Finis

Well I think the time has come to finish this. I'd like to thank everyone for their comments both pro and con. It's been enlightening.

Someone sent this suggestion to me in an e-mail: "but if you've got a good relationship with LC, and she's confirmed for you that she's not going to finish this, why don't you ask her permission to stage a "Finish HB" contest. It's a classic, so I'm sure that several writers would take a crack at it--I probably would. Feel like asking?"

Little did that writer know about the state of affairs between Ladycat and myself but it's an interesting idea, maybe not for "HB", but for other WIPs whose authors feel they cannot finish their fic for whatever reason. I can't recall it having been done but maybe now that the suggestion has been made it can be discussed...somewhere else.

I'm debating whether I will still rec "Hunt Brother" when people ask for a h/c or a hyena!Xander fic. I cannot, in all fairness, not warn new readers that it will probably not be finished and even with the *sob* removed someone might take issue with that. I'm sure, since it has many fans, others will do it with or without a warning.

This has certainly distracted me from my reviews. I have one that I hope to post later.

A Favorite Fic: Waffle House (S/X)

In her "Waffle House" (http://sajinn.com/buffyficmain.html) sajinn sends Xander on a road trip sometime around S5. He has decided to go on another to make up for the one that stalled in Oxnard. After a year of roaming the country he ends up in Charleston and runs into ...Spike (I bet you guessed that), now chip-free. They get off to a bad start until Xander's employer, a grande old dame named Lavinia sort of plays matchmaker between her gardener and the Master of the city. There's a hilarious Pepe le Peu seduction scene that has Spike chasing Xander all over his mansion and ends in Xander's capitulation. Slowly, step by step, for over three years, a charming relationship builds and all is well until they return to California where expletive happens.
I always like Spander fics where the relationship is allowed to build, no jumping into bed at the first chance. Sajinn's AU unfolds elegantly with delightful bits like the cups of coffee in the morning, the pig and so on. Despite the angst towards the end it's full of humor. I'm so glad I decided to review it today since it gave me the excuse to re-read it for the umpteenth time. All in all a great tale unless you're a fan of Buffy Summers.