Name: ShazaLupin (Signed) · Date: 01 Feb 2021 03:20 PM · For: ever since we broke up i don't know what love is

Hi there!

 

Oh wow, I wonder what it says about me that the end of that fic, really all of it from, when they left the bar in the rain to the end, was so much more romantic than the first bit and her date with Benji. I think you did a great job at showcasing just how romantic those two were when they were together,but not romance in the boring, expected way, but in a  different, even better way.  Three was so much passion and feeling between them. 

 

It's clearly what Lily actually wants, and I suppose James too since she's the one who left him. It's quite sad that they can't just be together, but I suppose it must get to a point of no-return. Hopefully they work it out one day. 

 

This was such a great fic. 

 

Shaza

Written for the winter in fairyland review event.

 

Name: RonsGirlFriday (Signed) · Date: 30 Jul 2020 05:49 AM · For: ever since we broke up i don't know what love is

Hi Taylor! I'm here for our swap, and I'm sorry it took me so long.

 

I looooved this, particularly how you set it up in the beginning and waited a bit to drop the fact that they had once been an actual item, really serious, and in love. Like at first it just seems like this is one of those situations where two people are in a perpetually casual, at times toxic, purely sexual relationship but they do it because it fulfills their needs, and maybe it's emotionall easier than letting themselves really go live their lives and find other people, or maybe it's because they literally just don't have time for anything else and this arrangement is good for them in its own way.

 

But NO, then we get hit with the fact that they were once very much a happy couple, and they split because of issues that are so real and human and dealbreaking but that don't make either of them bad. Like they weren't destroyed by infidelity or someone being completely terrible to the other, or falling out of love, they broke up because they were just too different even though they loved each other, which is... way harder than a lot of people seem to think it would be. This whole thing kind of struck some chords with me, to be honest. The feeling of breaking up with someone who you still love because of incompatibility that you know will make you miserable (or is already making you so)... but because you love them so much, you're also miserable without them. Like you're screwed either way. What Lily's going through is so absurdly relatable.

 

And even though this is all from her POV, I love that we can tell exactly how deeply broken James is over this as well. And even though he does a couple of things that are sort of dick things to do (not horrible, but just pressuring her again to stay, and going through this song and dance every single time with the hope that he'll be able to change her mind this time, and his little dig at the end right before she leaves) I can't really dislike him for it. Because he's miserable. And their dialogue right at the end was perfect. Ugh.

 

I liked your take on this prompt and how even when you are supposed to be splitting them up... you can't really bring yourself to actually split them up, hahaha. I mean, they are, but also they aren't, not in the way they both clearly wish they could be.

 

Awesome job, this was such a good read! <3

 

Melanie

Name: sunshine_locks (Signed) · Date: 16 Jul 2020 03:59 AM · For: ever since we broke up i don't know what love is

hi taylor! back for part two of our review swap!

 

this whole story gave me such whiplash omg. it’s so not the tone and genre i was expecting for your usual jily fics (like, i’d always made the association that your next gen is quite a bit more angstier than your marauder era fics but i should reallyyy stop since you’re so much more a versatile writer), but this was so good anyways.

 

it kind of really hurt to see lily in so much pain; and i wanted to help her get out of the cycle that she’s in. what really made me sympathize with her was the fact that she went on so many dates with so many nice guys who were kind and courteous but at the end of the day all of them lacked flare and fell flat when she knows she had the perfect chance at love with james and she lost it. after that, no other guy would compare, right?

 

their conversation at the beginning seemed to be so lack luster—like you can just feel that there used to be something there that has now been lost. it’s now just a means to get something they both want as opposed to actual conversation because they like each other and want to spend time with each other. (not that the former is bad per se, but there’s this element of unhealthiness there.)

 

and honestly, i can see why lily eventually got annoyed with james’ behavior—i can’t say that i am an independent person, but i do hate it when people try to micromanage everything i do. like what was the reason to control lily’s mode of transportation? would taking the car be that much safer? and even if it is… like dude. lily has her own life to live. let her live it?

 

not to mention—the fame is a completely valid reason for them to have broken up. it’s kind of dynamic that we’ve all thought about at some point, i think. what is it like to date someone who’s so harshly scrutinized under the public eye? would we be able to handle it? fantasy says an enthusiastic yes, reality says maybe (which is probably bordering on a no). if lily isn’t entirely comfortable with james’ fame, then maybe they weren’t meant to be—even with how much they both thought they were the one!

 

and ah… the ending was a sucker punch to the heart! like yes, they both love each other! they do, it’s an undeniable fact! but love isn’t enough sometimes, and it’s a hard fact to live with.

 

in the end, i’m okay with them apart. but i am interested in seeing how you might unfuck this situation though, since it seems uncompromisable right now. how do you even begin to fix this? it’s like an unmovable wall has met an unstoppable force.

 

thank you for writing! xx

Name: dreamshadow (Signed) · Date: 16 Jul 2020 12:17 AM · For: ever since we broke up i don't know what love is

hi taylor!! here for our swap.

oh man, i loved this version of lily and james so much. you always do so well with them, but especially here. i particularly liked how self-aware lily was the whole time; she knew exactly what she was doing, she even realized what she was doing was wrong, but she couldn't stop herself from doing it anyway. and james must be aware, too - he knows exactly where she is and how the night will go, even when they don't mention it verbally. that's what i loved about this, all of their nonverbal communication. 

but even without that, it's so clear that everything is so consenual. and i love how you peppered in the details of their history before getting to the flashback fight - which i very much enjoyed/appreciated, because i'm a sucker for flashbacks - that you can tell just how well they know each other. and it really says something about them, that they keep going back together, after all this time. even when things end horribly, it's almost like there's some comfort in those decisions.

and your writing?? it's just so good, taylor. the sex was hot, and even if there weren't explicit details, there were enough to paint a pretty clear image. and i love how everything just flowed together.

and maybe this might be an unpopular opinion, but i'm kind of glad they didn't end up back together in this. i'm not saying i don't want a part two (because please give me more of this universe!!), but it felt more realistic, more true to the beginning of the story. that this was a decision that was going to wreck her, and it does, and it's just so heartbreaking to see. i kind of want to both hug her and shake her until she realizes that she loves james - but she knows she does!

okay, and also i loved when james told her to lie and say she didn't love him, and then she does - honestly, top notch angst right there and i'm living for it.  i'm pretty sure my heart twisted at that.

please let me know if you end up writing a part two, i'll be very curious to see if these two idiots manage to work things out. 

great job! and thanks for the swap ♥