Fic: Terra Firma

[Puff]

Wow that was brilliant Tulipp. Sorry it's taken me so long to reply but I'm not really allowed online much at the moment (blergh head injury) and I can't even concentrate much when I am online. Anyway the end of this story really kept my attention and thank you so much for posting it and sharing this wonderful story with us all here. I didn't want this story to end, but the way it did was perfect.

-----------------------
You know, it's a real deal relationship and that's why people can relate to it
Amber Benson

[Tulipp]

Puff, I'm so sorry to hear about your accident! I saw that you mentioned that the other day, but I didn't know where to reply to be sure that you would see it. I hope you are okay and that you are getting lots of rest.



And thanks for braving the headache to come finish this story. I have appreciated your feedback all along, really. Thank you so much for reading.



Now go get better!

***************

"Riley was supposed to be Mr. Joe Guy. We were gonna do dumb things like hold hands through the daisies going 'tra la la.'"
--Buffy in "Goodbye, Iowa"

[snippygal]

There was a time when my guy was Harry Connick, Jr. It's the voice. The man can wail. Some may say - "Oh, he just wants to be Frank Sinatra!" I say - that's just fine with me. But I have moved on to manlier things. Hugh Jackman. Sigh. He's my guy. Not so much in X-Men - not a big fan of a lot of hair (can't imagine why).



As for "Firefly" - I suppose it's a bit taboo to even be watching it and discussing it here, but what can I say - I'm a rebel. It wasn't too bad. It showed promise. I don't usually like pilots. As a rule, they just generally suck. So I'll keep watching to see. As far as the women go - his first mate is a black woman and she seems to have the potential to kick ass, which is nice. His engineer is a woman who could possibly be a new object of my affection. And actually, prostitutes are highly respected. Interesting. I won't bog you down with it all. Go forbid I give Whedon some props for writing -- that would sort of make me lose credibility with "Bobby", wouldn't it?



In my defense, though, I'm only watching the show for research. It's all for the good of my work. I swear.



Snipp

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

She settled for second best and so she found me - John Wesley Harding

[Saturnine]

Well I just read this entire fic from beginning to end and it simply took my breath away. Your writing style is amazing and you have the ability to make every scene so personal and touching. bravo. It is one of the best fics I've ever read and believe me I read alot

[SlayerSydney]

All I can say is thank you again for bringing Tara back into Willow's life. The entire story is so beautifully written that the ending brought me to tears.

I appreciate the opportunity to live vicariously through your words.

Now that I think about it, I don't know if the tears were caused from your story or the fact that the new season is so close to starting .....that it won't live up to the heaven you have created here for me.

*Heavy Sigh*

I anticipate reading more from the eloquent writer that brought out the lurker in me and made me post in this thread.

[Murasaki S]

Quote:

---

"The past months—all the months since Buffy had died—had been like…like a tornado, or maybe a hurricane: strong winds blowing them all down over and over again, flattening them against walls and knocking over houses and ripping up trees. To Dawn, life had felt like that for so long. Like every time they had all started to stand up again, a new gust of wind knocked them all flat. Blew away hope and life and everything that was normal.



But now, the storm was over; the winds had calmed.

---

This is what I was talking about. Not much of a nature gal myself, so granted, it doesn't take too much to impress me when it comes to nature descriptions. I'm pretty sure it was good stuff though

BTW, I just reread your whole fic from start to finish instead of doing homework and it's even more powerful in one go. There were so many wonderful things you did with this fic along the way that I wanted to comment on. The structure and the pacing of the story are so precise, they enhance the emotions that you are allowing your characters to feel and your readers to share. The Thoreau quote opening the last part is particularly struck me as appropriate and beautiful.

I'd love to read original fiction from you. I hope this story makes it way onto an archive 'cause I want to print it out and reread it on paper.



Thank you for writing this.

[Tulipp]

Snipp, there seems to be a lot of “research” going on around here.



Saturnine, thank you so much for reading the whole thing and for telling me you liked it. I really appreciate you kind words. There is so much excellent W/T fic around here…it’s nice just to be able to contribute to the general goodness.



SlayerSydney, Thank you again for reading, and I really get what you’re saying about season-starting tears. I still haven’t made up my mind about watching, but I do know that season seven won’t give us what we want. We have to do that for ourselves now, sadly. I think I just seconded your heavy sigh. But I am planning to write something else; thanks for the encouragement!



Murasaki S, oh thanks! I’m sorry for your homework but happy for my story if it got another read. I really appreciate your comments about the overall-ness; looking back, I realize that the overall plan didn’t change much from the original outline, although a number of plot turns simply got dropped because they would have made it too busy. But I’m so glad that it works as an overall story. I do plan on archiving it in one or two places, but thanks for the extra push to do so. And thanks for reading.



Thanks, Kittens!

***************

"Maybe I'm the bad guy. Maybe I'm the thing you should kill."
--Riley in "Goodbye, Iowa"

[snippygal]

What the hell are you talking about? Are you suggesting I'm not who I say that I am?? Oh, wait. That's Abe Froman. Okay, what I mean is, are you suggesting that I watch these shows purely out of visceral (and I use the term loosely) entertainment? No! It's for several reasons, none of which include fun or enjoyment. I swear.



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



He called you a toth. It's a British expression.

It means, like, a moron. - Buffy, to you-know-who

[Tulipp]

Hey, Snipp, love your new signature.



As for television...well, believe me, I would never suggest anything of the kind. Personally, I like my television to lure me into a world of true lesbian love and then, suddenly, reach right out of the screen with its big fist and rip my heart right out of my chest. Then I like it to stomp around on my heart for awhile. Then, if possible--and I know it's asking a lot--I prefer that my tv erases all evidence of the thing it got me into in the first place.

***************

"I didn't think Willow was that kind of girl."
--Riley in "New Moon Rising"

[allyson12]

Tulipp - Loved it! So much as a matter of fact that I copied it to MS Word. Then converted it for my Palm so I could read it on my Van commute to and from work!



-Allyson

"After one take, Joss did say, 'Can we have one that's less like you're going to sleep together in about five minutes?'" - Alyson Hannigan

[snippygal]

But you're not bitter.



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

She settled for second best and so she found me - John Wesley Harding

[Miss1234Kitty]

I'm not going to even try to express my feelings for this fic. Later, I will, because that's supposedly what I do, but right now I'm just overwhelmed by the strength, and still vulnerability, of your writing. You have a great talent. No matter what anyone tells you, no matter how far you fall, that talent will bring you back up again.



I know many might have thought that was extremely 'soppy', but I just thought you had the right to know. If you didn't know already, because I think every kitten has told you so all the way through this fic.



Gem

Tara: There's just so much to work through... and can you just be kissing me now?

[The Big I T]

Okay Juli. I set aside a nice chunk of my Saturday evening and re-read this fic from start to finish. And what I said about it before? Not enough. Not nearly enough.



There was a favorite quote of mine that kept running around inside my head since early on in this story. I think it came to mind at first because of how it applies to Tara so completely -- the way she naturally, instinctively, seems to know what others need and how to listen and help and take care of them. It was so easy to see and feel how much – how painfully much -- that was missed in her absence. But as this story progressed, I saw the wisdom of the words take hold in the actions of Dawn. And Buffy. And then, finally, profoundly, I saw this simple truth wrap itself around Willow and bring her back to a place where she could trust in herself again.



Anyway, the quote, from Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”:



"See, you don’t have to think about doing the right thing. If you’re the right thing, then you do it without thinking.”





There came a point for each of them – for all the Scoobs, really -- where they stopped shrinking from the “death and grief and mistakes and wrong”. Instead, they opened themselves up again – to each other. To themselves. And -- aided of course by the advent of Dawn’s *rightness* in realizing her mystical keyness -- that’s where the real healing came from. They just started being again. Who they really are. And for each other. They all became *right* again. In using the metaphor of the elements to capture the essence of Dawn and Buffy and Tara and Willow, you illustrated that to perfection.



This little paragraph in the story, I think, also captures a big part of what I’m talking about.



Quote:

---

When Buffy lifted her head, she saw Tara smiling gratefully at her in the gentle and knowing way that only Tara smiled. Tara saw things that others didn’t, Buffy knew. She saw things that happened beneath the surface of conversations, currents that other people missed. She seemed to understand, now, and she smiled.

---

Quintessential Tara, of course. But it’s not so much her *knowing* or *seeing* in the sense of always having the answers. Instead, she just seems to have this clear and very compassionate understanding that the choices and decisions we make – the important ones, the ones that have a profound and lasting effect on who we are and who we (hope to) become – are never easy, never just a choice between black or the white, right or wrong, good or evil. Instead, it’s about making the best choice, the best decision, that we can at the time. Realizing that the best we can do is really, truly, the very best that we can be expected to do. In your fic, they all got a chance to realize that truth; and they seized it.



I think that, at some point, I had said that you’d done good here with this fic. But I stand corrected. You done *right* here. You done *right* by Tara. By Willow. By Buffy. By Dawn. By all of them. And, in so doing, you did *right* by all of us who needed something healing and hopeful to hold onto in the aftermath of Season 6. And the way you told this story, I think it applies to you as well. You -- your instincts…your deep and obvious love for these characters…your breathtakingly sensuous style of writing…and your desire to create something powerful and hopeful out of all that despair – were so very, very *right*.



At the end, I guess I just feel compelled to say it once more…Thank You. I’m going to keep and re-read and treasure this one for a long, long time.



I’m also going to run along now before people start to think I’m becoming a groupie or something. But my new sig? Picked it out especially with you in mind. ;-)

********

"How 'bout them Broncos..." -- Riley, saying something undeniably charming and useful, in The Initiative

[Tulipp]

Kittens, thanks for the feedback.



Allyson, thanks! I have a friend who reads hugely long fan fiction stories on her palm pilot on the train. It sounds like it would be hard, but she says it works great. But thank you so much for telling me.



Snipp, no. Not me.



Gem, I really appreciate your comments. And soppy? Never. Everyone has been great, but it’s still nice to know that people liked it. Really, it means so much. Thank you, and thanks for reading.



Big IT, you have really spoiled me; you have. Thanks for spending time on this. I love the Maya Angelou phrase you mentioned; I can see how it would become the kind of thing that stayed in one’s head all on its own. And I love the way you describe the truth of it wrapping itself around Willow. Truthfully, I think that through writing this I have come to understand Tara and love her more than I did before, but I guess at the beginning of this story, Willow was my real concern. And right now, she still is, with the season starting, etc. But if it doesn’t sound too strange, I really got to know Tara in trying to think hard about what she would do and say and feel.



Before ME went insane and turned all the plots and characters on their heads, what I loved about the show was the way the characters had deep and true feelings: Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. Guilt. But they also had Friendship. Trust. Hope. Love. On some elemental level, all that got lost, and instead we got power and anger and rivalry and hatred and pain.



And I’ve said this before, but I will say it again, your words mean more to me than I can say. I will say this, though: I love your new sig.



Thanks, everyone, for reading. You are the best.

***************

"I didn't think Willow was that kind of girl."
--Riley in "New Moon Rising"

Edited by: Tulipp at: 9/28/02 7:21:55 am

[tommo]

Quote:

---

As for television...well, believe me, I would never suggest anything of the kind. Personally, I like my television to lure me into a world of true lesbian love and then, suddenly, reach right out of the screen with its big fist and rip my heart right out of my chest. Then I like it to stomp around on my heart for awhile. Then, if possible--and I know it's asking a lot--I prefer that my tv erases all evidence of the thing it got me into in the first place.

---

See, you two are too high-falutin' for me. I just watch tv for the hot girl on girl action.



And I'm generally disappointed.

----------
"Squish. Squish. Squish."

[Tulipp]

Hot girl-on-girl action, huh? I'm really surprised, Ruth. I would never have expected that of you.



You've given me a lot to think about today.

***************

"So tell me about your dream. As a psyche major I'm qualified to go 'hmmm.'"
--Riley in "Hush"

[tommo]

I have noticeably not been thinking about girl on girl action. Honest. Not me.

----------
"Squish. Squish. Squish."

[Sleek]

tulipp,



I am a fan of your fanfic.



Your writing is fluid and grace flows with every word. Poetry is a rare gift, you have it.

[Tulipp]

Sleek, thank you so much. I really appreciate your reading it and the kind words.



As for the gift of poetry....well, the only gift of poetry I really have at the moment is finding out that I'll be teaching Beowulf next term.



Eek.







Edited because I know better. I do.

***************

"Don’t make fun. I worked long and hard to get this pompous."
--Riley in "Fear Itself"

Edited by: Tulipp at: 9/26/02 11:58:22 am

[ruby]

That and thinking up words that rhyme with "Riley."

"Bad TV writers," Willow grumbled. "Is a little internal consistency too much to ask?" --Sassette, Lingering Darkness

[snippygal]

Biley.



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

She settled for second best and so she found me - John Wesley Harding

[The Big I T]

My-oh-my-ly.





Edited because I like hyphens. Sometimes.

********

"How 'bout them Broncos..." -- Riley, saying something undeniably charming and useful, in The Initiative

Edited by: The Big I T at: 9/27/02 4:26:23 pm

[BoredNow99]

Smiley

Willow...It's Glenda in a bubble power, not Margaret Hamilton on a bicycle power

[The Big I T]

Ankle-to-thighly.





Damn hyphens. Damn images of stuff-that-rhymes-with-Riley. Now I'm grossing myself out.

********

"How 'bout them Broncos..." -- Riley, saying something undeniably charming and useful, in The Initiative

[snippygal]

Gomer Piley?



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

She settled for second best and so she found me - John Wesley Harding

[The Big I T]

Poke-in-the-eye-ly.

********

"How 'bout them Broncos..." -- Riley, saying something undeniably charming and useful, in The Initiative

[snippygal]

Denially. As in:



"Certain memebers of this board are being all denially when it comes to Riley." --- and it rhymes. Oh wait - that was the point, wasn't it?



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

She settled for second best and so she found me - John Wesley Harding

[Ghostwriter]

Tulipp, I finally was able to read the last update. I could have read this story for ever! I loved it. Like I've said before your imagery is striking. I am an awe. I liked your characterizations, especially Xander and Dawn. Dawnie, with her keyness was fantastic. I have now read the last update twice, just so I could absorb everything. I liked the way you gave Dawn, Buffy, Tara and Willow their own closing scene.



This quote summed up season six for me perfectly:

Quote:

---

To Dawn, life had felt like that for so long. Like every time they had all started to stand up again, a new gust of wind knocked them all flat. Blew away hope and life and everything that was normal.

---

And this just tugged at my heart:

Quote:

---

For once, Willow let the fire inside her warm instead of burn. And she knew she was, at last, on firm ground.

---

Thank you so much for sharing this story with us, I am going to miss this story. Well maybe not to much, cause I'll read it again. Thanks again.

[Tulipp]

See, I go away for one night and miss all the good stuff.

Here's what I've got, too little and too late.



Lyle, Lyle, crocodile-y

Met a man swimming in the Niley

And tried to eat him all up while he

Said "please spare me, for I am Riley!"



Okay, carry on. You all obviously don't need me.



But Ghostwriter, thank you for reading. I'm glad you liked the parts you quoted; I really enjoyed writing this last chapter. It was like a reward after getting through some of the really hard emotions of previous chapters. Thanks for liking it.

***************

"Don’t make fun. I worked long and hard to get this pompous."
--Riley in "Fear Itself"

[The Big I T]

Tried so hard not to be just plain Riley

Flashed his arm veins for vamps low and highly

“Ooh! That’s just ick!” scolded Tulipp.

“It’s your big potato nose makes my heart skipp.

And that cowlick -- *swoon* -- soooo Gomer Piley.”





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





There once was a lug name o’ Riley

Bulging muscles and hair, ankle-to-thighly

I don’t mind said one Tulipp

I’ll just slather him in Cool Whip

And we'll live happily in sweet low-fat denially







Edited cuz I thought of another one while I was vacuuming and doing laundry. Ahhh...sweet inspiration....

********

"How 'bout them Broncos..." -- Riley, saying something undeniably charming and useful, in The Initiative

Edited by: The Big I T at: 9/28/02 11:01:29 am