red_satin_doll | Tsunami of Polls #1 : Any interest in a comm devoted to Buffy and the women of the Buffyverse?

#1 - Thank you to whomever gifted me with a temporary paid account last month. Now I can create polls! Oh wonderful Anonymous Benefactor, you have no idea what you have unleashed upon this fandom.

#2 - Thanks also the the lovely

velvetwhip for coming up with the insanely awesome title/tag phrase "tsunami of polls" and allowing me to snag it.

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The other day I was having a conversation with

wickedbish in which I may have mentioned that most fandoms and fandom activity, in my experience, are focused primarily on the male characters. I assumed this was common knowledge. Except that he didn't know that. Because, you see, Ryan's favorite character is Willow (see #2 in his list of "13 Witches I Fucking Love"); he still mourns Tara (as do I; shared grief is comforting) and Buffy is one of his heros. The Gift has convinced him to not commit suicide "so many times". He's all about the ladies, bless.

You know what they say about "assuming".

Oops.

Then

clockwork_hart1 (Lucy) popped into the conversation and in her brilliant, enthusiastic way suggested the idea of a comm dedicated to Buffy, the other women in the 'verse and their interrelationships - complete with a name (Summers Blood) and a banner (she's working on it - is there no end to the young woman's talents?) ~~and three-part harmony~~. What that might actually look like or what interest there would actually be in such a thing was a matter of conjecture. So I'm channeling my inner Willow (Research Gal) for my very first poll.

What say you, Gentle Reader? Based just on the title of this post, you probably know who you are and how you stand.

(And as this is my first poll, please let me know if it functions ok. And I apologize for the wonky formatting. The LJ instructions for poll-making are vague and confusing at best. So says I.)

[Poll #1955410][Poll #1955410]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Which OF COURSE is not available on Netflix. Typical.

Boxset it, because it's VITAL. I may or may not have a Gilmore Girls obsession...

(which could be linked to the fact that my friends and family compare me and my mother to Rory and Lorelai on a daily basis because, lets face it - that's us)

Is that the series with Michelle Trachenberg as "Georgina"?

I saw an article online listing the author's picks for "25 most annoying tv characters" and they listed BOTH Dawn and Georgina and that's just 90 shades of wrong. Clearly this person has watched a limited amount of television shows.

You're thinking of Gossip Girl - but Gilmore Girls does eventually feature a fairly major supporting character played by none other than Danny Strong, and Jane Espenson wrote two (excellent) episodes in season four.

Also, I'm personally predisposed to like any character played by Michelle Trachtenberg because she was Harriet the Spy (I saw the movie before I read the book, which has since become my favorite book of all time), but I'll admit that Dawn can seem quite annoying.

But that's because, when we meet her, we mostly see her through Buffy's eyes. And Buffy sees her as the irritating little sister that she is.

So I feel bad when people watch the first few episodes of season five and decide to just hate her forever.

I never saw the movie (read the book when I was in middle school for fun) so btvs was my introduction to Michelle. (And pretty much ALL of these other actors actually.)

So I feel bad when people watch the first few episodes of season five and decide to just hate her forever.

I guess if you don't like a character, you don't - but don't write off all their good qualities as well. Dawn's courageous (I will never stop saying this, ever); smart, funny, resourceful. And she handles a huge, terrible existential crisis that none of us can even imagine far far better than Riley "poor me" Finn handles his much lesser issues.

So basically - their loss.

But that's because, when we meet her, we mostly see her through Buffy's eyes.

And I have a theory about this - aside from the fact that I was an eldest sibling to a sister and two brothers and holy hell did we fight a LOT, so Buffy and Dawn getting on each other's nerves seems totally normal to me on that level.

BUT aside from normal sibling rivalries *fanwank ahead* : Buffy has NO "real", physical, kinetic memories of being an older sibling. The body stores memory, and her body has none to build from. Whereas Joyce, who we see slips naturally into a cuddlesome relationship with Dawn, has actual physical experience and memories of being a mother (if not to Dawn herself). She's already played that role; whereas "older sister" is completely new to Buffy.

That's why Family and Blood Ties are important - it's the committment, the choice to love, that trully makes them sisters.

Not in blood (alone) but in bond.

Which is also why Dawn seems more like a ten year old in that first season. She is entirely "self-created" once the monks perform the Spell. see Kwritten's meta on Dawn and Free Will http://kwritten.livejournal.com/122944.html#comments She has no physical memories of being a girl in the world, being a teenager, and must literally create herself.

And what the hell would a bunch of monks know about what modern teenage girls are like, anyway? Where did they get their concept from, 1420 A.D.?

This is aside from the fact that the writers originally conceived her as a ten year old until Sarah insisted on Michelle being cast in the role. (And then they somehow - failed to adjust their characterization of her until Michelle demanded they do so. Which is why Dawn is more mature in S7 and becoming an amazing awesome woman.)

Gif use = perfect. I love.

And yay for more Dawn love! She bugged me in S5, too (and a dash in S6 - love her in S7), but I know why, and I'm still annoyed that the writers managed to screw he up so much. The bickering I totally get - I'm the younger sister, the "Dawn" and me and brother can be such babies around one another (and he's thirteen years my senior. We like to play the insults game, see how far we can escalate it.

And I've been writing a lot of Dawn recently, I feel kinship with her - a need to protect and defend her. Plus there's a school picture of me looking scarily like Michelle, so there's that too.

And being the older sister, I can understand it from Buffy's end, but my sister and I do love each other and she turned into an awesome woman and mother.

oops, thanks for the correction! Clearly I am clueless when it comes to most tv shows. (most of my viewing happened in the 1980's.)

Danny Strong is definitely a contender for "most successful career since leaving btvs" award, what with directing credits and screenwriter for the movie The Butler. Who'd a thunk?

Tsunami of Polls #1 : Any interest in a comm devoted to Buffy and the women of the Buffyverse?

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