The Other Woman
Hey, I remember reading this fic about a year ago and commenting (as Holly B) and I guess I stopped checking this site for updates, but I'm so happy to come back and see that you're still writing this!! I love this story, it's very unique and interesting and I love the sexy slow burn! Also, it's cool to have original stories on this site that can't be found anywhere else, it's rare to find stories that aren't reposted and you realize you've already read them somewhere else (not that I would mind if you did put them on another website haha! I would read/comment on/kudos them again ;D). Anyway I think I'm going to go back and comment my thoughts on each chapter! Can't wait for the next one!
Author's Response:First, I'm sorry that I apparently failed to respond to this really nice review. I suck. I will blame demons in my email preventing me from getting review notifications. That sounds reasonable. ANYWAY, I am sorry that i've probably super disappointed you now because I haven't updated this further. I've never left anything unfinished yet, it just sometimes takes me you know, years, so I promise to get this done eventually. I hope you are still around/will come back then! Haha. Here in the year of our Lord 2019, almost two years after you left me this review (again, I suck and I'm sorry), I actually did just repost a fic to ao3 for the first time ever, but this fic and several others are still only here. :)
please please please finish this story I remember when you first posted this but it took you forever to add to this plot line but I'm begging you to please continue this. It's so good and worth the love you put into it.
Author's Response:Don't worry, i will! I may move at an excruciatingly slow pace, but I always finish. The next chapter is really just about finished.
Oh, please don't have Buffy choose Kendra. She may have gotten one of the crappiest endings in the show, just standing there while Drusilla slashed her throat, but that wasn't Buffy's fault. If anyone failed her, it was Sam Zabuto, her Watcher, who should have trained her to resist mind control and to think for herself. And I doubt she'd function very well in the new paradigm where there are lots of Slayers and they don't have to answer to the Council.
Author's Response:Ah, I think she'd adapt! :D No spoilers for the next chapter. :)
Ohhhhhhhh. No. No.no. no cake for u! Holy shit. I do not have strong enough finger nails to hold me long with a cliff hanger like that. OkAy . U can have a dark side cookie for how fast u posted and how f.....ing good this is. Parts of me wants more now, but that means it finishes quicker. I so don't want this to end. Bitsthat shone out, the wince Buffy gave when seeing the sex spike rerun, compared to the more honest reaction of the faith buffy motel, oh the angst remark made me snort. So Good. Ty.
y
!
Author's Response:You are lucky you gave me that cookie, because I do NOT work when not fed. :p All good things must come to an end (within three chapters or so), but there will be more stories! I was so not a fan of what they did with Spike and Buffy in seasons 6-7 (although I did like Spike's unrequited feelings in season 5), so that wince was actually restrained for me lol. I hope to finish the next chapter soonish and not leave you hanging too long. :D
What the hell woman!?! Your little fingers better be typing fast on the next chapter coz I am not pleased to be left hanging like this!
Having said that awesome chapter, beautifully written as always.
Looking forward to the next one. :-D
Author's Response:Oh man, is this a bad time to tell you I went on vacation and have accomplished zero work on the next chapter? :p I shall do my best! Thank you for reading as always!! :)
Fina-frigging-ly!!! Beautiful chapter, and I am expecting rain and snow because lo and behold if there isn't another chapter. Yay!!!
Thanks for the update
Author's Response:Haha, so you found both chapters 10 and 11 at once? That's so sad for you because God knows when I'll get chapter 12 out! Lol. :p
“Buffy?” Faith asks, her voice hesitant.
Buffy stops immediately, turning back to her. “Yeah?”
Faith looks like she wants to say something, then she shakes her head. “Nothing.”
“So. Much. Angst,” Diana says, clicking the OFF button on the remote. The hotel room disappears, leaving the two of them in the grainy light of the abandoned house. Kendra’s brown eyes twinkle. “Like I said, interesting.”
Buffy swallows uncomfortably.
“You don’t have to be omniscient to know that girl had it bad for you.” Diana holds up one of Kendra’s hands, frowning at a chip in her nail polish. “Although I am.”
“So you’re a Buffy/Faith shipper,” Buffy says, starting to feel annoyed by the goddess’s attitude. “Help me save her then. Win the office pool.”
^^^^^ This scene was full of so much WIN. Kind of meta even, ha ha. When even a goddess is frustrated with you, you know you gotta get your crap together, Buffy, ha ha.
I was happy to see (or read?) Kendra again. I was sad it wasn't REALLY her, just the goddess, but it's nice to see that she hasn't been forgotten.
I'm glad the choice Buffy has to make here is actually a tough one, and not one of those easy predictable ones. I'm looking forward to the next chapter!!!
And I'll be sure to check out the "Awards" fanfics. I'm actually excited to report I am writing my first Fuffy fanfic. I'm getting so much inspiration from all the awesome stories I've been reading on here, and I think I have a good enough (however tenuous) understanding of the Buffy timeline (and hopefully the characterization) now that I can write a simple fic. Probably just a one-shot, though, since I have problems with commitment lol. And I know how much I suffer when stories I love are abandoned so I would not want to do that to anyone haha.
Also, kudos to you for cranking out chapters so quickly. I'm merely writing a one-shot but even THAT is hard to muster the muse for. My inspirations comes and goes. I'm so flaky ha ha.
Anyway, don't be like me, UPDATE SOON!!
Author's Response:I did chortle to myself when I wrote that Buffy/Faith shipper comment. :p So you're a Kendra fan? I feel like we're few and far between but I love me some Kendra. I've never felt compelled to write it, but I would read the hell out of some Buffy/Kendra fic. Have you read any? Maybe I should seek this out.
Congrats on your first fic! Do you think it will stay a one shot? Whenever I start a one shot, it ends up exploding out of control and next thing you know it's 15 chapters long. For instance, this was going to be a one shot. :p The last time I had to write a one shot was Shot in the Dark and it's like 3x the length I was originally aiming for. Muse is never my problem, it's self discipline to sit down and write. 🙄 So basically I have to report that I suck and only about 1k into the next chapter. The alternative to abandoning your multichap fic and tormenting your readers is to hold it until it's finished, which I have managed to do only like twice. I should have done it this time, but it had been a long time since I'd posted and I didn't want people to forget I existed. 😂 Oh well, I'm almost finished now. In any case, report back on how you're doing! Haha. Hope it's going well.
I've been reading your stories over the past couple months and have enjoyed them immensely. This one though is the most original. Very clever world building and angst. Keep it up and I hope the muses help you update soon.
Author's Response:Thank you very much! Glad you have enjoyed all. :) Hope to finish this one soon. I do have another idea that I think is more original than this one, but it's also more of an AU, so we'll see how you feel about that haha.
Oh my god, what a cliff hanger! And that statue moving around gave me the heebie geebies, but in a good way. This was a fun chapter! I can't wait for the next one!
Author's Response:Haha, did it really?! I didn't think it was THAT creepy. :p I shall strive for continued fun in the next chapter. :)
Love this story. Thank you for sharing it. I cannot wait for Faith and Buffy to be finally reunited!
Author's Response:Thank you for reading it! I hope it does not disappoint. :)
So good! Can't wait for next update!
Author's Response:Thank you! :D
Good lord, what an amazing chapter!!
Author's Response:Oops, how did I miss responding to this?! Forgive me for my suckage. Thank you! You're the best! :D
____ passes over extra thick coffee frosting cake, with extra sprinkles______
Screamssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss............ yay.
Oh my goodness, wonderful and so heart wrenching when Faith talks about how long she's loved Buffy and what it meant to her.... (pssstttttttt and she so was doing doodles of hearts in the corner of comics and i mean seriously she did one in the window of the classroom, duhhhhhhh, with stake through it included.). sighs........ oh the joys of reading your work cliff hangers and all. You are a rare breed dear author, the way you get buffy and Faith so right as well as the other characters. So Good.
Thank you for sharing........... tc.
Author's Response:*Stuff cake greedily into mouth with no thought of sharing* Thank you! Faith was totally doodling and pretending her name was Faith Summers and writing real person fic of the two of them, she is such a liar. :p Hope you enjoy the next chapter as well! And that it lasts you for a bit as chapter 12 is basically not started... :p
Ha ha, I just got your PM about deleting me acccidentally from the site! What did I do!? All I ever wanted was just to read fanfiction :'0!! Ha ha
I am SO HAPPY about how fast this update came. I know you authors got your own lives to lead so I'm always so thankful that you take the time to write quickly for your readers that are hanging on the edge of their seats for the next chapter!
Your Faith and Buffy are so cute and smitten with each other. It's such torture (for both them and us readers!) that they can't touch one another! Hopefully they can kiss, hug, and hubba hubba soon *eyebrow wriggle*!
I really like this development that Buffy's love must keep Faith anchored to the corporeal world until they can find her body! So romantic~! I hope Diana finds Buffy's love worthy of keeping Faith!
Also.... I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR RECOMMENDING BATTLEKITTEN'S "DAMNED" SERIES!!!! I AM OBSESSED BECAUSE I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! It literally took me 4 days to get through the whole series. And imagine my surprise when, just as I was on the last two chapters, the author updates the story!!! HAPPY DAY!! I usually have terrible luck in real life so hurray for blessings in my internet fanfic life ha ha ha!
I'm glad to see some of the really good Fuffy authors are still around (like you, Electra, Battlekitten, etc)!
I tend to not take chances on new authors or random stories because I'm always afraid I'm going to waste time reading a story I end up not liking (I'm very OCD about finishing what I start, so even if I hate a story, I will read it through to the end because it bothers me not to see things through to their conclusion; so when I come across bad stories, I keep reading in the hopes that maybe at some point it'll become good ha ha). So, in general, I try and read stories on recommendation, which is why I'm glad you recommend stuff!
My other strategy is to look into the "favorites" section of authors I like, because my logic is that if they write awesome stories, they probably have awesome taste in stories, as well!
I can't wait for your next chapter! Update soon :)
Author's Response:You did nothing! You were collateral damage in the war between Team Alice and Electra and Team Spambots. Lol.
I will be curious to know what you think re: Diana finding Buffy's love worthy when you get to the next chapter! The torture only makes it that much better when things finally turn out right in the end, doesn't it?! :D It's kind of a fine line between making it happen too soon and dragging it out too long. In this premise I got lucky because they basically cannot get together in the conventional sense. *pats self on the back for thinking of this*
I think I may have sadly run out of recommendations for you now! I'll have to think on it. :( Have you read everything that was recommended in the fanfic awards we did a few years ago? We did them in 2010 and 2011, so there may be some older stuff you haven't seen. You can find them through the link in the left bar of the page "Awards."
Okay... so you are making me like Xander. How is this possible? Also "Hail Mary full of grace" LOL I knew she went to catholic school! Though I feel when Buffy put her shirt back on, Faith would've had some sort of comment.
I like your pen name as well! ;) It's as clever, witty, and cute as your writing.
Author's Response:Oh god. I never intended to make anyone like Xander. Makes me want to pull the chapter down and edit it. 😂 You know I'm a Xander hater. She so didn't go to Catholic school! Do you know how much Catholic school costs?!
Hey now. No flirting. I'm a taken woman. 😎
I don't know why I keep wondering if Faith would have known about the honey. This story is great! Story: "Faith nods reluctantly, sitting back so they're face to face again" My mind: "NOW SMUSH FACES TOGETHER". Can't wait to read more
Author's Response:Hee! I love your name!! :D Lol, FACE SMASH NOW. I don't think our Faith would have known about honey! Imposter Faith on the other hand... ;)
I miss the show.. a lot. But the way that your write these characters makes it slightly better. And I don't have to deal with ships or storylines I don't care about. I loved the back story bits. Can't wait to read the next chsoterp
Author's Response:*Goes to write a ship you definitely don't care about* The world needs more Faith/Kendra!
:) I love you. You are the best.
“Hmm,” Buffy says, wrinkling her brow. “Dawn’s sister. Usually I have the name and she’s Buffy sister. I’m not sure I like this.”
HAHAHA Buffy and her ego are so adorable.
Gilbert hurries ahead of them to open the door. “I’ll call if I come across your Faith.”
“Thank you,” Buffy says with a polite smile. Once the door is closed behind them, she and Xander fall into step beside one another.
‘Your Faith.’ ;D
And omg, their whole bedroom conversation sounded like really cute, corny, but hot “phone sex”! HA HA! Of course, with the supernatural incorporeal twist on it! I love these two weirdoes. You write them so well!
I can’t wait for the remaining 3 chapters : D! I’ll read your other stories in the meanwhile to stave my Fuffy hunger!
P.S. I read “The Girls in Question” series you recommended. BEST DECISION OF MY LIFE. The author(s) are so talented! I’m glad I’m discovering there are quite a handful of authors that know how to write good Fuffy fics! Even if I’m kind of late in the game for the fandom :’0
Author's Response:Yessssss the Girls in Question series is so amazing. Who else are you reading/loving? My other faves are Electra and Bobbi. They both have more comedy than the GiQ series, so it's a different feel, but both have stories I've effing loved. My top from them are: Whirlwind by Bobbi and Sleight of Hand by Electra. Sleight of Hand is set season 3-ish, but I love me some early B/F. If you're more into post-chosen, she also has Walk the Line which is fantastic. Oh, and After the Fall! That one is probably my second fave. :D She is still around and occasionally writing, so I try to nag her into productivity.
You've def gone through my other stories too fast! Lol. I'm working on chapter 10, and it's sort of almost done, but with me that could really mean any length of time. :( But I am so happy that you found me/my fic and are still out there reading! I still love writing, but I do miss the times when there were ton of fuffy people out there reading. So it's really nice that someone is regularly reviewing stuff! Much appreciated. :) I am off right now to do a bit of work on Chapter 10 in hopes of finishing it sometime this year. :p
I like how Buffy tries her best to comfort Faith about the body snatching.
I wonder if Faith feels any subconscious guilt since this kind of parallels as almost a sort of karma from when Faith took Buffy's body.
At least now I know the intruder is a ghost! LOL always check with your real estate agent if you got any Caspers hanging around before you move into a house!
I'm so excited there's a new chapter! I'm finally on summer break so I can read to my heart's content!
Author's Response:I think Faith will always have a little guilty about the things she did to Buffy, even when Buffy says it's water under the bridge. Which is good for her, and her redemption process. For real, they need to fire their realtor post haste. :p YAY SUMMER!!!
“B?” Faith asks curiously. “What do you not wanna tell me?”
Buffy sighs, letting her eyes fall to the bit of bedspread that’s barely visible through Faith’s legs. “After the thing got away, umm,” she pauses for a second before blurting out the rest, “she kissed me. A little bit.”
“A little bit of kissing,” Faith repeats incredulously.
“Just for a few seconds,” Buffy says, some color returning to her face in the form of extreme embarrassment.
“And what did you do?” Faith asks.
“Well, I grabbed her ass and pushed her up against the sluggoth demon so we could do it right there,” Buffy says sarcastically. “What do you think I did?”
^^^^ THIS KILLED ME. THIS EXCHANGE!! I JUST ABOUT DIED LAUGHING HAHAHAHA. I love Buffy's snark xD!
Author's Response:Lol. Buffy's snark is epic! I try to even capture a little bit of her amazing dialogue.
OMW!! I love this story!! I usually don't have patience for slow burn stories and I prefer the stories rated M, but really enjoying this one. Hopefully next update will be soon and maybe the rating will change? LOL
Looking forward
Author's Response:Totally agree on the no patience thing. I prefer to read completed fic too. :D Next update will be soon, relatively speaking. :p As for rating, I usually stick a sex scene in every fic but with my current plans, we shall see if it works out that way. I'm not done writing so I can't say either way haha. But thank you for reading along with this in progress rated Teen story that is out of your comfort zone!
_pushes slice of coffee cake over to you._ That's for the less than two months lol.
now then, excuse me while i screammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. So good, ya still gave me goosebumps when i read, how you bring them to life. how i can see them so vivid, with all their little movements and head tilts and the way they talk. I was so disappointed that the 20th anniversary seemed to just move over us like a shadow rather than a sunray of rememberance. The whole E magizine was a sham with characters missing from the interview and the photoshoot and finding out that eliza wasn't even asked and had nothing to do with her being busy. it was suddenly like buffy was something to be whispered about rather than shouted. And here you are writing your heart out with such emotions and passion. So thank youuuuuuuuuu for making the 20th anniversary something to singgggggggggggggggggg abouttttttttttttttttttt............ yayyyyyyya gave me something to singggggggggggggg about................. ....... oops sorry slipped into musical mode. tc and thankkkkkkkkkkk uuuuuuuuuu for sharing xxxxxxxx
Author's Response:Aww thank you, you sweet lovely person! And I do love coffee cake. What kind of cake do I get if I do the next one in less than one month?! :D Disappointing photo shoots or not, at least we still have fic to get us through. It's not hard to write your heart out over it. It's still my all time favorite show. 😍😍😍
Hella crying for this gratuitous Fuffy smutty chapter ending. Ironically, I work at Starbucks and need to wake up in 2 hours to open but had to read this first. b25;
Author's Response:Ahaha. Thank you for letting me borrow your workplace as a set location for this fic. :p Hope you didn't suffer any work related injuries due to your lack of sleep!
I'm so proud of you! *slow claps* Excited for Faith to get her body back. Then her and Buffy can look andddd touch.
Author's Response:Yay!! I also hope she gets her body back... haven't written that yet so we'll see! :p
I'm just itching for and update! 😁
Author's Response:You have awesome timing because I just finished the next chapter like 5 minutes ago haha. It will be up really soon!