The Girl from Away
You nearly killed me there!! You tease a rematch of their second date and them possibly delving into their pervert fetish habits and then Faith suddenly feels a surge of guilt and wants to spend the rest of her life being miserable. Thank god karaokes exist, and Angel knows how to convince stubborn slayers!! Pfewwwww
You might have noticed by now that I do like happy endings... yes I want both Buffy and Faith to be happy!! ^^
I wish that in the other dimension, same year same month, the other Buffy and Faith have managed to work around their difficult relationship and, even better, ended being together. Who knows??
The story was very well constructed, epicly sick towards the end :O, never boring, with a little bit of hot stuff but never being PWP and a lot of interations to develop the relationship betweens B/F- everything I love in summary :)
I like that you gave space to different characters in both Flowers and Girl fics, they are different but similar in many ways!
15 great chapters = at least a good 15hrs of pure joy. I hope you enjoyed my comments on this story.
THANK YOU SO MUCH Aliceinwonderbra - needless to say, you can count me in your fan club!!!
Now time to get back to reality, eat and sleep.
Wooohoooo for once my predictions were right ^^
And a good point for Buffy who demonstrated once again that she trusts Faith and that Faith can handle herself, thus enabling Faith to have more confidence and that she is as good as Buffy :D
Amy: she's basically a selfish b*tch who turned herself into a rat, I must admit shamelessly I have absolutely no empathy for her. ...And this is how you now realise I'm cold-hearted ^^
Of course we do need a little epilogue :)
HAHA I knew that sound from the washing machine wouldn't go unnoticed XD Busted!!!
My favorite line in this chapter: “You guys been raiding Drusilla’s closet?” XDDDDDDDDDDDD how does Spike feel about that?
Question: Without offence, Aliceinwonderbra have you ever thought about going into therapy? I mean, the whole cavern thing is pretty twisted! I hope you manage to sleep well... :*
May I venture myself in predicting the next chapter? I think that Faith may be slightly injured but certainly not dead, and that Tara has some sort of poison that Amy is about to suck in pretty soon... that would be part of Willow's plan that was on that undisclosed note.
--> next!
Yaaaaayy I was so right about Willow :D It was meant to be that she'd go with Faith rather than Buffy. Having been in a similar situation herself, Faith can conceive that Willow is not being given a fair trial. It is good that the two of them took the opportunity of being together to put these things on the table! - I hope their relationship can improve moving forward! Although the conversation was difficult, I enjoy this snappy version of Willow who has more confidence in herself, even if she can be a troublemaker. For insatnce, when she can't help herself and shut up about the relationship between B & F. Grrrrr
For a moment I thought there would be no second date at all given the reproaches Faih was going to get from Buffy, combined with her insecurities... but hey! 5 months though???? Yes we've all been waiting for this update, I'm just glad I got it 1hr after the previous chapter XD Does this fic also qualify as your early and thus rough work?? XDXDXD
I liked how Buffy managed to reassure Faith in less than 3 sentences! :D
I will definitely opt out for Willow being innocent, as I you may have noticed I always have a tendency to see the good in people (what? would I be contradicting myself for like the hundredth time? Noooo that can't be (*grin*)).
Plus, there's a body of evidence in the chapter:
“Hello?” Willow calls v. “No!” Tara is screaming over and over - something is wrong here. Tara is the victim of a hit & run, and you have Willow entering the house like it's normal. Who would be stupid enough to come back on the crime scene?
“I’m telling you, I’ve got some romantic crap planned that’s gonna knock your socks off.”, “Probably the rest of your clothes, too,” v. “You know I don’t like surprises, right?” - that was never going to happen, it's too soon after their first date. But thanks for the visuals ^^
“You’re kind of a pervert, you know?”,“we’ve all got fetishes.”, “I just told you,” v. “The car’s moving, sweetheart.” - uhhh ok that has nothing to do with Willow's case but I have to comment on that. Too bad there's an emergency, the atmosphere is so full of tease that actually I will backtrack on the comment just above: it could happen now!! Aliceinwonderbra I admire your writing style, 1) you don't need to be explicit all the time to spark graphic images in your readers'brains, 2) you know how to make us laugh, 3) you know how to cold-shower us and bring us back to earth XD
"If you bind her powers, and then Amy attacks, we’re screwed.” - I'm with Marcie on that one. Don't you see it's a trap???????????????????
She plucks a few spell books from her bedside table and shoves them inside. - if Willow was all evil, she'd just suck the content of the books rather than carrying them with her.
“I would never hurt Tara.” - Evil Willow would never hurt Tara unless maybe Tara was opposing to her directly, which is not what happened here.
“I need your help.” - the cherry on the cake, Willow asking Faith for help means she must be at the very bottom of her life! That must cost her a lot! Evil Willow would probably just kill her instantly.
Q.E.D.
So what do you think, Watson? ;)
Author's Response:You were proven right! :) I like what you said about sparking graphic images in the readers' brains and the cold showers, lol. I do try. ;)
You surely had some fun with Marcie!!! Not sure Faith enjoyed as much ^^' but it was funny seeing her handle awkwardly the conversation.
Buffy taller than Faith??? Seriously?? sorry but this is just wrong!! :p
The number 1 rule for the first date is don't sleep together - did Buffy forget about it? Thank you for (seemingly) having removed the other Faith picture; however somehow this was not enough for Faith but Buffy is doing a good job here in reassuring her! It's unfinished business though, so I do hope that there will be a second fuffy break from the plot ^^
Some other (futile) questions popped up through my mind that I don't believe have been answered at all because we had a 21 months leap - did Buffy come across the other Buffy's journal? What is her clothing style, as apparently she and the other Buffy seemed to not have the exact same tastes? Just asking... XD
Author's Response:Forgive me for my super slow responses. I have been working on a new fic so have been a bit busy! :)
I loved writing Marcie (and actually have a half finished one shot about her future after this story around here somewhere). I think we'll have a choose your own adventure answer as to whether this Buffy found canon Buffy's diary. I didn't think about it either way! As for her clothing style though, I imagine she keeps more of the style from Season 1-3, lots of skirts and pastels. Canon Buffy moved more into pants and a little less uber femme type style, in my opinion. :)
Ok... now you must really have a laugh at my guesses which are soo totally wrong so far but hey the story with Amy is not finished yet! And I do like a lot that you manage to get me surprised every next chapter so ok I stop complaining straight away and thank you instead:p
Faith showed up first to save Willow's butt --> I hope Willow will grab this opportunity and see Faith in a different light, however as Buffy highlighted previously, Faith is not really the problem. But it may still help?
I'm a bit uncomfortable about the discussion Buffy had with Spike: does Buffy have any plan of sacrificing herself very soon? She'd probabbly be relieved but I'm not sure Faith would feel the same. Hopefully the debrief discussion they had together will have clarified that point?!
Lovers? I like that!!!! It's a real contrast with the other dimenson (flowers) where Faith could'nt move on as she was feeling she was betraying her Buffy by being involved with the other Buffy. Different personalities I suppose, but also more time has passed in this dimension and Buffy had the possibility to get over it (somehow). If she wants to get to the next level (that we are all I am craving for :D XD ^^) she absolutely needs to get rid of that sketch (or at least make it disappear from the bedside table) - Aliceinwonderbra I hope you took good care of it!! :p
Author's Response:I never laugh at guesses! It's just kind of glimpses into different paths the story could have taken. :) It is fun when I surprise people, but it's also fun when people can see where it's going and guess correctly.
The time jump really allowed me a lot of freedom here. So yes, Buffy and Faith (from alt world) are different from each other, but I think alt Buffy would have felt very similarly to alt Faith if we'd stuck with her in real time and canon Faith had been out of prison. She'd have had the same guilt and grief blocking her (although of course canon Faith would have been much more open to at least a friendship than canon Buffy was). It was nice getting to explore where things could be further down the line. Plus I loved the Any plot. So fun to write!
Uh-oh, it looks like Willow is going to be back in the evil game afterwards (I can picture you snickering when reading how wrong I was a couple of comments ago) - but I guess it's fair, who could honestly stop Amy when you know what it took to stop canon-evil-Willow, apart from Willow herself? Unfortunately the argument she had wih Buffy in the morning may not work in anyone's favor except Amy :/
At least now I know why Willow is not moving under the same roof!
Apart from that, Faith did not freak out too much and Buffy is making her best effort to create a more-than-friendly relationship - good to see that Buffy was ready to go to work all hungry and horny XDXD
Author's Response:So hopefully this answered your Willow questions! Basically, this story is my version of Season 7, and we skipped past my version of Season 6 (with Willow still mad with power and Tara NOT dying). :)
I'm glad Faith didn't have to sleep in the closet (aka the cot in the dining room) for too long - given the rapid growth in the number of people now living at Buffy's, I jut hope that B & F can make good use of the bedroom before they are forced to have someone else sleeping with them in the room!! XD
Me when reading that they are kissing: yyyyyeeeeeeessssssssssssssss :D The build up was definitely worth the wait, I so like their kindness towards each other!! ^^
Author's Response:Hahah. thank you! Glad you're enjoying. :)
I detect a lot of kindness in both Buffy and Faith, they really care about each other :D
I wonder what happened with Willow. I thought she was no longer with Tara but this thought quickly dissolved when Tara called her baby. Is she in good terms with Buffy? Is she avoiding Faith?
I'd like to see if and how a relationship will grow between Faith and Dawn. Obviously in this dimension Dawn hangs out a lot with Spike so she already has a go-to person, but can she open up to Faith too?
Author's Response:I think your Willow questions are answered in later chapters. :) As for Dawn, thinking back on it, I don't think she features too heavily in this story. There are a lot of other things going on with the plot, but it was also probably just to make this different than Flowers. I focused on different relationships here.
21 months later - wow that's a huge leap in time and I'm glad Faith had enough time to reflect.
ahaha thanks for selecting Amy as the evil witch instead of Willow (pfewww!), I didn't see that one coming :D
Faith is back with her innuendos... will Buffy play along?? (*thinking yes*)
Author's Response:Of course she will! :D
And now comes the harsh part: back to reality, where Faith needs to come over her guilt by herself and forgive herself (this may take a lot of time!), and Willow is not as understanding as Buffy. Willow who by the way keeps frightening me!
At least Buffy is not completely alone, Tara is around - a common thing in the two dimensions.
Author's Response:Tara is definitely a comfort character/good friend to Buffy in both dimensions. :)
Oooooooh I remember how Willow went off track in season 6 and thhe terrible conversation she had with Giles after she brought Buffy back to life - the scooby discussion you depicted in this chapter is strangely similar. I hope that Willow is not going to go all evil... or could it be a good reason to get Faith out of prison?
I find Buffy extremely brave and coping a lot - let's see if it lasts. I'm glad she was honest with Faith, their relationship can start on a healthy, good basis.
Now, time to stop here for the day, I really need a sleep!
Author's Response:I think Buffy is very strong, kind of similar to the real Season 6. Her strategy is always to shoulder her burdens alone and power on. Which can be good, but is often bad...
The next question on my mind is when and how (if at all) Faith will be released from prison... otherwise it is going to be painful unless a theme you wanted to explore is relationships in prison?? ^^
Btw, challenge is back on track for a finish by this Sunday XD
Author's Response:You already know the answer to this by now, but it did make me chuckle reading these as you were going through in real time. :)
Oh gosh I just want to cry as I feel even sadder for the other Faith when Buffy told her "I don't regret a single minute with you" :'(:'(:'(
While reading Flowers I had in the back of my mind that this Buffy would somehow find her way to prison and talk to Faith, which would be easier in a way as Faith is all but desperately in need of Buffy's attention and I am tempted to think that Buffy would understand better how Faith ended in this situation and thus be able to forgive her (although it is not really for her to forgive as she did not suffer from it... dark times ahead between her and the scooby gang maybe?). The variable I forgot to think about though is Angel and I'm secretly hoping he won't interfere too much.
Now, I see that this series is longer than Flowers, so I guess that's not going to be an easy ride but the good news is, I'm going to enjoy it for some hours :D
Author's Response:It's definitely not an easy ride, but it's a fun one! This Buffy and Faith are definitely in a very different place than the two we left in Flowers. :)
Loved this story, thank you!
And this version of Buffy is heartwarming (Lucky Faith).
I felt very sorry for Amy when you described her life as a rat, losing herself. So sad.
Masterfully done. :-)
Such beautiful fuffy here! <3
Okay, I just read this all in a day and I have so much to say. First of all, well done. This entire fic was excellent. From th characterization to the plot, it was absolutely flawless.
My heart sunk when Buffy didn't try to go back to her dimension (from the start, that's what I thought this story was gonna be), but I love the way you built their relationship and how it wasn't just perfect from the get go.
And Willow'w characterization was so interesting! You really fleshed her out and gave her that same season six darkness without murdering Tara (which I appreciate, because I love Tara).
I didn't expect to feel bad for Amy, but then you pulled out that bit about her life as a rat, being forgetten and forgetting how to be human. It made me hurt in the best way.
Thank you so much for writing such an amazing, nuanced fic.
Author's Response:Thank you so much! I'm not sure from your review if you started with Flowers for a Ghost or not (that's the first story in this series). Since that one does talk a lot about sending canon Buffy back home, I didn't want to retread the same ground too heavily here, which is probably why it seems like the question of Alt!Buffy trying to go home seems to be resolved rather quickly in this story.
This is definitely one of my more plotty stories. So glad you liked it! It was a lot of fun to write Amy and her different plans, and that scene of her as a rat was one of my favorites. I'm not a big fan of Willow's season 6 plot line, so that's why it's really just in the background, but it did make a convenient backdrop for Buffy and Willow not being as close here. Plus I also love Tara and I love the Buffy and Tara friendship, so wanted Buffy to be able to have that.
So glad you found this fic and enjoyed it! It's quite a few years old now, and it's nice to see people still finding it and liking it!
I should have Known I could trust you to give Fuffy the ending they deserved. I was a little nervous for a moment there when Faith wanted to go back to prison. Thank you for this gem!! And yes, I am totally reading fic while at work. Lol
Author's Response:Haha, I am glad you had such a productive day at work. :D
It's so sad what Amy went through. I can see how it drove her mad
Author's Response:Another super fun scene to write. But yeah, I think the show missed out on playing up a more sympathetic side to Amy. She was trapped as a rat for years, and before that she had an abusive parent. She's got legit issues!
Oh damnnnnnnnnnnn
Innocent. I think Amy did it
FLUFFFFFFFFFF I LOVE IT! lol and Marcie is so lovable. I hope she gets to live a happy life
I hope Marcie is ok and back to her spunky self soon. Also Amy is so scary. Like damn. Setting people on fire and laughing about it ugh she cray