instinct, but it takes that little bit of work to really GET it.

And, ohhhhhh, the Scotty/Stillman scene? A thing of BEAUTY, on so many levels. Stillman hasn't had a huge amount to do in this fic, which makes sense 'cause he's the boss and it's very much About The Puppies... so, when he gets these scenes to shine and stretch his character, they are just so absolutely wonderful. I love the communication between them, how it takes him a moment, Scotty almost having to spell it out before he realises that he's asking his blessing as Lilly's father-figure... because that depth of affection is just so natural to Stillman it's not something he'd think about, just feel it on reflex, so he'd need that affirmation from Scotty to really hammer home the fact that it's there and that's why they're there. And just... yea, I could go on about this scene for hours, because there are just so many innumerable ways in which it makes the chapter for me... but I'd just end up citing the whole thing, which wouldn't be nearly so effective as reading it in context anyway, so... yea. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

The final section. You sent me from "awwww" to "*fans self*" to "GAAAAH!" in about three seconds flat, I swear. I pretty much raced through this whole section the first time I read it, just to get to the end. Because, seriously, wow. You're excellent at writing those moments of love mingled with lust, and this really is no exception. I'm really very glad that sex got in the way of the proposal, and it's not just for obvious reasons; if he had proposed and then That Bombshell was dropped, I honestly can't imagine what they would've done. So the way it is works best, both with the humour factor of that fabulous phone-conversation with Kat, and in light of what they're interrupting being something light and fluffy instead of serious and heavy. And, heaven knows, we needed some light and fluffy in the build-up to what's coming, so I think the whole section works very very well.

REALLY looking forward to what's to come.