Fantastic read! Keep up the great work.

Easily my favourite FanFiction ever, well written and an amazing story. Would love to see more of this universe, have just started reading Nightshade and already loving it. Keep up the good work

Thank you for this story :)

I read the whole thing in one day and I have zero regrets. It's awesome

I'm sooo very glad that I decided to read this. What a great story!

I loved this story, you're an excellent writer

My goddess of the dark word, you have delivered. I'm so dramatic, but so is this gorgeous, gorgeous story. Dramatic but pragmatic? Does that make sense? Ha! First the men: Your Jellal does things to me. And Laxus? I never liked him much before I read this story... but you have changed my mindset of him and I am grateful! Also more daddy!Gildarts plz. And I'm digging Italian!Acno. The ladies: Erza is beautifully written as a study of contrast. Abused:Abuser, Toughened and scarred: Hopeful and needy; though I don't see her wanting to stay as Tante for long at Somnium. Just a feeling. Eileen is brilliant: a true spider in a criminal web with a thousand strands. She knows which to pluck. Mira is tragic and really just a train wreck. I know people like that IRL. They're always knee deep in shit drama trouble, and I think they truthfully thrive in it. The bit with lisanna and Natsu in the end gave me goosebumps. Bonnie and Clyde.

OH gosh. I am so behind with Cardinal but I've been disgustingly busy and just read a whole load of chapters to catch up - so! I really like what you're doing in this story. The pacing is so well spread out and even but there's nothing dragged out about it. This story takes it time to reveal what's going on and simultaneously keeps me hooked with the way it and the characters are written. Well done! I also really like that notion of not being able to stray far from your roots. It's very clear with all of these characters that their past very much becomes them and their futures - Jellal with his shady time under Tante Alba's wing and Erza with her mother's shadow. Laxus, also, with his police past is such a fascinating character because he's genuinely a good guy but has seen some messed up stuff in his career. I love that these characters are so grey-area and complex - no one is strictly good or bad (although some come close to either extremity of the spectrum) and even if they are good there's something innately human about them that makes them so beautiful to read about. I especially enjoyed the Acnologia scene where he gives Erza a knife. There's something super charming about the way you wrote him, I think. He's very dark and imposing and certainly lives up to his reputation as a mean fighting machine, but at the same time he goes by a code of honour so he's not completely one-dimensional like he's portrayed in the manga. I loved that you had that honour bit, it was just really fascinating to me because he's evil but he's classy evil. You know?

Great chapters, great story!
Misspandalily

There are five stages of Grief and I was stuck on Depression for the longest time.-until you came up with Speed the Collapse.

This has been a pleasure to read (as all your works do). Much like Monster and the Man, this has been like a drug that has me frequently checking for updates, getting high and elated once I see there's one, and feeling empty and wanting for more more more with each chapter. To see it end gives me a sort of phantom limb pain.

Again you are a genius. I don't know if you intended to end this around the same time as FT did in real life. The bonus chapter was a delight to read, a full circle to our main protagonists. Mashima should've consulted you with how to make GOOD endings. I love how Jellal and Erza both compromised despite their completely opposite professions. I'm so happy that my girl has finally opened up her heart to the right guy. I love that Eileen is so protective of her but couldn't help but agree that Jellal is indeed a better man. I love that Mira and Laxus can read each other well. I love love love the EileenxGildarts interaction in the end.

I love everything about this fic.

Thank you for sharing your talent and works to the world.

P.S. Still hoping for a wordslingerxFreyjabee collab sometime.

Oh my! Can't believe it has ended? Or is there a sequel? I feel so cliffhanged. There are more to explore. I love how you write Irene by the way. She's the best thing here. I've been waiting for IreneXAcno confrontation like forever. Please continue another book. I've been an avid reader of this story. I even have dreams about the next things I anticipate to happen.

it's been a lucky thing that you couldn't help yourself ;-)
thanks a lot for this final chapter. it was brilliant, as everything you write
i really look forward your next (magnifique) production, whatever it is
merci bien, et a bientot

And like that...our story comes to a conclusion. Or has it?

First off I want to congratulate you on successfully completing another story and making it one of your finest works yet (I'm happy to have played a small part in helping you with all of this)! Not only am I excited that you gave us an ending like this but there is potential for this AU to continue! (Sorry for not reviewing immediately; I'm on vacation and being a lazy bum lol). I also look forward to the sequel story to Sweet Rot (another favorite) as I'm intrigued to see how you'll handle a story between Erza, Jellal, and Gray. Oh, and of course there's Brimstone Garden and Neverdead, too.

Back on tangent, though.

This story had me gripped from start to finish with the mystery you had surrounding who the Cardinal killer was amongst all of the sex, death, and shadowy dealings. I never imagined that what would start out as a series of grizzly killings would turn into a tale of romance, twisted bonds, and power plays.

So...Jellal and Erza are together now...but at the same time, they're not. Erza has accepted that she has feelings for Jellal and he the same for her, but I know she's not going to make it easy for him to win her affections. That's alright in my book; Jellal seems like the kind of guy who will take his time in getting what he wants. I'm intrigued to see how Erza will fit into her new role as Tatne; I have a feeling she's going to give Eileen a run for her money, especially now that she's planning early on for a takeover of her own.

Poor Mira, having to see Lisanna taken away like that. I know Lisanna is in good hands but it still hurt to see her take the fall for Mira. It shows how much she truly cares for her sister. I can totally see Mira building connections while acting as an escort/bar tender. It's subtly like that that helps win fights long before they start. So, like Erza and Jellal, she and Laxus are also together? Cool. I can only imagine what trouble the two of them are going to get into. Kudos to having Mira and Erza plot to not only free Lisanna but outsmart Eileen as well.

Speaking of which, I look forward to seeing what mayhem Natsu has in mind for him and Lisanna. I have a feeling that Natsu has his sights set on taking down Zeref. And Eileen...playing Gildarts like that...you have my interest. More so now that it's been hinted that Eileen personally wants to take down Acnologia.

And poor Laxus and Jellal are going to be dragged along for the ride...but I think they won't mind. If anything this whole debacle has showed how resilient they are and I imagine that whatever turf war and power play is to come, they'll be in the thick of it doing what they do best.

So like I said, congratulations on completing another story. I appreciate all of the time and effort you put into this and I guarantee you; it paid off. Spectacular work as always, I look forward to seeing what you have in store for us next with your other and future works. If you need my help again with anything, don't hesitate to ask and send me a PM :)

Sincerely,
DD42

Yah for surprise chapters! I am 100% down for more in this universe. It ended well and I can't wait to see Erza fully become her mother's daughter, Mira be the nice bartender with a dark side we all know and love, and the boys get dragged along for the ride. If possible, it would be nice to see the Thunder Legion make an appearance in the next one, but I'm sure you already have plans and it will be good.

Excellent writing and story as always!

Eileen and Gildarts was a nice touch

Well, now. This was pretty amazing. I'm a little sweet on Gildarts and Eileen now. Especially when she's mean and especially when he knows. It seems the crazy apple doesn't fall far from the crazy tree. Erza plays with dangerous toys because she learned from an expert. I dig it.

Obviously I loved the scene with Jellal and Erza. She's never going to come to him easily. Never. But he seems like the type to wait.

Excellent work. I am thoroughly impressed!