Voting is apparently still open at the Willowy Goodness Awards!

[red_satin_doll]

Because I finally did exactly that - voted, that is. (It's 4:30-ish PM EST in my part of the world.) I hope to have redeemed myself in the eyes of my Willow-loving flisties.

(*bows low before velvetwhip in gratitude for her mercies*)

Do you people have ANY idea - ANY IDEA - how hard it is to "pick just one" when 1) there are SO many great authors and stories to choose from? As in, a superb overall level of quality? FEEEL MYYYY PAAAIIINNNNN.......

Speaking of Willow: spikesredqueen posted a gorgeous banner of Willow/Oz in Wild at Heart just a few days ago. I haven't rewatched that episode since the first (one) time I saw it, and this reminds me why that's probably so. Her banner captures what made that episode hurt so damn much, the tears on Willow's face, the betrayal, everything. Which also reminds me that I probably haven't said "Why the hell didn't Aly ever win an Emmy for her performance in the series?" (Besides the usual stupid genre prejudices - not just horror, high school and fantasy, but also the perception that BtVS was a "soap opera" and therefore "girly", perhaps?)

Between Sarah and Aly, they just took my heart and broke and wrung it out and stomped on it between the two of them.  Do it again, pretty please.

Comments

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

Trust me, I went through AGONY voting there. You can't begin to imagine...

But, sweetheart, please don't worry! We're friends no matter whether you manage to vote or not.

Aly absolutely deserved the damn Emmy for Wild at Heart alone, let alone the rest of her stellar work on the show!


Gabrielle

ETA: spikesredqueen rocks my socks! She's a superlative artist!

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Oh I think I can....I haven't been through that much pain since the SunnyD awards. Actually, this might have been worse - DAMN but you Willow writers are a superb group.

And of course we're friends - tis why I trust your mercy! *winks*

I know I have lauded Sarah a lot but seeing SRQ's poster reminded me of how wonderful Aly was and I don't praise her enough. (And yes, SRQ is fantastic!)

[kikimay]

Alyson really deserved to win something. She manages to be very good even with her HIMYM character (Which is not complex as Willow) Like Sarah, she can do both comedy and drama, which is not everyone's ability.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Of all the characters in HIMYM, Lily is the one I find least interesting - not because of Aly's performance, but because of the writing. (The lead character comes close though.)

But I love Lily and Marshall as a couple - they are one of my favorite tv married couples ever.

[wickedbish.livejournal.com]

This is going to sound cheesy, but "Wild at Heart" breaks my heart every time I watch it. Spells are cool and all, but I think Willow eventually became one of the most powerful forces in the universe because no one could resist her when she cried.

I'm kidding, but only just.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I'm kidding,

No you're not. ;)

[wickedbish.livejournal.com]

I'm so high right now that angels couldn't touch me, and this damn GIF makes me PISSED AS HELL all over again that Tara died.

I mean, I love series where Anyone Can Die omg, and I love Buffy because it is such a great example of such a series (it's weird how the word "series" is either singular or plural, depending on context).

And I understand that Tara's death made sense from a "Happy People = Boring Television" perspective, ISN'T THAT RIGHT, JOSS

And I understand that Willow's dance into & out of the dark side had been hinted at ever since the very first time that she actually did real magic that only a witch could do (while recovering from brain surgery; here is a pencil, go ahead and draw your own fucking conclusions), and Buffy's death was the thing that started her descent into despair, and Tara's death was the one thing that could hurt her enough to make her almost destroy the world so the hurting would stop.

And I understand that Joss had been wanting to put an actor in the main credits and kill their character in the same episode since the very first episode of the very first season, which may or may not imply that he had been planning to kill Tara since before Marti Noxon convinced him that Amber Benson had made the part hers.

But, dammit. I mean, I will freely admit that I'm still messed up because my dad died when I was seven, and - possibly as a result of this - I maybe get a little more upset about the deaths of fictional characters than other people (example: Bonnie Bennett).

But being upset enough to cry some cathartic tears is one thing. Actually grieving is quite another.

I actually grieve for Tara Maclay.

Yes, still.

Which, you know, was probably Joss the Jerk's plan all along, huh?

[wickedbish.livejournal.com]

EDIT: Brain damage, not brain surgery. Sorry, I told you I was high.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Oops, sorry about that sweetie - what would ease your pain?

Anyhoo - I've had conversations recently with people who don't think it was homophobic and - sorry, but this event occured in a specific historical and cultural context, and people can't divorce from that, from the repetition of tropes that go back centuries, before movies and tv. And then add to that the context of "fooling the fans" (guess what? It fooled me too), and Joss' tantrum after the fact "it hurt me more than it hurt you!"

Unfortunately I didn't have this link in hand in those discussions at the time, now I do:
http://www.stephenbooth.org/lesbiancliche.htm

Willow's dance into & out of the dark side had been hinted at ever since the very first time that she actually did real magic
Actually since she told Cordy to hit the delete button in WTTH/The Harvest

Tara's death was the one thing that could hurt her enough to make her almost destroy the world

Fanfic definitely proves that there are thousands of ways to tell one story. They could have sought another way to do it.

Joss had been wanting to put an actor in the main credits and kill their character in the same episode since the very first episode

Fooling the fans is one thing when it's a one-and-done character like Jessie. Tara, or a much-loved regular (ESP a ground breaking character who is half of the first real lesbian couple in american tv?) that is another thing altogether, and making a joke out of is frankly gross. And again - cultural context. How many dead lesbians have we already seen?

he had been planning to kill Tara since before Marti Noxon convinced him that Amber Benson had made the part hers.

What I have read is that that was the endgame since season 1 or 2, that Joss was going to kill whoever Willow's partner was at the time; and that it was supposed to be Oz in S4. But then Seth green left and so they were going to keep Tara on for just a few episodes then kill her off but she was so popular. Only people who haven't done their homework would be shocked by that (aka straight people who have never had to think about it).

But keep in mind that's what I've read, and that could all be hindsight or something made up long after the fact, I don't know.

I mean, I will freely admit that I'm still messed up because my dad died when I was seven, and - possibly as a result of this - I maybe get a little more upset about the deaths of fictional characters than other people (example: Bonnie Bennett).

But being upset enough to cry some cathartic tears is one thing. Actually grieving is quite another.

I'm grieving right there next to you - and I have never grieved a character like this. And yes, my dad died when I was three (I was too young to understand) and I'm very sorry about your father, Ryan. But no, I don't go around grieving fictional characters, either. Just Tara. (I'd grieve Buffy is The Gift was the last episode, but we know she comes back and triumphs. Tara doesn't get that, nor does she get the flamey handfasting and the grand hero's death.)

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I absolutely know what you mean!
Voting at WGA is super tough! But it's totally worth it. Thanks for voting!

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

And congrats on the totally deserved nominations btw!

[spikesredqueen.livejournal.com]

There are so many fabulous artists and authors that were nominated this past round! I, unfortunately, ran out of time to finish reading them all in time to vote. But from what I was able to read, there were so many good fics, I know I would have trouble voting!

Gosh, I'm so flattered that you like my wallpaper so much! *hugs* And I absolutely agree, Aly stole my heart every time she cried or was sad or happy... The same could be said for Sarah when she cried... both of them are able to pull on heart strings. They both deserved something for the show!!!

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I also like your S2 (Innocence?) icon. (For a moment I got innocence and passion confused - which got me thinking about the scene where the phone call about Jenny's death comes to the Summers house and Willow answers it and breaks down sobbing, Joyce holds her and Buffy sinks to the floor in shock....And I watched that episode only once. You mentioned the Body as your can't watch it again ep, Passion is one of mine. I CANNOT.)

Aly stole my heart every time she cried or was sad or happy... The same could be said for Sarah when she cried... both of them are able to pull on heart strings.

It's a law of physics y'know. At least for me it is; when I watched it the first time two years ago, starting with the episode "Nightmares" and every damn time after that when someone cried, the waterworks, without fail.

Emma's performance in The Body broke me for the second or third time just in that episode.

They both deserved something for the show!!!

Sometimes I make icons to ease my pain (through snark):




I haven't made a Willow one yet, sorry. But I will.

On the lighter side: I need to go look at your userpics because my template shrinks all the icons and that's just WRONG. But I love everything else about the look of it (except the lack of a links list) so I'm not changing anytime soon.

And I just realized I don't have a Buffy and Willow friendship icon in my userpics. I may need to switch something out, darn it. (And I also need a WIllow/Tara pic. But I love all my babies! *sobs*)

[spikesredqueen.livejournal.com]

If you are interested you can find more icons here ( http://spikesredqueen.livejournal.com/161335.html ) for Buffy/Willow and a couple Willow/Tara as well as other couples/pairings. And I like your "snark" icons :)

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link sweetie! *follows the pretties*

And I like your "snark" icons :)

I'm very glad. "Snark" icons are some of my favorite things to do, it's like getting to write meta but in one tiny little image! I wasn't sure about doing those with images from the Body because that episode just hurts so much I hesitated to do it. (And won't do it again with that episode, ever.)

[zodiac-sign.livejournal.com]

"Between Sarah and Aly, they just took my heart and broke and wrung it out and stomped on it between the two of them. Do it again, pretty please."

The first thing that popped into my head was: masochist much? :P

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

masochist much?

I resemble that remark.

[zodiac-sign.livejournal.com]

LOL! Poor you :P

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

*UNLADYLIKE SNORFLE*