#his personality is a foil to giles'

[partystoragechest]

A story of romance, drama, and politics which neither Trevelyan nor Cullen wish to be in.

Canon divergent fic in which Josephine solves the matter of post-Wicked Hearts attention by inviting invites four noblewomen to compete for Cullen's affections. In this epilogue, Giles finds her way home.

(Masterpost. Beginning. Previous entry. Touledy's Epilogue. Erridge's Epilogue. End. Words: 2,400. Rating: all audiences.)

Epilogue: Giles

Inquisition troops marched through field and farmland, nothing more than a movement north, bound for the Waking Sea and Free Marches beyond.

That was the story Jader had been told, and that was the story Jader had believed. With the assent of its rulers, such movement was permitted. But they had no idea that, amongst those simple-looking soldiers, the missing daughter of Samient walked.

The site of her ‘disappearance’ would have been discovered, by now. The Duke’s guard would be crawling all over it, like so many ants upon a fresh carcass. The Inquisition would be all apology, offering whatever help they could—but the blame would ultimately lie with her father. He hadn’t sent her with a guard, the other nobles would say. What could he expect?

Giles felt the guilt of it strongly. Every step she took, she questioned whether this was the right path. But she reminded herself, of what waited at its end. This would be worth it.

“Almost there,” Loranil told her. “If the others have already arrived, then we’ll be meeting at the docks. All right?”

Giles nodded. “Thank you. Thank you for doing this.”

Loranil smiled. “Not the sort of mission I expected when I joined the Inquisition—but I don’t mind it. I think it’s more pleasant than most of the soldiers have had, anyway.”

That much was true. They’d exchanged stories with Giles on the way, usually whilst bedding down for the night. She only believed half of them. No way had Troubridge fought a giant and lived to tell the tale, let alone done so without being raised in rank!

Though it did put her own situation in comparison. There had been no giant-killing on their journey, thank the Maker. In fact, their greatest danger was this. Jader. The last of Orlais she would see, the most likely place for her to be recognised. Best keep the helmet on tight.

But it served its purpose well enough. They walked the streets of the city with no resistance. Guards nodded them through, residents stopped to watch them walk by. A child stared with such wonder, it was as if the Inquisitor was the one striding past instead.

Unhindered, they made it to the docks—a bustling shipyard, adorned with grand vessels, ready to sail the Waking Sea. The abundance of Orlesian heard throughout the city melted away, and left instead were a mixture of tongues, flying between sailors of varying origin.

With a quiet word of confirmation to the dockmaster, the Captain of Giles’ retinue led them where they needed to go. A ship, moored on the third dock to the right. That was where the other Inquisition had gathered.

Giles’ heart pounded against her chest. They rounded a corner, and saw a group of soldiers scattered across crates and barrels, leaning and sitting and talking and relaxing. She halted in her tracks. Her eyes scanned the face of each and every single one. Until—

All went quiet. A soldier stood.

“Giles?”

He took the helm from his head, and revealed the man beneath. Vichy. Her Vichy.

She had feared this moment greatly. That the war might’ve changed him, that he might be beyond recognition. But every fear fell away when she saw him.

It was the smiling face she knew; the deep brown skin and muscled arms; the same rich black hair—though his curls and coils had been cut shorter than she recalled. It didn’t matter. It was him.

“Vichy,” she breathed.

Her feet took off running before she had even realised it. He was ready for her, arms open. She collided with him, embrace so powerful that her helm was knocked from her head, to skitter across the ground.

It didn’t matter. It was him.

“I’m so sorry,” she wept, clutching him tighter than she ever had before. “This was my fault.”

“Don’t you worry,” he whispered, “it’s my fault, really.”

“How? How could any of this be your fault?”

“Well, a bastard son of an elf can’t really meddle with the Duke’s daughter and expect to get away with it, can he? You’re trouble, Giles. Beautiful trouble.”

She smiled. If there was any undeniable proof that this was her Vichy, it was this—for he never could take a single situation seriously. She was glad that that had not been taken from him. It was that very attitude that had her broken in the first place.

“My father should never have done this to you,” she told him. For, as much as she adored it, this was no time for his jokes.

“I chose to go,” he replied, kissing the tears from her cheek. “Besides, with what the Inquisition lot have told me about the Commander, I think you got the worse end of the deal. I have every respect for the man, given what he’s done for us—but Creators, he sounds boring.”

Giles chuckled. “His presence made me miss yours all the more. We should have run.”

Vichy held her close, serious for the first time in his life: “No. I would have agreed to anything your father offered, to keep you safe.”

“But every moment without you I have been in danger of myself.”

She felt his head shake, against hers. “Come now, none of that. I’m here. I’m here.”

He was. If only to prove it, if only to know it was real, if only to make it complete—she kissed him. Any lingering doubts fled, in the wake of that kiss. She had made the right decision.

An unfortunately public one, for a cheer went up—from a few of the soldiers, who were swiftly reprimanded by their Captain—and Giles was suddenly reminded that they were not alone.

Vichy laughed at them. “All right, pay up!” he called. “Whoever said she wouldn’t show, you owe me a crown!”

Giles chuckled. With the distraction, she could part to find her helm—though she did not have to look for long. It was already discovered, in the hands of Loranil, who’d prevented it from rolling away.

“Best get this back on,” he said, handing it over, “we’re not in the Free Marches yet.”

***

They arrived in the Marches days later, to rendezvous with the Inquisition base in Kirkwall. The majority of the retinue would sequester themselves within, for few were permitted to travel on to Sumara.

The Clan was last traced to Planascene Forest, where it had shrouded itself since the troubles of the Breach. Inquisition scouts had confirmed its location, and offered the Clan a warning: more Inquisition were bound, seeking to return a lost daughter.

The Clan had given no reply—except to say that they were waiting.

That sense of anticipation was felt throughout Planascene. Ancient trees shadowed the path, so that daylight could barely break through. Swaying leaves atop the canopy never quite settled into silence. Giles felt watched. As if the Creators themselves now weighed her worth. What if they rejected her?

But such concern was halted, by the touch of a hand slipping into her own. Vichy.

“Chanter to E-4,” he whispered, with a smile.

Oh. Not a valid opening move. Unless…

“Are you referring to our game from the boat?” asked Giles.

They’d had to pass the time over the Waking Sea somehow, and they always did their best talking over a game of chess. Lucky for them, the skipper had a board.

“I am,” said Vichy. “I was about to win, and the fact of our journey’s end was quite convenient for you, I’d say.”

“Empress to E-4, capture,” Giles replied, quite in disagreement.

Vichy chuckled anyway. Giles did not truly think that he had restarted the game for his own glory. No, it made for a perfect distraction, and she was grateful for it.

It also served as a reminder. No matter what happened in the next few hours, she had him. They had each other. That was enough. That was more than enough.

Trees gave way to boulder-like stone, too purposefully-carved to be merely natural—likely some kind of ruins. The largest of its old columns towered over them, defiant in its continued existence. Loranil, treading carefully, raised his hands. To the stones, he called out, in Elven:

“Hold! We are friends!”

Movement, atop the ruins. A pair of elves, dressed in the leather of hunters, and carrying bows as tall as their bodies, made themselves known. They asked something of Loranil, to which he gave a hasty answer. Though they seemed unsure, one withdrew, and disappeared beyond the ruins.

“I’ve asked for their Keeper,” Loranil explained to Giles, before sweeping his eyes across the soldiers behind her. “Keep your weapons sheathed,” he warned.

The soldiers nodded, stepping a pace back. The hunter who’d remained watched them, carefully.

It was some time—a half-hour at least—before the other finally returned to their perch. Yet, more movement came with them. Out, from betwixt the ruins, emerged an elven man. He was of middle age, at least, with pale skin and paler hair. The robes he wore were unmistakably elaborate, the staff he bore thrumming with magic. The attire of a Keeper.

Though Giles did not understand it, he asked something of her. Loranil stepped in:

“Yes, this is the woman. Her mother was of your Clan.”

The Keeper switched to common tongue. “And what is your name?” he asked.

“Giles. Giles Samient,” she told him. “It was my mother’s wish that I would one day return to her Clan.”

“Have you any proof?”

Giles stammmered, “What?”

The Keeper gestured to his hunters. “I understand your hopes—but I must exercise caution. I cannot allow outsiders into the Clan without proof that you are, indeed, of Sumara.”

Giles hurried to unclasp the pendant from her neck. “This,” she said, holding the halla-horn out, “this was my mother’s.”

The Keeper, with a nod, permitted Loranil to retrieve the pendant from her—though he seemed as reluctant to take it as she was to let it go. Every step it retreated from her felt like another claw piercing her heart, threatening to tear it out.

But the pendant was safely delivered, and the Keeper regarded it with a curious eye.

“I was First to our previous Keeper, when we settled near Samient. Both your mother and father were friends of mine,” he revealed, meeting Giles’ gaze, “but I do not recognise this trinket.”

Panic struck her face—yet he went on:

“However, there is one who may. Excuse me for a moment.”

The Keeper withdrew into the ruins. The hunters remained, watching. The wait, this time, was even longer. Vichy and Loranil did their best to console Giles’ worry, but with every passing minute, it grew. It felt as though the longer they waited, the lesser her chances became—

Rustling, beyond the ruins. The crack of a twig, underfoot. Someone was coming.

The Keeper re-emerged, accompanied by another. An older woman. Her skin was tan, a little lighter than Samient’s—but her hair was the same shade of reddish-brown, greying at the scalp.

The pendant was in her hand, now, the chain dangling from her tightly-curled fingers. Her frail eyes darted between the gathered visitors—until they settled on Giles.

A string of Elven spilled from the woman’s mouth, as she stumbled forward. There was only one word Giles recognised.

“Terana.”

Giles’ breath caught. Her father had spoken her mother’s name only three times her whole life—each more pained than the last. But this woman’s single utterance bore more pain than all his put together.

The woman came face-to-face with her, eyes searching Giles’. More words she didn’t understand. Giles called to Loranil:

“What did she say?”

Almost speechless, Loranil answered: “She asks if you are Terana. Her daughter.”

Her—? Giles shook her head. “What do you mean?”

Tears welled in the woman’s eyes, as she raised her hands to cradle Giles’ face.

“I think,” Loranil breathed, “this is your grandmother.”

The woman rubbed her thumbs over Giles’ pointed ears, and turned back to the Keeper. She said something to him—sobbed it, screamed it.

“Your companion is correct,” the Keeper said to Giles, a smile forming across his face. “This is Terana’s mother. And she says you are her granddaughter.”

Giles met her grandmother’s gaze. Words she had never expected. Her grandmother.

She saw, in her face, a reflection of her own. In every curve and feature, there was something of her that they shared. She was so beautiful. Even their tears fell the same.

“My granddaughter,” she whispered, “at last, Ghila’nain has guided you home.”

Her hands withdrew, and she threaded the necklace around Giles’ neck, sealing the clasp herself.

“I gave this to your mother, so that one day, she could find home. That is the last you have of her,” she said, wiping a tear from Giles’ cheek, “and you are the last I have of her.”

Crumbling, collapsing, Giles fell into her embrace. She hoped it was something like holding her mother would have been. She hoped her mother knew. She hoped she could feel it too.

But her grandmother noted Vichy beside them, and curiosity drew her to part. She asked of Giles:

“Who is this?”

“This is Vichy,” Giles explained, “we are betrothed.”

Her grandmother took his hands, and squeezed them. “You brought her home. Which Clan are you from?”

“None, I’m afraid,” answered Vichy. “An alienage. But my mother—she was born in a Clan.”

“Good. Good, strong boy.” She patted his hand. “Then you are home.”

“Ma serannas,” he said, before adding to Giles: “I think she likes me.”

Giles gave a little laugh. “Good.”

Her grandmother took her hand once more, and led her toward the Keeper. The hunters above relaxed their bows, standing to attention, rather than to guard.

“I present my granddaughter,” she said.

The Keeper nodded. “Andaran atish’an, Giles. Welcome to your Clan. In fact”—he looked to Vichy, and Loranil, and their little retinue—“let me extend my welcome to you all. You have returned to us a daughter of Sumara. We must celebrate.”

He extended an arm towards the gap in the ruins. The hunters drew back; Loranil and the soldiers took the invitation. Giles, one hand taken by her grandmother, threaded her other through Vichy’s.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

Giles smiled. “Better. I am home.”

[coraniaid]

I wish that Professor Maggie Walsh had been the true Big Bad of Season 4. And I wish that she hadn't been unceremoniously killed off halfway through the season. And I wish that -- over the whole history of the show -- she wasn't one of only three human women aged over 25 who were allowed more speaking time than the creepy sex robot Warren Mears builds in Season 5 [and note, by the way, that neither of the other two are alive at the end of the show either].

But most of all I wish -- I really, really wish -- that I could persuade myself that Maggie Walsh was even the slightest bit interesting. Because I'm sorry, but she's just not.

Is there any villainous character on the show where the difference between how compelling they could have been and how boring they actually are in canon is this stark? The show has had some pretty underwhelming arc villains, sure, but Adam is about as interesting as a rejected Doctor Who villian with a floppy disk drive in his chest could ever have been and the First Evil was originally created to be a disposable monster of the week to begin with so it's hardly a surprise she doesn't manage to transcend this and Caleb very obviously only exists at all because the writers panicked when they realized the First coudn't offer any sort of personal physical threat.

But Professor Walsh should have been different! This was the start of the post-high school seasons; a start to establish the tone of the whole show going forward. She would have been the first antagonist fully grounded in the world of the real; not a vampire or an immortal man who sold his soul to become a big snake, but a fully human villain who never stops being human. She could have been written as a juxtaposition of Principal Snyder and the Mayor and Gwendolyn Post; or as a more explicit foil of Joyce Summers or Rupert Giles. She could have been a villain who could challenge Buffy in both the supernatural and regular worlds. She was a successful woman in her fifties in academia in the 1990s! Wouldn't a show whose "feminism" was anything but surface deep be even a little bit interested in exploring what that meant?

Professor Walsh could have related to Buffy and her friends in ways no previous villain ever did. What does it mean for Buffy -- who we've seen worry so much about her own future prospects, and her fear of ending up like her mother -- to have a possible role model who managed to combine a sucessful career with knowledge of the supernatural? What if Walsh's attempts to win Buffy over to her side lasted for more than half an episode? Or, failing that, what sort of threat could a smart and capable human who knew about Buffy's secret identity as a Slayer have posed her, given her own pronounced reluctance about hurting ordinary humans? What would it have meant for Buffy's fears of not being fully human if an expert in the supernatural had looked at her and seen a monster? And why is Willow suddenly interested in studying pyschology all of a sudden, and does it have anything to do with the fact her own parents are both succesful academics who work in this field?

The writers aren't interested in even pretending to address any of these questions. [Did they even remember what career they gave Willow's parents?]

Depressingly, the only reason Professor Walsh is actually here is to answer the question "what if your new boyfriend's stuck-up mom didn't like you because she was a jealous bitch and then she immediately got herself killed anticlimatically because she was also really fundamentally stupid about it?".

What a waste. And they hired Lindsay Crouse for this?

(Also: if they were going to make Professor Walsh a "world renowned" pyschologist the writers should maybe have bothered to look into how seriously the field took the ideas of Sigmund Freud in 1999. Although her character's second career of experimenting on and cutting up demonic creatures for fun and profit would have made a lot more sense if they'd set her up as some kind of biologist, right? Or just make her an English literature teacher, if her teaching career is meant to be a front anyway and you want her to deliver themtically relevant monologues about Freud and Jung. At least I'd believe Buffy and Willow wanting to go to her class then.)

[breezybeej]

so Faith huh

Loses her family, loses her watcher, loses everything. moves to Sunnydale, falls in love with Buffy starts making friends again but her past trauma and growing sense of self-defeat cause it to fall apart. She sees the world through the lens of death. Her role as the Slayer is to slay things and so she does, both literally and metaphorically. in this, she gains a father in The Mayor which gives her a sense of fulfillment but the cost is her humanity and she betrays her role as a Slayer (allegedly protecting humanity). and guess what! she fails him and loses him as well. and she doesn't even die about it. She does not get to complete her role as a Slayer and die in battle.

she spends 8 months in a coma experiencing shared prophecy dream space with the person who foiled all of her plans, getting killed by her over and over. she watches her father figure die again. she wakes up from this hell and receives the will of the mayor. The only man we ever saw her look up to tells her that her life is over, everything sucks, you might as well go out with a bang, babe.

so she tries to do that. this crazy plan of swapping bodies with Buffy and upending Buffy's entire life just like her own. Make her lose everything. but even as she tries this she becomes Buffy she sees what it's like to have friends who care about her, a guy who actually loves her beyond the physical, she finds meaning and purpose in the act of slaying, she answers her calling the way she was always meant to.

and then she loses it all again

she becomes actively suicidal and tries to goad Angel into killing her. Instead, he shows her that there is meaning and purpose to be found in repenting for your past crimes. The same way that he's been doing for All of the bad shit that happened without his soul. just like he said to her in season 3, "we are very similar."

This is the same shit happening to Buffy now. she is losing her friends. Xander has a 9 to 5 job and he's getting married so he just won't have time for her anymore. Willow is falling deeper and deeper into this hole of scary magic she might not come back from. Giles doesn't even know if he wants to be in Sunnydale anymore. Buffy is still grappling with how her job as a slayer is an existential threat to her friends. she lost her mom, she almost lost her sister but she died in the line of duty as a Slayer and was rewarded with paradise. however it was taken away from her. she is living in hell now and is a hair's breadth away from being suicidal like faith was because everything is overwhelming and she's failing repeatedly and she has no greater purpose. she can't even go back to college which was her aspiration before all of this happened. she can't even die properly, The one reward for saving the world from demons and all of your burdens being lifted from you as you spend eternity in heaven.

it was already obvious The first time around that faith was always lying when she said she was 5x5. it is so much harder now knowing that she was doing the same thing Buffy is now. lying through her teeth to the people that she supposedly loves just so they won't approach her and get close to her vulnerabilities. and it's causing her to crack under this immense pressure of being alone. she is isolating herself because she thinks she's no good for anybody.

We even have the similarities that the brunette Slayer is working with the brunette vampire to help herself and the blonde Slayer is working with the blonde vampire to help herself. I will be shocked if Spike is not the one person who's able to prevent her from going over the edge this season. I mean it's almost obvious because she's isolated herself from everyone else and no one knows how bad it is because she will not let them in.

I already know it's too much to hope that there's any mention of faith in this season. just as much as faith became Buffy when she was open to the Scoobies and Riley and a fulfilling slayer role, Buffy is becoming faith as she pushes those things away. she even brutalized a demon she had already killed in her basement the way Faith did in one of the early times we saw her slay something.

Whateva. It's fine. I'm fine about it. none of this matters because The Three musketeers of dork ass nerds Make me so mad that I can't think straight so I have to get these ideas out before I watch any more of the show.

[keepingeahalive]

Milton Grimm should have been the Big Bad

This man. Is it obvious that I hate this man? 

Look at him with that punchable face and that annoying little mustache. I just wanna rip those two sad little whiskers right off his smug, pudgy face. 

This man should have been the main villain. The final boss. The endgame for the characters of Ever After High. But he wasn’t. He just fell into the background after Thronecoming. Sure, we got some Evil Queen action. But what was his reaction to the destruction of the Storybook of Legends, the symbol of tradition within their society?! He must have been p*ssed!! 

But we never get to see it. 

Milton Grimm is and should have been the main villain. Here’s why.

1. Crybaby Backstory.

Let’s face it. This attempt at a tragic backstory was underwhelming. To recap, Milton and his little brother Giles were best friends and shared opposite views than they did when they were adults. Because of this, Milton dragged Giles into a cave said to be inhabited by trolls because he was convinced it was only a story. Surprise, surprise: trolls are real (I mean, doi, kid! You live in a fairytale world. What did you expect?!) and Milton runs out of the cave, leaving baby Giles behind. Milton runs back to his father to get Giles back and Giles returns home, safe and sound. And out of guilt, Milton promises never to go against the stories again. Yay, happy ending.

But, it’s not.

I’m sorry, but I don’t think this backstory is enough justification for forcing an entire society to follow their parents’ (often terrible) stories. Yes, Milton was a child at the time, and he thought he had accidentally killed his younger brother. I can see how that experience would be traumatic for anyone. But, we know Giles is fine now and is actually more well-put together than his older brother. I think it would have been better if we say Giles’s POV from that day, actually have him meet the troll, have some tea with him or whatever, and have him hear the real story of the troll’s life. Giles could sympathize with the troll and learn not all stories should be followed. 

What I can gather from this backstory is that it led Milton to develop crazy control issues. He and Giles built an entire school to indoctrinate several generations of fairytales. To ensure no one would go against what he saw as dangerous, he lied and basically threatened everyone “not existing” if they didn’t do what he said. Giles saw right through this BS, and when he confronted his brother about it, Milton cursed him to speak near-gibberish and locked him up underneath the school. This goes far beyond a Well-Intentioned Extremist.

2. Giles. 

This man is a cinnamon roll and must be protected. Thank you. 

Unlike Milton, Giles is warm, friendly, and open-minded to the stories the Brothers Grimm have collected over the centuries. He’s the former librarian, he has made personal connections with his students, and he sees them as people rather than characters. He is a clear foil to Raven, having gone against the status quo to make something better only to be quashed and locked away for it. 

Yes, he did trick Raven, Maddie, and their friends into breaking his curse. (I’m pretty sure manipulation runs in the family). But, he deserves a win for what Milton put him through. And speaking plain English would have helped him and the girls more than having Maddie constantly translate for him (and in a language that is purposefully open to interpretation).

When Giles finally confronts Milton for what he did, I’m honestly disappointed. No, I don’t think Giles would have punched him in the face or anything. That’s too out of character for him. I was hoping Giles wouldn’t have forgiven him, or at the very least say something to the effect of “I forgive you, but that doesn’t mean I trust you.” Brother or not, I just can’t see anyone forgiving someone that quickly for what is basically impairment and imprisonment. 

3. The Apple Debate

If Giles is a foil to Raven, then Milton is a foil to Apple. 

Apple saw Milton and destiny as gospel. She was brought up, groomed, and traumatized into following destiny to a tee. Like Milton, she experienced a childhood trauma that made her believe destiny was the only way to stay safe. She has little to no regard for what others have to go through to follow her destiny. Her reasons seem petty and childish, but they make sense to her. 

This is no fault of her own. She’s intentionally portrayed as naive, entitled, and selfish because she grew up in the most privileged of settings. She has the best destiny out of anyone, and growing up to be a beloved queen of the entire world sounds like a pretty sweet gig. She also holds genuine, if misguided, care for her friends and terrified for them if they don’t follow their stories (in a “I’m trying to save your soul from damnation” type of way). 

She is also the daughter of one of the most influential political figures in the world, so she has to set an example. She puts so much pressure on herself to be perfect that she walks around blind. She needs glasses, but she can’t bring herself to show any sort of flaw about herself lest she lets everyone down.

Lastly, Apple is a child. She has room to grow and change like everyone else in their teenage years. Like Raven, she has time to figure herself out and could benefit from some self-reflection. 

That being said, Milton is an adult. And he has been an adult for at least 200 years. He’s had time to look over his actions and think “Hmm, maybe what I’m doing is borderline dictatorial.” Yet he never wavers from his position. He has never admitted that he was wrong about anything or apologized for anything he’s done in regard to his students’ lives. Meanwhile, Apple has gone through some genuine growth as a character and as a person, because she loves her friends. It would have been interesting to see what Milton would think about his star, his favorite, his most devoted follower, suddenly turning on him. 

4. The Redemption “Arc”

It felt more like a redemption splat than an arc. In my opinion, Milton didn’t deserve to be redeemed. At the very least, not this quickly. He would have made a fantastic antagonist to Raven. It would have been so exciting and frustrating to watch him tighten the reins even more on his students until they ended up all turning on him. It would have been a great commentary on authority, freedom, and societal views on individuality. But instead, we get brotherly moments in the background with him and Giles. I’ll admit, it’s kind of cute. But, this show’s conflict was created by Milton Grimm, and the show just left that plot point hanging. 

Milton should have stuck to his guns for much longer, have him be the stubborn old man who will not budge on his beliefs. If you are to give him a redemption arc, have him realize his mistake after it’s too late. The final showdown between him and his fed-up students would be so much more satisfying than what we got. Please, for the love of God, Mattel! Bring this show back so we can do this story done proper.

[gleamingtempest]

Arturo Giles & Levi Fontana - Narrative Foil Trait Compilation #7

How does this series work?

This is my narrative foil disection series for Danganronpa Despair Time based on my post Danganronpa: Depsair Time foils theory. The presented theory is that the CH1 recap shows off all narrative foils in DR:DT based on how the pairings in said recap video are paired. This series will go through all 8(?) of these foil pairings and disect the dichotomy present in them in a more in depth manner. I will do this primarily by comparing and contrasting Backstory, Motive, Flaws & Character Arc. (Credit to Barbieronpa for that compliation of concepts.) All of these posts will contain heavy spoilers and will be updated as the series goes on and more information on the characters is presented. If you are interested in the those updates please return to each of these posts after the end of an episode batch. This will only look at presented content within the series;outside of the foil theory itself it will not take into account theories & speculation.

Backstory

Arturo: -> Left family to pursue career. Had a shy younger sister named Felicity. -> Felicity took her own life at some point after he left. Levi: -> Was disowned for family wherein he had at least 2 other brothers & two parents. -> Levi says that this family was a 'bad influence' on him. -> Levi is 'a very different person' than he used to be -> Levi has only taken up his personal stylist career recently. Compare/Contrast: -> Both seem to be on bad terms with family -> Both chose to pursue cosmetic talents

Personality

Arturo: -> Haughty -> Obsessive -> Callous -> Vain Levi: -> Humble -> Apathetic -> Helpful -> Earnest

Motive

Arturo: -> Arturo is motivated by a desire to 'serve beautiful people'. He dedicates himself to celebrities and actors who he considers 'truly beautiful'. -> Arturo wears a mask to 'avoid breathing the same air as the hideous people around him. -> Arturo is in some form of denial about his sister's death or his role in his sister's death;he feels extreme guilt for it. Levi: -> Levi is motivated by his desire to protect those around him. -> He works to prevent threats to the group, like when he watched over Ace because he started a fight with everyone he met, and is willing to put himself in harms way if it means protecting someone -> He actively wants to do what he can to help those around him and beats himself up when he makes Ace mad at him -> He has some underlying anger issues which have caused him to take drastic action -> He has a hard time understanding how to grieve on his own and just does what others do when he doesn't know what else to do;in his own words his own way of grieving is to not grieve at all. Compare/Contrast: -> Both seem unable to process or acknowledge their grief for two very different reasons. -> Both dedicate themselves to the lives of others. Arturo does this only for a select few while Levi does this for everyone who he believes he is obligated to help. -> Both have had some type of mishap with a family member/members in the past which they would rather not dwell on.

Flaws

Arturo: -> Arturo is actively malicious towards those he considers beneath him -> Arturo reacts violently when faced with his past -> Arturo actively ignores and rejects direct critique Levi: -> Levi passively accepts abuse he receives without processing his personal feelings on it until those feelings blow up in negative ways -> Levi doesn't have enough regard for his own wellbeing -> Levi doesn't share his grievances with others/Levi doesn't consider himself an equal to those around him Compare/Contrast: -> Both Levi and Arturo consider themselves a servant to something else. This causes Arturo to act haughty and arrogant while for Levi it maeks him humble and passive. -> Neither seem to be able to process or acknowledge the suffering they go through internally due to their pasts. They ignore it until it ends up blowing up in their face in ways which hurt them more.

Narrative Arc

Arturo: -> Arturo starts off the story completely turned off from all of the cast, seeing himself as better than all of them. -> Veronica attaches herself to Arturo, forcing him to interact with another member of the cast instead of completely isolating. -> Arturo becomes obsessed with J after learning that she is part of the Rosales family. He stalks and harasses her without any regard for her own boundaries. -> Arturo threatens physical harm and death upon Eden after she respectfully asks whether or not he would like to share his secret because it forced him to content with his own buried past. -> Arturo is now regarded as a villain by all the group and his only vocal ally is the same person who forcibly attached themself to him earlier, this time causing him to fall even deeper into isolation. Levi: -> Levi starts off the story by trying to protect the group through physical violence and attacking MonoTV, immediately resulting in bodily harm on himself, which he immediately dismisses. -> Levi is tended to by Arturo in the infimary and enters a relationship with Ace where he makes Ace feel safe while Ace gives Levi something to protect. This is an unhealthy one in which neither respects the boundaries of the other. -> Levi fails to acknowledge that this is unhealthy and it ends up blowing up in his face during the trial when he snaps at Ace, severing their already shakey bond. -> Levi starts off chapter 2 feeling like 'a bad person' and confides in Eden about his struggles with this relationship. Eden affirms that Levi already is a good person and he feels encouraged to continue pursuing his 'relationship' with Ace. -> Ace completely rejects this pursuit, continuosly, until he comes to a boiling point of his own where he was almost murdered and completely disavowed any potential aid he could ever receive from Levi. -> This brings Levi to his lowpoint where he feels it is pointless for him to continue trying at all. -> Levi tells Eden during the trial that he will 'protect her from whoever is threatening her' (Arturo). Compare/Contrast: -> Arturo becomes the villain of the cast while Levi becomes the 'hero'. -> Arturo is constantly acting selfishly and in his own interest while Levi acts 'selflessly' for others. -> Levi and Arturo are both entered into a non-mutually respectful relationship with another participant which comes to a boiling point during chapter 2.

[loisfreakinglane]

Buffy!

OH CHILDHOOD MEMORIES, LETTUCE REVISIT YE OLDEN FEELS

The first character I first fell in love with: 

absolutely buffster. BABY BUFFY. MY LOVE.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: 

who'd have guessed back in s1 that cordelia would become one of my favorite fictional characters of all time? well. after out of mind out of sight that would make sense. ALSO ANNE STEELE. but if we're only talking btvs-specific characters? lmao is it weird if i say snyder. i mean he's aWFUL. but he's so goddamn entertaining. he's an impeccable foil for our mains.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: 

i find spike very entertaining when he is onscreen (mostly just s2-5 tho, after that he gets more annoying and/or boring), but i do not think about him at all when he is offscreen. i do not care a single bit about him or his feelings or his ~arc~ oh and THAT'S NIKKI WOOD'S FUCKING COAT

The character I love that everyone else hates: 

lmao i've warmed up on xander in recent years, A WILD HOT TAKE FOR THE TEAM. also dawn and joyce. also i don't hate riley or kennedy so..... clearly i do what i want

The character I used to love but don’t any longer:

i have complicated giles feelings. they absolutely dropped the ball in s6-7 with him (totally separate issue from ash choosing to leave, i fully support that life choice- it was the writing that's the issue for me). also willow sucks. still entertaining onscreen! but UGH

The character I would totally smooch: 

BUFFY. CORDY. KENDRA. ANGEL. ROBIN WOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!

The character I’d want to be like: 

BUFFYYYYYYYYYYY. i have very vivid childhood memories of pretending i was buffy any time i was in particular pain or distress bc it made me feel like i could actually handle it

The character I’d slap: 

spike. willow. sometimes xander. obvsly the fucking nerds.

A pairing that I love:

okay my answer is buffy/angel but it's a lower tier love bc my otp is cordy/angel. but i love bangel! i have a lot of feelings about it and them! and i also would someday like to read post-series bangel fic that is specifically about them reconnecting over becoming the instant-parent of a magically aged blue eyed teenager with reality shattering fake memories constructing their world and personality. it's just a very specific niche experience they share. and an issue i have with bangel in fandom tends to be the erasure of angels family? ANYWAY. THIS ANSWER IS TOO LONG LOL

A pairing that I despise: 

you already know it is buffy & spike lmao it just does not interest me at all on any level. I WILL SAY there was a hot minute there where i saw the appeal, and that was in the first few episodes of season 6. but then he found out he could hurt her and the dynamic shifted and i hated it forever. but mostly i just find it very uninteresting

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Monday, August 19 - Tuesday, August 20, Part II

[Fandom Discussions]

anyone have any more fics or rants or opinions about spike starving by a “good guys”? by yanamorgan

I can identify four distinct phases of Angel’s character arc thus far: by agirlinsearchof

that throwaway line in Checkpoint about Giles getting his old job as a Watcher back by coraniaid

I never really thought about the “moment of happiness = sex” but... by hawkstincan

Woah did I NOT remember the beginning of season three of BtVS by alchemistc

Why do vampires’s clothes disintegrate in Buffy when you stake them? by vaiyamagic

no matter how many years pass and how many buffy rewatches i embark upon, i’ll always get teary eyed when buffy wins class protector at prom. by ohrevienssoleil

Most disturbing episodes by Stake fodder

How well have Buffy and Angel aged? by burrunjor

Watchers - how were they ‘chosen’? by American Aurora

The best weapon on Angel is when Lorne scream sings. by Practical_Scale8071

I don’t like Spike. by Illustrious-Neat5520

How does Buffy get around town? by clickyr

Thoughts on this very practical looking battlesuit from S08#11? by zarif_chow

I love how the show handles Joyce after season 5 by alghamdis

It’s hard to take vampires seriously as a threat when this mf is out here getting foiled by a janitor by nowlan101

Minor character moment by samof1994

This man is facing vampires with no plan, no resources, just handing out fades by EisenhowersPowerHour

Willow-Centric Fanfics by LiviaDruzilla

This montage in Him is classic by Practical_Scale8071

Wesley and his chemistry by ceecee1909

Buffy leaving Ward to die - her first brutal moment by nota-banana

What's your personal canon for why Drusilla and her 2 sisters seemingly weren't married by beeemkcl

Why do you think Drusilla and her 2 sisters seemingly weren't married before they died? by beeemkcl (This is a different post than the one above, with different replies.)

There a reason the council didn't warn Buffy? (Spoilers) by Tsole96

Do you think Anya ever crossed paths with evil Angelus, Spike, Drusilla and/or Darla? by GreyStagg

Do slayers gain past knowledge and instinct when they are called? by Tsole96

What was your reaction to the end of “Seeing Red”? by austinrussell24

Has Spike actually changed by 5.14 “Crush” by AccordingReference3

Wes and Lilah had the hottest physical relationship I didn't see coming by Practical_Scale8071

Who's side are you on? by Broad-Gas8411

My thoughts about spike by Careless-whisper-

Just watched Once More With Feeling again... by Amonette2012

No one could ever convince me this was not ICONIC by ElephantWorldly5010

Intervention was a weird episode that I don't really like [no spoilers beyond Intervention] by spectacleskeptic

Watching for the first time by Piratedking12

Glory and Cordy's life are both similar and mirror images of each other. by iceswordsman

Be accurate. by AndrewHeard

Funko First Look! by SnooDoggos5311

Was the Bathroom Scene Necessary? by talcanal

Dawn’s Wild Sandwich by officialgenovia

What are you go-to "feel good" episodes? by Whedonite144

I wish... by MonsterTournament

Appreciation for how the show relates so well to reality and my life by ginime_

What if Angel wasn’t cursed with his actual soul? by Beans_0492

"How should they have dealt with Buffy's trauma?" (Seeing Red) by foreseethefuture

How would yall have felt about a full Angel crossover? by Eagles56

Faith's accidental killing of the Mayor's assistant by jogaforacont

BOOM! Comics collecting and timeline? by antsdenunz

Imagine it: Buffy has been renewed for Season 8 and you've been hired to be the showrunner. by LanaLanaFofana

I am not prepared. by Red-Church

Witness arias by Extra-Aside-6419

I literally just finished the show right now and... by JotaroKujo0ra

Opinions on “Where the wild things are?” by Fuzzy-Reference1061

I'll always believe that whatever Angel is up to in 2024 he's still thinking about Buffy by sKullsHavezzz

**** was only brain sucked for one day, change my mind by brian5mbv

Doing a rewatch and I'm up to S4 - omg some of this writing is killing me! by Pawneewafflesarelife

A little something by wisteria_grey

Spike…. :( by No-Sherbet7806

Eliza Dushku talking about Fuffy by blondebandit69

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

PUBLICATION: From Buffy to Star Wars, It's Time to End This Troublesome Trope by CBR

PUBLICATION: RETRO REVIEW: Buffy the Vampire Slayer Elevated the Stakes for Long-Form Television by CBR

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[jennycalendar]

2, 14, and 20, please.

14 here!

2. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

i am so so so longing to dive into the sequel to what you make! there are a lot of follow-up fics before we get there, and i am really excited to write them! obvs i have now alluded to ellie multiple times, and the reason she is really really important + why i didn't want the calendiles family to stop with art is because, in this timeline especially, them having another baby is going to be a really complicated event and bring up a lot of feelings for both of them. and i wanna spend some more time with jenny, and introduce everyone to danica and felix in the same way that we were introduced to alice and thomas in what you make! there's a lot of stuff going on with jenny's mom -- it would be a story about mothers and daughters and mothers of daughters specifically.

also of course i wanna finish north star. that will happen.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

OH WOW SO MUCH STUFF. um there are so many interconnected little links in what you make that i put so much work into crafting? nora/donovan and alice/thomas are both very complicated reflections of giles and jenny. donovan especially is set up as a foil to giles -- someone who is very emotionally open and very comfortable playing a caretaker role and providing support to his kids -- and the fact that he is so nurturing and honest means that nora, who is very prickly, has always felt so safe around him! and of course alice is a foil to jenny and the reason that alice and thomas eventually went in the direction that they did stems from all of the wordless emotional labor that alice did in her relationship, even as that led to her death. this idea that silently shouldering the burden and the blame is actually a huge fucking problem and you gotta learn where to draw the line.

also, of course, flowers are sooo important to what you make! things that grow! things that have history! things that are beautiful and lively and complicated! giles and jenny literally meet for the first time in eight years in a rose garden which i talk about all the time, but also donovan calls nora "sunflower" and alice's ghost talks to giles through flower language in the penultimate chapter. i have plans to weave flowers into follow-up fics as well! most of it is because i love flowers, tbh, so it's really special to sorta add this little blossom of color to a btvs fic that is about my personal attachment to color and joy and growth.

plus, alice and nora as reflections of jenny! nora as jenny at her most confident and unfiltered -- as someone who feels no obligation to be Nice and Soft while still being unquestionably loving and maternal! alice as jenny at her most anxious and ashamed -- as someone who feels like she is worth nothing, and as such is perhaps disproportionately grateful for the love she is given, to the point where she's willing to overlook her partner's flaws until they slap her in the face! what you make is really at its core a stealth love letter to jenny, which is particularly heart-melting, because it speaks to my thesis statement about giles: any story that dives deep into giles is going to be a stealth love letter to jenny. look at canon.

[nonasuch]

as you may know, reading tumblr posts about Dean Winchester is an experience surprisingly akin to auditing classes on gender performance and masculinity at a graduate level media studies program. at least if you read enough of them.

which unfortunately I have! and now I have some thoughts.

see, there are character archetypes that crop up over and over again, and particularly often in 90s and 00s genre TV shows. I am vastly oversimplifying, but let’s boil them down to the Three Main Kinds Of Dudes you are most likely to see in these shows.

Let’s start with the Guy Who’s Not Cool, And Knows It. he’s all over the place: he’s Xander on Buffy, and later Wesley. he’s Julian Bashir, Rodney McKay, Seth Cohen and (at least early on) Alec Hardison. he’s usually not the main character, but he’s up there in the main credits.

and he’s textually, overtly anxious about his masculinity. this is something that other characters comment on, and sometimes he admits to it himself. his long-term character arc is — at least in part — about resolving that anxiety, confronting it and growing past it over time.

(he’s also, often, a self-insert for the guys in the writer’s room. but we don’t have time to unpack all of that.)

our second category is a bit more of a grab bag, because in some ways it covers all the guys who don’t fit into categories 1 or 3. but, broadly, we can call him the Guy Who Doesn’t Need To Make A Big Deal Out Of It. he’s the guy who comes across as quietly secure in his masculinity, who has nothing to prove on that front and whose story doesn’t need to be about proving it. Sometimes he functions as a foil for the Anxious Guy, sometimes he’s just quietly ticking along in the parts of the story that aren’t about Proving anybody’s Manliness. He’s Giles and Oz and Gunn, Eliot Spencer, Ronon Dex, Benjamin Sisko.

and then there’s the Cool Guy.

the Cool Guy is a main character, or he has top billing in an ensemble cast. the Cool Guy is a walking, talking grab-bag of heroic mannerisms. He’s tough and strong and he doesn’t talk about his feelings. he’s a ladykiller. he’s a flirt. he has the popular imagination version of Captain Kirk’s personality, and the popular imagination version of Han Solo’s sex appeal. he kills bad guys and drops a witty one-liner afterwards. he can fly a plane, or a spaceship, or drive a cool car or ride a motorcycle. he walks away from explosions without flinching. he’s not doing this ironically. he’s not performing. he’s just Cool.

as written, he has the depth of a cardboard standee.

but he’s played by an actor who’s, you know, a real human person, and wants his character to have some kind of interiority. so this weird alchemy happens, over and over again.

here’s the thing about that grab-bag of Cool Guy traits and mannerisms: there are real men, in real life, who do most of those things. and most of them probably aren’t overcompensating for anything! but also? none of them have the whole grab-bag. They have, like, two at most.

no one does all of them unless they’re doing them on purpose — unless they’re putting on a performance. but the Cool Guy as written isn’t performing. and the actor playing him has to embody that impossible character while giving him some kind of depth.

So what happens? Dean Winchester. John Sheppard. All the Cool Guys who are meant, textually, to be Effortlessly Performing Masculinity... and subtextually read as desperately overcompensating for their queerness.

whoops!

and somehow tv writer’s rooms keep doing this! they think that if they just pile on more Cool Guy traits, they’ll make the performance convincing, when they’re actually just undermining him more and more.

(sometimes the Cool Guy isn’t even meant to be heroic! the writers of Smallville tried, as far as I can tell, to make Lex Luthor come across as a suave, worldly, sophisticated ladykiller. what they got was a man who makes way-too-intense eye contact with a buff farm boy while suggestively drinking fancy bottled water.)

(also I didn’t watch Teen Wolf but I am given to understand that Derek falls in this category? and Stiles is for sure an archetypical Anxious Guy.)

the thing about the Anxious Guy is that because his anxious masculinity is textual, it can be addressed and resolved in the text. Because the Cool Guy is not textually performing, not textually anxious, he just has to keep on being that guy without the text ever acknowledging that there’s anything weird about it. and all the while the subtext is screaming that this! man! is! trying! too! hard!

and we as viewers with eyes in our heads can see that tension, between what’s said and what’s shown, and tbh most of the time the simplest and most obvious way to resolve it is to say “ah. okay. that man is Not Straight.”

so that’s why Dean Winchesters keep happening. thank u for coming to my ted talk.

[chasingfictions]

ok that post of spike to the tune of p!nk's "get the party started" IS a shitpost make no mistake but im also thinking about litearlly how he does get the party started. i think what's insane about it is that in "school hard" literally every time he enters a scene it's treated like he is entering the show for the first time, like it's that level of fanfare every time. EVERY TIME he shows up it's this Event, it's like, oh shit!! this guy's HERE NOW.

1. crashing into the sunnydale sign "home sweet home" cigarette smoke blow etc

2. barging into the vamp factory, "if everybody who said they were at the crucifiction was actually there, it would have been like woodstock" / dru cheek blood lick / spikedru head swivel "me and dru, we're moving in"

3. appearing from out of the shadows at the bronze. *btvs shooting script voice* is it angel? it's not angel. it's spike.

4. appearing from out of the shadows in the alley outside the bronze, clapping, "you'll find out on saturday" "what happens on saturday?" "i kill you"

5. honestly when he's not even there?? in the library when giles is doing the spikesposition that will be the audio on every spike-centric previously-on, "he's known as william the bloody. earned his nickname by torturing his victims with railroad spikes .... he's fought two slayers in the last century, and he's killed them both" + angel being incredibly dramatic about him

6. barging into the high school through the broken glass "what can I say? I couldn't wait" :)

and i think what's also significant is that each of these introductions is for a different person's benefit??? like

1. the sunnydale sign crash is for the viewer's initial benefit like oh ok this is gonna be a Guy

2. and then in the factory it's to set up that a) he's going to be taking over as a new style of antagonist from the culty vampires, b) he's In Love With Drusilla and that's also literally going to set off just an entire new trajectory for what it meants to be a vampire in this verse, and c) that he's a narrative foil to buffy, with her also being this upstart disrupting the vibes of her ancient lineage and with Thee Iconic School Hard Red Cheek Stripes

3. is there to set up like not only is this A Guy but this is A Guy with narrative and emotional stakes in this world. like,, literally "it's not angel. it's spike" like i cant even talk about how INSANE that is. he JUST got here and already it's like oh ok lustful glances in the bronze he is embroiled in our sexy vampire trajectory interesting

4. HERE, after THREE introductions is finally the characters meeting him, like finally the people the show's pov is from are Perceiving him but we the viewer already have all this feeling attached to him, so when he shows up he has this narrative weight. like if the first time we saw spike was him clapping out of the shadows at buffy he would just be some guy?? but that first meeting gets to be pregnant with meeting bc of what we already know... spuffy said dramatic irony spuffy said tension between the fabula and syuzhet...

5. and NOW we get History. we get oh this guy is also embroiled in the LORE. he is narratively tied to slayers. he goes by many names. he is inducing weird psychosexual vampire tension in our resident broody vampire,, like something is Up. he's not just disrupting the Now he is literally embroiled in History. spuffy said all of time is always happening at once and the future changes the meaning of the past...

6. and THEN we get him bursting onto the scene. like this is the first time him and buffy are really interacting in a meaningful way where they are both equally active in their interplay, this is like, okay we have set up that this guy is going to Change Everything, and the Everything Begins Now, now we're in this dynamic moment of fighting and chasing and pursuing and Do We Really Need Weapons for This? ..... No Spike, It's Gonna Hurt A Lot .... now we've seen him introduced to all the ways he is altering the existing world we've set up, all the ways he's connected to and tinging the past, and now it's like, oh he's changing the present now. he's changing the future. he's established as a narrative symbol and the moment all that symbolism is fully set up he suddenly becomes a Narrative Agent, an Actor, A Character, a Being ... the way he is a signifier carrying around signifieds and then now it's time for those signifieds to live and interact with buffy's signifieds .... and interact they DO

[slash-em-up]

Onero: A Collector Fic

TW: This fic deals with themes of PTSD and and past trauma-related distress. Along with violence and abuse that comes with the territory if you’re at all familiar with the Collector franchise. If this is going to be triggering to you please skip this one.

-------------------------------------------------------

Asa sighed through his nose and tried not to roll his eyes as he sat outside the dean’s office, waiting to be let in.

It was the first week of the semester, and someone in the administration had the bright idea that the students might want to know their professors on a more personal level. They had pitched the scheme to the dean that they should hire a reporter to do bios on the senior faculty members.

Which brought Asa to his current place in the waiting room. It was his turn on the proverbial chopping block.

God, he could kill that damn receptionist if she told him it would ‘only be a little while longer’ once more in that sugar-y tone of hers. He didn’t particularly care if he ever went into the office; but he wanted out of this building as soon as possible. He’d never been one to play the academic politics game; and being this close to so many smarmy brown-nosers was making his skin crawl.

Nearly at his limit - and thinking of a reasonable excuse to make a hasty retreat back to his lab, Asa’s plan was foiled by the deans’ heavy oak door opening - the ringing sound of boisterous laughter reaching his ears.

The dean strolled out with one of the classics professors nearly glued to his side.

“Oh Henry, you old so-and-so! I should have known better than to expect good behavior from you!”

The classics professor laughed a bit too grandiosely as he clapped a hand to the dean’s shoulder.

“Well, Alister, if you actually go out and hire someone to make me talk about myself, how can I resist?”

Hands were shaken, future lunch plans were exchanged, and the professor left - leaving the dean to turn his attention to Asa.

His lips thinned almost immediately.

“Well, Doctor Emory. It appears you’re next on our list of victims...”

Asa stood and offered the dean his hand, which was only barely grasped before the heavy-set man turned back into his office.

“…Let’s get this over with.”

A wiry man with a wrinkled button-down met the pair as they entered the room. He stood, grinning widely at Asa and eyeing him up and down in a way that reminded Asa of something he himself would casually do when hunting a new piece for his collection. Looking for something special.

Looking at a prize.

“Doctor Emory, this is Mr. Curtis. He’s on loan to us from the Daily Star.”

Asa gave the man a curt nod before taking a seat in one of the deans overstuffed leather chairs.

The man was nearly vibrating with excitement as he reached for a tape recorder and a notepad - pulling out and clicking his pen in a way that grated on Asa’s nerves as readily as if he’d started reciting some god-awful beat poetry.

And still, he was staring.

“Doctor Emory, it’s so great to finally meet you. You have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to sit down like this in private. I can’t wait to really dig into your story.”

Taken slightly aback, Asa stayed quiet and considered the man before answering.

“Well, it’s always a pleasure to meet someone with a passion to write about the sciences. I went to university in -“

Curtis interrupted.

“You know, I was really hoping we could go back a bit further than that. Say, back to your childhood.”

Asa blinked.

“… I suppose. I’ve always had an interest in insects, as far back as I can remember. I began by catching moths and butterflies in a nearby -“

“Was that something your parents encouraged?”

“My what?”

The dean chuckled at Asa’s befuddled response.

“You know, Dr. Emory, ‘mater’ and ‘pater’. The last genealogical link, as it were… hehe…”

Asa forced a small grin in the deans direction.

“Yes. Of course. My parents were always supportive of my academic endeavors. So, as I was saying - In college I -“

“Was that something you helped your father with at the museum?”

Again, Asa was struck dumb by the man’s questions.

“… How did you know about that?”

Curtis leaned forward in his chair, grinning at Asa in a way the larger man didn’t care for at all.

“I’ll be honest, Asa, although the school hired me to write the teacher’s bios, the main thing that brought me here was you.”

The pieces of this puzzle were beginning to form in Asa’s mind. The picture was… distressing.

“Me.”

It wasn’t a question.

“I’ve been studying your family’s murders for years, and to actually be sitting in the room with the last survivor of your fathers rampage is just… incredible.”

Asa stood abruptly.

“I think we’re done here.”

Both Curtis and the dean rose in protest.

“Wait! I have some questions about -“

“Dr. Emory, sit -“

“Is it true you helped your father skin your sis-“

“Carol, call security, I -“

“Did you know what he was planning when he -“

“Mr. Curtis, please!”

“How long were you in that trunk?”

Asa made it out of the room and down the hall before his legs gave out beneath him.

‘No, no, no, no, not now…’

But it was too late.

***********************

The smell of the formaldehyde coupled with the cheap cologne Giles Emory always wore to cover the stench of decay…

The cold press of the family dinner table under Asa’s face as he was flung down to watch the man he shared blood with instruct him on how to remove a full limb of skin without tearing it; Patricia still alive and watching in horror as she was flayed…

Erin screaming as she bled out onto the floor, crawling for Clara, who was already dead …

His mother smiling at him from across the room before her husband smashed her skull in…

The heavy, overbearing quiet that followed the slaughter; knowing he was locked in a trunk, left alone in a room filled with corpses…

************************

And just like that, Asa was back in the hall, forehead pressed to the cool tile floor as he gasped for breath.

He scrambled up, leaning against the wall as he blinked back tears that threatened to fall -stubbornly swiping at them as he reached out blindly for the glasses that had skidded across the floor when he fell.

Placing the thick frames back on his face, Asa stood, looking around the room to see if anyone had followed to bare witness to his moment of weakness.

Thankfully the hall was quiet - abandoned by students and faculty alike as the hour grew late.

Running a hand through his sandy hair, the tall man walked slowly out of the Admin building and back to his office.

He gathered his effects in a haze and honestly couldn’t recall driving home until the soft press of warm fur and wet noses against his hands registered.

“… Hello, boys…” Asa murmured.

Hellstrom and Burkhart began to whine - able to sense in ways that only dogs can that all was not well with their human.

The familiar noises of the dogs and the smell of cedar and dust that permeated his home had a grounding effect on Asa, and with a few deep breaths he was feeling nearly like himself again.

Leaving his briefcase at the door, man and dogs wandered from the entryway into the small library.

The dogs sat obediently at their masters feet as he opened up his laptop and quickly re-routed his browser to a private window - untraceable, and immediately erased as soon as his session was done.

The man hummed softly as the homepage for the Daily Star popped up.

“Mr. Kevin Curtis… who lives at 228 Elmhurst Drive, apartment number 12… perhaps we can continue our little chat… on my terms.”

The Collector smiled.

“I think that sounds like a lovely time…”

[plethoraurora]

“lie to me” and morality in btvs

today on help! i wrote an essay in the discord chat. since i happen to do that a lot i figured i’d dump them onto my blog for posterity, and so i don’t have to dig through archives/search to find them if i wanna express those points again.

so without further ado, please have a very stream-of-consciousness response to a conversation the buffyverse discord had about “lie to me” and its relevance to the series, specifically in terms of overarching themes and morality. this is entirely unedited and solely the result of my absolutely unhinged brain being allowed to run free:

prelude

re: the convo we were having about "lie to me": not to mention, the implications of buffy's conversation with giles in regard to the idea of moral ambiguity. which really hasn't been a conversation piece at all up to this point: it has been exactly that -- we know the enemies, we know the good guys, and that line is cleanly drawn. this totally foreshadows SO many things that will unfold through the rest of the series

pt. 1

obviously, angel losing his soul and reverting to angelus which is nearing in, at that point -- the ambiguity of one's personhood, the idea of the soul as the physical guiding force for morality, and the lack of it. what separates angel from angelus -- what separates the actions he committed as angelus from his ensouled state? what makes up his personhood?

pt. 2

then there's faith, who comes up next, chronologically -- she's buffy's foil in so many ways i don't even know where to begin -- but especially in her views of morality and what's "right" -- you can see that in her understanding of buffy's morality (ex. "because it's wrong"), and her actions throughout season 3 -- from her recklessness from the time she's introduced through her betrayal and incarceration/redemption, she walks a very thin, undefined line, between the inherent "good" of the nature of being a slayer, and "bad" of her own nature/nurture, and personal view of herself.

through her stint as buffy, we see that she feels the need to view herself as "bad", to demonize her actions, in direct contrast to buffy's "goodness" -- she sees them as complete opposites, polar extremes of a spectrum of morality -- when they're both closer to the middle. and that's something that will be explored when faith returns to sunnydale in s7, changed immensely by her self-imposed penance in prison, as well as buffy's own actions after her resurrection -- completely changed in her own demeanor through the effects of her feeling a disconnect from humanity and pursuing a self-harming relationship with spike -- who's been seen as "bad" this entire time.

the dynamic between faith and buffy is also explored in the context of the conflict regarding who the potentials want to lead them, and choosing faith -- while faith's changed her tune to do more good, buffy's gone from more the more optimistic of the two, to almost on par with faith's pessimism -- she sees the harsh reality of the past seven years clearly, and while her morals haven't changed -- how she sees them has -- buffy's always seen herself as inherent good, and faith as bad -- just as faith sees them -- when they meet again in s7, they both recognize they're neither.

pt. 3

and then we have willow -- who i think is the clearest example of this dichotomy -- just look at the change in her demeanor from season 1 to season 7. like buffy, she starts out optimistic to a fault -- they'll always win. and when they don't -- it affects her. willow isn't on the same moral high ground that early season buffy puts herself on -- but she is highly logical. she's book smart, studious, applies herself, and is generally just insanely intelligent. but as she starts to get into magic -- that logistics-focused approach starts to crumble -- because magic isn't logical, is it? she can easily apply logics to the functions of magical objects and ingredients, but the how and why is much more spiritual, connected to emotions -- which is exactly what we get when she pursues higher levels of magic upon meeting tara.

her morals aren't as clearly defined on the spectrum as buffy or faith's, or as questioned as angel or spike's, and her change is much more gradual than incited by one event (e.g. buffy's death/resurrection, angel losing his soul, spike getting his soul, etc.). i find her more similar to faith in this way -- though like faith and buffy, they're less traveling the same path than meeting each other in the middle.

it would be easy to argue tara's death as the inciting event in what seems like a change in willow's morality -- but i think of it as inherently connected to her disposition and how she sees the world, which is a gradual change. i think, then, that losing tara is more of an expression of this change -- a display of massive proportions of just how much she's changed since the first season. and we love willow. she's portrayed as an insanely sympathetic character -- she's shy, awkward, and loved by all the other characters she's an invaluable member of the team, both with her book smarts and later, her magic.

i actually think willow's morals are the most stagnant out of nearly every character -- perhaps besides giles. i think she's very similar to giles in that regard -- we see a similar arc with them, and at the same time. they have a strong understanding that what's moral isn't always right, and what's right isn't always moral. strong examples being when giles kills ben, and when he comes back, prepared to stop willow even if it costs either or both of their lives.

what changes is the way she expresses them -- again, inherently connected to her understanding of the world, going from purely logic based to more focused on feelings and connection to the world/other people. we see this expressed both in her demeanor, the focus on her magic, and most importantly, her appearance -- in seasons 4 and 5, she seems to take on a lot of tara's style choices, all invoking very hippie-ish vibes: long skirts, earthy tones and patterns -- which i think shows a lot about how tara influences her both personally (in terms of figuring out her sexuality) and magically; as she takes on more of a quote unquote stereotypical witch persona, pretty reminiscent of lots of early 2000s weird/magical girl tropes.

sidebar

i think a lot about the weird girl trope in regards to her, too. especially in the way that other similarly themed characters of the era were treated, in the way of sexual autonomy and femininity, and desirability. she definitely falls into the basics of the trope -- unsexualized costume, with a more seemingly "modest" demeanor and appearance. most importantly, some way of defying the norm. which willow does ten-fold: she doesn't fall to social heirarchy/popularity like buffy and cordelia do, initially; she's actually very low on the social pedestal. she doesn't follow fashion trends, she wears what she wants, doesnt fall to peer pressure to do otherwise. and most importantly, her sexuality, which could be considered the ultimate derivation from the norm in terms of how her character archetype was presented as well as the climate of the time.

two things i find really interesting in terms of her diverting the trope, however, is 1) the fact that unlike most girls that fall under the "weird girl" designation, she doesn't profess to not care what people think -- and we see directly the opposite, getting into her head in "helpless". and 2) she isn't seen as undesirable by romantic/sexual interests -- infact, she's got two pretty strong love interests. normally the women under this trope aren't given love interests, or if they are, they're equally matched to them in terms of demeanor. this couldn't be more false for willow's love interests.

i think the order oz and tara are portrayed in regards to willow's arc is also really important there -- oz, when they first get together, is seemingly a much stronger mentally and emotionally person than her; more bold and concretely himself -- but this is all a facade, as he isn't nearly sure of his identity as he navigates what being a werewolf is.

likewise, when willow and tara first enter their relationship, tara seems to be the less headstrong and in control of the two -- completely reversed in late s5/early s6 when willow isn't in control of her magic.

anyways. just an interesting sidebar.

pt. 3 cont

the fundamental function of willow's brain is logic: but logic can't justify tara's death. she can't find warren's motivation; can't process it as an accident. she doesn't believe that getting revenge is the moral thing to do. but she does believe it's right -- to find balance, a life for a life -- the way she'd learned to balance equivalent exchanges in her magic.

[happymeishappylife]

Book #24 of 2020

Deathstalker by Simon R. Green Book #1 of the Deathstalker Series

I thought it was incredible when I read the Codex Alera by Jim Butcher that an author I was already familiar with could switch genres and still make an incredibly well though out and well built world after reading their previous work, but oh wow, that’s an understatement for switching to this sci-fi space opera book! I mean, it has the grittiness I’ve come to love from the Nightside novels, but to build out a universe as rich and as well conceived as he did, is amazing. I immediately fell in love with all of it and since its something I have been interested in for a couple years, I couldn’t be more pleased hopping into a new series.

The book begins with an introduction of its main characters, a ragtag group of outcasts and outlaws who decide that in order to survive the wrath of Empress Lionstone, they must now form a rebellion to fight for the downtrodden, oppressed peoples of the universe. Owen Deathstalker is especially finding this new situation hard because we first meet him as the titled ‘Lord Deathstalker; whose mistress and servants suddenly turn on him when its announced he has been outlawed. He manages to barely escape thanks to his AI Oz and Hazel d’Ark, an outlaw herself and clonelegger (someone who harvests humans to create cloned organs and limbs for sale) whose ship is destroyed by an Imperialist battlecruiser coming into orbit to collect the Deathstalker. They escape on Owen’s impressively outfitted ‘yacht’ of a starcruiser and go off to the planet of Outlaws called Mistworld. There they collect several new friends to their cause. The first is a Hadenman (a cyborg race that the Empire created by experimenting on humans) named Tobias Moon, a legendary rebellion leader named Jack Ransom, and a bounty hunter friend of Hazel’s named Ruby Journey. They escape several attacks from other bounty hunters and began a plan to start this rebellion by capturing a weapon of ultimate destruction called the Darkvoid Device and ressurrecting the rest of the Hadenmen.

Meanwhile, we get introduced to the other players in this galaxy, with a focus on three primary foils to our ragtag heroes. There’s the Imperials, headed by Empress Lionstone, to me a darker and crueler version of Azula from ATLA, who not only runs this cruel empire, but manages to not trust a single person close to her, including her lover/advisor Dram. Turns out dram is more than just his nickname ‘The Widowmaker” though as he not only turns the Underworld apart, but also is revealed to be a clone of the original Deathstalker’s son. Then again is Giles can stay in stasis for 900 years, who is to a say a clone of his son can’t either. From their position in power, we get to see several gruesome depictions of the Empire’s cruel and strict rule, but we also get a glimpse into the court of royal families and soon get pulled into the politics of three of them. The first being the Campbells who while seemingly upstanding, get destroyed by the Wolfs who completely mob style murder and steal all their assets. Finlay Campbell, the only surviving member, flees to the underground thanks to his star crossed loved Evangeline Shreck who confesses that she is a clone of her father’s original daughter because the original daughter dies. Not only does this distressing news freak Finlay out, but he also now has to come to terms as an outlaw himself, hiding away in the Underground where the Espers (Genetically enhanced humans who have physiological powers), clones, and cyber hackers are gathering to turn the tides against the Empire. Learning what these people have gone through to survive and why they are fighting the Empire, makes Finaly realize things weren’t that great in the Empire as he thought and is going to make him an interesting character to follow.

Ending the tale, Owen and company land on the planet of the Wolflings where the Hadenmen and Darkvoid Device rest. And after survive and alien maze with the ability to look inside all of them, they all discover that this device is not a weapon, but a baby with the ability to kill life on several planet at once. More shockingly it was created by Giles Deathstalker who having returned out of stasis, joined Owen and team to not only help them rebel, but find purpose in why they are rebelling. The tale ends with a thrilling clash against the Imperials, led by Captain Silence and Investigator Frost, but it makes for a wild read start to finish.

The other fun part is the crossover with some of the character traits and or names with people I know from the Nightside. Like the Campbells Investigator ‘Razor’ a quiet, but cold blooded killer is obviously a link to Razor Eddy. And I think Kid Death is a name I’ve definitely scene in John Taylor’s world as well as this great epic. It will be fun to see where this goes and it is a welcome change for the Nightside.

Overall Rating: 10/10

[captainskyson]

So I’m doing another watch of Buffy right

And I have to say I’m even more of a Giles shipper than before

I mean

The library ‘meet cute’?

Giles immediately being way too inappropriately close

Like constantly

Giles being written opposite of Owen

(And on that note, who is it Buffy ends up hanging with at the end of that episode?)

Walking around the campus together all the time? No one else batting an eye about it?**

Sitting with them in the cafeteria? (Another example of Giles not being good at his cover - no teacher would ever CHOOSE to be in the cafeteria if they don’t have to be haha)

Giles! Six inches of space, minimum!

And as someone who had hung out with some of the teachers in my hs days, there are so many things (slayage plot excuse aside) Giles and Buffy do that YOU JUST DON’T DO. As a student I was always aware of possible implications. And when I didn’t consider something simply because of ignorance, the teacher would have it covered and explain why something could be considered inappropriate. So either Giles really sucks at pretending to be a teacher, or he doesn’t care about the implications. (Which could feasibly get him fired... which isn’t a good maintaining of cover...)

**Kids talk about stuff like that. Other faculty do too - hell, they gossip even more than the students. As viewers we were given a couple of tidbits about it; Cordelia and her gang teasing Buffy for ‘always hanging around the weird guy’, and Ms. Calendar noting how often Buffy is in the library. Now, both ladies of course eventually learn WHY Buffy and Giles are so close, but the rest of the school? What, everyone just decides it’s fine? I mean they all know where to go when they’re looking for either one of them. Buffy even snarks at him about showing up in the Bronze, but then what happens? The balcony scene. You know the one.

Buffy’s personal space: Rupert Giles knows not.

He’s totes enamoured.

Did they keep Ms. Calendar around because they realized all their subtext was a little too intimate for a dude who should be pretending to be a high school librarian? “Oh, he’s really not good at this is he... let’s distract him with someone more age appropriate; another teacher!” *throws the ol’ opposites attract foil at him* 😆

And then they kill her off. (Which I have thumbs up/thumbs down feelings about, but that’s for another time.) And who is it we see he finally breaks down in front of? Sheesh they’re so tropey.

And then I could go into all the jealous-Buffy moments (and jealous-Giles too) once things ARE age appropriate, and how I think half of what they did (murder) to Giles’ characterization was to dig themselves out of the obviously shippy route it could’ve gone (was going??? So. tropey.), but I’ve already shifted away from season 01 with this post so I’ll stop here.

[pass-the-bechdel]

Buffy S3E3 ‘Faith, Hope, and Trick’

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, 9 times and with more than one female character at once

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

4 (36%)

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

7

Positive Content Rating:

Three

General Episode Quality:

Okay

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Cordelia, Buffy, and Willow pass in a group setting. Faith and Buffy pass at the Bronze. And at the library. Buffy, Faith, and Joyce pass over dinner. Buffy and Joyce pass talking about Faith. Faith and Buffy pass while hunting. They pass after fighting vampires. They pass before and after killing Kakistos. 

Female characters:

Willow

Cordelia

Buffy

Faith

Male characters:

Xander

Oz

Scott Hope

Trick

Angel

Giles

Kakistos

OTHER NOTES:

I do not like Xander calling Buffy a slut even jokingly 

Oh boy Trick is a stereotype ain’t he?

We get it. Faith is the wild, reckless foil to Buffy’s grief and ‘good girl’ personality. 

However, Buffy doesn’t get to be jealous of Scott when she’s continuously ignored him. 

So Giles was manipulating Buffy to get her to tell him the truth. Cool. 

You know, Scott’s a good guy. He makes his interest clear but gives Buffy opportunities to respond or not without pressure, and offers to back off if she’s not interested. Go Scott. 

So so far they made Faith pretty much the version of Buffy we see in When She was Bad. I’m not sure that I’m psyched about a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ slayer, especially since from what we’re seeing Buffy represents the ‘good’ traits in a woman (cautious, diligent, careful about romance) and Faith represents the ‘bad’ traits (promiscuous, reckless). But we will see. 

[all-seeing-ifer]

For the top 5 characters ask: Joyce Summers, Molly Weasley, Angella, Bow's dads (as a unit of parenting), and Rupert Giles

Ok, I’m aware it’s taken me a stupidly long time to respond to this - I’m really bad at remembering when I have asks ngl and also I just found this pretty hard to answer because these are all characters that I like/appreciate a lot to some degree! They’re all kind of open to switching around (except for number 1 as I’m sure will become clear)!

5) Angella – Angella’s not a bad character or anything, but for some reason I just never got that attached to her. I’m not really sure why – I guess it’s just that her personality didn’t appeal to me that much, or even that on an aesthetic level I find her design kind of boring compared to the other SPOP characters, but she just never grabbed me that much. That said, it was still one hell of an emotional gut punch when she died, and that scene is arguably one of the best in the show.

4) Joyce – I have kinda mixed feelings on Joyce. I know quite a few people have made the point that Joyce’s role is more as a plot device/foil to Buffy (a plot foil not a character foil like Cordelia or Faith) and because of that her portrayal can be pretty inconsistent. There are times when I find her very unlikeable (her essentially kicking Buffy out of the house in Becoming springs to mind) but there are also some really wonderful scenes with her (to use an example from the same season, the scene between her and Buffy at the end of Innocence is one of my favourites). Overall, I do like her a lot despite her having some pretty dramatic low points.

3) Molly – I’m not entirely sure where to place Molly just because it’s been a while since I read Harry Potter, while She-Ra and Buffy are both shows I’ve watched very recently. But just based on my slightly foggy memories, I really like Molly! She can definitely be too overbearing at times in a way that hits maybe a little too close to home, but at the same time I feel like you can always tell her heart’s in the right place and that she cares a lot about her family. And in a series like Harry Potter where the main character doesn’t have a biological family that cares about him, it’s so important that he has this maternal figure who really does care about him and welcomes him into her family! Also, moral implications aside, Molly killing Bellatrix? Definitely up there in the list of coolest things I’d seen as a ten year old.

2) George and Lance – Even though they’re very minor characters in the show, I just really love their dynamic, both with each other and with the main three! They’re really dorky and fun and honestly I have a hard time saying anything that in depth about them beyond the fact that they’re just delightful! Just a couple of dudes I’d love to hang out with! Their appearance was one of THE most fun episodes of She-Ra and if we don’t see them again in the final season I’ll be pretty sad, I gotta admit.

1) Giles – This probably comes as no surprise at all, but Giles is by far my favourite of these characters. It’s maybe kind of an unfair comparison, seeing as Giles is much more of a main character compared to the others, but even as like, a general character archetype, I’m just so soft for “stern mentor figure who grows attached to the younger character they’re responsible for even when they feel like they shouldn’t”. And even beyond all the found family goodness, it’s so fun getting to see all the other sides of his character throughout the show: his insecurities about not being needed, his dark side when the people he cares about are threatened, his dry sense of humour, and all the other aspects to him we see! It’s also probably worth mentioning that the development of Giles and Buffy’s relationship was pretty much the biggest reason why I got invested in the show at first. There’s a lot about the first couple of seasons that I found kinda off-putting, but that relationship was so good it made up for it!

Thanks for sending the ask!