New Fic - At Any Cost. (Finished 12 Dec)

[Sahugani]

Good Show! Good Show indeed!

Sequel! We must have a Sequel!!

Loved the story and really hope that you continue.

[DaddyCatALSO]

Perfectly fitting conclusion; definitely more of an epilogue than a final chapter, and well-crafted.
And of course the struggle never ends...I have to admit I don't like the reality that other even-more-major bad guys were watching this specific struggle.

[Lonewolf22]

Darth Pacula: Great ending, I TRULY HOPE that you continue this great fic. I really liked Timothy's message to Willow and Tara, especially the end when he told them to "Live your lives, and be happy" and also to not let Willow's baby become him, just great. What do those three voices want now with the baby, can't they just leave him alone. I can't wait to read something new from you, and I hope that we won't have to wait to long for it. Again absolutely great fic.

Lonewolf22

[Roger Doger]

Congratulations Paul on a novel well written. Of all the W&T, indeed Buffy novels I've read, yours is one of my favorites. Should you endeavor to continue your W&T journey, I'll certainly read along.

Happy Holidays! I think I'm pretty safe there, considering most of the western world celebrates around this time.

[WillowRulez]

I thought I already left feedback, sorry!
I am sad to see this story end but it a surprising and very cool ending. I certainly didnt expect that one coming, with Timothy/Nameless/... sacrificing himself more or less.
Is there gonna be a sequel? Or should we assume everthing is well now... maybe an epilogue after the birth of the baby?

[Darth Pacula]

Thanks for all your kind words Kittens. I'll leave more detailed replies later. There will be a sequel, which I plan to post in an alternating fashion with another unrelated story, but they probably won't start until I get back from my holidays ... assuming the cruise ship doesn't hit an iceberg.

Cheers, and Season's Greetings!
Paul.

[Useful_Oxymoron]

Paul,

Three words : Absolutely bloody brilliant. That's how I would describe this story in its entirety. I loved how you set up the mysteries and weaved the multiple storythreads together, mixing in proper amounts of humor, violence and W/T cuteness ( Love this icon) in the right proportions.

Also loved that Nameless stuck it to the man in the end. The man being that intangible The First character. (Just as an aside, 'The First Evil'? Please... More like an archdemon that developed a god-complex. Seriously, the guy's a joke.)

Ever player Baldur's Gate 2? It's one of my favorite computer games. After a long epic game filled with adventure, humor, romance and high fantasy story-telling, after the main villain was defeated, you got that fuzzy feeling of accomplishment, you know? That is, until a second end-movie played which set up a whole new story... imagine having played through a game that long and are still basking in the glory of accomplishment, you see a movie of cloaked people discussing the fate of your character and ending with the line 'The Spawn of Bhaal is doomed' which blows your feeling of accomplishment right out of the water and leaves you desperatedly wanting to continue your character's journey... and then you spend one year impatiently waiting for the Baldur's Gate 2 expansion set. Good marketing, yes. Good storytelling, yes. But still...

Why am I telling you this? Well, I had both those same feelings when reading the epilogue to At Any Cost. And now I'm impatiently waiting for the sequel. Please don't take a year to write it.

[AntigoneUnbound]

Oh, Paul...You graphic, twisted little soul...(Mary said with obvious admiration) Well done, faithful scribe!

First of all, I apologize for my absence. I received some work offers that I couldn't really refuse and free time was neglible. But I knew I'd come back.

I kept trying to think and think and think about who Nameless could possibly be. I admit, the Nathaniel angle totally threw me. I bought into that, even as I kept thinking that there had to be some other connection. If you'll recall, I initially thought it was Oz. Oh, how you must have laughed. "Ha ha ha," you must have laughed. "Mary is very stupid." This was just wonderfully done, Paul--the snippets, the hints, but never so drawn out that the reader ended up feeling jerked around. Grief is hard to do w/o overdoing it, and I really liked how you portrayed Timothy's. The shifting perspectives were also powerful; let us see into Timothy's mind at the time, and Nameless' pain in retrospect. For some reason, I really liked how you killed Willow the way you did and yes, I know that sounds odd. To me, it really brought home the fact that real life (ie, the non-Scooby variety) holds its own perils. Even if Timothy could somehow protect his family from vamps et. al, he couldn't control the universe. Life is so damn fragile.

As I considered the themes of this story, I kept coming back to (a) feelings vs. cynicism and (b) the lengths to which we go to try to dodge fate. Nameless made much if his inhumanity, his utter indifference to the pain of those around him--and yet it was Timothy's inability to turn off his feelings that made his losses all the more catastrophic: first feeling his mother's pain at Tara's loss, and then his pain at Willow's loss. And so he determines that he will not let this happen. Such monstrous things, in the name of such excruciating love.

As always, your powers of description are on full display here. I was eating supper as I started back in and I literally said, "Shit--I forgot not to eat when I read Paul's stuff!" And the touches of humor--I esp. liked the reference to a President starting a global war. How very...timely.

The final scene was exquisite. See, you never let us predict what Nameless/Timothy would do. Just when we thought we could see his humanity, we learned or witnessed some horrific carnage. We knew he wouldn't let anything happen to Willow or Tara, but everyone else was clearly a bit player and clearly expendable. You did a wonderful job describing those moments when Willow sees Buffy make her stealthy move, hopes against hope that perhaps she can succeed even if Willow doesn't entirely want her to succeed--and then realizes that Timothy knows exactly what's happening. But then...but then the final sacrifice. That was just beautiful, Paul--really well done.

Thank you so much for this intriguing, powerful story. It's obvious that the TTO's (Temporarily Thwarted Ones) are not about to give up. So what will they try? And can Willow and Tara ensure that this child doesn't turn into a monster, even as they face such monstrous things?

I guess I'll just have to tune in...

Great job, mate!

Mary

[EndlessDestiny]

I only came across this storya few days ago, but wow. I kept trying to figure out who Nameless was at first but every guess I had didn't fit all that we knew of him. I can't to read the sequel.

[Darth Pacula]

G'day kittens!

Right, first off, I'm sorry that it's taken me this long to reply to everyone. A five week holiday, including a two week long cruise, really kicked my procrastination into gear. But never fear, (as if you would ) I'm back now.

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wimpy0729 - Thanks for the praise, Wimpy. I'm glad you liked it, and to say that it was one of your favorites on the board? That's high praise indeed considering the wealth of talented writers found here.

Yes, there is a sequel, and I should start posting within the near future.

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imjustme - G'day, Andi! I know what it's like to feel sad when a story ends; it's happened to me more times than I can count. Don't sweat not leaving feedback before, it's enough that you enjoyed it. Never fear, so long as people keep reading, I'll keep writing. In point of fact, I'm working on two stories at the moment! :d

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binky - G'day Binky! This isn't the first thing I've written; I've toyed with writing my own stories for decades, but this was the first one that I've ever finished. And I had a ball doing so! Of course, it doesn't hurt when you get flattering feedback.

I'll try to keep the pace with the sequel as well, though I'm planning an alternating posting schedule with the other story I'm writing. But for the first few chapters at least, they'll be smaller than the eventual average for this.

Cheers! Another coming right up!

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db - G'day to my favorite nurse! Thank you, thank you very much.

I take you didn't approve of the unnamed trio referring to someone as an instrument? Don't worry, they'll get theirs ... eventually. :d

And no, db. Thank you.

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MochaVamp - Thank you kindly, mate.

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Dianneswillowtree - G'day mate! I'm glad I could keep you hanging, as it were. I was afraid people would get sick of the intrigue before I finished. Cheers!

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mole - G'day Michelle! I'll agree with you that Timothy's underlying motivation was love, but I also wanted to illustrate that evil can be born from love just as it can be from hate. That old saying that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions comes to mind. The difference with Timothy is that he knew where that road would take him, and he travelled it anyway.

I'll be glad to have you along for the next journey as you put it, a journey that will be starting quite soon.

Cheers, and thanks for reading, Michelle!

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Sahugani - Thanks mate, and yes, a sequel is coming.

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DaddyCatALSO - You're right, the struggle never ends, not so long as life sustains. You weren't meant to like even-more-major bad guys, and what they do next is going to make you like them even less.

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Lonewolf22 - Thanks, Lonewolf. Glad you enjoyed it. Why can't the three voices leave them alone? Well, if they did, there wouldn't be a reason for a sequel, now would there? Hope this wasn't too long a wait for you.

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Roger Doger - Thanks, Roger. Happy holidays to you too ... even if it is a couple of months late.

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willowRulez - Hmmm ... I wonder if everyone's got the hint yet; yes there is going to be a sequel. :d Which pretty much guarantees that everything isn't going to be well.

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Useful_Oxymoron - G'day UO! Seeing as I'm an Aussie, I appreciate the 'bloody'. :d

Yep, the 'First Evil' does seem to have taken his own propaganda a little bit too much to heart, I'll agree with you there. Baldur's Gate 2; great game! How can you not like Minsc, and Boo, the giant minature space hamster?

Now I won't take a year to start writing the sequel ... because I've already got a few chapters done, but to finish it? Probably a year at least, going by how long this went. Sorry.

Cheers mate!

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AntigoneUnbound - Mary, Mary, never contrary! It's great to see you back ... and graphic and twisted? Why thank you!

I'm glad you don't think that I was jerking the readers around. That was a fear of mine, given how long I strung parts of this out.

For some reason, I really liked how you killed Willow the way you did and yes, I know that sounds odd. To me, it really brought home the fact that real life (ie, the non-Scooby variety) holds its own perils. Even if Timothy could somehow protect his family from vamps et. al, he couldn't control the universe. Life is so damn fragile.

Nope, that doesn't sound odd at all. In fact, you hit the nail on the head. I also feel that it makes her death all the more tragic (like it needed the help). To have survived so much, only to die in such a pointless, mundane fashion feels a bit like an insult.

"Shit--I forgot not to eat when I read Paul's stuff!"

Thanks for joining me for this ride, Mary!

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EndlessDestiny - Thanks, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. One advantage of making your own characters and concealing their origin is being able to pepper the story with red herrings pointing at innumerable other people ... or maybe that's just me.

Cheers,
Paul.

[bytrsuite]

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