55 days of BtVS: Day 1

[freecat15]

I saw this 55 question about BtVS challenge on the_moonmoth's page, and since my LJ is still a bit on the empty side, and my Bio sucks, I decided to try to do this.
Apparently she found it on tumblr (right?) here , where I can't comment because I have not the first idea about how to do anything at all over there. I suck. But hey, I succeeded to create a link here, that's something, right? Ugh, I'm still trying to find my way through all the mysteries of LJ...

I probably won't do this daily, though. Time, my huge problem. Also, of course it won't be betaed, so there'll be mistakes. Which reminds me that I should put my non-native-speaker-ness in my Bio at least.
Oh well.

So, here goes.

Day 1: Favorite character

The start is pretty easy. That's Buffy, of course.

I love her. Simple as that. She's not without flaws, of course not. She wouldn't be the interesting character she is then. But she is also kind, brave, and incredibly strong (and I don't mean bodily strength here). Also, even after all the crap she is given, she never ceases to be empathetic and forgiving. She may not have access to her whole inner self for a while in s6, but even then she doesn't stop caring for those dear to her more than for herself.

To be honest - it gives me goosebumps when someone calls her selfish. To me, she is as selfless as can be, almost to a fault. If she wouldn't suffer so much at the notion of her being unable to love, it would be laughable. She has such a huge heart, and is so full of love that it hurts to see her struggle with this.

From day one of her calling she struggles to maintain a normal life, but never for one second shies away from her responsibility. The only two times she even thinks about quitting are connected to her love in significant ways - the first time in Prophecy Girl she instantly dismisses the thought of running away when she realizes her friends' lives are in danger if she does, the second time in The Gift she thinks of quitting only because of her love for Dawn as qonsequence of maybe losing her. And then she quits, both times, in the only way even thinkable for her - in sacrificing herself.

It's no coincidence either that she isn't the Slayer out of the brochure. It's her love that gives her the added security net that no other slayer has, that feeds her with strength as much as she gives back. Without her ability to love we wouldn't have gotten this wonderful woman.
It would've been the Buffy from the Wish-verse.

Comments

[the-moonmoth.livejournal.com]

Hear hear! It's not often i feel admiration for a fictional character, but Buffy is definitely admirable.

[freecat15.livejournal.com]

That she is. Without any question.
I saw that you had her, too (and was for once grateful about my swiss-cheese-like brain, cause I really couldn't remember what you'd said about her). I stopped reading your days after finding out that I'd choose two out of three of your choices for myself on day three already; but I look forward to see yours after posting mine...

[double_dutchess]

Oh yes. Buffy is my hero, too (only second to Spike). It's hard for me to see how anyone could not admire her.

[freecat15.livejournal.com]

And yet there are so many who don't...*sigh*
I usually try to understand people's opinion, I really do, and often I can at least see where they come from. But here they lose me completely.
Glad you love her too :-)

[chasingdemons.livejournal.com]

Buffy is indeed inspiring. There have been times in my own life that I was helped by thinking about Buffy.

I think one of the hardest things about being involved in fandom is hearing negative viewpoints about a character you love. I've witnessed many awful fights about this.

[freecat15.livejournal.com]

Inspiring is a great expression for how I feel about her! Buffy helped me through the hardest time in my life and still does!

My fic tells (in too many words for you :)...) about the character evolvement Buffy and Spike go through after a 'minor' event makes this possible. Since I tried hard to still stay true to character, I had Buffy acting the way she does - by running. Repeatedly. (Which, given the circumstances, should've been absolutely understandable and apparently was, for most of the readers.) But, of course, not forever (where would be the growth then?) Some of the comments to that? Devestating. I found that really, really hard to deal with. But mostly (I guess I'm weird that way...) because I felt so sorry for those people! Yes, it also bugs me, infuriates me sometimes even. But - they are missing out on so much if they aren't capable of putting themselves into other's peoples shoes and try to see something through their eyes. I always feel the strong impulse to convince them, but not because I think I'm right (there's no right and wrong in how one views others, after all), but for opening their eyes to other possibilities to see. I learned that it's futile, though, so - I feel sorry.

This is not about disliking Angel, Riley or Xander (or even Spike, for that matter), for instance, and having valid reasons for that. Those are ambiguous characters, it's only natural to dislike them, there are reasons for that aplenty. But Buffy? Like I said, they lose me there.

Yeah. Sorry for the rant...I think way too much about fictional characters.
I'm really glad you like her, too! WWBD is indeed something I asked myself once in awhile :)