Pictures:

Whenever Buffy starts to lose herself and isolate herself from her friends, she generally ends up looking at a picture.

This happens at least four times (anyone remember any others?)

The one she looks at in the early part of S6 has Buffy and Willow in the foreground and Xander in the middle but in the back.

When she looks at a picture in S7, the two girls are together in the back (with Willow almost hidden behind Buffy) and Xander's the counterpoint on the bottom, head resting on Buffy and her arm around behind him. And interestingly, it was taken at the same time as the photo she looks at in Primeval, though in that one, she's smiling down at him. The first time is in Dead Man's Party, and it's also from the same shoot - with all three of them all cuddled up together. Is it just coincidence that as the years pass, they get further away in that set of photos? And yet, the connection doesn't fade, even though the distance does increase.

Icon Dare:

shusu dared icon makers to choose fifty episodes of their favorite show and make an icon from each.

I'm going through the list of Buffy eps now, trying to narrow it down to fifty. Anyone else up for the challenge?

And on a side note, my lips are way chapped today. Don't know what's up with that.

ETA: Ah-ha! Picked out my fifty (four from S1, nine from S2, seven from S3, five from S4, seven from S5, eight from S6, and ten from S7). Now to find the perfect screencap from each.

(further)ETA: I just made six versions of the same icon because I couldn't decide which way I liked it best. I'm clearly insane. For the curious, it's an Angel/Buffy/Xander icon.

Seasons of Buffy:

Thinking about the fifty favorite episodes that I picked and how it breaks down into season. Judging solely by the number of favorite episodes, Season Seven comes up the winner, with Season Two a close second. Then we have Season Six, and I'd put Season One after this because it had half the normal number of episodes, then Three and Five tied and Season Four was last.

And when I think about it, that feels about right. Seven is my favorite now because it's still closest and still resonates in me strongly. Two was just amazingly powerful. And Six... well, I can't possibly count the many reasons that I adore Season Six. One was a great start and Three and Five are both really strong and emotional. Overall, I do think that Four is the weakest of all the seasons, though I do enjoy its brightness and Restless is sheer brilliance.

Late night thoughts: Darla

Such a fascinating character. I'd mark her as just as interesting and just as strong as Buffy. Angel likes his powerful blondes.

And the many incarnations that she takes - from dying whore to a spirit possibly sent by the Powers That Aren't Named Jasmine, and everything in between - make her, among other things, the only other character (apart from Buffy herself) to return to life. To living, breathing, human life.

Nearly every time that we met Darla, she was a new version of herself. She was constantly being recreated. So many levels and shades of the same woman.

I definitely need to make myself a Darla icon.