[fic] you & me of the 10,000 wars, downton abbey modern au, 11k words, 2/4

[allthingsholy]

Title: You & Me of the 10,000 Wars (A Downton Industries Fic)
Author: allthingsholy
Fandom: Downton Abbey
Words: 11k this chapter, 21k total
Rating: R
Notes: Equal parts modern adaptation and modern au. Thanks to juniperlane & lulabo for the betas; thanks to goodmenfall for the britpicking. Any errors or Americanisms that remain are entirely down to me. Sorry for the super huge delay

Comments

[sasita]

Boy am I thrilled to see this story updated! Even if it means that my heart will have to break a little once again for Mary (as it always does when I think about what she has to endure both in canon and au's like this one), who's struggling so much to keep her crust from cracking and to keep her inner vulnerability well hidden away. You describe her physical armour so vividly, her rigidness whenever she feels herself threatened. And how she allowed herself to be taken care of by Cora when she absolutely needed it

[anonymous]

Holy. Crap. This is... amazing. You are a beautiful writer... it's been a long time that I've felt so completely enveloped in a story, in the atmosphere you've created. Mary's anger and frustration at her life is something that's not always explored and when it is, not made to feel so palpable and real as you've made it. And it's translates so well in the AU world.

The chemistry between Mary and Matthew is so electric and perfectly written. I like how you write his lust, his passion... it's part of both a physical and emotional connection he feels for her.

[petragem]

Her smile is diamond sharp and brittle and it stretches across her face in stages, mocking and furious and tired in turns. He wonders if he will ever stop cutting himself on her edges. She draws her shoulders back and narrows her eyes and it seems more and more unlikely all the time.

That hit me so hard. I adore this, how Kemal makes Mary feel lust and something rougher than weariness in equal amounts, how Matthew’s tongue is loose and stupid and brave with her, and how Mary goes to her mother and begs. The entire thing is so, so lovely--thanks so much for updating!

[birdienl]

Wow, that was so so wonderful! You write so well, the feelings of the characters wrapped in intricate sentences which give the story great atmosphere. I hope you will update with a new chapter soon, as I'm dying to know what will happen to Mary and Matthew.

[merkuria_lyn]

Oh my, this has really made my day! I'd almost given up hope that you'd continue. No, that's not true, I'd never stopped hoping, LOL, but I'd settled in for a long wait.

I absolutely adore this story, it's so so good. You have an amazing way of painting images with your prose. There is something oddly - cinematic - about the way you write something and it will evoke something in my mind which is so tangible. It's such a delight to read.

Loved the awkward and tentative conversation between Matthew and Mary in the club - it felt like the he was stumbling through a minefield in the dark and while drunk. Stupid and foolish just as much as brave and heroic. ;-)

Anyway, thank you so much for updating this, it was well worth waiting for. I will now re-read chapter one and two a few times and then settle down comfortably to await chapter three. ;-)

merkuria_lyn (virtualclutter on tumblr)

[merkuria_lyn]

Just reread and can I just say that the whole sequence with Mary and Kemal, from their stairway encounter to her turning up at her parents' is amazing? It kind of thrums with an energy and tension that is almost too intense - the drugged haze of her desire and then the cold panic once she discovers Kemal is dead. Absolutely stunning.