#hank summers

[anathemagerminabunt-blog]

Thinking about how Buffy, whose dad abandoned her and left her entirely, had a history of dating immortal men (Angel, Spike, the Immortal) who could theoretically never die and leave her all alone.

Which means nothing and is totally unrelated, I'm sure.

[misskittyspuffy]

Completely random thought, probably triggered by Chloé Zhao's stance about Angel being a runner, but: anyone who knows me knows how much I love Dawn and that she's my top favorite along with Spike, Buffy, and Faith.

We often talk about Spike staying to take care of Dawn when Buffy died. He babysitted her, helped Buffy's friends with the slaying and patrolling (and he had nothing to gain, may I add), which was already amazing for a soulless vampire. He easily could have left town, if he had wanted to.

But while talking about this, I had rarely paid attention to the fact that Angel didn't do any of these things for the people Buffy loved the most. I had never realized how much I resented that, actually, when there were mentions of Buffy and Angel's supposedly "larger than life love", but now that I put my finger on it, I can't get it out of my mind as one of the main reasons why I disliked the ship.

I often say that what I like the most about the Spuffy relationship is how much Spike stood by her side, supporting her and her loved ones, even if he didn't always liked them, and this is something I find so incredibly important. He had a really good relationship and genuine complicity with Dawn and Joyce.

My (very confused) point is, did Angel reach out to Dawn to make sure she was doing ok and had everything she needed when Buffy died? Because ok, typical of Angel to go at a monastery to deal with his grief in a peaceful and quiet place, but ultimately, I find this so very "meh" when it comes to what it says about the Buffy and Angel relationship. It was so self-absorbed and disregarding of what real life and real love (the one that actually lasts) is about, and probably one of the reasons that ship didn't resonate with me.

Another thought, still with the "runner" comment in mind: Buffy's dad left her behind when he divorced from Joyce. He saw her once or twice a year, then kinda disappeared from her life. And I always wondered if Buffy falling for Angel, the guy who popped up here and there, but stayed out of her real/daily life, was not some kind of transfer she did? She put that relationship on a pedestal because it was actually unattainable and could not be tested by the reality of life.

A pattern that repeated itself (Buffy being "too much" or "not enough"), until Spike broke it, and proved himself to be someone she could count on to love her and stand by her side.

(My apologies to the Bangel fans who might read my post, this is not my intention to be mean, but I geniunely don't like them and am just trying to articulate my thoughts on why I felt so strongly about one and not the other.)

[rabbitmotifs]

its one of those things that i think has such presence on the show despite being kinda invisible, that buffy comes from a splintered marriage with a dad who really kinda just doesnt care about her. i mean its something that were reminded about all the time because giles is there to soothe the wound that hank left on her and try to act in that gap, however much he might falter in the role he didnt mean to inhabit, but that wound is still there. it is so tragically still there for buffy, who takes absences with such pain now, who blames herself first when someone she loves leaves. it all started with hank. i wish she found him in spain and killed him

[toomanylizzes]

This Father’s Day, please remember that Giles was a more involved in co-parenting with Joyce than Hank ever was.

[automatonwithautonomy]

dawn summers learning she's the key and realising oh. it's her fault dad left. the constant fights and slamming doors and raised voices and moving from la and the slow inorexable way he pulls away and buffy so hurt and trying to hide it and her mom so overwhelemed trying to raise the kids by herself. and it's all dawn's fault! he knows what buffy and joyce do but refuse to admit, that she isn't really his daughter, that she isn't family, she isn't even real. of course he can't love her. she's not his child. and it forced him away from all of them, took buffy's dad and joyce's husband. just another thing dawn summers ruined.

[fictiongods]

18 and 19 for the choosing violence ask game?

Violence ask game

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

I’m not sure if it’s just where I’m looking but something that I almost never see anyone talk about Dawn Summers and Hank Summers specifically. I feel like a lot of the time it’s only ever talked about in relation to Buffy, and like. That’s her dad too! And it gets brought up a few times on the show (especially after Joyce passes), but still people only ever talk about Buffy and Hank. Literally you can draw a straight line back to Hank Summers for why Dawn is the way she is. She’s had exactly two love interests, and one of them is evil and the other wants nothing to do with her. So Buffy’s relationships are about Hank Summers but Dawn’s isn’t??? And of course she’s scared of everyone leaving, he was the one to do it first. And just. Hardly anyone talks about it. Yeah sure she’ll get her name lumped in next to Buffy’s, but Dawn Summers literally has to live with the fact that she’s technically never even met her father. And we’re just not going to mention this???? Okay.

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

I’m going to get yelled at. Kennedy.

It’s not so much that I’m mad or horrified, but I do feel a little hesitant to talk about it cause so many people just actively hate her without much room for discussion. I think had she been done in a better, more cared for season, she’d probably get a lot more sympathy than she does. The writers had way too many characters in s7 and couldn’t really develop them in a good way, even some of the main ones. I think Kennedy would’ve been more of a Cordelia-esque type fandom wise, had she had the time. Her main crime was that she wasn’t Tara, any other character who has the same traits she does is beloved by the fandom (she’s stubborn and will freely speak her mind. She’s a little spoiled and will rush in without thinking entirely through. Say, doesn’t that remind you of anyone??? (Hint: it’s basically any character. Sooooo many beloved characters have these things.)). And if you give her a second of your time you’ll realize there’s a lot to her. She’s fighting the apocalypse in some random woman’s house who keeps telling her she’s going to die. Her watcher was brutally murdered like a week before this. I feel the need to clarify I do love Tara and I will probably always favor Tillow over…Wennedy?? Do they even have a ship name?? But I definitely think they’re not a bad couple at all, and that while a little rushed (again I think boils down to a s7 problem) they had solid scenes. The kite scene is one I really like, and as for second chance romances I think we need more rep.

(I ALSO. feel we forget Kennedy literally has a tongue ring. She literally lezzed out in the middle of an apocalypse with a tongue ring. Put some #respect on her name.

[layer-of-slayers]

My main issue with Angelus as the Big Bad is that he was built up as one of the worst, scariest, most sadistic vampires in history and this whole Buffy and Drusilla parallel was set up with the way he stalked Drusilla and killed everyone she loved only for him to do stuff like... use his invite to Willow’s house to kill Willow’s fish, and use his access to Buffy’s house to leave her handdrawn portraits instead of trying to kill Joyce or attack Buffy in her sleep, and only go after Jenny Calendar when she found a way to re-ensoul him.

So: imagine if Angelus did start to go after Buffy’s loved ones and managed to kill at least one person, Imagine if Buffy and Joyce and the Scoobies had that to deal with when a re-ensouled Angel came back in season 3 (Giles was already dealing with that in canon because Angelus killed Jenny, but i wonder if Buffy.would have reacted differently to him in season 3 if it had been someone she was closer to and didn’t have mixed feelings about, considering she partially blamed Jenny for Angel losing his soul in the first place). 

Basically what i’m thinking is: AU where Angelus kills Hank Summers

[angelique-of-the-volturi-guard]

You know, I know we all have thoughts on Hank Summers- If he was actually a good dad, people trying to pinpoint when he stopped caring, etc. but I think a huge point that I haven’t seen anyone talk about was that when Giles came into Buffy’s life he was very involved and cared about her not just as a slayer but as a person, and that was enough to make her realize how uninvolved Hank had been since the move. Obviously this is underscored when Joyce dies and Buffy can’t get a hold of him, but I think the change was in Buffy’s perception of him more than who he actually was as a person. Giles was the one to comfort her after Angel lost his soul and never once blamed her even after Jenny died. He was the one Buffy called when Joyce died because she knew he would show up for her. He was the one she turned to for help. Giles consistently and reliably showed up for her when her father didn’t. It’s not actually about whether Hank is a good or bad father, it’s how her view of him changes as she realizes the kind of care and consideration she deserved all along and her refusal to settle for less.