Instead of making posters for several different stories as I did in Round 1 of buffy_genfic, this time I made several variants of a banner for one story, "Choose 1 for Ready, 2 for Not Ready" by the very talented spuffy_luvr. (This wasn't planned - sometimes you just gotta go where the Muses take you. All the stories this round were absolutely wonderful so no snub is intended on my part. But Buffy and Willow are one of my OTF's.)

Versions 1 & 2 are spuffy_luvr's favorites; at the time they weren't my favorites but I find myself agreeing with her choices and her reasoning is wonderful, especially with #2. I worried that Buffy and Willow's expressions were too light-hearted for the story but she felt that they were putting on their best faces for one another in that banner; whereas their faces in #1 express how they actually feel. The "polaroid" of Buffy and Willow in the library is from Teacher's Pet. I loved it because with one image I could make a compare/contrast and speak volumes about their friendship, about what's changed, what's damaged, and what binds them still - the history, the shared trauma, the forgiveness and the love.

Teasers:    

#1

#2

I think at this point #1 is now definitely my favorite. I can image Willow's face looking exactly that way at the moment in the story when her memories simply become to painful and she abruptly ends the call. spuffy_luvr's characterization of both Willow and Buffy is so on-point; she makes me want to cry for both of them.

I know that Buffy and Willow would be using laptop computers but the banner looked better using a desktop monitor; it was a stronger graphic image and much easier to work with.  I also know that the monitor is too modern and not appropriate circa 2002 but....shockingly, I don't give a damn.

The vintage wallpaper grounds the laptop in an actual setting, and adds a bit of warmth and domesticity. And I wanted a wallpaper that could somehow be linked to either Revello Drive or Giles' estate without specifying either one. It reminds me a little of the striped wallpaper in the upstairs bedroom of the Summers home, and it looks like it could conceivably be found at Giles' English country home, which is why I faded the wallpaper just a little. Based on #3 below, I'm not sure it's actually necessary though.



In 1 & 2, I used lesser-known images from the episode Same Time, Same Place; the caps from STSP that I used in #3 are quite well-known but I just loved Sarah and Aly's expressions and the lightness of the caps.This was originally my favorite version but now it feels unfinished. I didn't add the polaroid from Teacher's Pet because every time I used it I had to cut the borders anew and I simply ran out of energy.  The wallpaper background is missing but I actually don't mind that. I overlaid an image of a cracked mirror over the Skype lens as a symbol of the "cracks" in their relationship, which looks nifty but in hindsight might be a bit heavy-handed.

                                #3

                              #4

#4 is a bit darker, obviously - and more than a bit heavy-handed, what with the monitor itself being cracked in addition to the camera lesn, the images from Villains, the stains on the polaroid and tape. An example of going too far and having too much fun playing with layers. And yet I still like this.

And because I am a completist:

                             #5

This is only distantly related to the story and the wood frame makes no sense in context but I couldn't resist playing with this image; this led to the "polaroid" in 1 & 2, so it was worth the experiment. And gosh aren't they just adorable?

Also I apologize to everyone (especially our mods kwritten and aliceinkinkland, and of course the author herself) for the delay in getting this posted; inspiration finally struck just the other day, quite literally.

Vague disclaimers: Artwork by me, 2015. Look, enjoy but do not snag, or post to any other website or archive unless your name is spuffy_luvr. Do not steal, claim as your own or alter.