Okay, so whenever I read this, I start crying like a baby.
Amazing job.

i have to admit that as i began to read this it was with some hesitation - this particular plot trope is one that i've seen a few times in other fandoms, and more often than not it is executed poorly.

that said, this is painful in the best way possible - it's not often i remember fanfic for longer than a day, but the ending hits like a punch in the gut and i think i'll be feeling it for awhile.

in particular i love the inversion of expectations - the revelation that opens this piece is one that you would expect to be joyous, but here, it's ominous. and the ending - one might expect a sense of relief, or maybe a cop-out of 'it was all a dream!' proportions. but you've given this the weight of real, painful tragedy.

(also your Raphael is amazing and makes me writhe in jealousy. if i could write him half as well i would be happy)

thanks for sharing this~

Your author's note reduced me to tears before I had even read on. This is only the second story I've had dedicated to me; the first one I knew about before it had been done, so this was a delightful surprise, Anysia. Thank you so much, your kind words mean a lot to me.

But on with the actual content!

Splendid as always! Raphael and Cassandra are in character, and their banters are perfect :) The first paragraph was amusing - Raphael is indeed the character to demand another one's appearance XD

Actually, I really loved the whole section. The whole fic. :3 You're awesome X]

'Cassandra hasn’t prayed in years—finds it pointless after so many fruitless hours of entreating, begging, pleading for the gods’ pity, to have them spare her sister, cease their callous destruction of her family.

Never wanted to pray again, never wanted to waste precious time and energy crying in vain for some semblance of mercy.

She prays now, each morning, when she tightens her thick, woolen robe about her thin, shaking frame and visits the privy, prays to be as wrong in this as she is in everything else. Prays for blood sacrifice.

They mock her in this as in everything else.' - This is also awesome and full of win!

“Cassandra. I will not have my son subjected to the plebian and narrow-minded views of those peasants with whom you have in the past freely associated.” - Harsh o.o

The last part was absolutely heart-wrenching D: But it was still great. The whole story was consistent with its quality, despite the long time it took to write (I'm a speed-writer, most of the stuff I write comes out in a day XD); but congratulations on yet another incredible story, Anysia! And again, thank you :) Looking forward to more!

WOOW that is all I can say you need to make a sequil to this. I hope the baby is a girl jest to bug Raphael

I really am digging the extended version. Great work Bri. Always good to see new stuff from you. :D

Four months? Wow. Yet the result is clearly worth the wait. I read the original one on your lj a month or two back (*looks away*) and while it was a really fine piece, I like the painful finality here better. The last line, in particular, broke me. A perfect way to end an absolutely brilliant fic. Also, your Raphael is seriously one of the best I've encountered in the whole fandom. Sometimes people forget that, despite him being cursed and being a bastard (sorry) in general, he's still human. He could still love and care and worry (his relationship with Amy. 'nuff said.). And I love how you kept a little of his humanity intact in this piece without it being OOC at all. So bravo.

And this: '“My dear,” he says simply, “one with my unsurpassed…virility could not help but produce sons of unquestioned strength and valor.”' And this is another reason why I adore your Raphael.

Again, wonderful job. :)

. . . .I'm speechless -- I cried at the end. It's sad, but yet so beautiful. Your writing style is so elegant. Plus, I'm really happy your wrote anoher one-shot.

Good to see you back!

Quality of the "Balance" is as expected. It's great!

I'm glad you decide to explore some different possibilities and consequences in the Raph/Cass (or in general, any) pairing. Raphael's reaction here was very supportive (but a little surprising, given what we know of him) but it revives the idea that people stay together for something other than lust.

I'd also like to know where did the inspiration for this pairing came from. When I played SC2, I've never heard of Raphael paired up with anyone other than Ivy or Sophitia (which didn't make sense to begin with). But now, you've pretty much made Raph/Cass pairings a standard ^_^

Oh... That was a really sad ending. Poor Cassandra.