Re: Damn it, I have to split this into pieces
And then Snape's reaction to his father's funeral, oh good heavens, and Harry's kindness. The poetic epigraphs and Snape coming back to save Harry and "Please do not make me continue," he murmurs, "I'm hideous at this" and the fact that they can't stay away from each other. How every conversation is composed of humor and ripped-bare truth and verbal fencing and - I'm just blown away by the artistry of this fic. It turns me into a babbling idiot who wastes words and yet can't quite articulate how much this exhilarates me. Or how I fell head over heels in love with both Severus and Harry, to the point that their pain gave me pain and their happiness gave me happiness. In most fics, calling Snape beautiful is a sign to hit the backbutton, but Harry's right this time, he's right and it's the truth and I'm so impressed that you found a way to say this that shines out of the fic and haloes them both - because beauty and prettiness are two different things, and many people don't realize that Snape can be beautiful while remaining exactly who he is. But you get that. And so does Harry.
And then the ending. You trump brilliance with brilliance. I'm not sure a fic's ever kicked me over the edge like that into wonder and triumph and, you know, coming to pieces. And I thank you for it. I've spent all day with this fic - reading it, thinking about it, trying to give back to you some inkling of what you gave me and what this story means to me. All I can do is conclude with a word that sums up both my response and my belief in what this fic was created from and what it achieves.