Talk:Far from all intentional ill-doing
Yuletide Comments
The following are the comments that were made to the original Yuletide post in 2008/9:
From: tetsubinatu
Date: 05/01/2009 Excellent!
From: Lorie
Date: 01/05/2009 You've fulfilled a lot of Charioteer fans' wishes for the story of Ralph and Alec, and you've done it very nicely. I enjoyed the references to Alec catting around during both his relationships. And the breakup with Ralph coming about because of his offer to support him was just pitch-perfect, to me. Thanks very much for such a loving look at Alec's role in the book.
From: Eileen Lufkin
Date: 01/01/2009 I really enjoyed reading this.
From: secretsolitaire
Date: 12/30/2008 Ooh, I haven't read The Charioteer in ages, but now I want to reread! Really enjoyed this.
From: minnow
Date: 12/27/2008 Really well done--I loved the pacing on it, the measured quality of it. I especially liked these lines:
>"Oh, people going through a phase, or just taking what they can get," Ralph said, dismissing Alec's first three steamy romances before he'd even heard the stories. Alec was no more charitable about losing a good story than the next person, but Ralph was so earnest about it that it was hard to be cross with himSpud was like a drink of water after that, water from the spring, clear and bright, and I kissed him, I kissed him - was it wrong? Did I do something wrong to him?"<
From: wychwood
Date: 12/27/2008 I rather like your Alec here; he's perhaps a little more comfortable in the "scene" than I generally think of him being, but you make it very plausible for me. I like his relationship with Ralph a lot, too; they're both good people, even if they don't go so well together. And it's nice to have an external view on Laurie! Nice snippets.
From: Oshun
Date: 12/26/2008 I really, really liked this story. I've always wondered about a possible scenario for how Alec met Ralph. Loved the characterizations (actually adore thinking about both Ralph and Alec for a whole series of different reasons and you didn't disappoint me here); loved Alec's POV. Very satisfying. And you hit my favorite point of preference in reading between the lines--Ralph did kiss Laurie that last day at school! (I just knew he did.) So much fun to read.
From: KindKit
Date: 12/26/2008 I love this story. Alec and Ralph's relationship--both its good points and its troubles--feels absolutely *real* and true to the characters. And the inclusion of Polari, the way you've drawn the 1940s gay world with a sympathy that Renault, unfortunately, couldn't muster--it's all so vivid and perfect.
From: True River
Date: 12/26/2008 Oooh, it's good to have some of the important gaps filled in - a very enjoyable read! :)
From: Helka Maria
Date: 12/26/2008 I really liked this. It's fascinating to see Ralph (and Laurie) through Alec's eyes. The characterization is perfect, and I really like how it ends.
From: Jae W
Date: 12/26/2008 This was great -- I really enjoyed it.
From: the_red_shoes
Date: 12/26/2008 Wonderful! The voice is just right, and I love seeing from Alec's POV, rather than Ralph's or Laurie's. Ralph is absolutely pitch-note perfect (and tragic, and hot!).
From: Penknife
Date: 12/26/2008 Oh, I love this to pieces. I have such a soft spot for Alec, and you've captured him so well here, and Ralph as well -- He had done things like that before, when Alec forgot himself and swore at a broken chair or complained about a cracked blind. He fixed things. is perfect, and perfect that coming from Alec it's a complaint.
From: Aussie54
Date: 12/25/2008 I enjoyed reading this; it was interesting reading about Ralph, and briefly Laurie, from Alec's point of view. You've captured them very well.
Thanks for sharing.
From: fawatson
Date: 12/25/2008 Thoroughly enjoyable
From: Assimbya
Date: 12/25/2008 You have the Mary Renault characterization style down perfectly, and this is so quiet and realistic that I feel that things must have gone just like it between Ralph and Alec.
From: queen_ypolita
Date: 12/25/2008 Oh, this is lovely! Thank you so much for writing it for me!