red_satin_doll | Ethan and Eyghon and the Scythe, Oh My!

I am really eager to see what

dragonyphoenix has in store for us!

Gabrielle

Me too! The basic summary/idea alone sounds divine.

Really interesting ideas. I love how your brains work!

Ah not mine, (alas)

dragonyphoenix's - and

velvetwhip offered excellent suggestions as well. Seriously, I've been wanting someone to write this - but did I try to write it myself? No. My brain disappoints me.

This fic is going to be a treat, though.

Edited 2013-10-11 22:00 (UTC)

Bad brain! ;-)

No, good brain! (I've told you I like your "default settings" very much, right?)

*smiles* I mean your brain that didn't take up the challenge.

OH! Then yes, bad bad BAD brain, no biscuit!

Ooh! I'm excited to read her story when it's done. :D

It probably won't be until the end of the year at least but I feel like a kid before bedtime on Christmas Eve. ("I will be patient, I will be patient...now please?")

I must be missing something. “Racist”? I’m sure there’s meaning and reasoning behind that, but it just doesn’t connect with anything I can think of. Clarification would be much appreciated.

Re: the Scythe I'm sure someone has written meta on it (perhaps Eleusis_walks, I'm away from my home puter at the moment and don't have links, but "Someone has to speak for her" is the relevant meta I believe) but basically - The "Guardian" draws on fantasies of European matriarchal "wiccan" or pagan cultures (celtic/goddess religions, etc) that were popular for a few decades (I dabbled in it in college in the '90's); the Guardian claims that she is the last of the Guardians who were around since the dawn of time - which implies that "white" homo sapiens have existed before or concurrently with humans in Africa; and in giving Buffy the Scythe she represents the "good" side of Slayer powers - white, European, female.

In contrast, in Get it Done, the Shadowmen - three African males - represent the "dark" or "bad" side of Slayer powers (the side that Buffy has feared since she was called - Nightmares); and is depicted not just as a rape of a girl by a demon but in GiD it's portrayed as the gang rape of a white girl, Buffy, who rejects the attempt to replicate the original violation of the First Slayer: "This is not the way!" (And in contrast we never actually see or hear from the First Slayer in this episode. She has no voice, no power and the white girl has to speak for her.

I don't need to recount how the fears of black men "raping our women" and "miscegenation of the races" were used as excuses for lynching black men well into the 20th century.
I have a feeling none of this ever occurred to the writers at the time - I don't think it was done on purpose at all - but I'm still amazed that not one person said "Wait a minute, is this a good idea?"

The show's record of race is not good from the beginning; but in S7 the writers seem to be making an effort to have more "diversity" onscreen; the harder they tried, the more they fucked up.

I've read lots on race and vampire narratives (did I know you when I did the conference paper on race in The Vampire Diaries? There was a section on Buffy in it), and I completely agree. Even when you throw Christianity out the window, it's white European paganism that replaces it. Have you read this or seen this? The article is interesting, but the vid is amazing (and fascinating in that it uses a white rapper to tell the stories of characters of color).

I only entered fandom last year (I watched the show last - May?) so I don't know. And I haven't kept up with the academic goings-on in part because - well, mostly because of my inferiority complex. Which I hate - the "I had to drop out of a master's program because of illness and money, I haven't kept up with the currents of academic thought, this is over my head blah blah I need to self-flagellate now."

Or something like that. Moving on...

The short answer is probably no. *lol* Is there a link to your paper? I'm guessing not. I just bookmarked the first link which I have not read; the second link doesn't work though, can you try it again? I have seen the video "Origins Story" I think is the title (is that the vid you're referring to?), which deals mostly with Robin Wood, Nikki and Dana in terms of btvs/ats prioritizing the POV's of the white male characters esp Spike i.e. in a verse originating from a female Slayer, the killers' pain is front and center, as well as fetishized.

I have read Eleusis_walks' meta as I mentioned and it covers that ground as well. I tried to find the link but my access has been denied, I have no idea why.

Even when you throw Christianity out the window, it's white European paganism that replaces it.

And a very modern interpretation of it, as

dragonyphoenix reminded me the other day. ("paganism" and "wicca" as we understand it now was essentially born in the late 19th century when there was a rise in interest in anti-Christian thought, in spiritualism and the otherworldly, in a fantasy of a pre-Christian past, in reaction against the materialism and capitalist focus of the Industrial Revolution; the same currents that produced the Arts and Crafts movement, art nouveau, etc.)

I recognized the Guardian from my interest in Goddess and feminist theology in college in the '90's. I can see now that it was an extension of feminism, being able to grasp Divinity as Female in ways we'd been denied except via the Virgin Mary and the Saints (who all served the Male God, many of them a martyrs.) It was exciting at the time for me and my friends esp those of us with Catholic backgrounds. But it was also, I can see now, a sort of turning away from street-level, grass-roots collective political activism in favor of individualism and turning inward, working on "oneself". I'm not saying that's a bad thing by itself but it's also very much rooted in white middle-class academia, or those with access to it as I was, and those who think "the fight is over", perhaps because they're too comfortable to have to worry about even finding work never mind job parity.

And it also doesn't really revolutionize or "explode" the pre-existing paradigm so much as reproduce it: the Maiden, Mother and Crone, etc. Christianity stole from paganism, paganism steals from Christianity in return. I remember reading a quote in a book at the time from a woman rabbi: "Heaven preserve me from Yahweh in drag!"

I'm surprised you have an inferiority complex because every time I've seen you summarize my thoughts, you've explained them far better and more clearly than I ever could.

I defintely agree with all you points about Paganism. The only thing I have to add is a tangent. the Maiden, Mother and Crone, etc. I have seen references to the Celtic Goddess Brigit, who is a triple goddess, as Maiden, Mother, and Crone which is wrong just wrong. Brigit maps out as three sisters, associated with bardcarft, smithwork, and I think healing respectively.

And, while we're on the subject, there was some horrorish comic when I was a kid where the stories were introduced by three witches. One was definitely a Crone. Of the other two, one was basically dating age and what would have been called "a hot babe". The third didn't seem much older but was heavier; nothing suggested she was a mother but they seem to represent the same image. They reappeared in a DC trilogy called Witch Craft although I don't know if this was supposed to represent the same three witches/goddesses of if it was just playing off the Pagan vibe.

Oh, and the two sets of witches/goddesses are the same image. Just had to follow one more link to learn that! And the image on this page is much closer to the older images that I recall of them.

OMG, you just made my day! *blushes* My "inferiority complex" is - ancient. Like, back to kindergarden and probably before that.

I think that's part of the reason I identify with Buffy in the late seasons so so much, along with a thousand other reasons. (her self-confidence erodes over the course of the series until the only thing she thinks she's good at is Slaying - even in S7, Robin Wood and Willow laughing at her when she mentions hopefully getting a raise or promotion doesn't help, or Willow's "sweet girl, not too bright" in Chosen, etc etc; and then the kicker in EP when she's rejected in favor of Faith. It's a repeat of S5 in terms of everything being stripped away. And of course it isn't true but that's what she believes about herself and so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. She has to take back command, follow her instincts to the vineyard; but in real life it's not always that easy.

That the theme is continued in the comics - Willow and Angel laughing about how she "doesn't shut up"; the fact that she can't hold a job and isn't competent at ANYTHING in S9 to the point that one of her roommates is secretly covering her share of the rent, etc (and how does someone not notice that?) is painful. It's not just "she feels like a failure", it's "she IS a failure, full stop".

if it was just playing off the Pagan vibe.

Oh certainly so. Just going back to the '90s as I was saying you had the tv series "Charmed", which was a more "positive" depiction of witches - although all three of them were "babes"; but then also negative portrayals like "The Craft" - more babes, but being unable to handle their power.

Ugh. I've never thought of those two instances in terms of Buffy's confidence eroding. My shipper heart wants to jump up and down and yell at everyone that SPIKE HAS CONFIDENCE IN HER, DAMMIT! and SHE THEREFORE SHOULD BE WITH HIM! and then my feminist heart says SHE DOESN'T NEED AFFIRMATION FROM ~~A MAN~~ ANYONE! And I hate that she's now the butt of a joke and that all the blame for Twilight has gone on her shoulders. If you ever want to read some snarky feminist take-downs of the comics,

shipperx has a great BtVS tag. There's an especially good post on why whitewashing Angel in A&F doesn't work.

It was the Origin Stories vid I was linking to. Have you read some of the links on this page? Lots of good stuff.

I get so excited linking stuff to you! It makes me feel old and wise in fandom, when in reality I'm Iron Age to many people's fandom dinosaurs!

And screw not finishing your masters! That just means you can call yourself an Independent Scholar!

My shipper heart wants to jump up and down and yell at everyone that SPIKE HAS CONFIDENCE IN HER, DAMMIT! and SHE THEREFORE SHOULD BE WITH HIM! and then my feminist heart says SHE DOESN'T NEED AFFIRMATION FROM A MAN ANYONE!

I thought I was the only one who felt 'shipped those two in S7 who also felt that way! I get that the overall theme of the series has been reversing Buffy's isolation as The Chosen One (re:

beer_good_foamy's brilliant meta "Buffy the Vampire Slayer vs Buffy, The Vampire Slayer"); and I get that it's part of Spike becoming a better man and returning the care she's given him all season, part of the process of repairing the damage between from the S6; and at that moment Spike is the one person who represents "mater" or the Mother Principal; he's been the male character most deeply connected to women and mothers, including Joyce, so it makes sense that he represents that when Buffy has been kicked out of her own house. And it takes place in the very room where Buffy defended Joyce in Angel and Ted, and was kicked out of the house in Becoming. So, loads of history in that kitchen.

But the "Me" moment in Becoming is SO POWERFUL; and as much as my shippy heart adored it I felt the same reservations that you did about it. But then again I have more issues with whose stories get prioritized S5-7 than i could begin to cover here.

shipperx's posts are some of my FAVORITE observations about the comics in fandom. btw. Spot-on every time, esp the mind-blowing WTF-ery re: Angel. I think I was just rereading the very post you're referring to. How he can still be a "hero" in the comics and the lead of his own title is beyond comprehension.

Re: Origins I had read some of the meta conversation when I first came into fandom, long before I was able to watch the vid, and the statement someone made that Spike was symbolically wearing Nikki's SKIN blew my mind. I've never been able to look at the duster the same way since I read that. But again we're back to the prioritization of Spike's story over that of his victims....Christ, Joss makes it so hard for us sometimes.

I get so excited linking stuff to you! It makes me feel old and wise in fandom, when in reality I'm Iron Age to many people's fandom dinosaurs!

*hugs* I'm glad, because I LOVE getting and sharing links. There is SO much to read in this fandom, I'll never run out of material. EVER. And I've only been in this fandom a year and a half , ergo newbie, and I get giddy when someone says they've never heard of, for instance,

the_royal_anna; I'm like, how the hell can this even be?

Of course I've also got ulterior motives; whenever I'm not sure how to express myself when countering an argument or putting forth a POV I can just say "read this".

That just means you can call yourself an Independent Scholar!

*blushes* Thank you! I like this very much and shall adopt this! I can say honestly that I have gotten more intellectual stimulation since I watched Buffy and joined this fandom than I had for the prior ten years! Of course there are other things that theoretically should have accompanied a master's such as status and income but in reality I know that's a friggin' fantasy or PR pitch. I remember doing a menial job in NC grading test papers - everyone had to have at least a bachelor's to get hired, and one of my coworkers had two masters' degrees.

I can say honestly that I have gotten more intellectual stimulation since I watched Buffy and joined this fandom than I had for the prior ten years!

This is exactly my experience. BtVS fandom (particularly the pro-Buffy contingent of Spuffy fans) got me out of a long period of depression, got me back into school, got me interested in fandom studies, and pretty much set the road I am currently traveling on. I changed political parties because of Buffy fandom. I learned about social justice through Buffy fandom, and became able to articulate the more progressive beliefs I had underlying the inbred conservatism I got from my parents through Buffy fandom. I'll forever be sad that my gaffe lost me so many of the friends who really influenced my beliefs and way of thinking, but I'm still grateful I met them because of the person I became because of them.

Shit. Now I'm crying.

Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry you've had to endure that. You've shown courage and strength, and you should be proud of yourself. But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like hell. I've been there - watched people turn away from me because of one misspoken (foolishly worded) statement, or even for reasons I can't possibly fathom. It always hurts.

Folks here have been incredibly kind and supportive when I've talked about the apartment fire and I hope to pass that on. Whether the source is physical or mental, trauma is trauma. There is no timetable for dealing with the short and long-term wounds and losses.

And I find I am having less and less patience with people who can't find it in their hearts to forgive as I get older, particularly when it comes to something that doesn't amount to a hill of beans, frankly. You read the wonderful post on the subject

rahirah wrote a while back, I hope?

To still feel a sense of gratitude for the gifts others have given you, even after they have turned away, is such an amazing and admirable quality of character IMO.

Anyhoo, I'm going to PM you if that's ok.

Now I'm crying too. (But I'm ok with that.)

I was wondering ... You'd said something about stopping your Masters, partly due to illness. Why haven't you taken it back up? Still have health issues? I get that school is expensive but at the Masters level aren't you also teaching and therefor bringing in money?

In retrospect I don't get the "Buffy isn't good at school / life" meme. Someone I read recently was discussing how Buffy is the one to figure out the Big Bad in early S1. For example in Witch she puts together that Amy's mother has switched their bodies without even knowing that's a possibility.

Still have health issues?

Very much so - lupus, epilepsy, now a back injury almost a year ago that makes even sitting painful. Also no access to transportation and NO MONEY. that last is a big thing. 20 years after the fact I'm still paying off school loans for the masters program I started but had to drop out of. (What the HELL was I thinking when I attended on an out-out-state status in NC which is far more expensive? Clearly, I wasn't. Oh Buffy, how I get her - you can be "smart" in all sorts of ways but intelligence in terms of finances? that's a skill you have to learn, and I never did. too much "this will turn out all right" unrealistic thinking.) and most of the grants etc that were available to me as an undergrad are not available to grad students. So getting myself further and deeper into debt, for a career that might not even pay off that loan and I may not even be able to get a job in anyway seems foolish. There is no such thing as walking out of college and being guaranteed that a job will be waiting for you, even in careers that were "recession-proof" (f.ex. the health care industry). I'm sure some people will say I'm being "pessimistic" but here's the thing - I tried optimism for years. I was fucking lousy with optimism. It'll all work out! and I believed that. Because - I'm white? Because I didn't or couldn't consider the alternative?

The notion that there is a fixed destination and if you're white and middle class or even working class you have to go to college because your life will be better thereby and the big house will be waiting for you at the end or else you're a failure is - well, an illusion, and a pretty one. And not a new one; have you read The History of Private Life? in the chapter on the 19th century, the authors talk about how, when compulsory education was opened in France to males beyond the upper class, suddenly there was a huge number of men who had been "prepared" for success but found reality didn't match what they'd been told they'd find.

I get that school is expensive but at the Masters level aren't you also teaching and therefor bringing in money?

If you're getting a degree in K-12 education that also has a program where you intern yourself at a school and teach in exchange for tuition, then sort of. I looked at social work and counseling programs for a time as well, and all of them have you interning at a facility, as well one should, to get job experience but generally you're not getting paid. And there are TA positions that help with tuition; I had one for a year but the amount of money is nominal esp for the amount of work you are expected to do.

And I don't mean to make excuses; I screwed up, I get that. My fault. But it's finally starting to sink in that I know a lot of people who are intelligent and have Master's degrees and haven't followed the track we're 'supposed to'. Some of it's me and some of it's just - having to accept that there are no guarantees.

Ok, so enough about me, let's talk about Buffy....*lol*

Someone I read recently was discussing how Buffy is the one to figure out the Big Bad in early S1.

2maggie2 said in one of her early season episode reviews (or the comments in one) that she was reminded in her rewatch that Buffy is "remarkably sharp"; it may have been for the episode I Robot, You Jane, where Buffy intuits that Moloch is coming from the internet itself. And I know

bone_dry1013 also covers this territory in her fic and meta on the episodes; specifically Teacher's Pet and the math teacher who is one of the few people who expresses confidence in Buffy's intelligence (and then dies immediately thereafter). Bonedry also covers in her Origin fic the downward spiral in Buffy's social status that accompanies the gradual erosion of her self-confidence even early on.

I once saw some comments on a forum for TV Tropes in which several people repeated "Buffy's not that creative" to the point I wondered what show they were watching. Creativity, intuition and native intelligence are some of Buffy's most important tools. She's contrasted against the "learned by rote" Kendra (in ways that are unfair to Kendra, I think), which is why Giles doesn't know what to do with her in the early seasons. Lessons from the book are useless when it comes to her.

In some ways her going back to Giles in S4-5 and saying she needed to learn more from him, she needed him as a Watcher, may have been an expression of how much her confidence had faltered, and perhaps did her more harm than good in the long run. I think he needed to be needed by her more than she needed him as a Watcher. What she really needed was a father-figure but was unable to express that outright.

I've seen studies conducted - how "scientific" I have no idea - that say that girls in the US (I don't race or class) tend to lose confidence as become teenagers and become more aware of the standards of beauty they see every day in the media, and aware of boys and sexuality and trying to please and be pleasing to the opposite sex in order to "win" a boyfriend. I'd like to think things are improving but in fact eating disorders are on the rise, which is extremely telling.

So Buffy's loss of confidence is something that fits very well with RL patterns for American teenagers/young women; including the fact that (as I have) she links self-esteem or lack thereof to her failure to finish college, etc.

But I'm not sure the writers of the show are actually making a point about RL and in fact I suspect the opposite. And the comics only push that to extremes: Buffy is good at NOTHING. have you read

superplin's essay series on "Buffy and Expertise"? It's a great essay to show anyone who thinks Buffy is "not that bright", although some of it is a bit over my head esp at the beginning (it's more accessible as it goes on for me):
http://superplin.livejournal.com/205253.html
http://superplin.livejournal.com/205478.html
http://superplin.livejournal.com/205714.html

Ah, I have a neck injury, not as bad as your back, but I do have an inkling how debilitating that could be.

I was lucky with finanaces. My Mom paid off my loans after I'd flunked out as an undergrad, which, looking back, suggests she made more at her job than I'd realized. Money was pretty tight growing up; I don't know how she saved up whatever that amount was. Dad helped considerably when I went back. By that time I was on in-state tuition at least.

I go back and forth between optimism and pessimism. It's always been difficult for me to get a new job in my field - even just out of college I had only one offer - and computer skills change all the time and my jobs haven't given me opportunities to update mine. I program in a language called C++ and there is less and less calling for it. I tried taking Java classes at a local university but the focus was more on Object Oriented Programming which I already know from C++. Honestly, I could have taught 90% of those classes. In addition my anemia and mother's death led me to a mid-life crisis. Now I am very burnt out with that career. My therapist is encouraging me to think outside the box and I know there are people who are successful designing their own careers or switching to new careers. I'm definitely afraid. I try to think of it as an experiment (worked for Buckminster Fuller) but I keep getting back to “why should this work for me?” But I don't see me old career being viable long-term. MAYBE if I were really gung-ho and went back for Masters and possibly Ph. D. it'd work out long-term but I'm not even sure about that. Plus I just don't care about programming anymore.

And there are TA positions that help with tuition; I had one for a year but the amount of money is nominal esp for the amount of work you are expected to do. See, that's the information I was missing, that there is a lot of work in exchange for a little money as a TA.

One of the problems with money is that we aren't taught how to be smart about it. I was fed a dream as well although mine focused more on their being loyalty - on both sides - between employee and company. That's not how it works. The company has all the power. If they tell me to jump I'm not supposed to think about whether or not jumping is in my best interests, I'm supposed to ask “How high?” I was also sold the dream that you stay with the company, you're loyal, and you're taken care of for life. It might have worked that way once but it sure doesn't now.

I know a guy who was tremendously loyal, actually I know a number of guys who were tremendously loyal and were laid off anyway, but I'm thinking of one in particular. He was on a management track and then shunted back to programming, which he hadn't done in years and didn't have the skills for given the new programming paradigm. He arranged to take management training through the company while working as a programmer and trying to pick up the new development skills he needed. After a year he was laid off because he wasn't getting the programming skills. Instead of looking at the industry and seeing that it's changing, he's asking the industry “How high?” He's taking college courses to try to make himself a better fit as an employee. Maybe that will work for him but after twenty-five years in the field I think he could be throwing his money down the drain.

Everything you say makes sense, but all of those points seem to require at least a bit of reaching. If anything, it appears to me that the depiction of the First Slayer was a general recognition that humanity (almost certainly, according to the best evidence currently available) originated in Africa; further, the intention seems to be that the Shadow Men be seen as the self-appointed controllers that eventually became what we call the Watchers, so that any adversarial content contained is gender-based — “the patriarchy” — rather than racial.

It’s one thing to speculate on the possible implications in a story, and all your speculations are valid. To simply call it racist, however, makes it sound as if the writers have been found guilty of any attitude you are possibly able to imagine in their work. That seems a bit stern.

We'll agree to disagree on this then. I appreciate your feedback.

And I appreciate your courtesy and patience. My observations and initial interest were all intellectual in nature, and if it was more personal for you — which I couldn’t really tell — you responded to me on my own terms, which merits respect.

It's all good! Basically I couldn't think of any way to respond because we'd both posited our views and what I think are valid opinions, so anything after that becomes me arguing with you over who is right, bitty-blah etc, and that is no fun whatsoever.

Wow, I hope I don't write something totally disappointing!

Yikes, I hope I'm not adding any pressure *shifty eyes*. I'm really not worried at all; the ideal is sterling and your writing from what I've seen is of a very high quality.

I get my LJ messages sent to my e-mail so I see you deleted this response. No, not really too much pressure. I'm just not used to people knowing I'm writing a story and, especially, I'm not used to a bunch of enthusiasm beforehand. I like it; I'm just not used to it.

// "I see you deleted this response."//

I did? I didn't think I did - I may have inadvertently answered as "anon" or - oh never mind.

// "I like it; I'm just not used to it."//

That's what I do. ;)

I suppose it's a little bit self-serving if I were totally honest; or rather, I'm so thrilled when someone is inspired by something I said or did that I can't help wanting to share.

I really do believe though in "sharing" esp when it comes to fandom, as another way to support and encourage each other. I've seen people complain this fandom is "dying" (in comparison to what existed before); the ways I know how to help build it are posting, replying and linking to other people. It's not ALL DRAMA ALL THE TIME but I like it.

There's a message in my e-mail and, in my inbox, one that says I don't have permission to view it. Hence, my guesstimate that it was deleted.

*grin* At first I thought you meant self-serving of me because I am sort of thrilled that people are excited about my story. I think this is the first time people have been anticipating one of my stories. I could totally get used to this feeling! ;-)

// "I think this is the first time people have been anticipating one of my stories. I could totally get used to this feeling! " //

*dusts off hands* My work here is done!

*smile*

Oh I get why it got deleted - I forgot to sign in and wrote it as anonymous.

I don't realize I'm not logged in fairly often myself.

It's never truer that there's power in a name, as when LJ e-mails you to say your LJ-handle has been mentioned. lol. ;)

Really looking forward to this fic. I know

dragonyphoenix by her drabbles and shorter fiction at

open_on_sunday, so I'm sure this new world will be worth the read. And thank you for dropping the seed of it!

Well... back to my own re-write of S1. And to think that just 15 minutes ago, I was thinking that there were too few fics that changed canon from the start!

Actually I'm surprised you haven't before because I know I've rec'd your stories to others - or does this function only work when you're mentioned in an actual post and not in a reply? IDK.

rahirah was the one who told me the function existed and how to turn it on and I admit I turned into a gleeful little girl the first time I got one of those.

And to think that just 15 minutes ago, I was thinking that there were too few fics that changed canon from the start!

There are, to be honest, and one more isn't going to change that. Or rather - I think there are too few really good or interesting ones. Or more accurately, ones that interest yours truly.

Have you read

bone_dry1013's Origins/Seasons? She alters canon to depict Buffy from her calling at Hemery High and ignores most of the pre-tv series canon, includes the NAverse and the Keyverse (presence of Dawn); for the series itself she doesn't change canon though so much as go deeper emotionally or show "deleted scenes" focusing on Buffy's emotions or her relationships with her friends and Giles; she "rewrites" S1 in such a way that it is more tonally consistent with S2 and after.
http://bone-dry1013.livejournal.com/tag/buffy%3A%20seasons%20master%20post

I'd be up for series that rewrite the entire canon if they do it really well and don't bash Buffy or "punish" her. I've read a lot of *ahem* Spuffy fics that try to insert Spike into Buffy's life as her lover far earlier than canon - or rather, I've read a few and then gotten bored. Most of the time they don't work for me, in part because the emphasis seems to be on softness, on domesticity, on undying love, on making Buffy softer, kinder, more feminine and yielding, etc etc. And she's almost never the hero as she is in your series. Which is weird to me, to be honest.

Well, to be sincere, I'm too much of a Buffy/Angel 'shipper to get interested in much that doesn't have them as the protagonist relationship - unless I'm the one writing it, in which case all characters and most pairings are welcome! lol

I really hope that the change in the story you're rec'cing is not that Buffy does not get to be the Slayer. Because that's what I've been planning, and I'd get really bummed if someone else has written it. I'll read it after I'm done with mine, either way. I'm easily influenced, and I don't want to inadvertently steal from another S1 rewrite.

I thank you for the compliment as to Buffy's characterisation in my series. As I said, I'm all about Buffy - and Angel. The thing is, while Angel makes a good leader when pressed into it, it's not his nature. He leads if no one else will do it - or if no one else will do what he believes is right. But he does not believe in himself like Buffy always ends up doing. Buffy may make mistakes, but she knows she didn't mean to and that she couldn't have known better. Angel always blames himself, or tries to shoulder burdens that do not pertain to him. Buffy shoulders burdens she has not choice but to take on.

I hope that made sense.

That's why I LOVE writing them together. Buffy does great at the lead, and she becomes amazing with Angel's support. Because Angel is all about throwing himself on the right path, and if he doesn't believe in making things easier for himself, he has no doubts about making them easier for *others*. When Buffy doesn't have to worry about her personal life, because all is taken care for, she's this... force of nature, really. She sees, she goes, she makes things happen - and I keep seeing Angel right beside her, making sure that nothing touches her as she does her job.

At least that's my headcanon.

And when it's Angelus instead, well... he really has no regrets when it comes to making sure Buffy will stay at the top of the supernatural food chain. He has her, what other power could he need that doesn't come from being loved by the Slayer? He is a guy of simple pleasures, either with and without a soul. Just give him everything he wants, and he's happy with whatever status quo comes up.

And wow... that was quite the rant. heh.

Ethan and Eyghon and the Scythe, Oh My!

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Pt 1 of long-ass reply

Re: Pt 2 of long-ass reply

Re: Pt 1 of long-ass reply

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HUH?

Re: HUH?

Re: HUH?

Re: HUH?

Re: HUH?

Re: HUH?

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