#buffy very clearly would never date xander because she knows willow likes him

[jennycalendar]

yeah i think i am going to have to push back real hard on this notion of the show not being fully aware of how scummy xander's crush on buffy is, because the fact that we are CONSTANTLY shown how he is screwing over willow with his myopic buffy obsession delineates exactly how we are supposed to see him! he spends all of this time in season one going "woe is me, i'm the victim, buffy has no idea i exist" while literally creating the exact same situation for willow. he accuses buffy of being jealous of him when in actuality we see him get jealous of any boy willow's into and trying to ruin things for her the minute she's not haplessly pining over him!

idk i just have often seen this rhetoric of xander being terrible specifically BECAUSE the narrative excuses his behavior, and i think it is more complicated than that? xander is being terrible in ways that are consistent and apparent and intentional, but because the show is steeped in misogyny, there is not an awareness re: how to actually write the arc that he needs to make him not terrible (one about him figuring out how to redefine his relationship to masculinity) and the attempts to make him grow are halfhearted and poorly conceived/constructed. we get the skeleton of a storyline that is never brought to completion.

[caricature-of-fic]

mini fic #2 for 1x05 Never Kill a Boy on the First Date

Angel (+ brief mentions of Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Owen); general audiences; no pairings but implied Angel pining I guess

---

For a Slayer, she spends a remarkable amount of time shirking her duties.

He doesn’t have much experience with Slayers, of course. He’s always tended to avoid them, if he could, he isn’t— he hasn’t spent much time in their company. Or studying their habits. So perhaps what Buffy is doing is entirely normal.

(He’s seen the Watcher’s expression at times, though; heard the tone of his voice, the exasperated words, as he’d hidden in the shadows, ever unsure if or when he should reveal himself and address her. The Watcher does not think that what Buffy is doing is normal. It probably isn’t, then.)

Clearly, however, the Watcher stands little chance against her force of will, because too often Angel has to look for her in a crowded club rather than a deserted cemetery. If he looks at it objectively, that’s probably a good thing. She’s young, she’s pretty, she should get to dance and have fun and live a little before she has to devote all her time to her Calling.

He finds it very, very hard to look at it objectively. He doesn’t want to have to look for her in a crowd. He’s really not a fan of crowds, these days, and isn’t that funny. A century ago he’d have made himself right at home—assuming the absence of a Slayer, of course—would have picked the most appealing out of the mass of bodies and had himself a right good time.

Now, having spent so long firmly staying away from people, he ducks through the door and wishes he could turn right around. Over the noise of music and half-yelled conversation, he can barely hear himself think, and the scent of cheap, sugary drinks mixes with the scent of sweat mixes with the overpowering scent of young, human life, and something inside Angel roars with glee and hunger at it all, while something else, something only barely stronger, is so repulsed by the scene and his own reaction that it makes him sick.

He holds his breath. Buffy. He’s here for Buffy. He’ll find her, and warn her, and maybe talking to her a little will be a nice distraction, and then he can leave.

Buffy is not particularly receptive to his warning. Buffy already knows what he is here to warn her about, and doesn’t seem to care. Buffy is here with a boy, and clearly wants Angel to leave.

That should work out just fine, then, because Angel wants to leave. He’s done what he came here for. It’s just that he’s getting the impression that Buffy doesn’t really understand the urgency of the situation. And that the boy she’s here with—Owen, she tells him, and he makes an effort to be normal and polite and normal—well, he seems a bit like an idiot. Although Angel couldn’t say what exactly he’s basing that impression on.

Fine. He’s being normal. He can be normal, he’s getting back into what normal means, in this decade and century and as someone who’s trying to be helpful to humans instead of arranging to do unthinkable things to them or simply avoiding them altogether. He can do this. Although it’s easier when he can just talk to Buffy straight without some clueless little boy around—Buffy isn’t entirely normal, after all, though she blends in much more easily—and her friends suddenly arriving to also speak to her in badly concealed code.

He really wants to leave.

In the end, it’s Buffy who leaves, together with the other two. And Angel, somehow, is still standing amidst the crowd, next to the boy—Owen—who stares in the direction Buffy just disappeared towards, and shakes his head, apparently astonished. “She is the strangest girl.”

It’s not how Angel would have put it. It seems rude. Even if not entirely wrong.

Perhaps he should follow her. What he told her is true, after all—the prophecy means danger, and her little friends are hardly going to be of much use. But then Owen suddenly mumbles something about having to leave and takes off almost in a run, and Angel knows he’s going to go after Buffy and to the funeral home and he just—can’t. The singer on stage is crooning into her microphone and echoing in his ears, and he doesn’t know what he really could do if he did follow them all. How could he even be of help? He hasn’t fought anyone in a century, he’s only barely kept himself alive for most of that time. If he tries, he won’t be able to hide what he is from Buffy.

It’s cowardice, of course. But Angel is not quite ready to see her drive a stake through his heart.

[dontwarnthetadpoles]

Best Buffy & Willow platonic and romantic moments: Season 1

I changed the order of the words in the title because the scenes i’m commenting are more platonic than romantic. The romance is mostly an effect of my interpretation and writing at this point (it will be true until season 4). I also removed the end “ love at first sight” for the same reason. It seems more clear to present it this way.   

Never Kill a Boy on the First Date (Episode 5). 

Finally an episode with ambitious writing and a decent budget!  The stakes are upped with a new prophecy, a new enemy raising, and Buffy’s personal life starting to collide with her professional calling as a slayer.    

Let’s focus on Buffy and Willow:

Remember this during Welcome to the Hellmouth?: 

Willow: Oh, I could totally help you out! Uh, if you have sixth period free we could meet in the library? 

Buffy: Or not. Or we could meet someplace quieter. Louder. Uh, that place just kinda gives me the wiggins. 

Willow: Oh, it has that effect on most kids. I love it, though, it's a great collection, and the new librarian is really cool. 

Buffy: He's new? 

Willow: Yeah, he just started. He was a curator at some British museum, or The British Museum, I'm not sure. But he knows everything, and he brought all these historical volumes and biographies and am I the single dullest person alive?

That’s Willow in a nutshell: so very bookwormy and nerdy. I can totally relate.

Someone else who relates to Willow’s passion for books in this episode is Owen, Buffy’s new love interest. He’s obviously a book lover: he goes everywhere with his copy of Emily Dickinson’s complete poems that he enjoys so much that he doesn’t shy from calling it his security blanket in front of the girl he likes. Even Xander who tried to distract Buffy from her gloomy thoughts after she missed a date with Owen, picked up on this detail and said that a lot of guy can read and that he himself can read. 

To draw from this the conclusion that Buffy has a thing for avid readers and serious students and that sweet Willow fits the pattern, is something i won’t shy neither from doing. 

It’s  also worth to note that even Angel’s personality has been retconned later in the show to fit the type: he offered her a poetry book and was seen reading a french philosopher.   

More parallels that make me smile: seems that Buffy has also a seduction technique to approach her crushes. Like waiting for the lunchtime, to see if they are alone and to offer to keep them company. Owen Is just like Willow more than happy to share any time of the day with her.

Meanwhile Willow is working very hard to win the award of the best friend of the year: she supports dutifully Buffy’s amazement at everything that Owen does or says, which (short off topic) made me reconsider the coldness/neutrality of her reaction toward Angel in the last episode. 

Contrary to Xander, she wasn’t much impressed by his looks and seemed more amused by Xander’s jealousy than curious to know more about the mysterious stranger. An important detail for me because i’m a little obsessed with the Angel/Buffy/Willow triangle - it exists mostly in the subtext and my obsession comes from littles clues i see in the script and directing - though the writers stayed very subtle about it.  

How cute did Buffy and Willow look when they were falsely arguing about Owen’s invitation to the Bronze being or not a big deal? On a scale of 1 to 10, they were at level 20. It’s almost a superpower.

 I love especially this dialogue with Giles just after::

Buffy/Willow: What are you talking about?

Giles:What are you talking about?

Buffy/Willow: Boys.

Giles: I'm talking about trouble.     

Boys are indeed trouble but girl friends are safe and loyal, and that’s why Buffy relies on Willow to help her pick an outfit for her 1st date with Owen.

Which leads us to their best scene of the episode: in Buffy’s bedroom. 

This first Willow and Xander visit to Buffy’s house and how they felt immediately at home in her bedroom is the kind of scene written to make you fall in love with the show if it wasn’t already the case. It’s such a pure, wholesome and true moment.

It worked so well on  the young me who was discovering the show and for who invitations and sleepovers were something so hard to be allowed to do because of family rules. In the show, it means promise of intimacy, trust and shared secrets, and that Buffy’s home will be a place to feel protected for my favourite characters. 

And the show didn’t disappoint: the Summer’s house will become for all of them an integral a part of their life. Willow will live literally in it for two years. It was almost a character, just like the town before its destruction.

However beyond the nostalgia, the scene gives me also mixed feelings: 

I loved without hesitation everything about Buffy and Willow having already reviewed and picked her outfit, hair and make up way before Xander arrived. Sharing fashion tips (and shopping too) with your girl friends as a teenager is one of the most satisfying experience. It intensifies the relationship like nothing else. So they clearly have reached a new friendship level here. (Though i wasn’t aware that they were so close that they could change clothes in front of each other. Like how else did Buffy put on her golden/yellow dress!?).

There is in those moments a sense of normality that both Willow and Buffy are craving for different reasons (Willow because her solitude keeps her away from it, Buffy because of her mission). 

But i’m really against her decision to use Xander to test on him what Owen would think of her looks. 

The less depressing interpretation is that Buffy might be trying to show to Willow that she got her message from the last episode (Teacher’s Pet) about her feelings for Xander: 

Willow: No, no, no! See? Xander's, I like his head! I-it's where you find his eyes, and his hair, and his adorable smile...

But Xander is doing the same thing to Willow, and the fact that Buffy who has so much influence on them, joins them in this attitude validates this way of thinking that people can be used if they have feelings for you.

It will complicate their relationship for the rest of the show to the point that 7  seasons later Willow will still think that people won’t stay with her or love her if they don’t need her.   

But back to this episode to conclude: sadly after this point our heroines are taken away from each other and dragged to the land of love triangles, located at the Bronze. While Buffy doesn’t know anymore to who give her attention between Owen and Angel, Willow fakes a date with Xander and meets Angel officially. 

The episode ends with Buffy making a choice to not keep Owen in her life  because of the danger, while she never had the same doubts about Willow (and Xander)...

And though she has very reasonable reasons to not want Owen around, who can blame her to dismiss him and keep Willow close when they both look like this together (their matching colors are making me melt)?

[willowrosenboob]

I have thoughts about Willow's sexual identity within the show and I would like to make it your problem. I don't understand why they didn't make her bisexual when it was canon that she was in love with Xander her whole childhood and then Oz. Like making her bisexual dating a lesbian would have been 100% fine so I'm always bothered by jokes in the show where Willow makes lights of her previous feelings for Xander or even Oz when the narrative had dedicated so much time to make them real. Idk idk.

sorry for taking so long, i just have a lot of opinions about this and i needed time to collect my thoughts.

so i have a big problem with this, both from a lesbian perspective, as well as from a general character perspective. people who say these things clearly don’t understand the experiences of lesbians in society, so i’m gonna try to explain why willow as a lesbian absolutely makes sense, as well as why it isn’t bi erasure, and what exactly is. trying to force a lesbian character to be bisexual is very harmful to how people view real life lesbians so i hope you reconsider your opinion.

let’s take a look at willow’s crush on xander. it’s made very clear by the show that growing up willow did not have a lot of friends, and she was very insecure of her social status. xander is one of the few people who gave her attention and didn’t treat her horribly. compulsory heterosexuality is a thing that all lesbians grow up experiencing, and it’s amplified if you already feel insecure about your place in the world. when i was young i crushed on one of my guy friends for the simple reason that he was funny, and later i was embarrassed about it because of how clearly i had never actually liked him. the fact that willow liked a man who was already a close friend of hers doesn’t mean that she likes men, and every lesbian will attest to that. she interprets her platonic feelings of admiration and validation as romantic because she doesn’t know anything else. she doesn’t know that loving women is possible so she tries to force herself into loving a man.

now let’s look at oz. i love oz, and i believe his kindness is what drew willow to him. he didn’t express toxic masculinity the way that xander did, and he never forced her into anything. not only that, but dating a guy in a band helped her break out of viewing herself as a socially undesirable nerd, and think of herself as worthy of love and respect. part of why their breakup was so hard on willow was because she lost someone who helped reaffirm her identity and worth.

the fact that a sapphic woman had a relationship with a man as a teenager doesn’t mean that they have to be bi. no relationship in your teens should define who you are. there are tons of lesbians out there who have had relationships with men, sometimes even ended up getting married and starting a family with a man, only to find out later on that their attraction wasn’t real. willow clearly loved both oz and xander, but that doesn’t mean that she was ever truly attracted to them, which is ultimately what sexual orientation is about.

i’d say willow never truly got over her insecurities, and this property is still prevalent in her relationships with women as well (but that’s a discussion for another day). the main difference is that she no longer forces herself to love men because she knows that loving women is okay, and, like me, once she accepted her attraction for women she stopped desiring men altogether.  saying that you hate how she makes light of her sexuality and her past relationships with men is rooted in ignorance and lesbophobia. she makes jokes about it because it is a natural thing to do. everyone laughs about the stupid things they did and felt when they were young.

that doesn’t mean that the writers weren’t motivated by bi erasure. it’s true that bisexuality wasn’t as mainstream in the 90s as it is today, so i doubt they even considered it for willow, but even if they kept bisexual people in mind they still could have made her a lesbian. let’s look at some real examples of bi erasure in the buffyverse:

buffy summers - in s3 she shows lots of chemistry towards faith, and their relationship is romantically coded (mainly in faith’s similarities to s2 angel’s arc). then later in the comics she literally sleeps with a woman and calls it the best night of her life, but the writers insist on other characters calling it an ‘experiment’ and not letting her delve into her feelings for women.

xander harris - it’s debated whether or not he’s gay or bi, but he constantly jokes about finding men attractive (”can i have sex with riley too?” “two guys rassling, but not in a gay way” “you didn’t tell me he was attractive”). this is because the writers intended for him to be gay instead of willow, but it still left its mark on the show, even after willow came out (”spike is strong and mysterious and sort of compact but well muscled”).

the entire whirlwind - they have canonically all had sex with each other, yet they are never called bisexual, and they are never shown experiencing attraction to the same sex in a way that isn’t explicity shown as evil.

there are a ton more examples, and times when 'straight’ characters make gay jokes, but that would’ve made this post way longer than it already is.

tldr; willow is a lesbian, her relationships to oz and xander is deeper that plain ole romance, and bi erasure is a huge problem in the buffyverse but willow is not an example of that. i hope this made sense, and if you need any clarification on anything feel free to ask.

[prose-for-hire]

Three’s a crowd

Pairing: Spike x reader

Request: Hello I love your writing. If you're still doing requests, can you please do one up about Buffy getting in between the reader and Spike? Thank you!!!

Requested by: @ellahale0727​

Warning: Reader and Buffy don’t get on. Buffy is petty and jealous and perhaps slightly ooc. Swearing.

A/N: I like Buffy I swear, but reader doesn’t. I love writing lots of different types of readers if you have any specific traits/ideas send them in !! 💖

You and Spike had met one evening while he was hunting, three years ago in Sunnydale. He had been in a foul mood, finding out about Angelus and Drusilla having been together in the old days.

He was out for blood, but for some reason he had stopped to talk to you before he killed you. You spent the night talking with him, he found himself liking you a lot. You had lifted his mood and so in a very rare moment of mercy, he allowed you to leave. But he told you, if you ever crossed paths again you wouldn’t be so lucky. However, the next time he came across you alone was when he came back to visit when Drusilla had cheated on him, he had been in a proper state. Drusilla had told him he smelt of you and he didn’t understand what that could have meant, he told you, as he leaned against you sobbing into your shoulder.

Now, a year and a half later, you and Spike were together. It had been great getting to know him. You loved being together. You felt safe with him and you had a lot of fun. There was only one drawback of dating him and it wasn’t even his fault: Buffy. You had noticed the way he caught Buffy’s eye and how strangely possessive she had become over someone that had never shown an interest in her.

At first, Spike insisted you were making it up, that the Slayer didn’t want anything to do with him. he genuinely didn’t see it. Spike was besotted with you. He literally only had eyes for you. Too cold? He was taking his duster off immediately. Too warm? He was happy to take you somewhere private and remove as many clothes as was necessary (in the name of helping you of course). The vampire was obsessed with you, completely tuned into you and your needs.

And this got on Buffy’s nerves. Big time. So much so that she started to become more obvious with the attention she was giving Spike. She wanted Spike to look at her the way he looked at you. She wanted Spike to hold her through the night the way he held you. The pair of you were so in love it sickened her. So much so, that the worst big bad yet (the green eyed monster) had staked its claim on the Hellmouth and most importantly in her heart. She was literally everywhere you and Spike went, you were starting to think she had roped Willow into casting a locator spell so she always knew where you were.

This was when Spike started to notice you might have called it from the beginning. Her presence was starting to irritate him - more than usual. She appeared everywhere he looked and she never had a good word to say about you (or to you, for that matter).

You and Spike were drinking in the Bronze and there she was, sexy dancing against one of her friends trying to vie for your vampire’s attention. He glanced once and maybe side glanced a second time (if you had called him up on it he would have insisted it was a predator thing). But you didn’t ask because you trusted him. 

If anything, it was slightly amusing to him. He had never seen the Slayer like it, he was half expecting it to be that other slayer taking over her body again. Buffy kept looking over, checking that Spike was watching and got a shock when she saw you sat on Spike’s lap attached to his lips.

His strong hand on the small of your back, the other on the base of your skull and pulling you further into him. Neither of you caring for the company you were in. You both could have been anywhere, it wouldn’t have mattered. You would have both been kissing with the same fervour. You sat sideways on Spike’s lap a position you loved as much as he did. He often patted his lap with a smirk waiting for you to slide onto him. He liked having you close, especially in public when there were wondering eyes on both of you. It was about showing you were together. Showing you had claimed the other as your own. 

Neither of you had realised that Buffy had stormed out, the last straw being when she saw you shift positions to straddle Spike in the middle of the Bronze, his hand now digging into your hip as he held you in place.

It had been a few weeks since the Bronze and less time since you found out that Buffy had been whispering in your man’s ear telling him she had seen you all over Xander when you were out by yourself last. Her ‘revenge’ for kissing your own boyfriend in front of her, apparently. You wouldn’t mind but this wasn’t even remotely true, Xander had helped you up when you stumbled down the steps and Buffy knew it.

Spike had been in a horrible mood with you, not explaining why until an hour ago. You started to get mad at him for believing Buffy, but tried your best to calm your anger. You and Spike decided to patrol for the evening, deciding to talk whilst taking your frustrations out on demons and not each other. 

You walked, occasionally raising your voices at a heated part in the discussion while you found something to fight. However, as you were starting to make up, you rounded a corner and there she was on the other side of Sunnydale from where she said she’d be and now directly in your way.

She looked satisfied, having overheard your heated exchnage, the over-friendly façade slipping - she had suspected your relationship wasn’t as perfect as it looked. Or at least, she had hoped. She was really getting on your last nerve and as soon as you saw her smug face, you scowled. You had tried your best to give her the benefit of the doubt, to try and give her the friendship she clearly didn’t deserve. Spike had been attempting to be cordial with Buffy because it made everyone’s lives easier but you 

“Some relationships just aren’t made to last” She shrugged, spinning the stake around casually as she moved past you knocking your shoulder ‘accidentally’ as she left. You rolled your eyes as Spike scowled at the back of Buffy’s head, muttering “vindictive bitch” but he was too interested in making sure you were okay (you had originally been friends with Buffy after all and now appeared to have lost this particular relationship).

 You and Spike had now fully made up after you insisted that Spike came with you to Xander’s where both Anya and Xander confirmed that your story was true and not Buffy’s. Spike heard Anya insist she saw it was an accident which convinced him, as he knew the ex-vengeance demon was as jealous as he was with partners. You were now curled up watching soaps happily when she barged in. Yet again, Buffy decided to join you in the crypt. She brought alcohol for Spike and nothing for you.

She looked at you expectantly as if to tell you to go away. You rolled your eyes, kissing Spike on the forehead and whispering that you were going to bed in the lower level of the crypt. It wasn’t worth the hassle.

Spike took the alcohol, trying to get the slayer to leave without earning himself a hole in his chest. He kept glancing back to the doorway you had left through until eventually she got the hint, snatched the half-drunk bottle from his hand and stormed out. Spike was tired of her. She was always in the way, he had almost enjoyed a strange truce-friendship with her at first but her little crush was starting to be a big pain in the neck (and not the good kind). Anytime he was settling into quality time with you there she was turning up like a bad penny. 

The next evening was almost the exact same scenario and you both decided that enough was enough. She stormed in with some made up sounding story about a nest of vamps on the far side of town and apparently Spike was the only person she knew with a ride.

“Will you bloody-” Spike started, but you spoke over him, rising from your place beside him and stepping toe-to-toe with the Slayer herself.

“Buffy, why are you always in the middle of my relationship?”

“He deserves better than you” Buffy said casually making you squint at her in confusion. What gave her the right? You understood envy and being lonely, but this was bordering on obsessive.

“And that’s you?” You question. She pursed her lips, re-crossing her arms for emphasis. You couldn’t help the eyeroll at this. She didn’t intimidate you anymore. She just really pissed you off. You continue, “Look, me and Spike are together. You’re sad and lonely after you broke up with captain cardboard. Not our problem” you state firmly.

“But he’s- you’re not-” Buffy’s hands now curled into a fist and you rolled your eyes. She wasn’t going to give up on this weird fantasy.

“Maybe I’m not being clear: Fuck off” You say firmly, moving past her and opening the door for her to leave. Buffy looks back over at Spike who was still comfortably sitting on the sofa watching the exchange. He smirked at your words, not taking his eyes off you. He liked it when you got a little feisty. 

This meant Buffy huffed, his eyes barely on her. She stormed out of the door and casting a death-glare your way before she left across the graveyard and straight to Willow’s house so she could no doubt complain about how horrible you were.

You shrugged, returning to Spike’s arms. He was beyond impressed at the way you had handled it. He was about to tell her to bugger off himself, but you had done it for the both of you. Taken the insults straight from his mouth. He smirked, not able to hold back the kisses he pressed to your neck, over your pulse point and along your jaw.

“Couldn’t have put it better myself, love” he mumbled against your neck, his hand gliding up your back as he helped balance your position on his lap with the other hand. Back where you belonged.

[ifeveristoday]

Thanks for keepin up your Boom! Coverage, I was surprised to see how much Xander's storyline is pulling from Angelus- its interesting even if groan Robin implied XanderBuffy is more than friendship. I had always assumed any buffy version would feature the tragedy of Buffy and Angel - hellmouth, early Angel issues indicated that, but VampXander combined with the soul Mara-Kate silliness has me doubting. What new ground would be covered with an Angelus Buffy crossover?

I can't be the only one yelling into the void about how much I enjoy the Boom! Verse, so I figured I'd take you all with me. 🤣

I've posted before while I'm not excited about the Xander - Buffy storyline, I knew by all the clues that littered past issues that they were going to have to do *something* about it. And yes, Robin pressing Buffy on her 'true' feelings for Xander seems rather out of left field for him. Especially on a date - why is he so intent on pushing the girl he likes into admitting she has secret buried feelings for her as-far-as-he-knows, dead best friend? Way to stall a potential romance. (Though he was right to call her out on her martyr complex.)

Then Buffy extrapolating from Kendra's conversation that she would know when she knows re: Xander - I'm interpreting it as Buffy being in a particularly vulnerable position. A lot of traumatic things have happened within the span of a month - the Hellmouth opening then closing, Xander's apparent 'final' death, Willow leaving, Rose getting hurt, Kendra's arrival and disruption of Buffy's status quo. And she can't talk to anyone about it - her mother can't know her secret, she believes Giles is more impressed with Kendra, and Ms. Calendar is out of the loop. And Rose and Cordelia aren't really *her* friends. She's really alone like she said she wanted to be at the start of the series, and she tries to fix that by throwing herself into a relationship with Robin, because he assures her he's on team Buffy. (And Buffy wants to be liked and needed.) And then that stops before it even could start.

And with her unsettling slayer dreams and reluctance to share ("It's personal"), it's a very lonely place to be for Buffy. Xander coming back from the dead, sort of - well he's a charter member of Team Buffy, so I can see why she's conflicted. He's one of her best friends and even though his feelings for her are terribly twisted by the demon, he's a reminder of when she wasn't lonely. Willow is gone, but Xander is back.

Buffy's loneliness is something that hasn't been brought up much in the Boom! verse. At least not in conversation with the other characters directly. Willow and Xander had their mini arcs dealing with depression and their childhood bond, but Buffy was absent for a lot of that, as she was fighting on another plane of existence. Angel had some camp counselor like advice about loneliness, but then got possessed by the personification of an ancient evil, oh and omitted telling Buffy he was a vampire until the worst possible second, so her tentative trust in him is gone.

Which brings me to your point about how Vamp! Xander's obsession with Buffy is reminiscent of the Angelus story line (and boy is there a whole essay that could be written about how in TV canon, Angelus adopts Xander's nickname for Buffy, "Buff" and his manipulation of her and Xander's feelings and how eerily similar the toxic aspects of the men in Buffy's life can be drawn back to Angelus, etc.) and how it seems like the early hint of Buffy and Angel now feels like a red herring. I think while there are similarities, it's more aligned to the Jesse/Ford plots.

I can only wildly theorize from what print canon says - Buffy and Angel had to meet, and Buffy is going to change Angel's life. Just not now. The timing is off plus they have so much other stuff going on, though Buffy's got more internal chaos while Angel's is more focused on external forces.

And just by the characterization and consistent reminders that Buffy and her friends are sixteen and seventeen year old children - not CW/WB sexy 20 something teenagers, but awkward, messy, traumatized, occasionally shitty to each other children. Angel clearly is not a child.

In Jordie's interviews she's been clear that she wants to bring Buffy into a more modern time, embellishing what we loved about the show, and updating stuff we didn't - Jenny is a character outside of being Giles's girlfriend! Kendra exists and is shown to be a capable and dedicated slayer without Buffy needing to be all white savior about it, the queerness is explicit (Willow, Rose, and Kendra), Black and POC characters get to have lines and motives of their own, mental health is portrayed mostly sensitively and with compassion, and oh, Anya is a full adult demon woman and doesn't have to fit in with the gang to their comfort. And have I mentioned Dolly the cat?

Having an Angel and Buffy romance in that timeline now doesn't make any emotional sense. Also, Buffy seemed less than enthused with him by the end of Hellmouth, and we never get to see Angel's opinion about her at all. Buffy only exists as a prophecy in Lillith's convenient magic 8 ball of foreshadowing - and I also get the feeling that the creative teams just weren't talking that closely. With the new creative team coming in, it's another unknown quantity.

And yes. Kate as Mara/Marius just feels lazy and a complete scuttling of any attempt to make Kate a character of her own and one that isn't tied to Angel by some prophecy. Angel. Use Demon Craigslist and undead tindr or something. Just because Lillith is an omniscient power who can see what could be doesn't mean she's always right.

I think the only Angelus coverage will be in regards to Mara, because Buffy has no emotional connection to Angel. There's no devastation/conflict possibility for them currently, and honestly, Buffy would probably stake Angelus easily.

I can only speculate that these initial relationships are setting the stage for a future rematch between Buffy and Angel, but for now their writers are content to build their separate journeys.

Sorry I took so long to reply! It’s been in the mid to high nineties here in California and I mostly want to sit by a fan and disconnect.

[takaraphoenix]

Buffy: Season 1

I’m finally getting around to that Buffy the Vampire Slayer rewatch. And I considered posting about it, but then I decided a seasonal summary would be more fun, especially since the seasons - the individual episodes - tend to blend together because I always watch all of it. So, I’ve decided to make round-up posts after every season!

1. Favorite character of this season?

Buffy. The first season so perfectly sets her up as a complex character – so often, female leads get shoehorned into one box, one archetype. They also either get to be a Tough Girl, or a Girly Girl. But Buffy is so... perfectly both. She is a total badass but she is also a giggly girl talking about boys and hoping about school dances and cheerleading. Yet at the same time, she also has these... very, very human vulnerabilities. Her fear of abandonment when it comes to her father, her fear in the finale about her death. Yet she remains standing strong and true to her ideals and her duties.

She is an amazing character all on her own, but especially groundbreaking as a female lead character – and she will always be that, because even right now, twenty something years later, Hollywood is still struggling with writing fully fleshed out female leads without just shoehorning them into The Lover, The Badass or The Mother role like they can't have more complexity.

2. Outstanding minor character (positive or negative)?

Jesse. Look, yes, he is only in the first two episodes but I am still not over this. Him, Willow and Xan were friends, were a trio, prior to Buffy coming to this school. They must have been friends for years and just... for these normal 16 year olds who never really encountered Hellmouth-ish things before to lose one of their best and longest friends? There is an impact there that sadly doesn't stick. Like, he's just dead, no one talks about him or mourns him again even though this would have been a cutting event for Xander and Willow. And then there is the potential of an alternate reality where he would have absolutely become a Scooby had he survived. I don't know, I think about this a lot.

3. Favorite character dynamic?

Willow and Buffy. I love the way their friendship stands out, even among the Scoobies – though naturally I love the whole Scooby dynamic. But just, from the first episode on when Buffy had the chance to join the Popular Mean Girls and saw the way Cordelia treated Willow, she chose to instead spend time with Willow and from thereon out, their dynamic just grew closer and cooler.

The shy nerd and the cool cheerleader (well, only for one episode but you know what I mean – the pretty blonde who had the potential to be a Cool Girl). It's especially outstanding because in her interactions with Willow, Buffy truly gets to be the teenage girl. The girly kind of teenage girl who giggles and talks about boys and gets to be carefree, even just for a few moments.

4. Favorite canon romantic ship?

Angel and Buffy. David and Sarah have such great chemistry, the way they play off each other, how they put the longing into their performance, just how tragic this set-up is for them, the weird mystery to it all. Best Romeo and Juliet, really.

5. Least favorite canon romantic ship?

Angel and Buffy.

Look, I know that tumblr only deals in black and white, in “pure, healthy ship that can be loved” and “unhealthy, problematic ship that needs to be condemned”, but personally I like nuances and I like applying some critical thinking even to the things I love.

So I can absolutely love the way this is played out, the actors' chemistry, the tragic of it all and still also acknowledge just how creepy and frankly uncomfortable it is that this 240 year old dude has the hots for a sixteen year old kid.

6. Favorite episode?

The finale, “Prophecy Girl”. It is such a good pay-off of the season and it is also so... painful. When Buffy realizes she's going to die, when she decides to go despite knowing her fate. Giles' act of defiance, his first time clearly stepping out of his role as the Watcher as he decides to go and face the Master himself to avoid Buffy's death. How Angel and Xander, of all people, team up to go and help Buffy out. It also marks Cordelia's first proper participation with the Scoobies, as unwilling as it may be (I can't quite count the whole 'invisible girl trying to kill Cordy' as Cordelia actually joining them). A lot of good stuff and good pain.

But also shout-out to episode 9 “The Puppet Show” - I like the creep-factor of this episode, the set up for the twist, the certain low-key pain linked with Syd. Also I am very afraid of creepy dolls so the whole thing is even more of a creepy episode for me.

7. Least favorite episode?

I don't like episode 4 “Teacher's Pet” because it's really gross overall – I mean, it's a giant insect posing as a teacher to perv on students so they'll fertilize her eggs. So many levels of eeew.

But episode 5 “Never Kill a Boy on the First Date” is incredibly bland and forgettable, like... really forgettable, as much as I appreciate the 'Buffy attempts to Regular Date' angle. So kind of a tie.

8. Favorite Monster Of The Week?

Fear, from episode 10 “Nightmares”, if that counts. Because it's not a demon, or vampire, or monster. It's... well, fear itself. It also presented such a fascinating insight into Buffy as a character, to show her fears, but to also show Giles' fear of failing her, of having her die on him. I love how with all the monsters and things she has to face, her biggest fear is that her dad doesn't love her. It's so surprisingly deep – surprising in the sense that we get to see that Buffy is a complex character, not just the girly cheerleader-type girl, not just The Chosen One, but rather that she is very much also just... a girl, with family issues, with very real and human fears.

9. Least favorite Monster Of The Week?

Mh, it depends, because for the most part I don't find the Monsters of the Week overly memorable this season. “The Puppet Show” has a very weak and forgettable actual villain, however he only takes a backseat because the other plot stands more in the forefront and the focus is deliberately elsewhere and that is what makes me like the episode so much.

10. Rate the overarching villain!

The Master always seemed to me like a... not very fleshed out villain. Vaguely archetypical ancient evil demonic overlord. But that's kind of just... it. Why is he so important? What really makes him so special? And he very much is the Thanos of the Buffyverse – just sitting on his throne, waiting, occasionally standing up. He's a good enough opening act for the show, I'll give you that – because he checks the boxes. And, admittedly, the main focus is on establishing the Scoobies and their dynamics and their individual personalities, so it checks out.

Bonus: Other thoughts?

As above mentioned, I find the whole centuries old being lusting after a sixteen year old really questionable and this season went hard for it – because it's not just the main romantic plotline of the season, it's episode 4 “Teacher's Pet” with the praying mantis who poses as a teacher and seduces her students, it's episode 8 “I Robot, You Jane” with the ancient demon catfishing Willow, it's episode 9 “The Puppet Show” with the adult-turned-puppet who is perving on Buffy and any other girl he can lay his eyes on.

Having it only be the main romantic plotline would be one thing, but if you have that and additionally three out of thirteen episodes that have a focus on the theme, then it becomes... questionable, in my opinion.

In other news, I absolutely love Cordelia and I love that even season one already gave a tiny bit of insight into her being more than just the shallow bully she pretended to be.

I also love the unorthodox/modern interpretations of things – the demon who got scanned into the internet, the prophecy about Buffy's death that was then just kind of canceled out by the existence of CPR to revive her, the 'techno paganism', the white bus as stand-in for Death's pale horse.

It also establishes the Scoobies really well already, both as individual characters and in their dynamics among themselves. I will always love the Found Family trope of this show. Always.

So, yeah, overall slightly weak individually speaking, but a rather good overall start for the show!

[ettadunham]

A Buffy rewatch 1x12 Prophecy Girl

aka that iconic dress

I guess welcome to this dailyish text post series where I will rewatch an episode of Buffy and point out / hyperfocus on one de--- You know what, scratch that. I’m probably going to be all over the place with this episode, so bear with me.

But how can I not? It is the first season finale of the show, and it very much holds its own among all the other iconic season finales this show would go on to produce. There’s a lot going on here.

That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot going on in episodes where I try to stick more to my ‘focus on one thing’ goal. The whole reason I came up with the format for these word vomits was so I could talk about Buffy (even if it’s just me shouting into the void) but also have fun and limit myself. So I plan to keep to that as much as possible, even for future season finales.

(Of course if you look at the length of some of my previous posts during this rewatch, you can see that I haven’t had all that much success limiting or focusing myself. It really is a work in progress.)

Finding one thing to talk about with Prophecy Girl is tough for me though. Because I want to have fun and also talk character and iconic moments at the same time, and it’s just too much, man. It’s too much.

So let’s start with Xander asking Buffy out.

You know, I like this scene. Because Buffy really handles it the best way possible. Xander... does not, but there’s at least a moment where he tries to backtrack after pulling the Angel card. “I’m sorry, I don’t handle rejection well.” And I can still sympathize with him, even if I sympathize with Buffy more.

It’s not wrong of Xander to have feelings for Buffy and to take his chance and ask her out. It’s just that he’s so caught up in his hurt afterwards that he doesn’t take her feelings into account. At all. This will be a recurring flaw in his character too - Xander can be really insightful and inspirational, but when he’s hurt, his emotions always get the best of him. In these moments, he also thinks he’s right, and that will lead to a whole series of bad decisions in the future.

But, because I’m also here to have fun, I can’t just ignore the line where Buffy is trying to explain that she considers Xander and Willow her best friends and Xander’s like: “Willow isn’t looking to date you. Or if she is, she’s holding it really close to the chest.”

It’s like they’re trying to make me ship it. Like, I haven’t really before, but now it’s in my head. What’s their shipname? Billow? Wuffy? Cast your votes now.

Speaking of Willow, I really like the moment too where Xander then asks her out and she’s like ‘NOPE’. It reminds me of a s2 moment between her and Oz where Oz plays that part in their relationship. These kids have dignity yall.

And alright, let’s also talk about Willow’s crush on Xander and the fact that she’s never done what Xander does here - ask him out. Because I feel like that as a result, they both got stuck into this weird limbo of ‘maybe’s. And who knows, maybe if they moved on here and now, they wouldn’t fall back into that what-if scenario two years from now... just saying.

I feel like this says something about Willow too: she’s either too afraid to ask or is in truth, comfortable letting this crush remain just that. I personally lean more towards the first one - Willow is often driven by fear -, but it’s also interesting to consider the latter (*whispers* gay).

Meanwhile Xander is also clearly aware of this all (see: The Pack), and it becomes this certainty he can fall back on. Sure, Buffy wouldn’t go to the dance with him, but Willow still has a crush on him, right? He can always count on that.

Sigh, teenagers, man.

And Buffy, you guys, I haven’t even got to Buffy and this is already way too long. See what I meant by how I can’t just talk about one thing with this episode?

I kind of want to put my own spin on what her story here means, but I can’t really. I heard and read the interpretations, and they’re right - this is about Buffy’s acceptance of death, of coming to grips with the fact that we’re all going to die.

“Giles, I’m 16 years old. I don’t want to die.” - It’s fine, I’m fine, we’re all fine.

But she changes her mind after the scene with Willow, where she’s clearly shaken by seeing their classmates’ dead bodies in school. It’s not really the horror of the scene itself (which is pretty haunting though), but the sudden confrontation with death that affects Willow. Suddenly the whole slayer stuff is not an adventure. The school’s weekly body count is not a joke. Death is real, and it’s terrifying.

And that helps Buffy face her own fears. It serves as a wake up call for her about how she can’t just avoid death by ‘quitting’ being the slayer, as it is part of life itself. But it’s also an act of protection on her part. She’s trying to protect her friends from having to face and confront death, to keep their innocence just a bit longer.

It’s also something that Giles tries to do for her, and my heart swells a bit at that thought. He really has already become a clear father figure for her, one who tries to strike a balance between teaching her about and protecting her from the world. And then he gets knocked out for it.

Buffy doesn’t go down to the Master’s lair knowing for certain that she would die or fail. But she goes down with the knowledge that she could die and accepting that possibility, with the hope that at the very least, she could prevent the Master from rising. The ironic twist that that’s actually how she fulfills the prophecy seems to undercut that idea at first, but then she succeeds regardless. She accepted death and faced it and now it doesn’t have power over her anymore.

Also, Christ allegory. Whatever.

The absolute most important part of this entire episode is of course the dress though. I absolutely love that it’s a running gag that everyone would compliment Buffy on her dress - as they should. That shot of her in the sewers in her dress and leather jacket holding a crossbow is perhaps the MOST iconic visual of the entire show. I would fight you on that.

Oh yeah, and Willow and Cordelia have a surprisingly pleasant dynamic here? And Cordy drives her car into the school to get them to the library. What an icon.

[marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer]

MTVS Epic Rewatch #180

BTVS 7x02 Beneath You

Stray thoughts

1) I’ve always got some strong Run Lola Run vibes from the opening scene of this episode…

It’s the setting, the music, the pace, the fact that the girl is – duh! – running, and her look and outfit. It’s all very Run Lola Run, right?

So, do you think this was an homage to the movie, plagiarism, or Joss’s idea of what Germany is like based simply on one movie he’d seen?

That aside, these scenes bring up a lot of questions about how potential slayers are treated in other countries. We know that Kendra was raised and educated as a potential slayer, knowing that one day she may become one. I think Kennedy was, too. We also know that Buffy and Faith weren’t. But the two girls shown in the opening scenes from episodes 7x01 and 7x02 seem to be aware they should run away and they’re not asking for help in the regular way any citizens would do, you know? Like, they’re not screaming for help or going to the police? So it kind of feels they knew what their deal was and why they were being chased…

It’s all the more interesting because Buffy was having a prophetic (or live action?) dream about the German girl. I’ve always loved Buffy’s prophetic dreams, and I wish her connection to other slayers through her dreams would’ve been explored more in depth in the show.

2)  Spike’s chasing rats just like his dad did back when he got his soul back...

3) I love how excited Dawn is to have Buffy around school!

4) This was sweet…

XANDER Those kids are damn lucky having a slayer and a friend on campus there for 'em. I hope they appreciate it. I know I did. Days gone by, huh?

It really takes you back, doesn’t it?

5) Dawn made a good point. And I guess she was officially one of the Scoobies...

DAWN You guys need to really to ease up with the whole dating demons thing.

BUFFY Uh, hello, I'm sorry. Wasn't that you having the smooch-a-thon with teen vampire last Halloween?

DAWN See, this is why I don't want you talking to my friends.

6) This season is super heavy on the self-references and I love it.

PRINCIPAL A little authority can be a wonderful thing. Just remember that while you are here to help, you're not here to be their friend. Trust me, you open that door, and these students will eat you alive.

BUFFY You heard about Principal Flutie, right?

7) The cutest!

BUFFY I was, uh, just curious, you know, uh—not that I'm not grateful or anything. But, uh, I guess I was wondering why I—

PRINCIPAL Have this job?

BUFFY I still haven't finished college.

PRINCIPAL I know.

BUFFY Was it my sparkling personality? Or maybe you enjoyed my work at the Doublemeat Palace?

In case you were wondering: no, Wood didn’t provide a satisfying/convincing answer, 

8) 

GILES Willow, we could spend another two years here training and practicing and learning to hone your powers and still there'd be no way of knowing for sure that the friends you left behind you are still your friends.

WILLOW Well, sure. I mean, if you put it that way, duh.

GILES I'd love to offer you some guarantee that you'd be welcomed back to Sunnydale with open arms, but I can't. You may not be wanted, but you will be needed.

So… are we supposed to believe that neither Xander nor Buffy cared enough to check up on Willow? To know how she was holding up or if she was doing any better? That they didn’t call Giles IN MONTHS? I mean, he MUST have known something about how they felt about the whole Willow-going-dark thing, right?

9) LITERAL NIGHTMARE! NOT WITH THE DOGGIES, YOU BASTARDS! 

10) This is sad…

DAWN Should we round up the gang?

XANDER Good thinking, except... this is the gang.

11) Explain this…

Why hadn’t Buffy bothered to do the spell that removes Spike’s ability to get into her house without an invite? Why hadn’t Dawn or Xander? Yes, he was gone, but they couldn’t know if he would be back and they were giving him free access to do as he pleased. And yes, Willow and Tara (*cries*) were not around to do the spell, but I’m sure the Scoobies could’ve managed somehow if they wanted to.

12) I can understand Buffy’s nonplussed reaction to seeing Spike again in Lessons because she was caught off guard. But when she sees him again here, she had had some time to mull it over and to come to terms with how she wanted to deal with him. I have to say, I hate how they wrote the - delayed - attempted rape aftermath. Buffy facing Spike again after what he had almost done should’ve been written with more care and respect towards her character, considering she was the victim. Instead, the focus was shifted and it became about Spike’s pain with little - and even that is an overstatement - regard to Buffy’ trauma. Regardless of how I feel about Spuffy in general and during the course of season 7 in particular, I have to be unambiguous about this: this is bullshit. All of it. The whole attempted rape scene and what they did with its fallout. How they didn’t address Buffy’s pain. How the would-be-rapist became the victim in the narrative. Bullshit. 

BUFFY Do not start by saying you're sorry.

SPIKE I didn't come here to atone.

BUFFY Then what the hell do you want?

SPIKE I'm here to help you.

BUFFY Help me what?

SPIKE I was hoping you'd tell me. You're the slayer.Connected to the visions. Long line of worthies, right? I'm just a guy with his ear to the ground, and even I can feel it. Something's coming. I don't know what exactly, but something's brewing. And it's so big, ugly and damned it makes you and me look like little bitty puzzle pieces. I mean, if I'm wrong, say so. Lovely. No hard feelings. I'll go out that door and you can lock it behind me with any spell you like. So, am I wrong?

BUFFY Everything about you is wrong, Spike.

Something big coming or not, Buffy should’ve sent him off the minute he set foot in her house. She shouldn’t have wanted to engage in casual conversation with him. Not yet, at least. Not before they had addressed what he almost did to her. It feels wrong, and I hate they did this to my Buffy.

13) FORESHADOWING, though.

BUFFY Since when did you become the champion of the people?

14) It just doesn’t make any sense for Buffy to be accepting Spike’s help so easily. It just doesn’t. No no no.

15) Bless you, Dawn Summers. At least someone was reacting somewhat appropriately...

DAWN Spike. You sleep, right? You. Vampires. You sleep.

SPIKE Yeah. What's your point, niblet?

DAWN Well, I can't take you in a fight or anything, even with a chip in your head. But you do sleep. If you hurt my sister at all... touch her... you're gonna wake up on fire.

16) And then we get this moment…

SPIKE Hold the torch, would you? (Seeing Red Flashbacks...)

BUFFY Look, this... us working together—it's not a way for us to get back together, if that's what you want.

SPIKE It's not. Look, I can't blame you for being all skittish.

BUFFY Skittish? That's not a word I would use for it. You tried to rape me. I don't have the words.

And while I do appreciate the fact that we finally have Buffy saying it out loud and calling it for what it was, it feels too little. She shouldn’t be hanging out with her would-be-rapist, especially not so soon and without addressing her trauma in any other way than this.

17) Of course Xander even thinking of daring to go on a date would end up in utter terror. OF COURSE. 

18) I love how Anya just uses the word “penis” as a cuss word.

19) Okay, so Spike was present when Anya revealed that the worm-monster was, in fact, the girl’s ex… This will be relevant later.

20) I’m Anya.

BUFFY Anya, that thing you created burst through solid pavement and ate her dog.

ANYA Ooh, puppy!

XANDER Wait, that gets your sad noise? People's lives are in danger, and you give it up for the Yorkie?

ANYA You never understood me, Xander.

21) There’s not a single thing that I don’t love about this whole exchange…

ANYA Hey, hands off the merchandise. Spike, you don't get to go there again.

SPIKE Please. I've already forgotten about our little time together.

NANCY I thought you were Xander's ex-girlfriend.

ANYA I am.

NANCY But you and Spike...

ANYA Had a thing.

SPIKE Didn't last.

NANCY But weren't you Buffy—

SPIKE Briefly.

BUFFY Never serious.

NANCY Is there anyone here that hasn't slept together?

22) I love Anya’s reaction when she realizes Spike got his soul back…

ANYA Oh, my God!

SPIKE What are you staring at?

ANYA Oh, my God!

SPIKE Right. Let's go.

ANYA How did you do it?

BUFFY Spike, what is she talking about?

ANYA I can see you.

SPIKE Nothing. Let's go. Got some worm hunting to do.

ANYA How did you do it?

SPIKE Shut up.

ANYA You shouldn't be allowed to.

SPIKE Shut your mouth!

ANYA I mean, how did you get it?

23) Anya vengeance make-up looks a lot different but in a good way.

24) So, we Spike fans can agree that this moment has given us all fantasies, right?

25) And he was clearly trying to piss her off so that she would take it out on him, right? I mean…

BUFFY You haven't changed, Spike.

SPIKE Working out some personal issues, are we? Hey, I guess this would be first contact since, uh, you know when. Ooh, up for another round up on the balcony, then? Right you are, luv. I haven't changed. Not a lick. And watching your face trying to figure me out was absolutely delicious.

It’s almost as if he saw what we see - the fact that Buffy wasn’t reacting properly to him showing up again. She should be angry, scared, repulsed, outraged. And yet here she was, patrolling by his side and saying she didn’t have any words for him. Spike said he wasn’t looking to atone, and I believe that. I think he was looking for punishment.

26) Why were Buffy and Spike running on the rooftops, though? Wtf

27) He was attacking a man who had been turned into a giant worm, which he was fully aware of, so how surprised could he be that he turned into the man again?

28) James Marsters really nails the breakdown, doesn’t he?

SPIKE Right. Wrong. All wrong. Wrong maneuver. Not hardly helpful.God, please help me. HELP ME!

BUFFY You're not the one who needs help. He's going into shock.

SPIKE No. No. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much...inside me all the way. (...) Deep, deep, deep inside me.

BUFFY Look, Spike, whatever you're doing—

SPIKE Get away. Get. Uhh—

BUFFY Do it somewhere else. I am through with this.

SPIKE Oh, oh, lucky girl. Call it quits. Now, there's an option. If only it were so easy. If only— If only— If only— What the hell are you screaming about? I can hear you. No need to SHOUT! I get it. The joke's on me. Lots of laughs. Yeah. Hey, bring the wife and kiddies. Come see the show 'cause it's going to be a circus. This... just the beginning, luv. A warm-up act. The real headliner's coming, and when that band hits the stage, all of this...  all this... will come tumbling in death and screaming, horror and bloodshed. From beneath you, it devours.

The circus references remind me of his part in Giles’s dream in Restless. 

29) I appreciate Xander supporting Anya and acknowledging what she did was courageous. Credit where credit’s due and all that.

XANDER You did the right thing here.

ANYA Tell him that.

XANDER You reversed the spell. It took guts. I know this is bad, but it could be worse.

ANYA Oh, it will be.

And Anya knows there will be consequences for her actions...

30) And then the scene… so beautiful and heartbreaking, so dark and twisted and sad…

SPIKE I tried to find it, of course.

BUFFY Find what?

SPIKE The spark. The missing... the piece that fit. That would make me fit. Because you didn't want... God, I can't... Not with you looking. I dreamed of killing you. I think they were dreams. So weak. Did you make me weak, thinking of you, holding myself, and spilling useless buckets of salt over your... ending? Angel—he should've warned me. He makes a good show of forgetting, but it's here, in me, all the time.

SPIKE The spark. I wanted to give you what you deserve, and I got it. They put the spark in me and now all it does is burn.

BUFFY Your soul.

SPIKE Bit worse for lack of use.

BUFFY You got your soul back. How?

SPIKE It's what you wanted, right?  It's what you wanted, right? And—and now everybody's in here, talking. Everything I did... everyone I— and him... and it... the other, the thing beneath—beneath you. It's here too. Everybody. They all just tell me go... go... to hell.

BUFFY Why? Why would you do that—

SPIKE Buffy, shame on you.  Why does a man do what he mustn't? For her. To be hers. To be the kind of man who would nev—  to be a kind of man. She shall look on him with forgiveness, and everybody will forgive and love. He will be loved. So everything's OK, right? Can—can we rest now? Buffy...can we rest?

I know this doesn’t make up for the fact that he attempted to rape her. Nothing would ever make up for that. And even if his intentions in going after the soul may have been rooted in selfishness, what stands out is the fact that he did it in an attempt to be the kind of man worthy of Buffy’s forgiveness - even if getting his wish meant he wouldn’t see himself in that way. 

[jennycalendar]

buffy/giles? jenny/cordelia? angel/cordelia? spike/anya? dawn/xander? willow/kennedy? kennedy/anya?? (i know i'm late to this game but i want to hear all your opinions)

buffy/giles:

oh, man. my take on this is a little different from most. starts out like i have a certain position, but prepare yourself.

buffy/giles is so divorced from canon! the story itself took so many steps to remove the possibility of buffy and giles ever becoming a romantic relationship -- the Six Inch Rule is often cited in a lot of b/g fics (yes i read them. i read everything.) and it's very very clear that the show has placed giles in a paternal role. a lot of the b/g ship arguments seem to suggest that giles doesn't actually want to be buffy's dad, but i think that omits the rest of that sentence -- giles doesn't want to be buffy's dad because he feels like a good dad would not be sending their kid out to die, and he believes that the ultimate act of paternal devotion is to Not Be Buffy's Dad. and buffy herself CLEARLY wants giles to be her dad! this is a point of contention between them!

i have read some b/g fic because i am always curious, and the bulk of the fic that i HAVE read just absolutely refuses to engage with the canon messaging, instead choosing to say "all of the rest of you are reading canon wrong, giles and buffy have never had a father/daughter connection, and there's always been romantic potential here." i find this incredibly boring. i think that any exploration of buffy/giles HAS to incorporate that, at one point, she saw him as her dad, and HAS to explore how those feelings changed + the weirdness/messiness of this entire dynamic in the first place.

i am not gonna be one of those people who pearl-clutches -- buffy/giles is a long-established part of this fandom and i do not think that it does us any favors to pretend that they didn't build so much of the incredible giles content/infrastructure that's out there! even if it's not my thing, i can respect it. but part of the reason it's not my thing is bc i do not see a lot of it that actually engages with canon. much of it intensely mischaracterizes buffy AND presents giles as the Perfect Man Who Is Perfect, which, again, soooo not interesting to me. write some weird shit where the daddy issues are addressed instead of shaken off and shoved into a closet! that is literally what fanfiction is for!!!

jenny/cordelia:

iiiiiii can't see it. they're way too similar. i've read a couple of fics where cordelia has a crush on jenny but honestly just cannot buy it. i think cordelia wants to BE jenny (cool confident assertive lady with a geek ass little boyfriend, is not bothered by what people will think of her for dating said geek ass little boyfriend) which is a little different.

angel/cordelia:

14 year old celia will never not be crying about them. neither will 22 year old celia. the most perfect thing to ever exist. they invented friends to lovers. i truly think there's nothing like them in the entire buffyverse -- the people that they start out as are so fundamentally incompatible, and then the people they grow into through heartbreak and supernatural situations become SO ENTWINED!!! i love the idea of a second, enduring love that you grow into -- something that is not fated. of all the couples in the buffyverse, they're the ones who are actually, canonically best friends who enjoy each other's company w/ the love stuff blooming FROM THAT, and that will never not kill me.

spike/anya:

hot in the short term/for a fwb situation, but i think they probably work best as friends. i don't really have anything to justify this position, Simply Vibes.

dawn/xander

i am totally ambivalent. i understand that it happened in the comics, but it's so hard to look at them and imagine it when he's such a big brother to her in canon! on principle, though, i respect the idea of the dynamic shifting as she gets older, because i love the narrative notion of relationships evolving and changing shape as time goes on -- i actually really love this one fic i read where she's obsessed with this idea of becoming a Cool College Student and wooing him with her new attractiveness, and it doesn't SEEM to work (she even brings it up to him and goes "haha wasn't this so funny and stupid of me to think it could happen?") but there's a suggestion that his perspective on her might be gradually changing.

willow/kennedy

people hate kennedy so much and that makes me love this more. out of spite. 1) this was so clearly not a long-term thing, and 2) this becomes so fun to watch if you look at kennedy as Baby Jenny & recognize the subsequent implications of this.

kennedy/anya

a recipe for disaster, i think. they both wanna be in charge and spoiled by their partner. they would get into SO MANY FIGHTS.

[buffster]

Something Blue (BTVS 4.09)

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.

I loved that Something Blue allowed us to sympathize with both sides of the Willow vs. Scoobies conflict. I’m annoyed when Willow snaps at everyone and interrupts Buffy and Riley’s date, which forces me to recognize truth when Willow says no one wants to deal with her heartbreak anymore. The episode was also really funny.

We discover in the first scene that Willow has been going to Oz’s place alone. She’s clinging to the relationship and fully expects him to return. This is also when Riley and Buffy really get going, which has to be a painful reminder for Willow. I had forgotten about Willow and Buffy’s conversation in the graveyard and in hindsight find it pretty sad. Some of Buffy’s issues with Riley were already present but she basically never dealt with them. I don’t believe the implosion of their relationship was all on Riley. I think he sensed some real issues but just handled it all wrong. 

Buffy: Riley seems so solid. Like he's not the type to give a girl grief.

Willow: Get out. Get out while there's still time.

Buffy: I know. I gotta get over the whole bad boy thing. There's no good there. Seeing Angel in L.A. - even for five minutes - hello to the pain.

Willow: The pain is not a friend.

Buffy: But then I can't help thinking, isn't that where the fire comes from? Can a nice, safe relationship be that intense? It's nuts, but part of me believes that real love and passion have to go hand in hand with lots of pain and fighting-

I’ve never gotten the bad boy thing. It’s all cool on television but in real life it’s dealing with a serial cheater at best and visiting a jail at worst. No, thanks. Anyway Buffy definitely has a thing with it which, if I wanted to get analytical, would say goes back to her father and her fear of healthy relationships. Riley could have been forever and committing to that is scary. But when you know Angel or Spike can’t last you don’t really have to commit or face your fears of ending up like your mother. I think Buffy has a lot of issues with Hank (made worse by her first relationship being a nightmare) that go unresolved. I’m not saying Riley and Buffy would have lasted forever, but I don’t think she ever really gave that idea a chance. 

Buffy: That's it. The invalid amnesiac routine is over. Kitchens closed 'til you tell me something useful about the commandos.

Spike: I'm trying to remember. It was very traumatic.

Buffy: How long are you going to pull this crap?

Spike: How long am I gonna live once I tell you?

Many people have wondered why Buffy didn’t stake Spike in season four and consider it a plot hole. I don’t doubt wanting to keep James Marsters around was a contributing factor, but I think we can also find signs Buffy had something for Spike in this episode. I don’t think it was love--just a weird sense of companionship mixed with physical attraction. They’d been rivals for so long they were practically pals (and his affection for Drusilla had always made him seem pathetic and more human to everyone). When they take him prisoner Giles is content to ignore Spike but Buffy sits by the side of the bathtub and teases him. They’re already developing that classic trope of the two people who fight so much you just figure they’ll eventually screw. Giles even notes that if they don’t kill each other soon he might lend a hand. 

Willow’s solution to the Spike problem is a truth spell. In season six her going straight for a magical solution would have raised eyebrows but now everyone thinks it’s brilliant. It was probably frustrating for Willow that her magical help abruptly became an issue. 

Giles: Willow may have had a helpful idea. She seems to be coping better with Oz' departure, don't you think?

Buffy: She's still got a way to go, but yeah -I think she's dealing.

Spike: What are you people, blind? She's hanging on by a thread. Any ninny can see that.

There’s an interesting irony in Spike being so good at reading people he doesn’t care about in the slightest. He’s proven right when Willow returns to Oz’s room and finds his things gone. She’s devastated and returns to moping around until she finally decides to get drunk. Xander and Buffy don’t approve. 

Xander: We’ve all got pain, Will--

Willow: Like what? Poor me, I live in a basement? Oh, yeah-that’s dire!

Buffy: I’m taking you home now.

Willow: I don’t want to--

Buffy: You’ll thank me when you still have a friend in the morning.

That made me so sad, especially given Xander’s usual attempts to cheer his friends up even when he’s feeling bad. It highlights a typical Xander issue--human problems tend to go unnoticed in all the supernatural chaos. Xander isn’t going to have a spell go awry and cause mass chaos when he’s upset so people just leave him to deal. 

Willow: Isn’t there some way I can make it go away? Just ‘cause I say so? Can’t I make it go poof?

This quote points us to a major underlying issue of Willow’s: she doesn’t like to fix things the hard right way. She loves magic because (aside from the power) it allows her to take short cuts. She doesn’t want to take the long, hard, and human path to healing and (later) forgiveness. This episode is one where you can really see Willow slowly going down the rabbit hole with magic and no one realizes what’s going on. 

Giles: A spell? I don't think it's wise for you to be doing that alone right now. Your energy is too unfocused. 

Willow: That's not true. I said I was off. Not incompetent.

Giles: I only meant that you're grieving, and it might be best if you took a break from doing spells without supervision.

Willow: So I get punished 'cause I'm in pain.

Giles misses the main things Willow is saying here: one, she does not like to be thought of as incompetent and two, she considers taking a break from magic a punishment. Willow craves approval and is already too reliant on magic. She is also deeply insecure and seeks to use magic to fix that (”if I had any real power I could have made Oz stay with me”). Buffy starts to tell her that she doesn’t want Oz to stay because she forced him but gets distracted. We avoided an important question--does Willow have a problem with enslaving Oz?

Buffy: One more word out of you and I swear--

Spike: Swear what? You're not going to do anything to me. You don't have the stones.

Buffy: Oh, I've got the stones. I've got a whole...bunch of stones.

Spike: I get this spell reversed, they'll be finding your body for weeks.

Buffy: Make a move. Please. I'm dying for good slay.

The sexual tension is pretty blatant in this scene. They’re leaning towards each other and you half expect them to kiss. Buffy is clearly attracted to Spike but too proud and disgusted to ever do anything with him (and that’s if she ever even admitted it to herself). 

We revisit the idea that our heroes are “doomed” when it comes to love. Willow calls Xander a demon magnet and causes him to literally attract demons because of her spell. Giles becomes blind, which was interesting because he does see things but often willfully ignores them. Buffy and Spike think they’re in love and getting married. 

Buffy: My wedding! I'm getting married! Can you believe it?

Riley: I don't think "no" is a strong enough word.

Possibly my favorite scene was when Riley runs into Buffy and believes she’s getting married. I laugh every time. She manages to save face when the spell is over by claiming she was teasing him over his panic when he saw her looking at wedding dresses. 

Xander: Something about Willow and her grief-y poor-me mood swings. So, so tired of it.

Anya: You mean I don't have to be nice to her anymore?

Buffy: We're all tired of it, but what's it have to do with what's going on?

I saw a post mentioning it’s pretty obvious Anya is autistic, which was like--lightbulb! I find her character annoying at times but one thing I identify with is her being a bit stumped by certain emotions and social appropriateness. Anyway, one big neon warning sign the Scoobies miss is Willow being offered vengeance demon status. Heartbreak is one thing, but being recognized as a possible force for never-ending vengeance is a whole other level that clearly points to some deeper issues. It doesn’t surprise me that Anya doesn’t think much of it; she probably thinks her similar capabilities are a normal way to feel. But the hatred and drive for that kind of thing isn’t something every human is capable of. After all, Cordelia was not given the offer after the Wishverse. But Willow turns down the offer and bakes everyone cookies and all is forgiven.

Other Best Quotes:

Buffy: Honey, we have to talk about invitations. Do you want to be "William the Bloody" or, like just "Spike"? 'Cause either way it's gonna look majorly weird.

Spike: Whereas the name "Buffy" gives it that touch of classic elegance.

Giles: Stop whatever you're doing. You smell like fruit roll-ups.

Spike: This is the crack team that foils my every plan? I am deeply shamed.

Character Notes:

Riley Finn: Buffy catches him helping hang a sign about the meeting of the UC Sunnydale Lesbian Alliance, telling us he’s a good, community-involved guy. He loves to cruise. 

Anya Jenkins: When she sees Willow is sad she says she’d burn Oz’s entrails if she still had her powers. Xander says that’s sweet. Anya is able to help when a demon attacks. She was turned 1120 years ago.

Amy Madison: Willow’s spell briefly turns her back into a human, but she’s back in rat form before anyone sees.

Buffy Summers: Buffy still doesn’t know how to drive. When under the spell she asks Giles to give her away at her wedding rather than her father and wants ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ for the first dance.

Rupert Giles: He’s touched Buffy wants him to give her away. Despite his reluctance when Willow was in high school Giles now depends on her help when it comes to magic.

[lemedy]

QUICK THOUGHTS ON THE FLASH 3.23: ‘IRIS WEST HAD BETTER NOT FUCKING DIE OR I QUIT EVERYTHING’

IRIS WEST DIDN’T DIE AND I DON’T HAVE TO QUIT ANYTHING

My heart at the way Joe immediately collapses in grief and shock before the big reveal.

Speaking of that reveal, the way that Tom Cavanagh who is very briefly playing as Iris (WORDS I NEVER THOUGHT I’D SAY), really nails the way she picks up the gun to shoot Savitar, realises immediately what’s happened, and is overcome with obvious horror and probable guilt. His quiet ‘oh no’ is very Iris and not HR – it’s a small thing, and it’s really fucking nicely done.

THE DRUMSTICKS. I KNOW IT’S MEANT TO BE SAD AND ALL, BUT I CRACKED UP. THE HIPSTER DRUMSTICKS REVEAL ALL.

I am again trying to think of something I care less about than HR and Tracey’s doomed romance. I am not coming up with much.

That being said, I am super on board with Anne Dudek sticking around because I have had a crush on her since her House days. Coincidence that my interest in House died when her character did? I think not.

Just assume at any point I am Joe and none of this time travel fuckery makes any sense. Just have the characters say ‘paradox’ a lot and there’s your scene.

So unpopular fandom opinion and all, but I’ve never really felt ‘the original Star Labs trio’ of Barry-Cisco-Caitlin. I know there are fans out there that really dig it and feel like that dynamic’s been missing since season one – but I’ve never gotten the same vibe from these three that I have, say, Buffy-Xander-Willow from BVTS. The problem has always been the Barry-Caitlin relationship, in that it’s kind of….well, it exists, and of course they care about each other. But it’s not a hugely strong connection, and I’d say that for Barry it goes Iris->Joe->Cisco->Wally->Caitlin in terms of other characters he cares about (obviously not including his parents).

My point being not to shit on the people who are into that ship, but to say that I do think the show has really sold Cisco and Caitlin’s relationship which is truly excellent, and I do fully believe that it’s by threatening Caitlin that Savitar could get Cisco to even consider helping him.

BARRY SAVING EVIL BARRY WITH THE POWER OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP. SOMEONE WAS CLEARLY A SAILOR MOON FAN.

Okay, but who is going to pander to my self-indulgent ass and write a POTO AU with Barry x Iris x Savitar

“HE STOLE MY FUTURE” Tracey, look, I’d love for you to stick around so this show can raise its number of main female characters to three, but sweetie. You knew HR for about two seconds. Sure, he was cute and funny and all, but I guarantee you after date five you would have been pretending to visit your grandmother for the next six months and throwing his drumsticks out the window. You’ll be fine. Date Caitlin instead.

There is seriously not enough Wally in this episode, and I am 99% sure Keiynan had some other shit going on because he has barely been in the last few episodes.

Also Keiynan is one of maybe five Australian actors on US television who didn’t start out as a baby actor on Neighbour or Home & Away. Truly he is exceptional.

“Because we are connected. Jackass”. I love Cindy.

It is good, correct and important that Cisco a) finally reached the Caitlin in Killer Frost b) let her make the choice about taking the cure and c) some of Caitlin came back and knocked Savitar flat on his ass because Cisco is her biggest connection and her best friend and no one is touching his pretty nerd ass with her around.

God, Caitlin’s so much more interesting this way. They finally made me really care about her. Took nearly three seasons, but we’re there.

Yeah okay, I’m done with the Power Rangers reject. Let’s just end it already.

Oh and hey, Dawson’s dad. Yay to see him again.

I was never sold on the Caitlin/Julian relationship, so I give little fucks about that apparently being over. Frankly he should be happy that he’s survived the season, given her track record. I’d like Draco to stick around, because I do really like his dynamic with the team, especially Cisco.

IN THE TRADITION OF KELLY TAYLOR, CAITLIN CHOOSES NEITHER BRANDON OR DYLAN AND CHOOSES HERSELF.

Christ, I am old.

Barry and Iris continue to be one of five heterosexual couples I give a fuck about. LET THEM BE HAPPY.

THREE SECONDS LATER: BARRY GOES TO SPEED FORCE HEAVEN.

GODDAMNIT SHOW, I LIVED THROUGH THIS SHIT ON BUFFY SEASON FIVE WHY DO I NEED TO DO THIS AGAIN.

DOES THIS MEAN CISCO’S GOING TO SACRIFICE A DEER NEXT SEASON TO BRING BARRY BACK.

I APPROVE OF NONE OF THIS.

Oh my god, Candice is killing me with this. Like it’s stupid as hell and comic booky and of course he’ll be back next season, but she is selling it so well.

LET BARRY AND IRIS BE HAPPY NEXT SEASON GODDAMNIT.

[aluwyn-blog]

would love to read why you hc buffy as a lesbian! i've always thought she's bi but now that you mention it it actually makes a lot of sense and i'd really like to hear your reasoning behind saying so in the first place!

BLESS this is going to be a little long i’m sorry in advance! first i just want to say this ofc isn’t canon and i’m definitely not saying no one can hc her as bi or pan or smth! it’s against the law to hc her as straight but we knew that.

point 1) most common thing i’ve seen against lesbian!buffy is that she’s dated / been in love / been attracted to men in the past, but there are plenty of lesbians who have had feelings for men in the past. it just means she only wants to be with women from this point forward. also like…compulsory heterosexuality

point 2) every single boy she dates is like lesbian.jpeg like FIRST we have angel right who is 200 years old, everyone else thinks he’s hot, very mysterious, and honestly doesn’t have much of a personality besides being mysterious, brooding, and good at fighting, especially in the beginning. that’s literally exactly the kind of man you would pretend to like as a lesbian like???? he has no personality when she first meets him!

next she dates like uhhh some high school boys but no one really cares about them lol i don’t even remember their names and Neither Does She.

third we have parker who took advantage of her and treated her like absolute shit like again that’s exactly the kind of guy a depressed lesbian might date!

then we have riley who. i’m sorry to riley fans but he truly is so boring and all soldiery and boring and has no personality and is boring he’s just angel but without the mysterious brooding? her whole entire arc with him was about how she couldn’t connect with him and let him know anything about her and love him like he loved her like asjfhgksjldfsjdgvhkdfgvlshdfvgusdkjf okay lesbian??? also he came off really just mean sometimes because he would be like “get over your depression” like obviously not in those words but that’s definitely what he meant.

next we have sp*ke who she canonically uses to self harm. she has depression, she hates herself, she just wants to feel something, so she begins a relationship with someone who treats her cruelly and disgusts her. you can very much tell she’s so uncomfortable even being around him and like. he’s straight up cruel to her he manipulates her into staying with him it’s just. not healthy and she’s very very clearly using him to self harm she’s #depressed

point 3) in the comics buffy sl**ps w*th xander but uh every girl who has dated xander is a lesbian so?? it’s just confirmation

point 4) even just her platonic relationships are an indication imo. as a lesbian she has really. gay relationships with women even if they’re not romantic! like she has deeper connections with them, talks to them more, trusts them more, truly loves them deeply, goes to her female friends for advice, etc. prioritizing women is a Clear Lesbian Sign

point 5) she SLEEPS with satsu TWICE she is CANONICALLY attracted to women and every indication in the comics that she isn’t is from her friends. like xander and willow and sp*ke all saying she isn’t gay, but she never actually says she isn’t. she’s already canonically a wlw lol

okay that’s it i hope everyone enjoys this! any hetero leaving some dumbass comment on here is gonna get Blocked so don’t even try it

[buffyverse-rewind]

Buffy S1 E2 – The Harvest

This episode should really just be called “Welcome to the Hellmouth Part 2”.  I’m pretty sure I never caught the original airing of the series premier, or if I did, it’s been too long to remember; so I double checked and both episodes did air the same night. So I’d assume they didn’t even bother breaking it up and aired it in one long format.  Not that really matters.

I love how this continues to the build on momentum and world building of the first episode; and since the two were delivered in some sort of contiguous narrative, the fact that this is technically the second episode is beside the point. The point is that when people sat down for their first venture into the Buffyverse, by the end of that first exposure, they knew the vast majority of the important facts for the story moving forward.  They didn’t get everything of course, but the important parts, the quintessential nature of the series is there within the first two hours. Meanwhile shows now spend the first five or six episodes still introducing new main characters; and doing whatever they can to run out the clock.

Whenever I watch this episode, it always stands out to me when Buffy and Xander are discussing vampire tactics and garlic gets mentioned; because it never actually comes into play through the rest of Buffy or Angel.  There might be one or two instances where someone drapes themselves in garlic or you see it hanging somewhere, but it’s usually an afterthought and playing more to the vampire genre convention; and as far as I recall, it’s never in the presence of any actual vampire.  You never see someone like Spike or Angel react to garlic, at all, much less negatively.  It seems like a missed opportunity.  How does it affect them?  Does it burn them for some reason, like holy water?  Do they not like the smell, on account of their heightened senses?  Can vampires talk to garlic and garlic is actually super offensive, even by vampire standards?  So many questions.

The thing that perhaps plays with my imagination most with this episode is, I think, the implication from what we see in “The Wish”.  We know in the alternate timeline where Buffy never came to Sunnydale that Xander and Willow got turned at some point between “Welcome to the Hellmouth” and “The Wish”.  I don’t believe we’re given an actual timeframe, but the assumption is that, without Buffy around, Xander and Willow probably got turned during the events of “The Harvest”, which isn’t entirely unreasonable; though there are some variables at play here. For one, Jesse, rather than Xander, was the one who was taken from the bronze at the end of the first episode; along with Willow, who we’re given the impression only really went with the guy (actually vampire) who was chatting her up, because Buffy’s word of encouragement. So would Willow have been targeted had she not decide to seize the moment just then; or did the vamp see her before and single because she was largely sitting alone?  The latter seems reasonable enough; and if Willow did in turn get turned, it’s plausible that even if Xander didn’t get nabbed at the Bronze, that Vamp-Willow would have sought him out to turn him.

The other puzzle I ponder is Cordelia in the Wishverse; because she leads a somewhat different life in the post Harvest/sans-Buffy timeline, but it kind of happens in a vacumm. Of all the “It’s a Wonderful Life”-esque looks at various characters’ lives during “The Wish,” we get virtually nothing about how Cordelia is different in this timeline, other than her friends hadn’t turned away from her for dating Xander and she didn’t become a social pariah.  Cordelia was admitted not all that deep at that time, and some of it is probably necessitated by the wish that got her there – after all, it was the prime timeline Cordelia and not the Wish Cordelia that we saw; so it stands to reason that she’d be impervious to any of the changes that other Cordy might have faced. But as it pertains to this episode, I think about how things were playing out between her and Jesse at the Bronze; and Cordelia would have been there during the Harvest whether Buffy was there or not, yet in the Wishverse she apparently survived.  So for one, it seems like at the very least she might have ended up a sacrifice to help release the Master; and quite possibly be turned by Jesse, if the Harvest hadn’t been interrupted.  Since the conceit is that she did survive and wasn’t turned, circumstances apparently still played out in her favor somehow.  But it does make me wonder, what would vamp-Cordelia Chase have been like?  Especially 16 year old vamp-Cordelia?  Another missed opportunity, I think.

It’s weird watching Cordelia and Harmony doing anything along the lines of computer programming, given how where we see either of them a few years later.  Obviously it was a high school class that they probably had to take and only paid enough attention to pass and then promptly forgot, but it’s still weird.

And Willow is stone cold with her “deliver” line. Don’t get me wrong, they pretty much deserve it, but she didn’t even have to think about how to get even with them. It’s still a little bit of a wonder how much of a leap she would make during this same timeframe in the Wishverse; where, unrepressed, she’d become vamp-Willow with so much ease.  I’ve often argued that this just goes to show that it wasn’t the magic or her personal development between season 1 and season 6 that allowed Willow to become “Dark-Willow,” that it was already there, somewhere just below the surface; and all of that quickly came out as vamp-Willow at just 16 or thereabouts.  

It’s truly a shame that this show never brings Jesse up again.  I know they originally wanted him to be Xander’s counterpart in “Conversations with Dead People,” which would have been awesome, but the actor wasn’t available.  I kind of think they could have recast him; it would have sucked, but if they thought using Cassie in place of Tara, which I think was kind of stupid, they could have used a different actor to play Jesse; maybe having him vamped and play it in low-light to add to the creepiness.  I mean, they wouldn’t have had to go full Faux-Crispin Glover, like they did in the Back to the Future sequels and try to pretend it really was the actor or try to fool the audience into thinking it wasn’t a replacement. Plus, because of that, that was became the first and only episode Xander wasn’t in the entire series; which, despite whatever might have been going behind the scenes with Nicholas Brandon, cutting the character out of an episode for the first time during the final season seems like a bad idea if it can be avoided.  I’ve often been curious how that might have effected the other stories, but each time I watch that episode now, the less I’m impressed with how it turned out; especially given how the rest of the season plays, but I’ll get to those gripes once I get to that episode.  

And for the record, I know Amber Benson didn’t want to come back and play someone who looks like Tara, who encourages Willow to kill herself, because she was concerned about how that might play with some fans; and I respect that and don’t disagree with her reason for not doing it.  I just think having a random character Willow never actually met before talk to her and try to convince her she was conveying a message from Tara was stupid; and there must have been a better way to do it.  Like they could have had it be Warren or something.  But once again, I digress…

You know, I don’t think I’ve thought about the Master’s arc in the normal timeline verses the Wishverse. The Master returned, presumably during the Harvest, since it would have gone uninterrupted, yet he clearly didn’t open the hellmouth in the Wishverse.  Instead he just seemed to cool his heels the next two years, eventually embarking on the factory plan.  Sure, he took over the Bronze and struck enough fear in the city to impose a curfew and other restrictions in direct response, but in contrast to his original plans to open the hellmouth and bring back the Old Ones, he must have encountered some appreciable level of resistance that forced him to temper his plans.

I have often envisioned that in the alternate timeline, there must have been a confrontation between the Master and the Mayor, who imagine were rivals going back to the founding of Sunnydale and the Master coming to Sunnydale to open the hellmouth. Wilkens probably wasn’t entirely opposed, per se, to wreaking havoc and bringing back demons, but probably wanted it to happen on his own timetable – specifically so he could become one.  But the Master wouldn’t give a damn or let mayor Wilkens stand in his way; and given how much power he had over the city in The Wish, it stands to reason he came out on top in any confrontation with Wilkens.  It’s also plausible Wilkens managed to strike some type of blow to the Master’s plans to open the hellmouth, that forced the Master to change his focus.

I gotta admit, as far as “demons as a metaphor for high school” goes, Buffy not being about to go out being “the end of the world” is pretty great.  Plus, Joyce.  I mean, come on, Joyce and Buffy must have one of the best mother/daughter dynamics, and it’s right from the start of the series.  And while she manages to overlook a lot of the questionable things going on in town (though arguably no more than anyone else in Sunnydale), the writers didn’t do what a lot of other shows do; they didn’t try to make her hip or edgy or try too hard to be Buffy’s best friend – she was her mom.  And from her perspective, not knowing the truth about what was happening, she had every right to be concerned when Buffy starts missing classes, again, and wants to go out on a school night, again; especially after what happened at her last school.

And for the audience’s part, being in on Buffy’s secret and what the stakes are (so to speak), we also understand Buffy’s angst.

Okay, I do not, nor have I ever truly understand how The Bronze worked.  I’ve never been somebody who goes to clubs or went to clubs in my youth, but I’m not sure what might be the closest comparison in my area that would be quite like it, in terms of having live music regularly, they definitely serve alcohol, yet people who are underage frequent it often and without issue or need for fake idea to enter.  Supposedly a minor has to wear a wristband, which we saw Dawn wear one time, but as far as I can tell, at no other time did any of the other characters when they were underage, where one at the Bronze.

And here we have the bouncer outside the door, telling Darla and her crew he needs to see id – I guess to wristband the underage people?  

How dumb does Luke have to be to forget that dawn is still hours away, if the sun only just went down a short while ago?

“The Earth is domed.” How great is Giles?

[kevoreally]

#BuffyAt20 - S03E04 “Beauty and the Beasts”

This is specifically is an episode I do not like, which I think is understandable. But it was trying to do something brave, and I respect that. Season 3, Episode 4, “Beauty and the Beasts.”

> Gonna be upfront: I don’t love this episode for a couple of different reasons. But at least it's not “Inca Mummy Girl.”

> Also worth noting: Hulu lists this episode as "The Beauty and the Beasts." Which. NO. Also: Beauty And The Beast was one of my favorite Disney Renaissance films. Okay. Now go.

> All of the “Call of the Wild” stuff felt very pertinent to my life at the time, because we were covering it in English then.

> Xander’s pants are way too red to be believed.

> “Aren’t we reading the Cliff’s Notes for this in English?” Psh, Xander, if you were a real slacker, you wouldn’t be reading anything at all. 😎

> That leather-bound edition of “Call” is intense. Clearly not school-issued.

> Xander’s arms look great in this scene. 😍

> “Half? Which half?” Does Xander think they went pantsless first?

> Xander immediately lying down after Willow leaves is supremely unfunny. Can’t you create conflict without making these demon-fighters behave irresponsibly?

> “Smooch spot.” Edgy lingo. Love it.

> Eliza’s still working through that Southie accent.

> Oh wow, I really love Buffy and Faith being WAY more friendly this episode.

> “All men are beasts, Buffy.” Classic.

> “I was hoping not to get that cynical until I was at least 40.” That’s only a year-plus away! WHAT! 😯

> Faith isn’t wrong, though. I mean, they’re not all JUST in it for the chase. But yeah. Men are messed up, yo.

> Gosh, it was such a pleasure to watch this show evolve live. This was such a different era of television production. Not to knock the one we’re in now, it’s great in a different way. But pre-streaming feels like a wild trip now.

> Ooh, there’s a really great shot of the awning opposite the courtyard fountain that we don’t normally see. It’s clearest in “Graduation Day” when the cavalry arrives. I do love this set.

> Unf, I had the biggest crush on John Patrick White as a kid. AJ’s Time Travelers. Tassel Guy from Can’t Hardly Wait. (He’s a lawyer now!)

> “He’s just bein’ Oz.” “Pretty much full-time.” Hero. 🤩

> “Are we up to flowers?” Hasn’t it been, like, one week? Barely longer, if at all? What is with these kids?

> “Jeff? He was - I knew him.” Seriously, Oz is so underrated, I can’t stop gushing about him. Couldn’t Willow still have been a lesbian even if we kept Oz?

> Xander is like a TGIF Sitcom Character on this horror dramedy sometimes. Like, he has no place here.

> “I rested my eyes now and then.” You LITERALLY CLIMBED ON THE TABLE and used Willow’s book AS A PILLOW, you LITTLE LIAR.

> “When I…” “WOKE UP??” I used to think Giles was a little too harsh here. Not 20 years later.

> I don’t see how they could’ve ever thought it was Oz, though. He went out, had a snack, and came back to his cage? Unlikely.

> It’s Mr. Moseby!! I’ve always loved this actor. Especially as Chandler’s boss on Friends. (And now he won’t stop saying the word “friends,” haha.)

> This guy would’ve been a great recurring character for Buffy to interact with. Way better than a murder victim.

> “Everybody has demons, right?” “Gotta say, I’m with you on that.” Oh, okay. 🤭

> Like, I get the metaphor they were always going for with Angel, him “changing” and all that, but he literally did lose his actual soul.

> “Oz ate someone last night.” Welcome to Cordelia Shouldn’t Speak Theater. Never been more grateful for Lydia Martin.

> This shot of the Scooby Gang sitting on the Library steps was used in a lot of promo stuff.

> “What, you’re having a Slayer watch me? Oh, good, we’re not overreacting.” Dude, I know you’re upset, but they literally just said she’s the only person available.

> “Get away from me.” Oz, you’re being such a dramatic little pupper.

> I love the implication that Angel has been running naked and feral around the woods for as long as Buffy has been dating Scott.

> OH, HE FOUND PANTS, DID HE? 🤣🤣🤣

> Is Willow examining a maued corpse when she’s probably not yet 18 funny or horrifying? Maybe both. They are all portrayed as horrified. So there’s that.

> “Let me just get a few stray hairs from the body, they could be from the attacker.” And - what will you do with them, Willow?

> Haaa, I love Buffy tossing Drusilla’s dolls aside.

> The giant ash outline of Angel on the floor is deeply silly.

> I mean, it’s kind of irresponsible that Faith was listening to music so loud that Buffy snuck up on her. But. I also get wanting to drown out the wolf? And she did react very quickly, so, she was fine.

> Buffy romanticized the idea of staying up all night for me.

> Buffy ALSO FELL ASLEEP on watch, but no one is screaming at her, just saying. Sidenote: why isn’t Giles pulling more shifts as the adult? (Reasonably also the only one with a job.)

> Pretending she dreamt Angel came back was a pretty clever way to talk about it, what with her prophetic dreams and all.

> “There’s no record of anyone returning from a demon dimension” - that feels like a lie, we just saw Buffy do it for one thing.

> "In my experience, there are two types of monster. The first can be redeemed or, more importantly, wants to be redeemed." "And the second type?" "The second is void of humanity. Cannot respond to reason... or love."

> Willow, if you were actively awake, why wouldn’t you come help keep watch? These kids, I swear…

> There’s a recurring musical motif in this episode that will later be used in “Amends,” FYI, and I am loving it.

> Omigod, I know this is bad to say because of the episode’s plot, but Scott’s friends are kind of terrible. Debbie is rude and Pete makes an ugly gay joke. Forget these kids.

> “Actually, I think he makes his own drums.” Heh.

> Scott is a weirdly sweet and attentive boyfriend. Buffy actually does sort of push him away. (I know, who am I to talk? 🤣🤭)

> “Check out Scotty, liking the manic-depressive chick.” Were we EVER supposed to root for Pete??

> WHOA, Angel lashing out at Buffy actually did jump-scare me, lol.

> “So you’ll be late but happy.” I really doubt whatever you’re delaying this girl for would be satisfying, Pete, even if it wasn’t hardcore abuse.

> So, Pete kept his Jekyll-and-Hyde serum in a janitor’s closet? What?

> This scene where Buffy goes to Platt is really beautifully acted but, like. What did Buffy think this man could do for her? And then he’s dead. Sigh.

> “You know how you get.” These kids sort of talk like they’re in the 50s.

> Ugh, this scene is so uncomfortable, because you could lift out the supernatural stuff and it could still play 100% the same on a regular drama. Like, too real.

> We weren’t ever supposed to feel like Pete was a good guy and that this was something being done to him, right? Like, he’s 0% victim.  

> Fun fact that I just learned: thanks to Daylight Savings, the only time of year when sunset can really be at 5:30pm is end of January / beginning of February.

> “They used to mess around.” “They were screwing?” “...I don’t think so.” Faith was too real for these kids.

> As the Scoobs dole out assignments, I find myself wondering, where are Xander and Cordelia? And I go on to wonder, if it’s maybe best that they aren’t around. Sigh.

> Buffy is way too aggressive on an abuse victim. It’s pretty fair for Willow to say they “broke her.” Kind of insensitive language tho, lol.

> This episode had a special message attached to it, right? It must have.

> I love how completely unconcerned Oz is for his safety when it comes to Pete. He knows his wolf can easily take this dude, even when he transforms.

> “Did you kiss that whore? Did she like it?” Goodness gracious.

> “Time’s up, rules change” is a little dramatic but whatever. Seth Green sells it.

> “Oh, right, bloody priceless.” Classic Giles.

> Buffy just wailing on this aggro abusive boyfriend is hella cathartic atm.

> I think Willow and Faith have better potential as friends than Willow and Cordelia, seriously.

> Okay, I try to support Buffy’s fashion decisions, but sometimes - like when she’s jumping from a roof - the heels are a little bit not great.

> I do not love that Angel is the one to get Pete. Like, on a couple of levels? I get that it couldn’t have been Buffy. But Pete had to die if Debbie did. Ugh. Just an awkward episode.

> This vampire-to-human transition shot of Angel got used in a lot of stuff.

> Hmm. I’m going to be doing some deep examining of how I feel about the Buffy/Angel relationship this year, I think.

> Someone thought it only took two eight iced cafe mochas to make Pete a murderer? That’s some strange understanding of caffeine.

> This is a lot of expo-logue (exposition dialogue) to cap off the episode.

> “Great, now I’m going to be stuck with serious thoughts all day.” Cordelia is literally Amber from Clueless. That’s such a weird archetype to include in this show, and make such a major character. And then pivot into what she becomes on Angel! Oy.

> Dude, poor Scott Hope. I’m pretty hard on him most of the time, but his friends’ deaths would’ve hella messed him up, no wonder he dumped his super-secretive girlfriend. (But he spread rumors about her so Faith doing that about him is fair game.)

> There’s a lot less “Call of the Wild” in this episode than I remember there being 20 years ago, lol.

> Okay, parts of that weren’t as bad as I usually remember. It’s definitely very real, which makes a lot of sense from the co-creator of #Unreal. Marti Noxon does not shy away from hard topics. Respect.

One more left!

[msredo]

“I could kiss you! I could. I mean, I’d like to. I. May I? We me? I mean, may we? Wait, what?” (Smile.) “We may.” Hell yes. Ask before you kiss someone. (Or touch them, or dance with them, or hug them.) It’s a frustratingly common trope in pop culture that impulsively grabbing someone and kissing them is romantic, a sign of true love and passion. But it’s a lousy model for consent, especially with someone you’ve never kissed before.

“ 5 Amazing Love Scenes Where Pop Culture Got Consent Exactly Right ”, Everyday Feminism, by Greta Christina  

5 Amazing Love Scenes Where Pop Culture Got Consent Exactly Right

October 22, 2016 by Greta Christina

Originally published on AlterNet and republished here with the author’s permission.

Pop culture often promotes some lousy ideas about consent.

Persistence and not taking no for an answer are portrayed as romantic. Rape and sexual assault are excused because the victim “wanted it.” Lying and manipulating people into bed, and having sex with people too drunk to consent, are offered as light, prime-time humor. Rape victims stay friends and lovers with their rapists, with rape being trivialized and even denied.

But pop culture does have its moments. Whether it’s because the creators were thinking consciously about consent or simply had good values, here are five times pop culture got consent right.

(Spoilers for Steven Universe, Thelma and Louise, Frozen, The Philadelphia Story, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.)

1. Steven and Connie, Steven Universe

In “Alone Together,” Steven and Connie fuse (a magical process where two beings fuse into one, usually temporarily). And when they fuse into Stevonnie, they do something rarely seen in pop culture.

They don’t just check in at the beginning of their encounter. They continue to check in.

The fusion is a surprise to them both – to everyone, in fact, since nobody had imagined it would be physically possible. It’s both fun and scary, exciting and disconcerting. And after they’ve been playing with their new body for a while (running, swimming, and eating doughnuts – yeah, that sounds about right), they touch base: “Are you okay? We can stop if you… No. Don’t worry.”

When it starts getting seriously uncomfortable, they check in again, talk through how they’re feeling, and when a stranger intrudes on them and things get even scarier, they break off the fusion. It’s an amazing example of ongoing, active consent.

Too often, our culture assumes that when you’ve consented to something once, you’ve consented to it forever. But that’s crap. It’s always important to get clear consent, and we always have the right to say no, to people we’ve said yes to before, to experiences we’ve said yes to before, at any time.

We have the right to change our minds, and to stop doing things we aren’t enjoying.

And with new partners, new experiences, or both, it’s a really good idea to periodically check in and make sure everyone’s still happy.

Steven and Connie – Stevonnie – clearly followed the advice of Garnet, Steven’s mentor and mother figure, when she finds out they’ve fused: “You are an experience. Make sure you’re a good experience.”

2. Thelma and JD, Thelma and Louise

There’s a moment in Thelma and Louise, when Thelma and JD (Geena Davis and Brad Pitt) are starting to have sex. They’ve been having a grand time together in her motel room, giggling and romping, horsing around and making out.

But when he moves things forward, gently sliding her onto her back and kissing her belly, Thelma suddenly stops and says, “Wait. Wait.” And JD immediately takes his mouth off her, takes his hands off her, backs away from her, and waits. He says nothing, does nothing, until she reaches out to him to show she’s ready to start again.

It’s one of the hottest, sexiest moments in the history of pop culture sex. It’s a moment that lets her know she can go ahead with the wild romping, because nothing will happen that she doesn’t want.

Being careful about getting consent is often seen as an unsexy buzzkill. It’s a baffling idea for a lot of reasons, including all the ways that clear consent makes sex better. It makes people feel more open, more relaxed, more trusting, more comfortable in their skin, more willing to try freaky new things. That’s not the most important reason for it, of course – not raping people is the most important reason – but it’s one reason, and it’s real.

3. Anna and Kristoff, Frozen

“I could kiss you! I could. I mean, I’d like to. I. May I? We me? I mean, may we? Wait, what?” (Smile.) “We may.”

Hell yes. Ask before you kiss someone. (Or touch them, or dance with them, or hug them.) It’s a frustratingly common trope in pop culture that impulsively grabbing someone and kissing them is romantic, a sign of true love and passion. But it’s a lousy model for consent, especially with someone you’ve never kissed before.

If you know someone well and have kissed them a lot, you can probably read their body language pretty well, but if you just grab someone you’ve never kissed before, you’re not giving them room to say “No,” or “Maybe,” or “Not now but maybe later,” or “Can I think about it?” You’re forcing them into a position where they have to decide right that second, while your lips are on their body.

If you’re thinking that asking first is awkward, unsexy, clinical, or unromantic, ask yourself, why is that?

Why does our culture think it’s weird to talk about physical intimacy and make sure it’s consented to? Why is it seen as graceful, sexy, passionate, and romantic to grab someone and kiss them when you aren’t sure they’d like it?

Asking before a kiss can be sweet, intense, and a great way to show that you care about the other person’s pleasure. This kiss in Frozen is a beautiful example.

4. Oz and Willow, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

There are lots of things to like about Oz and Willow’s sexual courtship. It’s moved forward by both of them, with each initiating intimacy at different times. It breaks with gender stereotypes by having Willow be the one who’s generally more eager for kissing and sex, and Oz being the one who wants to take things slow.

But one of the best things about their courtship is that it’s so verbal. When Willow makes her first pass at him (in “Innocence”), she says, “Do you want to make out with me? They have a conversation about how he’s interested, but doesn’t want to just yet.

When she wants to let him know she’s ready and eager for sex (“Amends”), she uses non-verbal cues, but they also talk about it: He lets her know he’s interested, but isn’t ready, and while she’s disappointed, she respects his decision. They even have a hilarious meta-conversation (in “Surprise”) before they start dating, in which they discuss the fact that he’s going to ask her out.

Their relationship does look different when you know that Willow is a lesbian (or possibly bisexual). Their breakup is a disaster, of course. And Oz does lose a few points for his one use of the Impulsive Grab-and-Kiss in Graduation Day, Part 1 (see #3 above).

But even then, they talk (briefly) about what they’re doing before they move forward. And they’d been dating for a while at that point, and she’d made her interest in him clear, so it’s not unreasonable to think he was able to read her body language. Their courtship isn’t perfect, but I’m going to give it a solid eight points out of ten.

5. Tracy and Mike, The Philadelphia Story

Even in 1940, some movie writers were getting it right.

In this classic romantic comedy, Tracy (Katharine Hepburn) is confused and uncertain about her impending wedding to George, and gets very drunk with Mike (Jimmy Stewart). They go for a nighttime swim, kiss twice, and he puts her to bed and leaves her there. Alone.

Afterward, when Tracy asks him why nothing happened between them (“Why? Was I so unattractive, so distant, so forbidding?”)

He replies, “You were extremely attractive, and as for distant and forbidding, on the contrary. But you also were a little the worse – or the better – for wine, and there are rules about that.”

Even in 1940, people knew that. You don’t have sex with people who are so drunk that their judgment is seriously impaired. You certainly don’t have sex with people who are barely conscious. It’s sad that more than 75 years later, this should still be controversial.

I’m not going to call this heroic. Not being a rapist isn’t heroic; it’s a baseline for decent behavior. But it is a good model of consent.

And importantly, Mike doesn’t shame Tracy for getting drunk, or for getting wild and loose. He describes their escapade as one “which I thoroughly enjoyed, and the memory of which I wouldn’t part with for anything.”

Dishonorable Mention: Xander, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

When good models of pop culture consent are discussed, Xander Harris’ name often comes up. After all, in the “Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered” episode, when Buffy is under a love spell and comes on to him, he refuses her, even though he’s had an intense, unrequited crush on her for some time.

But this overlooks two things. One: The entire reason Buffy was supernaturally hot for Xander was that he’s the one who did the love spell, a spell on Cordelia that misfired. Casting a love spell – forcing someone to desire you against their wishes – isn’t exactly a model of great consent.

Casting a love spell, and then refusing the sex that’s offered as a result, is like putting roofies in someone’s drink and then changing your mind at the last minute. In this case, it’s like putting roofies in someone’s drink and then changing your mind because the wrong person drank it.

The other problem is that Xander’s entire attitude toward Buffy, for years, was one ofentitlement.

When Buffy rejected him, he reacted by getting hostile and sex-shaming her about Angel, the guy she really likes. Long after Buffy rejected him, he continued to hit on her and sex-shame her about sleeping with Angel.

He held a grudge for years against Angel, and even neglected to give Buffy crucial information that might have helped her save his life. And he complained for years about how Buffy only liked bad boys instead of nice guys like him, and took it upon himself more than once to critique her choices in men.

He’s a classic nice guy – a guy who thinks he’s nice and therefore deserves sexual attention from women. So no consent cookies for Xander Harris.

***

You may have noticed that in some of these examples, the encounter ends with no encounter. No sex, no kiss. Being careful about consent sometimes means not having sex you might otherwise have had. Think for a moment about what that implies. When you’re not careful about consent, you’re taking a real chance that some of the sex you’re having isn’t consensual.

I’m going to assume that nobody reading this wants that. If that’s true, a good way to start is to pay attention to what your culture has taught you about consent and think about which messages you want to burn in a fire, and which ones you want to embrace.

Greta Christina’s most recent book is The Way of the Heathen: Practicing Atheism in Everyday Life. She blogs at The Orbit.