Dan

["ivy444444" <ivygort23@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Dan!

Ivy,

That was excellent. A wonderful depiction of both Willow's love for
Buffy and the Willow/Xander friendship.
>>Major Blush! Wow, than you so much!


I think the reason why BotN doesn't get as much fic as you'd think
(aside from the "Willow meets her new girlfriend" aspect) is that the
ending is rather anti-Scooby. We have Buffy apart from the others,
listening as Giles and Willow doubt and despair.  


>>I never thought about it that way. You are right, though, the 
entire episode has a bad feeling to it as far as the scoobs 
friendship is concerned. To be honest, and it doesn't bother me if 
you disagree, the past two years have been anti-friendship or 
support of Buffy. I kind of saw all the cuts and bruises on Buffy's 
face and thought it would have been Willow cleaning her up...thus I 
wrote this "Missing Scene" fiction.

(I'm giddy that you liked it! I read your feedback all the time!)


(Yes, I know it's part
of the plot to make us think Giles is the First, but it makes him and
Willow look weak and lacking faith in Buffy.)  

>>The Giles as the First totally went over my head 'cause I thought 
Buffy and Giles were touching walking down the street. 

Then Buffy comes in and
gives her "rousing" speech (sorry, never liked it) about how they're
going to triumph because she won't let them lose and how they're 
going
to "face their worst fears"--at which point we get a shot of Willow,
whom Buffy has seemed to resent all through the episode for not doing
magic (as later made explicit in "Get it Done")--and that "we just
became an army".

>>I think SMG did the best she could with that trite.

>Snipping some Suffer comments 'cause I don't want to be called 
a 'Ditto Head' to everything you're saying.


Just go from Spike's "she believes in me" scene
to Buffy, beaten, broken, and asleep in her bed. Dawn, Xander and
Willow watch, Dawn worrying if Buffy will be all right and 
Xander/Willow
reassuring her, but clearly shaken themselves. 

>>That was the exact image I had in my mind--minus Giles and Dawn.

More Snipping of Spuffy cause I can't deal with it, so it does not 
exist in my world!

Thanks again Dan!
Feedback does matter!