#deleon family

[historyhermann]

Velma Review

Velma is a mature animated series which mixes the genres of mystery, comedy horror, and thriller. It is based on characters from the Scooby-Doo franchise and is an origin story, of sorts, for Velma Dinkley, before the formation of Mystery Incorporated. The series was developed by Charles Grandy. He previously created Guys with Kids, produced episodes of The Office, and has been a creative collaborator with Mindy Kaling, the voice of Velma, since 2013. This review will have spoilers.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs and Wayback Machine. This was the twenty-fifth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on February 17, 2023.

The plot of Velma primarily centers around the story of Velma Dinkley. She attempts to uncover the perpetrator who murdered two local teenage girls, Brenda and Krista, and circumstances behind the her mother's disappearance.

She is soon joined by school news reporter Norville Rogers (voiced by Sam Richardson). Her former best friend, and popular girl, Daphne Blake (voiced by Constance Wu) also helps her, since her quest to find her biological parents, draws her closer to Velma.

Unlike previous depictions, Velma is South Asian American, while Daphne is East Asian American, and Norville, often named "Shaggy" in previous Scooby-Doo iterations, is a Black man. This representation is reflected in the voice actors: Kaling is of Indian descent, Wu is of Taiwanese descent, and Richardson is a Black man of Ghanaian descent.

The only one of the original Mystery, Inc. crew who is portrayed as White is Fred Jones. He is a popular 16-year-old rich kid, heir of a fashion line for men, and said to be a "late bloomer". Despite these negatives, Velma still has a crush on him. Voiced by Glenn Howerton, known for his role as Charlie Day in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Fred is accused as the murder suspect of Brenda and Krista, despite lack of evidence which ties him to the crime.

Velma is differs from previous Scooby-Doo series by not featuring Scooby-Doo as a character. Grandy, one of the show's executive producers, said that the show's staff struggled to find a take on this beloved dog. This coincided with Warner Bros. Animation telling them "Hey, you can’t use the dog", as Grandy recalled.

Apart from Kaling, Wu, and Richardson, the cast is relatively diverse, more than other Scooby-Doo series, including Black men, Black women, and actresses of Cuban, Chinese, Filipino, Malaysian, and Indian descent. This aligns with the focus of Kaling's small-but-powerful production company, Kaling International, which founded in 2012 and described by Time magazine as telling stories about "inner lives of women of color" and stories of underdogs.

While in previous iterations, Velma has been in romantic relationships with men, her romantic attraction to women was hinted in episodes of Mystery Incorporated and in 2022 animated film, Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! In contrast, Velma depicts her as bisexual, as she has a crush on Fred, and accepts Daphne's feelings toward her. Like other versions, Norville has a crush on her, but it is not received by Velma, as it appears. This leads him, to later, date a cool girl named Gigi (voiced by Yvonne Orji).

Daphne has a crush on Velma, kissing her at the end of the second episode (as shown in the video above), causing her to go into a bit of a panic. She has crushes on men as well. Her actions are partially affected by her two incompetent police detective mothers: Donna and Linda. Both are voiced by lesbian actresses: Wanda Sykes and Jane Marie Lynch. Lynch previously voiced a lesbian character, Mrs. Roop, in The Ghost and Molly McGee, while Sykes voiced a lesbian character Deb, in Q-Force.

This representation is not limited to Daphne, Velma, Donna, and Linda. Cherry Jones, who voices the mother of Fred, Victoria, is a lesbian actress, as is Fortune Feminister, voice of popular girl Olive. Others are unambiguously queer, such as Nicole Byer, the voice of Crystal Cove High principal (and mother of Norville) Blythe Rogers, and Shay Mitchell, the voice of Brenda. This series appears to be the first voice acting role of Mitchell.

Despite this, the characters of Donna and Linda appear to reinforce the lesbian cop trope, which depicts adult lesbian characters as cops. This trope is said to make such characters more palatable to so-called "average people" in the U.S., if these women, mainly women of color, are "helping to uphold the systems that oppress them".

These characters seem to fall into the has two moms / two dads trope, although such a trope ignores "traditional" views of family life necessitating a mother and father. In this case, Donna and Linda are the same gender as their parents, just as Barry and Randall Leibowitz-Jenkins are in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. In fact, Sykes had personally served as a former NSA contracting specialist for five years, something which could have influenced her role as a police detective in Velma.

This breaking of the nuclear family is present in Velma's family, as her original mother, Diya Dinkley (voiced by Sarayu Blue), left. As a result, her father, Aman (voiced by Russell Peters), a lawyer, re-marries to Sophie (voiced by Melissa Fumero), owner of a malt shop in town and a pregnant model. The latter is often belittled by Velma.

While the first season spotlights Velma's long, and strong, friendship with Daphne, with Velma even proposing they become girlfriends in episode 8, it ends with everything up in the air. As a result of the events in the show's season one finale, Velma's personal life is in shambles. This is unfortunate because the writers had a chance to make Velma/Daphne canon, but chose not to. Instead, they went the route of Never Have I Ever, Wednesday, and even Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl by setting the groundwork for a likely love triangle between Daphne, Velma, and Norville, but not Fred. Such a development shows the limitations of Velma.

Velma has been received by critics, and those on social media, with mixed reviews. Apart from the diverse cast and LGBTQ+ representation, I was drawn into the series as a new fan to the Scooby-Doo franchise. The dialogue can, sometimes, be snappy, funny, and witty, while the plot can move along smoothly. The characters, themselves, can be compelling enough to make viewers sympathize with them, but aren't always this way.

Even though Velma is snarky, one can root for her at times, but not at others. The former is the case when she has horrifying hallucinations as she feels guilt for her mother's disappearance. The only parallel that comes to mind is Julian Chase in gen:LOCK. Although he is only alive as a copy of himself, as his original body barely survived, he faces internal demons, which manifest in his memoryscape, while he faces external demons in the form of the Nemesi, who are "evil" copies of him.

While there is some similarity between both characters, Velma doesn't face trauma akin to the terror Chase experiences. However, she still faces the crushing burdens and oppression of being a person of color, and is in part of some dangerous situations.

Velma sometimes cheapens its own protagonists, even making them unrelatable, at times. For instance, late in the season, Daphne begins a fake relationship with Fred so that both of them can become popular, even if it enrages Velma. Daphne also wants to become part of Jones Gentlemen's Accessories, and is willing to put everything on the line.

On the other hand, Velma acts awful to everyone throughout the series, even acting like she is in a relationship with Norville to fool her mom, Diya, who is recovering her memory. She is probably even worse than the toxicity of Penny Proud's long-time friends in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.

The series seemed to counter past claims about Norville's supposed drug use, as he says he hates drugs, and is only shown to be a nerd who likes Velma. While he might appear to be a stoner, he is annoyed, in the second episode, when stoners are listening to his online show. Funny enough, his father Lamont (voiced by Gary Cole), has a design similar to what Norville looked like in previous iterations. The season one finale hints that Norville may begin trying drugs, possibly marijuana, at the suggestion from his father.

In addition, there is a focus on beauty norms, shut-shaming, human experimentation, and the over-bearing power of the government (especially the police). In terms of the latter, the town's sheriff (voiced by Stephen Root), declares that they can't catch a serial killer because "it is a ghost", not because they are incompetent.

For example, in the fourth episode, it appears that Fred becomes a better person after reading The Feminine Mystique. Instead, Velma just sees him as problematic and gross, showing he hasn't changed. His character somewhat improves as the series move forward, as he becomes more sure of himself.

The voice actors of Velma are seasoned, making the series strong in that regard. Many have experience in TV, film, and even theatre roles, or previously played characters on other projects by Kaling, like The Mindy Project and Never Have I Ever.

Furthermore, some voiced characters in Amphibia, Kim Possible, Milo Murphy's Law, Phineas and Ferb, Glitch Techs, and Big City Greens, six all-ages series. Others provided voices in mature animations such as Close Enough, American Dad!, Family Guy, Bojack Horseman, Harley Quinn, Star Trek: Lower Decks, Pantheon, and Bob's Burgers.

I had hoped that characters like Dandruff Tuba, voiced by Weird Al Yankovic, would be more prominent. The name was familar because he voiced Milo Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law, a character with so much extreme misfortune and bad luck that he is prepared for any situation thanks to his handy backpack. Sadly, he was underutilized in the series.

The voice talent of Velma comes through with actors like Richardson, who is best known for voicing Richard Splett in Veep. Also, Wu voiced the Mom in Wish Dragon, Lynch voiced characters in Final Space, Fumero voiced others in Elena of Avalor and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and Peters is a Black comedian. The cast of Velma includes well-known talent like Stephen Root, Ming-Na Wen (voicing Carroll), Debby Ryan (as Krista), and Frank Welker (voicing Fred's father).

Welker has voiced Fred since the character began to be animated in 1969. He previously voiced characters in a variety of series, like Star Wars Resistance, 3Below, Totally Spies!, and Futurama. There is, additionally, Karl-Anthony Towns who voices Jacques Beau (Jock Boy). Towns is a professional basketball player of Dominican descent.

Although Velma is not my favorite series, I somewhat enjoyed watching the episodes. Others may have liked the series as much as I did, or perhaps even more, as Velma broke records for HBO Max in terms of the largest number of people watching an original animated series on its premiere day. In fact, at times, the comedy can be subtle and strong.

The series premiere is a miracle in and of itself, considering the HBO Max content purge championed by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav last year. Two series (Summer Camp Island and Victor and Valentino) were removed from the streaming platform, while Craig of the Creek had its final season order cut in half, and Young Justice was effectively cancelled.

All five of these shows, regardless of other issues, had outward LGBTQ+ representation. Previously, the platform shuttered Final Space, which featured a lesbian protagonist, Ash Graven, voiced by pansexual actress Ashly Burch. The acclaimed Infinity Train, which featured Black and Asian protagonists in the third and fourth seasons.

The fact that the series survived this purge could be due to the fact that it was produced by Warner Bros. Animation, along with 3 Arts Entertainment, Charlie Grandy Productions, and Kaling International. Not only had Charlie Grandy Productions, the production company of executive producer Grandy, worked on previous projects with Kaling before, but an executive producer, Howard Klein, was one of the heads of 3 Arts Entertainment.

Another executive producer, Sam Register, headed Warner Bros. Animation, Cartoon Network Studios, and Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe. He had previously produced various Scooby-Doo and Tom & Jerry films, Teen Titans, Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Young Justice, Harley Quinn, and many others.

Charlie Grandy Productions was known for producing The Office, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Duncanville. The show's producer, Kandace Reuter, had worked on Scooby-Doo!: The Sword and the Scoob and Thundercats Roar, and the show's editors had worked on assorted series, such as Undone, Bojack Horseman, and Tuca & Bertie.

Despite all of these experienced people, in the entertainment industry, working on Velma, it does not take away from one major flaw: music. Apart from a scene in the show's season one finale, in which Velma listens to old voicemails of Norville, the music is altogether unmemorable, and the theme song is strangely alienating.

This is too bad because a Bronx-born Black man, Craig DeLeon, who composed the score of the series, worked with renowned directors in the past. Perhaps his talent was not used as well as it could have been. There were no amazing songs like those in D4DJ or banger songs like the theme song of recently premiered Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

This credibility of the show's producers may have been a reason that the series moved forward on HBO Max, just as Harley Quinn did. It could have been part of the rationale beyond the renewal of a Season 2 for Velma. Considering that the series became a "lightning rod for controversy" and garnered many hate-watchers, it may garner more of a cult following than anything else.

Although the series has incurred backlash, with Wikipedia claiming that audience response had been "overwhelmingly negative", it did not dissuade me from watching the series, nor even writing about it. Surely some of the criticisms, like the comedic lines which fall flat, or possible stereotypes have merit. But, the show is not the worst thing out there as those review-bombing the series on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, or others complaining about it on social media and YouTube, may lead to you to believe.

This season had Fred, and his family, as the manifestation of White privilege and wealth. It is on par, in some ways, with the snobbishness and narcissm exemplified by nouveau riche protagonist Kaz Khan in Neo Yokio.

At the same time, the series exemplifies the reality of how easy it easy for someone, especially people of color, to be swept up in the criminal system. After all, Velma herself is almost imprisoned by being at the wrong place at the wrong time, before she falsely implicates Fred in the murder.

Thee show's plot only hints at part of what the Marshall Project noted in their November 2020 post about trials in the U.S.: that many felony convictions on the state and federal levels are often results of plea bargains, and prosecutors are some of the most powerful players in this criminal system, relying on sheriffs and police as key witnesses. In many of the states, the Marshall Project noted, that judges can charge for use of a public defender.

In Velma, the arrest of Fred by Donna and Linda is not questioned, despite Velma's defense of Fred, before his outburst causes the judge to declare him guilty. Velma's father, Aman, takes Fred's case because he wants the money for his girlfriend, Sophie, not because he truly believes in the case.

The series highlights the inadequacy of mental health care in the U.S., therapy, and gender disparity. The latter is exemplified by the school Principal, Blythe, only having 50 dollars in the school budget to counter "centuries of toxic masculinity", which she uses to pay for an all-girls self-defense class, taught by Daphne's moms. The former is shown through Norville and his father.

I thought the story's focus, at first on experiments by Doctor Edna Purdue, the grandmother of Norville, a scientist who found a way to keep the human brain alive outside the body, was intriguing. I would say the same for the series plot about Velma's mom, Diya, her lost memory, and manipulation by a miscreant to commit the murders. However, it felt hollow in the end.

Velma reveals that Diya had been manipulated to recreate the lab of Dr. Purdue, recruited by Army General Henry Meeting to create the Special Covert Operations Brain Initiative (Scoobi), a reference to the original franchise. This manipulation happened through hypnosis by Fred's mother, Victoria (voiced by Cherry Jones). It is further noted that Velma herself was hypnotized as well.

Victoria states that she wanted to switch Fred's brain with someone more "ambitious", who she believed were "hot girls",  and keep the global brand of Jones Gentleman's Accessories afloat. This absurd plot cheapened the series. It was compounded by Velma's foolhardy attempt to get her mom to remember anything, involving massive lying, which blew up in her face, and her rupturing of friendship with Norville after falsely accusing his father as the serial killer.

While the social commentary on big companies which support politicians who "look the other way", as is the case for Jones Gentleman's Accessories, is apt, as much as the criticism of economic exploitation in My Dad the Bounty Hunter, it is muddled by the rest of the story.

For one, there are callbacks to the first episode of this series, when female characters were showering in the nude together, sexism by the police, and more. In the case of Velma, it is problematic that the villain is a woman in that it could send a bad message about women in positions of power.

Through all of that, the series seems to hint at a possible storyline for another season, as the police officer who received the file from Velma is killed while putting it in a "solved cases" box. Undoubtedly, in the next season, Velma will continue to use her "pretty good" detective skills, the relationship between Velma and Daphne may develop, and a new "conspiracy board"/"murder board" would come about. The series will likely have a love triangle between three of the protagonists: Daphne, Norville, and Velma.

This is because, in the season one finale, Velma inadvertently said she "loves" Norville, so he came to save her from the serial killer who is out to kill her, Daphne, and Fred. If this comes to pass, and the story straddles the home/school lives of the main characters, and doesn't come into more of its own, it will feel more like a stale CW drama. That would be a serious loss of potential in a story which could be stronger if it's plot had better execution.

In the end, I feel this series is not great but not terrible, as hate-watchers have declared. Instead, it is only in the middle. So, I can't fully, and confidently, recommend giving this series a watch.

The first season of Velma is currently streaming on HBO Max.

© 2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

[kramphyx]

Just learnt that Typhon is the infernal name for Satan and it’s fitting because Typhon De Leon became the devil in his children’s personal hell so that’s some symbolism right there.

Someone else on here mentioned the connection between Calypso and the gap between games / being the in world gap of 7 years so there’s a double symbolism going on.

[buffythecomicslayer]

In an exclusive interview, Amber Benson, James Marsters, and Charisma Carpenter dove into the new Audible original Slayers: A Buffyverse Story, which debuts on October 12. Due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, they could not speak on their experiences on Buffy, Angel, or any other struck work.

Slayers is co-written by Amber Benson, who portrayed Tara in Buffy, and Christopher Golden, who has penned multiple books in the Buffyverse. Before the COVID pandemic, Benson began calling her former costars to see who might want to be involved, focusing on the characters she felt weren’t serviced enough in the original show. She also wanted to find a way to highlight what it means to be a slayer who is also a woman of color.

Amber, why did you want to do this now?

Amber Benson: The reason I got excited about doing Slayers was because I wanted to see Charisma be a vampire slayer. I want to live in the meta world where Charisma Carpenter is Cordelia, the Vampire Slayer. That was the pull for me. We spent a ton of time trying to create satisfying arcs for all of these characters that we love so much. It’s been a labor of love. For me, doing this was about diving into a world where I get to have some control over things.

Why set it in 2013 instead of 2023?

Benson: We wanted a passage of time so there was an entrenched world where slayers existed in our world and they were everywhere — especially because we have Laya who takes audiences through this mythology. She’s like a fangirl of vampire slaying, and is on the Reddit forums. We didn’t want it so entrenched that we were so far removed from other times. We wanted that sweet spot of the world knows about this stuff, but it’s not an old hat.

What was it like getting back in the room to record with everyone?

James Marsters: We love each other so much that it was absolutely fabulous. I was just able to watch Charisma step into this role and have it make complete sense. It is so far from the Charisma that we started with years ago. It couldn’t be further, and yet, it makes absolute sense. Just her as an actor, being able to give a strong, loving, slightly world-weary, wise perspective to it, this absolutely seems like what Cordelia would be like in 2013. And I loved watching Amber take her character in a completely new direction. It absolutely makes sense, but it couldn’t be further from the Tara that we started with. And I was in awe of Juliet Landau.

And then Seth Green showed up! He’s not even in it, but he was recording something else in another booth at the building, and he heard we were in there. He comes in, and the whole thing stops. We didn’t do any work for 45 minutes because we’ve just gotta love on Seth. It was a complete love fest the whole time. We’re all in a really good place. All of our lives are going really well, so we could brag about how well we’re doing. Plus, meeting Laya DeLeon Hayes, having her fold into our family — and she’s the most experienced voice actor of all of us!

The last time you played Spike was in 2004. How did feel stepping back into it?

Marsters: I had told the producers way back when: “I’ve been doing Spike for about seven years, and if you want me to do the character, you’ve got about seven more years. I think we can get away with it for a 14-year window.” Spike is a vampire, he ain’t aging, but James is! Seven years came and went; it hadn’t happened, and I put it in the rear-view mirror. Then Amber calls me! And it was perfect.

Tara was a very important character on TV, and it was really devastating how that arc ended. Amber, can you hint at what she’s like now in this alternate universe?

Benson: She’s a very kind-hearted character, and we wanted to give her some meat. So we found a way, without spoiling anything, to give her something to sink her teeth into. We also wanted to keep the goodness of her, and it’s still in there, but we go to some darker places. And selfishly, as an actor, I wanted to work with Charisma, to do more with James, to spend time with Juliet. I have a lot of fun stuff with Juliet!

Charisma, you’ve been very vocal about your experience on Buffy. What was your reaction to getting the ask to come back into this world and bring Cordelia back? Were you hesitant at all?

Charisma Carpenter: When I got a call from Amber in 2020, I said, “You know, my friend, I would follow you anywhere. Of course, I want to be a part of it.” I didn’t know where it would end up, or certainly what medium it would be in, but it wouldn’t matter. I would just do it because I trust her vision. I trust her and I respect her talent as a writer and creator and I just love her to pieces.

How did it feel for you to be able to give Cordelia this entirely new life?

Carpenter: I think I felt a bit lost. Because the description of Cordelia and the scenes were the world-weary, kind of doom and gloom. I’m kind of saddled with this young player that’s super excited. How do I play this embattled slayer, who’s living their purpose and sees it really as the burden that it is — taking on the big bad — and infusing that with the Cordelia from before, which is sassy and witty and pithy and all those superficial things? How do I balance them? So for me, it was such an interesting dilemma to figure out. I spent a lot of time with Christopher and Amber, stressed, going, “I don’t know what I’m doing.” I didn’t think it was possible to bring more layers to Cordelia, because I feel like she went through so much in terms of her character arc from beginning to end.

Marsters: It’s so funny because, from my perspective, you came in and effortlessly did this. It didn’t seem to be a struggle at all!

When this was announced, many referred to it as a Spike-focused series because he’s the narrator, but this universe has always been so about female empowerment. Do you guys see it that way?

Marsters: I saw that, and was like, “Oh, didn’t clock that before. I don’t think so, but OK! It’s called Slayers!”

Benson: And he came up with that name!

Marsters: Yeah, first we thought of Spike and Dru, but reading the script, that wasn’t really the thing. We have two new slayers that we haven’t had before: Cordelia and Indira. We’ve been promising the audience there’s a new slayer for a new generation. Every generation has one. We never made good on that promise. So, you had to wait — now you get two.

Benson: I think it’s a multi-pronged narrative. We have amazing Spike stuff. And he is the narrator and he takes us through this and has so many amazing arcs and relationships. The Juliet/James combo is electrifying.

Marsters: Spike is a great character, but he doesn’t encapsulate the theme. I’m in the project a lot, but what are you going to call it, Spike, the Vampire, Slayer of Vampires? It’s not the same thing. It is much more exciting to keep it focused, as it always has been, on a woman who is overcoming the challenges of life, and using a vampire demon metaphor to talk about those challenges. That’s one of the big strengths of the project since the beginning. I was glad with all the changes, all the updates and all of the surprises that we’re offering, that that kernel is kept. I would never want to get away from that.

Benson: Charisma, you should also talk about this because the “Justice for Cordelia” aspect is very important.

Charisma, please! Let’s hear it!

Carpenter: One of the most important things to me about Slayers is that it is an opportunity to give the Buffyverse fandom permission to enjoy the show, enjoy these characters again in a way that is representative of perseverance, of work ethic, of the familiar. It has really been made clear to me how much entertainment in general and the previous show and what this future show will do to provide comfort, empowerment, self-belief and reminders of our purpose. I think it will be an opportunity to give credit and justice to Tara, to Anya, to Cordelia. Because that show involved hundreds of people to make, and it wasn’t about just one person. So I feel like it’s really a beautiful thing to have this opportunity to bring her back to life — Cordelia specifically — and have her live out a very empowering life, and share her wisdom from that battle. I just feel like it’s very poetic in a lot of ways.

Spike is a bit of a controversial character, especially through the 2023 lens. Amber, how did you come to the decision to have him narrate?

Benson: No. 1, it’s always important to separate the actor from the character. And I know that James has spoken about this. He is one of the best humans, I adore James. But yeah, there is problematic stuff with the character, especially around consent. We really wanted to do something different and not live in the past. So for us, it was sort of a reinvention of the Spike character. We wanted to see more of that human and empathetic version of Spike. That was really important to us — the more James-version of Spike. He still has all the Spike bells and whistles. He’s still sexy as hell. But we also wanted to see that humanity and I think that was one of the reasons James Leary is such a big part of this. There is a humanity. James really wanted to make sure we still kept him Spike, but we updated for 2023.

Again, I know you can’t talk about the past projects here, but many of these characters weren’t there at the end — specifically Cordelia, who’d died in Angel. Are you ignoring the events of Angel completely?

Benson: We really created Slayers away from everything else. We wanted to create a world that felt familiar, but also was different — because I think putting your own stamp on something is really important. I think that’s what Chris and I wanted to do — find a way to do the things that we thought were important, some of those righting of wrongs things. That was important for us. We weren’t really looking at other versions of these worlds to draw from it really was. We tried to keep it its own unique thing.

Well, it is based on characters previously created. Was it a struggle to get permission to take ownership of these characters?

Benson: We can’t really talk about this stuff because of the strike and because also, sometimes, the creation is the creation, and the creators are totally removed. And for me, just personally, I will say this, I always had trouble going to conventions and not being honest about certain situations. And now that all of that is sort of grist for the mill, I feel this relief that I can love this world and these characters and have a little bit of a little tiny, tiny piece of ownership in them. I love this world, I love the family I have because of it. I love the fans I have in my life. A show is not always just the person that came up with a show. A show is a collaboration for us on Slayers.

Speaking broadly about ownership of creative material, it really is a collaborative media. It’s not one person. The auteur theory does not apply here. It takes a village.

Marsters: The genetic material is there because Amber breathed it. She is a fabulous writer, and Christopher Golden has been writing books in the Buffyverse for years. So it’s kind of a seamless continuum. It’s not just like a bunch of people who don’t know much about the lore or don’t care about it. There are people who’ve been involved from the beginning, in the driver’s seat.

Were there other characters or actors you wanted to bring back?

Benson: For us, the important thing is to do service to characters that maybe didn’t get the right servicing in other versions. So we really focused on that. That was really important for us.

Well, Seth Green popped in! Were there ever any talks of bringing him on?

Benson: We were talking about it, but we had such a full slate of characters that once we looked at it, we were like we can’t service everybody if you have too many characters. It was really important for us to make sure everybody had a satisfying arc. If we do multiple seasons, then we can bring in other people and give them new things to do. Seth is definitely on our list. Clare Kramer too, we would love to have Glory come and play. There’s just so many amazing characters to bring in.

Do you see this going for multiple seasons?

Benson: I would love to do more seasons. Emma Caulfield was like, “When do we do the next one?” We really would love to do more. We love the team at Audible and Audible UK. They’re all fans. They all love this world. So we would love to jump back in and do more. It’s really up to the fans!

[bastardtrait]

Scooter Legacy 2020 - generations 1-9

ya know, I was gonna make individual posts about the old generations of this save, since they're coming here from their old home on dreamwidth, but I'm really lazy so we'll just go with the one. a primer post. why not.

for a bit of background, I started this save in the middle of the start of the pandemic, right after completing another legacy, and I blasted through this thing in like, 2 years? I had never felt so fuckin productive. let’s ignore the fact that stopped playing for 1.25 years after generation 8 though. okay.

to the shock of nobody, each colour-coded generation had some story that eventually just devolved into pure gameplay. listen when i tell you i'm a one trick fuckin pony, i mean it. here's what happened:

Generation 1: Percy Scooter and Sebastian Park. my founders. Percy was the sheltered only child of a rich old Chinese woman who hired Sebastian to be her butler and personal service worker. awkward enemies to lovers plot ensues. they had 2 kids: Ollie (who died as a child) and Josie.

fun fact: I was looking at my timeline and it makes perfect sense that Percy's mother, Francie Chen, would've been the younger sister of Chen Ruiyang (Lucky Legacy). they even had the same last name. so I made that canon. duh.

Generation 2: Josie Scooter and Matangi Silva. childhood friends. Mat left town to become a vet, and Josie tracked him down to continue their fledgling romance they had as teenagers. they also had a fuck ton of animals, one of which was the iconic Mayor Whiskers. they had 1 kid: Randy.

Generation 3: Randy Scooter and Collin Pix. Randy, Collin and Ripp Grunt from TS2 were roommates at a college that psychologically broke down students before selling them to aliens for Nefarious purposes. it was kind of a lot. they ran away to Sulani and had 3 kids: Willow, Xander and Landon.

Generation 4: Landon Scooter and Toro Katalunan. childhood friends that reunited as adults that tackled off the grid living together. their friendship and eventual romance persisted through awkward misunderstandings and island ghosts. they had two children: Kai and Sully.

Generation 5: Sully Scooter and Ori Delgado. Ori guided Sully through the jungle in the search of a cure for the genetic condition they were born with (I also brought this up during my flop reclaimed roots legacy). kissing ensued. they had three children: Luca, Brianna, and Damián.

side note: I also started a side story about the Strangerville mystery that coincides with this generation. this family went on to spawn Dakota Dinh, co-founder of the Lucky Legacy. it's all circular y'know?

Generation 6: Damián Scooter and Hari Rotan. I fucking hated this generation because it was Eco Lifestyle. I don't remember the story and I don't want to. they had two kids: Laila and Yasmin.

Generation 7: Laila Scooter and Kawahara Koichi. Laila, a giant fucking twat, goes to university and makes enemies with everyone except the anti-social weirdo that loves robotics. then they terrorised Evergreen Harbour together. they had one child: Xavier, who they sorta neglected ngl lmfao

Generation 8: Xavier Scooter and Fayrouz al-Dimashqi. my FAVOURITE! generation. Xavier, a traumatised individual, moves to San My and has his icy heart opened up by the warm and welcoming Fayrouz. unfortunately, he died before his time, leaving Fayrouz a widow. they had one child: Kaleb.

Generation 9: Kaleb Scooter and Natasha Deleon. Kaleb and his gf Jaesha, family vloggers, are pressured into a wedding for their viewers, which is being planned by Natasha, Kaleb's childhood friend. they run away together from Kaleb's livestreamed wedding. they had three kids: Aaron, Evan, and Naomi.

which leads us to where we are today, with Naomi and Taryn forming Generation 10, and Dexter about to launch Generation 11. let's see where this goes next!

[aztarion]

9, 12, 15 for miss deleon and please don’t faint in the pre-op! GOOD LUCK!💖

THANK YOU GABBIE <333 I FAINTED BUT ANYWAY LOL

9. Do you have a specific lyric or quote which you associate with your OC?

omg ok no doodle for you because I had to do a lot of searching through tags for this Q…

Lyrics & Full Songs:

“the only time I’ll open up is when I’m firing” & “take the noose off, wrap it tight around my hand” from mondays & family tree by ethel cain

“painless Chinese burns, ties me down with daisy chains, diamonds on her tongue, and pleasure cuts and teasing” m’aidez by sneaker pimps

The entirety of Volcano by Eartheater and Dusk by Chelsea Wolfe to be honest… both very Deva songs and bangers

and…

Quotes (ft tumblr post that resonates):

12. Is your OC self-destructive? In what ways?

VERY! Her hyper-independence and tendency to self-isolate and the relationships both these vices have stagnated and killed is a big one. She is quite stunted emotionally and her way of processing things is usually acting out and doing/saying something mean and stupid. That part in book two where the detective overhears the love interest talking to A? Deva despite not even wanting there to be anything deeper to her and Mason’s flirting, gets pissed and outright chooses to kiss Bobby back at her apartment… like what.  

15. Does your OC have a faceclaim? If so, who?

ARGHH I’ve talked about this to you before and still cannot decide… Initially I just had a vague idea in my head of what I wanted her to look like and didn’t care much how I drew her, other than her being biracial which is important to meeee (and me remembering her birthmark lol) but I’ve been trying to cobble together an inspiration board going forward to help keep her look consistent and I’m really liking a mixture of some features of Devon Aoki and Paula Kawanishi. Neither are exact faceclaims (she has bushier heavier brows though, a squarer jaw than Devon’s but a shorter and rounder face than Paula’s, etc.) but they’re sort of my go-to base refs for drawing her face from now on I think :D they’re both so damn striking too. def need to redraw a portrait bust at some point

[offender42085]

Post 1062

Dustin Gray, Mississippi inmate 247047, born 1995, incarceration intake in October 2023 at age 28, sentenced to life

Capital Murder

A second brother convicted of capital murder in the robbery and killing of Pearl River County resident Willie “Chill” Jones is headed to prison for life without the possibility of parole, Peal River County District Attorney Hall Kitrell said in a release.

A jury convicted Dustin Michael Gray, of Picayune, of capital murder, following a trial in August 2023. His sentencing was deferred until October 2023, when Judge Prentiss Howell imposed the sentence.

Gray and his half-brother, Austin Brookshire (inmate 246060), have now been sentenced to life without parole in Jones’s July 6, 2020, robbery and killing.

According to court records and other interviews, Jones considered the brothers’ friends and met up with them the morning he disappeared.

The brothers planned before the killing to steal $40,000 in cash that Jones had on him in the metal box he stores his money in.

Pearl River county investigators determined Brookshire shot and killed Jones in the backseat of Gray’s car, and then the two brothers buried his body in a shallow grave near Texas Flat Road in Hancock County.

In the aftermath of the killing, the family of Jones, who is Black, held vigils for him, and the community came together to search for his body.

Gray’s father ultimately turned in information that led authorities to suspect Gray’s involvement in the killing.

His father, attorney James L. “Jim” Gray, called authorities after he found blood in Gray’s car. Gray and his wife, Erica Deleon Gray, went on the run for days before officers caught up with them.

Afterward, Gray’s father received online threats, and someone burned his office to the ground under what authorities called suspicious circumstances.

Once Gray was in custody, Brookshire was later identified as the gunman.

The killing occurred the same year a law enforcement officer was arrested in the killing of another Black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis, which resulted in national cries for justice from various groups, including Black Lives Matter.

Misinformation soon spread about the circumstances leading to the killing in Pearl River County, prompting right-wing militias to gather in Picayune on the false premise that Black Lives Matter and Antifa supporters planned to burn the city to the ground.

No violence occurred.

3o

[illumsky]

LS Sith Warrior OC

I need to get him out of my system because the SWTOR hyperfixation™ is occupying my last brain cell

Anyway this guy has been marinating in my head for like 2 years and he's gone through so many personality and style changes it's crazy, but this one stuck with me

Name: Daniel DeLeon Class: LS Sith Warrior | marauder Age: 23 (class story beginning) Gender & race: Male, Thyrsian/Echani

Heavily LS leaning, could be described better as morally grey/complex. Most of the time does what he feels is right, guided by his own moral compass & personal warrior code

Won't hesitate to use his lightsaber if necessary but diplomacy and pragmatism are always preferred over violence

Fiercely loyal to his friends/family/crew and would do anything for the people he cares about even if he doesn't vocally express or show it to them

Vette and Jaesa are his besties, his crew=found family, favorite hobby is making fun of Malavai with Vette (affectionately)

Also, I like the way he looks in-game, the braids are fine or at least as close as it can get but a few details are missing so here's a rough depiction that's a bit more him

[kbkirtley]

Part 2 of my superhero favorites list: Top 5 Female Heroes

1. Artemis/Tigress (Artemis Crock) - Not a ton of appearances beyond Young Justice but she was maybe my second favorite character in a series that I loved. She’s also the main inspiration for a future character of mine that has become one of my favorites that I’ve written.

2. Batgirl/Oracle (Barbara Gordon) - Babs has long been a favorite in part because of her connection to Dick Grayson, but she’s more than worthy of a spot on this list on her own merits. Her roles in Young Justice, Harley Quinn, and the excellent recent Batgirls run were all phenomenal.

3. Zatanna (Zatanna Zatara) - Like most of the other characters on these first two lists, I love Zatanna in Young Justice. I Also loved her in the wonderful Zatanna: The Jewel of Gravesend Graphic novel by Alys Arden and Jacqueline deLeon (DC green light a sequel already).

4. Batgirl/Orphan (Cassandra Cain) - While Cass did appear in Young Justice, she had a pretty small role. But I fell in love with this character through the Batgirls run and the phenomenal Webtoon Wayne Family Adventures. (My deepest apologies to honorable mention Steph Brown, the one Batgirl not included here.)

5. Supergirl (Kara Danvers) - A little edgier than her Boy Scout of a cousin, Kara is a great superhero and great ambassador for the House of El’s symbol of hope.

[totaleclipse573]

Doleon: So???? why haven't you traumatized Terios yet??? Is he too good for you?

Starline:..... you want me to...?

Deleon: it's practically family tradition at this point

Its how you get indoctrinated into the family. Literally.

[handeaux]

18 Modern Words That Had Very Different And Curious Meanings In Old Cincinnati

Some words we use daily today meant something totally different more than a century past. Here are a few normal, everyday terms that once had surprisingly altered definitions long ago in Cincinnati.

Affinity In the early 1900s, “affinity” meant something very much like “soulmate” does today. In Cincinnati newspapers, “affinity” usually shows up in articles about divorce. Many a husband sought a divorce because he had found his “affinity”, and it wasn’t the woman he was married to. Jacob Pels told the Cincinnati Post [31 October 1907] on the occasion of his second divorce: “Twice I thought I found my affinity, and twice I made a bad mistake.”

Blue Today, if you’re blue, you are mildly depressed. Back in Old Cincinnati, “blue” meant risqué, or even obscene. Cincinnati ministers erupted in indignation when Millie DeLeon, the “Girl In Blue” (wink, wink!) performed at Heuk’s People’s Theater on Vine Street in 1901. And, when Cincinnati Redlegs Manager Clark Griffith excoriated the team after a dismal spring training game in Georgia, the telegraph company refused to carry the Enquirer’s dispatch [14 March 1909]: “Wishing to be perfectly accurate, we wrote out the rest that Griff said, but the telegraph man would not send it. He said his wire was a family wire of good and regular habits, and he would not insult it by asking it to carry a lot of blue language.”

Boom This old term had nothing to do with firecrackers or other explosions. It meant to promote, or to hype, or to publicize. When Judge Andrew J. Pruden wrote to the editor praising a Cincinnati Post editorial, the Post headlined his letter [6 January 1893]: “Judge Pruden Indorses The Post In Its Efforts to Boom The City.” An editorial an 1888 edition the old McMicken Review at the University of Cincinnati encouraged students to “Boom the ‘Varsity!” Cynical Thomas Emery, a pioneer real estate developer, told the Post [1 July 1886] he was concerned about future investments: “Boom Cincinnati? Can you boom a dead dog? I don’t mean that Cincinnati is dead exactly, but she’s overbuilt.”

Brace To brace somebody meant to cheat them, and Cincinnati was swarming with galoots just salivating at the opportunity to brace someone. The bracers needed to watch out who they braced, though. Frank Y. Grayson in his classic “Pioneers of Night Life” tells the tale of Frank James, Jesse’s brother, getting fleeced at a Cincinnati card game: “James dropped $800 on the night. He knew that he had been braced. Before he left he said genially, ‘Well, boys, I’ll say one thing for you, you get it easier than I do.’”

Cake We’re not talking pastry here. This word figures into one of the most obscure lines in Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s classic “Casey at the Bat” from 1888:

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake, And the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake;

A “hoodoo” we still recognize as a jinx, but a “cake”? In 1888, everyone knew that a cake was a fool. Within the context of baseball, a cake was a loser.

Candlelight Many a romantic evening has been conducted by candlelight. In the days before electricity, “candlelight” was a time of day, specifically that time of evening when you lit your candles. The Cincinnati Gazette [11 June 1857] presented this line: “The preacher gave notice that, if the weather was fair, he would preach at candlelight, but, as it sprinkled a little, there was no congregation.”

Card There is not much call for classified advertisements these days, when everything is advertised online. Ads used to be the main source of income for newspapers, who called small advertisements “cards,” as in this example from the Enquirer [22 November 1890]: “Mrs. Pollock did not stop at advertising her business in circulars. She inserted a card in the Sunday Newsdealer.”

Cockpit Did you ever wonder why the place an airplane pilot sits is called a cockpit? It’s named for an actual pit in which roosters (or cocks) fought to the death. Cock-fighting was popular in Cincinnati, though intermittently illegal. The Cincinnati Commercial [11 January 1847] advertised a new venue: “A regular Cock Pit having been established in the rear of the “Lunch House,” fights will take place three times a week.” If cock-fighting was too high-class, Cincinnati also hosted rat-pits from time to time in which small dogs battled rodents.

Combination Strictly speaking, in the 1800s, a “circus” was that entertainment taking place withing a sawdust “ring” which in Latin was “circus.” The other aspects of the modern circus – the traveling zoo known as the “menagerie” and the “side-show” or “exposition” – were considered separate enterprises. The first impresarios to “combine” all of these shows called them “combinations.” So, we have the Cincinnati Gazette [8 June 1872] reporting: “Warner’s big combination show attracted an immense crowd of spectators yesterday afternoon and evening.” And old John Robinson advertised his traveling spectacular as “Robinson’s Great Combination.”

Dashboard We use “dashboard” today to talk about status displays on our computer screens, which derived from the instrument panel in our automobiles, which referred to the array of gauges and dials in an aeroplane. But there was a much earlier and practical use of this word as the actual wooden board at the front of a carriage that kept stones and mud from being kicked into the driver’s face. From the Cincinnati Dollar Weekly Times [1 November 1855]: “The mare was put between the thills of a nice light buggy, her harness thoroughly adjusted by the owner, the reins carefully laid over the dashboard, and the usual chapter of advice opened concerning her management.”

Drummer An old definition of this word, metaphoric in origin, has nothing to do with music. A drummer was a salesperson, usually a traveling salesman, and usually a man on commission. The Enquirer [22 December 1871] reported: “The State of Maryland has in force a statute similar to that of Tennessee and several other States, which classes ‘drummers’ selling goods by sample for houses out of the State with peddlers, and exacts a license from them so heavy as to prohibit effectually sales in those States.”

Embarrassed If you realize, after ordering at an expensive restaurant, that you left your wallet at home, you might be embarrassed. That is close to the old-time definition of this word. It meant bankrupt. The Cincinnati Gazette [27 April 1837] related the story of a scoundrel named John Law: “With him perished all Law’s hopes for regaining his personal fortune. He became embarrassed; suits were commenced against him.”

Grocery So many old-time groceries offered liquor by the glass that “grocery” came to mean almost any saloon that emphasized the hard stuff over beer. Here’s the Western Christian Advocate [20 May 1836]: “When I hear a man say ‘my cigars cost me two dollars a week’ – I should not be surprised if I see him drinking in a grocery or tavern.”

Hilarious The history of comedy reminds us that we find drunks to be humorous. Back in the day, “hilarious” did not mean funny; it meant extremely inebriated. The Enquirer [14 January 1870] recounted one such case: “Night before last, this identical phonographer, who now calls himself Henry Henderson, was found in a highly hilarious condition, enjoying the society of ugly females in a bad house on Eighth street.”

Map There are abundant synonyms for physiognomy, but Cincinnati in the 1890s had a good one – “map.” In regaling his readers with memories of post-midnight culinary delights, Frank Grayson recalled Simon the Hot-Corn Man, who slathered his steaming ears of corn with “a substance that passed as butter.” Grayson recollected how “There were a lot of greasy maps decorating Vine Street in the wake of Simon.”

Queer In recent times, “queer” has settled into a linguistic niche as a sobriquet for what used to be called “alternative lifestyles.” Around 1880, however, the primary connotation of “queer” was financial. It referred to counterfeit money. The Cincinnati Gazette [28 October 1873] reported on the trial of M.Y. Morton: “He is an old gray haired man, and told the detective that he had been ‘pushing the queer’ for thirty-five years, making a good business in buying and selling counterfeit.”

Slut Ever since it became a term of sexist opprobrium, “bitch” has been ruined as the technical name for a female canine. Few today remember that “slut” was synonymous with “bitch” and also referred to distaff dogs. An advertisement in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune [21 June 1870] sought: “Dogs – Two full blood Scotch rat terriers dog and slut. Must be a year old or older.”

Snide You rarely hear this word today outside the phrase “snide remark.” When you do, it often has the tint of sarcasm. In old Cincinnati, however, “snide” meant fake, cheap or counterfeit. The Cincinnati Daily Star [23 January 1880] recorded that “Ed. Kline was pulled in yesterday for selling ‘snide’ jewelry.” The term applied to people, too. The Enquirer [5 April 1880] noted: “A snide party styling themselves Tennessee Minstrels were rotten-egged and mobbed in Easton, Maryland, on Friday night.”

[riointhedark]

Name: Claudia Guadalupe Zapian Deleon Age: 92 Relation: Maternal Grandmother.

It's no surprise to anyone that Rio opens up to that his family life wasn't the best. His father all but hated him, a fact he now knows comes from him not being the man's biological child. His mother racked with guilt from the affair did her best to play peacekeeper between them but fell short. He was one of the lucky ones with a grandmother he could escape to. Claudia for as long as Rio could remember lived in a simple two-bedroom house in San Diego. His earliest memories of her are from when his dad was still a low-level officer and his mom worked as a nurse. She would pick him up after school and take him to the Panaderia to pick out a treat to eat. He would sit on the floor in the living room eating his sweet bread and doing his homework as she watched her shows. The never-waving feeling of love and warmth of her home is his fondest memory. As he got older she thought about how to pray, what candles to light who to which angel or saint to call on for help. This was his routine for years till his family moved away. When he was a teenager and life started to get rough for him the month he would spend with her over the summer was what he looked forward to the most. He never felt judged by her, not when he came out as bi or told her he had got a girl pregnant. She is and will always be Rio's rock.

When he first came to camp he was caught up in the whirlwind and missed a few weekend calls home and got more then an earful when he called. Now, that he is a little more comfortable in his abilities he takes his daughter every other Sunday to her house for breakfast. Claiming the mother removed to be closer to family and he got a job in the area. it's one of the things that grounds him and helps him anchor himself to something normal in his new fast-paced life. Rio is also lucky she hasn't asked about the black candle or the spirit she never heard of that he prays for protection too.

[parasitesiren]

[I make fun of it a lot, but I honestly really love Troy having his own last name tattooed across his stomach.

Mostly because it DOES come across as cheesy and shallow and egotistical at first glance, just like much of what he does. But, I really do think it's deeper than that if you get to know him. Mostly because Calypso ISN'T his legal last name; it's a stage name that him and Tyreen chose for themselves after cutting ties with their abusive father.

“Calypso” isn't really just a shrine to his own ego. It's symbolic of the identity and life he's created for himself, in sharp contrast to the life his father wanted for him. When he became a Calypso, he stopped being a DeLeon and stopped carrying his father's legacy and his upbringing around with him.

In addition, he isn't the only Calypso. “Calypso” is symbolic of not just his own identity, but of the bond between him and his only family, his sister. “Calypso” represents him and Tyreen against the world.]

[celinecerberusarchive]

⌝ "I'm calling Dad the moment we leave," Celine told her son as she walked past him outside the principles office next to another young boy of similar colouring. She should have expected after the holidays that Jagger's behaviour would continue to be reckless and out of sorts. He was so upset with her, that the family had yet to become whole again. Things were just so all over the place, Celine was trying to help them feel stable but...it wasn't that simple.

⌝ "Thank you for joining us, Ms Flores," the principle offered as the other Mother seemed to have already been seated, Celine taking her own next to her. The woman was pretty used to the other mothers in the school judging her for the litany of tattoos on her body, the way she dressed without much of a desire to be conservative, but in cases like this it was certainly harder for them to sit on their high horses, though... Looking to the other woman in the room she didn't look quite like the other mother's she tended to encounter, what with their paisley sweaters and penny loafers.

⌝ "I waited until you arrived, Ms Flores to explain the situation to both yourself and Attorney de Leon," the suited man began. "Your sons were caught defacing the boys locker room with profanities and vulgar imagery. I wouldn't want to speak them aloud but we did take some images," he stated, pushing some photos towards the pair. The image on top showing a locker that now read 'Coach Miller is a donkey dick.'

@nova-aurelia-deleon

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Tuesday, October 31

Willow: Buffy, are you all right? Buffy: What? Xander: Are you hurt? Willow: Buffy, are you hurt? Buffy: Buffy? Willow: She's not Buffy. Xander: Who's Buffy? Willow: Oh, this is fun. What year is this? Buffy: 1775, I believe. I-I don't understand. Who are you? Willow: We're friends. Buffy: F-friends of whom? Y-your dress... Everything is strange! How did I come to be here? Willow: Breathe, okay, breathe. You're gonna faint again. How are we supposed to get through this without the Slayer? Xander: What's a Slayer?

~~Buffy Episode #18: "Halloween" ~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Man Wonder (Xander/Giles, T) by drsquidlove

I Want Candy (Spike/Xander, T) by forsaken2003

Part of the Family (Buffy/Spike, Dawn, T) by Anonymous

Somthing Old, New Borrowed and Blue (Ensemble, T, SPN xover) by DreamingInColor

Curious Little Thing (Drusilla/Reader, T) by FiveBiFiveMind

With You (Jenny/Giles, T) by Bobbie23

Candy Corn Mischief (Buffy/Spike, E) by honeygirl51885

[Chaptered Fiction]

So Very Ch. 1-2/? (Buffy/Angel, M, multiple xovers) by AnyaChristinaJenkins

Kinktober 2023 Ch. 31/? (Buffy/Giles, E) by DancingAngel0013

hit rewind Ch. 14 (Buffy/Spike, M) by untiljanuary

Goodbye to Everything That I Knew Ch. 5 (Buffy/Spike, M) by My_Barbaric_Yawp

New York Ch. 1-3/43 (Giles/Xander, M) by drsquidlove

Kinktober 2023 Ch 31 (COMPLETE) (Buffy/GIles) by Skyson

Shadow Over Hellmouth Ch 96/264 (Ensemble, E) by Tuxedo_Mark

1632 Revello Drive CH. 1/? (Buffy/Willow, T) by A_Most_Sovereign_Lady

The Poet At The Door (or: Not Writ In The Stars) Ch. 8 (Spike/Drusilla, M) by Eyeballs_to_Entrails

What the Drabble?, Chapter 34 (Buffy/Spike, M) by VeroNyxK84

Once More With Feelings, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Spikelover4ever

something wretched, something precious, Chapter 27-30 (Buffy/Spike, M) by LittleTayy

Icarus, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, E) by HappyWhenItRains

In the Depths of October, Chapter 13 (Buffy/Spike, E) by acekoomboom, violettathepiratequeen

Forgiveness Doesn't Come Easy, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, E) by slaymesoftly

Can We Keep Him?, Chapter 2 (Buffy/Spike, E) by Desicat

The Whole Point of Halloween , Chapter 1-2 (Buffy/Spike, M) by Dynamite

Startlingly Moral, Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, T) by acekoomboom

Autumnal Shorts, Chapter 30 (Buffy/Spike, M) by VeroNyxK84

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork:Happy Halloween!!! (Dark Willow) by jasonriv37

Cosplay:Slayer Halloween costume () by vouloir

Artwork:Buffy and Spike () by lialivingart

Video: JibJab video: Halloween Rap () by Double Dutchess

Artwork:Spike () by vampyrwaltz

Video: Honest Trailer for Buffy The Vampire Slayer () by Infamous-Lab-8136

[Reviews & Recaps]

PODCAST: Episode 1 - Chatter in the Caf by The Sunnydale Diaries

[Fandom Discussions]

Slayers Audio book by Multiple Authors

fun notice for patriotic fan while rewatching Beer Bad by Thin-Sleep-9524

Thoughts on Joyce by Quick_Surprise_1911

What does indirect sunlight actually do? by AnyNeck1885

Enjoying the scene by LGonthego

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

PUBLICATION: Spike & Dru Reunite in Slayers: A Buffyverse Story by Popverse

PUBLICATION: NYCC Interview: James Marsters & James Leary Talk 'Slayers: A Buffyverse Story' by The Cosmic Circus

PUBLICATION: NYCC Interview: Juliet Landau & Laya DeLeon Hayes Talk 'Slayers' by The Cosmic Circus

PUBLICATION: The Only Episode Of Buffy Where Joss Whedon Told Anthony Head To Do More, Not Less by Slash Film

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[theepsteinlist]

"epstein" client lists

florida/LA:

ring leaders:

epstein and gf

r. kelly

jay-z

michael jackson

michael vick

donald trump

perps/victims: (i.e. their victims who joined the criminal conspiracy)

kelsey mayfield

megan thee stallion

beyonce knowles

targets:  pretty runaway rich girls who wanna be ~bad girls~ for a weekend and ~seduce an older man~

epstein was known locally to strippers as mr. brown

nazi blood diamond money laundering:

doc martens

chanel

wal-mart

chick-fil-a

james avery

dr pepper/snapple/green mountain/keurig

walgreens

hp

siemens

whatsapp

mcafee

doordash

uber

ubereats

hobby lobby

mcdonald's

coca-cola

american eagle

nazi pedophile blood money (m)/(b)illionaires:

robert a. eckert

sheila a. penrose

john w. rogers jr

miles d. white

richard childress

jen foyle

truett cathy

david green

meg whitman

john mcafee

alice walton

brian kelley

travis kalanick

mark zuckerberg

tony xu

texas:

new braunfels: ring leaders:

amy allen

sam allen

lori hines

donna simpson

targets: high school kids who just wanna ~have fun~ and ~have a safe environment to drink in~ because "there were adults present so it's safe"

perps:

sergio zamora

bryce parrock

chris allen

travis allen

clayton mott

curtis kostan

travis kostan

calvin hoffman

ashton henderson

hannah jeroswhatever jerosezswki

lisa pickens

rachael lee muschalek

courtney cashion

taylor davis

raelynn haggerty

adam sheldon

devin kelley

zach rhoades

ryan walker

taylor akins

samantha rich

stephanie gawlik

charlie miffleton

chris tysdal

ross johnson

reed edwards

paige beyer

landre nattinger

aubrie iverson

andrew shafer

matt durbin

spencer jergins

clint whitley

tim word

chad laborde

chez council

"victims"? (participants with a wide spectrum of consent that were nonetheless assaulted/exploited)

maggie osborne

esmerelda ??? (zapatos?)

liz perez

autumn reno

angel ??? (bustos?)

destiney sheldon

katie turpin

kiki grossman

lauren laborde

lindsay smith

stephen lupton

landre nattinger

ashton henderson

hannah jerosewzski

kkk:

ring leaders:

david duke

greg abbott

ken paxton

vance lesseig

walton family

taylor swift

david green

perps:

james reno

edwin braun

marisol padilla

chuck kirchhof

tom muschalek

dunno mr. zeitler's name

aforementioned men's wives

oakwood baptist church of new braunfels

community bible church of new braunfels

vance langley

coach schmidt

coach mclean

mrs. lindsay

ms. pradervand

mr. baker

mr. trollinger

mr. ??? (other NBHS short term criminal justice teacher in 2009)

officer broussard

shelby lesseig

rachael lee muschalek

kelsey mayfield

henry desroches

thomas neupert

michael brennan

mark hardiman

dr. hardiman

sam allen

judge and mrs. gray

targets: young teenagers that were ~special~, i.e. identified by the duke talent program

victims:

sam coronado

samantha allen

mitchell ridsdale

aaron criddle

ben turrubiates

akash motani

faizal khan

sterling demasters

zach mares

ethan poulter

jordan thiem

edward stockwell

anthony castilleja

charles tandy

jonathan dockall

emily brandon

lauren knipe

heather brown

josh burlison

the trix family

the piranha family

gavon payne

emma roddy

alison kim

sarah perrilloux

amanda and mary pike

sarah stiponavich

stephen phipps

allie alcala

jeremy priest

jackson faires

alex mott

marco martinez

brandon anderson

scott antoine

amber antoine

star hernandez

jessica atwell

rylee young

jamie hand

suzanne stricker

emily langendorff

olivia langley

taylor francis

ana castro

maria chavez

tanner brewer

katie ha

zach parrish

anthony tran

kylie blair

cullen nisson

ranger wallace

taylor mares

kathryne mares

jayme zigler

evan zigler

gracie payne

ellie payne

manuel deleon

the dione triplets

justin and taylor schwarz

araceli ayala

jamie bell

cassie barrett

jordan d'eri

rachel jones

andrew bryant

michael trombold

stephanie bryant

ashley bryant

daniel schroeder

kirsten schroeder

alexandria ingram

julianna pappalas

kindell hardin

edward yu

alexis lewis

katherine davis

ana ??? (katherine's girlfriend, texas a&m track team 2013)

ajay patel

james lamon

emily lamon

dionne diaz

mirea ayala

katelyn warner

kirby fisher

kyle fisher

tyler rougeux

kyle rougeux

josh chappell

kyle chappell

jaimee chapell

emily chappell

tyler mcdonald

marissa maddon

john maddon

tessa loge

eden bonneville

jack rhodes

andrew romero

lauren laborde

sarah laborde

stephenea sotcheff

sophia sotcheff

david mis

britton ware

will stapleton

canaan hoffman

caitie hoffman

sarah kreuger

ben jacks

ben triesch

gabe ramos

gene jacobson

aj jerosewszki

daniel phipps

daniel schumacher

eric stiebing

stephen rapp

maisha rumman

shradha thakur

vamsi vishnubhotla

michael carl

lindsay smith

lindsey kubena

samantha partida

steven partida

victoria rich

jennifer koepp

jenniffer flores

anne manzano

elizabeth villarreal

denise ortiz

kevin korpi

brad arnold

ed gonazles

david eckert

felicia curtis

trent wenzel

coach woodall

coach kilford

mrs. bock

mrs. lopez

ms. wetz

ms. caldwell

ms. biggs

mrs. thompson

oldest batey girl

oldest gorski girl

any other teenagers in central texas that have died in car crashes since 1980 or so

bharadwadj tanikella

hayley gray

colby callahan

austin milam

heath burley

california:

los angeles:

ring leader: grayson bauer

targets: young runaway artist girls

perps:

harvey weinstein

bill cosby

jack antonoff

dr. luke

jay-z

beyonce knowles

travis scott

drake

janelle monae

megan thee stallion

erykah badu

mark oliver everett

metallica

marina diamandis

breandan urie

lorde

victims: (ranging from financial abuse to outright sex trafficking)

grimes

ellie goulding

rina sawayama

billie eilish

shakira

avril lavigne

amy lee

ky voss

poppy

christine and the queens

cupcakke

K.I.D

la roux

kreayshawn

chloe chaidez

tove styrke

tove lo

bebe rexha 

ximena sarinana

angel haze

azaelia banks

ashnikko

colbie caillat

charli xcx

kim petras

kacey musgraves

mia rodriguez

melanie martinez

jazmin bean

ivy levan

iggy azaelia

alice glass

cardi b

nicki minaj

hana

tatu

boa

charlotte sometimes

meiko

lana del rey

borns

mo

sky ferreira

florence and the machine

sarah jaffe

alex winston

jessica hernandez

tegan and sara

caitlin rose

LP

ralph

alice merton

miguel

hailey williams

emily king

rett madison

king mala

leikeli47

princess nokia

post malone

k.flay

sirah

sir babygirl

caroline polachek

yaeji

moses sumney

glasser

king princess

dorian electra

lil nas x

slayyyter

phoebe bridgers

harry styles

alicia keys

lil mariko

carrie underwood

kelly clarkson

mount moriah

zz ward

miranda lambert

the chicks

beyonce

frank ocean

chance the rapper

kesha

MNDR

ariana grande

britney spears

christina aguilera

alessia cara

mac demarco

ghost

juanes

weezer

sam fender

jason isbell

mexican institute of sound

la perla

gera mx

royal blood

st. vincent

white reaper

YB

biffy clyro

the chats

off!

PUP

corey taylor

cage the elephant

vishal dadlani

divine

shor police

diet cig

flatbush zombies

dj scratch

ha*ash

jose madero

moses sumney

j balvin

chase & status

backroad gee

the neptunes

jon pardi

sebastian

portugal. the man

aaron beam

volbeat

the hu

tomi owo

phoebe bridgers

miley cyrus

watt

elton john

yo-yo ma

robert trujillo

chad smith

dave dahan

mickey guyton

dermot kennedy

mon laferte

igor levit

my morning jacket

pg roxette

darius rucker

chris stapleton

tresor

goodnight, texas

idles

imelda may

chery glazerr

izia

kamasi washington

rodrigo y gabriela

kimbra

d'angelo

worked with grayson, benefitted from him, but were not aware anything was going on or did their best to help:

st. lucia

tame impala

the hush sound

straylight run

anamanaguchi

the naked and famous

bastille

blue october

guster

old 97's

frank turner

awolnation

sea wolf

my chemical romance

atreyu

avenged sevenfold

greenday

blink-182

slipknot

blaqk audio

AFI

fall out boy

young the giant

san francisco:

ring leaders:

marc benioff

elon musk

travis kalanick

evan spiegel

steve jobs

jeff bezos

mark zuckerberg

steve chen

bill gates

michael dell

ren zhengfei

eoghan mccabe

secondary: grayson bauer using this circle for remote revenge crypto shills from 20mission and burning man preying on runaways as well

targets: queer tech-inclined teenagers

perps:

zach snow

dan granquist

jeremy whittington

taran patel

jim spagnola

seth tager

walter harley

jose garcia

connor cook

andrew zigler

chris sullivan

"anna lytical" (billy)

kelsey mayfield

caroline rhoades

henry desroches

mark hardiman

ben angel

ian coldwater

"belgium solanas" (michael troy judd)

meagan clawges

nalini prakash

lovi yu

peeyush aggarwal

victims:

matthew allen

samantha allen

janus rose

c boucher

chelsea manning

keffals

ben turrubiates

emily johnston

gavon payne

jamie delton

chris koch

amanda le

naomi wu

tux pacific

sev welker

alison kim

cara mazzi

ruby ??? (caroline's old roommate)

nick ??? (caroline's ex-boyfriend)

rachel forbes

daphne gunawan

trisha day

sidney powell

srijita mori

rebecca ??? (srijita's partner)

scott conger

erin nielsen

qinlin chen (catherine chen)

hank yang

kevin ren

aaron wong

matt hwang

chloe cauley

zane witherspoon

ana garcia

jeremy cruz

john lewis

lida wang

waylon clanton

wyatt clanton

tyler mcdonald

jasmine christiansen

new york/london/vegas && norcal/socal rivalries

ring leaders:

bernie madoff

jack antonoff

joanne rowling

evan spiegel

fox news, et al

new york times, et al

washington post, et al

the guardian, et al

noah pentecost

mark zuckerberg

jp morgan/chase bank/etrade

viacom

verizon

disney

scientologists

perps/profiteers:

lin manuel-miranda

bari weiss

sarah jeong

juliette sieve

ravi gill

will yang

jesse yang

sahil bhumi

???? (their armenian friend from stanford 2012 class)

antonis kartanapis

marko salkovic

erykah badu

oakstop coworking space

wag dogsitting app

kent from youtube & his sri lankan sugar mama

gabriella from wag

stephenie meyer

"e.l. james"

john green

hank green

susan collins

meg cabot

angela santomero

john kricfalusi

tom cruise

george r. r. martin

david benioff

targets: expressive, artistic teenagers envied by big money bankers and "feminist" writers

victims:

tori holland

janus rose

andrew bryant

daniel schroeder

max parks

amanda le

kelsey mayfield

samantha allen

josh burlison

ben turrubiates

henry desroches

nico ??? (from shippo)

sev welker

rachael kauffman

janelle monae

kim petras

scarlett ??? (my friend in the london club scene)

james sampson

james twigg

james sanchez

maria nunez

young asian women, age 18 - 22, going to raves and to vegas (i.e. "asian baby girls")

john lewis

lida wang

katie holmes

stacy london

carrie brownstein

boston

ring leaders:

richard stallman

steven pinker

mark zuckerberg

targets:

queer software engineers

perps:

priscilla chan

victims:

amanda le

samantha allen

josh burlison

jamie delton

jamie hand

katie ha

emily johnston

chris koch

cara mazzi

jasmine christiansen

mark hardiman

chicago && washington dc

ring leaders:

barack obama

rahm emanuel

beyonce knowles

joe biden

targets: pretty, light skinned, liberal teenagers interested in politics

victims:

samantha allen

emily brandon

lauren knipe

andrew zigler

andrew bryant

michael trombold

carissa nietzche

cassie barrett

jordan d'eri

haley gray

ben turrubiates

jose garcia

ana garcia

victoria benson

cj dehart

austin scarborough

stephen lupton

michael morton

michelle moon

jeff stevens

becky pickert

ashton nicole casey

carter freeman

[fundieshaderoom]

Fundie Families and Adjacents I Follow: Jackson

Gregory Allen Jackson - born on September 26, 1971

Analucia Paz Deleon - born on September 2, 1974

The couple married on May 5, 1996, at ages 24 and 21. The couple shares 6 children and a son-in-law. They are based in Arkansas.

Marjorie Ellyn- February 1, 1998

Genevieve Grace- July 12, 2000

Melody- June 2007

Harmony- January 15, 2010

Felicity- March 15, 2013

Grant Craig- June 2018

Genevieve married Nicholas Robert Steinmetz (June 25, 1998) on August 1, 2020, at ages 20 and 22.

Marjorie is dating Phillip Todd.