#also fuck what joss did to cordy

[softr0bot]

after buffy season 3, contrary to popular belief, angel becomes more morally grey and fucked up. he crawls around in the mud and seethes and maybe kills a couple of guys. he certainly does not start a detective troupe or become an awkward dad figure where the hell did that come from

[aahsoka]

just finished the final cordelia episode

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PRELIMINARY ROUND - BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/ANGEL THE SERIES

PROPAGANDA

Fred Burkle

1.) She is chronically a damsel in distress in the canon even though she has demonstrated her intelligence and ability to use weapons. The canon consistently takes away her agency over her body and ability to make decisions just to further plot. Why does she die because she gets possessed by a god for no reason </3

2.) ok I promise I'll be more normal about the other ats female characters than about cordy. fred was introduced as a genius physicist who had spent five years stuck in a demon dimension where humans were persecuted, surviving on her own and trying to somehow find a way back home. after being rescued from the demon dimension by the show's main characters, she joins the main cast and starts trying to readjust to the normal world. the setup for her character is really interesting, with her having a lot of trauma from her time in the demon dimension, feeling helpless, and struggling to become comfortable living in the human world again. but I guess because she's a Woman the show instead reduces her to just being at the centre of a love triangle with two of the other main characters, which she has almost no agnecy in and gets stretched out over like two seasons. and then after she breaks up for good with one of the guys and it looks like MAYBE she'll at least be freed from love triangle hell, the show introduces a NEW love interest for her just to keep the love triangle drama going. she basically never gets any focus or to be an active player in the show's plot aside from in a couple of episodes, pretty much being reduced to just a damsel in distress. and as if all that wasn't bad enough, fred's story ends with her being killed by a demon that takes over her body and destroys her from the inside out in a way that isn't Technically a mystical pregnancy but is like. close enough to one and presented close enough to one for it to count. (if you read the cordelia submission and are perhaps thinking to yourself jesus christ did they actually fridge both their main female characters in exactly the same way? Yes. Yes they did.) the demon in fred's body then allegedly becomes a new member of the main cast but the show does pretty much nothing with this character and she doesn't play any important role so it really does just feel like fred died for no reason other than to make her boyfriend sad. This is because fred died for no reason other than to make her boyfriend sad. It fucking sucks but I guess it's not like she got any agency or development when she was alive either

3.) Poor Fred. Amy Acker is a fantastic actress and Fred had the potential to become a truly wonderful character - a brilliant scientist who goes through intense trauma and finds her purpose in helping other people. I have a lot of love for her. Unfortunately she was the victim of a lot of really misogynistic writing. For starters, a lot of her characterisation falls into the ‘quirky weird girl who’s hot but doesn’t realise’ camp which Joss Whedon is fond of. Like other examples of this, her trauma is turned into something quirky which fades away once they get bored of it. Also, she becomes completely sidelined and silenced in a love triangle where the feelings of the man pining over her are given all air time, and her own opinion is never mentioned. Additionally, she’s constantly sidelined in the final season after being made the token girl, and is finally killed off unceremoniously to generate drama and pain for the aforementioned man who was pining over her. And you know what the worst part is? She still gets off more lightly than Cordelia.

Cordelia Chase (CW: Pregnancy)

1.) (downs an entire bottle of vodka and slams it back on the table) SO. CORDY. Cordy started off as a supporting character in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. At the start she was your typical high school mean girl character, but as the show went on we got to see more depth to her character: her insecurities, her courage, her capacity for incredible acts of kindness. Then after the third season she moved into the show's spin off, Angel, where from the beginning she was basically the show's secondary protagonist. Her and Angel were the two mainstays of the show's main cast, she gets the most episodes centered on her out of all the characters aside from Angel (and yes, I've checked), and we really got to see her grow from a very shallow and self-centered and kind of mean person to a true hero who was prepared to give up any chance at a normal life to fight the good fight while still never losing the basic core of her character. There were some… questionable moments like the episode where she gets mystically pregnant with demon babies and things got a bit iffy like halfway through season 3 where the writers seemed to run out of ideas for what to do with her outside of sticking her in this romance drama/love triangle situation with the main character but overall, pretty good stuff right? THEN SEASON 4 HAPPENED. In season 4 she gets stripped of literally all agency and spends pretty much the entire season possessed by an evil higher power, and while possessed she sleeps with Angel's teenage son (who BY THE WAY she had helped raise as a baby before he got speed-grown-up into a teenager it was a whole thing don't worry about it) and gets pregnant with like. the physical manifestation of the higher power that's possessing her. it's about as bad and stupid as it sounds and also is like the third time cordy's got mystically pregnant in this show and like the fourth mystical pregnancy storyline overall (you will be hearing more on that note in other submissions I'm so sorry). after giving birth she goes into a coma, in which she remains for the rest of season 4 and the first half of season 5. SPEAKING OF WHICH DON'T THINK SEASON 5 IS GETTING OFF SCOT FREE HERE. yeah so in season 5 the show just FULLY starts trying to erase cordy's existence. she gets mentioned ONCE in the first episode and then never again until halfway through the season where she wakes up, helps out Angel for a bit and encourages him in his fight against evil, and then goes quietly into that good night and dies so it can be all sad and tragic. I'd call it the worst fridging of all time but even THAT feels generous because the whole point of fridging is killing off a female character so a man can be sad, and after Cordy dies basically no one's even sad about it because the show immediately goes back to pretending she never existed. she is not mentioned ONCE in the two episodes after she dies. in the whole stretch of time between her death and the end of the season she gets mentioned exactly four times. again, I counted. anyway the fun twist to all of this is that all of this happened because the actress who played cordy got pregnant before season 4 and joss whedon was so pissed off about this affecting his plans for the show that he decided to completely fuck over her character and then fire her and write her out of the show. so cordy's a victim of both writing AND real life misogyny!! good times!!

2.) OH SO MANY THINGS they menaced by giving her terrible hair cuts, making her seem like she'd get together with the guy she loves (and who loves her back) but instead she was killed and when she was brought back, she got possessed by an evil entity who used her body to give birth to itself. afterwards she was in a long coma and died. her character was so throughoutly assassinated

3.) She got demonically pregnant TWICE - there was this real sense of a womb/ability to get pregnant as like, a place for evil to get in. She got positioned as femme fatale and evil mother. The actress basically got fired for being pregnant, and when she agreed to come back for a single final episode she specifically said they could do anything but kill off the character. Guess what happened

[romantichopelessly]

some assorted Ats ships for the meme: Angel/Darla, Angel/Cordelia, Wesley/Lilah, Fred/Gunn, Fred/Wesley

I cannot rate these no-nuance so prepare for explanations !

Angel/Darla: 7/10. I do not actively ship them, but they’re my divorced favs. Angelus and Darla were so crazy and toxic and fun to watch. Neither is good for the other, but it makes for good tv, yknow?

Angel/Cordelia: 9/10. They’re my pookies. I’m a Bangel truther, but they’re doomed forever and I love love love Cordelia and Angel. They’re also doomed tho bc Angel can literally have nothing ever. Torture him. 💜 (I also love the idea of Ace Cordy and how good that is for the curse and also how they co-parent baby Connor UGHHHH love)

Wesley/Lilah: 4/10. They’re both my enemy, they deserve one another. I think they should be allowed to be sex freaks and fuck off into the sunset never being functional.

Fred/Gunn: 100/10. ARE YOU KIDDING?! Gunn is the perfect man, he and Fred are SO sweet Joss Whedon can’t let woman have anything. I think their breakup was contrived—Gunn understood revenge, I don’t see why he would hate Fred for doing what she did. They’re just so dear to me. Both of them deserved so much better and I’m hunting Joss Whedon for sport.

Fred/Wesley: -1000000/10. I HATE THAT MAN !!!!!! Wesley my beloathed. I want to shoot him into the sun. Every cool direction they could have taken with his character was just ignored or avoided. AND THEN!!! They broke Fred and Gunn up. SET HER UP WITH THIS MAN! AND THEN FRIDGED HER ?! I would have been more okay with Fred’s death if it hadn’t been all about Wesley, and right before the end of the show. What a waste. Fred is a woman in STEM, she never would have fallen for an asshole like Wesley, who 100% would be the guy to show up to a lecture and ask inane questions to appear smart.

[funkypoacher]

@muses-circle​ that’s a goddamn mood. honestly, I feel like *no one* got a fair shake. Gunn was hardly given any arc... There was a nice opportunity for him to come to grips with working for someone else after leading a crew for so long, but, inevitably, any power struggle came down to Angel feeling misplaced after Wesley takes over (which... meh). I mean, that’s an arc that could’ve offered a lot to chew on. Instead, Gunn is just treated as muscle, standing around until someone starts making a move on his girlfriend.

Which, FFFFFFFFFucking hell, was awful. I mean, just how Fred was treated is... ugh. Once she had a romantic relationship (reciprocal or not) with every male of the original main cast get out of here, Spike, they killed her off. She ends up being whittled down to nothing more than a trophy in an incredibly trite love-triangle which made all three of them look bad. Aaaaand... I mean, she was only okay? Sometimes I feel ambivalent towards her because of what ‘she’ does to the Gunn-Wesley friendship, and what ‘she’ does to Wesley, but that’s not really her fault. I really wish she’d been given a better arc outside of her relationships with the male cast. There are glimpses, but nothing comes close to satisfying.

AND WESLEY. I’M NOT EVEN GONNA GO THERE. He’s literally why I’m writing this fic, because...... frrrrrrrrig. His putting Fred on a pedestal was such shite. What his feelings for Fred does to his relationship with Gunn is beyond unforgivable (their friendship was so GOOD, it had a real ARC, it was BEAUTIFUL, I mean my GOD). I get it to a point -- I can see him building up a person, and border-line worshipping someone, because of his shitty up-bringing, but that doesn’t make it okay. And believe me, I LOVES me some good pining (because that’s literally all I write), but this... was not good pining. I mean, it kind of was, but what it does to Wesley, in the end, is just... nope. Him and Lilah were great together. Lilah deserved a better arc (and she was ripe and ready for it when she finally gave us a peek at her main motive--that she believes in herself, not evil). Wesley definitely got some gorgeous writing (or was that just good acting??), but at the same time... *head exploding gif*. 

And last, but far from least... Cordy <3 Fuck Joss Whedon for sabotaging that character. I don’t even know what else to say. Her arc was amazing. She was better developed than most characters (on both Buffy and Angel). When I think of her last episode, and when she came back for such a brief moment, I almost cry. I was never a fan of trying to smoosh her and Angel together as a couple, but... whatever, that’s probably on me. Either way, Cordy deserved so, so much better. 

Also Connor did. I’m also kind of wring this story because Joss’s use of a baby and discarding it was so damned LAZY. I love the idea of Angel raising a tiny baby. THAT’S SO FUCKING CUTE (and a really interesting peek into Angel’s psyche). I hate shows bringing in babies and then tossing them away because I guess being a parent is too easy and lacking in drama to write about (?!?!?!?!!?!?). 

anyways, this was a rant even I don’t really care to read about, but there it is. 

[cullxtheherd]

oh my god I haven't thought about BtVS in so long fdjsaio tell me some of your Angel/Angelus headcanons (insert eyes emoji here)

jhbjghljkghkfgl; oh my GOD i honestly never stopped loving AtS or BtVS!! bgut i did stop watching originally when Doyle perished cause?? sorry but he is babey and though i do understand why the actor was let go from his role, it's still super upsetting. i hate the episode Hero and also love it to pieces- just watched it yesterday and screamed ALLEN FRANCIS NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO for just. so long. tbh i was thinking about adopting him as a muse but tbh with you Angel and older 90s/early 00s muses don't get much attention anyways so i haven't yet skdjksds maybe after Harry from Resident Alien later tonight gets added I'll think about it again ksjdksjd. ANYWAYS THIS ISN'T WHAT YOU ASKED FOR KSJDSkfsd ON WITH IT!! just be aware there is no way i can include all the headcanons here so i'll just hlglhkglkhlgk about the ones i can think of asap

𝓐𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓵

in the show (both buffy & angel) they are constantly telling us through dialogue, scene setting, etc that the reason Angel and (later) Spike hate killing and feeding suddenly is because "killing humans = bad ☹ grr, arrgh." i think it runs deeper than this. i think they are not solely repulsed because it is the morally wrong thing to do. i think they are disgusted in?? an almost obsessive way because of how badly they'd still like to do it despite knowing better and having control over themselves. certain episodes the way Angel and Spike's portrayals go: yes definitely they are giving us that and barely highlighting it. but i really. i don't remember either show ever coming out and saying it outright.

personally i think that the Buffy/Angel romance seems waaaayyy super crazy rushed in the show and i'm not really sure if they/joss even meant it like that! it just really be seeming that way af!!! logically the whole affair lasts about/just shy of three years if we are doing the maths and technically?? it really took 1.5 years before they even did the ol squelchy welch. which lmaooa jksdhkdjsfd can you imagine?? any young adults in a consenting relationship actually waiting that long?? yeah ekjnbswedsdxfks anyways. i just? idk. loved AtS and BtVS very much but his departure seemed super rushed and so did their romance bye sjhdbfs

speaking of?? while i am very much a buffy/angel ship supporter as an adult i do find it so freaking weird he?? was made by Darla in 1898 and theennnn spent 171 motha fuckin years parading around as Angelus- didn't even know about Buffy Summers until he was already 269 (nice) and when acathala SHAT his ass back out he was already 371, she was a juNIOr in higHSCHOOOLPLK ANNNDDD i have a hEAdache i gotta goooOO

no but really i. skhjfjhgf as an adult i am weirded out but?? idk it's one of my childhood ships i gotta pry it from my OWN cold dead hands i guess smh

personally i think Angel keeps trinkets from the people he's saved over the years. and i don't mean at random Investigations via his detective agency or, later, Wolfram & Hart. i mean?? the cases we see like?? the episode 'are you now or have you ever been' that takes us back to the 1950s and the Hyperion Hotel in it's heyday. angel aided a woman named Judy Kovacs- albeit rather reluctantly to try and escape and THEN a literal MOB beat and lynched his ass and thennNNNN, in present time, he fights against the same life-sucking chaos-causing Thesulac demon with his friends/colleagues. after all of this he finds Judy somehow still in her room (214) surviving just a few doors down from his (217) so many years ago just?? waiting. and while canonically the show has Angel in room 312? I disagree. i think he would have taken up residence in 214 or 217...... 214 cause i'm feeling sappy. check his bathroom cabinets i bet you it's got at least a few of her accoutrements living inside.

i think?? despite?? darla not being able to take his soul via the big squelchy that he and Angelus really did care about her- heck!! in the early?? 1900s he DID try to return to her and adapt to her violent way of life he just couldn't do it

while i am?? verryyy willing to write buffy/angel ship stuff i really do think after the events in I Will Remember You it would take a literal set of miracles to get him to even attempt being with Buffy again. i think that while he will always love her no matter what that he has learned that?? things that are or seem too?? good or pure for a creature like him genuinely are. though he is/was the Powers That Be-s-es-es?? ES favorite ensouled boy-toy i really, genuinely do think that a happy ending is just NOT in the cards for our boyo

if buffy wasn't evidence enough of that fact?? cordy. Skip really came and took her just like that. then the whatevers that WHOEVER shat her back out to really just give birth to jasmine and connor and i rrepwsrenbjhdfbskdjnsf worst. season. EVER. i refuse i fucking REFUSE TO EGHV ADBAKJSDFALKFNKSADJF???!?!?!?! i hate it so much. i hate it. so. m u c h. connor and cordy should have never EVER been a thing and i will erase it from history if i have to give birth to myself to do it

𝔸𝕟𝕘𝕖𝕝𝕦𝕤

hoo babey. while angel is?? reserved and doesn't?? really mention any kind of explorative or wild side with any regularity in the show this wild child leather-pants-wearing abomination gives NO shits. he is very, VERY pansexual and you can fight my spirit on top of my grave about it.

regarding the last thing i said: there was definitely a polyamorous relationship happening between Angelus, Darla, Spike and Drusilla in my book. there are certain... jealous scenarios- heck!! just LOOK at episodes with Spike where he's being pouty about not getting the proper attention he deserves. if you think this is just about Dru i am begging you to reconsider

also?!?!?!?! PENN?! Penn was so obsessively and grossly in love with Angelus his sire I can not EVEN BEGIN TO FIUBNFDAKJSDFN

i think?? there are times in Angel's day-to-day where he not only misses but craves the presence of Angelus and visa versa. Angelus obviously seems a bit more openly repulsed by his softer side cause like?? each half is SO strongly suited to one extreme and?? as much as Angel and Angelus would both loathe my next statement: two halves do make a whole.

i think that while?? Angel may be cursed with a soul, that's not all. Angelus doesn't have regular control any longer, for sure, but i really do think it is oftentimes a daily battle to tune him out. why?? the orb of thesulah is only used to summon and store a human soul until it is re/tethered to a body. the ritual that the "Gypsies" and Willow performed didn't?? do anything with the actual demon. it didn't send it back to whatever Hell dimension it came from it just?? gave angel a soul- it gave what was left of Liam (O'Connor if you follow fan-lore) control over himself and the demon inhabiting his body. though the show never depicts or portrays this i am willing to bet real money that somewhere, deep down Angelus is on the inside rattling his mirror against the bars screaming: IM HENRY THE EIGTH I AM I AM!!! over and over an over and ov-

angel, however, when not in control seems to go into some semi-mostly dormant state as evidenced by the fact that he was entirely gone during their time in Acathala and relied on solely the demon half to get him through, but?? i'm 56% sure he is there sniveling in the ether when Angelus is driving he's just?? clearly not as strong mentally.

while?? Angel is a very respectable creature who cares about and loves his friends/found family i really do think that Angelus loves NO ONE. i think he cares about a few entities but i do not think he is capable of love proper as we think of it- both shows continuously remind us that number one in Angelus's world is, in fact, Angelus which means...

i doubt he really cares about pleasing his partner/s where that is likely Angel's main objective and lskjdnfjd i really have to go before this gets super raunchy

[hellsbellschime]

“Charisma Carpenter was reluctant to reappear on the show after her character was written out. When she was asked back for the 100th episode, she reluctantly agreed on the condition that her character did not die. After signing the contract to appear in the episode, she was informed that Cordelia would die in the episode, and was so upset that she began crying.” — This is really wtf after she found out she got fired/let go via a press release and not told personally and it happening just after she was pregnant in S4 and had a newborn baby. Like I’m glad she’s made piece and did those Angel reunions/Buffy reunion stuff across the year. But I wouldn’t blame her if she was like fuck WB/CW fuck Joss Whedon etc.

What’s also annoying about the treatment of Charisma in later seasons is the lack of follow up. Like I wouldn’t have mind the fucked up evil Cordy/Jasmine stuff if there was a follow up. Like all you had was her give birth to the real big bad, go on maternity leave, then be unconscious covered in bombs then written off. (1)

Which is why it pisses me off reading that Joss Whedon’s excuse for gradually phasing out Cordy in S4 then S5 is that lack of creative storylines for her and feeling her story was done. Because you could have done more, explore PTSD, Cordy’s POV in the aftermath of S4, especially since she remembered Connor. Explore what coming back from being a “higher being” means. Is she still a demon. What does the visions mean if they are killing her again? If she doesn’t have visions, how does that make Cordy feel, a loss of purpose as she accepted them and became a part of her. Like her finding who she is without them? More could’ve been done. (2)

Yeah, I thought Cordy’s farewell episode was a good one but everything behind it is real shitty, and Cordy is still one of my favorite character of all time so I’m quite salty that her character arc was ending because Joss Whedon is a pissbaby.

[buffy]

Buffy rewatches Buffy Season One Episode One- Welcome to the Hellmouth I am going have *gasps dramatically* really dumb opinions. And I don't really want to censor that. So if I remember things wrong or anything else I'm sorry. These are my opinions yaaay. 

Let's go! Straight up, never seen the movie. Don't plan on it. Sue me. 

Opening scene is bitchin'. I didn't realize it was Darla until she spoke. I forgot. Also I want a vamp forehead in makeup. Ahhhh the theme. It's been too long. They're all so smol.

Try not to get kicked out. Bless Joyce. Xander, you look 25 at least. why. 

This is not how gossip works

Ah yes, my child. I adore willow. 

He rips and instantly starts taping that thing back together. Already I remember why I want him dead. can't wait. 

My Xander fueled cringe fest begins. Someone gets this child a personality. Please, and the ability to speak. 

Yikes look at those clothes. 

...Cordelia… Why this bitch here? I hate her. So much. Don't be mean to Willow. She's a baby. 

Ya know, at least she's a plot conveyance. 

Do I have a bad copy or is Buffy… not blonde at first. It's a really dirty blonde. 

Oh. Giles. He is a fox. I was too young before. I can fully appreciate him now. Beautiful man. This is not how gossip works x2

Yay, the first corpse. 

Willow. Rambling. Soul sister. I don't remember a Jessie. He dies right?

Xander. My dear. Leave. 

Again Cordy shows up, is a brat, and gives plot. 

Buffy my dearest. You try so hard to be normal and the first not normal thing shows up. Then just "I should go take a look!" if you want out, ignore it. 

What's the sitch? I'm not watching Kim Possible. Buffy is… not me. But she is. I am confused. Her priorities. Last month's hair. My goodness child. Giles, you're being creepy. and sassy. The dueling sassing. That's why I liked this show. Remember when Joss had good snappy dialogue that had a point? Doesn't matter he only knows how to write three different characters. 

How do vampire actors speak with those teeth? I want to know. 

How is it Buffy can sass with Giles but can't stop mentioning the dead around other people? Also, how does not her mom know she's insane? Oh dear. David Boringness or however you spell his name and that massive forehead. You know, I actually had no idea he was a vampire when I first watched it. My dad was shocked. 

I know he's supposed to be this beautiful dark scary man. Why don't I find him attractive?

How didn't I know he was a vampire? He's such a freaking creep. Seriously. A dude hunts you down in an alley and gives you a necklace. Get his ass arrested for stalking. Why is the scene with the bad shot like a shaky old music video? You're going to make me sick. 

Willow. My child. Sweet pure of heart baby. I adore her more than life in this moment. 

Why is Giles hanging out at a club? This is also stalking. Buffy. He's talking into your ear over your shoulder. He knows you have bad dreams. Call the cops. 

Cordy, rejecting the dumb boy. She has one (1) good trait. 

Buffy can sense vampires through their clothing. Also, since when has sensing them been a thing? And her advice nearly gets people killed? Trying to make her as un mary sue as you can off the bat. Not bad.

Fuck Cordy. I hate her. 

In attempting to keep my rambling thoughts in opinions and not just bleek observation I'll just say, the master could have had more atmosphere than just looking like a hairless molerat. 

Xander at least accepts the crazy real quick. And as much as I don't like reluctant hero traits Buffy also accepts quick. 

Protect the willow. 

Why does darla have to sound like an anime girl? with tiny squeaky voice. 

The fight choreography gets better? Right? I'm not just wearing my rose tinted glasses on this? The use of just tossing people across rooms is up to five now. six. 

Heck yes, music video looking walking vampire horde. TO BE CONTINUED. with a freeze frame? I'm surprised it didn't start with that scene then a freeze frame going 'yeah that's me, the screaming blonde chick in a coffin but how did I end up here?'

For being called welcome to the hellmouth, no one called it that or knew what is was. just 'the mouth of hell' which, I wouldn't say when I first started watching this because ‘hell’ was a bad word in my house. So glad I'm grown and will be able to properly cuss cordelia out. You know. I thought this was going to be more cheesy. I know it gets worse before it gets better. I remember that much. 

[capitalnineteen]

@beanarie​  tagged me to name 10 favorite women from 10 fandoms so let’s go:

1.) [Redacted] from The Adventure Zone: Balance

Leaving this one secret for spoiler reasons but just trust me, she’s the fucking best and you’d love her too.

2.) Joan Watson from Elementary

Look, I fell off the Elementary train at the end and mostly that was because I wanted better for Joan Watson than the show was providing. I still love Joan/Lucy Liu.

3.) Regina Mills from Once Upon a Time.

Look. I know. I *know.* But Lana Parrilla, okay? Just... ~sigh~ Lana Parrilla.

4.) Anya Jenkins from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Emma Caulfield was so good and this moment was so good and I’m still forever salty about how things went for her character but she was the best little unapologetic capitalist I ever loved. (Also EC is great in the movie Timer which I generally make everyone I care about watch.)

5.) and on that note: Cordelia Chase from Angel

Speaking of Joss characters done dirty... (And actresses done SUPER dirty...) Cordelia’s character on Angel was just... who knew? She had glimpses of depth in Buffy of course, we all knew there was more to her apparently vapid character. But she just shone so well in Angel without feeling like a totally different character. I put that down to Charisma Carpenter entirely. She made Cordy feel like someone you’d hated in high school then run into later and found had actually grown and changed for the better. Not a thing we tend to see from the bitchy high school mean girl cheerleader trope, especially not done so convincingly.

6.) Veronica Mars

Okay, Veronica. The show wasn’t perfect but it was an uber rewatchable gem. Until it wasn’t. Rob Thomas, you know what you did. Thanks for shitting on fans for loving something. You reminded us all why we take the things we love and retreat to AO3.

7.) Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls

Yeah, yeah, you either love it or hate it and clearly I loved it.

8.) Chromie from World of Warcraft

She’s a Time Dragon. What else do you need?

9.) Tana from The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

I don’t know. This book has just stuck with me. I’ve reread it a bunch. I’d love a sequel.

10.) Piper Halliwell from Charmed

I love Piper and I love Holly Marie Combs and I just dug most of the stuff her character dealt with and also I quite like the eyebrow thing and somehow it seems like I particularly like actresses that have some kind of eyebrow thing. (Don’t ask, I don’t know either.)

Thanks for the tag, @beanarie​! I was kind of ashamed how hard I had to work to come up with ten for this!

I’m tagging: @bethanyactually​, @joanhotson​, @zinglebert-bembledack​, @aspiringpolymath​, and anyone else who’d like to do this!

[taramaclaywasaterf]

BtVS question-- what do you think of Kennedy?

Oof the feminist in me is, like, saying one thing...but the fan (and the tillow shipper) in me is saying something completely different lol

Basically, I kinda feel like Kennedy was punishment towards Amber Benson for not wanting to appear in the episode Conversations With Dead People. So, ya know how they had The First use Cassie’s likeness to talk to Willow in that episode? Joss really wanted to have Amber (the actress that plays Tara) do it. But Amber didn’t want Tara to be remembered like that, she didn’t want Tara’s last appearance on BtVS to be as some evil creature telling Willow to go all dark again. And Joss was PISSED at her. Like, really pissed. So I think Kennedy was kinda like “hah! Tara’s being replaced with some spoiled brat who yells at Buffy! Take that, Amber!” And we all know how Joss likes to punish actresses through their characters (AKA what he did to Cordy with the whole Connor/Jasmine fiasco in AtS because he was pissed that Charisma got pregnant.)

I...really don’t like Kennedy lol. I think she was rude, and it bothered me how she sorta inserted herself into the Scoobies then acted as though she had equal say in what was happening just because she was fucking Willow. And I will forever hold a grudge against her and all the Scoobies FUCKING KICKING BUFFY OUT OF HER OWN GODDAMN HOUSE- ooof, that’s a whole other tangent that I’m gonna save for another day lol

On the other hand, however, I know a lot of fans had issue with how strongly she was coming on to Willow and stuff, but like...she knew Willow was gay. Willow showed signs she was interested in her, too. And if the fan base as a whole liked Kennedy, people would’ve been cheering her on. So I don’t have an issue with how strong she cane onto Wil whatsoever. Girl saw someone she liked and went after them. Good for her, she was a hell of a lot braver than most lesbians are when it comes to hitting on women, and that’s something to admire lol. I also really appreciate how she sort of took hold of the other potentials. She was the oldest out of all of them, so she knew she kinda had a responsibility to play a “big sister” type role.

Oh, and she did bless us with the chance to see that scene where Tucker’s Brother was filming her and Willow making out...only to pan away and talk about how nice the window Xander fixed looked, so I can’t be too mad at her lol

[mj-spooks]

Tag Meme: 10 Badass Ladies

rReally the prompt was just ‘ten favorite female characters in different fandoms’ but my female favorites are automatically badass so there @not-actually-ur-sassygayfriend I hope you enjoy

1. Minerva McGonagall, Harry Potter. Okay, look, Jo’s done and said some really stupid shit the last couple of years but I stand by Minnie, aka the one thing she did right (well one of two things, Hagrid also exists). McGonagall takes no shit and gets shit done. She loves fiercely but doesn’t let that love make her weak or afraid, instead she turns it into the strength she needs to do what’s right. Truly an idol. #goals

2. Harley Quinn, DC. It should be no secret to anyone that I love me some Harley. Right off the bat lemme be clear, I do not ship her with Joker. I stand firmly on the ground that, as I’ve seen said before, he is her origin story, not her love interest. And what an origin story! Harley is awesome. She’s wicked smart, smarter than most anyone thinks because she never lets on so that she can use it to her advantage later. She’s been through a lot of shit and deserves credit for how hard she’s worked to come out on top.

3. Michonne, The Walking Dead (tv). Don’t get me wrong, I love her in the comics too, I’m just not as into that version. The show version, on the other hand, is everything I wish I could be in the zombie apocalypse (and everything I know I would totally not even remotely be). She’s strong, determined, loyal, brave, I could go on. And in spite of everything she’s been through, she manages to retain her empathy and her heart. She loves just as hard as she fights.

4. Parker, Leverage. First of all, every character on Leverage is the best character. So it’s a hard fight for me to choose between Parker and Sophie. But, at the end of the day, I love Parker in a way I don’t love Sophie, because when it all starts out she doesn’t even remotely have her shit together. She’s a mess. She’s awkward as hell and has no social skills, highly intelligent and yet exceptionally naive, and overall can someone please just give her all the hugs she ever should’ve gotten in her childhood because for real. Watching her grow and learn to let people in as the show progresses warms my soul. Also, she’s frikkin adorable.

5. Cordelia Chase, Buffyverse. This one was also hard! I love all my Buffy ladies in different ways. That said, I think Cordy was the one that had the strongest growth up until Joss Whedon got pissy and fucked her character over. She started out as the typical Queen Bee Bitch and through trials and tribulations and generally being forced to look in the mirror, grew into a kind, generous person. She never entirely lost her her roots, of course, but those little moments of shallowness or vapidness just managed to make her endearing once she grew beyond them being her entire personality.

6. Peggy Carter, MCU. I could honestly write an essay on all the reasons I love Peggy and why the cancellation of her show was the worst thing ever. What can I say, I admire strong ladies who don’t take shit. She’s brilliantly snarky, quick as a whip, can hold her own in a fight, what’s not to love? The way she fights for what’s right, the fact that she doesn’t hesitate to break rules when she knows it needs to be done, how much she genuinely cares about everything and everybody, she’s just all around great.

7. GladOS, Portal. Does it count if the lady is an AI? I SAY IT DOES. GladOS is the queen of snark, and I bow before her. Portal is my favorite video game of all time and it is entirely thanks to how much I abso-frikkin-lutely love the antagonist. I read somewhere that the original version of the game, GladOS was so mean that playtesters didn’t want to keep going, so they had to re-write her dialogue to make her nicer. It is my one wish in life to somehow gain access to and play the original version. Also her backstory is heartbreaking without taking away anything from her actual character and that’s something I admire the writers for.

8. Tiny Tina, Borderlands. Another one where I wasn’t sure which lady to choose. I love all the characters in this series because they’re just. They’re the best. Overall favorite is Handsome Jack who I swear I ought to be able to put for this just because he’s such a drama queen, but that would be breaking the rules. ANYWAY Tina is great. Normally this type of character bothers me, because it’s really hard to write it in a way that feels genuine. But, the writers of Borderlands pulled it off. Somehow, this homicidal little girl manages to be equal parts vicious and innocent, sweet and scary. I just want to give her a hug.... while praying she doesn’t try to kill me when I do it.

9. Alya, Miraculous Ladybug. The best friend in the world. 10/10 would die for, because I know if she were my best friend she’d die for me. Always there to help Marinette and is seriously just amazing. A little crazy and a lot determined, her stubbornness knows no bounds. She is the poster child for not backing down. Snarky and doesn’t let Marinette wallow in her insecurity, instead bolsters her up through a good mix of teasing and genuine encouragement.

10. Leia Organa, Star Wars. Seriously who else would I choose?! I grew up with Star Wars. Star Wars was my entire childhood (not really but close). I found out when I was five years old that I had the same birthday as Carrie Fisher and from that moment on all I cared about was being Princess Leia. The ultimate badass team mom, clever and smart and strong and a little broken, but she never let anything stop her. She kept on keeping on even in the darkest of moments. Honestly I’m a little in tears right now thinking of how much this woman means to me.

Tagging time! @getclever @mightyxray @solembum22 @charbonne01 @trilobytes-and-trilonybbles @sarahsshoelaces @glowing-and-confused @dftblove @rawrcandycore @ninawolv3rina

[buffystylez-blog]

Prophecy Girl

Written by: Joss Whedon

Directed by: Joss Whedon

Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Anthony Head, David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, Kristine Sutherland, Robia LaMorte, and Mark Metcalf.

Welcome to Prohecy Girl, the season one finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Hellmouth opens, Angel is back, and more importantly there’s a dress. A DRESS.

Outfit 1

It’s her standard slayage attire: pants, boots, long-sleeved shirt. I definitely wore   these pants with a singlet or t-shirt and a button-up shirt over the top. It was usually the only way the shirt would fit.

I’m sorry about this photo. I feel if you meet someone who wears this kind of singlet now it’s a good indicator they were a teenager in the late 90s. Is it orange? Is it brown? Do I care?

Those plastic rings. This may be one of their last appearances in the show. Savour it, Slayerettes.

Meanwhile Willow is engaging in emotional water-boarding with Xander:

And looks so damn cute I hate Xander even more.

Outfit 2

Is this a Monet? An outfit that from far away looks ok but up close is a big old mess? I need to unpack this outfit.

The brown t-shirt seems like a mistake with the skirt. But she is wearing the trusty brown boots and there are some darker colours in the skirt’s pattern. It just doesn’t sit right with me. Like too much cheese these days. The skirt itself is a sort of fake snakeskin that I lived for then. I had blue faux snakeskin strappy shoes and I might still love them to this day. I bet I wore them with bootcut jeans. Probably a lace appliqué singlet. And I’m sure I would have topped the look off with a bolero jacket. I’ll just let you imagine how alluring that ensemble was.

I think the green bag is throwing me off. The sunglasses do help.

Meanwhile Xander looks like a failed jazz musician. Or like he bought the clothes of a failed jazz musician at an estate sale. Which is actually a compliment.

Roughly once a season Xander gets mad at Buffy because she doesn’t do what he wants. This season it’s because she doesn’t like him, romantic stylez. Congratulations, Xander. You’re a ‘nice guy.’

I don’t approve of Willow’s outfit here, but I approve of her calling Xander on his bullshit. He will redeem himself, so I just want to get all of my Xander rage out now.

Outfit 3

Slaying timez. It’s often hard to see how a superhero’s costume would be practical in the real world. This is a good reminder that Buffy’s slaying style is always practical and mostly stylish. Would activewear (pronounced arghtivewear) be more practical? Of course. But who knows if Buffy had Lululemon available to her. And I highly doubt she’s getting into the Bronze in tights and trainers.

I wish this picture was clearer. Because this top almost perfectly sums up late 90s fashion: it’s disco, colour-block and racing stripe all in one.

Buffy reflects on just hearing she’s destined to die at the hands of the Master. I’m reflecting on the fact that it’s not a great outfit in which to deal with this news. But also I’m wondering if this the last time we will see a plastic ring.

THE DRESS

Joyce reveals to Buffy she bought her a pretty dress for the upcoming prom or Spring Fling or whatever the fuck dance it is.

BEHOLD

Yes, this deserves a scroll-down.

The beading actually reminds me of my mum’s debutante ball gown. My mum still had one of her bridesmaid dresses and the abovementioned debutante gown. I still have them at my dad’s house. Mum was very short and very slim so I have absolutely no chance of fitting into either. I can’t wear any of her rings, either. Which is fine. I guess.

I thought this dress was pretty but I wasn’t head over heels in love with it. It’s no season 3 prom dress. What I did love about it is the idea of Buffy kicking some serious ass and looking sick as hell while doing it. It’s probably the idea that, and one I struggle to articulate to this day, women don’t have to compromise: you can be tough and strong and also be masculine, feminine, neither, or both. Fighting crime doesn't have to ruin your steeze is what I’m saying.

Meanwhile Cordelia and Willow both look great.

I had Cordelia’s cardigan. I recently added pink pants to my wish list on Pin Up Girl Clothing. Too bad they’re about to discover some dead classmates and Cordy’s latest bae.

Outfit 4

I definitely don’t love the ponytail.

You know there’s a chunky heel on these babies. My housemate recently revealed she wore shoes like these to her debutante ball. I didn’t have one. Not sure why. Maybe it was a country thing? I kind of wanted to go to one. I wore a similar pair to my Year 10 formal but they were more 40s inspired. And they’d been chewed on by my dog.

Buffy also taught me that leather jackets look fucking cool with fancy dresses.

So as we know the Master kills Buffy. Well, sort of. He bites her then pushes her in a puddle in which she basically drowns. But Xander saves the day. Also being killed loosens her ponytail.

Much better. Perfect for saving the day in. And for coining the term ‘fruit punch mouth.’

We did it! We got through season 1 of Buffy’s fashion, friends. Next up is season 2, in which the series really got cooking. And as I have probably mentioned (I have definitely mentioned), Buffy gets a bangin’ new haircut. It’s gonna be great! Probably.

Thanks for coming along on this ride.

Until next time, Slayerettes.

Screencaps via Screencapped.Net

[asocialjusticeleague]

Angel, for the fandom meme

the character i least understand: Actually I realized during a rewatch that the answer to this question is Doyle. I get that his haunted past made him wanna start over and everything, but then he chose the most repugnant personality he could come up with and everything we learn about Doyle as we go along reveals that he’s a super guy who could have use his OWN personality to hook up with Cordy any time he wanted to. He reads, he taught kindegarten, he worked in a soup kitchen… what the hell, Doyle?

interactions i enjoyed the most: God, everyone… Wesley and Angel, Fred and Gunn, Angel and Cordelia, Wesley and Cordelia…

the character who scares me the most: Angelus.

the character who is mostly like me: Is it creepy to say I find Darla super relatable? Yes? Okay Fred then.

hottest looks character: Cordelia Chase

one thing i dislike about my fave character: Whatever the fuck they did to Cordy in season 4 can die in a fire.

one thing i like about my hated character: I guess Eve always did have really killer fashion sense. Can’t fault her there.

a quote or scene that haunts me: I mean it’s not a cheery series by any measure, but the elevator to hell scene with Holland Manners was really really potent. I felt super betrayed but also like this was the most logical answer.

a death that left me indifferent: Say what you will about Joss, but he is pretty freakin good at killing characters. They all got really good last moments, even the ones they screwed over. I wasn’t indifferent, but I was relieved when Wesley died. It felt like a mercy at that point.

a character i wish died but didn’t: No one’s left you guys, lol, let me have my survivors.

my ship that never sailed: Cordelia/Angel, wildly enough. Like, I can’t even believe I can write that down? What happened? What the hell went wrong?

[givenchy1stface]

How could they do Queen C like that?

So I have been a long time BtVS fan since I was a wee bitty kid and it first aired on the WB. I have never been a fan of Angel the character so I didn’t really watch the spin-off however 13 years after Angel ended I decided to give it a chance thinking it would add on to my Buffy knowledge of plotlines- and it did! I also wanted to give this show a chance because well, I love Love LOVE Cordelia Chase! Now that I am midway season 5 of Angel- oh my fucking gosh I am at a loss for words. Let me collect my ranting words and beware spoilers ahead:

Cordelia deserved better, so much fucking better! She is an og character since season 1 of the original series and the writers/producers/Joss just cast her aside like some random day-player. How could you shit on Cordelia’s legacy like that??? You’re Welcome was a great episode and a great jumping off point to reintroduce Cordelia back into the series but no, yall wrote her off and cast her aside like day old stale bagels. And to add insult to injury there is no mourning, no heartbreak no intense reactions of her death from the others in the following episode? WHAT?! Like really no funeral scene?! No grief-stricken reactions from Fred, Gunn, Wes, or HARMONY aka Cordy’s longtime frenemy?! Joss could have totally redemeed himself from the stupid Connor/Jasmine plotline from the previous season but NOOOOOO the way Cordelias exit was treated was very spiteful and it felt very petty and personal against Charisma Carpenter. I really feel like the writers and Joss fucked up big time with Cordelia in the end. Cordelia was a symbol of pure feminism, she had power and strength and even though she was not a slayer she still exhibited these powerful traits. Like ok, in an earlier season there was an episode where she got impregnated by a demon without her knowledge (which is very traumatic and a metaphor for sexual assault btw) which could have added to Cordelia’s depth and progression as a character and then for the writers/Joss to have Cordelia endure this same plotline in season 4 with Jasmine was very lazy, half-assed, and punitive to Cordelia’s feminist legacy. They made her mute by placing her in a possessed state and then a mystical coma and when the powerful, spitfire Cordelia came back to us in You’e Welcome, the outcome is to kill her off? What a way to spit in our faces Joss. What a horrible message to send to viewers that if a woman is able to stand on her own, assert her will and opinions then she deserves to be punished and killed. I can’t. I CANNOT and I REFUSE to acknowledge this was Cordelia’s end. 

Joss you fucked up big time. Like Joss don’t you have an elsewhere to be? Tact is not saying true stuff. I’ll pass. I’m the nastiest girl in Sunnydale history. I take crap from no one. Oh and, you’re welcome. 

[bizarrebird]

As mentioned, I’m still on my Buffy kick, so I’m gonna continue with my live blogging. Fair warning, I may skip some episodes because they’re... not great or too Xander centric for my tastes. But I don’t think anyone’s gonna read these who isn’t familiar with the series so you probably know why I’m skipping the ones I am.

Anyway, onto Season 2, Episode 2: Some Assembly Required

First, I just wanna say, I’m really dumb cause I thought this was the episode where Spike and Dru show up and stuff gets good but SURPRISE THAT’S NOT TILL EPISODE THREE FFFFFFUUUUUUUU

So we start with Buffy in a graveyard (we start here a lot, idk if it’s the same graveyard all the shots here are so fucking dark you can’t tell what anyth) waiting for a new vamp to rise from his grave. Angel appears out of nowhere, startling her because, as Buffy points out, he never learned to approach people like a normal person. Angel makes a comment about how he expected Buffy to have Xander or someone with her.

And okay, there’s a lot to unpack in this conversation, the parts that happen before and after they get interrupted by random vampire of the week. Don’t wanna spend the whole liveblog on this, so I’m gonna bullet point the important things

Angel giving Buffy shit for dancing with Xander, but refusing to admit he’s jealous cause Angel is a tool (this is a recurring theme)

Buffy saying she just did it to make Angel jealous, probably cause he’s a tool and never wants to talk about his feelings (also a recurring theme)

Vague slutshamey talking about the dancing which is super uncomfy

Angel calling Xander ‘just a kid’ which has a lot of just... super creepy implications, which are like almost addressed when Buffy asks if that means she’s a kid too, but we don’t get an answer to that (for the record she’s 16 and Angel is super fucking old, yeah I gotta talk about this later in another post)

Angel just tries to go cause he’s a little shit baby who makes Buffy do like 80% of the work in their relationship

Alright, there’s a lot of expansion that can be done on all this, but a lot of it’ll probably happen in liveblogging future episodes.

SO ANYWAY as Buffy goes to chase after Angel (like he always makes her do), she falls into an open grave and they realize the body has been dragged away, starting this investigation into the ‘monster of the week’ as we go to OPENING CREDITS

As the cool music fades we go to Buffy and Xander walking into the library to find Giles talking to an empty chair, practicing how to ask out Jenny Calendar. It’s actually pretty cute and I love awkward nerd dad Giles and Buffy sasses him in a charming way... which Xander then makes super weird, leading to the very, very warranted line from Buffy: “I fear you.” You should fear him, Buffy. You and every other female character in this show. Buffy goes on to give Giles some advice about asking Jenny out, which is sweet, while Xander is a tool.

Buffy then starts talking about the grave she and Angel found. Xander of course has to comment on her being there with Angel, y’know the guy Buffy has a legit on and off again thing with, who she has every right to hang out with without you judging her Xander, shut your gross mouth. Buffy continues to explain stuff and they decide to get Willow to look into the missing body, cause I guess this was the 90s and no one else knows how computers work

Willow we find being adorable and signing up for a science fair where random creepo of the week (I think he’s called Erik???? idk he’s gross so I don’t wanna acknowledge him more than I absolutely have to. Isn’t it wild that a feminist show has so many just casually creepy dude characters? I wonder what that’s about, Joss) Less creepy rando of the week, Chris, shows up and has a nice chat with Willow (too bad we’re going to forget he exists after this episode) Then light of my life, queen of my heart Cordelia shows up to also do the science fair cause the writers needed to find a reason to get her into this plot where she’s gonna get creeped on a whole bunch, great. Buffy shows up for Scoobie bizz and Cordy and Willow go with her, conveniently missing the super cryptic lines the episode randos drop in the middle of a crowded school hallway, but I guess none of the extras can hear so no one calls the cops

Cut to the library where everyone except Willow is scared of the witchcraft that makes the computer work, so she looks up the missing dead girl. Cordelia doesn’t care what they’re doing, but follows along anyway cause the writers kinda want her to be in the Scoobie gang but can’t figure out how to make it happen. She also drops some big foreshadowing that no one listens to because no one in this show appreciates her the way I do. Willow finds that their missing dead girl was killed in an accident with two other girls, so they decide to see if their bodies are gone too as Giles runs through creepy theories about flesh eating demons or zombies. Buffy briefly mentions Angel and Xander shoves his own foot up his ass in protest

We then go to the graveyard where Giles and Xander dig up the grave while Buffy and Willow talk about boys (will we pass the bechdel test this episode? we just don’t know) Buffy gets shamed more for her ‘sexydance’ with Xander and then she asks about the foreshadowing Cordelia dropped earlier and Willow turns into an exposition fairy to talk about Chris’s dead brother, who totally isn’t related at all to the dead bodies being dug up now. Buffy opens up the coffin and we cut to--

Cordelia heading to her car after cheer practice, only to be stalked by a mysterious pair of shoes in the most ripped from a horror movie scene this episode. She hides in a dumpster only to realize the creep following her is actually Angel, who still doesn’t know how to not terrify people he’s trying to talk to. As she’s getting out o the dumpster, Cordelia finds a severed hand trying to cop a feel

The gang gets back to the library where Angel and Cordelia are hanging out (probably planning their spin off already) and Xander and Angel are stupid at each other because that’s the only kind of interaction these two can ever have. Angel tells them about the body parts in the dumpster, which apparently he looked at enough to know some bits are missing, throwing out all the theories the scoobies came up with. He says that the stitching was super good and Giles makes the (very justified) point that high schoolers shouldn’t know how to do that, but apparently they like to stitch up bodies in the science club, so it’s time to break into some lockers. Cordelia asks Angel to take her home and it’s weird for everyone (also Angel’s wearing a really weird jacket right now, it’s khaki and makes him look like a business man who just got laid off and is super bummed that means he can’t sneak around with his secretary anymore)

We then go to Chris’s house where his mom is clearly grieving, but still awful. Now okay, this scene is super short, but very good at establishing everything we need to know about Chris’s homelife, so points there. Back to the school for breaking into people’s lockers. Chris and creepo are found to have lots of medbooks and the creepiest fucking frankengirl made out of pictures from magazines or something. We then go to Chris and creepo in their secret lab where they’re frankensteining the girl bits together

And now we go to the school where Buffy rightly says how messed up this is and Xander opens his mouth to word vomit about love and it’s so weird how his mouth moves but Whedon’s words come out and shit all over female characters. Then we get some cute flirting with Giles and Jenny and he stutters a whole bunch and she asks him out and it’s a genuinely sweet moment (this is when we feel the Whedon destruction of happiness hammers looming. Remember kids, Joss Whedon hates happiness)

Willow tries to do research while Xander’s a dumbass, then Buffy gets there and they discuss the possibilities of frankengirl already being shambling around, only for Giles to get there and say that all three dead heads have been found, so Chris and creepy haven’t finished the job yet. We go to them, talking about how they’ve gotta move fast cause there’s a time limit before the limbs start being extra super dead. Creepy wants to kill a girl and Chris is like ‘dude what the fuck, I’m not doing that’ and it’s revealed that his super dead brother is now a frankenjock and these guys can just... bring people back from the dead??? For a show where people drop like flies, you’d think this would get a little more focus, but no. Super dead bro just wants an equally horrifying lady friend and manages to football talk Chris into agreeing to murder. Dead guy looks at creepy’s pictures and he picks Cordelia (cause it’s been almost an episode since she’s been kidnapped, gotta tick that box again)

The Scoobies meanwhile realize that Chris and creepy have to kill a new girl to get a head and Buffy’s the only one appropriately enraged by this. Willow tries to argue sympathy for Chris, which Buffy doesn’t seem to go for until she goes to Chris’s house and gets an idea of how shit his situation is with his mom. Buffy goes to check out Chris’s weird basement room while dead bro looms, she finds a creepy cut up picture of Cordy and rushes to the rescue. Meanwhile Cordelia gets menaced and kidnapped in the locker room but Buffy shows up just in time to save her. Then Cordelia, cause she’s a fucking pro, insists on going out for cheerleading stuff, gotta lead all those fuckin cheers

Buffy realizes Chris is still there and does try to sympathize, but tells him he’s gotta knock off the creepy shit. Chris plays the pronoun game saying he has to do this for “him” until Buffy realizes he means his dead brother. We briefly see said brother smashing everything and attacking creepy until he says he can make him the lady friend on his own. Buffy and Chris get back to the hidey hole too late and realize dead bro and creepy are still going after my sweet Cordelia

At the football game we see Giles and Jenny on their date, her actually calling it that and making Giles go all awkward. But then the cockblock crew shows up and Willow and Xander steal Giles’s food instead of... y’know, worrying about the potential frankenteen stuff going on. Cordelia gets statched by the dead guy and dragged off while the crowd is distracted by the bizarrely shiny yellow pants the football players are wearing. Buffy and Chris get there a little too late and then we see Cordelia with the creeps and she screams a lot, which... fair Cordy, me too

Chris tells Buffy where to find Cordelia. Apparently they’re just doing this in an old science lab??? .Chris goes to get backup and Buffy goes for the save. She real quickly tries to talk things down, cause she does sympathize with Chris, but when deaders goes to attack Cordy, Buffy goes for the ass kick. The fight goes on for a really, really long time cause this guy won’t get staked. The lab starts catching on fire as Xander gets there and (being useful for the first time this episode, no this season) goes to get a tied up Cordelia out (or he tries to, he can’t undo the fucking straps holding her down on her weird gurney thing, just ignoring all the knives and cutting tools like a foot away cause why use his thinkerbox for anything other than petty quips)

Giles and Willow get there and remove an unconscious creepy. Xander just... he fucking throws himself onto a still screaming Cordelia, giving up getting her untied and just wheels them out because the lab is on too much fire now. This knocks the gurney where the rest of the bits of the would be frankengirl are into the biggest fire. Dead bro is about to super smash Buffy when Chris gets there and yells at him.

This makes him notice the burning body and he just... really awkwardly climbs on top of it and gets redeaded in the fire. And it’s kinda sad but he’s been super creepy this whole episode and no one will remember this later

Outside the fire department gets there a little before Angel does (still wearing his weird khaki outfit like he forgot his middle and last names are “I’ll stop wearing black when they invent a darker color”) And he just... stands there for a bit until we cut to Giles and Jenny talking about a second date. I’m sure that will go well and there won’t be any drama

Xander and Willow talk about how they’re sad and dateless for some reason. Well, Xander says that because he’s a clod and Willow humors him because she’s a soft lovely lady who hasn’t realized there are better options out there yet (soon, honey, soon) Cordelia, who has been temporarily possessed by Joss Whedon, tries to flirt at Xander a little, but he’s dumbass and just brushes her off

Cordelia makes the greatest face ever and is temporarily released from the mild insanity that makes her think Xander is anything more than a terrible worm boy (this won’t last and I hate that)

Now we close out on the same graveyard where we started (wow, neat, such closure, much meaning wow) There’s also this weird cut to a closeup where Sarah Michelle Gellar is clearly standing on a box as Angel talks about how he is in fact jealous of Xander. Progress! I guess. He talks about how being a vampire is suffering cause it makes dating a teenager hard

I joke, but okay, this is a sweet scene and a nice way to bookend the episode, and this is coming from Bangelhater69 over here

FINAL THOUGHTS: In terms of advancing the plot, not a whole lot happens, but there are some good character and relationship moments here, so it’s definitely not all bad. But hey guys SPIKE GETS HERE NEXT EPISODE!!!!

[tialovestelevision]

Anne

Ah, here we are at Anne. One of the more interesting, unique episodes of Buffy, and possibly a backdoor pilot for Angel. Here we meet Los Angeles, and see what it’s like when Sunnydale is relying entirely on Willow and Xander the Vampire Slayers. 1. How badass is Willow in the opening scene? Sure, it doesn’t last long, but she’s learned Buffy and Cordy’s snark, at the very least. 2. I also love Oz throwing the stake after the vampire and it missing. And the vampire having once been on the gymnastics team. Though it kinda looks like being turned gets you at least red belt-level martial arts in addition to the strength, speed, appetite for hemoglobin, and evil. 3. Willow is urgent for Buffy to come home. Xander… seems less so. That makes sense - Buffy is Willow’s friend, while she is Xander’s person who wouldn’t fuck him. 4. Our first time seeing Buffy this season is a rather pretty image of her during the day on a beach. It is a dream, obviously, given all the not-burning-up and not-being-in-Hell that Angel’s doing, bt it’s still a lovely image. 5. That’s a shitty apartment in a shitty neighborhood, Buffy. On the other hand, you’re not being emotionally abused by your mother and Xander, so… step up, on the whole? 6. Why is Shirtless Swim Xander in the opening credits? Was Nicholas Brendon actually someone people wanted to see shirtless in 1999? 7. David Borneaz is still in the main credits. Way to spoil things, Joss. 8. Like five minutes into a new season and Buffy’s already being sexually assaulted. 9. “It’s nice. It’s nice and, uh, permanent.” I’ve been in a stable relationship for what’s approaching a decade now, and still wouldn’t consider getting a tattoo of my girlfriend’s name. It seems like a display of hubris likely to bring down curses from Heaven. 10. “Guest starring Kristine Sutherland.” Ugh. 11. “For God’s sake be careful.” Best advice ever, Giles. 12. “We try not to get killed. That’s part of our whole mission statement!” 13. Willow and Cordelia smile honestly around each other and that makes me happy. 14. Oz didn’t graduate. I… guess that serves the narrative nicely? 15. “Summer is over. Be somber.” Okay. 16. “If we can focus, keep discipline… and not have quite so many mysterious deaths… Sunnydale is going to rule!” And if the Slayer doesn’t come back, the town can blame 17. Principal Snyder and Joyce Summers for missing out on the playoffs again. 18. Is the spark gone for Xander and Cordy? Please tell me the spark’s gone for Xander and Cordy. 19. “Helen’s Kitchen.” Business Anne walks past in LA. I dig it. 20. Xander does, in fact, want Giles to give up. It would be sweet if it wasn’t Xander. 21. Buffy’s good deeds are coming back. That’s nice. 22. I… actually think Lily is an interesting character. 23. And now Buffy’s saved a very, very out of it guy and gotten herself hit by a car. Then run off full-tilt. And into some guy who’s creeping me out. 24. Ah, that line about growing up too fast and life being drained out is going to turn out to be literal, isn’t it? 25. I like the Bronze singer for this episode a lot. 26. Oh, Xander. Stop. Whatever you’re planning, stop. 27. You could talk to her, Joyce, if you hadn’t thrown her out of the house. 28. The last thing you did wasn’t fight, Joyce. It was throw her out of the house. 29. “Joyce, you musn’t blame yourself.” “I don’t. I blame you.” Giles is wrong here. Joyce absolutely should blame herself. She did, after all, throw Buffy out of the house. 30. “I feel like you’ve taken her away from me.” No, Joyce. You threw her out of the house. 31. Blood Donation Woman is in league with Evil. 32. Well, I was right. Now Ricky is old and has died from drinking drain cleaner. 33. Oh, look, it’s Creepy Preacher Man. There to prey on Lily. 34. And Buffy is breaking into the blood bank. “Candidate.” It’s all the “None”s on the form… people who won’t be missed. 35. “I don’t want trouble. I just want to be in a room, alone, with a chair and a fireplace, and a tea cozy. I don’t even know what a tea cozy is, but I want one. Instead, I keep getting trouble, which I am more than willing to share.” 36. “I’m doing this for Buffy’s sake.” Good thought, Cordy. 37. Willow is now bait. 38. Creepy preacher man’s creepy baptism. 39. “Oh, I just suck at undercover…” But you’re wonderfully fun to watch trying! 40. Under the evil pool portal is… a warehouse? 41. Ah, creepy preacher boy is a demon running a slave-worked demon factory that runs on Narnian time. 42. And he knocked Buffy out with a club. 43. Now Xander and Cordy are making out, because stress bonding is the foundation of their relationship. 44. … This demon slavery thing must have portals all over the world, to keep labor in place. Buffy might save more people in this episode than she does in any other where the existence of humanity isn’t at stake. 45. The axe the demon has… I’ve seen it in other stories. Probably just a reused prop, but it seems significant. 46. Yay Lily! Dead creepy preacher guy demon! 47. Or maybe now he’s dead. 48. “Hey. Can I… be Anne?” Overall: Wow, that was… really good, actually. Like, really good. Maybe the best episode the show’s had so far, which is saying something because it’s had some quite good ones. Good mystery, good horror, good drama. Lily/Anne is the most interesting one-off character the show’s introduced so far, Buffy’s scenes are actually heartwarming, and it hits basically all the emotional chords it’s going for. I’m heading for an episode I’m really not looking forward to next, so the reminder that Buffy is actually a great show is going to help a lot.