Re: Re: OT fics?/Threesomes

[JDMeans@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 9/11/02 9:55:04 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
greywolfb@xxxxxxxxxx writes:


> 
> >> Since my threesome falls into a different catagory, a B/W/X I think 
>> i'll just find another outlet to post any updates to it I might write in 
>> the future so there wont be any anymosity here 
> 

I have to agree with those who want you to stay on. I tend to be open with 
ships, as long as the principles are kept in character. Buffy, Willow and 
Xander were the center of the Scoobs, and their constantly shifting, yet 
constant dynamic pretty much carried the show during the first 4.5 seasons. 
Sadly, Joss seems to have forgotten that, as witnessed in season six. If 
they manage to rebuild what was lost next season, I'll be amazed. 

I've written both B/W/T and B/W/X stories(having piggybacked on Tony McD's 
Trinity series), and can see different dynamics for all three. Somehow I can 
see Tara as a grounding influence for both Buffy and Willow, stablizing both 
Buffy's strength and Willow's magic. Maybe that's the real reason Willow 
went ballistic last season; Tara took off early, leaving Willow flailing in 
the wind. 

Just for kicks and grins, here's an essay about B/W/T that I wrote for 'Near 
Her Always', the Willow ship site (www.nearheralways.com). Hope you enjoy.


The Power of Three
A study in the Buffy/Willow/Tara dynamic
By Kirayoshi

Once in a high-school math class, my teacher described the triangle as the 
most stable and flexible form of geometry. Whether this is true or not, 
human beings are a different matter and triangles are seldom stable or 
flexible. Among people, triangles, especially romantic triangles, can be 
painful, even destructive.

This doesn't stop writers to create romantic triangles. And among some 
fan-fiction circles, triangles can evolve into three-person relationships. 
In the category of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of the most popular 
three-way groupings involves Buffy, Willow and Tara. Not that I can blame 
any of them, all three of them are charming and sexy women.

Why do writers seem drawn to these three as a match? Besides the obvious 
sexual images of two blonds and a redhead ravishing each other, there's a 
genuine friendship between these three that such a relationship can explore.

The Buffy/Willow/Tara ship is in some ways an extension of the Buffy/Willow; 
Tara's presence in the show is seen by some B/W shippers as an obstacle to 
Buffy and Willow being happy, but Tara is too nice to do anything nasty to 
(unless you're Marti Noxon. Joke). So some writers choose to work their way 
around the obstacle by inviting Tara into the ship.

In some ways, Willow's relationship with Tara mirrors Buffy's relationship 
with Willow. When Buffy first met Willow, she was shy and unsure of herself, 
in her power as a woman and as a person. Buffy's friendship with Willow 
helped the shy young hacker break out of her shell. Willow, in turn, showed 
the same love and support for Tara, when they first met at the campus wiccan 
meeting, and Willow realized that she was more than one of the 
wanna-blessed-bes. And although Buffy was initially wigged to learn that 
Willow had given her heart to another woman, when it came to crunch time 
Buffy was as supportive of Tara as she had been of Willow. When Tara's 
family tried to reclaim her, Buffy stood in their way, declaring that she and 
her friends were Tara's true family.

So why would a mutually committed relationship between these three women be 
so hard to envision? They compliment each other greatly; Buffy with her 
strength and passion, Willow with her intelligence, Tara with her control and 
her calming demeanor.

The easiest method of writing this relationship is to simply have Willow and 
Tara try to include Buffy in their lives once they're established as a 
couple. Willow feels as though she's neglecting her best friend, and invites 
Buffy over for a girls' night or something, just the three of them. Dirty 
imaginations take it from there. Or Willow and Tara, usually after a 
passionate session of lovemaking, end up revealing that they both have 
fantasies about Buffy, and decide to do something about making fantasy into 
reality.

Since three-person relationships are not generally the norm in society, 
stories that center on the three girls often rely on an outside force to 
bring them together. Either a miscast spell or a prophecy acts as the 
catalyst for the three discovering the depths of their emotions for each 
other. Oddly, the majority of B/W/T stories seem to have the three girls 
developing a telepathic, or at least empathic, bond together. My own "The 
Third Power" and Hunter Ash's "Red Moon Rising" series use this theme; once 
their minds are linked, their hearts (and inevitably bodies) will follow. In 
other stories, a prophecy involving three women of power joining their hearts 
to create something even greater than themselves is often the means of 
bringing Buffy, Willow and Tara together. Sam Shadowmage's "Triad" is a 
prime example of prophecy in action.

Another advantage in this unusual grouping is that it allows other 
characteristics in the three players to develop. This is especially true for 
Tara, whose character was never allowed to fully develop on the show (and 
judging from the last eps in Season Six, she won't get the chance). In The 
Bear's "Please" series, for example, Tara finds strength she didn't know she 
had, as she becomes the dominant figure in the sensual games she plays with 
Buffy and Willow. Hunter Ash's stories often have her as the calming 
influence or the voice of reason in Buffy's life.

The amazing thing is that most B/W/T stories I've read on various lists and 
sites aren't in the realm of PWP (Porn Without Plot, or Plot? What Plot?). 
While there is a great deal of sensuality in some of them, and in some cases 
a bit of kink, most that I have found provide character development and 
strong plotlines as well. While the odds of Joss even trying to get away 
with such a relationship on the show are about the same as the odds of my 
winning the local lottery (especially considering that I don't buy lottery 
tickets), fanfiction writers aren't as limited in their options. The sky's 
the limit, and often only a limit to be surpassed. Using different 
situations and relationships to study characters and see what makes them tick 
are one of the hallmarks of fanfiction. And the dynamic between the Slayer 
and the two Witches is one that is certainly worth exploring.