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Reviews for Guard My Heart

By : Landri
  • From DancingShadow on May 17, 2016
    Such a perfectly flowing story. If only there were more chapters to it.
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  • From ANON - deadkid23 on January 02, 2006
    sorry i said you were a guy e- mail me to tell me when your going to put up the next ch
    see ya
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  • From ANON - Heaven Lee on December 20, 2005
    That is one of the best stories i have ever read. Please update soon! I can't wait for the next installment to your series!
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  • From ANON - Anon on November 29, 2005
    more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more more
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  • From ANON - deadkid23 on November 24, 2005
    very nice cant what for the 5th chapter dude i realy am exited.
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  • From ANON - Big Samurai on October 03, 2005
    Greetings. :-) I am the Big Samurai, and I have been a fan of ROT3K ― and, by extension, the Sangoku Musou franchise ― for many years. There might be fans that have issues regarding the interpretation of ROT3K that the Sangoku Musou games present, but there are also fans like me who find that interpretation very refreshing. If I have one complaint about the original book, it is that it contains almost too many characters, reducing most of them to two-dimensional generals having little more than names and minor actions ... normally resulting in their deaths. The games then take those characters and start adding depth to them. In order to write fanfic for the games, then, it falls to the writer to go the distance and add enough depth to the characters to bring them fully to life. I must say that you have done exactly that, and I am going to tell you why it works in your story.

    I must admit that I was slightly wary of your main character (Lian Jing) at first, thinking that she might be a self-insertion, but you put a twist on her that caught me ― and, judging from previous reviews, other readers ― by surprise, not only making her a good addition to the story, but tying her to what I feel to be one of the best sub-plots of SSM4 / DW5. (For the sake of spoilers for those that have not yet read the story, I cannot elaborate on that.) I was honestly disappointed that there was not more for me to read when I reached the end of the current chapter (Chapter 3), and I cannot recall too many fanfics that have left me eager to read more. That is a rare achievement for any writer, fanfic-based or otherwise.

    It takes more than a good twist to a canon sub-plot to make a good story, though, and the secret to that is good use of character. The Yue Ying that appears in SSM4 / DW5 is ... not a very deep person, truth be told. She is loyal to her husband, and she has a knack for inventions, but is all the player is given. What lies beneath the surface? Your answer to that question has several layers, as it should. Yue Ying has to put on a different face for each person that she encounters, be it Lian Jing, her husband (see below), the male generals serving her lord, or, in a key scene, herself. It makes her seem very real, and that is a major accomplishment. I do not get to read many stories that have a deep Yue Ying.

    As for Lian Jing, I get the feeling that the best is yet to come for her. You take your time ―and rightly so, in my opinion ― building up her role and her personality before revealing your twist, and that twist then puts her in perspective, showing her to be both consistent with SSM4 / DW5 and possessed of her own depth. Because of her secret and how it relates to her lord, she has yet to fully blossom as a character, but I look forward to seeing what happens when her conflicts force her to be who she truly is and, true to her characterization, stand up for her feelings and her integrity.

    Mei Mei is a minor character, but the fact that Lian Jing comes to her rescue and receives her gratitude is a scene that feels in tune with the original book. After all, Taishi Ci did not join the chaos until a favor was done for his mother. Small people recall small deeds, and it is small deeds that make great people. ... Sima Yan, the brother of Mei Mei, serves mostly for exposition and reflection, but he seems like a very agreeable character who may have more to do in the future.

    The male canon characters are also strong in their characterization, be they cameos ― I like your use of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, though I think a little more color could be added to secondary characters like Pang Tong and Huang Zhong ― or primaries. You have established a strong parallel between the Yue Ying-Zhuge Liang dynamic and the Lian Jing-Liu Bei dynamic that works very well in the sense that the two relationships cast reflections of each other. Zhuge Liang, in public, is the famous strategist, the great mind, but Yue Ying brings out his human side, showing that a faultless intellect does not mean a faultless heart. By the same token, Liu Bei is the long-eared saint of the stories, but Lian Jing makes him doubt himself ― and, for once, start feeling his age ― and look inside his intent. If you hold up Yue Ying-Zhuge Liang to Lian Jing-Liu Bei, the similarities are striking, and that is the heart of the story, the thing that makes it great.

    This being AFF, I do have to comment on the one scene ― the bath, you know the one ― in the story that can be construed as openly sexual, and I must applaud you for not doing the expected. It would be very easy to have the two characters fall into each other, yet you stick to your guns and, rather than do that, allow the tension to build up between them without breaking the dam. That, there, is a masterful touch, and one from which many writers on this web site could learn. You also get points for not introducing anything sexual to the other pairing, allowing the admiration contained in it to stay platonic while still being admiration. That dynamic still has a ways to go, and I think that the build-up will sizzle quite a bit.

    In summation, this is a superior story, and I want to read more of it. I apologize for this review dragging on and on as it has, but a good story deserves a good review, and you have done a marvelous job here. I look forward to seeing more of your work, and I thank you for setting the standard high for this section of AFF. Quick reminder that you most likely do not need: Do not forget to check your disclaimers!
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  • From ANON - Anon on September 28, 2005
    that was...breathtakingly awesome. Please continueee
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  • From ANON - chezagru on August 25, 2005
    SWEET FANFIC!!!
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  • From ANON - liu baby girl on August 25, 2005
    Yes continue! This story has stolen my heart... I never suspected that it was Sun Shang Xiang...oh this is very clever of you to write this.
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  • From ANON - vegg on August 25, 2005
    love it alot pleez update!!!! SSX and Liu Bei pairings are my fav ^________^
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