Okay I read this just before I went to bed and absolutely bawled my eyes out (positive). I am so honored!!! I can't believe you wrote out such a long analysis of my fic! Especially since it is my longest fic and at times I feel my most dense, just in terms of how much is packed into each paragraph.
I'm very glad that you liked the footnotes! I appreciate that you pulled specific quotes - those always make for my favorite comments because it gives me a better sense of what's working for people. I'm also glad that you liked the flashbacks and the research. I had a lot of fun picking new historical periods and learning about holiday traditions.
I did enjoy messing a bit with gender, especially Crowley's! I wrote it before I realized I was genderfluid but I feel like some of those feelings seeped out onto the page. I also enjoyed expanding on the relationship with Warlock.
I love your description of the angst as "not ripping my heart to pieces, but just kind of tugging on it." The goal was to walk that line, keeping it cozy despite the angst, so I'm happy it worked!
"full of coziness and charm and silliness and tenderness and a lovingly crafted holiday vibe unlike no other fic I’ve read" - you're so nice!! Thank you so much!!! Also thank you for covering some of my other fics as well - your descriptions are fantastic and flattering, and I'm so glad you liked them!
Some bonus material under the cut:
