Day 16 - Fic: Team Time: A Heart Closing

[rsgamesmods]

Team: Time

Title: A Heart Closing

Rating: R

Warnings: major character death, angst-ridden sex

Genres: period fic (WWII), angst

Word Count: 9300

Summary: A war story, told in stops and starts.

Notes: I decided on a wartime setting partly because I feel like r/s works well with the extra conflict surrounding them, but also partly because this

Comments

[bookgrrrl2006]

whoa. that about killed me with sadness, but in the best possible way. special kudos to you for all the marvelous research, too. it did, in fact, remind me a lot of that sarah waters novel, not just for the lgtbq part, but the very feeling for being in london during ww2. in fact, the whole thing just felt very, very real from the utterly on point historical feeling to the subtle, well-crafted emotions

[luminousgloom]

This is why I love the Games - don't usually like AU fics or a lot of angst, so I doubt I'd have come across this otherwise, and man, I would've massively missed out!

Your writing is just wonderful, full of brilliantly observed details. Loved this -
"Would you hate me," Sirius asks. He sounds too earnest, too much like the child Remus met seven years ago, always soft and uncertain beneath the bravado.

"Would there be any point." Remus turns to look him in the eye, finally.

and

Remus wants to tell him that he's always been on his side, that he will probably be on his side until the day he dies at this rate, but the words stick in his throat like glass.

- and lots more but particularly this -

They keep coming back to this, hitting each other at odd angles.

"I love you," says Sirius, except it comes out as, "I'm sorry."

Remus wraps his arms around him, pulling him to his chest like a secret. This is what he wants and this is what he cannot keep.Your theme of secrets and things left unsaid is of course at the heart of

[rissabby]

Starting with your author's notes, I was very impressed with the amount of research and work you put into preparing to write this story.

And, ow. The story was stressful and painful. I really felt for Remus, feeling left out and left behind. I'm glad you showed Dumbledore as the manipulator we finally got to see him as (in book 7). He never knows as much as he thinks he does and he will mess with your life anyway.

And, Remus and Sirius -- your fic has started me thinking about how Sirius and James come from a common "class" background which makes them see the world in a certain way -- and Remus doesn't share that. Even though they all, in many ways, grew up together, Remus is an outsider to Sirius and James' relationship and common background. When I think of that, it makes Remus' insecurities and the canon misunderstandings more comprehensible.

[abyss_valkyrie]

Uhhh.My heart. This story is so utterly beautiful and the language is seriously enchanting, your wordings are just that good even if I'm a fan of angst with happy endings, in this story, it just seemed inevitable for them to end like this. I'm sure in the war era there were many people like Remus who are just one speck in the midst of all the other people. To see a character like that and their life...my heart hurts just thinking about it and this is coming from an emotionally stunted person so just accept my love for this fic!!!!

From the little things to the worries, to seeing how Remus feels so left out not directly because of his friends but because of circumstances leading to things as they are, Lily and Remus' bonding, Dumbledore in all his manipulating, evil master-mind mode for the greater good, Marlene with her soft hair-ha! I couldn't skim over a single line because each line had something to add to the story and it completely hooked me.

I'll definitely read this again when I'm craving for some angst!Lalaaaa!

[sub_etheric]

The atmosphere of this piece was spell-binding, from the start to the end the sense of despair and inevitability was maintained despite the occasional lighter moments. It never stopped me wanting to read though, despite sensing where it may end up, as it was so well-crafted. The blending of the Muggle war and the magical community, and the substitution of this war for that in canon, worked so well. An uncomfortable but truly satisfying read!