#4.12: The Chosen

[wondereads]

Sapphic Book Recs for Pride 2024

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

Adult, high fantasy, 4.28 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Adult, sci-fantasy, 4.29 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Young Adult, high fantasy, 3.55 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide

Young Adult, thriller, 4.27 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

Crier's War by Nina Varela

Young Adult, high fantasy, 4.11 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire

New Adult, low fantasy, 4.18 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Seven Devils by L. R. Lam and Elizabeth May

Adult, space opera, 4.03 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Malice by Heather Walter

Adult, fantasy romance, 3.97 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Beguiled by Cyla Panin

Young Adult, high fantasy, 3.48 star average (my rating: 4 stars)

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

Adult, high fantasy, 4.21 star average (my rating: 3.5 stars)

Ash by Malinda Lo

Young Adult, fantasy romance, 3.57 star average (my rating: 3.5 stars)

We Ate the Dark by Mallory Pearson

New Adult, horror fantasy, 3.04 star average (my rating: 3 stars)

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

Adult, historical fantasy, 3.66 star average

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow

Adult, historical fantasy, 4.13 star average

Flip the Script by Lyla Lee

Young Adult, contemporary romance, 3.64 star average

The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart

Adult, high fantasy, 4.07 star average

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Adult, historical fantasy, 4 star average

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 4.17 star average

Tink and Wendy by Kelly Ann Jacobson

Young Adult, low fantasy, 3.4 star average

The Tiger's Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera

Adult, high fantasy, 3.84 star average

Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon

Adult, horror sci-fi, 4.04 star average

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

Young Adult, high fantasy, 3.65 star average

The Goddess of Nothing at All by Cat Rector

Adult, high fantasy, 4.23 star average

Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Young Adult, historical romance, 4.28 star average

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Young Adult, dystopian sci-fi, 3.92 star average

The City of Dusk by Tara Sim

Adult, high fantasy, 3.72 star average

Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills

Young Adult, contemporary fiction, 4.25 star average

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

Adult, gothic fantasy, 3.83 star average

A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson

Adult, gothic fantasy, 4.12 star average

Seven Faceless Saints by M. K. Lobb

Young Adult, high fantasy, 3.5 star average

Darker by Four by June CL Tan

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 4.11 star average

The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling

Young Adult, paranormal romance, 3.64 star average

Portrait of a Thief by Grace D. Lin

Adult, mystery thriller, 3.63 star average

Once & Future by Cory McCarthy and A. R. Capetta

Young Adult, sci-fantasy, 3.57 star average

The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson

Adult, high fantasy, 4.1 star average

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

Young Adult, sci-fi horror, 3.48 star average

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfled

Young Adult, contemporary fiction/low fantasy, 3.69 star average

[artsymumof5]

For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His special treasure. And gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people. Psalm 135:4.12

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Recent Social Media Odds and Ends

@galadrieljones

Also, Gimple has been nostalgia posting on twitter a lot lately, talking about how he got his start on the show and about the end. He posted this tweet which I don’t think is any sort of smoking gun but it just reminded me of one of the most mysterious quotes of the entire show, which is when Sasha says, “We don’t die.”

In those big moments for Rick, the quotes seem to be teaching him something. Shane gives Rick strength by talking about Judith and loyalty and inspiring in him the darker side of survival where things get done. Shane is interesting as the anti-Rick but the most compelling message comes from what he says about the Third Man. “There was a third man,” which he says “changed everything.” Then, Hershel assures Rick that he doesn’t need to worry about Maggie, that he knows it’s been hard, but doesn’t need to worry because “We’ll get there. All of us.” 

After that, it’s Sasha who delivers the final message: “We don’t die.” I don’t know why it’s Sasha. But it is. All the messages seem to be telling us not to worry, but to pay attention, because there’s something at work that we don’t see, and it will change everything (the CRM). But they’re also telling us that everybody is still alive? In some way. It is a message about the kingdom of Heaven, God’s house, just like Gabriel’s sermon in WHAWGO, which is also about that which goes unseen. Idk the messages just seem to be about a reunion. Or telling Rick that this is all some sort of illusion. That they’ll all be together again someday, or that they never were actually apart? It’s so mysterious.

@wdway:

Does Gimple substitute numbers in his Twitter post often? 442. S4 series episode 42 was Dead Weight, the second Governor episode. Might not mean anything but the numbers just stood out to me.

@galadrieljones:

He did it a lot in this thread. Here’s the whole thing:

@wdway:

First block 1:4. S1e4 Vatos. Second block 12 series number 12 was Secrets. 2/3, s2e3 wastage the Last One.

@galadrieljones:

I have no idea if he’s put code in his tweets. He could be referencing 1.1, 4.12, 4.4…

Also I am once again thinking about Blair/Gina and morphic resonance. Like that there are multiple “tries” at work here, multiple threads of reality under the surface. In one of those threads they’re all still alive and together. They get the happy ending because they make the right choices. It’s what WHAWGO is all about. Martin tells us that our choices matter. He doesn’t get enough credit for that.

Bob seems to represent fate (It happened because it had to, because it was always going to), Martin represents free will (maybe if you’d made better choices, Beth would still be alive), and the Governor represents karma (you have to pay the bill). It’s sort of like A Christmas Carol, in which Tyreese sees the ghosts of the past, present, and future. Beth and the girls just represent temptation, ie: “It’s okay, Tyreese. It’s better now.” Innocence achieved through death, a clean slate, an indication that if you die, it will all just go away.

Idk where I’m going with this. It’s just ideas.

A Christmas Carol is also about getting a do-over, and alternate realities and causal loops.

Re: It’s a Wonderful Life, Lexmas, etc.

Groundhog Day, Mystery Spot, all stories of causal loops that have to be broken

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Also, I’ve been following the AMC account that has been counting down the top episodes. I’ve wondered what their number 1 would be. I didn’t really expect it to be Coda or anything super Beth related, but they went with 9x05: What Comes After, when Rick leaves. 

That seems very strategic to me. Like, it’s less the “best” episode of the series (even though it was definitely a very good one) and was probably chosen more to kick us into the CRM storyline. 

Also, let’s remember that Emily’s voice is in that episode, but she’s not identified as Beth but as a weirdly mysterious “woman.” And of course we also see her lying not far from Daryl in Rick’s dream, with blood on her arm. So, it feels significant that they chose that episode.

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClMUGlBOg5T/?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=

@twdmusicboxmystery:

People are sending me this on IG. This video was posted by the official AMC account about 6 hours ago. I’m not sure if it’s the one I sent you above, but they’ve posted a whole bunch of montage videos today. For this one; it has lots of stuff in it. Not just Bethyl. But they used Daryl carrying Beth as the thumbnail that shows in the wall. 

Hint: IG will pick a default image to the be the thumbnail of the poster doesn’t pick one, but it always asks you specifically if you want to pick one. Which means either way they specifically picked or agreed to using this as the thumbnail. I’m just saying.

Next, @katkhaos posted an interview Norman gave to Vanity Fair in the group. You should both read it when you get a chance. Lotss of good stuff in it. But here are some things that jumped out at me. First, Norman uses the term "coda," which is always nice to see. He's talking about the Rick and Michonne bit of the finale, but still.

Next, I really loved this, even though it's not particularly TD. He talks about a small, angry group of people who are convinced he and the other actors and AMC are lying about why Melissa is not in the spinoff. He says they're simply wrong. But it also shows that they know these are just the outliers, not most of the fandom. That's nice to have confirmation on.

 Finally, what Kat points to in the group is that he zeros in on the line Judith says about Daryl deserving a happy ending. He says that, more than any other line in the show, will lead into the spinoff. Honestly, Gals, I've wondered a bit if the spinoff will truly be about Beth. Not that I'm doubting her return, but rather I'm just wondering if the spinoff will be about something small and then we'll get Beth at the very end, and have to wait until the next thing to get their story or something. But this definitely shows that the spinoff will be about Daryl's "happy ending," and we all know that will include Beth. ;D

@galadrieljones:

Not really news but some confirmation on Rick’s location in the coda.

https://twitter.com/twalkingdworld/status/1595205710530289664?s=46&t=Ra_ilvCGb2OAMY3oVgK1kA

@wdway:

Rick is on the opposite side of the Delaware River.

 The first time I actually sent the painting with Washington this one is actually Rick. And who is that behind him, Jesus or some would say Christ and who is the Christ figure=Beth..

@galadrieljones:

Hey everyone! Hope your night before Thanksgiving is going well Here’s a Gimple tweet I appreciated. Not Bethyl but he has been tweeting a lot lately so I’m hoping this trend continues!

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Lol. Love it! I wish Gimple was on social media more. Glad to hear he’s tweeting.

@wdway:

Hopefully what they are doing is making it obvious for us. Here's our bone. I hope they keep coming and get meater as time goes by.

Guys I hope this means just as Michonne stumbled across Rick's boots and cell phone Daryl will have a similar parallel in finding Beth things. My bet is one of them will be her necklace. Her boots are very distinctive but would that be overdoing it, way too obvious or are we at this point of be damned let's go for it.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Let’s hope they continue to go for it! I’ve been thinking about Rick/Silas parallels and how the actor who plays Silas jokingly suggested we would see Rick in the TWB finale. I can’t help but wonder now if it was less a deceptive tease and more a hint. Like maybe the TWB actors already knew more about the Rick/Silas parallels than the GA does. No way to know either way, but it seems really convenient for him to have said that, with what we know now.

@boltthrutheheart:

I know that I have told you before that I sometimes play the Walking Dead Slots game. I believe I have even shared something similar before. In the game, they have a mini game featuring characters from the show that you can level up and send on missions to get free coins. They call the different collection of characters “seasons”, each of them have a cohesive theme, and each season lasts a couple of months. 

Beth was included in a season before that was themed for the farm. It has been a while since she has been included in the mini game because they focused on the Whisperers, Alexandria, and some other themes, but she is in the latest season (which has been going on a few month’s, I have just been a little absent minded in sharing it). 

So Beth is currently in a character collection called “Fallen Heroes”. The funny thing about it is, not all the characters in it are “fallen”. The characters included are mostly characters that there is no doubt about being dead. They were very very dead the last time we encountered them. There is Glenn, Abraham, Carl, Enid, Jesus, and Hershel. 

Then there is Beth. She of course is in a grey area since we didn’t see her in a very dead state or buried like we saw the other characters. The final “Fallen” character they included is Rick, and Rick is very much alive. I just thought that this might be of some interest to you. I have some screenshots to share, but I don’t play enough to have all their characters leveled up (although you can tell who they are in the silhouette that is there).”

@twdmusicboxmystery:

I just think it's a super cool clue that in the Fallen Heroes group, all of them are very obviously dead and could not possibly come back, except Rick and Beth. And Rick is very clearly alive. Yet another clue to Beth's survival. That's all. ;D

@wdway:

Loved this. All of these small hints/clues that keeps Beth's character front and center to a smaller to diverse TWD audience. I would never have seen this because I'm not a gamer. Gamers are an area that they're covering bringing in that fraction of the fans.

@galadrieljones:

I do enjoy how they seem to be keeping her alive here

@wdway:

I'm going to start off with something that has just been replaying in my mind since I read it the other day. I'll give you the whole little sections of question and answer from Gimple instead of just what I zeroed in on.

It's the last paragraph that stood out to me. They're talking about announcing early with the spin-offs and how Jeffrey was very upset about it. Gimple is saying that because so many people have seen Lauren and Jeffrey filming in New Jersey that people would have known about it anyway but then he goes on to say he would have been crazy enough to announce that it was going to be a sitcom between the two. 

What struck me is that he's actually admitting to lying about a certain story lines in order to keep what's going on on the down low. I realize we've known this for a long time or suspected greatly that he bends the truth to fit how he wants things to be presented or hidden but here we have him actually saying that's what he would have done if not for that fact it had already been announced.

https://www.facebook.com/1491451041161527/posts/pfbid04uLcRDhf46ugYX8rKexasJBqCJha32tQZCquoRFDDPYozaoP3xogc8BWSHsYzmYil/?mibextid=Nif5oz

This explains a lot about the people seeing older characters during filming. It also may explain why there was reportedly a script called Atlanta.

@galadrieljones:

Interesting. Personally I don’t like massive time jumps so I’m glad they didn’t do that. Just my opinion. Ofc I’m also glad the story isn’t over, and in a way, I feel they was perhaps why the shows ending felt strange. Because it isn’t over? It’s unclear which aspects will go away and which will continue to develop, especially outside the characters who we know will be in spin-offs.

I get they wanted to do the show justice with an appropriate emotional ending, but I feel as if it opened more doors and asked more questions than it answered.

Like Judith telling Daryl he deserves a happy ending, Daryl leaving, Negan just wandering off, etc.

@wdway:

I think the original plan ending for the series would have been to pacify the comic readers.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

This is all super interesting! Thanks for sharing it. I agree about Gimple bending the truth. We've known that for a long time, but it's nice to have some confirmation we can point to. 

It reminded me of the way they originally marketed the Carol/Daryl spinoff, calling it a "road trip" show. For me, I think that was a hint that Carol and Daryl would leave together to find Beth, like they did in S5. That's what they originally planned, but of course it has changed now since MMB backed out. But I think the "road trip" thing was exactly this. It was Gimple being satirical, as he would have been had he announced that the Maggie/Negan spinoff was a sitcom. 

I've said this before, but Gimple doesn't have the best comic timing. I think it makes him lovably nerdy, but it also means that sometimes, when he makes jokes--such as on TTD--they don't entirely land. And I think this is a similar thing. He'll say something tongue-in-cheek about some part of TWDU, but people have a hard time telling when he's being serious and when he's teasing them. 

I mean, they keep saying the spinoff will have a very different tone from the main show. And of course it will. How can it not, given that it's in France and deals with different characters than we've seen before (other than Daryl)? But that doesn't mean it will stop being TWD. Every episode of Tales had a different tone than the main show, but it's still very recognizable as TWD.

Anyway. As for the second article, I agree with you both. I'm glad they didn't go with that ending. For me, it would have been somewhat deceptive to viewers. We would have seen the grown kids, and most people would have assumed that Daryl, Rick, and Michonne never made it back to them. 

They shouldn't assume that. As 20-somethings, the kids could be out on their own looking for survivors, and Rick and Michonne and everyone could be back at Alexandria waiting for them. No reason to think all the adults didn't make it back only a few months after Daryl left. And that ending by no means suggests anything would have changed in the spinoffs and the way they're expanding the universe. It only would have suggested that the kids survive into adulthood, so anytime they're in danger in the show, we'd know they will be fine, lol. 

But if it didn't specifically show the adults returning, you know plenty of people would have assumed that and been up in arms about it. There would have been a lot of resulting drama in the fandom. So again, I too am glad they didn't go that route.

I’ll stop there for today. What do you think of these social media tidbits?

[wellnessweb]

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[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Friday, November 10

HARMONY: "What about me? What's my job?" WESLEY: "Uhm... Guard the car." HARMONY: "You got it, boss! (Sits on the edge of the hood) Anyone comes near this car, I will rips his throat out." WESLEY: "No. No killing." HARMONY: "Oh. Okay, maiming only."

~~Disharmony~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Weekly Drabbles #39 — Understanding by veronyxk84 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

adoringly, agonisingly by CallMeVampy (Giles/Jenny, E)

M.I.B.: Aliens don't exist! Do they? by DeamonQueen (Buffy/Spike, PG)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Forgiveness Doesn't Come Easy - Ch. 4 by slaymesoftly (Buffy/Spike, unrated)

Stepping on Butterflies - Ch. 1-4 by melodys_muse (Buffy/Angel, T)

We Don't Know What's Around the Corner - Ch. 8 by the_widow_twankey (Angel/Spike, M) COMPLETE!

Early One Morning - Ch. 3 by all_choseny (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Forgiveness Doesn't Come Easy - Ch. 4 by slaymesoftly (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Dead End Plots - Ch. 14 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Goodbye to Everything That I Knew - Ch. 7 by fortes775 (Buffy/Spike, R)

Destiny or Choices Made? - Ch. 27 by charmed4lifekaren (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

New Normal - Ch. 24 by holetoledo (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

The Neighbor's Point of View - Ch. 56 by the_big_bad (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Trip to the other side - Ch. 9 by texaswookie (Halloweentown movie xover, Buffy, Giles, Scoobies, FR18) COMPLETE!

The Break of Dawn - Ch. 2 by violettathepiratequeen (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) COMPLETE!

Tales From Sunnydale - Ch. 175 by violettathepiratequeen (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

The Plunge - Ch. 1-5 by Harlow Turner (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Early One Morning - Ch. 3 by all_choseny (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Forgiveness Doesn't Come Easy - Ch. 4 by Slaymesoftly (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Vampire Whxre - Ch. 3 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: A painting I did of Giles cleaning his glasses... by ghostrabbit87 (Giles, worksafe)

Artwork: I don't really draw as often as I used to... have a Spike by evilwickedme (Spike, worksafe)

Manip: Once upon a time, a hero slayed the dragon. A kiss saved the day.' by l0veisntbrains (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Moodboard: 365 characters; buffy summers (buffy the vampire slayer) i may be dead, but i'm still pretty... by sylthrein (Buffy, worksafe)

Fanvid: Fanvid by bluestarsandclouds (Buffy/Angel, worksafe has lots of kissing)

Gifset: VAMPIRE APPRECIATION WEEK 2023 Day 04: An Underrated Vampire ⚰️ Mercedes McNab as Harmony Kendall by whatisyourchildhoodtrauma (Harmony, Gunn, Spike, worksafe)

Gifset: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 5.10 “Into the Woods” by whatisyourchildhoodtrauma (Anya, Xander, worksafe)

Gifset: Vampire Appreciation Week [2023] ~ Favourite Vampire/Non-Vampire Dynamic by sulietsexual (Connor, Angel, also Darla, Wesley, Lorne, Cordelia, worksafe)

Gifset: Vampire Appreciation Week [2023] ~ Favourite Vampire(s) by sulietsexual (Darla, Angel, worksafe)

Gifset: [revamped] iwillrememberyoumarathon BANGELUS — NINE INCH NAILS by marie-moreaus (Buffy/Angel, worksafe)

Gifset: lgbtqcreators creator bingo + overlay/poster design -> Buffy the Vampire Slayer + This Is War by lopeirce (Riley, Scoobies, Spike, Dawn, Giles, Faith, Angel, Buffy, worksafe)

Gifset: BUFFY SUMMERS | 4.12 – “A New Man” by charmedslayer (Buffy, worksafe)

Gifset: Vampire Appreciation Week 2023 ↳ Day Two: Favorite vampire/non-vampire dynamic → Buffy and Angel by buffysummers (Buffy/Angel, NSFW ish has nudity)

Manip: Touched By Your Presence - Ch. 2 by honeygirl51885 (Buffy/Spike, NSFW)

[Reviews & Recaps]

The thing is, I don't really think Chosen is one of the show's better season finales... by coraniaid

Other scattered thoughts on The Zeppo... by coraniaid

In Triangle Spike started helping the disaster victims... by aphony-cree

[in Amends] really really vibing with evil ghost jenny as the third participant... by jennycalendar

Much Ado About Nothing (2012) by zmuda1234

Slayers [Audible] was awesome and the hate is overblown. by khannan14

[Recs & In Search Of]

Spangel [Spike x Angel] fic rec list [multiple fics recced] by spangelmybeloved

ISO: ofsongbirds seeks Discord 1x1 RP Partners for Faith Lehane [roleplay]

ISO: FarmMouse84 seeks Fanmail postal address for James Marsters

[Community Announcements]

Discord: [commenter offers Discord invite to Buffyverse Comics and Novels group]

[Fandom Discussions]

POLL: AO3 Femslash Top 100: Semi-Finals Fuffy by ao3femslashtop100-tournament

POLL: Platinum Bracket: Round 2, Poll 3 Spike by blond-jerk-tourney

What are your thoughts on Xander? [ask answered] by tara-maclay-is-still-alive-guys

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 6.03 | Afterlife [parallels gifset] by neshamas

BtVS 3x04, 5x22 | AtS 4x10 [Spike and Angel - two types of monsters gifset] by mycatismyfriend

BtVS 3x17 → AtS 1x18 [Faith progression gifset] by mycatismyfriend

... buffy keeps on expecting faith to just completely trust her without any reservations... by jennycalendar

One of the weirder bits of fanon... the Scoobies regularly introduce Giles to people as "the librarian..." by coraniaid

I really hate how Buffy and the scoobies behaved to Spike in s5... by dreamsuvivor

[Fuffy incorrect quotes] by andrew-heard

They needed to define Willow's problem earlier by garfan and others

Question - Spike & Buffy––sibling or romantic? updated by NoShip

Is Willow worse than Faith? updated by multiple posters

Question - How do you guys think spike would've died at the end of his original run updated by NoShip and famicommander

Alyson in DWTS [video] by Klaus Kartoffel

POLL: Best minor buffyverse character by zombiehoosier

POLL: …What is the best age to become a vampire?? by duvet-cover

Imagine what would have happened if…. [Buffy stays dead and Kendra comes to Sunnydale] by duvet-cover

Do you think season 3 Faith and Buffy would have liked badass era Wesley? by LightBlueSky55

Giles in "Lies My Parents Told Me" by K2SO4-MgCl2

Do you think Faith ever went back to prison? by zmuda1234

Season 4 Episode 6 Wild At Heart by MapleTheUnicorn

IMO, Buffy jumping to save Dawn was a pretty big “plot hole” by Decent_Till4294

Watching Angel [ATS] and losing any respect I had for him by WembleyToast

A Hole in the World by RachelisRach

Who was the most over-dramatic Big Bad? by 0000udeis000

Why didn't the government choose to fund buffy at all? by Tsole96

What is Twilight? [in the comics] by ngiothlitren

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

Interview with the Writers of Slayers: A Buffyverse Story by Audible

James Marsters FAN EXPO San Francisco 2023 Schedule [starts Fri Nov 24] via dontkillspike

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[hithelleth]

The 100 4 x 11-13

Finally caught up, so putting down some notes for myself so I don’t forget everything over the hiatus.

4 x 11 “The Other Side” was the worst, I get what they were trying to do, but I’ve been fed up with this sort of BS mentality since S fucking 1, so.

And, yeah, apparently I can hate Jaha still more (though I hated him a little less in 4x13 later but hardly through any of Jaha’s own merit.) Clarke, Jaha is not a good role model for you.

Bellamy was breaking my heart by trying to get to open the door and hurting himself. I loved that Abby helped him – at least she seems to have learnt from the past. And I especially loved what he told her, repeating Marcus’s words that they need to earn back deserving to survive by doing better each day than the day before.

The being worthy of survival is the running question of the show, but I’d like people to finally learn a lesson from it instead of just repeating the same mistakes and questionable choices over and over. Although, of course, Clarke was right in 4 x 12 that there were no good choices – but so was Bellamy when he said that the current choice wasn’t comparable to the Dropship/Mt. Weather/ALIE situation.

Also fed up with the Arkadians superiority complex.

Jasper’s clique’s mass suicide was also a terrible story arc. Again, I get what they wanted to explore, but the execution was less than adequate and basically over the line (see, this actually was the romantisation antis like to scream about) – and while on one hand I could relate with Jasper’s mentality (giving up, going out the easy way, being tired of fighting and pain), I cannot approve with the superficial treatment of it as well as the outcome. Maybe it was realistic or edgy or whatever, but it was hella depressing. Not cool, show, not cool.

Raven’s part of the episode was the best, with alternating Becca and Sinclair hallucinations and reason and will to live winning, thanks goodness.

The science was of course BS, but on the other hand their ability to bluff their way through it is kinda admirable, lol.

I loved that Echo decided to trusting Bellamy’s will to open the door was the best option.

Anyway, with Abby’s help Bellamy got the door bunker open since Clarke was unable to shoot him and in

4 x 12 “The Chosen”

we were back to Octavia’s plan to share the bunker with everyone and Arkadians having to choose a 100 among them. (And boy do I love the poetic ‘justice’ of it.)

Fucking Jaha was, of course, inciting rebellion and some guy went on and on about how Skaikru deserved more spots because of their knowledge yada, yada.

Loved Octavia standing up to Jaha and throwing it back into his face how she is supposedly one of them. Loved Octavia feeling undeserving of being looked to by the grounders for leadership as the champion and at least mentioning Roan’s help. (I’m not over you-know-what.)

I also understood why she threw Echo out.

Also, continuing loving Indra’s mentorship and support and Octavia actually turning and listening to her.

At least stupid Jaha did the right thing at the end, although only thanks to Marcus’s quick thinking and convincing talk, so they gassed the mob and then used Clarke's list to pick who stayed + all the kids (although I assume the kids were already on Clarke’s list) while the Grounders took everyone else out of the bunker.  

How does Jaha get to stay in the bunker, though? I thought they need young fertile people and experts and Jaha is neither young not an expert in anything but being able to manipulate people (okay, he’s a man, so still fertile, but yuck, I don’t even want to go there).

By the rules, Jaha should’ve been out, except that of course the actor has a contract (and look, shitty person or not, I don’t wish anyone to lose a job) and so we’ll have another season of Jaha’s BS. (It won’t surprise me if he does more backstabbing, manipulating, and shitty deals with the prisoners next season.)

Abby renounced her spot in the bunker out of guilt, but then Marcus followed the list and had her stay – but unlike Jaha, even if I didn’t like her (but I do), Abby is actually necessary as the senior doctor.

I liked Marcus’s ‘that’s how we save our people’ – because yes, that’s the way to do it both physically and in terms of humanity. Though his frantic repeating of it was also heartbreaking.

Meanwhile, Bellamy, Clarke, Murphy, and Emori went to get Raven (since they would need her), but were jumped by some grounders who wanted their suits, but fortunately Echo saved them, but the attack damaged the truck and Emori’s suit in the process. (BTW, loved Murphy and Emori and ‘your home is with me’.)

Clarke gave Emori her suit, since she had nightblood that seemed to be working, but thee was no time to made more and immunise everyone (not to mention needing to convince the grounders to let extra people stay – and they couldn’t open the bunker anyway to let them out after a few days because that would let the radiation in.)

Monty and Harper detoured from their way to Polis and pick them up, but they ran out of time to return to the bunker.

So the new plan was to go to the ring left behind by the Ark, with leftover water filtration system and an algae farm and they would take an oxygenator from the island with them. 4 x 13 “Praimfaya” Bellamy said goodbye to Octavia. I loved comparing her to Prometheus (and she obviously knowing what he’s talking about) giving people hope.

Then radio died and Clarke couldn’t say goodbye to Abby, so we got Bellarke huggles. ;)

Apparently it’s 210 miles from Polis to the island. They forgot to count shitty roads instead of highways, so if you neglect that, it even kinda works out (5-hour drive in one direction.)

Then it was a rush to get everything together to launch before the radiation wave. Murhy helped Monty get the oxygenator and even managed to endear himself to Monty a little by choosing the equipment over him, lol. (Loved the ‘I don’t hate you anymore’ and Bellamy’s ‘give it time’. And hugs!)

Echo was about to kill herself, but Bellamy stopped her and I loved that and her remembering she betrayed them.

Communications failed, so someone had to go restore them and since everyone was busy with other things, Clarke did it, but the tech failed some more and she had to go align the satellite dish manually to make it possible for the power on the Ring turn on and so she ran out of time to return and the others launched without her, thinking she died. Ouch.

I loved the teamwork and sharing the oxygen and all, though.

In the end we saw a time jump of six years and seven days with Clarke trying to radio the Ring and telling Bellamy the bunker was buried under the rubble and silent, as well. She apparently lived in the truck with a young nightblood girl.

Cue a large fucking spaceship marked as ‘prison transport’ landing and Clarke telling Maddie to load all her guns. So, overall:

Despite me being fed up with the fucking endless fighting, it was kinda good season (at least until 4x10 – and a stubborn part of me still wants to believe Roan is not dead, grrr. That’s why AUs are for.)

It doesn’t look like they’ll change the show’s MO any time soon, so we’ll get more fighting for survival in S5. Can we at least hope that in 6+ years in the bunker Wankru got their shit together enough to stick together and work together? I know it’s too much to hope that these new arrivals would be more rational and prone to talk and negotiate rather than fight, but maybe? Pretty please? And Wankru learning from the umpteenth past mistakes and being able to do the same? Come on! (Yeah, I know, not gonna happen.)

I wonder how many of the new arrivals are there? The space ship looked hella big so I think maybe at least a 1000, or maybe even a couple thousand plus (an even more important factor) all the heavy machinery.) But in roughly 150+ years at least they managed to stick to English, so there’s that.

The show also managed to bluff its way through science plausibly enough that I can handwave it and let it be if I don’t think too much about it, so that was better than I expected before the season started, too.

I have mixed feelings about the ending. On one hand I love that Octavia found her place and that maybe Wankru can finally learn to live with each other in peace and I like how they spun the Clarke’s nightblood story to enable her survival and her helipng others to survive (also, it was the expectedly heroic story for the lead.) On the other hand, of course, it was white-saviourism galore. But, oh, well.

I will probably return for S5 because of characters, though I am so not looking forward to the potential of more of the same stories about fighting and such. But who knows, maybe the writers decide to do something new and surprise me in a more pleasant way.

[daeneryskairipa]

Bellarke in 4x12 “The Chosen”

[macgyverseries]

rebutting and debunking frequently used arguments against macriley

I made this 10-page google doc rant a while ago, but I never ended up posting it. Today, however, I woke up and chose violence. So here it is: my thoughts on frequently used arguments against macriley.

I took some quotes and arguments that people put online (reddit, tumblr..), and I debunked them all :p I feel like I always see the same arguments all the time, and I’m honestly getting a little tired of hearing them. I’m here to settle this once and for all.

and yes, i did manage to cut down the google doc by 3 pages :D (but it's still long af so rip my brain)

1.”Mac and Riley are siblings because Jack is their father”

I can (mostly) get behind the argument that Mac and Riley shouldn’t be in a romantic relationship because of their super strong friendship. Some people really value that sole platonicness, and I get that.

But the argument that I can’t get behind is that: Mac and Riley are siblings because Jack is their father figure”

If you google the definition of “father,” the first result that comes up is: “a man in relation to his children.”

Now, Jack was definitely the father figure to Riley, and I would consider her his child. He raised her. He helped shape her ideals and upbringing.

Mac only met Jack when he left MIT. So it was pretty much after Mac was raised (by Bozer’s parents haha), that Jack really came into his life. Mac already became his own person. (also, I always saw Mac and Jack as more of a bromance)

So because Riley and Mac met Jack at different periods of their lives, and they were raised differently, I wouldn’t say that they were siblings who were raised by the same father.

2. “The show writers left the impression that there was a huge age gap between them”

I understand this a little. I do think Riley was introduced as pretty young and idk naive? Because she was literally in highschool, and then she went to prison, and then she got released into the wild. Personally, when I started watching the show, I googled the whole cast. So I started the show knowing that they were the same age.

And also, the more I got to know Riley, the more that I thought that Riley was more mature and had an old soul herself. I think it was because she was just a dynamic and round character, who is well-developed.

But, I get first impressions. I feel like once you get stuck on an impression, it’s hard to go away from that.

Also, Jack would’ve totally shipped macriley, and you can’t change my mind.

3. "Riley isn't ready for a relationship"

I honestly think that this argument should be more geared towards Mac. He needs to figure himself out and go to therapy ffs. However, this person targeted Riley (the literal queen), so I shall defend her:

I understand wanting Riley to take some time off, and figure herself out before going straight into another relationship with someone. But here’s the thing. Throughout the first few seasons Riley’s character was very well established, and she didn’t have any partners during that time. She has proven that she is a strong, well-rounded, independent woman (with or without a partner). So i think it is valid to say that she isn’t just some girl who only has boy toys. She is much more than that.

My next point is that Riley has made it clear that she wants a lasting relationship with someone who will support her. When talking with Mac in 4.04, we see her express her interest in a stable, healthy relationship. It’s not wrong to go out and look for that potential partner. This applies to everyone (not just fictional characters): It’s going to take a few relationships and self-discovery, to find a good relationship, and people shouldn’t be shamed for searching for that.

Riley has only ever had two major boyfriends that I remember. First was Billy; she took that relationship very seriously. She really did seem happy with him. It was a shame that he cheated on her. Second was Aubrey. She also took that relationship very seriously. She had been living with him for six months (and they even had the cutest date nights!) So I wouldn't say that Riley only has boy toys. She has meaningful relationships.

Lastly, I think this was written when season four started airing, but it’s been over a year (and a pandemic) since Riley has dated. I think enough time has passed.

*4. I had to split this one up because, oh boy, there is a lot to unpack here.

4a. “If that was the direction they’d chosen to take with that relationship from square one… My issue with it is that Mac and Riley were presented to us as friends/ found siblings for three years. There were NO romantic vibes to speak of between them..”

I actually felt the same way about macriley. The thought of them being together in season one, made me want to throw up. I don’t think the writers intended on having macriley, and I was perfectly fine with that.

I know that people look for different things when they ship. Some really like having instant gratification with the spicy, hot, sexy parts of a relationship, like macdesi (which is why I was fine with the idea of shipping macdesi in the past).

I always wanted to see macriley do more: have hot, flirtatious banters/interactions. it can be hard to ship people who seem to be missing that part of the love equation. So i agree. It's definitely strange. And I understand if you genuinely have a hard time seeing the romantic potential of macriley, when the writers have only dragged out and shown us the platonic potential of them.

Also, the reason why it is difficult to see macriley as romantic, was because they ALWAYS PRIORITIZED AND WERE DRIVEN on their friendship. A partner should be friends first, and then makeout buddies second.

But just because people start off as friends, doesn’t mean that they still don’t have that potential to be lovers. Because guess what?! Feelings change. It’s now canon that Riley has feelings for Mac, and Mac always had feelings for Riley (but never acted on it).

I'm sorry, but you like a boomer when you say “bAcK iN mY dAy, tHeY dIdN’t HaVe fEeLiNgS fOr EaCh oThEr.” like okaAAAyyYYyYY????? We are not “back in your day” anymore. We are in the present. We are in today. And today, macriley is real :)

4b. “There’s the incredibly tired trope where long-term coworkers suddenly catch feelings for each other out of nowhere”

Personally, I will never get tired of the friends to lovers trope. I think the fact that Mac and Riley had such a strong friendship and foundation is what makes them perfect. Again, I know that some people just like instant gratification, but I love when a couple can take their time to have depth, emotion, and realness in their relationship.

Obviously I am biased because I have so much love for this trope, it's my favorite trope, but I don't see why you would use the “it’s overused” as reasoning to hate a ship. Just because a trope is used a lot, doesn’t mean it is bad (that’s probably why it is so good lmao). I can understand getting tired of it, and growing a dislike towards a trope. For example, I have grown an extreme dislike towards the love triangle.

A bit of a tangent: But the difference between overusing love triangles and overusing friends to lovers, is that love triangles aren’t just commonly used tropes. They are cliches. They cause unwanted drama and unnecessary hurt to one character. Whereas friends to lovers doesn’t involve as much drama and pain for a character. It is more of just angst between two people. And we know that they will get together eventually with a happy ending. So it was never really problematic.

And even then, the great thing about overusing or utilizing tropes, is that they can act as a guide. It allows the show writers and cast to make it personal, make it their own, adding their own special flair to it

I just don’t see the “this trope is used a lot” as a valid reasoning for disliking a ship .It just seems like this commenter doesn’t like the friends to lovers trope for the sake of not liking it.

I could be very wrong in my assumption of this person’s thoughts on friends to lovers, maybe there is a deeper reasoning as to why they don’t like it, but the tone that i interpreted when i read this section, was that they don’t have a real reason to dislike it, it’s more of just because.

4c.“then there's the fact that Riley had a mostly single Mac in her life for 3-4 years and she never even considered him romantically until he was with someone else”

First: Riley didn’t CHOOSE to fall in love. You may recall that “emotions aren’t a science. You can’t control them.”

Second: Mac was broken up with Desi when she caught feelings for him. Plus, the moment Riley saw that Mac and Desi were getting happy together, she moved out and gave them space. She sacrificed her own feelings for his happiness, despite the fact that her heart was breaking.

4d. “and finally, Mac not only still doesn't seem to even have Riley on his radar in that way but he literally told another woman that he loves her just last week. Neither of them look particularly good here if they get together now.”

I'm assuming that this was written when 4.12 first aired. I'm also assuming that this comment was more directed towards the idea of Mac and Riley getting together immediately at the end of the season, rather than later down the road. I always saw of macriley as more of endgame material. That i would see them get together sometime in the future. So I agree. Macriley getting together during that time period, would be too rushed and unsatisfying.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So those were most of the supposed arguments that I saw for people who were against macriley, but I also wanted to provide some really good examples of people who were very respectable, and actually had valid reasoning for disliking them.

1. they just don’t like shipping in general

Ships can be annoying af. Seeing people ONLY focus on the ships is sometimes tiring. I, myself, even feel a little guilty making this post, because I need to chill and mind my own business lmaooo. I really should let people do whatever they want to do with their lives, and not get caught up in the ships, but here I am :p

Anyways, I know that there is a lot of unnecessary drama that comes with shipping, and it's tiring to see people constantly go on and on about romance, when there are other perfect things about the show.

2. No matter how hard they try, they just feel it.

This is literally so dumb (and a little hypocritical/self-contradictory), but if you have a gut feeling, and you just can’t get yourself to ship it, I get it. If you truly and genuinely believe that they are best platonic friends, I can't change your opinion. And I have respect for you (if you say it in a kind manner).

Here is a nice example of a person who expressed their opinion in a nice way, with no BS.

So the moral of the story: I can't control your deepest thoughts. I can't control your gut feelings. And that’s okay. But the moment that you start backing up your thoughts and insights with BS reasoning, is the moment that I lose respect for you.

[noora193]

•

Tuesday with Morrie

A book review:

First and foremost, I’m speechles, its really hard for me to describe how beautiful this book was.

The story of the book is one of a kind and I think it was a real one, which has been lived by the writer himself. It is talking about a professor with ALS and the way he decided to live his final counted days. He wanted to share his own life philosophy as simple as it should be.Tuesday was chosen to be his special day, joining his fav. student Mitch (the book writer) who wanted to film the meeting conversation. Mitch felt disappointed and having hard times to accept and living the life he wanted, so the conversation was about answering Mitch’s questions and sharing the professor’s point of view at the same time. This was really helpful for Mitch, the people around and even for us (the readers) it is something astonishing to feel disabled and craving for help from a bodily disabled man who decided that he is not. A dead man teachs a living man how to live..

the book pages are full of life and on the other hand, taking the main character’s life painfully at the same time ..

it is highly recommended if anyone is wondering if I’m suggesting it or not and BTW It is also available as a movie in case you are a cinema fan!

Book’s rating on Goodreads: 4.12

[wondereads]

Bi/Pan Book Recs for Pride 2024

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao (bi)

Young Adult, sci-fantasy, 4.16 star average (my rating: 5 stars)

Bonded by Thorns by Elizabeth Helen (unspecified)

New Adult, fantasy romance, 3.86 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

Ash by Malinda Lo (bi)

Young Adult, fantasy romance, 3.57 star average (my rating: 3.5 stars)

So This Is Ever After by F. T. Lukens (bi)

Young Adult, fantasy romance, 3.93 star average (my rating: 4 stars)

Beguiled by Cyla Panin (unspecified)

Young Adult, high fantasy, 3.48 star average (my rating: 4 stars)

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake (bi)

Adult, contemporary fantasy, 3.74 star average (my rating: 4.5 stars)

This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron (pan)

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 4.17 star average

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (bi)

Adult, high fantasy, 4.25 star average

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (bi)

Adult, historical fantasy, 3.66 star average

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan (bi)

Adult, historical fantasy, 4 star average

The Goddess of Nothing at All by Cat Rector (bi/pan)

Adult, high fantasy, 4.23 star average

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta (bi)

Young Adult, dystopian sci-fi, 3.92 star average

The City of Dusk by Tara Sim (bi/pan)

Adult, high fantasy, 3.72 star average

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey (bi)

Adult, fantasy romance, 4.01 star average

A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson (bi)

Adult, gothic fantasy, 4.12 star average

Darker by Four by June CL Tan (bi/pan)

Young Adult, contemporary fantasy, 4.11 star average

The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling (bi)

Young Adult, paranormal romance, 3.64 star average

Once & Future by Cory McCarthy and A. R. Capetta (pan)

Young Adult, sci-fantasy, 3.57 star average

[littlemermaiids]

This lottery nonsense is driving me crazy

I’m sorry or am I wrong in remembering that it was Jaha that wanted to have a lottery the first time instead of Clarke and Bellamy’s list? Now he’s saying screw the lottery? Am I crazy or is Jaha cause…….. I really want to know why he’s no longer down for the random winners club

[messier51]

The Love is Stored in the Quentin Coldwater

So one thing that’s odd to me about the Q/Alice storyline is that, if feels like there should be a 2nd romantic beat when they’re in the garden. When Quentin can’t make the flower bloom because he doesn’t believe in Fillory anymore, Alice gives him a very nice pep talk and it is EXACTLY what he needs to hear (just like she encourages him to mend the mug at BBS, and he needed that encouragement!) and it's a very good bit.

But after the kiss earlier in the episode, it feels like there should be something else there too, to reaffirm that romantic seed. Alice touches his face and it’s very sweet...but...That's it. In a show where belief & love are thematically linked, they do NOT use the possibly-blooming-romance between them to further the plot there. She doesn't kiss him.

(Also @bakasara​ mentioned in discord, the words he uses are that he wants her in his life and that he wants to try to trust her again--not that he loves her or believes in them, yet. And she kisses him, and he kisses her back, but visually? It’s very uneven. She’s leaning across to him; and that’s a good reminder that the last time she was kissing him, was because that was the past version of himself; someone who reminded her how good it feels to be wanted and connected to others.)

So Quentin says he wants to let go of childish things, so that he can accept and forgive people, and move on. But for Q? Those “childish things” here are his belief and his love. This means that trying things with Alice again is not the heart-driven choice, it is the rational choice. Because, that’s what he always wanted, right?

But, Quentin Coldwater’s love. His greatest strength and also his biggest weakness. He loves things so much that it hurts. So why not give it up? Try put his childish beliefs away when all they’ve ever done is cause pain.

And yet. When he puts away his childish beliefs and accepts everything he ever wanted--he’s got Alice and Magic and Fillory, he’s even the Only Person Who Can Save them, the Big Darn Chosen-One Hero. But none of that makes a difference.

Just like what Q asks in 1.05 (Mendings, Major and Minor)--” Then why bother? What is the point of any of this, of magic, if we can't fix real problems?”--Magic doesn’t fix things. It doesn’t solve the problems; magic is just a tool that makes it easier to accomplish and/or fuck up stuff.

So when Alice even tells him in the garden, in that moment, not that she loves him and believes in him but instead:

But the Quentin I first met he believed in magic. And in Fillory. He changed. He grew up. Being an adult doesn't mean that you have to throw away what you used to love. Then what does it mean? Seeing the world through new eyes.

(4.12)

She tells him not to let go of the past, not to throw away his love and beliefs. She’s asking him to accept all the love and the hurt that comes with Eliot. And Alice. And Julia. And his dad. And Fillory. And magic.

And it's really cool that Alice gets to tell him not to let go of that part of himself, after he spends all that time trying to convince her that being human isn't so bad in seasons 2 and 3; that having connections with people and loving things is worthwhile! Even when it hurts.

So basically we have Alice metaphorically telling Quentin not to give up on Eliot (belief, love, childish things, the past). Which, no one has been able to talk to Q about Eliot, because he won't talk about it. But Alice is there, being just a really solid friend (complicated of course, because when are relationships not--especially with an ex).

And yeah, maybe Quentin’s not able to love Fillory anymore, because he’s changed, and grown as a person. But his beliefs and his love have changed with him, and he can still believe in the idea of Fillory, and the story that DID help him;

“There’s got to be some power in that. Shouldn’t loving the idea of Fillory be enough?”

But the reason why his beliefs are important here are because the thing he could actually love about Fillory didn't come from Fillory, it came from himself. The Idea of Fillory? That's what Q believed in.

And as we’ve already established, Quentin Coldwater’s greatest strength is his love. His love is powerful enough to save the world--that's the only way he was ever going to win. Because again: magic doesn't solve anything, it just magnifies your actions, and Fillory is not really an escape; it's just another place. But the idea of it, the fiction of it, was meaningful; because Quentin Coldwater believed in it, and so it had meaning to him.

Q was trying so hard to believe in Fillory when the actual answer was that he had to believe in himself.

[thetenthdoctorscompanion]

So question about GotC, what episode are you starting from on this second part? And what was technically the last episode you did on the first one? Also are you planning on doing every episode on this second part? Cause I was reviewing the episode list for season four and the second half is all gems, like the one with S&D's old HS, the siren, the alternate reality, Chuck, Adam, Jimmy etc.

So Gospel of the Chosen Act I runs from 4.01 “Lazarus Rising” to 4.12 “Criss Angel is a Douchebag.” Obviously, Kat isn’t there for the last case, since she’s living at the Roadhouse. But when Sam and Dean come rushing to help her deal with Meg, Sam mentions they’re finishing up a case in Nevada, which was my nod toward the episode. 

Gospel Act II will run from “After School Special” to the Season 4 finale. You are right! There are SO MANY great episodes in Season 4 that I’m excited to write. Especially “The Monster at the End of This Book!” I’m just really struggling with “Death Takes a Holiday,” which is my least favorite of the episodes. After that, it’ll be smooth sailing and lots of character development. 👀

[imchaeturtle]

Every Memori episode - The Chosen (4.12)

“Your home is with me.”

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, November 17

NURSE: What are you doing? BUFFY: Breaking into your office and going through your private files... NURSE: I'm calling the police. (She steps toward Buffy to get to the phone.) Buffy effortlessly reaches over to the phone and yanks it off of the wall. It falls to the desk with its wires torn.

~~Anne~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Friends by badly_knitted (Buffy, Angel, PG)

Heartstrings by apachefirecat (Buffy/Spike, Buffy/Riley, PG-13)

Predators and Prey and Normalcy by corvidyus (Xander, Willow, T)

Occupied by HollyDB (Buffy/Spike, E)

Goldilocks and the Three Vamps by Meltha (Angelus/Drusilla, Drusilla/Spike, G)

a place of business by The_Eclectic_Bookworm (Jenny/Giles, T)

five thanksgivings buffy and angel spent together by bonniesfire (Angel/Buffy, G)

Not Here by Sigyn (Buffy/Spike, R)

Silly Buffy 4-parter Story by JohnLe1993 (ensemble, unrated)

The Answer by myrabeth (Spike/Buffy, T)

[Chaptered Fiction]

In The Dark With You - Ch. 1 and 2 by Geliot99 (Buffy/Spike, T)

Dancing Under the Stars - Ch. 1 by f0rest_crypt1d (Drusilla/Reader, G)

Slayer Begins 2: Nightwing - Ch. 4 by BrennaLynn (Dawn/Thor xover, T)

A New Big Bad - Ch. 22 COMPLETE! by tinfoil_paint (Tara/Willow, Xander/Anya, Riley/Buffy, T)

Magic Man - Ch. 14 COMPLETE! by touchstoneaf (Buffy/Spike, E)

Hold My Hand Even Though I’m a Sinner! - Ch. 1 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Favor - Ch. 4 by EllieRose101 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

A Road So Rough - Ch. 3 by cawthraven (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Better the Devil You Know - Ch. 4 by SlayrGrl (Buffy/Spike, R)

Randy + Joan: As Long As You Love Me - Ch. 13 by BewitchedXx (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Orvieto - Ch. 15 COMPLETE! by TuesdayGirl (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Got Your Six - Ch. 16 by COMPLETE! honeygirl51885 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Buffy 2.0 - Ch. 8 by BlueZeroZeroOne (Buffy, FR18)

Restful Souls - Ch. 5 by violettathepiratequeen (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

The Burning Wheel - Ch. 3 by Ginger (Buffy/Spike, R)

The Road to Hell.... - Ch. 25 by All4Spike (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

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Icons: seasonal_spuffy - 9 icons and 4 Discord Avatars [will personalize upon req] by teragramm (Buffy, Spike, prob worksafe)

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Artwork: The Hero of Three Faces by heroofthreefaces (cartoon, worksafe)

Artwork and analysis: BTVS “Every Outfit” “Fool for Love & Shadow” by whatshisfaceblogs (Buffy, worksafe)

Artwork: Rewatching Buffy for the cute outfits by phoebeebies (Buffy, worksafe)

Gifset: S07E05 [I have a new boyfriend now...] by starryeyesxx (Anya, Willow, worksafe)

Artwork: Wanted to try drawing in colour for the first time and went with Illyria by lonelyhedgehoh (Illyria, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

PODCAST: Sewer Context - Angel S03E14 - Couplet by Pop Culture Role Call

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Today I watched Spike tell Harmony.... by sunnydaleslayer

watching buffy 4.12 ("new man") and!! when she trains with riley... by mollyspeak

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Drusilla really throws soul lore and OG vampire lore out the window... by disco-tea

If I could make one change to season 6 of Buffy... I would have Giles leaving [because of The First] ... by petpluto

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Original "Buffy" Songs by Moptop [discussion of fanvid]

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10 Most Popular Buffy The Vampire Slayer Ships, Ranked By Ao3 by AndrewHeard

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I’m Almost Over You

This episode is a masterpiece. It might be, ignoring the narrative, the best written and directed episode of the entire series. At least in terms of being a single work.

Nathaniel isn’t my favourite character. I’ve never really hated him. I’ve been annoyed and bored with him but I think his characterization has been too weird for me to care enough to hate him.

If in season 3 they had chosen instead to pair him with Darryl and not have him do the things he did then maybe he could’ve been a likable character (in a less complicated way.) He could be the guy they are trying to write him as now but without the fucked up stuff hanging over him. Instead of a rushed journey to have him be nice we could have a nice slow one that delves into privilege and how hard it is overcome that sort of background to be a decent person. Of course, narratively, this would’ve served no purpose for Rebecca so never would’ve happened.

If he’d stayed the asshole he was in the early parts of season 3 then maybe he could’ve been an interesting (albeit repulsive) villain for the show. But then instead they wanted to pay lip service to him having a sad backstory and treat him like a sad puppy… before having him turn around and fire Rebecca for breaking up with him. But then he’s sad again. But then he’s being smug with Josh about deporting his father and telling Rebecca that nothing he’s ever done has been bad because they weren’t his fault.

In early season 4 it seemed like they were doing better with Nathaniel. He attempts to gaslight Rebecca in 4.01 and they immediately called it out. It felt good and realistic. Likewise, the Rebecca/Nathaniel breakup in 4.04 was spot on and said most everything I felt was needed to said about their relationship.

4.06 and 4.07 are where things started to get weird again. After having to stomach Nathaniel being mean to Heather, he gets the weird Heidi thing (which is mostly weird because it contradicts his backstory from 3.08 with Esteban, HOW COULD THEY FORGET SOMETHING THAT BIG.) Which leads into 4.07 and “I’m nice now.” Which obviously felt embarrassingly fake because that’s not how change works in real life. It’s frustrating because in my head I can see how they could’ve done all this better.

Nathaniel’s problem wasn’t that he was mean. His problem was privilege and moral issues.

I’m not sure we’ll ever know what the writers ever really intended with Nathaniel. Sometimes I wonder if he suffers by needing to be in every single episode (which is almost certainly contractual.) He might work if he were like Darryl/Heather/Valencia. (Obviously some would say he just shouldn’t have existed, but what can I say. I’m a writer, I prefer to think of how things could be fixed rather than just wiping them off the board.)

All of that is to say: I love this friggin’ episode. I’ve seen a lot of romcoms for someone who really doesn’t like romcoms. Most of them accidentally or due to boredom. And being a fanfic writer makes me aware of a lot of romancey tropes as well, I think.

This is far and away the best episode they’ve ever given Nathaniel and I think it actually gives some fascinating insights to him as a person and how he sees the people around him. Though as always, it’s debatable how serious we should take any element. But look at the things he imagines Maya saying. She describes herself as an opinionated woman which feels like a very conservative way to look at a feminist.

Nathaniel frames himself as the nerd but can’t help but fall into being a douche to the woman he’s falling for. And of course the countless subtle allusions to his relationship with Rebecca scattered throughout.

And honestly, Scott is pretty good for most of this episode. He plays the goofy stuff much better than the serious stuff. I think that’s probably because it suits his own personality more. He’s obviously nothing like Nathaniel and the less he has to act like him the better he does.

But really, Esther Povitsky overshadows him in this episode. She’s so good and funny and I’m sort of sad that we’re so late into the series because there’s so much you could’ve done with her. And we finally got acknowledgment of Maya’s bisexuality. File that as another thing I thought would never happen.

Complaints? Well, beyond that Nathaniel clearly still has issues that need to be addressed and hasn’t really even begun to deal with his own past… not really. Almost every moment of this episode is glorious, brilliant and hilarious. There are a few tiny moments that don’t work for me (basically any time Nathaniel has to cry feels awkward because Scott doesn’t seem to be very good at fake crying… he really is best at the comedy stuff.) But other than that. It’s borderline perfect.

The Songs:

Gratuitous Karaoke Moment: One of those things that you don’t realise until it’s pointed out to you. A lot of romcoms really do have karaoke scenes. Such an oddly specific trope. This song isn’t great but it’s an amusing scene and weirdly catchy.

Uhhh no summary. And didn’t comment on Greg and Rebecca again. Guess I’ll save it for 4.12.