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Hi sarah, here for a review for the galazy!!
I also want to swoon, so I am here for this. I love how Geno immediately knows who James is fixated on, and I just loveeee the way he aligns her with the golden hour <3 The way you describe the sun and the warmth turning to cold over the night makes me think of the end of summer, too ughhh.
Also beer pong is a perfect flirting game and James is taking full advantage <33 and I love that he doesn't even really care about the game, just falling for her laugh. this scene is so perfect for teens and summer nights i just love it
and then the traipsing through the city together, everyone out with nowhere special to go. another thing that transports me to summer nights in love. all the timid glances and gentle hand holding is just <333 this is such a happy moment between them
AHHH stealing a hat is the cutest way of flirting, i can't with Vic she totally has a thing for him. and she does!! I love the way you describe this pulling kiss, and how James is so affected by it, his heart stopping <3
thabk you for this sweet story!!
Catherine
Hello! I'm here with a galazy review for you!
I'm already excited about the premise of this story; quidditch, James (II) Potter, and a love interest who's the sister of a quidditch star. I love your description of James understanding why it's called 'golden hour', based on Vic's appearance under the sun.
'Snapes on a plane'!! HA! Brilliant - I'd listen to them, Hell yeah!
The way James describes Victoriya's laugh is so lovely; 'the soundtrack to a million moments like this' and that he knows (or believes) she feels the same way about his laugh. How he's distracted enough by her that he's really not on his game at all, but he still manages to win.
I love he atmosphere and the descriptions of this first chapter as you set up the story. It feels all warm and summery, and love (or lust) is most definitely in the air. There's a lot of chemistry between James and Victoriya and I wonder if anything has happened between them prior to this scene, or if they've flirted with the idea. It's clear Victoriya is as mad for James as he is for her, and they're both quite drunk; I feel that if they haven't already made out before now then they most definitely will have by the time the chapter ends! Also love the fun interaction of beer pong and this time, playing for James's hat. And what does he win? Well exactly. Well said, Victoriya :)))
There's SO much promise in this story and I'm really hoping you'll continue, because I've gotta know what happens after this point? Great first chapter!
Meera <3
Author's Response:ahhhh, thank you so much! i'm so glad you liked it and enjoyed it (and that the descriptions of warmth and summer and lust came through because that was definitely the goal!)! there's definitely a lot of promise in this fic, but this fic actually stands alone- you can find more on vic and james in curious traveler though if you're interested! thanks for reviewing!
Hello there!
I read very few Next Gen stories, but I saw that this one gained an Inky nomination, so I wanted to check it out. And I'm glad I did! This was a really lovely story. :)
I like the way you were able to capture this particular time of year and time of day. The scene was so vivid and made me so nostalgic. It reminded me so clearly of being seventeen and feeling like I was on top of the world. And having those first-love moments too...really sweet.
Your characterization of James was lovely. He seems like the type of guy I'd want to be friends with, which isn't a characterization I've seen of him before. People tend to write him more...obnoxious, haha. But he was really good here and made me smile. He's so head-over-heels for Vic that I couldn't help but think he was super cute. And she's great too! I loved that she was playful and fun and confident. I want to be her friend too!
This story was a really nice peek into these characters' lives and this moment in their relationship. I liked it a lot. Good job!
Best,
Emily
*for the Fairyland review event*
i just really really fucking really loved this story! i loved that we get to see the james and victoriya who we only know from curious traveler, and they've always had such great chemistry there and here, it's like it's mangified tenfold, like the air is literally srackling and sparkling between the two of them. and they're so fucking adnorably cute and i love it okay. the way james just can't look away from vic, he is so major heart eyes over here i love itttt. (also snapes on a plane omg i died a little at that!) and i think i literally swooned over that ten thousand summer nights line that james thinks about vic, it's literally perfection. and when they kisss omg that's amazing i love it so so much this was amazing to read
(for foxy glory!)
Hi Sarah!
Congrats on being a Golden Ink finalist with this fic! Sarahhhh this is so fucking cute I love it so much!! Victoriya is such a fun OC and I really like this orbiting her and James Sirius are doing/have been doing around each other for a while now, and especially how Albus probably kind of knows it but is a good enough little brother to let it run its course. Your description in this one shot is absolutely GORGEOUS and really paints the picture/scene in my mind so vividly!! My favorite part of this fic is definitely when James and Vic go off on their own and just wander around town, enjoying the evening air, as that really felt nostalgic for me :heart_eyes: And then we get a super cute ending that makes me go all squee at how fluffy and flirty it is! Gah, great job with this, lovely! <3
~Madi
Fairy foxy review event
Hi there!
Ah, this was such a sweet fic. I love the tone of this, the almost lazy mood perfectly represents those summer nights just spent chilling with friends, enjoying summer and the activities it brings. Even the run up to the kiss was very chill, although very flirtatious which feels like their whole relationship. I love their rapport and how easy it seems as well. Even when James seemed almost shell shocked at the end, it was such a great ending and he finally got a first to balance out the lasts, and a pretty good first as well.
This was a really nice fic!
Shaza
Written for the winter in fairyland review event.
Hi there! I’m here for the review event.
I think you did a really good job portraying James’s attraction to Viktoriya. It’s very evident how every little thing she does is just absolutely gorgeous to him and how he’s pretty much hanging on every word she says and how he’s like a deer in the headlights. The dialogue especially is really good between them.
I really like the banter between them. It’s so cute and also does a really good job at showing off their personalities and also how they’re friends. Also I love the impromptu beer pong game between them for James’s hat and how James is so enamoured with her that he was going to give her the hat anyways, regardless of how the game went.
I think that’s such a cute way to end the fic and it also fits in very well with the rest of the fic. Also I’m so happy that they’re kissing. This is a short fic but you also did such a good job at making James and Victoriya such a good couple with such good chemistry.
This was really good and I loved it and I will be back for more of your writing soon!
~Olivia
#snowfoxes
Hello Deni!
god, you write such charismatic characters. i kind of can't handle it :P
I love that you use the phrase "golden hour" in this because it really has that kind of vibe. Like, when I imagine this, it's all glowy and summery and soft. And James is SO gone for Victorya, it's really really cute!
I can see why. She has a contagoius personality. I think I have a crush on her too lol.
Ugh, okay. I'm trying to give a decent review but i'm mostly all swoony, so I'm sorry if this incomprehensible.
I know you don't post a lot, which I totally get. Me neither. But if any of that is due to self doubt, let's set the record straight. Because your writing is so immersive, i just fall into it and i'm *there*. I dont know how else to explain it but this was sexy and sweet and i loved it <33
xoxo Renee
hey sarah! i'm here for the fairy review event, but also because i've heard so much about this story i figured it was time to check it out myself!
honestly, this was just the cutest freaking thing. i love the atmopshere you create in the beginning, one that matches exactly how james describes it later on. i can picture is so clearly in my head, and your descriptions of the golden hour and the sound of vic's laugh is just :chefs kiss: and even though you don't say it, you can see how james and vic have been friends for a while. they're just so easy and comfortable with each other, and the way james teases her is absolutely adorable
i love the fact that he's so distracted that he ends up playing the worst game of beer pong. but like, honestly, james, i get it :P and i also thought it was really telling that the two of them could just kind of disappear off on their own and wander through the streets, soaking up the summer night. there's this pure sense of absolute freedom in this fic and i enjoyed that so so much. their friends don't notice they're missing - hell, they even go to the bar without them, almost like vic and james disappearing is something that they do so often that they don't even blink about it
and i totally loved the part where james was tired of all the lasts. when i was in my last year of school too, i had those same exact thoughts, and i fully understand the need for something new and exciting. and, it seems, james gets his wish later on :P
BUT OH MY GOD, SARAH. the teasing with the hat and the game and the entire thing at the end. "it's my own damn hat" god i love this. it's so fluffy and pure and wonderful, and the chemistry between james and vic is just so real and you do such a great job with it. i am kinda curious as to what geno thinks about this whole situation, but i'm glad you let these two idiots have their moment without any tension or drama
this was exactly the perfect little piece of fluff i needed this afternoon, so thank you for writing this! and the title is just absolutely perfect as well, i love when titles are pulled into the fic itself. and, for the record, i did chuckle at the snapes on a plane reference :P
thank you for sharing, and if you write more of james and vic in the future, you gotta let me know! ♥
Oh!!! I could watch James watch Victoriya all day! The way you described his complete and utter infatuation and enchantment was so magical; she sounded like a rare sight that one could only glimpse once a century, but then I remember (at least, I’m assuming) that James sees her quite regularly, and then I want to melt into a puddle of goo. Can you imagine having someone look at you like this, even after you’re a constant in their lives?? It would be the most startling thing.
This story made me so wistful omg and I don’t even know why.
I absolutely understand why James loves Victoriya so much; she seems utterly breathtaking. Carefree, flirtatious, and downright lovely, she sounds like someone I would want to spend the rest of my life knowing! You did a really good job capturing their emotions and their attraction to one another -- and something about the colors or the images just placed this really nostalgic feeling in my chest, and I did not ask for these feelings but I love it anyway. <3
Love, Eva
Howdy!
This was a really great one-shot. I love the look into James's mind as he yearns for Victoriya (who I was creepily destabilized into thinking was Victoire for a moment because of her nickname :p). I think the way you did it really evoked the feelings of longing for someone that I think we've all been through at some point or another - longing for someone that seems untouchable for some reason or another be it friendship you don't want to jeopardize or he/she's taken or the 'out-of-my-league' concept. In any event the way you coupled his emotions about Tor with the descriptions of her and the environs was really well done.
This deserves its own line: SNAPES ON A PLANE! I love it.
Finally, I think the ending is so fun and fluffy. The way the whole hat thing plays and the associated banter is great.
Thanks for sharing!
AHHHH THE CUTENESS.
Sometimes you just need a little fluff in your life, ya know? <3
My favorite part about this fic is the banter. She is clearly flirting with him the entire time but he is just so mesmerized by her that I don't even think it computes that she's interested in him. When he reflects that sometimes he thinks she might have feelings, I just wanted to be like--COME ON, IDIOT, READ THE SIGNS.
But really, they are so stinking sweet. Like, I'm pretty sure I have cavities now. And I am so not mad about it.
Oh, also, the way you describe the evening light from the roof--that was beautiful. Totally set the scene. And now I want a rooftop where I can "laze" half-drunk and enjoy the sunset. LOVE.
xx Gina
Zoom Zoom on the Broom Brooms - Finale 2020
Hello hello hello Sarah! Here for zoom zoom on the broom brooms, rvg, and probably something else that I’m forgetting… OH MY CHALLENGE okay wow that took a second…
Oh man, I can’t tell you how excited I am for this I AM SO READY TO JUMP RIGHT IN!!!
WOW! Okay so I got the swoon shivers (™) FAST with this story!! I loved the repetition of “it’s golden hour” and then HIM UNDERSTANDING WHY THEY CALL IT GOLDEN HOUR?!?! What time is it? Motherfucking swoon o’clock!
1. YASSS competitiveness, 2. Snape on a Plane???? AMAZING!! I absolutely love that!
THE SOUNDTRACK TO A MILLION MOMENTS LIKE THIS OH MY GOODNESS, WHAT A CHEESY LITTLE ROMANTIC I LOVE HIM, THIS IS SO SWOONY!!! <3
I love how she’s never quiet but James can still tell when she’s being soft. He’s so smitten and she’s so into him and it’s so painfully obvious and obviously obvious to the other just a bit but not obvious enough!!! (have i said obvious too many times yet?)
God more swoonage at the breathtaking comment. James is everything I want in a partner, such a cheesy, sappy, cute quidditch player, I have fallen in love and I can’t get up.
Maybe his next first could be his first kiss with Vic? That sound good? Sounds good to me! PLEASE!!!
FOLLOWED HER ANYWHERE OMG THE SHIVERS JUST DON’T LEAVE!!! And the twirl and everything and the eyes and I am not coherent anymore…
I love the banter around the nicknames, it’s hilarious and I love it.
OHMYGOD THEY’RE HOLDING HANDS - i literally croaked that out loud and yes croaked because im in such an swoon!
Oh man I have totally done that hat move… It is a quintessential flirting move, and then the move to the pong table is absolutely amazing!!! AND HES GONNA LET HER KEEP IT, MY HEART!!
“Are you going to come get your prize?” FUCKING GOLD!! AMAZING! ICONIC! LEGENDARY!
THEY KISSED AND I’M SQUAWKING AND I LOVE IT AND I LOVE THEM AND OMG ITS AMAZING AND LOVELY AND AGHHHHH!!! SHIVERS AND SWOON, SWOON AND SHIVERS!!! <3
I THINK YOUVE DONE PRETTY WELL FOR YOURSELF OH MY GOODNESS MORE SHIVERS THIS IS AMAZING AND THEY’RE KISSING AGAIN AND THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER AND AHHHHHHH!!!!
If I wasn’t clear enough in all that I just wrote, I absolutely loved this story. Thank you to every deity there ever is/was/ever will be that you wrote this, IT IS AMAZING!!! EVERYTHING I COULD WANT OH MY GOODNESS!!! AMAZING, ICONIC, WHATEVER ELSE I DESCRIBED IT AS BEFORE, THANK YOU SARAH FOR WRITING THIS MASTERPIECE!!!
Lo <3
Hey!
It is so good to see more of vic/james. I think we only get hints of it in curious traveler at the moment but this was just quality vic/james content that everyone frankly everyone needs in their life. I think the setting was so perfect backdrop for them as couple. It seems totally them that they would just be chilling with beer pong as their first kiss moment.
jic or vames? i'm not sure on either of those as a ship name yet, prum? erm, maybe not? i'll have to work on this more perhaps.
it's really cool to see vic from someone else's pov, it was particularly cute to see her from james' lovesick one. He is just the cutest with her. I love how he is comparing her laugh to music, like that's too bloody cute. the boy is just obsessed with her. I love all the imagery at the beginning, you're describing sets the scene perfectly, 'golden hour' repeated was particularly effective at setting the perfect romance air for the fic.
the dialogue between the two is very simple but there is so many emotions that are just benearth the surface through the whole fic. their chemistry is just fantastic! I love the kiss! This is so perfect. i really hate to think where they went wrong in between this delightfulness and the start of curious traveler (which I totally need more of after this!). I need these beautiful dorks together again because this is too cute for them to be apart! <3
Abbi xx
Abbi xx
Hello Sarah! I'm here for broom racing and also rvg :)
This was so sweet and I loved the light-heartedness of it. The story opened up with this perfect description and repetition of the 'golden hour' and I loved that, because I personally love that part of the day too, and think it makes everything seem more beautiful, and perhaps it makes people more open and braver, as was the case with James.
It was adorable how he couldn't keep his eyes and thoughts away from Vic the entire time, no matter what he was doing, it felt like there was a magnet between them, and I silently cheered for both of them because it seemed she was responding equally.
Their little escape was awesome and exciting, I really enjoyed reading James' falling-in-love thought process, and particularly this line:
Perhaps it's that that gives him the courage.
There was also something really nice about his character in here that I don't see much of in other fics, and it was this genuine and sweet vulnerability. I liked that you focused on that and his feelings than the cockiness and bravado he's usually portrayed having, it was very refreshing.
Oh and of course the ending was, I think, very swoon-worthy, especially the way they were both getting close together, and again I loved how you phrased this part: or maybe that something tugging them together again and I was just smiling toward the end, happy to see such a sweet depiction of two people liking each other and getting that lovely moment of realizing it and then sealing it with a kiss. It's just so romantic! Thank you for sharing this! :)
Eli
Hi Sarah! Ahh, I have FEELINGS.
This was the cuteness I didn't know I needed today. James and Victoriya are so perfect together in this one-shot and I hope you realise that I now intend to pester you to keep updating Curious Traveler until I can see them back together. You've brought it on yourself :P
The opening of this was so lovely - the description of the light was perfect, and I loved the way that you used that to focus in on James's feelings for Victoriya in this. The golden light becoming a halo around her - every word of the opening of the story really said so much about how James feels about Victoriya, almost as if he's seeing everything for the first time as if it (and she) is completely new to him. And the little details of how he's sure that Al must be able to see the changes in his behaviour to her, the hyper awareness of how he feels about her and the consciousness that other people must see it - you just captured those feelings of first love so perfectly in this story and it was really cute.
Ah, I felt for James with all the lasts, as well. It's such a weird and difficult period to go through and I can remember feeling like everything was a very momentous occasion at that age. It tied in so well with his realisation of his feelings for Victoriya, and I loved the way that she realised that and wanted to help him make it unforgettable.
Then when they sneaked away together - they were just so adorable! The chemistry was almost tangible and I loved seeing them get closer, with the James trying out the little nicknames and Victoriya making it quite clear that she likes him but James still not quite daring to believe it. I was so happy for them at the end of this story and now I really want to know what happened between them in Curious Traveler to have them end up in the situation they're in there!
Siân :)
(For broom racing.)
Hi Sarah, I’m here for the HC finale!
I absolutely adore the repetition of the phrase ‘golden hour’ in the first paragraphs! It’s so melodic, and it really paints this romantic, ethereal picture! I love how smitten James is by Victoriya, it’s very endearing, and it reminds me a lot of how I’ve often read his namesake portrayed in his infatuation with Lily, which makes it even sweeter!
Also, omg, Snapes on a Plane is such a brilliant name for a band!! I love it! And I wonder how many wizards would even get the film reference, which just makes it even funnier!
I really love the dynamic between James and Vic! They’re so unbelievably sweet together! I was worried at first that it would be unrequited, and that James was the only one smitten, so I’m super pleased that that’s not the case, haha :P
I definitely agree with Victoriya, I think James has snatched himself a pretty great prize! This was such a sweet story!
Love, Julia
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