Read all ten chapters in one go. I won't lie - I let out a rather explosive breath to see Buffy and Faith tentatively together again. Also hoping that the scene with Willow was for sounding board purposes and not Jerk!Magic!Willow foreshadowing.

Anyways; review! I love the pacing and characterizations. I also appreciate the measured level of angst, where people aren't slicing their wrists or chopping off heads. It feels like a genuine response to the spell, which makes this a wonderful read.

Woot! New chapter!

Enjoying the progression, kind of glad for lack of drama. I'd love for you to explain your thought process behind the Mayor's spell, if you feel so inclined. It seems like such a 'Mwa Ha Ha' classic evil villain move where the Big Bad has absolutely zero insight into the motivations of his minion.

Actually, maybe your Mayor is exactly that. lol

Again, though, what defines this story for me is the ability of the characters to sort the issue without resorting to brawling. One of the things that I absolutely *hated* about the Season 7 Faith episodes were that she took punches from Buffy without retaliation. That, to me, was bad writing for Buffy's character, even stressed as she was.

Hope to see more!

~OW

Good action scenes. Glad we're past the false accusations. Nothing like the Big Bad to get everyone on the proper side again.

Request: Please kill every single Initiative soldier. I dislike them. A lot. Ever since S4 came out, I always wanted every single one of them to die, including Riley. I was very, very disappointed that Buffy didn't have to kill Riley when Adam was controlling him. It would have fit in with the S2-S3 themes of Buffy losing her love interest at the end of the season. I suppose that shows a card or two form my stories, doesn't it? Oh, well.

Very much hoping that it will only take the next chapter to patch things up relationship-wise, or I might have to accuse you of stalling. ;)

~OW

New stuff! Woot!

I love the Buffy/Faith dynamic in the latest chapter. That was spot-on, and played extremely well into your plot. I was actually hoping you'd consider that Faith was self-destuctive.

I share others' concern for Willow's actions somewhat. I'm quite guilty of writing Willow as darker than canon, so I can't throw stones. On the same token, canon is particularly rife with plot holes in S3/S4. I could list them all, but that's probably just beating a dead horse that someone else killed a long time ago. Willow being instantly judgmental of Faith is one of those moments of 'plot convenience' where she, Giles and Buffy go completely out of character for the sake of pursuing the (suddenly expanded) 'rogue slayer' storyline, because of Faith's popularity. Especially Giles.

That said, I am *so tired* of Willow being Faith's antagonist in nearly every single story I read. In S2, Xander was the manipulative one that tried to get Angelus killed permanently. I was massively disappointed that he didn't try to get Faith arrested in S3, and even more so in S4. Of all the Scoobies, he had the biggest grudge (pre-body swap).

Sorry. My disrespect for canon is leaking out.

I am thrilled with the updates, and wholeheartedly look forward to more.

~OW

I can see why this would have been nominated. You have well-defined personalities for both Buffy and Faith, and have established the relationship dynamic in as few words as possible. You didn't even need Willow in the scene to make this work, though she does add to it (by defining 'everyone else's' standpoint). 

Good job all the way around! Got more?

~OW

This chapter will stick out in my head for weeks, and likely influence my own stories. You have a masterpiece here, and it's real enough to believe that you took a real life story, changed the names of the people and dashed in a bit of Slayer detail. It's amazing.

Times of struggle can forge friendships, but only times of peace can forge a family. I can think of no better portrayal of this than what you've written.

~OW

Blegh, drama. ...I guess I should explain that.

One of the things that I notice a lot in Buffy/Faith fics is that Buffy is portrayed as indecisive and flighty.

As the drama picks up in the story, Buffy begins to showcase to readers a large list of reasons that Faith deserves someone way better than her. We often end up relying on Faith's steadfast love and indebtedness to Buffy to keep her around long enough for Buffy to have her "I'm so stupid" moment and move the relationship forward.

And then Faith's happy. Those stories baffle me.

Alright, onward!

You've created an interesting imbalance here: In Chapter 1, we're introduced to the fact that Faith is hot for Buffy. Buffy is undecided. In Chapter 2, we're introduced to the idea that both Buffy and Faith are mature adults with quite a bit on their plates. We're also introduced to the concept of slayer connection and the junior slayers that Buffy and Faith are ironically helping through similar issues. In Chapter 3, you blew me away - sorry, you showcased just how deeply Faith cares for Buffy. In Chapter 4, Willow and Dawn beat Buffy over the head with the truth of her feelings. In Chapter 5, we finally resolve - oh, wait, in what appears to be a desperate need to have the final word, Buffy shoots Faith down in the bar, winning a childish game and intentionally hurting her friend.

Why intentional? Because via the internal monologue of first-person writing that you've chosen to use, you have told us explicity that a) Buffy is well aware of the scenarios in her life, and b) her actions are in no way impuslive. While you have placed a couple of sentences that imply otherwise, the flow of the story indicates that Buffy knows what she's doing.

Blegh, drama. Please insert the apprpriate Patrick Stewart 'facepalm' pic here.

It kind of begs the question at what Buffy will have to do to win Faith over, because it'll have to be big. The Karma Meter heavilly favors Faith in this story. The little blurb about Faith going out drinking with Buffy and humorously correcting her driving implies a strong friendship. Buffy's understanding of Faith's loyalty seen vicariously through the junior slayers backs that up.

You've mirrored the context of Faith's kiss with Michelle nicely with the junior slayers, Ariel and Rye. Rye's distracting Ariel from the fact that Shannon's ingnoring her, and Ariel takes her up on it. Likewise, Faith is getting a more adult distraction from Michelle. Good stuff.

You have manufactured this misunderstanding very well. Buffy has no real context for the kiss and Faith thinks Buffy bailed on her - as usual. Cue violins.

And so last chapter's humor was carried over nicely, then we dive into some surprise angst right at the end. Classic soap opera plot twist. While you stir the angst a little more next chapter, I wonder if you might choose to give us a glimpse of the story's big mystery, which is Faith's perspective. Maybe use Willow or Xander as a vehicle for that? You certainly have some options.

Looking forward to more!

~OW

Hey, two chapters to review!

Interesting twist of story so far. You already know the spiel from me: Angst bad, writing good. Carry on!

I kind of miss the maturity present in the first four chapters. Chapter 7 seems to be schoolyard-like behavior from both Buffy and Faith, and Chapter 8 has the supernatural plot take the spotlight. We do have Faith going on the sexual offensive here, which is a welcome change in dynamic. It's high time at least one character fought for what they wanted.

Constructive criticism: I'm worried that you'll use the supernatural plot to facilitate solving the personal plot- i.e. Something supernaturally bad happens to Faith, and Buffy has to save her, which makes her realize all sorts of things so they patch up and live wickedly ever after. That Disney-esque idea would detract from the drama immensely.

Do you remember the movie 'Twister' about the tornado hunter, and how he and his ex-wife were forced to work together and in so doing rediscovered their love for each other? The fact that they survived being run over by an F5 tornado and stomped all over the other girlfriend's heart were bonuses, too. ;P

I'm hoping the story resolves similar to that. It would be (IMO) the most satisfying conclusion, and the more challenging plotline to write.

I look forward to seeing what else you have up your sleeve! Time to get back to writing, myself!

~OW

'Oscar Whiskey' indeed. lol

Interesting chapter.

I feel that by spanning time, you've removed the threat of the Abyss to something trivial. I mean the Slayers are at war, and have little to no casualties after a month of constant battle? I sense a flaw in your pacing.

Buffy and Faith are heated up, which is a good thing. However you're now writing them like they've never been aware of being attracted to each other. You've also chosen to gloss over some spectacular conversation pieces via Buffy's summary, rather than give us the full-blown fights and arguments.

Then there's the Willow thing. *cough*cop-out*cough* :) On a more serious note, magically inducing infidelity to their current significant others is neither a healthy nor moral choice. I'm surprised that Willow doesn't take more heat from the both of them.

Did something happen to change your writing style? This chapter seems markedly different from the others. The writing's still good, but the characters have veered off a little, and it generated more than a little confusion for me.

The rose at the end is cute. It also highlights my confusion. At this point, Buffy should not have to wonder who left the rose once Richard desqualified himself. It's blindingly obvious, which makes Buffy's bewilderment unbelievable.

Looking forward to the next chapter.

~OW

What an awesome fic!

Marathon read from start to finish. Well written, well paced. Loved it.

I'm sad to hear that you're not writing Fuffy anymore. Does that mean you're not writing? Your stories are great, it'll be sad to see the end of them.

I credit your stories the most for getting me into writting Buffy fanfiction. I certainly hope to see more from you, be it Buffy or anything else.

Thanks!

~OW

What a wonderful epilogue piece to your stories! Just like that, I'm going to have to reread the both of them. Reading this piece makes me feel like I've played a video game for endless hours and finally, *finally* earned the "good" ending. I certainly hope you have another one of these in your back pocket.

~OW

Nice! I enjoyed Faith's backbone when confronting the Scoobies, and the relative minimum amount of fuss. Buffy's reaction to the Angel-Faith interaction was hilarious. I'm pleased that you're continuing this; the first chapter had a very one-shot feel to it, so I was wondering.

~OW