Man I haven't read this one in a while and now I'm regretting leaving it so long. This is, DEADASS, my favourie fuffy fic ever I think. It's so original, so unique, so heartfelt and to see Faith and Buffy navigating tweenhood is just so fricken sweet man. You do an incredible job of keeping them in character but with a few less years full of trauma and heartache. Thank you for giving me and the characters EXACTLY what we want. 

Author's Response:

Thank you so much! :D This is definitely kind of a niche fic, with the time it's set in, so I'm thrilled for it to be someone's favorite. :D It does have a partially finished sequel that I hope to one day get back to and finish up. 

I love this fic SO much! It's a really unique and awesome AU idea, which is both original and yet  also so perfectly them. The characterizations are amazing. Both of their voices are so in character (and everyone else's too) and I love how they are so cute and flirty together and yet still manage to rile each other up in such a short period of time. And then their reunion was perfect! This is what canon owed me! If you ever do decide to write that sequel I would die. And I can't wait for anything else you come up with for them as well, I miss your writing! Hope you're doing well out there :).

Author's Response:

Hi!! Thank you so much. I'm glad you loved this one! It was really interesting to write them pre-baggage, and Buffy in particular as a younger less certain version. :) The sequel was started and has been touched within the last six months, at least. So it's not as abandoned as it may seem based on the length of time since this one was posted. If I ever finish it and post it though... we may both die. Lol. These days I am a very sporadic writer, so probably once every few months I work on something. I did finish the next chapter to The Other Woman, if you're reading that one. And I am currently working on the final chapter to that fic--currently like it's open and I'm getting back to it in a minute, not like, I opened the document several months ago and have done no work. :p So I hope the finale is forthcoming to that. I do have multiple other unfinished multi chap stories, that at some point I'll either finish, or I'll just post what exists for anyone who is still interested. Thanks again! I hope you're doing well too, and staying safe in these crazy times. 

I LOVED THIS CONCEPT! I don't think I've ever read a fic about Faith and Buffy as potentials. It's interesting to imagine what their non-slayer personas would be! I think I remember Buffy being portrayed as a totally shallow, empty-headed cheerleader (with the valley girl accent and everything ha ha).

But since Giles was already training her for a year in this fic, we see more of Buffy as we know her. Faith seems about right for a pre-slayer days persona, too!

Good job! I enjoyed it! 

Also, digging the sexy times ; D!

Author's Response:

Thank you!!! <3 <3 <3 I shouldn't dig myself deeper into the hole of fics I promise to produce and then don't get around to finishing, but umm, this fic has a sequel. :D It's like 3k words in and it's kind of almost done, so I feel reasonably confident I might finish it in this lifetime and share it with you, lol.

Awesome! Almost wish there was an extended version or one where we see Buffy called/die and how whoever is called feels.

Author's Response:

Maybe someday. :) I do have a little sequel to this one that I've started. We'll see if it ever gets done. It has low priority in my list haha.

Okay, I know I say this a lot, but it's always true. It's true about this story, so I'll say it here. It's true about Ashes, and I'll say it again when I have time to re-read and review it later. And it's always been true about FFAG and TGFA and I promise I'll finish my reviews soon and sing it from the rooftops. 

I. LOVE. THIS. STORY. 

Period. Full stop. 

I wasn't really sure what to expect going in, but pretty much from minute one, with Giles and Joyce squaring off over Buffy's free time and well-being, it felt like home. I think the thing I love most about your stories, whether it's full of angst and drama, or fluff and romance, is how much you clearly love and understand the characters you write. 

The retreat for potential Slayers and their Watchers was a really interesting premise, and I think you did well to make it the focal point of the story. Seeing Kendra and Diana and little baby Kennedy and little baby Rona (aww!) in such different lights was a real treat. I want a full story about Ingrid now. And THANK YOU for incorporating India Cohen into the story. Too few fic authors remember the Slayer who came before Buffy, and I really enjoyed her presence here as the mentor, however distant, to all of these eager young girls. 

Faith's introduction was absolutely perfect. I loved seeing the different ways young Buffy and Faith reacted to all of the different courses and lessons they got to take. 

What I liked best was getting to see the two of them react to each other without all of the pain and anger and fear that will weigh them both down in just a few short years. Here, they're able to really be themselves. They have no huge secrets to keep from each other, and they're on even footing. Their biggest misunderstanding was whether or not Faith was gonna kiss Buffy? That's kind of adorable. 

Getting to see them three years down the line, both hardened by life but still so excited to see each other, was the closure the story needed. Though I'd love to see a sequel where the Chosen Two go back to the retreat together to impart some wisdom on the next crop of potentials!

Author's Response:

Thank you! :D I guess we will have to imagine that without the catalyst of Buffy getting in trouble, Joyce and Hank still eventually divorce so that Giles and Joyce can get together. I ship them. :p 

I don't read the Buffy books, so everything I know about India Cohen I get from the Buffy wikia, but I thought it was cool for her to be there. Then I got stuck on what she would say that would profoundly move the slayers. Buffy took seven years to fully develop her speechifying and I didn't want her to sound too like later season Buffy. So I decided to go with the don't die advice, and just let the fact that you know she dies soon be there in the background. So her words are more powerful than she knows. Or at least I hope they are. :p I hoped the same about Kendra, putting in her hopes for the future and her casual five years out bet with Buffy that we know she'll never see. Or maybe not everyone loves Kendra like me so these were less effective than I wanted haha. I wanted to do more with the other potentials that we know, but I was up against the word count and I didn't want to sacrifice too much B/F time. 

I sort of want to do a sequel, but I have SO many ideas waiting in the wings. I should probably finish some of those. :p

Hey! Just finished reading this story and it was awesome. I always love reading AU of Buffy and Faith. It's always good to see what great stories people can come up with. And this was definitely a great one. Reading is one of my escapes from life and being able to read such light and fun stories like these always makes me feel better. I appreciate your talent and stories! Keep it up. I definitely wouldn't mind a sequel :p 

Author's Response:

Thank you so much! I really appreciate that. :) I'm glad you liked this fic--it was a new writing experience, definitely felt a little out of my comfort zone. A couple people mentioned a sequel... I'm now pondering it. Darn it! I have so many things to write already! I don't need to add to my extremely long list. :p So I won't say no, and we'll see what happens. :) thank you again. 

If you didn't tell me I wouldn't have figured out that the reason why this fic felt so light was because there wasn't any angst at all, not even when they parted!

The part I liked the best was when they were still potentials at the camp. It's fun to imagine the ditzy Buffy slowly getting attracted to the cocky Faith. It's like one of those high school romance movies that you watch during summer. Except they're both girls and they're training to become vampire and monster hunters. I was smiling at their cuteness. Especially when B walked out on Faith at the lake.

I laughed when I read that you've included Kennedy. She's still pesky in this world huh? It was fun seeing the other slayers and potentials.

Cool how you tied it with S3 canon. And that you only touched on the Angel romance. You know my reaction on the sex :P

I wonder if canon was like this, would Faith have ended up a better person?

Author's Response:

I would have squeezed some parting angst in there, but I was hitting the word count limit. :p

I'm glad you liked it and you thought they seemed like them when I asked you to read over the first section. I was worried about whether they felt true to character the whole way. Until season 3 picked up, haha. Kennedy will be a brat in any universe, so of course she's the one who spoils the kiss. I should have had the demon eat her. :) 

I do know how you felt about the sex, and I think you're wrong! Lol. :D I think maybe if Buffy and Faith had this background together, she would have tried harder to reach Faith or Faith would have been more able to trust her after Finch, but I'm not sure. I could write it and find out, but I have enough stories going on right now. :p

So I know I got a sneak preview of the first few sections of this, and yeah, I loved them.  (Much like everything else of yours I've read).  But then I got to the middle, and the delicious Fuffyness appeared and my love grew through the roof.  Loved how casual you had their interactions; holding hands and not making a big deal about it.  Just simple, but still meaningful.  Loved their scene on the dock, and was not surprised by Buffy's little freakout.  lol  

And the cute little repetition of 'can we get back to when i was/you were going to kiss me/you' was so sweet.

The time jump was awesome; I'm glad you decided to go with it.  It's nice closure after you so rudely tore them apart after the retreat (ya meanie!).

Basically what I'm trying to say is I loved it, and I'm glad you didn't kill everybody.  lol   Great story :)

Author's Response:

I rarely kill people! Hmmph. Thank you, jerk. And thank you for telling me to write this random idea. :p You did tell me not to write the sex though, so you were obviously wrong about that. :D

I think Buffy and Faith could actually have gotten along like this if Faith knew how to be forthcoming and Buffy didn't have so much baggage. It was nice to play with a world where that was the case. Now I'm sitting around being like, hmm, sequel where they crash the retreat after quitting the council?? 

This was a pretty nifty idea. Kinda cute reading about them as potentials.

Enjoyed it :)  

Author's Response:

Thank you, madam. I almost fell off my chair seeing you in the reviews. :p Don't think I have forgotten you either, my review is forthcoming. :)

You know, I don't think I've ever read a story where everyone knew each other prior to being called. Having a slayer retreat was an excellent idea to make that happen!

I love how even at the beginning Faith is a little protective of Buffy and looks out for her. It was so cute how embarrassed and nervous Buffy gets at times, too. It made for some very sweet moments.

Great story! :)

Author's Response:

Thank you, ma'am! It was kind of a weird writing experience since they weren't really *them* yet. I'm glad you liked it!! 

Yes. That is all...

Ok, maybe a bit more. Really liked the characterisation of younger Buffy and Faith; also 3 years on mature Buffy and Faith. I would happily read more if this was turned into more than a one shot... (in the dark). 

Author's Response:

Haha! Thank you! :) Now that you said that I started thinking of a sequel. No, bad brain, we have like 10 other stories to work on! D: