30 Days of Buffy. (Days 16-30)

[promethia_tenk]

Previously on The 30 Days of Buffy: much ranting

Day 16 - something that made you think “WTF?!”.
The utter heavy-handed-ness of the intended feminist messages in season seven.  Clunky, clunky, clunky.  And while we're at it, remember kids: drugs are bad!

Day 17 - saddest character death.
I feel like the natural answer here is Buffy's mom since the fallout from that was presented so well, but I think the death I'm actually the most upset about is Anya's.  She'd lived for something like a thousand years, and she fell victim to the idea that they couldn't all make it out of the final battle alive, plus she being more expendable than the others, and I just feel like she was probably never mourned properly.  I think she deserved more of an end than she got.

Day 18 - best “Scooby Gang” line-up.
Season five, with Dawn and Spike and Tara all around a lot, Oz gone, and lots of quality Giles time.

Day 19 - favourite Buffy moment.
I kind of forget when this happened precisely, but whenever it was that she decided Dawn was her sister, no matter where she'd come from, and that she would treat and defend her accordingly, no matter what.  I gotta respect that.  And somehow that felt like the first time she was making serious choices about her role as Slayer that truly got beyond the demons = bad equation.  Runner up is her killing Angel right after he'd gotten his soul back in order to save the world, but I feel like that was a much more clear-cut decision, even if it was very hard to do.

Day 20 - favourite Willow moment.
The first time I really took an interest in Willow involved, I believe it was Riley, but one of Buffy's potential suitors in any case.  Willow basically took this bumbling, nervous mess, manhandled him a bit, and ordered him out onto the field with marching orders for how to get Buffy interested.  Bossy social director Willow is my favorite Willow <3  Runners up: being worried she's not bite-able when Spike can't manage to feed off her and staring down a fucking bus.

Day 21 - favourite Xander moment.
There was a very silly episode in an early season in which the characters were given egg babies for home ec class, only to discover the eggs were actually mind-altering demon spawn.  Xander, however, avoided both the spirit of the assignment and a gristly fate by hard-boiling his egg.  For once I really felt satisfied of the virtues of his everyman character.  Runner up: the scene were he talks to Dawn after she discovers she's not a potential Slayer about the difficulties of being the normal one--I think he really earned that scene, and I did feel for him.

Day 22 - favourite Giles moment.
Killing Ben/Glory at the end of season five.  That's my boy.  (I have opinions, btw, on the fact that Buffy wouldn't/couldn't do this herself.  Or, more precisely, on the way the show never saw fit to interrogate that, perhaps in conjunction with her willingness to kill Faith in season three and her determination to kill demon!Anya in season seven.  The Slayer job description may be kill demons/don't kill humans, but I think the show tended to present that a little too uncritically as right.)

Day 23 - wackiest-looking demon.
Hmmm, I don't know if it's the wackiest-looking, but there was one fleeting demon appearance that somehow struck me as deeply funny.  It involved Spike and Dru being off somewhere far away (Mexico?) and there was this random demon behind them with great big antlers.  It was like the perfect absurdist touch.

Day 24 - a character who didn’t get enough screentime.
I don't feel particularly cheated in terms of individual characters, but I would kill for some more time with Spike and Dawn together.  They just had such a cool, easy vibe and seemed to understand and respect each other.  I wanted them hanging out, causing a little trouble, riding motorcycles, maybe doing some good when the mood hit . . .

Day 25 - rec a fanfic or fanvid (or both).
IDK, I'm the newbie here.  Rec me your favorites : )  I'm in a vid-y mood.

Day 26 - something that you wish had never happened.
I wish Joss would learn to be a bit more subtle in the way he gets characters together only to immediately kill one of them off for the sake of epic angst.  Like, it might seem less ludicrous and more genuinely tragic if they managed to get an episode or two in as a couple before one of them snuffed it.  Just saying.

Day 27 - something that you wish had happened.
I have a sketchy fantasy version of season three.  It involves Cordelia dumping the Scoobies, seizing back her role as bitch queen goddess of the school, and starting up a tempestuous affair with Faith.  It would be a bit like Gossip Girl, but with more demon killing and worse clothes.  Actually, since we're in fantasy world anyway, the clothes would still be great.

Day 28 - sexiest scene.
Tricky.  There's a lot of competition here and yet a whole lot of sexiness going on that I really didn't care about.  I do recall one scene involving Spike and Buffy and a whole lot of oriental carpets and thinking . . . oooooo.  

 

And we'll just ignore the fact that most oriental carpets are horribly scratchy and liable to leave really bad rug burns.

Day 29 - ickiest scene.
That scene were Xander saved the world and defeated dark!Willow with his hugs.  No, I will not get over it.

Day 30 - whatever tickles your fancy.
Drusilla, always ; )

 

Comments

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on Anya's death. I worry about how much she was really mourned.

What did you have against Oz? (My curiosity is getting the better of me.)

I always loved the Willow/Riley interactions. I found them quite organic and charming, especially with Willow playing the social director role. Her "A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend" line always gets a giggle from me.

Cordy/Faith sounds hot. But I'm really not much of a Faith fan. I would rather see a Cordy/Willow thing.

My friend cee_m has made some great vids. Here's her masterlist: http://cee-m.livejournal.com/533657.html#cutid1

I too was fond of Xander hard-boiling his egg. That was amusing.

Your wacky demon would be a chaos demon. One that Drusilla ran off with and forced Spike to come back to Sunnydale. (See: Season 3's "Love's Bitch.")

[promethia_tenk]

What did you have against Oz? (My curiosity is getting the better of me.)
I don't really have anything *against* him; I just found him (and Oz/Willow) incredibly dull to watch. And I don't really think he livened up the core Scoobie group either. There was just something about *all* the group dynamics in season three that never clicked for me, and Oz was definitely a part of that, even if I didn't have anything to dislike about him.

Her "A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend" line always gets a giggle from me.
*snerk* I'd forgotten about that! I basically liked anything with Willow that made her more assertive. It was hard for me to understand where she was coming from when she was mostly just reacting to things.

Cordy/Faith sounds hot. But I'm really not much of a Faith fan. I would rather see a Cordy/Willow thing.
I'd probably give that a try. I pretty much just wanted a lot more Cordelia when she left, just as she was getting interesting. I'll probably watch AtS sometime soon-ish.

Thanks for the confirmation on the chaos demon and for the recs! Gonna head over there now and check some out : )

[bendingwind.livejournal.com]

Iiiinteresting.

In general, I find Joss' metaphors to be so clunky that I just ignore them in favor of KILLING THINGS YAY.

Buffy/Spike, nom nom nom. I would like to add another contender for the sexiest scene ever, though: destruction-of-abandoned-house!sex. NOM FUCKING NOM.

[promethia_tenk]

In general, I find Joss' metaphors to be so clunky that I just ignore them in favor of KILLING THINGS YAY.
I think I would find the whole show a lot better if I ignored most everything in favor of KILLING THINGS YAY. But, no, I was determined to engage with the text : P

I would like to add another contender for the sexiest scene ever, though: destruction-of-abandoned-house!sex. NOM FUCKING NOM.
I did consider going with that scene instead, but there was just something about the oriental rugs that I liked. Don't really care to much about the Buffy/Spike sex, though, so it was largely the rugs and the idea of it. You've certainly got a lot of company in your nom-noms, though, and I can see why.

[owlboy]

>> I think she deserved more of an end than she got.

YES (RAGE) ; ; IloveAnyasomuch

>>Killing Ben/Glory at the end of season five.

Yes. Yes. Yes. I love it when Giles gets his dark side on. I think that was a great statement about his character. Other yummy Giles moments: whenever his ex BF Ethan was in the room /shipper

Favourite buffy fanvid, and I have some seriously epic meta if you want it.

[promethia_tenk]

omfg <33333333 That's so beautiful.

I have some seriously epic meta if you want it.
Sure, why not?

[elisi]

Day 25 - rec a fanfic or fanvid (or both).
IDK, I'm the newbie here. Rec me your favorites : ) I'm in a vid-y mood.
*eyes narrow*

[promethia_tenk]

Ok, now, behave.

; )

VIDS! (You asked for it...)

[elisi]

Buffy:

Coin-Operated Boy by sdwolfpup. (What does Buffy really want in a boy? Not even she knows for sure.) This was the first vid that I ever saw - or at least the first one I *remember* seeing. And it was another case of 'I didn't know you could do that!' Just brilliant. And I've loved meta-vids ever since.

(Incidentally, every vid on that page is worth watching. I'm not linking to them individually 'cause there are just so many.)

Bachelorette by obsessive24. (In the shape of a girl.) Buffy, feminism, male privilege... Just watch, okay?)

Suburbia by dualbunny. (This is my poor tiny Buffy vid. I always think of her as the one that overcomes everything in the end. I wanted to play with what happens before the end.)

Vow by sdwolfpup. Buffy Vs. The First. I ♥ this vidlet to infinity!

Dru:

Ghost of a Rose by spikeylover. My favourite Drusilla vid bar none. This song is her.

Spanish Doll by dualbunny. Beautiful and utterly non-linear. Like being inside her head.

Not Like The Other Girls by sdwolfpup. Vidlet made for meeee! <3

Spike:

Black Black Heart by dualbunny. Spike/Spike's duster. OTP baby!

Tragedy by dualbunny. (Spike + The Bee Gees = Tragedy.) Need I say more?

Still Breathing by charmax. (Spike's redemption song .) I love this one to pieces.

Your Woman by charmax. (Spike kidnaps Angel to find out why he never loved him. This vid is like the bastard son of “The picture of Dorian Gray” and “Reservoir dogs”) I, uh, do not have the words to adequately describe the awesomeness of this.

Schism by vrya. (Spike deals with his multiple personalities) Just excellent.

Anya:

Diamond Mind by charmax. (Anya is a woman who knows what she wants. )

Willow:

Killer by vrya. (Willow/Warren reflections.) Make sure to read the notes, they contain lovely meta!

AtS S5:

The Quor-Toth. Every vid is good, although I am especially partial to 'I'm Not Driving Anymore' and 'Cleansed by Fire'.

You Don't Mess Around With Jim. (Angel & Spike. Two pool-shootin' boys.) ♥ ♥ ♥

ETA: Ours. (She was your woman but she was my girl/one on one the queen of two worlds.) Spike/Buffy/Angel. The ONLY vid of my OT3. *cherishes*


That's all for now. Although here is ALL MY META if you want it. :)

Re: VIDS! (You asked for it...)

[promethia_tenk]

Welp, there's the rest of my week accounted for ; ) (jk--I'll probably filter through them at my leisure) Thank you <3

Re: VIDS! (You asked for it...)

[elisi]

You know, it's EXCEEDINGLY handy that you've watched S5 of AtS, since so many Spike vids (& meta) deal with his whole story, which of course ends there.

Also re. Angel in general (and discussions in your previous post), then you might find it more palatable on the whole, since Angel is a very flawed hero compared to Buffy. So, although he often sets himself up as moral arbitrar, it comes from a place of having been the bad guy.

Re: VIDS! (You asked for it...)

[promethia_tenk]

I kind of have a strange feeling I would like AtS better. I'm not quite sure why--the themes seem more up my alley, the way of looking at the world? Stuff like that. I actually rather *like* dealing with predestinations and prophesies in narrative, knowing the end-points and finding out how we get to them (which I like in timey-wimey too). There was something like a sense of optimistic fatalism in season five: so, we're all doomed--let's go with that!

Plus Buffy was, for me, I think ultimately a massive failure to connect with any of the main characters. I feel like AtS can't manage any worse than that?

Re: VIDS! (You asked for it...)

[elisi]

I have some thoughts, but am *ded* from fic editing. So all I'll do is throw another vid link at you: heresluck's vid page.

Re: VIDS! (You asked for it...)

[promethia_tenk]

I saw you got your next chapter up \o/ So close!

Thanks for the link : )

Re: VIDS! (You asked for it...)

[elisi]

Since posting the fic reminded me of this - as did your River/Dawn comparison which I'm still trying to get my head around since they occupy COMPLETELY different boxes in my head - I shall rec you this tiny little Christmassy ficlet, which needs zero explanations:

Secret Santa. Enjoy! :)

Re: VIDS! (You asked for it...)

[promethia_tenk]

If it helps any, I had *just* written this to Cinderbella and then I happened to go read that essay and my jaw dropped. I think your Doctor/River Spuffy comparison is largely about interpersonal dynamics, but this is more about character construction and place in the narrative and the philosophical questions that raises.

I'm gonna argue that River may not be so much the Doctor's Spike as she's his GilesSpikeDawn ; )

Re: VIDS! (You asked for it...)

[promethia_tenk]

Angel is a very flawed hero compared to Buffy. So, although he often sets himself up as moral arbitrar, it comes from a place of having been the bad guy.
Point of clarification: I'm not annoyed with *Buffy*, and actually I think she usually has to take the attitudes and positions she does, given her situation. I'm annoyed with the show for not challenging that more substantially. Of course, start from a more [morally] complicated hero, and you're probably going to automatically end up with a more nuanced show. *glares pointedly at RTD*

My favorite thing about Xander (and I think one thing the show really did get right) is his anti-demon bigotry. Not because I think he's right and I wanted mindless vampire hate spewed all over the place, but because it was a substantively different p.o.v. that we heard consistently.

Re: VIDS! (You asked for it...)

[elisi]

Point of clarification: I'm not annoyed with *Buffy*, and actually I think she usually has to take the attitudes and positions she does, given her situation. I'm annoyed with the show for not challenging that more substantially.
Oh I understood that already (we share a brain, remember? *g*) - and also much yes-ness to your RTD glaring. I think the problems were somewhat similar, in that if you have a hero who is *good* it's a bit limited how far you can pull them into the dark. Angel (and Jack, obviously) are far more flexible - Angel especially, since he is a demon. Love this exchange:

ANGEL: Give me the hell on Earth speech, Lindsey. I know how bad things are, how much sway the demons hold. I happen to be the greatest mass murderer you've ever met.
LINDSEY: Never given you props for that, have I?

Which ties in with what you said... elsewhere about Team Angel's attitude in S5 and which has actually helped me figure something out re. Angel and his story etc. It's often said that Angel's story is about redemption, but I don't think it is. Anna's post on Damage is one of my favourite metas EVER EVER, and this part especially is spot-on:

'Blood on your hands, or blood in your heart? Motivated by guilt, or motivated by love?

Because what Spike learnt, what Spike expressed in Touched, and lived out in Chosen, is that you can't make up for your past. You can be sorry, but it isn't a solution. But you can love, for naught but love's sake, and that is a motivation for action. That is what makes you other than dead.'

Which leads me back to Spike and Buffy, and the way I love how so much of their story is about what they *do*, not what they *say*. S7 Buffy isn't exactly an oversharer, and she has never been very good with words. But she helps Spike. Gets him out of the basement, even into her house. Protects him, trusts him. USEFUL things, rather than pretty words. (Also see this little post.)

I wandered off point... Re Angel then he goes off the rails a fair bit. If anything then the show is about him accepting that he *is* Angelus, and use that. I am often torn as to which show I prefer, and whilst I guess BtVS is better quality, and I love, love, love the Spike/Buffy story, then *generally* I think AtS speaks more to me. The overall theme of Buffy is 'Growing up'. Angel's is 'Family', which is much bigger and more complex.