The Other Woman
So happy you updated!!! I was kind of hoping Buffy would be granted a 2 for 1 kind of deal, but I guess that would be too ideal for the situation :/
Author's Response:;(Yeah, I don't think the gods are too kind unfortunately. :(
The...the pain is real! Because you write so good and this is mindblowingly awesome and then it ends on a cliffhanger....pls pls pls update soon!
Author's Response:Hahah! This is actually an older story that I've just been editing my way through so it's more to my liking. So you didn't have to wait as long as readers did originally. Therre were some looooong hiatuses back then.
I noticed this fic recently got re-uploaded. Has there been a rewrite or just technical requirements?
Author's Response:I'm cross posting it to AO3 and as I do that I've been cleaning it up. The plot isn't changing, I'm just editing so it's a bit tidier. I hid the later chapters from view as I edit. I don't know why it's posting like a brand new fic when I didn't even delete the chapters, just hid them. I wasn't worried about it because I figured no one would notice, but a few people have! Haha.
Possession and drama!
The problem is, that the scoobs have tools to find out that i8t's not really Faith.
BUT, the forst step is realizing that there IS a problem to look for.
Def looking forward to more.
Author's Response:You've probably read this before! It's not actually new, I'm just cleaning it up and I hid the later chapters from view as I tidy. I don't know why it's posting like a brand new fic.
Oh my god, actually melting me with this chapter!
Also, your imagination has found my literal name and made me into some body-snatching ghosty-thing! I laughed so hard and re-read that sentence like eight times!
May the force of writing continue to compel you! You've actually inspired me to start up my writing again (and CharcoalTeeth, because a-mazing), so I've got my own work in progress - thank you!
Author's Response:In spite of the unfortunate name coincidence, I'm sure you're a very nice person who doesn't go around body snatching. Lol. I hope your writing is going well??
Continuously appreciative of your writing skills and storytelling ability, second only to that of Andrew Wells ;)
I have followed you here (hopefully not in a creepy way), and stoked to find this new content (new for me, not you)!
Anyway, thanks for the read! Looking forward to getting stuck into the whole story!
Author's Response:I'm so sorry I didn't see these until now! Hashtag fail. You can follow me around in a creepy or non-creepy way anytime. :D
Second only to Andrew Wells is a high compliment indeed!
ALSKDJFHEHDJDKSJSJDJDKDFJSHSKSLA ANYA AND TARA T.T so painful but like I'm also happy to see that they're not alone and that they're ok T.T poor willow. I'm glad Tara got to see Willow again fuck this hurtsss
Author's Response:I'm sorry!! I hope you enjoyed the rest and it took some of the sting out? :)
Holy frick that's terrifying
Author's Response:Hang in there!
Holy moly I'm terrified of ghosts and spirits and hauntings. I hope Faith will be ok
Author's Response:Haha! After the first few chapters it won't be as scary, I promise. Hope you can stick it out!
It only took them several near-death experiences in as many months and whole shit ton of patience and communication but they're finally on their way. As much as it tortured me for sixteen chapters, I loved this story. I loved that you made Buffy and Faith's burgeoning relationship make sense through all of its ups and downs, I loved that you really, truly brought the Scooby Gang back together, piece by piece, through that same kind of patience and understanding. And I'm so glad that Faith is finally allowing herself to see that there are people who love her and care about her and want nothing more than for her to succeed.
"Faith’s spent her whole life being dumped in one situation or another that she wasn’t ready for. She wasn’t ready to raise herself when her mom couldn’t do it. She wasn’t ready for her Watcher to die in front of her. She wasn’t ready for the way she felt about Buffy, and she wasn’t ready for the choices she made when she was 17 and wanted the world to burn with her. She doesn’t know how to let someone else see all the dark places inside her. She doesn’t know how to be in a relationship. But she knows she’s not ready to let this chance slip through her fingers."
I said it in my first chapter comment and I'm gonna reiterate it here. It is so, so important that you allow these characters in so many of your fics, but especially in a story like this one set right after the finale, the space to figure out their lives, their places with each other, their true wants and needs. The scene in chapter two with the cheesecake and the scene here with the movie night just solidify everything they've all been working towards, and it does such a good job of showing Faith what a real family looks like.
No one is perfect, not all the time, and they don't always get along, but they try, and they help each other up when they fall, and they cheer on each other's successes. They love each other. It's a beautiful thing.
Author's Response:Thank you!
I was about to be real mad at you at the beginning of this chapter when Faith has seemingly run away. But you redeemed yourself by the end there.
A chapter that is basically one heartfelt conversation after another will do that to a girl.
I want to copy all of my favorite parts into this comment but if I do that it'll just be the whole chapter. Because Buffy and Willow is just as important as Faith and Xander is jusy as important as Dawn and Xander is just as important as Faith and Buffy. And Louie and Faith are in there too, begrudging but figuring out their rhythm. Can they all just be okay now? Can they heal together, as a family, mismatched and misshapen as they are?
Author's Response:Thank you! This chapter was really the way to pull all the love stories together. So it's not only Buffy and Faith, but gives space for Willow to talk about Tara, and lets Xander know about Anya so he's given the chance to get closure as well. I think it's the start of the healing for all of them, even in baby steps.
I will have you know that it took everything in my power *not* to throw my brand new phone across the room while reading this chapter because MURIEL AND AMI WERE TARA AND ANYA?????? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?????? GAAAAHHHHH!!!!!
Here I was, enjoying the absolute care everyone was taking to reassure Faith that she'll be back in her own body again, that she isn't going to die, and the absolute care they were all taking with her physical body, setting her wounds and keeping her from further harm. Here I was, enjoying the way Willow has finally warmed up to Faith, the utmost trust Faith has in Willow to get her home again.
And then you drop that bomb and I'm dead. You've killed me.
Were there signs and clues this whole time? Probably. Am I going to re-read this fic and go back looking for them. Definitely. Did it still hit me like a ton of bricks? You betcha.
GAAAAHHHHH!
Okay. Was there more to this chapter? I don't even know anymore.
No, there was, and it was great.
Look at these Scoobies being responsible and taking themselves to the hospital! “Family trip to the emergency room!” Oh, Xander. Head wounds like Willow's majorly squick me out, like I got physically ill for a sec there last chapter when Willow first hits her head, so I'm glad you didn't just gloss over it (or Buffy's stab wound or Faith's ankle) now that they can take five minutes. They really should just employ their own doctor at this point.
It was somewhat cathartic (is that the right word? Eh I'll use it) to see Willow showing even just a bit of compassion towards Emily, even after everything. I like that there's a bit of understanding there between them, even knowing that Emily was wrong in her actions and they can't let her stay. It's fitting that it's Giles who steps in and makes sure that's clear.
I hope with Tara revealing herself to Willow, that she's still watching over them and guiding them when she can, that Willow can truly heal herself.
And I hope Buffy and Faith do go on that date, and that after so long being unable to touch anyone or anything that Faith becomes a chronic hugger and cuddler.
Author's Response:*smiles evilly* I am glad your phone was spared!
I think Willow and Faith both had compassion for Emily, because they both undestand being driven to do horrible things out of desperation. I like that kind of gray villain, as we got on the show with both Willow and Faith, but also characters like Marcie Ross, Amy, or even to some extent Ben. They're making the wrong choices. They're hurting people. But you can understand why and sympathize to a certain extent.
And also, I love the idea of Faith as a chronic hugger/cuddler now. :) If I didn't have 8 million projects going on, perhaps I could check in on these characters and see where they are a little ways down the line (hint: they're cuddling).
I'm glad I took a break last night and saved this chapter 'til today, otherwise I'd probably just be a sobbing mess yelling at you on Tumblr. Again.
The entire opening to this chapter is so well-written. The setting exudes a calm before the storm kind of energy that pays off remarkably well with Buffy chasing and fighting Emily in the woods. All of Buffy's thoughts about how her little family has come apart and been patched up so many times in the last few years, to the point that they're almost unrecognizable and definitely don't fit the way they used to, is heartbreaking and something the show and comics never fully used to their advantage. But one thing you give us that the canon media couldn't quite figure out, is that there is still hope for them if they try.
"They're all still together though. Still trying to find a way to make their incomplete puzzle fit together again, and that's got to count for something."
I'm glad that Elizabeth got to have at least a little closure and got to say goodbye to her sister after so long, but mostly I'm just relieved that she has a level head about her.
“What about this girl?” Elizabeth asks, pulling a hand free to gesture at Faith’s body. “Who’s going to take care of her?”
“She’ll… move on,” Emily says, not sounding like she’s particularly thought about it.
Shaking her head, Elizabeth takes a step back. “Emmie, no.”
Emily never got to grow old, but her sister did, lived a full life despite her grief, and it's only right that she pass that on to Faith. She's mourned her sister for decades, and I'd like to think that she wouldn't want Buffy or Willow or anyone else who cares about Faith to have to go through the same kind of grief. It parallels Kendra, in a way, and while she isn't here and can't speak for herself, I doubt she'd want to suddenly be back in the land of the living if it meant that someone else, another Slayer in fact, had to die for that to happen.
Beautiful chapter, my friend.
Author's Response:I'm a season 7 hater, and one of the biggest missteps I think they made was driving the Scoobies so far apart and then just acting like they're back together in the finale. They aren't. How could they possibly be? They haven't done any work to rebuild their relationships. I liked playing with some of that lingering distrust and tension that should be there. Maybe that's also why it's easier for Faith to join the family here--everyone's a little off kilter and needing to learn how to trust and be trusted again. So she isn't the odd one out.
That's a good point on Elizabeth's thought process paralleling Kendra's (presumed) thoughts. I also would assume Kendra is in Heaven, as Buffy described it, so even though her life was brutal and unfair, she's at peace now. She isn't hurt by not being brought back.
Buffy thinking about her choices at the beginning of this chapter just tears at my heart. The one time she made the selfish choice in her time as a Slayer, to refuse to kill her sister, how she so obviously wants to be selfish now, is so, so hard. It reminds me of one of the best quotes from the She-Ra reboot, said to the protagonist as she, too, faces an impossible choice: "You're worth more than what you can give to other people. You deserve love, too." I think that applies to Buffy here, now.
She has been hurting so long, and expecting to be punished for any choice she makes for herself, but she deserves to live just as much as Faith does, as Dawn does, and yes, as Kendra did. There is no good choice here, and Diana knows it.
There is only the choice Buffy can make, not as the Slayer, not as a warrior, but as herself, as a woman in love who has lost nearly everything that makes her happy, who will live and die for everyone but herself. She's worth more, and she deserves love, too.
Author's Response:I agree completely that that's something Buffy should hear. She's been fighting this war against evil so long that at times she really loses herself. :(
Diana is just fucking rude.
But as tests go, holy shit is it effective.
I do like how you manage so often to bring Kendra back in your fics in some capacity. You don't ever forget that she existed, you don't shy away from how short and brutal her life was, and that's important. I feel like the show really missed some opportunities with the Slayer dreams, and you fill those gaps well.
I have a feeling I already know what Buffy's decision is, but this choice is still impossible and unfair.
Author's Response:She's a god, she does what she wants! :D
You know I love Kendra. I guess I do mention her often. I never thought of it. :) I like that this is one of my personal themes. (I'm literally mentioning her in the fic I'm writing right now haha).
I AM HAVING SO MANY EMOTIONS.
It's probably a good thing I didn't read this as you posted it because I was in a not-great place four or so years ago and a chapter like this would've broken me. As it is now, I'm still pretty sure one of your fics is gonna do me in. Might as well be this one.
Fuck, man. I can't even enjoy a good group discussion of My So-Called Life (the answer is always Rayanne) and Xander saying "this explains so much" because Faith is in even more danger than she was before. Gaaaahhh.
You threw me at the beginning, bringing Rack into the mix. I don't exactly get why they needed him, but it's interesting to see what's become of him. I agree with Muriel that he can rot for all eternity.
This Heart's Blood spell had better work to keep Faith here until they can put her back in her body proper. I need to have a very violent talk with whoever Muriel and Ami are working for because what's happening to Faith in the name of balance is fucked up and wrong, especially now with her trying her damnedest to turn her life around. She needs to be able to live, for real.
She needs to hear the gang say "we all love Faith" to her real live face, and repeat it freely, and mean it. She needs to love and be loved by Buffy for years to come. And she needs to know, deep in her soul, that this is true and right and good:
'Faith's voice is so small she barely hears it, but Buffy's heart seizes all the same. "Do you think I'm going to hell?"
"No," Buffy says immediately. "Of course not. Faith, how can you even think that?"
"I know what I've done," Faith says, sounding miserable. "I wish like hell I could change it, but I can't." The tugging feeling lingers on the edge of her consciousness. She can't imagine Heaven would be this interested in getting its hands on her.
Sitting up, Buffy leans on one arm so she's looking down at Faith. "But you do regret it. You're trying to do good with your life. Whatever cosmic scale decides where we go has to be tipped in your favor by now. You saved the world, Faith. Twice."'
So this spell better work. And then they can figure out if finding Emily's sister will help them find Emily-in-Faith's-body and then everybody can rest.
Author's Response:Surely Giles throwing in his support for Brian Krakow is still enjoyable, even in spite of the rest of the chaper? :)
Rack's sole purpose was to direct them to a spell the gang might use to save Faith, since the two guides are out of ideas and out of places to turn for those ideas. And he also provides a clue that will make sense later. ;)
Obviously I share your passion for Faith, you know, living and be loved by both the Scoobies and Buffy for many years to come. You're in the back half of the story now, at least. Getting there!
I was fine. I was totally fine.
Buffy and Xander doing some recon. You know how I love supportive and mature friend Xander.
Kindly neighbor turned reluctant murderer, not what I was expecting but fine. Sure. Gotta be someone, right? Wasn't expecting Not-Faith to come back and kill him, but at least she hasn't taken Faith's body to Aruba or something.
Even Ami and Muriel confirming that Faith only has a day or two left. Fine. I believe in the power of the Scoobs working together. I love it, in fact. And that they're working hard together for Faith is just perfect and wonderful.
Like I said. I was fine.
And then.
'“I love you,” Faith says simply, continuing over the startled intake of Buffy’s breath. “I always have. I just didn’t know how to love somebody, not back then. I was too messed up.”
“Faith,” Buffy says, and it comes out like a croak.
Faith continues, determined to say her whole piece now. “I’m not the same person anymore,” she says. “I wish we had the time for you to see that.”
“I do see it,” Buffy interjects softly.'
That entire scene of the two of them, lying on the bed, as close as they can get when they can't physically touch but still being so loving and so tender with each other, is going to be seared into my brain for all eternity. Seriously, it's one of the most romantic, beautiful things I've ever read. I have no words, just awe.
Please get Faith back in her own body asap. They both deserve to hold each other and kiss each other, just like this, as long as they want from now on.
Author's Response:I loved this scene unreasonably when I wrote it, and I still love it now. So happy you did as well. :)
Supportive and mature everybody is definitely of the good! Willow is obviously one of the MVPs in this story, but Xander has this moment, and another one a bit later where he gets to shine. This was definitely one of the fics where I loved everyone and wanted them all to be awesome and work well together.
They do deserve everything, and they'll have it!!
"Still smiling faintly, Buffy leans in her head carefully, her cheek lingering just where Faith's shoulder would begin if she were corporeal.
Faith looks down at the top of Buffy's head, so close she can practically feel her breathing. Closing her eyes, she tilts her head down and pretends that she can feel the softness of Buffy's hair against her skin."
I swear you're trying to kill me.
So. The house is very much haunted by a woman who was murdered by a WWII vet and someone else, for reasons unknown, and she has since been causing suicides and "accidents" and all manner of unpleasantness to everyone who passes through that house in any kind of permanent manner. And now she's somehow figured out how to switch places with a living person. Who is Faith. Who is fading away before our very eyes.
And now this mystery dead woman in Faith's body is missing after Grace touched her and saw her murder and spooked her.
Am I missing anything?
Oh, and Faith still needs to cool it with Louie, though I'm glad to see she's upgraded to just sending him to the pound rather than skinning him. He's on your side, Faith!!
Amitiel and Muriel are interesting. I haven't commented on them yet because I kinda didn't know what to say. Their role was pretty clear, but now, with the whole "he'll pull you off this case" and "let's file the report and then we can spend the night brainstorming" I'm not sure. Are they meant to be balancing scales? Are they meant to usher souls from one realm to the next? Why are they working on such a strict timetable now when this spirit has been allowed to linger for like 60-some years?
I don't like it, even if they do remind me of Pratchett characters.
Author's Response:You can ressurect easily it seems, so you'll be fine! 😁 I think you've fairly well summed up the plot there. Nothing missing.
Re: Ami and Muriel, they are supposed to usher souls in between worlds, usually. In this case they'd like to help her get back into her body rather than the great beyond. The timetable part I think probably made more sense as you moved to the next chapter, but it's the time that Faith is able to just float around incorporeal. The spirit is not their assignment, other than that she has stolen Faith's body.
This story is stressing me out. Where's that cheesecake?
Seriously though, this is so good. Faux Faith isn't even really doing anything, she's just existing in Faith's body, but she's so freaking creepy. The detail about the "unfamiliar perfume" versus the way real Faith smells of jasmine and leather is breaking me. I can't wait for Buffy to get to hug her for real and breathe in the right scent and now I'm having too many emotions again.
I'm also having too many emotions about how touch-starved Faith is, how incapable of fully expressing her emotions she is right now because she can feel her body but can't use it. I hope they figure all this out sooner than later, especially now that the whole gang can see her, so Faith can just be herself again, but I'm sure you're going to torture us some more. Especially now that Faith has jinxed it.
And let me tell you, Buffy getting stabbed in the chest by an insect-like demon with venomous pincers is giving me war flashbacks to chapter 22 of Heart's Desire so she'd better heal up quickly. Mostly for my sake. Because, y'know, I can totally control the way a story you wrote four years ago will go.
If I COULD control it, I'm not sure I would've gone for Faux Faith kissing Buffy like that, but it does make me wonder just how much control this poltergeist has over Faith's body. The hungry/horny thing seemed to really take her by surprise, and clearly Faith's body is attuned to Buffy in some way even when real Faith isn't in the driver's seat.
Which again, who was this spirit and what exactly does she want? And why Faith? Hopefully Buffy and Giles' trip to the library is fruitful.
Author's Response:Lol, I apologize for the stress! Sort of anyway. I half apologize, half cackle maniacally.
I think the story could have gone just the same without the kiss, I just liked the idea of that slaying rush hitting this unsuspecting body snatching ghost and her being like, well, I'll roll with it. But yes I think Faith's body is also still connected to Buffy, at least as far as them both being slayers, so Buffy would also feel familiar in a way. Plus she's been watching them, so she's gleaned that Buffy has feelings for Faith, so it's a pretty safe bet that Buffy would be down. 🤔 May I ask why you didn't like it--were you just put off by the ghost getting to kiss Buffy, or...? 🤓
Gooodddddd... My heart aches for both Buffy and Faith. I didn't even think about how being the only one to be able to see the real Faith would bring up residual guilt and horror from "Normal Again" for Buffy. 😩
The way you write Faith in Buffy's space is just torture. Peering over her shoulder to read, close enough to smell her? Hands next to each other on the bedspread? And all the while they can't touch each other?? Torture, I tell you.
I don't know who this spirit is who's hijacked Faith's body, but she needs every square inch of her ass kicked (but carefully so Faith is okay) and then sent straight to hell.
Author's Response:Torture for them, or torture for us? 😇😇 Don't worry, some ass kicking will come (after more torture of course).
I was all set to yell at Buffy for trying to do magic by herself and possibly blow up the house or send herself to the ghost realm or send them all to the land with nothing but shrimp.
But then it worked.
And then Buffy found Faith.
And then you wrote amazing and beautiful passages like this one: "Faith is almost always brave, or at least she makes a good show of it. This is a side of Faith she doubts many people have seen. Buffy’s seen it a few times, most notably when Faith almost had a complete meltdown during their fight with Kakistos. Buffy helped her get out of that one, and she’s going to get her out of this one too. And all the gods and goddesses in the universe won’t be able to help the spirit who tries to stand in her way."
And now I'm having too many emotions.
Author's Response:Buffy's Big Damn Hero thing combined with her feelings for Faith equals wayyy to many feelings. 😄 Just how I like it!
*incoherent screeching* MY blood is running cold, jfc!!
"She focuses on Faith’s back, opening her mind tentatively to the connection between them.
Rather than the onslaught she fears, Buffy has to strain to feel anything. It’s barely a spark between them.
Then she feels it, as though from very far away, a pull that is undeniably Faith. She glances at Faith in confusion when she realizes the tug isn’t coming from her direction. Buffy stops walking, looking over her shoulder in the direction they came. She closes her eyes, concentrating hard. As though becoming aware of her attention, the connection between them flares, warm and tingling down her back. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she feels more than hears Faith’s voice. Help me."
Who is this fucking pod person and what have they done to our Faith??
I'm glad Buffy is being insistent in getting Willow and now Giles to help her, but I wish they were just a fraction more concerned. Or is that part of whatever's going on? Only Buffy can sense something's off because she's a Slayer?
Author's Response:I think Willow and Giles not noticing is a combination of a few things. Buffy does have spidey senses, but I think also she's more attuned to Faith (given her semi repressed feelings for her). How long do you think it would take you to notice something was off about someone who isn't your wife or a close friend/family member? I feel like it might take a while. So they haven't necessarily sensed anything too weird yet. I also intended this to build on a bit of the group fractures in Season 7 (that I felt were swept under the rug in the finale). Willow and Giles don't necessarily trust Buffy's instincts (nor she theirs), so they don't immediately leap into the fray here.
"Willow has concern written all over her face. “Okay, putting aside the you and Faith stuff for a moment. You know I trust your hinky-sensors.”
“But?”
'“Faith’s really changed a lot and she’s started to trust us. I don’t want to mess that up.”
Buffy nods thoughtfully. She doesn’t want to mess that up either. It’s true that things are about a thousand percent better between them. Faith’s got a white hat planted firmly on her head and technically she hasn’t done anything to make Buffy think that’s changed. At the same time, Buffy hasn’t lived this long by ignoring her hunches. And she’s got a nagging little feeling that won’t go away—something is up with Faith."
This chapter feels brief but so much is going on and it's got mine and Louie's and Buffy's hackles up. Buffy seeing Faith in Dawn's mirror is just about the creepiest damn thing, and the way you've altered Faith's speech patterns is wigging me out. I'm glad that Buffy is realizing so quickly that something is up, but this conversation with Willow makes me feel like she won't follow up on it and that makes me think it's gonna be a lot harder to get Faith back from whatever has happened to her. Gaahhh!
Author's Response:Yay, creepy stuff! I love creepy stuff. I think you can guess from the total number of chapters approx how much time it'll take to get Faith back, haha. 🙃
For fuck's sake, Willow, I told you that plant was bad news!!
I liked that Faith was the one to slay the demon plant. It's a little thing but it works well to solidify her place in the group just as much as her being a part of the family post-slay cheesecake celebration.
Now I want cheesecake.
Again, I'm loving how much Buffy is rolling with Faith's flirting and giving it right back. And more than that, I'm loving the ways you're letting them just be themselves around each other. Some of that comes with maturity, some of that comes with some pretty major traumatic experiences (death, prison, the plural of apocalypse), but now more than ever it's just quality time spent together, making new, positive memories. (I wonder what each of their love languages is?) (Also I may need that Albuquerque story as a separate ficlet.)
But now all of that is overshadowed by whatever the hell just happened in Faith's room. The trunk seemingly moving on its own at the beginning of the chapter could've been a prank or blamed on the demon plant, but now? Now we've got what appears to be a real live (so to speak) poltergeist and it's taking over Faith??
I think I only made it to chapter 3 or 4 when you were first posting this, so this is mostly all new and very stressful now! I'll say it again, don't hurt my Faith!
Author's Response:I have to hurt her a LITTLE, for the good hurt/comfort. Can't have one without the other! We talked about this already but I think Faith's main love language would be physical touch. Touched starved Faith is kind of one of my head canons. Because when you have no one around you that's even remotely close to you, what opportunities do you have for people to touch you even platonically. They're pretty limited. Faith's contact with other people basically boils down to violence and casual sex. So I think someone wanting to touch her just affectionately would be a game changer for her. I think she'd really crave that. Quality time I think would also be up there. For Buffy I think she also likes touch (she's really affectionate with her loved ones), but I think acts of service might be another. Just having someone take care of things for her without her having to ask would really make her feel seen and loved. Just my thoughts. 😊 Obviously as you know by now, touch is off the table, so they have to do a lot more talking. But they DO do that. 😁
One thing you do exceedingly well is give these characters space. I know shit will hit the fan eventually, because it's Buffy, but for at least a little while, you give them all a chance to just be, and that's especially important for a story set immediately after the finale. They have all had their entire lives upended and it's as important for the characters as it is for the audience to see them recover, step by painful step. I love every detail you put into this first chapter: claiming new rooms in this new-to-them house and taking the time to clean and inspect them; buying new clothes because they barely have more than the shirts on their backs; Buffy taking stock of what little she did bring from Sunnydale, what she deemed important for financial and legal reasons, and what was sentimental but no less important.
And that brings me to Willow. I have a couple of bones to pick with Willow here (don't I always? 🤣) First of all, totally fine that she's buying new herbs and things and making use of the greenhouse. Speaking as someone who has my own lil backyard for the first time and will be going on my own plant-buying spree any day now, it's an exciting and fun prospect! But Willow, you know better by now than to just take any shiny plant home, especially when the head gardener at the nursery says he DOESN'T KNOW WHAT IT IS. And then! Asking MORRIGAN for blessings? If it's the same Irish-Celtic goddess of DEATH Morrigan that I'm thinking of, I don't think your garden is gonna grow very well, Rosenberg!!
Ahem.
As always in your fics, I adore the way you write Faith. She's tentative about her place with the gang but still very much herself. She's relaxed around the others (her scene with Willow in the greenhouse before she had to step out, especially) in a way we've never seen from her, and I love seeing how you choose to let her mature. I don't love her constant death threats to the kitty, but I get why she'd be a little reticent around him after he scratched the living daylights out of her arm. Hopefully she tones that down soon.
Hopefully she doesn't tone down the flirting with Buffy since it seems like B is finally ready to give as good as she's getting. I would, however, love to see these two idiots actually, really attempt to cook a meal because that would be hilarious.
Less hilarious? Whatever the hell is going on with Faith and the seeing things in mirrors and getting overwhelmed by the plants Willow just brought home. Don't hurt my girl, she's been through enough!
Author's Response:Excited you're re-reading this one (or mostly reading for the first time haha). In Willow's slight defense, I don't know if they've faced demonic plants before. 😄 How was she to suspect? I accept no blame for the use of Morrigan here. Almost everything I specifically name drop (gods, demons, books, etc) is something the show or expanded universe used first. I like finding stuff on the Buffy wikia to use. Per the wikis, they defined her as "a Celtic deity with power over plants and birds, particularly trees and ravens. When summoned through a protection spell, Morrigan would attack those she perceived as threats to the summoner." I just rolled with it, haha. 😄
I love Faith settling in with the gang too. It's what she deserves! 😭 She will continue to bluster some about the cat (although less about murdering him if I recall), so I'm sorry! She will continue to flirt with Buffy though, so maybe that makes up for it??