Oh man, I remember reading this waaaaaaaaay back. I loved how there's so much emotion in the story. It's like being in Buffy's head, seeing what Buffy sees, feeling all the emotions directed towards Faith.
I was scared it was gonna end up with one of them hurting the other (pardon if I've forgotten the ending. I've got memory gap).
Favorite was the part where Faith slowly woke up with a smile... It sounded so magical, then the moment was shattered quickly when she realized it was Buffy that she was lying with. It was both touching and sad, how much their relationship has turned sour.
You can imagine my relief when I saw that they actually managed to move forward... I call 'Faith crying while she was on top of Buffy' moving forward.
Thank you for posting your story here :D
Author's Response:Thanks so much for your thoughts, Topak! I know this has never been a very popular fic, so I'm always so excited when other people seem to "get" it like you have. :)
I debated for a long time when I first wrote this whether I should go back and change it to a happier or more hopeful ending. But in the course of editing it, I realized that my initial purpose in writing it wasn't to rewrite canon, but to add to it and get into a little bit more of both Buffy and Faith's motives during such a difficult and confusing time. Faith especially was on such sharp precipice that it wouldn't have taken much to push her either direction, and I wanted to explore why, at the end of Consequences, she went to the Mayor and not to Buffy and Giles. Her relationship with Buffy, and what she felt she meant to Buffy, was a big factor in that.
Why did you encourage me to go and get depressed when you know I'm trying to finish Girl?? If everybody dies next chapter, you know who to blame! :p
I liked this. Using sex as a way of delving into Faith's self hatred was cool and I don't think I've read it done before, so I really liked it. It's interesting how out of sync the two of them are (both here and in canon). Faith reads so much into Buffy's actions, which I think really speaks to how deep her feelings for Buffy are. Her whole concept of self is based around how Buffy sees her. It's just so sad that she doesn't see that Buffy taking this step with her is (my interpretation anyway) about forgiveness and understanding and how much Buffy cares about Faith. Buffy's uncomfortable because she sees that she could have been in Faith's shoes, so her avoidance issues aren't totally or even mostly about Faith, but Faith always takes things personally. If she wasn't in such a terrible place, she could think rationally about Buffy. I thought for a moment there she would, but then you yanked the rug out from under me, and killed my happy feelings. :(
Now I need you to go write the happy sequel, okay? I'll wait... :D
Author's Response:I take full responsibility if you decide to kill anyone off in Girl. Just be glad I haven't started posting Because the Night here yet. I'm trying to finish it first (a million years later) before I subject anyone else to that angst-fest.
In other news, this review is giving me feels in a way I didn't know a review could. Because you got this story in a way I don't think anybody else really has. They are on such different pages here, they're practically not even in the same book. I thought about writing both chapters from Buffy's POV so that her reasons for leaving the morning after would be clear, but I changed my mind halfway through and re-wrote it through Faith's eyes. It doesn't matter why Buffy left after: what matters is THAT she left. I left her motives up to interpretation on purpose, and I really like yours. Sorry I killed your happy feelings, but really, there was only ever one way for this to go in my eyes.
You're going to be waiting a long damn time for that sequel, because it's never gonna happen, my friend. But I'm working on my opus/arch-nemisis, Because the Night, slowly but surely, and I'll hopefully be able to post it here sooner than later. Not that it's any less angsty... Hmm... *shrugs*
*cackles*
This was awesome!! I loved the second part, dark angsty stories are my fave!!
Author's Response:Glad you enjoyed, AK! Dark and angsty was kind of all I could write for awhile there. I know it's not everybody's favorite for that reason, so thanks for letting me know you got it. :)