The commercialism on this site is getting ridiculous. I remember when you could eliminate all adverts on the site with a one-button request. Now you have to put up with advertising headers, advertising sidebars, even ads inserted into the story text. Come on, admins, you can't be that desperate for a buck.

I always like fics that touch upon subjects like humanity and identity and how people think and question themselves and stuff like that. Perhaps that's why gunslinger girl is one of my faves seeing as it covers those topics as well.
Perhaps also that's why i like your gunslinger girl fics so much hahaha
The way you write this one makes it seem as though the readers are dreaming along with the characters. Like subconsciousness and reality are mixed together and youre trying to grasp where one stops and the other begins. Like that feeling or state youre in between sleeping and waking.
Haha maybe im just saying that it's very immersive
Anyway i love this fic, keep it up fam!

Damn, Sandro is in trouble...

Nice. You don't see Jean's conscience very often. His waking reminded me of the cyborgs - tears and a dream he can't recall. His observation about which cyborg woke up depending on which handler was at the door was spookier than Enrica's ghost.;)

Sorry for the lateness, but if you'll bear with the rambles I've got a review for you!

Opening hits and we're already off to a great start. Me being me, I feel like the carpet-linoleum thing could be a metaphor for a lot of things around the SWA; putting a soft surface on a hard base (like the assassins who appear as young girls, or even the normalcy some of the handlers and staff members try to pursue despite the nature of their work), but not being able to completely deny what's underneath. Or Bianchi just really got the short end of the stick when those millions of Euros in the budget were being distributed, sure, but I like to think there's a poetic meaning behind it.

I like the Bianchi's sentiments on the pre-existing surveillance measures. It continues to raise the feeling of immutable nature that isn't always appealing.

"snicked shut"
Now /there's/ an onomatopoeia for you.

And this paragraph about the Cyborg's intellect nicely rounds out the opening argument about that which is shown and pursued, and that which simply is. Despite the fact that the Agency has the cyborgs under its thumb, I feel like this is unearthing the hidden complexity, the suppressed humanity of the subjects. You can slap a professional face on it, but until you've fully automated the guts you'll still have to face the issues that come with humanity.

I would almost say the emotionally/morally laden response to the cyborgs and their past is a tad too invested... but this /is/ Bianchi we're talking about here. While he usually keeps a lid on it, I suppose he really is the the most philosophically grounded person here. It's very interesting to see all this through his lens.

Nice foreboding with that "Henrietta might reflect Jose" line. Yet another expression of what we try to keep hidden.

Wait... so the youngest is going to secondary school(Highschool equivalent, right?) and the Oldest is just starting university? How many years are in European secondary school? Or... maybe Sandra took a break? I think I'm missing something here...

Hmm... interesting use of Bianchi's children to illustrate his preconceptions on what life should be like for the cyborgs. It's all very subconscious, but the trail is clear enough for the reader to follow it. How do you get away with being so artful?

Illusory Bianchi and Alba-as-Angelica cement the immediately preceding point.

"You don't belong here" Oh, the irony. I like how this plays both ways: Bianchi being absent from Abla's life while still subconsciously projecting her onto the cyborgs.

"'/Her own handler?'/ He felt confused and afraid"
Hm... I almost feel this could be restated more artfully, but it doesn't actually break any rules of construction. It's just... a little simple. Still, you can't argue with meat and potatoes.

The break from the dream is sudden, but the consciousness flows flawlessly. Nicely done.

Ferro and Fernando...Can't argue with the alliterative naming scheme of the match. It also explains how Bianchi knows what she's like on her days off.

"At home, Benito and Russo, their spotted mutt"
... Is the singular mutt named "Benito and Russo", or were there originally two dogs in this construction?

Nice imagery in the dream "return to the agency" sequence. The subconscious past is nicely personified.

Though subtle, this final rousing is a good path for setting the final scene. We tire of illusion, and wonder at what is truly reality now.

I really like this Triela portrayal. Nice, neat, professional, take charge, and yet still a vulnerable human. It plays the faulty parallelism of the cyborgs quite well. Plus, the ironic tenderness of soul shown by the cyborgs comes off fantastically well.

Hmm... not sure what to make of Triela's farewell kiss. Almost feels a tad too sentimental for her.

Also, this talk of reincarnation... Is Bianchi owning up to his life at the agency? Or reconciling it with his past? I get a strong thematic vibe of a paradoxical "separate but linked" ideal. Which world does Bianchi belong to? The same as the cyborgs? I get the seeds of resolution, and the excellent closing lines that convey peace, if only temporary, has come over Bianchi's troubled heart, but I'm left wondering how the dichotomy of his life is settled. He will see his own children again, but he will also persist at the Agency. He still occupies two worlds and hasn't settled which one holds his full citizenship and the other his visa.

Ah, well. If in its own, not-entirely-conscious way, it feels complete. Maybe that's part of it, that these aren't issues Bianchi can simply resolve here and be done with it. But for the moment, he has peace in his soul, and that is enough.

Thanks for another chapter, keep up the good fight!
-CG

Well, this was actually both disturbing and quite touching. Especially considering the end of the actual series. In that regard its rather deep and quite good. But I think you read ahead to give Bianchi his words, cheater!

Dreams within dreams... within dreams.

I think I saw a Leonardo DiCaprio movie like that once. :P

The start is really well played: it leaves us, as the reader, somewhat unsure as to where the dream starts and reality ends. Has Bianchi nodded off sometime after Henrietta left? Or are we starting out already in the dream? There's certainly enough truth in his observations regards the handlers and cyborgs to make this a believable "real world" and, since you've not set a timeframe of mentioned any 2nd gens at this stage, it's perfectly plausible for 'Etta and Angie to be around at the same time.

That's a theme you've woven well through the entire chapter: with each "waking" the world portrayed is just realistically enough to have us believe he has woken up, until things start to take a turn for the weird or implausible. It's only when looking back that we see the cracks in his imaginings.

Of those, I think my favourite has to be the "happy daydream" world(s): his happy affair with Ferro, the understanding, successful children and, coming out of that in particular, we're left wondering just how much is his own wishful thinking, and what is actually grounded in reality? Does he actually have great kids? Or is that relationship one that is falling apart (I like to believe the latter... sorry) in reality? Is he actually having an affair with Ferro? Or is that a hidden lust? (again, from what we've seen of Ferro in the manga, and Bianchi's comments regarding Ferron in the manga, guessing the latter)... or is the affair real and perhaps the reason his relationship with his kids is falling apart. So many questions raised, and I love it.

In many ways we're getting a big reel of the Doctor's hopes, and his fears, and those little things that gnaw at his soul... not to mention a broad spectrum of his views on people/aspects of the Agency. In hindsight, you've crammed a huge amount of character development very effectively into one chapter.

And I do like that you've used Triela as the one to finally bring him back to reality: the sensible, pragmatic, mature mother hen... now apparently mothering not just cyborgs but staff as well. She's a solid, grounding, presence to everyone.

If I have one criticism, it's that the opening description of Bianchi's office is perhaps a little heavy and dry, but in some ways that's not a bad thing: it's makes it feel solid, this isn't the ethereal description of a dream environment, and it sets up the details we need for the rest of the chapter.

Fantastic as always, and I've very much looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us next.

You know, I'm not sure if this chapter is about Claes, or about Jean... perhaps it is about both. While Claes is certainly at the centre of things, and we learn a lot about her: her past, her relationship with Raballo and, presumably, her parents, but in terms of character insights, to me at least, this was all about Jean.

I'm certainly not complaining there either, he's one of my favourite characters from the series, and one I think gets an undeservedly bum-rap from time to time. He's a man with a job to do, and an image to project in order to steer those under him, and it's always enjoyable to see the other side. I wonder why he does care for Claes so much? Is it that he sees her as the last memory of a mentor and friend he dearly misses? Does he actually care for the girl himself? Or is it simply a result of that promise? It's also interesting that the best part of Claes' dream comes just after Jean clears the room and can have a more human talk with her.

It certainly seems she is the only person Jean feels he can (sort of) open up to... and I like that he seems disappointed when Claes does not remember the chat. He's a man carrying a lot of baggage, perhaps he was hoping to find a porter to share the load?

Congratulations, you've officially effected my head-canon.

As an aside: I like the idea that Raballo's death was genuinely an accident, but the SWA leadership also recognises the value in letting people think it was a hit. Brilliant work as always mate, I'm really enjoying this collection of stories.

I'm not even sure how to think about this. Which of course makes it pretty much perfect and par for the course with gunslinger girl fanfic and the source material in general. :)

This one feels like a cycle. Or... perhaps a spiral better illustrates the feeling? Claes leads a lonely and confined life. She's an incredible choice to add dynamics to the collection, seeing as she is not a handler, but neither is she a normal cyborg. She doesn't truly belong with her peers, but she's not an adult either. She's an odd in between and maybe it's the headcanons talking but I think that actually segues nicely with the handlers. Anyway, the point of the first line is to say that I feel this one really rides the literary Ouroboros that Gunslinger Girl is so often known for; taking the reader in a loop that they ever hope will be broken even as they ever fear it can't.

I like the way you feature Jean in this chapter, but there are a few moments that almost feel too soft for him. Such as "Her hands are like gravestones", which sounds a little too poetic for the straightforward, no-nonsense handler we all know. It works that he opens up to Claes a little more later on, and his concern about her remembering it definitely fits into the schizophrenic hopes of the handlers in a way that only Jean can characterize, but it's a difficult line to play. See, even if Jean has a softer side, I'm not so sure he'd have the words for it like this. Just a thought though.

Moments I especially enjoyed:
-Claes' brief recollection of her father lamenting the loss of his talented daughter. It started me down a weird headcanon of thinking "What if Claes, despite being taught by a master of the trade like Rabello, wasn't a very skilled agent? What if the subway mission wasn't an exception?" Of course, why it made me think that and where it leads are still a mystery, but I thought I'd let you know anyway.
-Jean complaining over the carelessness of the techs. Something about the diction here just appeals to me. Maybe it's seeing Jean get so worked up about a cyborg, but it could just as easily be that I like seeing him vent his anger at sources that deserve it.
-Claes' dream of fishing. It very much reflects the slow, methodical nature of her fratello as well as its sudden end.
-Jean checking the room. This shows his considerate side in a professional and almost incongruous way that works like magic. And it's only like two lines! Oh, how I envy you.

Beyond that, I'd hate to put it like this, but you're just giving us your usual brand of awesome. Keep up the good work, it gives us noobs a high standard to look to.

Ever waiting more,
-CG

Nice chapter here. Cales was always unique with her situation and memories which I think you captured perfectly.

Another... I don't know if "excellent" is the correct word to use for something so quiet, delicate and thoughtful. Engaging perhaps? Compelling?

One way or another, it was a fantastic follow-up to Jean's chapter, and in some ways allows the reader to compare the two men. Jean's story felt more as a realisation or a short journey to such, this was a private moment in time we were allowed to watch, one that has happened before and will happen again... your descriptions, at least to me, were more atmospheric here, drawing the reader into that moment.

I found Marco's different methods of identifying the fratelli interesting: he refers to Hilshire as "Victor", rather than the more commonly utilised alias... the other descriptors feel more impersonal, suggesting that their friendship is closer/older than the others, kind of foreshadowing Triela's comments later.

On that note, Triela makes a good choice for the cyborg presence here: the most mature and emotionally "normal", as it were, of the canon girls. Not to mention the one seemingly most aware of the cyborgs' situation, and I like the way you've used her own awareness of how the conditioning effects her to bring Marco's original comments full circle.

Great stuff.

The direction the title takes with this chapter is startling, but well executed. Unlike Jean, Marco doesn't try to distract himself with a goal and often finds himself caught up in guilt traps because of it. In this case, I think the truthful sleep refers to the final truths Angelica leaves behind with her parting, evoking thoughts long avoided. Despite the efforts of the Agency to forget the nightmares they've created, they only dig themselves a deeper hole by trying to minimize the impact of the cyborgs' deaths. I love the imagery you include of how everything is taken away and squished into a tight, overlooked, nondescript memorial; done as dictated by duty, but filed away and forgotten as required by necessity.

The last few lines, as with the preceding tale, can be taken a few ways. Angelica's words, so simple and innocent, speak of an understanding beyond Marco's. However, is this simply the conditioned in response or is it a moment of clarity and true forgiveness? It's so hard to tell if someone is genuine when what they wish for and what you've created them to be like are so similar. Are these the faithful tendings of a puppet or the sincere wishes of a child who declares innocence? Marco, although jaded and bitter most of the time, seems to tend toward believing the latter. Like his cyborg, he is choosing to believe in the slight hope that the cyborgs are more than the preprogrammed pawns they were made to be.

Following that thought, I like the parallels you continue to draw between handlers and cyborgs while still maintaining a sort of distinction between the two. Both have been affected by life at the Agency but not always in ways as different as they should be. As stated at the beginning, even without conditioning Marco (and other adults at the Agency) have long left behind most of their conscience simply to continue operating. And yet... in the words of Brave Saint Saturn, "his heart still beats inside, and the blood runs in his veins. A remnant of life remains." Very classic of the GsG setting.

At this point I could go purely into theoretic ramblings, but I think I'll quit while I still almost make sense. Thank you for another tale, TSM.

Regards,
-CG

Fucking-

*cries*

Dammit TSM, that was fantastically well done.

Well thank you for another depressing chapter. Gunslingergirl really is good at doing depressing well however. Really its too good at it.

Speranza Guellfi.

Perhaps the only happy thing to come of it.