#acathla

[thegothicalice]

Felt a little extra Buffy-themed today 💖 Dress vintage Betsey Johnson, vest by me, Acathla pendant by me, boots thrifted.

[herinsectreflection]

Love your essay on school hard! Am wracking my brains though - you mention the possibility that there are even 5 big bads in s2. Who is the 5th? Unless you count spike and dru separately? I’ve got Annointed one, Spike and Dru (together), Judge, Angelus. What am I missing?

So I do consider Spike and Drusilla separately, but I don't count the Judge. Basically, the pattern in S2 is that every few episodes one Big Bad is destroyed (ie killed or otherwise incapacitated) and another rises from their ashes.

School Hard: Anointed One -> Spike

What's My Line: Spike -> Drusilla

Innocence: Drusilla -> Angelus

Drusilla is the only one who isn't destroyed in this process, but there is a transfer of narrative power from her to Angelus. I fold the Judge in with Drusilla, as he doesn't really act independently, he's more a weapon in her plan. You could argue that the destruction of the Judge represents the end of Drusilla's reign as Big Bad.

The 5th is Acathla. He too is used as a weapon by the current Big Bad, but crucially, in the final moments of Becoming, Angelus is destroyed. He is no more, and Angel is returned. And the moment that Angelus leaves the stage, Acathla opens his jaws. He becomes the final thing that Buffy has to fight, acting independently in that moment.

It's a little bit of a stretch, since Acathla is not an actual character, but as a functional source of threat for the hero, that is the role he takes up.

[buffyconfessions]

Angel’s incredibly petty. He wants to diminish the fact that Spike saved the world so badly, he lies and says he stopped Acathla. Last time I checked, he started it and Buffy (with Spike’s help) stopped it. 

[youkilledthecar]

30 Day Buffy Challenge Day 24

Favorite Example of 90s Special Effects: Buffy stabs Angel, sending him to hell, leaving Acathla dormant

[kyliafanfiction]

You opinion on Xander lying to Buffy about the possibility of Angel getting re-souled? (I.e, "Kick his ass".)

Well this one comes down to if you think:

A) Xander was still actively in love with Buffy and jealous of Angel or something along those lines (I don’t)

B) Buffy would have hesitated if she knew angel might be coming back - and that hesitance could have cost Buffy the battle or her life. (I’m still not sure on this front personally).

Xander, I think, had mostly moved on from Buffy by then. Its not like he’d lost all feeling for her, but I don’t believe for a second it was some sort of jealousy that did it. He was, at the time, pretty happy with Cordelia, and his reaction to Buffy sparing Angelus at the end of… Innocence? and all the things Angelus had did since seems pretty clear to me that Xander had some major issues with Buffy at that point.

I don’t know if Buffy would have hesitated, or it any hesitation would have lost her the fight. But I do think that Xander, looking back at all the times Buffy hadn’t killed Angelus, had every reason to worry that she might. If this was just a normal fight, where the stakes were Buffy’s life or Angel’s life, then Xander’s lie would be, for me, far less forgiveable.

But the fact of the matter is, it wasn’t a fight with such low stakes. The Fate of the entire goddamn world was potentially at stake. Maybe Acathla wouldn’t have been able to swallow the whole world (that’s a lot to swallow) but it probably would have done untold damage and killed a fuckton of people, had Angelus succeeded.

There is very little margin for error when the world is at stake. To quote Director Church from Red Versus Blue “It is an undeniable and may I say fundamental quality of man that when faced with extinction, every alternative is preferable.” For all that Director Church was a shitty shitty person, I agree with that basic premise of his. At its core, my morality is extremely utilitarian in nature, even if it gets less so around the edges (I’m not perfectly morally consistent, no one is)

When the fate of the world is at stake, you do whatever might increase your odds of victory. Xander’s lie was, to my mind, a very good faith effort to try and ensure that Angelus was beaten and the world saved. Was it necessary? I don’t know. Maybe it wouldn’t have been, but given how close they did get?

I think Xander made the best call he could, given the context and what they knew.

Ask Me My Opinion on Anything!

[thegothicalice]

All gothed up, I’ve missed it🦇 Featuring a favorite jacket, a questionable vampire paperback I found in Powell’s, my Acathla pendant I sculpted, and lace top from Disturbia. Seeing Twin Tribes tonight.

[thegothicalice]

It’s finally my favorite month, here’s hoping it gets better 🥀 Top from La Femme en Noir, Acathla pendant by me.

[thegothicalice]

Haven’t worn black lipstick in a while (Sleepwalker from Black Moon Cosmetics) 🔮 Pants by Toxic Vision, Acathla necklace by me, belt from Spirit Halloween 👻