#therefore i love kendra

[thepunkmuppet]

thinking about an alternate season 7 wherein instead of every potential slayer being hunted and then activated, every past slayer gets brought back to life. I don’t really like post-chosen content anyway, but when I do read / look at it the whole slayer academy, everyone’s a slayer thing is really stupid to me ngl 💀

previous slayers, though… nikki wood and xin rong interacting with spike, actually finding out about the slayer before buffy, slayers with different backgrounds and situations and personalities, KENDRA?! I just love it so much.

you’d be able to focus on a relatively small cast of slayers, much like the potentials, throughout the season. this would include buffy, faith, kendra, nikki, and some other american slayers from varying time periods with a couple interesting international characters too (maybe a slayer from ancient greece / rome / egypt, or an anglo-saxon one or something). these are all experienced slayers, so no need to focus on training - it would be more about lore, history and their personal character journeys, assimilating them into society (creating some fun bottle episodes, maybe a day out on the town with dawn and a historical slayer) and trying to figure out why they were all brought back. also, if you want to keep the first as the main villain, then it can look like any one of them because they’re all technically dead, which means you can still have that episode with the dead potential revealing herself as the first and all the mistrust that’s threaded throughout the season.

plus with nikki back, there would be no need for the stupid sleeper agent thing with spike or the ridiculous fight between him and robin. all the same ideas (and the flashbacks to spike’s mum) could still be explored, and in a way better way imo.

I reckon the reason they were brought back would probably be the powers that be (tying nicely into angel ofc) trying to defeat the first. and of course the ending would be this huge battle, as all the slayers from around the world come to sunnydale, and maybe to add some drama they would all disappear and die again when the battle’s done as they have fulfilled their purpose (a classic finale knife to the heart that would have everyone sobbing, especially over nikki and kendra).

there’s also the added thing of like,, I appreciate the show was leaning towards a theme of “hope for the future” with the potentials angle, but literally every other aspect of the season is about harkening back to the past. faith, robin, the first taking the form of previous characters, the high school, the slayer origins, etc etc. so I just think this idea would work so much better with the themes of the season, and tie in really nicely.

and the most obvious perk of this concept is kendra! she was forgotten about so quickly, and this season would really give the writers a chance to redeem themselves for the terrible way poc characters have been treated throughout the show (ignoring what they did to robin. FUCK that but that’s another conversation). I think the show really downplayed how much kendra’s death would have affected buffy, and seeing the two of them interact after buffy has changed so much and kendra’s still the same would be amazing. there’s also the interesting concept that, having been brought back from the dead, kendra still be 17, and therefore closer in age to dawn than to buffy, which could make for some really nice interactions between the two of them. also of course the biggest most exciting thing is having buffy, faith and kendra all interact. they all represent places on a spectrum in terms of personality, and I would LOVE to see kendra and faith interact and how much of a unit they would likely become as a trio.

there’s also the theme of buffy feeling (and being) alone in this season that would hopefully go away, as she would now have dozens of people who truly understand her, giving her a proper support system which I would love to see (season 7 scoobies can actually eat shit btw <3)

so. was this born out of my hatred for insufferable kennedy and the annoying potentials? yes absolutely. do I now want them to rewrite and re-film the entire last season 20 years later? yes absolutely I’m so glad you understand

side note wouldn’t it be sick if in the final battle there’s just this one slo-mo shot where buffy stakes a vamp and through the dust she sees the first slayer looking at her from across the battlefield before she disappears amongst the fight. WHAT it would literally be awesome hello?!

also also other side note sorry but Mother(TM) nikki wood would NEVER kick buffy out of her own house. fuck them kids fr

[naisaspalace]

Vedic Astrology 101 p2

Basic explanation of the houses, rulership and signification and how to read the chart (or interpret it on a basic level).

Introduction:

after explaining a little of the signs and the planets now i will attempt to introduce the houses, the rulerships and their respective significators.

i will bring the nakshatras in the next part.

click here for part one, if you wish to read it :).

The chart:

The Vedic / sideral chart has a different form of layout and from now on we will have two "designs", one is the northern form (the left side) and the southern form (the right side)

The Northern format uses triangles, the kendras (1,4,7,10) are in the middle. the difference is that the houses are fixed but not the sign

and on the southern side, the chart houses are not fixed but the signs are fixed. (picture below).

there is no "right" chart format to choose from, you can use which one is easier for you to understand, I myself use the northern chart and I will be using them for further explanations if I find them necessary but on a solid basic level, those are the charts formats.

and you can see the chart, as a circle if you wish, by using other websites like astro or astroseek which showcase the charts using a circle format independent of the system you choose to use.

The houses

classifications:

The Kendras (or Quadrants): Houses I, 4, 7 and I 0. These are highly significant houses. The Panapharas (or Successant Houses): Houses 2, 5, 8 and II. The Apoklimas (or Cadent Houses): Houses 3, 6, 9 and 12. The Trikonas (or Trines): Houses I, 5 and 9. These are highly auspicious and, along with the Kendras, determine the health, wealth, status, dignity, rise and virtue of a native. The lagna, being both a kendra and a trikona, is the most significant of all houses. The Upachayas: Houses 3, 6, 10 and II. These houses indicate struggle, competition and material achievement. The Trika Houses: Houses 6, 8 and 12. These are considered bad houses (Duhsthanas). They indicate debt, disease, loss and misery. The Ayu-sthanas (or houses of longevity) : Houses 8 and 3 (8th from the 8th). They indicate the length of life and, therefore, also the death. The Maraka-sthanas (or killer houses): Houses 2 and 7. The two halves of a horoscope: (a) Houses I to 7 indicate the invisible half and houses 7 to I indicate the visible half of the horoscope. (b) Houses 10 to 4 indicate the eastern half and houses 4 to 10 indicate the western half of the horoscope.

first house or the lagna (ascendant).

represents your body's health and appearance, character, and strength (psychical).

ruled by mars ,house of, aries, sun is the significator of the first house as it also signifies the self and the house where the sun exalts.

the second: money earned and material goods as well as the face appearance and the voice and throat.

ruled by venus, house of taurus, jupiter is the significator because is related to accumulated wealth, financial assets and speech.

the third: nervous system, siblings, short trips, communication style

ruled by mercury, house of gemini, mars is the significator because the third house is related to courage and mental ability.

the fourth: mother, emotions, family, home, origins, heredity, and ancestry.

ruled by the moon, house of cancer, moon is the significator

the fifth: love matters, pleasure, leisure, children, ego, artistic skills and intelligence.

ruled by the sun, house of leo, Jupiter again because the fifth house is related to children, education, intelligence, entertainment, cinema and drama.

the sixth: everyday life, daily work and colleagues, co-workers,health, and house of open enemies.

ruled by mercury, house of virgo, significator of the 6th House are Mars and Saturn because the sixth house is related to diseases, enemies & litigations.

the seventh: unions, marriage, other people, associations, and contracts.

ruled by venus, house of libra, venus is the significator.

the eighth: debts and crises, transformations, death, financial investments, and sexuality.

ruled by mars, house of scorpio, is Saturn because the eight house is related to longevity, joint assets of husband and wife, inlaws and their family, death and rebirth, fall and rise, occult sciences, dark knowledge, hidden things and secret affairs.

the ninth: travels, abstract and higher concepts, spirituality, and foreign matters.

ruled by jupiter, house of Sagittarius, the significators are Sun and Jupiter because the ninth house is related to long distance travels, higher education, gurus and luck in life.

the tenth: social success, professional destiny, karma, and reputation.

ruled by saturn, house of capricorn, the significator is Jupiter because the eleventh house is related to gains, profits from all sources, professional networks, friends and family wealth.

the eleventh: friends, social networks, ongs, earned gains.

ruled by saturn, house of aquarius, the significators are and the twelfth: enemies, difficulties, solitude, hidden ordeals, secrets, dissolution, subconscious, spirit guides and imagination.

ruled by jupiter, house of pisces, the significators are Saturn and Jupiter because the 12th house is related to jails, hospitals, asylums, spirituality, spiritual donations, foreign lands, imagination and the subconscious mind.

obs1: the lord of the lagna is called the lagnesh

obs2: rahu and ketu rule no house, but that depends on the author/teacher because rahu co-rules aquarius so he to some people also rules the 11th, and the same for ketu who co-rules scorpio (8th).

The end (please read)

just like the first part this was short as well, because this website has a character limiter but, i hoped i explained well enough and helped someone to understand the basics of the houses better.

for the next parts i will tell about the nakshatras and will bring charts to teach how to read on a basic level. thank you for reading <3

readings are open. click here for contact info. and please leave feedback and suggestions of posts if you desire too.

[timeagainreviews]

A Foot in Two Worlds: 73 Yards

My third-grade lunch buddy was a girl named Kendra. We used to love chatting about movies and television. My favourite topic was Batman. Hers was Full House. However, one morning, instead of gushing over Stephanie Tanner, she told me about a movie she and her brother had watched over the weekend. The movie was 1989’s “Clownhouse,” and she was a bit traumatised by it. And because of her vivid description, so was I. Honestly, I don’t remember anything past her saying “It’s about these kids who see clowns watching them through their windows,” because I never stopped thinking about that sentence, for years. While I’ve still never actually seen Clownhouse, nor do I experience coulrophobia, the idea of being watched from a distance still creeps me out. I still close the blinds at night.

Initially, I wanted to compare “73 Yards,” to something like “It Follows,” or even “The Immortal Snail.” Both scenarios entail being tracked by a slow but relentless pursuer who kills you if it ever catches up to you. But “73 Yards,” isn’t so much a story about being pursued. It’s about feeling watched. It’s about feeling judged. It’s about feeling abandoned. It preys on our fear of being the subject of gossip. That people could spread lies about us that scare away our loved ones. The fear that maybe they’re right. Maybe we don’t deserve love. It’s about the ambiguity that sits within our hearts. The liminal threshold between us at our best and us at our worst. But it’s not just about the wicked and the divine, but also body and spirit. A foot in both worlds.

Doctor Who currently has a foot in both worlds. The Doctor steps on a science fictiony land mine one week, and the next week he’s stepping on fairy circles. A recurring theme in this new season is “look before you leap.” Or ‘watch your step.” Ruby steps on a butterfly in the past and changes species. The Doctor steps on a land mine and almost dies. And now, the Doctor steps on a fairy circle and disappears. The Doctor is learning to have a healthy respect for the new supernatural powers coursing through the Whoniverse. At least he would if he remembered anything from this adventure. Not even Ruby will learn a lesson here, so was it worth it?

After last week’s “Boom,” I was game for whatever Russell T Davies had in store for the future. The trailer for “73 Yards,” gave us very little to go on, and in hindsight, it’s pretty easy to see why. This was a Doctor-lite episode and therefore not a lot of footage to share that wouldn’t also spoil this being a Ruby-centric story. But I was ready for it. Ruby has been suffering a bit from underdevelopment as a character. I even saw a Chibnall stan on Twitter saying so, which is quite extreme when you consider how underdeveloped Yaz was. In Ruby’s case, however, it’s hard to pinpoint what it is about her that’s underdeveloped. She’s got a great family dynamic. She’s nurturing. She plays in a band. But who is she? Like River Song before her, her character arc is starting to affect her character development. And my interest is waning.

After the Doctor steps onto the fairy circle and disappears, Ruby unsuccessfully tries the TARDIS doors. She then checks around the other side to see if he’s having a pee. This may be the first time the show has canonically mentioned the Doctor goes to the bathroom. It’s funny to think of the great Time Lord having a slash off the edge of a cliff. The Doctor seems to do a lot of important things on cliff edges these days. Failing to find the Doctor, it’s then that Ruby notices a strange old woman standing under a creepy old tree from 73 yards away making some sort of hand gestures. However, the closer she walks toward the woman, the further she appears away.

The mechanism of how the woman moves is hidden by editing, but it feels like something Ruby would notice quickly. I don’t imagine Ruby walking closer would cause the woman to start backing up physically like that Community episode where Professor Duncan got a restraining order on Chang and used it like he had force powers. Instead, they cut back to the woman and she’s simply further away. Ruby is conveniently looking for footing every time, so she fails to see this. But if you started walking toward someone and they started hovering backwards, wouldn’t you find that weird? It’s not like she doesn’t sense something weird pretty early on. She even asks the woman if the Doctor’s disappearance has anything to do with her. She even asks the hiker (yet another character played by Susan Twist) if she can see the old woman.

Something I found interesting about the Susan Twist scene was that whoever her character is, she’s not immune to the effects of the old woman. Either that, or she’s lying. Either way, it feels important that we were shown her having the same reaction to the woman as everyone else. If she’s a magical trickster, she’s not an invincible one, or maybe she’s not magical at all. We’ve learned very little about Susan Twist’s character(s), but this indicates that she’s not fully in charge of the situation if she can be scared off like that. What’s frustrating is that the first time a character looks at her and says “Hey don’t I know you from somewhere?” it’s in an aborted timeline. I would have expected the Doctor to have made the connection after the ambulance screens in “Boom,” matched the woman from Space Babies, but maybe he’s been distracted by clothes.

By this point in the episode, I’ve been fully drawn in. Ruby finds her way to the small village of Glyngatwg and a pub called “Y Pren Marw,” which translates to “The Dead Wood.” I thought this might have been a reference to the weird tree on the cliff, but the illustration on the pub sign looked more like an oak tree, so I doubt it. Another name they could have used for the pub could have been “The Gaslight Inn,” because man oh man did they gaslight the hell out of Ruby. They keep accusing her of thinking they’re yokels for asking pretty innocuous questions. Asking if you can pay with your phone is perfectly reasonable. There’s a chippy in my village that does the best fish n chips in the area, but I never use them because they haven’t got a card machine and I don’t carry cash. I don’t imagine the owner of the chippy goes home every night in his Fred Flintstone car because of it. Maybe they’re worried they really are yokels. Either way, five quid for a Coke and abusive staff? What’s their Trip Advisor score? Negative six?

The only non-yokel in the pub is Enid and that’s solely because she’s played by Siân Phillips, who could never be mistaken for common. She was easily the highlight of the episode for me, sitting elegantly at the bar in her fashionable hat. Of all of the patrons at the bar, she’s the one I believe would coin the Latin phrase “semper distans,” to describe the way the old woman follows but never approaches. If only she could have taught Isaac Newton the word “gravitas.” Beyond being incredibly rude, I rather enjoyed the patrons of Y Pren Marw. They reminded me of characters you would have found in classic Doctor Who. The pub scenes reminded me a lot of “The Dæmons,” or “Terror of the Zygons.” But more than anything, this episode reminded me of “The Stones of Blood,” wherein things start like folk horror and end in a more mundane setting.

After Ruby’s unwanted follower scares away one of the pub’s most faithful patrons, she’s forced to head back to London, which is about where the episode starts to lose steam. Up until that moment, I was expecting a sort of witch coven or worse to spring up in the sleepy village of Glyngatwg. I was ready to call it RTD’s best ever. But now we’re back in London where the biggest mystery is Mrs Flood, and she’s really only there to remind us she exists. But that’s not to say a piece of Glyngatwg didn’t leave with Ruby, and it’s not to say I disliked the story’s ending. But there was a noticeable drop in excitement the moment Ruby boarded that train.

I found it odd that Carla and Cherry were badmouthing the Doctor in his absence. Cherry was ready to jump his bones the last time they spoke and now he’s good for nothing. I get that they want to support Ruby, but like, what if he’s hurt somewhere? All I’m saying is that if I ever go missing, please don’t send Carla and Cherry to find me. After telling Carla about the old woman, Ruby’s deepest fears are realised. Like Susan Twist and Josh before her, talking to the old woman causes her to abandon Ruby. The look Carla gives Ruby from the cab as it drives away is the last way anyone would want to be looked at by their loved one. It wasn’t a look of fear, it was a look of disgust.

It’s that look of disgust that really started to make me think of another story from the Whoniverse- “The Curse of Clyde Langer,” a Sarah Jane Adventures episode written by Phil Ford. In it, Clyde’s name becomes cursed and anyone who hears or reads it becomes irrationally opposed to Clyde. His friends and family disown him and it’s Clyde against the world, which is wild because Clyde’s one of my favourite characters in all of Doctor Who. Who could hate that precious cinnamon roll? Even further, who could forget that episode? Well, it turns out Davies was kinda hoping the answer would be you. I’m not saying Davies is out of ideas, but he seems to be “remixing,” a lot of what has come before. More on that in a moment.

After losing her family, Ruby gets on with life, but not before being given a spark of hope in the form of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart. We even learn some things about the old woman from Kate. We establish that yes, it is always 73 yards away. And no matter how close a person gets to her, she always looks as in focus as a person with 20/20 vision would see her from 73 yards. We also learn that the old woman’s “powers” work via headset, as Kate breaks contact with Ruby, leaving her devastated from losing yet another lifeline.

An interesting factoid about that scene is that Kate and Ruby were sitting across from “The House of Pi,” and Pi Day is the 73rd day of a non-leap year. Why do I know this? Because I went into a bit of a rabbit hole trying to learn about the number 73 yesterday. I looked into its mathematical significance. I learned it’s Sheldon Cooper’s favourite number. I looked it up in terms of numerology. I read the 73rd Psalm. There are 73 books in the Catholic Bible. But none of it felt significant. Then my dumbass googled whether RTD had explained the number, and he claimed it was as simple as going outside and measuring the distance from which people’s faces began to blur. Right. Well, that’s disappointing, albeit creative.

We’re treated to a montage of Ruby getting on with her life throughout the next couple of decades. Like the rest of us, her age starts to show itself with long hair and big glasses. I mentioned earlier that Ruby suffers a bit from a lack of character development and this montage does nothing to help that. She grows up into possibly one of the most boring people they could have made her. Her queer group of friends she has a band with seem to have disappeared. Her dating life is painfully heteronormative. She didn’t date a single woman throughout that time? She would have learned by now not to encourage her friends to talk to the old woman, and due to the perception filter, it’s not like anyone seemed to mind her anyhow. I’m just saying, if someone as normie as her started wearing a political shirt for the nuclear war-hungry Albion Party, I’d look at her and say “Pssh. Figures.”

Speaking of the Albion Party, it’s time we started talking about Harold Saxon. Oh, sorry, I meant Roger ap Gwilliam. The episode implies that Roger is the trickster “Mad Jack" who had escaped the fairy circle after the Doctor stepped on it. But Davies is remixing the classics, or as LCD Soundsystem puts it- “Shut up and play the hits.” He even mistreats women in the same way as the Master. I took this to be Doctor Who’s flimsy attempt at a comment on the MeToo movement. It would work better if ap Gwilliam was more than a moustache-twirling miscreant. Especially because Ruby throws poor Marti to the lions by not warning her away from Roger. If this is a MeToo story, Ruby is an enabler, which is not a great look. But she apologises so I guess it’s ok. Don’t worry Marti, your trauma gets erased anyhow.

While the campaigners prepare for a press conference for Roger ap Gwilliam to announce that Britain has purchased Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, Ruby realises she’s out of time and needs to act now. Using her semper distans friend to her advantage, Ruby backs 73 yards away from Roger and sends him cowering and eventually resigning from his position as prime minister. Ruby expects this to be the end of the old woman, but she remains with her until the day she’s on her deathbed, at which point, the old woman changes from her perspective to Ruby’s. As the old woman, Ruby sees her young self and is able to call out to her and warn her about the fairy circle. That’s what happened, right?

Well, maybe? The biggest curveball comes in the form of the old woman herself. Because while Ruby does age to the ripe old age of 80, the actress playing her is Amanda Walker. The actress playing the woman is Hilary Hobson. Set pictures have also revealed Hobson in make-up that appears to be scarring going up the left side of her face. And those hand gestures of hers? Sign language. Eagle-eyed viewers have roughly translated her signing as “Bless you. Thank you so much, that's so kind of you. When you gave me that little thing, it was just so precious. How am I ever going to repay you? But we will think of something.” Perhaps this scarred woman is someone the Doctor and Ruby have yet to meet. Perhaps she repays them by warning them away from the fairy circle and saving both the Doctor and Ruby from a bizarre fate.

People seem divided by this episode in a major way, which is pretty normal for Doctor Who. But one of the more irritating takeaways I’ve seen is that the episode doesn’t make any sense. That’s only sort of true. There are some bootstrap paradox things occurring, which if you haven’t accepted as a reality of Doctor Who at this point, what are you even doing here? But what does the old woman say to Ruby? Where does the Doctor go? How does she travel back in time to the clifftops of Glyngatwg? Forgetting completely that we’re in a Doctor Who era which has introduced magic in a real way. But that’s a bit hand-wavy, can’t we do better? Well, they do mention that the TARDIS’s perception filter parked so close to the fairy circle might affect how people ignore the old woman. I liked this because it implies that the TARDIS and magic are somewhat compatible and therefore opens up new avenues for storytelling. You could also imply that if the TARDIS could affect the fairy circle, perhaps it can affect the TARDIS in turn. Maybe people reject Ruby because the warding spell placed on Mad Jack is affecting Ruby. Maybe Ruby needed to be in a position where she was so friendless that she would join the conservative party.

The episode may not have explicitly explained things, but it gives us enough of a vague framework to form an idea. As a fan of David Lynch, I am rather happy to exist in that liminal space. To straddle the cusp between the known and the unknown. It leaves an air of mystery, or as David Lynch would say “room to dream.” I will however slightly come down on the episode for its rather bland ending compared to its strong start. I don’t agree with the people who said it nosedives toward the end. But I would be lying if I said I lost a lot of interest the moment Ruby left Glyngatwg. Earlier, I compared the story to “The Stones of Blood,” but where the two stories differ is that when “The Stones of Blood,” changes its setting from the occult folk horror of the Cornish countryside, it replaces it with something equally strange.

That isn’t to say the jump to the year 2046 isn’t interesting. I’d be very curious to see how this story plays over the next few years. It acts as speculative fiction and the bizarre reality of speculative fiction is that it occasionally becomes mundane in hindsight. What once sounded unreasonable now feels painfully obvious. HBO’s “The Leftovers” hits different after the pandemic. Richard Kelly’s loony “Southand Tales,” feels tame after the 2016 election. Therein, I fear the day Roger ap Gwilliam becomes something more than a cartoonish depiction of British politicians. Partly because of the implied threat of nuclear devastation, but also because 2046 feels like a rather generous timeframe.

[dumbledore-ariana]

girl how are you feeling about one sided ariana x elphias !!!!

i’ve seen a ton of posts online about how ariana had a crush on gellert and i’m not seeing it, our darling girl was scared of magic i can’t imagine she would have a crush on a violent arrogant boy who was kicked out his school for endangering his peers

BUT elphias is such a sweetheart and he was kind and quiet, he was easily flustered and extremely loyal, he would have reminded her of the boys in romance novels, i love the idea that she had a little crush on him but he was so smitten with albus he didn’t even notice ( and also because there was a two / three year age gap which is why i view it as a crush on ariana’s part and nothing more )

idk if they even met lmao, i’m assuming they did because the way elphias spoke about kendra i have assume they had met, maybe he was invited to the house a few times ???? idk what i’m saying 😭 i just want your opinion on my little one sided ship because i think it’s a cute idea

I do not want to clarify that I am in no way erasing other people’s perspectives, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and their own thoughts, especially regarding how little information there is on each character, no one can be truly ‘right.’ But my opinion is based on what I found to be the most realistic and compliant for the circumstances of the time, depending on how I have interpreted them.

I will be frank, I haven’t ever considered anything between Ariana and Elphias but, unfortunately, I have witnessed Gellert x Ariana...

So whilst we’re here I will in fact mull over why I find the prospect of Ariana fostering a small crush or anything of that sort, towards Gellert, weird.

------

First off, into the summer, Kendra has been dead for a few weeks now and her absence is a suffocating prospect that would impact Ariana greatly, as a result of Kendra being her mother and her main caregiver. I think it’s fitting to assume that at this point, she would probably foster a lot of frustration towards herself as a result of her guilt, alongside the fact that her routine is ruptured completely. 

So, in my opinion; I think there is some sense in the argument that at this point, Ariana would have been incredibly withdrawn from everyone around her, most likely spending long, incessant periods in her room whilst neglecting her own requirements too.

Therefore, I can’t really see her interacting with anyone outside her two brothers, until far later into the summer. 

Second of all, we know that canonically Ariana was a scared character, [‘But mostly she was..scared and harmless.’p564] and as a result of this, I tend to perceive her as being quite timid as a result since understandably, she was terrified in her situation; prompting her lack of confidence in her own stability. Adding on to the fact that these characteristics would be heightened as a result of her trauma from her mother’s death. Therefore, in my opinion; as you have stated, I find that if she were to interact with Gellert, or be introduced to him, there is a strong chance that she would have been very withdrawn, very shy as a result of her own fear and anxiety towards hurting anyone else. Therefore, not setting off the best impression for Gellert to interact with her further either.

Of course, this isn't to erase any prospect of her interacting with Gellert as i'm sure there is a strong chance that they did in canon, but this is just my general belief towards the likelihood of Ariana fostering a genuine affection for Gellert, a crush… this is not me arguing that they never interacted whatsoever, considering that Albus intended for Ariana to come with them, they probably did!!

Alongside this all, Gellert is a stranger at the end of the day and I believe that he would appear as a very out-going person, energetic and absorbed in his own magic which I think would contrast against her greatly. 

------

Meanwhile with Elphias, that is a really interesting thought and I can see where you’re coming from completely and I think the fact he’s not Gellert is already a plus.

 However, I think for me it depends on the likelihood of the scenario, in my opinion there is a high probability that Elphias did meet Kendra but of course it’s hard to come to a conclusion on this when there is so much dividing information. (The burdens of this fandom being so incredibly reliant on like three separate chapters of information.) However, from what I have interpreted myself, I think the likelihood of Elphias ever meeting Ariana enough for her to witness his personality outside of what Albus has spoken of him would be incredibly slim. 

ALTHOUGH, this is not to dampen your view on it, if the circumstances were otherwise I would have really loved for Ariana to have met Albus’ friends, etc etc. I definitely see where you're coming from and see this and prefer it WAY MORE than Ariana having a crush on Gellert. You have such interesting and creative ideas Bee, and I’m glad you’re apart of this fandom and willing to share this with me because it is an honour!! THANK YOU

[oncemorewithqueering]

buffy season rankings:

tw: one (1) mention of assault, nothing graphic

also spoilers!

--

this is my opinion and therefore counts for nothing. you can have a dfferent opinion to me and that is totally cool

from last to first:

Season 6: honestly i feel like i need to say very little. the assualt, tara, all of it. good idea in practice but didn't feel like a buffy season to me. also barely any giles and too much warren.

Season 5: i personally don't like glory, i think she's annoying. but i do love dawn and all the drama.

Season 1: this is here purely because it was finding its feet. i love this little baby season so much.

Season 7: i think season 7 was an amazing comeback and i think it is genuinely really funny. minus points for kicking buffy OUT OF HER OWN HOME

Season 4: riley finn ruins this whole season for me. so does adam and the initiative, and its hard to see all the amazing episodes tbh.

Season 2: i cannot describe my pure love for this season. angelus, dru, spike, so many banging episodes and so many classic buffy moments. kendra's 'only shirt'. love it.

Season 3: the mayor. faith. dopplegangland. band candy. mr trick. silly goofy stuff balanced with a great plot. it is the almighty.

jesus i need to go to sleep bye x

[gloriousharmonylover]

Into the Wild: Kendra picking up on the fact that Charlie means more to Sarah than she originally thought and therefore has the backpack packed for her to go looking for him. Also, the goddamn heart eyes between Charlie and Sarah at the end. Ugh! I love them!

[oldcoinkendra]

Where can I buy old coins at a good price?

As buyers and sellers of ancient coins, we are delighted to assist you with all your "old coins" and "oldcoinkendra" needs. People in the area think very highly of us. It won't be long until you can test our honesty. Lots of our current and former clients are head over heels in love with us. If you're looking for antique coins, you won't find a better deal than this. Our goal is to keep you as a customer for the long haul, not just for this one purchase.

How can I maximise the profit from the sale of my old coins? It's crucial to grasp the distinctions between old coin buyer and selling to an individual collector before making a decision about who will be the best buyer or seller of your ancient coins. I seriously doubt you would pass up the chance, given the possible wealth that could come from finding a large quantity of old coins. Therefore, we must differentiate between a trustworthy dealer and a regular retailer.

Tips for Buying Old Coins It can be more difficult than you might think to find a reputable buyer for your ancient coins. Once you've identified one, though, the payoff is substantial. If you're selling an Old coin collection, the buyer will be looking out for your best interests. After that, you may focus on more pressing matters, like how to spend your newfound wealth.

Old Coin Kendra Buyers is the best option for those in search of a reliable and fair old coin buyer in India. Do it, and you won't be sorry you did.

[ashthehermit]

Legends of Tomorrow: A Retrospective 1.14

This season should be over!  It cannot continue like this.  I remember very few plot points about the end of this season.  We won't get to the 'there are no strings on me' moment for quite some time yet.  So we are stuck in the mires of whatever this is.  

RIVER OF TIME

This does all seem rather fruitless.  Even if they do save Rip's family, what then?  Savage has destroyed the world.  We end up stuck in one of the many, bland but dire timelines.  Ah shit, not ancient Egypt again. How is there more backstory here?  We are seeing the aftermath of Rip's first attempt on Savage's life (at least from Savage's perspective).  For characters that have known each other for as long as they have, it's remarkably unclear what they even know from each other.  

'So what?  We just kill Savage and leave Carter a brainless drone?' - honestly Kendra, yes.

They deduce that the Leviathan technology is too futuristic.  They think that this means Savage has been bothering the timeline, which means they can ask the Time Masters for help.  They're cops who, after decades of stalking, have finally found proof of a crime.  

We look at the brig, and it hasn't even got a bench now.  This seems cruel and unusual.  It turns out that Savage figured out they were time travellers in 1975, which was when?  I've lost track of Savage's timeline.  I've lost track of Rip's timeline.  Kendra's is the worst.

'Do not quote Tactitus to me.  I knew him well.'

Savage claims he has held thousands of children in his arms as they died of old age.  If only I believed him!  If only he hadn't threatened his only daughter in the last episode!  Ugh, I don't care.  It takes a long time to get to the Vanishing Point.  If there's one bit of time travel hooey I'll allow, it's the idea that it takes a minute from the perspective of the crew to travel through the green swirly time zone.  What might seem like an immediate jump to an outsider, could take hours for a crew.  Again, the rules for this show are inconsistent.  The reason given here is that the Waverider was damaged, and therefore it explodes a bit.

Rip shouts 'bollocks', which was truly British of him.  They get marooned thanks to Rip's actions, though I suspect he will face few repercussions.  He implies that the jump ship only has enough for a one time trip, a rule which they will blatantly ignore in the future.  Savage does a Loki and attempts to manipulate everyone on the ship.  It does feel like they should just soundproof his cell.  Or at least play loud music over him.

Rip's actions get Jax blasted by radiation, back into a flashback.  I truly don't remember any of this.  It is of the day that he got kidnapped by Stein.  We really don't focus enough on how he was kidnapped.  He had a life!  He had a lovely mother.  Look at her, she's so sweet.  The radiation injury means that Jax is ageing at an increased rate.

'Hope springs eternal, Miss Lance.'

Is this the kitchen?  At last?  It looks nothing like the kitchen will look, but we are finally getting more sets!  I love the kitchen later.  I just like the implications of what daily life is like on the Waverider.  And the running bit about the condiments.

Rip admits that he would sell the legends out to save his family over some classical music.  He admits that he's pretty much already done it, now that Jax is dying.  Rip always had potential, but he never quite lived up to it.  Moments like these sort of fizzle out, alas.  At least this episode, despite its close confines, moves a lot faster than the last.  

Ray gets to punch Carter.  He goes to talk to Savage, which is the worst idea in the world.  Someone should at least give Savage a bean bag to sit on.  He tells Ray that Kendra fell in love with him in one of her reincarnations.  Gross!  Poor Ray, he has so many failed engagements.

We get a Ray flashback.  Oh, it's that kind of episode.  And Felicity is there!  I used to like her, at least in the crossover episodes (I never watched enough Arrow to know).  It's the night before he left.  It's not going to show us anything new to know about Ray.  

'I'm off to save the universe, not fall in love.'

It does feel like Kendra should have let Ray down before this.  I honestly thought that she did last episode where she had a 'we need to talk' moment with Ray.  There's no point in allowing Ray to stick around, when she knows that she wants to be with Carter.  Anyway, this relationship was never effective.  It's dying!  Huzzah.

Snart tells Jax that he deserves better, which is the most effective line in the scene it's in.  Snart has a good arc in this season, where no one else does.  He wants to save the team, but needs no recognition for it, and he's willing to do the hard tasks to make sure everyone gets home safe.  This means protecting poor wee Jax from their biggest enemy: Rip.  If only Rip were a slightly stronger character here.  

'I'm asking for a little faith, gentlemen.'  'Sorry.  Fresh out.'

Rip allows them an out.  He tells them to leave if they want, and the robber duo are like, bye then.  Ugh, now there's a Sara flashback with more Arrow stuff.  I don't know what any of this means!  I know that's her ex, and some people care about that, but I certainly don't.  I don't care about whatever mission Sara has to free her, because she will not pursue it in the present.  

Stein goes to speak to Savage so that he can save Jax.  It seems like a disaster waiting to happen.  Now, Stein needs to go and knick some blood from Carter.  Stein at least recognises that he is being manipulated.  It seems that he's played Savage, I think?  Stein strands Jax in the jump ship, effectively kidnapping him again.  At least this time it's for nicer reasons.  Stein thinks he's going to die now that's he's separated from Jax, though the rules of Firestorm are always a bit hedgy.  Of course, this means that no one else can escape in the jump ship.  So now Snart and Rory have a chance to beat up Stein.  They won't, but they'll consider it.  

Savage gets to taunt Ray again and of course it devolves into a punch up.  When oh when, will this season be over?  The legends will always be stupid, but at least later it will be the fun kind of stupid, rather than the shout-at-the-screen kind of stupid I am witnessing.  

'Leonard Snart, robber of ATMs!'

The next problem is trying to pilot the ship without Gideon, whilst half the team attempt to recapture Savage.  Honestly, I would be like Savage if I was stuck in the brig for that long without a toilet or even a bench to sit on.  Rip hands off the ship to Sara, deciding that he's not going to put any more of them in jeopardy.  It's a bit of a sudden turn, but at least we are moving towards Captain Lance!  

Carter gets his memories back as a bit of a Deux Ex Machina.  Savage kills him again.  RIP (no pun intended).  No wait, he's alive.  I genuinely forgot that he wasn't dead again.  

They arrive to the Vanishing Point, which externally looks pretty cool.  Rip claims that he's entirely reformed, and now he cares about them.  Sure.  Whatever you say.  

There's a neat bit of dialogue where Savage asks how Rip got out of his prison way back in ancient Egypt.  Turns out, Rip bribed a guard with a novelty pen.  I can't say why, but I just like it.  Rip's a scrappy guy who pretends to be a Time Master.  He's not good at protocol, but good at thinking on his feet.  He's not consistently written, alas.

Anyway, we are back at Starfleet.  But there's a twist!  The Time Masters sponsor Savage, he's their agent!  Aha!  It's a good twist, I admit, even if none of the parties are developed to their full capacity.  Savage reveals he knew about the novelty pen all along, pointing out how easily he played Rip, and how unprepared the latter is.  Not bad.

[pantherbound]

l.ola t.ung i love u

[bringbackmyteenageyears]

The Thrift Gods have been good to me today

[juanabaloo]

Exhibit Ch - Your honor they love each other! (fuffy)

This is a pro-fuffy BTVS rewatch series. Kendra Appreciation Post! Exhibit Ch is a bonus / catchup review about Scott Hope, Kendra, and a few non-Faith episode recos. Long post.

1. Remember how I wanted Scott Hope to get one more episode so Buffy could prioritize Faith over him? Scott is literally never seen again after 3.03. I wanna review Scott Hope. In exhibit B.10 I mentioned that Scott does seem particularly insightful. Here’s a text montage of all the great Scott moments. Imagine “I will remember you” playing in the background.

“Uh, I'm sorry. I'm a bad liar. It's not good for the soul.” (3.03)

“You're friends with Buffy, right?” - to Faith (3.03)

“Faith has been telling me tall tales.” (3.03)

“my mom says that therapy can be completely helpful.” - to Buffy (3.04)

“I hope you realize I don't actually know these people.” - jokingly about Pete and Debbie (3.04)

“It's just that you never really know what's going on inside somebody.” - about Pete and Debbie after they both die (3.04) Y’all he realized he didn’t actually know them.

“Before we were going out, you seemed so full of life, like a force of nature. Now you just seem distracted all the time, and… I’m really sorry” - dumping Buffy (3.05) Buffy agrees she has been distracted.

2. Scott - in what little we see of him - is very honest. He says he’s a bad liar, he realizes Faith’s stories are at least exaggerated, he’s pro-therapy. And he’s not just honest but he verbalizes it. The way he dumps Buffy, Scott’s so fucking honest. Scott is mentioned again in the show 3 times, twice more in S3 and then once in S7.

3. Remember Buffy’s traumatic therapy experience in 3.04? Well her next therapy session is to Holden the psych major and new vamp she very vaguely remembers from high school. In 7.07 (Conversations with Dead People) Holden says: “Scott Hope said you were gay… He says that about every girl he breaks up with. And then last year, big surprise, he comes out.” Buffy acts surprised at hearing this news, that he called her gay. 

4. Granted, I could buy that Scott was repressed and gay in high school. But just because he came out eventually doesn’t mean he was lying. Also the “he says that about every girl” bit sounds OOC to me. Scott was insightful and honest when we saw him. I think this is the show queer-panicking again. “Oh no wait, Buffy can’t be gay! Or queer! Uhm….. yeah let’s add that Scott says that about every girl, oh yeah because he’s actually gay and therefore a lying liar.” Homophobic much? Silly show. Also am I picking and choosing to fit my argument? A little bit.

5. So in summary, Scott Hope is insightful and honest and calls Buffy gay, aka calls Buffy queer. She is so repressed / panicking that she is visually surprised by this in 7.07. Oh Buffy.

Alright, enough about Scott, let’s talk about Kendra!

6. Kendra is the Jamaican slayer that appears briefly in S2. The BTVS writers room was super white. There are several things they don’t do a great job with IMO, including the LA homeless scenes (3.01), queerness (in general and also being bi just doesn’t exist?), judaism, and sexual assault (*rages at multiple epis*). Sometimes the show is a little misogynistic (but not as bad as Angel, holy fuck that show) and a little racist. Or a lot. The racial diversity of the show is laughable, I mean late 90s California? Even in the LA episode (Anne 3.01) LA is just - mostly white? *cackles* (As a palate cleanser here’s a nice gifset featuring POC characters on BTVS and ATS.)

7. Interesting Black characters are given the short shrift, including Mr. Trick in S3. Kendra deserved better but at least we got a little glimpse of her. If you’re following along at home and but also trying to limit your BTVS intake, I recommend the following non-Faith-appearance catchup episodes: 2.09 (Kendra appears), 2.10 (Kendra heavy), 2.11 (the Ted episode), 2.21 (Becoming Part 1 - Kendra re-appears), 2.22 (Becoming Part 2 - to finish off the season). And 3.01 honestly, because limiting intake can be difficult, LOL.

8. ifeveristoday lays it out in this good short post on Kendra’s role / lore on the show, and how it could be better.

9. herinsectreflections explains Kendra is not one of Buffy’s shadow selves. This gifset by fuffygifs shows the scene parallel.

10. Kendra locks up Angel. Delight in her power over him, the way she laughs at him.

11. I vividly remember the scene where Buffy slow-motion runs through the school, it’s in the show openers. But what I had forgotten until this rewatch was that it’s her running to get back to everyone in the library, after her chat with Angelus in the cemetery, and she finds Kendra dead. (Because of Dru’s hypnosis powers.) My memory of the slow-mo was that Buffy’s so badass, but now it’s tinged with sadness bc she was trying and then fails to help / save her friends, including Kendra. Although really the only long-term damage is Kendra. *grumble*

12. OK the main scene I want to review is when Buffy and Kendra say goodbye in 2.10. Buffy calls herself a freak, which is a real insult in her mind. Kendra reassures her “not the only freak.” And then Buffy goes to hug Kendra, but Kendra doesn’t hug. So Buffy doesn’t. Can you imagine where this didn’t happen, like Kendra is OK with hugs. And then when Buffy meets Faith she hugs her at some point (not right away). Gah! They never hug right? Or Buffy isn't feeling like she caused Kendra's death and she's more open with Faith? (spuffygifs has the full gifset)

I gotta admit they did have chemistry.

OK, a smattering of links to Kendra gifsets I found:

nerd4music

dailybtvs

original andremichaux

andremichaux with tags people left

13. OK, a few thoughts on 3.01 Anne. Already unrealistic when it aired (Buffy somehow affords a studio apt on a waitress salary?) it’s achingly unrealistic now, in terms of money. Like Buffy would need 3 waitressing-type jobs and she’d still have 4 roomates in a craaap 2 BR apt that was falling apart.

14. SMG is giving a master class in acting in SO much of BTVS. The moment when she revolts is brilliant. Check it here (credit to deansmom and harrietvane and isagrimorie) proof that SMG made the acting choice, that it wasn’t that detailed in the script. (read the prev tags too, all of this is brilliant) Also we already know Buffy but this introduction of herself is great, on par with Faith-introducing-herself levels here. (the whole deansmom gifset and tags really sets the mood pre-"aggressive chipper shit talker" Buffy introducing herself)

I am not great at finding gifs on tumblr. Here are some bonus ones for prev exhibits:

Faith accidentally punching Buffy in 3.04. (Eliza apparently actually punched SMG IRL)

Faith shooting her shot in 3.05

Buffy’s unsure reaction in 3.05

No rating for this exhibit bc there’s no Faith. (Exhibit C had a they love each other rating of 2 out of 5.) Next exhibit will cover episode 3.07 Revelations. Exhibit Ch has been submitted, the prosecution rests for the day.

[taleweaver-ramblings]

Looking for a book to read?

Let me put an author out there who may or may not be on your radar: Kendra E. Ardnek. If you're in the market for a fairy tale retelling or a portal fantasy (or, in one case, a high fantasy political thingy), she's your girl. Her books aren't consistently masterpieces, but they are a delight to read and full of cleverness and adventure and humor and tragedy and love.

(Also, full disclosure: Kendra has a necessary medical procedure coming up that she needs to find a way to pay for. So, while I would recommend her books anyway, that is a motivation for making this post and trying to convince you to pick them up.)

My favorite of her books is The Worth of a King — it's got long-lost siblings, murder, plots, fabulous non-long-lost sibling relationships, a whole nation of people who are basically doing their best Zorro/Dread Pirate Roberts impressions 24/7, a super sweet romance, actual contemplation of what it is to be a good leader, and, last but not least, Prince Delaney, who I love. (You'll also love him once you meet him.)

A close second is her Rizkaland Legends series, which is portal fantasy in the vein of Narnia, but more modern (and also with bonus arranged marriages — don't worry, there's nothing remotely questionable on the page). You can start with either book 1 or book 2; I love book 2 best, but that's because it contains most of my favorite characters in the series. Be aware: Book 3 is awesome — it deals a lot with that question of how the people who go on these adventures adjust to being home again (spoiler alert: the answer is "not terribly well) — but it will also tear your heart into tiny pieces. In a good way, though!

Her latest book, Rose Petals and Snowflakes, is also pretty fun. If you're a fan of Austen and fairy tales, give this a shot; it's a blend of Sense and Sensibility with Snow White and Rose Red, and it works astonishingly well. I had my doubts about it when Kendra said she was going to write it, but storm me if it isn't a genuinely clever idea and a good book. (She's doing Pride and Prejudice crossed with Cinderella next, and I think Emma/Rapunzel is after that. She actually has me excited for the Emma retelling, which is saying something since I have yet to get through a version of that book, full stop.)

She also has the Bookania Quests, which are humorous fairy tale retellings that end up hitting some serious topics by halfway through the series. The first couple books are her early work and therefore a little rough, but the second half of the series makes up for it by virtue of (A) just being generally better quality and (B) having the main couples get married and then just . . . keep having adventures. Like, who does that? More people should! If you want to skip the rough start, you can start with Book 4, which was written as an alternative entry point and features the aforementioned married adventuring couple. (Well . . . sorta. You'll see what I mean if you look at the book.) And then if you fall in love, you can go back and read how they got together.

All of her books are available in Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and paperback. If you don't want to go through the 'Zon, contact her and she'd probably be willing to set you up with a back-channel copy.

Also, if you've already read her books, tell me so we can chat! Or try to chat. I am not very good at carrying a conversation, as you might have noticed. xD

[spikedru]

what do you think would have happened if Drusilla had turned Kendra into a vampire?

hello i love you for this question because i think the concept of a slayer turned vampire is very interesting that the show does practically nothing with.

whats interesting about slaypires is that they have the combined physical attributes of the slayer and vampire, making them extremely strong and durable, much stronger than their counterparts. whats less known is how the change affects the slaypires personality/morals. when buffy was turned, she acted more or less like her normal human self. whether this was just because of billy's astral projection and therefore she wasnt actually turned or if slayers just naturally retain more of their humanity is left open.

NOW. i think it would be interesting to explore that wrt kendra. kendra is a much more "by the book" slayer than buffy. shes studious, she takes her calling seriously, and her view of vampirism is much more black and white, saying angel "looked just like any other animal" when she thought she slayed him. imagine taking someone with such a rigid view of their natural enemy, the kind of identity crisis that would arise from that! youre turned into the kind of creature you were trained to hunt and kill, but you still mostly feel like yourself? what would that do to a persons psyche? one of buffys worst nightmares was being turned, but i think due to her natural adaptability she was able to postpone her identity crisis to focus on sorting out the problem at hand lol. with kendra im not so sure. while she is adaptable, she definitely isnt as forgiving of the exceptions to vampirism (like angel) so i think the turn would effect her more.

then theres the fact that its dru doing the turning as well lol which adds a whole wrench to it. dru is an extremely powerful vamp, and i think that as the sire she would be able to exert some measure of control over those she turns. kinda a mix of her age, her status as sire, and her psychic powers would make her extremely good at manipulating her underlings. however, i think that someone like kendra would absolutely retaliate against her sire. it would be a mixture of both the slayer training of "shes a vampire, so she must die" and also "she killed me and turned me into my sworn enemy, and for that she must die". and due to the enhanced strength of the slaypire i really dont think dru has much of a chance of making it out alive lmao.

but once the very personal anger of revenge has been sated, im not sure what would happen next. if slaypires retain more of their humanity than regular vamps, i feel like kendra would let herself be staked or stake herself, out of the remnants of her slayer duty to rid the world of vampires. i dont think buffy would let her, citing angel as a vamp who can do good, snd would try to convince kendra to continue living. BUT if slaypires become just as soulless and amoral as your average vamp, it would most likely lead to a slayer vs slaypire battle between buffy and kendra, which would be tragic but also SO interesting to see. kinda a la buffy vs faith, these two would have been such a force of natute to battle against if fate hadnt pitted them against each other.

i loveee the concept of a slaypire so much i love the trope of the hero becoming the thing they despise its so tragic but DELICIOUS to watch. theres gotta be other examples in the watchers diaries about slayers who were eventually turned i wanna hear about them and what happened!! cuz its like, if slaypires are so powerful, why dont more vamps try to turn them instead of straight up killing them. if you could have a slaypire under your thumb your vamp gang would be nigh unstoppable. so it makes me think its a bit more complicated than that, and thats why its just relatively easier to kill slayers instead of turning them. thank u for letting me rant about slaypire i love u

[thewarlocknerd]

I've seen a lot of people say that Buffy didn't have a death wish in the season 5 finale "The Gift" and I could not disagree more. If Buffy didn't have a yearning for death than that would render her depression in season six, which was rooted in wanting an escape from her life and to finally rest, pretty much moot. Here's my reading of this quote and of season 5 as a whole: Throughout the season, Buffy is on the final cusp of adulthood and facing that transition from childhood to becoming an adult which is represented with her choice: either transform herself into the cold, ruthless version of adulthood/slayerhood that she fears she can't escape(Glory) or find a way to preserve her humanity/child-like sense of hope and beauty regarding the world as she continues to grow older(Dawn). Therefore, it is obvious to see that Buffy jumping off the tower indicates how, after an entire year of living with the fear that she couldn't, she ends up finding a way to save her humanity from the ruthless, emotionally detached future that those around her have been telling her that she's doomed to live out. In that aspect, I understand why Buffy's sacrifice is seen as entirely heroic, however, looking at it on an even deeper level with Buffy's character: throughout the entire series up to this point but especially this one, Buffy is so. incredibly. tired. This season alone, she has suddenly become a big sister, found out that her sister isn't real and that she was placed there in her life as a direct result of Buffy's status as the Slayer, she has to drop out of college, her mother is sick and she has to take care of her little sister, her mom seemingly recovers and then suddenly dies, her boyfriend leaves her after blaming her for being emotionally detached a statement which others in her life agree with, and there's an incredibly powerful evil force coming for her sister and targeting every one in her life. On top of all this, there's the years of trauma as a result of being the slayer that has built up on her over the years: all the loved ones and innocents she's lost, the never ending battle against evil that has invaded every part of her life, being forced to give up on relationships, hopes, and dreams as a result of being the slayer, and the constant guilt she lives with towards all of what she deems as her personal failures from Angel turning evil to Jenny and Kendra's death to Faith's betrayal and countless other things. Of course Buffy wants out of this life but she keeps herself going solely for the loved ones and the world that depend on her, she can't allow herself to give up or else the world will burn. Buffy has a death wish by the end of season five but she won't ever allow herself to give in to that death wish. Death is her gift in the sense that she got the best of both worlds: dying to save the world and her sister, thus ensuring that her loved ones were safe while also getting the peace and rest that she was craving for so long, that she would never be able to get within her life of endless violence and tragedy. Therefore, Death is her gift in more ways than simply just one.

[impalementation]

Why does Buffy has so many shadow selfs ? Cordelia, Kendra, Drusilla, Lily (from Anne), Faith, the first Slayer, Dawn and even Glory

Oh that's a cool question, since I've always liked that Buffy has so many of them, but never put the "why" into words. Thanks for asking.

First though, I want to distinguish between the concept of a foil and a shadow-self. I think Buffy's only true shadows are Cordelia in season one, the Angelus/Spike/Drusilla triumvirate in season two, Faith in season three, and Spike in season six. A shadow-self is necessarily the dark side of a character. It's the side that a character is tempted towards or is repressing. In The Wizard of Earthsea, for example, the protagonist unleashes a literal shadow of himself when he does a spell out of hubris and vanity. Mr. Hyde is a shadow of Dr. Jekyll because he embodies the evil urges that Dr. Jekyll thinks he should be better than. So Cordelia is a shadow for Buffy in season one because Buffy's season one character conflict is about whether to protect her self-interest, or embrace her dangerous heroic role. Season one Cordelia, being selfish and solipsistic, represents the kind of self-interest that Buffy is tempted by. Similarly in season six, Spike is Buffy's shadow because he is "dead" and isolated, and sees love and pain as intertwined, and Buffy is tempted to think of herself as dead, keep herself apart from her friends, and use her relationship with Spike to hurt herself.

By contrast, Kendra is more of a foil. A foil is someone who has similar qualities to another character, but with crucial differences that highlight the first character's traits. Kendra and Buffy are both slayers, but Kendra is sheltered and rulebound, which highlights the ways that Buffy isn't. Lily is also a foil, because her timid, dependent personality highlights Buffy assertiveness and agency. Even though both of them are runaways who lose a man they love. Faith is an interesting case in that she is both a shadow and a foil. Like Kendra, she is a slayer whose personality shines light on Buffy's. But she's also a shadow, because Buffy's season three character conflict is about her relationship to power, and how to use that power in a way that helps other people and rebels against authority in positive ways. And Faith uses power in negative ways (theft, murder), while also having an unhealthy relationship to authority (the fact that she is so susceptible to the Mayor, despite being "rebellious"). So Faith embodies the dark paths that Buffy could take.

(I have further thoughts on what the First Slayer--who yeah, is definitely a shadow in some respects, though not in the extended way that Buffy's season-long shadows are--represents, as well as Spike and Dawn. But I'm copping out on that for now.)

With that clarification out of the way though, as for why Buffy has so many shadows and foils and people meant to represent some sort of part of her, I think there are a few reasons. First are the practical, TV-making reasons, like the writers wanting to let the actors move on to other roles in the show. Or in general not wanting things to get stagnant. But I also think there's a truth underlying that practical desire for dynamism. Which is, that one's "shadow" desires often look different at different phases of one's life. Buffy grows up over the course of the show, and has a different character arc each season, so it makes sense to me that her "shadow" desires, like anyone's, would look different each season as well. She struggles with different things at 16 than at 20. Her shadows change for the same reason that each season's themes change: different phases have different problems. It also just makes sense to me that because Buffy is the protagonist, and therefore the show is concerned with her character development more than anyone else's, that the writers would regularly be introducing characters that reflect some aspect of her. That’s how you end of up with Glory and Dawn, or Sunday in The Freshman. Or Warren and Willow paralleling parts of Buffy in season six. It's just intelligently literary and idea-dense writing, to me. I also think it's actually a pretty cool testament to what a complex and ever-changing character Buffy is, that she would merit so many different foils. It's an indication that the writers have so many different ideas about her, and think that she has so many different facets, that no one character alone would ever be a sufficient foil for her. 

So that’s the answer, really. Most of all, I think the writers just had a lot of different ideas that they wanted to explore with Buffy, and using different foils allowed them to explore those ideas.

[1eos]

hello miss kendra ive been drinking some wine this fine Sunday evening and I just wanna say HELLO!!! youre super funny and beautiful I love it when you post selfies. you have an amazing nose its like a freaking painting. ive always wanted to tell you that. what have you been up to recently? I recently bought a new pair of prescription lenses online for super cheap and theyre actually legit. also I hate feel my rhythm. this is a dramatic and bold statement but I feel like sm is ruining red velvets legacy with these past two comebacks. LAME! where's the sauce? they pulled through with wild side but ive already been scorned. queendom was simply not good. its like come on now

hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii anon <3 i should open the bottle of wine i have in the fridge you're inspiring me. firstable thank you for being so kind to my nose 🥰 they may have called me big nose when i was 10 but my big ass nose is KEWT! secondable i've been starting my escape plan to leave one of my part time jobs bc the manager too used to me being dependable and perfect.....i'm tired of doing the work of two kendras. and good for you finding good glasses! lastable.....sm def tanking rv's musical legacy but rv are so beloved and hyped up even the phoned in music can blow up so 😐its a sabotage of their musical exploration definitely but the money still flows. im a bit sad. and even with wildside i find myself wanting to say 'well i like it more than fmr therefore it must be good' but even then it feels so.........its missing that red velvet touch. like i hate to say it but wildside has nct energy and i dont listen to red velvet for that. idk all these recent rv releases just need an injection of kitsch and kookiness. that corny cult classic horror movie energy. you know? but if this is the new direction i won't throw a fit but i will miss their golden age!