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hersterical · 9 months

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How aware do you guys think Faith was of her own plan to provoke Angel into killing her in ‘Five by Five’? That was definitely her plan from at least the moment Wolfram and Hart hired her to kill Angel.

Within the context of the fight she had with Buffy in ‘Who Are You?’ I feel like even Faith would’ve taken some time to self-reflect just for a moment or two before going back to repressing.

I think that she was perfectly aware that that was the end goal of her plan the whole time but was very purposefully refusing to acknowledge it or put it into words even within her own mind. Her train of thought would go something like ‘I need to make Angel as angry as possible so that he doesn’t hold back when we fight’ and then stops her thoughts there because she knows what lies at the end of the path and if she continues to feign ignorance, then her death wouldn’t be her choice and not her fault.

It’s possible that her whole plan was totally subconscious, but that seems unlikely to me based on the end of ‘Who Are You?’ and some of her lines throughout ‘Five by Five’. It’s also possible that she was aware of her end goal from the beginning, but that just doesn’t sound like Faith to me.

I also love that it’s Angel who she chose to be the one to kill her. Besides the fact that he’s one of the few people in the world who would be capable of killing her when she goes all out (again taking the responsibility off of her), I love that she wants the guy who Buffy had tried to kill Faith over to be the one to do it. I love how she’s more upset about Buffy leaving the guy she stabbed Faith over and found a new boyfriend within a few months than the actual stabbing or anything else from their complicated history. Faith wants her death to be at the hands of someone else deemed unworthy by Buffy Summers. Someone else who is a monster but is still somehow better than her (why else would Buffy love him, even if it was just for a short time, when Buffy wouldn’t give Faith a second glance even before Faith screwed up?). Someone who is in many ways the same person as Faith and is still better than her even though he’s done worse things.

I wonder if Faith remembered a time when Angel tried to offer her compassion and understanding and if a part of her hoped that he would do the same thing again.

Faith already knew Buffy’s judgement of her, and that was before the whole kidnapping Buffy’s mom and stealing Buffy’s body and life thing. But Buffy is the ideal. How could perfect Buffy with the perfect life possibly understand? Angel though, Angel is just as much like Faith as he is like Buffy. He’s all honorable and good and he also knows what it’s like to be corrupted and to take a human life. Angel is her last chance. If he of all people thinks she deserves to die, then that’s what she deserves. Possibly even scarier than that is that if he thinks she deserves a second chance, then she might actually deserve a second chance.

Obviously these two aren’t the only people she seeks validation and guidance from, that’s one of her biggest things. Just look at her relationship with the Mayor. That’s why it’s so great in ‘Sanctuary’ when she makes the choice for herself to go to the police. I feel like every decision we’ve seen her make so far has either been something that someone else has told her to do, or because she’s felt like she’s had no other choice. She is definitely backed into a corner in ‘Sanctuary’ but she also has both Angel and Buffy fighting for her and the opportunity to skip town. The easiest way for her to avoid the responsibility of making a decision would just be to let whatever outcome of that fight to decide her future. The easiest way to avoid the consequences of her actions would be to run away. But Faith doesn’t do either of these things. She finally steps up and take on both the responsibility of choosing her own life path and the responsibility of owning up to her actions. Faith is the one who decides that she deserves to face punishment and the opportunity for redemption but that she doesn’t deserve to die. Faith made the decision that she deserved to live. “The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.”

#this post got away from me #should I put trigger warnings?#I’ll put one just in case #tw: suicide ideation #tw: thoughts of suicide #faith lehane #btvs #ats #let me know if there’s any trigger warnings I missed #she’s MY pathetic wet cat #buffy the vampire slayer

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sunnydaleherald · 3 months

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The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Monday, February 19

ANYA: Come in. Enjoy my personal space. (shuts door) WILLOW: I found a dead body near the high school. ANYA: Yes, that can happen. WILLOW: Something horrible killed a boy. Took his skin right off. Anya and Willow have the same reaction at the same moment, and speak simultaneously. ANYA & WILLOW: Was it you? (shocked) No!

~~Same Time Same Place~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

High Stakes Kitten Poker (Angel/Spike, T) by MadeInGold

Part Time Buffy (Buffy/Spike, T) by firemanwhenthefloodsrollback

Until the Morning Sun Has Risen (Angel/Riley, M) by MadeInGold

eletric twist (Buffy/Faith, T) by doumekiss (odd__girl)

Wine Drunk (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Maxineeden

Dancing Queen (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Maxineeden

It's Gotta Be You (Buffy/Spike, Adult only) by Maxineeden

[Chaptered Fiction]

Lie to Me Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, Adult only) by In Mortal

Love Lives Here Chapter 24 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Passion4Spike

Written in the Stars Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by RavenLove12

Beg Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Maxineeden

To All We Guard Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by simmony

I Don't Want to Be the One Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, T) by pommedapi

Switch Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, E) by sunalso

If the timing is right Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Biggestspuffyfan, Glorificuskeyz

Mismash Chapter 1 (Gen, not rated) by Becca12345

an open door, an open heart Chapter 1 (Gen, T) by rimizak

Healing After Heaven Chapter 20 (Highlander crossover, FR13) by Kate

Daryl Decides Chapter 4 (Walking Dead crossover, FR18) by Buffyworldbuilder

[Fandom Discussions]

Do you skip episodes? What's your criteria? by AndHerSymbols

Whose side are you on? by Priceless

Was Wesley right? by The Whirlwind

What is the most heroic thing any character did in the verse? by The Whirlwind

Going to LA … transformation by PuckRobin

Any ideas on what could have been done with Doyle if Glenn Quinn wasn't fired? by The Whirlwind

Best surprise plot twists on Buffy and Angel? continued by multiple posters

Anya and Willow by thegoosemanok

Favorite & least favorite Buffy Summers quotes? by PristineSituation498

Angel by Chrissygirl1978

Such a missed opportunity by Unable_Earth5914

What real life standards or views do people uphold the characters to? by PristineSituation498

Do you think Anya intended to kill Xander if someone had made a wish in Entropy? by aeryn1227

Someone's blondie bear is a musical theatre genius! by alrtight

How do you add more Kendra w/out changing S3? by primal_slayer

Revelations by Neat-Biscotti-2962

How Did You Find Buffy? by CarefullyChosenName_

First rewatch as an adult by kat_katty_katya

“Unproblematic faves” are a trap. That being said… by lnmcg

What character deserved so much better, in your opinion? by the_lightbringer94

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

#buffy #btvs #angel #ats #Buffy The Vampire Slayer #angel the series

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deansmom · 7 months

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The characters I love are the ones who are the heroes, but don’t believe that they are. The ones who people don’t always like, they don’t always like themselves, they don’t always do the right thing or save the day - but they always try. Because at the core of who they are, whether they want to acknowledge it or not, is a good person.

Dean Winchester spends the entire show thinking that he’s poison, his existence in the storyline is the problem, that most people think he’s the bad guy, and he still tries. He still tries to do what’s right. Does he fuck up? Obviously, he’s a person who is alive, but he still gets up, and tries again. He looks in the mirror and sees the worst version of himself, sees the worst things he’s ever done and none of the amazing things, and is still like “fuck you, I’m going to try, because that’s what people do. They try to help. They try to be better.”

Bucky Barnes is, as far as he’s concerned, always going to be the bad guy. He’s got too much blood on his hands, too much red in is ledger to be anything else, but he tries to be better, even still. Because that’s what you do. If you can help people? You do it. Regardless. Not because he thinks he’s a good person, but because in his world, that’s what you do. You help where you can. “Do no harm, but take no shit” is his motto. Nobody would’ve blamed him for walking away from the Avengers. Nobody would’ve blamed him for retiring. He gave so much of himself against his will, and he still chose to continue fighting.

Buffy Summers knows she’s the hero of the story, but she spends most of the show feeling like she isn’t. Feeling like she might even be the bad guy, that like hey, maybe if I’m out of the picture, bad things won’t happen. And then as the show evolves, she gets more life experience and trauma, she realizes that she can’t and shouldn’t always be the hero. She knows she isn’t likable. But she still shows up, she still fights, and she’s willing to die for the people who don’t like her, because that’s what you do. She goes through the teenage phase of “well I’m not going to help you because you suck” and then realizes very quickly, it doesn’t matter if they suck, because she can help. And she wants to be the good guy that people think she is, even if she doesn’t think she deserves it.

Carol Danvers is the epitome of “I was the bad guy for a while, so now I’m going to fix that.” But she knows that not everybody likes her. Not everybody wants to be saved by her. Some people still think she’s the bad guy, and she still makes the active choice to fight to protect those people too. Nobody would’ve blamed her if she walked away for a while. Nobody would’ve blamed her if she had said, “hey, I just went through this whole traumatic thing, and I need a minute to figure out how to deal with that… alone” - but she didn’t. She saved the world, because according to her, that’s what you do.

Natasha fucking Romanoff makes Bucky’s guilt complex look rational. She had her entire life stolen from her. She doesn’t even really know how old she is. She doesn’t even know if Natasha is the name her parents gave her, or the name the red room gave her. Everything that makes you a person was stolen from her when she was a child, and she became a fucking superhero. She was so concerned about the red in her ledger that she joined shield to become a good guy and start writing her wrongs. Not that she’d ever say it out loud, but she cared so painfully and deeply about everyone else, that she didn’t think twice about sacrificing herself so the rest of the world could get their people back. She just said “that’ll be enough, right? If I give myself, if I do this for everyone else, that will be enough” knowing full and damn well that the red in her ledger would never be able to be wiped clean, but damn it if she wasn’t going to fucking try to balance out those scales.

They can all be summed up as “I’ve done a lot of harm, and I’m not a good person, but I’m still going to help, because it’s the right thing to do.”

#I just??? adore them??????#personal

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xxpinkgalaxykidxx · 2 years

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My Top 10 ships of 2021

Hi all, I thought I would do one of these again. 2021 has been really awful for me to be honest, and I have taken much solace in these funky little ships. Whether it be fan art or fic, I’ve really appreciated them. I hope you can appreciate me vomiting up this little list.

10. Buffaith (Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Two gorgeous women fighting each other and having a complex homoerotic relationship? You know I’m in.

9. Alison and Mike (Alison and Mike Cooper from BBC Ghosts)

This show was made for me and these two are made for each other. I have already watched this show 5 times through this year lol.

8. Espresseleine (Espresso Cookie and Madeleine Cookie from Cookie Run Kingdom)

My brother got me into this game this year and I love these little jerks. I hope Devsisters makes it canon.

7. Chillirye (Chilli Pepper Cookie and Rye Cookie from Cookie Run Kingdom)

The best Cookie Run ship idc. Enemies to Lovers Excellence

6. Jonmartin (Jonathan Sims and Martin Blackwood from the Magnus Archives)

Shhhh I’m not done with Season 4. No spoilers.

5. 24067 (Kang Sae-byeok and Jiyeong from Squid Game)

Omg these tragic lesbians.... What do you mean they’re dead?? They are chilling on Jeju Island

4. Lokius (Loki and Mobius M. Mobius from Loki)

Honestly Loki (and Spiderman) are the only reasons I care about Marvel. And these two are very cute.

3. Creek (Craig Tucker and Tweek Tweak from South Park)

I did not expect this... I thought I was never gonna watch South Park but I saw fanart of these two and thought I “oh I’ll just watch one episode to see this ship” and ofc now I’m binging and hyperfixating on the whole show.

2. Janto (Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones from Torchwood)

I finally watched Torchwood this year, and oh my god these two deserved better. Stream Torchwood Serenity for clear skin.

1. Lumity (Luz Noceda and Amity Blight from the Owl House)

I finally caught up with this show this year and oh my god these funky wlws. It means so much to me to see a canon wlw couple in a kids cartoon. Can’t wait to see more from them!

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firelxdykatara · 2 years

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Gun to your head, do you ultimately prefer Buffy or Elena?

YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME NORA IT ISN'T FAIR JUST PULL THE FUCKING TRIGGER- /hj

gods, ok, if i absolutely 100% had to choose... probably buffy.

both buffy and elena are SO important to me (there's a reason i imprint so heavily on female protagonists who go through extreme trauma and have extensive on-screen depression arcs but ahhhhh let's not unpack THAT right now--but lana lang and emma swan also go in that category, it's basically the easiest way to sell me on a show but let's move ON -cough-) and both of them are treated so unfairly by the writers/showrunners AND by the fandom, but i think at the end of the day i'd have to pick buffy because, overall, btvs is just better, in about every single category.

i never really got the sense, while watching btvs, that the writers disdained me, specifically, for enjoying their show and loving buffy summers. she gets put through SO much shit, and i have so much criticism alongside the love in my heart for how her friends treat her, how her mother treats her, how the writing treats her at points... but ultimately, she's still the focal point of the show. she is the pin on which everything hangs, and without her, it all falls apart. the show cannot exist without buffy summers, and it never tries to.

i may loathe joss whedon on a very personal level these days, but i have to admit that at least he understood that he couldn't carry on the show without buffy summers. his intention may have been to end the show with her death, but once forced to extend it, he brought her back--and that lead to her arc in s6 which is incredibly important to me, and i'm not sure i'd still be here today without it.

(which, again, we can leave packed lmao)

while i love elena gilbert so fucking much i can't breathe sometimes with it (yes i'm dramatic but listen), a lot of that is in spite of the way the narrative clearly wanted me to feel. there is so much scorn and apathy baked into nina's final two seasons on the show, and the fact that it even continued after that point is an insult to the work she put in and the character she played who was the central load-bearing pillar of the entire series.

granted, i got the feeling that the writers and showrunners just quit caring about anything at all with respect to the show, not just about elena, so maybe i'm reading more malice into what was ultimately just a lack of care. it hardly matters, because the result is the same--the series tanked, the two seasons without the main character were terrible, and the show is treated with well-deserved scorn in a way that i don't think btvs ever will be, despite public opinion having long since turned against joss whedon (also deservedly).

but the point here is that while i'm absolutely willing to put in the work to keep loving elena in spite of what the show did with her and her relationships in her last two seasons, that's a whole lot of work i don't have to do for buffy. granted i will still put a lot of time and energy into picking apart things that did not land well--Dead Man's Party and Empty Places, Seeing Red, so much about the way buffy is treated in the final season by her loved ones, ongoing issues with racism and biphobia throughout the series, etc--but it's a bit like the energy i put into atla vs vld. one of them is, overall, an excellent piece of media that didn't always stick the landing but still survives as a cultural icon for a reason, and the other is almost universally derided because everything that had been of value to the narrative was destroyed in universe by its end.

so yeah, i guess, tl;dr: at the end of the day, i'd pick buffy--because she comes from the stronger show, her arc ultimately had a purpose i can still point to even if i don't always agree with the directions the narrative took it, and i don't feel the same sort of enduring bitterness when thinking about her that i do when thinking about the show elena came from that did her so poorly and then ran itself into the ground completely in her absence.

#btvs #buffy summers #tvd salt #elena gilbert #salt for ts #long post #legendofnora #asked

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prose-for-hire · 3 years

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How btvs characters would celebrate their s/o’s Birthday:

Characters include: Buffy; Spike; Angel; Giles; Cordelia; Oz; Willow; Tara; Xander; Anya; Riley and Faith

A/N: This is completely self-indulgent – it’s my Birthday! Yay !! There’s a few tiny sex references in these hcs but it’s mostly just up to interpretation I think 💖🖤

[Under the cut cos it’s quite long - I got excited !! 💖]

Buffy Summers:

- She would have a plan

- The plan may not exactly work out exactly how she wanted it to

- But either way it would be perfect to you

- She would plan a surprise party at the Bronze

- She would make sure everyone kept quiet

- (she wouldn’t even tell Dawn there was a party)

- She would want you at the centre of attention

- National y/n day

- she worried you usually would fade into the background cos she always has some slayer stuff to do

- she just wanted one moment where she could show you how much you mean to her

- she was very secretive, but you honestly hadn’t expected anything

- You were just happy to be hers so the fact she was doing this was secondary to your love

- It was T-ten minutes until you were about to walk through that door and who appears?

- A vampire, of course.

- Buffy scowled, storming up to the demon and screamed in his face that he had just ruined a month of planning

- He put his hands up in mock-surrender before dropping it and saying the fight didn’t stop for anyone

- Buffy traded blows and managed to stake the vampire (it was her PB time too)

- But this had all happened… Just as you walked in

- You coughed, spluttering slightly at the dust but you were quickly distracted by everyone’s shouts of ‘Happy Birthday!’

- You smiled, dusting yourself off and wrapping your arms around Buffy

- She looked a bit upset about the dust but you told her it was perfect

- It was the way you both lived and she had managed to do all of this with only a minor attack

- You loved it, all of your friends were there and you got presents and great live music

- She had gotten everything so right

- You danced and had the best time, feeling so loved with your girlfriend by your side

Spike:

- he would have remembered a week in advance

- Mostly cos he overheard you saying it to someone

- He didn’t forget he just wasn’t used to celebrating birthdays

- But of course once he realised he was trying to pull together some kind of plan

- (Although he’s not great at plans, evil plots or birthdays bless)

- He wanted to show you how much he loved you

- But nothing seemed enough

- He made Dawn and some of your more agreeable friends brainstorm with him

- Over what you would like

- Dawn insisted on a party so he just nodded

- The day came and he gave you your gift

- It was so meaningful

- And he even wrote a little bit of poetry

- Almost snatched it from you and tore it up as you read it

- But you gushed over it and absolutely adored it

- So he grinned and you embraced

- Then It was party time! at the Bronze

- He put his good shirt on and took your hand and lead you inside

- Very affectionate, always with a hand on you

- An arm around you, whispers and kisses

- Barely left your side

- So much so that it might as well have just been the two of you

- You had loads of fun with the Scoobies, dancing and laughing

- But as soon as Spike gestured with his head you nodded

- Took his hand and you both skipped the rest of the party

- Knowing the night was young and there would be plenty more celebrations to be had in the crypt

Anya:

- She would be giddy

- She would have such grand, sometimes outlandish plans

- Some too grand to actually be able to pull off

- She wouldn’t be able to keep any secret

- She’s very clingy and involved with a s/o

- So would want it all to be everything you loved

- Would glow if you said all you needed was her

- Absolutely would gush and throw her arms around you

- With that adorable excited smile

- She would plan a big day out

- She’s very adventurous in all aspects of her life

- She would decide on something you would love

- Maybe settle for the beach or she may ask what you would prefer

- Would insist on paying for everything

- The entire day

- If you express surprise at her spending so easily

- She will scrunch up her nose and tell you of course she would spend money on you

- Happily so

- The reason she wants to make more is so that you and her can be comfortable

- Together, just the two of you

- She would choose a really great gift

- It would be wrapped to perfection

- So nicely you wouldn’t want to unwrap it – it was a gift in itself

- You would drive to your destination and she would hold your hand as you walked around

- She may complain a little if it’s a lot of walking

- But she would definitely be enjoying herself

- Would whisper sweet things in your ear

- And you would find a cute little place to have a meal

- It would be very intimate

- And so very soft

- Both of you would cherish the memory of this birthday for years to come

Angel:

- Would be really anxious about getting it right

- You deserve everything to go right

- Wants you to enjoy yourself, to do something you would truly enjoy

- Would be bugging people asking for advice

- Which isn’t like him to initiate conversation

- Especially not with Xander

- But he wanted it to be exactly what you like

- Not outdated or boring

- Just perfect

- And to do that he had to recruit your friends opinions

- Which were contradictory and at times he decided they were making fun of him

- (they thought he wouldn’t know any better)

- But despite all of this he planned the perfect evening

- Some was a little old fashioned

- Probably a sit down meal

- He would have cooked himself

- All of your favourites, he wouldn’t taste it while he was cooking

- He doesn’t really do human food

- But you wouldn’t even have to pretend it tasted good

- You joked that he was annoyingly good at everything

- He gave you the sweetest most thoughtful gift

- Probably something small but oh so meaningful

- You noticed how nervous he had been leading up to today

- You put your hand over his

- You look at him softly, that way that makes him feel so loved

- So sure that this is real

- telling him that he was all you wanted

- It was a perfect day so long as he was by your side

- He grinned in that way he did, looking down

- Feeling more reassured

- Before reaching for you and scooping you up into the biggest hug

- He pressed some soft kisses against your forehead

- Your cheek

- The rest of your birthday evening spent in bed together

Giles:

- It would be an intimate affair, whatever you were doing

- Just the two of you

- Just exactly how you both like

- All you wanted was him anyway

- You insisted you didn’t want any presents

- Only him

- He was so attentive and adoring anyway

- But a little extra today

- He just wanted to do everything you wanted

- It would be your choice all day long

- You get to make all the decisions

- (if you hate decision-making he will ofc take over cos its your birthday lol)

- He’ll want to treat you through out the day

- Lots of small gifts through the day

- Just everything you adore

- Because you deserve all the sweetest little things

- He will take you in his arms, pressing the sweetest kiss to your forehead

- Whispering how much he loves you

- How much he loves this time of year

- Because it gives him the excuse to show you even more so how much he loves you

- He would bring you breakfast in bed and then the rest would be up to you

- You, of course, just want to spend the day with him

- You reach for him and pull him into you

- He would slide into bed beside you

- You would stay in bed together

- just you and him, cherishing the other

- long into the afternoon

- It’s purely bliss

Cordelia Chase:

- She would have a gift for every day of that week

- You would have a birthday week with her involved

- Showering you with gifts

- Some grand, some little tiny things that she saw and thought of you

- You would literally not doubt her love for you

- Her dedication

- And this was her way of showing it, you knew that

- She loved your birthday because she could spend time showing you just how much you meant to her

- She would want to have a big party for you

- Make everyone bring lots of gifts for you

- Literally wouldn’t let people in without at least two medium sized presents

- Or one massive present

- But she was open to suggestions

- (although she definitely got caught up in her vision for the day)

- She could definitely enjoy an intimate moment with you as well

- In the afternoon, before the party

- She would give you a main present

- It’s something you mentioned you liked in a store

- Like seven months ago

- And she remembered!

- Because you mean so much to her

- She’ll smile so big when you tell her how much you love it

- She’ll take you to the party, showing you off

- Won’t leave your side

- You’ll dance and sing

- Just soak up the entire evening

- You can’t believe just how lucky you are to have her

Oz:

- Tells you he has a gig on your birthday

- Can’t get out of it

- Really apologetic

- You say you don’t mind

- He offers you to come

- And you smile wide

- Pleased that despite the inconvenience he would want to spend even a brief break between sets with you

- Would have got you the most thoughtful and meaningful present

- He would have listened to everything you had ever expressed interest in

- He’s a really good listener

- And makes it a point of pride that he knows you this well

- So it was the big day and you travelled together to the bar

- He smiled and lead you in

- Everyone shouted and cheered when you arrived

- It was a surprise party

- With all your best friends

- The biggest surprise was that he planned it himself

- That soft smile when he saw how shocked and pleased you were

- He’ll have pulled you into him

- And pressed the softest kiss against your forehead

- He completely doted on you

- Wanted you to have everything

- So much so he felt a little bad for deceiving you

- But your excitement made it all worth it

- His band would actually play

- A few of your favourite songs

- Or some of the songs that were undoubtedly written about you

- Maybe even a little cheesy happy birthday at the end of their mini-set

- He would come back after that and you would celebrate into the night

- With all your favourite people around you

- Such a perfect day!

Faith:

- She would be a bit embarrassed about how enthusiastic she was

- About just everything about you really

- She would totally have a plan

- She would just be ridiculously embarrassed about it

- And try to play it off as cool

- Or that it wasn’t a big deal if you didn’t want to

- (she would actually die inside if you would rather do something else)

- But of course you want her

- And you tell her this a lot

- She glows when you do this

- She adores having your attention

- She gets that you are very good to her, you reassure her often

- Look out for her

- So she wants to basically pull out all the stops

- In her own way

- She’s been saving up

- For quite a long time

- Wanted to show you just how much she loves you

- You have reservations at Sunnydale’s fanciest restaurant

- There’s champagne: the works

- You’re confused but you smile at her, holding her hand over the table

- It’s nice that people are having to treat you both with such respect

- But you both bite into your meals and make the same face

- Of absolute disgust

- The food is overpriced

- And horrible

- You both look at each other, the same glint in your eye

- You take the bottle and dash for it together

- Laughing and eventually slowing

- You stop after a while, sharing the end of the champagne

- And kiss her

- You turn in and find your favourite fast food joint instead

- You’re both just on such a high

- Probably the best birthday ever

- It felt like it was just you and her

Riley:

- He had precise plans

- Well-thought out in advance

- You truly are the most important to him

- Plan was conducted with army-style accuracy

- So that you could have the best day

- He set up a little scavenger hunt

- Only small but so very cute and meaningful

- All around town

- With love notes and little gifts along the way

- It was truly the sweetest thing

- It melted your heart

- And his little puppy-dog look

- Of enthusiasm and excitement when you find the next clue

- Almost more excited than you

- It’s completely adorable

- You wrap your arms around him and cuddle into him

- Smiling wide when he wraps his arms around you

- Whispering how much he loves you

- Wants you to enjoy yourself

- Just have one day where there was no danger

- Nothing except happiness for you

- It means a lot

- At the end, there’s a gift waiting for you

- One that looks as if it was made for you

- He just knows you inside out

- You’ve arrived at your favourite restaurant

- It was the one that you had your first date in

- He just wants everything to be special

- And about you

- He’s managed to swing reservations and in the same spot by the window

- Because you always say you want to go back

- He only wants the very best for you

- You hold hands and slide your chair so that you get to sit closer to him

- Laying lots of affection on him

- Which he insists isn’t fair cos it’s your birthday

- He’s honestly the sweetest

- He makes your heart melt

Tara:

- Such a sweetheart with you

- Like completely in tune with the kind of day you’d love

- Wants it to truly be all about you

- She would make you your favourite breakfast

- If you woke up and came to see what she was doing

- She would cuddle up to you from behind

- Such a soft smile

- As she wishes you a happy birthday

- Pressing kisses against you

- She’s more excited than you for the day

- Absolutely adores you

- The gift she got you would be so meaningful

- Like completely what you want/needed

- Near knows your mind better than you

- She knows how much your friends mean to you

- Wants you to be happy

- Completely in tune with you

- And what you enjoy

- So she plans a lovely party at the bronze

- With all of your favourite people

- She’s right there with you

- Makes sure to buy you your favourite drinks

- You and your friends have such a great time

- Tara makes sure that it’s all about you

- She makes sure that everyone’s happy

- And that there’s no drama

- Or demons

- (and if any demons do crash, she makes sure that you don’t notice)

- Buffy nods and takes it outside

- She manages to swing your favourite band

- To come and play at the Bronze

- You squeal with excitement (internally lol if you’re not that way out)

- And they dedicate your very favourite song to you

- For your birthday

- You and Tara would dance together and have the best time

- It would be so much fun

- You tell her just how much you appreciate her

- She’s a complete sweetheart

- And you always feel cherished by her

- Like everyday, but especially now

- With all of this love surrounding you

Xander Harris:

- He would want to do something romantic

- Meaningful

- You deserved it

- And he was sure he didn’t treat you as good as you deserved

- Despite you being so incredibly happy with him

- He would tell you that there were plans

- So that you didn’t make any of your own

- But wouldn’t give you anything other than a vague direction

- On what type of clothing to wear

- (something warm but cute like you)

- I’m sure he would take every opportunity to kiss you

- And shower you with as much physical affection as possible

- Throughout the day

- In fact would probably claim the entire week in your honour

- Maybe even the month in his goofy enthusiasm

- Would actually have a present sorted well in advance

- He has an (unfounded in his opinion) reputation for forgetting or not putting so much thought into his gifts

- But he has worked to turn this stereotype around

- Especially so for you

- Very thoughtful with his gifts

- Will most likely have made it himself

- It’s perfect and you tell him this

- Between kisses

- He would then lead you to

- Would blindfold you but you absolutely trusted him

- And you open your eyes and find yourself at a movie theatre

- It’s lovely but you squint and look at him a little confused

- He smiles in that soft way and shows you

- The entire theatre is reserved for you

- Just you and him

- And all the snacks you need

- (he used to work with the guy that manages the cinema and he owes him one)

- They’re showing something you’ve been dying to see

- And you hold his hand, leaning against him

- When you’re ready to leave he shakes his head, pressing a kiss against you

- They’re showing a marathon

- Of some of your all-time favourites

- It was so thoughtful and so entirely perfect for the both of you

Willow:

- Honestly so excited for your birthday

- Basically vibrating with how excited she is

- She really loves you

- And has a bunch of sweet gestures and plans

- Up her sleeve

- Just wants everything to be about you

- You spend the morning in bed, mostly relaxing

- Snuggling and soft kisses against you

- She’ll whisper happy birthday

- And immediately pass you a little gift

- She couldn’t wait any longer

- Bright eyes and a brighter smile

- Widens with yours as you see the sweetest gift

- Absolutely perfect for you

- You wrap your arms around her and stay like that

- For a long while

- Just basking in how much you love each other

- How much you just truly get each other

- Eventually she managed to coax you out of bed

- She snaps her fingers twice and you give her a confused look

- But you soon understand

- She’s decorated the entire house

- Just to your taste too

- Very sweet and all for you

- She took a really long time perfecting the spell

- You get ready, she bought you that outfit you said you liked

- That happened to be perfect for a party

- You both dress nice and go downstairs

- To see all of your friends waiting

- The music starts and your favourite people are all around

- You have a really great time celebrating

- And you can see just how much effort she’s put in

- She’s so sweet with you, brings the fun out

- Makes you so happy

- The day is just perfect

- She baked too, a cake (or the alternative that she knew you would like lol)

- She spent so much time on it, just for you

- The party was so fun everyone ended up staying over

- You and Willow cuddle up on the sofa, whispering long into the night

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dirtydancingdean · 3 years

Text

something about how dean so completely parallels buffy summers from btvs like they are two iterations of the same character. i mean, buffy the vampire slayer is an undeniably a big influence on supernatural, even if the show itself wouldn’t exactly advertise that fact. you have sam’s sacrifice in swan song paralleling buffy’s sacrifice in the gift, the borrowing of a lot of demons and (god help me) lore, the weird amount of buffy actors in the show (sometimes playing vampires, which is hysterical), the campiness and horror. hell, even cas’s moment of pure happiness seems like a nod to angel’s moment of pure happiness. (dean and cas did it better though). but the biggest similarity is the way dean parallels buffy. he’s obviously not meant to. he’s supposed to be a gun-slinging, wise-cracking ladies man, but that’s not what he becomes. honestly that’s not even what he comes across as in the beginning. buffy and dean are both meant to be heroes, but buffy is the main character of her show, while that’s supposed to be sam in dean’s. and buffy and sam do share their similarities, particularly in their desire for normality which backfires on them because of their equally weighed desire to help people. but dean is so much more like buffy in so many ways?? like buffy, dean always feels everything is his responsibility (like he says in 7.05, “There’s always something eating at me. That’s who I am. something happens, I feel responsible, all right?”). this is largely in part thanks to j*hn winchester, while buffy’s sense of responsibility comes from the fact that a whole group of old white men have told her she’s the one girl in all the world who can fight evil. both of them kind of know on some level that this is kind of fucked up and even try attempting to fight back against their imposed duties occasionally. dean says it in 2.20: “Your happiness for all those people's lives, no contest. Right? But why? Why is it my job to save these people? Why do I have to be some kind of hero?” which is buffy to a t! that's what buffy is all about! the loneliness and unfairness of having this burden on your shoulders! buffy says this in prophecy girl: “I don't care! I don't care. Giles, I'm sixteen years old. I don't wanna die.” but they both always, always go back to do their job. they both always sacrifice their own happiness for others. none of the writers would have intended to have dean make a speech that is entirely parallel to buffy summers’s prophecy girl speech, right down to both sarah michelle gellar and jackles’s tears. because ha ha, buffy is a girl hero, while dean is the embodiment of every male fantasy about what an action hero is.

the thing is, though, when you make dean every male fantasy in the world - attractive, good with women, tough, strong, likes rock music, hates chick flick moments, knows how to shoot a gun, looks good doing it, etc - you make him every male fantasy about women too. which is how we get those slow, full-body shots of dean that you normally only get with women, how we get dean being a caretaker, dean being a pacifier between sam and john, dean watching dirty dancing and liking taylor swift, dean always being the bait, dean’s interactions with villains being framed sexually, dean getting called pretty twice a season. we joke about dean being a hot action girl but he is often objectified in the particular way only women in media are. the way buffy is - in the show i think they actually did a pretty good job of not objectifying buffy. but there are times where they do, and it’s uncomfortable, and it’s subtle, the way it is on spn. and buffy and dean are both used to this kind of treatment; they often weaponize their sexuality, using it when they feel threatened. in the first episode of s2, buffy’s just suffered the enormous trauma of being resurrected after having been bitten by a vampire whose violence has sexual undertones. when she comes back to her friends, they talk about how closed off and mean she’s being, culminating in the scene where she goes to the bronze. if you haven't seen that scene then i dont know how to explain the way she absolutely uses her sexuality against xander and angel, just like dean uses his as a front to protect himself against everyone. when buffy’s traumatized she pushes herself away from those closest to her, represses her emotions, and uses fighting demons as a distraction. sound familiar? buffy and dean both make witty pop culture references that monsters don’t understand and self-deprecating jokes about themselves to deal with when they feel threatened and their low opinions of themselves. buffy has a lot of lines that sound just like dean’s! @lazarusr1sing mentioned buffy saying, “I may be dead, but I’m still pretty, which is more than I can say for you,” as a line that dean literally could have said and it’s true! they’re both a fan of quirky banter during fights but they’re both so messed up when it comes to their opinions of themselves. buffy in 7x07: “I have all this power. I didn't ask for it. I don't deserve it. It's like... I wanted to be punished. I wanted to hurt like I thought I deserved. [...] I feel like I'm worse than anyone. Honestly, I'm beneath them. My friends, my boyfriends. I feel like I'm not worthy of their love. 'Cause even though they love me, it doesn't mean anything cause their opinions don't matter. They don't know. They haven't been through what I've been through. [...] Sometimes I feel...this is awful. I feel like I'm better than them. Superior.” yeah, that’s...dean.

and they absolutely dive into self guilt and hatred if something goes wrong, even if it’s not necessarily their fault. faith in 3x15 says to buffy, “In the balance, nobody's gonna cry over some random bystander who got caught in the crossfire,” and buffy says, “I am.” the amount of trauma buffy and dean both go through kind of desensitizes them to this idea - dean especially, i think, though that’s mainly the fault of the sheer amount of writers and episodes supernatural has - but if they get someone killed, they will do absolutely anything to make up for it.

the idea of sympathetic monsters in buffy and supernatural is met with scorn a lot of the time by buffy and dean. for buffy this is a matter of mental self-preservation. her job is to kill demons, and if she lets herself think all demons can be good, then that means she might have been killing sentient beings that could have done good or weren’t doing harm, since she was a teenager. she can’t let herself think that way so she closes herself off to the possibility of demons being good a lot of the time. we talk about how supernatural majorly drops the ball when it comes to empathizing with the monsters (where’s that post, you know, the, “saving people, hunting things, white men with guns decide which is which,” post), but when it comes to dean, part of that is because, like buffy, he doesn’t want to face the idea that he’s been killing things that aren’t evil since he was a child. he’ll make exceptions (cas, crowley, benny, rowena), like buffy makes exceptions (angel, spike, clem, oz, anya), but it’s easier if it’s all black and white. they’re both strangely attracted to monsters too, though, because part of them feels like they are monsters themselves. like @s4castiel said they have romantic or romantically implied relationships with things they’re meant to fight - dean with benny, cas, and crowley + buffy with angel, spike, and faith. and monsters change themselves for buffy and dean’s sakes – cas, benny, crowley, angel, spike, all become better for the sake of buffy and dean! like that leviathan in 7.06 who says dean doesn’t have relationships he has applications for sainthood!

they hate the idea of being seen as just a killer (dean in 3.10, “Daddy knew what you were. Good soldier and nothing else,” and buffy in 5.22, “Guess that means a Slayer really is just a killer after all.”) dean says, “[A killer] is not who I am,” to chuck in 15.19, just like buffy says, “A slayer is not a killer,” through the later seasons. spike’s speech in 5.07 i think, really says it: “Death is on your heels, baby, and sooner or later, it's gonna catch you. And part of you wants it, not only to stop the fear and uncertainty, but because you're just a little bit in love with it. Death is your art. You make it with your hands day after day, that final gasp, that look of peace.” their worst fear is that all they can do is hurt other people. they’ve been brought up to think violence is all they can do. but they both are first and foremost protectors, especially when it comes to sam and dawn, whose roles in both shows respectively is to be a reminder of dean and buffy’s humanity.

dawn, who first shows up in season 5 as buffy’s younger sister, is, represents buffy’s most beloved parts of herself, buffy’s humanity. sam is a lot like her in the respect that their destiny was to end the world; they’re both book-smart too, while buffy and dean act a lot like dumb blondes despite being incredibly intelligent in ways that aren’t clear to everyone. (not to go on a tangent but they’re both really good battle tacticians who make a lot of references to literature and tv shows and can perceive people and monsters’ weaknesses, etc.) dawn is dangerous to the world like sam is dangerous to the world in s2-s5, but buffy will not kill her like dean will not kill sam. you know how in the end 2009 dean realizes just how much 2014 dean has changed when he talks about killing sam as lucifer? sam is dean’s humanity like dawn is buffy’s humanity. they both put their siblings over everything else in the world. they sacrifice things that sam and dawn can’t begin to understand because dean and buffy shield them from it - dean in 2.22: “I had to take care of you. It’s my job,” and buffy in 6.14: “Dawn, the most important job that I have is looking out for you.” in s5 of buffy, if dawn lives, the world ends, and buffy doesn’t care because she can’t kill dawn. in 5.22 she says, “I don't understand. I don't know how to live in this world if these are the choices. If everything just gets stripped away. I don't see the point. I just wish that...I just wish my mom was here. [..] If Dawn dies, I’m done with it. I’m quitting,” paralleling dean quitting hunting after sam dies. they’re both insanely protective over dawn and sam - dean in 2.09: “You make a move on [Sam], you'll be dead before you hit the ground,” and buffy in 5.22: “I’ll kill anyone who comes near Dawn.” when sam dies in 2.22, dean doesn’t hesitate to offer up his soul in exchange for sam’s life; when dawn is about to die to save the world in 5.22, buffy doesn’t hesitate to die to save the world in dawn’s place. this all on top of the fact that sam and dawn are the babies, the ones dean and buffy have to take care of, which means that...no one is taking care of dean and buffy. like, dean in 3.10: “Sam, [John] doted on. Sam he loved,” and buffy’s mom in 5.05 hugging dawn and calling her “little punkin belly” and in response to buffy’s question of, “Did you ever have any names for me?” says, “No, I think you were always just Buffy.” when buffy’s mom gets sick in s5, buffy has to shoulder an incredible amount of responsibility - giving her mom her medicine, taking care of her, taking care of dawn, fighting a hellgod - and can’t break down in front of anyone because she has to be strong for dawn and her mom, the way dean has to be strong for sam and john (john in 2.01: “You took care of Sammy, you took care of me. You did that, and you didn't complain, not once.) they’re both so scared of opening up and being a burden - buffy’s nightmare hallucination of her deadbeat dad in 1.10 says the same kind of stuff about her being a burden and unwanted that zachariah’s projection of mary says in 5.16. it really is about the eldest sister complex in the end!!!

but they didn’t ever really mean to have dean be like buffy! buffy was literally meant to subvert traditional male action heroes. buffy summers is the male action hero, but she gets to have feelings and traditionally feminine traits too. she likes cheese and wearing pink and dressing up and having pretty hair, but she thinks about battle tactics and kills a vampire like every episode. dean? dean is meant to be the male action hero without the part about having feelings and traditionally feminine traits...except that backfires spectacularly. i mean, they give dean traits such as liking nightgowns to be like haha, wink-wink, nudge-nudge, isn’t that HILARIOUS. except it doesn’t come off that way, we know it doesn’t come off that way. so dean’s watched dead poets society and rent and he sings along to air supply and is good with kids and nerds out over cowboys, but he drives a classic muscle car and kills death and carries a gun with him everywhere he goes. dean and buffy both become multifaceted, complicated, human heroes – but it was intentional for buffy. it was unintentional for dean, so the narrative actively punishes him for it. i mean ymmv on how you feel about the ending of buffy, but she does get a satisfying happy ending. dean, on the other hand, is silenced and killed off and gets the worst possible ending for his character, all because they couldn’t control him.

#this is not coherent at ALL im so sorry #but #*blows a kiss* for all my dean girls in love with buffy!#supernatural #buffy the vampire slayer #mine #buffynatural

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takaraphoenix · 2 years

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how about buffy?

Thanks for playing! <3 send me a fandom and i’ll tell you…

the first character i ever fell in love with: probably Willow? I started watching this show during season 4's first airing, when Willow and Tara were just falling for each other so Willow was one of the first lesbians I've ever seen on screen? Plus witch??

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: mh, maybe Angel? I used to be on board with his whole shtick a lot, saw him as a tragic figure, but the older I got the more critical I got of his own decision making that brought him to that point and how he dealt with all of it

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: Angel and Buffy, for the above mentioned reasons too. It was easy to romanticize when you're Buffy's age back then but the older I got

my ultimate favorite character™: Buffy Anne Summers. I love Spike, love him a lot, but Buffy really is just... the best? I love her so much, she is so complex, even as the hero she gets to be flawed and struggle and stumble

prettiest character: well that's harder to answer, there are many pretty characters on this show? I guess Spike

my most hated character: Riley. little bitch

my OTP: Spike/Buffy!! *^*

my NOTP: Riley/Buffy if we're going by canon ships, but non-canon I've seen people ship Willow the lesbian with Spike and Angel, even with both, and just... no...

favorite episode: Once More, With Feeling, for sure. It is uplifting, the music is great, I love it

saddest death: Joyce I mean wow that whole episode. I love how her death is really processed. It's not just... dead, move on, the way other characters die, it really becomes the focus

favorite season: season 7, for sure!

least favorite season: season 4, ironically. But it's just... the villain plot falls apart - I know it's for real world reasons concerning the actress of the supposed main villain, but still. Also Riley. Just. Riley and the military, I hate the military so that also added to it. It's not all bad, obviously - domesticated Spike, my beloved, Tara/Willow, Anya - but it also has many bad things standing against those

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: uuuhm not hate, but I dislike Dawn. I was genuinely surprised by how much Dawn defense is happening on tumblr? She is just... so flat. A bunch of teen girl cliches hiding in a trenchcoat, she barely got more characterization beyond the cliches. The sister of a Slayer had potential but it was wasted by mostly just letting her do Cliche Teen AngstTM? The whiny diary entries so far removed from actual reality, stealing for attention oh wow so original, crushing on her big sister's only guy friend, it's like... paint by numbers, nothing about her was written in a unique way that gave her a unique personality. I wish the writers had done more with her, given her more depth; seeing her have established friends, dynamics beyond the Scoobies, her own thing, and having actual serious conversations. Season 7 was when they actually started to try and give her more, have her meet people in high school now, but that's already the end of the show...

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: Spike? :D *thinking about him literally digging through trash <3*

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Tara Maclay, for sure ;^;

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: I don't have any ship I'd even categorize as "nasty" in this fandom, fact aside that I wouldn't classify any ship I actually ship as "makes me want to cleanse my soul"???

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: honestly I can't think of anything here, perhaps Giles/Joyce?

#Buffy the Vampire Slayer #Fandom Ask Game #send me asks

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comradesummers · 3 years

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Top 5 buffy characters and top 5 angel characters?

Hi, thanks for asking!

Pretty sure that I’ve answered some version of this before but I’m not going to pretend I’m even remotely consistent about these things, so here we are.

Buffy Characters:

5. Rupert Giles

Giles is one of those characters that frustrates me a lot. He’s part of an inherently exploitative system and I’m not sure that, until the final episode, he ever truly extricates himself from that system. The best parts of Giles are his rebellion against the council and the worst parts of him are his ideological ties to them. But that’s what makes him so interesting. Because the man who defies what he’s been taught and loves this group of misfit children like a father is always at odds with the ruthless utilitarian he thinks he has to be. It’s a fascinating series long conflict, and though it’s not always handled as well as I would like, it does always make for a wonderfully flawed but thoroughly lovable character.

4. Willow Rosenberg

Willow is a character I struggle with because she’s the one that reminds me the most of myself. Some of these similarities are rather superficial: we’re both Jewish lesbians that pride ouselves on our academic merits. But on a deeper level, I find Willow’s insecurity and her desperate need to appear strong and important and worthy at all costs to be so painfully relatable that I have a hard time engaging with her at all. I don’t need to explain how incredible her storyline is over seven seasons, how much she grows and changes and evolves, because you know all that already. There’s no denying she’s an incredible character. And the fact that she resonates so deeply with me to the point that she makes me uncomfortable is maybe the best demonstration of what a good character she is.

3. Faith Lehane

Faith was initially introduced as the dark mirror to Buffy (which is why I believe her to be fundamentally tied to BtVS in a way that she isn’t to AtS). But her great accomplishment throughout Buffy and Angel was her evolution into her own character, separate from Buffy. And that’s also Faith’s character arc. At first, she is only able to compare herself with Buffy. She’s angry and jealous of Buffy because she believes that Buffy has everything that she never had and rightfully deserves. And, in many ways, she’s right to be angry. Yet her choice to direct her anger and resentment towards Buffy, as opposed to the real culprits (the council for one, along with all of the adults in her life) is what leads her to destroy herself. It’s only after she’s able to recognize her own self-worth outside of Buffy that she can truly do good and be good and be with Buffy. It’s a remarkable journey to behold and I love her so much.

2. Tara Maclay

I liked Tara well enough before season 6, but season 6 was when I fell completely in love with her. She becomes the show’s anchor that season as the only responsible adult who’s making good decisions, even when those decisions are extremely painful for her, like breaking up with Willow. And in a season dedicated to every other character fucking up, she’s truly a breath of fresh air. But more than just her function as a contrast to the other characters, season 6 really emphasized for me how beautifully and subtly she had developed throughout the show. Her ability to stand up to Willow is such a stark contrast to the Tara who was unable to stand up to her father (not that I’m blaming her for not being able to confront her abuser, I’m just pointing out how the contrast between these scenes demonstrates amazing growth on Tara’s part). Tara initially has no sense of self-worth, but as she develops, she comes to understand her own value and refuses to allow anyone to diminish it. It’s a beautiful, lovely story, and I will forever be bitter that she didn’t get the happy ending she so richly deserved.

1. Buffy Summers

Buffy Summers is my favorite fictional character of all time, as is evident by pretty much every single post on this blog.

Angel Characters:

5. Winfred Burkle

I have some issues with Fred. This is mainly because Joss Whedon’s obsession with this particular type of nerdy and adorable female characters makes me uncomfortable. But Amy Acker is a great actress and I can’t help but find her charming regardless. I think the episode that really sold me on Fred was Fredless. Like, the idea that she can’t face her parents because she doesn’t want to admit to them or to herself what she’s gone through is really heartbreaking. It’s the first time I was able to see Fred as more of a character than a caricature and I realized that I really liked that character. Also, fuck the writers for killing off their only remaining female character just so that Wesley could manpain about it.

4. Lilah Morgan

Lilah is by far the best villain on the show. She was, with very few exceptions, one of the only bad guys who was actually fun to watch. I particularly love that the writers never felt the need to redeem her in order to make her sympathetic. And she is sympathetic. You feel for her a whole lot, probably because Stephanie Romanov is such a pro. But she’s still a terrible, evil person through and through and I love that for her. Why the writers thought it would be a good idea to kill her off is truly beyond me.

3. Lorne

Another character who deserved better (sensing a theme here). Lorne is such an interesting, layered character with a wonderfully bizarre backstory and an interesting way of seeing the world. Yet, despite how wonderful he is, he was always pushed to the background to further another character’s story. And that’s not even mentioning whatever the writers thought they were doing with him in season 5. Also, why couldn’t he have been openly queer? Anyway, RIP Andy Hallet, who was an absurdly talented man who managed to create this incredible character in spite of all the writers’ bullshit.

2. Charles Gunn

Gunn was never just the muscle. The man ran a neighborhood watch/vampire hunting ring while he was still in his early 20′s (I assume? Do we actually know how old he is?). He’s a strategist and a leader in his community. He’s funny and charming and a good man and he deserved so much more love and care and development because he’s truly a fascinating character. But all the writers saw was a black guy who made quips and I am still so angry about it. Anyway, I love Gunn, he is, by far, the best man on the show and possibly in the entirety of the Buffyverse.

1. Cordelia Chase

Cordelia was pretty much the only reason I decided to watch Angel. She’s the best part of the whole show, her character growth is absolutely phenomenal, and I love how she grows as a person while still remaining wholly herself. I love her so much and I’ll forever be bitter about what the writers did to her and how terribly Whedon treated Charisma Carpenter.

#btvs #buffy the vampire slayer #ats #angel the series #rupert giles #willow rosenberg #faith lehane #tara maclay #buffy summers #fred burkle #lilah morgan #lorne #charles gunn #cordelia chase

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263adder · 3 years

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Oooh suggestions for the top 5 ask game! (because I know better than to spam your inbox after the Secret Santa Incident™️ but also had a few different things I’d love to see your top 5 of and didn’t want to pick a favorite of them alfkjasdlfkj) (Also please feel free to answer any of these that you want and disregard the rest) (Also I love you) (Also if you couldn’t tell this is Tori I’m just trying not to expose my main even though I’m aware people probably already know it)

top 5 favorite fics (from any fandom)

top 5 favorite fiveya headcanons

top 5 favorite female characters

top 5 favorite songs (or current favorite songs if that is easier)

top 5 favorite romantic books 👀

top 5 favorite lgbtqiap storylines!

Ooh, this is great – thank you Tori! And I could guess it was you 😄 I don't know why I wrote this in reverse order - maybe because I found the last question easiest - but here we go!

LBGTQIAP storylines:

Nicky/Joe, The Old Guard

Willow/Tara, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Harley Quinn/Poison Ivy, DC Harley Quinn

Raymond Holt/Kevin Cozner, Brooklyn Nine Nine

Lazlo/Nadja, What We Do In The Shadows (you know I love Nandor/Guillermo too but my bi icon Lazlo is king)

Favourite romantic books:

I found this one the hardest to choose from, I’ve been reading so much non-fiction lately I could barely remember what romances I’ve read.

1. A Room With a View, E.M. Forster

2. A Month in the Country, J.L. Carr

3. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

4. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

5. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott (excluding the Good Wives part because that’s when my heart was broken)

Songs:

My favourite band is Free so I did well to only choose one of their songs. The lead singer is the one on the right in the GIF below.

Wishing Well, Free

Sweet Baby James, James Taylor

More Than a Feeling, Boston

When I Grow Too Old to Dream, Nat King Cole Trio

Story of the Blues, Gary Moore

Female characters:

This was quite easy as I did a list a few months ago for my top 10 female characters 😄

Dana Scully, The X-Files

Buffy Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Deanna Troi, Star Trek: The Next Generation

Margaret Houlihan, M*A*S*H

Robin Scherbatsky, How I Met Your Mother

Fiveya hcs:

Cuddling

Bed sharing - it's my favourite trope okay

Jealousy

Midnight snacks

Forming the nerd squad with Ben

Fics (from any fandom)

Fics is a real toughie so I'll just go with either impactful stories (like the first which made me a friend) and great stories I've recently read or have been updated.

We Were There: Emmeline’s Story, Band of Brothers (link) – the first story to get me talking to another writer, and we’re still friends! We’ve sent each other letters and everything. Plus it’s such a romantic story which deserves way more love than it currently has!

Hel is Being Other People, Marvel Avengers (Loki) (link) – the whole series is incredible. Just do yourself a favour and read it.

Between Now and Eternity, Star Trek (link) Amanda/Sarek are such an interesting couple with the human/vulcan dynamic.

The Beauty Within, Beauty and the Beast (link) still a WIP – which has kept me hooked for four years!

Reprise, Much Ado About Nothing (link) you know a writer is good when they convert you to a ship you’d never even thought of before.

Thanks for the ask Tori, this was fun! I know I haven't been great at responding to asks atm 😬 but I'm getting there.

#ask game #top five

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alwaysspeakshermind · 3 years

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tag game!

Tagged by: @carladuquette Thank you and sorry I’m just now doing it! At this point, I should just declare my habit of showing up late to social media things and disappearing for ages soon after my brand.

Rules are to answer the questions and tag 9 people you want to get to know better/catch up with!

last song: “Davy Jones Theme” by Hans Zimmer if we’re talking last piece of music (I like to put it on a loop because it’s too short, leave me alone)...if we’re talking last song with lyrics, either “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G. or “Till I collapse” by Eminem (I don’t remember because it was at the end of yesterday’s workout when I was TIRED, lol)

last movie: The Philadelphia Story (I love this film not wisely but too well probably, whoops)

currently (re)watching: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (hence the icon/header; found out recently my sister had never seen it, so naturally I had to introduce her to the Hellmouth), Cheers, How I Met Your Mother (because I want to anger myself all over again, apparently), The Nanny, Dance Moms (I hate myself so much for this but it’s weirdly addictive), Forensic Files, I Love Lucy/Perry Mason/Twilight Zone reruns, plus The Flash, Riverdale, and Nancy Drew. Also Jeopardy! if that counts, and just finished up The Mandalorian and WandaVision :)

currently reading: Just finished rereading And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie for the bazillionth time and am about to start either The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler because I’ve only ever seen the movie and I want to know what audiences went in there expecting, Where The Mountain Meets The Moon by Grace Lin because I *think* I read it back when I was like 10 or 11 but can’t remember for sure, or the book of Jane Austen’s letters that I started last summer but still haven’t finished because I keep forgetting what letter I was on and having to go back (also, my fanfic TBR list is HUGE now, so who knows?)

Going to tag @akane171 , @monica-posh , @fairychamber , @angelofmusic1296 , @andsmile , @theeternalblue , @tuesdayschildd , @varchiesryissa , and @ronniesandrxws because:

some of you have tagged me in things I can no longer find due to me being stupid and accidentally burying the posts in the abyss that is my Tumblr likes

some of you I have not talked to in forever and that’s sad (sorry or you’re welcome for the respite?)

some of you I don’t technically know but I read at least one of your fics over lunch/on a break or a slowish period but we’re not gonna talk about that bc I am a model employee no really at work and I want to say hi in (temporary) lieu of the comment I couldn’t leave because I was on my phone and my phone is ancient and hates ao3, me, and basically any activity that requires it to hold a charge for more than 20 minutes. So...hi! I promise I did leave anonymous kudos, that I will return at some point and leave some well-deserved comments, and also, tag you’re it. Hope you’re bored and this helps? <3

***If I didn’t tag you and you want to do this/you’re bored enough to try anything/want to say hi but don’t know how to start the conversation, please feel free to go ahead and do it and tag me in it. I’m not unfriendly or anything, I just like...forget to be sociable when I’m scrolling 😬

#tag game #for fun #took me long enough to do this #but at least i did it today and not on Monday #listing Monday's song choices would've been really embarrassing lol

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erricdraven · 3 years

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Blood and Bone Didn't Make Our Home

Chapter 2 of 3

Pairings: Tara Maclay & Spike, Spike/Buffy Summers

Rating: Teen & Up

Death indeed does not distinguish between the sinners and the saints, and who knows that better than Spike, the master vampire formerly known as Slayer of Slayers and Tara Maclay, the witch who finds death at the end of many paths traveled for love? After meeting for the first time at a generic Sunnydale-apocalypse Scooby gathering, the beginnings of an unspoken comradery flowers, and through a myriad of catastrophes of varying sizes, lucky happenstances, and potential world-endages, the two find that sometimes family is found in the most unlikely places.

Sliding the pizza box onto the table, Spike surveyed his supplies. Pizza, crisps, ice cream, assorted sodas… “Should be everything,” he said to himself as he reflexively reached for the fag behind his ear. No, no smoking around the Bit. She was already itching to get into a little trouble, and God knew the Slayer didn’t need one more thing to hate him for.

Though lately, she seemed to be hating him a little less than usual, and that almost scared him more. It was one thing to have to contend with the fact that, apparently, he’d fallen for love’s bloody trick so long ago that there was nothing he could do now but be dangerously entangled with her for the rest of his days, but to be teased with the hope that maybe she could care for him too?

Fuck.

Every time he tried to resist it, the hazy memories of the Red Witch’s spell that made them want to get hitched in holy matrimony like a couple of normal romantic sods would float back to the surface in suddenly bright, bold, living color, and it hurt so much he thought maybe his heart was trying to beat itself to dust against his ribs. He hadn’t had a night’s sleep without her featured prominently in what felt like an eternity. Even before he’d come back to Sunnydale, he had occasionally dreamt of her, dreamt of finally getting the resolution of an uninterrupted battle to its final end at last and emerging victorious over her with the taste of her blood on his tongue and burning his throat like rich alcohol. Now, though, he dreamt of something far more dangerous—worshipping her with every bit of himself he had left to give, touching her tenderly and delighting in her surrendering to a need for him that she felt just as mightily.

In light of the Initiative’s retelling of Frankenstein, Buffy had come to him to negotiate a truce that could see them as reluctant allies. Sure, he’d botched things up right good for a moment there when he thought he would finally get the sodding chip out at last, but he seemed to have proved himself somewhat in the aftermath. He couldn’t undo the past, but he’d tried to make up for what he had had a hand in worsening. It was clear that she was still keeping a purposeful distance from him in all respects, but the friendship he had cultivated with Dawn over time seemed to have meant something to her too. He didn’t want to admit the extent to which his heart yearned for her that to be true.

The rumble of the crypt door being shifted provided much needed relief from his wallowing, and Spike leaned back against the sarcophagus casually. “Got all the hits, kiddo,” he said when Dawn popped her head inside with a grin. “Just don’t tell big sis we’re getting cavities tonight.”

To his surprise, Tara trailed in behind her. She raised a hand in greeting and gave him one of those sunshine smiles he didn’t deserve. “Hey, sorry. Buffy asked me to drop Dawn off for her. So-something about a situation with Giles she had to deal with? Anyway, you two have fun.” She brusquely walked over to Dawn and pressed a kiss to her temple before smoothing down the hair she’d ruffled. “Buffy’ll pick you up, sweetie.”

“Well, hey, no hurry to go, dove,” Spike said, looking down at his chipped nail polish shyly. God, when did he become this person that wanted to be near people so badly? It was stupid and…he was lonely. Bleeding hell. “We’ve got enough to share, ain’t we, Bit?”

Dawn looked up in surprise, nearly a whole piece of pizza shoved in her mouth already, save for the crust. “Mm ‘oo sood say Ta’a!”

Tara laughed lightly. “Well, as long as I’m not interrupting, I guess I could stay.”

“Nah, help yourself.” Spike gestured to the offerings he had out on the table and then snatched two slices of pizza from the box Dawn was soon to inhale in its entirety.

They settled in on the couch with Tara watching on in amusement as Dawn attempted to talk Spike into letting her watch a horror movie that he was insisting was too mature for her. Truthfully, it was a starter horror, but letting Dawn feel like she was getting away with something always brightened her mood, so he played along. Just before the last act, though, she was asleep and snoring softly with her head against the back of the couch.

Switching off the television, Spike crept over to his pseudo-kitchen and grabbed a partially-drunk bottle of whiskey. “Time for a bit of grown-up fun. Care for a nip?” He mostly just asked in an attempt at being polite, but was met with a sound of assent from Tara.

“May I?”

Balancing two lowball glasses in one hand and the neck of the bottle in the other, he sat down on the edge of the end table and handed her the glasses. “Rough day?”

“Not exactly. More just…long. I ha-haven’t been sleeping very well.”

“Bad dreams?” Touching the rim of his glass against hers and uttering a soft “Cheers, dove”, he took a long swallow. After all this time, the burn still made him grit his teeth with a grimace, and there was a kind of comfort in that that he appreciated.

Tara hesitated before giving a stiff nod. “I have a feeling that there’s something coming.”

continue on ao3

#btvs #buffy the vampire slayer #spuffy #spike #tara maclay #buffy summers #otp: he is in my heart #mywriting

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sunnydaleherald · 7 months

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The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, November 7

KENNEDY: OK, and that's magic crazy talk for what? AMY: I put a hex on her. KENNEDY: I got that part. But why Warren? And why did it happen after we kissed? AMY: Oh, (chuckles) that's rich. That must've been some kiss. You must be good. KENNEDY: Answer me. AMY: The hex I cast lets the victim's subconscious pick the form of their punishment. It's always better than anything I can come up with. Elegant, you know? KENNEDY: Undo it. Let her out. AMY: OK. Oh, wait, I forgot - no. KENNEDY: Why would you do this to her? You really hate her that much? AMY: (sighs) This is not about hate. It's about power. Willow always had all the power, long before she even knew what to do with it. Just came so easy for her. The rest of us - we had to work twice as hard to be half as good. But no one cares about how hard you work. They just care about cute, sweet Willow. They don't know how weak she is. She gave in to evil - stuff worse than I can even imagine - She almost destroyed the world! And yet everyone keeps on loving her? So what's wrong with having a little fun, huh? Taking her down a peg or two?

~~Buffy Season 7 Episode #135: "The Killer In Me"~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

To Make Amends (Xander, T, Devil May Cry xover) by madimpossibledreamer

The Jenny Factor (Jenny/Giles, T) by playfulgirl

new directions (Buffy/Spike, E) by trevino

Unexpected Help (Buffy/Spike, Willow/Spike, T) by Anonymous

the one that got away (Jenny/Giles, M) by The_Eclectic_Bookworm

I may never get to Heaven (but I once came mighty close) (Buffy/Angel, T) by angelus2hot

I Know Places (Buffy/Spike, E) by scratchmeout

[Chaptered Fiction]

Vamp for Rent 8/18 (Spike/Xander, M) by forsaken2003

Heart Don't Lie Ch. 18 (Buffy/Spike, E) by NautiBitz

With You Ch. 4 (Jenny/Giles, M) by Bobbie23

1632 Revello Drive Ch. 6 (Buffy/Faith, T) by A_Most_Sovereign_Lady

New York Ch. 9 (Giles/Xander, M) by drsquidlove

A Reincarnation in Sunnydale Ch. 20 (Buffy/Angel, M) by DracoRim98

Knock, knock! Ch. 10 (Buffy/Spike, unrated) by Popsy

Goodbye to Everything That I Knew Ch. 6 (Buffy/Spike, M) by My_Barbaric_Yawp

Blood and Chaos Ch. 34 (Ensemble, M) by Aetheron, quote_Amy_unquote (Sannah_banana)

Who We Are, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, M) by EllieRose101

Surviving Together, Chapter 7 (Buffy/Spike, E) by ionlylikebadboys

Destiny or Choices Made?, Chapter 25 (Buffy/Spike, T) by charmed4lifekaren

Between the Shadow and the Soul, Chapter 3 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Lmrln

Fates Intertwined: A Second Chance, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Spikelover4ever

Early One Morning , Chapter 1-2 (Buffy/Spike, E) by all_choseny

Use It or Lose It, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Dynamite

Fangs Out: Severe Blue, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Dynamite

What the Drabble?, Chapter 38 (Buffy/Spike, M) by VeroNyxK84

More Found Family Ties, Chapter 17 (Buffy/Spike, G) by Julikobold

Giles - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, T) by flow

Part of the Family, Chapter 18-20 (Buffy/Spike, T) by Harlow Turner

Binding, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Harlow Turner

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:Buffy () by Suspicious-Olive2412

Artwork:Buffy Summers (in progress) () by nicknamekittyname

Manip:Touched By Your Presence (Buffy/Spike) by honeygirl51885

[Reviews & Recaps]

PODCAST: ATS 202 - Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been by Another Buffy Podcast

PODCAST: Episode 2 - DELiver the Rain of Toads (The Harvest) by The Sunnydale Diaries

[Fandom Discussions]

I hadn’t given this moment in “Crush” the attention it deserves by raisedbythetv89, lulu-honey

i do love tho how lovers’ walk serves as a really bizarro look into the future for everyone!!! by jennycalendar

The Great Buffy Rewatch by Joan the Vampire Slayer

The ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Storyline That Ruined a Great Season by Joan the Vampire Slayer

Warren shouldn't be hated as much as he is by Multiple Authors

Does anyone have little sympathy for Willow this season? by NoShip

Did Spuffy help Buffy's Depression? by Miss Muffet

Why We Fight by The Whirlwind

That Strange Line From Some Assembly Required by Holden Norgorov

Where can I get the complete series on DVD? by TheOtherMinistr

Could Buffy be able to handle the pain that comes from Cordelia's visions? by jdpm1991

Dawn and Xander by RachelisRach

Potentially Unpopular Opinion: Buffy Season 5, 6, and 7 are just not that fun by MoreGull

Sunday by Virtual_Row_8445

Post Chosen... by UnquantifiableLife

Is Your Favorite Buffy Episode an Uncommon/Unusual One? by somehow_we_missed_it

People... like Dawn? by meltmyheadaches

Did Wolfram & Hart view Buffy as a threat? by Consistent_Stand79

Spike is simply hilarious by RachelisRach

Why was Spike the best? by Strange-Silver3911

body episode now hits different by wheel_smith

Another Buffy/ Rocky connection. by MrsCaseyCarson

Just finished SLAYERS and I'm screaming! by SorchasGarden

Pylea by splodge14

Which spells, rituals, or abilities from the show do you find to be overpowered? by InfiniteMehdiLove

Is he evil? by Hellmouthgaurdian

Fear Itself and Willow should be a werewolf by depthlikeshallowness

Joyce's Jeep and S7 paying homage to S1-3 by sw1200

Are those Knights of Byzantium human or immortals? by aeryn1227

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

PUBLICATION: After 26 Years, Buffy Has Finally Explained Why Giles Was Sunnydale's Watcher by Screen Rant

PUBLICATION: How Buffy The Vampire Slayer's Writers Used Faith To Explore Buffy's 'Bloodlust' by Slash Film

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

#btvs #buffy the vampire slayer #angel the series #fan art #fan fiction #meta

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