Art Appreciation

[tarawhipped]

I can't believe I've never left feedback for this wonderful story before, cause I just love it! I really like how you've developed their mutual attraction and sparkage into a very sweet and deep relationship. The way you described Tara's vulnerability in this update, and Willow's instinctual and unspoken reassurances was just beautiful. Glad to hear you're working on the next part and hope to see it soon.



-Cameron

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What should I be but just what I am? - Edna St.Vincent Millay

[littlecrazy80]

That was a lovely update.



*lil´c*

"I am S-E-X-Y" Amber at the FedCon



SweetAmber ~~~ AmberBoard ~~~ Sam´s melody

[behindhereyes]

Emms...



This is beautiful, heartwarming, and sweet . The easy-going natural attraction between W/T is a joy to watch unfold. I'm glad that B/X now know, I hate that they felt it necessary to spy on her. Tara being an art teacher seems to fit so well. You haven't let W/T jump into bed... The build up and slow burn is much more consuming .

What you've written has drawn me in... happily .



behindhereyes

Kim

"To the world, you may be one person; but to one person, you may be the world"

[WickedReds]

OMG!!! an update... hehe

I like it when Donny is on Taras side... being the real brother.. well being what a real brother should be...

Wow that was beautiful.. Willow being protective...awww..



-reds



Mein Banane tanzt für Schmutz

Smutbunny Anthem: *sung to tune from Goldfinger* Smutbunnies...they'e the bunnies, the bunnies that love the smut...and Willow's butt. They surf for smut fiction...always lookin' for the next naked sweaty fix...of Tara's tits.- Written By Cameron(tarawhipped) For Us Smut Bunnies

[Tempest Duer]

Willow is in love with Tara? Wow, I never would have guessed! You just keep surprising your readers at every turn, don't you?



I'm kidding of course... you know that. *wink* nice update, by the way.

It's insulting to the whole gender[sic] of rap.



~Eminem

[MissKittys Ball O Yarn]

Hi kittens! here's some replies.....



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Irishgrl hehe I agree. Bad Xander! *slaps hand* Bad Buffy! But hey, ya gotta love them. They are always good for a laugh.





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Willow Tara Addict Let me refresh that drink for you. (I duck down behind the bar and you hear the clinking of ice cubes) Here ya go * plopping them into your drink.



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taralicious you flatter me (no wait...continue..) *the next update's all for you sweetie!





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SilentPortrait Thanks sweetie!



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Arwen ohhh....you were achy? Great! then im doing my job Its my life's mission to push ache on people. I think it's an undervalued feeling but I intend to change all that. muahhaha (that was an evil laugh by the way) next....world domination!



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silentinformer Hi there thank you for the feedback! Im glad you made the trek on over welcome to my humble thread... *extending hand, as an elaborate panorama of beauty and splendor open up before you.* (or maybe not a panorama exactly, but more of a two dimensional page full of words... but they're pretty words aren't they?)



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mel I know... I know... *shaking head in shame* im a slacker. *sobbing* why don't you just punish me and get it over with!



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Watersong no worries necessary



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The Rose thank you for the feedback sweetie! Its nice to see your kitten paw once again leaving muddy tracks through my thread!



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wimpy Yes I am wimp yes I am... quite the romantic indeed. And what better way to get a little romance started but with footsies and a fire-places?



Ohhh.. Do I smell smores in the making?? Cause I have marshmallows!!



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Willster glad you liked it and thanks... Im happy to be updating this fic again. More coming soon okay? Thanks for the feedback. Don't be a stranger, Here have a cookie *tosses cookie in your direction*



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Artemis Yeah... Donny's an alright guy (for the most part) he has his problems but don't we all? Im sympathetic toward him, I guess I feel bad for him...cause you know...he's usually such an asshole. hehehe



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Cameron hehe hi there Im glad you like the fic (Can I mention that I love your stories as well, without being accused of sucking up? ) Im so glad you decided to leave feedback this time, though you're always welcome whether you do or not.



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lil c thank ya much!



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Kimthank you for your thoughtful words.



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reds hehe thank you. I might be flogged for saying it but I like Donny. Or I guess I like the Idea of Donny...his potential. I find the Idea that people can change fascinating so I have this pesky habit of making Donny an ally, to some degree, in Tara's life. I think its only right...considering she has such a jerk for a father.



(okay...was that a ramble?)



thank you for the feedback!



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Tempest Duer Hey... I have many surprises still left up my sleeve, don't blink or you might miss 'em.



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[VixenyTarasHot]

Gah I missed this till now!

Awesome and totally sweet update dude!

I think I might just have to go ax-murderer on Mr. MaClay's ass She shouldn't let his old ways and bad fatherhood guilt her even to today when she is trying to make decisions.. That's just.. so sad... But of course beautiful Willow with the.. waiting as long as she needs.. who wouldn't do that?



Anyways, just a great update all around, and I hope it isn't as long till we can read some more!!



Ashleigh

"...A-and I'm gonna make it up to you. Starting right now."

(Starts to smile)"Right now?"

[taralicious]

From the slow-burning fire in the fireplace to the slow-burning fire ignited between Willow/Tara themselves, as Tara lured Willow to her apartment with the promise of caffeinated goodness, you have once again taken us on a roller-coaster of emotional highs and made the payoff so succulent and sweet, I can't bear to part with them either.

Tara's father needs to be savaged by the Vermicious Khnids or fed to the Ravenous BugBlatter Beast of Traal.

He is to be reviled for projecting his own narrow-minded intolerant fearmongering upon dear sweet adorable Tara.

[singgirl]

Hey, I really like this fic! I didn't start reading it until days ago, but I find myself waiting eargerly for more. Please, continue.

Pax! -Bev

[Tempest Duer]

No blinking here! But my eyes are drying out.

I got bitten by a drunk lesbian! Does that mean I'll turn into one?



~my friend Mary

[MissKittys Ball O Yarn]

Hello kittens So, I was in the kitchen at 2:30 in the morning slaving away at the stove, because it was my wife's turn to bring lunch for everyone at work...and I have these really yummy potatoes that I make... that's a story for another time. I'll just skip right to the point. Where was I? Ahh yes...I was slaving away at the stove, when i was struck with inspiration, that eventually and after many hours led to this very update.



Enjoy! and Happy (insert holiday here) to everyone.



Note: I haven't gone over it for punctuation or grammar or any of those fun things (which I'll do later) So please forgive the many mistakes I know are in there... I just wanted to get the update out. It feels like it's been forever since I've done anything on this fic.





All disclaimers apply



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There was a loud bang of some kind that cut through Willow's sleep,and reached deep down into her subconscious to pull her by the hair up and out of the unpleasant dream she'd been having. Willow's eyes jerked open, and her hand automatically went to her chin, wiping any imaginary drool that might be there. She was confused for a moment and had the urge to fight off the invisible frogs that had been plaguing her only moments before.



Willow's head began to clear and she realized that she was still at Tara's. She looked at the blond, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully despite the awful noise.

The banging sounded again, causing memories of the evil frogs to resurface. Then reality reached up and smacked her on the head, effectively de-fogging her mind.

Willow was relieved to realize that it was just someone knocking on the door and not the rather large lumpy toad from her dream. The relief only lasted a moment though, before thoughts of hatchety-murdery, serial killers entered her brain. She looked down at the plastic watch on her wrist, and decided that anyone knocking at 3:00 in the morning had to be up to no good. Even the tiny scooby with its arms dutifully pointing to twelve and three seemed to have a worried expression in his little decal eyes.



Willow got off the floor cautiously. She began to creep toward the door, then, making a last minute decision she grabbed the first heavy-looking thing she saw , which happened to be a rather large paintbrush, she made her way to the door. Her hand twisted the knob slowly...then without warning she pounced! pushing the door open quickly in an attempt to throw the would-be-attacker off, catching him off guard, hopefully with a face full of door.



She was successful. Only, it was no Serial killer she hit, but rather a familiar blond. "Buffy! Oh My God! Are you alright?" Willow reached out to touch Buffy's arm, but the blond stepped back slightly as if she were afraid of another attack.



"What are you guys doing here?" Willow asked, noticing first Xander, then Anya standing next to him.

"Anya?"



"Im along for moral support. Xander was afraid you would still be angry and pummel him atop the head with something heavy." Anya explained her presence. "I guess it wasn't Xander's head we should have been worried about." Anya stated flatly, regarding Buffy's currently bloody nose.



The blond had her head back and a tissue placed over the bruised appendage. "I know it's late, we just felt really bad and needed to apologize. I hope we're not interrupting anything....." Buffy said. Her voice sounded nasal, due to the pinch she was putting on her nose.



"I know you're probably still pretty mad at us....but just hear us out okay?"



"okay" Willow agreed.



"We're really sorry....we only followed you because Buffy felt---" There was a jab to his ribs from Buffy who, although injured was surprisingly agile. "We! We felt left out. You've been secretive gal lately and we just wanted to know why." Xander finished.



Willow felt herself tearing up. <how can I stay mad at my best friends...and Anya.> She included Anya, even though the brunette hadn't done anything to irritate her..And though she did find Anya's general personality irritating in and of itself most times, tonight she was feeling rather generous with the love. "I love you guys....group hug......." Willow said, pulling Xander and Buffy into a squished embrace. "This doesn't mean that you are entirely off the hook you know..." She added, squeezing them tighter.



We know, that's why we came bearing many gifts....well...two gifts anyway. There wasn't anything open at this hour but the 7-eleven and some guy who was selling tube socks and Tabasco sauce out of the back of his van." Xander said Pulling away.



"Don't forget about the Cd's..." Anya reminded Xander. Then turning to Willow "There was a Cd."



"Right, and the Cd.The band was called...Dingos ate my...." There was a pause while Xander tried to come up with the rest of the name.



"Baby." Anya stated. "I remember because I found it inappropriately humorous in-spite of the offensive nature of the title."



Buffy rolled her eyes.



"You guys are kinda like the three stooges.... only with more hair." Willow related this observation with a bemused smile.



"You're losing her, give her the gift Xander." Anya said.



Buffy handed Xander the bag she'd been holding. He took a box out of the bag, and handed the box to Willow.



"A waffle Iron?" Willow was confused.



"Nothing says I'm sorry like a waffle Iron." Xander explained.



"Ooooo Teflon!" Anya said, admiring the gift.



"Well....I do love waffles...." Willow smiled at her friends.



"I don't think she's convinced. Give her the other thingy Xander." Anya ordered, accessing the situation for herself.



"And in-case acting like idiots is a two gift offense....we also brought you this.



" I 'heart' Boobies....." Willow read the words on the key-chain xander handed her. The word 'heart' wasn't spelled out, but represented by a picture of a heart between of the I and Boobies.



"Good thing they didn't make a tee-shirt." Willow laughed



"Oh they did....But Xander's keeping that for himself." Anya explained.



"Gee guys....this is great...thatcha came all the way down here...and it's been fun....but..."



"You're not going to invite us into your little den of iniquity?" Anya asked.



"What ?!" Willow glared at Anya.



"Anya...remember that talk we had in the car on the way over here?" Xander reminded her gently.



"Right..." The woman adjusted her wording " Please feel free to enjoy your lesbianism."



"Um....thanks?" Willow had no Idea what to say to that.







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Tara opened her eyes at the smell of something battery baking. The sun was shining brightly through the studio apartment's large windows and the sound of Am talk radio drifted softly from the small radio in the kitchen. Tara smiled. She'd never suspected that Willow might be a talk radio kinda gal. . Her head was tilted to the side as she lay on her pillow watching the red-head.



"how long have you been awake Missy?" Willow asked, catching sight of Tara watching her.

"I wanted to surprise you with breakfast in bed. But now that you know, we'll just have to squash the surprise part and you'll simply have to settle for plain ol' boring breakfast in bed." Willow said, putting the glass of Orange she'd been preparing on the tray.



"Not boring... It's lovely...No one's ever made me breakfast in bed before."



" If you play your cards right there just might be pancakes next time." Willow said cheerfully.



"Willow...Im really sorry about last night...I don't know why--" Tara tried to apologize for the night before, but Willow had effectively silenced her with a kiss. Tara felt the warm try being set down on her lap.



Willow sat down on the bed next to Tara. She became serious for a moment asking, "Are you okay...?"



"I am..." Tara said quietly, but deep down inside she was wondering if that was even the truth.



"It has just occurred to me that you haven't been over to my apartment yet. I'll cook you dinner." Willow said, changing the subject.



"You can do that?" Tara brightened



"I made waffles didn't I?" Willow teased



Tara smiled.



So...I'll see you tonight?" Willow asked.



"Oh yes..." Tara confirmed



Willow grinned.



"You stay in bed Missy. Willow tucked the blankets rather tightly around Tara. She kissed the blonds forehead. and started to get up to gather her things. But Tara caught her by the hand and pulled her back down.

"Thank you for last night." She said . Her tone was flecked with a mixture of seriousness and something else Willow couldn't quite put her finger on. Whatever it was, it made Willow blush from her toes to the roots of her hair.

"You don't need to thank me Tara..." Willow said, twisting the blankets between her fingers. She desperately wanted to tell Tara how she felt but the words wouldn't come out the way she needed them to, instead she started to babble, it was a curse she suspected must have started in infancy. "I really enjoyed our date last night.. there was food....and you....And I like when I can say Tara and food in the same sentence. Not that I want to eat you or anything! I mean not eat you in the salt and pepper kinda eating! <oh God in heaven where am I going with this?> But there are other kinds of eating that I'd--"



"No, I mean...thank you for last night, for not pushing. Thank you for staying with me. Just thank you. okay?"



"Okay.." Willow didn't know what to say. Here was this gorgeous blond Goddess, whom Willow felt privileged simply to know, much less be in a relationship with and she was thanking her?



Tara leaned over pressing her lips warmly to Willow's. "I'll see you tonight...." she breathed against Willow's lips.



Willow grinned. Getting off the bed she started to walk toward the door, but was stopped by Tara's voice behind her.



"Where did we get a waffle Iron?"



She could tell the blond wasn't asking Willow as much as she was thinking aloud. Willow decided she would explain later.



Willow felt incredibly happy as she walked down the stone steps leading from Tara's building. The air was fresh, the birds were singing, she was in love <secretly> she reminded herself. But even secret love was still love. Now all she had to do was find a way to tell Tara.







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Taralicious hehehe I absolutely love reading Feedback left by you. IT never ceases to amaze me at how you can find so many different ways to say, in essence; Nice update. I appreciate the time you take and the thought you seem to put into your feedback. It's very encouraging. Thank you.







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Tempest your eyes are probably all dried out by now... here... *passes Visine*



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Singgirl hello there! I hope the wait was worth it. Thank you for taking the time to leave Feedback.



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Edited by: MissKittys Ball O Yarn at: 12/25/04 11:14 pm

[LizPuRR]

yay an update

and a great update at that!!!



hopefully we dont have to wait that long for the next one!!

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and i'm not cocky, i'm confident...

Edited by: LizPuRR at: 12/24/04 2:45 pm

[behindhereyes]

You updated... Woo Hoo !



The bearing of gifts at 3am was a very sweet, please forgive me gesture... waffle irons are responsible for a lot of saved friendships I'm sure . Sooo dinner tonight at Willows...



Happy holidays

Kim

"To the world, you may be one person; but to one person, you may be the world"

[taralicious]

How adorable and cute beyond words are Willow and Tara in this update?

Buffy, Xander, and Anya are rather like the Three Stooges of Sunnydale as they show up at Tara's bearing 7-11 gifts.

At least they didn't bring condoms and tell Willow that they were ribbed for her pleasure.

[Artemis]

Great update - great Christmas present I hope Willow can contrive some suitably romantic way to tell Tara she loves her soon. And about the waffle iron, too The three stooges were pretty funny, but barely-awake Willow and her frog-plagued thoughts stole the show

Chris Cook

Through the Looking-glass

A Willow and Tara for every world.

[wimpy0729]

Hey Emms, what's with the waffle iron? I thought they were surely bearing the traditional gift of the toaster oven.



That was so cute and cuddly all around. Anya had me rolling.



Thanks for making me feel all warm and toasty on even a frigidly cold day such as this.



Can't wait til dinner, and Willow, with the eating...lmao



Great job!



Wimpy

[Willow18]

Wow. I just read all of this in one sitting. I am loving the story. Tara as a painting instructor... perfect. Poor Wills with the Buffy abandonment, although it did turn out for the best...



I loved Xander and Buffy trying to be "stealthy" in a bright purple car...



I feel sorry for Tara. Her father did a number on her.



Loved the gallery with all of the paintings of Willow. If Willow could paint, I imagine her place would be filled with pictures of Tara.



LOL at Anya... "den of iniquity"... "please enjoy your lesbianism" OMG. That is SO something Anya would say. I can picture Emma Caulfield delivering these lines.



LOL at the keychain and the waffle iron. Leave it to Willow and the Scooby Gang to confuse poor Tara.



I am looking forward to your next update.

[hin768]

ok, I have been waiting quietly for a while but now you really need to get



update, update,update,



PLEASE

[sam darls]

I've missed quite a few updates, and I've just caught up..wow..awesome and wonderful . Love sam xx

"Sometimes things happen between people that you don't really expect. And sometimes the things that are important are the ones that seem the weirdest or the most wrong. And those are the ones that change your life." - Jessie Sammler (Evan Rachel Wood)

[Shy One]

Hiya Emms!!!



Wow!! I can't believe I've missed 2 updates.

Naughty me...

They were SO great!!! I'm so glad you came back to

this fic. I'm absolutely loving every minute of it!

I hope your holidays were nice and that you got loads

of Tropical DOTS in your stocking!

And, as always, please update soon!!!!



BTW - thanks for the lovely reply! I'm flattered that you

look forward to my feedback!!!

I certainly look forward to your updates!



Take care!



Shy One

[eirnlove]

It's great! And cute..



can't wait for the next update..

ScarletBlonde

[MissKittys Ball O Yarn]

Hello kittens! *hides eyes in shame* It has been a long time between updates A big apology to those of you enjoying it. I really should update... yay okay.... I'll update! that's what I'll do! Woo Hoo! So what come's next? Ah yes, Tara's having dinner at Willow's place. That should be interesting.





xoxo

Emms

I can wax philisophically on a variety of different subjects...that doesn't,however, mean that I have anything constructive to add to the conversation.

--- Me

[Willster]

Aww, such a sweet update!

Okay, now i'm hungry for waffles



Can't wait to see the dinner date.. Willow can cook? This gotta be an alternate universe!!



update soon, I am addicted!

[Tempest Duer]

Eyedrops? Thanks! *blinks rapidly* Ah, I feel better. I love the update. I think I'll stock up on waffle irons to apologize for all the stupid things I do to people.

I got bitten by a drunk lesbian! Does that mean I'll turn into one?



~my friend Mary

[Rhiannon9891]

Hi Emms (Rhiannon hangs her head in shame). It seems that I just now found this wonderful Emms Fic.This is too good to be true...3 Emms fics. at once....boy..am I ever going to get a work-out...running between 3 Emms fics.

OK now on with stories...I'll just sprint from here to there to way over there...no problem...I can do this...just for Emms.



Rhiannon

She is like a cat in the dark

And then she is the darkness

[hidden watson]

I lost track of this fic for a while, but I found it again. Woo-hoo! I like the way Buff, Xand and Anya became immediately supportive of Willow, after their initial hilarious attempt at stalking. Dinner at Willow's place, yay, it should be interesting. Looking forward to the next update.

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quiet thoughts

[stillrunning]

So I read this fic a while ago, and then found it again yesterday and reread it again with the updated parts, and I STILL love it!! I can't wait for more updates!!

"Heaven's not a place that you go when you die...it's that moment in life when you actually feel alive"

[pikescoob]

I just caught up with this. I'm reading your other fic and since I enjoy that so much I knew I would enjoy this one as well. It was funny that Willow thought Tara was married, but you can't blame her cuz there was a ring on "the" ring finger. When Buffy and Xander went spying I knew Buffy wouldn't be able to stay hidden, she can't help herself, lol. I look forward to the next update!



**Michelle

"these wounds won't seem to heal,

this pain is just too real,

there's just too much that time cannot erase"--Evanescence (My Immortal)

[watersong84]

Updates are good, updates are good, updates are good... I'll just keep repeating my mantra until I make it happen... I love this fic!

[MissKittys Ball O Yarn]

Okay kittens here's an update on the status of the next update. I have another four days off this week and I plan to concentrate soley on this fic. I have so much of it written so I should be able to post a couple updates.



Thank you everyone for leaving feedback. I'll have individual replies out this weekend as well. I appreciate you all so much.





xoxo

Emms

I can wax philisophically on a variety of different subjects...that doesn't,however, mean that I have anything constructive to add to the conversation.

--- Me