What is your opinion?
The Feels!
"Set in a world where Earth is a mere memory of the past in the "colonies" of other planest, we follow the adventures of Maka, Soul, and crew. The entire galaxy is controlled by the Imperium, a totalitarian government that makes life a living hell; also affectionately known as "Imp" scum. They spend their days navigating the star sea by visiting these colonies and helping those in need the best way they know how. But their actions bring Imp as well as rebellion attention. How will they fare? First off, the world building, the personalities, even the space-speak dialogue is beautifully written. And rainingdownhearts totally won my heart by keeping my favorite couple, SoMa, together "to the end." Because of you, that phrase will be forever burned in my mind. You will laugh, cry, get angry, and have your heart broken into two. But I wouldn't want it any other way. You've written a masterpiece, rainingdownhearts. Don't change a thing."
A Stunning Author
"As an author, I cannot recommend rainingdownhearts enough. Her ability to turn a phrase, to build a world, to paint a picture are almost unparalleled, and this story is a perfect example of her mastery of prose. It demonstrates her understanding of plot, of the importance of balance, of the way to build up to something, of the delivery of emotionally powerful material. As heartwrenching as this story is, I absolutely recommend it and all her work."
Packs a punch to the feels
"As I've come to expect from you, this story does not fail to make the reader feel. Your prose is clean and evocative, and the world you paint vivid. Perhaps most striking, however, is your characterizations. You manage to make these characters true to their canon representations, to make their interactions feel real and raw. The way you showed the relationship between Soul and Maka is fantastic, slowly unfurling how close their bond is even amidst a cruel, chaotic world, an upbringing full of blood and loss. They disagree, they bicker, they worry, and above all, they love each other fiercely. I was particularly struck by how you managed to show moments of humanity and tenderness amidst the bleakness of the totalitarian dystopia you paint, how you show people trying desperately to do right among so much wrong when they might simply live and take comfort in each other. The ending is gut-wrenching. I'll admit I knew it was coming and have avoided the pain for awhile, because I don't like to be sad, and sad I was. The presence of Wes and the fact that he clearly still cares for Maka even through his anger, even through the chaos, the fact that it is one she sees as an elder brother who helps end her life, the sacrifice Kid makes and that it is his friend who brings him down, that we know Soul can hear it all and is powerless to change it--it packs so much into such a short span that we are left reeling. In particular, the continued belief of Maka and Soul in each other twists the knife and twists it deep. She believes to the end he will find a way to help her, and as the ship takes off, the reader is left stunned that he has left her; we know him well enough to know how it must have killed him, aware that he can do nothing to help her and loving her enough to do what she wants of him rather than throwing it all away to try to save her. There is a pointless to it that particularly hurts--yet the risks in what they did were always real and ever present, and Maka faced the consequence of burning too brightly as her parents had before her in their equally pointless, brutal deaths. The epilogue is brilliant. We get only headlines, but you have painted the world and characters so brightly that we can easily paste together the pieces. We know how much Soul must hurt, how much he has always done this for her, but he continues where she cannot, does what she can no longer do, and sees it through to the end as they had promised. He lives to fulfill her dream, and imagining the endless ache of that, and yet, the complete love as well is what makes this both painful and powerful. I sort of hate you for it--I want the alternate ending where Maka lives, where they accomplish it all together--but I always crave people to get what they deserve, and in a cruel, uncaring world, that they don't is, unfortunately, probably more fitting. In the end, I'm glad I read it. It is stunning, sadness and all."
Solid, well-rounded, leaves you wanting for more
"I had the pleasure of watching this story be written, and rainingdownhearts is constantly crafting quality work. She has a firm grasp on the big picture, and it really shows in this work. The world building gives you the sense that there is a lot more in the universe than the story portrays, instills that feeling of insignificance with how large it is in comparison to the reader. There are multiple facets to every character in this story, with different backgrounds and even -species-. It's a fantastic read and a story that is always, always about justice."
i loved it right up until it ripped my heart out
"I'm feeling very vulnerable right now but not so vulnerable that I wouldn't punch this author right in the face for doing this to me. In order for you to understand why that is a big deal, you must first understand that I am an artist by trade, and fully intend to punch them with my dominate hand for maximum pain infliction even though it will likely break due to my own punching incompetence and leave me unable to work for 6-8 weeks depending on the severity of the break. It would be one hundred percent worth it. To conclude; I need a bar of chocolate and a training montage."
First of all how dare you
"I feel like I need to start with "first of all how dare you" because in the space of an afternoon this story totally took over my interest, my emotions and my life. I went out to dinner with my friends afterwards completely unable to talk about anything else. This is such an original plot with strong characterizations and rich world building. It's so rare to see a fic that's willing to be as creative and out of the box as this, let alone one that avoids being ooc while still crafting unique versions on the characters. I also really appreciate the established relationship between the protagonists. That's something you rarely see in any form of storytelling but you manage to maintain tension and intrigue between the characters while making it clear to the audience why they love each other, not just simply that they do. My only complaint would be that I wish it was longer with even more world history and development of different aliens. And of course the ending which I both love and despise. It's both ambiguous and concrete, an ending that could leave space for a sequel but equally completes the story with a strong sense of satisfaction (as well as devastation). It's not only sad because of what happens, but because it makes sense both within the story and the characterizations for it to happen.. Weeks after reading this story I still think about it."
