#anti xanya /

[you-were-mythtaken]

so sometimes I hear people whine about the age gaps in the buffyverse fandom and like i never hear anyone whine about the Anya/Xander age gap. like. she's over 1,000 years old and went after a guy who could very well have been underage (we dont know exactly how old he was at the end of S3 iirc). Not that i'm judging, i dont really care about age gaps in fictional ships. and i say this as Not A Xanya Shipper.

also. why does everyone place all the blame on Xander when it comes to their relationship being "unhealthy" or whatever? the way she comes onto him is downright predatory, she's wayyyy older than he is, used to torture men for fun, etc etc. at the very least they're equally at fault.

anyway. this is my rant for today.

[kyliafanfiction]

Thursday challenge: since you hate all these ships, rank them from the one you hate least to the one you hate most with no ties allowed :) Enjoy! Stelena, Delena, Klaroline, Bangel, Spuffy, Xanya and Fresley. I can't wait to see your rankings!

Okay, you are a cruel, cruel anon. Thank you :P ^^

Ranked from most hate to least hate:

Klaroline - has almost everything I don't like about Spuffy, but in a worse show.

Spuffy - baffling origin, terrible in terms of how it became canon, makes no sense, and the fans annoy me

Delena - Because they don't really seem to like Elena much, mostly seems like they just want Damon.

Stelena - because they're more likely to be super nasty towards Steroline shippers than Klaroline ones, from my limited experience

Bangel - Most of the time I just... don't like it. Doesn't usually make me as frustrated to see it. Easier to dismiss, narratively too.

Xanya - Not so much out of less hate for this, just more hate for the others

Fresley - I don't even really hate this one so much as not like.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, June 13

XANDER: Laugh now, missy, they assigned you to the booth for law enforcement professionals. BUFFY: (stunned) As in police? XANDER: As in polyester, doughnuts and brutality.

~~What's My Line~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Annoyance by Enigmatist (Spike, Angel, Joyce, Buffy, Not Rated)

kiss that’s black as sea by evesock (Buffy/Willow, E)

Up all Night, I Won't Quit by Hecate (Faith/Katherine Pierce, TVD xover, M)

Love (Spaith; Spike/Faith) by Datherine100 (Spike/Faith, T)

VD/Buffy: Last Battle by Datherine100 (Buffy, Faith, TVD xover, T)

OUAT/Angel: Love Will Conquer by Datherine100 (Cordelia/Hook, Once Upon a Time (TV) xover, T)

In Disarray and Dazed (Spike x Y/N) by itsalwaysteatimeinwonderland (Spike/reader, unrated)

Leaving Sunnydale by Rea (Buffy/Spike, G)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Overheard - Ch. 1-3 by silvain (Giles/Ethan, T)

The Adventures Of Cordelia Chase and Xander Lavelle Harris vol.1: She's Back - Ch. 1-8 by Datherine100 (Xander/Cordelia, T)

and multiple other works by Datherine100, a few directly linked below. all rated T, some are one shot collections. other pairings include: Buffy/Spike, Angelus/Darla, Angel/Darla, Buffy/Angel

Xanya (Xander/Anya) - Ch. 1-3 by Datherine100 (Xander/Anya, T)

Coyle (Cordy/Doyle) - Ch. 1-3 by Datherine100 (Cordelia/Doyle, T)

Biley (Buffy/Riley) - Ch. 1-4 by Datherine100 (Buffy, Riley, T)

The Devil's Trill - Ch. 9 by Murray (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Deliverance From Destiny - Ch. 31 by Ragini (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Reclaimed - Ch. 6 by Holly (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Waiting for You - Ch. 8 by honeygirl51885 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

To All We Guard - Ch. 23 by simmony (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Out of Time: 1942 - Ch. 57 by Jonayla (Buffy, HP xover, FR18)

Ship of The Line – Effect 31 - Ch. 14 by KnifeHand (Xander, Mass Effect and Star Trek xover, FR18)

You Drive Me Out Of My Mind - Ch. 1-35 by Geliot99 (Buffy/Spike, R) COMPLETE!

Bruises - Ch. 20 by hulettwyo (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Bruises - Ch. 19 by hulettwyo (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Waiting for You - Ch. 8 by honeygirl51885 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Dear Journal - Ch. 6 by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) COMPLETE!

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: Does it burn? - Ch. 1 by Dirtyaim (Spike, NSFW, rated PG-13)

Artwork: Spuffified: A Collection - Ch. 5 by satinsafe (Buffy/Spike, NSFW, rated PG-13)

Textpost: spuffy + textposts (4/?) by spikespeaches (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Gifset: buffy + angel's claddagh ring by ptieuca (Buffy/Angel, worksafe)

Gifset: buffy + wearing angel's jacket by ptieuca (Buffy/Angel, Giles, Willow, worksafe)

Artwork: “You ask me to dance and you just stand there?” by l0veisntbrains (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Gifset: 6x15 || 7x05 by clarkgriffon (Buffy, Anya, Spike, Xander, worksafe)

Gifset: Willow Rosenberg + Outfits (Season 4) by clarkgriffon (Willow, worksafe)

Gifset: Ranking Buffy Summers' hair evolution (as voted by my followers) 6/11 by buffysummers (Buffy, worksafe)

Artwork: ☀️☀️ ATS 219. Belonging ☀️☀️ by tmcarlee (Cordelia, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

REACTION VIDEO: May 22, 2001: Watching 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Season 5 Finale by 90s Grunge Dreams

[Recs & In Search Of]

l0veisntbrains recs So It Goes by scratchmeout [bonus Spuffy art]

ISO: Pineappleskies1991 seeks Rainy Episodes [from BTVS or ATS]

ISO: thisguy49 seeks shooting location - Does anyone know what school was used to film Angel episode Happy Anniversary

[Fandom Discussions]

POLL: Absolute BEST Faith dream scene? (R2 - bonus round - photos below) by elizadushkudaily

POLL: Vampire Media Guys Round 16: Spike or Klaus Mikaelson? by vampirewrestlinglover

POLL: If Angel existed in “Detroit: Become Human”, would he be pro-android rights or anti-android rights? by giveamadeuschohisownmovie

POLL: Spike from Buffy the vampire slayer, plz. by bedpolls

Anya/Xander vs Other Age Gap Relationships by lightningrain

... Kendra leaves the next day. Where did she stay that night? by finalgirl1984

Cordelia deserved to be back in season 7 for the finale or at least have a comeback... by cordelia-slay

[poll on non-canon crack Buffyverse ships - see commentary in tags] by cangeltwillowinvestigations

Oz in Buffy is often praised for his emotional maturity and calm demeanor... by air--so--sweet

Show me a HERO & I'll write you a T R A G E D Y [Xander rp] by theanimulus

Was Riley Suicidal? by nightshade

I refuse to accept Kennedy as Willow's end game pairing / one true love. updated by garfan

What's your favorite Buffy merchandise? by jigglesauruspuff

behind the scenes photo of amber (tara) in the [new] film ‘i saw the tv glow’ by amigaraaaaaa

Who else is still annoyed that Eliza [who played Faith] wasn't invited to the 20th reunion in 2017? by Other_Thing_2551

Sineya by illvria

Kendra’s existence is confusing. by Complex_Bit_4921

Good point [Riley's sense of masculinity] by jogaforacont

Tara was on a slow and gradual course... to become Buffy's closest friend. by GreyStagg

Unpopular opinion: Willow should have been killed off. by Kat-Attack-52

Angels Timeline [on ATS] by CazzaGal

Los Angeles as a character [in ATS] by Berry-Pie216

Gunn & Fred by Trick-Flight-8749

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[misskremlintsarina5294]

Xander Harris&Cordelia Chase>>>>>>>>>Xander Harris&Anya Jenkins

[kateaustensgf]

Top 5 Canon Buffyverse ships? Top 5 NON-canon Buffyverse ships?! Top 5 buffyverse brotps? 5 buffyverse notps?

Thank you so much for this ask!

Top 5 canon Buffyverse ships:

1) Angel/Cordy

2) Wesley/Lilah

3) Spike/Dru

4) Angel/Darla

5) Willow/Tara (before Willow put a spell on Tara).

Top 5 non-canon Buffyverse ships:

1) Faith/Buffy (it’s canon in my head tho, lol. I do believe Faith hadfeelings for Buffy, but since the show was never nice enough to confirm it, I’mgoing to add it on the non-canon list).

2) Spike/Anya (I know they had one night stand, but there weren’t anyfeelings between the characters, so I count it as non-canon).

3) Buffy/Tara

4) Angel/Spike (Spike hinted at them sleeping together, but just likeSpanya, there weren’t hints of romance and they were never a couple, so I alsocount it as non-canon).

5) Buffy/Cordy

Top 5 Buffyverse brotps:

1) Buffy/Dawn

2) Wesley/Gunn (other than the pointless ~love triangle~ with Fred, andWesley stabbing Gunn, I did enjoy their friendship).

3) Darla/Angelus/Dru/Spike

4) Angel/Faith

5) Buffy/Giles

Top 5 Buffyverse notps:

(I’m going to explain why I dislike each of them,in case anyone is curious. If any of my followers ship any of these ships, Ihave nothing against you, and I hope I don’t offend you. This is just about theships).

1) Wesley/Fred: The one ship in the Buffyverse I truly hate. I just… Ihate it so much, I could go on for hours. I don’t think they ever truly got toknow each other as people, and just because they were both “smart”, doesn’tmean that they belonged together. Once they got together in season 5, she spentlike 30 minutes dying in his arms, Wes just goes off the rails and startsacting like a maniac, and I’m supposed to believe it was some sort of truelove? Just no. I never saw an actual connection between these characters.

2) Xander/Anya: Okay… I don’t hatethis ship, I just think it lasted too long. These two were so wrong for eachother, and I feel like they were only together out of convenience. Hell’s Bellsdoes break my heart, tho.

3) Spike/Buffy: Now, this is prettydifficult for me to explain. I don’t hate SB, I even have reblogged stuff on here and watched videos of them. Hell, I did enjoy many of theirscenes together. But I hate the way Spike’s attempted rape of Buffy was used tofurther his character, and I kind of resent this ship for it.

4) Xander/Willow: When they cheatedon Oz and Cordy with each other, I rolled my eyes so hard. Their scenes werejust so cheesy and absurd. Their friendship is great, but that’s it. Plus,she’s gay lmao

5) I don’t know…??? Tara/men lol

I hope no one unfollows me for this, these are just my honest answers.

[millennialslayer]

Anya tried to MURDER Xander. It is not a good relationship when your fiance says "I love you" but is ready to torture & mutilate you to death if you break up with her.

She wanted to be his wife & have his kids but used demonic powers against him instead of understanding he was an insecure 21 year old from a broken family and had been living on his own for a year & a half.

He shouldn't have to suck it up and be a man. It was less than 3 years after high school. He never should've been the one comforting or taking care (she wasn't working in s4) of her. She was an ancient unrepentant killer taking advantage of an uneducated inexperienced teenager who spent most of his life bullied by his peers & neglected by his parents.

Don't get used to this pro Xander talk cause Buffy is my girl and he did her wrong.

Leaving Anya was the only smart romantic decision Xander ever made.

[kissandships]

This is sooooo excellent!

[buffster]

1, 8, 16?

thank youuuu :)

1. What OTP(s) in your fandom do you just not get?

I don’t really have a passionate answer to this question for the BTVS fandom. Most of the characters are really shippable. I guess my best answer is Xander/Anya. Even if you think they’re cute I just can’t picture them as “one true pairing” material in any way. 

8. Have you ever received anon hate? What about?

I received one once about saying Draco/Hermione might be interesting. I published it because I wanted to clarify what I was saying, but usually my policy is to delete anon hate. As soon as you publish it it’s like moths to a flame…Honestly I’m really surprised I haven’t gotten any about BTVS opinions.

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

Oh, this is tough. If we’re talking about BTVS it’s between making another season and stretching the season seven plot over two to add more character continuity/development and changing Willow’s arc to be about personal psychological issues rather than addiction. 

Ask Meme!

[kyliafanfiction-archive]

I remember when you used to be casual about Xanya, but I'm curious to know why did you end up extremely against the ship now.

It was a combination of factors. Seeing endless praise posts, further contemplation on how both make each other miserable and bring out the worst in the other, the bashing of Xandelia by people who Ship Xanya, and all the people who praise and stan Anya like she’s perfect and deserves like a billion times better than Xander - she’s massively, epicly slumming it to even deign to notice him, if you believe some of her hardcore stans.

I grew increasingly bitter about the ship the longer I was on tumblr until I saw a Xanya post and realized I hated the ship

[aluwyn-blog]

ok ur opinion on: sp*ke LOL i wanna see u Tear him apart, cordelia chase, summer (the season), willow/tara, UM and s4 of btvs!

:^) great ask

sp*ke: disgusting terrible awful violently misogynistic yah he’s in love with but he treats her like shit and literally??? tries to rape her?????? uhhhh i hate him with a burning passion!!!!!!! why did he have to be written like that like. he would’ve been fine as just a villain who left or got killed or smth but INSTEAD they had to write him like. allying with the scoobies??????? falling in l*ve with buffy?????????????????????????????? i dont fucking think so. remember when drusilla was hot for angelus so he put her unconscious in his car and drove away like he literally kidnapped her. sidenote i love drusilla and im glad she had the sense to dump him! back to sp*ke so when we found out he had drawings of her everywhere apparently everyone’s response was “that’s so romantic he did them himself” instead of a normal response like “that’s some fucked up disgusting shit he was really stalking her and invading her both physically and mentally” ummmmmmm why do villains have to be so violently misogynistic so much of the time i really just. am so sick of seeing violence against women all the goddamn time and i don’t want it anymore!!!!!! bye!!!!!!!!!!! no one can write unnecessarily misogynistic storylines ever!!!!!! actually men can’t write at all!!!!!! take note men stop writing i’m done with you

cordelia chase: angel love of my life fashion icon deserved so much better!!! ok so we start in high school and she is so so lonely and deserved love and someone who actually cared about her!!! like buffy xander treated her like crap as well i’m so :(((( about her relationships like she never got anyone who treated her well and was healthy for her except groo and that was ? a little confusing to me but i think she was supposed to have been in love with angel the whole time..or something idk cangel was p cute but it seemed like it was just joss forcing hetero plots on everybody lmaoooooo her dying was absolutely ridiculous and unwarranted and hwat they did to charisma carpenter was honestly so disgusting!!! there are so many ways of concealing a pregnancy other than having it be a demon who kills her! jesus. she deserved so much better and i love her with my whole entire heart. also what was her hair doing in angel i honestly feel that that…was the beginning of the end

summer: good season!! not the best season because it does get very hot and humid which is :( and i am constantly afraid of getting sunburnt and then getting skin cancer!! so i slather my whole body in spf 30+ every single day its so important to protect your skin. i like the flowers a lot and i looove the bees and the butterflies that come out!!!!!!!! you guys are doing so well keep it up

willow/tara: :(( ok i can’t say i didn’t like them because they rly were so important to me lesbian wise and the good parts? were amazing but. what willow did to her was such a violation and really…..not okay? but tara did forgive her and i honestly think that’s really important to remember because yah willow did really bad things and tara knew this and she was understandably hurt and upset and couldn’t be with her for a while and. she was in love with her like i really think they were each other’s true loves! every relationship has issues to work through and. i think they did that. they helped each other grow sooooo much as well like tara became so much more confident and loved herself and grew magicwise as well and i love her soo so much!! also i think it’s absolutely disgustingly homophobic how she died and neither of them deserved that

s4 of btvs: ICONIC!!!!! we first see tara in s4!!!!!!! the beginning of the lesbianism!!!!!!! ummm all the sp*ke helping the scoobies scenes were dumb and pointless and i wish the initiative had just killed him but. w/e. i didn’t really like anya/xander because he kind of treated her like a five year old overreacting at everything but i love anya with a passion so that was nice!! riley was….whats the word……..boring as fuck. the end scene with buffy being that powerful was COOL idk really what happened there but!!! big nut!!!!!! umm adam wasn’t one of my favorite villains but i would’ve liked to see more parallels between him and buffy because i think they were similar in that they were both human + smth else added on that they didn’t ask for. idk i just think that would’ve been super interesting!! overall a 6/10

[whitewolfofwinterfell]

Ships: Spuffy, Bangel, Xanya, Cole/Phoebe, Piper/Leo, Prue/Andy, Suliet, Skate, Jate, Jacket

Wow, that’s a lot of ships! Thanks so much for sending them in! I actually love writing about this stuff so the more the merrier :) I’ve tried to keep this as short as I could, but due to the number of ships it did get a little long, so I’ll put the rest under the cut. 

Some warnings before you read: anti-Spuffy, anti-Xanya, anti-Pleo and anti-Skate (not really, but I do criticise these ships and so it’s better safe than sorry).

Spuffy

It’s perfect timing for me to write about Spuffy because I’ve just recently done a Buffy re-watch, so their relationship is fresh in my mind. When it comes to Buffy and Spike, I’m actually pretty neutral about their relationship. I’m not a hardcore shipper but I’m also not anti Spuffy either. It’s always a relief when there’s two opposing ships (in this case Spuffy and Bangel) and you’re able to enjoy both (although I do prefer Bangel).

Before I get into actually talking about the relationship itself, I want to say that I do think that Buffy and Spike’s relationship was quite forced. It’s clear to me that when Spike was first introduced onto the show there weren’t any plans to make him a main character and put him into a relationship with Buffy. Generally speaking, it doesn’t even make sense that Spike survives until season 7 since Buffy has absolutely no reason to keep him around. He’s a vampire without a soul and Buffy is the Slayer, she kills Spike’s kind every single day without blinking. The only exception to that is Angel because he has a soul, so it doesn’t make sense that Buffy just allows Spike to hang around Sunnydale. It becomes more complicated when he has the chip because technically he can’t harm anyone and he starts to prove useful, but even then it’s hard to understand why Buffy doesn’t kill him. Spike getting his soul at the end of season 6 is also forced, because narratively it makes no sense. Angel is a unique, one-of-a-kind vampire who was cursed with a soul as punishment. No vampire (whether they are in love or not, which is a topic of debate because can soulless vampires even love?) would voluntarily seek out their soul. It’s a heavy burden to bear after centuries as a vampire and I don’t buy that Spike would want to do this. Also, Spike’s entire character is build on this idea of him being a one-of-a-kind soulless vampire that is capable of showing a lot of human emotion and whose behaviours and perceptions change as a result of the chip, so giving him a soul kind of detracts from that. Overall, I feel that Spike getting a soul was only written because Whedon decided he wanted to continue pursuing the Spuffy romance but realised after season 6 that he couldn’t logically do that until Spike had a soul. As a result, the Spuffy relationship doesn’t make sense from a narrative stand-point. Spike was an antagonist that should’ve left the show or been killed off at some point during season 3, but his character was so popular and well-liked that Whedon wanted to find a way to write him in permanently and developing a romance with Buffy was the most feasible way of doing that.

Putting that aside, in seasons 1-4 I enjoy Spuffy’s dynamic and the way they bicker at each other immensely. Buffy and Spike as individual characters have bags of personality and when they come together they’re always entertaining and they draw me in. In season 5 their relationship enters a new phase when Spike develops a crush on Buffy. The thing is with the Spuffy relationship in general is that you have to take it at face value. In my opinion, it is not a “serious” relationship and certainly not feasible as a long-term relationship, because of the nature of it. However, it’s a fascinating ship that explores the complexities of mental health and toxic relationships, and how the two can overlap and feed one another.

Spike’s feelings for Buffy develop out of a dark and twisted obsession whereby he gets off on the fact that Buffy’s his nemesis, that she’s strong and fierce and violent towards him. His obsession for her becomes so strong that he consistently stalks her (which is common amongst vampires, who are naturally predatory creatures) and forces Warren to build him a Buffybot. The Buffybot alone represents everything wrong with their relationship. Spike creates a sex doll that looks exactly like Buffy that will be his slave; that’s so unhealthy and is unacceptable on every level. However, it’s perfectly aligned with Spike’s behaviour and urges as a soulless vampire. I see all this stuff about how Spike with a soul still wasn’t that bad but I think it’s overlooked that he still had naturally dark tendencies and instincts as a vampire. He didn’t seek out Buffy because he wanted a loving, committed relationship with someone who was his equal, he sought her out because he enjoyed the “rough and tumble” and was fascinated with the apparent “darkness” and “death” he saw in Buffy and got a kick out of being the one to push her to that dark place. When their sexual relationship develops, it’s as unhealthy as Spike’s crush has been up until that point, because it evolves out of Buffy’s depression which Spike actively encourages. Instead of supporting Buffy through her depression, he feeds it by telling her she no longer belongs with her friends and that she belongs with him in the “shadows”. It’s a very toxic and unhealthy relationship for both Buffy and Spike. Although Spike doesn’t have a soul, it’s emotionally distressing for him to endure the treatment he gets from Buffy. She actively goes to him and sleeps with him but then discards him and tears him down and refuses to acknowledge him as a human being (which is fair since he’s technically not). It’s very harmful to Buffy who carries the immense guilt and shame of her feelings and how she’s behaving. Plus, as I mentioned above, it feeds her depression and self-destructive behaviour. But like I said, you have to take Spuffy at face value and I can’t criticise the ship for any of this. It’s actually what I like about them. They’re supposed to be dark and twisted, they’re supposed to be bad for each other, they’re supposed to push each other to the deepest darkest corners of what they’re capable of and that’s exactly what they do.

In reality, Spuffy’s relationship is a complex metaphor for the human psyche. Spike is symbolically the monster inside Buffy and when she uses and abuses him she’s punishing herself. Spike is Buffy’s way of self-destructing, of trying to emotionally make sense of the hollowness she feels inside. Spike allows it and revels in it because he’s a creature of darkness and death. What he experiences with Buffy is normal to him as a vampire. He loved Drusilla as truly as a soulless vampire can love, but it was a very dark and twisted love whereby they did terrible things with and to each other and got pleasure and enjoyment out of that. Spike tries to pursue a similar relationship with Buffy, but the problem is that it doesn’t work because Buffy is human. She’s not physically, emotionally or mentally capable of engaging in the type of relationship or behaviours Spike expects or enjoys without it having a profound negative impact on her.

It’s probably an unpopular opinion coming from a Bangel shipper, but I actually really like the way Spuffy are written up until season 7. Even the dreaded attempted rape scene from Seeing Red (which is still to this day one of the most controversial and debated scenes from any fandom I’m part of) makes sense in the context of the relationship. I respect Whedon for writing that in, because as hard as it was to film for SMG and James, and how horrific, upsetting and controversial it is, it feels like a natural culmination of their relationship and the path its on in season 6. It shows how wrong that relationship is and it’s a reminder that regardless of how different Spike may seem from other soulless vampires, he is still a vampire without a soul. Whether you love him or hate him, it’s a clear statement that he is a monster and that’s very important to establish and to remember. It also reinforces what we’re told and shown throughout the season, which is that Buffy cannot love him because he’s a monster. That one line she says, “Ask me again why I could never love you” is such an incredibly powerful one and despite the horror of the scene, it’s probably one of my favourites because of how much is conveyed with just one sentence.

Moving on from their relationship in season 6 (because I could discuss it all night), the fact that I like the way Spuffy are written in season 6 is why I don’t like the way they are written in season 7. Everything about the relationship in season 7 feels forced and inorganic. It isn’t a progression of their relationship from season 6, it’s like Whedon hit the reset button and tried to rewrite them as a fresh new ship without the weight of their history. The problem is, in doing that he fundamentally changes what Buffy and Spike are. Spike getting a soul could never change the fact that Buffy is incapable of loving him. Buffy has told Spike that he’s beneath her, she’s called him a thing, told him numerous times she cannot and will never love him and the nature of their relationship in season 6 only reaffirms those feelings she has. Buffy doesn’t have any positive feelings towards Spike in seasons 1-6, and getting a soul doesn’t magically fix or change that. From my perception, the person Spike fundamentally is isn’t someone that Buffy could love. Even if she’d met him as a human, she would never look twice at him. So Buffy’s characterisation has to be sacrificed in season 7 in order for her relationship with Spike to develop. The Buffy Summers I know and love would never pursue a romantic relationship with Spike soul or no soul and it doesn’t matter how much I appreciate their dynamic in seasons 1-6, I can’t get past that and as a result I can’t enjoy them in season 7 because it doesn’t fit with how I perceive those characters and their relationship.

This has got incredibly long, so I’ll wrap it up by saying that I enjoy and appreciate Spuffy in seasons 1-6, because I accept them for what they are. In season 6, it’s unhealthy, it’s destructive and it’s toxic, but it’s also a push and pull dynamic. I don’t perceive just Buffy OR Spike to be the victim in that relationship, they are both victims (excluding Seeing Red, where Buffy is obviously the only victim). It’s an important relationship in exploring Buffy’s mental state in season 6 and season 6 wouldn’t be what it is without Spike and Spuffy.

Bangel

I already shared my opinion on Bangel before, you can read it here.

Xanya

I really don’t have any opinions on this ship, I’m completely indifferent to them. They don’t stand out to me as being a particularly special ship in terms of their chemistry or story, but I also don’t dislike them. I personally still think that Xander was gay and that Whedon should’ve pursued that path with him because it would’ve made more sense, but he chose to write Willow as the gay character instead and god forbid we have more than one LGBT character from the main ensemble cast *gasp*

Cole/Phoebe

I really like Phoebe and Cole as a ship (you can read more of my opinions on them here and here) and think that over the years people have jumped on the bandwagon about how “toxic” and bad for each other they were, but they actually had a lot of positive qualities. Phoebe and Cole had great chemistry and passion, they were very well matched and their love endured so much. They were star-crossed lovers that were mortal enemies but that fell in love with each other and fought tooth and nail to make their relationship work. Their relationship is proof that the age old cliche of “love conquers all” is simply not true. Phoebe and Cole were deeply in love but their love wasn’t enough and no matter how many times they tried or how long and hard they clung onto each other, they couldn’t make it work. What I like about their relationship is that it carries an important message that we don’t always end up with the person who is the love of our life. There’s an expectation that most of us have that we will find the love of our life and be with them until the day we (or they) die, but in many instances that’s not the case. Phoebe and Cole are a testament to that and prove that even if the relationship doesn’t last, the love two people share is still important and will always stay with them. Piper/Leo

I’ve briefly discussed Piper and Leo before here, but I’ll go into more detail. Surprisingly, I’m not a very big Pleo shipper. I like them but I just don’t buy into them as the epic true love story that they’re sold to us as being. Generally, Leo as a character is rather one-dimensional and I think that Piper could’ve had a much better love interest. Leo is defined by his “goodness” as a Whiteligher and although his arc takes a darker twist in season 6, it rarely strays from that narrative. Over the years as I’ve gotten older I’ve noticed the complete lack of development they have and when Piper has her big realisation that she’s in love with Leo in Love Hurts, it’s not very earned. Throughout season 1 Piper is attracted to Leo, they have a few interactions and sleep together, but he’s not really that significant in her life. Piper barely knows anything about him other than the fact that he’s a handyman and there’s not much of a basis there for her to fall in love with him. In season 2, when the whole love triangle comes into play with Leo and Dan, it makes even less sense because Dan actually makes much more sense as a love interest for Piper. He’s “normal” (Piper talks often about how she craves for normality in her life), he’s reliable, he’s present in her daily life, he’s sweet, considerate, romantic and attractive. All of the problems that Piper has in her relationship with Leo - him being magical and his prolonged absences - directly contrast Dan. Dan doesn’t pose any of those problems, so the question is why does Piper love Leo more than Dan?

I suppose this issue taps into a fundamental aspect of the Piper and Leo relationship that they’re destined and soul mates. When it comes to destiny and soul mates, it’s hard to then argue that a couple is underdeveloped, because their connection is routed in a cosmic bonding of souls which is difficult to quantify. And despite their lack of development in seasons 1 and 2, I do buy into them being soul mates as the seasons progress. The way in which they consistently find their way back to each other and overcome obstacles to be with each other solidifies them as being soul mates. I particularly like their relationship in seasons 4 and 5 when they’re at their strongest and most united.

However, as I mentioned in the post I’ve linked above, I have a lot of issues with the way they were ripped apart at the end of season 5 in Oh My Goddess. That whole plot felt incredibly forced to me and I would’ve much preferred that Piper and Leo were able to stay together for the remainder of the series without some ridiculous obstacle being thrown in their way just for the sake of it. By that point they’d already had to overcome Leo being a Whitelighter, the love triangle with Dan, getting the Elders to accept their romance and having a baby. It was hardly a smooth ride for them and to rip them apart when Wyatt was still so young was particularly cruel and unfair. Although they tried to get the relationship back on track and re-establish them, it never felt quite right to me after that. I love the love scene between them in The Courtship of Wyatt’s Father, but everything else about the way their relationship is written in season 6 is awful. Piper hiding her pregnancy from Leo is incredibly OOC for her and Leo being a neglectful father is also very OOC. I appreciate that in season 7 their relationship is quite representative of the rough patches that a lot of long-term relationships go through and that they’re basically “on the rocks”, but I still don’t like how they’re written. The whole season is basically Piper babysitting Leo and worrying about him non-stop, up until The Seven Year Witch, which I’ll admit is one of the most romantic episodes for Piper and Leo and finally gets their relationship back on track.

Overall, I like Piper and Leo together, but I don’t love them together. I think their love endured a lot and that ultimately they were soul mates, but I also think that their relationship didn’t really start to be anything particularly special until around season 3. Therefore, the writers could’ve ended her relationship with Leo in season 1 and I wouldn’t have been shocked and thought, “But hold on, Leo was the love of Piper’s life he needs to come back”, because I just don’t think they had the development at that stage for him to be considered so important (despite what the writing tells us very early on). The sisters could’ve got a new Whitelighter from season 2 onwards (which would’ve been a good opportunity to bring fresh blood onto the show) and Piper could’ve had another long-term love interest whether it be Dan or someone entirely new, and I could’ve bought that as much as I buy into Piper and Leo.

Prue/Andy I’ve spoken about Prue and Andy before here and I don’t really have much more to add. I think they’ve a very underrated ship that had a lot of potential. They were incredibly well matched and I believe that Paige and Henry’s relationship in season 8 provides insight into the kind of relationship Prue and Andy could’ve had if they had both survived. Suliet

I’ve shared my feelings about Suliet already here. I don’t have much more to add than what I’ve already said in my previous post, except I absolutely adore Sawyer and Juliet as a ship. It’s a rare thing to be able to convey so much depth and emotion in such a short time-span, but the LOST writers pulled it off perfectly. Their relationship is the perfect culmination of their character development and two unlikely people coming together results in the most beautiful relationship. It’s sad that we don’t get more flashbacks of their time in Dharmaville and the earlier days of their relationship, but nonetheless, what we are given was beautiful. Their reunion scene in the Flash Sideways is still one of my all time favourite LOST scenes. The emotion and connection in that scene captures everything that they are and confirms that they’re soul mates, which is particularly poetic since Juliet walks way from him in season 5 because she thinks they’re not meant to be together. How wrong was she? #soulmates #meanttobe Skate

I’ve spoken quite in-depth about Skate previously, here and here. I appreciate and enjoy their dynamic, but from my perspective the romantic aspect of it was always very one-sided. They made more sense to me as friends and I understood them as friends. I think they were just too similar to work in a relationship and like I said with Spuffy above, I always felt that there was something deeply ingrained in Kate that prevented her from ever being able to love Sawyer in a romantic sense. She definitely loved him and at certain points she had romantic feelings for him, but it was never strong enough; it was never secure or absolute. That’s the reason they never worked as a couple because even when she tried to be with him, she was never fully there. But that’s because she was always in love with Jack, which brings me nicely onto the next ship.Jate

My recent LOST re-watch reminded me how much I actually like Jack and Kate as a pairing. I’ve always shipped them but I’ve never been particularly hardcore for them (my favourite LOST ship has always been Suliet or Demond and Penny), but I really noticed on my re-watch how much they loved each other. What’s great about it though is that it’s not a very in-your-face relationship. If you’ve only watched the show once or haven’t watched it in a while it’s easy to build up this perception in your head that it’s very Jack-Kate centric, but it’s not really. It is very Jack-Kate centric in regards to the attention their individual characters get and the amount of scenes they have together, but the actual romantic aspect of their relationship doesn’t get much focus. It’s obvious that they’re in love, but it’s just built into the natural dynamic they have with each other. Primarily when they’re on the island they’re friends and partners who are each other’s constant source of support. They’re fiercely loyal to each other and that aspect of their relationship is easy to overlook, but every single time one of them makes a decision the other is there backing them up, even if they might not always necessarily think it’s the right decision. They’re always a team and they work together and trust each other implicitly. With any ship there’s the whole “I’ll do anything for you” mantra that we all feel when we’re in love, but with Jack and Kate you see that all the time. They will literally do anything for each other. No matter what life or death situation they’re in, they will always go back for each other if one of them is left behind (this is why I have slight issues with the last season, because Kate leaving Jack behind to die is very OOC and generally the two of them being separated for most of their time on the island doesn’t make sense). Despite how manipulative Kate can be, they’re equals and I think what initially draws them to each other is the strength they see in each other. From the second they meet on the island they see each other’s determination and sheer will in getting off the island and protecting everybody. Kate spends her life on the run, hiding who she is from the world, but with Jack he just sees her and her spirit. Even when he finds out about her crimes, he never really needs her to explain because he accepts her for who she is and trusts that what he sees of her is exactly who she truly is. It’s such a well-crafted slow burn relationship that is established from the pilot and is consistently built upon until the final episode. Everything that happens between them feels earned because of that time and attention that’s given to establishing them. From the second they walk into each other’s lives they bond and that bond is unbreakable. It just makes me sad, that just like with Suliet, we didn’t get enough scenes of them being a normal, happy couple. But the scenes we do get are well selected and perfectly encapsulate everything they’re about as a couple.  

Jacket

Can I just say first of all, that this ship name is quite comical? All I picture is a denim jacket when I see this haha. It’s good that I get to speak about Jack and Juliet actually, because my re-watch made me see them in a different light. In the past I was always “eh” about Jack and Juliet. I never really understood why it was written for it to then just be erased before it even had chance to develop. However, my eyes have been opened to the immense potential this ship had. The thing is with the Jack-Kate-Sawyer-Juliet love square, is the writers really could’ve chosen to go in any direction with the pairings and it would’ve worked - we got Jack/Kate and Sawyer/Juliet and that worked, we could’ve had Kate/Sawyer and Jack/Juliet and that would’ve worked and we even could’ve had Jack/Sawyer and Kate/Juliet, god knows the chemistry and tension was there to make it work!

Jack and Juliet are generally overlooked and forgotten as a pairing because of how fast they were brushed off, but they had great development. In a way, Jack and Juliet’s relationship starts off as a kind of Stockholm Syndrome; Jack is a prisoner and Juliet is the captor. Juliet knows everything about Jack and purposefully uses clever emotional manipulation to get the desired outcome from him. Jack knows this, he knows that she’s playing him and that she’s acting on behalf of Ben who is dictating to her what to do, yet he develops a complex emotional bond with her because of the kindness she shows him and the fact that she’s the only human companionship he gets. When you’re locked up in a cell with no human contact and nothing to do, all you have to look forward to is the person who’s visiting you everyday to bring food. Jack falls into a routine with Juliet where he goes and sits against the wall when she enters and he brings her sandwiches with toothpicks (notice how this becomes a sort of weird connection between them which they both make reference to later on as they become friends). Jack is naturally a very good judge of character; he’s able to read people and situations very well and from the get go his instincts tell him that Juliet is a good person. Very early on he’s able to distinguish between her and the rest of the Others, even before he builds up complete trust in her, he still senses that she’s the most reliable and that she may actually help him escape.

But it’s not just Jack that builds a bond with Juliet. Juliet also builds one with Jack. We know from flashbacks that Juliet has had a rather lonely existence on the island. She’s been separated from her sister, the most profound connection she has in her life, and the one bond she establishes on the island - with Goodwin - is taken away from her by Ben. Ben’s obsession with Juliet leads him to purposefully isolate her and as a result she’s very lonely. When she meets Jack she is sent in by Ben to manipulate him, but she looks at Jack and sees herself - a prisoner. Juliet may not physically be in a cell, but it doesn’t mean she’s any less of a prisoner. From the beginning she sees Jack as a ray of hope, a comrade and someone that she could possibly escape with and find a new life with.

Much like Jack and Kate, Jack and Juliet’s bond is instant, but slowly develops over time due to the complicated circumstances they find themselves under. Juliet does what she can to protect Jack and likewise Jack does what he can to protect Juliet. They develop an implicit understanding and trust that leads them to depend on one another. And when they realise that their main goal is the same - to escape Ben - they also become allies. It’s actually a fascinating way for a relationship to develop and based on other shows I’ve seen it’s unique too.

Putting aside the circumstances of how they meet and how their relationship develops, as people Jack and Juliet are very suited. They’re both healers and spend their lives saving lives (or giving life in Juliet’s case), they’re both medical marvels who accomplish seemingly impossible tasks (Jack performing miraculous spine surgery and Juliet making infertile women pregnant) they’re loyal, intelligent and determined. And when they come together there’s an ease and familiarity between them whereby it seems like they’ve known each other for a long time. I also didn’t really notice before, but they also have pretty great chemistry (you can particularly see it in the following scenes (x) (x) (x) go to 2:45 on the last one).

Of course, none of this matters because no matter how beautifully developed their relationship was, Jack was in love with Kate since season 1 and no matter how he felt about Juliet it would never compare to that. It’s sad in a way, because like I said at the beginning, Jack and Juliet had a lot of potential. But I do think that there was that ultimate spark missing between them. They had chemistry but it was never quite the same as the chemistry Jack had with Kate or Juliet had with Sawyer. Jack and Juliet’s relationship feels like that very “safe” relationship that people enter into because they’re too scared to get their heart broken by someone they truly love that ignites passion and excitement and all of that other dangerous and exciting stuff in them. Like Juliet said to Kate in season 4, Jack kissing her was just him trying to prove to himself that he didn’t love Kate. Jack was just scared of taking the plunge with Kate because he knew she could really hurt him. So in that respect, they never would’ve worked. Jack and Kate were set up as the endgame ship in the pilot and everybody knew that. Nonetheless, I still appreciate Jack and Juliet’s dynamic and friendship, and think that although it didn’t develop into something romantic there was always an undercurrent of something more between them.

[millennialslayer]

A lot of people find Xander's speech to Anya in Into the Woods romantic "you make me feel like a man" but it was a 19 year old saying it to a 1,138 year old woman.

[kyliafanfiction]

Xander & Anya's failed wedding is textbook "don't propose just because you may not get the chance letter"

[misskremlintsarina5294]

Xander&Anya

While I watched the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 3, I just can’t help but notice that how the relationship between Xander&Anya is contrived. Why on Earth would Anya would all of a sudden take a likening of Xander when she hardly had any conversations with him? Not to sound bashy towards Xander, I like Xander, but his relationship with Anya is contrived from the start. His crush on Buffy, and his relationship with Cordelia was more believable.

[kyliafanfiction]

You know, I used to be chill in the BtVS fandom. Ish, anyway. sure, I had my opinions, but most things I didn’t ship, it was like ‘meh, okay’ or ‘that’s not my speed, keep it away from me, but w/e’

Now the things I don’t like aren’t ‘meh’ they’re ‘this is disgusting trash’ and they’re not ‘w/e’ but ‘you’re objectively wrong and not technically a bad person but you should still feel bad for having bad opinions’

(Like, not in an anti way, there’s no morality here)

I don’t really get it, tbh. I used to tolerate Anya and Xanya. My loathing for Spuffy has grown to epic proportions, Bangel rubs me wrong even worse, the bad Xander opinions... well, those are the same tiresome as ever, but the tara worship goes too far, the Saint Buffy people are even more grating...

I kinda miss being more chill. Ish.

sigh

[kyliafanfiction]

Ship meme: Weslah, Xandelia, Xanya, Giles/Jenny, Angel/Kate Lockley :)

Weslah

Answered here (X)

Xandelia

Ship it.

1. They're great together. They have excellent chemistry, their back and forth is highly entertaining even when they're not with eachother, and they're actually pretty similar in how the see the world.

2. Their banter

3. I mean, apart from shipping it at all (let's face it, Xandelia's not that popular :( )

Xanya

Don't Ship It

1. They bring out the worst in eachother in ways that aren't entertaining. Anya's side of things doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Also they got engaged waaaaaaaaay too fucking young jesus christ.

2. I can't think of anything. My views on Anya and Xanya started neutral (like, I never shipped it but I never hated it) but I've drifted hard against both, especially with all the worshipful 'anya did nothing wrong ever' metas, or the ones about how Xander didn't deserve Anya, or etc, etc. Anya's stans really soured me on the character. But I never liked the ship, and I can't imagine what could have made me like it.

Giles/Jenny (Calendiles)

Ship it, I guess

1. It's cute

2. It's cute

3. It doesn't much matter to me, just basically 'meh'.

Angel/Kate Lockley (Lockangel)

Ship It

1. The potential dynamic is amazing. Kate is a really interesting, underused character, and the story could have been really good if we'd seen it, with Kate being super-guarded but also pushy in ways good and bad and Angel being his brooding socially awkward self. I really think it would have worked. There's a story here and I am interested in that story.

2. Kate? Is Kate a sufficient answer? I love Kate Lockley.

3. I am convinced that when Kate was first introduced, the plan was to have her be Angel's love interest, and that fan backlash from the Bangel shippers made them change course sometime before Season 2. I can't prove it, but I am convinced that's the case because otherwise the early stuff doesn't make sense

Send Me a Ship