Fic: Vignette Series

[tasha]

that was lovely. its great to read the story from a different point of view .



tasha

[Grimaldi]

sweet update



i liked how you described their first kiss and what was going on in Tara's mind

Dude, we're surrounded by perverts!
I'm not stealing, I'm just taking things without paying for them. In what twisted dictionary is that stealing?

[Puff]

That was wonderful Sass. If you are really happy when you make us smile then you must feel pretty good about now. I have a huge grin on my face and I am pretty sure I held my breath for most of the vignette. It was wonderful to read Tara's point of view and then compare it to Willow's in the previous vignette. I'd write more about how much I loved it but I'd be late for college. Thank you for giving me something to think about all day though

---

Donder and Vixen slashfic...its all about the harnesses and maybe the bells.

[NoveltyAct]

Sass,

Quote:

---

Willow smiled back, and Tara felt herself walking steadily down the road that she had been so scared of. But would it really turn out that badly? How could she be certain? Wasn't the future unknowable?



Doubts and fears still lingered, but she was looking forward to the future in a way she hadn't in a long time, eager to see what would happen.

---

Ah, that's so wonderful--you always give our girls such a lovely, gentle optimism, however dire (or not) their circumstance may be; that's such a comforting thing to read these days, when the real world is so crazy.



And about your previous comment somewhere up in your replies, about it being impossible to not write Willow and Tara romantically? I dunno about that; I've seen a lot of pantyfic in my day . Give yourself a little credit, Sass; in great writing, some part of the author always comes through, no matter how hard they might try to disguise it (ask, um...Ruth. Yeah, that's the ticket).



Great to see you around again, Sass. The Kittens miss you, too!



~Novelty

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


Whisk, woman!

[SilverWingedNemesis]

*standing ovation*



*sighs* This gave me goosebumps! Good work!!



~NICK~

[Kieli]

Heck Yeah! I didn't just LIKE it, I LOVED it. Gave all the happies and stuff. You've been away from us too long.



Cheers!

Toni

Love is tricky. It is never mundane or daily. You can never get used to it. You have to walk with it, then let it walk with you. You can never balk. It moves you like the tide. It takes you out to sea then lays you on the beach again. Today's struggling pain is the foundation for a certain stride through the heavens. You can run from it but you can never say no. It includes everyone."--Amy Tan "The Hundred Secret Secret Senses"

[darkmagicwillow]

Now that's how I envisioned their first kiss. Sweet and tender, each wanting it so much, but also so uncertain that the other wanted the same. I always wanted to see what happened that night, and I'm so happy that you've shown us.

--

"Omnia mutantur, nihil interit." -- "Everything changes, but nothing is truly lost."

[xita]

Sass, wow, I was moved to tears with this, it was so emotional. You know the characters so well and described that kiss in a way that was both real and surreal. Everything was so right.. and god just the way I thought it happened. Thank you so much, this is going to one of my favorites ever, pile.

If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner.

Tallulah Bankhead

[Ms Limon]

I just loved this.



Thank you.

[VampNo12]

Oh Sassette, capturing this moment from Tara's perspective was just so beautiful ! Their feelings were so palpable to me, and I could so picture this scene unfolding exactly the way you wrote this vignette in my head. I mean just the emotions (what Tara was feeling from the contact of the hug) made me swoon. Especially Tara going from holding back in order to keep her feelings a "secret", to not denying her heart by reveling in the touch/contact and later kiss. Thanks for this "touching" moment, it really put a smile on my face making me go awwwww !

[MOUSE]

Sass loved the last two vignettes, so sweet. I've really missed these.



I love that you have the licence to just jump around time. Take us to places that we missed, or throw us forward to the future. And EVERY time, you make our girls perfect. Full of love, hope, and honesty, the very reasons why we love these characters.

And some of the nervous fumbling, and human awkwardness you write about relate so much to everyday relationships. The starting out parts, the problems along the way, and the fact that even if you are truly with someone, there is always that shadow of doubt that lingers in your mind, are you worthy? You capture the confusion that is love so wonderfully.

Cheers to you Sass. And eagerly waiting for more.

[Scout]

Lots of warm fuzzies with this story. I really got caught up in it and I could feel how much Tara wanted - needed - this to happen. So sweet and tender. Thanks, Sass - few people do W/T so well.

[Pixie gishmock]

Oh Sass, "Willow Kissage" was just lovely.....tender and slow and soft and beautiful. You captured that feeling so well - being so safe in someone else's arms.



And Valentine's Day - and awwwww! So cute and silly! I can totally see Willow doing that - especially getting so caught up in the PLAN that she uses every possible tactic (including bribery, a whistle and the resove face) to make it happen. I loved that it became a town happening. The other reason I found it funny was that I spent the week of New Year's visiting my gf, and one of the things we had planned to do was exchange Chanukah/Christmas presents. I had gotten her all these books, and I thought it would be boring to wrap them all separately, or over too soon if I wrapped them together. So, I wrapped them separately and hid them around her apartment. When she walked in the door (I made her wait in the car while I hid them - all she knew was I was implementing "the Plan". ) I gave her an envelope with a rhyming clue to where the first present was. She was totally charmed, touched and amused that I had planned the scavenger hunt. (yay me! ) So, I giggled my way through this vignette.



Thanks so much for updating! Still smitten.

Life is full of changes...The better you are at letting go of things, the freer your hands will be to catch something new. ~from Off The Map by Joan Ackerman
"It's good to be a chicken casserole," Tara murmured before passing out. ~from "Answering Darkness" by Sassette

[Rane018]

gosh, i've missed ya sass.



here i am on a saturday night reading about THE kiss



sigh...

"We're forgetting about the troll.
Let's pay attention to the troll." Tara, Triangle

Edited by: Rane018 at: 1/11/03 11:03:20 pm

[Wytchi Grrl]

Sassette, i've only read the first two of your vignette series and I have a whole lot of catching up to do but from just those first two I can safely say-no other writer(and i mean no other!) has made me feel my heart in my throat as you do. You have the characters down so perfectly its like watching another (((but better))) buffy episode. Thankyou so much for this. I wil catch up with the rest soon.

Wytchi x

--------

Tara pushed down Willows pants with her feet, colliding with silken legs, a sensation that made her shudder-VIXEN-Shamelessly promoting my own fic.

[Sassette]

Series: Vignettes
Number: 32
Title: The Dark Forest
Author: Sassette
Feedback: Can be sent to pink_overalls@yahoo.com
Summary: Lil’ Tara and Lil’ Rose have a picnic.
Spoiler Warning: A few for Answering Darkness, but very minor..
Disclaimer: I didn't create these characters. I do, however, love them, and as they reside in my heart, they belong to me. I'm not making any money off of them, though.
Rating: G. Very G.

The Willow and the Rose
Part 32 of the Vignettes Series
by Sassette

“What’s that?” Tara asked, pointing at the deep forest of old and dark trees in the distance.

“Oh. That’s the Dark Forest,” Rose said, a little shiver racing up her spine.

They had spent the day flying, and no matter how hard she tried, Tara couldn’t stop the smile that stayed on her face. She was grinning ear to ear, and she felt like the day had been so wonderful and so glorious that the smiling would never end, even when the day did. She knew she’d have to go back eventually, hat she would wake up in her bed, and her Mommy would make her lunch and send her off to school, but these thoughts were as distant and fuzzy here as her thoughts of her time with Rose were when she was awake.

Now, they say on a large, flat rock, the Magic Helicopter nearby, eating the food that Rose had bought.

“Dark Forest?” Tara asked, taking a bite of her peanut butter and chocolate sauce sandwich. “Is it, umm … I mean – is it scary?”

“Scary? Pffft!” Rose said, shaking her head emphatically, even as a look of worry entered her eyes. “Well, okay, it’s scary,” she admitted. “You don’t think I’m a baby, do you?” she asked quietly, her head lowered as she tugged at a few loose threads in the blanket, her little booted foot waving back and forth.

“Oh, Gosh no!” Tara said quickly, reaching out and squeezing Rose’s hand. “I’d never think that!”

“You wouldn’t? Really?” Rose asked, her head raising. “Even if I told you that Xander and Jesse tease me, and I never stand up to them, and sometimes I go somewhere by myself and cry?”

“Never,” Tara promised fervently. “And if they tease you, they’re just big stupid-heads. What could they ever tease you about?”

“’Cuz I’m so smart,” Rose said dejectedly. “None of the other kids built a Magic Helicopter. They made fun of me when they found out it flew,” she confided, tears welling up in her big green eyes. “I thought they’d, y’know, think it was cool. But they just called me a geek and laughed, and they said that no one would ever want to be my friend, because I make them look dumb, and because I’m different.”

“Well, they >are< dumb,” Tara said, her little brow furrowing and a frown crossing her face. “In fact, they’re so dumb, I bet their mom’s have to tie their shoes for them, and they need glow-in-the-dark stickers to find the bathroom at night,” she said, her voice cross as she inwardly fumed at these two stupid boys who made fun of her best friend.

“Heh,” Rose said, a slight smile crooking the corner of her mouth against her will, her funk fading in the face of the fierce friendship Tara offered.

“And – if you, umm … if you hadn’t built the Magic Helicopter, you wouldn’t have found me,” Tara said softly.

“I’ll always find you,” Rose said, her eyes widening as she shook her head. Not have found Tara? That was … unthinkable. “I might not have found you so fast without the Magic Helicopter, and that would be sad, so I don’t care what Jesse and Xander say, I’m glad I built it. But – I still would have found you. That’s what best friends are for.”

“You would?” Tara asked, her smile returning.

“I would,” Rose said, nodding vigorously, her tousled red hair flying with the force of it as she grinned at Tara. “Absolutely positively.”

Nodding, Tara returned the smile, taking another bite of her surprisingly-good sandwich. She had been surprised at the combination, but found that she liked it. “So what’s so scary about the forest?” she asked, now that the question of whether or not Xander and Jesse were big stupid-heads had been settled.

“Well, it’s dark,” Rose said, the worry returning to her eyes. “And it’s lonely, and it’s probably full of frogs and things, and someday I have to go there.”

“You do?” Tara asked, her eyes widening.

Rose nodded. “I don’t know how I know, but someday, I have to go there, and I don’t want to. I thought that if I built the Magic Helicopter, I could go someplace else – someplace far away, and never have to go into the Dark Forest, but I have to, and I don’t know what’s in there, because nobody ever goes in there, and what if it’s frogs?” she asked plaintively.

“We, umm … we could go together?” Tara said uncertainly, wondering if she was brave enough to go someplace that made Rose scared. But if Rose had to go, then Tara wanted to go with her, to protect her from the frogs if she had to. Besides – frogs weren’t that bad. She could handle frogs.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that!” Rose blurted out. “It’s dark and scary!”

“You didn’t ask – I’m saying we’ll go together,” Tara said firmly, knowing that if Rose ever had to go to a dark and scary place, she wanted to be at her side.

[Sassette]

Series: Vignettes
Number: 33
Title: The Next Day
Author: Sassette
Feedback: Can be sent to pink_overalls@yahoo.com
Summary: Willow and Tara wake up
Spoiler Warning: Up to and including ‘Family’ in Season 5
Disclaimer: I didn't create these characters. I do, however, love them, and as they reside in my heart, they belong to me. I'm not making any money off of them, though.
Rating: PG-13

The Next Day
Part 33 of the Vignettes Series
by Sassette

Willow stretched, her back cracking audibly and a slight squeaky noise escaping her. A sense of profound well-being stirred inside, swelling and escaping and wrapping around her. Eyes still closed, a sleepy smile crossed her face as she felt Tara’s familiar form snuggle up closer to her, skin to skin, and she sighed, one hand finding its way to Tara’s hair.

“Morning,” she croaked out faintly, when she felt the arm across her middle tighten and the face upon her shoulder turn and drop a light kiss there.

“Morning,” Tara said, such joy in her voice that Willow couldn’t help her sleepy smile from stretching into an all-out grin.

“How are you feeling?” Willow asked, her eyes opening blearily in the wan morning light that slipped through the blinds on the window.

“I can’t describe h-how good,” Tara said with a helpless little laugh, raising herself up on one elbow to look down into Willow’s face. “I … I just,” Tara began, only to stop and shake her head, everything she was thinking and feeling too much to be expressed.

“I can’t even imagine,” Willow said softly, her hand reaching up to brush her fingers lightly against Tara’s cheek. “It must be … God, I can’t even imagine going through all of that, let alone what it would feel like when it was over.”

“It’s just starting to sink in, y’know?” Tara said quietly. “I expected I’d wake up this morning on my way back to my father’s house, and – w-waking up with you is just … it’s I-incredible. W-wonderful.”

“Now, >that< I can imagine,” Willow said, a slight grin curling her lips. “That’s how I feel every day I wake up and feel you next to me.”

“Every day?” Tara asked, a skeptical eyebrow raised.

“Every. Single. Day,” Willow said, laughing as she punctuated each word with a little kiss on Tara’s face.

“Then we’ll have to have lots of sleepovers,” Tara said, a slight smile tugging at her lips.

“Tons of sleepovers. Tons of Nekkid Sleepovers,” Willow said with a little snicker, her eyes glazing over as she felt Tara’s body slide against hers.

“Mmm … naked’s good,” Tara said, nodding.

“Very good,” Willow agreed, tugging lightly at Tara’s shoulders and urging her closer, the tousled sheets slipping and baring skin to her view. “Very, >very< good,” she said with a wicked little grin, her lips finding Tara’s with practiced ease.

All playful silliness fled from Willow’s mind as she kissed and was kissed, soft little murmurs echoing into the morning as their lips brushed together again and again, the sweetness and >rightness< of that sensation resonating through Willow’s being.

Tears stung her eyes as her love for Tara pushed everything – school, Scoobies, Glory – from her mind, leaving just her feelings for this woman and the stark realization that if anything had played out a little differently, she could have lost her – lost this – forever.

“Sweetie?” Tara asked uncertainly, pulling back when she heard something like a sob come from Willow. Concern etched her features as she looked into Willow’s face. “Baby?”

Willow shut her eyes tight, taking a shuddering breath and releasing it slowly, trying to pull herself together. It didn’t matter what almost happened – Tara was here. She had to focus on that.

“Willow,” Tara said, the name on her lips an entreaty and a promise, of safety and acceptance and love.

“I, umm … I almost lost you,” Willow said, the words making the nebulous fear real, giving it a name and form as she voiced it, the tears spilling over, even as she rolled her eyes at how silly she was being. “I guess – it just hit me, how close it was.”

“I’m so sorry,” Tara said softly, wiping the tears away with a gentle hand. She could see Willow’s face clearly now, the morning sun growing brighter with each passing moment as dawn turned into day. “I’m so sorry,” she repeated, kissing Willow softly.

“You don’t have to be sorry,” Willow said, shaking her head. “I’m just … I’m being stupid. I mean, you’re here, right? And we’re together, and we’re fine, and so everything’s okay, and now I’m –“

“Y-you can let it all out, Willow,” Tara said, her eyes meeting Willow’s steadily, her tone and face serious. “I don’t think you’re being stupid – you w-were so, umm, busy being … brave and strong, you – you haven’t had a chance to really process this, have y-you?”

Willow shook her head meekly, her lower lip trembling as all the panic and anger she had felt when Tara’s father had come to take her away washed over her. Her heart thudded in her chest as she remembered those terrifying minutes, and the way she had needed to ask Tara if she wanted to go. Just a few days ago, she never would have asked such a thing – never would have guessed that it was even possible, so sure of Tara’s love she had been. But that agonizing question had haunted her from the instant it had formed in her mind until Tara’s beautiful teary-eyed face had given her the answer she needed.

“I … no, I haven’t,” Willow said. “But I’m being stupid, because it’s all right now, and I –“

“Shhh,” Tara said, placing a finger on Willow’s lips to still the words. “You don’t have to be brave,” Tara said, her own tears welling up in her eyes and a lump forming in her throat as her own recollections of how close to losing this she had come crowded her mind. “And you don’t have to be strong,” she continued, her voice husky. “I still love you.”

“I love you so much,” Willow said, her words sounding hoarse as she moved onto her side and pulled Tara against her, hugging her fiercely. “I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she choked out, her face buried against Tara’s neck as she clung to her with desperate strength.

“I’m here,” Tara murmured, her own arms tightening around Willow, the words as much for her as they were for her lover. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere,” she said, the words seeping into her own consciousness and finding there way to her heart. She didn’t have to go anywhere – she could stay here where she was loved and loved, and all of her dreams came true.

“Don’t ever leave me,” Willow whispered, her voice begging for the reassurance she needed in the harsh morning light. “Please, don’t ever leave me.”

“Never,” Tara said urgently, her love for Willow so overwhelming as it filled her that she trembled. “You know that, right?” she asked, pulling back slightly so she could look into Willow’s tear-streaked face. “You know I’d never leave, unless I had no choice, right?”

“There’s always a choice,” Willow said, shaking her head.

“No, not always,” Tara said softly, her eyes deep pools of sorrow and loss. “What if it had been true? What if I would have … if I had attacked you all? Been a demon?”

“But you’re not – that doesn’t …” Willow said, only to be interrupted by a soft kiss that stole her breath and her words.

“No, I’m not,” Tara said, a watery smile crossing her face. “I’m not – but things happen, circumstances beyond our control. I’ve spent too much of my life w-with, umm … with no control to promise ‘never’. But I can promise never, if I have a choice.”

“I, uhh … I think I have a few abandonment issues,” Willow said shakily, letting out an unsteady breath. “But that’s a fair promise, and I’ll promise the same – that I’ll never ever go if it’s in my power to stay.”

“Thank you,” Tara said, letting out the breath she had been holding as she had wondered if her promise would be enough.

“No – thank you,” Willow said, shaking her head. “Thank you for staying – for loving me. Thank you for telling me you didn’t want to go.”

“I’ll never want to go, Willow – never.”

[zillee]

Wow sass,

That made my night! Two more fantastic and beautiful Vignettes Thanks!

Zil

Try it you might like it but you might smudge your lipstick - Jarvis Cocker - your sisters clothes

[The Rose24]

Sass,



That was kind of cruel. You give us a cute update with Tara and Rose, but then you give us a gut-wrenching one with our Tara and Willow. It upset me because it is kind of a predecessor of SR. We all know Tara will never leave Willow willingly, and Willow will never leave Tara. Now, Willow has left all of us. Willow is just not our Willow anymore.



Sorry, I got kind of depressed and teary-eyed there.

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

Willow: I found you. I will always find you.

Edited by: The Rose24  at: 1/26/03 6:46:11 pm

[SilverWingedNemesis]

OHMYGOD!!



That was...just...wow!!!





wonderful!!!





~NICK~

"All fear is the fear of loss. And only through that fear, can we truly love."

[Penrose Orleans]

Moses, smell the roses! Not one, but TWO new vignettes? Yay! It's wonderful how well both of these vignettes foreshadow future aspects of the W/T relationship, and of course the interaction is glorious as ever... it's just... so... sweet... *sniffle* (Sorry, hormones getting the best of me for a second). Anyway, excelentisimo as always! -Nora

"Fear prophets...and those prepared to die for the truth, for as a rule they make many others die with them, often before them, at times instead of them." -Umberto Eco

[Little M]

*runs to find tissues* damn you, now you made me cry



thank you for these wonderful new updates

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

'I go online sometimes, but everyone's spelling is really bad..it's depressing' - Tara



www.amberbenson-online.cjb.net

[tommo]

Ah, I love these moments between Willow and Tara; there's something very reassuring to read about how committed they are to one another, no matter what happens. It gives hope and solace for their future together and hey, it gives me hope too.

She's the cutest of the Kittens with her tits as warm as mittens and her firm yet supple...tight embrace...

[Dave V]

These two pieces, juxtaposed together, are very affecting. W/T's connection is shown so well in both, but the latter is tempered by Tara's realization that there are some things you just can't control.



Thanks.

[Kieli]

I feel like it's Double Shot Tuesday on WMMR (A totally rad Philly radio station that I adored in my teens)! I was excited for these and loved every minute of them. Thanks so much for them!



K.

Love is tricky. It is never mundane or daily. You can never get used to it. You have to walk with it, then let it walk with you. You can never balk. It moves you like the tide. It takes you out to sea then lays you on the beach again. Today's struggling pain is the foundation for a certain stride through the heavens. You can run from it but you can never say no. It includes everyone."--Amy Tan "The Hundred Secret Secret Senses"

[Bookcat]

1. (v.) To fill with wonder, awe, or astonishment:

• astound

• dumbfound

• dumfound

• astonish

• awe

• bedazzle

• blow one's mind (slang)

• bowl over (colloquial)

• dazzle

• flabbergast (colloquial)

• floor (colloquial)

• knock out

• overwhelm

• stun

• surprise

• take aback



The words above will do nicely.



Seriously, though, that was an amazing few minutes right there. Finding and leaving and talking about scary dark futures and... oh I feel so... wow.

Hello? Is there anybody out there?

No, just macaroni.

[xita]

Oh sass, so heartbreaking, but it's the level of commitment here and the love that you communicate and since w/t are off happily in my head it's just poignant. Thanks , it's so lovely to see Tara comfort Willow in both the rose story and the family one. Thanks.

If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner.

Tallulah Bankhead

[Cicca]

These vignettes are all so special.

Thank you for sharing them.



D'oh! I messed up their names! I knew something was off... Rose and Tara!

*hanging my head in shame*



Ok... Rose and Tara are so sweet!

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

Edited by: Cicca at: 1/27/03 1:22:04 pm

[Grimaldi]

great update



the picnic that Rose and Tara were having sweet, and i liked Tara telling Rose that she wasn't a geek, and Rose saying that even if she didn't build the helicopter, she still would have found her



i liked the post family one even though it made me a little sad

You can't just go declaring shenanigans on innocent people, that's how wars get started!
I'm not stealing, I'm just taking things without paying for them. In what twisted dictionary is that stealing?

[WebWarlock]

Wonderfull!



Two in a row no less.

The first one is just so cute. The second one is heartbreaking yes, but wondefull. These two are so committed and so in love with other.



Thank you Sass. These little insights should have been on the screen. They would have if the powers-that-were had half the love for them as you do.



Warlock

-----

Web Warlock

The Other Side,
home of Liber Mysterium: The Netbook of Witches and Warlocks

"Stop whimpering... it's unattractive." - Bloodrayne