#and of course xander doesn't remember

[lucy-moderatz]

[firelxdykatara]

The thing that always hits me about season 5 is like... Buffy is just so fucking tired.

It comes on gradually, and of course season 6 is widely known for Buffy's depression arc, but the seeds are well and truly planted in the season before it because I think season 5 is when it truly starts to hit her that... she was never supposed to live this long.

Because throughout history, Slayers have been incredibly short-lived. They make it to adulthood if they're very lucky, and at the age of 23 Buffy is officially the longest-lived Slayer in history. At 20, she had already well surpassed the average, and she's really starting to feel it. It's no coincidence that this is the season when she starts giving up on the life of the normal girl she'd been so doggedly clinging to, refusing to give up just because she's the Slayer, since season 1. She drops out of college, her mom dies, Riley leaves (and she didn't even love him but he was something normal and good and she couldn't help but cling to him even when she knew she shouldn't and no thanks to Xander's terrible fucking advice but ANYWAY), she has nothing but being the Slayer and taking care of her sister--who isn't truly her sister but finding that out doesn't matter because she is in all the ways that count.

And she's tired. Because she's just one girl, one woman, with the weight of the world on her shoulders--and every other Slayer in history was eventually crushed by it, killed by the very darkness they were destined to fight (and die fighting), most of them never even making it this far. So she's standing there, hearing Dawn tell her that she has to let her go, to let her sacrifice herself to save the world because it's what she was created for, it's the only way- and she remembers.

Death is your gift.

And on the face of it, yeah, her death is the gift she gives to her sister to ensure she lives, and to her friends and the world to ensure they are not consumed. But also? Death is her gift. And it's not just realization dawning on her face in the rising sun--it's relief.

Because finally, finally, she can just let go.

She doesn't have to fight anymore. She doesn't have to suffer, or lose anyone else, or lose more pieces of herself. She can just stop. She can just rest.

Because the universe calls for one single champion, one teenage girl in all the world to fight all the powers of darkness and evil. And at the end of it all, the world offers her nothing in return except this--true and final peace. Death is her gift, and she rushes to meet it and she thinks finally, finally, she can just stop fighting. Stop everything. The world will be ok without her, there's always someone else to take up the mantle. She doesn't have to be the one everyone else is counting on. And she's so exhausted and so ready.

And then she wakes up in her own coffin. And all that suffering she thought she'd finally been allowed to escape crashes down on her a hundred fold, and of course she would stagger under its weight. But I think deep down some part of her blamed herself even for that. Because she'd been so ready to give up, stop fighting, end her own torment and then... her friends needed her back so badly that they ripped her from the only sliver of true peace she'd known since her Calling, and how could she say they were wrong for it when she feels so very wrong to her core for being so ready to let go in the first place?

Idk where I'm going with this, just feeling a lot of emotions about Buffy Fucking Summers today I guess.

[coraniaid]

I don't think I believe that people in Sunnydale High School think of the Scooby Gang as "Buffy Summers and her weird friends".

I mean, yes, they know Buffy is (more than) a bit weird and has a history of violence, and they know that she's often at the center of lots of strange things that happen in the school. But if you forget what you know about vampires and the Slayer and look at the dynamics and personal histories of that group from the outside, there's exactly one person who connects them all together. And it's not the (ex?) arsonist and (ex?) gang member who recently transferred to Sunnydale from LA.

Everyone in Sunnydale High seems to know Willow Rosenberg, and everyone knows she's a huge nerd who (A) love libraries and (B) has something of a history of either tutoring (e.g. Rodney Muson) or otherwise hanging out with (e.g. Shelia Martini) some of the school's more violent and dangerous elements.

There's Xander Harris, Willow's best friend since kindergarten (and who, unlike Willow, doesn't really seem to have many other friends at all after Jesse mysteriously vanishes)

There's the (weirdly religious?) ex-aronist from LA who Willow seems to be tutoring in the library a lot (see B above) or who she's possibly recruited as muscle. Sheila and Rodney both mysteriously went missing one day too, so people aren't that surprised when Buffy does herself at the end of junior year.

There's the English librarian (see A above) that anyone who has seen Willow's locker knows Willow has a crush on

There's the computer science teacher that anyone who has been in class with knows Willow also has a crush on, who sometimes has Willow come in to class to help her run sessions for remedial students on the weekends and whose job Willow (somehow) takes over when she dies

There's Cordelia Chase, who Willow has a whole historical Thing with, probably going back to when they were little kids themselves. People say Willow hates her but they're always hanging out together (there's a persistent rumor that they once spent a whole night together in a closet, if you know what I mean) and Willow helped run her campaign for Homecoming Queen. Cordelia was secretly dating Willow's friend for a bit and some people say Willow was really, really upset when she found out; read into that what you will.

There's the mysterious older guy in a band who doesn't talk much and that Willow is apparently actually dating. (This isn't the same older guy in a band Cordelia was dating, but oddly enough it is the same band.) A few kids swear they've seen him naked and locked up in the library at night.

There are (again, from the outside) people like Willow's childhood friend Amy and Amy's friend Michael, who people might remember were once being investigated by the police for ritual murder before Amy mysteriously vanished

To the outside eye, the Scooby Gang are Willow Rosenberg and her weird friends.

(A lot of kids swear that one time they saw her hold the whole Bronze hostage and rip a girl's throat out with her teeth, but of course Principal Snyder hushed it all up and she was back at school the next day. He really doesn't want to have to hire a new computer science teacher this year.)

[camellcat]

y'all I used to be normal about xander harris. I used to go yeah y'know I like him he's just a totally normal guy. I think he's really sweet actually, but hey I completely understand why some people may not like him

but the way the fandom treats him has pushed me SO far into defense it's like rewired my brain or something. actually he's done nothing wrong ever. I don't even care anymore. I take back every critique I've ever made of him. you don't Get Him like I do. he's written as terribly inconceivably ooc sometimes and you're all treating it like it's NORMAL!!!! when other characters are NOT subject to the same bullshit even when they're sometimes written even worse. we can wave away SO much shit for others, but xander? no, no, no. and when he IS in character, does ANYONE care to perhaps I dunno EXAMINE WHY HE'S ACTING LIKE THAT? oh? no? we're just gonna take it at face value, when we would not do that for any other character??? when he's written off and sometimes even intentionally off, then that's perfectly in line and just Who He Is Actually

I need to talk about the pack specifically because I have GRIEVANCES with the fandom here. what in the actual hell is going on. why are we acting like the possession was who he really is deep down??? it's clear that the hyena spirit is simply taking him at his base sort of thoughts I suppose (e.g., him having a hard crush on buffy, being jealous of angel, secretly knowing about willow but not requiting) and amplifying them to be HORRIBLE. at the end, he's visibly guilty over what he's done despite it being out of his control. he doesn't say anything because how COULD he? what would he even say? these are the most important people in his life, and he was forced to hurt them. and they obviously forgive him and don't blame him for what happened, because he's not exactly subtle about remembering, and I sincerely doubt they'd just let what he did slide if they thought he truly was responsible. these guys are all with the silent communication, and it's not always good, but it's how they roll. also, GUYS. THINK OF SPIKE'S MOTHER!!!! THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY SIMILAR SITUATION!!!!! he has never in the entire time we've known him actively go out of his way to hurt people the way he does in this episode. because that's not who he is or who he ever wants to be

I also want to talk about how brave he is. I keep seeing people calling him a coward and it genuinely baffles me. are we watching the same show? what are you ON about?? even the show points it out: he's completely and utterly human, and standing up to fight evil on the front lines with everyone else anyways. there two absolute standout moments I especially adore and want to point out. and there ARE more moments, but these are my favourite. the first is when xander decides that if no one else will, he'll go help buffy fight the master, and alone if he has to. and he saves buffy, because he TRIED. I honestly don't think anyone else would've tried to save her once they saw she'd died like they were all told she would, but he did. because that's who he is. and the second is one my friend pointed out to me that is just so good, where xander stands up to angelus in the hospital. angelus could snap him in half within a blink of an eye, and xander tells him to leave. he's terrified, because he KNOWS if angelus wanted to then he'd be dead without being able to fight back, but he guards buffy like a little dog facing up against a lion. he wouldn't win, but maybe he could buy her just a little more time, maybe someone would notice and help her, maybe angelus will decide it's too much effort and leave like he desperately hopes, maybe maybe maybe. he's gambling with his life here, just like before by walking into the master's nest, and he'd do it again without a second thought to protect his loved ones. he DOES do it, again and again and again over the course of the show

this isn't to say xander doesn't have his flaws. he's not the best boyfriend for sure, and while those are mostly out of his own insecurities and trauma, it's still not a great. I don't give any of the other characters that excuse to let bad relationship behaviour slide and I won't give him it either, but it is at the least an explanation. that is just a real flaw that he struggles with throughout the whole show outside of anything else. he can also be very snippy and mean when he's feeling defensive, and he's got a bit of a possessive, jealous streak that isn't fantastic, but he's the heart for a reason. in fact I honestly think those traits work really well as cons for the heart

the xander we see in the show is someone who wants to be good and do good. he cares so, so immensely for everyone. EVERYONE who sticks around in this show, does xander latch onto to as one of his own people to look out for. he tries and tries and tries to do the right thing, to protect and take care of the ones he loves in any way he can, and he kind of sucks at it sometimes. he makes the wrong choices even when he means well, and sometimes when he doesn't. but god is he trying harder than almost anyone else on that show to just be A Good Friend. I'm going to go so far as to say I think he is actually a better person than almost every other character on this show (other than buffy and tara of course)

why isn't he enough when there are other characters who are SO much worse than him in this show?

[socratesgirlnextdoor]

here is a long list of buffyverse pairings that i believe to be either aunt and uncle or mom and dad:

every couple het or not is either mom and dad or aunt and uncle. even if you're not heterosexual you're parenting or you are sometimes babysitting.

aunt and uncle couples don't necessarily have to be childless but generally they're just sort of weird people who are always on vacation or something, and mom and dad couples are dorky or just always there. i don't know. it's just a vibe. it varies.

spike and buffy - aunt and uncle. they have had mom and dad moments like with the potentials but even then i knew they were totally aunt and uncle. drill sargent aunt and her weird criminal husband. they own a cat named something insane like mr explosion princess or bob and live in a pretty apartment and they watch criminal minds and they patrol and they show up an hour late to any holiday gathering because they're always working

buffy and angel - mom and dad. again i dont think buffy wants children or anything but it's the vibe. i just think they mom and dad in the first few seasons. it's all about the yearning and the fantasy. then divorce. i don't have a good enough scenario for them

angel and cordelia - mom and dad* but i think they aunt and uncle too. it's a bit of both. im biased towards mom and dad because they were raising connor together for a while. i think you can get either picture the show displays their relationship pretty well

tara and willow - mothers. they literally adopt dawn for a few months, but they do feel very aunt and aunt as well. tara is just so nurturing and loving and willow is too of course, she gives me a locked away in a study vibe. even if she's generally upbeat and kind, she seems like she would always be busy. no shade to willow well a little shade she messed up big time with tara

xander and anya - DEFINITELY AUNT AND UNCLE. they end up acting as the mom and dad of the group because they've been together so long and joined at the hip, but aunt and uncle so hard. not aunt and uncle in the way that i initially thought of it, but they even remind me of my aunt and uncle. also once in a featurette i think michelle trachtenberg said something along the lines of anya being your weird loving aunt who tries to be cool with kids but ends up being kind of dorky and xander is a similar creature to that, he's such an uncle. she's such an aunt.

angel and spike - i have given a lot of thought to this. i think they would be dad and dad, but they fucking hate each other. they love each other, sure , but they absolutely stay married for the kids. spike doesn't give a shit if they stay married, but angel insists even though he hates being married to spike so fucking much. they use their children to annoy the shit out of each other. their kids ally against spike and angel for their pettiness, and when they do this, angel and spike ally against the kids. i believe in this so much and i want it to happen thanks

spike and xander - definitely uncle and uncle. spike and xander live this life in the comics with their cats in their apartment.

faith and buffy - aunt and aunt. i picture endgame faith and buffy as two angry old women with like five dogs on a beachside property being visited by some teenager who's doing a school project on them. faith answers the door-- and i picture old faith as mac's mom from it's always sunny-- and she's smoking a cigarette and she screams her head off for buffy to come to the door and buffy's too busy with the dogs. i just think they constantly insult and yell at each other but in a hot married way. faith is in love with everything buffy does till they die. im writing fanfic at this point

giles and jenny - aunt and uncle 100%! they seem like they have apartment parties with wine (but i hardly remember them lol so maybe they are more mom and dad haha)

xander and cordelia - aunt and uncle derogatory. they seem like they would always be so unhappy, passive aggressive bitching about each other around the holidays.

harmony and spike - hear me out but mom and dad. again mom and dad but like shitty. spike and harmony seem like they have kids and neglect them because they don't like each other but in a very specific way. but they do give mom and dad energy

spike and dru - sort of both! i don't get a full mom and dad vibe but they're very gomez and morticia addams. they are both and they are neither. secret third thing. though i think they are more aunt and uncle who are insufferable at family events because of the evilness

buffy and riley - aunt and uncle but also...nothing? i can see seeing them as mom and dad but essentially they tried to be mom and dad really hard but it's just not their dynamic. like i think he wanted them to be mom and dad but instead he got neither. though riley and sam are very aunt and uncle/mom and dad

oz and willow - aunt and uncle! no explanation needed

wesley and fred - mom and dad to me. i don't think they would necessarily have kids but they have the vibe. but also aunt and uncle. science aunt and history uncle hehe 😭 😭

angelus and darla - evil mom and evil dad to spike and dru's evil aunt and evil uncle. but im not sure because angelus is kind of like your evil uncle who doesn't shut the fuck up

willow and kennedy - aunt and aunt. but also nothing because kennedy and willow are not endgame

really random but faith and robin - aunt and uncle!! this pairing was so last minute but i fuck with them a lot they're cool aunt and cool uncle. cool uncle is level headed and understanding and cool and cool aunt gives you illegal firecrackers for your birthday

anyways that is my theory

[luli-lads]

You saw!!!!

I'm freaking out but in a good way? He's known there are multiple timelines for years and he still carried on with everything, with being a doctor and saving lives! most importantly, he still allowed mc to get closer and closer, let himself be comfortable and happy with her. I'm not even talking romantically since in the main story mc isn't dating anyone.

still, imagine carrying around this knowledge for 7 years, how much that must have weighted on him. and you throw dawnbreaker into the mix...no wonder he lost control.

now we still don't know why he made that deal. it says divine voices spoke to him after showing him that rift through time, so maybe astra?

i don't know if you saw, but the official lads account made a post on twitter that kinda answered a few questions. they confirmed he didn't go back to the library after the main story and they were asking us where we think he went instead. it's said that he refuses to go there. there's also a couple sections that highlight zaynemc, especially how she does ease away his pain and nightmares and how tightly they hold on to each other's hand when in the past their fingertips barely touched.

now i'm really excited, i'm glad the story is moving. it sucks that we're gonna have to wait a while. there's xavier, raf and caleb to go through now. raf is my second main and I already know it's gonna hurt a lot 🫠

Okay okay okay I can't make a proper theory post since I still have to study for one more exam on thursday but I still wanna say some things.

Ough I don't even know how to organize my thoughts so first I'm gonna respond to what you said.

Something that stood out to me is that, even though they tell us that he was made aware of multiple timelines, it doesn't look like he knows the extent of what happens in them. Like, he doesn't seem to know Dawnbreaker's origins and who Dawnbreaker is in general in the other timeline, to him that's just the Grim Reaper, Death personified. If he had read the books fully, you'd think he'd know, no?

What I'm thinking is, remember in the Foreseer myth how Zayne could see everyone's fates except his own? Maybe Astra doesn't allow him to know about himself through the books, only the fact that there's more. Or it could also be that he went there, checked out the books briefly, got overwhelmed and didn't get the full grasp, made the promise, and never returned again (the image of him in it would be more symbolic than fact).

So, does he really know about what happens in the other timelines? I think not yet. He will, but in the future. He might have the general idea of "this isn't my only incarnation - and something always happens to MC" but not the details. Feel free to argue against this though, cause I just felt like something was off idk

Maybe it was exactly that, of "something always happens to MC" which pushed him to make the promise and end up leaving her (for now). I definitely think those 'divine whispers' are Astra, since the little boy mentioned him by name:

I saw the Twitter post too!

Just to go through it:

The first paragraph is a general summary of his two chapters.

The first sentence of the second paragraph alludes to that time when Zayne had the first experience with Dawnbreaker and hurt MC. The second sentence is about what happened in the main story, MC covering DB in blankets.

Then when Zayne finally told MC about DB and him asking her to go to Xander with him.

The third paragraph is just to connect the Timelock Key of Zayne 'avoiding' MC to the current happenings in the main story of staying near her (except the end of course 💀).

AND THEN. The confirmation that he didn't go to the Library. Which I was thinking about, since Dr. Noah said this:

So Zayne probably went to Mt. Eternal, is my guess, to 'deal' with Dawnbreaker first and foremost, and after that, he might go to the Library, or he might return to Linkon to see MC first.

Alright. Now. I wanted to do a quick analysis of that last Timelock Key part by part, so... Let's go!

The word used for this one is "Revelation", which aligns with him finding out both the existence of a higher being, and of multiple timelines. Remember how he was an atheist when he first stepped into the Library (per the prophecy), so that must've been life-changing for him too. This means that this whole chapter of the Timelock Key takes place on that first contact with the Library (as a reminder, 7 years ago, when he was 20 and getting his MD).

Not much to explain here, the books, the timelines... I explained this quite well in my original prediction post XD

It's interesting because this made me think of something that I hadn't considered before: The Library is a place where stories are archived when they no longer have any use - they're done. "They finally find their place in perpetual cycles". They cannot be changed, they have a fixed ending. You read them, and by reading them, you're starting the cycle again. Just like we do when we reread the myths, we know how they're going to end. It's surprisingly meta and 4th wall breaking.

"Images dance before his eyes" - Fragments, not a complete story? "Blood surges in his chest" - his heartbeat quickens, born of anxiety or helplessness. He knows now that he has multiple incarnations across spacetime.

Following that narrative of "this is what happened when he arrived at the Library", it seems like he opened a book or two at random, and thus the overwhelming knowledge was revealed, but there was still something even more overwhelming about to happen: Astra making Himself known. It was then that He told him his purpose as His emissary.

Then... Astra asked if he accepted the role and... Zayne said yes, "touching the unspoken covenant". I looked up the definition of covenant just in case it offered any more insight, and though its objective definition refers to it as 'an agreement', which would make sense in-context, it's most used in a religious context to express the relationship between a God and its followers, which... It's not always as equal as 'an agreement' would lead us to believe. And since, from what we know, Astra isn't exactly merciful, I'm going to run with the latter definition 😭

Alright... I think I said my piece... I hope I didn't miss anything... I really wanna know tf Astra is up to. And who exactly the boy is. And who that other young person was that spoke to Zayne and the boy in the Library(???) So many questions still...

I'm giving you all the moral support for when we get to Rafayel's!!! Hey, it might be like Sylus' and you get off easy 😭😭😭😭😭💜💜💜💜

[thefandomenchantress]

I know I predicted radio silence from me...But I had what I think is a cool idea and wanted to share it before anything gets disproven in the next episode (Brief, singular mention of the Eden!Culprit theory).

So, I saw a lot of people talking about the Arei-Eden parallels, and the Ace-Arei parallels (and differences), and the Min-Eden parallels in the hug scene...Because of that, I started thinking about how Eden and Ace relate to all the others. And then I remembered the very obvious Teruko-Ace parallels.

Ace and Teruko both trusted someone who betrayed them in one way or another. Teruko with...Well, everyone, and especially Min, and Ace with Levi. In chapter two, they're both pretty similar, being closed-off and trying to not care about others with varying degrees of success. And, of course, Ace almost dies just like Teruko did, in an attempted murder.

All those things are fairly obvious, especially them being the only participants to be almost-victims. And I'd always noticed that, but it got me thinking...

In chapter one, Teruko was the victim of an attempted murder, surviving on the pure luck of the knife just-so-happening to miss anything vital in her abdomen. Then, instead of sympathy for her life almost being taken, people are upset with/suspicious of her because they think she was the one who killed Xander. And that fact is no fault of Teruko's, she just had the misfortune of being at the scene of the crime (and Min moving the evidence to further incriminate her). Barely anyone asks if she's okay or shows much concern other than Min, who betrays her, and Eden. She is then forced to defend herself in the trial almost completely alone until finally some others start to come to her defense.

In chapter two, Ace has been put in the position of being the victim of a murder attempt but surviving through the pure luck of Eden and Teruko just-so-happening to come to the second floor late at night. If Teruko hadn't happened to forget her clothes on the second floor, chances are that Ace would be dead. No one feels sorry for what Ace went through, because he was a total asshole to Nico and along with no one taking him seriously to begin with, they think he, in a way, had it coming, trauma and injuries be damned. Now, he is forced to defend himself, presumably alone unless Levi decides he wants to help and be the Eden equivalent. And Ace has been blamed for Arei's death not through any fault of his own, but because he had the misfortune of being at the scene of the crime, where someone else tried to murder him.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it would honestly be pretty cool if Ace finished this chapter going through rather similar events to the ones Teruko experienced last chapter. Some people say that Ace being her parallel will show her during this chapter that distrusting isn't the right way to go, but he doesn't have to die to show her that at this very moment. Hell, it might hit even harder if he manages to go through everything she did, since it would make them even more similar.

Plus, if Eden is the Min parallel, and Ace is the Teruko parallel, that's pretty dang cool! Of course, if Ace does all the Teruko stuff during the trial, it makes sense for Eden to have done all the Min stuff...And I mean, the episode seems to be saying that's depressingly possible, so maybe.

So yeah, I just thought Ace and Teruko's similarities continuing into the trial would be fun. After all, he's been pretty consistent about following in her footsteps so far, so you never know. Like imagine if he says a protag line or something it'd be hilarious. Especially if all his points during his defense are like Teruko's, but with an Ace-y twist that makes them more funny or stupid or whatever. Fun!

Or who knows, maybe Ace will just hire David as his defense attorney, since he's the only one to have successfully defended Ace so far. /j

[terukotime]

You say you don’t like the killer reveal, why? I actually think dev made some great choices and I’d love to talk to you about your perspective.

i don't want to get too deep into it because, like i mentioned in my previous post, i don't want my criticism to come off as negativity towards the series or discourage anyone involved in the production of the show because it's honestly not a huge deal. like, it in no way ruins the show or makes it less enjoyable for me. and i don't think the choice of who the culprit is is a bad one at all, i'm mostly unsatisfied with the way the chapter handles it.

[spoilers beneath the cut, obvi lol. and please remember this is just my opinion. me having and expressing my opinion is not hate towards the series. i'm nervous enough as it is posting just this and not a bigger essay on all my thoughts because i really don't want to have this be misconstrued, nor do i want any criticism i have to give, regardless of how innocent and respectful my intentions, to make drdtdev or anyone who works on the series feel bad.]

i think Ace being the killer DOES make sense. i have no qualms with him being the blackened, in theory. do i think he could've made for a great survivor, or have really interesting growth throughout the coming chapters? yeah! i would have loved for Ace to be kept around for much longer. but him being the killer this chapter isn’t inherently bad. it's now clear that there's a specific direction Ace's character was meant to go in this story and i think that's fine.

my problem is with what *didn't* happen with Ace's character up to this point.

the chapter hasn't concluded yet so there's still a chance for my thoughts to change, though i don't think it'll make much of a difference. but i'm still waiting to see if it can stick the landing. and even if it doesn't, that's okay. i've already accepted it, i'm just still disappointed by it all the same.

Ace, honestly, hasn't played much of an active role in the story. he's been a source of conflict and comedic relief, and that's okay, not every character has to be as important as Xander or David...but he hasn't really gotten to *do* anything. this series is very character-driven, and thus is very focused on the relationships between other characters. Ace has only had one notable relationship (outside of his feud with Nico, but i'm not really including that as a "relationship" for obvious reasons), and that was with Levi. and that didn't even stay positive for very long. and we also know now that Levi didn't even care about him to begin with because he doesn't care about people in general.

not only did Ace never really get to establish any other relationships, no one ever LIKED him. of course a good portion of the fandom likes him, but in the actual story, no one cares about him. no one will miss him. his death is honestly kind of meaningless character-wise. does it serve as a lesson to some of the other characters? sure. but he's going to be dying here with no one ever liking or caring about him.

Min's story wasn't just a cautionary tale. people did like her, people did care about her. she was friends with a lot of characters, she got to have an impact in the daily lives of others. we got to know her better, the things she liked, her deeper thoughts and opinions on things. she got to do stuff, and we got to learn about her. her death meant more to the characters beyond just being the first culprit. she died as a person, not just as a character.

most of the stuff we know about Ace is surface level or things confirmed in Q&As. he doesn't get to contribute much aside from the aforementioned conflict/comedic relief. i understand where the show is going with that idea, and why him not being liked by anyone is a specific part of what led him to murder, but that's not really what irks me. it's that Ace never got to really be a *person.* he's essentially a plot device, serving the greater "good person" theme going on this chapter, and filling in the smaller roles in the story when needed, like an antagonist in a scene or delivering a gag. yes, his admittance to killing Arei and eventual post-trial trauma dump will give him a bit more humanity and character...but that's not really enough.

we only get to see Ace how the other members of the cast see Ace: his loud, combative, aggressive side. the side that makes people think he's nothing more than an angry meathead who can't do anything right. we never got to see much of his other sides, of a much more somber, melancholic Ace. receiving even a hint of the Ace we see in his confession of guilt beforehand would have given him the depth we needed before this point.

to explain what i mean: imagine how unsatisfying it would have been if we never got to actually see Arei's breakdown in the playground. if Teruko had left before it happened, and we only get to learn what happened from a flashback from David's perspective. we already feel the weight and tragedy of Arei's death when her body is discovered because we knew beforehand why she behaved the way she did, how she never even liked being the way she is, and wishing she could be a good person like Eden. if we didn't get to see that happen beforehand, Arei's death would feel very flat and detached. her character growth would've happened entirely retroactively.

that's how i feel with Ace. it's not like he didn’t get enough spotlight this chapter, he certainly did. but every scene he was in really didn't really add anything new to him. the only thing that "progressed" with him was his hatred and paranoia. we just see him descend with no uplifting moments, no emotional hook to make us feel anything for him. the closest we get is the scene where he's arguing with Nico and Veronika at lunch, ranting about how poorly everyone thinks of him and that they all assume that he's for some reason happy to be the way he is. but it's really the barest of scrapes towards the deeper layers of his character.

a big problem is that there were a lot of chances for his character to actively be *explored*, but instead, the narrative perspective of him stays completely stagnant. the time we get with him this chapter doesn't give him any greater focus. and sure, you could say that that might be a big giveaway to him being the culprit, but i think if the time between character spotlight is distributed evenly, that would be easily circumvented. there was a lot more time that could've been spent building Ace's character beyond his animosity and self-loathing tendencies. we could have had someone actually attempting to bond with him, even if it doesn't turn out well. even if all the characters distrust each other to varying degrees, there's still a lot of characters that like each other or have unique bonds with each other that make them stand out and feel worth remembering, because those bonds contribute something to their characters. but with Ace? he truly gets the short end of the stick, because this isn't just the characters neglecting him, it's the story itself. if Ace got to have a moment like Arei, maybe someone to confide in, even if he wasn't really friends with them or liked them at all, him being vulnerable just once and having a moment with someone else would have rooted him in more as a person who fell victim to what the killing game wanted from him and not just a fictional character fulfilling the purpose required of them in the story.

honestly, it's a bit of a slap in the face, the way the show goes about it. because in hindsight, Ace's whole character is *meant* to be wasted potential. after all, his related phrase on Mai's bio page is "a girl who had a bright future".

he was set up to have the potential to change, the potential to add more to the story, the potential to show us more than what we were given. and i think the show kind of knows that and specifically perpetuates that. the scene where Teruko tells Levi to give up on trying to apologize to Ace almost reads as the show itself telling you to give up on Ace. that, why should we care about him? he's not going to amount to what we want from him. there's no use in investing our feelings in him.

whether or not any of that actually was intentionally doesn't matter, unfortunately, because rewatching so many scenes having this new context really makes it all seem like Despair Time doesn't want you to care about Ace. that Ace is meant to be a waste, that that's the core of his character. him being the epitome of wasted potential could have been great, actually, if they chose to use even a slight bit of that potential to build him up more before his inevitable demise. instead we watch him eat shit throughout the entire show thus far only for him to get royally fucked at the very end in the worst way possible. Ace's theme of wasted potential is only wasted potential because nothing is ever done with him. not actively, anyways. whatever his post-trial confessional is like won't really give us what we needed from the start. Ace didn't just deserve better in his life. he deserves better as a fictional character. he deserved to be a person and not *just* a character. he deserved to have deeper, emotional character moments outside of the trial, long before his murder confession and rapidly approaching demise. he deserved to be 3-dimensional.

again, this is all just my personal opinion, and there's still a chance the show can stick the landing and make Ace as the culprit feel a lot more natural and deserved. i'm not really confident in that happening, but drdt is full of surprises as well as a lot of great writing. that being said, even though i believe they kinda fumbled the bag with Ace here, i don't hate this turn of events. although he's a big favorite of mine, i still wanted Eden to be innocent over him, because she's also a great character and her killing Arei would not only be pretty huge character assassination, but would also make Arei's death meaningless. and i also think there were other characters who could have been better candidates as the chapter 2 killer (not just Hu, i think Levi, Arturo, and maybe even J also could've made for compelling culprits with the right reasons).

i'm content with this. i'm heartbroken he's going so early and i wish the execution of his guilt had been a lot better, but overall it's not terrible. he just deserved so much more in many different ways.

[the-hasegawa-fan]

HMO ON THIS DRDT THEORY CHAT! I THINK IM COOKING.

Spoilers for all of drdt under the cut!!!

SPOILERS BITCH

So we all know the Mai catchphrases right? The whole "She was [blank]" or "A girl who [blank]"

I've seen a lot of people theorize that this is abt the cast- and I half agree. I think it IS abt the cast, but it's what THEY think, or maybe even REMEMBER about Mai.

HEAR ME OUT.

Nico's was "everyone confided in her" doesn't make sense for nico right? who confided in nico? I mean I guess I can see it bc pet therapist BUT

What if this id about Nico trusting Mai, maybe even enough to come out to her! (Which she probably accepted them with open arms)

And J's being "She kept a secret and told no one"

So what if J told Mai abt being Mariabella's daughter and KEPT THAT SECRET.

theres this theory that xander, mai, and maybe even david- rebelled against hopes peak and I believe this aligns with Xander's message- being "She couldn't stand to do nothing"

edit: I FORGOT MY SMOKING FUCKING GUN WHOOPS

Teruko's message has always been confusing right? "Years ago she was looking for someone named Teruko Tawaki" smth along those lines

BUT WE KNOW THIS IS TERUKO. Why would Teruko be looking for herself? A mental journey?

I think this eludes to Mai looking for Teruko, and I think Teruko's flashback is great evidence!

Teruko said "She wanted to help me too right?"

So maybe Mai's search was for Teruko to help her!

I believe this implies that the secret messages are what the cast remembers about Mai, maybe even the only thing they remember

Of course, this is my interpretation and ur free to believe what u want, this is just my theory but i feel like Gordon Ramsey with the way I'm COOKING.

IT MIGHT BE A LOOSE THEORY BUT IM SO PROUD OF THIS CHAT🙏🙏🙏🙏

[rekino2114]

Hey dude, love your works and thanks for doing these x reader content. Also may I get a valentine's prompt 1 with min jeung. I remember your love confessions with the drdt girls and thought: lol imagine if min confessed on valentines day

Min jeung asking you to be her valentine

Pairing:min jeung x gn reader

A/n:Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! hope you enjoyed the event. I'm probably gonna do a few more posts for it in the next few days, but save the others for next year. Funnily enough today an anon requested a min valentine's day prompt that I don't know if I'm gonna do so I hope you still like this

"Uh........min are ok? You're shaking a lot"

"No"

"O-oh"

"What happened? It's the first time I've seen you so.......nervous"

"That's the thing I don't know why! I've never felt like this before. It's like when I don't know which answer to put on a test but ten thousand times worse, I feel like my life is gonna end if this doesn't go well!"

Teruko and Xander exchanged looks and looked back at their friend

"I.....see"

"So what is so important?"

"........You're gonna think it's stupid"

"We'd never, we're your friends min, and whatever is bothering you must be a big issue that we're going to help you through right teruko?"

"Uh.....yeah sure.....I guess"

".....I.....uh.....so you know how today's valentine's day"

"Yeah.......a girl asked me to hold the flowers she was gonna give her boyfriend but I made them wilt"

".....what do you mean you made them wilt?"

"I dunno one moment I was holding them the next they were dead.......and I had to pay her back"

".......your luck needs to be studied"

"A-anyway, what does Valentine's Day have to do with your problem min? Wait, don't tell me, you wanna ask someone to be your valentine?"

"........yeah"

"That's great, who's the lucky person?"

"Y-y/n.....but to be honest I'm the lucky one, they hang out with me so much"

"Oh that makes sense, they're so nice to you"

"Yeah that's part of why I love them"

"......that's it?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"From what I've seen they really like you too so I don't see why they'd reject being your valentine"

"But......what if they don't like me"

"Uh?"

"There's a big difference between if they like hanging out with me and if they like like me, I don't wanna ruin our friendship......it's the best one I've ever had"

".....oh sorry then"

"No it's fine it's just.....I really love them, it feels like they really understand me....the real me, they never asked me to do their homework or help them with tests, and even when I offer to help them they're always so nice and tell me not to overwork myself, it feels like they see me as......me...... not the ultimate student"

"Wow....that....must be a beautiful feeling"

"It really is"

"Then that's the sign that they're the person for you, if you really want my advice go and confess, they sound like they like you just as much as you like them"

"B-but"

"No buts, you really want to be y/n's girlfriend right?"

"Y-yeah obviously"

"Then you're gonna do it. You can do it!"

"............"

"Come on say it! You can do it!"

"I-I can do it"

"With more confidence, you can do it!

"I can do it!"

"That's the spirit! Now go over there and win them over with the best confession they've ever seen"

".....y-yeah"

Teruko just sighed looking at the scene, but put a hand on Min's shoulder and gave her a reassuring nod

"I'm sure you'll do great min, just go there and be yourself"

Min nodded back at her friends who gave her thumbs up as she went over to you with a box of chocolates behind her back

"H-hey y/n what's up?"

"Hi min, everything's great......."

You tilted your head noticing that she was sweating bullets

"Wanna talk to me?"

"Y-yeah actually, it's very important"

"Oh really? What is it?"

"D-do you.........do you......."

Min suddenly pulled out the box of chocolates she was holding and looked down scared to see your reaction

"Do you wanna be my valentine?"

"......of course"

".....R-really?"

"Obviously, you're great min, you're pretty, nice not to mention incredibly smart, why wouldn't I agree?"

"S-so you like me?"

"I think like isn't strong enough"

"........you don't mean you....."

"Love you? Yeah min, of course I do, like I said before, you're incredible and I love everything about you"

"...................."

"H-huh min are you OK......you look...spaced out"

"S-sorry, I just didn't expect it to go this well, so are we......a couple now?"

"Sure......at one condition"

"....w-what is it?"

"Can I......see your eyes?"

Min's pale skin became almost completely red at your request, but she still gave you a silent nod to make you understand she agreed.

"Thanks"

You used your hand to lift min's bangs away from her face and were met with her beautiful purple eyes

"Your eyes are so beautiful, I love seeing them just like I love you"

Min blushed even more as you retracted your hand and wrapped it around the box of chocolates again

"So now we are officially a couple, do you mind going on our first date today? I bet they do some cool stuff for valentine's day around town"

"Y-yeah I'd love nothing more"

"Great, see you then there"

You once again got closer to the student and kissed her cheek, making her explode into an even redder color than earlier, before turning around and waving at her

"Happy valentine's day"

Min couldn't even answer as she kept her hand on her cheek, still a bit shocked

"........y/n........."

She smiled incredibly brightly and giggled a bit, so happy to have finally found a lover and especially a person who could see and love her for who she actually was

"Happy valentine's day to you too"

[astteriskk]

DRDT Theory : Recycled/Sacrificed Cast Members

[BACKGROUND]

So, in V3 (specifically in the 6th trial), it's said that the rest of the cast can leave if two people choose to sacrifice themselves.

At first, they think that sacrifice means death until it's revealed that the two sacrifices will move on to the next killing game.

You guys know where I'm going with this, right?

[THE SURVIVORS]

XANDER MATTHEWS

The first and more obvious option for those who sacrificed themselves in the last game is Xander.

Now, he has the personality for self-sacrifice.

But, if I remember correctly, they were originally going to vote for the sacrifices before Kiibo and Maki stepped in.

Either he was voted to be the sacrifice, or he volunteered himself (with or without knowing what it really meant.)

(isn't it funny that he might have volunteered while one of his canon likes is volunteering?)

Main Reasonings:

•This dialogue in this scene makes more sense if he was in a killing game

“Them” could be the other people in the killing game. Of course, “her” is… well, I won’t spill just yet.

And, most of all, he says that he has to end the killing game. How the hell would he end a killing game without having been in one? (don’t answer that)

•When was this?

Why would he be in the same outfit, while having both eyes?

It makes sense if he was in a previous killing game, doesn't it?

(while we don't see both his eyes, he doesn't have the strings of the eyepatch)

EDEN TOBISA

Eden is the less obvious choice, but it makes sense when you think about it!

Just like Xander, she has the type of personality that would sacrifice themselves. Although, I can’t see people voting for her.

Main Reasonings:

•First of all, there’s the similarities between her handwriting and the handwriting of the note that Xander received.

Also, I know a lot of people think that Xander wrote that note. But just look at it.

The T’s are the same, the E’s are the same, the A’s are the same. Don’t deny that it’s a strong, and the most likely, possibility.

I’ve mentioned it before (in a different post), but the handwriting thing makes much more sense in this context.

And similar to Xander, an image of her past self is seen wearing the same outfit.

Why, why, why?

Why would the two of them have images of their past selves wearing the exact same outfits?

Oh, wait a second.

In V3, we see Rantaro’s past self. He was wearing the same outfit that he did in the killing game. And he was a member of a past game too.

And it’s not like we haven’t seen them in other outfits. Xander has been seen in another outfit in his bonus episode.

I really don’t know if I’m making sense at this point but it works in my head so whatever.

•Why is this secret so mundane? (At least in comparison to the others)

Wouldn’t it make more sense to say something about what she did to Xander?

Of course, that could just be because they didn’t want her to know about something she did during the missing year.

But it could also be because it happened during the last killing game.

That one’s a stretch but I just thought I’d put it out there.

REASONING FOR BOTH OF THEM:

Why specifically these two?

Dev didn’t have to post the colored picture of Xander.

It’s clearly important.

Same for Eden.

One final theory that could be connected to this:

Why would he say this?

Unless he knew Teruko in the past, of course.

My guess is that Teruko was named the mastermind during his game. Whether or not she actually appeared, who knows. But she was to blame (supposedly) (to his knowledge) for the killing game. And apparently, killer her would do something important.

This ties in to the note that told Xander to kill Teruko as well!

My final thing is just a guess, or maybe a call and respond.

Who do we think were the survivors of their game?

My first guess was maybe a couple of the AltDRDT characters, but I’m not sure.

Let me know if you guys have any other evidence for this theory!!

(thanks to kubz scouts for the screenshots of v3)

[coraniaid]

I'm imagining an alternate take on Becoming where Jenny Calendar survived Passion -- let's say that Kendra came back to Sunnydale much earlier than in canon and managed to save her, perhaps -- and so she gets to be involved in the big group argument about whether or not restore Angel's soul (which now happens a lot sooner, of course).

I think the other Scoobies fall into much the same camp as in canon. Xander, Cordelia and Kendra are still against doing it while Buffy and Willow are drawn to the idea that Angel might somehow be saved (and if Oz has an opinion that isn't in complete agreement with Willow he doesn't offer it). The only character I think who might change sides here is Giles. In canon he's in favor of the plan, at least in part because "curing Angel seems to have been Jenny's last wish". But in a world where Jenny didn't die (but Angel still tried his best to kill her), I think he's probably a lot less forgiving.

Not wanting to risk giving Angel another opportunity to hurt the people Giles cares about -- and thinking that Buffy herself has a tendency to be too willing to give people second chances, especially when said people are attractive and occasionally soulless vampires -- just seems a lot closer to the way Giles is written in most of his appearances.

Giles has always, up to this point, been one of the biggest advocates for the idea that vampires are nothing like people ("a vampire isn't a person at all ... it's still a demon at the core"). He knows more than anyone (except possibly Jenny) the details of what Angelus has done, and (from his own youthful experiments) how magic can go wrong if improperly used. He murdered Ben behind Buffy's back, and tried to have Spike killed against Buffy's express wishes, because he thought both of them were dangerous and didn't think Buffy was right to show them mercy.

Of course you can make the argument that the Giles we see on the show post-Passion acts the way he does precisely because he's lost Jenny, and that he wouldn't possibly have done any of that if she'd been alive. But, well, the version on screen is the only version of Giles we actually get to see: anything else is just speculation. And it really feels to me that, without that sense of honoring Jenny's dying wish, Giles is probably a lot more willing to agree with Kendra when she makes the case that "Angel is a vampire ... he should die".

In this AU I imagine, Jenny herself is the one to bring the idea of restoring Angel's soul to the group, and she's mostly quiet during the ensuing arguments. Maybe she looks a bit nonplussed when Buffy talks about "curing" Angel, but I think she only speaks up when Xander tries to directly appeal to her instead of shouting at Buffy and Willow. Maybe he says something about being surprised she'd take Angel's side after he tried to kill her. Giles shoots an apologetic look at Buffy and starts to say something about it not being so simple as taking sides.

Then Jenny interrupts and says matter-of-factly "oh, of course it's about taking sides, Rupert. I'm on the side that wants Angel to pay for what he's done. My family sent me to Sunnydale to make sure he was still in pain, and maybe if I'd done a better job none of this would have happened. I felt sorry for Angel once, and I'm glad he saved my life last year, but I'll never forgive him for what he did to my uncle and I don't think he should ever stop feeling bad about it either. That's why I'm going to curse him again. I want him to suffer."

And then when there's a slightly uncomfortable pause she looks around the room and says "... you do all remember how he murdered my uncle last month, right? Why did you think I was doing this?"

[riddles-n-games]

Hey guys, so in response to @thecircularlibrary's post from a little ago about horses, I remembered the one I made about the horses the brothers would own and I realize that I never did one for Avery and Libby.

So, let's dive into it!

Avery:

Krispy Kreme-Since our dear Heiress didn't have any exposure to horses in the past (though she did have a horse girl phase when she was nine), she had no real knowledge of breeds or riding style, gear, etc. It was up to Nash and Jameson to help her find the perfect starter horse. Well, when in Texas, why not a Quarter? Nash decided the breed and Jameson suggested one of their retired barrel racing horses, HER Pearl in the Dust aka Krispy Kreme. (Side note: HER stands for Hawthorne Estate Ranch, indicating the birth place and breeder of the horse for registry purposes-something for the random fact nerds to learn.) With a perlino coat and quiet, friendly demeanor, she was the perfect candidate. Avery adores her so and with Nash closely monitoring her riding lessons, Jameson is all too excited for when he'll sneak her out for night rides and also get her into barrel racing. Krispy loves her new owner and enjoys herding Avery around especially when she has sugar cubes on her!

Thorn-Another retired horse, this Thoroughbred gelding has a rare frame overo coat and like many of Tobias Hawthorne's racehorses, Thorn for Rosettes was quite successful in his hay day. Post-race career he was repurposed as a show-jumper and that worked out for a while until a bad injury put him out. Thankfully, he recovered but he is still a good boy who loves trail riding and will jump the smaller logs and creeks he and Avery encounter. Avery absolutely loves him and she says he's her fave (out of Krispy's hearing range, of course).

Philly Cheese-This spunky lad is a very rare Dartmoor pony, actually one of the first born in Xander's pony herd from his imported mare. As Xan wanted to express his enthusiasm for his BHFF taking on an equine interest, he had to gift her a Xander special. The little grey colt is less than a year old with breeding stud in his future but for now, he's just a happy camper. He loves playing games of chase with Avery around the paddock and also rolling around in the sand pen. When Max visits, she loves braiding his mane with little bows to tie them off.

Serebro (Серебро)-Although Avery doesn't really care for prestigiousness of a horse breed compared to their personality and riding ability, Jamie urged her to get at least one rare, expensive splurge. Trot onstage right Serebro. Aptly named Silver in Russian for the dapple grey coat, typical of her breed, this Orlov Trotter mare is truly a stunner to see in person. She is trained for harness racing, dressage, and sleigh riding! As he knew that Avery wouldn't be ready for the complicated disciplines her mare was trained in, Jameson vowed that in the winter, he would take her in a one horse open sleigh.

Libby:

Black Beauty: One of the only two horses that she dares to own. Nash calls this her perfect goth girl horse (I mean, who can resist a classic all-black horse even if you weren't a goth?), as her name implies, this Friesian mare is truly gorgeous. With a long mane and feathering, she is Libby's fantasy horse come to life. Once upon a time, she was a dressage champ but she was put to broodmare status for a while until Nash purchased her as a gift for Lib. Now she enjoys her days being a pleasure riding horse with her owner, on the chance when Libby actually feels comfortable riding her (with Nash's encouragement, of course).

Peanut Butter: The second Friesian she owns (technically split ownership with Nash because he loves her so much too), this rare beauty is a CHESTNUT which doesn't really occur among the breed due to the way the registry works (black horses only EXCEPT in some cases). Opposite to her counterpart, she was a carting horse and also halter class competitor with a background in dressage. The way she was bought has something to do with peanut butter cupcakes and Nash's insistence but that's a story for another time (wink wink hint hint: future fic).

Anyways, that's all for our Grambs sisters and their horse collections. Hope you enjoyed this and if you find this appealing, there's plenty of other horse/equestrian-related headcanons on my blog. Also, if you want to check out the Hawthorne Brothers horse headcanon, here's a link: https://www.tumblr.com/riddles-n-games/738430955686117376/guess-what-its-time-for-a-horse-headcanon-a?source=share

Enjoy!

[1moreff-creator]

hii!! so idk if you saw, but i recently posted a theory abt how xander and eden were survivors from a previous killing game.

you’re super cool and smart so i was wondering what you thought of it lol

(this sounds like free promo for my theory but i promise it isn’t)

(i just want opinions on it bc i can’t tell if i did a good job or not)

Hey there! Yeah, I saw it, and I think it’s a pretty good theory! I enjoyed reading it, your writing style is fun. Below are my full thoughts on it. For anyone else, please read the original first, this is going to be incomprehensible otherwise.

Also don’t worry about looking like you’re “promoting” your theory. It’s Tumblr, no one gains anything here, we all just lose. What would you even use the promotion for lol.

Also also you people have gotta stop giving me so many compliments it’s feeding my god complex /j

CW: Violence and blood, death, Danganronpa V3 Spoilers

[Background]

Admittedly, I don’t know how literally connected V3 is supposed to be to this whole situation, given the difference in the settings and the like. Especially since Teruko’s only mentioned remembering “that other killing game”, implying she doesn’t know about the 50 others despite vaguely knowing about the THH one. However, it is perfectly valid to bring up V3 as a meta point (which I think is what you’re doing?); the idea exists, so DRDTdev could have certainly taken it for DRDT. In any case, it sure is an interesting premise!

[The Survivors]

[Xander Matthews]

“[Post]: he has the personality for self-sacrifice.” True!

[For the sake of clarity, I refer to this scene as “the pre-prologue scene”, given that we see it before the Prologue title card appears]

““Them” could be the other people in the killing game. [...]

And, most of all, he says that he has to end the killing game. How the hell would he end a killing game without having been in one? (don’t answer that)”

I mean, solid reasoning! The idea that Xander was actively in a killing game while this scene happened has been thrown around, such as in my “original killing game” theory that we don’t talk about ‘cuz it was insane, because it’s a pretty reasonable conclusion to draw from the dialogue, as you said. For a while now I’ve sorta assumed that Xander was speaking of ending the killing game before it began, but there’s both semantic arguments to argue your theory and that one. The way Xander speaks in pre-prologue seems to imply the killing game is already underway, which is a point to you, but the secret David received mentions “The killing game is all your fault,” potentially implying there’s only ever been one modern killing game (“modern” as in, after THH). I think the idea of Xander actively being in a killing game in pre-prologue is stronger, though, I’m only bringing this up to account for all possibilities.

And “them” could be whoever so :p

[Xander Picture]

“When was this?

Why would he be in the same outfit, while having both eyes?

It makes sense if he was in a previous killing game, doesn't it?”

Well I mean. It could be. It could also just be from the time the cast (or most of it at least) was in the same Hope’s Peak class. Keep in mind all the outfits the characters were using at the start of the prologue are the same as the outfits they first went to Hope’s Peak with, as otherwise they’d have pointed out that their clothes changed between the moment they “lost consciousness” (the last moment of their memories, which is going to Hope’s Peak) and their appearance in the killing game place.

So, I propose that, seeing as it originated from LGI, this image could just be the first time David actually met Xander in person, or some other notable memory between the two of them. Of course, I have no evidence for this as much as there’s no great evidence for your take either. Basically I’m just saying this isn’t a very strong point in my books, but it’s not like I know any better than you what’s going on here :v

[Eden Tobisa]

“First of all, there’s the similarities between her handwriting and the handwriting of the note that Xander received. [...]

The T’s are the same, the E’s are the same, the A’s are the same. Don’t deny that it’s a strong, and the most likely, possibility.”

Uh… I don’t agree :v

I’ll give you the i’s and maybe the capital T’s, but I think the e’s and the a’s are too different for me to really consider it a possibility. It’s hard to explain this, so I’ll try to make some Paint diagrams to exaggerate the differences to get my point across.

-The T’s are pretty similar, but Eden’s have a slight curve towards the bottom, which the other note’s T’s seem to lack. In the diagram, you’ll find the recreation of Eden’s letters to the left, and the recreation of the “kill Teruko” note’s letters on the right.

-The e’s in Eden’s handwriting have a circular head, while the other note’s is almost triangular.

-Similarly, Eden’s a’s are a bit more circular than the note’s, which are sharper and triangular.

This all leads me to believe that the dev explicitly used different fonts for the two (assuming they dev used a text writing tool and didn’t draw the notes by hand, which I feel is a reasonable assumption). When coupled with the fact that Eden could potentially have been defending Teruko in pre-prologue (unless there’s more context we’re missing, Xander wanted to kill Teruko & Eden attacked Xander -> Eden didn’t want Teruko to die), I don’t think Eden wrote that note. Sorry :v

[Eden CG]

Now this is evidence of Eden being in the same killing game as Xander (of course, assuming Xander even was in a killing game in pre-prologue in the first place, which is as of yet unconfirmed). The CG itself heavily implies Xander and Eden were in the same place when the whole eye-fork situation happened, being that Eden is the person who hurt Xander before the pre-prologue scene (pre-pre-prologue?). If that happened in a killing game, then clearly, Eden was there!

“Why would the two of them have images of their past selves wearing the exact same outfits?

Oh, wait a second.

In V3, we see Rantaro’s past self. He was wearing the same outfit that he did in the killing game. And he was a member of a past game too.

And it’s not like we haven’t seen them in other outfits. Xander has been seen in another outfit in his bonus episode.”

I mean. As I mentioned, the characters probably just frequent these outfits, given they were wearing them when they first went to Hope’s Peak. The Eden thing is a bit more notable because, unlike Xander’s which could just be from any point of Hope’s Peak time, that image has to be from the pre-prologue situation. But the idea that she was wearing that because it’s just an outfit she wears often isn’t too far fetched to me. This isn’t a point against your theory, I just don’t personally find the outfits to be the most convincing point of evidence for it.

[Eden’s secret]

“Why is this secret so mundane? (At least in comparison to the others)

Wouldn’t it make more sense to say something about what she did to Xander?

Of course, that could just be because they didn’t want her to know about something she did during the missing year.

But it could also be because it happened during the last killing game.

That one’s a stretch but I just thought I’d put it out there.”

Well, you recognize it’s a stretch, and I agree. If Eden doesn’t remember the Xander thing, then the secret which would be most effective for her would be something different, and apparently she doesn’t really have many serious secrets outside of her sexuality. Keep in mind these secrets don’t necessarily have to be the worst thing the person in question did, as stated by Veronika in 2-13.

“Why specifically these two?

Dev didn’t have to post the colored picture of Xander.

It’s clearly important.

Same for Eden.”

Also not a point for Xander imo. Dev posts a lot of stuff that isn’t necessarily important, such as the Veronico Christmas comic or the “long hair style” images. That is to say, dev posting it isn’t sufficient evidence of something’s importance, you gotta find something important in the content itself to claim that.

And even if the image is important, it could be important in a different way. There is the whole “why does someone turn their back on who they’re talking to” caption or whatever, which could for example be trying to draw a connection between David and Xander in this scene and Mai and Teruko in the 1-6 dream sequence, among other interpretations.

But that’s Xander. I will agree with you that the Eden one is important because it appears in the main series and has a clear connection to the pre-prologue, though.

“Why would he say this?

Unless he knew Teruko in the past, of course.

My guess is that Teruko was named the mastermind during his game. Whether or not she actually appeared, who knows. But she was to blame (supposedly) (to his knowledge) for the killing game. And apparently, killer her would do something important.

This ties in to the note that told Xander to kill Teruko as well!”

I would actually argue that Xander in the pre-prologue doesn’t think Teruko is the mastermind, because “ending the killing game” and “killing Teruko” are two separate goals. If you assume that killing the mastermind ends the killing game (which is a fair assumption I think), and Xander believes Teruko is the mastermind, then what he says is “I have to end the killing game. And even if I can’t do that, I have to end the killing game a different way.” Doesn’t really track does it?

But “ending the killing game” and “killing Teruko” do seem to be aligned goals, at least, so it makes sense to think that Xander believed she had some sort of involvement in it, which is sufficient for your theory I think. Of course, this is very speculative, we don’t know a lot about why exactly Xander wanted to kill the girl.

Btw, what is Teruko’s deal in your theory? Is she another “sacrifice”, a recycled mastermind or traitor of some kind, or someone who was known to the participants of the previous killing game but didn’t participate until the one seen in DRDT? I feel like that ended up a bit unclear lol.

“Who do we think were the survivors of their game?

My first guess was maybe a couple of the AltDRDT characters, but I’m not sure.”

I mean yeah, there’s kinda no one else we can really point to lol. As you said, it’s a guess, so I’m not gonna bother you about the lack of evidence, but yeah. That is a lot of survivors, though, so I’m gonna guess that if this theory is right, the survivors of the old killing game are other people who are probably unknown as of yet.

Overall, a really neat read, and a fun theory! Pretty plausible, too, at least the idea of the pre-prologue killing game and Xander and Eden (and Teruko?) being in it. I disagreed on some points, but that’s only natural with highly speculative things like this. I thought the post itself was well written with a pretty unique style, easy to understand (even if I feel some points could have used a bit more elaboration, but that might just be me), so there’s that. Hope this was enough, thanks for the ask!

[buffster]

I Was Made To Love You (BTVS 5.15)

This is part of my ongoing Buffyverse Project, where I write notes/meta for every episode in an attempt to better understand the characters and themes of the shows. You can find the BTVS list here and the ATS list here. Gifs are not mine.

Ah, remember filler episodes? What a throwback. I do admit Buffy does them better than most. They usually fit a cohesive season theme and relate to some larger arc in the show, at least.

Buffy begins the episode having a little freak out over Spike's crush. Riley leaving her felt like a rejection and she still blames herself for letting a good one get away (I don't think they were right for each other, but this is Buffy's POV) and now Spike crushing on her says only the worst guys like her. Buffy says she'll run off good guys with her alarming strength and self-centeredness. Ugh. Buffy is one of the most selfless characters but everyone around her comes down so hard when she has One Single Moment that she thinks she's self-involved.

Xander: Or maybe you could just be Buffy and he'll see your amazing heart and fall in love with you.

Buffy is still feeling the blues when Joyce gets ready for her first date with Brian. She tells her mom she isn't qualified to giving dating advice because the two guys she dated ran out of town. Poor Buffster. Her intuition isn't doing her any favors as she then approaches Ben. Ben ends up giving her his phone number as Spike watches. He tries to get a reaction from Buffy by approaching April, who throws him through a window.

Xander: She's a sex bot. I mean, what guy doesn't dream about that? Beautiful girl with no other thought but to please you, willing to do anything...Too many girls. I miss Oz. He'd get it. He wouldn't say anything, but he'd get it.

The only girl who seems to get it is Willow. I'm interested in the parallels between Warren and Willow. She understands the idea of avoiding the emotional fallout of your problems through use of your brain. Using magic to control Tara's emotions is pretty similar to creating a robot.

Spike shows up at The Magic Shop attempting to do damage control over what happened between Drusilla and Buffy. None of them are having it.

Buffy confronts Warren, who says he created April to be the perfect girlfriend. Then he got bored and "fell in love" (got intrigued by) Katrina. He also mentions that he designed April to feel pain if she ignores him when he's calling her.

April: Crying is blackmail. Good girlfriends don't cry.

Good lord. Katrina is disgusted by Warren and runs off.

Buffy feels sympathy for April and her obsession with Warren.

Buffy: Nah -- people are the strangest people. I mean, I'm not that different from her. I've got so much more than her -- I've got this great life, all this power, all these friends, my family, but still, every time I don't have a boyfriend, I feel like someone took away my arms.

It's interesting that this is where we leave her in season seven...still not feeling ready for a relationship and like she needs to find her center. I'll have to comment more on that then. Buffy decides not to go out with Ben, which offends Glory.

We end on Spike commissioning the Buffy bot. Just...so gross.

That's the end of the script, but of course in the actual episode we get next episode's teaser. The cruelty of flowers from Brian sitting right by the door while Joyce lies dead on the couch...

Character Notes:

Anya Jenkins: She's gotten into investing online and has tripled her money from Giles. Dang, Anya!

Katrina Silber: She met Warren at an engineering seminar. She creates model trains that run with magnets.

Xander Harris: His little construction passion is pretty adorable.

[violettathepiratequeen]

March 26th, 2025

Hello there, gentle viewers! Welcome back to Buffy Slays, where I’ll be going through all 144 episodes of BtVS over the course of a year, highlighting as many of the GOOD moments, lines, character choices, worldbuilding moments, etc. etc. as I think people will have the patience to read. 

So, here we go! 

Season 1, Episode 10, “Nightmares.”

Buffy and her friends discover that their worst nightmares have become reality. (Pulled from Prime Video.)

If you're reading along and haven't finished the show, consider this your Spoiler Warning for discussion of future episodes and major plot points in any and all of these posts.

Episode Number: #10 Episode Ranking: #76 out of 144. Writer: David Greenwalt & Joss Whedon

Top 5 Quotes:

“I've failed... in my duty to protect you. I should have been more cautious. Taken more time to train you. But you were so gifted. And the evil was so great. I'm sorry.” —Giles

“There are a lot scarier things than you. And I'm one of them.” —Buffy

“I don't like spiders, okay? Their furry bodies, and their sticky webs, and what do they need all those legs for anyway?” —Willow

“Dreams? That would be a musical comedy version of this. Nightmares, our nightmares are coming true.” —Giles

“What's the fun of burying someone if they're already dead?” —The Master

How “Nightmares” Slays:

I latched onto this episode as one of my faves from Season One for a couple of reasons, but right off the bat was the story of Buffy’s parents. Is it an uncommon story? Not in the least. Is it particularly tragic? Given that both of her parents are still alive and interested in seeing her, in this episode at least, I think that’s a resounding no. But I remember watching this for the first time, and the exact details Buffy describes about her parents and their divorce describes my parents and their divorce so accurately that I just wanted to cry and hug my darling Buffy through the screen. Her dad comes up on weekends sometimes, and it’s always something she looks forward to with the utmost excitement, even though there’s that niggling doubt that he’ll bail on her. Her parents were separated before they were divorced, and that’s the word she uses, “separated.” They were really good about it around her, and make it clear that they don’t blame her, and they don’t speak badly of the other. A future episode will even show her parents speaking civilly to each other, like they’re co-workers or something. Joyce reminds Buffy that her father adores her. Buffy always suspects there was someone else her father was interested in, even though that’s never confirmed. And the reason for them splitting up was just that they’d grown too far apart, though later episodes will prove that her father just isn’t responsible enough to make the effort to stay in her life, even if he tries in the beginning. It’s something Buffy bears so strongly, something that will affect her more than she will ever complain about, and something that connects me to her in a way I wasn’t expecting.

Billy, the boy in a coma causing the nightmares, is not a creepy and malicious kid. I really love this actor they chose for Billy: someone who is quiet, with sad eyes, and a level of maturity that the Annointed One certainly doesn't have, lol. He’s wandering aimlessly around the school because he doesn’t know what else to do, but he knows he’s responsible for the bad stuff, and apologizes softly when they happen. He has a fear of the man who abused him, and has accepted his fate of an endless cycle of the man chasing him, while he himself runs away and hides. But when Buffy asks him to talk to her, he does. He clings to her as someone trustworthy right away, and follows her to look for clues, and is able to face his demons with her encouragement.

The nightmares themselves! These are great for a variety of reasons. Like the Puppet Show episode, it’s something that’s sort of happening in the background for a bit, with Xander grinning with glee at a biker kid who gets embarrassed by his mother, and Willow grinning with glee at Cordy getting dragged off to chess club. They don’t connect it to Wendell’s spiders or the girl who was beaten until later; for a while it’s just cool to see people struggling with what would be their worst nightmare. They’re great too because they do show what everyone fears. Even at the beginning when it’s all shallow stuff, like Cordelia having a bad hair day or Xander ending up naked, or Buffy having a history test she didn’t study for, or Giles being unable to read. It reveals things about them, reveals what matters to them, reveals what they would give anything to make sure never, ever happens. And even though the nightmares disappear by the end, those secrets are out. We now know what these people worry about every day.

And to that end, Buffy’s history test nightmare is a great scene. She’s busy investigating Wendell’s spiders when Cordelia drags her off for a history test that Buffy didn’t know about, and hadn’t studied for, and wouldn’t have even found if Cordelia hadn’t pointed her to it. The teacher glares at her and looks like someone out of a nightmare all on his own; he probably wasn’t a real teacher, but just a figment of this scene. The time skips just by Buffy blinking, and everyone else seems to be doing just fine… Cordelia included, to give some element of realism to this whole thing. We know Buffy has struggled with history in episodes past, and this scene shows that studying and knowing the material actually does matter to her, and she’s terrified of falling behind.

Wendell, the kid with the spiders, and Laura, the girl who was beaten and ends up in the hospital. These characters are great because Buffy and friends know them. Wendell at least is someone more on the loser side, we’re guessing, and he jokes with Xander and Willow in the beginning scene, and then tells the Scoobies all about his spider habitat that he was so proud of before they died. When Laura ends up in the hospital, Buffy and Giles go to visit, bringing her flowers, and Giles asks if Buffy knows her. Buffy says she’s said hello to the girl, who seems nice enough. Showcasing that even if Buffy and Willow and Xander stay in their own tight-knit little friend circle, they do interact with and are friendly to other students. They’re never above them, never too busy or important to socialize, and this sets up Buffy’s Class Protector Award at the end of high school so amazingly.

Hank breaking Buffy’s heart. Which makes me sick to my stomach every time I watch it, but is another thing that shows Buffy’s fear so well. We already knew she’s worried about her dad flaking, and the stereotype of dads in the divorce is to totally bail on the kids left with the mother. The things Hank says to Buffy are so out there, so over-the-top, and spoken so deadpan and so cruelly and matter-of-factly that even if they were all true, he would have said it to her in a much kinder way in reality. But for this nightmare, every single line he says, from thinking it’s immature for her to cry, to wishing she’d turned out differently, can only be a line Buffy has thought up in her head. Probably verbatim. Probably while lying awake at night, wondering why her parents had to split up. She probably has imagined this conversation a thousand times, and now it’s real, and for that reason it’s very well done. And even if Hank really does bail on her later in the show, in this episode at least he does show up on time after the nightmares, happy to see his daughter.

Willow has to sing! Poor girl, being stuck on that stage for the second episode in the row, only this time she hasn’t even rehearsed. In the Restless episode she will also dream about being in a play that she hasn’t rehearsed for, so this truly is a recurring nightmare for her. But oh my goodness it’s so great. That she’s introduced as one of the greatest sopranos, and has a touchy opera singer there with her.

Buffy’s nightmare of being buried alive is established. Anyone would be terrified of that, and the scene later on when she has to dig her way out of her grave for real is excruciating. This is something that Buffy has actively dreamed about. Making it more understandable why, when this happens for real in S6, she distances herself from the friends who put her through that, and why the following months are so destructive for her. And why she clings to the one person who also knows what it was like to crawl his way out of a grave. Her nightmare of becoming a vampire is also established, and while it’s not something that’s ever brought up again, I think it’s an important part of her character that shouldn’t be overlooked. Giles even points out that she never told him she has nightmares of being a vampire. She tries to hide her face from her friends, and this seems almost worse than being buried alive for her. She even knows Angel is a vampire at this point and has feelings for him, so it’s not that she fears vampires or thinks there’s no hope for them to be good. It’s that she is horrified by the thought of becoming one herself. I don’t read vampire!Buffy fanfics and I refuse to write them outside of this episode, too, because of this scene. ALL THAT BEING SAID, when Giles asks if Buffy can hold herself together long enough to fight the problem at hand, Buffy says yes. Her friends don’t doubt for a second that Buffy can stay human enough for them, and she does. She has a line about being hungry, and while her friends think it’s a joke, I don’t think it is. I do think she is truly a vampire in that moment, and has the urge to rip her friend’s throats out and drink their blood. But she reigns it in, fresh out of the grave, and immediately becomes the Slayer again. 

Giles’ nightmares is Buffy dying, something that will come to pass twice for him, once in this very season. And oh, oh, how I love this scene and this speech. That he immediately clocks her gravestone as his nightmare, and doesn’t shy away from pointing it out. His speech is a little on the nose, but ALSO something I’m sure he thought verbatim in his head when Buffy dies in S5. He blames himself for her death, he thinks she is gifted, he hates that she had to face such great evil, and this is the most emotional he’s been in the show so far. Another reason why I love their relationship, and why this episode is so dear to me.

Willow’s line about spiders,“What do they need all those hairy legs for anyway?” can pretty much be sung along the same beat as Anya’s bunny line, “What do they need such good eyesight for anyway?” from the musical episode, and that just cracks me up.

Everybody lives in this episode! No one dies or gets cursed forever or disappears, the nightmares evaporate, Billy wakes up from his coma, and his abuser gets arrested. Certainly not all Buffy episodes have this good of an ending, so it needs to be celebrated when they do.

Big Sister Buffy:

Something understated about Buffy’s character, I think, is how great she is with kids. I think her empathy, compassion, and forgiveness is shown quite a lot (and I’ll be pointing it out in future episodes), but the moments where she gets to be a big sister to someone younger than her, even after she actually gets a little sister, always shine.

In this episode, she’s kind to Laura in the hospital, who probably is her age, but even so, vulnerable and traumatized and frightened. Buffy asks her to describe the person who attacked her, but when Laura seems to be struggling, Buffy immediately tells her it’s okay, but that she and Giles will believe her if she feels like talking, even if Laura’s story may seem weird.

Buffy is sweet and patient and kind to Billy in this episode. She figures out he’s the source of the nightmares, but doesn’t blame him at all. She knows he was abused and speaks gently and kindly to him, asking if he’ll help her, reassuring him that he’ll be okay. She pauses in her investigation when he gets distracted by some kids playing baseball, and stands there and talks through his assault with him. When Billy says it was his fault for losing the game, Buffy reminds him he’s playing with a team, so one bad catch doesn’t make it his fault. 

She stands in front of him to protect him from the Ugly Man, and adopts Billy’s nickname for said creature. She fights the monster and knocks him down, and then brings Billy over to him, stating that he has to do the rest. She’s right, and Billy has to confront his demon, but Buffy holds onto his hand as he does so. 

Buffy could have been a snarky hero, and sometimes she is. She could have been impatient, she could have been more tough-love, more rough, more condescending, even, to kids that she has to deal with. 

But she is always, always gentle and patient and understanding with them, and it just makes her feel like an even safer character to love and be around.

Xander Harris is a Bro:

This is by no means a Xander-centric episode, but I think it’s one of his strongest to date. No love triangle stuff between him and Willow and Buffy is brought up, which is always a plus. When asked why spiders don’t bother him, he says it’s because he’s seen all these supernatural monsters now, so they’ve kind of been there and done that. When Buffy thinks he’s being blase, he says that if there is a problem, Buffy will slay it, and they’ll party. He has such confidence in her ability to save the day, even though he’s seen her struggle and even fail, and it’s great to see.

Xander brings up his sixth birthday party to Willow, who immediately starts laughing as she remembers how scared he was of the clown. The fact that she was at that party, and all he has to do is mention it for her to pinpoint exactly which one that was, just makes me love their close bond even more.

Willow asks Xander if she can ask a personal question at the end of this episode, and he doesn’t hesitate to give her permission. It could have been anything, and he was ready to give her the answers. She asks if he was still attracted to Buffy as a vampire (okay, so a little love triangle stuff) and he does admit to it, also admitting that he was wrong to be. They just have no secrets from each other, no matter how dark or disturbing, and, as I’ve said before, I love where there are moments when it’s just them, like it’s always been.

Besides Billy, Xander is the only one in this episode to actually confront his nightmares, and he does so by turning around and punching the clown in the face, before yelling taunts at him. Given that this clown was holding a knife, that was no small thing to do, and there’s no apparent reason for Xander realizing all he has to do to face his demons is to turn around and literally fight it, but it highlights his bravery, which is one of the strongest aspects of his character.

Xander is there to catch Billy’s coach fleeing the hospital room at the end, which his friends will later on call heroic. And when Buffy leads Billy to the monster that’s been chasing them, Xander understands that this is Billy fighting his demons, too.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that’s a wrap on Episode 10! Thank you so much for reading this far!

Previous: “The Puppet Show.”

Next up: “Out of Mind, Out of Sight.” 

(Credit for GIFs in this post: @detectivedawnsummers)