My Nikki Wood icon is causing some controversy

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shadowkat67 just posted about having seen my Nikki icon and feeling upset about it. The icon in question is this one:



I haven't read shadowkat67's post yet beyond the first two paragraphs, and I promise not to comment on what she says or how she feels until I've given it a thorough going over. However, whether I actually give it a thorough going over is up in the air because:

• I honestly can't see that it'll be good for either my blood pressure or hers;
  
• I know what I wanted to say when I created this icon, which is that (a) there's always more than one way to look at a story; (b) Nikki is awesome and should have a voice; (c) Spike will always be a prickly subject for me, because I loved him, then hated him, then learned to respect him again, but there's too much water under the bridge and ofmg he sounds like a bad break-up, and making this icon was a way to let go of some of my issues; (d) Buffyverse race issues = CRAZY-MAKING;
  
• This icon is like 2 years old 3 years and 2 months old and I've already talked about it way more than is modest for any icon artist, because I really do adore this icon, and I pull it out every time I talk about Nikki Wood, which is probably way more often than you'd think, because Nikki is awesome; *deep breath*
  
• I'm really hungry and it's time for dinner. Also, I have The Magnificent Seven DVDs to watch and plane tickets to purchase.

Okay! If you want to discuss though, feel free to comment in this post or over in shadowkat67's journal. I assume she doesn't mind discussion since she left the post public.

shadowkat67's post about my icon is HERE.

ETA: So I came very close to posting a rebuttal to shadowkat67's post, but I'm not going to because:

• At this point, I can't see that anything I say would be beneficial;
  
• I honestly have no idea how to even begin to address her points.

S'kat has every right to vent if something offends her, and I totally sympathise because there have been plenty of things in fandom that have enraged me to the point of needing to vent. Obviously I disagree heartily with each and every one of her points, and I do feel she's misinterpreting the icon itself and my reasons for creating/using it to an alarming degree, but I am not at all offended by her arguments.

That's all I have to say on the matter for now. I do hope, however, if she's reading this, that I've at least made my total adoration and respect for Nikki Wood, Vampire Slayer, absolutely crystal clear. If s'kat or anybody else disagrees with how I express that adoration and respect, they are of course free to their opinion.

I so need to finish that Toby/Nikki AU fic!