These are lovely. I like what you did with the category pictures.

Thank you - I find simple blocking hard to work on, so hoped that this way worked ... glad they did.

So lovely!

Thank you

She didn't get as much air-time as she deserved, due to the overall story. She was a mum, who had to cope with one, then two teenage girls ... and that neither of them were "normal" .... but maybe that shows that none of us are "normal" ... how do we cope with relationships around us?

I still wish more had been made of her "friendship" with Giles

THIS IS SO SO TRUE! Every word of this are my feelings exactly. :D I love your mini-metas, you say so much in just a few sentences.

And you have such an appreciation for her beauty - AC 5 particularly, very warm and lush. when I look at that icon and think of all of those qualities (as well as her flaws), that woman, suddenly gone from Buffy and Dawn's lives? Huge hole that can never be refilled. Who else could pull Buffy out of her stupor in NA? And who else could the First impersonate that would unnerve Dawn and Buffy so? Fandom doesn't pay enough attention to that. Even, sadly, me.

You've reminded me that I really haven't done any joyce icons yet in this round and I must do.

Seconding teragramm on the category set - Cat 3 and 5 especially; I love that water ripple effect in #5 (that's a PS thing, isn't it?) but cat3 just stopped me in my tracks. That is such a WOW image, hon, and already one of my favorites this round. You treated it so simply because it doesn't need much. (getting teary eyed here, don't mind me.) I used to have an icon from that shot someone else made but it was softened . The starkness here is a very wise choice.

I forgot for a moment whether the image you used was from the body or Shadow (the latter of course) but it works well for either doesn't it?

Thank you - blushing!! I find metas hard to actually put thoughts together ... so a few lines are easier for me.

I still find her loss so shocking .... and then for the 2 girls to just have to "get on" with their lives ... impossible.

Yes, Cat 1 & 5 both had the same effect from GIMP (I think it's called Waves). Yes, Cat 5 was just something that I started, and realised that leaving in at that poignant state was what it needed.

Thank you - so are a sweetheart

Edited at 2014-09-30 07:58 pm (UTC)

I have SO much more appreciation for your set now that I'm almost finished with mine. My plan was for a Buffy, Dawn, Joyce normal again set as you know - and it hasn't worked out that way. I haven't done very well working with images of Joyce or Dawn (whereas Buffy in that ep is just so easy to play with.) I think I'm going to need another round of it. The one image of Joyce I successfully incorporated is actually from Listening to Fear, I think you'll appreciate it. I may have teared up whilst making it. (I made a larger version of the cap from LTF in a soft pink tone.)

I especially appreciate your AC5 that much more. what a lovely lady! And do you know who she reminds me of just a little bit? Susan Sarandon, one of my favorite actors.

I find metas hard to actually put thoughts together ... so a few lines are easier for me.

I love to write but my brain is so disorganized; I admire someone who can say a lot in a few lines very very much ("meta" is about format/genre not length after all!) I think that lately fan art has become my metas. I've done simple pic spams since I started this journal but now I can do more sophisticated things, it's an incredible power "worth a thousand words" as the saying goes.

I just noticed btw - does "Bite" say "We don't have any bbq forks" ? Hah. Nifty interpretation of the theme, the font was just a wee bit too small for me too see at first. (I double checked with my own bbq fork btw and yes, they are spaced exactly the distance where my "canine" teeth are.)

I still find her loss so shocking .... and then for the 2 girls to just have to "get on" with their lives ... impossible.

I read somewhere a spoiler that she was going to die when I started watching the show but didn't know when or how. (the same was true for Tara and Anya.) So every time one of them was in danger I was cringing and preparing for the worst, from season 1 on Joyce is constantly in danger. (And she's in danger because she's the Slayer's mother, generally. That has to prey on Buffy's mind something awful.) And then Joss killed her when I wasn't expecting it - when S5 had more of their relationship and I was enjoying that so much, and right after Joyce goes on that date...It's brilliant. In a nasty sort of way but that's how real life is too, isn't it?

Maybe that's part of the reason I haven't gotten more icons of Joyce this round - it was too hard emotionally? I tried doing images of her face in that "You have a world of strength" scene or ones of Buffy responding and I'd get upset. The subtext of that entire scene for both of them is "I love you" And it's interesting to me people get down on Buffy for not saying "I love you" to other characters (romantically) but I've not seen it stated that Buffy and Dawn get that from their family I think. Buffy and Joyce say "I love you" throughout the series in so many different ways but not necessarily using those words.

See how you've got me going here? *sniffles*

Yes, Cat 5 was just something that I started, and realised that leaving in at that poignant state was what it needed.

The effect in Cat 5 is perfect, I adore that rounded ripple in the water effect, and the aqua colored background reinforces the watery sense, great match!

I have a question about the effect you use in textured background, that "shine" effect? Is that from gimp? The shine effect in ipiccy is very soft by comparison, I don't know how to get those hard-edged rays with the variegated colors.

Edited at 2014-09-30 08:36 pm (UTC)

I especially like AC1 and dramatic light is lovely!

I like dramatic light too (my beloved shine filter in ipiccy!)

I forgot to give a little love to AC3 - I think it's from Earshot, Joyce and Giles worrying over Buffy and it gives me all sorts of shippy feels. I wanted that pairing to happen! Why show, why tease us? Would it have been that hard to do?)

I do like that shine one as well. I hadn't planned to do that image like that ... was playing, and realised that it was a slight difference on a popular image.

AC 3 is certainly part of that missing Giles/Joyce story ... showing how layered that story could have been.

Edited at 2014-09-30 07:51 pm (UTC)

AC 3 is certainly part of that missing Giles/Joyce story ... showing how layered that story could have been.

It surprised me so much that they didn't put the two of them together - and it surprises me greatly that fandom doesn't fill in the gaps more often when it comes to Joyce. Whereas Giles/Buffy shipping is a huge thing in some quarters (???? No, I don't get it either.)

Someone wrote an S5 rewrite AU fanfic in which Giles and Joyce are together as a couple (and yes, there's a brain tumor diagnosis in that one) and it's a writer I quite like, I read a little and saved for later but I lost the bookmark when our old computer burnt up last year and can't remember who wrote it. Eurydice72? I just kept waiting for the show to put them together, my goodness how much sense would that have made? (And all the more angst for Giles losing another lover, although that would have made him leaving the girls that much more untenable, I think.)

I think Kristine Sutherland's contract was such that she could do other things, which explains her absence from S4 as far as I know. Pity - her relationship with Buffy got more interesting when she was in on the secret of Buffy's identity (and as they both matured.)

I did read an unfinished S7 rewrite that brings Joyce back from the grave and some of it was absolutely choice - such as Joyce giving Giles a serious dressing down for abandoning the girls the prior year, and him being all defensive and rationalizing it away. I lost the bookmark to that one too *pouts*

Edited at 2014-09-30 08:45 pm (UTC)

Thank you - AC 1 was just one of those really "simple" images .... but worked so well.

Edited at 2014-09-30 07:48 pm (UTC)

Lovely! I was so glad to see Joyce get some love - I really like your Weapon choice. :)

Thank you very much - Joyce is certainly a great character.

Edited at 2014-09-30 07:49 pm (UTC)

These are great! And it's nice to see Joyce get some icon love. I agree she should have had more air time :(

I really like what you did with the cat set, especially 3 and 5. I also love dramatic light, bite, weapon, death (still not over The Body :(), ac 2, ac 4 and ac 5 :)

Joyce was just such a lovely person ... a great multi-layed character.

Thank you very much ... was a great set of popular choices ... you made me blush

Edited at 2014-09-30 07:53 pm (UTC)

These are so amazing!
My favs are: Dramatic Light, Friendship, Eyes, Motion, Textured, Cat 4+5, AC 4

Thank you very much ... was a great set of popular choices ... you made me blush

Edited at 2014-09-30 07:53 pm (UTC)

Yay! Joyce icons! These are great!

Joyce was a great character ... thank you very much.