Tara was so adamant against bringing Joyce back that it should have taken lots of very convincing arguments to even get Tara to concede that it might even be a good idea to consider it.

I think Buffy's death hit Tara a lot harder than Joyce's did. And note she was fully aware that what they were doing was both wrong and immensely dangerous, and voiced those concerns to the assembled group to make sure everyone was going in with their eyes open. I think she made the grief-based decision to ignore her principles and common sense . There probably were a lot of convincing arguments over that summer, but Tara probably really, really wanted to be convinced, too.

There probably were a lot of convincing arguments over that summer, but Tara probably really, really wanted to be convinced, too.

And don't forget -- the post-S5 summer they all continued to patrol without Buffy (though with the Buffybot), so Tara probably had a good idea of what hell (literal) would descend on Sunnydale if the Buffybot ever broke/malfunctioned/etc. She knew that they needed the Slayer back.

Were there fics written where the plan was to, instead of resurrect Buffy, kill Faith?

Whoa.

ita's mind works in twisted ways.

Tara probably really, really wanted to be convinced, too.

I don't buy it. I see her as too invested in the natural order of things to be swayed just by grief. I don't think Buffy meant all that much more to her than Joyce did, Tara hadn't known Buffy all that long. Willow's grief would have upset her, but I don't think it would have been enough to push her to the idea that resurrection was a good thing. The "we can't do this without her" argument would have been a good opening position, but I think the idea of resurrection would still have come as a shock.

I don't think Tara felt all that close to Buffy. But I don't think at that stage she was really prepared to hold the line against a Willow determined to act, even if she'd tried. Aside from having been recently brain-scrambled, I think she was still pretty emotionally dependent at that point. Maybe dependent is too strong a word, but she didn't have the confidence then that she did later. At that stage, she'd be more easily pulled along by Willow's emotional manipulation conviction.

But I don't think at that stage she was really prepared to hold the line against a Willow determined to act, even if she'd tried.

Good point. She hadn't realized yet how far Willow would go, so she didn't know what the risks were.

Were there fics written where the plan was to, instead of resurrect Buffy, kill Faith?

I think so, though usually, it's the WC doing the killing.

Unfortunately, the text itself doesn't support the notion that any of them were aware of the line heading through Faith, as much of a no-brainer as it was and despite the authors of said text mentioning it at least once that I dimly recall.

Cindy, you might enjoy this.

Assuming I get the link right. If I don't, scroll down to the comments.

I always felt like Willow was designed to be adorable, which is why she makes me grind my teeth in a way that even Wesley doesn't.

I always felt like Willow was designed to be adorable, which is why she makes me grind my teeth in a way that even Wesley doesn't.

Joss even sort of cops to Willow's adorability by design, or at least how he used it. It's been a dog's age since I've listened to any of the commentary, but I remember him saying something, possibly on the commentary for Surprise/Innocence, about putting Willow in danger, when he needed to evoke strong feelings from the audience.

I have to be clear--I love Willow; I just don't Love Willow. I can't imagine the show without the character. But over the years, the reaction to her, that I've seen from fandom, has always surprised me.