This was a fantastic story, I loved the themes and all the philosophic thoughts you put into it. While reading it I didn't contemplated them that much but now, afterwords, I've found myself thinking a lot about some of them. Specially when I've encountered specific situations in real life.
The theme that effected me the most was the one about forgiveness.
My fav. character from the strat was off coarse Moze, otherwise I don't think I would have found the story, since I'm quite a big fan of him.
But during my readings this changed. Even though Moze will always be one of the best, you've come to make another character even more appaeling to me; Xerxes. What you've done to that eel-character was the best thing ever made in any story, real or not! I loved him! And you killed him! >:(
The Mirror-chapters was sometimes very interesting and sometimes not but every time you had Xerxes in any scene the whole story just started to glow!
You know, when Moze was in the Aladdin episodes, he just stole the whole show, but in this story Xerxes stole the whole show! I've read the Circum chpaters and the ones with him in have I read more than twice. And when he died in the last one I almost cried!
I would love to see more storys with him and Moze! Those two together are priceless! They're so different and so entertaining with there witty/inteeligent discussions. Would love you to explore Xerxes character more! He's so witty and hopeful and then his whole world just comes crashing down.
Allright, enough with the rambling! I've got a city to destroy... ;)

I love this story! :D

I never left a review for this story. I thought the pacing of the this story was amazing. The first few chapters were a little rough but what I came to enjoy was the retelling of Mozenrath's life, the way it was done made me feel as though I had actually lived that lifetime, Mist of Avalon had a similar effect on me. I love the epic match up against Mirage, she's so well written. The ending is completely bittersweet, there is hope, but well the hope is Mozenrath. Overall, one of my favorite stories. I felt the need to say it because I'm very sad at the loss of the sequel, but I won't be an obnoxious fangirl who begs someone to write more if you're not satisfied with it. :)

Well, it took me about half a day of solid reading to finish this, but I'm glad I read it. I loved the way Jasmine's feelings shifted from pure hatred and how she realized there was more to Mozenrath than just an enemy with a magic glove.

I loved his relationship with Raniye, I loved the background on Xerxes, and I really liked the way you ended the story. I was expecting total sadness, but though they parted, you kept it open-ended enough to keep my hopes up. The last fic I read was also fairly epic, but ended on a much sadder note, and I was glad to have something just a little less depressing.

On a musical note, the song I found this story (though perhaps it's more in tune with 'Past the Gates of Perdition') most connecting with was 'How High The Moon' by Dianne Reeves.

All in all, this was a stunning read, despite the challenge of reading so. many. words.

I'm sure this story has been written for a while, I saw a picture of one of the chapters on dA, and was curious. So far I've loved it. I'm not all that familiar with some of the characters, but that hasn't stopped me from reading like there's no tomorrow. I will admit this chapter brought tears to my eyes. I wanted to yell 'no!' when Raeven's and Jasmine's childhood memories disappeared. And then she learned the stinkin' lesson right afterward. I do wish that eventually there will be a way to retrieve her memories in the end. It would be nice to find out that she had indeed learned something, and forgives Raeven at some point. I know it is already written, so I will just have to read faster if I want to know the answer...but I still felt the need to comment, since it brought such strong emotion from me. Thank you for writing it, I look forward to reading the rest.
purplefairies06

I love this story.
אנ' אוהבת את הש'פור הזה
Amo esta historia.
Amo questa storia.
Iubesc această nuvelă.
Ik hou van deze etage.
من این داستانو دوست دارم
Я люблю эту историю.

It's true! Definitely one of my favorites, as proclaimed above in all my known languages...it's funny, I read "Perdition" somewhere between two chap's of this and kept on thinking that Jas was watching Moze and Raniye get it on from inside the Mirror. lol, had to remind myself that it was a diff story...but if you can write like this with such seamless feasibility for fanfic, I can only imagine what you could do with an idea all your own.

Bravo!

Two reviews in one weekend because the last chapter was so short! ^^

1. I briefly considered the possibility that Moze would get Jaz pregnant, then dismissed the thought. So it still came as a surprise in this chapter. Certainly makes things more interesting! She'll have it rough as an unwed mother.

2. After the last chapter I had no idea what would happen. I didn't expect her to end up in a random village working for a widow.

3. I completely forgot that Moze had siblings. Can his relatives do magic? Elana seems like a mindreader. What does she think of her little brother being a mass-murderer? I think that, like Jaz, she forgives him and hopes he returns to the path of light.

Well, now I'm hooked: I have to read the sequel!

P.S. Your new icon is funny (I haven't seen/read Twilight and I don't plan to).

Apparently I accidentally submitted my review for Ch. 27 as Ch. 28. Hope this isn't too confusing.

1. I like the reminder that no one is fully good or fully evil, and that everyone can choose to do good. Also, while Jas can influence Moze for good, she can't make him change. That's entirely up to Moze.

2. I was hoping she'd go back to Agrabah so I could watch the sparks fly. ;) But this ending makes me curious about where she'll go instead. The foggy setting is entirely appropriate for Jasmine's uncertain future.

I guess my lack of fangirl squealing for the last chapter was more obvious than I thought. Lol

1. I thought it was realistic given the circumstances. Al and Agrabah where buried way in the back of her mind. All she could think about was that the love of her life had saved her from Evil Incarnate. And he was hot. ;)

2. I honestly think Moze has no clue what his future holds. For the past several months he’s just been trying to survive and hasn’t given much thought what he’ll do - with or without Jas - after breaking the curse of the hourglass.

3. It shows the deep emotional scars she still has from this whole traumatic experience, especially her torment in Morbia. She’ll never be the same.

4. Yes. In particular, the mystery of the wedding/sacrifice scene in the Mirror was finally revealed in this line: “This was the knife that speared through her heart and spilled her life’s blood with its reversed blade, an inversion of what was right, what she had imagined love was in all its limitless grace and truth.”

5. Yes. The transition from enemies to allies to lovers was touching and well-written. I think part of Moze was just glad to have a living person on his side, too.

6. I was really struck by this little exchange: “Let me go, Mozenrath,” … “You first.” He can’t let go until she does.

1. The first half of the battle was very exciting. The second half - after Moze hit Jas with the spell to break her from Mirage’s grip - was harder for me to focus on. I’m sure my sleep deprivation when I read that part has something to do with that, though. That being said, I still LOVED the scene where Jas protected Moze after his power had been spent. She’s coming into her own and proving that she truly is Moze’s equal. BTW, I chuckled when Moze said “I’ll pay you back later.”

2. Mirage was IC. I might argue that Moze defeated too easily if I hadn’t seen how easily Al beat her in the series (not counting Eye of the Beholder where Fashir had to intervene).

3. At first Jas’s emptiness confused me, until I remembered all she’d been through in Mirage’s nightmare world, and in the Mirror before that. I guess her emotions were so strong that she couldn’t handle them anymore, so they burnt out.

4. It wasn’t how I expected it would happen when I first suspected they would get together. But I liked that Moze was willing to hold back until Jas pulled him toward her.

5. The confrontation with Al. I hope he finally figures out that Jaz is with Moze.

P.S. After I wrote that Al “never told her he trusted and believed in her” I remembered one of my favorite episodes, the Secret of Dagger Rock, where Al kept bragging on Jas and saying he was confident she would come to his rescue. :D But as you pointed out, Jas has forgotten most of that incident.

This is being favorited for one main reason. Well, two. Mozy, DUH, and this line, "There were myriad ways the city could be conquered or demolished."

YOU USED MYRIAD CORRECTLY! I thought I would never live to see the day! This small step has made me cry! I'm so happy, so UNDENIABLY HAPPY!

And it's a great story so far.

So... Yeah. I just finished reading this (after reading non-stop into all hours of the morning, I might add!) and am about the start on the sequel and outtakes. I usually don't review things, but this story was so special that I simply HAD to.

I mean, I hadn't even been really interested in the Aladdin stuff, just browsing boredly after watching the movie and being ** off by all it's ridiculous family-friendly censors and stuff (no forced marriages, blah blah). So I saw this and I remembered Mozenrath, whom I loved as a child, and remembered that I thought Jasmine should dump Aladdin for him. And I started reading, and... well, I was completely ensnared by the story. The fact that I'm reviewing for once in my pitiful existence is evidence of that! It would be too much to answer your end-of-chapter questions right now since the story's already done, but I must say one thing:

How did I KNOW she was going to get pregnant?

Seriously, from the first time Jasmine and Mozenrath slept together I had this sick feeing of dread... The dread of knowing that our heroine would soon be a mommy. (le sigh) I had thought you wouldn't do it after she left Mozenrath and all, but then it happened anyway... I lose.

But seriously, this was fantastic. It was the first quality fanfic I've read in awhile. You amaze me!

Me love you long time,
Doctor Delirium

P.S. Off to the sequel! (floats away)

Huh, I thought for sure it was an El Katib cameo, although now that you mention it I don’t remember them making a clicking noise. :p

Anyway, I liked this chapter much better than the previous one. It kept me glued to the screen.

1. I was surprised that he came to her rescue, yet unsure whether or not he was real. After all the monsters he defeated, it would have been a let-down for him to be eaten by one of Mirage’s minions. Not to mention that it would be too "convenient" for M/J if Al died.

2. It’s yet another example of how she has changed. This time she neither struggled to escape nor expected to be rescued. Jafar made her lose hope by telling her she would share her mother’s fate. But what I loved most about the hourglass scene was how you used it as a parallel to Moze’s hourglass and his impending death. It was a new way for Jas to connect with him.

3. Yes. I knew he wasn’t really like Destane. I can see how it would be a relief to finally let his emotional wall down. It’s also great to see more of his wit: “That’s why Princesses should be seen, not heard” and “I have to say, power looks very cute on you, Princess.” :D

4. It’s cliché in the sense that the power of love is a common theme in Disney movies. But I didn’t mind that it was cliché. The climax was still exciting. And this chapter finally won me over to M/J. I still love A/J, of course, but M/J feels right for this story. The moment when he said he believed in her was powerful. Although Al asked Jas if she trusted him, he never told her he trusted and believed in her.

I was a confused as to why Jas and Moze were in Agrabah. I thought I accidentally skipped a chapter at first.

1. I knew that the vender woman and the laughing child were signs of Mirage’s presence. If Jasmine’s memory hadn’t been erased, she would have known who the vender was, I’m sure of it.

2. If I might be a little bit critical again…the mind torture was cool and showed a lot about what’s going on in Jasmine’s heart and mind, but it drags the story a bit. We already saw enough traumatic visions in the Mirror, and it doesn’t seem to advance the plot in any way. But maybe it’s just me; a lot of readers probably liked everything about this chapter. ^^;;

3. Most disturbing thing? The idea that Mozenrath could be exactly like Destane, and the goodness in him is the act. I don’t believe that’s true, though. And now that I think of it, I guess this is important to the plot. But the faceless daughter and mummified wedding are still kinda unnecessary.

One thing I thought was cool was how you included the lizard monsters. What are they called again? The El Katib? Something like that.

Wow. Absolutely stunning. From beginning to end you had me completely captivated.

Your talent for writing is awe inspiring, to say the least. It is authors very much like yourself that renew my faith in FFN.

It was especially impressive the way you were able to keep everyone in character. Actually, in my opinion, you managed to take their characters one step further than Disney was or ever would be able to(given their restrictions). Very, very nicely done. You managed to introduce those dark and mature themes while still keeping true to the nature of a Disney classic: something very few can accomplish, let alone as flawlessly as you have.

Thank you so much for the time and effort you so obviously dedicated to this story. Should you ever choose to pursue a career as an authoress, please do make an announcement.