To you, what makes Willow and Tara so special?

[thrilledbymaclay]

I have alot of reasons for loving them. They've all been previously stated, but I'm going to share them anyways.



First of all, I loved Willow before Tara graced us with her presence. Seeing Willow after meeting and inevitably falling in love with Tara was really inspirational, as I tend to be very bitter and generally assume that people, once falling in love, lose parts of themselves. However, Willow only became more confident, more of the person I always admired.



Second of all, and along the same vein, Tara's story is so moving. How she overcame her past life experiences (with Willow's ) just makes me feel so hopeful. And that brings me to the main reason: They give me hope of not, you know, being alone forever. That's not a feeling I experience alot of...



Plus, ya know, the hotness. And how they make *everything* seem like fun. And the way Dawn loves them together. Their collective strength. And the cuddling, hand holding, etc.

[ambersagoddess]

It is hard to explain in words how the W/T relationship makes me feel. I have always been a cuddler at heart and I just want to cuddle with both of them. Even though Willow and Tara are fictional characters, I feel, talk, act, and joke around as if they were real. Often people think they are real when I talk about them, which just proves how well their relationship is portrayed. Amber and Aly make the 'ship what it is, if it weren't for their friendship I don't believe W/T would be even close to as good as it came out. Tara's death hit us all very hard and we will never forget her, but even if she's dead, the W/T relationship still lives in all our hearts. Besides, their hot!



-Rei

[Tempest Duer]

I'm different from most people on the board in that 90% of my knowledge of Buffy and pretty much all of my connection with it comes from fandom, and mostly this board. I only got into it after I saw Aly in AP and thought that I should see more of her.



But when it comes to a TV relationship, they are the cutest couple on TV that I've ever seen. They really are soulmates in the truest sense of the word. It's kind of inspiring to see them, even though they aren't real...



Aly and Amber, of course, are just wonderful. The chemistry between them is fantastic. And, of course, I love watching hot women make out.

Choosing not to decide is still a choice.

[SisterDebMac]

I love Willow and Tara for all the same reasons all of you do. But for me, particularly, it's the naughty fanfics. Yep, definitely the fanfics. I adore the actresses and the show was great for a while but then it went horribly off course. Thank All That Is Good & Right In The Universe for the writers at Pens!



Thanks to the writers at the other great fic sites too (you know who you are).



Fics took this relationship into previously uncharted territory. And there have been times when they were the only thing that kept me sane.







Keep writing!



Deb

[sprhrgrl]

You know what makes Willow and Tara so special to me?



Tara. It's so much Tara. She is *such* an amazing character, with such a beautiful outlook on life, even after all of the pain she's faced. Amber Benson portrayed that wonderfully. Incidentally, look how many more Amber threads there are than Aly ones.



Willow's wonderful too, but she wasn't *great* before Tara. Now that they're together things are wonderful and they've both come so much more into themselves.



And yes, gorgeousness is a factor. And cuteness. And Ms. Kitty.

she's my everything

Sweetie, I'm a fag. I been there. - Tara (Dead Things shooting script)

A muscle cramp? in your. . . pants? - Tara (Older & Far Away)

[sam7777]

sprhrgrl: Agreed. Tara made Willow great.



What makes Willow and Tara special for me is the love. It really came out in Amber and Aly's performance even when it wasn't on the page. I feel that it was primarily Amber and Aly who made Willow/Tara for me since the WB and UPN censored it and the lines as written in script were often pretty lame. For example, imagine the Willowhand scene without Amber's incredible half smile and Aly's cute smile back. On the page the scene is really nothing but on screen with Amber and Aly it's a real Yowza for me. Another example is the scene where Willow comes to Tara to do the demon locator spell. The scene as written is really bad dialogue-wise (badly written by Ms Noxious) and the direction is flat but Amber and Aly pull it off (barely, the dialogue was really bad). Without Amber and Aly that scene would really have been cringe-worthy. Shows you what two actresses with real chemistry can do.

_____________________

I see dead lesbian cliches

[EF Candle]

Amber Benson and Alyson Hannigan have both done an amazing job by making Willow and Tara so life-like. There are many things that make them special, the chemistry between both actresses, the sweetness, the uniqueness, and how real it is. Keep up the incredible work ladies!

[MelanieCFan1]

You know, when I was watching Buffy during season 4 I knew by the second episode with Tara in it, what Joss was doing. Thier relationship is great. It's something I hope to achieve one day. I have a girlfriend and we are almost at that point.



I also think that having that relationship in Buffy made the show more realistic. Joss did I great job of portraying thier characters.



It meant a lot to me to see a lesbian realtionship on tv because I had never really seen one and being a lesbian, I like to see that. I mean there is Ellen but...that wasn't what Willow and Tara were. They were special...

[sam7777]

It meant a lot to alot of people to see a lesbian relationship on TV and that's what made Willow and Tara so special. Joss created the characters but never saw or cared about what made them special so that in the end, he treated Tara as a plot device to turn Willow evil. Amber and Aly did a great job portraying Willow and Tara and they understood what made the characters special. In interviews, Amber and Aly always said how proud they were to portray gay characters. Amber said it best in her recent interview with Curve (posted by LiquiDreams618):

Quote:

---

"You don't get many romantic comedies about two gay men or two women. There's a whole segment of the population that is not getting its needs addressed, and I felt this film was trying to address them. Plus," she adds, "it has a happy ending."



Participating in a project with a happy ending is a significant event for Benson, given the gruesome and controversial end her character met on Buffy last year. "When she was killed like that, it really fucked some shit up, "she says.



Whedon eventually washed his hands of the controversy by claiming he "didn't care" about social issues, but it wasn't so simple for Benson. "[Joss] wasn't Tara," she explains. "He didn't walk in her shoes."



A frequent guest at Buffy conventions, she heard firsthand what Tara meant to the gay community - and how much her death hurt. "It's so sad that, on the one hand, you say, 'Oh, it's just a TV show,' yet, on the other hand, it had a horrible impact on people," she says. "You hate that it can be negative and hurt people."



When a character has that kind of social impact, you just don't have the right to do anything else to her."

---

Willow and Tara could have been special as the only long term lesbian relationship on network TV. Instead Joss gave us yet another ugly instance of the lesbian Cliche. As much as I loved Amber/Aly playing Willow and Tara, Amber's defense of her character and caring for her fans is what really makes Willow and Tara special for me.



Thank you Amber for being such a special person. I wish the people who create TV shows cared as much as she did. Then we wouldn't have a porblem seeing positive images of ourselves in the media.

_____________________

I see dead lesbian cliches

Edited by: sam7777  at: 10/16/03 5:54 pm

[sfgo2003]

God...where do I start.



I guess the chemistry between Aly and Amber. I've never seen a more romantic and sexy relationship on television or on the big screen before. They are both incredible actresses and amazing human beings.



It is very difficult for me to put into words the impact they have had and continue to have on my life. It's been so profound.



Wendy

[Buffy25]

They give me hope. What more would I need?

[jadeo0]

So many reasons. Firstly, even through the censors, you can see that they love each other. Sure, they can't express it in ways that heterosexual couples do, but the way they hold hands and unconsciously touch each other gives you just a glimpse of their love.

Secondly, how they are lost without each other. When Willow and Tara broke up in Season 6 (hard times I know), both of them were heartbroken, and through their nervousness around each other, you can see that they're just aching to touch each other, like they're physically holding back.

Just to name a few...

A dose of Amber makes my day.

jess

[TaraBaby77]

jadeo0 - I wanted to add my comment on what makes Willow and Tara so special, but after reading your comment.........you pretty much said it for me, =)

[willowrulz4ever]

I have to confess I am in love with Willow.Not Aly but Willow(Which is probably proof i need a life.)Willow is me.Shy(Offline that is)an outsider but fiercely loyal to tose we care about.



I remember when the RWF(Roswell Willow fans) got together to watch Hush.The guys were outraged.They just knew Joss was going to have Willow "Start batting for the other team".I was ecstatic.Man,I was miserable after a certain hairball left and broke my Willow's heart.The look of contentment on Willow's face when she linked up with Tara to move the soda pop machine was wonderful.I don't think my feet touched the ground all of the walk home.



I guess the reason I love Willow and Tara is Tara makes my Willow happy.When they had that dance at the end of Family.I was like "Thank you Tara.Thank you for making Willow happy.



ronnie

[3peanuts]

Sweetness.

"I like Amber Benson 'cause she's a proletarian" Sarabiga

Keynes was right

[The Rose24]

W/T are the best portrayal of a couple, gay or straight, I have ever seen.

Tara: My heart doesn't stutter.


Tara: Willow, I got so lost.

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

[irulan]

well i instatly liked willow cos she reminds me of myself, and when it was revealed via her relationsip with tara that she was gay i got evn more excited for we had another thing in common.i really enjoyd watching them and their relatonship cos it was not something that we occasionally see, they worked on the pair elaboratelly sth that transformed buffy from a nice show to my fave show

The gates of hell are locked from the inside

C.S.Lewis

[WillowGoddess]

Well...I guess we can all say we cant really describe exactly it is that Willow and Tara do to us lol whew... i know i cant.

I just know that i just broke up with a girlfriend of mine and everything was so hard an suddenly I found myself watching music videos of Willow and Tara with all my favorite love songs or anything like that. Instantly I was just like, OMG these are making me so happy...just seeing this love. I seriously downloaded so many of the episodes because our video store didnt have them and I could not stop watching. It was a very intense couple days there...lol. However, I always watched the show but I never really watched bit by bit, i watched parts of episodes just scattered around...blah blah, anyways, lol i just kept watching and from that day, Willow and Tara just gave me this sense of being so happy. The way they were, the people they were, i mean just amazing people. And people say "nat, its just a tv show" but they were normal. I mean they were college women in love, i mean how real is that. They were normal. Its just so real and all their situations between one another and friends were just so realistic and real. I dont know its just amazing to know what just watching them do to me. and then to top it all off! lol I fell in love with Willow!



(they really couldnt think that i could only write one lil thing about this this is my last one lol, i know we could all write pages but i have to stress the point, for my benifit lol!)

Anyways, I fell in love with Willow. I never ever realized but wow, shes just is everything I could ever want...lol i mean in a nice wholesome way. lol I guess she just is so much like me, and to think a person created this charchter? i dunno...whew, its amazing because I too dont really think of having this crush on Alyson Hannigan, its on Willow! So much just Willow lol. Maybe that is nerdy of me, lol. I think about it though, if I saw Alyson Hannigan in person, I would probably die instantly. Id be like "OMG, its Willow".... lol yes, i need help lol. I just think so much of her, wow...I think one thing we can agree on about Willow as one of her best features is the "way she speaks" ...and her reactions. Wow...I do need help! lol haha im sorry im venting because i know everyone here knows what im talking about! lol I just need to tell someone lol, because no one around here watches buffy and here i am obssessed, but thanks everyone for letting me do this! lol (cough cough, if someone wants to talk to me about buffy btw, please IM me or something...like i said no one around me watches buffy...it gets lonely...lol) NERD

Edited by: Warduke at: 2/23/04 8:20 am