Currently suffering from--in the best possible way--MOTA brainrot. Meatball, Lemmons, Brady, Curt, and Dickie are my faves. Feel free to come ask me about my MOTA fics. Asks are ALWAYS welcome!
(Follows back come from bastet55.)
Summary: A Tale of Friendship and, eventually, Love in the Skies over War-Torn Europe
When the United States began integrating women into military units before and, especially, after Pearl Harbor--and not just confining them to important but still auxiliary units--it was decided that heavy bomber squadrons were a good place to relegate some of these pioneering women. There was an early, misguided belief that American heavy bombers were 'invincible,' though this would quickly be proven wrong, especially for the 100th Bomb Group, which would come to be known as the "Bloody Hundredth."
Mildred Brady, better known to her friends as "Millie," was one of ten women assigned to the 100th and its 35 original crews when it flew from America to England in June 1943. Serving at Thorpe Abbots from the beginning until Black Week, she would survive nineteen missions before being shot down. From combating prejudice as she did her duty as a gunner and engineer to fighting to survive as a POW, she would find strength in friendship and a level of tenacity she did not know she possessed.
Rating: Teen (chs. 1-17); Mature (chs. 18-25)
The Sunward Verse
Quiet Amidst the Darkness
Summary: In which a sudden downpour leads to a quiet moment between Brady and Millie in the final weeks before Münster, a discussion about the future, and stolen kisses. September 1943.
Rating: Teen
AO3 Link: Here
Sorrow Like Unto My Sorrow
Summary: In which Kenny--and Maggie--grapple with the fact that Millie will not be returning from Münster. October 10, 1943.
Rating: Teen
AO3 Link: Here
Brothers Lost and Found
Summary: In which in a kinder world Millie, Curt, and Dickie are reunited after Regensburg, but sometimes it just takes longer or shorter. AU.
Rating: Mature
AO3 Link: Here
Ghost in the Flesh
Summary: In which an afternoon discussion with Hoerr reveals to Millie a horrifying tale from their jump over Münster three months before. Late January 1944.
Rating: Teen
AO3 Link: Here
The Lost, Found
Summary: In which, on a cold and gray afternoon, a miracle happens and John Brady finds one of his missing crew returned to him, but his engineer (and best girl) who parted from him in the cockpit of M’ll Zig Zig in the skies near Munster is not the same woman whom he meets in Barracks 8 three months later. January 1944.
Rating: Mature
AO3 Link: Here
And Therefore I Have Hope
Summary: In which Kenny learns that Millie has indeed survived Münster and is a prisoner in Germany. December 1943.
Rating: Teen
AO3 Link: Here
"A Hometown Hero: Millie Brady"
Summary: A retrospective article published on Millie Brady by the press in Laurel, Maryland, following the release of Apple TV's new show, Masters of the Air.
Rating: Teen
AO3 Link: Here
The Long Shadow
Summary: In which Millie looks to determine the fate of Flight Lieutenants Butler and Shaw, the RAF officers who helped her on the journey from the Dulag Luft in Frankfurt to Stalag Luft III. March 1949.
Rating: Teen
AO3 Link: Here
But I Can Carry You!
Summary: In which Millie nearly loses her life to the claws of a violent dog years before World War II and years before meeting the people that will define the rest of her life. Summer 1939.
Rating: Teen
AO3 Link: Here
Sun-Split Clouds
Summary: In which are contained shorter pieces of work that are part of The Sunward Verse: what-ifs, outtakes, newspaper articles, prompts, etc.
Rating: Mature
AO3 Link: Here
Peaks and Valleys
Summary: In which the course of life does not run smoothly for Millie, surging to the highest of highs upon Kenny’s return from England and crashing like a stricken bomber within days when an encounter with a neighbor’s dog brings trauma from Germany back to the forefront. (In which being home, being safe, finally being rid of her cast, and finally having both John and Kenny back in America does not mean that there are not bad days, and sometimes the good days and the bad days are totally intertwined.) June 1945.
Rating: Teen
AO3 Link: Here
Out of the Ashes
Summary: In which a formal question is asked, dark secrets are laid bare, and Millie is reminded that love can find a way, no matter the scars of the past. July 1945.
Rating: Mature
AO3 Link: Here
She Promised!
Summary: In which breaking the news of M’lle Zig Zig’s loss over Münster to two English ducklings cannot be put off forever. October 1943.
"I will not say, do not weep, for not all tears are an evil." (Tolkien)
Rating: Teen
AO3 Link: Here
The Home Front
Summary: In which Millie’s family grapples with the news of her loss over Münster, her change in status to POW, and her repatriation home to America. Snippets from October 1943, December 1943, and February 1945.
Rating: Teen
AO3 Link: Here
Fly Like An Angel (Not Die Like One)
Summary: In which Curtis Biddick’s Irish luck helps carry him through one more mission and land a battered Escape Kit and he spends the next five months waiting for news of his friends and his crew. AU. August 1943-January 1944.
(This is a companion piece to “The Train” from Brothers Lost and Found.)
Rating: Teen
AO3 Link: Here
In Her Absence
Summary: In which the Lemmons brothers are finally able to get leave at the same time and able to see each other in England for the first time in over a year. And yet their reunion is overshadowed by Millie’s conspicuous absence. June 27-28, 1944.
Rating: Teen
AO3 Link: Here
Homeward Bound
Summary: In which Millie is married for the first time, travels north to New York with John, and finds herself meeting many new people. And then she gets married again. It is only somewhat overwhelming. July-August 1945.
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We cannot even begin to express the love and appreciation we have for every single person who has supported us in our first year. To everyone who has come through The Clubmobile for coffee and sinkers this year, from historians, to authors, actors and friends, we have nothing but love for all of you. Please enjoy a teaser from our final guest episode of the year at the end of this video. Full episode with Masters of The Air’s Darragh Cowley will premier on 12/23 and we’re so excited to share it with you all!
The Clubmobile is ready to roll into year 2 and we hope you’ll continue on the journey with us!
You can use the daily theme as inspiration to create new fanwork, or simply enjoy the activity as a chance to reflect on your fandom and personal experiences. The only rule is to be kind to each other.
My break on this series has extended longer than I expected, since my current writing project has ballooned into a behemoth, but I appreciate continued interest in The Sunward Verse. As always, feel free to send asks with thoughts, comments, questions, story ideas, etc. I greatly enjoy reading every ask and reply to each one (even if it takes me a few days).
Ooh! In a version of 40 from the ship game question (40. Do they have any regrets in their relationship?)
Do Millie and Brady have any regrets about how their relationship started / developed? And do you think they would have changed anything about their relationship developed, especially in the pre-marriage/moving to New York phase?
If it’s already been answered don’t worry!
Hello, Nonnie! Thank you for the ask!
I think both Millie and Jack would wish that their relationship actually had had time to develop slowly and normally. Not jump from tentative foundations at Thorpe Abbotts to pure survival in Stalag Luft III to marriage shortly after Brady returns to the USA. No dates--not even one. No courting. No letters. None of the usual progression for couples in that period.
For them, it worked, but it's harder, especially when you add in PTSD, Millie's physical struggles, trauma bonding where you have to learn how to function separately and then figure out how to be married. It's a complex foundation for a relationship.
I definitely think Jack has the quicker temper, but it's the cool, biting kind of temper, not the hot, explosive kind, which makes it all the more intimidating for those (never Millie) on the wrong end. I am reminded of one of my favorite passages from A Wing and A Prayer (p. 47):
Over intercom, I hear Lieutenant John D. Brady, quiet-like. “Keissling, the supers don’t get the slots till Checkpoint Able. This is Brady, and I am coming in on top of you. If you don’t get out of the way of this expensive part of the U.S. Air Corps, I am going to smash the living shit out of you.”
Hello, Nonnie! Thank you for the ask and your kind words. I'm touched by continued interest in this series since I haven't posted anything for it since April. My current writing project bloomed into a much longer behemoth than I ever expected, but I'm looking forward to returning to The Sunward Verse ... sooner or later.
As to your question, this is one for which I actually currently don't have an answer, since my musical taste runs mostly toward instrumental music. If you or any other readers have suggestions of songs that remind you of Millie and Jack's relationship, please do share! I'd be very interested!
