[Reviews - 8] Printer
Summary: Dorian/Klaus.  One of those long, sprawling, relationship stories where the two get together that has been written a hundred times before.  Several unforgivable cliches appear.  You know the drill.
Rated: NC-17
Characters: B, Dorian, G, Klaus
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, First Time, General, Romance
Warnings: character death, graphic sex, violence
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 16 Completed: Yes
Word count: 61813 Read: 222108
Published: 10/03/2010 Updated: 10/03/2010
Story Notes:

I was first acquainted to the series through the CMX From Eroica With Love translations, then picked up the Japanese version and picked my way through, so I'm unfamiliar with a lot of the fandom preferences and shorthand.

Speech that appears in between >these marks< indicates the characters are speaking a language with significance in the story.

1. Chapter 1 by vadianna [Reviews - 3] (4002 words)
A bit of backstory to get things started.  Original character, though I promise she doesn't really come back.

2. Chapter 2 by vadianna [Reviews - 0] (3000 words)
Strange plans and experiments go into action.  The question of language is always an interesting one in this manga series, and I'll come back to it a few times.

3. Chapter 3 by vadianna [Reviews - 0] (3412 words)
Progress!  The usual botched mission, and a nice dinner.  I don't have much to add to this section.

4. Chapter 4 by vadianna [Reviews - 0] (1123 words)
A short chapter, since the next part can't be broken up.  More of a prelude to the next chapter, really.  The "Gates of Hell" joke still amuses me.

5. Chapter 5 by vadianna [Reviews - 0] (3523 words)
I'll be honest: I had a friend that did dressage, and I have some idea about it from hearing her talk, but I'm no expert.  I know what's going on is completely ridiculous and a little wrong.  I was too fond of the image to let it go, though.

6. Chapter 6 by vadianna [Reviews - 0] (1998 words)
Another short chapter that leads to a much longer sequence.  I'm going to take liberties with the English peerage that will make some cry, but I did do research so that it wasn't completely wrong.  This is also where Plautdietsch enters the story.  I learned about it from a German friend of mine and again, did research, but forgive me if I got anything wrong.

7. Chapter 7 by vadianna [Reviews - 0] (4941 words)
A long'un.  A lot of the important, boring romance conversations take place.  The scene with G at the end is one of my favorites.

8. Chapter 8 by vadianna [Reviews - 0] (1503 words)
Another short one, leading up to another long story segment.  This is probably my favorite part of the whole story.

9. Chapter 9 by vadianna [Reviews - 0] (5530 words)
This is where the violent stuff comes in.  Again, mission gone bad, you know the drill.  My least favorite part of the story. I couldn't bring myself to be too terribly graphic, but... you know.

10. Chapter 10 by vadianna [Reviews - 0] (5186 words)
The recovery period.  You know how this stuff goes.  Pseudo-sad, but not really.  It gets a bit lighter again by the end of the chapter. And I love "Mars Chastising Cupid."

11. Chapter 11 by vadianna [Reviews - 0] (4074 words)
And here's where the spice enters.  I tried to write from the Major's point of view, making it as unromantic and analytical as possible.  It still makes me smile.

12. Chapter 12 by vadianna [Reviews - 1] (8362 words)

This part kind of drags on.  Just more relationship-building.  Romantic stuff, but without a lot of action except for Dorian's fantasies.

The war stuff about Klaus's father is actually all stuff about Heinrich Eberbach, a real person whose nose got shot off in World War I and who was a Panzer General in WWII.

13. Chapter 13 by vadianna [Reviews - 1] (5521 words)

A real sex scene this time.  Also, trouble.  This really could have been two stories, one about the two getting together and another about all these problems, but it didn't occur to me until I started breaking it up into chapters. 

Hopefully you're still with me, just a bit more to go.

14. Chapter 14 by vadianna [Reviews - 1] (4656 words)
A funny scene, and more relationship agonizing.  Just a little further.  I think one more chapter, and then the epilogue.  The first half of this chapter is also a favorite part of mine.

15. Chapter 15 by vadianna [Reviews - 0] (2819 words)
Last chapter!  Probably a little anticlimactic, but what can I say?  This is a short chapter, the epilogue will be a little longer.

16. Epilogue by vadianna [Reviews - 2] (2163 words)
The finale!  I tried another stab at humor.