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Post by Rob on Apr 30, 2005 17:27:08 GMT -5
Ahhhhh, Rob. You do Scooby conversation like no one else can - well, like no one other than Joss. The banter with true caring underneath, valuable information exchanged, and real understanding between Giles and Buffy and Willow and Faith and Joyce was just perfect. And Riley! Woo hoo! Still sweet and sometime a bit naïve, but he can get things done! I like that your Riley is recognizable Riley. He may not be my favorite character, but he shouldn’t always just be used as a stock villain type either. Bloody Finn, showing off (he always did like to do that a bit, in a non-show-offy way) indeed. It was so good to hear him tell his troops that these civilians have been fighting demons for a long time and they should listen to them. Shades of Buffy telling off the Watchers and just as satisfying. (Nice sly note with Riley getting in a slight jab at Angel and Spike.) The scenes with Wilkins and Faith were great. Revisiting the past, as it were. Getting a chance to tell him things she needs to say and he should hear, things that are true. She believes him, he’s not a liar. She knows he did love her, in his own way. But when she plucks out the word “useful” she’s putting her finger right on it. “. . . would you have let me into your office if I couldn’t kill stuff?” And then the final eeeeeep stuff as he changes to his ascended state!! Classic perfect inner Xander voice in the supermarket – “That’s how it’s done, Xander thought to himself. The art of sugary distraction.” His wild careening drive into the garage and “what would Buffy do” – “she can’t drive for shit”. Just so wonderfully sad and fucked up and true. Ending, of course as we knew it had to, with him heading back out. How could he be Xander and not? Loved Wes and Dawn, shoulder to shoulder! And Xander all special forces with the guns and figuring Jack out ! “Hey! That didn’t even tickle!” Yeah! Sooooooo happy to read another chapter! Will be eagerly waiting for more exciting stuff to come! Lola You have no idea how relieved and grateful I am to see this. For a couple of days there I was worried everyone had forgotten me. This chapter was unique for me personally because the experience differed from one segment to the next. The scene featuring Xander driving back to the hotel after sacrificing the bond with his child was extremely hard to write. I knew where I needed to go; I had to express raw, fresh grief through a keyboard. I've lost members of my close family and a close friend over the years, so I have some familiarity with the emotion...but I've always been told the loss of a child is the absolute worst mental torture a human can endure. All I could do was attempt to go "there"...and that meant accessing some of my own thoughts when I was forced to deal with death. Obviously we don't dwell on such stuff in our daily lives; if so, it'd be awfully hard to function normally. But Pandora's Box had been opened. This is the story I'd intended to write from day one...so it was too late to back away from it. Who knows? Maybe some part of me wanted to do it. Either way, I couldn't very well have Xander bouncing back with a goofy one-liner and a marginal plan. He had to feel it, leaving me with no choice but to dig up my own grief, somehow imagine it to be worse and channel it through Xander's experience. At least I had to try. Even now, I'm not sure whether I pulled it off, but that self-dialogue section took one solid month to write...and it was often incredibly draining. I've never attempted anything quite so emotionally complex - from Xander's brief lapse from reality to Faith and Dawn unintentionally leaving that tomahawk behind. He needed his wife so desperately in those terrible moments, and the memories generated by that little weapon of hers did just enough to sustain him. Faith was there, and always will be. That didn't make everything ok, of course; clearly he'd reached the anger stage by the time he confronted Jack at the end of the chapter (though Jack had it coming, obviously). All in all, I think I'm proud of Xander's arc in this chapter...but I fervently hope I don't have to visit that place inside again any time soon. On the bright side, I've been wanting to write a Mayor/Faith conversation for the better part of three years...and I finally found a way to do it within the context of the story. It is an absolute blast to write the Mayor's character, and I finished that entire conversation in a couple of hours. I tweaked some things, obviously (that's just what I do), but in comparison to the "Xander goes through emotional Hell" section, it was a breeze. In fact, most of the changes I made involved ADDING dialogue since I came up with more and more good stuff for them to say. Anyway, this post is turning out to be a chapter in itself. Once again, thanks so much for the review. I really, really needed to hear from readers after this one. Your effort and devotion to my stuff has never meant more. ((Lola)) and ((Patti))
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Post by Lola m on May 1, 2005 12:21:29 GMT -5
You have no idea how relieved and grateful I am to see this. For a couple of days there I was worried everyone had forgotten me. This chapter was unique for me personally because the experience differed from one segment to the next. The scene featuring Xander driving back to the hotel after sacrificing the bond with his child was extremely hard to write. I knew where I needed to go; I had to express raw, fresh grief through a keyboard. I've lost members of my close family and a close friend over the years, so I have some familiarity with the emotion...but I've always been told the loss of a child is the absolute worst mental torture a human can endure. All I could do was attempt to go "there"...and that meant accessing some of my own thoughts when I was forced to deal with death. Obviously we don't dwell on such stuff in our daily lives; if so, it'd be awfully hard to function normally. But Pandora's Box had been opened. This is the story I'd intended to write from day one...so it was too late to back away from it. Who knows? Maybe some part of me wanted to do it. Either way, I couldn't very well have Xander bouncing back with a goofy one-liner and a marginal plan. He had to feel it, leaving me with no choice but to dig up my own grief, somehow imagine it to be worse and channel it through Xander's experience. At least I had to try. Even now, I'm not sure whether I pulled it off, but that self-dialogue section took one solid month to write...and it was often incredibly draining. I've never attempted anything quite so emotionally complex - from Xander's brief lapse from reality to Faith and Dawn unintentionally leaving that tomahawk behind. He needed his wife so desperately in those terrible moments, and the memories generated by that little weapon of hers did just enough to sustain him. Faith was there, and always will be. That didn't make everything ok, of course; clearly he'd reached the anger stage by the time he confronted Jack at the end of the chapter (though Jack had it coming, obviously). All in all, I think I'm proud of Xander's arc in this chapter...but I fervently hope I don't have to visit that place inside again any time soon. On the bright side, I've been wanting to write a Mayor/Faith conversation for the better part of three years...and I finally found a way to do it within the context of the story. It is an absolute blast to write the Mayor's character, and I finished that entire conversation in a couple of hours. I tweaked some things, obviously (that's just what I do), but in comparison to the "Xander goes through emotional Hell" section, it was a breeze. In fact, most of the changes I made involved ADDING dialogue since I came up with more and more good stuff for them to say. Anyway, this post is turning out to be a chapter in itself. Once again, thanks so much for the review. I really, really needed to hear from readers after this one. Your effort and devotion to my stuff has never meant more. ((Lola)) and ((Patti)) Well, bravo on your courage to "go there", because it made for some powerful writing! **nods** I can understand why writing the Mayor would be very fun. I really did love the bits with him and Faith in this chapter. Just perfect.
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Post by iadorespike on Jul 6, 2005 21:15:37 GMT -5
Mr. Sorenson,
I want you to know that you are the reason I joined this message board. I simply had to be able to send you feedback on your amazing "Chronicles of Truth". I am very new to fan fiction - six weeks or so - and I can't believe I didn't know that it was out there! I am a fast learner, though. I feel very lucky that, having so recently discovered fan fiction, I was able to read your entire "Chronicles"(through chapter 34 in "Trust") in a couple of days. The wait would have killed me. I absolutely love your alternate universe! Faith and Xander - oh my. And now Dawn and Wesley - wow. It's perfect. Your stories are riveting. Your dialog is so true to the characters. As I read I'm able to see and hear them, and it's amazing. The character growth and development is so believable. My husband says I'm going to go blind because I've been sitting in front of my computer reading your stories for the last two days, but I could not stop. All the little things you've included, for example Faith's "birthday". I loved that. I could not possibly mention everything, but I soaked it up like a sponge. You are so talented - seriously. I love your Buffy/Spike relationship most of all. This is the relationship I've dreamed of between them. Not perfect, because what relationship is, but loving and real.
Let me just say you've made me laugh, and you've made me cry (and cry and cry!), but from the first paragraph in the first chapter of "Truth" you have mesmerized me. In your last post you mentioned feeling forgotten. Let me say that you are not forgotten, and you are still being discovered by people like me.
I will be waiting anxiously for the next chapter in "Trust". As I've said, the wait is going to kill me. I'm racking my brain trying to imagine who Buffy and Willow will have to face. The Mayor was a nice touch for Faith. I didn't see that coming at all. I loved their little chat, but I certainly hope that Faith tears him to pieces. Again - waiting.... Thank-you so much for sharing your talent.
Anna
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Post by Laura on Jul 6, 2005 21:43:51 GMT -5
Hear, hear!
Uh, Rob? Some of us are just pining away for lack of a new chapter! Pleeeeeeeaaaaasssssseeeeee? Pretty please? I've been waiting soooooooooooooooo long! It's on its way. I promise.
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Post by Rob on Jul 7, 2005 0:26:13 GMT -5
Mr. Sorenson, I want you to know that you are the reason I joined this message board. I simply had to be able to send you feedback on your amazing "Chronicles of Truth". I am very new to fan fiction - six weeks or so - and I can't believe I didn't know that it was out there! I am a fast learner, though. I feel very lucky that, having so recently discovered fan fiction, I was able to read your entire "Chronicles"(through chapter 34 in "Trust") in a couple of days. The wait would have killed me. I absolutely love your alternate universe! Faith and Xander - oh my. And now Dawn and Wesley - wow. It's perfect. Your stories are riveting. Your dialog is so true to the characters. As I read I'm able to see and hear them, and it's amazing. The character growth and development is so believable. My husband says I'm going to go blind because I've been sitting in front of my computer reading your stories for the last two days, but I could not stop. All the little things you've included, for example Faith's "birthday". I loved that. I could not possibly mention everything, but I soaked it up like a sponge. You are so talented - seriously. I love your Buffy/Spike relationship most of all. This is the relationship I've dreamed of between them. Not perfect, because what relationship is, but loving and real. Let me just say you've made me laugh, and you've made me cry (and cry and cry!), but from the first paragraph in the first chapter of "Truth" you have mesmerized me. In your last post you mentioned feeling forgotten. Let me say that you are not forgotten, and you are still being discovered by people like me. I will be waiting anxiously for the next chapter in "Trust". As I've said, the wait is going to kill me. I'm racking my brain trying to imagine who Buffy and Willow will have to face. The Mayor was a nice touch for Faith. I didn't see that coming at all. I loved their little chat, but I certainly hope that Faith tears him to pieces. Again - waiting.... Thank-you so much for sharing your talent. Anna My goodness. First and foremost, welcome to the board. It's always wonderful to hear new people are still joining us. "Truth" was the first thing I'd ever written for public consumption, and I probably wouldn't have done that much if I hadn't felt comfortable with the people with whom I share this board and site. I'm not sure I can properly express how grateful I am that you took the time to post so expansively about my little stories. "Trust" has been two years in the making now. I'm glad you came upon "Trust" when you did, because I think this particular installment is best read in one piece, rather than the more common serialized format that generally exists in fanfic. The first three work fine in that way, because I made a concerted effort for each chapter to end with some sort of "snap," for lack of a better term. "Trust" has that same element at times, but it wasn't intentional. I was much more concerned with the entire mess making some sort of sense. :) Also, it's obviously harder for the reader to pick up on certain subtleties if they have to wait for weeks (or months) for the next chapter; "Trust" is easily the most complex thing I've tried to do. It's no picnic for ME to remember everything, much less those who are kind enough to take the time to read the story. The slow delivery of chapters is, of course, entirely my fault. Anyway, I promise I'm working on the next chapter as best I can. When I'm happy with it, you'll see it...hopefully, that won't be much longer. Thanks again, Anna. Your appreciation means more to me than you'll ever know. Rob
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Post by jenn1630 on Oct 26, 2005 11:49:43 GMT -5
Hi there, I am new to the board and just finished all three stories. They are wonderful, very well written and you definitely give Marti/Joss a run for their money! I'd even venture to say they gave me a happy!! Please tell me the next chapter will be up soon. I can't wait to see what happens next. (i mean I know they win, that's what they do, but the telling of the win is great) Jenn
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Post by Rob on Oct 26, 2005 13:44:00 GMT -5
Hi there, I am new to the board and just finished all three stories. They are wonderful, very well written and you definitely give Marti/Joss a run for their money! I'd even venture to say they gave me a happy!! Please tell me the next chapter will be up soon. I can't wait to see what happens next. (i mean I know they win, that's what they do, but the telling of the win is great) Jenn It's great to hear from you, Jenn. Welcome to the board! I'm always thrilled to hear from new people; the fact that so many have taken the time to read my stuff is truly an honor. And hey...if you actually liked it, so much the better. Thanks so much for your feedback; I promise I'm working on the finale, albeit at a snail's pace.
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Post by Pam on Dec 16, 2005 15:15:29 GMT -5
Rob! Oh please Oh please!! I am waiting for more from you. Maybe as a holiday present you'll have another chapter to shares soon. I check in just for that! Thanks.
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Post by Rob on Dec 19, 2005 16:24:55 GMT -5
Rob! Oh please Oh please!! I am waiting for more from you. Maybe as a holiday present you'll have another chapter to shares soon. I check in just for that! Thanks. No...thank YOU for stopping by. There is new material on the way very soon; I promise.
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Post by Cal on Dec 20, 2005 10:21:29 GMT -5
Rob! Oh please Oh please!! I am waiting for more from you. Maybe as a holiday present you'll have another chapter to shares soon. I check in just for that! Thanks. No...thank YOU for stopping by. There is new material on the way very soon; I promise. Can't wait to read it! {{Rob}}
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Post by Pam on Dec 20, 2005 11:59:27 GMT -5
Hurray! No, truly: thank YOU! Pam
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Post by Vlad on May 31, 2007 12:47:12 GMT -5
Yes, indeed folks... a new chapter of TRUST!!!!!!
Go Read Chapter 35 if you already haven't.
Vlad
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Post by SpringSummers on Jun 3, 2007 18:55:32 GMT -5
Nice work, Rob!! You are just sooo good with the voices. Sam couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “We’re about to engage in a major battle.”
“I’d make it quick.”
“Color me shocked.”
Riley’s eyes widened in fury. “Spike, do you not know the meaning of the word ‘out’!?”Just one of many funnies, particularly in the Spike-Riley exchanges. I also loved Buffy's musings on voice-mail; very believable and very Buffy. And Dru - you do her voice really well. I find her very difficult to do, what little I've done. Anyhow, nice work, Rob Sorenson! Keep 'em coming.
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Post by Rob on Jun 5, 2007 16:27:12 GMT -5
Nice work, Rob!! You are just sooo good with the voices. Sam couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “We’re about to engage in a major battle.”
“I’d make it quick.”
“Color me shocked.”
Riley’s eyes widened in fury. “Spike, do you not know the meaning of the word ‘out’!?”Just one of many funnies, particularly in the Spike-Riley exchanges. I also loved Buffy's musings on voice-mail; very believable and very Buffy. And Dru - you do her voice really well. I find her very difficult to do, what little I've done. Anyhow, nice work, Rob Sorenson! Keep 'em coming. Thank you so much for responding. After such a long dry spell between chapters, I'm not sure I deserve any feedback at this stage...but I'll take it. Gladly. :-) It's nice to be back.
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Post by Lola m on Jun 9, 2007 17:49:45 GMT -5
**squeaks excitedly** Do you know how much fun it was to have this new chapter to bring with me to read on my trip, Rob? Very much fun! The bits with Riley were, as usual, nicely done; doing his duty even as he thinks "and this time they really mean it". Funny, with the quips and banter, and also emotionally real, when talking to Spike about his "kids". Like Spring, I thought the snark between him and Spike (“Could you restrict your answers to yes or no, please?” “No.”) were very fun and funny. ;D And I love how well Sam knows her husband. And Cordy? Always love Cordy! "I’m talking blisters and…potential melanoma! Your skin isn’t conditioned to be exposed like this!” Plus, she and Angel are cute together. Faith and Big Ol' Snake Wilkens? Eeep! "Mayor MacPython"? Heeee! Buffy and Adam? Eeeeep! Buffy suggesting other possibilities for a fight, like “the bug who wanted to have Xander’s baby" or "that creepy jello pit in the school basement that put everyone into a trance, whatever it was called"? Heeeee! Xander remembering the battle at the high school as he prepares himself? Very well done, very bittersweet. Finally, I really liked the conversation between Dawn and Wes, when she talks about finding a purpose. It really fit with what we've seen from Dawn in the past. Like her comments about "I'm not the Key anymore, or if I am, I don't open anything any more". Or her mixed feelings when she thought she was a slayer. Not to mention the priceless “Kamasutra” “Right, then. Well done” exchange.
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