I don't even know what to say to that. It was just so fantastic. I read stories like this and begin to hate my own thoughts for being so undeveloped and behind. Reading these kinds of stories makes my simple and wild plots seem so young and scattered and I hate you!(jealousy.)
But what a lovely read!
SaLEm

This was such a pleasant read. Beautifully written.

I really, really enjoyed this story. The writing was amazing and I liked your little version of what happened. Great job.

Gods, this is just so far beyond epic in every sense. And yes, it's definitely "raging with purple prose", and despite the multitude of quotable quotes my favorite is "Mediocrity varied in its forms and faces, but greatness was ever the same, same, same.". I particularly love how visible the changes in Itachi are. It's been far too long since I've come across a fic this intelligently written, you're certainly a credit to the Naruto fandom!

Did I REALLY not review this one either? Gahhh. This has been on my favorites list as well and I decided to revisit it.

Despite the stealage, this was fantastic. I loved how unafraid you were to approach Itachi's fling with Shisui in such an irreverent and different light than you usually do. Madara was appropriately twisted, and Itachi appropriately twistable in his grief and woe. I actually laughed out loud at Madara's mutterings on "idiotic fire techniques"

The evolution of their relationship flowed like the Nakano, as always, and was super classy. From ancestor and descendent to student and teacher, to equals to enemies they sort of grew together and back apart again. I guess this must somehow relate to the whole shoreless thing, but that last image in Itachi's eyes was soooo over my head haha.

Awesome, as always, very passionate. You really captured this pairing here. I loved it!

"...it was so much more apparent that the true nature of a utopian was that of a mercenary." Ah, how true and yet most people ignore that little detail and go rather for sweet-sounding, illusory words from two-faced leaders who benevolently smile down from campaign posters.

(Yes, anyway.)

Oh gods, this story was so intelligent and encompassing I had to read it twice to stop my brain from exploding.

Now I'm wondering how could I have snubbed that little Madara-Itachi interaction in canon when in this story, they're like two widely-unnoticed sun-bright giants that hijacked history. Ah, Uchiha House, you never cease to amaze me with your cracked-up geniuses.

Itachi's growth and Madara's mentoring is interesting, plus the parallels and dissimilarities between them, AND the shinobi world - particularly his clan's deteriorating greatness - through Madara's near-immortal eyes. I've always wondered how the dude's thought patterns went and I think you showed them brilliantly.

This line got me completely (I will most likely be having dreams of it for days on end): "They killed Shisui on a day so beautiful that all the parts of Madara's spirit woke themselves up simply to say they were alive." Chillingly sad.

Argh. Now I want canon to show a little more of how Itachi and Madara interacted.

Darn, my reviews are getting long too. I will read the ItaShi (ShiIta?) stories after I cool my brain down for a while.

Amazing. :)

Your stories are so beautifully written getting obsessed...

You managed to put Shisui/Itachi AND Madara/Itachi... you are AMAZING.

Anyway, loved the story. At first I was a little hesitant when you said it was 'purple prose' - I thought you were going to add a million adjectives to describe something, but you did very beautifully and tastefully. I also enjoyed the way the story progressed; you could just see how Itachi grew older.

Madara was freakin' awesome. I love how patient and easy going he was - you could tell he only developed that after living so long - especially when it came to Itachi and Shisui. Instead of becoming possessive, he just simply chalked it up to adolescence.

Itachi was wonderful too. He had that cool, somewhat disconcerting disposition about him that I love. To many people make him out to be saint. While I agree that he was ultimately a nice guy and he did what he did for the "greater good", he still had to be some sort of crazy to pull it off. I mean, the fact that the villagers didn't even question the fact that he just one day "snapped" and killed his family means he didn't come off as one of the nicest people you'd ever meet.

Moments I loved: I loved when Madara started training him - even though Itachi is highly gifted, in front of Madara he comes off as almost average. I also like the part when Itachi came back from his mission and his teammates were killed - his reaction was very believable.

Fav. Lines:

"...even in the middle of his excitement, he had a sedateness about him, like the thin core of blue at the center of flame." (Describes his personality so well).

"'He will not enter the academy,' said Madara dismissively. 'He hasn't mastered your father's idiotic fire jutsu yet, have you forgotten?'" (I laughed so hard at this)

Great job, I hope you write more Madara Itachi fics in the future!

I can't believe how sympathetic you made madara O_O

For this story, I was chuckling before I even read it. "Warnings for this include absolutely raging purple prose and mild paedophilia. Thanks for being 200 years old, Madara."

The so called "raging purple prose" came out well. Absolutely loved:

"It would wrap you in paper and bandages until the eyes in the mirror... ...without a vigilant moon to draw you back home." War wraps you in a cocoon and transforms you into something you don't recognize.

"...except for the tinge of Shisui that invaded Itachi's mind in the genjutsu when he took control of him, sometimes a stroke of raucous laughter, or the feel of a grin against small lips." I could hear Shisui echoing in the woods x]

"Itachi turned thirteen in a sudden burst of phoenix flame, emerging with a black scorchmark on his shoulder in the shape of an ANBU tattoo." Perhaps my favorite line. The powerful imagery in that metaphor is just... wow.

"And there was that hot, brutal pride again, because his student had known to fix on the single flaw in that sentence." One of the many sentences that developed wonderful characterization.

"He curled his hands into Itachi's sweat-soaked hair and felt his mouth open into his, wet curve of lips, iron-tasting tongue, roaring water in his ears." Hot. Just hot.

And of course, the humor: "Had Uchiha Fugaku taught him anything aside from useless barbecue techniques?" xD

Finally, how much it interweaves into the cannon deserves another applause.

Lily.

This was an INCREDIBLE story. MadaIta is a hard pairing to like and although they weren't really paired here, it managed to be more romantic than most MadaIta stories. The way Madara kept changing his opinion of Itachi's role was just beautiful and Itachi's maturing was clearly visible too. You could really see him growing up. You could also feel how old Madara is by the way he looks at things. I hope you'll write more about these two!

Ah this fic has Tagore poetry innit *_* O great poet of Begali, I apologize for all those years in high school when your poetry made me want to kill myself. In retrospect, it was just the bad translations. Literary education in communist Asia leaves much to be desired.

I don't know what purple prosiness you were talking about, because I found none in this story. Instead, what I found was a lot of beauty and a lot of wow, hit you in the guts moments. I have conflicting feelings about MadaIta, and by extension Madara himself. Some days they make me crave a long sterilizing shower, and then there are days like today when I am all, "Don't worry, Mad Maddie, he'll be thirteen soon enough." STOP THIS.

Your descriptions make me want to chop my fingers off in jealousy. The story progresses with the solemnity of a passing life, and I envy your characterizations. WHY DO YOU EVEN TALK TO ME OMG LOOK HOW I CAN'T EVEN STRING WORDS TOGETHER IN A REVIEW. Oh wait, you quoted Ayn Rand, that means I can hate/mock you a little. Know so many trust fund douchebags who worship her. HOW PERFECT FOR THE CREEPY CHILD-MOLESTING 200YO.

It's not terrible that the parts I liked best were the ones with Shisui right? No? Okay.

I've never ever thought I would read a MadaIta. Nor did I think I would enjoy it this much. I love how you were able to give him reasoning behind his actions, and I love how Itachi grew up, almost as a pawn, who realized it in the end. I love how even though Sasuke was never actually in the story himself, your Itachi still revolved around his little brother, and you kept his childhood believable (I simply cannot word this sentence right lol).

And although I was hesitant about the pairing (I hate Madara beyond reason at times), I can honestly say I enjoyed myself. You had a way of making me re-think any unpleasant feelings I have for any character and I like that _

Love love love the story

the tagore poem was used really well and i thought it was very unique rather than song lyrics most people used. thanks.

great work, it was lovely...

MadaIta...you actually got me to read a MadaIta...one of my least favorite pairings in the history of the fandom...

Well. You have outdone yourself to the extent where it's almost ridiculous. I dunno if I'm going to be able to compose a legible review for this..

Purple prose. I love it. Your writing style here is insane-so beautiful and elegant, and all of the metaphors create really vivid mental imagery. One of my favorite such lines was:

'Itachi turned thirteen in a sudden burst of phoenix flame, emerging with a black scorchmark on his shoulder in the shape of an ANBU tattoo.' Gorgeous. Honestly, I would exceed the character limit if I tried to C&P all the lines that made me go 'Wow' here.

I like that we got to see all kinds of different 'sides' to Itachi-some we already knew, like his love for his brother and his sense of duty; some we didn't really see, like his politeness and occasional teenage angst. ;)

Biased as I am, I *loved* the little bit of ShiIta you put in there. Thanks for that. x)

Back to characterization...Madara. Wow. I loathe the guy, but you gave him so much depth! You actually made him less hate-worthy, which is a huge feat. His personality seems perfect, along with his musings-his thoughts on Itachi and the weakness of the clan-and his actions, like the way he teaches Itachi, the methods he uses for that. Really liked the hinting of his own friend/lover, and the implication that he/she died for Madara's Mangekyo. Also like his perceptiveness, particularly the bit where he knows that Itachi is walking towards Sasuke in the end, and not away from him. Fantastic.

'"We did this," said Itachi coldly, and it was not an endearing statement. "Not me."' Just...really liked that line, for some reason...

Right! Long story short, you have rocketed up into a league of your own after this one. I thought you were talented before, but this is just ridiculous. xD