To Catch A Star (Emily of New Moon)

[edonohana]

Title: To Catch A Star
Fandom: Emily of New Moon, by L. M. Montgomery
Spoilers: This is an alternate ending for Emily's Quest, so spoilers for about the first third, then it goes AU.
Word count: 1800
No warnings.

Note: Happy birthday, sartorias! It's your Con Or Bust story!

The poem is by Basho.

Comments

[lilacsigil]

(here from cofax7's rec)

This is wonderful! It has all the dreamy poetry and sparkling life of the books, and is a wonderfully satisfying ending which I am going to imagine actually happened now. This is just delightful, with Ilse's bright colours and flashing eyes, and Emily's poetic imaginings - Orpheus indeed!

[rachelmanija]

Thank you! I'm glad I captured the spirit of the books for you.

[pameladean]

This is splendid. I didn't read the books as a child(or Anne either, for that matter), and when I did read them, I believed perfectly well that Dean would lie to Emily about her novel, for which there is no forgiveness. I think it's actually of a piece with his infatuation with a twelve-year-old. He's a control freak. He's a really good complex character, though. In any case, I don't hate Teddy and never hated the ending, but this is RIGHT. I also loved how perfectly you got Dean's voice; those are absolutely his tone and diction. But Ilse is even better.

P.

[rachelmanija]

I'm so thrilled that you liked this!

I have the same take on Dean, actually. His possessiveness is set up from book one.

[devvieish]

Oh, thank you. The Emily books were always my favorite as a child - I made up Emily/Perry epics, if you can imagine that (why does Perry not seem to get any love?). But this - you got all the voices perfectly, and it makes sense of the little things (Nancy Priest and Caroline? I bet they were too!). And you fixed the series - this ending is my new canon.

Favorite lines:

“Clutching a noose in one hand and a bottle marked “POISON” in the other?” suggested Ilse unkindly.
hee!

and:
“Like the Moon and the Sun,” said Teddy, who often painted them together.
Finally, a Teddy I can like!

[littlerhymes]

This is so wonderful and quietly delightful! You have the voice down so perfectly and I love the idea of the two of them together.

(Also ditto on all of the comments above about re-reading the books from an adult perspective and being really really creeped out by the idea of Dean waiting for a 12 year old. Um, no.)

[naomikritzer]

I really should re-read these books. I loved them when I was younger -- although, like several people, I was always creeped out by Dean. I knew on my first reading that when he said, "I believe I'll wait for you," that this meant he was saying he wanted to marry her, and I was pretty horrified. He was WAY TOO OLD and also she was VERY YOUNG AT THAT POINT and also HE HAD JUST MET HER THAT DAY. Not okay!

Then when she was actually a bit older I warmed toward him, and then when he lied to her about her novel that was UNFORGIVEABLE.

(Kind of like when Amy burns Jo's novel. NO NOPE SORRY AMY YOU ARE DEAD TO ME FOREVER, I HATE YOU.)

Honestly I barely remember either Teddy or Perry. Neither one of them was anywhere NEAR as delightful as Gilbert Blythe.