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BtVS and Consent Issues: Episode 3.15 – “Consequences”

This is a very well written review on the consent issues in the episode Consequences: Link

I particularly enjoyed reading this part:

“BUFFY: Alright. Look, I know that you mean well, Xander, but, um, I just don’t see Faith opening up to you. She doesn’t take the guys that she has a… ‘connection’ with very seriously. And they’re kind of a big joke to her. No offense.

XANDER: Oh, no! I mean, why would I be offended by *that*?”

Buffy doesn’t expect Xander’s feelings to be hurt by this, but the quick look Xander gives to Giles, and the bitter, sarcastic tone in his voice, indicates that he is hurt. Because Xander is on the receiving end of the “big joke” comment, he’s the only one who seems to think that it wasn’t a nice thing of Buffy to say. But can you imagine if the situation had been reversed, if Buffy had slept with a man, assumed they had a connection, only to have Xander reply that “the girls he sleeps with are kind of a big joke to him?” Willow and Giles would have jumped down his throat. But Xander’s not expected to be offended, because he’s a guy – he doesn’t care if Faith doesn’t take him seriously, because he still got laid, right?

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for @luscious2

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PSA

Since the Fandom continues to be dense af on this issue, for obvious reasons*

Xander did not lie to Buffy about what Willow said in “Becoming Part 2″ out of jealousy.

*the obvious reason being that Xander dares to be a teenage/young adult human male on BtVS. 

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Do you not like S2?! Just curious since it's many people's favorite season :) I would love to hear why!

I’m just not a fan. Its my least favorite season. I’m not a fan of all the Angelus drama (and honestly, Angelus in Season 2 is a lot less interesting as a bad guy than the Angelus in AtS S4 - Angelus was the boring one on BtVS, not Angel! Relatively speaking.)

I mean, the Xandelia and Willow/Oz are the best parts. But the rest of the season is just not that interesting - and its got some of the hokiest episodes (Go Fish is not what I would ever call a good episode, IMO), and I’ll admit, the way parts of the Fandom likes to completely misrepresent the events of Becoming/Anne/Dead Man’s Party to make Buffy look 100% perfect and flawless and that she didn’t make any mistakes in that whole exchange, didn’t overact/misinterpret to her mother’s words, et cetera, et cetera has also turned me off from Season 2 somewhat as well (I’m sorry, but you should never take a ‘don’t bother coming back’ from your parent seriously, especially not when your parent loves you as obviously as Joyce does Buffy, and please keep Joyce hate off this post). Buffy isn’t alone in what went wrong either, but she’s not without any culpability.

I mean, I don’t hate it, but it is the worst out of seven, IMO.

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Ok Hi, quick question: i'm so late on this but i finally started watching buffy and i already know xandelia don't end well unfortunately so i was wondering if u had any fic recs/any of ur own fics for these 2? i dont really know where to look since ao3 seems to be lacking. thank u in advance!

Alright, well, this is gonna get long so bear with me. I will talk about my Xandelia fics in a seperate post/ask, mostly to keep things germane.

First in the list is Riding Shotgun, a post AtS S5 AU with some strange twists and an interesting start premise. More is spoilage. Not too long, not the most Angel/Cangel friendly piece in the world, but it doesn’t bash either fic, IMO

Mirror Mirror is a short(ish), somewhat odd story - Xander from canon universe (with amnesia) ends up in a universe where Xander was born a girl. Male!Xander and Cordelia get together.

Detour is both shippy and Brotp, and really shows what I wanted to happen at least once in the show - Cordelia helping Xander get the fuck over himself once in a while/talking sense into him. As I’ve mentioned, had Cordelia been around when Hells Bells happened, I think that Xander wouldn’t have left Anya at the altar like that. This fic isn’t quite that, but is a similarish idea.

Touched is beyond a shadow of a Doubt, one of my favorites. Xander nd Cordelia get cursed, unable to not be touching each other in some way, and the forced closeness post-Breakup forces them to have it out. Unfinished, but worth the read anyway.

Segue asks a very simple question: What if Cordelia had come back to BtVS in Season 5? Unfinished, but worth the read anyway, IMO.

The Tinman Passes is a post AtS S5 Xandelia with Cordelia coming back from the dead. Great fic, some high drama, interesting ending.

Headhunters - Xander and Cordelia during the end of S1 get sucked into another world - IIRC, its the world of the Gears of War games. It has been a long while since I read this one. I’ve never actually played Gears of War, but I could follow this fic, so I would imagine you don’t need to know the games.

A Promise to Lie 2: A Dark Mirror - Xandelia with some odd twists. Short version, Vamp!Cordelia from an alternate Wishverse-like universe (not the actual Wishverse) ends up in post Buffy S5 Canonverse, and it leads to Xandelia. The Origins of Vamp!Cordy and the Vamp!Xandelia relationship that happened in that universe are explored in A Promise to Lie Both fics are dark(ish), the first even more so than the second.

Five Conversations Cordelia Should Have Had - post Breakup, standard 5 conversations format, ends with Xandelia back together.

Teach Me to Hear the Mermaid’s Singing is not very Anya Friendly. It’s a Casefic where the AI team comes to Sunnydale because of a Vision, set in early S2 of Angel. Ends on a sort of… aspirational note for Xandelia - they’re not exactly together, but you can see it from there. Leaves things open.

What Is He To You? - Short, Season 2 oneshot. Cordelia talks to Buffy about Xander.

Rescue - I have very complicated feelings about this because I disagree with the fic’s assertions about the whole ‘taking over W&H in Season 5′ thing, but basically, it’s a fix-fic from “Your Welcome” where Cordelia decides that setting Angel on his path isn’t enough, she also needs to help Xander out too, who is not handling things since Anya’s death all that well. From a Xandelia perspective, the fic is perfect though.

Difference, Apres and Crucial are just short little Xandelia oneshots, very nice.

Monkey’s Paw - What if the results of the mis-aimed Love Spell in BB &B had gone very, very badly? Or rather, been taken to their logical, extreme conclusion. Trigger warning for rape and really, read at your own risk, but it’s powerful stuff (just so we’re clear, this is not a fic where Xander rapes anyone)

The Oracle - Xander is gifted with the power of prophecy. Problem is, he has no control over it and doesn’t remember his own prophetic statements. Not quite Xander-Stu, but kidna of close, so YMMV

Shards of Fate - been a while since I read this. I know it’s good, but I honestly can’t remember a good plot summary. Post BTVS S7.

Childhood’s End - Xander has a little sister named Dawn. Yes. That Dawn. Apart from a brief thing set at the end of Season 7, it’s an AU Season 1 of Buffy. 

Where No Zeppo Has Gone Before - Xandelia in DS9, thanks to a meddling Q.

Here is Gone - One of my Favorite Starway Man fics, Here is Gone centers as much on Dawn/Connor as anything else, but also includes Doyle and Kendra. Xander is the major(ish) actor, and it is Xandelia, though it ends kinda weirdly and you really wish Starway Man would do a sequel to this one already! 

Shattered - Xander gets the Order of Taraka sicced on him, and runs off from Sunnydale. This leads to a series of changes that screw with the events of BtVS and AtS. Includes a side order of Bangel and Lilah Morgan being the shell Illyria takes over. Xandelia in the end.

The Effects of Wishful Thinking - Baby Xander and Jessica Harris make wishes that Anya and Halfrek grant, which leads to Xander being raised in LA (and he knew Buffy there); meanwhile, something else Halfrek did in the 1880s leads to Darla being the Vampire with the Soul. Xandelia, has a bit of an odd ending, kinda Xander-Stu at the end. 

Time For Change - Crossover with Stargate SG-1, Xander and Cordelia become hosts to two Tok’ra Symbiotes that were in canopic jars in the Sunnydale museum. Very fun.

Alien Nation - short version is YAHF in Angel Season 2, with Xander dressing up as Odo and Cordelia as T’pol. No knowledge of Trek required, though. That said, it’s way more complicated, involving Xander growing up in LA, Buffy working out of the Cleveland Hellmouth, Glory showing up - it’s crazy, but it works. Easily my favorite Starway Man fic. Arguably my favorite Xandelia fic in total.

The Guardian - Charmed Crossover, Xander Dresses up as a whitelighter when YAHF strikes again in Season 6.

A Simple Twist of Fate - Buffy Season 4 with Cordelia having come back to Sunnydale. 

Never Wish Upon a Hellmouth - What if Cordelia had wished she’d never met Xander Harris, when Anya was around, instead of wishing the same about Buffy?

Yesterday’s Son - An AU where William Pratt is never turned leads to the PTB rearranging fates and long story short, it all ends up with Buffy having a twin brother - Alexander Summers. Covers Welcome to the Hellmouth and The Harvest in this AU. An excellent fic.

Visions and Pawns - The Ra-Tet work to stop their demise at the hands of the Beast, and Xander ends up being part of it. Light on the Xandelia, but it’s there.

Knightcurse - Essentially, Xander gets turned in Season 2 by Drusilla, gets given a Soul. Jenny also survives, for bonus points. It’s a little more complicated than that, but that’s the basic. An excellent fic, I re-read it often.

And Hot Damn that got even longer than I expected. There are other Xandelia fics I know of that are good, I just didn’t have them handy in my favorites. I may update this post someday with more, when I find them. 

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Do you not like S2?! Just curious since it's many people's favorite season :) I would love to hear why!

I’m just not a fan. Its my least favorite season. I’m not a fan of all the Angelus drama (and honestly, Angelus in Season 2 is a lot less interesting as a bad guy than the Angelus in AtS S4 - Angelus was the boring one on BtVS, not Angel! Relatively speaking.)

I mean, the Xandelia and Willow/Oz are the best parts. But the rest of the season is just not that interesting - and its got some of the hokiest episodes (Go Fish is not what I would ever call a good episode, IMO), and I’ll admit, the way parts of the Fandom likes to completely misrepresent the events of Becoming/Anne/Dead Man’s Party to make Buffy look 100% perfect and flawless and that she didn’t make any mistakes in that whole exchange, didn’t overact/misinterpret to her mother’s words, et cetera, et cetera has also turned me off from Season 2 somewhat as well (I’m sorry, but you should never take a ‘don’t bother coming back’ from your parent seriously, especially not when your parent loves you as obviously as Joyce does Buffy, and please keep Joyce hate off this post). Buffy isn’t alone in what went wrong either, but she’s not without any culpability.

I mean, I don’t hate it, but it is the worst out of seven, IMO.

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Crossover AU 2/?: Breaking Bad // Buffy the Vampire Slayer High school chemistry teacher Rupert Giles, after developing lung cancer, is at a loss for how to pay for his treatments.  Declining offers by friends and family for assistance, he instead turns to former student Spike for his connections to the drug world and the two begin producing and selling meth.  Adopting the name “Ripper” for a pseudonym in the drug world, he hides this piece of his life from his family, including his wife Jenny and sister-in-law Buffy, who is a DEA agent.  Even once Jenny eventually uncovers his double life, he maintains his part in the business, driven by pride and claims that what he is doing is for his family.

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Tags.

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10 Years of Merlin and Arthur

↳ Day 1: Joy and Sorrow

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10 Years of Merlin and Arthur

↳ Day 1: Joy and Sorrow

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See I have to believe That there’s more than there seems More than a soul in a boat in a sea of sinking dreams And I have to be sure That there’s gonna be a cure

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But it’s gonna be a long year Till the hospital can find hope in me Tell me I survive

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buffyverse + mbti ~ wesley (intj ~ the mastermind)

Look. Humans rule the earth. They will last for millennia, like roaches crawling everywhere. Crying and sweating and puking their feelings all over you. Go back. Sleep until the humans are gone. They are stupid and weak. They’ll kill each other off, and you can return to the world you deserve. Leave this shell.

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buffyverse characters trope meme: Alexander LaVelle Harris (x)

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Graves: Hey.

Shilo: YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF

Graves: Ok, cool. I was afraid you’d never speak to me again. I can work with this.

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The man most principally responsible for contemporary Absurdism was Albert Camus, who called that disconnect between the meaningless universe and the insatiable human desire to look for meaning, The Absurd and Camus’ essay, ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’ begins “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide. Judging whether life is or is not worth living amounts to answering the fundamental question of philosophy.”

Sisyphus was a man condemned by the gods to push a rock up a hill. Just before reaching the top the rock would roll back to the bottom and Sisyphus would go and get it… forever. 

In his conclusion to The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus said: It happens that melancholy rises in man’s heart: this is the rock’s victory, this is the rock itself. The boundless grief is too heavy to bear. But crushing truths perish from being acknowledged. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill the human heart.

TPN’S BUFFY GUIDE: 3.10 Amends

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ah, it is more courageous to overcome

gang of youths, achilles come down