bktheirregular

Got an email today from someone via the Twisting the Hellmouth archive, asking ... well, saying ... well ... here's what they told me.

You have been sent a message from [redacted] at Twisting The Hellmouth:

Hi,

I've seen this term used in many stories on TtH and FF.Net so I thought it was from Canon. I started to use it in my story until I realized that it's not from the show. I have tried to change all the references to it in my story.

After running many searches and contacting different authors, I have discovered they think Tarithna came from you.

Thus, may I have your permission to use Tarithna in my story?

Thank you for your story and your ideas.

I think I'm one part annoyed (not sure why), one part flattered, and three parts Mal Reynolds going "huh". Especially since I basically pulled the term "Tarith'na" out of my ear when I needed a Jaffa word. (And how could anyone think that a Jaffa term for a vampire slayer would be canon?)

I'm tempted to respond, "Sure, so long as you do your homework, check your sources, run your story past critical beta-readers instead of a cheerleading squad." But that might be too snarky.

And should I be a wet blanket to someone who's trying to be creative, when it's been over a year since I did much of any creative writing?