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residentdormouse · 6 months

Note

For that fandom ask meme, how about either Stand brainwormies, GoT, or our beloved Buffy? oAo

Thank you for the Ask!

(Fandom Ask Game)

I'm going to do all three, try and stop me! (As I have to wait until I get to a computer to answer instead of my shitty phone keyboard) And tagging @joeysjaskier, since I already started in on this after your ask with the Stand.

The first character I first fell in love with:

Depends on if we're doing specifically 2020 Stand or all around. If you asked me for Stands overall, I would say Nick Andros, because I saw '94 first. But 2020 didn't have me hooked until I saw Glen.

Tyrion Lannister always had my heart right from the start. I still want 'Never Forget Who You Are' tattooed at some point, and that was an episode 1 quote.

Willow was my girl from the beginning. The original do I want to be her, or be with her, questioning.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:

If you told me before that I would be thinking about the Stand every day since I've seen the 2020 version for about two and a half years straight, I would have told you you were full of shit. That's all Glen Bateman's doing. Never anticipated this.

Jaime Lannister. I hated him at the start of it, and dammit if they didn't put him through the shit and make me care about him despite that. (And lets not talk about how pissed I am at his arc ending...)

Eh, it seems like a standard answer, but I didn't expect to like Spike either. But I think that was a surprise to a lot of people, show included, and grudgingly they went with it.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t:

I like all Stand characters, so its like picking the least liked of something you'd still choose over most other things, but I never connected with Larry. I should have, he has qualities that I should have connected with, but I just... didn't?

Similar to the Stand, I like most all characters from this, but have to pick, guess I'm going with.... *crickets sounds in my head*... fuck, I really don't have an answer coming to me.... Bran?

I don't really like Angel. They played the love interest, and I was always 'meh' at best. I even watched Angel too, but I'm going to give credit to Wesley and Fred there (any surprise since I'm using Amy Acker as my main OC faceclaim.)

The character I love that everyone else hates:

I don't know if this counts, cause overall Lloyd is a very much loved character, but I think '20 Lloyd gets some shit because he is definitely different from the book/'94, but I love him still. Does that count?

Who's hated in this fandom? I'm honestly not sure if I differ from general public opinion....

Season 6 gets a lot of hate, but overall, I think its my favorite. I also have a soft spot for Jonathan.

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

Answering for all of them. I usually don't fall out of love for characters. More often than not (like I said with Jaime above), they tend to grow on me out of nowhere.

The character I would totally smooch:

Glen Bateman

Tyrion Lannister

Willow Rosenberg

The character I’d want to be like:

Can they all still be the same as the smoochies?

The character I’d slap:

Randall Flagg. Please. Please let me do this thing. I want to do this thing. Please let me do the thing.

Cercei Lannister. God, this would be so satisfying...

Warren, although I would give this one up to slap Randall Flagg one more time.

A pairing that I love:

I approve of Stu/Fran time, and my mind has drifted to Flagg/Lloyd time as well.

Jaime/Brienne

Buffy/Spike

A pairing that I despise:

Despise is such a strong word... I really don't disapprove of many ships period. I may not always seek them out, but eh...

#Thank you for the ask!#Things I've spent more time on than I should have for $200 #Like I really need to be pushed to think about these shows more #The rats even get a vague sense of Glen and they're fucking gone #Tyrions no better #and Buffy is a staple fandom

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tuiyla · 1 year

Note

btw, do you already dislike Xander? I'm kinda hoping you're going to start writing rants about how much he sucks lmao, but tbf his worst moments are yet to come. I also hope you'll end up hating another male character that most people love, much to my chagrin.

Alright! No more letting this ask sit. Anon, I hope you're around and doing well because we're finally gonna talk about Xander Harris.

I wanted to answer this at different points during my Buffy journey and now, towards the end of season 5, I have to say that... Xander's fine. I totally get where your hope comes from, my notorious Finn posts and all and though I'll get into aspects of Xander I dislike in a moment, I'm afraid I can't be the manhater you need on this occasion. From what I've seen though he's not that well-loved? In my limited experience anyway. So the Finn Hudson effect doesn't apply in that sense, either.

Where I would be frustrated with Xander in similar ways I am about Finn's ch is that sometimes he is framed in an annoying way. He never gets even just called out for lying to Buffy at the end of season 2 or acting like a major asshole in 3x02. All the Scoobies are coming at Buffy there, sure, but none with such vehemence and in such a self-righteous way. Self-righteous hypocrites really piss me off. Had I answered this at the start of season 3 I probably would have been much harsher on Xander than I'm gonna be now. His Angel hatred was so irrational and not worthy of an "I told you so" upon Angelus' turn and it's irritating how entitled he is to Buffy's decisions. Not to mention, I don't care if him sulking about Buffy's rejection is realistic teen boy behaviour, it's tedious and embarrassing. She made it clear that she was not interested and Xander was such an ass about it. His crush on Buffy was a pain to get through and frankly, I don't think Xander deserved either of the girls he's been with since. Cordelia most definitely not and I think Anya deserves better, too, because she's genuinely devoted whereas it really feels like Xander's with her just because it's convenient for him.

His latest really, really annoying moment was his Riley speech to Buffy but honestly I'm just so glad Riley's gone so I'm gonna swiftly move past that. Whatever, Xander tried helping Buffy and luckily she was too late to act on his advice. What stupid advice, anyway, as if Riley was one in a million. Hon, he was literally the 999,999 in a million.

And I said I wouldn't go hard on the guy, huh? Lmao well that was pretty much the list of my grievances. In general? Xander's... fine. He's not gonna be my favourite Scooby in any scenario, no way, but I think since mid-season 3 he's been a lot more tolerable and even enjoyable on occasion. He does feel sort of useless at times but that's acknowledged and a part of his journey so I appreciate that. I don't fully buy into him being the Heart of the group as that position is something that I hold precious, see Katara in ATLA. And no way Xander can even touch what someone like Katara represents within her group dynamic. But I also see that being the Heart is mostly about courage here, loyalty, and as much as he makes mistakes I gotta give Xander that.

Even in that interpretation I struggle with the guy because a) he does have these icky sexist moments that are just not funny and they're meant to be and b) he's not... that full of heart. I just think pettiness gets in the way too often and, compared to someone like Willow's flaws his are more annoying and in general, more. He's not quite the Nice Guy syndrome because he is general a genuinely good friend to Buffy and the others but I wish he wasn't such a teen boy. Or, if he was, cause ya know they unfortunately do exist, that he was framed just a little more critically. I get that that's too much to ask of Whedon's late 90s feminism but it would make Xander an easier character to vibe with. I mean, I'm guessing there must be a reason I had zero idea about his existence prior to watching the show but had a vague idea of most other Scoobies. I knew so many things about Willow and was aware of chs like Oz, Cordy and Tara, but I was half-expecting Xander to only last a season or two. Because surely, if he was there for the whole show I would have heard people talk about him already.

So, yeah, it might not sound like it because I more so talked about the negatives than positives but I don't hate Xander by any means. He's not frustrating enough to be loathed or ranted about but he's also not nearly engaging enough to be on the level of the other Scoobies. He has his moments, though, and more often than not I find myself enjoying Xander-centric episodes. Soooo... is that anything? I hope I don't disappoint but now that I'm at the end of season 5 maybe you can share more about your Xander thoughts, I'd be happy to listen.

#anon #buffy asks #xander harris #anti xander harris #sort of idk if that's polite to tag #btvs #god i finally got to this ask! sorry anon hope you're well

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chasingfictions · 2 years

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ats is better than btvs dont let the fact that im posting this on april 1st give u any wrong ideas i am one hundred percent serious about this

FIRST OF ALL who needs stories about women and queerness when you can have stories about big men saving tiny women except sometimes he doesnt successfully save tiny woman and then he has to be sad about it :(((((((((((

SECOND OF ALL btvs wastes all this time developing its women characters' arcs based on who they are as independent people and their psyches when it would have been way more efficient to just build their story arcs out of how they fit into the lives of the men around them. it just saves time. and isnt that what you want from a story? to just get in and out as soon as possible?

THIRD OF ALL it's insane to me that btvs doesnt even find time for One mystical pregnancy plotline??? it's just such an obvious fantasy show trope and it feels like they dont even respect the genre to not include it, like ats does it ??? what? 5 times? 6? which is a sign of what a mature show it is, that it keeps revisiting this theme to give it new layers of meaning (about how women should be punished for existing. obviously).

FOURTH OF ALL ats just improves on all btvs characters who cross over. first of all, putting faith in prison? where she Belongs??? was a brilliant point. btvs as a show is far too loose and radical with the law. ats makes a firm stand that crime is crime and should be punished ideally with well-funded and cruel judicial systems. and buffy? i know she's barely on the show but i think her two brief windows on ats are better than all of her portrayals on all of btvs. like, buffy is just so much more interesting to me as a symbolic representation of angel's angst than she is on her own terms, and i think ats really understands that. not to mention how much better spike is on ats. he can really get back to his roots as a comic relief character. which is such a better use for him than trying to make him a romantic lead. i mean spike?? a romantic lead??????? insane and yet another reason btvs doesnt have rights.

FIFTH OF ALL it just has such complex plotting. btvs would never have the guts to do a full memory wipe of an entire person from the other characters' minds as it enters its final season and then never really touch on what that means for them or how it's affected their relationships with each other. like, btvs was way heavy-handed foreshadowing dawn's existence and then spending all this unnecessary time in s5 working through how dawn's existence impacts buffy's psyche. ats doing a much more understated approach of hardly ever mentioning connor at all in s5 or considering how his absence would impact things is a way more mature form of storytelling :))) like, it's show don't tell. that's writing school day one.

SIXTH OF ALL i just think btvs is really reverse-misogynist at a certain point. it's like, by the time we get to the late seasons there's basically no men on the cast? ats really balances that out and makes sure we're getting men's perspectives in storytelling :) which is something really lacking from media :) that plus all the time they spend on a gay relationship when it's like,, why do we have to make a whole thing about how willow and tara are gay? isnt that reducing them to their queerness??? isnt it actually far more progressive to work like ats, and kind of vaguely imply lorne is gay with the everything about him but never actually say so and blatantly contradict it in dialogue? just to keep 'em guessing, you know. the last thing you want is for a show to be obvious

my only gripe with ats is that they bother building up side characters when it should be much more focused on angel himself. like literally who cares about characters like fred or gunn or lorne or lilah? i think it would have been a much tighter show if they had just focused on classically grizzled and complex male protagonists like angel and wesley and lindsey. none of them got nearly enough screentime or attention paid to their development. i mean thank god they killed off cordy and fred by mystical pregnancy and stopped paying attention to gunn and lorne's characters in ways that made sense and wrote lilah off to be replaced with a discount lilah who didnt matter for the final season? so we could really spend time with the characters who matter? but like, they could have done that way sooner

#SERIOUS POST THAT I AM SERIOUS ABOUT #:)

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tinumiel · 3 years

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My Spuffy feels and why I feel that Spike/Buffy are a much more complete and better suited couple.

First of all, I want to say. I have yet to read BTVS Season 8 to 12, so please, please, PLEASE don’t spoil me anything.

TW warning: the following analysis contains mentions of sexual assault, emotional abusie, toxic relationships and death.

First thing you need to know is that Buffy and Spike’s relationship in Season 6 is toxic and mutually abusive. This doesn’t mean it doesn’t have it’s good moments, but it is toxic none the less, and there is no way around that fact. The fact that their actions can be explained does not mean they can be excused. I know it, you know it, and any Spuffy shipper who tells you otherwise really missed the point of everything. They do a lot of harm to each other, and neither is at a healthy mental state to have a healthy relationship. Buffy is dealing with her resurrection, and Spike is dealing with these feelings that go against everything he has ever believed during his time as a vampire and he doesn’t understand, and probably an identity crisis. While they find comfort in each other, it is not in a healthy manner. Buffy is using Spike, and Spike displays obsessive behavior towards her.

It all culminates in Spike trying to force himself on Buffy, which is the final proof that this relationship had become as unhealthy as they come.

But, we need to analyze the entire situation more deeply, because, unlike most cases, it is not a black and white thing. Spuffy is not black and white, and that is the depth of their relationship.

What is important to remember is that, at this point, Spike is still a vampire without a soul. But, unlike other soulless vampire (including Angel, all you apologists), he is capable of feeling affection and genuine empathy for others. He is capable of good deeds, as we see majorly in season 5. He cared particularly for Dawn and Joyce (see how he paid his respects to Joyce after she died, not because he wanted to impress Buffy, but because he was genuinely fond of Joyce). After Buffy’s death, he could have left Sunnydale, since there was seemingly nothing left for him there. The Scoobies could not and would not remove his chip, the girl he was in love with was dead, he could hunt demons anywhere. But, he stayed AND helped the Scoobies to fight against the demons. This was, most probably, because he had come to care for Dawn and wanted to look after her.

But, he is still a soulless vampire. And as long as he stayed as such, he would never be a good guy. He was capable of good and selfless acts, he was capable of love, but his natural condition remained evil. In order for him to truly redeem himself, he needed to have a soul, and in order for that to happen, there needed to be a turning point for him, an event terrible enough for him to fully realize his “evilness”, process it, be horrified by it, and decide to atone for it. This was the sexual assault on Buffy. It could have been something else: murder, torture, etc. But the creators chose this, and I think it makes sense, considering how deteriorated their relationship had become.

But, how could Spike really become aware of te fact that what he had done was something terrible? In order for that to happen, I think the central factor is that he had to have no truly evil intentions. Spike sexually assaulted Buffy; but, he didn’t mean to. It was not a conscious action in which he did not care for the victim’s feelings, and only for his gratification. This is what allows him to realize that what he has done is terrible and that he must hold himself accountable for it. What proves that he had no ill intentions?

I read that a key factor in Buffy and Spike’s relationship in season 6 is the word “no”. But in this case, no usually meant yes. A problematic statement, but let me explain. Most of the times they said no to having sex with each other (particularly Buffy), she did not really mean it. It was more of a mandatory thing for her to say because she was not supposed to want Spike, but she did. It was why they always ended up together. The struggle was also part of, let’s say, their foreplay (see that very hot scene of the house destroying). Spike and Buffy’s relationship, particularly at this stage, it’s a love and hate, enemies to lovers dynamic. So, all of this was normal for both Spike and Buffy. Because of this, when Buffy refused him, Spike initial thought it was most probably that it was just another case of the same scenario.

The audience realizes it’s not way before him, of course. Because we are not soulless vampires. Spike, while capable of selfless acts (like I already said), is coming from a very selfish position in this moment. He doesn’t stop to think of what Buffy is really feeling or considering the possibility that this time her no is a “real no”, but assumes that she is simply resisting him in the same manner she always did, because in that moment, he is being a typical soulless vampire. It is something the audience has probably come to forget at that point because of the good he had done previously, but, like I said, Spike would never be a good guy as long as he didn’t have a soul. He was bound to commit something atrocious sooner of later.

But, and here is the key element to this situation and one of his main differences with Angel. He realizes his mistake. Not exactly on his own accord. Like Buffy says, it was only because she stopped him, but that moment of stop was shocking enough to “bring Spike back from his frenzy”, really think the situation through and realize what he had been about to do. And unlike soulless Angel, Spike feels guilt for his most terrible act, he feel disgust at himself. He realizes he doesn’t want to be this person, and that he has to do something to take responsibility for what he has done. This is the moment Spike realizes he wants to be a good guy. And that he can’t be a good guy as long as he doesn’t have a soul. This is the pivotal moment. It is in this point that his actions do become black or white: he either chooses to be good or he chooses to remain bad. And he goes for the good action, thus initiating his redemption arc. But this would not have been possible without the extreme situation that was the horrible act of attempting to abuse Buffy.

After this, we reach Season 7. Spike has a soul now, and much like it happened to Angel, he is taking responsibility for all the terrible things he did in the past. He can’t change them, and all his victims are most likely dead, so the only way to take accountability is to start to do good, which he does. The one of his victims he can answer to for his crime is Buffy. So begins the journey of Spuffy in season 7, that begins with Spike properly experiencing and accepting the guilt and blame, and understanding the extent of the harm he did to Buffy, and accordingly changing his behavior. Where he was once selfish and obsessive, he is now comprehensive and supportive. He gives her the space she needs, listens to her, respects her feelings. The trust between them begins to develop and strengthen, and their relationship matures into a healthy love that is not based purely on physical attraction and unresolved feelings; but in full communication and mutual compromise. Just like Buffy accepted that Angel with a soul was not the same man as Angel without a soul, she accepts that Spike with a soul is not the same as Spike without a soul, and thus, forgives him and starts to trust him again. And this time, Spike proves himself worthy of this.

A lot of people, for some reason, seem to judge Angel with or without a soul as separate people (like Buffy does) but Spike with or without a soul as the same. I don’t know if this is because Angel answers to different names depending on his soul condition, or because his personality changes drastically, but either way, of course under this circumstances Angel is going to seem more healthy and come out on top. But if he were to be judged under the same standards as Spike, he would turn out to be much, much worse. Unlike Spike, Angel without a soul is incapable of love, selfless acts, or feeling empathy under any circumstances, nor is he interested in them. His only joy is to cause pain. He abuses Buffy, perhaps not sexually, but definitely mentally and emotionally, stalks her, threatens and kills those who are close to her and is obsessed solely with the intention of causing her pain. And he does not regret any of these actions. His soul is imposed on him as a punishment. Once he has it, of course, he is happy for it. But when he loses it, he has no interest in taking it back. Spike, on the other hand, has his soul restored. He resolves to search it on his own initiative because he wants to get better. He is willing to face trials that will test his physical and emotional resolve for it because he wants to be a good man. Angel’s soul is meant to be a punishment. Spike’s soul is meant to be a blessing. So, if they are both to be compared and judged, it has to be under the same terms. Just like Buffy does in the show. So they are either judged as separate entities (with and without a soul), or as a whole.

Taking all of this into account, I think it’s safe to say Spike and Buffy are on the long run a much better suited pair, because their relationship is much more mature and developed. They’re based on open, serious conversation, and mutual agreement and compromise, as love should be. Both Spike and Angel (that is, Spike and Angel with a soul) are good, healthy love interests for Buffy, but Angel’s relationship is much less mature and developed. Angel wants to protect her and preserve her, while Spike wants to support her and let her grow. One is a relationship from her teenage years, when she was still growing to be the person she was to become; while the other is a relationship developed throughout different stages in which they have both come to know each other fully well at their worst and their best.

Angel will always be Buffy’s first love and first soulmate. It will always be true love. And they will always have a deep, unique connection. But Spike is her true love soulmate, and to a much deeper level, because just as they reach the point of becoming the man and woman they were meant to be, they are there for each other to have the relationship and love they were both meant to find.

If you read this whole uncalled for reflection, you deserve a cookie and all my love.

#buffy the vampire slayer #spike #buffy #buffy summers #spike x buffy #spuffy #angel

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council-of-readers · 4 years

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Buffyverse Headcanons: Living with Spike, Angel, Faith, and Buffy(separate)

Request: okok could you write headcanons for Spike, angel, faith an buffy for what it would be like living together with them and stuff thank uu

I might do more of these at a later date. It was really fun coming up with stuff. I set Faith's post season 7, so sorry if that was confusing.

~•~

Spike

The two of you share an apartment on the outskirts of town.

It's small and really not the best, but you're used to living in places like this at this point. It kind of comes with the territory.

Better than that crypt, that's for sure.

Of course, there were no windows, but he doesn't want you getting depressed, so he definitely buys one of those synthetic sunlight lamps for you. He's thoughtful, on occasion.

Actually, a lot of the time, but he doesn't like you bringing it up.

Since your sleep schedules don't exactly line up, he's always incredibly cautious about waking you up.

He turns down the volume if he's watching tv or playing a video game and tries desperately to keep his outbursts of anger towards losing at a minimum.

Spike is a very light sleeper, so he'd be very grateful if you'd extend the same courtesy.

It might be good to get a job or try to stay out of the apartment during the day because it is so easy to wake him up.

He's not often rude about it, and just tries to go back to sleep, but if he get sleep deprived enough he will snap at you, which neither of you really want.

Movie nights are a must.

They're weekly, and often the highlight of the week for both of you.

If you're okay with scary movies, that's typically what it'll be, but if you aren't, he'll either pick something so cheesy it couldn't scare you, or an action film.

He doesn't mind a good romance flick, but again, please pretend not to notice.

He's definitely going to pull the arm over the shoulder yawn routine every single time, and yes, he thinks it's hilarious.

Humour him, please.

You need to get two mini fridges because he will take your food, and this man drinks an ungodly amount of beer and needs a place to store it. Plus, somehow, you can taste the blood on your food.

He swears there's no way you could, but tell that to all the mashed potatoes he's ruined the taste of.

Angel

Living in a hotel is strange, to say the least, but not wholly unlike living in an apartment complex.

It certainly made it easier to find your own space if you need room from everyone else.

Though, you all got along fairly well. Fights were rare, and unless you went out of your way to annoy the others, hardly involved you.

It was surprisingly quiet most days.

You'd think having clients come in at all hours would be disruptive, but, for the most part, they were calm and didn't make much of a fuss. It made the hotel a nice place to retreat to in the busy city.

Angel isn't really the clingy type, but you'll typically find him in the same room as you.

He's content just to sit in silence and read while you do chores or watch tv.

He's actually a pretty big reader, so if you are one as well, you'll end up doing a sort of book club thing whether you mean to or not.

Either you'll be reading the same book at the same time or you'll pick it up right after the other one finished it so you can discuss it together.

Full on dates became less frequent once you started living with him, though they weren't a regular thing even before.

If you want to spend more time with each other, you'll just hang around more.

He is working a lot of the time, so if you really want to see him and spend actual quality time with your boyfriend, you need to vocalise it.

Angel can get in his head about some things. Including you.

Thoughts that you're better off without him, that he's a danger, and that you're only with him because you pity him can creep in easily.

They make it hard for him to reach out and say he wants to be around you more.

He doesn't want to drive you away.

Especially since you live together, he worries you might grow sick of him.

So, please ask to be around him and set aside time for just the two of you. Chances are he wants to but is a little too nervous.

He's a pretty deep sleeper so you don't have to worry about waking him.

That does become a problem, however.

See, Angel is a big sleep cuddler, and he's not weak by any means, so if you're caught in an uncomfy position, you're basically stuck there all day.

Sucks to be you, I guess.

Faith

Faith is actually pretty fun to live with.

She's really relaxed and doesn't care too much about where you're both at.

Mostly, the two of you live out of a converted van, but occasionally you'll spring for hotels.

It's not a bad life by any means.

You've converted the back into an incredibly comfortable living space, and it's not hard to share with her.

She does have a bad habit of leaving clothes and things out, but if you ask her once it'll improve almost instantly. As much as she tries to hide it, she does want you to think well of her.

You go on trips to LA pretty frequently, often chasing bands or just popping by to say hi to Angel.

Sometimes if a Scooby or two was in the states you'd drive to them to help out.

Other than that, you went where a slayer and her number one fan were needed. Or, simply wherever you wanted to go.

Fights were pretty frequent in the beginning of your relationship, but as she grew more comfortable with you and felt more secure, Faith picked them less and less. At this point, they only really happen if you start it.

She tries to treat you by getting you gifts and little trinkets from each city, even though there's less and less room in the van.

Sometimes it's jewelry, if you wear it, or maybe a keychain, a bobblehead, or a CD for a band you like.

She has a hard time being vulnerable with you, or anyone, though, so expect things to just kind of appear.

It's rare for her to actually hand you a gift, but she'll leave things on your side of the bed, or you'll find them laying about on the dashboard. Occasionally, though, and usually only if she's got a few drinks in already, you'll be given whatever it is directly, albeit with no eye contact and a few excuses.

It wasn't on sale, and you both know that.

But you know this is just how she functions.

If you ever got her a gift she'd melt on the spot. There would be attempts to hide it with some light teasing, but she'd really be so happy you thought of her.

The nights on the road are the best.

Screaming out the lyrics to whatever song was on, laughing at each other's jokes, and making fun of the silly little towns you passed through.

Life had been hard for Faith, but being so close to you made it just a little easier to handle.

Buffy

It could get a little stressful in the Summers house, truth be told.

With all the demons breaking in, and Dawn and Buffy fighting through all hours of the night, it's not exactly the calmest environment.

To Buffy, though, you make it all worth it.

She can always vent to you if her sister gets on her nerves, and it makes her feel happy to know that Dawn does the same.

You were always like the cooler relative that she never had, and after Joyce died, you and Dawn grew incredibly close.

She was all for your relationship with her sister as well, which was helpful.

Dawn was actually one of the reasons Buffy was hesitant to ask you out. She didn't want to put any stress on her that she didn't need, and she didn't want to ruin the bond you shared.

It took a while for you to move in, but once you did, Buffy couldn't imagine life without you.

You helped with the cooking, cleaning, and general house repairs, and more importantly you helped Buffy deal with everything going on in her life.

It really made life so much easier to cope with.

Waking up to find you making breakfast for the three of you, or watching you help Dawn with her homework were little joys she didn't even realize she was missing.

It can seem out of the blue, but often when she sees you doing little things like this, Buffy gets affectionate.

Little hand squeezes, soft kisses on the forehead, or your cheek, and hugs from behind appear to be random to the untrained eye.

She just gets overwhelmed by love for you sometimes and needs to show it.

The two of you are surprisingly soft when you're alone. She needs that softness. It keeps her grounded, and helps her push forward.

You really are her rock.

Dating a slayer is hard, though not as hard as actually being one.

She has baggage, and you need to accept that.

Her job is vital to the safety of the world.

So, yeah, she comes and goes all hours of the night, and often comes back a little more broken than she left, but she knows you're at home waiting for her and ready to patch her up again.

Hold her while she sleeps, braid her hair, treat her wounds, and she'll be yours forever.

#buffy x reader #buffy #buffyverse #buffy fanfiction #buffy the vampire slayer #btvs #spike x reader #faith x reader #faith lehane #angel x reader #angel the series #buffy summers #dawn summers #buffy headcanons

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musingsofanunorgainizedmind · 3 years

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Top 10 Things I Love About Supernatural

It’s been almost half a year since the show ended and now that the dust has settlIed, I just want to list ten reasons I love this show. Despite it’s flaws, it’s been quite the ride.

1. Team Free Will

When I first got the idea to make this list, I originally planned on doing entirely separate entries for “Sam & Dean” and “Destiel”. Except then I wanted to pay tribute to “Sastiel”. And then I wanted to do an entry for “Team Free Dads”. By that point, I was already halfway through the list and I hadn’t even moved on from the main characters. A few months ago, I made a post about why I love every single pairing in this group. Obviously, Sam and Dean are a legendary duo. Obviously, Dean and Cas have an unparalleled story. Obviously, Sam and Cas are an underrated team. As for Team Free Dads, I’ve always had a soft spot for father/mentor figure characters and and all three tackle the role in different ways. I love Jack, too. I love how everyone in this bizarro family is “broken” in some way. We’ve got the Allistair’s prized pupil, the spawn of satan, the boy with demon blood, and the angel who nearly obliterated all of heaven. But they help each other heal by being supportive and seeing the good in each other. They all love each other so deeply and when together, nothing can stand in their way. Not Michael, not Lucifer, and not God himself. They tore up the book and wrote their own story. And it was a pleasure to watch it all unfold.

2. The Suppporting Characters

To list every single supporting character I have loved and lost in this show would take way too long. I don’t know if it’s the writing or acting performances, but I love pretty much every single supporting character on this show. Even villains like Azazel or Allistair are top-notch villains. Hell, I even like characters like Metatron, Lucifer, Mary, and John! Characters like Rufus, Charlie, Crowley, Rowena, Kevin, Ellen, Jo, Bobby, Gabriel, Balthazar, Mick...how am I not supposed to love them??? All of their stories were cut so short. I’d watch a show about any of these characters. The Wayward Sisters were robbed. So many ships were gone too soon (Sam/Rowena, Dean/Jo, Cas/Meg, Etc.). So many heartbreaking deaths. I want to be best friends with all these characters. Why be a “dean-girl” or a “sam-girl” when you can be a garth-girl? A kevin-girl? A claire-girl? A bela-girl? There are so many great characters with interesting and compelling backstories and so much untapped potential. I could go on forever on this, but I digress.This show has one of the best supporting casts I have ever had the pleasure of watching.

3. The Themes

It’s no accident that I got addicted to this show at the time that I did. Namely, my Senior Year of College and 2020. Graduating college and entering the “real world” felt like it’s own sort of apocalypse. 2020 definitely exacerbated my worst tendencies. Messages like “family don’t end in blood��, “you can write your own story”, and “always keep fighting” really resonated with me. I could definitely relate to the feelings of insecurity these character’s felt and the ways they suppressed/repressed their issues instead of facing them. I could relate to the feelings of not fitting in and I could definitely relate to the loneliness. This show helped remind me that I’m not alone. That it’s okay if my values and identity don’t line up with the what I envisioned for myself. And, most importantly, that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that I should never give up. If Dean, Sam, and Cas can keep moving forward despite their demons and despite how bad it gets, so can I. Regardless of how the story ended, these themes resonated with me and I’ll still hold them with me. A single episode can’t take that away.

4. The Fun Episodes

This show has so many legendary standalone episodes. Changing Channels. Ghostfacers. The French Mistake. Fan Fiction. Tall Tales. Bad Day at Black Rock. When this show goes for the absurd, it goes all-in. It takes the risks it needs to take, it gets completely insane, and it pulls it off. So many of these episodes could have easily been the moment that the show “jumped the shark”. Yet, time after time, the show delivered on it’s potential. I don’t know how much I can say about these episodes except that they made me laugh out loud, made me fall even harder for these characters, and that they’re the episodes I remember best. If I were to rewatch any episode, it would be one of the fun ones. This show knew how to not take itself too seriously and how to poke fun at itself. I’ve always had a soft spot for shows that can make me laugh and cry (X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel, Doctor Who, etc.), and this show definitely nails the fun part.

5. The Sad Episodes

Death’s Door. Hammer of the Gods. Despair. Carry On. Abandon All Hope. In My Time of Dying. Swan Song. When this show wants you to cry, it doesn’t pull the punches. It gets downright devastating. No character is safe. Literally every character you love will either be forgotten or will die. Or both. The amount of trauma Sam and Dean have to go through is insane. Both have literally been to hell and back. Both have killed countless people, including innocents. When this show decides it wants to wreck you, it’s overwhelming. I sobbed when Bobby died. I sobbed when every single member of Team Free Will died for the final time (I still can’t watch any of those scenes). I still wish Jo, Ellen, Charlie, Kevin, Mick, and Gabriel had been given more time to tell their stories. Being a hunter means a life of endless angst. Being an angel or demon doesn’t get you off the hook, either. I remember going into this show thinking it couldn’t hurt me. My favorite character type is “mentor/father figure”. But holy hell...I don’t think every single sad moment was necessarily good writing, but when it was? Damn.

6. The Biblical Themes

I’m not a relgious person. But, despite this show being steeped in Christian mythology, it really touched on my feelings about the Old Testament in a profound way. Well, really just Ben Edlund and Robbie Thompson did. I’ve never seen a show really hit the overall feel of the bible the way this show does. The idea of Angels as mystical and terrifying creatures. The idea of God as a flawed father figure with a penchant for wrath. The sheer epicness of the biblical stories. The idea of family members constantly being turned on each other. Cain and Abel. Jacob and Essau. Moses and Ramses. Moses and Aaron. Abraham and Isaac. The bible is full of stories of family drama. This show doesn’t always give angels and demons weight. Sometimes it’s silly and stupid and cheesy. But when it hits right? It’s epic. This is more of a personal thing I love about the show, but definitely a plus!

7. The Music

The early seasons music is so good. I really miss the classic rock of the golden era of the show. I mean, there are still some great musical moments later on, but damn. I loved hearing songs I recognized and I loved learning new songs. I loved when the song and the scene hit perfectly in time (Death’s intro. Cas’s return in Season 13.). Also Supernatural wouldn’t be Supernatural without the ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’ song at the end of every season. Even at the end of a season I didn’t love, that recap would always get me pumped. Also Chuck singing Fare Thee Well? Dean and Lee singing together? Fan Fiction? All great.

8. The Cast & Crew

I never care about the actors or actresses in a show. I definitely don’t bother with the names of specific writers and directors or their styles of writing/directing. They’re just random people who happen to write for or play these characters I love. They’re not actually the characters. But these guys? Well, for one, I’m pretty sure half this cast actually is their character. At least to some degree. They’re also just...really cool people? Who are all friends? They make a point to do community service, to interact with fans, and to promote positive ideas. Jared’s Always Keep Fighting campaign. Misha and GISH. The fact that they all participate in fundraising opportunities and encourage fan engagement. Do they all have issues? Definitely. Have they said stupid things? Yes. But the good far outweighs the bad. They’re an entertaining bunch whether onscreen or not and I hope they all do well in whatever their future endeavors may be.

9. The Fandom

I joined this fandom late. To be honest, I thought this fandom was obnoxious before I found myself a part of it. Now that I’ve been in the trenches? It’s got it’s ups and downs like any fandom. There are some parts that are more toxic than others. A lot of people yelling that their opinion is the only opinion. But overall? The good outweighs the bad. And the good? The good is great. Some fanfictions I’ve read are better than actual books I’ve read and just as moving. The fanart? Incredible. I love reading all the metas about random aspects of the show I never would have noticed. I love the music videos and I love the analytical videos. In real life, I’ve made many friends through our mutual love of this show. Hell, even getting sucked into GISH once or twice has given me some solid memories and brought me closer to friends. I wish all fandoms were this much like family. I’m so glad I got to be a part of this fandom and I can’t wait to continue being a fan. After all, nothing ever stays dead in Supernatural.

10. The Chaos & Insanity

Season 16 has been a time. First, Destiel went canon. Then suddenly Sherlock was having a 5th season, Putin was retiring, and Georgia was going blue. Destiel going “canon” and Joe Biden winning the presidency will always be correlated in my mind now. Things in the fandom went from quiet to blaringly loud real fast. Carry On happened. The fandom went into a civil war. I can’t even remember half of what happened in Season 16, but it’s been a wild ride. There’s been ups (my personal favorite being the french dub and the Saileen wedding). There’s been downs (Jared’s controversial statements and the original scripts being leaked). At one point Misha Collins had sex with Bill Clinton???? It’s been a wild time. It’s honestly gotten me through the end of this pandemic. At least it’s entertaining. I would say that at least all the craziness is over, but is it ever really over? Every time I say that something else completely insane happens. But it’s been fun. I’m glad I started watching this show despite my reservations and here’s to whatever happens next.

#team free will #team free will 2.0 #castiel #jack kline #sam winchester #dean winchester #sam and dean #destiel #wayward sisters #supernatural #spn #misha collins #jared padalecki #jensen ackles

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prose-for-hire · 3 years

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How Btvs characters would spend Halloween with their s/o:

A/N: This is based on the assumption that the reader really enjoys Halloween 🖤🦇

Buffy summers:

Buffy really likes Halloween

Surprisingly

Often her one night off

But she loved it from being a kid

Having fond memories of trick or treating and then squabbling over candy with Dawn

Being allowed to stay up late to watch movies

When she told you her fond memories you were determined to create more fond memories for her on Halloween

Will absolutely love the idea of a couples costume

But won’t want you to tease her about it

Once you get the hints she’s dropping you would totally pick the cheesiest outfits to compliment each other

You spend all day making Halloween treats with Dawn and not allowing Buffy in the kitchen

And you share them with her before you go to a Scooby gathering/party

you dress up and Dawn hypes you both up (she loves you together)

the party is fun

you laugh along with your friends and even bob some apples

(Xander’s idea)

You rent a bunch of movies to watch for when you get in

you want to recreate something that feels like home for her

She cuddles up to you and kisses you softly thanking you silently

she really loves you and now she loves Halloween more

Xander Harris:

big Halloween fan

he really enjoys it

Won’t shut up about it as soon as October first hits

It’ll be infectious and he’ll love it if you’re as enthusiastic as him

Will have horror movies all lined up for the whole month

you’ll settle in, dim the lights and cuddle up

On the 31st he will have saved the best line up until last

Will want to spend as much time with you as possible

So movies will be his ideal

You’ll both for sure be dressing up even if you’re not going out in the evening

he’d do a couples costume but may actually prefer surprising each other with your respective costumes

Bonus points if you dress kinda sexy he won’t be able to keep his hands off you

Will have so many films lined up you’ll have to stay up basically all night to finish

He’ll have the classics and some more modern ones too to mix it up

He’ll know a whole bunch of facts about the filming too

You bring the snacks and just enjoy your night together

It’s perfect cos it’s the two of you

Willow Rosenberg:

Will be as enthusiastic as you

Will have planned out a costume way in advance

(one made not bought just in case and will insist to make yours too)

It’ll be all part of the

Lots of time for kissing and snuggles in between making the costumes

Plenty of time together through October

you make your costumes and finally they are perfected

the best part has been spending so much time with her though

Halloween night finally came and you spent the entire day eating candy and adding the finishing touches to the costume

you were both giddy with excitement

At the Halloween party you will be the coolest and most historically accurate

you enjoy yourselves, not caring what anyone else thinks of you or your costumes

you have each other, that’s the best part

you meet up with the Scoobies and have a great time

she’s so comfortable with you she can actually let loose

you leave really late, stumbling home together

Willow loves the way you bring her confidence out

you get home and curl up in bed together

you wished the day would never end, you had so much fun

Rupert Giles:

Enjoys the holiday

Didn’t celebrate so much in England

But has fully embraced Halloween since moving to Sunnydale

He’ll dress up, he used to wear the same costume every year but now switches it up a little

his favourite is the trusty wizard costume

He does prefer to stay at home but would go out if you asked

but you don’t, you’re content to just be with him

he has his nose in a book as you make Halloween treats

you entice him to join you

(promising it means he gets as many as he wants)

He came over and immediately helped with weighing everything

He’s actually a good cook so he could have taken over

but loves sharing the responsibility

you put some Halloween themed music on and dance around the kitchen

he adores seeing you so happy

makes him melt more than the caramel for the candy apples

you laugh together and just generally enjoy the time you share making sweet treats

he loves every moment

you decorate them and share them when they’re done

you ask him to tell you ghost stories

and he does. Although they’re all true and from his Ripper days

it makes it even more interesting (and he loves sharing his past with you)

Spike:

Loves it

everyone knows he (not so) secretly loves Halloween

will have stolen any and all candy left outside people’s homes

will split it with you if you ask nicely

may tease you and ask for his treat first

but will definitely share the candy cos he’s fond of you

may take some convincing to get him to leave the crypt after dark

but if you do, by some miracle, manage it

you will find him warming up to it

wont dress up himself but won’t mind that you do

might even teasingly offer to help get you into your costume

you go to some bar or the Bronze

had the impression that dressing up was some kind of insult

but figures eventually that you all must just think he (as a vampire) is very cool

makes him very full of himself

(more so than usual)

Won’t dress up at all but will mutter under his breath his thoughts and a primitive rating system on everyone else’s costume

this will make you laugh

a lot

he’ll enjoy making you laugh and continue until someone overhears and it gets him in trouble

You’ll end up being kicked out of the bar but neither of you will mind

Halloween is so much better when you were together

Angel:

Angel doesn’t like Halloween so much

But when he sees your love of the holiday he will change his tune

Instantly

he just likes to see you happy

it’s not selfless really, to see you happy gives him so much joy

so he sets off on his October-long mission

Will find every Halloween themed activity you can attend

Sunnydale unsurprisingly has a lot to offer

Haunted houses, pumpkin carving, the works

You name it he’s looked into it

by the time the week of Halloween arrives, you’ve done everything on offer

you tell him one evening that you want to go ghost hunting

he looks at you and frowns

it sounds dangerous

and he would rather you didn’t die (especially not on Halloween)

but you manage to convince him to go ghost hunting

on Halloween

You said it was your Halloween wish. only for you would he do this.

you go to a graveyard and look around with a torch

you were one step away from dressing as a ghost buster

but decided it would probably be disrespectful

You turned and there was a ghost! A real one

you slipped your hand into Angel’s as you communicated with the ghost

Angel planned this. He knew as soon as you saw one you would want to leave and do normal Halloween stuff again

would admit to it eventually, but the most important thing was your face when you met a real (and friendly) ghost

Anya Jenkins:

Anya loves it. She loves making money

She loves dressing up. And she loves you

A winning combination. She also loves learning about everything

Does try her best to get used to being human (and doesn’t get enough credit)

You and Anya will spend the entire day in the Halloween department of the store

Not kidding, you get there early and are there well into the afternoon

You can’t decide what to buy

there’s so much candy so little time

and the decorations! You squabble over what’s worth buying

eventually you manage to convince her you need everything you’ve chosen no matter the cost

she smiles at some of the items and shrugs

she’s new to Halloween, she finds it very cute though

not at all scary

when everything’s decorated and candy is left out, you can relax

(she will have definitely checked on the Magic box while you were in town to make sure it’s going okay)

she can stomach the worst, most gruesome horror movies without so much as batting an eyelid

She’s seen and done worse. will protect you if you struggle to watch

Tara Maclay:

Tara used to get a bit weird around the holiday

You found out later it was because she thought she was a demon

And just decided to sit Halloween out

You had always missed her and offered to stay in but she wanted you to go out and have a good time

Finally this year you knew everything about her past

And so did she

Surprise: she’s no demon

So you make sure she has the best Halloween ever

Cos she’s missed out on so much

you start with pumpkin carving

a staple

you plan out your designs and spend time perfecting them

they look super cute lit up later that night

she smiles a lot

its the first time in a while she’s just done fun things for Halloween

without something in the back of her head telling her she’s wrong

you decorate the dorm you share and play spooky music

You watch Halloween specials and family friendly movies through the entire afternoon

you dress up and hand out a whole bunch of candy

she really likes it, finding herself able to relax

the Scoobies come over and you have a little party

nothing too outrageous just you all hanging out

some of you are in costume, some not

but you have a really great time

and Tara has plenty of plans for celebrating next year

Oz:

Oz doesn’t hate halloween

He isn’t enthusiastic either

Kinda hard to pinpoint his feelings on the occasion

Either way? He’s a sucker for you

he’s usually booked at some gig for Halloween

But this year, he tells the guys he isn’t doing it

knows how much you love the spooky day

so he’s going to spend it solely with you

took him ages to figure out what to do

he will help you decorate

eventually says he needs to go out to the store

when he was out he found a lot of Halloween goodies for you

Decided to use the Halloween themed treats and decided to hide them around the (well decorated) home

its like a little treasure trail. You get clues and you get a treat and another clue until the end

he loves to buy gifts for a s/o and Halloween is no exception

you love Halloween and he loves you so he wanted to make it special

you will come to the end of the trail and gush about how much you love it

he’ll shrug but that smile’s there

he’s pleased

as the night draws in you cuddle up and every time the door goes you insist you both go

so you can see the cool outfits and hand out candy together

Drusilla:

wouldn’t celebrate Halloween unless you wanted to

Might not be aware of how big the holiday is

Would humour you if you wanted to celebrate though

Might find it cute the way you love it

Would want you happy so would make sure there were Halloween decorations everywhere in whichever lair you were in

Decorations would stay up all year round

It kinda blends with the rest of the place

If you’re really into Halloween would hold a ball/party in your honour on the 31st

She would be very proud of it

Would invite every demon she knew but most probably wouldn’t show

demons don’t party. Not on Halloween

Even if it was just both of you attending the party, she would dance with you slowly in the middle of the room

Even with no music

Will pepper your face in such loving kisses

May offer to sire you as she knows you love the date so much

But is happy to wait if you refuse

you are her favourite so Halloween is her favourite of it’s yours

you show her the cuter side of Halloween

Will hum to you softly

maybe a tune like the Addam’s family but will hum it very seriously

Faith:

Faith always thought Halloween was lame

until she met you

she likes to pretend she doesn’t care

and she’s too cool for all that stuff

but melts into a puddle when she sees your enthusiasm for the holiday

Will basically do anything you ask so long as she gets to see you happy

But what you really want is her and you tell her this

you make a plan to go for a ‘spooky walk’ before coming back to get cosy and watch Halloween tv

on your walk, you point out all of the spooky decorations and lights

she thinks its cute but won’t admit it

you end up dusting a few vamps that didn’t get the memo

but you convince her it was perfect, very Halloween-y so she doesn’t get so mad at them for interrupting your evening after that

She will stop and kiss you every few streets

loves stolen kisses, especially like this

you enjoy looking at the cool costumes but eventually walk back home

her favourite part of the night, however was when you turned the motel room you now shared into a cosy fort

blankets everywhere and candles

very romantic and to you it had the right amount of spooky too

You hide under the blankets and start to tell outrageous ghost stories into the night

she held you close and insisted it was now her favourite holiday

Cordelia chase:

Cordy loves Halloween

Especially the excuse to dress up however she wants

Would 100% want to dress you up

Wouldn’t ask, would tell you it’s happening

And you ofc would agree

(Or else)

She’s a sweetheart really and wants a lot of input on what you’re comfortable wearing

Will use her dads credit card to buy anything she thinks you’ll need

You will probably be wearing something worth more than your entire wardrobe for the night

She will dress you up, maybe do your spooky makeup if you’re into that

She would make sure to get you both invites to the coolest party going

I’m talking the coolest

anyone who’s anyone is going

Will walk you in as if you’re both on the red carpet

Will not let anyone compliment one of you without demanding they compliment the other

You will have the best time

Dancing and laughing the entire night

Riley:

Probably wouldn’t enjoy Halloween so much

He sees enough demons on a normal week day

Might want a night off but won’t be too into going out

But If he sees you all excited he’ll start to change his mind

Slowly

He’ll do some activities if you ask and smile as he watches your enthusiasm

When he sees you dressed up he may rethink

Wants you to have a good time so he asks what you wanna do

your choice all day

you wanna go and make dumb decorations? He’ll get the craft glue

you wanna eat your weight in candy? He’s down to share

will take you to a party if you ask

(and maybe even join in with any activities on offer if he’s in a good mood)

will enjoy himself, especially with you on his arm

but you will leave early

He will make an excuse to go home with you

weirdly his job hasn’t called him in tonight

maybe the demons have time off or something?

Weird

you go back to his place and are able to spend a whole uninterrupted night together

you have Halloween themed movies on in the background but mostly you’re spending it together in bed

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isagrimorie · 4 years

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I’m experimenting removing the color grading in the Gallifrey scenes of Timeless Children, and while it works when the scene is a moving thing and in context to place and story: Gallifrey has orange skies and the Capitol is burning, but editing scenes in that episode as gifs is terrible!

In the middle of removing the color grading I realized that without the orange color filter, Dhawan!Master looking at the Capitol looked so much more devastated and broken.

[id: screencap of Timeless Children. Dhawan Master looks at the (not in picture) burning ruins of the Time Lord Citadel - the shining city of the most mightiest race in the Universe, brought to ruin. And he stares at it wordless, expressionless. A vein in his neck can almost be seen. His hair is unkempt, over his eyes. And sporting a full beard. He looks... he looks exactly what a man that lost everything looks like.]

He looks at what he did, how he destroyed the shining city he loved because the Time Lords made him so angry. I think the Master honestly thought destroying Gallifrey would make him feel better (‘has it calmed all the rage?’); he broke the world but it didn’t make him feel better, it didn’t even fill the hole in his hearts.

He once asked the Doctor if destroying Gallifrey and the Daleks made the Doctor feel like a god.

After all the Master (accidentally) destroyed half of the universe once, what is destroying Gallifrey to that? It turned out, it was nothing. It made him feel nothing, it was ashes in his mouth, it was screams when he closed his eyes (damn the Doctor because before the Vault it never mattered to the Master he thought-lies).

The Master went full tilt into his identity as a villain. Destroying Gallifrey made the Master unforgivable, even beyond destroying half the universe because this one actually mattered (to the Master). Instead of making amends the Master invested even more into their sunk fallacy cost.

(Did Twelve even teach Missy about making amends? Or did it stop with, ‘Don’t be Evil’? I Have Thoughts About the Doctor as the Imperfect Ethics teacher for the Master).

Honestly, at this point and even rapidly becoming Text is how much the Master wants the Doctor to punish him for destroying Gallifrey. “That's why I left it for you. Wondered if you would... take out me (sic).”

[id: screencap, zoom-in to the Master’s face, with the Doctor’s hand holding the detonation switch right next to his face. His eyes shine with emotion, half his face is shadowed. Intent on the Doctor, on this moment.]

The Master practically begs the Doctor to kill him, kill them. The whole thing is an elaborate Suicide by Doctor, an elaborate Murder-Suicide thing between them (and their CyberLord Children).

The Master kept telling the Doctor “Become me.”

But the thing the Master forgot at that moment, the Doctor was him, the Doctor was in his place. The self-loathing and even the suicidal ideation. Ten, in Daleks in Manhattan beating his chest, daring the Daleks to kill him is the same as the Master daring the Doctor to kill him, kill themselves.

[id: screencap, immediately after the above screencap -- the moment after the Master says, almost begs, “Come on!” A close-up on the Doctor’s face, a subtle, quiet moment of realization.]

And that’s what the Doctor does she stops, and thinks or as the Doctor once told Bonnie in Zygon Inversion, thinking is just a fancy word for changing your mind.

The Doctor realizes what the Master’s endgame is -- what this was all about, a cosmic, overblown cry for help. Because the Master, this Master will never ask for help directly. He would burn the world (and did) and more before he would allow that to happen.

If there was one thing the Doctor never wanted for the Master is for their oldest know what it’s like to feel the way the Doctor did when they first destroyed Gallifrey. Before they went back and changed their mind.

The Master thinks he is unforgivable, and for a lot of people he is but for the Doctor? The unfortunate, terrible truth is -- the Doctor will always forgive the Master. And not in a self-sacrificing way, and not in anyway that’s nice or tidy. Because what the Doctor told Clara is true, for the few, select people the Doctor truly loves in a bone deep way, the Doctor’s love is unconditional.

The Doctor told Clara: “You betrayed me. Betrayed my trust, you betrayed our friendship, you betrayed everything that I've ever stood for. You let me down! Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?”

And the Doctor told Bonnie: “You're all the same, you screaming kids. You know that? Look at me, I'm unforgivable. Well, here's the unforeseeable. I forgive you. After all you've done, I forgive you.”

The Doctor told River Song, the woman who was brought up to kill him: “You are forgiven. Always and completely forgiven.”

And the Doctor told the Master, after he broke the world the Doctor loved so much, kept the Doctor in chains, like a dog, like a pet. “I forgive you.”

Is it healthy, hell no. Does it mean the Doctor will let it happen again? No. The Doctor will do everything in their power to stop the Master next time. The Doctor might even head butt him in greeting when they meet again. Forgiveness for the Doctor doesn’t mean she stops being angry. She still gets to be angry and furious.

Or as Giles once told Buffy: “To forgive is an act of compassion, Buffy. It's not done because people deserve it. It's done because they need it.”

And then, she’ll probably give the Master a Glaswegian Kiss after (they’re the same height after all). Just like Angel did when he apologized to Lindsey and then beat him up, Angel meant the apology but also Lindsey still worked for an Evil Lawfirm and was still an evil lawyer).

This approach isn’t for everyone, like I am 100% every single Modern Companion would opt to kill the Master rather than let them live. Bill, Martha and Jack would be the first in line tbh.

/Edited.

#doctor who #dhawan!master #thirteenth doctor #dwedit #my edit #character analysis #this got longer than i thought #best enemies #older than civilization infinitely more complex

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roostercrowedatmidnight · 3 years

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TV Show Soundtracks, and Why Buffy’s is So Great

There are a lot of ways in which Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an incredibly intelligent and well-crafted show, so much so that there are tiny details in the costumes, the acting, the set, etc. that you only notice after your fourth or fifth rewatch. One of the places where you can see how much care went into the production is the soundtrack. Buffy had a lot of different composers, some of which would compose the soundtrack for a few of the episodes and some of which were the primary composer for entire seasons. Some of the most prominent composers include Christophe Beck, who was one of the main composers for season 2, the sole composer for seasons 3 and 4, and composer for one episode in season 5 and one in season 6; Thomas Wanker, who was the main composer for seasons 5 and 6; and Robert Duncan, who was one of the main composers for season 7 (a complete list of Buffy composers can be found here). I’m mostly interested in these three composers because they wrote a great deal of the music overall, and their music tracks are most important in terms of what I hope to convey here, which is that one of the best things about the Buffy orchestral score is how beautiful it sounds and how smartly it is utilized. To convey my point, I will explore the use of music in the show, especially in the season 5 finale, ‘The Gift.’

WARNING: gonna be lots of Buffy spoilers. Mostly just up to the season 5 finale, but possibly smaller spoilers for seasons 6 and 7 as well.

A TV show doesn’t need a fantastic soundtrack to be good — many shows have a more minimalistic, atmospheric score which serves its purpose. A lot of shows also use contemporary pop songs instead of an orchestral soundtrack (which Buffy also does). However, I think having a good orchestral soundtrack elevates a show to an even higher level, and can add layers of emotional complexity that would otherwise have been absent. To achieve this greater emotional depth, I argue that there are two main criteria a score must have: music that is enjoyable to listen to, and music that is intelligently employed.

It’s difficult to define what ‘enjoyable’ music is. Any song is going to reach some people and not others. However, some are definitely more likely to create a response in people. It is important for composers to make soundtracks that create an emotional reaction in the viewer. Some composers do this very subtly, and others more saliently. There is no definitive way to determine if music is good or not — that is completely up to the individual. However, I’d argue that there are some composers who are better at creating a consistent emotional reaction in viewers. (If you’re interested, a few composers I love include Ludovico Einaudi, Murray Gold, my man Christophe Beck, Rachel Portman, Thomas Newman, and Joe Hisaishi. I would definitely recommend checking their stuff out if you’re into soundtracks.)

The second criterion for a good TV score, which I will be discussing in more detail, is that it is intelligently employed. What I mean by intelligently employed is that the music is thoughtfully applied to the story. This ultimately ties back to emotional reaction as well -- if the people behind the scenes are smart in where they put the tracks, they’ll create a stronger reaction in the viewer. Soundtrack is best employed when certain tracks, or leitmotifs, are used for specific characters, ideas, or plot threads, without being over- or underapplied. If you just slap the same track over every single emotional scene in a show, or add a random new track when you could have reused one that relates back to the character/theme in the scene, you’ll be missing out on a chance to create a response in the viewers.

Before I continue, I just want to quickly clarify that a leitmotif is essentially a small chunk of music that is associated with a specific character, relationship, setting, or idea. Basically, it’s a theme, and is tied exclusively to a certain element in the story. For this essay, I will be using leitmotif sometimes to refer to an entire track that is tied to a story element, and sometimes to refer to a shorter phrase of music, which may sometimes be contained in larger tracks. That’s not super important, though. Basically, leitmotif = theme for a specific thing.

When a leitmotif is given to a specific story element, such as a character, then using the leitmotif in scenes that are significant to that character gives the viewer a sense of familiarity and nostalgia. This is especially great if the character has been gone for a while and has just returned, or if they have died and the leitmotif is used while other characters are remembering them. Leitmotifs can be used to draw subtle parallels to earlier episodes or certain story arcs, and if the viewer is paying attention then they will be able to understand the show in a deeper way.

Some shows have great music but a poor application of it. One example of this is BBC’s Merlin. For the record, I am not dragging the composers here, because they did a beautiful job and created some great music for the show (if you want to check out the soundtrack, a few tracks I love are ‘The Burial’/’Merlin Buries Lancelot’ by Michal Pavlíček, ‘Merlin Lost’ by Rob Lane, ‘Farewell to Gwen’ by Rohan Stevenson, and any of the suites from the finales). I don’t know who actually makes the decisions about which tracks to put where in a show. It probably differs from show to show, depending on how involved the composers are. Budget probably also plays a role, with some shows being forced to reuse music if they can’t afford a full score for every single season. With all this in mind, Merlin has a lovely soundtrack, but hardly any thought went into its application. Songs are reused constantly, to the point where they have no special attachment to specific story elements, and therefore carry no emotional meaning. You won’t gain very much insight into the text when you hear them, and they appear so often that you lose the emotional reaction you once had to them. Simply put, the Merlin soundtrack is not intelligently employed.

There are a lot of shows with great soundtracks that follow these criteria of emotional reaction and intelligent employment. A few that I know of include Once Upon a Time (composer Mark Isham), Sherlock (composers David Arnold and Michael Price), and Doctor Who (composer Murray Gold from s1-10, and Segun Akinola from s11-present). I especially love Murray Gold’s work in Doctor Who — he created a leitmotif for every single Doctor, practically every companion, and even for some of the major villains, and the music would sometimes even be used to foreshadow the return of a character. I could write several dozen essays about the thought that went into Murray Gold’s composition, though that obviously isn’t the point of this particular piece.

Now onto Buffy. Buffy has such a wonderful soundtrack because the music is enjoyable and emotionally evocative (in my opinion), and it is very smartly employed. The show has certain tracks it reuses which hold significant meaning, and that are used throughout an entire season, or several seasons. Some of these include the Angel/Buffy theme (plus an Angel/Buffy breakup theme used towards the end of season 3), the Buffy/Riley theme, the Spike/Buffy theme, the Giles/Ms Calendar theme, the Tara/Willow theme, and doubtless many others that I haven’t noticed yet. As you can see, the Buffy composers are big on relationship leitmotifs which often span multiple seasons. There are leitmotifs for recurring ideas as well, like Joyce’s illness in season 5. All of these are used over many episodes. They create an emotional reaction in the viewer because they carry a sense of familiarity, tie plot arcs together, and give you nostalgic feelings towards character relationships.

Other tracks in Buffy are limited to a single episode or a single scene, instead of being reused frequently. Because of this, they pack a lot of emotion and make the scene or episode even more memorable. Think the score for ‘Hush’; ‘Restless’; the track ‘Slayer’s Elegy,’ which plays during the big final fight scene in ‘The Wish’; or the track ‘Spellbound,’ which plays during the Faith/Riley-Willow/Tara sex/magic parallel scene in ‘Who Are You’ (by the way, all of these episode scores were composed by Christophe Beck). The track ‘Spellbound’ is actually sort of an extended version of the Willow/Tara leitmotif. 'Spellbound' only plays in one scene, and it’s my favourite track in the entire show. By using certain tracks sparingly, instead of overapplying them, the composers can create a memorable musical experience out of a single scene or episode.

Some tracks get reused across episodes, but only once or twice, instead of many times. They may be attached to a very particular setting or idea. Reusing this kind of track in a later episode draws you directly back to the previous time it was used, creating a sense of familiarity and reminding you that you have encountered this sort of thing before. For example, there is a track called ‘Little Miss Muffet’ by Christophe Beck, which appears in the dream sequence shared by Faith and Buffy in the season 3 finale, ‘Graduation Day Part 2.’ This track does not appear again until part way through season 4, when a version of it plays in the episode ‘This Year’s Girl.’ It appears during the opening scene of the episode when Faith and Buffy are sharing another dream together, establishing it as the leitmotif for Faith/Buffy dream sequences.

Even when you aren’t consciously aware of the significance of every leitmotif in Buffy, they still create subtle emotional reactions in you which help you engage with the story better.

To wrap up my point, I want to offer an example of a fantastic track in Buffy and how it is used to draw viewers to a specific moment and create an intense emotional reaction. One of the absolute best episodes of Buffy is the season 5 finale, ‘The Gift.’ One of the many great things about it is the soundtrack, done by composer Christophe Beck (who also composes the orchestral score for Frozen, Frozen 2, Bring It On, WandaVision, and Ant-Man). Christophe Beck came back to the show to compose for this episode, and the most important track he created was ‘Sacrifice.’ From what I’ve observed, there are only three instances in which this leitmotif is used: twice in ‘The Gift,’ including Buffy’s pivotal final scene, and once in ‘Bargaining Part 2’ from season 6. The most important time that ‘Sacrifice’ is used is obviously when Buffy is sacrificing her life for Dawn’s at the end of ‘The Gift’; that’s why the track is called what it is. The track is used earlier on in ‘The Gift’ when Buffy and Giles are talking as they prepare for the final battle, and Buffy expresses her exhaustion with life and her vow that if Dawn dies she will stop being the Slayer. The use of ‘Sacrifice’ here is to foreshadow what’s to come. The longing for rest Buffy feels, and her wish to stop being the Slayer, will both be fulfilled when she dies at the end of the episode. The track is used in this scene to hint at what’s to come for viewers. The track is repeated in the second part of the season 6 opener, ‘Bargaining Part 2,’ when Buffy is standing at the top of the tower shortly after being brought back to life. This entire scene is a very deliberate callback for viewers as well as for Buffy: she is standing right where she was when she died, flashback clips play of her final moments, and Buffy repeats her own words to Dawn from ‘The Gift.’ Using the track ‘Sacrifice’ in this scene helps make the callback even more obvious. The song is able to elicit an extreme emotional memory for the audience, which the familiar setting and flashback clips may not have been able to create on their own. It reminds you not just of what happened in the season 5 finale, but of how you felt.

Of course, this foreshadowing and flashback use of ‘Sacrifice’ would not be as emotionally effective if Buffy’s last scene from ‘The Gift’ wasn’t such a fantastic scene, the song so skillfully employed, and the song itself so beautiful. ‘Sacrifice’ is one of my favourite tracks in Buffy. I love playing it on the piano. I love listening to it. When it plays at the end of ‘The Gift,’ it makes me almost cry. It’s saved for one of the most significant scenes in the entire series. The emotions are so elevated because soon after ‘Sacrifice’ starts playing, the rest of the audio is stripped away. All you can hear is Christophe Beck’s music and Buffy’s voice as she says her final words to Dawn, overlaid with silent shots of Buffy’s body, her heartbroken friends, and finally her gravestone.

In summary, I think the Buffy soundtrack is especially strong for a TV show, since it not only features breathtaking music but carefully applies that music to create the best emotional response from the viewers. TV shows don’t require a fantastic soundtrack to be successful, but I definitely think that the strength of the soundtrack makes Buffy infinitely better than what it would have been without it. The orchestral soundtrack for Buffy sadly isn’t available on Spotify or Apple Music at this time (though the soundtrack for the musical episode is). However, if you like instrumental scores, the official Buffy soundtrack can be found in various places on YouTube, and there are also many people who upload unofficial tracks (including here and here). Either way, I would definitely recommend checking out the music, or at least paying closer attention to it next time you watch Buffy. The creators clearly put a great deal of thought into it, and once you start recognizing the leitmotifs of the show, it reveals a whole hidden layer of storytelling.

#happy 20th anniversary of the gift #this took a lot out of me im tired now #anyways enjoy #this is for all you music buffs (enjoy my pun)#essay #analysis #meta #buffy #btvs #my post

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buffyversefanfiction · 3 years

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Slayer of Slayers

Warnings: I do not own, nor do I claim to own any of the copyright or characters within the Buffyverse which includes but is not limited to the television shows Buffy and Angel, as well as the Darkhorse comics series’ continuation. 15+ Strong to moderate violence, Graphic to mild descriptions of gore, and torture, sexually charged scenes, sexual innuendos, mild to strong language, and practices of witchcraft. M/M, F/F, M/F, GEN, OTHER +

Part One: City of No Angel

After being away from Los Angeles for several years the brooding vampire Angel had been convinced to return to his former city under the advice of vampire slayer Faith Lehane who herself had been sent back to L.A. due to the witch Willow Rosenberg’s concern about a growing number of vampire slayers going missing within the troubled city that once had the evil law firm, Wolfram and Hart, pulling its strings. Angel, Faith, and old one Illyria arranged to meet at Angel’s old, haunted grounds The Hyperion Hotel which had once again become abandoned like it was when he first set up home in there with his friends who became like family, most of which were long gone now. After the unlikely trio consisting of a vampire with a soul, a former goddess in a human’s body, and a redeemed former rogue slayer, met up they soon discussed the facts of the mission which had brought them all together. “So, Willow’s big plan is for me to play the role I play best, the rogue slayer, thinking that whoever’s killing slayers is probably going to like the idea of teaming up with a slayer who kills humans or used to, obviously hoping they do not know any stories of all the things I’ve done while seeking some kind of redemption.” Faith informed Angel and Illyria. “I did the covert rogue slayer thing a while back for Giles and shit got pretty messy hence why I was not doing this one solo.” “If slayers are killing out other slayers, then maybe we should not interfere I mean after all there was only ever supposed to be one at a time whereas now you throw a rock and you have yourself some superpowered woman thinking themselves as something like a god insulting actual gods like myself,” Illyria complained while making it clear she was far from happy about the rise in the quantity over slayers over recent years. Both Angel and Faith did not bother to reply to Illyria’s choice of words having both got used to the way she speaks by now and how she viewed the world and despite her literal tough outer shell, the old one was always on their side without question having somehow become her friends. The three of them were determined to get to the bottom of the mysterious case of the slayer of slayers not realizing that this mission would change everything forever…

Elsewhere, in the city of Los Angeles, the slayer of slayers was eying their next target a Knight-haired vampire slayer looking something like Faith herself, as the girl believed she had the upper hand as she ran down a dark alleyway with a male vampire running after her, believing she was luring this monster into a trap not realizing that this vampire was luring her into one as part of his master’s own devious plan, to eradicate all slayers. “Unluckily for you, you seem to have no idea that I am not your average girl!” The young vampire slayer bravely stated as the male vampire closed in towards her with his full vampire face on display. The slayer wasted no time in charging towards her undead opponent as she pulled a wooden stake out of her black leather jacket during mid-run as she launched herself into the air, throwing her body into the night sky before launching her right clenched fist down towards the vampire, punching him with force across the face as her feet fell back onto the cold hard ground. The slayer continued to fight with the vampire each of them getting several good hits on the other before the young slayer eventually got the better of the vampire, kicking his body so hard the vampire fell to the ground as the slayer launched the wooden stake into the vampire’s chest causing the vampire to explode into nothing more than a big pile of dust. “They just keep bringing slayers to my city it’s like the big man no longer cares about his chosen daughters.” An unbelievably handsome man with short jet black said to the slayer as he too appeared from out of the shadows wearing a black fishnet t-shirt flaunting his chiseled abs with skin-tight black leather jeans that clung perfectly to his impressive body making this stranger look as sinister as he did sexily. The young slayer knew instantly whoever this stranger was, he was most definitely an enemy working alongside the forces of evil and so the Knight haired woman ran towards her next opponent not realizing that this opponent would be her last as it did not take long for the handsome stranger to quickly get the better of the slayer, punching her several times across the face before kicking her in the stomach with such force the slayer fell into some nearby bins amusing the man before her as she quickly began rustling through the rubbish as she pulled herself back up onto her feet defiantly. “You do not scare me, vampire!” She lied before charging towards this mysterious man once again, as she refused to allow her growing fear to get the better of her. “Not a vampire.” The man replied as he punched her once again before grabbing the slayer by her throat and lifting her up into the air into a chokehold. “You may know me as the slayer of slayers.” Before the slayer could muster any words while under the surprisingly strong stranger’s stronghold on her neck, he threw her across the street, her head hitting off a nearby wall before her body crashed onto the ground knocking the slayer unconscious in the process. “I swear you get sexier with every slayer you slaughter!” A short dirty blonde haired male vampire said as he appeared from out of the shadows eagerly making it clear to the two men knew each other very well. “Who would think little Theo will grow up to be the ruthless slayer of slayers?” “If only mummy dearest could see me now,” Theo replied as he walked over to the vampire with a seductive smirk on his face. “Killing slayers and sleeping with vampires.” The vampire, otherwise known as Tobias, pulled the slayer of slayers, otherwise known as Theo, in towards him until the two men’s bodies were grinding against each other’s as they began kissing passionately getting off on the carnage that Theo had just created.

After a rather successful night of Tobias hunting humans and Theo capturing a vampire slayer, the dangerous duo had retreated to a demonic dive bar that they owned together and often used as their headquarters for all their hellish operations, while their demonic and monstrous clients continued to drink and often join in when they were asked of by Theo and Tobias, fearing the two too much to even consider saying no to them. “I heard you’ve got yourself another slayer, is she on the menu tonight?” Asked one of the vampires that stood at the counter breaking up Theo’s kiss with his vampire lover as the two put their focus back on their customers. “This one’s going through a little processing right now before she gets served to our public no point drinking her blood while it's still poisoned now is there?” Theo replied with a sense of casualism that could only occur from doing what he did far too often. “Pretty messed up the things you do to your own kind Theo.” A demon with snake-like skin-colored red and a lizard-like tongue said to his bartender, laughing away in respect for the monster within the man in front of him. “I’m no vampire slayer, I am a slayer of slayers it's my destiny to eradicate them all and plunge this pathetic excuse of a world into pure and utter darkness it is just a bonus I get so much pleasure in killing each and every one of them,” Theo replied to the demon. “Besides slayer’s blood sells very well and who does not love money?” “My beloved Theo is unlike any before him, he not only lives in the darkness he thrives in it, and with him, on our side, the slayers will soon be nothing more than unfond memories.” Tobias chimed in while showing genuine affection for his lover. “My only fear of course is the one slayer who always defies the odds that perky blonde one who changed everything for her kind.” “Buffy Summers is more myth than truth Tobias, I have told you that before,” Theo said to the vampire, trying to reassure him that Buffy was nowhere near as much of a threat as she was in stories they had been told. “I would not underestimate the girl who killed Angelus and The Master not to mention that goddess who almost ended the world one time.” Another vampire at the counter said, adding to the conversation within the bar. “I have the upper hand when it comes to Buffy whether she is as fearful as they say she is still a woman, a woman who had seen love and loss in her time and will no doubt be thrown back to meet her only son.” Theo declared, revealing his identity as Buffy’s son to the shocked crowd within the bar, everyone except Tobias being stunned by the slayer of slayers’ admission.

The very next day Faith found herself riding on her motorbike down a somewhat quiet road on the outskirts of Los Angeles before pulling up on the middle of the road, climbing off her motorbike, and beginning to walk further and further into the hot desert, as she pulled out her phone from her jean pocket and dialed Willow’s number before putting her on loudspeaker while continuing to walk through the desert. “I know when you think dead bodies you reckon, I am the expert, but I was better at deserting them not looking for them in a bloody desert.” Faith said with her signature sense of sarcasm after hearing Willow answer her call. “This slayer got into L.A. not long before you did Faith, we’re not sure why any slayer would be rushing to Los Angeles these days but if we failed to safe her at the very least, we should try to find answers from her death to stop it happening again,” Willow replied to her. “I get it Willow, and I’m all for helping with the bigger picture but searching for a fellow slayer’s dead body before having breakfast is not all it’s cracked up to be.” Faith complained to the red-headed witch. “I will make you all the eggs on toast if you sort out the L.A. problem. You know you’re the main girl in action with Buffy being all M.I.A. since the incident.” Willow told her while trying to butter her up, only for Faith to be left silenced by finding the body of the young slayer who looked a little too much like her for Faith’s liking. “Looks like your right once again Will.” Faith admitted as she stood over the young slayer’s lifeless body all bloodied and wounded with injuries that told a tragic tale of torture. “Whatever’s killing us slayers seem to be taking real pleasure in it…I cannot wait to kill those bastards.” “Oh, goddess, this is far from good thank the heavens you’re not going solo on this one Faith,” Willow told the former rogue slayer. “I’ll call this in to the local authorities once you have got yourself a good distance from the crime scene, you should probably report back to Angel before going in undercover on this one… the last slayer we need showing up dead next is you.” “Thanks for the sentiment Will but this is even more reason for me to get my spy mode rolling!” Faith replied to the witch before hanging up the call to her. “Rather not wait around to examine the next dead slayer who happens to look far too much like me!”

Tobias walked into the bedroom of the apartment above the dive bar which he shared with Theo, shirtless and wearing a tight boxer brief as he willingly flaunted his tanned skin, muscular frame, and handsome body while walking over to Theo who was sat on the edge of their shared bed. “You know you anger me when you question my strength in front of the customers.” Theo, who was wearing just a pair of tight white boxer briefs himself, with the rest of his own impressive body fully on show, complained to his lover. “I am mainly looking out for you, fearing for you, worrying about you, like anyone who truly loved you would,” Tobias replied as he began softly kissing Theo’s neck. “I know you are capable of anything, but I cannot help but fear that we may lose everything we have worked so hard for.” “I love you too Tobias, but you have got to have more faith in the grand plan the last thing we want is for Drusilla to learn of your doubts,” Theo said through panted breath as Tobias began working his way down Theo’s chest, kissing lower and lower, slower, and slower, as he pushed Theo back onto the bed. “I would challenge the devil himself if his plans risked your safety!” Tobias promised the man he loved before he pulled Theo’s boxers down to his ankles, proceeding to take off his own boxers and climbing onto Theo’s naked body, their two bodies crashing against each other’s, kissing passionately, as they made love to each other.

The very next night Theo had taken himself just outside of the demonic dive bar he ran with his undead partner, to enjoy a quick smoke break as he stood in the dark alleyways smoking a cigarette only to be left stunned to find a Knight haired beauty appear from around the corner, clearly walking towards him, as Theo began to wonder if he had met this woman before, noting the similarity she had to the slayer he had recently murdered. “Don’t suppose I can steal a smoke from you?” Faith asked him, knowing damn fine that this man was the man she was looking for, determined to find out more about him so she could shut down his entire operation. “Here’s the thing love, humans do not normally come around this neighborhood unless they got a death wish that is,” Theo replied to her as he suspected this woman to be another slayer, another potential victim. “I’m not fully human, I’m a vampire slayer and even then, I’m much more than just any slayer I mean I do not mean to brag but I’m probably the most famous rogue slayer to ever live the original good girl gone bad although I was never that good.” Faith revealed herself, knowing no good girls made it out of this alleyway alive. “The name’s Faith, in case you did not already work that one out.” “Rumour has it you went back to the good side even helped Buffy herself destroy a Hellmouth along with her hometown,” Theo responded, clearly knowing a little something about the vampire slayer before him. “I hate rumors I’d like to get the guy spreading that lie and cut his tongue out!” Faith lied, ready to convince this man she was as evil now as she was back when she was evil. “Heard your part of this mission about killing all slayers and I’ve been trying that one long before you, in fact, I got pretty close to killing B until the bitch gutted me that is. However, a team-up could be just what I need to take her down once and for all.” “Well then Faith,” Theo answered with a smile on his face as he threw his cigarette to the ground eagerly. “How about a drink to discuss this potential partnership?” Faith had Theo exactly where she wanted him and he had her too, Faith being determined to take down his entire operation, and Theo wanted to test the theory of whether or not Faith was really the ruthless slayer she was claiming to be, neither of them liking the answers that would follow.

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mrsmess · 3 years

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Faves and fails of SPN (season 15, finally):

Favorite episodes (in chronological order):

15:4 Atomic Monsters - Demon!Sam flashbacks! Dean in a beard! Some old fashioned banter! Meatman! Beaverdale! Love how Sam starts arguing w the parents in the parking lot - Me too, Sam, me too. Loving the self-aware monster. I know Becky is problematique™, but I dig her, so, all kinds of fuck Chuck. He must die, and when he does this is the episode I’ll think about.

15:6 Golden Time - Badass protection spells. Dean in a robe and a hot dog pyjamas. Cas going by Clarence. Jogging Sam. Eileen! God I ship her and Sam, and I’d like to take this opportunity to remind you that I don’t ship him w anyone. Liking this ep a lot, every little side plot. Nice. And Eileen is back and I know it won’t last but like, that was awesome.

15:10 The Heroes’ Journey - Pretty neat intro. Monster on monster violence to the sound of Clair the Lune. Oh, and excellent casting of Garth’s kids. Regular people trouble... Awesome! Brilliant! This is the kind of meta storylines this show should deal in, exclusively. Oh my Garth! Explosives! Why isn’t every episode like this?

15:11 The Gamblers - Oh, is this another lucky coin episode? In that case yes please! More inconsequential bullshit kindly! Loving Sam staying in touch w Eileen. Hey guys, remember when you did the gambling thing w your years? And the rabbit’s foot? Good times. Will this be an equally good time? I hope so. A god! Excellent. ”Lady, I’m Tolstoy.” Yeah ya are, and i’m dead. The guys and Fortuna bashing god. And I'm equally delighted and distraught over the lore that god created man, man imagined gods and god decided to create the other gods to play into man’s ideas, or as a distraction.

15:13 Destiny’s Child - Omg the intro! Savage garden! I’m dead. Jack w the sandwich, why is that so funny? Cas is a gem this episode! ”’Sexually intimate’?” Lol. That’s what you get for trying to speak plainly, Cas! Hunter Corp. I’m dead, again. Keep the different Deans and Sams coming! I’m digging this! Why would they send ‘em to Rio? They could be your buffy-bots!

15:14 Last Holiday - Weird people popping up in the hq is awesome. And Dean’s immediate instinct to yell for Sam reminds me of me calling mr mess for everything! ”Shouldnt you be in the woods? Nymfing?” Monster radar? Oh, oh this is excellent. So mrs Butters is capable of murder when home and family are threatened, good for her. They better not kill her. I can accept them returning her to the wild. Yes! Did I call it or did I call it? Good Supernatural, good boy! And Dean making a cake for Jack! My heart.

Fail episodes (in chronological order):

15:2 Raising Hell - Rowena! Instant win. Ketch. Instant lose. Ketch undressing Rowena with his eyes = rating plummeting. Jeez. A bit dangerous even joking about the GoT finale, don’t you think? Rowena and Ketch full on flirting... this is hell, I'm being punished.

15:3 The Rupture - Don’t call him god! His name is Sucky-Chucky. The shock of Cas! “You’ve been playing us the whole time!” This is how it works Cas, where have you been? They're always solving problems like Jason Mendoza. In-Dean-angry-voice: “Anytime I had a problem and I threw a Molotov cocktail, boom! Right away, I had a different problem.” Rowena! And Sam! No!

15:5 Proverbs 17:3 - Listen, spn, it’s your last season and if you like just wanna stop writing and casting women completely rn i won't stop you or hold it against you (also why are these ladies identical?). We’ve had a terrible run but lets just let bygones be bygones.

15:8 Our father, who aren’t in heaven - Gosh, having Eileen in the show is painful, I’m just constantly expecting a piano to fall on her head. *Ugh* Sucky-yucky-Chucky. But hey, at least everybody else looks better alongside him. Case and point: I never rly cared that much for Donatello, but it’s great to see him, and Michael’s back, sure is nice to see him too.

15:9 The trap - Ugh. Main plot shit and Sucky-yucky-fucking-Chucky. Fail. Although the flashforward to jan 6th 2021 was a hoot (but probably not meant like one, huh?) Dean’s monologue in purgatory though... gosh. This show would be nothing w/o Jensen Ackles. Omg the kiss! Nice. However, the show at this point has lost the ability to offer any sort of pleasure. Because like Sam, we know which way this will go. They used to have some hedonism working for the characters but now they don’t even have that.

15:20 Carry on - You know what? I’m not gonna make this post longer than it already is talking about the last episode of Supernatural, that has been done better by people w real grievances w the show. The kindest thing you can say about the finale is that it just as well could’ve been jammed into a few extra minutes added to the previous episode.

Mediocre mentions:

Drag me away (from you) - what is this ugly cell interface? The opposite of product placement. Yay! Retro episode! And they got the same actor to play Dean, neato! Dean admitting he had a hard time handling hunting, that always gets me. Woah! That scream effect without reverb was kinda startling. And the camera zooming in on the little porcelain clown even though Sam is nowhere n- oh shit. This was an interesting episode

Inherit the earth - Goooood I hate Chucky. Barefoot Sam is okay though. Digging this soundtrack too. Very un-Supernatural. Nice to meet ya Betty, but I wouldn’t pull up a chair if I were you. Always a fan of the shiteating grin. Jack, stripping god of his power, that’s so hot. And again: kudos to the soundtrack! The Youngbloods and then Jackson freakin’ Browne! And you know, it’s clichéd and kinda vacant, but also kinda nice. I’m cool with the story ending like this. Why did they have to do another one? Supernatural has never known when to quit, and this is the very real backside of this.

Honorable mentions:

I don’t know who this Ardat chick is but killing Ketch puts her instantly in my win column.

Winchester-dumb, new household term.

”Feels like were taking a big, probably stupid risk. Feels good.” That made me feel good too.

I’m vastly enjoying this dark-art hippie couple in Unity and Jack’s interaction w them.

Cas launching straight into his dramatic I-will-not-let-you-end-your-own-life-speech when Sam casually mentions he’d like to talk to death in Unity, that angel has seen some things, and he has learned.

Those are some pretty pretty death effects on Jack in Despair/The Truth.

Obviously Misha Collins

Things that makes you go hmm:

Which of the clowns is this supposed to be in Back and to the Future? Because the one from season 2 was a monster, right? So he would’ve gone to purgatory. You know what? I’m not an expert. I try to not pay too much attention ’cause it makes me funny in the head. But just, y’know, a general objection.

Here’s my deal w death as a looming threat in this show: it holds no weight. And even if it did it has been painted as the ultimate relief, unless you go to hell, these characters know for a fact that there’s a potentially blissful afterlife, so their attitude towards death should be, what? More pragmatic, I think. And it’s partly why Ackles is wasted on this show; That man can deliver a death monologue like it’s nobody’s business, too bad all those words have been rendered meaningless after 15 seasons of this shit!

Summing up:

So, I did not go into or leave this season happy, I knew how it would end and I was sad for everyone the show screwed over (more than it already had). Which really meant that I always had to force myself to watch another episode, knowing what was coming. But I had to see it through. I did, so I’ll give myself a pat on the back and get to work on my own personal selection of episodes that will henceforth represent spn to me. A selection I’ll enjoy all the way through. All in all I think the most frustrating thing about the show is how it insists on taking itself so freakin’ seriously. It has always done horror *and* humor best and this whole heaven and hell aspect has never sat right w me, and in any case they should’ve leaned more on “supernatural” narrative tropes (if you will) getting out of their plot problems, gambled some more and thought a bit more outside genre conventions *especially* in their main arcs, they opened up so many opportunities that they never even used. They could’ve been more like Buffy, or Doctor Who. That said, I’ll always get that spn-itch, and when I do, I’ll be happy to have seen all the episodes so I’ll know which ones to avoid.

#supernatural #spn meta #favorite episodes #no this is not a supernatural blog #random fandom #no longer a rewatch #done w season 15 #and finally free

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sandalaris · 3 years

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Ship It or Not 3 Questions Game: Buffyverse ships! Thoughts on Spike/Xander, Willow/Tara, Buffy/Faith, Angel/Cordelia, and Fred/Gunn! 💖💖💖

The Buffyverse is just full of shippy goodness!

Spike/Xander: SHIP IT!!

What made you ship it? I... am not completely sure. I know I was watching the show for the first time, early seasons, and was mired deep in the fandom looking at fanvids - spoilers be damned! - and I came across a truly awful manip of them in a poorly done vid that made me stop and go “what?” Then I started thinking about them, and watching them interact (again, this was early seasons, they were probably only in the same scene together like three times), and thinking about it and sort of went “I like it!” somewhere around season three. By season four they were a top ship and by season five they were my OTP on the show. There’s a lot of potential there if you look for it, they were even played around with in the writers room for a hot minute back when Xander was still slotted to come out as gay, and there is some beautifully written fics out there that explores that potential in fun ways.

What are your favorite things about the ship? They are both just so snarky. I don’t have a lot of ships like them tbh. They are a little too alike at their cores for them to fall under my usual ship types, I’m more an opposites attract kind of gal, and they are both immature and impulsive and full of witty one-liners and sarcasm, not to mention how they both are sort of all-in from the get-go in relationships (Spike more than Xander, but it does apply to both) and how Xander often starts out thinking he dislikes someone that he’s actually attracted to. Probably my favorite thing about them is the snark and banter they both produce both towards each other and with other people.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? It’s not as big of a problem now, but for a while people had a bad habit of writing Xander as basically just a female coded male stand-in. I’m not trying to tell people how to ship, but the number of fics I’d open just to find Xander acting like a stereotypical lovelorn teenaged girl with a cool brooding leather jacket wearing boyfriend (which is also very out of character for Spike) was ridiculous. This is a problem in a lot of older slash ships actually, but it’s the number one most annoying thing I find over and over again in fics.

Willow/Tara: Ship it

What made you ship it? What’s not to love? Willow’s really easy to ship to begin with, I ship her with a lot of people (still pretty sure I’m the only Willow/Percy shipper out there lol), but her and Tara are full of canony goodness! And they’re super cute! I want to say I loved them from the get-go, but I’m pretty sure I was still waiting on Oz to return when Tara first showed up. But by the time Willow blew out that candle I was shipping them hardcore.

What are your favorite things about the ship? They’re both so soft together and they really put off this “soulmates” vibe when around each other. How much Willow helps Tara’s confidence grow until she blossoms into who she was always going to be, and how she was going to take care of Tara no matter what. I also like how their break-up was handled and the get-back-together speech where Tara says “can’t you just be kissing me now” is just *chef’s kiss*

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? I don’t know that an unpopular opinion exists for them, tbh. I suppose the closest I have is more of an unpopular Willow opinion; while I see Willow as probably a lesbian in the show, I often take the bi!Willow route in fandom. Not just because I ship Willow with men too, but also because of my love of the relationship her and Oz had in canon. Apparently this can be a bit of a hot debate between people.

Buffy/Faith: Ship it

What made you ship it? Other shippers mostly. I didn’t think much of them when I first saw the show since I mostly shipped Buffy with Angel at the time. I don’t remember if it was a fic or a vid or what, but something took the events of season three and angled them with an underlining romantic/sexual tension between them that just fit so perfectly that I wondered why I never thought of them/saw it before.

What are your favorite things about the ship? The drama :P OK, not exactly the drama, but that sort of good/bad light/dark thing they have going on. They aren’t always healthy together, but there’s a wonderful balance between them and a level of understanding neither will ever be able to get with anyone else. Their relationship was treated like a romance and their falling apart in season three like a tension filled break-up and I love how that gets explored in fanworks.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? I don’t think so. I suppose in that I don’t really see them as canon, but I’m not sure how popular of an opinion that is to begin with, although I know it is something people claim.

Angel/Cordelia: Don’t ship it

Why don't you ship it? It’s not a very strong “don’t ship” but in a take ‘em or leave ‘em situation, I’d leave ‘em. They just never really appealed to me and I like them both with other people so much better. They felt almost last minute too, like the writers decided they needed the title character to have a love interest in the main cast and tossed him together with the closest single female main character.

What would have made you like it? Maybe if there was more of a hint to them being romantically drawn to each other in the early seasons of AtS. I loved their relationship at the beginning of the show, I stan their friendship completely, and had they started hinting at some romantic feelings at that point, then I might’ve gotten on board with them (although Cordy/Doyle was super cute - even if the writers f’ed up the math there - so I may have already been on board that ship) I sort of forget that they happened in show too, like they don’t feel like canon love interests to me. I feel like I could like the idea of them more than I liked the reality.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it? Plenty! They are both great characters and I love their dynamic together. I love how Angel bought her clothes as an apology, and her telling him that she had her water bottle blessed every week when he went all temporary Angelus on them. I like that she was all “screw it” and kissed him before leaving because that was a very Cordy thing to do, and I love how unrepentant she was about leaving wet towels on his chair and how upset he was about said wet towel. They have a great dynamic.

Fred/Gunn: Ship it

What made you ship it? From the beginning, pretty much the moment they started interacting I thought they were cute. By the time they were dating I was so excited for them!

What are your favorite things about the ship? They fit that opposites attract that I love so much. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve seen the show, but I remember loving them as their relationship developed. Especially when they all thought they were teens and how different Fred and Gunn both work and yet how much they still worked as a couple.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? I don’t know how unpopular it would be, but since they are competing ships, the fact that I ship both Fred/Gunn and Fred/Wesley is probably one, lol. I thought the love triangle and how everything played out with all three of them was done fairly well (Wesley’s dark path, while interesting on screen, made me severely miss nerdy Wesley from the early days) and enjoyed the way the showed managed to explore them both without making it seem like they were just flipping through couples.

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cosmictuesdays · 4 years

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So many different places to call home.

I've threatened, and since had requested, that I write up my notes and thoughts on how I'd redo Angel the Series season 5. I already largely outlined them in an email a while back, which simplifies the process considerably. That, and borrowing the good ideas Ginger sent back in her response to that email, I figure tonight might as well be the night for it. I wouldn't redo all five seasons of the show, because I'd rather not rewrite the whole thing from scratch. I'd rather focus on theoretical alterations of certain parts of season 5 for greater narrative coherence. While this does keep some of Whedon's ass-butt decisions, I've been in enough fandoms for enough time to learn how to focus my energy. All right, that's not entirely true. In this version that lives in my head, there'd be a few lines, and possibly a couple of scenes, about Fred moving into Cordelia's apartment in season 4. Then: Spike comes out of the amulet whole, intact, and corporeal at the end of episode 1. Because they didn't do anything worthwhile with it, getting rid of the concept of a vampire ghost smooths things out considerably. Spike spends a good chunk of episode 2 rallying on about making a grand romantic entrance back into Buffy's life, but then something happens, the sort of thing which compels him to be a white hat that has nothing to do with Buffy and all of the work he has to do to grow into his soul, and he realizes that he's got more to do that has nothing to do with her. The final scene of the episode has him showing up in Angel's office: "You're still here," Angel says. "Today, anyway," Spike replies.

"Destiny" is moved to the third episode of the season, where W&H try to pit the two known heroic souled vampires against each other in a bid to simplify possible destines and prophecies. It doesn't work. Spike growing into his soul - the soul he earned, not the soul he was cursed with - would make for a solid ongoing plot thread through the season, in conversation with, and contrast and counterbalance to, Angel's own journey.

The fourth episode has Xander come to collect Spike at the behest of Buffy, all remaining Slayers and Watchers, and the Scooby Gang, which covers the full cold open. Buffy sent Xander specifically because she knows they can't tempt him with anything. Additionally, framing Xander through the eyes of AtS would show what surviving growing up on the Hellmouth and several years of constant apocalypses would do to an ordinary person, which would honestly be pretty fun to see. Lilah Morgan: "Mr. Harris -" Xander: "No, no, please, Mr. Harris was my father." [Lilah smiles. Xander smiles back, sharply.] "You can call me 'sir.'" [Lilah stops smiling.] Because after the Hellmouth, the ordinary human evil of W&H is small potatoes to Xander. He'd comment that as evil as they are, they want the world to stick around to be evil in, and that's almost relaxing to have to deal with. "You guys, seriously, small potatoes, you don't even want to end the world! It's nice, really. Nobody wanting to eat the sun, nobody wanting to make literal Hell out here, just keep on being evil. I can respect that. I don't support it and would rather see all of you give this up and go join a commune up in Petaluma, but I can respect it." I assume the rest of episode 4 is either filler, as was the case with the Mexican wrestler episode, or it's where we get the werewolf girlfriend. "Damage" is next - the one with Dana, the mentally ill Slayer. Spike's sent to Los Angeles to collect her, along with Andrew and a few other Slayers, and gets his hands cut off for his troubles. They're reattached, and the next episode has him stationed at W&H by Buffy to openly spy on the place. Angel is fine with this. "It means she still cares." "That you're head honcho of Evil Inc." "Yeah, but if she didn't care, she wouldn't send you to spy on me." "I'm spying on W&H." "She still cares." "No she doesn't." And so on and so forth, etc cetera, ad infinitum, ad nauseam. Because the two of them are best when the show remembers they're family. Spike doesn't have the weird sub-plot with the Doyle faker, though Lindsay still tries to play the part. It doesn't work, and he's caught almost immediately, which shifts the power dynamics around enough to give Spike a good amount of stuff to do. Spike's also given freedom to go wherever he wants, and hang out all over the place, and Angel sometimes helps him edit his weekly reports to Buffy in case he missed anything. Everyone knows why Spike is there. This is played for both comedy and drama, because he and Angel grow closer as they keep talking to each other over the course of the season. So we still get moments like "wee little puppet man" and Spike freeing Angel from the parasite that trapped him in those hallucinations because he doesn't care about Angel's privacy. Those kinds of delicious relationship moment which show them as being genuinely close in a way that can't easily be translated to human terms, but the viewing audience easily understands. Out of everyone in the world, they're the ones best qualified to call each other out on their bullshit and when they're indulging their inner blowhard. (Spike leans towards the bullshit, Angel towards being a blowhard. "I know for a fact you spent that decade moping in disco halls." "It was only thirty minutes, and there was just the one werewolf.") "Hell Bound" - the only Angel episode aired with a warning for graphic violence - still happens. It's because of Fred. At some point, someone - possibly Xander, when he collects Spike, or possibly Andrew, when he drops by - comments how few ghosts there are around W&H. How little spirit energy. Magic energy, yes, but the spirits are weak, and few and far between. Unrelated to that, Fred invents some sort of machine to help Phantom Dennis manifest, because they've become friends since she moved into the apartment. It's one of those "gone horribly right" situations, because instead of Spike fighting Pavayne, it's Dennis. He makes Pavayne corporeal at the sacrifice of being able to return to life. He does get a moment of Fred seeing his face, and them being able to smile at each other, before he's whisked off back to the apartment - if he doesn't finally move on from being a ghost and goes into the rest of the afterlife. The back end of the season plays out much as it already did. There'd be a few more lines, here and there, giving reasons and justifications and explanations for why Buffy isn't contacted for whatever reason, and why they're not asking the Slayers for help for one disaster or another. Maybe "they won't get here in time," maybe "they have their own apocalypse," maybe "I have to do this alone and if I come out of it, I'll go see her because I'm Angel and that's what I do." "The Girl in Question" has its plots swapped, so more time is spent on Fred/Illyria and Wesley, and less on Spike and Angel in madcap hijinks in Italy. Also, no Immortal, no casual racism, no Andrew with a bunch of women, no Buffy decoy/fakeout, no explosion destroying Spike's coat. Because this is how I'd do it, and I don't much like any of that. I've read reports Whedon wanted season 6 to be a sort of Mad Max post-apocalyptic scenario, with car chases and big action sequences. I have no plans for season 6, not even theoretical ones. Mostly, I'm fine with Angel being asked how they survived the final battle, and Spike answering, "Heroically!" or "We almost didn't" and not elaborating past that. Because the audience can fill in that part themselves.

#wanton cage aux folles

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thanagariansnarebeast · 4 years

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Top ten fallen heroes

These are not reformed villains, though they may go into that role after, or at least an anti-hero, but most of these I prefer as villains.

10. Ozymandias (Watchmen). While you don’t see him do his heroics much in the comics, because he is pseudo-retired at this point, you do know what he did in the past to some extent and you know he’s still trying to make the world a better place. (spoilers for the comic that you really should read because there is a reason why it is considered a masterpiece) Ozymandias sacrifices his own morality to try and stop the world from destroying itself, its an awful thing that he does and thinks its for the greater good, and he clearly feels the weight of what he’s done but still stands by it; which is what makes him a fallen hero.

9. Griffith (Berserk). Now Griffith has many heroic qualities, but he always seemed to have a bit of a dark and selfish nature; but that being said his betrayal still really hurt both the audience and the few surviving main characters; and what he did was so profoundly selfish and evil that he becomes a fantastic villain.

8. Light Yagami (Death Note). Light does his fall really hard and really fast, but it takes a bit before he becomes completely evil. His mental chess game with L is one of my favorite story arcs in all of fiction, and it all started because this seemingly innocent boy found a notebook. There are definitely times when you are rooting for him even though you know you shouldn’t be, and I think that makes for some of the best villains. I was going to put Walter White on here, but I feel like Walt was always just a likable villain, you just didn’t know he was an egotistical dick until much later in the show.

7.Artorias the Abysswalker (Dark Souls). Artorias in any other game would probably be a hero you follow the footsteps of, or just play as; but in Dark Souls you slowly piece together the tragic story of a hero that tried as hard and as long as he could to win an unwinnable fight and in the end succumbed to the very abyss that he was fighting. Having to fight his best friend and protector of his grave is just heart breaking, and fighting him in the DLC was almost as bad. He’s not a character that I prefer as a villain, but he is a fun boss.

6. Angelus (Buffy/Angel). Now Angel is my favorite main character in my all time favorite show, but Angelus is a lot of fun to watch. He just loves being evil so much, he relishes it and is almost cartoonish at time with how fucked up he can be; but he has done far too much damage to the main characters of both Buffy and Angel to be taken lightly (I mean most villains in the show ether respect or fear him, and that’s pretty impressive when he’s been gone for hundreds of years). Having a main character who can go so completely evil if pushed is such a fun dynamic and when he gets to come out and play for real in season 4 it is a hell of a show. He’s such a good villain because he gets to sit and watch in agony watching Angel and friends do good all the time, but the whole time he sees how to push buttons and manipulate people so that when he gets free he can get what he needs out of them.

5. Jason Todd/Red Hood (DC comics). Jason was not a well liked character when he first appeared, or even after Crisis on Infinite Earths, but his death was still tragic and made people really question how good of an idea having a teenage sidekick really was. It was only after he came back to life and starting messing with Batman that I really liked him. Most of the villains on this list have questionable at best motivations, but if I was Jason and Batman didn’t kill Joker to avenge me, I’d be pretty pissed off to. He’s a great foil for Batman because he knows him so well, knows how to hurt him, and is pissed enough to really hurt him. He did eventually become an anti-hero and sort of DC’s answer to the Punisher (though they already had Huntress for that) but I like him more as a villain than I do an anti-hero (though he can be written well when he’s not in New 52). I was torn between him and Winter Soldier, but I think Bucky’s story isn’t quite as tragic because of the amount of time that had passed between him dying and him showing back up, and I like him more as a hero; both in the comics and in the MCU.

4. Two-Face (DC comics). From this entry and the last one you might think I’m a Batman fanboy, but I’m not; he just has damn good villains. There are many Spider-Man villains that were good guys to some extent before something terrible turned them into a villain, but Harvey Dent has the edge for me because of how much good he was trying to do before he became a villain. In his many incarnations you can always see a dark side to him before he falls, but seeing him actually become evil is still painful to watch. He is a fantastic villain because he’s so twisted and evil, but there is still a chance for him to be redeemed. He’s a constant reminder to Batman of his failure to help his friend, and he also has a very unique visual style to him that a lot of different creators have had a lot of fun playing with.

3. Arthas Menethil (Warcraft series). Arthas had your classic heroic backstory; young, handsome, talented prince who cared about his people would stop at nothing to protect them. He was brave and a very powerful paladin, but his arrogance would prove to be his undoing. He started down a path of doing worse and worse things to try and accomplish his goals, and eventually became fully corrupted once he got Frostmorne. Once he got his armor and became the Lich King, he became one of the most powerful villains in all of Warcraft, and the sword and armor he had made him very cool (no pun intended). His role as antagonist for a whole World of Warcraft expansion just shows how powerful he was, and being able to piss off pretty much everyone shows how good a villain he was.

2. Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars). Now the prequels are very flawed films, but I don’t find much fault in Anakin’s characterization throughout them. He starts off just a sweet and innocent child longing for adventure, but the next time we see him he’s a cocky teenager with enough power to back up his attitude. He’s very high on this list because while he did do some evil things before his actual turn to the dark side, he was manipulated into most or all of them; that doesn’t excuse him completely because in the end he still had agency over his choices, even if it wasn’t full agency. Some people say that his turn was too quick, but I think what happened is after he made that split second decision to protect Palpatine, he realized he was pretty much stuck with what he did. He did what he did because he was naive, manipulated, and wanted to save his wife and child. I’m also a sucker for a Greek tragedy and a self-fulfilling prophecy. Everything he did after the death of his wife and supposed death of his child was because of his rage and sadness at what he had lost, and clinging to what little he had left. He’s one of the best villains in all of fiction, and is so incredibly visually striking that even if you’ve never seen a Star Wars film, you know just by looking at him who he is.

1. Superman (Injustice games/comic). Who could possibly be a more tragic fallen hero than the symbol of hope and peace losing all hope and becoming a fascist, murdering dictator. Superman needs no introduction, but the Joker tricking him into murdering his wife and unborn child, and blowing up Metropolis sure is a different take on the character. Its not entirely surprising that something so tragic could make the Man of Tomorrow loose what made him a hero. As you read the comics you see that he started off just wanting to kill supervillains, and slowly he had to compromise more and more to get what he wanted. He never completely lost his morality, just slowly changed and warped his view on it until he became so scared of losing what he had left that he became a dictator.

#my lists #top ten

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takaraphoenix · 4 years

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Buffy dir the ask Game

Aaah! *^* Thanks for asking, I had hoped that may come up! xD

Answers under the cut though, because this turned into... literally 3k words worth of fangirl rambling. That’s what happens when you make me talk about the things I love the most. *ducks head*

Top 5 favourite characters: Spike, Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris, Rupert Giles

Other characters you like: let’s make that five more then! Daniel Osbourne, Andrew Wells, Cordelia Chase, Anya Jenkins, Drusilla

Least favourite characters:Dawn Summers by a landslide

Otps: Spike/Buffy, Tara/Being Alive, Willow/Tara, Xander/Cordelia, Xander/Anya, Giles/Joyce (I always wanted Giles to become Buffy’s dad, officially and legally ;-;), Cordelia/Buffy, Giles/Spike, Oz/Andrew (LISTEN, I love Oz, I hate that he left and only came back once to see his girlfriend his now a lesbian. I wanted him to return for good and I wanted Andrew to be explicitely gay and not just Word Of God gay)

Notps: Xander/Dawn - like, her crush on him was cute and all, but that season 8 really had to make THAT canon was… not necessary… Also Giles/Buffy is really the only Hard No ship I’ve encountered in this fandom, otherwise even when I don’t vibe with a ship, it’s more a shrug and keep scrolling

Favourite friendships: THE GOLDEN TRIO. Xander-Willow-Buffy. I love them

Favourite family:The friends we found along the way. Seriously, the Scooby-gang absolutely counts as a family. Joyce and Giles are the parents, Xander and Willow (who supposedly have parents but we never meet them and they don’t seem to care much) are as much a part of this family as Buffy ;^;

Favourite episodes: HAH! The one show where I can actually name them, without having to cross-check what the episodes are called and what happens where! xD

Once More With Feeling: clearly. IT’S A MUSICAL EPISODE. And it is so good. The singing is so good. I immediately bought the soundtrack and I listened to it on a loop for months. Then the content! The Spuffy is so good, the Buffy angst, everyone gets an adorable moment and then that ending that kills me

Tabula Rasa: I love this episode. It is so whacky but again also with angst, because that Willow/Tara is murderous

The Body: I mean, in a masochistic kind of way do I love this episode. It is… it is so heartbreaking. I’ve seen it like twelve times now and I still cry every single time. How vulnerable Buffy is, the Tara-Buffy friendship, Anya has one of my favorite moments when she confronts what death means. This episode is an absolute sucker-punch

Favourite season/book/movie: Season 6, hands down. Other TV shows always try to one-up it - so they fought demons in season 1, how about they fight SATAN HIMSELF in season 3? The escalation is very rapid in most supernatural shows nowadays. That Buffy took a step back and spent essentially a whole season on character development and friendships and human issues? Also two of my favorite episodes happen in this season, so that makes it all the more special to me!

Favourite quotes:Okay, so, full disclosure I love the musical episode but I listened to Rest in Peace THE MOST. And the lines “I died so many years ago, you can make me feel like it isn’t so” just completely wrecks me. Like, there’s a whole lot of memorable quips in this show and the line “I’m the thing that monsters have nightmares about” is ALSO absolutely outstanding

Best musical moment: When Buffy says “I think I was in heaven”, just the way her voice breaks, the reaction on everybody’s face? This silly musical just outed her biggest secret, the thing that’s going to hurt everyone around her with guilt and the thing that’s wrecking her life. That moment is so good

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: William Pratt. Getting explicit flashbacks to flesh out Spike’s past, to meet the man he used to be and see what he was like. Also genuinely every any flashback about the Fanged Four. This is something I KEEP yelling about in all the supernatural genre shows - if you have centuries old characters then USE THAT. Show me their past! Seriously the wasted potential of flashbacks around Magnus Bane on Shadowhunters is downright insulting. But Buffy? Every time it explored more, showed me more, I fangirled so hard. Also genuinely when Buffy slept with Satsu in season 8 - like, I know there were no grand romantic feelings but Buffy Summers had sex with a woman and… c’mon, Buffy’s not 100% straight, she just isn’t, I stand by bi!Buffy

When it really disappointed you:When some greedy asshat decided to do a comic reboot and retcon Willow into being Out And Proud in high school and be Gay All Along. Fuck. You. Like, yeah, sure, obviously am I all for out and proud teenage rep! But not at the cost of erasing existing rep! Not when it’s a retcon that actively erases an “I took longer to realize my feelings and be true to myself” lesbian, because those exist and are valid and deserve to be seen too and by retconning her into being out in high school, instead of having boyfriends in high school and only coming to terms when she is in college and actually MEETS her first lesbian to realize that this could be her truth, by doing that, you’re effectively sending the message that only Gold Star Lesbians are valid and genuinely fuck you for doing this. Also, from what I’ve heard that comic reboot effectively erased Drusilla’s insanity and victimhood to have her be an evil mastermind villain and… no… that’s not the character anymore then; a huge point of Drusilla was that she was a victim, most specifically Angel’s victim, that he broke her completely so we can see the bad and depth of Angelus’ worst days, it’s important for the plot even if it makes you uncomfortable to see a woman be a victim, in her case her victimhood and her insanity are literally what make her her. You just created a new character. There is some really wrong SJW bullshit going on in there and it’s dumb. If you wanna tell new stories, do that. But don’t take this existing beautiful story and slaughter it for your own whims what the fuck, I genuinely loathe that this comic exists and I’m glad that the TV show thing is going to be a spin-off sequel and not an actual reboot because don’t fucking reboot Buffy

Saddest moment: Joyce’s death, definitely. But also when Giles decides to leave, that breaks my heart every time

Most well done character death:ALSO Joyce’s death

Favourite guest star: I… really don’t know, like I don’t know who’d count as just guest, when looking at the cast list most the ones I would have said are technically recurring characters and then it’s also not really asking for the character but the actor, huh? Retrospectively probably Wentworth Miller, because he has become an actor I like a lot so seeing smol!Wentworth in Buffy is adorable

Favourite cast member: James Marsters. If tumblr existed back when Buffy first aired, all my Dominic Sherwood obsession could be fully translated onto him. He was one of my three first actor obsessions and he still remains that, to this day

Character you wish was still alive: ANYA. There was no need to kill Anya off in the finale, I wish season 8 could have had that happy, good Xander/Anya content… ;-;

One thing you hope really happens: I am so excited and afraid of the sequel spin-off. That could be so great (or a disaster and that’s the part that frightens me), but what REALLY needs to happen is that Sarah Michelle Gellar guest stars. Of course not as a regular, it is supposed to be about a new slayer. But I need them to then also acknowledge what has been before. Maybe others could guest star too, cameo occasionally (though it would be hilarious if Andrew was a regular and like a… guide to the new kid). Ideally, I would get to see every Scooby at least once in this spin-off but what really needs to happen is that Buffy Summers appears in it

Most shocking twist: When they killed off Buffy… and there was another season. Like. This was pre “everybody dies and is frequently brought back from the dead, death doesn’t stick” TV era (actually, it is the mother of that trope, really), so that was… really a shocker.

When did you start watching/reading?: Ironically, during my least favorite season. Season 4. The initiative was the most bland and obnoxious plotline, Riley/Buffy is a ship I really don’t dig and I was a teen so American college was Weird And Confusing and also uninteresting. However, I had been DYING to watch that show for three years and been deemed too young to watch it so it was really exciting that my mom finally allowed me and also I WAS right on time for the lesbian coming out and that still to this day blows my mind because Willow and Tara were the first lesbians I got to see on TV and it still means the world to me. I then got caught up on reruns, watching the first three seasons, but even on rewatchs, plot-wise season 4 is the weakest for me

Best animal/creature: Miss Kitty Fantastico, by default? xD I think she is the only animal in the whole series… and she just kind of… disappeared too ôÔ°°°

Favourite location: THE LIBRARY I LOVE THE LIBRARY SO MUCH

Trope you wish they would stop using: Mmmh… I… I mean, when rewatching this as an adult, I gotta admit the early Angel/Buffy is very uncomfortable. Back when I was Buffy’s age and younger I thought it was the coolest thing that this vampire loved this teenage girl, but as an adult I have come to re-evaluate all the 16/17 year old girl getting together with a 100+ year old vampire because that most definitely is a very concerning age-gap and… not necessary. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always also hold love for them because I loved them back when I first watched it too and I think they have a fascinating and epic tragic romance, but… media’s gotta stop pushing the idea that centuries old immortals find high school kids romantically and sexually attractive; it’s not a good look

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: Clearly sell me on the canon romance, if you look at my list of OTPs where nearly all of them are canon. Also THIS IS PROPER FOUND FAMILY YO. I’m so tired of shows pretending to be “the team is a family” and then it’s all just deceite and distrust and miscommunication and tragic. AND where this show 100% outdoes… literally everything else I have ever read and watched is the mental health. Buffy died and came back from the dead and instead of just shrugging it off and doing business as usual, we spent a whole season on her depression and dealing with the aftermath of it. Same goes for Willow and her grief over Tara and her addiction. Bad things happen to the characters and it’s not just used as a cheap ploy for more drama, they have ramifications and are being dealt with.

Funniest moments: When Tabula Rasa made everyone assume new identities and everyone thought Giles was Anya’s sugar daddy and Spike’s actual father? Also the time that Giles kept himself a pet-Spike in his home because no one trusted Spike yet (reasonably so). And honestly, countless more - this is one of the funniest shows I ever watched, the quips and one-liners are absolute killers.

Couple you would like to see: Huh. Can I go really vague and say that I would like to see a wlw couple with at least one lesbian in the spin-off sequel? Like, obviously do I hope that this new iterations brings more rep to the table - LGBT as well as POC because if I have to admit one flaw in my favorite show then that it’s very 90s white - but even among that, I really hope there will be at least one lesbian character, who gets to have an on-screen romance

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: As mentioned above, I hope Sarah Michelle Gellar and others join the cast at the very least as guest stars.

Admittedly, I also would murder to see Dominic Sherwood play a vampire on this new show.

Those two would be the ones I’d love to see join the cast. However, I kind of got lost in an entire fan-cast here, so have my pitch for what I’d love the spin-off’s cast to look like. I have no idea what age-range it’s going to be though. Probably teenagers again, but I kind of hope early to mid twenties.

My dream cast, which isn’t going to happen because she already has a lead role in a TV show so she’s too busy, but I’d LOVE to see China Anne McClain as the new slayer.

And, okay I admit this is Marvel based type-casting, but I’d LOVE to see Lyrica Okano as the witch friend (the group needs a witch friend).

Sarah Jeffery for the Cordelia-type role. The bitchy cheerleader - but she’s actualy a closeted lesbian who joins the team when she accepts her own identity and befriends the group.

It’s probably also type casting to make David Castro play another brooding vampire, but listen he’s about the same age as China and he would give off good Angel vibes to her Slayer?

Jane Lynch as the Watcher. But not a soft dad like Giles, more the grumpy, annoyed mom who now has all those irritating children running after her even though she is just trying to teach her charge how to be a Slayer.

Favourite outfit: EVIL DOPPELGÄNGER WILLOW’S VAMPIRE DOMINATRIX OUTFIT *^*

Favourite item: I love the dumb axe. Like, I think it looks WAY too modern to be this ancient tool, but dang it’s pretty

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: my phone-case, all seasons on DVD, the soundtrack of the musical episode on CD, I probably still got my old bedsheets somewhere. I do wish I had more merch, in a different time I probably would have spent all my money on Buffy figures, but those weren’t available way back when and now that I have access to the internet’s treasure-hunting-sites, I… have learned to… mostly… manage my money better than mindlessly buy merch (though if Funko Pop finishes that… Rock Candy series with all the main characters, I will definitely buy those. As it stands, there’s only Willow and Buffy available right now…)

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: I would definitely not be a slayer. Maybe a witch??

Most boring plotline: The initiative. Seriously. I’m HARD anti military and this bullshit of college soldiers policing the supernatural world was… boring and weird. Got even weirder when it turned into Frankenstein at the end

Most laughably bad moment: ooof that puppet episodes had quite some intentionally cringey moments

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: ALL OF THEM. NOT A SINGLE NOT GOOD FLASHBACK THERE. GIVE ME ALL OF THE PAST

Most layered character: Spike. Fight me on that. Seriously, his past as a human, as a vampire, his present, his will to gain a soul, his dynamics with all the Scoobies, I love him. To be fair, Buffy is also the most layered character though

Most one dimensional character:huuuh… Dawn? I mean, seriously she is just every teen angst trope crammed into one, with zero tolerance for what the only slightly older adults may be going through, they even made her shoplift for attention, I swear she could have only been more of a cringey teen trope if she also Cut For Attention… -___- Like. She… She got slightly better with time, but out of all these multi-facetted characters, she is definitely the flattest

Scariest moment: Puppets creep me out so the puppet episode was definitely scary for me. Also the Silence I mean damn that was an amazing episode but it was creepy as fuck

Grossest moment: mh… I can’t think of one, really. I’m unsure if there were any really gross moments

Best looking male: Spike!

Best looking female: Doppelgänger Willow. Don’t judge me. Also Evil Willow. Okay you can judge me a little

Who you’re crushing on (if any): Never really had a crush on any of the characters

Favourite cast moment: That was… pre-internet times, we didn’t get immediately swamped by posts and videos and photos of the cast, there was very little access to these things so I was never really exposed to that

Favourite transportation: THE RV. I loved when they were on the run for half an episode and just all lived in an RV together :D”““

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): I really don’t know

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you:It’s a very well-rounded series and I was never actually left with major questions

Best promo: The best promo it had was running in our living room so I could carefully sneak a peek when going to bed and thus want to watch the show :D”

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: When Willow/Tara happened. I didn’t even know that I’m a lesbian back then. I was like 10 back then. This was literally the first time I saw two women be together. Back then I didn’t know what about it amazed me so much. Cue in 12 year old Phoe slowly realizing “oooh I’m a lesbian that’s why the lesbians spoke to me”. But yeah, being the first show to show me lesbians exist, that was when I fell in love and then I got to watch the whole show and it is just such a perfect show that it was impossible not to love it

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