30 Days of Awesome Ladies - Day 15

[cookiegirl]

I feel a lot like journalling at the moment, so apologies for the surprise influx of posts! But whilst I'm in the mood I thought I'd dig this out again. HALFWAY THROUGH THE MEME IN 11 MONTHS! I'll try and get in finished by 27th March so I can say it didn't take longer than a year :)

Question List

Day 15: Favourite NON-HUMAN female character
Anya Jenkins (Buffy)



Born in 862AD, Anya was the oldest main character in Buffy, and the one who had least concept of what it was to be human, because it was so long since she'd been anything other than a Vengeance Demon. But as soon as she joins the show, that identity is taken from her, and she has to learn how to be a person again: how to have friends, how to love, how to be vulnerable, how to deal with death and loss. For a lot of the time this learning process is used as purely light relief, but Anya is so much more than a tactless, capitalism-appreciating comic character. She is a girl whose instinct, developed over hundreds of years, is to be selfish and vengeful and not to fight for good or for love; she is a girl who overcomes those instincts and becomes a heroine.  The great thing about Buffy is that the characters grow and change, and Anya is one of the best examples of that. She makes mistakes along the way, big mistakes, but she doesn't give up.

I know most people's favourite speech of Anya's is in The Body, but mine is in End of Days, when she manages to sum up the human spirit in typical Anya fashion:

Anya: There was this other apocalypse this one time. And, well, I took off. But this time, I don't... I don't know.

Andrew: Well, what's different?

Anya: Well, I guess I was kinda new to being around humans before. And now I've seen a lot more, gotten to know people, seen what they're capable of and I guess I just realize how amazingly... screwed up they all are. I mean, really, really screwed up in a monumental fashion.

Andrew: Oh.

Anya: And they have no purpose that unites them, so they just drift around, blundering through life until they die. Which they know is coming, yet every single one of them is surprised when it happens to them. They're incapable of thinking about what they want beyond the moment. They kill each other, which is clearly insane, and yet, here's the thing. When it's something that really matters, they fight. I mean, they're lame morons for fighting. But they do. They never... They never quit. And so I guess I will keep fighting, too.

Comments

[jacquelee]

Anya is awesome. :D I didn't like her that much at first tbh, but she grew on me so much. I think the quote you put here is my favourite quote of her too (even though I love her speech in The Body nearly as much), and the moment I totally and utterly fell in love with her. And yes, I'm totally in denial of everything that came after this. :)

Also, I'm going to snurch that meme. :D Cause there needs to be more girl appreciation. Hope that's alright. :)

[cookiegirl]

Yeah, it took me a while to warm to her, probably until season 5, but after that she was awesome :D

Yay, snurch away! I love seeing other people's answers!

[ficwriterjet.livejournal.com]

I love Anya too. She's a great character. I loved her on again off again relationship with Xander. Good stuff.

I'm avoiding your W.C. posts, because I'm not caught up! Will read and comment once I watch. :)

[cookiegirl]

Yeah, they were so good together - I loved the bit where Xander realised he'd never really told her how much he loved her, then went and gave her that speech about how she makes him feel ♥

Ooh I will look forward to hearing what you think about WC! :D

[thelittlespanko.livejournal.com]

I'm not really a Buffy fan, but this character sounds Awesome! I also love the gif you chose - she looks delightfully and adorably insane. ...and probably extremely dangerous.

[train-lindz.livejournal.com]

Aww, Anya!

The Husband and I are currently doing our annual Buffy Rewatch - mid season 6 right now, Something Blue is up next...

[karaokegal.livejournal.com]

Anya and Xander in Once More With Feeling are the cutest thing ever. In fact, I can pretty much ONLY stand Xander when he's with Anya and NOT being a prick to her.

[cookiegirl]

Wow, do you do all 7 seasons every year? That's seriously impressive!

I think I've probably been through it about 4 times over the years, probably less for the later seasons. I introduced my husband to it about 3 or 4 years ago and we're still just starting season 7 lol! We've taken a lot of breaks though to watch other things! And we had to have a big long gap before watching The Body because I couldn't cope with it haha /o\

[cookiegirl]

Yeah their song in OMWF is awesome :D But yeah he does treat her badly over the years, the wedding ep is just horrible to watch :(

[cookiegirl]

Lol, she definitely is all of those things :D

[passionrlsusall.livejournal.com]

I love that quote too. And the one from The Body.

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

Anya had some of the best lines on a fantastic show. Buffy is my all time favorite, and Anya is too often overlooked. I am a character arc whore, and Anya's character did such a complete 180, and it was handled so well that it was thoroughly enjoyable. From running away from an apocalypse in her first season to fighting (and giving her life) in an apocalypse in the last season.