Review of "Long Lost Friend" by anuna_81 and alternate0ego
Admittedly, writing long, rambling reviews makes me want curl up in a ball and crouch in the corner of the room, but Anuna has always been a good friend and, after working so hard on this story, she doesn't deserve to just be thrown to the wayside.
Though her style has changed a lot even in the short time I've known her, you can always count on several things in anuna_81 's fics. First, they're very introspective - you learn a lot about the characters even when they're doing the most mundane things. Second, you never see the smut coming. Third, holy shit, character development that you can believe in!
I actually hadn't really known her at all when I offered to beta the story - it was through alternate0ego that I was sucked into the whole thing. I say this because, though Ego disappeared on us, she was a great mastermind, and the bits of writing that she did that are in the story really do shine. Her and Anuna have very similar styles, and I challenge anyone to pick out the parts where they switched - I had a hard time myself!
Though I didn't take offering to beta such a huge project lightly, it wasn't until around the end of June that I was sent anything other than the previews Anuna had offered up on her journal from the start. Almost the moment I opened the file and began reading, I was blown away by how deeply you could tell the characters were affected by their experiences - the melancholy beginning made my heart ache, not just for John, but for his team. I wasn't sure whether I wanted the story to end or to go on forever in the glorious sadness that the entire first section is bathed in. When the virus hits, you're almost glad that they're losing their memories, putting them out of their misery.
The raw bluntness with which John is described during this turn of events is moving beyond words - you're hit by how much John is like the woods in which he is lost, harsh, cold, a dimly lit by the sun seeping through the canopies. The way he greets his team is like a wild animal coming into your house, and, as he begins to regain his memories, part of this wild rawness is still within him, and seems to remain for the rest of the story as he slowly moves away from Atlantis, towards Elizabeth and what he has to do to be with her.
As we move into the next chapter of the adventure, we meet Aiden Ford on many different levels - the young officer happy to see his CO, the distrusting drug addict, and another level that is almost malicious, but only in the way a caged tiger is, not out of aggression but for survival. He obviously wants to help, but he also has himself to think of now that it's just him and John. Though you know his anger towards Sheppard is misplaced, you can't help but sympathize with his plight. Who wouldn't be a little paranoid after going through all that?
Through Aiden coming out of his shell, we finally start to see a new dimension to Keller, and you realize that, at least in the story, she is one of the most believable characters you have to choose from - she has fears and regrets just like the rest of us, and these fears are played upon as she faces taking care of the man who is holding her prisoner. Her growth all seems to lead up to how she determines John and Elizabeth are to be treated as human beings, and you can tell that, by the time this situation comes along, she's going to have her way or she's going to kick ass in one way or another.
Teyla and Ronon are the same quiet strength all the way through, but it is through them that we realize that the balance of right and wrong is sometimes best kept by those who have led the hardest lives. It is Teyla who knows what John needs and lets him pursue it, and Teyla who fights for the dignity of the people who were once so trusted by everyone. When they charge off into the unknown, you know it's the right thing to do even as your heart aches for Rodney being left behind. And when Rodney sees Lorne's painting, you know exactly how he feels, because you felt the same thing - though change comes quickly, and we may go into it kicking and screaming, it always comes for a reason.
Though the team has left, somehow Atlantis doesn't feel empty at the end of the story, the way it tends to feel when the team leaves in other stories. The city has changed as much as the people in it, and, though there may be some mourning, the end of the story crosses into a new era - an era where, though our intrepid heroes may be far from home, they are never far from our hearts.
Though her style has changed a lot even in the short time I've known her, you can always count on several things in anuna_81 's fics. First, they're very introspective - you learn a lot about the characters even when they're doing the most mundane things. Second, you never see the smut coming. Third, holy shit, character development that you can believe in!
I actually hadn't really known her at all when I offered to beta the story - it was through alternate0ego that I was sucked into the whole thing. I say this because, though Ego disappeared on us, she was a great mastermind, and the bits of writing that she did that are in the story really do shine. Her and Anuna have very similar styles, and I challenge anyone to pick out the parts where they switched - I had a hard time myself!
Though I didn't take offering to beta such a huge project lightly, it wasn't until around the end of June that I was sent anything other than the previews Anuna had offered up on her journal from the start. Almost the moment I opened the file and began reading, I was blown away by how deeply you could tell the characters were affected by their experiences - the melancholy beginning made my heart ache, not just for John, but for his team. I wasn't sure whether I wanted the story to end or to go on forever in the glorious sadness that the entire first section is bathed in. When the virus hits, you're almost glad that they're losing their memories, putting them out of their misery.
The raw bluntness with which John is described during this turn of events is moving beyond words - you're hit by how much John is like the woods in which he is lost, harsh, cold, a dimly lit by the sun seeping through the canopies. The way he greets his team is like a wild animal coming into your house, and, as he begins to regain his memories, part of this wild rawness is still within him, and seems to remain for the rest of the story as he slowly moves away from Atlantis, towards Elizabeth and what he has to do to be with her.
As we move into the next chapter of the adventure, we meet Aiden Ford on many different levels - the young officer happy to see his CO, the distrusting drug addict, and another level that is almost malicious, but only in the way a caged tiger is, not out of aggression but for survival. He obviously wants to help, but he also has himself to think of now that it's just him and John. Though you know his anger towards Sheppard is misplaced, you can't help but sympathize with his plight. Who wouldn't be a little paranoid after going through all that?
Through Aiden coming out of his shell, we finally start to see a new dimension to Keller, and you realize that, at least in the story, she is one of the most believable characters you have to choose from - she has fears and regrets just like the rest of us, and these fears are played upon as she faces taking care of the man who is holding her prisoner. Her growth all seems to lead up to how she determines John and Elizabeth are to be treated as human beings, and you can tell that, by the time this situation comes along, she's going to have her way or she's going to kick ass in one way or another.
Teyla and Ronon are the same quiet strength all the way through, but it is through them that we realize that the balance of right and wrong is sometimes best kept by those who have led the hardest lives. It is Teyla who knows what John needs and lets him pursue it, and Teyla who fights for the dignity of the people who were once so trusted by everyone. When they charge off into the unknown, you know it's the right thing to do even as your heart aches for Rodney being left behind. And when Rodney sees Lorne's painting, you know exactly how he feels, because you felt the same thing - though change comes quickly, and we may go into it kicking and screaming, it always comes for a reason.
Though the team has left, somehow Atlantis doesn't feel empty at the end of the story, the way it tends to feel when the team leaves in other stories. The city has changed as much as the people in it, and, though there may be some mourning, the end of the story crosses into a new era - an era where, though our intrepid heroes may be far from home, they are never far from our hearts.