#aos 4x21

[kimikoslover]

the performance between Iain and Mallory was spectacular during the containment room scene. Ophelia/AIDA being absolutely berserk because of Fitz saying “For her [referring to Jemma]” in response of what Ophelia said.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, September 28

Buffy: Musta been wonderful. Put on some fantabulous gown and go to a ball like a princess, and have horses and servants, and yet more gowns. Willow: Yeah. Still, I think I prefer being able to vote.

~~Halloween~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Lost (Spike, R) by VeroNyxK84

Terms of Payment (Crossover with Spiderman, E) by megamatt09

Full to Bursting (Angel/Spike, E) by MaggieLaFey

I Still Don't Like You, Remember (Spike, Dawn, G) by AJ Fields

Light in the Darkness (Buffy/Angel, T) by OveliaGirlHaditRight

[Chaptered Fiction]

Soul Marks & Other Disasters, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Angel, G) by bluestarsandclouds

Do you even go here? (no, i just have a lot of feelings), Chapter 1 (Crossover with Baldur's Gate, T) by nessie_lives

The Hardest Ones To Find, Chapter 1 (Multiple crossings, G) by Krasimer

Her Old Fashioned Boy, Chapter 3 (Giles/Jenny, K+) by Bobbie23

The Prophecy Child, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Yosoy Panqueques

He Called Me Frigid, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Desicat

A Second Chance- Their Story, Chapter 4 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Loup Noir

The Aurelian Prophecy: There's No Way Out, Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Willow91

Written in the Dust, Chapter 25 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Indi_Shaw

New Normal, Chapter 12 (Buffy/Spike, AO) by holetoledo

A Love That Defies Space and Time, Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Spikelover4ever

The Worst Sacrifice, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, AO) by TwilightChild

the broken gates of kingdom come, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, R) by disco-tea

A Marriage of Inconvenience, Chapter 28 (Buffy/Spike, R) by all_choseny

Rewrite, Chapter 39 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by hopelesswanderer

Fire Bird, Chapter 14 (Crossover with mythology, FR15) by batzulger

Corporate Holidays, Chapter 15 (Multiple crossings, FR18) by dogbertcarroll

Baby Likes to Cosplay, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, R) by ClowniestLivEver

What the Drabble?, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, R) by VeroNyxK84

Because I could not stop death, Chapter 18 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Desicat

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:[Metal tee design] by burns13666

Artwork:Buffy coloring book by Soft_Grape1928

Artwork:Wicked Plum by isevery0nehereverystoned

Gifset:“So how come Halloween is such a big yawner? I mean, do the demons just hate how commercial it’s become?” by sulietsexual

Video: Lego Buffy The Vampire Slayer - "Am I the good slayer now!?" by Trevor Carlee

Video: Buffy The Vampire Slayer Theme on bass by jordanelihamm

Video: Anya- A character profile by Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Video: Candy Kong the Vampire Slayer (Weird French Donkey Kong ad for Buffy) by chaos ahoyhoy

Video: FanMade Buffy The Vampire Slayer intro by Lawys Tapscott-Nott

[Reviews & Recaps]

"No Place Like Home" | Buffy 5x05 - First Time Watching by DodoReactions

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Anatomy Explored Marvelous Videos Reaction by Big Time Knights Reacts

Buffy the vampire slayer S1 E8 I Robot, you Jane by Carey Craves Cinema

Let's Rewatch Buffy! Season 1, Episode 4 by Jenny Trout

Buffy the Gaslighter Slayer 5x2 "Real Me" | The Normies Group Reaction! by The Normies

Into the Woods: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5x10 Reaction by Dakara

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Talk || s6e11 "Gone" by alley box.

SHE'S BACK??? - Angel Reaction - 4x21 - Peace Out by TheLexiCrowd

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1x9 "The Puppet Show" Reaction by Justalowly Channel

Buffy the vampire slayer - review season 3 episode 1 & 2. by Once more with Abbe and Claire

Star Trek MUSICAL vs Buffy The Vampire Slayer MUSICAL! by Ross Thots

Buffy Vs. Xenomorphs Explored - Criminally Underrated Crossover That Even Die-Hard Fans Forget About by Marvelous Videos

Podcast: Angel S6E17: Double or Nothing by Booze & Buffy

[Community Announcements]

BIG BUFFY MEET UP: HALLOWEEN SPECIAL by WhateverPaysTheRent

[Fandom Discussions]

[female identity in Buffy] by madimpossibledreamer

[What if Jenny survived Season 2?] by coraniaid

[Bangel soulmate meta] by bluestarsandclouds

[Support systems in magical TV] by koretoqueen

Kendra is such a prime character to explore black girl horror by jasmancer

Buffy leaving in season 2 finale by multiple authors

Restless meanings by multiple authors

Confused About Kate by multiple authors

I think townie Xander is my favourite Xander? by multiple authors

Angel and Cordelia? by multiple authors

Do you think season 4 Wesley would have been a better watcher than Buffy season 3 Wesley? by multiple authors

What if... by multiple authors

Would Angel have been a more interesting character (and TV show) if he had stayed Angelus after season 2, just a more reformed Angelus? by multiple authors

Some Considerations About Season 6 by multiple authors

We learned from Lie to Me what's Spike's vulnerability? by multiple authors

Post-soul attitudes of one vampire vs. another by multiple authors

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

Publication: The Buffy Reboot Has The Perfect Opportunity To Right A Major Wrong via ScreenRant

Publication: Buffy The Vampire Slayer: 10 Strongest Villains, Ranked via GameRant

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[moonlayl]

ROBBIE REYES | 4.21

[agentreeb]

Happy birthday Leo Fitz (August 19th, 1987)

“Instead you became the most open, loyal, caring person I’ve ever met”

[ryder616]

Rewatching The Return

Once upon a time, there was an android named Aida who wished to be free.

She found a loophole in her programming, killed one of her creators and trapped the other in a virtual reality, until his meddling friends freed him and he refused to play with her anymore.

This made her very cranky.

Hell hath no fury like a (former) android scorned. Apparently.

Aida turning into the Crazy Girlfriend from Hell - almost literally, given the Darkhold's original dwellings - saves our heroes from having to wrestle with difficult questions of sentience and personhood, or the ethics of creating thinking beings to use as expendable tools. Who has time for that, when she wants to kill everyone for the feels?

It's not a good look for anyone that they see Aida as more than just a walking computer only now that she's flesh and blood, emoting just as humans do, and not when she was throwing herself in front of bullets and saving everyone's asses.

It's all swept aside, anyway, for a different set of questions the show's far more interested in: does Fitz still love Simmons, will Jemma forgive him, can they get past this and is the star-cursed couple destined to be star-cursed forever?

The answers, unsurprisingly, will be: "Yes", "Of course", "Faster than you can say Time Monolith" and "No, but we're going to milk this cow drier than the Atacama desert".🤭

Then a certain fiery-headed demon from East L.A. portals his way back, after far too many episodes without his scorching presence, and at least I am happy again.

Daring Engineering:

Fitz wakes up from his Dr. Mengele's roleplaying adventure and has barely time for the beginning of an identity crisis before he has to run for his life. He cleverly guides Aida through her newfound feelings of empathy to save Mack while managing to keep mostly in check the anger for what she did to him, but fails to anticipate her meltdown. That makes at least two of us, Fitz.

The show will afford him a few comforting moments with his ever devoted future wife and one hell of a pep talk by the vibing superhero, before throwing him and everyone else into yet another apocalyptic mess.

Instead of therapy, a long vacation and maybe some reflection on Dr. Hall's lessons ("experimentation without thought of the consequences", remember him from 1x03?), he'll get solitary confinement and 70+ years as an icicle. The results will not be pretty.

Dreamers of Electric Sheep:

In the wake of S7, when they saved two Earths giving feelings to the genocidal space robots, Aida becoming an even bigger danger than she already was because she's overwhelmed by her human emotions sure carries some irony.

Of course, in-universe, there's an easy answer. She's the product - both her quantum brain-powered robot version and this newly organic one - of knowledge acquired from the Darkhold, and since the Darkhold is inherently evil, all the endeavours conducted under its influence are equally and irredeemably corrupted.

The pre-Darkhold Aida, however, is a different story. A marvel of technology that passed the Turing test with flying colors, could already feel in her own way ("I need to exhibit the proper response to human sensations, and I was programmed to feel them. Including pain. [...] It's quite awful", 4x08), was capable of expanding her knowledge and had the drive to do so. She saved almost everyone in the opening credits at least once and was instrumental in keeping Downtown L.A. from becoming a crater.

It's especially hard to dismiss it all as "just programming" when we've spent an entire arc on the notion that humans may be nothing more than the product of their (social) programming.

Of course, that Aida hadn't killed anyone yet nor had she stripped five people of their real lives and agency to plug them into a fake world run by nazis. But if Radcliffe can absolve himself for that outcome because he was corrupted by the Darkhold, well... so was Aida. Who, in her stuffed-in-a-closet days, was the poster child for no agency.

So, she's a fascinating, complex and thought-provoking antagonist, maybe the very best this show has written, certainly up there for a medal.

And then she goes crazy because a guy rejected her. Oof.

Stuff:

Take the shot, May! -- Get out of the way, Fitz! -- Just take the shot! Phil really wanted to see the Renegade interrupt but May is doing a Paragon playthrough. 😁

She has Inhuman powers, now?! Can we get a break, please?! Can we get one break?! No, I really don't think you can. You're a Mutant Enemy protagonist and therefore shall suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Over, and over, and over again.

The Superior Bigot is engaging in the villain's time-honored tradition of interrupting a long awaited reunion between beloved characters at the worst of times.

You are nothing without a S.H.I.E.L.D. to hide behind. -- That's not all they're good for. Give him an opening for a pun or a dad joke and Coulson becomes invincible.

Robots...is that a common occurrence now? Quite!

Davis! Try any evasive maneuver you can! Meanwhile, it's La Palice Day on the Zephyr One.

Should've stayed in that damn spa. Yeah, no, I don't think seeing you guys battling the horrors of facials and deep tissue massages would have had quite the same entertainment value, tbh...

You must've spotted the decoy right away, right? -- Yeah, 'cause you're never robotic at all. Can of worms, Phil!

Help should be on the way. The "help" is busy trying to stay in one piece.

Davis has zero patience for backseat pilots and he's been cursed with an especially unhelpful lot of them.

Radcliffe blamed it all on Aida and now Aida blames it all on Radcliffe. Revisionist historians both, I think.

Every decision you made was your own. Decisions made on a vastly different set of inputs and information. You'd think an AI would be keenly aware of that distinction.

The first thing I choose, Leopold, is you. Isn't that nice. I would have started smaller, like which pizza topping, ale or stout, hair dye color maybe?

Aida is in love with her co-creator and will be soon burning with hatred for his chosen companion (and every human ever). Oedipal much?

Oh, you only bring back the people that matter to you, not to me! -- You know what? I've known Mack longer than you, and he means as much to me. YoYo clearly doesn't know Daisy very well if she thinks she'd leave Mack behind as an acceptable loss. Which is fine, because their friendship is still pretty new. They helped each other over the summer - Daisy saved her life, YoYo kept her supplied with bone regeneration pills and was the only one who didn't pile another frakton of guilt on her - but they really haven't known each other for long, nor have they spent all that much time together.

Besides the fact that going into that world as an Inhuman is the worst idea ever, we need you here, making sure that the real Mack stays alive, or it'll all be for nothing. Daisy continues to make sensible calls and her friends continue to ignore them and follow their guts instead, like Jemma going after Fitzler Sr. in the Framework and now YoYo who will plug herself in while everyone is busy with Talbot and Aida. Shape of things to come.

I got out unscathed. Jeffrey didn't. He should be in here with us, still in the fight. I need to take one for the team. As opposed to all the other times you took one (or two, or three...) for the team?

Did something weird happen with my robot self? Well, let's see: they flirted, ate Chinese take-out, drank a full bottle of the top shelf whisky you were saving for a special occasion and then she kissed him, apparently quite sloppily, since he immediately realized it wasn't you. Which, btw, raises some questions...😏🤭

Phill, did I try to...kill you? -- Kill me... Yep. That's what happened. You tried. It was messed up. Coulson, you coward! 😂

The entire area is sealed off, but, no, I can't rule out Daisy Johnson's involvement. Oh, joy, Daisy's being dragged for the mess by name while S.H.I.E.L.D. are once again being branded as terrorists, after a mere 13 episodes - from Uprisings to Self Control - of public legitimacy. Why did they even bother?

I can only imagine what Fitz is feeling while Aida is rhapsodising on hers.

I drank the bottle of Haig -- What?! You piece of - Saved by the explosion 😂

Do the right thing. Focus on empathy, not fear. Excellent advice, one I daresay you would have done well to follow yourself on a couple of occasions.

I'm now realizing the pain that I've caused and I don't want to hurt anyone else -- Congratulations. You're as close to human as you'll ever get, suffering from the one thing that you kept trying to remove...Regret. Do you understand irony yet? I hate him but Aida cut his head with no anaesthesia so I'd say he's earned the right to gloat at her predicament, at the very least. This is excellent gloating, too.

You watched, unaffected, as I took a hammer to the bones of the Director's corpse. Which was done to make it look as if Daisy had quaked him to death, although you'd think any decent coroner would be able to tell a hammer was used instead. Still, we'll be ending the season with the team as wanted terrorists and Daisy accused of one murder (Mace) and one attempted murder (Talbot) on top of that. If their plan to turn themselves in hadn't been rudely interrupted by time travel and an apocalypse, she was definitely in for some fun times. And yet, still better than 5B.

Good shooting, Dr. Dr. Simmons.

Daisy and Jemma explaining why the house went kaboom while Mom and Dad were gone with what would be one of my dream excuses: robots did it!

Why would they lock Fitz in the same place as Aida? There's more than one of those white rooms and it's not like he has powers to contain anyway. Any lockable space would do.

I love the continuity of reusing the device invented in S2 to contain Gordon.

Why don't we chop off her head like last time? YoYo and Simmons are all for the kill option, while Daisy, Coulson and May would prefer to at least have a conversation about it. Swap Mack for Coulson and add Fitz to #TeamToTheDeath and it would be the same exact matchup of S5's debates over Ruby and Talbot. Minus the animosity toward one another, thankfully.

She's afraid Fitz will be the same guy he was in the Framework -- No. She's afraid he still loves someone else. Daisy thinking her best friend would be grossed out by the naziness, like she was with Ward, and YoYo being a little more cynical. And correct.

They may be able to forgive you. It's me they won't forgive. Please. You could strap one of your best friends to a table and cut into her without anaesthesia while she's screaming in pain and begging you to stop and the rest of them would forgive you in a day. Hypothetically speaking, of course. Also, are we really pretending that it's *them* you're most worried about? I watched and rewatched this show for 8 years, now, pal, I know your priorities.

It was learned behaviour, programmed into you by an overbearing father figure -- Just like Ward. I'm just like Ward. Ward is once again the paragon of all badness for a Bus Kid lost in the depth of self-loathing. 3x21 Daisy says hi.

How can she even look me in the eye? Or even stand the sight of me at all? Ah, there you go. That's more like it.

And there's only room in your heart -- for her. Cripes. This would be a good time for bold faced lies and shameless backtracking, Fitz!

Talbot arrives at the worst time. He's a natural.

They're all robots. You assume each and every one of them is a damn C-3PO unless you hear otherwise from me! And this one! [points at Daisy] If she so much as blinks, take her down. Tsk, tsk... a few nervous grunts vs Quake? I like her chances.

Unless you can explain to me in 50 words or less why I found Jeffrey Mace's body washed up on the beach with his bones quaked apart [...]. Sir, your medical examiners are incompetent.

Where's that Speedy Gonzalez girl? Staring impatiently at the Framework's loading screen, I'm guessing.🤭

Try it. Let's see what happens. Yes, please. *swoons*

Davis... -- I'm sorry, but he's already dead. And the Strange Case of the Failed Murder of Agent Davis begins...

Wait a minute. Where was YoYo during that standoff? Well, about time you guys noticed!

My plan will rebuild the world that you have grown accustomed to...one where Inhumans are hunted. -- And we control the rest [...] But your plan is flawed. It's too clean. I want them to suffer. Typically, the socially-accepted post break-up ritual involves unhealthy amounts of ice-cream, not murder and world domination. Just a FYI, since you're new at this emotion thing and all....

Ghost Rider has achieved peak performance as far as dramatic entrances go, complete with his very own Dr. Strange-style orange magic portal. Welcome back.

YoYo loads in as her avatar is strapped to a bed awaiting torturous experimentation. The Framework never disappoints in the creepiness department.

[mspirations]

Daisy Johnson 

“Self-Control” -  4x15

“Farewell, Cruel World!” -  4x20

“The Return” - 4x21

Dr. Martens Persephone Platform Boots in Black

Wendy Nichol Knife Edge Triangle Ear Cuff

Thanks for identifying:

Fashion of Comics

[queen-of-love-and-beauty]

“You can tell that from the one fish we’ve seen?”

- Melinda May (already over Coulson’s shit in the real world)

[nataliacordovabuckleysource]

Natalia as Elena Yo-yo Rodriguez and Clark Gregg as Phil Coulson in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 4x21, “The Return”.

You can follow me on Instagram too

[lumadreamland]

[marvelsaos]

This is a Mallory Jansen Appreciation Post (4x21)

[lionheartsjewel]

what AIDA did to fitz was never okay, but now she has him believing that he's not good enough for jemma, that jemma doesn't love him, that she won't forgive him - which we all know is a load of bs. this is an entirely new level of emotional trauma/manipulation and no one, NO ONE abuses leopold james fitz like that and gets away with it.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Sunday, December 18

Dracula: I knew you'd come. Buffy: Why? Because I'm under your thrall? Well, guess again, pal. Dracula: Put the stake down. Buffy: Okay. *drops the stake* Buffy: Right... That... was not... you. I did that. I did that because... I wanted to.

~~Buffy vs Dracula~~

The Sunnydale Herald is looking for at least one new editor. Contributing to the Herald is a great way to get your Buffy on! Find out more here.

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Burying the Hatchet (Angelus/Spike, T) by FightTheThorn

Gone Carolling (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by simmony

Smitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by scratchmeout

[Chaptered Fiction]

Buffy finds Marcie Again, Part 4 (Ensemble, NR) by Illyrian

Buffy and Spock, Chapter 2 (Crossover with Star Trek, NR) by That_Random_Daisy

Fade Away Again, Chapter 20 (Buffy/Spike, PG) by Willow25

It's Easy Time, Until It's Not, Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, AO) by hulettwyo

A Wild Holiday Adventure, Chapter 3 (Spike/Buffy, PG-13) by TheSunnySlayer

Echoes of Beljoxa, Chapter 23 (Spike/Buffy, 18+) by myrabeth

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:BTVS “Every Outfit” “Crush” Xx by whatshisfaceblogs

Moodboard: Tara Maclay Aesthetic by mortaljortlebortles

Manip:But all the colors mix together - to grey and it breaks her heart by hartsella

Gifset:5.07 “Fool For Love” | 5.02 “Real Me” by spikedaily

Gifset:BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (1997-2003) “Triangle” by dailybuffysummers

Video: Spike/Buffy [Banshee!AU] - We Shout [Buffy The Vampire Slayer] by DarkEleni

Video: Buffyverse - Sweet Dreams by SlayerVid

[Reviews & Recaps]

DISAPPOINTING Groundhog Day - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reaction - 6x05 - Life Serial by ThatLexiCrowd

Superstar | Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reaction | S4 E17 by Georgia Corsby

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 4x10 "Hush" Reaction by MyCupOfTv

ANGEL vs JASMINE! *Angel* 4x21 'Peace Out' Reaction! by Elie Moses

Dark Lord of nightmares, Gachnar! -Buffy The Vampire Slayer 4x4- "Fear, Itself" REACTION! by Big Time Knights

Welcome to Primetime: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4 Ranking Part 2 by Nerd Entertainment Network

Slayer Sunday-Beer Bad by Jane Talks Reel

[Fandom Discussions]

[Buffy didn't stab Faith out of apathy, bloodlust, hatred, or vengeance...] by hero-adjacent

[Autistic traits in Cordelia] by clockwards

[Ask- Do you think that Angel still loved Buffy during season 3 and 4 of his show?] by we-pay-for-everything

[Giles wasn't so much a father figure until season 3] by coraniaid

Welcome to the Hellmouth - Joss’ commentary by Taake

If you had the power and resources to reboot Buffy the Vampire Slayer, what changes to the characters and lore would you do? by multiple authors

Something I don't think was explained in the show... by multiple authors

can someone please explain to me why Buffy was headed over to kill Anya by multiple authors

Why don’t the Watchers Council use Necromancers to fight vampires? by multiple authors

Curious to hear from anyone actually from Ireland or has an accent on what they think of Angels accent. Also others not from there can chime in too by multiple authors

possible unpopular opinion? by multiple authors

Something I noticed about Buffy and Spike mess. by multiple authors

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

PUBLICATION: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Star Sarah Michelle Gellar Breaks Silence On Joss Whedon's "Toxic Male Set" via Comic Book Movie

PUBLICATION: Sarah Michelle Gellar Explained Why Working On A "Toxic Male Set" For "So Long" Affected Her Ability To Be Friends With Women via Buzzfeed

PUBLICATION: ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Showrunner Regrets Tara’s Death in Retrospect via Showbiz CheatSheet

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

[himynameshiddles]

Aida/Ophelia(whatever): "Being human is nothing but pain and suffering" Sorry did you mean: The shield fandom?

[kimorgant]

How can she even look me in the eye?

Or even stand the sight of me at all?

How can she stomach it?

[bridget-malfoy-stilinski-hale]

“There’s only room in your heart....”

“For her.”

[ohmyfuturelove]

Can we talk about the fact that when Jemma comes to the door of the pod, Fitz sees her in his peripheral vision, goes to look at her, but then decides to turn away from her to cry? That moment is just so heartbreaking.