pyro-john

[pyro-john]

Why does it always seem meaner when people are mean on Tumblr?

[pyro-john]

Welcome to the Hellmouth: Subverting Expectations

Season 1, Episode 1: Welcome to the Hellmouth. These are most likely going to be long form stream of consciousness posts. Watch the episodes and follow along with my rambling thoughts. (It’s on Netflix!)

Subverting expectations is the name of the game right out of the gate. It seems to me that the BtVS team wanted to shatter any preconceived notions on multiple fronts. This show came out in the era of 90210, and Dawson's Creek, right smack in the middle of the WB teen drama boom of the late 90s. BtVS needed to stand out from the watery gruel of its contemporaries, without falling into a niche of campy Goosebumps-esque fare. Welcome to the Hellmouth seems to have been set up to do just that.

The opening scene of this show is brilliant. The spooky shots of the school that will be the primary setting, two kids breaking in, a timid schoolgirl and an obvious badboy. The show tells us immediately that things aren't going to go the way you think when the girl vamps out and eats the guy. Darla’s a fascinating character, and I’ll touch on her more later.

The opening organ notes of the theme song always give me chills.  Nerf Herder doesn’t get nearly enough credit.

The first shot we see of Buffy she’s lying in bed having nightmares. We get a ton of shots of some of the monsters Buffy will fight over the course of the season, which I kind of like. It’s a treat for people who really pay attention. Or for hopeless obsessives that have seen it 50 times. They kind of drop the whole Slyer prophecies thing as the show goes on, and I have mixed feeling on that. It’s a little clichéd, but there was a sense of macabre whimsy to it as well, especially when we get to some of the more abstract stuff later on.

When we get our first shots of Sunnydale High in the daytime, we're lulled back into thinking we know what's going on. We meet the gang, Xander the roguish dork (I can't believe he rides a skateboard), Willow the meek nerdy girl, and Jesse who is also there.

BtVS suffers a bit from late 90's fasion, which makes it feel a bit dated, but it's a pretty minor problem overall. It's more of an issue in early season 1 as the show gets its feet under it from a visual perspective. But oh man, Willow's checker dress and backpack.

In Buffy's meeting with Principle Flutie we get one of our few references to the Buffy Movie. Retconned so that instead of getting on a motorcycle and riding off with Luke Perry she just burned the motherfucker down. Not something you'd expect from a tiny cute blonde, (Flutie certainly doesn't seem to expect it) Seeing Buffy in class is weird. For a show set in a high school, relatively little education seems to happen. We meet Cordelia here too, in manner which suggests that she's going to be Buffy's new bff, (the little quiz Cordy gives Buffy dates the show a bit too. Hard to remember that James Spader was once a teen heartthrob) but almost immediately we see her viscous side when she snaps at Willow for using a water fountain that Cordelia doesn't even seem to want to use. Not all that glitters is gold.

Next we get to meet Giles. Anthony Stewart Head is far and away the best actor on this show. He acts with his whole body. You can see the shift from rigid indifference to near giddy excitement when he pull out that Vampyr book. (One of my favourite props. I love that thing). Again we're subverting expectations, of the characters as well as the audience. Buffy goes in to get a text book and is confronted with a tome of monster lore that seems to frighten her. It's great stuff. There aren't many scenes of students that aren't the core gang, unless something horrible is about to happen.  Dead body on campus count: 1

The first scene with the core three (Buffy, Willow, and Xander) Cordelia, and Jesse, establishes so much of the early dynamic, it's really great to watch. I'll talk more about Jesse when I watch the Harvest, but his existence is another massive subversion. Here he's set up as a foil for both Xander and Cordelia, but the writers had something else in mind. Jesse is one of my favourite things about season 1.

Giles' exposition scenes are a core component of the series, especially early on. With the wrong delivery these scenes could be dry as dust, but Head makes each of them a joy to watch. There's an urgency and passion that makes you lean forward and really listen to what he's trying to tell you, even if Buffy doesn't. This one five minute scene lays out the whole premise of the show and you barely notice it happening. We learn how vampires turn people, what a Slayer is, what a Watcher is, that Sunnydale is monster central, that Giles is a huge dork, and that some mystical badness is gonna happen soon. Buffy tempts fate big time at the end of this scene. It's a bit cliched, but it sets up some great jokes way down the line. Buffy's mother, Joyce, is another unappreciated character. Depicting a single mother in the 90s was a bold move, and she pulls it off well. Just the right mix of trying to let her daughter have freedom while still indulging her helicopter mom instincts. The early BtVS villains don't get nearly enough love. Partly because there was half as much time to establish them as the later villains (season 1 was only 12 episodes), and artly because they get overshadowed by the more wacky season 1 baddies like Mantis Lady and Internet Demon. But Luke, the Master, Darla, they're all great.

Angel's introduction is just the right combination of intriguing and creepy. Introducing him as a cryptic informant, and showing that Buffy can physically overpower him immediatly quashes the idea that he'll need to come to her rescue lays so much groundwork for Angel's development and for their relationship. I love the cross necklace. Jewlery gets used a lot in BtVS for symbolism. That little cross holds so much emotional power as time goes on. Ahh the Bronze. So much happens in that little dingy club. Mostly murders. Lots and lots of murders. The scene in the Bronze pulls a huge amount of weight for character development. We get to see that Buffy is a dork, who really wants to have something normal. We see Willow eating raisins at a club, and find out about her conflicted Xander feelings. We learn what Giles considers partying (this was a year and a half before Google, how did American kids find out what the hell Bovril was?). We get Jesse seemingly stop pining after a chick who hates him, (much to his personal detriment), and we get to see Buffy's place in the social order cemented when she nearly stakes Cordelia. When we get to the graveyard, we have our first proper fight of the series, and we get to see Buffy in her element. The entire episode we see her timidly talking to teachers and students and her Mum, and even herself, trying to figure out what she's supposed to do and where she fits in. Here we see her immediately confident, her posture changes, she starts being snarky. This is where she belongs. In the fight. But again, this episode is about subversion. So halfway through the fight a bigger badder badguy shows up and she starts getting wrecked. This badass superchick can also be threatened. She isn't the strongest thing out there. Pilots are supposed to show both what the show is, and what it has the potential to become, and Welcome to the Hellmouth knocks it out of the park. It's not the greatest Buffy episode, not by a longshot, but it builds an unshakable foundation. Right away we know that this isn't just another teen drama. It's not just another vampire show. This is going to be something else entirely.

Favourite Quote: Willow: Well... when I'm with a boy I like, it's hard for me to say anything cool, or, or witty. Or at all. I-I can usually make a few vowel sounds, and then I have to go away.

[pyro-john]

In every generation, there is a chosen one. She alone will stand against the Vampires, the Demons, and the Forces of Darkness. She is the Slayer.

The first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired twenty years ago today. Anyone who knows me, knows that I’m mildly obsessed with this show. It was my first real fandom. It was the first show I followed week to week. For a few years, Tuesday nights were Buffy and Angel night. It was the first show I bought on DVD. Whenever a new season was released, I’d snap it up from Walmart and spend the weekend reliving the season. It was the first show I watched all the way through multiple times. It’s the show I get people to watch. If they’re even mildly curious I’ll pelt them with DVDs. I’ve lost a few seasons this way too, but I replace them.

When I’m dating someone, I try to get them to watch Buffy with me (hasn’t always worked, mind you). Not out of some weird need for them to like a thing that I like, but because Buffy informed so much about who I am, and I want them to see it so that they might understand me better. It has been a huge part of my life.

Buffy taught me to be strong, even when it feels like the world rests on my shoulders. Willow taught me that being a nerd is ok, and that high school is not destiny. Xander taught me that humor often hides pain, but it’s still important to laugh anyway. Giles taught me to broaden my horizons, and to stand to something.

All the characters taught me something about myself, and about the world. Joss Whedon taught me how to be a person.

Over the next few months I’m going to rewatch Buffy. I’m going to write my thoughts on each episode. Some will be fluff, some will be deadly serious. But that’s just like life, isn’t it?

[pyro-john]

“all that matters is that u tried ur best”

me: *instantly flashes back to every moment i procrastinated and wasted*

me: ha hah haahah…… ….. yeah…….. my best……. that is the thing i totally did

[pyro-john]

  FANDOM FRIENDS BUTTON GIVEAWAY

Presented by snooze labs Hello, wonderful tumblr followers! I’m giving away two (2) illustrated buttons of your choice from my collection, to two (2) lucky winners! That’s right, this giveaway has twice the winning potential!

This giveaway will run from today (April 2nd, 2014) for seven days, and a winner will be decided next Wednesday night (April 9th, 2014) just before midnight EST when all reblogs will cease to count.

Rules:

Make sure your Ask is open! If you are chosen and your ask is not available to me, I’ll reraffle.

Reblog as many times as you’d like, but only main accounts will count. No giveaway or side blogs will be included. Likes do not count.

If you follow deerkick during this giveaway, you will receive 2 EXTRA ENTRIES! I’m trying to help my fandom friend to find more friends! Anyone who follows me will receive 1 EXTRA ENTRY in addition to any reblogs you make.

You can be from anywhere - I will ship internationally! (Just note that I’m shipping from Canada, so your buttons will likely have a long voyage ahead of them.. at least they have each other to keep company!)

If you just can’t wait and need to buy your own buttons, or if you want to see my 100+ other designs, I have many listings on my Etsy for fandoms such as Sherlock, Supernatural, Adventure Time, Community, Game of Thrones, Pokemon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hannibal, Team Fortress 2, Avengers,  or many more! 

Use this coupon code at checkout for 10% off: TUMBLRTAB

Thanks so much for your support, fellow tumblr addicts, and good luck! Happy reblogging!

[pyro-john]

I came across this story only days after reading this:

WRONG!

Give it a few more years and we'll have lightning rats and fire breathing dogs.

[pyro-john]

Generally, one can't get an Anthropology degree just to make your fantasy worlds better... Unless you're Steven Fucking Erikson http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Erikson

SOME MORE BULLSHIT (AKA Creating Cultures and the Social Justice Movement)

I AM BACK. 

SO! Let’s talk about culture. That shit’s so popular that it’s basically a root buzzword, meaning that it in itself is not only a buzzword but it can be attached to a whole bunch of other words to create a whole ravening pack o’ buzzwords:

Read More

[pyro-john]

You know what’s really damn cool about writing? It’s a bunch of lies. You sit down, and you come up with a very carefully crafted, creative lie to tell someone.

(^ You, the writer) They know it’s a lie, of course: all the events you insist have happened in fact did not happen and...