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Reviews for Prize of Victory 2

By : NovaAlexandria

From SeresNorth on November 06, 2014
@Chapter 98: It's been raining a lot down in south-central Texas, where I live, to the point it could seep into you house through your back doors if the seal on them has worn out... But enough of that, on with the review!

I guess I shouldn't be shocked that Barragon had forced Ggio into some kind of degrading outfit. After all, it's the sort of shit I've come to expect from the wrinkled old ghoul. Still, he's clearly not quite as addled as some of the others had previously implied, considering how promptly he withdrew to his own 'den' and recalled his 'pets' to defend the manor. And just as Soifon is about to strike from the shadows, fucking Hiyori shows up! Well, as Soifon herself observed, this at least drew the Second's attention away from Ggio and Yumichika (*shivers* Gugh!). Then, the two are forced- via claim- to intercept Hiyori, which thankfully provided Soifon the distraction she needed to stab Barragon with a (presumably) poison-tipped Vespa.

I liked the fact that the narrative addresses the fact that even after being restored by Orihime's Shun Shun Rikka, the years of servitude and malnourishment she suffered means she's not at the level she was before the Winter War, which is a nice bit of continuity. I figure the reason why she couldn't fix Soifon's vocal cords is linked to the fact that they never bothered having her fix Ukitak's eye.

Ah yes, of course Hiyori had to be the one to go fuck things up!

*Good* thing I started writing out this review BEFORE I finished, because just as I was cheering on Soifon death-blow... She ends up dieing. Goddammit! And not just her, but Hiyori dies as well... Fuck! I didn't even like her all that much, but her death is still a sad footnote to the fact that poor Ggio looses the mother of his child/mate. What makes this even worse- than just loosing a beloved character- is the fact that yet another horrible thing has happened to Ggio, who just wanted to be happy with his mate and cub. Dammit Nova, you hold our hearts in the palm of your hand and you crush them in one fell swoop! You really got me with this, I can't believe you left poor Ggio-kitty a widower!

And then we get this little gem, *Ahem*: "He had just lost the only woman he�d ever loved." Do you see me Nova? I'm looking right at *you*, right now as I'm typing this out... You make it so that Ggio Vega- a Hollow- gains the ability and understanding to selflessly and unconditionally love another, only to then heap tragedy and heartache upon him, and cap it off by killing the woman he fell in love with? Is our pain and grief your nourishment? Kain is right about you, you are evil!

Aside from the fan-rage you're about to get, I can't even imagine how devastated Yuroichi is going to be: she lost her lover, Kisuke, along with pretty much all of her close friends, and now she's lost the *sole* remaining person that she ever truly cared for... Yeah, that's a really great fucking 'victory', when she's got no one to share it with- she's truly alone now!

As for Yumichika... Christ, first he thinks he's the sole survivor of the 11th because he didn't go down fighting alongside his fellow members, then he forms a genuine friendship with Ggio and Soifon, only for her to die after he got emotionally involved with them. This guy has to be harboring some serious survivor's guilt- seeing as how *he's* alive when dozens of others (including something like seven Captains and nine Lieutenants!). Still, Yumichika seems committed to helping Ggio raise Avispona... Well, to make a Kevin Smith reference, those two really are 'hetero life mates'.

Your closing statement surprises me... Not that Soifon would die, but the fact that you were surprised that so many people liked her. Considering all the American and Japanese fanworks she's been in, Soifon has always been a pretty popular character.
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From ANON - Mofaf1 on November 06, 2014
Hugs. The story is going well and maybe you can give us a quick consolation shot of SoiFon's next life ... Or rebirth? Once things are calmed down & the realms are healing and replenishing their allotted souls. It would be a good reward for the defenders who lost their lives in the battle against Aizen (or for those who fought on Aizen's side under duress). I'd love to see Ggio earn a spot on one of the squads and be allowed visits to the human realm to watch SoiFon grow up again as a human ... Maybe as her doting guardian angel?
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From ANON - whiteShadow on November 05, 2014
HUHUHUHU...:(
Goodbye Soi fon...I really did like her,and I felt sorry for Ggio and to their daughter.
This is a very,very sad chapter.
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From Kain on November 05, 2014
Well.......I hope you are proud of yourself........you just made a grown man cry.

I liked Hiyori.....I LOVED Soi.

http://data1.whicdn.com/images/133480715/large.gif

Oh man.....that was both parts epic and tearjerker. Given all of the hell she has had to endure I thought you were setting her up too have her happily ever after....but NOPE, just tears. She had so much too live for, more so than say, byakuya, and never truly got to have any time with her daughter.........and oh god Yuroichi is going to be broken when she finds out what happened to her 'little bee'. She went out like a shinigami and was free but still. She was one of my favorite side characters in this fic and I am sad too see her go but she was at least able to claim revenge.

Now Hiyori is someone else who I also did NOT expect to bite it, only because it felt like there was still things left unresolved between her and Hana and her and Harribel and her part in helping decipher kisukes notes. I liked that she didn't sugarcoat anything and was a character I could get behind because she was pissed at all the right people but it kills me that she never got any resolution with them. It seemed that her purpose was also to be the scrappy thoughout the story, even her own allies got irritated with her and any sentence with mention of her had something bad(although true at times) about her. Her death also felt very pitiful and now she will be known as "that idiot who got Soi killed". Definitely shocked and surprised but felt that there could have been more done with her.

Now while I applaud you on the soul crushing swerves this chapter.....I must warn you than I am about to unleash the entirety of my armada upon your bunker. I still respect the hell out of you but some evils cannot be allowed to stand. My vanguard should arrive within the hour.

Requiescat in pace..........you evil evil writer you.

.....BUT if you do happen to survive the hell storm coming your way

-Will wait patiently for next chapter where hopefully a bug will be stomped to ease the pain-

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From MaliceBlackPaw on November 05, 2014
*cries* NUUUUU! Oh, Soi Fon, nuuu! :C

Great chapter, now I must scramble to find some tissues xD
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From HollowedRose on November 05, 2014
It makes me sad that she died, but I understand where you're coming from. It wouldn't have seemed realistic for them to win without any casualties. At least she took down the bastard...
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From ANON - Penryck on November 05, 2014
I'm too fucking shaken up to respond properly so expect my real review on FF tomorrow probably. But at least I have both my POV inspired tattoo designs now. I will get them inked on me as soon as I can afford it.
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From ANON - Anon on November 03, 2014
Chapter 97
I have to say that using Yuzu was fabulous!!! I was shocked to see it as I thought it might have been Ishida's dad but I love that twist a lot and I think it was great! Yuzu killed Aizen she's such a badass and it's great to see Yammie is dead!!! And I can't wait to see what happens with finding Barran and Ggio and what will happen with Rangiku and Takaski I wonder if Gin will find her and everything since he's disappeared I hope he gets to help take out Noritora!! I'm sorry you aren't feeling well and I hope you feel better soon!!!! Don't worry about the delay it's totally okay.
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From ANON - Aviary on November 03, 2014
Chapter 96
Another lovely chapter!!! And I can't wait to read the next one!
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From KyaruZ. on November 01, 2014
Wow you DID get me with the whole death incurred by Yuzu! AWESOME twist! can hardly wait fer the next chapters!
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From Kain on October 30, 2014
@DarkStar84

I apologize if what I typed made it seem like I was calling you out, I truly wasn't. I try to keep confrontation out of my discussions.

Well thank you for clarifying your points for me. Looking back I totally see your point about Gin. I also agree on the assessment of mayuri, I have always felt that kubo handled that mans continued existence terribly. Uryu has countless reasons to want this man dead and yet there interactions after there fight are treated as a joke. One of my hopes is that in this final arc, what mayuri did to the quincy's is brought up and someone in the vandenreich, I don't care who puts him down. I mean for an arc about Quincy's, mayuri's torture of them is a massive elephant in the room.

Now about aizen, in the Soul Societies defense when he was being propped up as the pillar of what a shinigami should be, he was playing them all for saps and prior to the reveal acted like the pinnacle of morality whenever around them.

And about the tension being taken away due to Karin's little trick, I feel that things wont go as smoothly as they think and have absolute faith in how Nova and blackfox handle things. So as far as tension goes I am not worried.

Now to the meat of the matter. Allow me to clarify something in regards to my dislike of the arrancar. In the canon material, I think they are the baddest son's of bitches kubo ever created, I love em, and I was vexed that kubo had their top fighters get taken out in pitiful ways. Their whole concept was awesome and they were essentially the dark mirror image to the shinigami. I can't wait for Harribel to bust out of wherever Ywach has her and cut loose. And I have read MANY stories, a couple of them were even by Nova where I enjoyed the Arrancars. Honestly my dislike of them is mostly centered on this fic ONLY because of the things they did and how at times it feels like they are being too easily forgiven and no one blames them for anything. Many of them in this fic embody many of my berserk buttons as well.

-Double standards

-hypocrisy

-There views of claiming and domination as being different from rape really vexed me. To THEM it might be different but to the other vastly far more populated species it is rape.

I honestly wouldn't have pushed for death so many times if they had only suffered some type of misfortunes in this story that would have helped make me more sympathetic towards them but aside from a few, the majority are left unscathed with their earlier actions being chalked up to instinct. It also did not help that quite a few of the main pov characters seemed to lean more towards the Arrancar's ideology and would give bias assessments of them and their actions. To cut a lot of what I want to say down, I dislike them in this fic, because many of the characters don't justifiably hate them enough in my eyes.

This is the curse of getting really invested in a good story, fictional characters actually start to matter to you lol.

I hope I got what I wanted to say across. I tend to ramble on and lose whatever point I am trying to make.

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From SeresNorth on October 30, 2014
@Kain

Hmm, that's a lot to cover, where do I start... First off, when I say I'm sympathetic to the Arrancar, what I should say is that I'm sympathetic to their perspective, *not* their actions.

Further, if I gave the impression that I was defending Nnoitra, then I'm sorry. I will admit that some small part of me found his unapologetic chauvinism darkly funny, and perhaps there were times when I 'liked' him. But, ultimately, I can't forgive him for everything he did to Rangiku (who has always been a favorite of mine). Now, with that in mind, do I think she should be taken away from him? Hell yes I do! The problem is that Gin is in no condition to be wondering around armed and unattended. I like Gin and all, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if he has a death wish. Combine that with his sudden freedom and desire for revenge. TBH, Gin isn't the master manipulator he was once was, he's a pretty broken guy. And while I'm sure he's no less dangerous, he's not mentally fit to left to his own. My dad is a psychologist, and he worked some pretty disturbed people at the Texas State Mental Hospital for nearly 20 years. Not to sound crude, but Gin being loose is akin to allowing one of those patients I mentioned to wonder around with a pair of scissors.

As to the larger points you called me out on... First, I want to make clear that I think breaking the claims is a GOOD thing. However, recall that both Grimmjow and Szayel both stated (to Karin) that the least likely concession they would get from the Arrancar was the release of all the claimed. I'm not saying that they *shouldn't* be released- especially the ones in horrible situations- but I got the impression from the story that any attempt to force them to release them would be akin to the whole 'burning down the forest' analogy from "The Dark Knight". I saw it a major source of tension, as something that couldn't be imposed on them, meaning that they would have to negotiate some kind of compromise (regardless of how much that might suck). But then, Stark walks up in the eleventh hour and suddenly makes that whole plot point moot. I've been writing for twelve years, including trying to get an actual novel finished, so when it comes to storytelling, this is a serious volte-face.

In regard to Ulquiorra and Stark total 'not giving a shit' reaction... I will concede the point. You're dead-on about them. And if I think about it, you were the one who kept pointing out their selfish insular thinking. So, honestly, I shouldn't be surprised they wouldn't care about anyone outside of their own packs. I don't know why I expected more from them- even from Stark. And course the Shinigami have every right to hold grudges after what they were forced to endure- I'm not denying that. The problem is when moral superiority is broadly assigned to one side in a conflict. And while they suffered most from the fallout of the war, they're also partially to blame for it...

Soul Society are hardly saints, considering that they were totally fine with Mayuri as a Captain, even though everyone pretty much knew the guy was a monster. They might as well have been attending those meeting with Josef Mengele! I'm sorry, but one of my own rage buttons is hypocrisy, and Mayuri's continued presence pisses me off. And it drives me crazy that such a preachy organization as Soul Society held up Aizen- the incarnation of evil- as some kind of exemplar of everything good and just and what a Shinigami should be!

Well, now that the proverbial bucket of ice water has been dumped on me, leaving me to mull things over, I might as well clear the air on a couple of matters you brought up... Again, I find myself having to clarify something I said- namely my remarks about Sementall. Listen, he's a bastard, I'm not denying that. However, whether by circumstance or from need, Mareyo has grown attached to him. And while some would be clamoring to have her taken from him, it's not that simple. Not everyone sits around plotting for their revenge, some people (sadly) form bonds to survive. And given whatever degree of 'calm' they've settled into over the years, it could be extremely traumatic for her if he was just killed. Since that would be tantamount to destroying the life she's come to know for- a *second* time. I don't know what else to say, other than nothing is ever as simple as we might wish it was. I am NOT saying the fact that he sired a child with her excuses what he's done.

Since we're 'talking', as it were, I'd like to address something... Is your dislike of the Arrancar limited to this story, or do you simply hate them on a fundamental level regardless of how they're portrayed? Granted, POV portrays them in a much more villainous light, but if you look to the original material, they're as much victims of Aizen's schemes as the Shinigami. He 'uplifted' the Hollows, he made them Arrancar, empowered them, and gave them a false sense of identity and purpose, when he basically created them provide disposable cannon fodder for his attack. I can't help shake the thought that (for the most part) they're only living up to what Aizen created to be- a force to spread mayhem and violence.

With that in mind, there are a lot of stories to enjoy where the Arrancar are written much more human and not as a rampaging mob of boogiemen. Hell, I've seen/read several fics and fancomics where Las Noches is portrayed in a comedic light (and it makes sense). I don't know about you, but I think both of us both need to find something a little lighter to read in the meantime.

You know what, I'm gonna go find some Ggio/Soifon fics to read.
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From ANON - MudbloodMalfoy on October 30, 2014
For some reason, I expected it to be Uryuu. Glad it was Yuzu, though. And also glad that she and Karin finally got to see each other.

Honestly, I don't know if I really want Nnoitra to die. It seems like he's gotten a liiiittle bit nicer to Rangiku since she got pregnant. But I can see why Gin and Ran would want him gone. Question though. What about her twins? Would she keep and raise them or foster them out?

Anyways, awesome chapter. Can't wait for the next one!
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From Kain on October 30, 2014
@DarkStar84

Please don't take this the wrong way as I respect your views immensely, but what is it about the arrancar exactly that makes you sympathetic to them? This is coming from someone who is quite pleased with the developments and is perhaps blinded by deep seated dislike so I am just a little perplexed on the downside to breaking the claims and rounding up the numeros. They haven't said anything about executing them ALL and breaking the claims insures that none of the shinigami can be used against them "if" a fight breaks out. They can also then determine who deserves to be taken out by asking the newly freed shinigami and who doesn't. As for the people going out to exact vengeance.........can you really blame them? Nnoitora has honestly done jack shit to redeem himself, and "not beating or raping rangiku" does not make him sympathetic, hell the only reason he probably hasn't harmed her again is because she is

A)pregnant

B)debasing herself to him.

C)She walks on eggshells to not piss him off

She wants to be free and it is doubtful that he would grant her that freedom regardless of whether Aizen was dead or not. Remember that Gin planned for close to 100 years a severe revenge gambit against Aizen for harming Rangiku, Nnoitora has done more and worse over a longer period of time so can you imagine the hell Gin could bring on him? The arrancar made the choice to 'claim' there slaves, the only thing Aizen did was put a limit to how many they could have. A harsh back story of living in a brutal world does make someone sympathetic BUT it does not excuse their actions not give them a karma houdini pass. The arrancar came and conquered and now this is simply them being out-conquered, if anything they should not raze a tizzy over this given their ideology. If they get pissed that their "might makes right" way of living gets turned against them, then they are nothing more than hypocrites of the worst kind. I don't believe I have ever once in all parts of this story ever felt encouraged to view things from there point of view. I can 'understand' their point of view, to a point, but could never see it as the RIGHT point of view. Ya feel what I am saying? The shinigami were forced to adapt to them so now if the shoe is going to be on the other foot why shouldn't they be forced to adapt to the shinigami/human view of things?

Now on to Sementall........now given that we have seen very little of him throughout the story and he seems to honestly care for Mareyo, his situation is a little more grey, a 'little'. The hollow still killed the rest of her family save her father and while she might have grown to care for him regardless of that, Marenoshin is within his rights to exact vengeance. The fact that Sementall is the father of his granchild doesn't count for much. A baby is a baby, not a 'get out of jail/execution/ass-kicking free card'. Speaking from personal experience a kid CAN be raised without a father, and Mareyo is a noble and will not want for comforts and aid with her kid.

Now about the lack of reaction from Ulq and Starrk, honestly why would they care about anyone outside of their own 'packs'? Neither one gives a shit about Nnoitora and as long as no one comes looking to harm them or a member of their group, what reason would they have to interfere in matters of vengeance? Neither one of them is an idiot and know that their are people who are going to justifiably hold a grudge. I am much more sympathetic towards the Shinigami and if I was in their shoes for the past fifteen years, regardless of how much a master changed in there treatment of their slaves I would be hard pressed to feel anything but antipathy towards them.........it's still a master and slave relationship and their is nothing right about that.

Hope none of this offended you, I am just curious and have a tendency to be long winded.
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From ANON - Penryck on October 30, 2014
Fret not Darkstar, for I'm super late myself. And the chapter went up on my day off so I have no tangible excuse. Granted, I walked for hours and am in pain, but still. Sorry Nova. I wrestled with if I should show my sorry hide in a review or not but I know I must.

I'm so very glad that Gin still has the will and drive to go after Nnoitra, but I'm worried cuz once he sees Kenpachi there, shit could go very south. Plus I'm not sure what Tesla is up to so I'm very worried on his behalf too.

I'm so glad you're so sneaky with this undoing Claims thing! Instead of Ggio and Soifon fighting each other, I'm hoping this means they can team up. I want it so badly. But now I worry about Yumichika since he isn't near enough to be freed. Though now I get why you sent Yumi out but not Ggio. Clever, sly fox you truly are. I'm so ready for this nightmare to be put to rest, holy sprink. It is all I've wanted since I rediscovered this series months ago.

But now I'm also curious how Barragan got separated from Hammy because they were together and now the hunt for that old fossil is underway. Please, no more travesties. I'm begging here too.
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