Fic: - The Sidestep Chronicle & Second Chronicle

[Katharyn]

Oh Wow guys... thankyou so much (and just because I am replying now feel free to keep giving me my fix of feedback - it has to last me a while!*S*)



Celia - Scampering snoopy dance with party favours... Now that is an image that brings a smile to my face. No one saw you but me...



Alcohol with chocolate now?



I am glad, finally, that someone didn't see something coming *S* Someone other than me that is... cos I missed lots in all this that you guys picked up.



It is important to get the dorm showers out of the way... in the quiet times.



I was worried, as you would have known from those who I got to read it, that this was a suitable ending. I mean the story really ended in the last part. This was really just me delivering "happy and together" and demonstrating where their future was going.



I could... you know... have dragged this out. I could have gone on and on and it would have devalued what was already there as the quality slipped. I finally learned to say "stop" and listen to myself.



The "wow" factor was always important. If you guys hadn't liked it then I would never have got past part 10 or so - at least not posting. I feel quite good in one way. I took a risk with such a story and you guys liked it.



In other ways this feels like a funeral... or a wake. "It was lovely... now let it slip down the threads." I always find that hard. Not having an update to keep a fic up the threads and this has been with so long...



Damn.



Thankyou Celia, you came to this late and you brought alot to the feedback.



And that is alot of words.



And oh... We passed 600,000 words in that final part. I keep track of these things cos I set myself weekly targets... and like wow. That is alot of words.



Willntlover - Thankyou for liking that last one and the whole thing.



Kalita - Bravissimo? You know that is a company making bra's for the larger cup size woman right? If there is an impression that I am such a lady, then let me dispel it. I actually feel I could do with a little more *S*



I wanted so much in this last part - to show them happy, to show them in love, loving and to get at the root of their hopes for the future - as well as the plans.



Other trips in mind. Well... lets say that this WILL be archived in Pens Completed Fics. If you were paying attention earlier you know what that might mean. Funnily enough I was chatting to Kerry last night, if you were paying even more attention, you will know what that meant once before...



Thanks - and sorry I killed Faith!



DMW - Unbowed? Maybe not unbowed - I think they bowed at the right times and then stood up straight again*S*



See! I said this was like a funeral! Or a wake. Freaky. Who didn't make it? Well apart from those who died in the Wish reality already then really only Faith, Oz and the Mayor failed to make it. When was the last time you saw them mourned on kitten? Just kidding.



Don't know who this Katherine is, but she better not announce anything of the sort without asking me. Oh and if she wants to announce it then she needs to write it. See the response above... I think that might be called an official tease. That said... as a tease it is a LONG term tease. If it happens it will not be for a while yet. Months infact...



And you all have to promise to rememeber what is in Sidestep and that you will read on...



Thanks for letting me tease some more.



Hermitstull - Thanks, I am glad that this fic strikes you that way. It is a wonderful thing just to be read and to be praised like that - well it swells my head. *S*



As for the time spent... yes there was an awful lot of that, and many times I was sick of having to write at that moment, BUT if I look back I have no idea what I would have been doing otherwise.



Thanks.



Miss Calendar - YOu will miss the fic... I will miss the responses from you guys. They made me think, they made me laugh and they improved the fic. I have to take this chance to praise the Pens setup again. A truly interactive forum. You guys, in many cases, shaped the fic and what happened in it. Not the main plot, but the issues you were curious about I often explored. Where you guys felt something needed to be better defined I tried to do that.



This really is your fic too.



And oh yes... feel free to look back, comment and ask questions. In the light of my teasing I need to be able to remember what happened in here!



YOu are in denial? I am sort of lost... its like what now???



Archives... check. It will be there. Even without the possibility of a sequel... well it would have been selfish to remove it. It will be archived, but just on Pens. As for new people reading it... well maybe they will do if they have alot of time to kill. I think actually that huge fics being archived is dangerous... I mean... Celia sat and read 75 pages in one go. Ouch that had to hurt. All 118??? Double ouch. Let me tell you I have this fic printed and stored in three 65MM ring binders which are all full. Please NO ONE try to print it. It is too big for that.



Yeah... there are seeds for a sequel. I wasn't really thinking Slayerless Scooby Gang as such, but effectively that is sort of what you get there. The seeds I jhave sown are very much like the Mayor and the Master and Lilah in this part... important, but not the point. I hvae to find the T/W point of a sequel to be able to write it. I have some great stories in my head for the magic, the Mayor, the blonde vampire... so much stuff that could be great (including a look back) but without a T/W hook it is all worthless to me.



Let me get that and you will have your sequel cos I want to tell those stories. My pronblem is that, inevitably given they are now happy, a T/W based sequel has to focus on tension. That is not to say splitting up or anything like that - but there has to be tension for drama to work, and yet... I do not want to interfere with happy and together.



TRicky huh? Answers on a postcard.



And as you can see the sequel is pretty much the first thing I am thinking of. I have a share of a Holiday fic to complete with Kerry for Xmas or New Year and then... well it is looking more and more likely. BUt no promises.



Jo - You make sure you do return... We talked about that right?



VN12 - I am going to miss these mini-essays*S* I think your constant presence, analysis and the time you must spend writing them shows how much you liked this. I loved them - thanks. Its funny how you say about the emotions... really in my recollection I really told the emotions and let you all imagine the scene from that. So in a way the emotions SHOULD have been palpable, it was the scene that you were supposed to get to understand!



Thanks so much... and for mentioning the final part in this wake*S*



Zahir - Thanks Zahir...



Blameburner - Thanks for being there to read it... writing is fun, feedback is better*S* Knowing that people are appreciating and liking what you cobble together is like, addictive.



Lipkandy - Wow... at least you didn't have to wait for updates! YOu might actually have an interesting perspective on this - maybe the first person to get to read it right through as a whole.



It always had to be Tara... A Tara certainly, but recognisably Tara - even in other circumstances. As for weaving... people do that when they are drunk right?



EffieBlue - Never wanted to end... I know how you feel and then I remember the refief too. I am glad it ended because it is there now, intact and whole... and I cannot screw it up later.



Even if I screw up a sequel.



And yeah... I slowed down at 100 onwards to. It was hard to work on knowing it was going away. *sigh*



Thanks Jill.



JUlie - Relaxing WAAAY to much when I am supposed to be writing Holiday fic. I will get to that. Now where did I leave the pompoms?



I love how you summarise it all in a sentence. I wish it was that simple to see when I was doing it!



Your sections are pretty spot on, though I never planned them that way or said "right this is the Tara's change of character section" but they happened. INteresting what you say about Section 4 as pretty much all of it was written as new... it was not going to be there before.



Then it was.



VW at the apartment was a fave of mine too, but distrubing to write... and a worry in terms of what readers would accept. The showdown with the Master... I liked it, but I was sad to lose him. The Mayor had a real part to play - the Master was more the monster that let me tell the rest of the story. I regret that. I would liked to have used him a little more.



Thanks.



LQ - Thanks so much, you have been here for the long haul*S* The last part was supposed to be entirely what I promised all the way through. I am glad that it worked. I had my doubts. Love your Pratchett quote*S*



Nicole - Hey hun. Thankyou very much. Its a fun world to play in... even if now, at the end, it actually is better than the canon. I mean better for the characters... Okay Buffy and Xander are dead... Faith was good, even if dead, and everyone else... getting along very nicely thankyou. Even Wesley who got to keep his Slayer this time.*S*



And yes... thanks to ALL of my helpers. Because many of them started as readers... and alot of help came from this thread. Opinions, questions, jokes and fun all helped me write - as well as knowing WHAT to write. All of you that left feedback are helpers.



I will not sign this off just yet... if there is more feedback I will answer that too, so feel free (Feedback whore here) but once more thanks to all of you for reading, sticking with it and liking it.



Oh and look out for a possible sequel in a few months (at best!)



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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[dekalog]

I've actually avoided reading this part because I didn't want it to end, and now you say sequel - YIPPPEEEEE. (huge grin on my face).



Thanks so much, I tried to think of something insightful to say to tell you how much I enjoyed it - but the reason I have read this is for enjoyment, and my major brain functions seem to shut off when I reallly get into something, which I did with your fic. The one thing I can tell you is that your fic is one of the things that has allowed me to forget that terrible event last season, and to forget that there is a certain tv show on Tuesday. For that, if I may, a huge bear hug of gratitude, and a humble thanks for giving me a really great story with amazing characters.



Did I mention that I was excited about the possibilities of a sequel?

[JustSkipIt]

Kathryn, I'll add my kudos to the chorus. An excellent finish to a totally amazing fic. Great job! Debra

Edited by: BytrSuite at: 11/24/02 3:37:13 pm

[Kalita]

For the record, I had no foreknowledge of the support garment manufacturer whatsoever.



I was just using what I thought would be some nifty Italian. Ya really gotta be careful with that stuff these days, I guess - everyone's using words for something or other new.



Oh, and no hard feelings about Faith, really. She even got a cute infant namesake! What's to complain about?

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

-Chris Golden, on W/T

Edited by: Kalita  at: 11/24/02 4:20:16 pm

[mollyig]

I really liked how this the final chapter had just our girls alone in the dorm.



Wonderful that Tara no longer has to fear the magic. As Willow points out, she has changed a lot too - okay, it was sort of you, but it wasn't the you that is you now



Willow's uncertainty about her career choice was interesting as it didn't seem to bother her in the least, as long as she was with Tara. Lovely.

Adding up the total of a love that's true, multiply life by the power of two
Indigo Girls

[Katharyn]

Dekalog - I said "maybe sequel" if I can find a worthy T/W story for that. But I really am trying to*S*



Higher brain functions shutting down as a compliment? Interesting one*S* Despite my fears at the time about not being able to complete this, writing this helped me in much the same way as reading it helped you last year - and as we go into the future.



And yes you mentioned the sequel*S*



Thanks



JustSkipIt - Thankyou for the kudos*S*



Kalita - A likely story... Sorry its just that I walk to work past these huge billboards covered by ladies in underwear. I'm thinking of complaining... when they change the advert.*S*



Nothing to complain about I hope.



Mollyig - Its funny I needed them alone, yet also back in the world. Smut came into it later.



We all change, Tara just has to accept that and see that she isn;t the person who allowed things to happen. She wouldn't accept that stuff anymore. Willow has changed her and she Willow.



And would you be worried about your career if you had Willow's brains and, more importantly were with Tara?



Hands up if you said yes*S*



Thanks guys,



Katharyn

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




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




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[Chewster]

Well I told you in chat, but I really want to get this on the record here.



I think that this is a stunning piece of work. It coaxed me out of lurking (well you sort of did after I e-mailed you about it which is the same thing )



You're universe sucked me into it and I went wholeheartedly. I have seen a few fics that deal with Vamp Willow and some of those in the "Wish"verse as you refer to it. I have never quite seen that reality exxplored so fully and satisfyingly as it is here - and through Tara's eyes - primarily.



All that whilst you told a wonderful love story and would also have pleased those who didn't care for that (no one here!) with the Mayor and the Master.



Truly outstanding Kat.



Sorry to see it go but glad that you are talking about the "S" word so openly.

Paul




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Get your Katie Kittenface T-Shirt Here




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[Pudds]

That was absolutely wonderful. I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey you've taken us on.



Thanks so much for sharing this with us.

[Cicca]

Thank you Katharyn.





I've been so swamped lately and I'm very grumpy with myself for missing being around to cheer on the last few parts. Argh!



Better late than never I suppose.



So many thoughts going around my brain at the moment, so I'll just have to leave it at thank you.

Oh, and mmmmmmmmm showers and snuggles and happy and together.

You kept your promise so so so so so well!

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

[Katharyn]

Hey Chewster - thanks for going on record. Always nice to be adored in public*S*



Getting you out of lurking was nearly worth in its own right*S*



I have said before that the expanse of the AU was really because I never knew when to say stop and just tell the story. Actually a bad thing - glad you liked it.



And the sequel... I am sort of excited about the possibilities, just cautious that it is a worthy successor - though I doubt that I will write anything that works for me quite so well again.



Thanks,



Pudds - Thanks for feeding back...*S* Enjoying it was the point so I am glad I go9t that right for you*S*



Cicca - Hey and thanks...



Definitely better late than never. If those thoughts surface I would be glad to hear them*S* And yeah... happy and together requires showers and snuggles right?



Right?



Katharyn

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




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




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

[tiredsoul]

**scampering through the thread**



Umm, I need help. I think I’m lost.



It’s not my fault though. I thought if I hid in the thread, it wouldn’t end. But then I got turned around.



I found myself on page 25.

Quote:

---

"Can play though … I used to play during the day."

---

I couldn’t ask them, they seemed a little busy.



So I went up to page 50, cause you know, nice round number.

Quote:

---

Daddy I’m sleeping with an undead woman. A vampire. Did you say woman Tara? Yes sir.

---

I laughed too hard to hear the directions.



So then I decided to scamper back to page 1, thinking that there had to be a door there.

Quote:

---

It was no fun if they didn’t scream. You couldn’t play if you couldn’t take advantage of all your senses… that was why she had never much liked gags and blindfolds. Too limiting.

---

Okay. Not gonna ask VW. She’s scary.



**scampering quickly off that page**



Then a thought occurred to me. Rare, I know. I headed for page 69.

Quote:

---

"You want to know if I love you, kitty?"

---

A sweet conversation, but not quite what I was expecting on that page.



So after peeling myself off the floor on page 106, I ended up on this page.



No door. *sigh*



I’m not getting out, am I?



Can’t think of a better place to be stuck. Warm too as I watch the snow fall outside. This is almost more fun reading this amazing story a second time. Noticing things I missed along the way. Might lead to questions. And a possible sequel? Tease.







--celia



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

Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don’t point to their crotch when asking where the bathroom is?

[Katharyn]

Here Celia, take my hand... leads you into the wilds of Chapter 84... *S*



Stay away from that Vamp Willow... she'd bad news. Still she has no future and not much of a past.



And no you are never getting out Celia, its funny watching you scamper around though - from on high, as I do when I watch Kittens scampering.



You scamper like a champion though.



There is alot of stuff in there leading to a possible sequel... more than I will probably remember.



Planning is already sort of starting on that though... well chats about possibilities. Xmas fic first though. Plus one other thing for LMC.



Katharyn

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




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

[doofus68uk]

Thanks for a compelling story. You write confidently intimacy, big action and thrills, dramatic tension or comedy. I have many favourite moments but what I really liked (and was especially impressed by in an AU setting) is that the characters and dialogue always rang "true". The ending felt perfect.

I'm a newbie at the posting thing but I've been lurking since the beginning of the SC. It now seems hard to imagine checking out the board and not having an update from yourself to look out for. However, whether you are inspired to write a sequel or not I am reassured that whatever your next Kitten project is I'll definitely be in the queue to read it.

Wild applause, etc.
Lisa

"Gosh,look at THOSE!" (Dopplegangland)

[Katharyn]

Doofus68uk - Thanks for delurking... I love to convert people - or at least pretend it was for this fic*S*



I was very big, in my own head, on being sure that it rang true. It might be an AU but if they weren't characters that you could still recognise apart from the name then there was really no point. I am pretty happy that, through chapter after chapter (And there has to be an easier way) of slow change it is possible to draw the line from who they were to who they become.



Lurking since the beginning of Sidestep? IT is definitely time that you came out of that closet. Now get out there and post!



Thanks



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:

---

... leads you into the wilds of Chapter 84

---

Isn’t that the one that you didn’t post since you were jet-setting on holiday? Sure, sure, lead me to the wilds while you were out having fun. I’ll find a way out … somehow, somewhere.



Though this is a chapter I never replied to. Shame on me. Got an opportunity now so I’m grabbing it. The best part of this one was how confident you showed Willow getting when she asked Tara about the money situation. As she was sorting out her memories versus her feels. I love that. There was something in her that was… just for Tara. She just didn’t quite know what it was at the moment because she couldn’t let it grow yet. A seed was just a seed until it grew. I like Tara’s shock at Willow’s use of swearing. She didn’t happen to use an apostrophe, did she?



And then of course, the metal image of a snoopy dance.

Quote:

---

And no you are never getting out

---

Now that’s just being a sadistic kitten You would really trap me in here? Really?



But, but … I have things to do, places to go, people to do, err, see.



**drops your hand and scampers away to page 105**



Safe here. Outside. Horses around. Beautiful sky.



Wait, what are they doing? **gets a little closer** Is that…?



Umm, I think I should just back away quietly.



**scampers up a page**



Jeez, don’t these two ever stop?



I heard a rumor that there’s an opening on page 120, but it doesn’t exist yet.



I’m trapped.



**scampering off to find other kittens to help me get out**



HEEEELLLLPPPP!



They have to be here somewhere. It’s my only chance.



**looks around, defeat in her eyes**



*sigh*



Anybody got some turkey leftovers?

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

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

[wizpup]

'kay - so it took longer than I anticipated to get back here - sorry about that.



But I'm back now, to add my voice to the throng as it were, and join in (or possibly restart) the big fat round of applause that this story deserves.



I loved it (but then you knew that anyway), and as always, I am here late enough to say "what he said", "what she said", "ditto" and "see above".



I know that must be very unsatisfying for your inner feedback-ho, so I'll take a moment to indulge you and offer the public adoration you so long for...



*sways gently from side to side, trying not to burn fingers with fag lighter* "Can you feel the LUUURVE tonight? La la la la la la..." (sorry I only know the first line) *stops swaying and sits down, feeling rather self conscious*



That's quite enough of that...



I'm looking forward to the Christmas extravaganza and to whatever comes next. One thing's for sure, when you do start writing again, I'll be hanging around, interfering and generally making a nuisance of myself - all the while pretending that it's helping!



take care



jo x

[Katharyn]

Celia - You'd know better than me about Chapter 84 since you were on the same holiday - without the jet-setting*S*



You know that I think that there was a way out though 59... *wink*



Chapter 84... errr... *desperately thinking what the heck might have been in that* Oh you described it to me. That helps. LOL



I am pretty sure that any swearing that there was was not based on punctuation. To be honest, given the darkness in the fic, the sexual content (both real and implied) etc I am surprised that I put myself on as tight a rein as I did regarding swearing. It was very rare... indeed the only use of the F word was in a very literal sense and there it only had the power because of the fact that I had held off in other parts.



To my way of thinking, though the canon is based around primetime TV values (or was) it is part of who the characters were. They just do not talk that way in my head - though I have no problem with swearing at all.



Yes... characters talking to me in my head. I am mad.



Do I want you trapped in there Celia? Sure... why not. No need for handcuffs if I am the only one who can find you!



Oooh 105. I remember that. Maybe cos I am writing smut today too... all day writing smut. *S*



And no they never do stop as you will see at Xmas. *S*



Psge 120... that is a way off yet. I doubt we will reach there. NOt for months and months in the archives... if at all.



You're mine now. *S*



Jo - Hey there sweets! You can say what you like... you earned the right a long, long time ago. But probably in this this galaxy.



My inner feedback ho is insisting on the Xmas fic smut so that she can get her next fix - although I will be in disguise!



Singing... Hmmm*S*



By the way... you got my e-mail right? INvolving the writing thing?



*HUGS*



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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[xita]

Now don't pick on me katharyn, but I finished! Look at me all caught up And I am so glad I did. I hadn't been able to read because of work and then I just kept falling farther and farther behind but wow I just went through the entire realwillow/tara saga in one sitting. I loved so much of it from their tentative friendship to budding love, to passionate love making. I loved little parts like Willow not finding anything good on TV on Tuesday, to the way they finally confessed the love hey had inside. So beautiful to not just have them say it but speak of their future instead, their dreams. You know how I feel about the adult parts, a little more than a thud will do . And the quiet support each had for the other when they had to confront their past. I love them so much and you showed just why.



Then we come back to Sunnydale and there is so much waiting for them. SO much left hanging there missy. Hmm.. another time.. perhaps.



Thanks for the fic and letting me participate in its creation a bit, thank you.

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

Buffy?

Let's change it, the Discovery channel has koala bears.

[Katharyn]

Hey sweets, it's about time!*S* Quick get out of there before Celia spots the door and scampers over to escape.



Oh... I just picked on you. Oops*S*



One sitting is a little much, but I happen to know that you enjoyed yourself so as long as you were having fun that is okay*S*



I am glad that you found this was satisying as it was you who pushed me to put it in there and finish the book instead of ending the movie. I am so glad that you did.



There is a lot left hanging and we chatted about that this morning. Its funny... right now I cannot see myself doing more, but then other times I really want to. Just not right now.



Oh... I think I screwed up with your birthday present... so you get to work as you read it*S*



And you did more than a bit with this fic... your words at one point made it what it needed to be.



That is pretty damn critical - thank you for that and for Pens.



Katharyn

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




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

Edited by: Katharyn at: 12/2/02 11:17:34 am

[Zahir al Daoud]

Katharyn, you know I've been going on throughout this epic about how wonderful it is. There's lots I said which can certainly bear repeating...



How you've created a completely consistent AU (not the easiest of tasks), and how you continued to surprise while remaining totally logical, plus the way you played the ambiguities and ironies of your story as a master.



I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for teaching me how to be a better writer. So often writers teach other writers to avoid their mistakes (including several authors of bestsellers, btw). Less often--but far more specially--they teach by example as you do, especially the way you've mastered internal dialogue. Even apart from the stirring emotional journey you've created and shared, allow me to offer thanks for demonstrating How-To-Do-It.

"GOD created Man in his own image. Man, being a gentleman, returned the courtesy." -Voltaire

[tiredsoul]

Quote:

---

Yes... characters talking to me in my head. I am mad.

---

Admitting it is the first step



And in the spirit of the upcoming holidays …



Searching out my home

Trying to find my way,

Through the thread I roam

Scampering all the way;

Watching the setting sun

Making it all seem right,

What fun it is to run

Through the thread all night.



Doing spells, Katharyn yells,

And Celia’s getting away!

Oh what fun it is to run

In a scampering sort of way.

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

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

Edited by: tiredsoul at: 12/3/02 9:24:31 am

[Katharyn]

Zahir - Thanks... As long as I am not doing it as The Master... though I would have preferred to be a mistress *S*



I would beware of the perils of the internal dialogue. I wish it was not a big a part of my style as it is. It can lead you to good things... but it can leave you not getting very far at all after hours of writing to. I think, see, that there is a reason that it is comparitively rare. First it does not really tell the story and second it is a pain in the ass for readers who are not interested in that.



That said... I am happy if my style infects, sorry influences, anyone in a way that they feel is positive*S*



Thanks



Celia - My name is Katharyn and characters talk to me. Sometimes they are characters I have not even created yet which is really, really weird.



Ooooh a ditty! Just for me...



Wait that was a distraction right? Whilst you scamper away?



After her loyal kittens.



Oh... they all left. Bugger.



*Runs off after Celia.*



Katharyn

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




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




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

[Twisted Minstrel]

Kathryn,



I held off for a bit on posting, had to go back and read the entire thing (whew!), and I don't know what I can say that hasn't already been said (or typed, rather).



This wasn't just an epic undertaking; it was a brave one. The commitment to consistency, character and plot development cannot be understated here. I was gripped from the beginning with the entirely strange, erotic and absorbing relationship of Tara with the vampire Willow.



The emotional and psychological tug of war played out from Tara's perspective reminded me of some of the best literature I've ever read. Though Willow and Tara in general (and fan fic in particular) belong to pop culture, you rose above the usual rabble into an ethos all your own. In fact, there are so many elements of this story that I would say belong in a grand graphic novel, along the lines of the Dark Knight. I am not a comic book/graphic novel fan per se, but the overall dynamic of this story lends itself to the genre (and beyond it) so easily.



Conflict is one of the trickiest elements to build in a story and you created one of the all time great ones - how do you love something that is essentially evil? And is something evil capable of love? I applaud that you didn't take any short cuts to their redemption; although devices abound to protect them and see them through, you kept to the heart of the tale and didn't make it easy for them. I don't recall any other fic where the central characters agonized so over their decisions and the possible outcomes of those decisions. This is almost a morality play; no one really has the upper hand, but the anxiety of making the wrong move was constantly palpable.



Back to the word epic. I really don't like it. Epic is for historic Russian novels and war dramas. The act of 'epic' is gargantuan and ungainly. There is nothing of these in your tale. We're spoon fed material every day via our media, our entertainment industry and our governments. They want us to think of it as "information." We've almost lost the ability to think for ourselves. This tale is not epic. It is a dark, romantic, thoroughly modern fairytale. It has the air of enchantment with the grace of wild horses through a racing stream. You had an idea and you ran with it. You ran far and you ran very well. There's not many in this world who can say they've accomplished so much.



I wish you the very best in all your endeavors, and hope to read more from you in the future.



Much appreciation,



Piper

[the vamp nurd]

just adding my 2p in .



********

"For I am coding girl hear my roar!"

[Mrs Vertigo]

Oh.



It's



Over.





*stares quietly at screen*





Oh.



Katharyn, you little devil. Sure went out with a bang there. I'm... at a rather devestating lose for words, considering how I always thought this would be the post where I wordily ramble out how good reading this had been.



Well, can't.



Ya beat me, Katharyn. You're too good a writer for me to summ it up. You're just gonna have to live with the fact that my praise isn't all jotted down. I know this might sound kitschy and gushy, and maybe even slightly disturbing ( ), but I will always carry this story in my heart. The Tara and Willow that might have been.



That still are,



somewhere,



out there.



Your Tara and Willow. SideStep Chronicle's. Ours. Mine.



Just as real.

On Buffy, Season 7: ”Bored now…”

[Katharyn]

Twisted Minstrel - You read it all? Again? And you still come out with such effusive praise?*S* Wow. I have still not read my own story... maybe I should get around to that.



A brave undertaking? Perhaps - though I had mod reassurance that I was within the bounds of FAQ (*HUGS* for Xita) and I was still very worried about it - witness the disclaimer that wasn't quite strong enough to scare you guys off*S*



Writing VW &T was... it was interesting to do but it was only ever the process to get to T&W. That certainty perhaps gave me chance to let rip and be a little free-er than I would otherwise have been. Or not.*S*



I ma not a graphic novel reader so I will plead ignorance to your comparison and thank you for it anyway.



The conflict was something that I never planned in that sense. I knew it would be there, but I never thought of that conflict. It just "was" when I wrote it. And there were no shortcuts. The more I wrote the more obvious it was that there was no way to "fix" them quickly. YOU had to see the dark to appreciate the light. I had to write the dark to write the light properly.



Also I think that the style of the writing made the conflict & agonizing more pronounced. Because the story was told from the internal PoV the agonizing had to be very, very clear. Clearer than it could be by dialogue alone. Whilst I might credit my style... it was hardly a triiumph using it*S*



Epic... Big. As I said many times before.*S* YOu have a way with words TM thanks. I always wanted to make you guys think. I had no interest in spoon feeding you which is why I love feedback and engage with it so much. I left so much unspoken... I am not sure that you could read this fic in the word document and understand it all without the feedback from you guys, all your thoughts and my responses to those.



Thanks so much Piper... that was beautifully said. I am all blushing*S*



The Vamp Nurd - One more thud for good measure. Thanks.



Mrs Vertigo - Yeah it is over... well.



Glad you liked it... glad you thought it was good reading. YOu have what it is all about there Mrs V. THis was a T & W that could have been. When I started I never knew that they would a T&W that would be better than the canon, but... I always wanted to show that they would be together.



Always.



And they are.



No matter what.



Thanks



Katharyn

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




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




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

[tiredsoul]

**sitting on a pile of papers, discussing the finer points of Sidestep with the population painter**



Oh, hi Katharyn



**pulls you away out of his earshot**



Now that you’re here, we have a question. Well, not so much a question as a mere wonderment. See, the population painter is getting old. You know, failing memory and all. He says that he was like 40 when you started this story but I think he’s exaggerating.



So anyway, in his failing memory, he cannot seem to recall something. This is probably answered in a later chapter and I may look like an ass for asking this and probably should have e-mailed versus publicly embarrassing myself for asking in the first place but then again, it’s not like it would be the first time I stuck my foot in my mouth in a thread, probably even this thread, I would have to look and then I’d find that I did and then I’d have to open my e-mail program and type it up and I was already here and …



**takes much needed breath before passing out**



Where was I? Oh yeah, the question. What happened to the piece of wood? The one that Tara whittled into Willow’s face? For some reason, as I’m reading through again, I find myself wondering even though I know it comes in somewhere but my mind … I mean the population painter’s memory … cannot recall.



I know you’re gonna give me an answer that will make me go "duh." Maybe since I’ve been trapped in here so long without food and water, I’m going delirious. Or maybe I was nuts before



**scampering back to set atop my pile of papers, the old man still talking**



I don’t think he even knew I walked away.

[funkyasian]

Katharyn - wow...such an epic...and though i'm not all done yet, i'd like to just extend my heart felt wow...i was very daunted to undertake such a huge reading...but now that i started, i'm so glad i did...i'm addicted to it...printing it out and reading it on my morning and afternoon commute on the train. it's so dark...but like someone said, dark is more fun!!



~steph

Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul. ~ Oscar Wilde

[Katharyn]

Celia - Its like living the whole thing over again having you read it again*S*



Its funny I was just looking at the pop. painter pic



You had a question. Okay that's good. Questions are where the answers are not immeditaly obvious right? Yeah... thought so.



To answer your question I would kinda need to know which chapter you are in. Well that is the excuse... the piece of wood. I never wrapped up its story. It ran away and found another lady piece of wood and they lived happily ever after. Actually I have a feeling I said something about this in the thread somewhere... Essentially the wood was a symbol of a person Tara had never known... in story terms a way of representing Willow and the connection.



Once Tara knew a Willow... and eventually the real Willow... it was not needed. Thats a lame ass way of saying "I forgot." Perhaps I will pick it up in a sequel?



Steph - Feel free to come back adn say "Wow" again when you are done if you like*S* May I ask if you are another latecomer due to my over enthusiastic warning at the start? And yeah... it was fun in a way. As well as dark.



Thanks.



Katharyn

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




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




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

Edited by: Katharyn at: 12/8/02 8:44:38 am

[Triscuit7]

Hey Katharyn



Ahem, big with the shame here. I've been reading this story since the end of October, and, uh, you've finished and, well, I'm finally posting feedback. And I'm sorry that it's taken me so long, but now that I'm here....



Can I say how awesome a read Sidestep is? AU/AH is one of my favorite genres of SF/F and you have done a fantastic job with this AU Buffyverse. And I love "dark" fics, especially if there is light at the end.



Images and themes that struck me: Vamp Willow playing with her former dinner Miss Kitty, the whole Mayor-Tara arc, Faith (how did you make me like her?), Willow floating in mid-air.



It was simply fantastic, Katharyn, and I just wanted to say: thanks for the wonderful trip.



Which brings up that piece of wood that Tara whittled into Willow's face and a certain comment you made in your feedback to Celia that maybe it would appear in a sequel.



Sequel?



Yes, please. Do it again, do it again.



Ciao, Melissa



P.S. Um, you have a certain key, I believe, that fits a certain pair of handcuffs. Would it be possible if I might have it so I might lock Celia up in my fic? I'll happily return it once you have another fic (like a sequel) underway.

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




I brought marshmallows!