Thank you so much for your thoughtful and detailed answer!
I agree with you -- there are many people who don't want to put Tara into a male/female relationship because canon has her so firmly ensconsed in a particular identity/orientation. Completely understandable (and has a parallel in people who don't want to read, say, Riley in slash relationships since he only ever seemed to have relationships with women in canon). Even the way AB played the part, as so focused on Willow (and that may have been a combination of writing, direction, and acting initiative) supports that -- as opposed to other characters, like Xander, who dealt with almost every interaction as potential flirtation, no matter if the other character was male or female.
I think it would be tough to read a fic that didn't deal with that canon, that basically said, "Tah-dah, Tara's straight now!", but I could absolutely imagine stories in which her decision to become involved with a man, or gradually closeness to a male character, could make sense even in the context of her history and canon interactions.
I've read a few fics in which Tara figures briefly in m/f relationships that arise out of crises or peculiar circumstances. A post-apoc story called Our House (http://s8219.net/bbfarchive/archive/1/ourhouse.html) pairs her with a male character (keeping that quiet in case you decide you want to check out the fic -- it's an interesting reveal), though that grows very naturally out of the narrative, and the overall fic is gen in focus. And there was a fairly big push for Tara/Spike fics that gained headway a few years ago, with a community devoted to the pairing, and maybe a ficathon, though I see less of those fics now.
But Tara/Xander, to me that makes more sense than Tara/Spike. He had more canon interactions with her, iirc, and I'm not very sure of the Tara/Spike vibe (basically, I'm not really convinced they had a friendly relationship, though lots of fics that are grounded in a wide variety of pairings seem to argue that point).
On the other hand, I'm just a big Xander fan, and I can imagine him paired with nearly everyone, so I'm probably not the most trustworthy person to judge Tara/Spike in contrast!
Many thanks for those Xander/Darla links! I've read one or two Xander/Drusilla, but never Xander/Darla. And thanks so much for your kind words about my stories -- I really appreciate hearing that. :)
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Date: 2007-01-20 09:30 pm (UTC)I agree with you -- there are many people who don't want to put Tara into a male/female relationship because canon has her so firmly ensconsed in a particular identity/orientation. Completely understandable (and has a parallel in people who don't want to read, say, Riley in slash relationships since he only ever seemed to have relationships with women in canon). Even the way AB played the part, as so focused on Willow (and that may have been a combination of writing, direction, and acting initiative) supports that -- as opposed to other characters, like Xander, who dealt with almost every interaction as potential flirtation, no matter if the other character was male or female.
I think it would be tough to read a fic that didn't deal with that canon, that basically said, "Tah-dah, Tara's straight now!", but I could absolutely imagine stories in which her decision to become involved with a man, or gradually closeness to a male character, could make sense even in the context of her history and canon interactions.
I've read a few fics in which Tara figures briefly in m/f relationships that arise out of crises or peculiar circumstances. A post-apoc story called Our House (http://s8219.net/bbfarchive/archive/1/ourhouse.html) pairs her with a male character (keeping that quiet in case you decide you want to check out the fic -- it's an interesting reveal), though that grows very naturally out of the narrative, and the overall fic is gen in focus. And there was a fairly big push for Tara/Spike fics that gained headway a few years ago, with a community devoted to the pairing, and maybe a ficathon, though I see less of those fics now.
But Tara/Xander, to me that makes more sense than Tara/Spike. He had more canon interactions with her, iirc, and I'm not very sure of the Tara/Spike vibe (basically, I'm not really convinced they had a friendly relationship, though lots of fics that are grounded in a wide variety of pairings seem to argue that point).
On the other hand, I'm just a big Xander fan, and I can imagine him paired with nearly everyone, so I'm probably not the most trustworthy person to judge Tara/Spike in contrast!
Many thanks for those Xander/Darla links! I've read one or two Xander/Drusilla, but never Xander/Darla. And thanks so much for your kind words about my stories -- I really appreciate hearing that. :)