ishtar79

Day Twenty-Five: Favorite mother/daughter and/or sister relationship: Buffy and Dawn

It shouldn't have worked. The character of Dawn was retconned into the narrative in the most literal way, and accepting the “monks rewrote history” within the story was challenge enough: making the character's sudden ties to the regulars believable was another thing entirely. And yet, somehow they managed to sell it. I could see Dawn's being Buffy's sister, from all the annoying displays of little sister behavior to the desperate need for approval underneath. And yes, there's the whole “Key to the universe” plot point and the constant peril it put Dawn in, but even after she found that out, Buffy didn't protect the key-she protected her little sister (after she was done with the -completely justifiable- freakout).

As epic as the whole storyline that culminated in The Gift was, my favorite part of this relationship is not about Buffy making the ultimate sacrifice (although I found that she put her sister over the world interesting-it's not the traditional hero stance, but it felt more realistic to where Buffy was at that point). It's the little moments, like the mutual snark, Buffy's clumsy attempts at acting as the parent after Joyce's death, Dawn's grief at her sister's loss, Dawn's helplessness at not getting through to her sister in S6, and in later seasons, how they started interacting on a more equal level. And as great as Buffy protecting Dawn promising Spike he would wake up on fire if her hurt Buffy again still wins all the badassery awards.

Day One: Favorite lead female character
Day Two: Favorite supporting female character
Day Three: A female character you hated but grew to love
Day Four: A female character you relate to
Day Five: Favorite female character on a male-driven show
Day Six: Favorite female-driven show
Day Seven: A female character that needs more screen time
Day Eight: Favorite female character in a comedy show
Day Nine: Favorite female character in a drama show
Day Ten: Favorite female character in a scifi/supernatural show
Day Eleven: Favorite female character in a children’s show
Day Twelve: Favorite female character in a movie
Day Thirteen: Favorite female character in a book
Day Fourteen: Favorite older female character
Day Fifteen: Favorite female character growth arc
Day Sixteen: Favorite mother character
Day Seventeen: Favorite warrior female character
Day Eighteen: Favorite non-warrior female character
Day Nineteen: Favorite non-human female character
Day Twenty: Favorite female antagonist
Day Twenty-One: Favorite female character screwed over by canon
Day Twenty-Two: Favorite female character you love but everyone else hates
Day Twenty-Three: Favorite female platonic relationship
Day Twenty-Four: Favorite female romantic relationship
Day Twenty-Five: Favorite mother/daughter and/or sister relationship
Day Twenty-Six: Favorite classical female character (from pre-20th century literature or mythology or the like)
Day Twenty-Seven: A female character you have extensive personal canon for
Day Twenty-Eight: Favorite female writer (television, books, movies, etc.)
Day Twenty-Nine: A female-centric fic rec
Day Thirty: Whatever you'd like!