#give me inca mummy girl

[magratpudifoot]

Today in Reasons I Doubt I Will Ever Participate in a Fandom Again:

I just saw "Smashed" beating "Touched" 71% to 29% in a BtVS episode poll.

[missfiggy]

Hello Tumblr friends!

Sorry for being quiet. I do that from time to time, because you know, life…

Anyway, I know you’ve come to expect Jily goodness from me, and trust me Deerstalking: A Staggard Wild is still very much in the works.

However, I’ve recently come down with the itch to write about an entirely different ship in an entirely different fandom. Namely: Buffy/Angel (Bangel) from the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I just couldn’t stop thinking about what was happening off screen. They are such a great, tortured, fated to love each other OTP, but because the show is focused on demons-of-the-week, the details of their romance get left out.

So I’m starting to remedy that by taking inspiration from @bcdaily’s epic Commentarius (because as you all know, I’m obsessed with her and all her work) and writing out all the off-screen Bangel moments starting in season 2.

If this is at all of interest to you, please pop by AO3 for a read.

The Boring Stuff: Some Assembly Required

The Boring Stuff: School Hard

and The Boring Stuff: Inca Mummy Girl

are all up and complete.

Hope y’all give it a glance.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, July 17

OFFICER: That's some artillery you two were puttin' together. You with one of them girl gangs? FAITH: (sarcastically) Yeah. We're the Slayers. The officer laughs. Faith doesn't think it's funny. FAITH: (quietly to Buffy) You wanna get outta here? She slouches down in the seat. Buffy realizes what she intends. FAITH: (impatiently) We can't save the world in jail. Buffy slowly slouches down also. Faith raises her legs, and Buffy follows her lead.

~~Bad Girls~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Not So Fragile by badly_knitted (Buffy, Joyce, PG)

Weekly Drabbles #148 — Believer by veronyxk84 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Lies My Teachers Told Me by SouthSideStory (Buffy/Spike, M)

Restless by killerqueen1985 (Kendra, G)

as close to you as I can get by evesock (Buffy/Giles/Jenny, E)

From a Certain Point Of View... by Saranac (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Every Step To That Dance by Miss Marisol (Buffy/Spike, R)

What the Drabble? Vol. 2 - Ch. 48 by VeroNyxK84 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Infinitely - Ch. 61 by Laragh (Willow/Tara, M)

The Engagement - Ch. 10 by ChecksAmali_23 (Buffy/Faith, E)

The Idol - Ch. 1 by TiffyB (Buffy/Faith, Buffy/Dawn, E)

Faith: Five Dollars, Same As In Town - Ch. 6 by Michaelt (Faith, T) COMPLETE!

Carpark fun - Ch. 2 by Rippertish (Giles/Faith, E)

Blame the candy - Ch. 3 by Rippertish (Buffy/Giles, M)

In Case You Haven't Noticed... - Ch. 26 by Sdhuskerfan (Buffy/Giles, E)

With Arms Wide Open - Ch. 35 by jaybird023 (Buffy/Giles, E)

something so lonesome about you - Ch. 3 by silvain (Jenny/Ethan, Giles/Ethan, M)

Close to Home - Ch. 3 by Sigyn (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Wedding Belles - Ch. 3 by buffy_loves_spike (Buffy/Spike, R)

Buffy Summers and the Major Case of the Wiggins - Ch. 3 by Soulburnt (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Watcher - Ch. 19 by In Mortal (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Love Lives Here by Passion4Spike (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Under the Influence - Ch. 9 by Hostile17-1996 (Buffy/Spike, R)

Love Can't Fix Us - Ch. 2 by calikocat (Xander-centered, Herbie the Love Bug and Teen Wolf xover, FR15)

Crave - Ch. 1 by NautiBitz (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Blood and Fame - Ch. 4 by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Unicorn - Ch. 5 by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, R)

The Watcher - Ch. 19 by In Mortal (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Eyes Forward, Monster - Ch. 5 by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) COMPLETE!

Love Lives Here - Ch. 87 by Passion4Spike (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Shaping Trust - Ch. 5 by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, PG) COMPLETE!

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: [taking requests!!] illustrating memorable scenes from the show Buffy... by ibtravart (Buffy, Dawn, worksafe)

Artwork: Slayers - by tiredsai (Buffy, Faith, worksafe)

Lyrics: virginia woolf, the waves by dogmetaphors (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Lyrics: clementine von radics, the lion by dogmetaphors (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Gifset: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2.22 | 5.14 | 6.06 by spikedaily (Buffy, Spike, Joyce, Dawn, worksafe)

Gifset: And it just takes so much strength. I don't have that much. -- Well, I've got so much strength, I'm giving it away. by ladyverdance (Buffy, Willow, worksafe)

Gifset: ALPHABETICAL FAVES ⟹ S is for… Spike by clarkgriffon (Spike, Buffy, worksafe)

Gifset: ANGEL THE SERIES | (2.15) & (3.02) by cangelgifs (Angel, Cordelia, worksafe)

Gifset: Ranking Buffy Summers' hair evolution (as voted by my followers) 2/11 by buffysummers (Buffy, worksafe)

Fanvid: did it to myself | the dark age + passion GILES AND JENNY TIME!!!!!!! by watchriverdale (Giles/Jenny)

[Reviews & Recaps]

3x11 Gingerbread is hilarious by classified12345

"Inca Mummy Girl" Gets a Bad Rep, But It Has Good Moments... by Randy_Giles1880

PODCAST: Episode 65: The Initiative by Gym Was Cancelled: A Buffy Podcast

[Recs & In Search Of]

ISO: Mother-Ad-3324 seeks help identifying Mystery Autographs

[Community Announcements]

summer_of_giles: Summer of Giles 2024 is now open

[Fandom Discussions]

... bianca lawson was brought onto buffy thinking... by tridentarius

If I had a nickel for every time a guy on Buffy metaphorically cheated on his girlfriend... by slayer-pride-parade

I'm never not thinking about drusilla. [also Buffy] by fallinginaforrest

[Meme] by emilylovesdean

... Faith Lehane is 90% (at least) a female Xander Harris by confusedguytoo

smg does not get enough credit for her comic timing. by comradesummers

POLL: Vampire Media Guys Round 20: Spike or Carlisle Cullen [from Twilight]? by vampirewrestlinglover

POLL: have you watched Buffy and/or Angel? [is it worth watching Angel?] by dancedance-resolution

POLL: who is THE STRAIGHTBAIT EVER? [barbie characters or] angel and cordelia chase by straightbaittournament

Question - Who really is Buffy's "best" friend? updated by multiple

Halloween Implications by Sarlax

Warren didn't need the trio. (Part 2 of the trio going solo) by drawandpaintbyfire

Souless Angel:BtVS2 vs An4 [calling him Angel vs Angelus] by Evening_Teaching_710

Should Xander have gotten powers or been apart of the Initiative after season 3? by melanieispunk

How can people be cool with an ensouled Spike wearing [his jacket] by SafiraAshai

Better Portrayal: SMG as Faith or Eliza as Buffy by D_B_4986

Tales of brave Ulysses [Giles playing this song in Forever] by Beans_0492

Favorite Non-Canon Ship by Past-Throat-6788

Loved this from Cordy… [Cordelia in Helpless] by DanTrueCrimeFan87

Scrubs' hospital in S02E03? by Smashman2004

I finished watching Buffy... [are the comics worth reading?] by cyruscrawler

Comics [should I read them?] by incantopatronus

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

James Marsters to Attend Huntington Comic & Toy Con 10-11 August 2024 [Huntington WV] via dontkillspike

Patrick Dempsey and Sarah Michelle Gellar Spotted Together On the Set of Dexter: Original Sin via DexterDaily

Juliet Landau Joins San Diego Comic-Con [schedule] via reddit user middleageyoda

Comic-Con 2024: Buffy: “Once More with Feeling” [screening] via reddit user Visual-Ad-2262ww

SMG to moderate the Dexter: Original Sin panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024! via DexterDaily

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[coraniaid]

I know that Halloween isn’t really one of the very best Buffy episodes.  (I mean, it’s not even the best Halloween-themed Buffy episode.)  I know that its discussion of gender roles is, at best, kind of questionable; I know that  Buffy’s idea of what a noblewoman would actually do all day is laughably shallow; I know that this is pretty clearly one of the early episodes when the show was mostly being written by men.  I even know that the special effects aren’t that good.  And I definitely know that Angel’s “you’re not like other girls (who by the way I find beneath contempt, so don’t necessarily take that as a compliment)” speech to Buffy at the end is almost certainly meant to be romantic and not the huge red flag it actually is.

But.  Unfortunately I also know that I love this episode.  As a certain recurring vampire would say, it’s just … neat.

A couple of interesting things have been happening over the past few episodes of this rewatch.

One is that the world of the show has been getting bigger, or rather more solid.  We’re starting to see characters outside the Core Four who actually seem to have lives of their own and don’t just vanish back into the void once their episode is over.  Spike and Dru are the big ones, of course (the Master is a fun enough villain but he isn’t by any stretch of the imagination a person you can imagine having a rich inner life), but in Inca Mummy Girl we also met Devon and Oz and Jonathan, all of whom will appear multiple times this season, and this episode introduces Ethan and Larry.

(Purely coincidentally, Larry and Ethan have more in common than just first appearing in this episode. They are both gay men – or at least a heavily queer-coded man, in Ethan’s case – who will recur only a few times before being written out of the show in ways that I’m actually still kind of mad about.  But I’ll save that rant for later in the rewatch, assuming I get far enough.)

One of my biggest criticisms of the first season is how many times the show will introduce a new student (or group of students), insist that they’ve always been there, then completely forget about them forty-five minutes later.  The only genuinely recurring minor character that season was Harmony, and she was only in two episodes and not even mentioned in any of the others. Amy will return later but so far she’s just another example of the show introducing a character, establishing that Willow’s known them for years, then insisting that they don’t exist the next episode.  But that’s starting to change now, even if we’re not quite there yet – the next episode’s Lie To Me will arguably pull a variant of the exact same trick with Billy Fordham – and even if it isn’t something the show ever really grows out of completely.

Speaking of Willow, that’s the other big change that’s been happening, and the one I want to talk about most: Willow’s been slowly becoming more central to the show.  This is another slow process which won’t really finish this season, but the signs are there already.

In the first season of Buffy, I’d argue that there’s a very clear hierarchy in terms of how much attention the show gives the Core Four: Buffy is, of course, the central character, but after that the writers clearly think Giles is more important than Xander who is more important than Willow.  

This shows up in a few ways.  Speaking time is the one that’s easiest to quantify (roughly speaking, over the whole of the first season for every four minutes Willow speaks Xander will speak for five minutes, Giles will speak for seven minutes and Buffy will speak for eleven minutes), but I think this claim is also true if we consider things like how often they get to directly impact the plot or how much attention the show gives to both their relationship to Buffy and their lives outside of Buffy.  (Outside of I Robot, You Jane S1!Willow mostly exists to pine over Xander, to be rescued from danger by Buffy and to provide the sort of high school level exposition that Giles can’t deliver.)

That’s still true to a large extent in early Season 2 – Willow definitely is still pining over Xander, Buffy did go to rescue her in When She Was Bad and Willow still does get to deliver a lot of exposition – but it will stop being true by the time the season is over.  From Season 3 onward, I think it’s very clear that Willow is the most important member of the Scooby Gang after Buffy herself.  (In fact, in Season 6 I think you could argue that they’re almost co-protagonists.  That season is Willow’s story almost as much as it is Buffy’s.)

This post-Season 2 change is reflected in all sorts of ways: Willow’s average speaking time suddenly overtakes both Xander and Giles; she starts having proper arcs of her own (learning magic, dating, coming out as a lesbian); and, of course, she starts to play increasingly active roles in the plot.  And there are signs of all of this happening already, even if we’re not quite there yet. 

Taking speaking time, for example.  In Season 1 Willow had the fourth most speaking time of any of the Core Four in eight episodes, the third most speaking time in three episodes, and the second most speaking time in just one episode (The Pack).  She only had more than 12.5% of total speaking time in two episodes (The Pack again and also I Robot, You Jane), something that Xander managed in three episodes and Giles managed in eleven.  (Buffy has more than 20% speaking time in every episode of the season, as is only proper and correct.)

But although she had fourth most speaking time again in When She Was Bad, Willow did get 13.16% speaking time.  And in Reptile Boy and Halloween she is second in speaking time for two episodes running for the very first time (with 14.29% and 19.61% of all speaking time respectively).

She manages that by becoming much more assertive (that is, because the writers decide to make her more assertive).  She has, by now, mostly accepted that her romantic interest in Xander is doomed.  In Reptile Boy, she gets to dress down both Giles and Angel for their poor treatment of Buffy before leading them to go and help her.  And Halloween, more than any episode prior, really does belong to Willow. 

Willow, as much as anybody else, is responsible for saving the day here.  Not Xander, for all his costume-inspired military training.  Not Buffy, who hides behind Willow when she sees a car and asks her fearfully “what does it want?”.  And not even Giles, who does confront Ethan and  break the spell but who was so busy sitting in the library pretending to enjoy cross-referencing that without Willow he wouldn’t even have known there was anything strange going on that night.

And, of course, Willow seems to be the only one of the people changed by their costumes to retain their memories of their real lives.  Partly this has to be for plot reasons – somebody has to remember who they are if we’re going to figure things out before the final ad break – but I suspect there’s a little more to it than that.

For the most part, Ethan’s spell shows us who the Scooby Gang aren’t.  Buffy isn’t really a helpless delicate princess who’d rather die than fight and who faints at the first sign of danger.  Xander isn’t really a heroic man of action who beats up pirates and rescues damsels in distress.  Giles, we’re told, isn't really the “sniveling, tweed-clad guardian of the Slayer” he’s been pretending to be.

But the increasingly self-confident and self-assured Willow we see at the very end of this episode, as Oz drives by in his van?  The Willow who’s not just smart and knowledgeable but also willing to take charge in a crisis?  The Willow who learns to embrace the idea of wearing different outfits and taking charge of how the world perceives her?  The Willow who had more speaking time this episode than Buffy herself managed last episode?

That isn’t who Willow Rosenberg is yet.  But it’s who she’s going to become.

[charlottenewtons]

☕️ thoughts on your favourite and least favourite season of btvs?

Favourite season - easily season 2. It isn't as consistent as 3 or 5 but I think it has higher highs. Even the weaker episodes that feel like leftovers from season 1 have parts that I like - Ampata's parallels to Buffy's journey in Inca Mummy Girl, Willow telling off Giles & Angel for the way they've been treating Buffy in Reptile Boy, for example. Cordelia's integration into the group. Spike and Dru are great villains who give some background to Angel. The entire Angelus arc is amazing. I was never particularly that invested in Buffy/Angel as a couple but it gave the story a real emotional anchor that, maybe bar Faith in s3, they've never managed to replicate with the villain. The way you can see the show finding it's feet and developing into something great is so exciting and enjoyable to watch.

It's been a while since I've watched it but season 7 is probably my least favourite. It promised to go 'back to the beginning' in a way the show needed yet I never felt that it managed to actually do that, instead just saddled us with an extremely boring villain and too many new characters who took the focus away from the main cast (seriously did the Andrew actor have some dirt on Whedon??). It also destroyed any remaining interest I had in Spike/Buffy as a couple, and, this is probably its worst crime, it made me lose interest in Buffy as a character. Really aside from Faith, there is very little I like about it, I can't even remember 95% of the episodes.

Send me a ☕ and a topic and I'll talk about how I feel about it

[jvstheworld]

The Buffy Re-watch: S2E4 (part 1)

Inca Mummy Girl

Are school cultural exchanges a thing? And if so, how do they work?

Cordelia being excited about it, this will not last long.

Xander is worried about a guy staying at Buffy's house because of course he is.

If I was beaten up everyday for 5 years, I would hate the person too. Xander has a pass for not liking Rodney here.

There were 103 known elements on the periodic table when this season took place. According to the American Chemical Society there are now 118.

How much of Incan history is real and how much has been bastardised by the show? Because it wouldn't surprise me if they did.

Don't steal stuff from Mummies! The Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz film didn't come out until 1999, so you are excused for that, but there was a black and white Universal Mummy film that you can learn from.

Slayer training, Why is Giles wearing a full suit during this? He gets scared of Buffy kicking him again so he gives in to her request of going to the dance. And I'm going to keep saying he needs to invest in better padding so he isn't so bruised after their training sessions.

Xander doesn't think about kissing Willow? Could have fooled me in episode 1. I feel bad for Willow overhearing all this. She really just needs tell him how she feels.

Even Giles is aware of Rodney's reputation. That can't be good.

Don't joke about waking up the Mummy, you know that is a possibility.

Screaming guy with a knife, where did her come from?

Rodney is now a mummy.

Ampata seemed like such a sweet innocent boy. And he immediately dies from a literal kiss of death.

Love at first sight for Xander, but the over enunciating of his words is unnecessary.

Cordelia doing the same to the exchange student she got paired with is just as bad.

First appearance of Seth Green as Oz. He mentions the theme to A Summer Place, which is later used for when Dawn, Buffy, Willow and Anya fall for RJ in season 7's 'Him'.

Giles wastes no time in getting to the point of needing Ampata to translate the seal. He also has a Van Gogh postcard on his notice board in the background.

[buffysummers]

I give you all top 10 worst episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer list that no one asked for. (with #1 being the worst episode of the series for me)

Where the Wild Things Are (4.18)

Doublemeat Palace (6.12)

Dead Things (6.13)

Beer Bad (4.05)

As You Were (6.15)

Empty Places (7.19)

Teacher’s Pet (1.04)

Beneath You (7.02)

Inca Mummy Girl (2.04)

Listening to Fear (5.09)

[herinsectreflection]

The Insect Reflection

What is this?

This is a series of essays exploring every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It is not intended as episode reviews exactly, but a look at the themes, ideas, qualities and flaws of the show as they develop through each installment.

You can find links to every piece below the cut.

Season One

1: I’m Not Done Baking (Welcome to the Hellmouth)

2: Listen To Me - You Are Not Looking At Your Friend (The Harvest)

3: It Could Be Witches, Some Evil Witches (Witch)

4: That Guy Just Bugs Me (Teacher’s Pet)

5: Dates Are Things Normal Girls Have (Never Kill a Boy on the First Date)

6: All Men Are Beasts (The Pack)

7: Am I A Thing Worth Saving? (Angel)

8: Have You Googled Her Yet? (I Robot You Jane)

9: You Never Got a Single Date In High School Did You? (The Puppet Show)

10: We’re All Stuck Inside His Wacky Broadway Nightmare (Nightmares)

11: I Don’t Think About You Much At All (Out of Mind, Out Of Sight)

12: I’m Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, And You Are? (Prophecy Girl)

Season Two

1. You Walked Down The Steps, And I Loved You (When She Was Bad)

2. Did You Think She Would Look Upon Your True Face And Give You A Kiss? (Some Assembly Required)

3. I’ve Always Been Bad (School Hard)

4. I’ve Dropped Anvils (Inca Mummy Girl)

5. Is This A Penis Metaphor? (Reptile Boy)

6. This Is Just My Outfit (Halloween)

7. Do You Trust Me? (Lie to Me)

8. Instead, You Go All Dumbledore On Me (The Dark Age)

9. The Chosen Two (What’s My Line?)

10. You Don’t Get It - You Killed A Man (Ted)

11. You Seem A Bit Young To Have A Grown-Up Daughter (Bad Eggs)

12. The Bestest Buffy Birthday Bash In A Long While (Surprise)

13. A Person Doesn’t Just Wake Up And Stop Loving Someone (Innocence)

14. The Wolf Is Inside Me All The Time (Phases)

15. Whatever You Think You’re Feeling, It’s Not Love (Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered)

16. No-One Ever Dies And Everybody Lives Happily Ever After (Passion)

17. Girls Are Going To Die (Killed By Death)

18. When I Look Into The Future, All I See Is You (I Only Have Eyes For You)

19. I Hate It When They Drown Me (Go Fish)

20. The Magicks I Used Are Very Powerful (Becoming: Part One)

21. You Made Me The Man I Am Today (Becoming: Part Two)

22. He's a Vampire - He Should Die (Becoming: Part Three)

23. You Don't Have A Good Choice (Becoming: Part Four)

Season Three

24. Who Are You? (Anne)

25. Some Friends You Are (Dead Man's Party)

26. Her Name Alone Invokes Awe (Faith, Hope, and Trick)

27. I May Be Love’s Bitch (Beauty and the Beasts)

28. We’re Like Sisters, With Really Different Hair (Homecoming)

29. I’m A Teen, I’ve Yet To Mature (Band Candy)

30. Defensiveness and Weird Mixed Signals (Revelations)

31. The Big Bad Is Back (Lovers Walk)

32. It Wasn’t Our World Anymore (The Wish)

33. A New Kind Of Evil, Just In Time For Christmas (Amends)

34. I Guess Her Generation Isn’t Cool With Witchcraft (Gingerbread)

35. But You’re Just A Girl (Helpless)

36. To Live So Close To The Spotlight (The Zeppo)

37. I’m Evil, And Skanky, And I Think I’m Kinda Gay (Bad Girls)

[firemanwhenthefloodsrollback]

a taxonomy of buffy episode titles

I've always found Buffy's episode titles interesting. I remember during my first watch of the show scanning down lists of future episode titles and being surprised by how different amounts of hints they gave. I was pretty sure I knew what to expect from 'Inca mummy girl', I was much less sure for 'innocence'. a lot of other shows that were around at the same time had themes or running structures for how episodes were titled, but I've always liked how buffy let its campy cardboard-monster episodes have campy cardboard-monster titles and its heartbreaking prestige television episodes have heartbreaking prestige television titles.

putting a title on an episode is powerful and important, and maybe it becomes more and more important when the show is old and new viewers discover it with full episode lists already out there. we turn on the pilot and Netflix or the dvd cover tells us that we're watching something called 'welcome to the hellmouth', so it's the first sign we get from the writers of what we're meant to be thinking about and what tone and themes we're going to have to interpret

so here, because absolutely no one asked for it, are my thoughts:

The silly ones

Examples: I Robot... You Jane, Never Kill a Boy on the First Date

Mainly in season one but not every single time. these are titles that make you snort when you see them and maybe go 'is this a type of show I want to admit to liking?'. They put a picture in your head of an over the top, silly fantasy show full of puns and frosted lipstick, and then you get that alongside some sneaky feelings and themes leading you into the dark and emotional stuff later. I've said before that I think the beauty of Buffy is that we can have surprise immediately following bad eggs, and while surprise might be most people's faves out of those two, it doesn't mean we'd be as interested in a show where every episode was innocence.

The 'Does What It Says On The Tin' titles

Examples: The Replacement, Doublemeat Palace, Conversations with Dead People

There's an awful lot of episodes in this category. Something happens in the episode and the title tells us about that thing, and these can be silly monster of the weeks like reptile boy or they can be earth shattering like conversations with dead people. some overlap here with the other types of titles on this list, as descriptions of things can also be silly, or can also be thematic, or also be 'ooh I need to write some meta about this', but for something like doublemeat palace' it's fair to say that's just... what happens in the episode.

The thematic titles

Examples: Innocence, Goodbye Iowa, Entropy

These titles are firmly about what happens in the episode but in a more thematic way than category 2. By elevating one theme of the episode to the title they give us a sort of push to think about that particular theme. A good example of this is bargaining in season six, where the title hints to us that we're thinking about bargaining as a stage of grief, or innocence where the title sort of has us waiting for and expecting Buffy's conversation with Giles about innocence and teenage mistakes, or bad girls where we're directly told to compare buffy and faith and think about who's a good girl and who's a bad girl and to see them as mirror images. If those episodes had been called 'resurrection', 'surprise part two' or 'the murder' (crap titles I know) they wouldn't have given us that push to consider those particular themes.

The 'Oooh Why Did They Call It That' ones

Examples: Older and Far Away, This Year's Girl

I'm sure there are very good reasons why these episodes were called that but I don't know why, and I spend ages when I rewatch turning over in my head what they were going for when they called the episodes that. Older and far away gives that episode a fairy-tale vibe. this year's girl is an Elvis Costello song and it's very rare for buffy to name episodes after other songs/movies etc. I'm not even sure why grave is called grave - it's true that buffy gets stuck in a hole around some graves, and it mirrors the beginning of the series, and willow's evil plot involves sort of sending everyone to their graves, but I can't pick one theme or one reason that I know the writers needed me to be thinking 'grave' as I watched that episode. the episodes where I could write an essay about what 'older and far away' means

[zalrb]

sorry! i was the anon who asked bout xander and willow....i forgot to explain why....

well i don't condone cheating at all, i just want to know if you think it was understandable since willow liked xander for so long despite of ozwillow being the sweetest thing ever.

and as for their chemistry....i actually just started btvs (i knew bout ozwillow before i satrted watching the show since i saw it on your blog and only realized it was from btvs when i saw willow on the screen lol) and i don't exactly see a charged romantic pulse or sexual tension yet. i believe they have nice platonic chemistry cos i love their vibe like how they play around one another but still care for each other very much. i love the scene in which xander says "nobody hurts my willow" and willow even knows his heart rate and they both get very worried and protective over one another like when xander crushes on that teacher who was a giant preying mantis or when xander gets super iffy about "malcolm"

i also like the cute hugs and connection in their friendship. (however, i do think xander is a bit of an arse. moreover, the stuff he did when the hyena possessed his soul was just.....disturbing.) do you also think they have good platonic chemistry?

anyway my main question is, when you saw it, did you get a vibe that their friendship could transcend into a relationship? or did you only think that they have platonic chemistry...

i am so sorry that this is so messily explained and it is not exactly precise. i am pretty new to tv shows and on screen chemistry...

Hi, anon! Thank you for this, not messily explained at all :)

I’ll start with Willow and Xander’s chemistry. One of the reasons why BTVS stands the test of the time and why I talk about it so much is that for the most part, and especially in seasons 1-3, everyone had the exact right chemistry with each other, everyone worked incredibly well together. I say this because Alyson and Nick do have non-platonic chemistry, and I was surprised because you don’t see it until you’re meant to see it, which is literally the moment they cheat. Although I think you see a glimpse of it in When She Was Bad

But Nick and Alyson are very fluid because it starts super friendly

and then they change and then they dance and it’s like a flip has been switched which is what happens narratively, they put on a dress and a suit and are like whoaaaa and are drawn together

and I see them being drawn and then their kisses are like, good deep kisses

There’s the scene where they can’t help but kiss in the library and I get that because look at that kiss

he starts off by rubbing her temples and she tells him to stop but the moment he does, she grabs him by the face and their attraction is supposed to be this kind of chemical thing and I think they did it well

And when they have to play a dark vampire couple, I mean it’s like they relish it

and I mean, I speak about BTVS friendships all the time, if you want something more in depth, there are posts in the SE masterlist under TVD friendships, but they absolutely had I’ve-known-you-forever-you’re-my-best-friend chemistry

it all works.

In terms of their storyline, I understood it.  Willow had been in love with Xander since they were kids and the show is really good at portraying this crush as something that was kind of second-nature for her to have by the point we meet everyone

like when Xander’s love spell goes wrong and all the women in Sunnydale are infatuated with him, first of all Oz punches him because Willow is crying over Xander

second of all, Willow can’t even speak to him after that because she was already in love with him and then he did this

and Xander deeply loves Willow like a friend and it’s genuine

like my favourite Willow and Xander moment, Willow isn’t even physically there, he’s had enough of Buffy’s “issues” and is like

plus I love the moment between them in Inca Mummy Girl when Ampata is going to suck the life out of Willow and Xander’s just not having it, even though it’s an episode that sort of shows Willow’s romantic feelings getting trampled on

(and hope because of Oz’s ‘who IS that girl???’) we also see that Xander loves Willow and when it comes down to it, he will always choose her

but Xander is also a typical boy so he wants Willow when he realizes someone else actually finds her attractive and actually wants to be with her,

that’s when he’s like omg, you’re a girl and you’re pretty!

Like he literally makes out with Cordelia and whines about Willow and Oz while they’re kissing

so I don’t blame Willow for giving in and being “weak” despite the fact that she’s with Oz and loves Oz because even if she had moved on, a part of her had been waiting for this for forever and it’s finally happening so these things combined with the fact that I actually believed their chemistry once it turns lusty makes the narrative make sense to me even if I hate Willow cheating on Oz.

[cynicalrainbows]

The Next Best Thing Pt 5

Apologies for the long wait!

Babey Cathy and Anne finally get their playdate (I feel like they’d have amazing dark games) and Cathy reminisces about the funeral.

She has a little moment of worry as she pushes open the door to the spare room her room: it’s a bit smaller than her old room, which means it’s a lot smaller than Anne’s room, and what if they can’t play properly. 

(What if Anne regrets coming over?)

(Anna probably has a huge bedroom).

It turns out though that Inca Princess Burial can be played just as well in Cathy’s new bedroom as her old bedroom- although Anne does look at her strangely for a second when she suggests it.

It takes Cathy a moment to understand- because Inca Princess Burial is their BEST game, and since it can’t be played properly in the playground, they don’t even try, which means they haven’t played it for ages.

First, she’s scared that Anne just doesn’t want to play- perhaps she’s grown out of it since then, perhaps she’d rather be playing something else (something cool and german and grown-up) with Anna.

But then Anne says they don’t have to if she doesn’t want, and then she understands, and immediately wishes she didn’t.

Of course. Anne thinks she might not want to play Inca Princess Burial now that she’s played ‘Real Life Burial’ (except it wasn’t playing, it wasn’t a game.)

Her new black dress was too tight around her arms and she was glad because it gave her something else to think about, even though the red marks stayed on her skin until bedtime. 

She scuffed her shoes drawing a pattern in the dust outside the church and Catalina looked but she didn’t tell her off, didn’t even tell her to stop, and no one else did either, even when she did it harder, on purpose.

 It made her want to cry, the horrible difference in everything, the reminder that she was different now, an orphan, with an orphan’s privilege of no one caring if she messed up her things or not. 

Catalina stood very straight, as if she was afraid of falling off balance, and smiled a tight smile at all the people who came to shake their hands and say they were ‘so sorry….such a tragic loss….so very sad’.

She watched Catalina’s expression all day, so she could copy- she wasn’t sure how her face was meant to look on a day like this.

A woman with sprayed-stiff silvery-blonde hair leant in close and asked if Catalina hadn’t thought about getting Cathy ‘smartened up’ for the funeral, which made no sense because she was already wearing a new dress and new shoes- it made her wonder if she’d spilled something on herself, except she couldn’t have done- she’d pushed away her breakfast that morning and Catalina hadn’t pushed it. She hadn’t understood what the woman meant- but Catalina seemed like she did. 

(‘I really hope you’re not saying what I think you’re saying, Margot.’ 

���Just….you can get some really wonderful hair-straightening treatments nowadays-’

 Catalina squeezed Cathy’s fingers so tightly it hurt. ‘If you think I’m going to damage my goddaughters beautiful natural hair for some ridiculous standards of-’ 

She broke off. ‘Cathy’s hair comes from her mother. The mother she is having to say goodbye to. Do you really think she needs to be made to think that’s something she should be ashamed of?’ 

The woman huffed something about ‘only trying to help’, her high heels making cross clicky sounds on the wooden floor as she walked away and Catalina leant down. 

‘She’s an idiot, mija. Promise me not to listen to people like her.’ She’s not quite sure what she’s meant to be not-listening to but she nods anyway and Catalina pulls her into a fierce hug.)

She hadn’t cried when the wooden boxes disappeared behind the curtain, even though everyone else was. She knew mum and dad were meant to be inside the boxes but somehow, she couldn’t believe it. The boxes were too small.

She hadn’t even cried when the third person whisper-asked Catalina if she was ‘really sure about taking it all on’, even though she knew that she was the it. 

She didn’t cry and she didn’t even shout or kick out at the people asking, although she wanted to (she wanted to ask them why they were asking Catalina these scary sort of questions now, she wanted to ask what would happen to her if Catalina decided to answer in the negative…. But she didn’t.) 

 Catalina just smiled a not-real smile at all of them and cut most of them off before they’d finished talking. 

‘Really ready for the burden of-’

‘Of course Cathy is staying with me.’ The questioner- a stooped man with egg mayonnaise from the buffet table staining his tie- winced a bit at her loud tone, as if he’d rather Catalina match his hushed tones.

‘And you’re-’

‘She’s my goddaughter.’ Catalina squeezed Cathy’s hand tight- she hadn’t let go all day and it made Cathy feel a tiny bit less lost, a bit less like she might disappear altogether. 

‘Of course she stays with me.’ 

She nods, like the conversation is finished, and starts tugging Cathy quickly away, although there’s nowhere in particular they need to be. 

Outside, the wind whips at their skirts. The sky is cold iron grey but Catalina's hands over hers are warm. 

‘It’s going to be ok, mija. It’s going to get easier. I know it doesn’t feel like that now but it will.’

She doesn’t answer but Catalina doesn’t seem to mind- not then, and not when she doesn’t answer anyone else either, all the people who tell her that they’re very sorry, that she’s gotten so big now, even the stupid woman with the too-bright lipstick who tells her that she’s a lucky girl to have such a nice new dress. 

She gives them all the same blank stare until they get uncomfortable and look away- the stare of someone who can’t be hurt, who doesn’t need anyone or anything, who can’t feel anything at all.

Catalina doesn’t seem to mind- and when she can’t keep it up and bursts into stupid tears later that evening (after spilling the cocoa Catalina made her on her favourite pajamas), Catalina doesn’t seem to mind that either, just scoops her into her arms and rocks her back and forth without a word, which is good, becasue she can’t think of any words that would make her feel better.

It makes her feel a bit shaky for a moment- she wonders if it’s wrong to want to play a game about burying someone when she’s seen people buried for real…. But then she remembers what catalina told her when she asked if it was still ok to read and watch tv and do other normal things when mum and dad were gone.

(‘They want you to be happy, querida. It’s alright to be sad but it’s alright to be happy- to do things that make you happy too. It’s what they would want.’)

Catalina’s voice is so strong in her head that it actually drowns out some of the shaky-anxious thoughts- she’s able to smile at Anne.

‘Are you sure you want to play that?’

‘Yeah. I'm sure.’

She does still wonder if they’ll be able to play the same in her new bedroom but it’s ok, it’s just as good- perhaps even better, because when Catalina knocks on the door with chocolate biscuits, she says they can use the sheets from Cathy’s bed AND her bed as embalming bandages, and that means she can entomb Anne really authentically.

(They have to promise to put fresh sheets on both the beds when they’re done but, as anyone who has played Ince Princess Burial will know, it’s completely worth it.)

She entombs Anne as thoroughly as she can, until Anne starts whining that she can’t breathe- and then they have the excellent idea to include the things Mrs James taught them about Egyptian burial last week.

(They decide it doesn’t matter that the Inca’s didn’t use the Egyptian mummification methods. Anne reckons they probably would have done if they’d known about them. Or maybe they wouldn’t, but still, it makes the game even better, which for a game as good as Inca Princess Burial, is quite an achievement.)

They don’t have a proper hook, or even anything that can be used as a hook, but it’s still lots of fun doing the brain-through-the-nose bit (even if she keeps telling Anne that the real mummies were dead and wouldn’t have screamed quite so dramatically.)

Catalina and Jane come in when they’ve only just started, both holding half drunk cups of coffee and looking a bit panicked, but they calm down once they explain it’s part of the game.

Jane murmurs something to Catalina about ‘sugar and spice and all things nice’ that makes Catalina give a very un-Catalina-like snort of laughter, and then tells them they can have an ice lolly if they promise to move onto the next part of the game right now.

The idea of an ice lolly is tempting BUT they decide in favour of continuing the mummification process to the letter, as much as they can. 

Jane laughs when they tell her what they’ve decided and tells Catalina it was ‘worth a try’, and Cathy decides she likes Jane more than Anne’s real mum or dad. 

(She doesn’t like the way Anne’s mum will ask a question and then look around like she’s bored when she’s answering, and although she wouldn’t admit it to anyone, she’s still a tiny bit scared of Anne’s dad after he shouted at them for playing snakes and ladders with the ladder the house painters had left propped against the wall. 

She hadn’t even been on the ladder- just the snake at the bottom, hissing and trying to catch and devour Anne’s kicking feet- but she’d still wanted to run away and hide when he roared at them and she’d been glad when her parents had come to pick her up soon after.)

At least, they try to follow the mummification process to the letter: Cathy really doesn’t want to use up all of her strawberry flavoured lip balm which is what will happen if they use it as embalming ointment. Anne asks if she wants the Inca Princess to just be buried un-embalmed and rot and rain down curses on them all, so she asks Anne if she wants to be left without a pretend-lipstick next time they want to play Business Woman Detective? 

Anne says she’ll just borrow some from Mary or from her mum, even though even Cathy knows Mary doesn’t wear lipstick anymore and that Anne isn’t allowed in her mum’s bedroom ever ever and no exceptions...but she doesn’t sound like she really means it, so they just skip the embalming part. (The Inca Princess will probably understand.)

(She sometimes wants to ask Anne how the no-going-into-the-bedroom actually works- what does Anne do if she doesn’t feel well? What if she has a bad dream? What if there’s a powercut? What if robbers break in? She can think of a thousand what-if’s but she doesn’t ever ask Anne. Perhaps she doesn’t really want to hear the answer.)

(She’s very, very, very glad Catalina doesn’t have the same rule though, especially when it thunders.)

They’re half way through gathering up things to use as Offerings and Sacrifices (the coveted sparkly shoes, and Cathy’s favourite stuffed otter, and the specially-nice books Catalina sent her last Christmas with the covers made of cloth and the titles stamped in gold) when Catalina calls them for tea.

They’re both starving.

(Burials are SUCH hard work.)

[tammyhybrid21]

THybrid’s Mummy Rant(pt 1)

ALRIGHT!

Sooo…

I kind of said I would be organizing a big giant analysis and rant on this character-- Because I have many, many feelings. Buuut I think this is probably going to be something that just ends up diving into a lot more for the context I do have. Both in terms of the movie, and the research I've been rolling around in--

So-- before I put this under a cut/readmore, can I put some context into this?! And by context--

I mean in general I would not be here if Mummy hadn't been the one Netflix had for the Movie's preview. Mummy is why I'm here, just because whoop. That's a character design that CALLS ME! So yeahh-- that out of the way…

First Impressions:

Sooo… in the first movie Mummy is… only in the last third, roughly of the movie. Which is a crying shame in all honesty because for me he steals the show from that point. AND we get to see SO MANY Sides. Like, just… there's a bit to unpack here, and it also leads into more of my Autism squee talk--

But I don't think I could even really articulate everything in a straight cohesive manner so I'll sort of sum it with the most important screencaps.

Soooo, I have a lot to say… and a picture says a thousand words… but especially here and okay, so those screencaps are… not exactly all the story, but they say a lot for what they say. And then you can compound that specifically with the research that I have… again, been just rolling in. Because GIMME!

Sooo anyway, let me talk about these screencaps while my brain is turned on. Because I feel that all of these are important! Including that first glimpse! Because like-- what you need to understand is-- Do you know how hard catching something like that is?! And how did he notice it. Which like, that's probably a sensitivity thing, but specifically! That would whistle on the way down!

Then!

LET ME TALK ABOUT MASKING!

Like just-- all these next pictures and moments! They bring up Masking. Because look at him when he's first approaching, first seen in full. He's threatening, intimidating(up until Tadeo spots him and it's just scream for them both) BUT THEN IN PRIVATE! Clapping, flapping, and well, we can watch Movie 2 with a very specific lense based on a piece of WoG I found…

But even those next few screencap moments--

Like, Mummy is important, BUT there are rules of how you're supposed to present yourself. Like look at him! Look at him in front of the guards! How Paititi is revealed and even the lead up, like, he has a good shift from the slight goofball to commanding and then to intimidating and just…

Snap fingers and the guards respond(which then with movie two… boyyyyy I want to know what happened). And as much as we think that hug is intense…

And then look at the shy nervous child. WHICH I'm going to bring in a moment or two from the Series, Descubre con Tadeo(which is a fun watch even if I only get like, maybe a fifth of the content).

He's insecure and nervous… and we related it to being like… first day of school jitters. BUT THEN he-- also has a perfect shift here as well.

Put on your professional voice! And like, I suppose some things could be argued in terms of Mummy's antics in the second film. But I just… have too much more to say that the whole movie kind of feels like.

"FIRST TIME I AM FREE!" in terms of how Mummy is running around and just having fun! You ever just want to cut loose mate?! Scream, or go wild… but like… with the second movie I have other places to just go, WAIT?! What happened?! And also just analyze moments that are… well…

But like, number one is a background moment actually(and I hope so muuuuch that it means something in movie three please)

LOOK AT TADEO'S CONSPIRACY BOARD!

Like I'm just here like, Mummy?! What did you do?! On his trip over, which for all is kind of implied/feels like a B-Line, and I have… other thoughts and feelings on that. But like, the conspiracy board! Mummy! Also considering that the English Localization has Tadeo in Chicago(and I want to know if that's true for everywhere--) As an aside in this moment, can we just appreciate the jump of quality in the animation between the movies?! Like ahhhh the details! I just hng-- And some things in the whole animated series as well…

Edutainment.

WHICH features BOTH Mummy and Tadeo just special interest dumping. And it's A++

He also hums the theme song in his take over episode, and dances and is just ahahahahah

Which, this is one of the two Mummy just-- yanks the show for himself moments… The other has him playing with everyone else as dolls and I just--

Yes

Gender

Which look, I've been going off some level of fluidity for him! Since I watched the second movie and he just-- STOLE THE SHOW! And the credits sequence, I have… a lot to say about his around the world trip but most of that ultimately amounts to disorganized screaming about the fact that he starts the travel with only one dangling earring and ends it with two to speak to the guards--

And that then goes into--

ANYWAY--

Genderwise, I've been informed that there's a WoG confirmation of nb, which… Good Representation! Even if I have personal… bad, yucky, awkward feelings about the term, if that's the confirmed canon term. Well. My personal dysphoria with the term specific aside.(Non non, it always feels like--) NO WONDER I HELLA RELATE!

For those not caught up-- I myself identify as Agender. Which is a nb-spectrum gender, or as I refer to it as when trying to explain. "Gender, yes". I have a gender, and that gender is yes it's something and exists. But like, I'm not tied to the binary of Male-Female, not really. Sooooo--

If Mummy is confirmed nb, which, I will be source hunting for sure.

Well, his relatability to me just skyrocketed EVEN MORE!

Like I'm sorry, you don't understand! That's super important on MANY levels. Not just for the rare gender to be highlighted. BUT!

Mummy is very Autistic Coded. More on the female stereotyped Autism as well-- and then FOR THE BIG THING! He's Inca!

Like, do you people even have a scale for the important points that he's hitting here?! (And if we add apparently spoken about Asexuality?! Excuse me!)

Like I don't know how much I could say on how important this is representation and character wise…

Sooo

Moving on.

Inca

Sooooo… this is probably something dumb to tack onto the end but. I'll be the first to admit it. I'm… coming from a culturally blind/naïve perspective but-- it's something intrinsic and important to understanding Mummy as character. He's from a cultural background I honestly don't yet know enough about. (Can I ever know enough though?!)

He's an Inca. And more than that-- WoG seems to have implied, he's Royalty, whiiiiich puts into perspective some of those screencap moments and brings about a host of interesting research topics for me to just gleefully dive into and roll around in.

BUT

With that contextual framing.

This dork, and this moment-- and thinking about how he's got the pull in the first movie to boss the guards around. Just like-- Make decisions and call the shots… and more to me…

Who put the cufflink there?! SPECIFICALLY?!

Because like, all he said was "keep it safe"

I also really, really want to know if there's some cultural significance and nuance I'm missing here, because hooo boy. As far as I have, this is basically just subtle nods and confirmations that he's royal, possibly even the recognized Auqui of their set up here(which as of movie two, possibly no longer the case).

I also have a lot to say about THIS:

In terms of the half a dozen or so resources that have STUFF to say about Handshakes to the Inca(albeit there is more than just a handshake buuuut). But this is already 11 pages in word and honestly, I don't think I could explain things in a nice and tidy context for all my FEELINGS that I have.

Sources:

Screenshots taken by myself and a friend

Tadeo Jones & Tadeo Jones 2: El secreto del Rey Midas

https://www.telecinco.es/tadeojones/descubre-con-tadeo/16940/ For additional character screenshots, albeit had to find some of it on Youtube.

WoG on Mummy's implied Royalty: https://www.animum3d.com/blog/animacion-3d-tadeo-jones/ (And English translation C&P feat. Google Translate: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DPhIuurqtx7QJm1df31cviHsqDEgKH5t9MVstJZHpRw/edit) Point of NOTE

With the designs and the script in front, you start to shuffle ideas, by his golden dress, his hat and his cape you imagine that he is someone important within his clan, that should give a sublime aspect to his behavior, as if he belonged to royalty, someone with a refined attitude and manners, are ideas that do not have to be evident or definitive, but in some way help to set parameters when shaping your personality.

WoG on Gender & Sexuality: Still on the hunt, right now more fandom news(please gibe me the source!) FOUND: https://elcultural.com/Enrique-Gato-y-David-Alonso-El-reto-ya-no-es-sorprender-sino-crear-empatia-con-los-personajes & https://www.ecartelera.com/noticias/41656/pelicula-aventuras-definitiva-tadeo-jones-2-equipo/5/

My son asks me many times if Mummy is a boy or a girl and it's all at once. It's absolutely ambiguous and that also makes it a lot of fun.

“For us he is asexual and we really like playing with it.”

Conclusion:

WATCH THESE MOVIES PLEASE!

And get the culture being represented by one of the characters RIGHT!

[pass-the-bechdel]

Buffy Season 2 Full Review

How many episodes pass the Bechdel test?

95% (21 of 22)

What is the average percentage per episode of female characters with names and lines?

43%

How many episodes have a cast that is at least 40% female?

16 (ep 1 ‘When She Was Bad’ (45%), ep 2 ‘Some Assembly Required’ (45%), ep 3 ‘School Hard’ (50%), ep 4 ‘Inca Mummy Girl’ (45%), ep 5 ‘Reptile Boy’  (44%), ep 7 ‘Lie to Me’ (46%), ep 8 ‘The Dark Age’ (50%), ep 9 ‘What’s My Line Pt 1′ (43%), ep 10 ‘What’s My Line Pt 2′ (40%), ep 11 ‘Ted’ (50%), ep 13 ‘Surprise’ (43%), ep 14 ‘Innocence’ (50%), ep 15 ‘Phases’ (40%), ep 16 ‘Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered’ (64%), ep 17 ‘Passion’ (60%), ep 18 ‘Killed by Death’ (55%))

How many episodes have a cast that is less than 20% female?

Zero.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

24. 7 who appear in more than one episode, 5 who appear in at least half the episodes, 3 who appear in every episode. 

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

45. 14 who appear in more than one episode, 4 who appear in at least half the episodes, 2 who appear in every episode. 

Positive Content Status:

Abysmal. (average content rating of 2.77)

General Season Quality:

The story often seems manipulated to service the things that bring the positive content status down, bringing the general quality down as well. 

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) under the cut:

I honestly didn’t realize how bad this season is until it came to breaking down each episode. And the way it goes wrong is so directly hinged on exploiting or abusing the characters- especially the female characters- sexually. 

We already covered in Innocence why the season’s arc of soulless Angel is problematic but it’s worth reiterating: everything that happens, every person who is killed by Angel, is blamed on Buffy. First because she sleeps with him and causes him to lose his soul, then because she fails to kill him (the first person she slept with, and probably loved). And the show doesn’t do much to divert the blame. Giles gives a nice speech about how he refuses to beat Buffy up verbally for her mistakes and a half baked attempt to have Buffy work through and absolve herself of shame was made in I Only Have Eyes for You but it doesn’t land. Instead, it just comes off as the show shaming Buffy for having sex (with someone who was much older than her, making her a victim- something we also cover in episode reviews). 

In addition to the overarching plot being sexually exploitative and slut shamey, there are individual episodes constantly rooted in gratuitous sexual assault. The worst ones in my opinion are Go Fish and Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered. In the former, Buffy is continuously nearly assaulted by members of the swim team. And what’s worse is it feels like Whedon thinks he’s doing the viewer a favor by being willing to cover as controversial a topic as sexual assault in sports. But what he- and many men making tv or films- don’t seem to understand is that women know. We know that rape culture exists. And in a show supposedly about female empowerment it’s exhausting to see these really troubling aspects continuously played out. Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered doesn’t even go as far as making a half hearted social commentary. It’s just Xander trying to control his ex girlfriend and in the end putting his best friends and every other woman in the town in situations of dubious consent. And in the end, as in everything else Xander does, not only are there no consequences but he’s actively rewarded with Cordelia getting back with him. Xander is a jerk to women at best and an abuser at worse and the show fails to ever punish him for this, making ever rooting for his character a difficult task. 

The thing I liked most from Season 1 - Buffy’s struggle with reconciling being the Slayer with being a teenage girl - is much less prevalent in this season. A weaker version is seen in her debate between loving Angel and having to kill him, but it feels worse, being dipped in the problematic elements mentioned above. A return to Buffy’s emotions - her conflict and grief and innocence - would be better I think. 

The only improvement in this season was Cordelia. Though she had some missteps- namely her relationship with Xander- bringing her into the gang and allowing her to be a more rounded character gave more opportunities for her to support and be supported by the other characters (especially the women). And I did enjoy seeing that. 

Overall, this season was a disappointment, and I would like to see an improvement in Season 3. 

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Friday, June 7

DOCTOR GUY: Would you please put out that cigarette? It's really not allowed. HARMONY: Oh yeah? Says who? The doctor turns to look pointedly at the NO SMOKING sign on the wall. HARMONY: Oh god, sorry! Didn't see the sign! She turns away to put out the cigarette.

~~Out of My Mind~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

What Doesn't Balance by NAOA (Wesley/Lilah, E)

We Can Share the Bed by just_a_random_person_um_yeah (Willow/Xander, T)

Give Me Everything by all choseny (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Give Me Everything by all choseny (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Vampire In Charcoal by Geliot99 (Buffy/Spike, NC_17)

Fresh by Dusty (Buffy/Spike, R)

[Chaptered Fiction]

I don't feel safe in my body - Ch. 3 (not complete) by WillowBee326 (Buffy/Willow, E)

lost in this, but it feels like home - Ch. 4 by evesock (Buffy/Angel, E)

Three's a Crowd - Ch. 2 / 8 by HAL1500 (Giles/Jenny, G)

I hate the way - Ch. 20 by DancingAngel0013 (Buffy/Giles, E)

Highlands and Tropical Islands - Ch. 8 by QuillBard (Buffy/Faith, M)

Recommencer - Ch. 15 by FridayQueen (Français, Buffy/Faith, M)

Ecstasy: A Sexy Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fan-fic Fantasy - Ch. 6 by TheUnbrokenSpell (Buffy/Angel, Willow/Xander, Faith/Spike, M)

When the Past Meets the Present - Ch. 3 by Bitter_Rabbit (Giles/Spike, E)

Reunion - Ch. 3 by 29PhoenixLament (Buffy, Tara, Spike, G)

… A Stranger I Go Hence - Ch. 14 by MalkMcJorma (Faith/OMC, Tara, Dawn, M)

Domestic - Ch. 5 by all choseny (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Christmas in June - Ch. 2 by Dynamite (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Morning Stretches - Ch. 2 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Infernal Fire - Ch. 4 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Exquisite Chaos: Part 2 by yellowb, fortes775, Kanita, SzmattyCat, simmony, MillennialCryBaby, Maxine Eden (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Maclay Down - Ch. 9 by Soulburnt (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Neighbor's Point of View - Ch. 111 by the_big_bad (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Domestic - Ch. 5 by all choseny (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Bruises - Ch. 14 by hulettwyo (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: [spike] by isevery0nehereverystoned (Spike, worksafe)

Artwork: Oh, boy. Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1.04 Teacher's Pet by campanulafield7 (Buffy/Angel, worksafe)

Gifset: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER S4E9: Something Blue | S5E6: Family by spuffygifs (Buffy/Spike, ensemble, worksafe)

Gifset: ALYSON HANNIGAN as WILLOW ROSENBERG in BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. by sonnywithachanceofrollins (Willow, Buffy, Xander, worksafe)

Gifset: 3x18 / 3x21by ptieuca (Buffy/Angel, worksafe-ish)

Gifset: SPUFFY + INADVERTENTLY BEING THE CAUSE OF EACH OTHER’S BREAKUPS by detectivedawnsummers (Spike, Willow, Buffy, worksafe)

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Grief comes in waves.

It was true, and Molly was sailing through them as best she could. It felt cruelly ironic that the one person she could think to go to when she was feeling the way she was, the one person’s advice and words she wanted over anyone one else’s, was the same person that had her feeling the way she was. It felt disgustingly unfair that Clive was gone, it was meant to get better for him after the operation, life was meant to start again, he was meant to be able to get out and do all the things he’d missed - swim in the sea, ride his bike, climb the Trundle and watch the horses. Molly couldn’t wrap her head around how life could be so cruel to the kindest, warmest soul she’d ever known.

It hadn’t been a week since she’d crumbled in the hospital corridors, since she’d walked into the room where Clive laid, after his family had done the same, with Harry by her side. If she hadn’t known better she could have believed he was just sleeping soundly, the most peaceful sleep he’d ever had. Whenever it got hard she remembered that, thought about that. People kept telling her it would get easier, her mother said as much, though it felt like she didn’t really understand why Molly was so upset at all - wasn’t he just the man that owned the cafe Molly frequented. If that had been the case surely everything would have been easier, but Clive was so much more than that to Molly, and that only became more obvious the less easy it got.

It didn’t get easier, not really, Molly just became more numb to it. It got easier to hold the tears back because she was so exhausted of crying, not because she didn’t feel like she needed to cry anymore. Food became palatable again because she was bored of hearing people tell her she needed to eat, not because she had any appetite. Sleep came easier because her eyes literally couldn’t stay open any longer, not because her mind had stopped whirring through it all over and over again. If anything it got harder, with every twenty four hours that slogged past, it was just another twenty four hours without Clive, another twenty four hours of confirmation that he was really gone. Grief never got easier, it just got easier to deal with. It never subsided, the coping methods just became more habitual.

The only person who seemed to realise that was Harry. He never told her it would get easier, he never suggested she eat some food, get some fresh air or some sleep when she was having a bad day, or a bad hour, or even a bad five minutes. If anyone knew what the gaping hole inside Molly felt like, it was Harry. And if hers was as big and dark as it was, she couldn’t even imagine how Harry’s must feel. But he never told her to pull herself together and keep her head up like her dad had, or simply tell her it would all be ok like her mum had, he didn’t try and offer empty sympathies or pointless reassurances, only ever validated how she was feeling, never made her feel stupid for crying or getting in her head, or being upset.

Molly knew Clive wasn’t family, and perhaps it was a strange friendship to anyone looking on who didn’t really know Clive, but to Molly Clive had been vital, and though he’d never told as much, she felt like she’d become as important to him. He was the comfort and familiarity of home when she was far from home. Molly had never been able to put her finger on why, or how he’d made her feel that way, but he just did. And Molly supposed that the fact that it was just the way it was, spoke louder than if there’d been a very specific reason that she’d been able to point out clearly to anyone who asked. It was just something about Clive. In her head he was there on her wedding day, sat with her grandparents, if she had children they’d all know him as uncle Clive, and he’d always give her the tips on the horses every Saturday. Clive was as much a part of her life as Jimmy or Lauren, or anyone else she considered a close and good friend.

And he was gone.

Molly hadn’t missed much of university, only two lectures, things were winding down for the end of the year, but assessment week was coming up, and Molly had a project mood board to finish and revision to do. It was filling her time, keeping her mind occupied, and whoever had told her that would help hadn’t been lying. It was easier to get on when her mind was occupied with uni work. Harry had offered to stay home with her, because as of yet she hadn’t left his flat, apart from a quick trip to hers to pick up a few more clothes and get a few hugs from her housemates. Jimmy asked when she’d be coming home, and Molly didn’t know. Driving past the cafe, still with the sign blu tacked to the inside of the door that Louis had put there after closing on the Saturday, was hard enough, let alone walking past it everyday to get to town or uni or the bus stop. Jimmy just nodded, hugged her again, and let her go before the tears in their eyes were let out.

It was a beautiful sunny day, Thursday, four days since, and Molly was up and dressed, a coffee at Harry’s table and surrounded by revision materials. Windows were open and she could hear the birds outside singing sweetly. It was hard not to smile, and Molly found herself doing so. Keep smiling Little Lady. Clive’s voice came to her. It hadn’t done so since she last spoke to him, but she realised that might have been because she’d been trying not to think about his voice at all. It took her by surprise how easily it came to her and her eyes began to prick a little. She looked out to the bright blue sky, and with tears in her eyes, smiled big and bright. She’d been fighting not to hear his voice, now she was going to start fighting to never forget how he sounded when he told her to keep smiling.

The sound of the front door opening made her jump and she snapped her head to look over her shoulder. Her vision was still a little blurry, but she blinked quickly to clear it and see Harry striding through the door with a little Lola ahead of him. Molly grinned quickly, she hadn’t been expecting Harry, he was meant to be at work, and she certainly wasn’t expecting Lola, but it was amazing how quickly she felt lighter and full of something warmer as the little girl ran towards her with a bright beaming smile on her face.

“Lolly,” Lola cried, arms stretching to the ceiling as got closer, Molly chuckled reaching for Lola as she turned in her seat and picked her up off the floor. “Are you ok? Uncle Harry said you might be a bit sad,” Lola told Molly, her eyes going wide, leaning back off Molly’s shoulders to check over her face.

“I’m ok sweetheart, how are you?” Lola just nodded and wrapped her arms around Molly’s neck hugging her tightly. Molly looked up to Harry who gave her a soft smile and silently asked if she was ok, obviously being able to see the dampness that had been in her eyes. Molly nodded and smiled back at him, and he seemed to accept it. “So have you come to see me?” Molly asked, Lola’s arms unlinking and sitting back.

“Yes, and...” Lola shuffled off Molly’s lap and ran back to Harry, leaving her sentence hanging in the air, and  hunting in the bag Harry was holding for something. Molly sat and waited, Harry falling to a crouch to help Lola find what she was looking for. Eventually she turned back to Molly with a brown paper wrapped bouquet of flowers. “I chose these for you,” Lola grinned walking back to Molly, being overly careful with the flowers.

“Excuse me?” Harry chimed in with a chuckle. Lola glanced back at Harry who was staring down at her with a cocked eyebrow.

“Uncle Harry helped a bit,” Lola mumbled handing Molly the flowers. Molly looked at them and smiled, sniffing them gently before glancing back at Lola.

“They’re beautiful Lola, thank you,” Molly smiled, leaning forward and giving Lola a sweet kiss on her cheek. “Do you know what they are?” Molly asked, and Lola nodded excited.

“Uncle Harry told me, this is roses,” Lola told Molly pointing to one of the soft pink roses, and Molly nodded with a smile, her heart warmed by the image of Lola and Harry in the florists going over the name of the flowers they picked, starting with Molly’s favourites, the ones Harry bought her time and time again. “Dragons,” Lola continued pointing at the pink snapdragons, “Lily of…” Lola hesitated and looked back to Harry behind them who stepped closer then, kneeling beside Lola.

“Lily of the Incas,” Harry reminded her with a smile and Lola nodded, looking back to Molly and grinning.

“Lily of Incas, and this one,” Lola grinned happily, pointing to the last flower that Lola could have told Molly was called anything, and Molly would have been none the wiser.

“Waxflower,” Harry reminded Lola softly, and Lola nodded, still just grinning up at Molly.

“They’re beautiful thank you, and good job remembering them all, you’re so clever,” Molly smiled again, sitting up and placing the flowers behind her.

“I want to make flowers when I’m big,” Lola told Molly, sweetly grasping her hands together in front of her.

“Yeah?” Molly asked, picking Lola back up to place her on her lap, as Harry got back up to his feet and lugged the full shopping bag through to the kitchen.

“Yeah, or be a stick insect keeper,” Lola admitted and Molly nodded, still smiling, spinning on the chair a little so she could rest her back against it again.

“Well Lola, you can be anything you want to be,” Molly told her honestly, and tucking some of her ringlets behind her ears that had fallen from the little ponytail her hair had been tied in.

“Uncle Harry says so too,” Lola smiled with a little nod, eyes moving to glance at her godfather, unpacking food from the bag. Harry just smiled back at her.

“Well Uncle Harry knows what he’s talking about,” Molly said, following Lola’s gaze towards Harry. “He’s pretty clever too.”

“Mummy says he’s stupid sometimes,” Lola shrugged, and Molly instantly frowned the reaction instantaneous.

“Did she?” Molly asked, still with eyebrows dipped a little. In her peripheral vision, Molly could see Harry staring over at them, frozen, the bag of shopping forgotten, but Lola’s eyes were staring at Molly’s necklace, the same one she’d been wearing when she’d last seen Lola, and Molly’s eyes were fixed on the top of Lola’s head, not really wanting to see the look on Harry’s face.

“Yes she was on the phone and she said bloody Harry so stupid some-,”

“Whoa, less of that thank you missy,” Harry chimed in then, and both Lola and Molly flicked there eyes to Harry. There was a deep dark crease between his eyebrows and a stern look in his eyes that matched the harst straight line his mouth had formed into.

“Mummy s-”

“I don’t care, you’re in my house now and we don’t talk like that,” Harry told her, and Lola nodded a little, swallowing and lifting her fingers to her mouth. Molly could hear his tone of voice, and she knew it came from a place of frustration for Ellie more than a place of anger for Lola. “That sounds like one of those adult conversations you weren’t meant to be listening to again,” Harry challenged, cocking an eyebrow towards the ceiling. Lola didn’t say anything, just dropped her head to look at Molly’s knees and her own feet dangling between them. “What have we told you about eavesdropping Lola?” Harry asked sternly, hand moving to his hip.

“Sorry,” Lola whispered.

“That’s ok, but you mustn’t do it again.” Lola again just nodded, and Molly saw Harry swallowing on nothing. Clearly it wasn’t as easy as Harry made it seem to tell Lola off. “Right, can you go and wash your hands if you want to help me make the picnic,” Harry told her, and Molly tapped Lola’s leg gently to encourage her down. Lola slid off of Molly’s lap, Molly holding her waist to keep her from going too quickly or all at once, before she trotted off down the hallway towards the bathroom.

“She’s nearly four, what is she going to be like when she’s nearly fourteen,” Harry sighed, shaking his head to himself as he moved around the kitchen sorting out the food he’d bought for their apparent picnic.

“She’s intuitive,” Molly smiled. For Molly it was endearing to see Lola so clued into the world around in every way, it made her sympathetic to emotions and feelings, and even Molly knew that was rare for a child of Lola’s age. However, Molly could also see how it might be a problem, Lola understanding so much. Sometimes too much. “So a picnic?” Molly asked when Harry didn’t say anything else on the matter.

“Yeah, thought we’d head out to Priory and enjoy the sun,” Harry suggested, glancing up to Molly from the cherry tomatoes he was cutting in half and placing into a plastic tub.

“Didn’t know you had the afternoon off?” Molly asked, slightly narrowing her eyes. In fact she could remember him leaving her in bed that morning, telling her he’d be back around six ish, as he was working out of town and was bound to get stuck in traffic getting home.

“Ellie asked if I could have Lola for the afternoon, last minute, she had to go into work for a few hours or something,” Harry started, with a small shrug, still focused on the tomatoes. “I don’t want to be inside fitting a kitchen when it’s like this and when I’ve got you at home, so seemed like a good excuse to sack the afternoon off,” Harry told her, glancing to her again and offering a smile, Molly gave the same in return but didn’t say anything. Harry’s hands dropped the knife and reached for the cucumber he’d fetched from the fridge, beginning to chop it into bite size chunks perfect for a little mouth to chew on without the fear of choking. “Got tomorrow off as well, she’s gonna stay the night,” Harry told Molly, eyes fully on the small, child friendly, salad he was making. But Molly read between the lines just fine, without having to see his face, or more to the point or his eyes.

“Right, so did Ellie really ask you for a hand, or did you think it would just be good for me to have Lola around?” Molly asked with a slight sigh. All he’d been was gentle and kind for the past few days, and Molly appreciated it, of course, but she didn’t want him going out of his way, leaving work early, taking unnecessary days off, for her.  

“Both,” Harry admitted, seemingly unfazed, and unapologetic with his honesty.  “Ellie really did need a hand,” Harry started again, looking up to Molly, the knife in his right hand frozen and lingering over the cucumber he was still working away at. “But I asked if we could have her for the night and tomorrow as well,” Harry told her.

“You didn’t need to,” Molly sighed, moving to get to her feet, her feet were bare and slapped against the cold floor as she padded to the breakfast bar, leaning over it across from Harry.

“I wanted to,” Harry told her, again putting the knife down and wrapping the cucumber up again, closing the plastic tub and moving it the side, carrying on with working his way through preparing the picnic food. “You ok? You looked a little upset when we came in?” Harry asked, and Molly nodded though she looked down at her hands, clasped together over the stone worktop that was a cool reverie to her warm skin. Even with the windows open and the heating off, the flat was still warm, and even though her legs were bare, Molly didn’t want to take off the oversized cardigan she’d been pulling on over her clothes everyday.

“Yeah I just- this sounds mental, I heard his voice,” Molly admitted quietly, frowning to herself and swallowing on nothing. Harry just nodded though, even when Molly was staring down at her arms, bundled in the thick pink knit of her cardigan, she saw him nod, no words, and so she carried on, wondering if speaking out loud would help her make any more sense of what had happened and the way it made me feel. “Was weird, came from nowhere, I think I’d been trying not to think about it, but I heard him telling me to keep smiling, like he does-did when I was stressing or something,” Molly explained, glancing up then. Harry had stopped what he was doing and was looking across at her, watching her eyes begin to fill again and fighting the urge to race around the breakfast bar and pull her into his arms. He’d held her tight so many times as she cried, sometimes she needed it, but Harry also knew sometimes she didn’t, sometimes she just needed him to stand there and listen to what she was saying, and knowing the difference was crucial, but he’d do his best to do whatever she needed of him. “I’m scared I’ll forget it,” Molly whispered, but only because she knew she if spoke louder her voice would tremble and she might sob. Harry shook his head then, and his tongue rolled over his lips slowly, throat tightening before he spoke.

“I still hear Ida, telling me to behave, everytime I get a stupid idea, everytime I want to hit something, someone,” Harry told her, and rolled his lips together.

“Doesn’t work though,” Molly pointed out, tipping her head slightly. Harry just huffed a sort of laugh, one side of his mouth lifting a little as he shook his head.

“It didn’t very often back then either,” Harry told her.

“Bloody Harry, so stupid,” Molly snarked leaning closer over the breakfast bar, though Harry just rolled his eyes, moving to the fridge. It was half a joke, but there was a serious note to it that neither of them could ignore. The bruising and swelling on Harry’s face had virtually disappeared, there was a glimmer of a scab where his cheek had burst, and his lip was still yet to heal completely, but it wasn’t easy to forget that it wasn’t much over a week ago that he’d been broken and damaged. The memory made Molly feel sick, and she wished it would do the same to Harry. Part of it did, only not the part that led him to the bruises and the cuts, only the part where Molly saw them. “I wish you’d never want to hit anything or anyone,” Molly sighed, watching Harry as he fetched a chopping board.

“You sound like her, you’d have liked each other,” Harry told Molly, looking over his shoulder and smiling a little.

“You think so?” Molly asked, not being able to help the smile that bought onto her face. Harry nodded, the smile on his face natural and unnoticed by him at least. Molly swallowed on nothing, the mention of Harry’s sister reminded her of the conversation they’d been having in Ellie and Shane’s spare room before she’d got Louis’ call. They hadn’t finished, and she’d all but forgotten about it, the way Harry had been lingering over something else he wanted to say, wanted to admit. Everytime it came to her mind it made her feel sick as her head wandered into thoughts she’d rather not be having, but as soon as an appropriate time came to ask she found she didn’t want to, or she got distracted by Harry trying to keep her mind off other things with board games or movies or walks. It was in her mind then though, as Harry grated cheese with that soft smile on his face that he still didn’t seem to realise was there, and Molly could feel it bubbling up from her stomach, making its way through her throat to her vocal chords. “What were you-” Before Molly could get any further, before Harry could even register that he’d heard her beginning to talk, Lola was running from the bathroom towards them, eager to help Harry make the ham and cheese sandwiches she’d asked for, for their picnic. And so Molly let it go, let it slip from her mind, and let herself get embroiled with Lola and Harry for the day.

It was easy for Molly to lose herself in Harry and Lola. It had always been that way with Harry, he’d always had some sort of magic way of getting her to forget her worries, get her out of her head, and make her feel easy. The first time they’d spent any real time together, he’d helped her forget how upset she’d been about Ryan, and since then, time and time again, he’d pulled her out of the intricacies of her mind and into the simple easiness of just being. It was the same in the park that afternoon, and with Lola insisting Molly help her hunt for bugs, and kick around the football Harry had packed between the three of them, between snacking on the picnic food, it was even easier to at least ignore the gaping inside her.

Of course she didn’t forget, it wasn’t that easy or simple, in fact it was anything but. However, Molly found herself laughing properly for the first time in days, so much her cheeks ached and her stomach hurt and there were tears in her eyes that didn’t feel painful. There was a smile lingering on her face that Molly didn’t even notice was there until Lola was grinning up at her, giggling for no other reason than the fact Molly looked happy, at least according to Lola. Molly hadn’t seen Harry pack the camera, or pull it out of the bag, but it was the sound of the shutter that pulled Molly and Lola’s eyes away from one another. Harry was just smiling at them both, winding the film on once more, and grinning.

“Can I see?” Lola asked, letting go of Molly’s hands that she’d been holding, swinging back on Molly’s arms and laughing wildly as she fell through air, Molly’s hands keeping her from hitting the ground.

“There’s no screen on this camera angel,” Harry told her, reaching for Lola, clambering over bags and Harry’s legs to get close. “See,” Harry told lifting the camera so Lola could see the plain black back of it, where it opened for the film to go. “It’s a very old camera, it was my daddy’s camera when I was little,” Harry explained, and Molly listened on, her elbow resting on her knee. “You look through here,” Harry explained lifting the camera and pointing to the viewfinder, “and then take the photo, and in a few weeks we’ll be able to see the photos,” Harry explained, and Lola looked entirely perplexed by the whole notion of having to wait to see the photos, making Molly giggle to herself. “Do you want to take one?” Harry asked, and Lola nodded.

Molly watched on as Harry adjusted himself, lifting Lola onto his lap and lifting the camera over her head, the strap still around his neck, taking the weight of it. Harry told Lola to look through the viewfinder and she did so.

“Can you see Lolly?�� Harry asked, and Lola nodded. “Is she blurry?”

“Little bit,” Lola told Harry, and so Harry lifted Lola’s small hand onto the focus ring beginning to twist it slowly.

“Is she getting clearer?” Again Lola nodded. “You tell me when she’s really clear,” Harry instructed, continuing to twist the ring between his and Lola’s hands.

“There,” Lola cried happily and their hands dropped again.

“You gonna press the button then?” Harry asked, his teeth biting into his bottom lip and twisting his head to watch as Lola lifted her hand and pressed the button. The shutter clicked loudly, capturing Molly looking straight back at them with a natural, careless, smile on her face. “Good job,” Harry smiled leaning over and pressing a kiss into Lola’s curls.

“I take one of you and Lolly now,” Lola asked, though it wasn’t worded as a question per se, the tone of Lola’s voice, and the way she looked up at Harry told Molly it was. Harry was hesitant, but eventually took the camera from around his neck and let Lola hold it alone.

“Is it too heavy?” Harry asked, but Lola shook her head, holding the camera in her little hands and staring down at it. “Be careful, if it gets heavy put it down, it’s ok,” Harry told her softly, getting to his feet and moving to sit next to Molly, well behind her. His legs mirrored hers, leaning around her, his chest pressed tightly against Molly’s back. “Make sure we’re not blurry angel,” Harry reminded Lola as she lifted the camera.

“Is not,” Lola told Harry, before moving her fingers a little clumsily towards the button. Without Harry the camera wasn’t as stable, and the photo would surely be blurred when it came back, but Harry and Molly smiled nonetheless and Lola seemed happy with herself when she put the camera carefully on the ground and ran back towards Molly and Harry, diving into them, sending them into a soft pile of laughing bodies.

They stayed there for a while, Lola on Molly’s tummy, Molly’s head on Harry’s chest, arms a matted mess of comfort and love. Molly felt warm from more than just the sun, and she could have laid there all day like that, but of course she knew she couldn’t, and eventually they called time on their day out and headed home for Lola to have her dinner and a bath before getting ready for bed.

“What made you decide to get your camera out?” Molly asked with a smirk as they headed towards the car, Lola on Harry’s hip, getting sleepy as she wound down from her excitement. Harry nodded, flicking his eyes to Molly.

“When you said the other day that I should, I decided you were right, so I did, dad wouldn’t want it collecting dust under my bed,” Harry told her, and Molly just lifted one side of her mouth, moving to wrap an arm around his middle and lay her head on his other shoulder. Really it was quite amazing how far they’d come, and it was moments like that, the way he spoke to her with nothing but honesty on his tongue or in his eyes, that Molly realised it. When they’d met, he was just the young man who fixed her door, bought her cocktails, and made her feel like they’d known one another forever. Now he was that, but so much more, and Molly realised how little she could really suppose to know anyone, but perhaps that wasn’t the bad thing she’d once thought it was, perhaps it wasn’t as scary as she supposed it to be before.

As they drove back to Harry’s flat, Molly could feel the heartache she’d almost forgotten about in the park clawing at her, tightening her throat and knotting her tummy. She refused to let it have its way with her, she refused to succumb to it. It was the new norm, and she knew she had to settle into it, and stop finding distractions in any little thing around her. That wasn’t a coping method, it was only making it harder, not dealing with it. She felt Harry’s hand on her knee, and it made her jump, but he didn’t apologise or take it away, just left his hand there, squeezing a little and focusing on the road. Molly supposed it would always be there, the feeling that something wasn’t quite right, and so instead of waiting for the world around her to settle back to the way it should be, she should adjust herself to how things were now. To who she was for having known, and lost, someone she was aware had such an influence on her life.

The flat was quiet and coated in a nearly navy blanket as the sun begun to fall below the horizon. The sun was that glorious shade of orange that was sharpened by the darkening sky, and everything felt intense. Molly loved it, and she couldn’t help but move to one of the windows and stare out at it. It was stunning, and sent shivers over her skin, as her eyes moved from the burning sun to the stars just beginning to peek through the darkening sky. There was about half an hour of light left, and Molly found herself wanting to enjoy every last second of it. But she didn’t, because there was things to do, and life to live. So whilst Harry got Lola bathed and changed into her pyjamas, Molly began cooking the simple pasta dish they’d decided to have for dinner.

They ate at the dining room table, chattering between them about anything and everything. Once they’d finished, Harry and Molly cleared away the table and sorted the kitchen, Lola getting comfortable on the living room floor with some paper and crayons. With the kitchen clean and tidy, Harry and Molly joined her, settling into the sofa with cups of tea, to just watch Lola draw. Harry had put some gentle music on, and the three of them bathed in the calmness of it all.

Lola was on her knees in the living room, folded over a piece of paper eagerly scribbling away with the coloured pens and crayons spilled around her. Harry didn’t seem to be worried about the marks she could potentially make on his floor, the way Molly's mother had. The band her hair had been tied up in was on the floor and her dark ringlets bounced down to her shoulders. Her eyes were fixed on the paper she was crouched over, her tongue poking out just a little as she concentrated, but even from the distance Molly could see how long her lashes were, and how they were just brushing against the round apples of her cheeks. Curled up like that, Lola appeared far more delicate that she really was, and Molly could have sat there with her nearly empty mug watching her create masterpieces forever.

Steadily Lola got to her feet, wobbling a little on her legs. The socks Harry had put back on her feet were baggy on her toes and bunching awkwardly, making it hard for her to walk, but she did so nonetheless, heading straight for Molly with her hand outstretched, her paper clasped in it, and a smile on her face that only rounded her cheeks more.

“This for you,” Lola grinned, clambering up into the space on the other side of Molly from Harry, and handing Molly the piece of paper in her hands.

“Oh thank you,” Molly smiled, taking the paper gently and casting her eyes over it. The drawing was a mass of colour and lines, but even to Molly’s untrained eye it was easy to spot the three people Lola had drawn, and exactly who they were, what with the orange hair one of them had, and the dark brown curls two of the others had, and the height difference. “Is this us?” Molly asked, and Lola nodded, looking down at the paper.

“Is you, and me, and Uncle Harry,” Lola explained pointing to each of the figures in turn. “And here’s a ladybug, and a flutterby, and a worm too,” Lola told Molly, still smiling brightly, and pointing to the little creatures she’d drawn.

“I love it,” Molly sung, turning to look down at Lola, who was staring up at Molly with a look of pride on her face. “It’s very good Lola,” Molly smiled, reaching her arm around Lola as the little girl moved into her side.

“Will you put it on your fridge?” Lola asked quietly, “Like Uncle Harry does?” She went on. Since Molly had met Lola she’d noticed the growing number of pictures gracing Harry’s fridge, and she’d wondered what he’d been doing with them before Molly had been introduced to Molly, but she never asked. It didn’t truly matter, not really, not in the grand scheme of things.

“Well, what if I put it in my bedroom instead, because I share my kitchen with my friends and I wouldn’t want it to get ruined,” Molly explained, and Lola seemed to think about the compromise for a second before nodding slightly.

“Why don’t you live with your mummy and daddy?” Lola asked, turning her head to look up at Molly with a look of concern and confusion on her face.

“My mummy and daddy live somewhere else, I live here with my friends because I go to big school here,” Molly tried to explain, though Lola’s face just crumpled more, her mouth moving to one side.

“But why don’t you live with Uncle Harry then?” Lola asked, and Molly couldn’t help but chuckle a little, though she felt Harry twitch suddenly beside her. Of course to Lola it was that simple, but in reality it wasn’t like that. For all Harry and Molly were doing, for how close and intimate they’d gotten, and for all the pet names, and quirks they’d come to know and adore, and for all the things they’d learned about one another, they’d never put a label on what they were, or what they were doing. Molly had never worried about it, or wanted it any other way, if her past relationship had taught her anything, it was that a label didn’t really mean anything, it didn’t make the relationship any stronger or any more likely to last, so what was the point. They were happy and that was all that mattered. The only part that bothered her occasionally, was that they’d never even had the conversation about what they were, Harry and never asked, and neither had she, and she didn’t know if they were both waiting for the other to do so, or if they were both hoping they could just skate past it and into something that meant more than a label. Regardless though, Molly knew she wouldn’t be living with Harry any time soon, especially when he jumped forward to stop Lola’s train of conversation before it could crash through any boundaries.

“Right missy, go and find yourself a book,” Harry instructed, grabbing Lola and setting her on the floor. “We’ll read it here, and then time for bed ok?” Harry bartered and Lola nodded, before toddling off to the bedroom and the box at the end of Harry’s bed, that Molly had once assumed was full of Harry’s things, but had since learned it was full of toys and books and all sorts of other things for Lola’s entertainment. “Sorry,” Harry mumbled, scratching the back of his neck, and Molly swore she could see a blush on his cheeks.

“Why?” Molly laughed. “There’s nothing to be sorry for,” Molly told him.

“Just a bit forward,” Harry suggested, raising his eyes to Molly slightly, peering at her out of the corner of his eyes, but Molly just shook her head. “Considering we’re just, well, y’know? Like…”Harry trailed off, but Molly shook her head again. “Well we’ve only been doing this a little while,” Harry decided on, and that time Molly nodded.

“Harry, your three year old goddaughter asked why I don’t live with you, you’re overthinking this, it’s not a big deal,” Molly told him with a smile, reaching for his hand. Harry nodded, and turned their hands to squeeze hers. Molly knew exactly what it was she was beginning to feel for Harry. It was scary, it always was, even more so now that it had been before. There were butterflies, but it was calm, he touched her and her mind and soul set alight with a warm fire that was addictive, but still. Harry made her feel calm and still, even when everything around her seemed to be going a million miles an hour. He made her feel safe, but she didn’t really know what that meant. It felt vague and silly, but it was true. All day long she could be scared of something she couldn’t really see, but the minute Harry walked into her day it felt like a huge sigh of relief, like being wrapped up in a winter coat against harsh elements, he put his arms around and any little anxiety flowed out of her. It was the strangest sensation, but one she couldn’t run from, and honestly never even thought about wanting to.

Molly’s phone rang loudly from the coffee table, spurring both her and Harry from the similar silence they’d fallen into without really realising. Molly jumped forward grabbing her phone.

“It’s Louis,” Molly told Harry quietly, suddenly anxious, suddenly fearful. It had been two days since she’d last spoken to Louis, and she had a feeling she knew why he was calling, and it felt a lot like the final goodbye, no going back, no denying it any longer.

“Answer it,” Harry told Molly with a nod, reaching for her back and placing his large warm hand over the smallest part of it, rubbing just slightly, very gently. “I’ll go check on Lola,” He told her and Molly nodded, turning back to her phone, answering the call.

“Hi Louis,” Molly spoke. Her voice came out strange, but only because she was focusing so hard on not crying, at least not yet, but also trying not to force something too chirpy. It was a weird line to tread and balance on, and Molly didn’t know what she was trying to prove or achieve with it.

“Hi, how you doing?” Louis asked, and Molly wondered how he sounded so strong, and how it was him asking her that when he was the one who had lost his father.

“I’m ok,” Molly supposed, nodding and getting to her feet. “How about you?” Molly asked.

“I’m ok, getting there I guess.” There was a slight catch in Louis’ voice, barely noticeable, but Molly noticed it though mainly because it was very similar to the one that continued to take her by surprise every now and again. Molly just nodded, not entirely sure what to say. “I just wanted to call to let you know that dad’s funeral is going to be next Friday,” Louis told her, his voice quieter. Molly wondered if he was at his parents house, if they’d just finalised plans, if they’d been sat around the table together, breathing deeply through the reality of what they were doing. Molly held her breath, hoping that would rid the lump in her throat that was surely going to make it hard to say anything at all. Again she just nodded, staring out of the window again, the sun virtually gone, and though Louis obviously couldn’t see that, he seemed to get the jist, carrying on with what he was saying. “Before everything, mum and dad were talking, he told her that if anything happened, he wanted you to do the eulogy.” Molly choked then, spluttering on the lump, clearing her throat loudly.

“What? Are you sure? Me?” Molly quizzed quickly, in utter disbelief at what she was hearing, turning on her heel back to the room behind her.

“What mum says, and to be honest, we all think it’s perfect,” Louis told Molly and she felt her heartbeat speeding up, it was more than anxiety, more than grief that Clive was gone, it was fear and panic and everything in between and either side. Molly began pacing, walking back and forward, from the window to the wall, and back again, staring down at her bare feet.

“What about friends? Family? Surely there’s someone more qualified than me,” Molly thought out loud.

“Molly, you are, were his friend, and he viewed as close to family as it gets, trust me, you’re as qualified as they come,” Louis told Molly, seemingly holding up far better than Molly was, the shock doing nothing for the way Molly was feeling. It had placated for a while, that odd gaping feeling, like something was missing, but it was back with full force, the world never quite letting her forget what was gone. She supposed it would always be that way, and she supposed in some sort of way that was a blessing, because she didn’t want to forget, she didn’t want to forget who Clive had been, what he’d done for her, shown her all the things that were holding her back, shaken her awake, made her really look at herself, properly, perhaps for the first time. “If you don’t want to, we understand, it’s a lot to ask, and we know it won’t be easy, and honestly it’s fine if you don’t think you can, but will you have a think about it? You don’t have to make your mind up right now,” Louis told her, and Molly was back to nodding silently.

“Ok yeah,” Molly told Louis quietly. Her mind was running away with her, she was already trying to envision herself stood in front of all those people there to say goodbye to Clive, and not being able to do anything but breakdown. “I’ll let you know,” Molly nodded. She didn’t want to say no, she didn’t want to let Louis down, or any of Clive’s family, but most of all Clive, but the fear in her tummy kept her from saying yes.

“I’m going to be opening the cafe Monday, just for a couple of hours until after the funeral, but I don’t want to leave it closed for too long, dad wouldn’t want it closed,” Louis told Molly, and she could hear his voice beginning to wobble. Clearly the idea of being in that place made Louis feel a similar sort of way to how it was making Molly feel, but she knew she had to say the words that came to her head.

“I’ll come in and see you, help you out, you don’t want to do that alone,” Molly told Louis. There was no way she could let him be in there on his own. If it wasn’t busy, if there weren’t enough people to take his mind off the fact his dad wasn’t right behind him telling he was rolling the dough wrong, or that the coffee machine needed cleaning, or the plates restacking, all from the comfort of his stool with a book, Molly was sure it would be unbearable. She wouldn’t want to do it alone, and she wouldn't make Louis do it either. Perhaps it wasn’t her place, it probably wasn’t, but the least she could do was offer in case there was no one else.

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Louis asked, and Molly swore she heard a slight shadow of relief in his voice.

“Of course, I’ll come down with you,” Molly told Louis.

“Thank you,” Louis breathed, and it was almost as if he’d been waiting for someone to say that, but Molly could bet it wasn’t that his mother or brother hadn’t offered, it was just that Louis didn’t want to put them through it as well. “Well I guess I’ll see you Monday then?” Louis finished, and Molly agreed, saying their goodbyes slowly, before Molly hung up and clutched her phone to her chest, hovering between the living area and the kitchen, the tears that she forced back blinking over her vision so it was blurred.

“Everything ok baby?” Harry’s voice was behind her, and then her footsteps. Molly didn’t move, just dropped her head and rolled her lips together to keep a sob silenced, as a tear fell from her cheek and splattered on the floor. It was loud thanks to the silence of the flat, like a fat splat of rain on a warm day that sizzled as it hit the tarmac, the next one was hidden under the sound of Harry moving though, moving faster to Molly. His arms wrapped around her middle and pulled her back into him. “What’s happened?” He asked, his head moving to her shoulder a shuddery breath wracking Molly’s body.

“Clive wanted me to do his eulogy,” Molly whispered, wiping her hands over her cheeks and turning in Harry’s arms.

“Wow, what an honour,” Harry almost smiled, eyes wide and raking over Molly’s face, his hands still linked at the bottom of her back, one of his thumbs tracing a lace like pattern through her dress.

“I don’t think I can do it though,” Molly admitted dropping her eyes, just as terrified of saying that out loud as she was of actually doing the eulogy.

“Ok,” Harry nodded. “Well no one’s going to make you do it,” Harry told her.

“I just can’t even say his name without breaking down, how on earth am I meant to talk about his life and who he was, and look his family in his eye and keep myself together, I told Louis I’d go to the cafe Monday, and I’m dreading that, how can I possibly-”

“Whoa, Lolly, baby, calm down,” Harry hushed as Molly’s words began to roll into one breathless noise. “It’s ok, no one is going to make you do this if you don’t think you can do it, or if you don’t want to, no one’s going to think any less of you, it’s ok,” Harry assured again, and that calmness, that stillness, that safety, washed over Molly and steadily her breathing evened out as she stared back into Harry’s eyes. “Think about it for a second though, don’t rush into the decision, you’ve got time,” Harry told her and Molly nodded, supposing he was right.

“Why did he have to go?” Molly asked, her mouth downturning and her eyes filling again quickly.

“I don’t know,” Harry breathed, moving his hands up Molly’s back as her head fell onto his shoulder, sobbing into his t-shirt, soaking the fabric in seconds. There was no point trying to hush her, it was better just to let her cry, let her feel. It would only catch up with her later otherwise.

“I’m meant to be thinking about taking him to the horses, not if I can write and read his eulogy,” Molly hiccuped, twisting her head a little. “Why isn’t he here? He’d know what I should do,” Molly sighed, closing her eyes for a few seconds. Molly felt Harry lower his head onto hers, a soft kiss on her head settling her a little.

“I think he’s already told you what he thinks you should do, I suspect that’s why he asked for you,” Harry told her quietly, and Molly felt herself swallow on nothing as realisation hit home like a hurricane tearing through her. It came a little too forcefully and it knocked the wind out of her. Even when he was gone, Clive was still making her stand taller, holding her up to her own standards, and not letting her get away with anything less than what she really wanted.

“Why you crying Lolly?” Lola’s voice was fearful and high pitched, Harry slowly let go of Molly and turned to Lola.

“Lolly’s just a bit sad at the moment angel, one of her friends has gone to heaven,” Harry explained softly, eyes focused on Lola as her big green ones moved to Molly, sad and sorrowful.

“Like Rupert?” Lola asked, still looking up at Molly, who dropped to a crouch extending her arms to Lola to encourage her closer.

“Yeah, like Rupert,” Harry sighed, watching on as Lola took slow tentative steps to Molly.

“Rupert’s in heaven too, he was my bunny, but he was sick, so he had to go to heaven with the angels,” Lola told Molly softly, she had a big book in her hands, but she moved it into just one giving Molly her other hand to take. “Nana Nancy says there’s lots of cabbage and carrots up there for him though, so he’ll be happy,” Lola told Molly, who nodded with a soft smile. “What’s your friends name?” Lola asked with a small tilt of her head.

“Clive,” Molly told Lola.

“Do you think he’ll see Rupert in heaven?” Lola asked, as Molly took the book from Lola’s hands and lifted her up with her, resting Lola on her hip.

“Probably,” Molly told Lola with a nod. “I expect they’ll be great friends,” Molly went on and Lola nodded.

“I miss Rupert,” Lola admitted with a shaky sigh. Molly’s breath hitched inside her, something stabbing, but it eased quickly and Molly took a deep breath.

“That’s ok, it’s ok to miss him, I miss Clive too, but they’re up there watching over us, making sure we’re happy and they’re happy too,” Molly told Lola, stroking her hair as her head moved to rest on Molly’s shoulder. “Keep smiling little lady,” Molly whispered, kissing Lola’s head and glancing to Harry who was stood watching on for a few seconds, before he moved to the kitchen with an almost smile aimed at Molly.

Molly sat on the couch, resting Lola back on her, stroking her hair as her eyes got heavy and her thumb found her mouth. The book was forgotten and Lola drifted off peacefully on Molly’s lap. Harry joined them eventually, his eyes a little red and swollen, but no one said anything, he just sat beside them, cosied up as close as he could get and wrapped an arm around Molly.

“Can you pass my phone?” Molly asked, and Harry leaned forward to fetch it from the table where Molly had left it. Molly unlocked her phone and pulled up Louis’ number, hitting the message icon beside it. Harry watched over her as she typed.

I want to do the eulogy, thank you for asking me, it means a lot, see you Monday x

No one said a word, Harry just learnt closer, twisted Molly’s head so he could look her in the eyes and catch her lips with his. He let go after a few seconds and rested his forehead against hers, their eyes knotting in one anothers. It was the most peaceful Molly had felt in days, and she breathed it in as deep as she could, floating in the serenity of the moment.

Just a cute little softie chapter. Can it last though? Who knows?! Not me that’s for sure....ENJOYYY <3

Let me know your thoughts and theories for what’s you think is coming.

And have a fabulous weekend!

[alluringcliche]

let me try to remember my buffy/angel episode feelings as i rewatch because i have a bad memory -- one-two sentences per ep @ezrisdax @feelsandotps

I started at 1x12, skipped most of 1. Btw my faves are still Cordelia & Buffy, and my problematic fave is Spike, there it is. I felt like S3 was my fave, but I really appreciate the Spike in S4, so there’s that -- I think 4 has some great eps and 2 of course does as well.

SEASON 1

12. Prophecy Girl - Buffy dies, ouch, but Xander has a heroic moment (?), I think Buffy’s already depressed and it’s S1.

SEASON 2 1. When She Was Bad - See, Buffy’s already depressed and angry but everyone should cut her some slack SHE DIED, SHE’S TRYING. 2. Some Assembly Required - Oh I already forgot about this one, but it was fun because they tried to kill Cordelia and she was great and I adore Cordelia 3. School Hard - SPIKE is here and Spike/Dru are amazing. Also parent teacher night honestly Joyce&Buffy so far is ouch in general. 4. Inca Mummy Girl - This one’s the other kind of ouch like you did a pretty bad job with portraying people who aren’t white, come on. 5. Reptile Boy - Oh the one with the demons in the frat boy basement, nice team scenes, nice metaphor for the patriarchy (yeah I’ve been listening to Buffering the Vampire Slayer, did I mention that). 6. Halloween - Def a S2 favorite they all turn into their costumes Buffy’s helpless, Cordelia’s normal, Xander’s in the army, the whole Willow ghost thing, Spike’s there, it’s great. 7. Lie to Me - The one with the cult who wanted to be vamps. Not much memory of this one except like...the guy had cancer which was sad, not a fave. 8. The Dark Age - First Ripper stuff so that’s fun! 9 & 10. What’s My Line, Part 1/2  - Kendra! Angel tied to a cross! Spike! A fun plan where we save them as a Team. What’s not to like? 11. Ted - Ah, Joyce’s robot boyfriend. Odd, but memorable and like...really dark...when she gets arrested. 12. Bad Eggs Oh yeah, there’s like a monster under the school and everyone’s possessed. Joyce&Buffy is still ouch. 13. Surprise I like when Cordelia jumps out of the cake...but anyway...this is a good though PAINFUL arc, not a Bangel fan. 14. Innocence Ouch Angelus and sad Buffy, but they use a rocket launcher in a mall which is cool. 15. Phases Oz! I never realized he got bit by like his baby cousin? LOL. Touching arc in this ep though!  16. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered Everyone loves Xander, I liked that there was a Cordy focus.  17. Passion OUCH. JENNY. 18. Killed by Death The kind of out-of-normal-context one where Buffy’s in the hospital with ghostly kids! Well done though, has Cordelia’s “tact is just not saying true stuff line” 19. I Only Have Eyes for You I was creeped out by the fact that it was a teacher student relationship and no one cared? Good writing though. 20. Go Fish Haha, Xander and the swim team. I like Cordelia’s monologue about Xander. 21. Becoming, Part 1/2 KENDRA :( BUFFY :( Oh also some great Spike scenes (with Joyce). And of course the ENNNND ouchhh. I’m not fine.

S2 Faves: Halloween, School Hard, Becoming, Passion (ouch!)

SEASON 3 1. Anne - BUFFYS DEPRESSED SOME ONE HELP HER 2. Dead Man’s Party - BUFFY’S DEPRESSED STOP BEING MEAN TO HER 3. Faith, Hope and Trick - Hi, Faith. Didn’t like Faith as much last time, she’s grown on me. 4. Beauty and the Beasts - Another good expansion of Oz’s arc and some Bangel emotions. 5. Homecoming - GREAT I love Buffy and Cordelia and they are together and it’s amazing. Cordelia’s speech at the end is quality. 6. Band Candy - GREAT I mean Joyce and Giles and Snyder as teens it’s so funny and well-paced, nice. 7. Revelations -- This one has an evil British watcher and Xander/Willow (plus Xander being kind of a jerk), not a fave. 8. Lovers Walk -- GREAT. Painful ending. Love Spike & Willow. GREAT. SPIKE/BUFFY/ANGEL WORKING TOGETHER I LOVE THIS. 9. The Wish - GREAT. Ouch. Alt!Buffy. NICE. 10. Amends -- Like, Angel’s past is kind of awful? Give me Angel-the-show dorky Angel please! 11. Gingerbread -- Haha the one where the Sunnydale people try to kill witches I mean again @Joyce&Buffy, ???? not the greatest relationship ???  12. Helpless GREAT OUCH GREAT...the Watcher’s Council tests Buffy, GILE’S DILEMA, BUFFYS BETRAYAL ouch 13. The Zeppo I mean I like Xander’s arc about believing in himself more, despite him not being great all the time, I still like him overall, glad he got a chance to shine. 14. Bad Girls Faith stop corrupting Buffy! This show has more like very heavily implied Faith/Buffy than I remembered. OUCH @ the ending. 15. Consequences OUCH @ the whole episode with Faith, especially the Xander bit, rougher than I remembered  16. Doppelgangland VAMP!Willow. Willow trying to be vamp!Willow was funny. Another one where I remember good team stuff. 17. Enemies OUCH I totally forgot and thought Angel was really Angelus. Heartbreaking and well done. 18. Earshot I love this one! Jonathan! “Are you planning on killing anyone tomorrow? It’s for the yearbook.” 19. Choices Everyone should let Buffy live basically!  20. The Prom Xander/Cordelia is nice, but isn’t Xander poor? Wesley/Cordelia is creepy? WILD HORSES. BUT YEAH THE UMBRELLA AND I CRY. 21. Graduation Day, Part 1/2  I LOVE THE WHOLE SCHOOL COMING TOGETHER NICE NICE

S3 Faves: Homecoming, Band Candy, Lover’s Walk, the Wish, Helpless, Earshot, Prom, Graduation Day...and a few more I also like a lot, that’s why I really like this season

SEASON 4

1. The Freshman - Buffy's having a hard time in college someone help her! 2. Living Conditions - Buffy’s roommate is a demon, a bit overdone but pretty fun! 3. The Harsh Light of Day - Like the Spike/Buffy banter is great but Parker is awful and honestly Spike is awful too, some of the end fight scene comments are BAD. Also Spike should treat Harmony better. 4. Fear, Itself - Haunted house fears, nice Halloween ep. 5. Beer Bad - I honestly like drunk!Buffy it’s fun!  6. Wild at Heart - Ouch, Oz & Willow OUCH. 7. The Initiative - Buffy/Riley really had a whole fight and didn’t recognize each other? Still I don’t hate Riley so far. 8. Pangs - Look there were some problematic things but I thought the dialogue and episode arc was SO well done and so funny. And they made an attempt to address something, they did a bad job but they tried. Team!Thanksgiving is <3 and perfectionist!Buffy and Spike tied to a chair, Xander/Anya etc. etc. lots of good stuff, I think it’s still a s4 favorite. 9. Something Blue - Ah, cursed!engaged Spuffy NICE. 

SEASON 1 ANGEL

1. City Of Look I LOVE ANGEL tbh just the opening and the noir tone and CORDELIA it’s great it’s nice AND DORKY angel and cordelia knows the guys a vamp it’s great! DOYLE.

2. Lonely Heart I don’t love Kate and this demon was weirdly like an STD as well.

3. In the Dark Cordy/Doyle got to feature, and Spike. Not really sure why Angel destroyed the thing (makes him more tortured?)

4. I Fall to Pieces That was actually a pretty creepy stalking episode. Well done bringing attention to how violence against women can be overlooked.

5. Rm w/ a Vu Love this one! CORDELIA IS AMAZING. CORDELIA. IS AMAZING. Dennis is nice too!

6. Sense & Sensitivity I love dorky!Angel, I love when dorky!Angel has to speak his feelings! Poor Kate!

7. Bachelor Party Doyle/Cordy were so close! Definitely a fun one with everyone working together. I’m just having a lot of Angel&Cordy&Doyle feelings

8. I Will Remember You Look I skipped this one for now tbh, I’m just not in a Bangel mood, haha.

So yeah I looked up the next episode and...I thought that was the S1 finale?? That’s...ouch.