OMG, I am so so sorry – I wrote my feedback offline and later than intended due to hecticness and limited internet access over the holidays, and I was convinced I’d posted it here, but unless LJ managed to eat several comments at once, it would seem I didn’t. *facepalms forever* I only noticed because I’ve just read your lovely fic for the third time, so let me finally c/p the much belated feedback here:
“I am sorry for my late reply on this – last week got more hectic than I expected, and then when I read it I was all “askdlkfjdkf what do I say to this OMG”, and then I wanted to read it again and basically I’ve just read it for the second time in two days and figured I should say something because flailing in front of my computer is unlikely to get across to you. :D
Firstly, how much do I love the universe you’ve created here? I can’t believe you took my silly prompt and came up with this. I love how you keep referencing different groups of people – Elves, Cherubs, Fairies, vampires, werewolves and the whole world built around Father Christmas! And, OMG, the strike of the Snowmen (and women), ahaha! And just, you know, the entire universe and how you consistently imbued it with magic and even matched the imagery when you use phrases such as “the best thing since gingerbread” and Christmas-tree shaped love bites, and just. So wonderful.
I also love the various references you’ve made – to Secret Santas (haha!), the various references to Harry Potter, and I don’t know if it’s just my mind making odd associations, but when I read the “the story goes like this” section, I heard it in the voice of the narrator of Pushing Daisies, which just made it even more magical and quirky. :D
I may or may not have lol’ed at Uther wanting to put Father Christmas out of business, and I love snarky Leon.
But, oh, Arthur is definitely my favourite part of your story. He’s just so damned hopeful at the beginning of the story. And how completely adorable is it that he glows gold? That might possibly be the cutest thing ever.
And there’s such loneliness coming from him. He seems to be caught between both worlds – not entirely human, which offends his father, but not magic, either. Even on the train, there is that moment where the other elves are celebrating, but Arthur sets himself apart; doesn’t join in. Even when he’s being sent to the one place where he really should belong (and I wonder if that’s part of why he’s so hopeful to be sent to the North Pole – to escape that inbetween place to go somewhere where he can prove he’s as good as any elf, and he really does fit in), he’s still holding himself back. He sounds as though he doesn’t want to join in, but part of me wonders if it’s just because he’s afraid he won’t fit in, especially after Merlin tells him in the previous section that he doesn’t look much like an elf. It feels like such a lonely scene, to me. But that just makes it all the more lovely when at the end, he does take that chance, the chance to not play it safe and be together, and, oh. (Er, sorry for rambling.)
Some quotes that I loved:
"I thought you'd be jerking off to your invitation or having an asthma attack, like the first time you sat on Santa's lap and got an erection," she said, casual as ever and just as scathing as usual.
This is hilarious, and, um, kind of hot at the same time. ;) I love how you’re foreshadowing what’s going to happen with Merlin – that and the way Arthur reacts to Merlin’s magic makes us realise they’re the perfect match. (As a sidenote, I totally snickered at the scene where he thinks he’s getting attacked by a werewolf because surely if the magic feels good, something bad must be going on. *g*)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2012-01-16 07:08 am (UTC)“I am sorry for my late reply on this – last week got more hectic than I expected, and then when I read it I was all “askdlkfjdkf what do I say to this OMG”, and then I wanted to read it again and basically I’ve just read it for the second time in two days and figured I should say something because flailing in front of my computer is unlikely to get across to you. :D
Firstly, how much do I love the universe you’ve created here? I can’t believe you took my silly prompt and came up with this. I love how you keep referencing different groups of people – Elves, Cherubs, Fairies, vampires, werewolves and the whole world built around Father Christmas! And, OMG, the strike of the Snowmen (and women), ahaha! And just, you know, the entire universe and how you consistently imbued it with magic and even matched the imagery when you use phrases such as “the best thing since gingerbread” and Christmas-tree shaped love bites, and just. So wonderful.
I also love the various references you’ve made – to Secret Santas (haha!), the various references to Harry Potter, and I don’t know if it’s just my mind making odd associations, but when I read the “the story goes like this” section, I heard it in the voice of the narrator of Pushing Daisies, which just made it even more magical and quirky. :D
I may or may not have lol’ed at Uther wanting to put Father Christmas out of business, and I love snarky Leon.
But, oh, Arthur is definitely my favourite part of your story. He’s just so damned hopeful at the beginning of the story. And how completely adorable is it that he glows gold? That might possibly be the cutest thing ever.
And there’s such loneliness coming from him. He seems to be caught between both worlds – not entirely human, which offends his father, but not magic, either. Even on the train, there is that moment where the other elves are celebrating, but Arthur sets himself apart; doesn’t join in. Even when he’s being sent to the one place where he really should belong (and I wonder if that’s part of why he’s so hopeful to be sent to the North Pole – to escape that inbetween place to go somewhere where he can prove he’s as good as any elf, and he really does fit in), he’s still holding himself back. He sounds as though he doesn’t want to join in, but part of me wonders if it’s just because he’s afraid he won’t fit in, especially after Merlin tells him in the previous section that he doesn’t look much like an elf. It feels like such a lonely scene, to me. But that just makes it all the more lovely when at the end, he does take that chance, the chance to not play it safe and be together, and, oh. (Er, sorry for rambling.)
Some quotes that I loved:
"I thought you'd be jerking off to your invitation or having an asthma attack, like the first time you sat on Santa's lap and got an erection," she said, casual as ever and just as scathing as usual.
This is hilarious, and, um, kind of hot at the same time. ;) I love how you’re foreshadowing what’s going to happen with Merlin – that and the way Arthur reacts to Merlin’s magic makes us realise they’re the perfect match. (As a sidenote, I totally snickered at the scene where he thinks he’s getting attacked by a werewolf because surely if the magic feels good, something bad must be going on. *g*)