I've never tasted chartreuse; it sounds powerful, pungent, and dangerous! Loved the comment about the Atlantic being the Atlantic. So many interesting music references here-I don't know most of them and will have to look them up, but I do like Carrickfergus (it's spelled with a K in my versions). Loved the tiny reference to Konstin! Enjoyed all of the various nature references-the mist, the screaming, slightly scary seagulls, the beach. Loved his desperate dash and proposal, and the humorous ending. Nicely done!

I really must read up on your Noel Browne one of these days.

How did i read this and not review? Read this as soon as it came out and I LOVE IT! Beautiful and bittersweet and just perfect

One day, you're going to have to stop writing Tinder 'verse because it instills romantic ideals in me that I'm too tenderhearted to handle on any given day. (And by this, I mean please never stop writing Tinder 'verse because I like to torture myself with longing and vicarious living.) It's so atmospheric and melancholy and I adore everything about this. Have I mentioned I'm suing you?

"They take up letter writing." - You've already got me hooked.

"Johnry" - Erik is an ass but that is the best nickname.

"So much time, in fact, that he has dyed his hair black from its natural sandy brown, and started slicking it back ... "academic right to be eccentric."" - John Henry and I are clearly kindred spirits.

"The Atlantic is the Atlantic and the Atlantic dictates its own whims." - Indeed it is and indeed it does, but I feel like this was said with a measure of affection that feels appropriately fitting.

"Tears prickle his eyes to think of Christine, to remember her on the night of the Perseids ... and his throat is tight as he steadfastly looks out the window, blinking hard to keep his tears at bay." - This and John Henry comforting him afterward makes me ache, and it's such a wonderful summary of the mood of 'Stardust' that I need to go back and reread after this. (The way you connect the parts of your series makes it so much more immersive and I adore it.)

"The place they come to in Connemara is Baile na hAbhann, right on the Atlantic." - I'm mostly highlighting this part because I looked up Baile na hAbhann afterward and goodness it looks gorgeous there. You chose the perfect setting for a fic about longing.

"Maybe Romantic notions, more likely pertaining to one obsession or another." - John Henry continues to be a mood.

"The music drifts, caught by the breeze, and floats out over the wide Atlantic." - You're remarkably adept at using simple descriptions to just evoke a whole emotion and I will always envy that about you.

"John Henry is mawkish, and there is something romantic about the idea of waiting until he has a few letters to post, so that is what Erik resolves to do. To write her daily, and post them all at once, so when she gets them she can read them in order and be amused at him." - John Henry once more being a mood, and honestly the notion of someone writing letters and saving them to post later is so delightfully sigh-inducing that I don't know what to do with myself.

"He leaves that out of his letter ... the seagulls screaming above them were mildly terrifying more than invigorating." - The imagery here is as lovely as it is hilarious and as someone who has been screamed at by her share of seagulls, I know that terrified feeling. I can't imagine it's fun when coming off of alcohol poisoning.

I can't highlight a specific part of the next sequence, with him comparing ages and calculating, because the whole thing is so borderline depressing that I want to yell at you.

"...or they play some of the records and dance with each other, and they are each full of the agony of missing those they love..." - I weep.

The ENTIRE proposal scene. I had actually been wondering to myself earlier when I first read this whether or not you'd written out the proposal and if I'd missed it (and whether or not I could find it if I had) and then you go and spring that on me. It's so sweet and so fitting for the way you've characterized them. The fact that it's based on a real event is even more heart-clenching and I love that you adapted it into a proposal because I don't know of any better way these two could've gotten engaged. It's heartwarming and funny in such a real way and I adore it.

I also don't usually mention the A/Ns in reviews but this one was so informative and I wanted to thank you for the explanations!

Thank you so much for sharing (and for continuing to murder me), I've been adoring all of this.

Love this so much. I really love the proposal. And thank you for the notes at the end! Your work is always rich with detail and research.

Erik running out of the barber shop to Christine is so hilarious but very romantic. He was ready to see his very new fiance. Glad he finished the haircut. How cute. I like the way you add extra notes at the end of a story to explain references.

What a sweet way to get engaged. You need to do a follow-up!