#linhrecs

First thing first: this fic is so underrated. With 71k+ word count, this is a long fic in the making and I'm seated, I'm subscribed, I'm reading the newest chapter the moment it drops, and I'm telling everyone to read this fic.

A post-war fic that follow Lipton home as he navigated life in his hometown. And the fic took a very serious route to his characterization, examining how the horrors of war have affected him, his personality, and his view about the world. And his regret. Regret about Ronald Spiers.

The story unfold their relationship slowly, bits and pieces, all of which tore my heart apart. The emotion is so raw. The writing is detailed, the prose delivers one painful hit at a time until you are wrecked on your bed at 2am reading Lipton going through it.

Secondly, a great cast of OCs.

I don't want to spoiler it because it's a big plot point in the fic but the arc for one of the side characters is dark and harrowing. The fic delivers plenty of the tags it has. Which meant, if you love to be hurt, this is the fic for you.

So please read this fic!!!!

Now, it is where he writes to Ron. A slew of letters that will never see the inside of an envelope, nor feel the touch of Ron’s fingers. Carwood’s hope is that it’ll do the same trick, that slowly he’ll stop thinking of him so much, so often, because he does, everyday, every night, even in his dreams, Ron is there, a shadow, a feeling, a sound. Maybe, this will help Carwood let him go. If not that, then these unsent letters will just be the proof, that once, he loved.

This fic is one for the decade. And now, I shall try to dissect all the way that it's so awesome.

First, the attention to detail. What makes one AU fic stands out from the many of its own genre (you know, coffee shop AU, fantasy AU) is always in the details. This fic has that in spades. The turning of season, the changes from rural to urban landscapes, from one state to another, you can see the scenery our characters are seeing with all five senses.

I love how the world is so alive -- dead, since zombies and all, but alive. We see how life has stopped, how things have rotted, how the world had broken down. The contrast between the deads (the smell, the bodies) versus the undeads (which Ray and Brad have to fight against so many of them) and the alives (nature, all the survivors, Toni the little lovable critter that she is) is constant.

The authors put so much thoughts into how every little part of this dead world would affect Ray, our POV. And he feels and he observes and paints up a world that is both savage and so beautiful. I love the scene of the overrun garden, it's strangely romantic -- a little respite from the never-ending struggle to survive.

Two, surviving isn't easy. And this fic goes in depth as to all the things that must be maintain to survive. You need to protect yourself from the weather that is relentless in its quest to kill you. Then you have to go against the zombies that eat your brain without mercy. And then the survivors out there our in this world are just as ruthless. When Ray tries to help the two little kids and got his supplies stolen? It was such a gut-punch moment. It tells us a lot about what kind of person Ray is, and also tells us how hard being kind in this settings can be. Furthermore, we know how smart and resourceful Ray and Brad have to be to stay alive.

Third. The character voices. Holy shit.

You named your dog Tony?” Brad stares at him with a carefully calculated expression, but he lowers his rifle, clearly convinced that Ray is harmless. Sort of. 

“Yeah, Toni, isn’t she great.” He bends down to scratch at her ear, getting a click of teeth for his efforts. 

“Since when does Tony Soprano have a pussy?”

“What—No, the fuck, Toni with an I, you dipshit.” 

“Like Toni Colette?”

“No, Toni Morrison.” 

You need to understand that I am always in awe of all the writers in GK fandom who manage to capture this specific brand of early 2000s humor and dialogue. Here, every single sentence and inner monologue from Ray I can hear. I can hear him say it all: curse words and non-PC apocalypse-coping jokes and a specific Ray™️brand of introspection. Not just him, but Brad's voice and manners™️are also very on point. He's complement Ray perfectly, even if he doesn't see it (at first).

Even Toni, our little dog, has so much personality 🥰

Fourth (yes I'm still yapping, i love this fic, gimme a break). The slow burn between Brad and Ray is so good, I wanna eat it.

Ray and Brad get closer and develop a healthy amount of respect to each other. We immediately get their chemistry even if Brad is ever the cagey and emotionally stunted fucker that we know and love. Their rapport is both easy and hard, and it fits perfectly to this settings where trust isn't so readily available. From friendship comes the romance, THE ROMANCE. Ray and his big heart and how he sees through Brad makes me all gooey inside.

AND the scene where Ray comes down with the blister infection and Brad has to leave him to find some anti-biotic so Ray, in his ferish delirium, keep calling out to him fruitlessly? Ahjfkdshjdfshjkfds

That scene got me good. I'm not alrigh; that imagery is so heart-wrenching oh my god.

Fifth, the many twists and turns their journey take. There is so much ups and downs and quiet moment and tense action scenes. I love how this story ends with bittersweetness, so fitting to the theme and the vibe of it.

They were there, on a Pacific’s island, in mid August air, close enough to touch, silent enough to feel their heartbeats melt with the tune of the universe.

Everytime I reread this fic, I would get to the last line and I would want to cry. I'm not one who is easily moved to tears, mind you. But that last line. That painful confession from Eugene of his reciprocated feelings to Snafu, simple and fucking devastating. It hang in the air, not reaching the ears of the one who need to hear it.

The premise of the star and fairy tale is so creative. And so perfectly in-character for Snafu to confess his love to Eugene through his made-up story about the Magpie and her desire for the Boy's heart. These two can't communicate, they are too young, they are stupid, and their environment doesn't let them. So what do they have? Stories, dreams, a moment of quiet.

A post-war fic, as per tradition in our fandom, where one day, Leyden got a letter. Legit paper mail, handwritten, from Jay who Leyden hadn't seen since the last time they were together on Pavuvu.

Immense writing prowess from the author to make the almost-stream of consciousness style works here, where we learned the history of these two together, past and present, back and forth. That they had a lingering affection, that they both had been thinking about each other yet unabled to gather up the courage to write. Suddenly, Jay breached that veil. And Leyden, true to his character, jumped right into the fire.

I love the voice of Leyden in this. It's the rough-and-tumble yet genuine part of him that we see in the show now examined, and reflected in every action or thought he had. He wouldn't be a very romantic man but he's affectionate and lovely all the same.

This fic has so many beautiful turns of phrases. Every sentence flows effortlessly. A fantastic pacing that manages to make ~5k of words feel like less than a hundred, and the ending is sublime, which finished the story in such a high note that makes me want to reread it once more.

A snippet of a small detail that is so vivid and well-written (and made me snort a little):

The fic is very effortless in making the contrast between John and Gale's personalities known. The way they fly, for example, is one of those things. Careful, no nonsense Gale; John's more reckless, more frills and thrills.

I love how this fic portray Gale's fear and anxiety as Bucky briefly went missing after the mission. It feels like an extension of the show, where we get to see Gale's side in episode 9, and how he had an understated, quiet pain about him instead of Bucky's loud spirals. I find every little detail Gale observes to prove to himself Bucky's alive so fascinating: the reading habit that Bucky immediately continues, the way he dances and carols around, the way they banter... It speaks loudly about Gale's keen eyes but also about his fondness toward his best friend. Did I mention their banter? The author nails the fun swing of words between them so so well. I can hear these two saying every line as I read the fic.

One of the craziest things about the HBOWar fandom is the level of research a lot of authors poured into their fic, no matter which show, or which pairing. Here in this fic, the insight into this time period and the commitment to historical accuracy shone brightly, without being a dry history lesson. I love how the settings are so vital to the story overall, where the intersection of conflict, loyalty, family, and race serves as an integral part of the story, besides the love story that draws me in.

There is something very distinct in Muc's writing when it comes to setting the landscape of her fics. Very grounded, and atmospheric in a distinct way, something I would consider to be realism and quite raw. That being said, the second thing I love about this fic is the love and gentleness between Bull and Johnny. Their well-worn domesticity portrays a love that is as easy as breathing, as lovely as a kiss, that runs along and props up this fic. Little things they do for each other, the unsaid, the banter that is so old-married. Love me that good stuff!

(yes I have a weakness for old-married-couple dynamics. sue me)

This fic is a modern AU that put our beloved Andy into the White House, and as the president of the United States no less, where the stake is the highest it has ever been. But as always, as required by nature and the divine beings above, he had Eddie Jones by his side as they "tag-team" the presidency. The fic starts off with a news article that dare to ask the question: wait, isn't Jones kinda, eh, The First Lady if not in name but in spirit? and that kind of question means political turmoil is looming on the horizon.

I love the author's voice in this as we switch back-and-forth between the various news clippings, emails, texts, and social media posts (including Tweets on Twitter™️!) and the third-person POVs surrounding Ack-Ack and Hillbilly. As someone who has tackled multiple POVs before, this is no small task, and here, the author had done an excellent job. The voices are clear, everyone's incredibly distinct. It's funny and never too serious, yet can have hard-hitting emotional punches.

The way the characters integrate into the modern world is seamless, Ack-Ack remains a charming, if idealistic, and practical, capable leader. And Hillbilly's his person, who gets his back in every which way.

Besides that, I love the side characters' voices too. Especially Addy. Young OCs are tough, yo. Addy speaks her age, but she's thoughtful like her father, and wickedly smart. She's very endearing from the start to the end of the fic.

As the story unfolds and our characters are once more faced with the choice between duty and personal happiness, I can't help but admire their strength to do the right thing. The author shows how big a price it is to do the right thing. Yet the love remains strong. The story never loses hope.

A funny thing that showing the fic's age is how some of the handmade photoshop pics is broken. Trust me I have tried the Wayback Machine to find them and it didn't work.