It's probably a valid indicator of my lack of time to write currently that it took me 5 days to get these replies written. My point: don't expect an update quickly. Thanks for reading and please be patient.
mole – Congrats on the dibs. You’re so very welcome and I’m glad about the butterflies. Hope you weren’t late to work. I’m glad that you liked the way Faith came off here. I was a littke mixed on her, like what if she wasn’t being concerned enough? But then I just wanted to count on that she knows Willow very well and that they’ve had many many many conversations in the last 3 years about Tara and about how Willow feels about Tara.
This remembrance is simply beautiful.
Thank you.
I would imagine that Willow feels both guilt and pain but mostly as an effect of the events behind the poems rather than the poems themselves. It seems to me that she sees the poems as works of art (sexy and painful ones, but works nonetheless).
With this thought, we get a glimpse into a more grown-up Willow; she's not as selfish and is more considerate of other feelings. Of course, the "ambush" (as her brain insists on calling it) is a wee bit selfish, but really what else could she do?
Oh yeah. I don’t thinks she’s completely grownup yet. I mean showing up at someone’s first book reading? That could be either incredibly sweet or will really ruin the other person’s great day. In this case, it worked out ok but I’d say she’s still at bit on the selfish side.
You’re right: the girls don’t really know that much about each other anymore. They don’t know what’s going on, clothes, friends, accent. But…
Despite the long separation and the fact that they have both changed, these two women have a deep history and still know each other. It's truly beautiful.
Very much so and thank you.
Throughout the entire piece, I couldn't help thinking that Tara is so much more confident than Willow. Is it because the meeting is taking place on her "turf" where she can draw strength from her friends and surrounds and talent? Has Tara's art given her an edge in dealing with highly-charged emotional situations? Or is it that we're seeing Tara through Willow's eyes in this update? That Willow sees a strong, self-contained women where she herself is a nervous wreck?
I think the last one. I wrote the update from Willow’s pov very intentionally and I feel sure that if we had seen Tara’s pov, she would have been a semi-nervous wreck.
Given that we only get a yearly look at them, I guess we'll never really get to see this interaction from Tara's point of view. Sigh…Can't wait to see if the next year sees them truly back together or still struggling on the road to reconciliation.
TBC
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caz – Thanks so much. Wow, tears? Cool. I mean not cool that I made you cry but cool that I brought you some emotion. I think that Willow’s waiting at the bookstore shows her seriousness and determination but it’s also a little of a nerdy thing to do. I mean she’s in a town she doesn’t know—what better to do than hang out in a bookstore?
They will definitely talk…
Thanks.
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notl33t – Hi. Yep, alone will be good. I will give that much away. Lol: smut… Thanks about Faith. I love Faith (as I’ve said repeatedly and repeatedly) so I’m glad that you’re liking her. I think your characterization of her as an anchor is a very good one.
BTW, the RPS International Championship is being held in Toronto this year . . . 3 months after Amber is there, coincidence? I think not).
That’s hysterical. There’s an RPS championship? Wow, who would have thought? I can’t believe that there’s a championship for such a luck-based game.
You’re right that much is unresolved and that Tara’s stutter return isn’t a good thing but it might not be bad either. She may just be very nervous and caught off guard. Thanks so much.
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Katez0r – Hey, life is very important. Thanks for reading even if you can’t get to feedbacking. I totally understand how that goes. I’m glad that the update got you emotionally: that means it worked. Thanks so much.
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sacinema – Hi. Yep, heart-rending. That’s me.
It's so Willow not to notice the dedication.
God, I’m so glad that people are buying that explanation. I have to say that I planned the end of this update from back at about part 2 or 3. And I’ve been sort of in love with the idea of it all along. Then I was nearly done writing the update and I suddenly thought about it and was like, “Is it even vaguely believable that Willow didn’t read the dedication?” I had to count on Tara’s statement that Willow never did and the kindness of my readers to make it work. Thanks for saying that it did.
I totally agree with you about time healing and still think that they have some things to work through. Thanks so much for your comments.
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Hers Always – Thanks so much. Glad you found it emotional and heart-wrenching and emotional and that you liked the rock, paper, scissors part. Thanks.
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mole – I think your thoughts about what went wrong are very interesting. I guess in a way, once they knew that they both wanted each other, that became their main focus—almost as if they would have been better off being unrequited for a longer period of time. I’ll have to think about that.
In part 7 while at the diner after Faith's police academy graduation, Tara admits to Faith that she doesn't want to "waste the time" confronting Willow about feeling left out of her life because they've only been able to visit each other once that semester. In part 8 when Willow and Tara a trying to find "something fun" to do, Willow teases and flirts, suggesting that they could just spend the afternoon in bed.
Awesome observations. I hadn’t thought about it and it’s an interesting idea that they are more interested in sex than other ways of spending time together. I wonder if this is the first time a Kitten has ever thought that W/T were too sexy/sex-focused. Tee hee.
don't skimp on the smut when you get them back together
See, that’s what we hear from Kittens more frequently…
You’re so welcome. Thank you for the feedback.
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Thianne – Ha ha about copying Sally’s lists. I like it. Nope, no fight and yes to publishing. Like I said before, I’m no poet and not about to become one. That said, if anyone would like to take a shot at writing poems for any of Tara’s titles, please help yourself and post them here in the thread or link to Inward Eye-whatever you’d like.
i think it's just too sweet that tara dedicated her book to willow....so in love, still, after 3 freakin' years
Very much so.
Well, Tara hasn’t been keeping any secrets from her friends about Willow or what Willow means/meant to her for all that time so someone as close to her as Gay was easily able to recognize Willow.
Thanks so much.
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Justin – Hey there. Lol about Lost and MT. I got so far behind on watching Lost that we gave it up for the year and will catch up when they come out on DVD. Thank you.
I liked Willow calling Faith at two in the morning. It's not surprising that once she'd decided to find Tara she would want to get started on it right away.
I’m not sure I’d see it as that rational a decision. I think she called her out of upset and worry and the dark hour of the soul, etc.
Totally agreed about Willow reading Tara’s writing. I think that her not doing it prior to that day was a little of her version of that Willow-diet Tara was on the year before. I’m lol about the judge and RPS.
Thanks.
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SallyMcFine –
So I was just about to post "Can we have an update to Menorah Tales?
"Can we, JustSkipIt?"
And then you updated. Heh. I crack myself up.
Wow, man. We must be like, you know, like cosmically connected and stuff…
Ok, not really figuring it out but give yourself some credit. If people think you’re brilliant, then you are: perception is everything. Tee hee.
Hmmm Tattered Covers sounds quite cool (and someone later in the thread agrees to that’s kind of cool). I totally agree that it was bold and probably quite stupid and inconsiderate for Willow to show up. I think she was obsessed, desperate, and hoping and praying that it went well and that Tara took it as support rather than being there to ruin her big day.
What spurred her to it, do you think?
I’d say three years of regret and loss and love.
Great analysis of the way people change and grow and how we have to adapt our concepts of them to really know them. Thanks so much.
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Dianneswillowtree – Thanks so much. Again tears and I like it. Thanks so much.
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Willow~Rosenberg – Awww. More mush. I like it.
Since I just met Amber this past weekend, I can totally picture this.
How cool!
Thanks so much for your thoughts and the linking of the inclusion of the just skip it speech.
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Dianneswillowtree – Lol!!!!
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db – Thanks so much. I’m glad you liked the poem titles and that you don’t expect me to write them. Ha ha. I saw that movie once but I don’t remember it very well. I feel like it made me sad but I can’t remember anything else about it. Interesting association though.
We’ll see about next year. Thanks.
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WillowRulez –
I usually try and only comment on stories which don't get as much feedback.
That’s so cool. I mean I love feedback but if you’re kind of pacing your feedback to the stories with less feedback, that makes perfect sense. Thanks for commenting this time though.
I think a big part of Tara’s growth is about her writing and her writing is largely about her passion and pain. So it makes sense that she’s worked through a lot about Willow without getting over her.
The situation with 'The curve of your hip' kinda reminds me of when Willow first came to the alternate reality in Paths diverged / divulged and everyone already knew about her because of Tara's paintings.
I totally get that and was honestly kind of worried about just that association. I was also concerned that Willow’s hanging out at the bookstore seemed too much like Paths D/D before she goes and sees Tara. I’m glad that it worked though.
Can't wait for the next update and maybe the talk? Or will the next one by a year later again?
These will always be a year apart…
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spells42 – I think that you have left feedback but thank you so much. I like your analogy about the chocolate. I hadn’t thought about it but that’s a bit of what it was like to be writing this update too. I knew where it was going but it was just so fun writing it and writing it entirely from Willow’s pov (knowing the last line) that I wanted it to go very slowly.
I’m not sure that Tara thinks Willow should initiate as much as she just doesn’t know if it’s time to do so. Keep in mind that as far as Tara knows, Willow is in a relationship. She hasn’t asked Faith anything about it so all she knows is that Willow is academically successful. I agree that both women have matured immeasurably (how could they not?). Thanks so much.
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Fleiss – Thanks so much.
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mole – Lol.
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ZenMe – Hi and welcome. Zen? Awesome. Thank you so much for your effusive praise. I really appreciate it and I’m glad you like the writing.
PS. I"m currently rereading Paths D/D...it makes me happy.
Thanks. I alternate between rereading that fic and rereading Survivor: Ash Island.
Thanks and welcome to delurking.
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WillowRTaraM1 – Thanks so much.
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SallyMcFine – La la la… I’ve been reading a book about Sally lately. Actually two books about Sally. In the first she has no lines but in the second, she definitely thinks the cat should not go in the house, let alone take a bath while eating cake.
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watty –
I suppose it's general unfamiliarity with the Jewish calendar as well as Thanksgiving not being a date of note in my world.
Hmmm, well, I’m not going to let the Jewish calendar thing go since Friendly Friends was part of Fruitcake but I didn’t really consider the Thanksgiving thing when I expected you to get it. So, ok.
You built the suspense slowly yet sustained it throughout the chapter.
Thank you. That’s precisely what I was going for so I’m glad it worked. I totally think that making the first move admits that she was wrong (or at least that she knows she was partially wrong).
Just as her London friends are acutely aware of who Willow was, the fact that Gay could recognize Willow, and how Joanne refers to her as "Tara's Willow" shows that she has been constantly in Tara's mind and she has mentioned her to her friends. One doesn't usually refer to an ex like that.
I think that Tara’s in a very unique position in terms of her ability (or lack thereof) to shelter or hide any part of her soul from those around her. It happens that her vocation and avocation require a sort of relentless truth and passion. She’s not a writer of fiction and while some/many poems can be fictional, it happens that hers don’t tend to be so. I can imagine her writing to be an exhausting and very truthful process and one that her close friends would be very involved in.
Before I read the dedication, I had a notion that everything Tara wrote in that book was for Willow. Then I read the dedication, and I decided that everything Tara wrote in that book was for Willow.
Nice spot. I seriously considered that response. That she would say something like, “everything in here is for you” but I was concerned that since there were poems that really showed the pain and suffering she (and both of them) had experienced, it wouldn’t seem “forgiveful” enough. Whereas I felt like the dedication was more in relation to the accomplishment of publishing her first book and the passion that went into it, as well as letting Willow know how much she meant to her.
Um, nothing for me to spot this time I hope?
I can’t think of anything else.
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Wolfy_willow – Lol: work and sleep. Thanks so much. I’m glad you’re enjoying it all.
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DelWhicker – Thanks so much. Yes, Tara definitely has good friends. I think she’s the kind of person who is able to hold up both ends of a relationship very well: both giving and accepting support and humor.
Both girls are making their mark on the world. I could get bonked on the head for saying this, but maybe this separation was the best for both of them. Would either one of them have gotten as far as they got if they were anchored in Sunnydale?
I think that’s a very valid attitude and I probably agree with you.
Nice suprise with Olivia bartending at the pub.
Finally someone mentions Olivia!
Thanks re: nervousness. Glad you liked the dedication and the entropy speech. I have to admit that I put that in there as a bit of a snide remark. I mean, I’m all for the skipping it (see my screen name afterall) but it always struck me as a bit cheap on the writer’s part. I mean it was like, “Hey. This a plot point we need to get to so let’s just do this really quick and then move on…”
Although, I'm sure it has something to do with Tara's chosen Literary vocation, because how much soul searching can be done in a lab with science and mathematics?
That’s kind of what I was saying to Watty above but you did a very good job of it. However, I certainly think that people can grow and learn and love no matter what their area study may be.
Thanks.
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Artemis – Very definitely two people who have never stopped loving each other but who had to go around some things to get there.
But Tara... that dedication really put the seal on it: all her personal success, the independent, glorious person she is now, is still all about Willow at heart.
Very ewll put.
And okay, the next chapter will be a year later, so we won't actually be able to see hot make-up sex, but perhaps there's the prospect of hot insert-purpose-here sex anyway?
You’re thinking that I haven’t thought of that???
Thanks so much.
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Emms – Awww. You’re like me liking the kid. Thanks.
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daiailun – Wow I feel like I owe you feedback on your feedback. You put everything so incredibly beautifully.
I’m glad that you’re enjoying Tara and her growth. It’s quite fun to write her. Good luck on the dating other people thing: see KB/DCP FAQs. Wow, you like the time lapse between posts? Hard to believe but I can definitely accommodate you on that one. Tee hee.
I like the example you give about RPS: it’s a common language, a common experience that they’ll always have.
And, see, this is what I like about your writing, too. I don't think you cloud it with extemporaneous and superfluous things. I think you're very skilled at controlling stories, guiding us through the twists and turns of some very creative plots, without them ever seeming contrived. Your earlier emphases on Tara's love of the book as a creation and Willow's love of the words as knowledge came into its own in the last scene when Tara opened Willow's copy, and gently, but knowingly, reminded Willow that she never reads the title page.
Wow. I don’t really know what to say except thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thank you so much for everything you have to say.
I'm not asking for smut, but I am thinking about it.
) and I've just realized what, in my mind, is a major factor with the crumbling of Willow and Tara's relationship. They were too focused on the physical/sexual aspect of their life together and didn't spend time developing the deeper, more philosophical connection needed to sustain a long-term relationship. Yes, they love each other very much and they know they felt happiness together, but did the ever really KNOW each other?
I am so moved my heart was pounding in my chest just like i was there and i held my breath too . I am sitting here with tears in my eyes this was so worth the wait and i am a glob of putty in your hand !!!!!! beautiful that is what this story is more soon please and we need 
but you know that don,t you because you love them to 
) But this update was the most beautiful one so far. I just had to write at least a few lines to let you know. And you did that with just one line:
