love this!

M new favorite chapter

Awesome Chapter!

Ugh my heart!

I love jealous Lance!

I adore this story and this chapter is splendid!

Great start! Super intriguing!

My review is going to be VERY long, so I divided it into two parts, the first one shorter an aimed at the potential readers who look for extra info about the fic.

This fic can really relieve some of your pain left after the cancellation of the show. If you miss the characters and the world, this story is an exciting ride, with laughs and thrills. I really liked many minor characters from the show being present here, either for the story’s sake or for comic effect. And Baron does make a great plot device (no matter if you personally like him or not), both moving the story on and providing the reader with a fresh perspective similar to that of the very first SBT episodes: an alien trying to adjust to Earth. (I really enjoyed his witty remarks and cunning ways, though he IS a bad guy here).

The romance is so slight it’s practically non-existing. So if you’re all for amorous interaction and emotional moments between the characters, be careful not to have your hopes too high here. The hypothetical love triangle between Baron/Ilana/Lance is subtle and merely entertaining, it doesn’t influence the plot in any traceable degree. You could as well be searching for some Baron/Lance stuff in here, finding almost just as little as there is Baron/Ilana or Lance/Ilana in this story (haha).

The story does get considerably dark in one climatic chapter but not too dark, and as far as I remember the show itself had some disturbing moments, so the fic does fit the world of SBT making it just a bit more realistic. (Still I felt I had to warn you in case you can’t stand any amount of blood and pain received by the characters in battle).

To sum up, the story is exiting, the characters are in character, with the cute and emotional Octus/Kimmy interaction as one of the leading forces, and the writing is good (actually, GOOD WRITING, guys, how often do you meet that in a fic?), and although it could use some proofreading, the occasional grammar slips are not irritating (personally, I always prefer a good story with occasional grammar slips to something with perfect grammar and dull writing). The only things to be cautious about are the lack of romantic interaction in the Baron/Ilana/Lance department and some blood in one chapter. Oh, and there are no kissing cousins in the chapter named “Kissing Cousins” – very anticlimactic. :D))) Otherwise, enjoy!

The second part below.

The second part of my review, meant to be the feedback for the author, and may be also of interest to those who have read the whole story. Obviously, SPOILERS for everything.

I had so many laughs while reading the story I think my belly is all fit and no need to go to the gym now! The pure comedy along with some more sophisticated humor is my favorite part of the story! (What I mean by “sophisticated humor”: when the reader can see both sides of the situation while the characters don’t, for example Lance mocking Baron’s clumsiness after Baron had to say his nose was hit by a branch, which we know is not true, – priceless! And the shopping, when Lance got all suspicious of Baron because of his FEET, hilarious and so clever! And my absolute favorite, the cake chapter, starting with its name (“Let Them Eat Cake”, I see what you did there!)) and going further with the guys’ attempts not to upset Ilana (I think it was one of the rare times Baron spoke the plain truth – the cake indeed was like nothing he ever tasted).

I loved what you did with Amber – I was on the edge of my chair trying to imagine what would happen if she ever mentioned the name of Baron’s “uncle” in front of Ilana and Lance. Minor characters are really well-thought and well-placed, making a very realistic background for the story. (I loved the lady officer, Margrit Kovac, and the way that flashback was seen through her eyes, how she suspected something wasn’t right seconds before Barron made an attempt to cut her throat – so thrilling!). I also loved the antagonist, ex-lieutenant Starling – in the way I like well-written characters, of course, not as a person, which he’s absolutely horrible.:)) I love how he is first seen through flashbacks merely as part of Baron’s past, and I never really expected him to show up – I was so excited when he did show up! I also love his name – makes me think of stars and the dark void they’re hovering in. There seems to be some confusion with his first name: he’s called John twice and then he’s called Charles. Also, I’m deadly curious why Starling said he could never eat Ilana. I adored the acute horror of the story of a little girl defending herself with her mother’s comb, which she had to sharpen with a rock – very short but VERY telling story, I can almost see that poor girl cornered somewhere in her devastated home, hiding, her mother dead and the only thing she can do is to sharpen her comb with a stone to fight for her own life. You have such talent for telling detail that makes a lot of difference in the emotional way of the story! One of these details being the mention of Captain Lawrence’s “survival” in the second chapter – it was a turning point in the mood and it was when I realized the story would be more serious than “they change into Titan and easily defeat any monster approaching”, so the chapter with blood and pain doesn’t really come as a surprise to an attentive reader.

Baron is so well-written, a great character (again, I can’t say likeable as a person, haha), I loved the scenes with his point of view, how observing he was, bold and arrogant, and yet cautious in his new environment. I love that he became more cunning and calculating since when we met his childhood impatient self in Shadows of Youth. Although rotten to the core, he even provides us with some common sense, his remarks sometimes hit the point even better than Octus’s logical thinking.

The story has surprisingly plenty of fight scenes, given that there is a “I’m not into writing fight scenes” introduction to almost every chapter. Well, they ARE very well written so I didn’t have a problem with enjoying them, it’s just a bit unexpected.

What was expected, on my part, is a bit more romance, just, urgh, a tiny bit more, pleeeease! Haha, I know, it’s simply me expecting something that is just not there. But let me explain my slight disappointment in this aspect of the story. The tension is actually building up in the first chapters – the flirtiness, the jealousy, the curiosity of characters exchanging some touches. And not only that, the whole Conflict was building up, with flashbacks into Baron’s past (relationship with his father) and Lance’s thoughts about how he himself felt about protecting the princess – I seriously expected that it would all lead not only to the plot-wise climax of fighting Starling, but also to the characters questioning where their hearts belong, what is really important to them. And the only character who gets there is Octus! Well, I could see Lance straying off onto the criminal path, because it’s very Lance-like to cut himself off the people he loves, but Ilana not taking notice of something wrong going on with him?! How could you, Ilana? Again, maybe it’s just me half-expecting Ilana to be a perfect all-good loving princess who can heal any emotional wound by the sheer “power of her love” (a sort of Rapunzel, haha). I just expected her to be more aware of what was going on around her, emotions-wise. I really loved the moment when she detected that Baron's voice was lacking something when he was telling her that her father was fine (their conversation in the kitchen) - I also think it's brilliant of you to write "his voice was lacking something" instead of "there was something alarming in his voice" – it’s like although Ilana wasn't able to see his lies, she was able to detect the lack of truth. Brilliant! But basically, Ilana just goes from liking Baron for no other reason than the good news he brings to her (and maybe his physique) to disliking him at the end because she discovers the good news was all lie. And Baron is going from being a twisted monster to… well, being a twisted monster. Although the scene when he finally confesses to his lies is very powerful and overwhelming, his "Yes" is kind of left hanging in the air and never addressed again: how he felt after confessing, did it change his attitude toward Ilana? Did any of the brutal happenings made Baron question his moral position? Apparently not, and although we discovered that he is capable of feeling guilt, he is still just as keen to proceed with his plan to kill the princess, merely "liking her" (again, her physique only?), not even subconsciously uncomfortable with his decision to murder the girl who stayed despite her own good and fought for his life. You could say, “Well, he MUST like her a lot, since he’s not killing her right away”, but the story established him as a kind of character who loves things that “entertain” him and gets rid of them when he’s bored, so as well as “really liking her deep within” he can have no feelings for her whatsoever. And back to Ilana…. C'mon, Ilana, this guy went through a lot of blood, wounds and broken fingers to protect you, can't you at least a give him a chance to EXPLAIN why he lied about your father? But she doesn’t care in the least. When Baron was recovering, she occasionally visited him (with the poignant thing called homework) but we have all the indication of these visits being non-important to both her and Baron, as neither of them described it in detail. I don’t say that there should be some sudden rush of affections after the event, I say that I was desperately looking for the sign that there was some emotional connection forming between them, even if she was upset and mad at him for not telling the truth in the right time, and even if he decided to continue with his lies. We could be shown some guilt accompanying his decision as indication of some feeling going on within.

What was absolutely heart-breaking is the scene in the forest when Baron threatened to kill Kimmy and Ilana slapped him for that. He must have gotten carried away with his cover, actually trying to protect the princess at all costs, not observing that he would gain more if he left Kimmy alone. Or was he actually WANTING to protect the princess despite himself, despite his horrible decision to kill her later? Well, we might never know, but either way, when Ilana slapped him, she definitely broke something in him, reminding him that she’s not his friend, merely his pray. I know that months if not years passed since you wrote that scene before writing the filler chapter, but for me (reading it all in one go) the echo of that slap still hung in the air when I was reading the fluffy chapter and it was really, really weird to see Baron all comfortable and joyful with Ilana, with his plan overshadowing the fluffy scene while being kind of swept under the carpet for the time being.

I hope it was not too much moaning, haha, because I truly loved the story, it brought the world of SBT and its characters to life and made me think of so many things! I didn’t say much about Octus and Kimmy, but their subplot was the heart and soul of the story, very dramatic, gradually unfolding and getting to the very welcomed conclusion with more drama and a happy ending. I think if you placed Newton/Kimmy BEFORE Lance/Ilana/Baron in the description, it would adjust the expectations just right.
So thank you for sharing the story with us! I’ll definitely stick around, just in case.;)

Ugh i'm so sorry, I'm usually so much better at reviewing as I go but I couldn't help it with this story it was just too good! I had to just speed through it! I really loved the characterization of Lance and Ilana I felt like they were both really in character! I always thought Kimmy should have been told about aliens so I was so glad that you did that in the story! I absolutely adore her and artist together. At first I was really wary about the inclusion of Baron, but he slowly one a place in my heart and I couldn't imagine the series without him and TBH I'm really starting to ship the three of them as a poly ship. Anyway sorry about not reviewing and I hope you pick up the story again! Congrats on college and managing that while creating this epic story!
( i'm just too lazy to log in but if you ever want to contact me my name is an actual account)

Muinto boa sua história muinto divertido este capítulo que vc fez gosto muinto de ilana e lance juntos mais gostei desta história

Continue muinto boa história com toda esta agitação e este triângulo quero ver onde vai chegar com qual dos 2 ela vai ficar primeiro antes de até escolher 1 kkkkk

That is way too cute!

Solid symbolism. I like it.

I'm on board with Lance not trusting and Ilana over trusting especially when Baron says things they want to hear. Next he'll tell her Hobbes is alive and well.