marilyn-not-monroe

[marilyn-not-monroe]

if I've never made it clear before, I'm firmly of the belief that using ai to parade dead people around and make them say things they can't say anymore is evil

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Spike + emojis

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Spuffy but make it a silly intimate couples pose 💕 [ Posted here & to BlueSky @ MadQueenMaddie ]

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Not going to tag this as part of the ongoing Buffy group rewatch because it's only very tangentially related to the episode we're watching this week, but -- partly inspired by @badwolfwho1's thoughts on that episode --here are five ways Amy might have become a witch between her sole Season 1 appearance in Witch and her sole Season 2 appearance in Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered.

1) Amy gets roped into the school talent show by Principal Snyder, just like Buffy and the others do in canon. She can't sing or dance or play a musical instrument, so what is she going to do? It's when she's going through her mom's old things that were left behind in the attic one afternoon -- I'm not sure what the legal status of her house is, with her mother missing and presumed dead, but I bet it takes a while to figure it all out -- that it occurs to her that she could do a little bit of genuine magic and pass it off as a harmless illusion. Her mom did plenty of magic while in her body, after all, so surely it can't be that hard? It sounds a little reckless, sure, but it beats being made to look like a untalented loser in front of the whole school. But what will her act be? Maybe she could figure out a way to make a rabbit really appear out of a hat? Or turn somebody in the audience, or even herself, into a rabbit? Or failing that, some other animal that starts with the letter R? How dangerous could that be, after all. What's the worst that could happen?

2) Amy gets caught up in the collective nightmares of ... uh, Nightmares. Specifically, she's haunted by visions of Catherine Madison, back from the dead (or from wherever Amy thinks she ended up) and looking for revenge. She dreams that her mother takes control of her body again, only this time they don't exactly switch. Amy is trapped in her body, a passive observer, while Catherine puppets her body around, destroying her relationship with her father and her friends and using her as nothing but weapon to seek revenge on the people Catherine believes wronged her. And the worst part is that Amy can't speak or signal or shout out a warning to anyone, and Catherine never reveals herself to anyone but her, so everyone Amy cares about believes that she's the person responsible for all their misery and misfortune. When the nightmares are over, she knows this was a wake-up call. Next time her mom comes back -- and she will, surely, come back -- Amy won't be so lucky: it won't just be a dream that time. She needs to prepare; she has to be ready. Like Buffy said about her this episode, she needs to become a witch to survive her mother.

3) On a whim, Amy dresses up like a witch in Season 2's Halloween after being volunteered by Snyder into escorting a group of kids as they go trick-or-treating. Afterwards she's not really sure why she did it. And maybe it's a little bit in bad taste, but ... well, it's been months since anyone saw or heard anything of Catherine or any other witch. Amy's safe. She knows that, most of the time. Maybe it would be good for her to try to face her fears. She was going to dress up using some of her mother's old magical supplies as props, but luckily she doesn't need to do that. Her friend Michael tells her about a great new costume store called Ethan's that just opened up...

And afterwards, when it's all over, Amy -- just like Xander -- finds she still has the memories of the person she was briefly turned into. She knows how to do magic now. Real magic. Better, in some ways, she thinks, than Catherine ever could. She's not planning on following in her mother's footsteps at first, but ... well, she didn't ever get around to reading the book for Ms. Beakman's class, the paper's due tomorrow, and her dad would be so disappointed in her if she failed ...

4) Soon after the events of Witch, Amy becomes part of the official group of people who know about Buffy being a vampire slayer, partly at Willow's urging (she points out to Buffy it's not fair not to warn Amy about vampires and that she already knows about Buffy's super-strength and magic and everything). Amy quickly becomes a key part of the group. She figures out Xander is possessed early on (because she knows what it means when a Sunnydale student starts acting strangely and cutting off ties with their old friends) and helps save Herbert the Pig and turn all the Hyena-possessed kids back to normal. She helps Giles and Ms. Calendar bind Moloch and save Willow. She hangs out with Buffy and they bond over their shared experiences of parental divorces and of living with a single parent who often needs to be away from home working. She's in the library with the others when Buffy kills the Master and saves the world, and later she's kidnapped by the Anointed One along with Cordelia and Ms Calendar.

And, over the summer, at first under Ms. Calendar's careful instruction and then more and more on their own, she and Willow starting learning magic together. It's Amy's idea, at least at first, but Willow is soon really into it. Buffy and Ms Calendar just chalk this down to Willow's usual academic drive, but Amy figures out the truth. Yes, Willow puts up a brave front, but deep down she's still heartbroken about not being able to save Jesse last year. Maybe she can hide it from the others, but she can't hide it from her old childhood friend Amy. Jesse was Willow's friend, and she couldn't help him. But maybe, with magic, she still has a chance.

Willow increasingly becomes obsessed with using magic to try to bring Jesse back to life. Jesse's death wasn't natural, Willow insists to Amy. It wasn't fair. Maybe she finds out about the spell Wolfram & Hart use (in canon) to bring Darla back to life. Maybe she finds Giles' books of black magic, or finds out about the ritual she'll later (in canon) push Dawn towards when Joyce dies. Either way, she's going to do it, just as soon as she gets powerful enough. Amy's sure that this is a bad idea, but she doesn't know how to talk her friend out of it. Even when Willow starts hanging out with a creepy warlock called Rack from the bad part of town. Even after Amy finds her reading books about ritual sacrifices and forbidden old magicks and sharpening knives.

It's only when Ms. Calendar dies -- murdered by Angelus, who lost his soul and didn't want it back -- right before Amy was about to confide in her about Willow, that things change for good. It's only after Willow starts talking about bringing Ms Calendar back too, and making everyone who hurt her suffer, and her eyes and her hair start turning black, that Amy decides to do something. She can't convince Willow to change her mind with words, but maybe there's something else she can do. Maybe she can change her mind more directly. Maybe. if she resorts to a little dark magic of her own, she can make Willow forget all about Jesse. Make it so she never started down this path at all. Make it so that Willow -- and everybody else -- had forgotten all about Jesse the minute he died.

One night, alone in her room, the same night she knows Willow is heading to the cemetery to try to resurrect Jenny Calendar, Amy does it. It takes everything she has, it's harder than she thought anything could be, but she's able to save her friend from herself. Able to reach back in time and change everything. She falls asleep, exhausted, knowing that her spell worked just the way she wanted...

... and is very surprised to wake up the next day, firmly back on the outside of the group, with none of the others remembering she ever was one of the Slayerettes. Of course, in this new reality, Willow never missed Jesse. She didn't remember him; she had no subconscious urge to replace him. It had always just been her and Xander, right from the start. So she didn't have the same motivation to get back in contact with another old childhood friend, she didn't ever push Buffy to let Amy join the gang, and none of the last few months happened the way Amy remembered it. She can still do magic, she still knows who Rack is, but now there's nothing in her history that can possibly explain why.

Amy tells herself that that's okay. That Willow's better off that way. That everyone is.

And being able to do magic when nobody else can will come in handy. Amy becomes sure of that when she gets sent to the Principal's office because, apparently, in this reality -- without Willow's help -- she's not been keeping up with her classes. Only, wait. Who's this new guy? What happened to Principal Flutie?

5) The writers needed somebody to be a witch in order to kick start the main action of this episode, half-remembered the plot of Season 1's Witch and thought "wait, Amy's a witch, right? why can't we bring her back?". When they realized their error it was too late to make any real changes to the script except to throw in a couple of lines about how Amy's mother "is" (not "was", interestingly) a witch too and hope nobody asked any awkward questions. Not a very funny answer but I think this is quite probably what actually happened.

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Astronaut readjusts to life back on Earth

> Don’t give him a baby for a while.

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via historicpix/Instagram

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Yes it is! You can actually donate a few times a month. Plasma centers usually have promotions for new donors; I made $600 in a month.

The first time you go, it’s a 2-3 hour visit because they do a comprehensive check. Other visits will be half an hour to an hour, depending on how busy they are.

The needles are really big. Bring a squishy ball or something else you can squeeze in your hand, because you have to pump your fist to help the blood flow.

Do not go if you’re sick! I blew my nose once and they kicked me out. It was just allergies but they are very strict about being completely healthy, because plasma is what helps you heal and they can’t take it from you if you’re sick.

Bring a blanket too; it’s always cold.

Always make sure you’re hydrated and have a full stomach. I did not eat once and hadn’t had water and I felt terrible afterwards.

Is selling plasma actually worth it?

So, things have gotten pretty tight financially, and I’m seriously considering selling my plasma to make some quick cash. But I’m honestly on the fence anyone on here done it before?

What’s the experience like?

How much did you actually make?

And did it mess with your health or energy levels afterward?

I’ve donated blood before, so I know the basics, but selling plasma feels like a whole different deal.

If you’ve got any advice, stories, or warnings, please drop them, thank you!

[marilyn-not-monroe]

BUFFY CAST Q&A | Comic-Con North East 2023 (x)

BONUS:

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“omg peoples mental health is so bad they don’t shower??” girl some people have such bad mental health they kill themselves

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As I rewatch Buffy for the billionth time, Spike and Dru seemed like a great place to start redrawing some of my old art from almost a decade ago. I don't usually do this, so it's really neat to see the difference.

The prints and stickers of the original version are now discounted in my Etsy shop, and the new ones will be added soon!

[marilyn-not-monroe]

@thejakeformerlyknownasprince

i hate when ppl act like the only reason to not like a "sad" ending is because you can't take it or whatever. personally as a tragedy enjoyer, i hate a poorly written ending. i hate an ending that is just kind of a bummer. i hate an ending that feels mean-spirited to the audience. i hate an ending that's redundant. i love a sad ending that is thematically consistent, poignant, and bespoke to the rest of its narrative.

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So that’s what all the fountains are for….

where have you been all my life

I live in Missouri

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What about people who live in Kansas City, which exists in both states? Are they enemies?

where have you been all my life

I live in Missouri

[marilyn-not-monroe]

The minute April threw him through a window, his brain went “I want Buffy to do that to me.”

the real reason Spike wanted a Buffybot is because when he met the Aprilbot she threw him through a window for hitting on her and that would reminded him of Buffy

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@coochiequeens

Oh come on lady, you can't deny a man his gaycation