'splainy please? (I should write a dictionary of online/LJ acronyms sometime. just to jog my own memory.)

Ohgod, I see I use way too many speech quirks/patterns from my own online social circle with you. /laughs

So, anything like "sdljfdslfjaödf" is called a keysmash, and it is something me and my friends often use to denote excitement, bafflement or similar emotions. It is created by literally hitting random keys.

NGL means "not gonna lie".

YESSS! SING IT! This gets missed so often in fandom; and Tara's supportiveness of Buffy in DT and saying that Spike "He's done some good and he does love you" gets misinterpreted into the notion that Tara is basically a Spuffy-shipper.

Really? That is... slightly odd. I mean, Tara's way not invested enough to ship it. She's basically being a great friend pointing out the positive in the situation to reassure Buffy that it's not that wrong of her to feel as she does.

And the whole "Tara and Spike have a special bond" trope - is that just fanon (and if so, whatever floats the boat) or do people read that in canon?

That's a trope? Wow. Things I didn't know. Though I did once read a very... interesting Buffy/Tara/Spike three-way fic. (Yes, really.)

BTW - I know I said I don't "ship" Buffy and Tara - but then I was looking at caps of them yesterday in OAFA and Hell's Bells and I suddenly thought that, y'know, I could 'ship them, in a strictly non-canon kind of way. ;)

And I think I could get down with that. ;) You know I said I basically ship Buffy with everyone. So I'm actually okay with completely out-of-the-blue Buffy pairings, as long as they interest me and don't gross me out. Buffy/Wesley is surprisingly a favorite.

But yes, indeed, and again I'm willing to be compassionate - I can understand why, and it's been building ever since Willow told Cordy that the delete button the keyboard meant "Deliver".

It's definitely been building up, and it's quite fascinating! I still kind of like/want to like Willow, as well -- just, some of her actions definitely make me go "uhhh". The way she treated Tara is among those.

in contrast to a more IMO "mutually abusive" depiction of Buffy and Spike.

Agreed. The abuse going on there is definitely mutual, and I think that's an important point because a lot of people are quick to wholly blame one or the other.

And it's complicated - I see my mom and her husbands in W/T, and my (lesbian) partner and myself more in B/S - NOT in terms of any physical hitting or fights but just in terms of arguments and verbal spats.

Ugh, I'm sorry to hear that. :(

But it's not always that simple, either. I mentioned that to someone one time and I think I offended them (they feel about Willow the way I do about Buffy); and I didn't mean to do so; but just using the word "abuse" (like rape) is triggery.

That's true -- one's gotta be careful about one's language concerning these issues. We all make mistakes, though, and unintenionally offend other people; I've done it often enough. :/

I sometimes question if I'm not letting that ep get away with too much, or what my laughter says about me that I might not like knowing

Ohh, I know that feeling! I know it well, sob.

If you mean me, I apologize; I only meant to describe my reaction, not proscribe yours. Sometimes I shouldn't use words.

Oh, no, I didn't mean that at all! I was just... doing the same thing, I guess. Describing my own reaction. You didn't offend me at all, and I'm sorry if it came off that way!