#kennedy from btvs

[nicnacsnonsense]

I do think it’s interesting that both Buffy and Willow have three big relationships over the course of the series, and in both cases it’s the partner who was designed to be the anti-[previous partner] that is near universally hated by the fandom.

[tuiyla]

Kennedy hate doesn't stem solely from her relationship with Willow. Just wait until the final episodes of the season (being vague to avoid giving spoilers lol).

So I have now finished the series and I'm not saying I couldn't possibly see where the Kennedy dislike comes from but I still don't think the vitriol I've seen is justified.

Look, she's clearly not the greatest character or anything. I get that her attitude can be frustrating and, as the most fleshed-out Potential she also represents everything wrong with the Potentials, mostly them being annoying and ungrateful towards Buffy. But Kennedy is... okay. The mutiny scene, which I'm assuming you were referring to wasn't enough to make me despise the character or even understand that level of deep hatred. Again, I can understand people not vibing with the attitude but she's not that bratty.

And I've seen people twist her relationship with Willow into something it simply wasn't (predatory, mainly) and that just so doesn't sit well with me. It's not like I'm going to become a Kennedy defender, I've already chosen a hill to die on and it's stanning season 6. But I also feel like the fandom makes her out to be something she wasn't and a huge part of that is that she dared to be Willow's love interest after Tara's death. I maintain that I liked her in 7x13. And like, sorry, but the sex scene was good. I said what I said. Maybe the hate doesn't stem solely from it and I'm with people on the Potentials being lowkey annoying at best, but Kennedy really isn't deserving of being voted the worst character and such. Have said that before and saying it now that I've seen all of BtVS.

[maybebitterxox]

We were robbed of Willow/Faith in S7

I once saw someone say “Why did they introduce Kennedy as Willow’s love interest in season 7 when Faith was right there?” and it’s one of the realest BTVS takes I’ve ever heard. Like, seriously, the more I think about it, the more I realise just how badly we were robbed.

Think about it:

Willow apprehensively telling Faith about what she did at the end of season 6, and being surprised when she gets no negative reaction. Not even a little cringe, or a scoot backwards, or a change of topic. Faith just nodding, casually asking a couple questions, and light-heartedly saying something like “welcome to the ex-murderer club.” Willow is relieved, because it’s such a difficult thing to talk about, but with Faith it’s no judgement, no awkwardness. Just talking about it.

They talk more in-depth later, and Faith relates Willow’s situation to her own experiences, talking in detail how she had felt during and after her own “evil arc”, and for the first time in months, Willow feels not entirely alone.

They form a bond from their shared experiences, and start to understand each other more

Willow now sees that Faith wasn’t a complete monster, that she was just hurting and lonely in the same way that she herself was

Faith now sees that Willow wasn’t a coward or freak, that she was just insecure and trying to protect herself, in the same way that she herself had been

They start to look past their old grievances and grudges and actually see each other

Faith admits that she’s really impressed with Willow and her magic

Willow tells Faith about Tara, and Faith jokingly reminds her that she was the first one to pick up on it when she was in Buffy’s body in season 4

Everyone is surprised by how well they’re starting to get along

Buffy questions Willow about it and Willow just shrugs, saying that there’s more to Faith than she used to think

At some point getting a callback to their 3x19 conversation (in which Willow says that it’s too late for Faith to fix things or change and says that she’s become “nothing”) when Faith is being self-depreciating about the bad things she’s done and Willow takes her hand and softly says something like “It’s not too late for you. It’s never too late. You’re my friend, and I know that you’re so much more than what you did.”

Seeing them both hesitating outside the other’s doors/pacing around the room the night before the final battle, wanting to tell the other something but both being too afraid

Right before they part ways before the final battle Faith just goes ‘fuck it’ and grabs Willow and kisses her. Then Willow tearfully tells her to be careful when they break apart and Faith tenderly kisses her forehead before they go their separate ways

Seeing them next to each other in the final shot of all the characters standing together, reaching to take each other’s hand and smiling at each other before looking back out into the distance.

Would’ve been perfect imo, so much unexplored potential.

(Can you tell I’ve thought about this a lot haha)

[housewarningparty]

People are too harsh about Kennedy from btvs. I have nothing but respect for the fact that her watcher was brutally killed just days or weeks ago, her life is under threat from relentless forces she's borderline defenseless against, new town, knows no one but she's in Buffy's house, Willow pings her gaydar and she immediately devotes herself to tryna hit. Everything else is chaotic and horrible and traumatizing but that DOESN'T stop her, she approaches every interaction with a single minded conviction to make SURE Willow knows she's down to fuck and GOD what a triumph of the human spirit, y'know? What dedication to lesbian pursuits, in the face of utter bleakness. She's an inspiration

[deadboydetectives-confessions]

Man, I love a lot of the shows that I grew up with, but I as I was trying to think of more possible DBD crossovers to suggest, I thought of BtVS & it's wild now to think of how that was considered "feminist" & "progessive" for its time (oh the ways in which Joss Whedon & Neil Gaiman are cut from the same fucked up cloth, wrt how they both have made careers out of presenting themselves as "feminist men," which is it's own rant, tbh) and the ways that DBD just casually blows BtVS out of the water in terms of gender parity & racial & sexual diversity:

--DBD shows up out of the gate with two main cast members who are women of color, something BtVS never had in seven seasons. Closest we got is Kendra & she was a recurring character who was killed early. & season seven with some of the potentials I guess -- I don't think any of the potentials were main cast though (was Kennedy?)

--DBD has no straight, white men wrt the main cast or recurring cast. Charles is a person of color, Edwin is gay/queer/mlm, Tragic Mick is black, TCK & Monty are some flavor of queer, all the rest of the regulars are women or female-coded. Meanwhile, BtVS has Xander for 7 seasons. It's not until Andrew -- who was a villian! -- that we get a queer man as a regular/main cast member and that's season 6 & from what I remember it is kind of frustratingly done! (Season 4 is the first canonical queer rep with Willow/Tara. Retroactively we know Willow is queer from tge get go, but watching in real time it was a surprise when she came out) And as homoerotic as Angel, Spike, & Giles might be to fans, they're all written as straight on the show and they're all white. The first character of color who gets a main role is in season fucking seven with Principle Wood.

--there's not a true female big bad on BtVS until the 5th season. I love Drusilla, but Angel is the S2 big bad not her. There's the S4 millitary professor lady (totally forget her name), but ultimately it's her creation, Adam, who is the big bad. Meanwhile DBD is blessed with Esther right out of the gate.

--Ratio wise, I always think about how of the 90's Trek series Voyager is the "feminist" one, but if you look at the main cast the ratio of men:women is always 2:1 in every season it aired. BtVS isn't as bad as Voyager & tbh I forget who was main cast vs supporting (like, Tara should have been main cast but wasn't, I know that), but DBD is just set up from the on-set in a way that feels so much more female-powered, imo.

Anyway, I just wanted to take a second to appreciate all that. When I see meta posts about Crystal seeped with with misogynoir or when I get frustrated that there seem to be more fics that focus on TCK or Monty than there are fics that focus on Niko or Jenny or when I get bummed that there aren't any canonical ace or trans or nonbinary characters, it's also nice to remember how things used to be and how much the media landscape has improved. I can name multiple shows currently on with queer characters. Multiple shows with black women & other women of color in the main cast. I still have a lot of fondness for BtVS & I'm definitely using it as a scapegoat here, but it's true that my enjoyment had a lot of caveats & I don't feel that when watching DBD. I really appreciate that.

.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, November 13

AMANDA: I think we got punished. BUFFY: What? KENNEDY: (nervously) We, uh...we followed her. And it was- VI: It didn't work out. BUFFY: You guys, it was a trap. It's not her fault. That could've just as easily happened to me.

~~End of Days~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

BtVS Triple Drabble: Broken-Hearted by badly_knitted (Cordelia, Xander, PG)

Home Coming by Skyson (Buffy/Giles, E)

Desperate and Chained by JammySmut (Buffy/Spike, E)

Bloodbath by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, R)

Family by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Home Again by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Sacrifice by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Buffy's Chosen by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Worthy of Her Choosing by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Mic Drop by Apache Firecat (Buffy/Spike, G)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Many, Many - ch. 1 by Nixiet (Buffy/Giles, E)

Streaming Life - ch. 1-2 by VerticalCouch (Giles/Jenny, Giles/Ethan, Giles/Jenny/Ethan, G)

When Faith Came to Town - ch. 1 by red_jacobson (Faith, Buffy/Xander/Cordelia, E)

Please Hold- My Soap is On by once_in_a_while (Giles/Spike, M)

The Shadow Within - Ch. 1 by Fmfan1980 (Faith, F/F, F/M, E)

[Podfic] Tatters - ch. 1 [reading of Tatters by Martha] by SEF_podfic (ATS ensemble, Stargate SG-1 and The Sentinel (TV) xover, T)

A Series of Fortunate Betrayals - ch. 2 by the_big_bad (Buffy/Spike, R)

The Big Bad...Poodle? - ch. 3 by EnchantedWillow (Buffy/Spike, R)

Mysterious Destinies - ch. 21 by EnchantedWillow (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

First Love - ch. 3 by Spikesgirl28 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Masquerade - ch. 3 by Holly (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Be Back Before Dawn - ch. 16 by Blissymbolics (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

First Love - Ch. 3 by Spikesgirl (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

Revelations - ch. 6 by Niamh (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Eyes Forward, Monster - ch. 1-8 [collection of one shots] by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, Adult Only)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Artwork: i love you. no, you don't. but thanks for sayin' it. by tenderjock (Spike, worksafe)

Artwork: ive seen some of ur black buffy posts and theyre AMAZING... by pzyii (Dawn, worksafe)

Meme: [Willow] by paperpuzzles (Willow, worksafe)

Moodboard: moodboard: wesley x fred by courtillyy (worksafe)

Moodboard: moodboard: fred x wesley x gunn by courtillyy (worksafe)

Gifset: iwryfanficmarathon's 20th anniversary bangel + locations ↳ cemetery by ptieuca (Buffy/Angel, worksafe)

Gifset: [Buffy and Spike in Season 5] by clarkgriffon (Buffy/Spike, mostly worksafe)

Gifset w/script: ANGEL ✦ SCRIPT TO SCREEN ⇥ 3.13 “Waiting in the Wings” by cangelgifs (Angel/Cordelia, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

I find Showtime (episode 7x11)….bad? by Forward_Activity1473

[Recs & In Search Of]

Fic recs: Myriad Recs [Spuffy and Cangel fic recs] by apachefirecat

ISO: thequeenofsastiel needs some Spangel songs.

ISO: samandcolbyfan is looking for Caitlin and Barry or spike and Buffy RP anyone?

[Fandom Discussions]

Send me a ship to rate! [Buffy/Cordelia] by takaraphoenix

I would argue that Buffy is somehow even more [the most character ever] by paperpuzzles

Ask answered: does Zuko [from Avatar] remind you of Angel at all? by fishyupmywishy

POLL: Spangel or Spuffy? by thequeenofsastiel

POLL: which Buffyverse unpopular opinion do you at least partially agree with? by ohrupie

POLL: a little bit of a ship war but like... just for fun? best Buffy ship? by terapsina

What If: They said no? [to Wolfram and Hart] by nightshade and others

The First [was not a good Big Bad] by No_Introduction_4136

James Marsters Cameo (discussion) by nooneormaybesomeone

Anyone still listening to Rewatcher? [the podcast] by ewdayvid

Blu Rays on EBay [bootleg and discussion of HD and DVD] by bcakebeefcake

Jane Espenson episodes - what do you think of her humor? by foreseethefuture

... all the times someone asked [Buffy] what she/we should do. I found 18 by diehardnick

The greatest missed opportunity... [full BTVS and ATS crossover] by SnooSongs4451

[Spike gives you a choice:] staying dead, or being a vampire. What do you choose? by quoththeraven1990

Who has the best quotes in the show? by AnyNeck1885

[Buffy and Faith and fighting styles and Buffy vs. The Beast] by cigarettesonmars

Tara holding the Tower tarot card by rfresa

Five by Five - AtS S1E18 [how does Angel enter the apt?] by Physmo55

Dead Things [Katrina and injuries] by CleanUpOnAisle10

Wesley's most fierce "rogue demon hunter" moment, followed by hunger by sirtch_analyst

What's your headcanon for Angel and Buffy's reunion in S6? by porkchop_2020

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[this-thing-saved-me]

This Show Saved Me - BTVS 7x22

7x22 Chosen

I will never not find it funny that to stream Buffy I have to go to Disney+. Or the fact that the most recent episode I’d watched (whenever that was) was this one. Since I’m pretty sure I left my rewatch mid-season 3.

But that’s the thing about this particular episode. It’s practically a perfect finale. And felt like the right place to start, because who says everything should happen in order. That’s not always how life works. 

THERE WILL LIKELY BE ABUNDANT SPOILERS FOR A FINALE THAT AIRED OVER TWENTY YEARS AGO. There, that was your warning. And now for some Cole's notes “Story so far.”

Okay, so Buffy’s been through it by this point. The First has annihilated her self-confidence and Caleb has been on the warpath. Spike has told her she’s the one (!!!), whether she fully believes in herself yet or not. (SIDENOTE: yes, I ship Spuffy. Yes, there are very, very valid reasons not to. However I am a big fan of redemption arcs and where they land by the end of the comics feels like as healthy a place as possible with a very real love.)

And Angel shows up trying to be all tall-dark and forehead. Which I get, he’s Angel, he needs to be in the finale. But ultimately he's a delivery boy and he didn’t need to do it in person other than to prompt the first on my list of loves for this episode. 

Which is what I lovingly refer to as the "Cookie Speech." Buffy knows she has more growing to do and she’s self-aware enough to share that with the first love of her life. She’s come a long way from the season of post-resurrection depression, but she’s still not quite ready for what Angel might like her to be (granted he’s JUST lost Cordelia so the fact that he is back at Buffy’s door is a rant for another post.) The idea that things aren’t working for her romantically because she’s not done baking. She hasn’t figured out all that she wants to be. While I love love LOVE this analogy, I wonder if there’s ever really a time in our lives where we are done baking? Besides the end of course. We’re supposed to evolve. We’re supposed to grow.

Spike is her Champion, not Angel. They’ve seen the best and the worst of each other, remember? He knows she needs someone strong, someone with a soul, and despite the bad, she knows he’s earned the right to the title through growing and atoning. Motivated people can change, and that’s something I believe that Spike has shown.

“He had to split” - the joke is LHF and I love it. Does its utterance deserve a place on this list? Yes. Because it's very me-coded. I’d have a very hard time not making the same joke if I had just rendered a man from stem to stern. But I digress. This episode is serious and still silly. It’s the epitome of BTVS episodes. I mean Spike waking from a dream yelling “I’m drowning in Cool Whip,” come on. It’s akin to “the cheese wears me” in off kilter nonsense. Plus Anya later finding her strength in her hatred for "floppy, hoppy bunnies" will never not kill me. (Or her, again spoiler.) I adore Emma Caufield.

Willow is afraid to use magic because of her history with the darkness. Not knowing if she’s stable enough. I can identify with her at this moment after clawing back from my own mental health blip a couple years ago. She went dark. (I went, arguably, nuts) She’s regained her balance but how secure? It’s going to turn out to be really secure because “Oh my goddess” she’s got this. AND…

The fact that Kennedy is there for Willow to help keep her grounded. Her very presence supports Willow but isn’t the deciding factor for victory. Willow needs to believe in herself that she won’t go back over that edge. She touched the darkness and it freaked her the f out. (Once she came back down from the overwhelm and shock of her grief.) I lived in that fear for a long time. And I’m grateful for the grounding I’ve found outside of the support of others, but within myself.

Just for fun, let’s chat about the DND session. Even the scoobies needed to disassociate before the big thing. And self-permission to have fun during challenging times is key. It can’t all be doom and gloom. Sometimes you recharge that nervous energy through Trogdor the Burninator references and that’s more than okay.

Ultimately we have the’ shared power’ speech. “Here’s the part where you make a choice” more specifically. Because they could easily choose to let the First and its legions overwhelm the world and finally be the apocalypse they couldn’t handle. It’s easier to stay down. It’s easier to say I can’t. But where does that get you? Making that choice to take your power back and say I am more than what wants to overwhelm me is a beautiful moment. This moment, where all the Potentials get their piece of the power pie is tremendously moving. I get shivers just thinking about it. Male or female, we don’t need the permission of Slayer power to take back our own. To say ‘no more’ and get back up off the ground. (Although Slayer strength would be badass, let’s be real.)

The bottom line, this episode epitomises what I love about Buffy and the Whedon-verse. Real characters in a fantastic world who battle larger than life caricatures of the demons we fight in our daily lives. This show saved me in a lot of ways. My very first boyfriend got me to watch it back in 2005, which he may have regretted as it CONSUMED my brain for most of grade 12. It was the perfect time for me to experience this show. I credit it for helping me find my voice offline. I was always a nose-in-a-book girl or heavily distracted with FanFiction. I was one of the quietest in my friend group, not really feeling like there was a value to what I had to say. The message that we can choose to be strong and fight back? That’s one that I’ll eternally be grateful for and will carry with me, always. What’s your favourite episode? And why is it “Once More With Feeling”? ;)

(Honourable mention goes to this eye contact where my headcanon is convinced he sees she really does love him despite him telling her otherwise seconds before. THOSE SMG EYES! I can't.)

[bestepisode]

Vote on more episodes here!

Episode descriptions below the cut.

Anne: Buffy, living on her own in a big city, assists a girl whose boyfriend has mysteriously vanished. Back in Sunnydale, Buffy's friends do their best to battle the forces of evil without her.

Amends: As the Christmas holiday approaches, Angel is tormented by evil apparitions who want him to eliminate Buffy.

Halloween: On Halloween, Buffy and her friends patronize an unusual costume shop where customers turn into whatever costume they are wearing.

Some Assembly Required: Two science club nerds use body parts to create the "perfect girlfriend" for a teenager who has been brought back from the dead.

Revelations: With some help from Faith's new watcher, Buffy seeks to destroy a weapon-like glove before it falls into the hands of a demon.

What's My Line (Part 2): Buffy joins forces with another Slayer in hopes of saving Angel from the clutches of Spike and Drusilla.

A New Man: Ethan Rayne returns to town and transforms Giles into a demon. Spike is the only one who can help.

Family: When relatives arrive in Sunnydale, to celebrate her birthday, Tara uses a magic spell on her friends to keep them from learning her "secret." Meanwhile, Glory unleashes a horde of demons to hunt down Buffy.

Consequences: A homicide detective closes in on Buffy and Faith as he investigates the deputy mayor's death.

Graduation Day (Part 2): On Ascension Day, Buffy and her friends prepare for the ultimate battle as they face off against the mayor and a horde of vampires.

The Killer in Me: After Willow and Kennedy share their first kiss, Willow is transformed into Warren, the man she killed last year. When she sets out to find help, she bumps into an old friend. Meanwhile, Buffy searches for answers when Spike's chip causes him great pain, and the gang suspect that Giles may really be The First.

Chosen: After killing Caleb, Buffy conceives a plan to defeat the First once and for all. Willow invokes a magic spell that alters the ancient Slayer spell and gives Buffy the allies she needs to fight the Uber-Vamp army. An epic battle ensues and several good friends are lost.

[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

[girl4music]

4 more episodes to go before I finish Slayers. I’m actually really enjoying it. I love Evil/Dark Tara. She’s so hot. She’s obviously not entirely evil otherwise she wouldn’t be double-crossing Druscilla and showing mercy to her friends so I reckon the real and good Tara’s influence will win her over. But I will certainly miss that sexy ass voice of Benson’s. Woof. 😛😋😝

Juliet Landau is fantastic as Druscilla. She seems to be much more focused and in the know than ‘BtVS’’AtS’s Druscilla as she wears both her evil genius and insanity marvellously now she’s the BIG BAD.

They’re all really good voicing their characters to be quite honest. Emma Caulfield doesn’t quite sound like Anya but I think that has to do with the character’s age and personal experience as this alternative Anya. She’s not as quippy. Is much more serious and down to business and her sarcasm and bluntness is virtually zero but then so is alternate Cordelia’s. It’s like the fun and charisma has been sucked right out of both of them. There’s not really any funny or quirky one-liners.

James is perfect. He plays Spike to the absolute tee. And despite Indira being a new character and slayer, she’s a lot more interesting than any of the potentials from Season 7 were. A little spitfire and not in a bratty way like Kennedy or a frustrating way like Rona. In fact she acts very Faith-ish but like a lot younger. I’m almost certain this was what Faith was like at her age.

And James Charles Leary as Clem. I didn’t know I needed to hear his voice again. But he sells the comedy and now I think about it, - he is pretty much the only reason Season 6 of Buffy wasn’t completely dull and dark. He provided the lighthearted humour. Very much needed then and very much needed here.

And despite the fact that I still cannot stand Giles as a character, Anthony Head is giving it all he has got and I can appreciate his subtle cynicalness when it’s not coupled with the fact he doesn’t even want to be here.

I’ve still got a fair bit to go so verdict may vary… but at the moment…half way through. This is a solid story!

What do you think @oveliagirlhaditright ? @gh-0-stcup ?

Also I know it’s a joint effort with Chris Golden but Amber Benson should seriously consider writing more supernatural drama. She’s really freaking good at it.

I know she writes erotic romance novels and writes the odd script for TV shows/movies here and there but there doesn’t seem to be anything in the young adult category that she’s done. Unless I just can’t find it.

[forgiveness-in-the-misery]

I do want to post about the concept of a soul in BTVS because the show sort of fucked itself into a corner immediately with season one by introducing it as a big running theme.

Angel was a crappy human who then became a vampire and as a vampire he was beyond evil but then he was cursed with having a soul again and forced to feel guilt for all his crimes.

Which okay fine that works. If you are incapable of empathy then suddenly can feel it one day then yes every bad thing you did would make you feel horrible. Then he lives as a vampire with a soul for many many years….until he has sex with Buffy and loses his soul all over again.

Which is now where things become mildly complicated.

Angel no longer possessing a soul goes right back into being the world’s shittiest white guy. Admittedly I prefer Angelus cause Angel within this series is just a prop most times, while in his own spinoff show where they often tease the fact he is broody and weird only for him to admit he’s just immensely socially awkward.

Of course once Angel gets his soul back he goes back to being a good person.

Which is kind of a problem for me? We already before this were introduced to Spike as a new villain character in the show and he isn’t like other vampires. Spike despite being a soulless monster “stinks of humanity” according to another demon. Spike loves intensely, Spike is poetic and gentle with Dru, Spike mourns often, he can be depressed or anxious. He protects Dawn fiercely, he genuinely adores and loves Joyce, he mourns Buffy when she dies. There is the point of Spike having a chip preventing him from killing but that is literally all it does, it prevents him from killing. There is nothing about the chip making him be gentle or caring or showcase empathy constantly.

So after living quite a few years cursed with a soul wouldn’t Angel change overall? Does it solely depend on who sired you? Is Angel a lunatic asshole because he was sired by one? While Dru is more empathetic but even her own empathy is immensely short and we have seen how easily she can drop Spike over his own genuine humanity. So siring doesn’t seem completely in line.

Is Angel just a fucking crappy person with a weird white guilt thing going on? The dudebro who goes around apologizing for what he is but lowkey enjoys the privilege that comes with it?

Even outside of vampires there are some incredibly shitty humans in the show. We see plenty of human characters do things as horrifying as vampires and other demons.

So what is a soul?

A soul through Angel just seems to be a vehicle to make you depressed and never want to do a bad thing and the same happens for a time when Spike acquires a soul. For a short period he goes insane with guilt. But then Spike goes back to normal, a soul made no real difference in him as a character other than costuming changing his appearance so he looks more “trustworthy” which I personally find shady and dumb but that’s me.

I know over all it could all be just fantasy rules played fast and loose, but the show repeatedly makes a fucking point of souls. Souls seem to be the key of being an insanely good person despite the main characters being humans doing grossly shitty things, human villains doing repulsive things and random characters again doing and saying gross horrible things.

I wish the narrative had either not done the soul thing at all or at least had gone about it completely differently. Because if Angel losing his soul and becoming a monster then regaining it and being harmless again that should have been questioned in the narrative way more other than the characters just having some trauma they needed to get over and accept Angel again.

The issue of souls is why season seven for me is my fall of season because seeing Spike suddenly redeemed by becoming Catholic guilt man just put me off…and Kennedy. God dear God I hate her.

[sunnydale-digest]

Frequent sunnydale-digest character tags for your browsing convenience

We have worked some magic to make sure that reblogs of posts about Buffy Summers can always be found separately from reblogs of general posts about BtVS (rather than together in the "buffy" tag), and cleaned up some tags that were split between multiple versions of the character's name. To celebrate, here are links to the most frequently used character tags on this blog:

angel, angelus, anya jenkins, buffy summers, charles gunn, connor, cordelia chase, daniel osbourne, darla, dawn summers, drusilla, ethan rayne, faith lehane, fanged four, harmony kendall, jenny calendar, joyce summers, kendra young, kennedy, lilah morgan, lorne, riley finn, rupert giles, spike, tara maclay, wesley wyndam pryce, william pratt, willow rosenberg, winifred burkle, xander harris

Be aware that posts in these tags can be critical of the tagged character, although even characters as controversial as Riley and Joyce will have some neutral and positive posts.

And--while we have your attention--we are still looking for volunteers to help us run this blog. Details on what it entails are in the pinned post.

[taleswritten]

Under the cut is a list of muses I have for those who can’t open the google doc. Note: the google doc has detailed information about them so if you can, please open it up.

Bold is primary, italic is secondary, regular is by request.

TVD/TO/LEGACIES:

ELENA GILBERT

KATHERINE PEIRCE

DAMON SALVATORE

ALARIC SALTZMAN

LIZZIE SALTZMAN

josie saltzman

caroline forbes

bonnie bennett

Klaus Mikaelson

FINAL FANTASY:

CLOUD STRIFE (ff7r)

aeirth (ff7 remake)

tifa (ff7 remake)

Jill Warrick (ff16)

Clive Rosfield (ff16)

snow villiers

THIRTEEN REASON’S WHY:

Justin Foley

Bryce Walker

Jessica Davis

Clay Jenson

911/911 LONE STAR:

ATHENA GRANT

MADDIE BUCKLEY

OWEN STRAND

TK STRAND

GRACE RYDER

AHS:

Brooke Thompson

Montanna Duke

donovan

BBC SHERLOCK:

SHERLOCK HOLMES

BRIDGERTON:

Simon Bassett

Daphne Bridgerton

kate sharma/bridgerton

Penelope Featherington

BTVS/ATS

Buffy Summers

CORDELIA CHASE

CAOS:

SABRINA SPELLMAN

ONE CHICAGO:

natalie manning

JAY HALSTEAD

ADAM RUZEK

KIM BURGESS

Hank Voight

CRIMINAL MINDS:

Spencer Reid

Emily Prentiss

DAREDEVIL:

MATT MURDOCK

DEXTER:

DEXTER MORGAN

DCTV:

SARA LANCE

JOHN CONSTANTINE

SPOONER

EUPHORIA:

JULES VAUGHN

RUE BENNETT

FROM DUSK TIL DAWN:

Seth Gecko

Kate Fuller

GOOD GIRLS:

BETH BOLAND

Greys’ Anatomy:

meredith grey

JO WILSON

CARINA DELUCA

Ameila Shepard

GAME OF THRONES:

DANY

Jon Snow

Sansa Stark

NCB HANNIBAL:

WILL GRAHAM

HAUNTING OF BLY MANNER:

DANI CLAYTON

PETER QUINT

HEMLOCK GROVE

PETER RUMANCEK

HTGAWM:

CONNOR WALSH

LAW AND ORDER SVU:

OLIVIA BENSON

Elliot Stabler

kathleen stabler

alex cabot

casey novak

LOST GIRL:

BO DENNIS

LUCIFER:

CHLOE DECKER

lucifer morningstar

mazikeen

MINDHUNTER:

Holden Ford

POSE:

ANGEL EVANGALISTA

BLANCA EVANGALISTA

PRODIGAL SON:

MALCOLM BRIGHT

RIVERDALE:

ARCHIE ANDREWS

BETTY COOPER

TONI TOPAZ

CHERYL BLOSSOM

FP Jones

JUGHEAD JONES

ROSWELL NEW MEXICO:

MAX EVANS

LIZ ORTECHO

STRANGER THINGS:

NANCY WHEELER

BILLY HARGROVE (BILLY’S TATTOOS POST SEASON THREE HERE )

STATION 19:

Vic Hughes

SUPERNATURAL:

Dean Winchester

THE MAGICIANS:

ELIOT WAUGH

MARGO HANSON

THE WITCHER (GAME, TV SHOW, AND BOOK MIXED MEDIA):

GERALT (please note, geralt has cat-eyes. not the eyes we see in the show. if you need a visual, think game geralt)

CIRI

TRUE BLOOD:

SOOKIE STACKHOUSE

TARA THORTON

jessica hamby

JASON STACKHOUSE

SAM MERLOTTE

WYNONNA EARP:

WYNONNA EARP

WAVERLY EARP

NICOLE HAUGHT

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY:

KLAUS HARGREEVES

ALLISON HARGREEVES

VAN HELSING:

Vanessa Van Helsing

YOU:

BECK

JOE GOLDBERG

LOVE QUINN

THEO

FORTY QUINN

DCU:

WONDER WOMAN/DIANA PRINCE

HARLEY QUINN (au verse 1 here)

DESCENDANTS:

HARRY HOOK

MAL BERTHA

EVIE GRIMHILDE

MCU:

DEADPOOL/WADE WILSON

EDDIE BROCK/VENOM

STEVE ROGERS/CAPTAIN AMERICA

WANDA MAXIMOFF

BUCKY BARNES

NATASHA ROMANOFF

YELENA BELOVA

THOR

LOKI

MICHAEL MORBIUS

Peter Parker (the amazing spiderman)

POTC:

CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW

ASSASSIN’S CREED SERIES:

JACOB FRYE

EVIE FRYE

EIVOR

KASSANDRA

DETRIOT BECOME HUMAN:

Connor

DRAGON AGE:

MORRIGAN

FENRIS

GARRETT HAWKE

MARIAN HAWKE

CYBERPUNK:

V (both male and v, both streetkid and corpo)

JOHNNY SILVERHAND

JUDY ALVAREZ

LAST OF US:

joel miller

ELLIE

LEGEND OF ZELDA:

LINK

RESIDENT EVIL:

ADA WONG

LEON KENNEDY (previously traumamade)

ETHAN WINTERS

LADY DIMITRESCU

Claire Redfield

dimitrescu daughters

TOMB RAIDER:

LARA CROFT

UNCHARTED:

NATHAN DRAKE

BLEACH:

ichigo kurosaki

GRIMMJOW JAEGERJAQUEZ

VAMPYR:

JOHNATHAN REID

BLACK BUTLER:

SEBASTIAN MICHAELIS

BLUE EXORCIST

RIN OKAMARU

HELLSING:

SERAS VICTORIA

INTEGRA HELLSING

NARUTO:

NARUTO UZUMAKI

TSUNADE

SEVEN DEADLY SINS:

BAN

VAMPIRE KNIGHT:

yuuki cross/kuran

ZERO KIYRUU

OUAT:

Regina Mills

Emma Swan

SOA:

JAX TELLER

VENUS

GEMMA TELLER

WHITE COLLAR:

Neal Caffrey

FAR CRY:

FAITH SEED

NEW AMSTERDAM:

MAX GOODWIN

CRUELLA:

CRUELLA DE VILLE

MASS EFFECT:

JOHN SHEPARD

JANE SHEPARD

KAIDAN

SAMARA

KASUMI

MIRANDA

DOCTOR WHO:

rose tyler

GOSSIP GIRL REBOOT:

ZOYA LOTT

MAX WOLFE

DOOM PATROL:

JANE

LARRY TRAINOR

A WAY OUT:

LEO CARUSO

CASTLE:

RICHARD CASTLE

BITTEN:

ELENA MICHAELS

TEEN WOLF:

CHRIS ARGENT

ALLISON ARGENT

SCOTT MCCALL

LYDIA MARTIN

STILES STILINSKI

THE FLASH:

BARRY ALLEN

NORA WEST ALLEN

BART WEST ALLEN

IRIS WEST

CAITLYN SNOW

KILLER FROST

SUCKERPUNCH

BABY DOLL

SHADOW HUNTERS

ISABELLE

ALEC

HOUSE OF ASHES

JASON

THE MEDIUM

MARIANNE

THE LAST KINGDOM

UHTRED RAGNARSON

Iseult

MOON KNIGHT

STEVEN GRANT/MARC

FIRST KILL

Calliope Burns

Juliette Fairmont.

THE QUARRY

Kaityln Ka

Dylan Lenivy

Laura Kearny

THE SANDMAN

Dream/Morpheus

INTEVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE

Louis De Pointe

Claudia

HORIZON SERIES

Aloy

THE VAMPIRE ACADEMY (TV SERIES)

Rose Hathaway

NETFLIX’S WEDNESDAY

Wednesday Addams

Morticia Addams

Enid Sincliar

DAYS GONE

Deacon St. John

QUEEN CHARLOTTE - A BRIDGERTON STORY

Queen Charlotte

MAYFAIR WITCHES

Rowan Fielding

Critical Role (currently caught up to episode 97 and both seasons of the animated show)

Vax

Vex

Keylith

THE EVIL WITHIN

Sebastian 

Baldur's Gate 3:

Astarion

Karlach

Orin

Hazbin Hotel:

Angel Dust

Charlie Morningstar

Niffty

Alastor

Outlander:

Claire Fraser

[shaych03]

Writer Asks

I was tagged by my old friend and Casey/Olivia shenanigans buddy, @dinovia-grant

1. How many works do you have on AO3? A big, fat goose egg, sadly. Somewhere, out there, I have an old site I haven't updated in years. And fic on other sites, but I never migrated them all to AO3. One day, maybe... My ancient website, broken graphics links and all, can be found here: http://xenafiction.net/shaylynnrose/playground.htm Other fics and such that I've written can be found on Passion and Perfection: http://www.ralst.com/

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? unless my comments count, zero.

3. What fandoms do you write for? When I do write, Xena/Gabrielle, Casey/Olivia, Sam/Janet, Janeway/Seven, Emily/JJ, BtVS: Willow/Tara, Willow/Kennedy, Buffy/Amy, Buffy/Faith, Faith/Cordelia, Kate/Elizabeth, Kerry/Kim, as well as my own original characters.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? Never gotten any kudos, but I think I had the most engagement from Resurrection is for the Unbelievers, simply because I posted it in regular parts back in the LiveJournal days. I know i had a lot of good feedback on the various things I had written, but they were personal emails, which I cherish and look back upon with strong fondness. It makes me happy that something about my stories touched others.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I almost always responded to comments, good or bad, just because it meant something to me that my work had inspired someone to say something about it.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Possibly a Xena fic, one that was quite short, called Solitude. It was set during the Bitter Suite era, which overall, was quite angsty.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? There's an old movie, The Pirate Movie, that I latched onto as a kid, because of the song, "Happy Ending" and so...uh, I'm pretty sure everything I write has at least the glimmer of a happy ending, if not a total rainbows and puppy dogs ending...even if the characters had to slog through heck and squishy toast to get there.

8. Do you get hate on fic? Ages and ages ago, I got one of the most confusing emails I've ever seen. It was so badly written that I'd accuse it of being spewed out by an AI, except this was literally in the 90s, so I don't know if AI was a thing then...it might have been hate, or it might have been someone's drunken ramblings, I'm not terribly sure. I think the worst I've truly gotten was comments about how atrocious my grammar or editing was, and I don't consider that hate, just good criticism.

9. Do you write smut? Yes and No. Most of my published fanfic is fairly tame. Even my currently published original fiction is fairly tame...things I've been working on and dabbling with that are still unfinished and may or may not ever see the light? Definitely not tame.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Yes. Absolutely. Resurrection is for the Unbelievers is a mega crossover between Angel: The Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a Dracula movie, and eventually, Criminal Minds. This is probably my craziest in terms of seriously different fandoms.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Many moons ago, back before even LiveJournal was a thing, someone posted one of my Xena fics to their site without asking. I asked them to remove it, and after some discussion, they did. They'd credited me, but I hadn't given them permission to post it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Actually, yes. A long time ago, I had someone ask to translate a couple of my pieces and I said yes. I...really don't remember which ones, though. I've slept many, many times since then. I hope they're still out there, though.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Several times. I'm currently co-writing with a friend. Nothing to publish as yet, but it's a lovely way to get better at many things.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship? Of what I've written? I'd have to see Kate/Elizabeth simply because I invented it in terms of looking a two characters from different media and said, "They'd really make a great couple". Outside of that, I'd have to proffer the OG, Xena and Gabrielle...they're the ones who got me writing, who got me interacting with internet fandom as a whole, and made me a lot of friends...many of whom I still know, and one of which has been one of my closet friends since 1996.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but probably won’t? I have too many to name, but I'll through out the name of an unpublished piece called The Broken. It's a marvelous monstrosity that I worked on for over ten years with a friend...and we abandoned it because it had gotten too convoluted and silly and really, just completely lost its way. But I learned so, so much while writing it. I'll forever be grateful for its existence.

16. What are your writing strengths? Dialog, world building, emotive descriptions, romance, and I'd say I'm not too bad with action sequences if I put my mind to it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I'm too wordy and I suck at grammar. And I love adverbs and will die on the hill that they are a necessary part of dialog...but I do overuse them, especially when writing a first draft. I don't like doing a ton of research, either. I'd rather make it up unless I really need to know something. Good thing I generally write fantasy LOL.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I don't write well in any other languages...I've had 2 years of high school French, but that was over 30 years ago.

19. First fandom you wrote for? On the page, that people could read? Xena: Warrior Princess, but I was making up stories about Charlie's Angels and other TV shows I loved for years. In the sixth grade, a friend of mine and I had a Wonder Woman (TV series) fanclub where we all spun around and pretended to be amazons out to save the day...so what if it was me and two boys who were telling each other these stories. We were having fun and extending the mythos of a show we loved.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Resurrection is for the Unbelievers is probably closest to my heart because of the work I put into it, but I love all my story children, even the ones whose existence has slipped to the back of my mind. They were all words that had to get out and show themselves off to the world.

(small disclaimer, all of the above was written while veeery tired, so if there are typos, I'm sorry.)

I tag whoever wants to have at this thing and have fun telling the world about your work. No specific callouts because frankly, I bet most of y'all have already answered this thing.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Monday, September 30 - Tuesday, October 1, Part II

[Fandom Discussions]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer spent the last season making sure none of the core cast ever talk to each other by emmathompsonegot

I love that Angel the series gave Angel an awkward side. by thequeenofsastiel

by hersterical

people (both in and out of universe) have a harder time separating ensouled Spike by hersterical

angel is like one of those absolutely built shelter dogs by obliviousmelon

What were your thoughts on season 5s Fool for Love and Family episodes?? by lesbianmarrow

makes me feel crazy insane how willow is always helping buffy find her way when she’s become lost. by lesbianmarrow

buffy leads because she is the only one she believes capable of it. by vargamornight

So I just rewatched the first episode of Angel by nugge-is-my-duckie

there’s 2 different times in 6x03 where spike points out buffy’s bloody knuckles by lesbianmarrow

“i sleep so well knowing buffy and angel are canon soulmates.” by bangelism

by

Spike being a creep in Lovers’ Walk by mybloodyvampire

I’ve seen multiple posts on here that seem to interpret whatever Buffy says as what the show is telling us to think by 5bi5

Let me preface this by saying that I genuinely love Spike and Buffy’s relationship, especially in s7 by thequeenofsastiel

one of the best parts of season seven by nicollekidman

Rewatching Buffy after having seen DS9 by andyoullhearitagain

Buffy’s complete numbness by Anonymous

DESPERATELY wishing for a spuffy / cangel double date. by lesbianmarrow

i really am a sucker for when in spuffy fics spike is (inevitably) hurt by silvermars

What Do You Think Is Overrated On BTVS/AtS? by Multiple Authors

What do you think changed Synder into the angry guy he became? by AndrewHeard

Images you can Hear by Hellmouthgaurdian

Why hasn't the library been surpassed as the best Scooby Gang base? by jdpm1991

Why was Season 7 so rushed? by BunglefromRainbow

Was it ever explained exactly what and how Snyder knew about the Hellmouth? Who was he really? by shukii89

Rewatching the Movie by Atalanta89

S1 E2 by Wtf_IsUp_Dennys

Question by Remarkable-Law-5902

Potential Slayers by RoutinePresence7

WARNING: DO NOT BUY THE 2017 BUFFY DVD SET!!! by Maximum-Telephone268

Why Season Seven Failed Spike by yeahitsme9

How many different versions of the Buffy (and Angel) remaster are out there? by shukii89

wondering if anyone knew how they did this cool trick by sKullsHavezzz

Season 5 Episode 15 and 16 by Business-Chair4961

Modern Music that you could see being played in the Bronze by keeganb2000

Season 5 question about Ben by debsterUK

What is each character’s love language? by classified12345

Buffy’s dad by lmeyer64

Buffy's financial problems. by FoxIndependent4310

Question about Chosen (The Finale) by technob8b222

The library by casuspotbelli

I just need The Grapes of Wrath but all I can find are these books on the occult. by loki2000

Thoughts on Joyce's talk with Angel in season 3? by spectacleskeptic

Seasons 5 & 6 have the most debated plot points in the Buffyverse. by Midnightwitch92

Name something or someone that didn't get a "fair shot" in the Buffyverse. by PristineSituation498

Why do people hate Kennedy so much? by ceecee1909

Why do you think The First never appeared as Tara? by sexybreadtin809

The first by northeastbalancer

The Duality of Angel by matsu-oni

“Graduation Day Part 2:” Angel Drinking Buffy’s Blood by AccordingReference3

Is it just me or is Fred annoying? by enrichyournerdpower

Who do you feel is the most misunderstood character from either Buffy or Angel? () by InfiniteMehdiLove

Andrew by Trixieswizzle

Who would Faith have the most interesting AtS storylines with if she became a main character by LightBlueSky55

Faith would've been better in Season 6 instead of 7 by sadhungryandvirgin

Watched the series premiere for the first time in a long time, and noticed… by curseAgain

How lucky are slayers? by northeastbalancer

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)