Foremost, I must say I really love your style and the vocabulary you used (thanks for having made learnt new words today! )

This was greatly done, what's more, it brings out pretty well Tombkeepers life and provides more explanations on Mom and Dad Ishtar's relationship —or should I say, Insia and Zehad's ;) What I loved the most were the little details you added to makes the story even more realistic; how you had Madam Ishtar-to-be naming her daughter after her departed young sister —very smart idea.

The passage with the origamis was great too.

My only piece of concrit would be that at some dialogs in the beginning, I had some difficulties figuring out who was taking speak; but this is nothing really grave.

This being said, I loved the symbolic dimension of Ishizu's cremation, especially when Insia throws the crane paper into fire, as if this was marking a passage to a new part of their lives, a part somewhat more bitter and tragic.

Throughout the story, one can't help noticing a certain tension between Insia and her mother, as if to parallel Malik and Isis's with their father. Madam Ishtar here, seems to take the role of the dreaded and somehow abusive parental figure (in a more moral fashion) but the way you subtly explained this latter's behavior excuses her, all the more that this said role fades gradually while Zeyad becomes more and more aggressive, ready to take it back for his future children. This was a very nice touch.

The ending was saddening but greatly explanatory as to why such things would happen in the canon.

Overall, this was an awesome reading. :) Thank you for providing such a lenghty story on the Tombkeepers, your take on them was well-exploited and very interesting.

Keep up with the great work!

Even just when reading the summary/start to your story, I had this 'aha' moment, because I didn't even think to think of writing a story from this perspective, with her being the Ishtar heir, so I found it very refreshing and intriguing to read! I really loved your vision of the pairing too and the Ishtar family, especially the scenes of them as children; you always deliver a solid, well-rounded story to us every week and I really appreciate that. Great job, and thank you for writing this! :D

Hm. Your headcanon for the tombkeepers differs substantially from my own, which isn't a bad thing by any means, but it certiainly gives me food for thought. The idea that the Ishtar's way of life has only recently been so sparse is an intriguing one.

The gradual shift in Zeyad's character was interesting to watch; it's hard to believe that the characters we see at the beginning of your story are the same ones who parent Ishizu and Marik, but everyone was a child once, and you handled the shift very well.

This was a very interesting story, and one that definitely stands out in terms of setting/character writing, mostly because everything is so different from what we see in canon. I like that you've taken the time to set up all these complex headcanons for the Ishtars; it definitely enriched the experience. Nice work!

I really liked this! It took me awhile to get the hang of the names ('Insia' looked a bit too much like 'Ishizu' or 'Ishtar' to my tired eyes xD) but I thought Zeyad was fantastic - the name, the origami, the whole character, headcanon included, was so easy to get on board with. I loved how you structured the turning point for him, the story in general was a great read but his character really made it for me (although I liked the characterizations you gave to Madam Ishtar and Insia as well!). Good job on this, and keep it up! :)

Jess (My Misguided Fairytale)

Oh my god Chicary my FEELS, my poor little FEELS, what did you do to them?

This has been a riveting read, I really felt for the characters and while I had made up my mind at some point to believe this was an AU diverging from canon you artfully tied in all the loose strings and turned this into something so perfectly coherent and possible it HURTS.

The first scenes set the tone perfectly, and the other kiddyfic scenes were so natural and realistic and fun to read I didn't want them to end. There are so many details I loved about this and I feel sad I can't list them all - factoring in the details of weight limitations on the supplies of the clan, the hierarchy of elites and servants, the braid jewels clinging against Madam Ishtar's earrings... Indirectly revealing that Insia named her first daughter after her late sister, and the poetry - and the fact that Zeyad had written it on an unfolded piece of origami alkfj;lsakdjfsdflg

Thank you for writing this.

Milly

I really do love fics like these. :) Well written and written out of the box. There aren't many fics out there that analyze Marik and Ishizu's parents or the clan before their time, and you not only made them interesting and developed characters (sad too, given that most know what became of the two), but you also gave plausible explanations for much of the gaps left by canon. Quite a gem you've written if I do say so myself.