Fic: - The Sidestep Chronicle & Second Chronicle

[Katharyn]

Hey Triscuit - Welcome... its all over. LOL



Thanks for the compliments. Sidestep was a product of a time when you could write a dark fic and not feel you were adding to ME misery. *sigh* I would not write it now.



You picked some interesting memories there, funnily some of those are the ones that were most fun to write.



I sort of miss VW. I was not absolutely true to the canon with her because, as wonderful as she was, she could not have been sustained as a character (IMHO) for 70+ parts on the basis of what was shown.



The Mayor was easier. It was like I knew what I wanted him to say and then all I had to do was to hear the wonderful Harry Groener saying it and it fell into place without having to think too much.



Faith... I always had sympathy for Faith at the start. She was badly treated by Buffy and Giles. Yes the rest of the scoobs made an effort, but those two treated her badly - yet again for Buffy's love life. I like to think that, if they had treated her as Buffy's equal from the start - which she could have been - then she would not have turned against the group which led her to evil. Just my opinion. All I mean is... take away Buffy and I think Faith had a chance at being okay.



Willow floating... well I wanted a contrast to S6 and I needed uncontrolled magic that did not blast the house apart... It was nice to write though, having her scared and Tara being the only thing that could soothe her.



Sequel... well I have not even given it any thought. I am working on Xmas fic right now and I promised a part of something else to someone, but after that... I will start thinking.



That's all I can promise.



The key... you can't have the key until Celia finds her way out of her. And of course you will have to come and get it... and then put it back.



Ahem.



Thanks muchly.



Celia - Looks like your door is opening.



Katharyn

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If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in Chance.




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Edited by: Katharyn at: 12/10/02 9:35:06 pm

[tiredsoul]

Am I being traded? Tossed around from kitten to kitten. I’m not sure whether to be scared or excited.



Hide the key. Hide the key.



No, not there. That’s the first place she’ll look.



That spider thing is still …. well, ewwww.



I like your reasonings that you just said on Faith. She was such a good character in Sidestep and had potential in the buffyverse but sadly, they ruined her too. I’m sensing a pattern there.



And that was a beautiful ending to the wood story. *sniff*



I see the door. Oh wait, I forgot to say bye to the old man. Be right back.



Don’t shut me in before I get back.



--celia

[dekalog]

Hey

Just wanted to let you know that losing higher brain functions as they shut down is a compliment - probably not a well explained one, but truly a compliment. I probably should have prefixed that whole bit with I do a lot of 'work' writing, and tend to analyse and edit to death, but when I get into something a lovely magical switch in my brain goes off, and I immerse myself and my inner brain plays the pictures on the back of my mind - kinda like a movie - it becomes pure pleasure. Anyway that was what I was trying to say, and ended up saying badly. (And in a very horrible run-on sentance too I might add)



And did I mention the sequel before?

[Katharyn]

Celia - Run free little Kitten...



Oh... the handcuffs.



I lost the key. Somewhere. You can look for it if you like *S*



And hey... only one person is looking for that key!



I actually had no problem with Faith going bad in the show. I liked her, but ED was good at being bad.



I like the wood to be happy and together. Its the whole point.



The door stays open Celia (even if the handcuffs don't!) It leads to Xmas you know... a whole new, if smaller, maze to scamper in.





Dekalog - Interesting idea of a compliment, but I will take it as it was meant! No one ever said you needed an active brain to enjoy this... in fact it might not help!



And yeah, I think you mentioned the sequel once or twice.



Katharyn

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If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in Chance.




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[tiredsoul]

Quote:

---

And hey... only one person is looking for that key!

---

Is that one person at a time?



I'm free! I'm free!



**scampers quickly for the door**







Ouch. What the ...



**looks down to see a whittled piece of wood**



Damn. You would have thought someone would have cleared the path to the door.



**tosses the wood toward the sequel**



Optimism. I have optimism.



**reaches the door, sadly looking back**



It's been fun, Katharyn. I can come visit and make up my comments for the first 72 parts, right?



--celia

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"That was just rude. Now I forget what I was saying."

[Katharyn]

It has been fun... and yeah you can visit whenever you like.



Just bring the handcuffs.



Katharyn

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If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in Chance.




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[Triscuit7]

Oooooh, Christmas fic - now that sounds lovely

but .... Celia's handcuffs are broken?



Well, heck! (as the Mayor would say)



Okay so no handcuffs - - - maybe silk scarves instead.



Thanks again, Katharyn, for writing Sidestep. It truly was an awesome read.



Ciao, Melissa

**********************




I brought marshmallows!

[Katharyn]

One last post then, before this slips into the abyss...



Thanks Triscuit. The Xmas fic is up and there seem to be handcuffs in the thread if not the fic.



Is it me?



Thanks for your kind words and support.



This morning, having all but finished Xmas, I broke ground on the unnamed Sidestep Sequel. Perhaps I shouldn't be admitting that...



It is not certain you will see it, but when I wrote Sidestep I just wrote the universe and the story came to me. I am trying that again. If I find a worthy story in my ideas it will appear here on Pens - and I want to find that story. However I will not post just anything... it has to work right and be about something worthwhile.



Don't hold your breath about it appearing any time soon though. There is a lot of writing before I will even consider starting to post, a story to find, a cushion to build. I would be shocked if you saw anything in March.



But I thought that those that cared... well they should get to know.



I will even venture a smiley because I am so damn glad to be back at work... the first things written in a fic are always the most interesting to me. :)



Thanks to all of you... for being interested enough to bring me back to it. I hope to create something worthy of you all as well as the girls.



Katharyn

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If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in Chance.




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Edited by: Katharyn at: 12/24/02 6:44:41 am

[Mrs Vertigo]

*gives Katharyn a big, smoochy, completely unappropriate noisy kiss*



*runs off*

[Katharyn]

Hey all... okay one more post for those who care



*Mrs Vertigo runs up with a kiss*



Wow... thanks...



All hail Xita... who has just made this sequel about 90% likely with an outstanding brainstorming session that has revealed the T/W story to me.



That was the important thing - that the T/W story could work.



I love that woman as much as I love the girls. She makes me *tingly*



Katharyn

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If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in Chance.




------------------------

[tiredsoul]

Now this is going to require that dexerity …



Must stretch first



**Scampering gleefully, doing a happy dance, juggling party favors … all while still handcuffed**







Ouch.



I’m okay.



So glad there’s a good chance at a sequel. It’ll be like Christmastime all year long. And a big thanks to xita too. 2003 is looking good already.



--celia



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The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

[Katharyn]

Okay... now I hate to do this but I have had three queries in the last week about the Sidestep Sequel one of which suggested that I just post the answer to the questions here.



1) The sequel is taking shape and is almost certain to happen.



1a) I am having lots of fun.



2) There are just shy of 50000 words done in first draft - but they need alot of work and I need to get a lot further on before I start to redraft to ensure that it all hangs together well. (I think this is going to be... well long... Hey it's me! That 50K doesn't take us to the main arc of the story yet (there are 2 main stories wrapped around the central T/W theme (or will be.))



3) When posted, as usual, it will only be here on Pens.



4) Yes there will be some old friends. Some of the guesses people have made are not a million miles out. There are also some new friends too.



5) Yeah... Karma killing is also back. The numbers who can suffer that fate after the original are low so you can take a reasonable guess at who I am talking about.



6) There is next to no chance of seeing anything before March. I am writing about 1500 words a day, more at weekends, and there is very little that I can do to speed it up. Sorry bout that.



And finally, which was not a question, it is likely to be posted right here in this thread. Xita has agreed that, theoretically, it would be as well placed here as in a new thread so I might as well keep it all together. Besides she did some great work for me*S* This means this thread is not likely to be archived - though not for the reasons I once indicated.



Thanks for caring gals and guys.



Katharyn

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If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in Chance.




------------------------

[dekalog]

YYYYIIIIIIPPPPPPEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!



I am at this moment doing my happy dance. This is great news, and just in time to be like a birthday pressie too

[Cicca]

I love that S word! Yay!



Thanks Katharyn!

invite someone dangerous to tea * look forward to dreams * imagine yourself magic

[Verdant]

Very excited about a sequel. I followed the original all the way through, with great enjoyment. I'm also awed by the number of words you are generating per day.



I'm looking forward to it. Thank you.



For what my small opinion is worth, I think you should open a new thread for the new story. Super long threads are sometimes hard on slower machines. And it would be easier to track progress if it was in a newer thread. Let the first piece stand on it's own (which it does, very admirably).

____________________

Maybe you wanna put some ice on it.

Edited by: Verdant at: 1/21/03 8:19:09 am

[Kalita]

Let me also toss in my hat on several points:



- WOO and HOO on a very-certain sequel! Take your time, Katharyn, we all know it will be SO worth it.



- One more vote on starting a new thread. You can make a link to this thread from the new one, so nobody gets lost; and there'll be far fewer pages to fret over.



Again, big thanks for developing this, and I await it eagerly.

"...you can make those two characters as dewey-eyed in love and it would never be too much."

-Chris Golden, on W/T

[the vamp nurd]

The vamp nurd scares everyone with her happy dance.



Yay!



Ow. Sequel....

"He beats me with wet noodles!" Amber Benson.

"Bored now." Vamp Willow

[Chewster]

Can I add a "hurrah" to all that?



I happen to know - because you told me - that there is something already out there that someone else is reading for you.



Now that is just unfair



Wondering now when you will reply to this and provide some hints.... *Whistling*

Paul




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Get your Katie Kittenface T-Shirt Here




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[Katharyn]

Okay, okay... how can I resist a challenge like that?



Dekalog - That was a loud little cry... I think my ears are ringing. Happy birthday for whenever it was - knowing me the next one might come round before I finish.*S*



Cicca - Once again with the wonderful avatar's. The "s" word is still only to be used in special circumstances when no other word will do.



Verdant - I think the number of words is catching up with me. I might need to break... Glad you enjoyed SS. Hope this turns out to be worthy of that fic.



Curious as to why long threads are slow on slower machines? I mean a page is a page is a page right?



Kalita - I am taking my time... It might be some time yet. Devloping is such an interesting way of putting it. Rambling would also work.



Vamp Nurd - I was less scared by the happy dance than the thud at the end. Careful with that.



Chewster - By all means add a hurrah.



And that reading you refer to isn't quite working out cos the file got snipped somehow. Damn.



Well here is my reply.



Where are the hints then?



Interesting communications skills on show this time round...



How is that for a hint? Also I heard something last night which is subtlely changing my approach to the girls in this.



Katharyn

-------------------------




If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in Chance.




------------------------

[Cicca]

Intrigued!

I am an intrigued kitten.



I've missed this thread, just for the chance (oops, punny!) to giggle at your sig.

invite someone dangerous to tea * look forward to dreams * imagine yourself magic

[miss calendar]

Hi Kathryn,

That's fantastic news!!!

Looking forward with eagerness and anticipation to the next instalment of The Sidestep Chronicles. (Actually that has a kind of a ring to it, don't you think? And it leaves the way open for a whole series a la Trollope's Barchester Chronicles.)



Anyway whenever you post it, I'll be there and if it's in March why that's only a month away.....

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
' What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday,
and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow :
our life is the creation of our mind. ' from The Dhammapada

[Katharyn]

Thanks Miss C... Your namesake is still in this fic, been writing some of that recently but mostly I have been looking back... way back for my boo hiss.



Hmm. That might be too much of a clue.



Shhh.



85000 words so far and I haven't looked at any of it since I wrote it... so you can imagine that even if I started now (which I am not) there is a whole load of redrafting and beta to do.



Lets not focus on March.



Katharyn

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If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in Chance.




------------------------

[Pale dreamer]

i have been a lurker for a long time now, mainly because i tryed to register and i didnt read it right and ALWAYS got it wrong but im here now and can send messages so all is good in the world.



neway i have just spent weeks reading your fic, and it is so very good. i havent been doing anything else with my free time but read it, i know that sounds so sad but i dont care. it is a great fic

[Katharyn]

And still with the new readers - which is wonderful to see. First post too... I am honoured *S*



Does what you say sound sad? Perhaps to those unititated in Kitten fics and the wonderfulness of T/W... but to the rest of us it is endearing*S*



I am really gald that you liked it and that you found it gripping enough to have that effect. I often wondered, as I was going along writing it, whether there was a difference between reading it as the parts were posted and reading it as a complete fic.



Still the comparison is tough to make... and actually, you know, I never even read it. I wrote it... I redrafted it... but I never read it.



Oh dear. Now THAT is sad.



Oh and if you are still wondering about being sad for admitting that - well yesterday I had my first day off from writing for 43 days.



THAT is really sad *wink*



Thanks



Katharyn

-------------------------




If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in Chance.




------------------------

Edited by: Katharyn at: 2/9/03 1:03:21 am

[cattwoman98111]

Out of the woodwork I come...i have never posted an opinion of a fiction here before, i wanted to cast my vote with all the others. I actually saved the entire story to disk and read it while I was at work, (if your wondering I’m a dispatcher and often have down time.) I've enjoyed this story tremendously; it held my attention throughout the 3 weeks it took to read it. Anyway, brilliant job!

Thanks for the story.

Catt

[Katharyn]

Oops. I am bad, bad, bad.



I missed this post and I always want to reply to posts.



This is a very big story to read at work - whatever your job is... Then again I wrote a fair amount at work so why should you feel guilty!?



And yeah... I 've said it before I love it when I get someone to post for a first time, in this case as feedback. Keep it up. Lots of great stories out there to feed back on.



Thanks*S*



Sequel... Well it is progressing.



March is not going to happen at least not early March. 130000 words in and still no redrafting been done. Still not even got into the major part of the story... I figure maybe a third of the way in. Maybe approaching half. By the time I redraft it... Well it will be big. I prefer to be able to:



a) redraft parts knowing what is in the future so that it all hangs together better



b) Post regular for you guys and gals. I consider myself very guilty if I am not posting every couple of days. I could like start posting, but then you might have to wait a week or more for another part. So this way is best. And when it starts... every 2 or 3 days.



Thanks for the patience and the nice enquiring e-mails I still get.



Katharyn

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If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in Chance.




------------------------

[Lucy Moore]

Yay!



Katharyn,I just finished reading.



Can I just say...Wow!



Absolutely brilliant! Your storytelling ability is just amazing...It just gets better and better...The characterisations...The images you create in our minds' eye...The mark of a true Bard!



A Fan of both VampWillow and Faith,I thought you caught them both so well...The inevitable 'meeting' was handled just right,the background motivations so lucid...Shocking,and so appropriate an ending...



As for Tara and VampWillow,well what can I say that hasn't already been said? Except I agree with everyone...



The scenes with Tara and a newly restored Willow built beautifully (dare I say to a climax?!),and I am looking forward to where you take them now...



All the best,

Lucy.

fiat justitia,ruat caelum

[Katharyn]

Hey Lucy - I don't check this as often as I used to so I missed this. Sorry!



You can say anything you like but "wow" is good.



I will blush for a while now... Bard? I have no idea how this stuff comes out in the readers mind. Its funny because I really, apart from action scenes, do not have an image in my own mind - I am more into the thought process - so if that gives you an image that is great and a relief *S*



VW and Faith... I miss writing them now, its a shame. I still regret killing Faith in one way and I hate the niggle in my mind that says "I had to" there was no choice for the story. Because we know where that logic is also used. However for my story I believe it to be true. Someone, either Faith or Jenny, had to suffer that. It had to be main characters and there was no way that I could do it, karmically, to Jenny. The only other option would be to build a new main character from scratch which I couldn;t invest the time in doing when it wouldn't be as good a character as the ones we already know. I just enjoyed bringing Faith back from the bad place the show put her in by never sending her there.



T/VW... I was always uncomfortable there. I said that enough before though so not going there again.



Restored Willow and Tara.. oh that was so special to be able to write all that - after all teh darkness the ascent into light. That sounds silly, but I was really digging myself out of my own hole. So to speak.



Where do I take them now?



VW obviously is gone, so there is a very different dynamic to this story. Happy and Together... I always said it and I will not stray from it now. But it is a T/W story as well which requires tensions... but nothing that gets in the way of Happy and Together.



Thanks so much for the reply and my chance to go though this...



Katharyn

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If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in Chance.




------------------------

[tiredsoul]

Katharyn writes:

Quote:

---

Sequel... Well it is progressing... Post regular for you guys and gals.

---

The ever-graceful kitten comes scampering into the thread to discover that, according to our esteemed author above, there is a sequel to be had and maybe soon to be seen? *crosses fingers*



Scampering party favors for all!



And to mark this exceptional occasion, I feel a happy dance is in order.



Maestro, cue the music…











Oops. Bad step.



Guess I have to work on that gracefulness some more



Scampers back to her hiding place in the thread … waiting, watching and playing with the handcuffs.



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scampering around… looking for trouble… always

Edited by: tiredsoul at: 3/18/03 3:53:18 am

[Katharyn]

I know your game Celia... you want me to say stuff that you already know. You want me to say that... well redrafting has started, if slowly.



I am not going to say that - it would be suicide.



Oh bugger.



Katharyn

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If I want a little pussy, I got my own to play with.
Chance in Chance.




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