#buffy summers you deserved so much better

[raisedbythetv89]

Willow getting treated with such tenderness and support after losing tara and her “magic addiction” because she committed violence against others vs Buffy who got NOTHING after losing angel twice, her mom, her own life and then life in heaven just to battle severe depression and capitalism as well as demons because the only violence she was committing was against herself with her own self hatred (shown in her relationship w/ both shadows faith and spike) doesn’t at all drive me to the ends of my sanity not even a little 😃👍🏻

[nevergonnabemuchmorethanweather]

It's actually pretty funny (funny stupid, not funny ha-ha) Giles left Buffy in s6 because he felt she was too dependent on him. As Buffy has shown again and again she already knew how to be independent and self-reliant (Walsh even said it herself), she was just so destroyed emotionally at that point she didn't know who else to turn to.

Oh, it's so much worse than that.

At the beginning of season 4, Giles tells Buffy she's an adult now and needs to be more independent. At the end of that same season, he throws a drunken tantrum because Spike points out that he's not in charge, Buffy is-- particularly pathetic, considering Buffy was calling most of the shots from season 2 at the absolute latest, and Spike at least had to lie to get the two nineteen year olds to act as ridiculous and childish as he did.

In season 5, Giles is thinking about leaving because Buffy doesn't need him anymore, but stays because she asks him to help her train more and go deeper into what being The Slayer really means. Then he does leave when she dies, leaving the Hellmouth and a deeply traumatized fifteen year old girl-- who was also the person Buffy loved most in the world-- to the care of a floundering group of twenty year olds, a lovesick vampire and a robot. But, you know, they can call him if they need him or whatever, and Buffy didn't specifically tell him to be the adult in her absence, so totally not an insanely selfish and irresponsible thing to do!

Then he comes back in season 6 because obviously Buffy will need him after being brought back to life, right? But then apparently she was supposed to stop needing him within just a few months and be not only fully recovered from her own death, but ready to be a completely independent homeowner and single mother to a teenager at twenty years old-- while also slaying and saving the world and all that.

In season 7 he tells her she needs to take charge and be a General-- until he doesn't like her decisions and actively undermines her, then participates in throwing her out of her own house.

This is what I meant by emotional cowardice and immaturity. Rather than face his own mid-life crisis, regrets and feelings of inadequacy, he pushes it all off onto Buffy. He's not running from his problems! Chronically dodging real responsibility? Not wise old Giles! Being a petty little bitch rather than face his emotions? Never! No, no, Buffy is the problem. If she would just find a way to be completely independent but also defer to him at all times, he wouldn't need to do these things.

I don't think I'll ever have it in me to truly dislike Giles as a character, and all this is part of what makes him interesting. He's not inherently good, and also nowhere near as wise or put together as he likes to pretend he is. He's a mess of a man, but he usually comes through in the end anyway, and is ultimately a force for good in the world when he could have just as easily become another Ethan-- and probably a much more effective one.

I do, however, often want to reach through the screen and slap the stupid out of him.

Thanks for the ask!

[coraniaid]

Fuffy + keepsake + tension + quiet

Okay, this ended up being long enough that I should probably put a read-more somewhere...

Faith knows that none of this is real, right from the start.  

That’s something, anyway.  A small kindness on behalf of whatever higher power it is that runs all this.  It means that waking up, when it’s over, won’t hurt quite so much.

In real life, she knows that she’s about a year into a minimum twenty five year sentence.  That right now she must be sleeping fitfully on a hard bed in a gray cell somewhere in Stockton.  In real life she’s exactly where she deserves to be: locked up in a cage, in the dark, somewhere not quite in the ordinary world.  Somewhere she can’t do any more damage.  

Because she did it, all of it, everything they thought to charge her with and more.  She killed a couple of people, hurt plenty more, and she’d have kept going if somebody hadn’t stopped her, one way or another.  She’d enjoyed it – at least at first – and she’d been good at it.  Better than she’d ever been at playing at being some kind of hero. 

For a while, she’d managed to persuade herself that it was what she was born to do.  That she was becoming what she’d always been meant to be.  And then, later, when she’d sunk too deep, it didn’t matter anymore whether she enjoyed it or not.  There was no way out by then except to plunge head down and drown.

In the dream though, she’s back in school and none of that has happened yet.  

This isn’t a school she’d ever been to as a student.  Not one of the several different high schools back in Boston that had passed her back and forth like a particularly unappetizing hot potato before she’d done them all a favor and dropped out.  Not the school her mom had only sometimes remembered she went to, the school where she’d learned that other kids could smell weakness on you like a sickness and if you weren’t rich and smart and popular you were either strong or you were nothing.

This is the school.  Her school.  Sunnydale High.  Not ruined yet, not rubble and debris, but whole and unbroken.

She’s in the library.  Both of them are.  It’s just the two of them, alone in all the world.  Sparring, the way they’d used to back then.  Wondering if the other girl felt the same tension in the air whenever one of them – usually not her, at least the way Faith remembers it – would end up on top of the other at the end of a fight, trying to wrestle the other girl into submission.  Trying to pretend she didn’t notice the way the other Slayer’s tank top would ride up her stomach when she worked out, or the way her skin shone like gold when she started to break a sweat.  Back to working up the courage to ask if, now that Blueberry Muffin Scott was out of the picture, the newly single Buffy Summers could be persuaded to let Faith tag along with her to that Homecoming thing she was so crazy about.

In real life, a part of her remembers, this isn’t exactly how this had played out.  It had been a school day for one thing, at least for everyone but her.  The middle of the afternoon, not hours after midnight.  There had been crowds of kids noisily swarming in the halls outside, talking and laughing and totally oblivious to how important this moment was.  This is different.  Quieter.  Better.  Just her and Buffy.  The Chosen Two.  The way it should have been.

It hurts, reliving this.  Hurts more than she thought it would. But maybe this is also what she deserves.  Maybe she deserves to be punished.

“We never did get to go to that stupid party together, did we?” she says sadly.  “Not really.”

She’d always meant to.ask Buffy, afterwards, when it was too late, if things might have been different if they had.  If Trick’s stupid scheme hadn’t spoiled things.  If Buffy had seen that Faith could get dressed up and sit quietly in a limo like a normal girl; that she could follow the rules and make smalltalk while she waited to be asked to dance.  If she’d seen her standing up for her and putting that asshole Scott in his place.  If Angel hadn’t been back from hell already, already Buffy’s little undead secret, her hidden rival for Buffy’s attention and affection somehow winning without ever realizing he was in a fight.

But she hadn’t really ever been good, had she?  Hadn’t followed the rules.  That’s why she’s rotting in the dark in North California tonight and dreaming empty dreams about the past, not wherever Buffy really is.  Why she’s not where Buffy needs her to be.  That’s why she doesn’t get to ask that kind of question.

And maybe it’s why this dream memory of Buffy doesn’t even deign to answer the question she did ask.  Just smiles at her, politely, slightly puzzled, like what she said didn’t make any sense but it’d be rude to spell that out.

Maybe it didn’t.  Maybe this is one of those nightmares where she can’t even speak.  Where she keeps begging for forgiveness but can’t even get through that that’s what she wants.

Her stomach hurts most of all: an old, familiar ache.  Just nerves, she thinks at first, until she touches the place the pain is worse and feels something wet and hot and sticky.  Sees the dark stain spreading over the library floor where she's been standing.

“Damn,” she says wonderingly, looking down at the blood.  “I thought it had stopped doing that.”

At least the bleeding gets Buffy’s attention.

“Can I…?”

Buffy crouches down in front of her while Faith takes a seat.  Pulls her shirt away from her skin, gingerly.   Runs a finger slowly across her scar.  Gently, thoughtfully, almost fondly.  She doesn’t seem to notice the blood, or the way it stains her.  The way it sticks to her, red and vital and indelible.  Maybe she just doesn’t care anymore.  She looks up at Faith, green eyes wide and trusting.

“Does it hurt?” she asks.

Faith hesitates, but not for long. The bleeding seems to be stopping again anyway.

“Yeah,” she admits, because this is only a dream,  “Sometimes.  A little.”

“That’s good,” Buffy says, voice still gentle.  Expression still calm and innocent.  “You deserved this.”

She says it simply, like it’s just a fact.  Without any malice or anger at all.  And it is a fact, isn’t it?  Faith nods.  She did.  She does.

“Besides,” Buffy says, fingers still resting on Faith’s stomach.  On the place she’d slid the knife in two years ago.  “I think the scar suits you.  Something to remember me by once I’ve moved on.”

There's an echo there, of something Faith had said once herself, a long time ago.  When she was lost and flailing and drowning.  When she thought she was going to … but no, she thinks.  She won’t let herself finish that thought.

“Yeah, well, as keepsakes go I’ve gotta say it’s pretty crappy,” she grumbles.  “You couldn’t leave me one of your old stakes or something?”

Buffy shakes her head, absently wiping her hands clean on one of the books spread out casually on the table her friends all used to pile around for their secret little meetings.  Faith glances around, nervously, half sure that Giles is going to loom out of the shadows and throw a fit when he sees what they’re up to.

“I don’t exactly think they’d let you keep something like that where you are, Faith,” the other Slayer says, a little reprovingly.  Just like she used to do whenever Faith said anything wrong. 

Why can’t you be different? that voice says, even if this Buffy doesn’t.  Why can’t you try harder?  Buffy isn’t like Faith.  Half the time she doesn’t even want to be a Slayer.  She likes listening to her Watcher and worrying about tests and doing what she’s told and she’s never, ever going to joke about giving Faith a weapon again.

“Right,” Faith says, properly abashed.  “I guess I forgot.”

She hadn’t, not really, but it’s easier to pretend.  Not that Buffy seems to care.  She frowns, glances at her stake, suddenly in her hand.  Faith’s sure it wasn’t there a moment ago.

“Besides,” she says, “This one isn’t really mine to give you.”

Faith nods.  It was hers, wasn’t it?  The other one.  The girl who died.  The Slayer who she never met; the one who was supposed to exist between them.  Something had passed from Buffy to her, and then been passed back from her to Buffy.  Leaving Faith cut off, isolated.  A neglected offshoot.  A mistake.

“You never told me about her,” she says.

It’s not quite an accusation.  Not quite a simple statement of fact either.  She only remembers hearing her name said out loud once, in all the time she’d spent in Sunnydale.  Kendra.  Kendra the Vampire Slayer, who’d died less than a year after being Called.  

“You never asked,” Buffy answers quietly, a little uncertainly.  “And it was too …”

“... painful,” Faith finishes for her.  “Yeah.  I get that, now.”

Put like that, she supposes she and Buffy have both had a pretty good run.  Almost a decade, between the two of them.  More than most Slayers get.  More than a lot of ordinary people who don’t even get to enjoy the whole superpowers side of things ever get.  But nothing lasts forever, does it?  All they can do is delay the inevitable.

She has another memory, suddenly.  A moment she’d almost forgotten.  Her first night at Buffy’s place.  Having dinner; the first home cooked meal she’d eaten in God knows how long.  Pretending she couldn’t hear Buffy and her Mom quietly arguing in the kitchen.  That her Slayer senses didn’t let her hear Joyce tell Buffy that she didn’t want her daughter to die, or Buffy’s unwitting admission that she already had.  Remembers locking eyes with Buffy’s kid sister – who hadn’t stopped staring at her with a kind of quiet awe all night – and hoping her ears weren’t so sharp.  Helping herself to some of Buffy’s spare fries and winking at the kid while she did it.  Like they were partners in crime now.  Co-conspirators.

She’s never going to talk to Joyce or Dawn again either, she supposes.  Can’t exactly blame them for that.  Not after what she did.  She hopes they’re both doing okay though, back in Sunnydale.  Hopes that the world’s been kinder to them than she was.  But she guesses that that’s another sort of question she doesn’t have the right to ask Buffy.  Still, she–

A sudden noise surprises her.  A bell ringing, somewhere outside.  Shrill, demanding.  A summoning.  Not for her, of course – hell, Faith doesn’t even go to this school – but for the real Slayer.  For Buffy.

“I have to go,” Buffy tells her, almost like an apology.

Faith has a feeling she’s missing something important.

“To class?” she asks.

It’s the wrong question.  She knows that, even before the other girl shakes her head.  They’re both a little too old for high school, aren’t they?  Neither of them are kids anymore.  And somehow, without Faith noticing, Buffy’s changed out of the clothes she was wearing while they sparred.  Now she’s dressed in white; in an outfit that changes every time Faith looks at it.  First a dress, the sort Faith can imagine her wearing to Prom or to some other kind of high school dance, then a soft white cardigan over comfortable light gray pants like her Mom might have worn once, then a long white jacket stained with dust and ash and soot.  

“If …” Buffy starts, frowns, corrects herself.  “When you meet the new girl,  tell her …” 

The older Slayer shrugs.  Smiles ruefully, a little bit embarrassed.

“I dunno.  I haven’t figured it all out yet.  Just make up something cool.  You were always good at that, right?”

Her tone is more playful than pointed, but Faith can’t help but flinch a little.  Yeah, she’d told all kinds of dumb, bullshit stories when they’d first met, hadn’t she?  Desperate to make everyone think she was fun and exciting and interesting; to make the infamous Buffy Summers think that maybe she was going to have a little competition now.  To make her think she was worthy.  That she deserved to be alive when her Watcher and everyone she’d ever been supposed to protect was dead.  To convince her – convince herself – that they could even begin to be equals.  Of course Buffy had seen through that.  Of course she’d known they weren’t.

“You know me, B,” she says weakly.

She does.  She always has.  That was at least half the problem, wasn’t it?  No matter how cunning she thought she was being, she could never fool Buffy for long.

Now Buffy looks at her, and she sees her – every aspect of her, even the broken and ugly parts, the rotting and wrong parts she’d always thought she was able to hide – and Faith thinks that, in the way she only ever will do in dreams, she accepts her.  The real Buffy would have judged her, again.  Found her wanting. Asked her why she couldn’t just be perfect like Sunndale’s own Little Miss Sunshine.  

But this Buffy is different.  She looks at her, considers. Decides.  Leans forward, slowly, and kisses her gently on the forehead, the way that the real Buffy never did and never would have done.  It’s not forgiveness, exactly.  Faith knows that she doesn’t deserve that; knows that she never will.  Not even from a memory.  Not even in a dream. 

It’s something close though.  Call it acknowledgment, maybe.  Call it recognition.  Understanding.  An admission, finally, that Faith wasn’t crazy to think that they could be the same.  That they could have been the same, if only Faith had–

The bell rings again.  Louder, this time.  More insistent.  Buffy touches Faith’s shoulder, gently, just once.  A parting gesture.  Takes a step back, eyes never leaving hers.

“Be brave, Faith,” she tells her.  “Be better.”

Then she’s gone.  Slipping through the twin library doors like a pale ghost before Faith can respond.  They swing shut behind her, somehow locking closed again as they do.  The sound they make echoes throughout the library, hard and heavy and forever.

When Faith manages to force the doors open and stagger outside – before she even has time to wonder if the library doors always led right to the front of the school like this – she can tell at once that Buffy is gone.  No matter how hard she looks, there’s no sign of the other Slayer.  No flash of blonde hair or white clothing in the distance.  No sign of anybody else at all.  Just clear sidewalks and abandoned cars as far as the eye can see.  Deserted houses and abandoned playgrounds and other quiet, empty places. For the first time in nearly three whole years – for the first time since she was Called – she’s completely and totally alone.  But the sun is creeping over the horizon and the sky is full of birds.

[trealtox]

I hate season 7 of "Buffy the vampire slayer"

Let's get this straight, I like these series. They are fun and entertaining (and I only started watching it because of Spuffy). But I HATE season 7.

First of all, what is the deal with those guys? Out of the blue all characters (Spike excluded. Love him❤️) start doubting Buffy and her leadership. This girl saved all of you hundreds of times, and when the world is on the edge of collapsing, you turn your backs on her?! If she's such a bad leader, then why did you put all the responsibility on her shoulders? Why did you bring her back from heaven? To tell her, that she's not better than you? I'm sorry guys, but your crew is: a whining bitch-boy, magic (read as 'drug') addicted witch, a blorb of energy, a former vengeance demon and a killer watcher. With your list of deeds, I have bad news for you: none of you goes to heaven. NONE. She IS better than you.

Second of all, what is their sudden problem with Spike? In the last season all Scoobies want to kill Spike and say that it's because he's dangerous. Well, he is. Just like all of you. Your killer count talks louder than you (he killed because he was souless and he feeds on blood. You killed because you could. There is difference). They keep saying that he should be taken out because he is dangerous, and yet remind me, who held him by their side while he was useful? And did Scoobies thank him even once? (I actually don't remember. Tell me, if they did) Buffy is the only person who actually tries to be reasonable and accept that Spike has changed. In return she gets a potential slayer,a school headmaster and her own father figure being all mad at her, saying that she is the problem. If you want to kill him so badly, just do it already and stop making Buffy responsible for your own wishes (not like I would forgive them if they did)

Point number 3. Again with the hypocrisy of Scoobies. Faith comes back, sees that girls can't stop complaining and decides to take them out clubbing. Buffy sees that and gets mad (logically). Later on everyone decides that Faith should be the new leader. Why? Why would a former killer and a traitor be a good leader? Because she took a bunch of teens drinking, when you should all be ready to fight? If I recall, it was almost considered a crime for Buffy to rest, when there were better times. Now, when Buffy is tired and stressed from constant responsibility, all the potential slayers say that she's "not cool". Scoobies just can't be more hypocritical. Faith killed people out if her own free will. She teamed up with a villain, and she enjoyed it. Buffy made one mistake of attacking one villain. What do Scoobies get out of that? "Buffy is not better than us. Faith is. 🎶Let's put this guy infront of the crowd🎶". And let's be honest with that: Giles acts petty in here. The only reason he stands against Buffy, is because she got sick of him lying to her and telling her to kill Spike, so she honestly told him that she can't trust any of them. He got offended by her disobedience so much, that he decided to get rid of her. That's not a nice thing to do to a girl who is like a daughter to you.

Btw, Faith deserves a second chance and Spike doesn't? Spike was SOULESS. He wasn't supposed to be good and yet he almost died just to be the better version of himself. At the same time Faith was supposed to be the protector of people, yet she decided to join the homicide. She was creepy enough to SMELL THE KNIFE. And yet we get a whole storyline about "bad Buffy still thinking of her as a killer." The hero we deserve, I suppose? Btw, Faith IS a killer. She enjoyed it. I don't know why Scoobies want to forgive her so badly and give her a bunch of teens, taken away from Buffy, but they don't trust Spike.

And my favourite. The cherry on top. THEY KICKED HER OUT OF HER OWN HOUSE. Giles had his own place. Xander has his own place. Willow wasn't homeless before she moved into the Summers's house. And yet, when they needed a place to put all the potential slayers, they took them into Buffy's house. And then they kick her out. The "good guys".

Buffy needs no enemies with friends like that.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, December 31, Part II

[Fandom Discussions]

My Top Fives of 2024 by veronyxk84

Adventdrabbles 2024 — Wrap-Up Masterpost by veronyxk84

2024 Year in Review by [personal profile] veronyxk84

okay. Finished Buffy. Moving on to the Willow comics and ao3. by oddly-informed-raven

season 6 btvs is actually pretty cathartic to me by rorykillmore

did wesley actually have a job at sunnydale high by officialrapunzelfitzherbert

like if i choose to believe that what happens in the oz and lady werewolf episode by zammis22, lesbianmarrow

thought about how cordelia chase deserved better in the angel series by pinknnight

“Butch Awakening” BTVS Dream Storytime ft. Spike by livelaughlesbian00

While Riley, Xander, and Lindsey all read very much as repressed bisexuals, it’s important to note that they’re all three different flavors of repressed bisexuals. by riley-summers

BTVS RANT!!! by ahsokasrightlightsaber

The fact Buffy had to work her ass off to pay the bills and bring food at home, while Willow and Tara did absolutely nothing to help her (DESPITE LIVING IN THAT HOUSE TOO), will always frustate me. by tvserie-s-world

Kendra the Vampire Slayer by ineffablecho

I know that the idea that Amy Madison is secretly in love with Willow is not canon. by coraniaid

continuing on my ats watch, we got to waiting in the wings, and… y'know, I’m a little bit confused with myself as to why I disliked that episode so much by camellcat

Why did Giles think it was a good idea to leave Buffy? by BuffyBot22

Did Buffy actually enjoy it? by FallenAngel00

What makes a crucifix a crucifix fit to harm vampires? by ChemistAlert9149

Angel isn't much angstier than Spike by brwitch

Thoughts on Season 8? by ATH3NA01

What happen if Riley not go? by FoxIndependent4310

Angel being a doting dad to baby Connor in season three by jdpm1991

Give me something to sing about! by ATH3NA01

Cordelia's worst nightmare! by Intelligent-Day-5954

This scene gets me every time. by Dial_M_Media

When Buffy admitted this in the musical episode was it heart breaking to anyone else? by Femme_fatale83

What is the reason Spike could hit Buffy? by Pitiful-Talk-7798

s1e12 noob question by Parking_Particular48

Favourite line by Unimatrix_Zero_One

Giles and Cordelia had a side friendship that nobody noticed by AmbitiousOutside7498

What’s something you wish had happened on Buffy but didn’t? by shukii89

Angel and Cordelia s4 madness by ProfessionalLake5369

How well would YOU fare in a world without Buffy (or by whose hand/fangs would you die)? by RPGOwl

unironically the most unbearable scenes on the show by thunpnz

The Holy Trilogy of BtVS has to be Hush, The Body, and OMWF, right? by FunetikPrugresiv

What is something in the Buffyverse you feel was a bit of a cop out? by sadhungryandvirgin

Seeing Red- flashbacks by Noillucs

Why did Faith take so long to recover from a coma? by FaveStore_Citadel

Spike's Sensual Dance and Micro Expressions... by Key-Spot2478

What's an important scene in the Buffyverse that absolutely had to happen given the circumstances? by PristineSituation498

who signed off on this? by ParkingComfort1597

Once More with Feeling on cable tv by sj_vandelay

After life by jengafat

When Buffy gets turned into a rat by Familiar_Recover8112

Something I just noticed about Amy by Impossible_Refuse_47

I started reading In Every Generation by Kendare Blake and loving it! by Pitiful-Talk-7798

Disturbing villan here. Always something new and crazy in Buffy by AggressiveBuddy6703

Had one of the Scoobies been sired by a vampire, would Buffy have tried to slay them or restore their souls by dreadful_name

Is there anyone in Buffy verse that can beat Ilyria? by Early_Bar01

How Old Were All the Main Cast Members and Joss When the Show Started? by Traditional-Sort2385

How would the First becoming corporeal work? by Early_Bar01

What should have happened after this scene by shadow_spinner0

Once More With Feeling... by Witty_Queen

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

PODCAST: by

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PUBLICATION: [PDF download] "A Vast Becoming": Queer Sexualities in Sarah Gailey's Vampire Slayer Comics by Lewis Call in Slayage: The International Journal of Buffy+ 22.1 [59] Summer/Fall 2024

PUBLICATION: [PDF download] From Bloody Bad Poetry to the Duende: William's Transformation in the Buffyverse by Kelly Le in Slayage: The International Journal of Buffy+ 22.1 [59] Summer/Fall 2024

PUBLICATION: [PDF download] “I’ll (Never) Tell”: Emotions, Dance Numbers, and Hidden Truths in “Once More, with Feeling” and “Subspace Rhapsody” by Carey Millsap-Spears in Slayage: The International Journal of Buffy+ 22.1 [59] Summer/Fall 2024

PUBLICATION: [PDF download] Embrasse le bibliothécaire, mais ferme la Bouche de l'Enfer : « une grande histoire d’aspiration » [French translation of the 2001 article Kiss the Librarian, But Close the Hellmouth: “It’s Like a Whole Big Sucking Thing”] by Kevin McNeilly, Christina Sylka, and Susan Fisher in Slayage: The International Journal of Buffy+ 22.1 [59] Summer/Fall 2024

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[yall-hate-kids-tourney]

Dawn Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

(cw abduction)

She's the classic "people are annoyed because she acts like a teen" character. There's a variety of spoiler reasons why people feel this way, but they are wrong to hate her as a whole. She introduced interesting conflict, and is a fun character to contrast the college aged cast around her. She's a babby and deserves the world despite the world constantly traumatizing her

-

Dawn could have burned down a couple of buildings and id still be like you know what that’s fair. She learned she really only existed for about a year and then her mom dies and then her sister dies in her place and then her sister comes back but she’s different and all distant. Then the only other parental like figure who helped take care of her while her sister was dead dies. Just a whole lot of life changing things happening in like two years. 

-

Oh man, this poor girl has it so rough. She gets accused of being whiny and annoying (which she kinda is. in like. one episode.), but she's been through so much! She was created from a glowing ball of green energy and given fake memories of being Buffy's sister, then she goes through the trauma of finding out she's "not real" and watching both her mom and sister die within a few months of each other... but some people still think she's annoying, I guess. 

-

Dawn is brought into being as 13 year old girl. Unlike the rest of the main cast she is played by an age appropriate actress and acts the most like an actual teen would. Within her first year of existence her mom gets brain cancer, seems to get better and then suddenly dies anyway after they all thought she was out of the woods, Dawn finds out her entire existence and all her memories are fake because she’s a cosmic key made to look and act like a teenage girl so her chosen one sister would protect her, she gets kidnapped, her close family friend gets feeble minded trying to protect her, and then her chosen one older sister dies to save Dawn’s life. In her second year of existence she manages to bring her sister back from the grave only to have her sister become horribly depressed while also having to give up her education and take whatever job she can get because she’s basically Dawn’s single parent now. Dawn reacts fairly normally for someone who goes from the slightly spoiled younger sibling to a massive source of pain and trauma for herself and everyone around her. If anything the show doesn’t give the time and focus necessary beyond a couple of episodes to do this storyline properly. Of course she’s annoying, younger siblings usually are. Of course she makes bad decisions, NO ONE IS CHECKING IN WITH HER ABOUT ANY OF THIS AND THE ONLY PROPER ADULT IN HER LIFE FUCKED OFF TO TEACH HER SISTER A LESSON ABOUT BOOTSTRAPS.

[hersterical]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[iwillrememberyoumarathon]

Bangel fans, we want to hear from you! During the run-up to the IWRY Fic Marathon in November, we’ll be getting to know each other through our Meet the Fandom series. Answer the questions here to join in.

What is your name?

Lea

Where do you hang out?

Tumblr: @liam-summers

Podcast: Investigating Angel Podcast

Instagram: @investigatingangelpodcast

Do you create any fan works?

I make gifs and I co-host an Angel The Series rewatch podcast called Investigating Angel Podcast (sister pod to Becoming Buffy podcast) 😊

Funniest Bangel/Buffyverse moment?

"I'm a funny guy 😑" and anytime Buffy and Angel put their best bitch faces on to let people know that they don't have time for them 🤭

What Buffyverse opinion would have you chased through the village with pitchforks?

Cordelia is not loved by me 🫣

I don't hate her and I don't love her…I'm mostly indifferent toward her, and at times very annoyed. I will say though, I do feel badly about the way her character was treated and she did deserve a better arc.

Share a headcanon you have about Bangel or the Buffyverse?

That Buffy and Angel sometimes sneak off to see each other at that place in the middle (you know THE place) and they've done it since he left, although not often but when they really need it 💗

How would you have given Buffy and Angel their Happily Ever After?

Post NFA, Angel shows up at Buffy's doorstep in Rome and she takes him in. They get to know each other again, they fall into a comfortable routine of patrolling and training slayers and hanging out with their friends and travelling Europe, they find themselves inevitably drawn to each other but they try to take it slow. That lasts about 2 weeks. They ask Willow to fix the curse. She does. They get all up on each other and live happily ever after. THE END.

Basically, put them in the same city and they’ll end up all up on each other very quickly lol

(Ideally Angel Shanshu's and is human but even if he wasn't, I think they could have some variation of a happy life together for whatever time they have)

Last fic you read?

The Mature Plan by Maren

Slay, Lay, Obey - Cordelia, Spike, Warren?

Slay: Warren because I can't let this man exist in the world. For women ✊🏻

Lay: Spike because what else is he really good for? He's not allowed to talk to me though.

Obey: Cordelia cause she has her shit together but might slay myself if she nags me too much

Fill in the quiz so the fandom can meet you!

[nattensijus]

8 shows to get to know me better tagged by @babygirlgiles

buffy the vampire slayer (everyone who knows me knows how much i am OBSESSED with btvs and buffy summers i bring her up in every conversation <3)

doctor who ( i love this show so much. rewired my brain chemistry. if i ever go a day without saying u know this reminds of something that happened in doctor who and then i proceed to ramble about dw for five to ten minutes know i have been switched out. i feel sooooo normal about this show <3)

angel ( in my actually ats is a great show era. it’s not but i love it so much so that makes up for it right????? it doesnt deserve the brainrot it causes me but WELL. i love it in spite of its creator)

fleabag  ( do i even NEED to say anything about fleabag !!!!!!!!! possibly best show created in the 21st century.) 

succession ( i reference this show every day it’s the thing that consistently makes me feel better without fail every time i feel bad i love this show SO much)  

the good place ( if you haven’t cried out your entire SOUL and every fluid in your body don’t even talk to me)

agent carter (my introduction to marvel!!! peggy carter will forever be my favourite marvel character)

hart of dixie (this show has HEALING powers!!!!!)

precious mention to every sit com ever <3 i love new girl i love you parks & rec i love you modern family i love u b99 etc etc

[unendingwanderlust]

AO3 Wrapped 2024 (where the only number you'll see is my word count) let's gooooo! Questions from here. Answers and director's commentary below the cut.

Last year's AO3 wrapped here.

Words published this year: 190,435

Most written rating: Explicit

Most written category: a whooping 27 F/M fics, followed by M/M (14), and F/F and Gen (12 each)

Most written fandom: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth

Most written relationships:

Rupert Giles/Buffy Summers (10)

Thranduil/Thranduil's Wife (5) and Thranduil/Original Female Character(s) (4) (Listing them together because they're the same relationship)

Gimli/Legolas, Sigrid/Tauriel, Fingon/Maedhros, Maglor (Tolkien)/Original Female Character(s) (3)

I've technically written 11 Buffy/Giles fics this year, if you count this one that was only posted on tumblr.

Top 5 characters written:

Buffy Summers, Original Female Character(s) (12)

Thranduil (11)

Rupert Giles (10)

Maglor, Maedhros, Legolas (9)

Thranduil's Wife (6)

Someone participated in Tolkien OC week and it shows...

Favourite additional tags (eg. hurt/comfort):

Romance (19)

Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot (16)

Humor, Fluff (15)

Cunnilingus, Anal Sex (12)

Established Relationship, Vaginal Sex (11)

Greatest Hits (AKA top 5 by Hits):

To Lose Oneself In Elven Song (Gimli/Legolas, E, 42,566 words). Gimli recognizes that Legolas is his One in Rivendell. Cue every stage of grief known to dwarf, man, and elf.

The Red Book (Bilbo/Thorin, E, 4,907 words). Thorin reads Bilbo's account of the quest of Erebor. It's... inaccurate, to say the least. And very spicy.

Above The Clouds (Fingon/Maedhros, E, 1,042 words). Fingon has an oral fixation and a huge crush on Maedhros. It goes exactly the way you'd expect.

These Cravings In The Night (Fingon/Maedhros, E, 1,338 words). Maedhros returns from Angband as a werewolf. Fingon digs that.

4 Expert Tips To Help You Survive Your Boring Family Vacation! (Maedhros/Indis, E, 7,841 words). Maedhros has the hots for his step-grandma. Indis can tell. Features Huan being the best boy, dramatic Maglor, and hungover Celegorm swearing off alcohol forever (or at least for the rest of the century).

Favourite fic you wrote (+why if u want): AKA me crying in the club while I try to choose my 5 favorite children. The rest of my fics look at me judgmentally for not picking them. In no particular order:

Rise To Set The World Aflame (Buffy/Dragon!Giles, E, 434 words). A Medieval Fantasy AU that I really hope to expand in the coming year. Giles is the dragon Buffy was ordered to slay by the Council... but she ended up laying falling in love with him instead.

Fragile (Vampire!Gimli/Legolas, E, 708 words). A hot secret affair develops between Gimli and Legolas during the Quest. However, the cherry on top of all the typical gigolas conflicts is that Gimli is a newly turned vampire and Legolas is the Slayer's son. This is another oneshot I'm hoping to expand on.

Where The Heart Is (Too many relationships to list here, M, WIP). What started as a quick character study for my OC Elvenqueen snowballed way beyond my control. This fic has it all: Fëanorion drama, dark magic used with good intentions, questionable medical practices, exploration of the different cultures of Middle-earth, and quite a bit of criticism of LaCE for a LaCE-compliant fic.

Make me happy (and I again shall be virtuous) (Thranduil/Thranduil's Wife, E, 5,324 words). I just love how my OC for Thranduil's Wife has developed so much that I get to put her in an AU and her characterization makes perfect sense. Also, this fic features Thranduil in skimpy lingerie of his own making.

Gilesbot’s New Feature (Not A Bug!) (Buffybot/Gilesbot, E, 975 words). Buffybot deserved so much better, so she gets a cute bot boyfriend. Their relationship is really fluffy and sweet and I love this for them. Features really corny sexy vampire/Slayer roleplay!

Favourite paragraph(s) you wrote: Legolas and Gimli's first meeting in To Lose Oneself In Elven Song. The entire scene feels kind of fairytale-like to me, but specifically this part:

In the clearing, an elf sat on lush grass with his back propped up against a tree. The entire world around him awakened with the beauty and might in his voice; it filled with color and life. Little birds, squirrels, and rabbits formed a circle around him, a captivated audience to his concert.

And, oh, such beauty! How could one face hold such divinity, as if it were ivory lovingly carved by the hands of Eru Ilúvatar Himself? The elf's hair flowed down his shoulders like mithril and gold, and the radiance of his smile could overpower the sun!

(Gimli doesn't just pine, he's the entire damn forest)

Favourite dialogue snippet you wrote: A tough choice to make because I have many candidates in mind, but whenever I read this from Celegorm's perspective, it makes me giggle (x):

Laergliriel turned towards the cabin’s interior and called, “Míri! Russo peed on the carpet again!”

Celegorm opened and closed his mouth, contemplating his words. After what felt like an eternity of awkward staring at each other in silence, he asked, “I take it that this is a… common behavior for him?”

Just then, Maedhros bolted to her side. “They are not talking about me! Míri just named her new cat Russo because she hates me.”

WIP ideas for next year: Continuing last year's tradition, let's just do a top 5:

Buffy/Giles AU in which they're two regular people living in Sunnydale and all hell breaks loose around them. (The Slayer is Kendra.)

My beloved Gimli/Legolas Silent Hill AU! A preview lives in this tag, and I plan to share more.

Arranged and Rearranged should get a new installment because it's fun. (Any guesses on which Fëanorion Elwing and Eärendil get to bang?)

An in-universe research paper on elven cannibalism in the context of Melkor worship. Yes, you heard that right. Lindaeareth is on nerd duty and Elrond is about to have a terrible time.

A multi-chapter sequel to Glory Days, Long Passed and All The Way From The Start. It's got much more plot than its predecessors, including shy background post-reembodiment Russingon, Gimli charming every elf in sight, Maglor's daughter being the literal devil's advocate... and Thranduil's wife being newly released from prison after serving a 15-year sentence. No one knows what her crime was, and every time someone asks, she gives them something ridiculous ("Break-in at the art museum. No, I didn't want to steal a painting- I just wanted to put a specific one in the storage. It's an eyesore, trust me". "I was a political prisoner because I supported the Gingerbread King during the coup! Oh, the price a lady must pay for sticking to her ideals!". "I stole the cheese factory's entire supply. I'm telling you, my midnight cravings get intense!". "I stabbed the tooth fairy. Stingy bitch only gave me one coin for my tooth when it was clearly worth at least five!"). Thranduil doesn't want to pry. Maglor figures it out in 0.2 seconds.

What you learned from writing this year: Everyone should write something completely self-indulgent and insane. Just for the fun of it. It's so liberating!

BONUS: Updates on last year's WIP list: Find it here.

[raisedbythetv89]

I was watching the commentary for “Reptile Boy” and ya know that rare great friendship moment of Willow’s where she yells at Angel and Giles for how they’re treating Buffy?

David Greenwalt said that was actually about Willow being angry Buffy lied to Giles and shirked her responsibilities and wasn’t doing what she was supposed to be doing and so then she also had to lie to giles so it’s not even that she was actually upset on behalf of Buffy that was just a socially acceptable way for her to vent her anger AT BUFFY in that moment when she had finally reached her breaking point

I have never liked willow except for my first watch through until I got to season 6 after seeing how she behaved when Buffy had real needs of her own and couldn’t perform for her and the scoobies anymore it cast all her behavior in a different light and I realized all the early warning signs that were present from the very beginning and while this revelation doesn’t surprise me because it’s extremely on brand for Willow to be a performatively good friend with secret selfish motivations the awareness the writers had of this did surprise me because that means the men like david and joss gave their hero selfish shitty friends very intentionally and knowingly where as I previously believed they weren’t aware and they of course MEANT to give her good friends but them being shitty people weren’t actually capable of doing so consistently and successfully but no. They were in fact completely aware how selfish and self serving willow and xander were the whole time and just kept letting them get away with terrible shit while crucifying Buffy for every little thing.

[coraniaid]

I don't know how it's possible to watch Season 3 of Buffy and not notice that Buffy Summers is  consistently the one character most willing to come to Faith's defense, both before and after Allan Finch dies.

I mean, yes, I understand how in-universe it's possible for Faith to not notice this.  It's very natural that she doesn’t: Faith's a traumatized teenager with literally no support system.  She isn’t used to anybody else believing in her or caring about her. 

She’s somebody who is always willing to believe the worst of others (“all men are beasts”, “nine times out of ten the face [a person] is showing you is not the real one”).  And her own sense of self-worth is very fragile and deeply intertwined with her relationship with Buffy, fluctuating wildly between "I am better than everyone else (because I am a Slayer like Buffy)" and "every parental figure I've ever had has told me I was stupid and worthless and they were right (I will never be as good as Buffy)".  

So it's easy for her to interpret Buffy's overtures of friendship as rejections of a deeper connection, to take her suggestions that they should work together as judgments that Faith isn't good enough on her own and that she needs to act more like Buffy.

(And ... okay, yes, it’s also true that sometimes Buffy does judge Faith, and she does think Faith would be better off being at least a little bit more like her.  I think it’s clear that Buffy does care about Faith, and wants to protect her, but I don't think Buffy's perfect.  She's often afraid to express herself clearly or talk about her feelings, especially after what happened with Angelus in Season 2, and she does have a definite inclination to assume she knows best and that other people should just listen to her without question. She's a traumatized teenager too, even if that's not always quite so obvious.)

And crucially, Faith doesn't get to see Buffy defending her when she isn't around.

But the audience?  We do get to see that.  We see how much Buffy believes in Faith and how her first instinct is almost always to stick up for her.

We see it at the end of the first episode Faith appears in, when Buffy is talking to Giles about their fight with Kakistos.

Buffy: "[Faith] really came through in the end.   She had a lot to deal with, but she did it.  She got it behind her."

-- S3E03 | Faith, Hope & Trick

(This is also, as the episode makes clear, an example of Buffy comparing herself to Faith and deciding that she needs to follow the other Slayer’s example.  Which is something that Faith is convinced never happens.  But it does: when Faith isn’t there to see it.)

And after their fight in Revelations, we see Buffy admitting to Xander and Willow that she worries about Faith and wants to include her in the group more:

Xander: "How come Faith was a no show?"

Buffy: "Couldn't reach her ... again.  She hasn't been hanging out much."

Xander: "I detect worry."

Buffy; "A little bit.  Slaying's a rough gig."

-- S3E09 | The Wish

After Finch dies, Buffy is the one to tell Angel that Faith wants to be helped, and urge him not to give up on her:

Buffy: "How's she doing? ... You'll keep trying, right? ... I'll just go to Faith's and I'll get some of her stuff.  That way she'll see that we're on her side."

Angel: "Look, I don't want to get your hopes up, Buffy.  She may not want us to help her."

Buffy: "She does.  She just doesn't know how to say it."

-- S3E15 | Consequences

And at the end of the same episode, Buffy is again the one to persuade Giles that Faith’s actions in saving her from Trick show she deserves a chance at rehabilitation:

Buffy: "She could have left me there to die, Giles, but she didn't. ... I'm not gonna give up on her."

-- S3E15 | Consequences

And in the following episode, we see Buffy defend Faith to Willow and again talk about how similar they are.

Buffy: "[Faith] had it rough.  Different circumstances, that could be me."

-- S3E16 | Doppelgangland

And a couple of episodes later, when Buffy's attempting to talk herself out of the fear that Angel might be cheating on her with Faith, it's Faith who she tells herself wouldn't betray her, not the vampire she's actually dating.

Buffy: I went to Angel's last night and Faith was there.  They looked sort of intimate.

Willow: No way.  I know what you're thinking and no way.

Buffy:  You're right.  Faith would never do that.

-- S3E17 | Enemies

Even later on in the same episode, when Faith's actual collusion with the Mayor is revealed, Buffy's first reaction is to make excuses for her and then to implore her to listen to her:

Buffy: You don't know what you're doing ... Faith, listen to me ... I never knew you had so much rage in you.

-- S3E17 | Enemies

It's only after all of that that Buffy seems prepared to give up on Faith, and only in Graduation Day when Angel's life is on the line that she's actually willing to hurt her (earlier, in Choices, she’s still talking about ‘capturing’ Faith).  And when she does stab Faith, and Faith falls from the roof, seemingly to her death, it’s obvious from her reaction that Buffy immediately regrets this.  Even if she didn’t think she had any other choice, it isn’t how she wanted things to happen.

So honestly it kind of baffles me when I see people agreeing with the take that Buffy’s focus on how Faith might be feeling, when she hears that she’s woken up in This Year’s Girl, and her apparent hope that Faith might regret her past actions and want to change, is somehow something new.  That it isn’t perfectly in keeping with how Buffy’s always felt about Faith.  Or even that the idea of being willing to give people a second chance is something Buffy had to learn from Angel.

Because no, sorry, that's just totally backwards: Angel himself learned all that from Buffy.  

(Also, just logistically ... how would Buffy have learned anything from Angel at this point in Season 4 that she didn't already know back in Season 3, when – from her point of view, at least – she's barely spoken to him since he broke up with her and left town last season?)

Not just in regards to Faith, either, but the whole idea of needing to keep fighting for people and not give up on them, and how you have to keep doing that every day? Angel's whole mission statement (both the character and the show)? That's literally all taken from a speech Buffy gives Angel in Amends.  The show is very clear on this: it's Buffy who teaches Angel to be a better person, not the other way around.

[spuffybot]

As a Buffy fan, I’ve enjoyed your blog for a while. Just curious, have you checked out vampire diaries as well? I’ve finally watched it, and it has a lot of similarities to spuffy.

Hi! First of all, thank you so much, this made my day.

Now, have I seen TVD? ABSOLUTELY! Delena is one of my top 5 favorite ships of all time and I agree, there are so many parallels to BTVS.

For me the obvious parallels are Damon = Spike, Stefan = Angel, Caroline = Cordelia, Elena = Buffy, Alaric = Giles, Tyler = Oz, Bonnie = Willow, Jeremy = Dawn, Matt = Xander, Aunt Jenna = Jenny Calendar, and of course, losing your humanity = losing your soul.

Julie Plec was a huge fan and when you combine her love of Buffy with Kevin Williamson’s brilliant knack for teen drama (Scream, Dawsons Creek, I Know What You Did Last Summer, the man is iconic) you get something so addictive and brilliant.

There’s so many storylines inspired by Buffy and even though it can be flawed at times (Bonnie deserved better) that is one of my favorite shows and ultimate comfort shows.

I have a Delena side blog @delena-devoted but I’m terrible about posting there.

Thanks for saying hey 🖤

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Thursday, August 29

Buffy: I You guys seem down with the slayage, all tricked out with your walkies and everything. Cordelia: Yeah, but the outfits suck. This whole Rambo thing is so over. I'm thinking more sporty, like Hilfiger maybe.

~~Dead Man's Party~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Watching (Angel/Cordelia, G) by Apache Firecat

Kiss (Buffy/Giles, G) by The_Crazy_Knight

Those Who Hold With Fire (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by Dirtyaim

[Chaptered Fiction]

Evil Friends, Chapter 2 (Andrew/Warren, M) by JohnnyB

Supporting Loki (And Thor), Chapter 1 (Crossover with Marvel, M) by SomeMeaninglessName

Mysterious Destinies, Chapter 6 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by EnchantedWillow

To All We Guard, Chapter 28 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by simmony

Keep You Ghosted, Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, R) by hydranjenna

Something Lost Something Found, Chapter 13 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Safire

Dungeon Designs and House Keeping, Chapter 40 (Fantasy crossover, FR18) by MistofRainbows

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:The Weight of the World by tmcarlee

Manip:Buffy and Willow Collage by gamerrat_13

Manip: Collage #109 Song: The Night- Exitmusic by thedecadentraven

Sculpture: [polymer clay sculpture] by simongablelundmark

Artwork: hell's bells - anya deserved so much better i am currently kissing her on the cheek... by mistyintherivers

Artwork: for kairenn-n by magicinavalon

Artwork: The fleet of ships commissioned by a captain with great taste. by lilibethdrawsreylo

Artwork: design for Spike by captain-ghost

Artwork: [ref sheets and designs for cat-ified BTVS characters with more in reblogs and tags] by captain-ghost

Wallpaper: Scooby Gang by revello-drive-1630

Icons: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, S01E08 — I Robot... You Jane by nostalgc

Icons: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, S01E08 — I Robot... You Jane by nostalgc

Icons: Alyson Hannigan in Buffy - 1x09 (The Puppet Show) by nostalgc

Meme: buffy text posts!! by youhavethesun

Gifset: Buffy Meme: [5/5 Songs] Key - Devics by lovebvffys

Gifset: 7x05 | “Selfless” by clarkgriffon

Gifset:5.15 — "I Was Made to Love You" by dailybtvs

Gifset:buffy & angel + season two part one by ptieuca

Video: Buffy summers - Figure You Out by juliaroxs241

Video: BUffy Summers - Half Life by juliaroxs241

Video: Buffy and Spike - Hostage By Billie Ellish by Naki-a Littlejohn

Video: abby ♥ | bed chem! #bangel (mildly NSFW) by lostlcve

[Reviews & Recaps]

I Robot, You Jane Fashion Part Three by theoverlookedoneedits1997

I Robot, You Jane Fashion Part Four by theoverlookedoneedits1997

The Puppet Show Fashion Part One by theoverlookedoneedits1997

The Puppet Show Fashion Part Two by theoverlookedoneedits1997

Buffy the C̶h̶i̶l̶d̶ ̶P̶r̶e̶d̶a̶t̶o̶r Vampire Slayer | 7x6 "Him" | The Normies Group Reaction! by The Normies

Buffy The Vampire Slayer 7x02 - "Beneath You" REACTION! by Big Time Knights Reacts

Buffy S02E21 "Becoming (Part 1)" Spoiler Review by LGRN - Entertainment

Showtime: Buffy 7x11 Reaction by Dakara

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 4x5 & 4x6 REACTION | Buffy goes Stone Age & Oz meets Trouble! by The Horror Bandwagon

Podcast: Buffy S7E8: Sleeper by Booze & Buffy

[Community Announcements]

WIP Big Bang: Finish Your Sh*t ⋮ Round 4 of the Regular WIPBB art claims is live!

[Fandom Discussions]

[found footage episode concept] by elliesgaymachete

[Academic essay: Good Slayers are Powerful in the Streets and not in the Sheets] by secretsofthewilde

[Spike's changes between seasons 5 and 6] by nicollekidman

[Buffy/Angel was NOT forced in 7x21] by zalrb

the very specific flavour of feminism in buffy [and about Xander Harris] by lordsfromelsewhere

the line “i loved him” —past tense lol—and making that the basis of proof [for a ship] by littlenastieswewhispered

[about Tara and Willow but no spoilers past mid S5 for OP] by lesbianmarrow

if season 3 Buffy was just super open and blunt with Faith. by imsorrythatusernameistaken

how angel looks... running a law firm... by figsandfandoms

[discussion of cat-ified BTVS characters with photos of real cats] by uss-genderprise and captain-ghost

... and why did they think that was the best catalyst for Spike seeking out a soul? [Seeing Red - with more in tags and replies] by boogiedown

one thing that bothers me about the sexual assault in seeing red... by suncaptor

Willow getting treated with such tenderness and support... by raisedbythetv89

[how people react to seeing vampires drinking blood] by lesbianmarrow

[podcasts and shipping goggles and show reviews] by lesbianmarrow

sorry sorry sorry but spike's behavior in season 5 so far is sooooo funny by lesbianmarrow

-.- — I could write in my BA paper about how the death of Miss Kitty... by krimreader

and then i glance up and see Buffy reading the card with the flowers from Brian... [The Body - with more in tags and replies] by alchemistc

I love that Willow and Anya end up becoming good friends after starting out disliking each other... by 5bi5

What If: Faith died? by multiple authors

Are the quirky, blunt characters on Buffy really just autistic? by multiple authors

Buffy's mates suck by multiple authors

Is season 7 better than season 6? by multiple authors

Am I the only one who was hoping Oz would come back in season 7? by multiple authors

https://www.reddit.com/r/buffy/comments/1f4ciaa/what_exactly_were_they_going_for_with_riley/ by multiple authors

Harmony: The Ultimate Arch Nemesis by multiple authors

Cordelia by multiple authors

Whose wardrobe from Buffy would you steal? by multiple authors

Do you think Buffys inconsistent strength can be explained by her powers being tied to her state of mind? by multiple authors

Slayers questions by multiple authors

Wonder how much insurance they would cost in Sunnydale by multiple authors

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[xxpinkgalaxykidxx]

My Top 10 ships of 2021

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The best Cookie Run ship idc. Enemies to Lovers Excellence

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[firelxdykatara]

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

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

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

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

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

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

(which, again, we can leave packed lmao)

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

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

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

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