How do I like my Big Bads?

This thread over at slayalive got me thinking about what kind of villain I want for the season 9 comics, the Buffy series in specific. So I wrote a little text, about what I like to see in villains:

A goal. Being evil in general, or simply killing to eat will get old fast. The goal could be as simple as trying to hurt or kill Buffy, but it has to be something. As awesome as Angelus at the killing, he would have gotten boring quickly if he hadn't had breaking down Buffy and then ending the world as his goal. The exception to this rule would be if the villain is three dimensional and/or has a lot of character development, like Faith & Spike got.

Motive. They have to have a reason for their goal/behaviour, to make them more relatable. For example, creatures of non-human species could get away with acting non-human simply because they aren't human, while humans should have some sort of reason for being evil. Faith believed it was either use or be used, and she obviously had had issues in her past, making her a murderer. Warren seems to be a phsycopath (not sure if that's the right term). It seems like he's been pushed around during his childhood, so that's one of the reasons he identifies with comic book villains who are also outcasts, outsiders who are disliked. But unlike them, he didn't have power. So he made sure to get some. And that feels believeable to me, a former victim of bullies.

However, I think a villain might possibly get away with being evil for unknown reasons, if there is such a great air of mystery around them, that we're too intrigued to care that we don't understand them right away.

Something we can't explain. I want villains that feels believeable in the sense that I can somehow understand what they're doing, as mentioned above, but at the same time, there has to be something about them that makes me want to discuss their behaviour, to figure them out. If a villain's simply out for food, or wants to hurt others because he/she himself has been hurt, that could get old after a few episodes. There needs to be some sort of mystery. That's why I'm still find vampires interesting, even after seeing so many and getting that they kill for food and fun, things the more animalistic side of me can understand. Because I still don't quite get them. I don't get what a lack of a soul does, why some are more sadictic than others, or why some seem to be so similar to how they were as humans, while still being so evil. It's a mystery.
Of course, if they're too big a mystery, and lack of motive seems to me a big fat questionmark, that could be a problem.

Better than the last villain. A random kind-of-interesting villain will do for the stand alones episodes or the smaller arcs, but a Big Bad needs to somehow be more interesting than the last one.

No-no on the clichés. Fun for the random stand alone episode/issue, but not for a Big Bad. Which is why I yawn at The First wanting to end the world (only interesting in the first season 7 re-watch) and Angel's "I wanna make the world a better place for me to live in and, and oh, you're going to be my queen."-thing of Season 8. It's not as unique as the other Big Bad's we've seen, and I think that's partly why I don't like the seasons as much as I could have (okay, Season 8 has a lot of reasons for being not so brilliant to me, and that might even change when I continue to read).

New Big Bads, not old ones. This goes for smaller villains as well. Brining Amy back for season 8 worked, since we didn't see her a lot of on the show, but not Warren, who had a good run in season 5-6 and is only used for comedial relief now. i'm also very unhappy The Master was brought back in season 8. He was great in season 1, but didn't seem to have much to give in season 8, he became a joke, which I didn't like, since I liked recalling how scary he had been, back in season 1.

So I guess I want something like what I described above. It seems like Simone could be the or a, Big Bad in Buffy season 9, and Angel & Faith seems to get their hands full with Whistler and the siblings. No complaints about any of them yet, seems like they could be testing our heroes both mentally, emotionally and physically. I'm happy that Joss is keeping the promise he made in the letter-section of issue 40 of Season 8, and is making this a smaller scale season.

Is Joss cruel?

This is a question often asked. Or Joss is simply called a sadistic bastard. Like here. He supposedly puts his characters through Hell(sometimes literally) for no reason, and seems to kill them off with no remorse.

But I disagree. Okay, I think anyone with a heart has atleast once thought "Damn you Joss Whedon!!!" while watching one of his shows.

But I don't think he means to be cruel at all. It's just good TV.

I can't tell you how hard it is to find a show, with "dangerous situations", that I'm not bored with because I know the good guys will very rarely die. And if it looks like they'll die, we all still know that they'll make it. I've just gotten spoiled, growing up with Whedon shows, so I get bored by shows that don't take enough risks.

With Whedon shows, you never know, and I love that. A death could be slow and bitter-sweet, like with Fred, it could be quick and brutal, like with Anya. We don't know what Joss will do with the characters.

And because of that, I learned to appreciate the good times on the show, because you never know when something bad will happen. They're not shows were everything will be happy all the time. And that makes it feel real. Because Dollhouse, Buffy, Angel & Firefly were shows where people are put in dangerous situations, which means that they get hurt, because anything else wouldn't make sense. That's real.

If Joss made a show about a ordinary family, in a ordinary place, yet bad things kept happening all the time, it would be different. He couldn't go to the same depths over and over again, not unless there could be a reasonable explanation.

For example; Buffy and the others lived on a Hellmouth, and they fought demons. Of course they would die, and get serious emotional and in mental problems. Them living happily ever after wouldn't work. One could argue taht death and pain happened to often on the show. I mean it doesn't have to be all or nothing. I just personally think it's just enough.

So I don't think he's sadistic. I just think he's realistic. And that he also want to explore characters. I think I've read how Joss decided to keep Spike on the show after Lover's walk(Buffy, season 3), because wasn't until then that Spike became interesting to Joss. And I see his point. Like that crazy guy said in The Train Job(i think that's the episode) in Firefly, you can't trully know someone until you hurt them, or something to that effect.

To sum up; no pain, no gain.

Maybe Joss is sadistic. Depends who you compare him too(I compare him to me, and I think I have a slight above average interest in pain). But considering the love between the characters on the show, I assume he (unless that's all from other writers) is a empathic man. Which is why he knows what to write, to get us to love the characters as well.

For example, I don't think I ever loved Fred as much as when she died. Or admired her more. And now when I do re-watches, there's always a bitter sweet feeling, knowing she will die. And I'm always afraid for the characters when they get into dangerous situations. Because I don't know what will happen. And when they're happy, I'm happy for them. Because I know it won't last.

What to buy for the winter-y holiday this year.

Don't know what to buy that special Buffy/Angel fan for Christmas/Hanukkah? Well, I know what I want. I could fill a entire A4 with things I want just from etsy.com

They have awesome Buffy jewellery over there. like a sterling silver necklace of the Buffyesque letter B (look in the same etsy shop for more Buffy-necklaces). Or why not go to ebay and look for more jewellry, and maybe buy this Italian charm link bracelet?

For those of you with some wallspace to fill, I'd recommend some Once More With Feeling themed metal art I own a Dollhouse piece from the same seller and it is pretty shiny! Literally and figuretively.

I love the idea of Buffy-themed outfits, but hardly ever wear them. Here are however some cool unofficial clothing articles from cafexpress.

And speaking about electronics (no?), I kind of want to buy a iPhone just so I could buy these and put them on.

And while you're on darkhorse's site, buy the first digital comic of season 8 and try the comics, if you haven't already. It's won't hurt, just cost you 1.99USD(I recommend buying the first bundle, since I myself didn't falle in love with the series until the poignant issue 5). But beware, they're best read on apple apps, like iPhones and iPads. Look a my two previous entries if you want to know more.

Then there's the more general vampire themes gifts. I swear, one day I will put together my own vampire hunter kit, like these shown on ebay. Some garlic, a Mr. Pointy-look alike stake, holy water, knives and some nailpolish, to make it more "Buffy". Considering that slaying is a killer on the nails, I assume Buffy often has to touch up her manicure after slaying.

And finally, I recommend looking high and low for Buffy-themed presents. buffycollector.com shows off lots of official Buffy merchandise that is out there(it's not a shop, it just shows collectibles), that can be found on ebay, amazon and other sites with geek-y inventory. If you're into the home made things, I suggest etsy, cafexpress, looking for a print on deviantart.com, and so on.

Darkhorse app for the win.

So, I ranted about how hard it was to read the digital Buffy comics on a laptop's webbrowser in this post, but now I've tried to read the Spike comic on a my sister's iPhone(3?) and my mom's iPad2, and it works great, because unlike on my laptop, I can zoom gradually in and out as I wish, and scroll over the pages. No need to squint at fullscreen version on a web browser, since the fullscreen is much more fitting on the iPad. The zoom function is still there(needed on the iPhone but not the iPas where fullscreen works just fine) but it doesn't cut off any text. The difference between reading on a app on a iPhone/iPad and in the web browser on my laptop is huge. I'm suprised they don't make that more clear.

I hope they get a app for Android phones soon.

Since these great news came, that the comics will be available the same day they come out in print, I'm much more excited about digital Buffy comics than before. Even though I do have to read them off my mom's iPad. I really wish I had the patience to wait for the tradepaperbacks, but I don't. So this way I save money on import fees and shipping. I do plan on buying the single issues one day as well, since I want to own a copy of every version of every comic(except every cover of every issue), but I could do that years from now, when they're sold cheap on ebay.

Buffy comics goes digital

[Since this post, I've tried using the app instead of the webbrowser, and that worked much better. Read it here after you've completed this post.]

Darkhorse has finally started to fill their digital store with more Buffy & Angel comics. Read the statement and release scheduele here.

But don't get too excited. I was lucky enough to get a code for the 8 page Spike comic, but was disapointed to find out that I had only two options of viewing it; full screen or zoom option. It doesn't sound bad, viewing the entire page on my screen means that the text is too small (might not be a issue with bigger screens, obviously) and when I use the zoom option, the entire panel isn't shown. I can't scroll up or down, which means the upper and lower part is cut out, which is really bothersome when text gets cut out. I end up having to view the entire page to get an idea of the page, then zoom, read the words in the speech bubble, then zoom out and view the entire page to figure out which words I missed out on. I tried to use the web browser to zoom in, but no luck, the comics stayed the same size.

I asked Darkhorse about this and got this answer:

Me:
I have a hard time reading the online comics. When I look at the entire page, the text is obviously to small to read, but when I use the zoom function, I only see part of the panel and can't scroll up or down to see the entire panel, which sometimes mean I can't read all the worlds. Am I missing a function and can in fact scroll?

Customer service:
Thanks for emailing us. Currently the only viewing options are full-screen and panel zoom. Full-screen can feel more like reading a print comic, but you are right that the text can sometimes be too small - especially depending on your screen size. Our development team is working on ways to improve this, on the website as well the DH app. I have forwarded your feedback to them, so they know the types of options our customers are looking for.

Thanks again, and if you have any other questions feel free to reply directly to this message. I'll be happy to further assist. :)

So, before you go ahead and buy the Buffy comics, register to darkhorse digital and read a couple of the free comics first, to see if it's the option for you. And if you could be so kind to e-mail Darkhorse about this, in case you're as bothered as me. I've waited for this for a long time, since I usually buy the comics from ebay.co.uk, which means that those sellers add some on the price (they usually cost from 1-4£), then there's the shipping costs. I was very disapointed when I first read the Spike comic(excited as well, since it was a great comic to read, even though I had problems with the format), and even though a big part of me wants to read the newest Buffy, Angel & Faith comics right now, I'd rather wait until I get the print versions in the mail, so I can read them without straining my eyes.

A must read.

I don't usually recommend fics, but I couldn't keep this brilliant piece to myself.

This novel sized fic is a non-romantic Willow&Angelus&Angel fic(some sexual tension though, but the focus isn't a romance, so any fans should be able to enjoy this story, as long as they find Willow, Angel and Angelus fascinating enough), beginning in season 2 of Buffy. Part one is called Porphyria's Lover, the second part is The Lost Mistress. There's a third part planned to be released this spring, but even though the second part ends in a cliffhanger(the first one could stand alone), I think you shouldn't wait to read it.

Here's the summary for Prophyria's Lover:

"Angelus kidnaps Willow and Sunnydale will never be the same as the Scooby Gang goes up against the new Order of Aurelius. WIP. Multiple pairings, explicit violence, sexual situations, original characters, and character death."

As I said, the main characters are Angel(us) & Willow, but Buffy and the others(among them Jenny who doesn't die in season 2) get a healthy piece of the story too. I especially like how Penn and Sam Lawson(vampires Angel(us) sired) is fleshed out in the stories and how the show's plot is intergrated in the story (for example how Willow uses magic, that the gang is mad at Jenny for being a gypsy, that Doyle is a seer sent to help Angel, etc etc).

Anyone need a kidney?

I know that I pretty much show of this guy's work once every month or so, but damn, willowswarlok keeps delivering.

Look at his latest premium format statues(he used the Buffy premium formats sideshow made and customized them). The one below is my favorite.

Why couldn't sideshow come up with this kind of stuff for Buffy & Willow in their new line? Episode specific statues or statues that are true to the characters?

My review of The Buffyverse Catalog

This is a review of the Buffyverse Catalog: A Complete Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel in Print, Film, Television, Comics, Games and Other Media, 1992-2010, by Don Macnaughtan. 326 pages.

Amazon description of the book:
“This bibliographic guide covers the "Buffyverse"--the fictional worlds of the acclaimed television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and its spinoff Angel (1999-2004), as well as the original Buffy feature film of 1992. It is the largest and most inclusive work of its kind. The author organizes and describes both the original texts of the Buffyverse (episodes, DVDs, novels, comic books, games, and more) and the secondary materials created about the shows, including books, essays, articles, documentaries, dissertations, fan production and websites. This vast and diverse collection of information about these two seminal shows and their feature-film forebear provides an accessible, authoritative and comprehensive survey of the subject."
I was excited as soon as I heard Don working on this and I’m very happy Don sent me this book to review (I mean who doesn’t love free stuff?). He also helped me by answering a few questions, since this is the first bibliographic catalog like this I’ve read.

Now, what this is, is a catalog (duh!) that in it’s first half aims to list everything officially licensed by FOX, such as episodes, comics, scripts etc etc, also including licensed print media such as posters, trading cards, etc etc. However, non-print collectibles, for example, action figures, plates, are not included(I’d love for there to be a complete catalog of those one day).

The second half of the book has unlicensed material listed, such a fan art, fanfiction, essays, articles, etc etc, but doesn’t aim to be complete.

For example, all Buffy & Angel episodes are listed, while the official trailers for these episodes are summarized (if that’s the appropriate word to use) where Macnaughtan speaks of the trailers that exist (that they can often be found online, that TV spots were “produced in 12, 22 and 32 seconds versions”(p.31) ).

As mentioned above, it’s divided in two parts, licensed and unlicensed. Have a look at the table of contents.
Page 1 http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i198/Skytteflickan88/toc1a.jpg
Page 2 http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i198/Skytteflickan88/toc2.jpg

Section 1-14, 17, 19, and 23 are complete, while section 15, 16, 18, 20-22 have selections and summarizations.

Now, I didn’t read all sections religiously, I skimmed through some and didn't double-check. For example, I didn’t check that he had all the names of the writers and directors right in the episode section. However, I did go through section 2c, 2d, 7b-d, 11b, 21, 22 more thoroughly.

I did see some errors, or things I personally would have written differently (re-named some titles to clarify which lists were meant to be complete and which just showed selections of materials). But what troubles me more is that he didn’t write that there was a difference between trade paperbacks and hardcovers in the comics section (he just wrote trade paperbacks) since some arc/mini-series/series, for example Angel after the fall vol. 1-4, were released in both trade paperbacks and hardcovers editions. He also admits he slipped up with the main Angel IDW series of 44 issues, since he didn’t write down the individual names, he just wrote that issue 18-44 were named Aftermath. I’d like to point out that otherwise the IDW sub-sections seems complete, (unless the IDW artist Elena Casagrande's sketch book came out before 2011 and should be in there with the other sketch books as well) and those were the biggest errors I found in the book.

To sum up, this is a book that lists the official materials and summarizes the unofficial ones, from 1992-2010(some comics released in 2011 were also mentioned). You might need to take out a pen and doodle in the side margin on some pages, but mostly, you’ll be like me, itching to take out your wallet and spend it on magazines, fanzines, board games and books you didn’t know existed.

Angel is coming to get you!

The Sideshow Angel statue is up for pre-order.

Regular and exclusive(with a exchangable vampire head).

Sideshow also makes fun of Angel in this Morth the Dead comic(click on nr 4).

He can be pretty full of himself, can't he?

Angel meeting Buffybot

A thread over at Buffy-boards-com asked the question: What if Angel meet Buffybot? Sounds hilarious, and as a member pointed out, Spike's programmed Buffybot to hate Angel. So i came up with this scenario that I think would happen if Angel was, let's say, in Sunnydale to get a talisman for a Angel Investigation case.


[Angel literally bumping into Buffybot while looking for a talisman in Sunnydale]

ANGEL: B-Buffy. I... I'm sorry. I mean, hi, how you've been? I'm sorry for not telling you I'm in town, there's kind of this case, I, I have to look for this thing, this talisman, to save some people. I... How've you been?

BUFFYBOT: I'm Buffy. You're Angel. I don't like you, my love for you was false, you ninny.

ANGEL: Buffy!? Buffy I know we argued last time we talked but this is-

BUFFYBOT: I'm sorry Mr. Redemption-Complex, but I have to go and have lots of sex with Spike. Stay away from me and my family, or you will meet my stake. Bye bye!

[Buffybot strolls of leaving a hurt and confused Angel]

Cookie-Dough Buffy

I keep being amazed at what willowswarlok can do in such a small scale.

Here is another one of his amazing Buffy 6" custom figures, Cookie-Dough Buffy.

Slay-o-lantern

One of my favorite holidays are almost here. Time to start posting some fun halloween stuff.

Slay-o-lantern. LINK

Help Spike!

I just had to show this Spike puppet that's trying to escape his box (ebay auction).

Won't somebody help him? LOL.

Cosplay

There's this awesome cosplay contest on facebook. One of the entries is this fantastic Illyria costume.

Vote(like) for her or other's here.

Buffy Fashion Roulette

A very funny blog, that sometimes bitches about the fashion on Buffy, in a very funny way.

CLICK

From the Something Blue post;

"Meanwhile, here comes forlorn ol’ Willow with one flower on each boobie. It kind of makes her shirt look like a sadface. Maybe it’s appropriate?"

Me and Tonya's entry...

... in the Darkhorse/Buffyfest contest.



I hope we win, because I really want those prices.

More to wear.

When making the Halloween post I didn't think about checking amazon. Check out this awesome vampire appliance.

Angel is coming.

Not a big fan of the character, but this new sideshow coming up looks pretty good.

This is a teaser pic, but we'll see more in a few days.

The pose could be more exciting, but it's still nice. I guess seeing more photos could help. Lots better than any other Angel figures.

What to wear, what to wear...

Halloween coming up, and some might wonder what to wear. I want to wear something Buffyesque, but will probably go for a cheap "Hello My Name is GOD" name tag like Oz had in Fear Itself (season 4).

But, for those that are less of a cheapskate, here are some cool Buffy stuff for Halloween. Maybe use a stake, home made or bought one and become a slayer. Maybe buy from this ebay shop that has replicas of screen used Buffy props.

Maybe find a cool vampire mask, like this The Master one.

Take a stroll through ebay and see what you find, or etsy.com, that has two wooden hair sticks, kind of like the ones Buffy has in Go Fish, when facing Angelus in season 2.

Lie to me?

Love fun fake facts?

Go to this tumblr to read some. Don't miss the manip up to the left.

Reasons to love Buffy

There are many reasons I and others love Buffy. One of mine is that it made me stronger while growing up. So I figured I should say a few lines about that.

I usually say that I grew up with the characters on Buffy. I started watching season 1 when I was ten-ish, but was always a bit behind on my watching, since I had to watch Buffy on Swedish TV that didn't really prioritize the show and showed re-runs instead of new seasons. Thus I had to wait to get the DVDs on my birthdays and on Christmas. But in many ways, as I grew more confident, discovered that I had skills and could use them, I saw the same happen to the characters. Or vice versa, I saw it happen to the characters, then me. I saw them become more and so did I. Or they simply saw the potential in themselves and so did I. I grew with them, and sometimes because of them. I saw shy Willow get out of her shell, Buffy struggle with her studies and career, Buffy & Giles getting away from the council and thinking on their own, etc etc, and I learned from that. Or I simply nodded and thought "That's right."

Also, you know when you read a really good book, and you escape to another world, away from your problems? Some people say that it can't be the same way with TV shows, but I disagree. Buffy was my escape from bullies and grown ups that either didn't care about my well being enough or simply had forgotten how powerless and aweful children can feel. So I watched Buffy and entered a world where unlikely heroes saved the world, their friends and themselves.

Saying that Buffy saved my childhood might be a bit extreme. But the show definitly made it easier to get out of bed in the morning.

The Buffyverse Catalog: A complete Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel...

...in Print, Film, Television, Comics, Games and Other Media 1992-2010.

Here it is on amazon.



Both new and used ones over at amazon. Can't wait until I get my hands on one.

The collector in me needs this badly. Both because it's a collectible in itself and it lists stuff I collect, lol.

Team Angel prints

Nick Runge is selling prints of his Team Angel 100 page spectacular cover. Check out his blog. He told me they cost 10USD and another 10USD for international shipping.

I have no idea how many he has left.

Review of Angel:Yearbook (spoilers)

I'm a bit late to the game, but here is a review of the one-shot comic Angel: Yearbook, the last Angel comic IDW will publish (not counting re-prints of already published comics). I have to say, this is a great way to for IDW to finish. I won't give away much about the stories, except for two. So this spoiler-ish.

It's not a grande finale; no bang, no boom, no epic story. Just 6 very different short pieces of talented writers about our beloved Angel characters, plus a nice good bye letter from the editor Mariah Huehner and another good bye from editor Chris Ryall(in comic form!).

Considering that I've been indifferent to several IDW Angel stories of late, it's very nice that the last comic is so good.

First, a review of the overall format and then more in depth about the individual stories.

The layout of the book is pleasing, simple and classic. It's white text, borders and design on black. No extra flashy colors(ecept in the stories themselves).

The book has three covers to choose from;
-Cover A by David Messina, colors by ScarletGothica.
-Cover B by Jenny Frison.
-Cover R1 by Nick Runge.

All of the artist above are familiar to Angel readers, as they all have done covers for the Angel books in the past. Nick Runge and David Messina have also done a lot of interiors. I like the choices of characters and ideas for the covers. One way or another, they reflect the stories inside, both the characters in focus and the mood. It's too bad the Messina cover show characters that's not in the book, since it made me expect to see them in stories, but oh well.

I think I would have liked the text "yearbook" on cover B, to have had a different color, better matching the color of the rest of the cover. However, the rest of the covers have the same yellow both for "Angel" and "yearbook" and it works for them, so it might have been a shame to break up the unity.

Now to the content. I've chosen to just review in depth two of the stories(OMG Unicorns! and My Only Friend). But here's a short presentation of each and every story(there's also a heartfelt introduction by Mariah Huehner).

...Dust to dust.
Written by Jeff Mariotte. Drawn by David Messina. Inks by David Messina & Gaetano Carlucci. Colors by ScarletGothica.

A story focusing on Gunn and his sister Alonnas time before they met Angel. We're shown how Gunn is forced to kill someone he likes, because they have turned into a vampire. This story is a clear foreshadowing of what Gunn will be forced to do in the future and we're shown that he realizes that he needs friends to help fight evil.


All the Time In the World.
Story by Scott Tipton & Elena Casagrande. Script by Scott Tipton. Drawn by Elena Casagrande. Colors by Illaria Travesi.
A sweet Wesley & Fred story, set in season 5. The two love birds are trying to get a first date, but demons keeps showing up, ruining the mood. Both fun and tragic, considering the last time they tried was before the first scene of the episode A Hole in the World. They never had a chance.


Fight For the Remote!
Written by Daniel Roth. Art by Stephen Mooney. Colors by Jordie Bellaire.
Spike & Angel both wants the remote. A very light and fun story.


This One Time.
Written by Brian Lynch. Art by Franco Urru. Colors by Andrea Priorini.
Angel, Spike, Illyria, Gunn, Betta George and Connor saving the world. Kinda. Reality keeps changing, making our heroes into puppets, children, Gunn turns into Illyria, etc etc. It's a wacky story, showing what could have happened, if things were different.


A Blessing and "The Curse".
Written by Chris Ryall. Art by David Messina & Francu Urru. Colors by David Messina & Fabio Mantovani.
A good bye letter from the main editor Chris Ryall, in comic form. He takes us back to the early comics, reminds us of past stories and artists, shows us Angel's time at IDW and finsishes with riding away on Cordelia the dragon saying "Where to? I say we head north, becasue personally, I kinda want to slay the dark hoooooorse", refering to the last line of the tv show, when Angel says he wants to slay the dragon, and to the takeover by Dark Horse of course.

Now to the more in dept reviews.

OMG Unicorns!
Written by Peter David. Drawn by Stephen Mooney. Colors by Jordie Bellaire.
This is the one that stands out. For one, it's in the shape of a blog. And has a white and pink layour, clearly breaking with the somber and murky colors of the rest of the book. But it's written from Harmony's perspective and is full of sillyness, so that is quite alright.

This is the kind of story, that at first makes you think to yourself "I could have written that. A teen year old could have written that" but then you get to the end and you think "Huh, this was actually... quite something." Needless to say, it's has a clever ending and a good build up, showing a good understanding of the character. It was very Harmony.

This could be taken the wrong way, but it reminds me of fanfics where the writer ssets out to give the character a happy ending and makes the other character help that character achieve their goal, even though it can seem a bit Mary Sue-ish. But its' deeper than that. The writer Peter David adapts to the way many people writes blogs. Or atleast, the sterotype of how dumb blondes write blogs. Then the story procceds and we get to see Harmony's darkness. Not just that she's evil, but that she actually has her own demons to fight. The story then ends with her recieving help, hope actually, and ability to live her life a bit easier. It's Angel that delivers that hope, in quite a suprising way, which is why I mentioned the fic thing. But after a moment's thought, I actually changed my mind; maybe Angel would actually have done that for Harmony. He has after all a thing for helping "bad girls".

Artwise, there's not much to say. It's simple but it works. There's technically just three images, in Mooney usual great style, reflecting the blogposts. However, they don't look like picture Harmony took and uploaded herself, which would be typical for a blog. They're usual comic book art reflecting the story. Mooney also made adorable unicorn emoticons.

My Only Friend.
Written by Patrick Shand. Drawn by Stephen Mooney. Colors by Jordie Bellaire.

This was my favorite story. It could be because I hang out at the same Buffy forum (slayalive.com) as the writer does. He and Daniel Roth(author of Fight for the remote!) are the two newbies to the Angelverse, two active people from Buffy/Angel fandom who mamaged to get their stories published in this yearbook. I believe it's their first work in the comic industry, which doesn't show, since they succeded so well in writing for the characters.

Back to the story. Not to give too much away, it's just two pages after all, but it's about Angel reflecting on where he belongs. On where his home is. It's quite beautiful. I don't like Angel as a character, so that I can completely overlook that dislike when reading this show how well written it is. The art by Mooney is great as well, fits the mood. Angel is pensive, a bit broody (I mean, we're talking about Angel), walking around town, making his broody face. The story focuses on Angel's inne monolouge, with just a few lines spoken out loud. Usually, I get tired of Angel's monolouge. He sounds pretentious and the writers tries to fit too much information into the story. Both on the show(there were at least two episodes with Angel(us) doing inner monlouge) and in the comics. But this is not like that. This is a short precise story, saying what's needed and nothing more. That Angel is home. He found his home in the first season of Angel, lost and regained his home and friends and family over and over again, but now we're shown he still knows he has a home.

* * * *


So, all in all, a pretty good comic book. Some stories did have a message they were clearly trying to push, with the characters expressing what they had learned by the end of it, kind of like in a South Park episode, but it was still good.

Contests.

Buffyfest & Darkhorse has a video making contest for North Americans. Click here to read more.

And while you're at it, please "like" this facebook picture so I can have a chance at winning a photo editing programme. I want it to make fanart in, for example new layouts for this blog.

Angel has a leprechaun on his back.

I love finding rare items and I wonder if this Angel Gryphon temp tattoo isn't a unofficial replica.

I've only seen being sold on ebay. Anyhow, I didn't want to just share it because it's a cool temporary tattoo. but because the dessription caught my eye. Particulary this part;

"A Gryphon stands for wisdom and strength and the union of both. Gryphons are a symbol against greed, as they commonly protect gold or other treasures from greedy humans. Gryphons also represent the wealth of the sun -- the light that turns the east into gold at sunrise."

Am I a complete geek or didn't that make you think about leprechauns? Specially since Angel is Irish? No? Just me? It's still making me smile.

-EDIT
Reply to the comment:
Really? Well, I guess the tattoo is still funny, since it's twilight-related. Not haha-leprechaun-funny, but funny.

And if you do make that infographic consider trying to publish it.

/Skytteflickan88(The Buffyverse Addict)

I zan haz zomiz, o'll I'll lil U.

This is such a cute picture.

Meow.

Can you guys come up with a caption for this funny cat picture?

Silly me!

I forgot the link for Spike in this post.

Isn't he cute?

I'm in Freefall!!!

I heard (I don't have the comic yet) that my letter got published in the first issue of season 9's arc Freefall. I'm Skytteflickan88. Whooot!

Also, check out this awesome custom by iamamiwhoami (say that five times fast), Buffy from the Jo Chen cover.

Etsy is awesome.

Such cool Buffy stuff on etsy.co.uk and etsy.com

Like these Buffy necklaces by starbrightsilver.

Faith's knife
The hunga munga

I saw a schyte up in the same shop before, but I don't see it anymore. I guess someone bought it. I don't know if the seller just makes one of each or more.

Doll-time again.

Not the kind of dolls I prefer, but I can't deny they're cute.

Willow
Spike OMWF (this seems wrong, lol. A doll with alcohol)
Spike Chosen
Angel
Spike & Buffy
That damn cheerleader again

No clue what amigurumi means, it took me forever to spell it right, but I found two cute amigurumi dolls on deviantart.

Spike
Angel

Darla litho that takes my breath away.

Photo from brokenfrontier.com

I love strolling ebay and finding new collectibles.

This is a litho I have never seen before, of Darla, by Minck Oosterveer Marks.

I don't like the character or art enough to spend 100 dollars on it (shipping would be 47.50USD to me as well) but I really wish I could have bought it for 20USD, which it originally sold for. Check here for more info.

Sideshow dolls

Spike & Angel (sideshow dolls) getting dressed up.

Angel

Spike

Let them tell a story.

I love posing my Buffy/Angel action figures. I don't own as many Buffy & Angel ones as I want, but I love playing with them, and posing them so they tell a story.

But I clearly have a lot to learn from this Buffy fan.

Spike statue

Sideshow has had their new Spike statue up for pre-order for a while.

Regular and exclusive.

I also wanted to share a couple of links. Video preview and unpainted head sculpts. In the same gallery you can also find unpainted sculpts for Faith & Willow, done by the same artist. Word is the coming Angel statue's head sculpt will be done by the same artist (no more news on Angel, other that he is going to be made).

Comic con goodies!

I have to go to comic con one day. Finding cool promo items on ebay reminds me why that visit is on my bucket list.

This is what I've found to be specific for this year's comic con.

A Buffy button of this Jo Chen Season 9 comic cover(shown in this post). Not a must-buy since those buttons aren't hard or expensive to make on your own if you find the right site. Another button of a Faith & Angel cover can be seen in the link below,

Some sort of promo for the Angel & Faith comic out soon. It has a paper doll, preview of the comic and some info. Not sure if I want to buy it, since I'm pretty sure that preview has already been posted online. Some sketches look familiar as well. I wonder if the text posted can be found online as well.

And something I will definitly not buy (which isn't a promo per see):
comic signed by Joss Whedon for 150USD!!!! Even if this had a certificate, I would enver pay anything close to that sum. If it was graded, I would be tempted but without a certificate from a company or professionally graded by CGC, no way.

I'm also very uncertain about these lollipops. I think I recognize them, and they might be very old items that the seller wants to unload through writing it's from this year's comic con. I will investigate.

Might have missed your e-mails.

I usually delete any e-mail I don't recognize, because they're often spam. This means that I might have deleted anything you guys might have sent. So if I didn't answer, it's not because I'm super busy or a bitch. Now I added a small detail to the right, which is that you have to add The Buffyverse Addict to the subject line when e-mailing me.

Free Spike comic

Anyone not having gotten a code to the Spike comic Magical Mystical Tour With the Beetles yet?

I just got this message:

"Hello,

Sorry for the intrusion in your inbox but I'm not a member at Whedonesque and can't post. I ran across a thread there about the possible difficulty in your obtaining the download code for the Buffy/Spike comic. I'm one of the comic retailers that signed up to get the codes so if you still need one, I'm happy to e-mail it.

If you want to let anyone else in that thread know, I posted a note on my store website for anyone else interested. No strings attached (except an e-mail to send it to which will not be added to our newsletter list unless requested).

Here's a direct link to the post if you want to share it.

http://www.phantom-attic.com/buffyspike-exclusive-digital-download-free"

More info on the digital retailers exclusive here and here

Spike crypt playset

Me want! Looks like a lovely place for action figures.

Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Pic 4

Some random physical art again.

Melaka doll
Spike cubee
Buffy statue reminds me a bit of the Buffy tikis.
Willow doll

Faith is on her way.

Sideshow is releasing another statue in their new Buffy line: Faith.

Buffy and Willow (both with a regular and exclusive version) have already been released (Buffy has shipped, not sure if Willow has yet, but will probably happen soon) and now Faith is available for pre-order.

CLICKY The exclusive has already been sold out but if you get on the wait-list, you might still get her.





Angel is confirmed to be on his way, but there's still no pictures or word of when he'll be released. Considering how sluttified the girls have been (I can only call Faith "in character", the others look "sexy" in a different way than they did on the show) I'm hoping for a Angel with his shirt unbuttoned wearing a Angelus-leer.

A girl can dream can't she?

Corrupt

I might or might not have shown you this before.

Corrupt.

It was meant to be the second episode in the Angel series, but was replaced by "Lonely hearts", because it was too dark.

Intrigued yet?

Script can be found here. (Not sure if it's the real deal)

My little...

Some pony customs. I own the first Spike one(images not mine) and found the rest on deviantart.

Spike 1
Spike 2
Spike 3
Spike 4
Spike 5

Buffy 1
Buffy 2
Illyria

It's... a vampire duck?

Sometimes you see something... weird. Don't get me wrong, this Spike figure is something else, looks well made, but I've never seen anything like it.

Willam the Bloody Poet

"Everyone calls me 'ma'am' these days."

A My Little Pony Buffy (made by me).

Pics and info here.

Beneath is a pic of Willowswarlok's Spike+Angel custom I showed in a earlier post and my custom. Just some goofyness.

Thing of beauty.

These two awesome unique playsets and a action figure custom is being auctioned off.

DoubleMeat Palace Buffy

Man, if I had money...

You gotta know what's important.

A Edward(Twilight) and Spike drawing I found on deviantart.

CLICK

Last weekly feature.

I'm kind of getting bored or doing these, which is why I missed the last two weeks excerpts. And since almost all come from The Casefiles vol 1-2 and The Watcher's Guides vol 1-3(look for links down to the right on the page) it might be pointless, since I so many people already own them. Or they should anyway. They're filled with great fun info.

Anyway, here are two more from Angel.

From Reprise. Angel tries to get to the senior partners, but get a meeting with Holland and some angry sex instead(with Darla that is). And Cordy goes to the Sharps to get their money.

The description of the first trip to the Sharp's was cut...

"Um, will you give me the adress again? The British guy drove last time and there was a lot of 'Right side! Right side!' going on, so I don't..." -Cordelia

Great line.

From Epiphany, when Angel gets his groove back (yes, I had to write that. I'm funny damn you).

Much of Angel and Wesley's extended dicussion of the name of the agency was cut due to length.

ANGEL: "You kept the name. 'Angel Investigations.'"

WESLEY: "We're going to change it it. But if you must know, we felt we had as much right to it as you."

ANGEL: Oh. I mean, 'Investigations', okay. But come on -"
(points to himself)
"Angel."

WESLEY:"Yes. But whatever good reputation that corporate name enjoys, is due to all of us. Not just -"
(mimics cadence)
"Angel".

Source: casefiles vol 1

Stake this out.

Check out buffyprops.com's stake prop replicas currectly for sale on ebay.

He got Buffy's stake from Propechy(season 1), Xander's from Anne and Dead Man's Party(season 3) and Anya's from Sleeper(season 7).

I will buy, or make, a stake or two myself one day, so I can make a vampire slayer kit, like the ones often sold on ebay. Like this one.

And here's a "erotic" vampire slayer kit for role play.

What, you're Buffy or whoever and your honey plays a vampire that seduces you, so you can't stake them?

...Actually, that sounds like a great idea.

Cake me.

Habba habba habba, *drool*.

Found a Buffy cake I don't think I've ever seen before. LOOK

Some other posts about droolworthy stuff.

Buffy themed jummyness
The forgotten cake...

DRAWBRIDGE

A few awesome drawings over at DRAWBRIDGE

Art makes me happy

Art. Willow & Tara Buffy and all her friends Meme I'm only 16 Faith Willow Bookmark Playing with reality

When the sun goes down

Beautiful Buffy & Faith art. CLICK Actually, one of my poems start with the line "When the sun goes down" but I will spare you the pain. Or? Nah.

Weekly feature: Excerpt from original script

From The Thin Dead Line, when the characters fight police zombies.

Source: The Casefiles vol 1. Buffyverse Dialouge Base.

"Angel originally took longer to discover the power source.

'How are you controlling them? Is it the entrails? I don't think so. Could you be controlling them with a sacred Manari candle? Nah. Red herring. I know, maybe it's the idol of Granath, the zombie God? -Angel"

Aired version.

Play me

Look at these. The things you can do with clay. LINK

What to buy: Spike art

Scotty's done it again. Another great Buffy art piece, this time of Spike (with a side of Spuffy).

Lookie. [scroll down to see the finished piece]

Prints available.

Spangel, spangel oooooh spangel!

I can die happy now. Willowswarlock just finished my Spangel custom. So worth the 250£! (yes, I'm one of those people that when bragging needs to mention the price).



Now I just need to wait until it arrives in the mail.

Photos and info here.

Fancomics

I found a fancomic and some fanart on deviantart. Anything to avoid doing my home work.

Comic

Art

Weekly feature: Excerpt from original script

From Happy Anniversary, when some loser want to freeze time because his girlfriend dumps him.

Source: The Casefiles vol 1, Buffyverse Dialouge base

From this scene, when Angel & Lorne talk to Gene. A.K.A. Mr loser.

The aired line was:
ANGEL: It burns you ... alive. (Gene frowns at him) Down to the bone. And then it turns the bone to ash and --

But in the original version it went on a bit longer.

ANGEL: It burns you ... alive. (Gene frowns at him) Down to the bone. And then it turns the bone to ash and the cold wind just-

Puuurty customs

Picture by smiler

People keep making these great customs over at btvsfigsforum. These stood out to me lately:

Fear the Cross

End of Days

But there are many more. Some selling on ebay right now (some of the auctions just ended, several with no bids, so they might be up again soon)and some on btvsfigsforum.

Weekly feature: Excerpt from original script

This weeks episode is Reunion, when Darla rises and she and Drusilla has fun in the wine cellar.

"When Angel speaks to Lindsey's former landlord, she offers this assessment of her tenant, which was cut before airing:

'A lovely man. Always on time with rent. Quiet and clean. Pity about the hand.'"

Art-time again

The coolest things can be found on deviantart. Buffy season 8 Buffy Sketch Card 4 Spike Not Safe For Work Buffy Buffy Buffy Summers of Earth

Weekly feature: Excerpt from original script

Source: The Casefiles, vol 1.

From The Trial (when Angel fights for Darla's life, and in the end of the episode Drusilla turns her).

"In the original script, the episode ends when Darla announces that she's ready to die, and Angel promises to stay with her until she does. The startling appearance of Lindsey and Drusilla was added later. The Host apparently finds Darla just as attractive as Angel and Lindsey do, as evidenced by this line cut from the episode:

'Have her bathed and taken to my chambers... rrrrrrr.'"

I suppose that last line was from the scene where she sings.

Who are you?

Buffy painting that's freakishly real. Who are you?

Wee little puppet man

Cute Angel clay figure

Buffy and Edward, sitting in a tree...

Click to laugh. CLICK

Troublesome fantastic art

VampTramp(buffy-boards.com) and me are trying to make this piece she made into the blog's background. So if the blog looks weird, it's because we're playing around, trying to make the image fit without being in the way of the text.

Heart/Stake necklace.

If I had a boyfriend, I'd make him wear this. And if he was actually willing to, I'd marry him. BFF necklaces

Hellmouth... fragrance?

I... want it? It seems like it would smell good, but... CLICK

OMG CUUUUTE!!!

Cute plushies Buffy Spike Angel 1 Angel 2

Weekly feature: Excerpt from original script

From Older and far away (Buffy season 6).

The ending of this scene with Willow, Xander and Anya were altered from the shooting script to the aired version. CLICK to see what made it onscreen.


This is the original ending:

"XANDER
It's just, Buffy really wants her
there, seems important to her, and I
told her I would ask you.

WILLOW
(overeager)
Oh, yeah, of course, she should
totally be there, it'll be great!

XANDER
You'll be okay with it?

WILLOW
What, me? Of course, why wouldn't I
be? It'll be fun, I'll be fine.

Xander and Anya exchange a glance, a little dubious.


ANYA
This isn't some weird definition of
"fine" that means hiding in your room
and crying?
WILLOW
No.

ANYA
Because we're tired of the crying.

WILLOW
Guys, Tara's Buffy's friend, too,
she should be there. I want her there,
it'll be good to see her.

Dawn walks in.


WILLOW (cont'd)
Besides, I think we can handle a
couple of hours in the same house."

Then Dawn comes in.

Source: buffyworld.com

Adooooorable!

girl0in0question has some adorable art and vampy cat(season 8 monsters) customs over at deviantart.

Season 5 cast of Buffy. So cute! And more here.

Weekly feature: Excerpt from original script

From Older and far away (Buffy season 6).

In the scene were we first see Sophie some lines didn't make it, and some were moved.

From the shooting script:

SOPHIE
(not used to groups)
Hey, um, my mom told me to say thank
you right away for inviting me,
'cause otherwise I usually forget, so
thank you, and also that I can't have
any chocolate or peanuts or egg yolks
or sometimes dairy. [MOVED]

Beat.


BUFFY
No problem.
ANYA
(sotto to Buffy)
That's your friend from work?

BUFFY
Well... yeah.
(beat)
All the good ones got picked off by
that lady with the wig, lay off.

ANYA
Humm. Our friend is better.

From the aired episode:

SOPHIE: Hey. Uh, my mom told me to say thank you right away, 'cause, otherwise I usually forget. So, thank you. And, also, um, I can't have any, any chocolate, or, or peanuts or egg yolks.

ANYA: (whispers to Buffy) Is this the friend you brought from work?

BUFFY: Yes.

SOPHIE: A-and sometimes dairy.

BUFFY: No problem.

ANYA: (whispers to Buffy) Our friend is better.


Source: shooting script buffyworld.com and transcript from Buffyverse Dialouge Database screencap from screencap paradise

Color the worlds in pretty colors.

Ryan has colored another comic page, this time for issue 5 of the ongoing Spike series. Here's the un-colored version, and here's Ryan's colored version. I've yet to buy the real thing, so I liked seeing this fan-coloring.

Book out today

New Buffy book out today.

Whedonistas: A Celebration of the Worlds of Joss Whedon by the Women Who Love Them.

Spike art

What I suspect is a never before seen sketch (unless it appears in issue 6 of the ongoing Spike series) by Stephen Mooney.

CLICK

HA!

Catch 22

Weekly feature: Excerpt from original script

From First date (Buffy season 7).

Not all the lines from the scene where Wood tells Buffy about how his mom died made it into the script(and a few lines are re-phrased).

The parts in bold were cut completey. Too bad; they were funny.

"BUFFY
Something got her? A demon or a...

WOOD
A vampire. I went through this whole
avenging son phase in my twenties,
but I never found who did it. So now
I just dust as many of 'em as I can
find. Figure eventually I'll get
him. That's probably why we got
jumped. I'm not very popular with
the bumpy forehead crowd. Bet you
aren't either.

BUFFY
Not most of 'em, no. Are you... do
you have Slayer powers? I mean, I
just... I'm floored by this... I
don't even know what to ask.

WOOD
I don't have powers. No super-
strength or mythic responsibilities.
Just a guy with a few skills because
her Watcher took me in and raised me.

BUFFY
In Beverly Hills.

WOOD
See now, that detail takes the edge
off my Little Orphan Robin story, but
yeah, that was true.

BUFFY
So you decided to tell me."

Source: shooting script from buffyworld.com transcript from Buffyverse Dialouge Database.

Angel raped and no on cares; A act of sexism?

Anyone notice any unfair treatment of raped men in movies and on TV shows? Hell, in society at large?

We see Darla sensually sliding down sleeping Angel's supposedly half-naked body in early season 2 of Angel. In First Impressions I think. Much like Willow did on top of Tara in OMWF. Angel had dreams where they kiss and do more, which are also "implying" that Darla has sex with him in his sleep. Not sure how she covered that up, the smell and stickyness, but I assume it was that dream-spell that was used.

In the episode Darla, we have this exchange, "acknowledging" the rape.

http://vrya.net/bdb/clip.php?clip=3754

I really do want to pretend that Cordelia didn't actually say that in such a light tone, but she did, and it's pretty hard to pretend that she thought Darla was just "sitting" there. I think she knew there was sex things going on, and I think the writers intended us to think that. So it happened. It's canon.

So Angel got raped. Repeatedly. And no one seems to give much thought to it. It's not a "hush hush, it's too horrible to mention, let's move on from it" thing, it's a "It's so silly Angel didn't realize it was happening" thing. Wesley and Cordelia didn't care. Angel didn't seem to care. Which I guess isn't that weird; the guy is used to torture and humiliation, and probably thinks he had it coming. Bur Wesley and Cordelia not making a big deal about it? The writers not making a big deal about it? WTF?

Now, it's very wrong in itself, a character getting raped and no fuss being made, but I want to add another level of wrongness; sexism.

If this had happened to a woman, people would notice, and the writers would have made a big deal about it. Maybe I'm just paranoid, maybe they would have used it was a plot device whatever in that case as well, but seriously, don't we live in a society where it's much easier for us to see and accept female victims? And to ignore, even belittle, male victims?

If a girl gets her a** smacked at work, it's a BIG deal. A guy gets his a** tapped and complains, people tell him to be a man about it.

I saw 40 days and 40 nights expecting a light comedy, but what happens? The main guy gets raped by a his ex, because she want to win a bet. Do people seem outraged at this? The main character in schock, feeling filthy, the audience angry that this happens in a comedy? Nope. Not saying that all guys would take it that hard, being raped, but come on; someone had sex with him in his sleep. It's a big damn deal. But I rarely see that in RL of in pop culture; people caring about men being violated.

We think about how hard it must be for girls to come forward, but we don't think about the boys; the ones who aren't allowed to feel like victims. No, we're always aware that some men can turn violent. But we're not really prepared to deal with them being victims, are we?

Something else worth thinking about is girl on girl violence, and man on man. Now, if a girl raped a girl, how would people react? I think some who normally care about rape would shrug; "There's no *real* penetration, what the big deal? And it's not like girl's could actually have any evil intentions. Girls are harmless." Others might *overreact*; "OMG a girl did what? But girls are suppose to be nice. She's a abdomination!"

In Sweden, we had this guy, who he his junk got grabbed by a gay man in a bathroom and he hits that sexual harrassing jerk. Yay for him, I think, but people called him a homophob. WTF? The other way around is bad as well, when people act like a man hitting on another man, sexual harrassment or not, is outrageous, filthy, wrong, more so than "straight" harrassment.

So, what do you guys think? About the Angel incident or sexist rape in general? Do we need to stop teaching our fathers, brothers and sons that they're not just suppose to be nice to others, but demand that others are nice to them as well?

The true meaning of equality starts with that; equality.

Talk.

-EDIT

Turns out she wasn't sliding down his body, when I re-watched the scene. Did not make me have less icky feelings though. Pretty clear she was about to rape him. Here's a transcript from the scene. LINK

Big Sister

Screw Big Brother(mind out of the gutter), go for Big Sister.

CLICK

The Buffy fun is in the last few secs of the vid, but watch the whole thing.

Weekly feature: Excerpt from original script

Forgot to do this last week, so this is a double.

First up, Eternity (Angel season 1).

"Cordelia and Wesley deconstructed Cordelia destruction of the part of Nora, in this exchange cut due to length:

WESLEY: I've always regarded Nora ass one of the seminal characters or late-nine-teenth, early-twentieth-century literature.
CORDELIA: Yeah, but I thought I managed to breath a little life into her, anyway - (drinks) - you have to train for a tour de force like this, lots of water, lots of power walking.
WESLEY: Yes, I, uh, don't recall seeing Ibsen's Nora portrayed as a power-walker before.
CORDELIA: I brought that to the part, the director was, like, clueless."

And second, Sanctuary.

"KENDRICK: Come on, Kate. Everyone knows you've gone all Scully. Anytime one of these weird cases crosses anyone's desk, you're always there. We used to be friends - what's going on with you?
KATE: Scully's the skeptic.
KENDRICK: Hunh?
KATE: Mulder's the believer. Scully's the skeptic.
Down at the precinct, Kate gets hassled by fellow officer, but she corrects his X-Files reference."


Source: The Casefiles (more info to the menu at the right).

How to sell Buffy

How would you sell Buffy to people who haven't seen the show? Who might even fins it silly, from hearing that a cheerleader slays vampires in it.

I've never meet any "You watch Buffy? Really?" people, but this is probably how I would sell the show:

"OMG, it's so awesome, you have to watch it! WATCH IT!"

Hopefully I would then go on to say that it's a show with horror, drama, romance, comedy and action, that can make me laugh at the jokes, cry at the painful deaths of beloved characters and applaud the action scenes. That it's a show that doesn't take itself seriously and can be really silly, yet has serious poignant moments that glues me to the screen and make me reflect on the world and the people in it. I really don't know how to sum up the whole thing, since it seems unique. I guess it depends on who I'm trying to sell it too.

A ten year old boy might like to hear it has monsters in it, a teen might like to hear that it uses monsters of the week as metaphors for teen troubles, a horny lonely 22 year old (me *cough*) might like to know it has hot characters in it, female and male, and a feminist on the prowl for a good tv show might like that a woman is the main kick a** character on the show, yet that it's realistic and doesn't paint men as the bad guys.

Trying to say what Buffy is seems hard. Easier to say what it isn't. It's not a show about that vampires are hot. It's not a show about the everyday drama of a a group of friends. It's not a show with a feministic message that has to slam the viewers with morals every episode. It's not a show that depends on good looking actors. But at the same time, it has hot vampires, a group of friends dealing with everyday problems and a feministic message. It's a bit of everything really. Hard and pointless to label.

I got the idea to this blog post from this buffy-boards thread with the same theme.

Spike & Dawn; Could it happen?

What if you favorite non-canon shipping happened? How would that work out?

Not talking about what kind of fanfics you like to read, but how would that have been played out on TV/in the comics, written by professional writers who aren't out to fullfile fan needs, but write a believeable great story.

My thoughts on Spawn:
I can't decide which ship is my favorite, but I pick Spawn(Spike+Dawn) and how it could be played out in the comics (on the show it would have been a bit icky, since she's too young, nevermind that Bangel happened when Buffy was Dawn's age).

I pick that ship since it's not as "unbelieveble" as some of my other favorite ships (one of them Xander+Angelus+Spike). I've never seen them have any chemistry on the show, just some potential friendship going on, but I just like the idea of them together.

I think there would be a huge issue with the attempted rape on Buffy, and also that Spike used to date Buffy. I can also see Xander trying to stake Spike (out of jelaousy or overprotectiveness, in case they feel out of love before Spawn happened).

I think it could be interesting, and pretty good drama. Sure, we've already have a lot of triangle dramas on the shows (Angel/Buffy/Spike, Angelus/Drusilla/Spike, Gunn/Wesley/Fred, Angel/possessed-Cordelia/Connor, Lilah/Fred/Wesley and probably more I've forgotten) but I would like to see this play out. It's kind of a foursome drama actually, in case Xander would still be in the picture.

Here's an idea:
Spike is hanging after Buffy as usually, in season 9. He and Dawn has a talk about the attempted rape thing, and Dawn tries to forgive him. Xander hates that they're talking to each other. Maybe he unconsciously feels that there's something there. Then Spike & Buffy start to date. Angel is in London, being depressed, out of the picture. Buffy still loves him, but can't stand being in the same country as him and doesn't see that changing.

Spike & Buffy stats to date. Spike starts noticing Dawn. And Dawn sees him too (I can see a funny walking-in-on-Spike-coming-out-naked-from-the-shower scene happening). They both thinks it's icky, with Spike having seen her as a child for so long, and his great love's little sister, and Dawn seeing him as a potential monster that hurt her sister(I think this needs to be dealt with, since fans would have the same problems). Maybe they admit the chemistry between them, talk about it, and decides that it's nothing. They are both happy with the relationships they have.

The story moves on (it's not like this would happen in just a couple of issues, the story above should have taken a arc or two) and everything seems fine. Maybe Buffy and Xander sees that there's something between Spike & Dawn and worry a bit (maybe they act a certain way around each, not even knowing it themselves, sharing laughs and becoming friends). Anyhow, let's say something happens. A quick kiss, almost by accident or a event like in Lover's walk with Willow & Xander; a dangerous situation turns romantic. They regret it right away of course. Spike hates the idea of cheating because of Drusilla's lust after Angelus, and Dawn has been down that road before.

Dawn is full with guilt. Spike keeps his mouth shut, not willing to risk Buffy & his relationship, but Dawn tells Xander & Buffy. Hopefully this brings up Buffy trying to seduce Xander. I think Dawn thinks she understands what happened, but repressed her fears, up until now.

The reveal causes mayor drama. Maybe Xander & Buffy want to take a break from Spike & Dawn, and breaks up with them.

Spike is mad at Dawn, they argue, and ops! Angry sex. Then regret. Lots of it. But less than they both expected. Then things go from there, with continued drama, and Spike loving Buffy and Dawn loving Xander, but the chemistry between Dawn & Spike won't go away. Maybe in the end, they stop fighting it. But since it's a Whedon story and there's no happy ending, I'm guessing that either Spike or Dawn moves away from San Francisco and starts anew (spin offs!). Hopefully, they end up together in the last season, or atleast one of them meet someone. I really think Spike deserves a healthy relationship for a change, so if not with Dawn, maybe Buffy, or someone entirely new.

I can see this happening, in case Joss decided the relationship should be explored. Am I being too unrealistic? There's no need to get this deep into the pairing; maybe they just feel attracted to each other, no romance, and Dawn wants revenge for some reason (maybe the Xander seduction) and seduces Spike, who may or may not be dating Buffy.

The Things We Learnt From Fanfic

Fanfics of the Buffyverse do have a lot in common. Sometimes those similarities even show up in different ships.

Buffy smells like vanilla in both Buffy&Angel and Buffy&Spike fics. In Spike&Xander fics, Xander is often abused by his parents, who Spike kill, to prove his love. And oh, vampires purr.

Here's a discussion thread about these similarities and many many more. It's quite a amusing read. And here are two different fics, making fun of these similarities.

Ships That Pas Into Type

Spike's Crypt

Wacky art

Two wacky pieces of art.

First William the Bloody. Captain of the Slayer. by Xaphania

And this wonderfully weird bee piece by Vamp Tramp.

Both members of buffy-boards.com

ZacO Cakes

I'm hungry all of a sudden.

The Beast

Good guys gone monster

I've made some creepy icons. Look here, the five last icons. Credits can be found on my photobucket.

Here's a bigger one