Gefallene Engel, by Mami (R)
Title: Gefallene Engel
Fandom: Weiss Kreuz
Pairing: Schuldig/Farfarello and Schuldig/Yohji --> Yohji/Schuldig/Farfarello
Categories: angst, amnesia (for the villains' victims), drama, a smidge of romance, and dark
Length: Epic [~144,000 words]
Warnings: violence, noncon, mindrape, long-term abuse, self-harm (cutting), and the biggie character death
Author on LJ: mami_san
Website: Mami-san's Fic on Patterns of Blood
Summary: A nightmare from the past returns to haunt Schwarz, and Weiss is dragged into their life and death games. Schwarz was almost destroyed the last time they went head to head with Schatten; how can they possibly survive this time?
Review: There's something about Weiss Kreuz that makes me willing to read the darkest fic that I ever do. Characters get violated both physically and mentally, and I keep reading - and character death? No problem, bring it on. Maybe it's the melodrama of the canon, I don't know. (There is something to be said for a world in which teenage girls aren't terribly surprised to be picked up while walking down the street in Tokyo and get a kidney removed by illicit organ traders - and oh yeah, the main characters are all assassins.) But I do know that "Gefallene Engel" is one of the best epic-length fics in this fandom, and it would be remiss of me not to recommend it. "Gefallene Engel" dives right into the darker side of the Weiss Kreuz universe and stays there.
Like many fics in this fandom, the author switches focus to the antagonist assassin team, the psychics of Schwarz. The Schwarz team gets a background and enemies, another psychic team called Schatten, who have returned to dog their steps in Japan. The enemies, all OCs, are very believably characterized, and they fit right in with the bloodthirsty crazies of canon. Schwarz becomes human and sympathetic in comparison, and the reader is gripped by the tension of their fight to survive against Schatten. Weiss is involved, because a member of the team, Yohji, stumbles upon Schuldig after Schuldig has been trapped and tortured by Schatten, and is forced to pretend that he is a member of Schwarz (it's a bit more complex than that, but I wouldn't want to spoil all the plot twists for you). Yohji's growing attraction to Schuldig clashes with his sensible worry that his teammates will be put in danger and that he will not be able to see them again until the danger has passed; conversely, Schuldig's interest in Yohji is barred by his relationship with Farfarello, another member of Schwarz. Mami's talent is great enough that she manages to tie together all these plot threads while not losing focus on the bigger picture, and the story's climax - battles and aftermath - does not disappoint.
Gefallene Engel
Fandom: Weiss Kreuz
Pairing: Schuldig/Farfarello and Schuldig/Yohji --> Yohji/Schuldig/Farfarello
Categories: angst, amnesia (for the villains' victims), drama, a smidge of romance, and dark
Length: Epic [~144,000 words]
Warnings: violence, noncon, mindrape, long-term abuse, self-harm (cutting), and the biggie character death
Author on LJ: mami_san
Website: Mami-san's Fic on Patterns of Blood
Summary: A nightmare from the past returns to haunt Schwarz, and Weiss is dragged into their life and death games. Schwarz was almost destroyed the last time they went head to head with Schatten; how can they possibly survive this time?
Review: There's something about Weiss Kreuz that makes me willing to read the darkest fic that I ever do. Characters get violated both physically and mentally, and I keep reading - and character death? No problem, bring it on. Maybe it's the melodrama of the canon, I don't know. (There is something to be said for a world in which teenage girls aren't terribly surprised to be picked up while walking down the street in Tokyo and get a kidney removed by illicit organ traders - and oh yeah, the main characters are all assassins.) But I do know that "Gefallene Engel" is one of the best epic-length fics in this fandom, and it would be remiss of me not to recommend it. "Gefallene Engel" dives right into the darker side of the Weiss Kreuz universe and stays there.
Like many fics in this fandom, the author switches focus to the antagonist assassin team, the psychics of Schwarz. The Schwarz team gets a background and enemies, another psychic team called Schatten, who have returned to dog their steps in Japan. The enemies, all OCs, are very believably characterized, and they fit right in with the bloodthirsty crazies of canon. Schwarz becomes human and sympathetic in comparison, and the reader is gripped by the tension of their fight to survive against Schatten. Weiss is involved, because a member of the team, Yohji, stumbles upon Schuldig after Schuldig has been trapped and tortured by Schatten, and is forced to pretend that he is a member of Schwarz (it's a bit more complex than that, but I wouldn't want to spoil all the plot twists for you). Yohji's growing attraction to Schuldig clashes with his sensible worry that his teammates will be put in danger and that he will not be able to see them again until the danger has passed; conversely, Schuldig's interest in Yohji is barred by his relationship with Farfarello, another member of Schwarz. Mami's talent is great enough that she manages to tie together all these plot threads while not losing focus on the bigger picture, and the story's climax - battles and aftermath - does not disappoint.
Gefallene Engel