Cool! Season 5 is my most favorite Season as well. Season 4 is my least favorite season. Who do ship? Bangel or Spuffy? I ship Bangel.
I think s5 is also the most critically acclaimed season...although I don’t know why I think that. s4 is also I think probably the least popular. The Initiative storyline is really boring, and Adam is a boring big bad. I think what saves it for me is the introduction of Tara and Hush being one of my all time favorite episodes of television. I also really like the arc of Faith returning.
I’m not super into either of them, but I do have a strange soft spot for Bangel. I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHY. It’s probably because of Buffy’s attitude; I think she genuinely loves Angel, and she’s more comfortable with that love and relationship than she is with Spike. I think Spuffy is a really interesting ship; Spike’s love for Buffy and her reluctance to accept it, and her feelings that her feelings about it are bad. Like it’s really interesting to watch, but on a pure shipping level it’s hard for me to get past what happens in Seeing Red. I think I probably would have shipped it if Seeing Red hadn’t happened.
What was your least favorite and your most favorite seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer?
WOW I JUST SAW THIS. I’m sorry for the late response! Either tumblr didn’t give me the little bubble or I was just my space cadet self and totally missed it. Either way, I’m super sorry!
I feel especially bad bc I love these types of questions and want to encourage you all to ask more of them!
Under a cut bc I think it’s kind of long.
My favorite season is either 5 or 6. I think that 5 is the most well-crafted season, if that makes sense. The best episodes, the best Big Bad, and the best like, use of the thread that winds through every episode leading to the main showdown at the end. Someone once made a Buffy spreadsheet where like, ranking the episodes will statistically show your preferences, and according to the season 5 is my favorite season. BUT! I’m super attached to season 6. Once More With Feeling is my favorite episode. And Buffy’s depression plotline is very important to me as a person. When I first watched Buffy I was at one of the lowest points in my entire life, and seeing Buffy struggle with those same feelings was invaluable to me. So I think overall I liked more of the episodes from s5, but the episodes I DO like in s6, overall, I like more than the ones in s5.
As for least favorite...I feel like I have to go with s3. Which is strange bc I love Faith so much! I can’t really think of an episode from s3 that really stands out to me...like in the other seasons I have An Episode that like, is defining for me (Prophecy Girl, Becoming, Hush, The Body/The Gift, OMWF, Chosen), so like, overall, I don’t have a lot of emotional attachment to a lot of what happens in it.
Riza + Wait For It meta, requested by @antivanqrow
I have a lot of feelings about how good a song “Wait For It” is, and every time I listen to it I think a lot of about Riza Hawkeye. Because it really fits her. I think a lot of the feelings in the song, even though they are coming from a different place than Riza’s, are the same, or similar. It’s obviously different, Burr has a drive to get to the top that Riza doesn’t really have; Burr is pretty much saying that he doesn’t mind waiting, even as Hamilton races ahead, because he’s willing to wait for his shot. Whereas Riza isn’t really waiting for her shot, but more waiting for Roy’s, which is something she’s chosen to do. Burr is very individual in his thoughts, whereas Riza is more team oriented. But there’s a lot that’s the same. Different reasons leading to the same choices, if you will.
So Burr starts the song out talking about his relationship with Theodosia, which needs to be under wraps and he needs to wait in order to fully revel in it.
Which is a similar situation that Riza is in with her relationship with Roy. They can never be officially together, because of fraternization rules, but changing the country is something they both believe in so much that they’re willing to wait to fully experience that relationship. (Actually word of god: “After the conclusion of the series, we got many questions from fans that were asking "aren't the Colonel and the Lieutenant going to get married?" [I couldn't get them married because..] because of the Military regulations, if they get married they can no longer stay as the superior officer and [his] aid....”)
“When they [my parents] died they left no instructions/just a legacy to protect”. This is completely literal in Riza’s case. Both her parents are dead, and her father tattooed his legacy on her back. He gave it to her, told her to protect it, and then was like “well my work is done” and died. It’s a huge burden on her, and one she doesn’t particularly care to have. One of the reasons she probably really wanted to trust Roy with the flame alchemy is so that there would be someone to share that burden with her.
“Death doesn’t discriminate/between the sinners and the saints/it takes and it takes and it takes”. The nature of death as this ambivalent thing is central to FMA, and especially to the soldiers. Ishval is a huge part of Riza’s background, and the idea that death never stops taking, and that it doesn’t care who it takes, is something that she knows very well. She has a massive amount of survivor’s guilt from the war, and a very clear view of the deaths she caused. Like she says to Ed, she really did look at every single person she killed. And she knows that they all didn’t deserve her bullet. But death didn’t care. I think she’s one of the characters in the series that is the most used to, almost expectant of death. She always aware of it, probably not least because she’s always armed with deadly weapons. A lot of the other main characters are almost stubborn in their refusal to accept death as a part of life. And this can be a good thing, i.e. Roy versus Lust: not only does he refuse to die himself, but he also refuses to let Riza or Havoc die. But it can also be a very bad thing, i.e. the Elric brothers’ human transmutation. But Riza is very aware of the fact that she, and the people she cares for, are in mortal danger. There is an element of giving into death, and suicidal feelings in her surrender to Lust, but I think that Riza also always knew in the back of her mind that any battle could be her last. She’s also very aware of the fact that she has killed, and might kill again. She very easily accepts the responsibility of killing Roy when he gives it to her, and is even prepared to follow through.
“And we keep living anyway”. Riza turns her guilt and her knowledge of death into something productive. She’s just as determined to change the country and fix it. Living despite it all is something Riza is very good at, and has a lot of experience with. “You’re only worried about these things because you made it back alive.”
I’m sure there’s a part of her that fully believes that she deserves to die, but she hasn’t, so she keeps living. “And if there’s a reason/I’m still alive/when so many have died/I’m willing to wait for it.” And I think that’s also one of the reasons she is most willing to die when Roy would have died before her (the battle against Lust, what she says when they’re arguing over Envy) is because she believes in the reason for her survival being that she can help make the country better. Roy’s death would mean the failure of that reason, and so the thing that she waiting for would just…disappear. Combined with her guilt, her awareness of her sins, and probable belief that she deserves death and punishment, it’s not really a surprising reaction.
“We rise and we fall/and we make our mistakes”. Riza knows a lot about making mistakes, and she owns up to them. She knows that what she did in Ishval is wrong, and is more than willing to accept the blame and punishment she deserves. She’s aware that trusting Roy, that trusting anyone, with the flame alchemy was wrong. But she’s also aware that the mistakes aren’t the end of the world. I mean, despite her lack of knowledge about alchemy she knows that what Edward and Alphonse did was wrong, and that it’s a mistake. But she believes in their ability to rise above that mistake. Because that’s something she’s trying to do every single day.
“I am the one thing in life I can control”. Control is a huge thing for Riza. It’s something she needs for her profession and to fully utilize her skills. She needs to control where her shots lands, and that means controlling her body, and her hands, her breathing, etc. She’s also super involved in the spying and everything that comes with being on Roy’s team, and that amount of sneakiness and outright lying requires a lot of control over one’s body, expressions, emotions, etc. Riza’s also very much in control of her emotions, more so than almost all the other characters I think. I’m sure a great part of it comes from being a woman in what is primarily a man’s profession, expressions of emotion in women are often seen as a giant blaring sign of weakness, and Riza can’t afford that. Olivier has the same kind of control over her emotions, and I’m sure that stems from at least one very similar place. Control over her emotions is something I sure she has to learn very quickly, and very well, in Ishval. Armstrong couldn’t do it, he couldn’t handle the emotions of the battlefield, of the death that surrounded him. She also knows that out of control emotions lead to out of control actions, she follows Roy into the battle against Envy, very clear about her possible need to stop him. She’s good at channeling things, or setting them aside from later, again coming back to that, “You’re only worried about these things because you made it back alive” quote. And she’s also very aware that she is the only thing that she can control, so that’s what she does. Asking Roy to burn her tattoo is an expression of her control as well. Her father gave her this thing, this legacy that she doesn’t understand. She’s not an alchemist; she cannot literally control it. So getting rid of it, and the way she chooses to do so, is a way of taking control of it. Deciding to follow Roy and change the country is also a way of reclaiming control over her life and her actions. The military and government controlled them all in Ishval, and she couldn’t control that disaster, but she can have a hand in controlling the future. She also doesn’t try to control other people, she’s not manipulative like Roy often is. She’s actually very honest. Her knowledge that she can’t control these things is probably a reason she’s very happy to be behind Roy, and not in driver’s seat herself, so to speak. “I’m not falling behind or running late/I’m not standing still/I am lying in wait”. She’s really not. She’s not behind Roy, but beside him, doing what she wants to be doing.
“Life doesn’t discriminate/between the sinners and the saints/it takes and it takes and it takes”. Just like Riza is very aware of what death can do, she’s equally aware of what life can do. It can make good people do bad things. It can break people. It can make them strong. Despite what she’s seen and done, life has given her things. It hasn’t discriminated against her, as a sinner. But it can also take as much as death can. The course of life can take a lot of things from someone. Their innocence, their happiness, it’s not all tied to death. Life took Riza’s secret of flame alchemy and ruined it. Life took her innocence and destroyed it when she enlisted.
I guess overall the idea behind the song is that just because you aren’t hitting these milestones or getting things doesn’t mean that you’re wasting time or doing nothing. And that’s a very Riza Hawkeye thing. She’s willing to wait for things, and not just blindly plunge on ahead. And that’s not a lack of drive or focus and determination, it’s just a different kind.
I know I'm a conspiracy theorist but do you ever think that Snape was being bad at teaching occlumency on purpose? Not for Voldemort, but because he was just a piece of shit who wanted Harry to fail?
well I would never put anything past snape
I don’t know if Snape’s terrible teaching of Occulmency is related to him being a terrible teacher, of if he just don’t care, of if he just wants to make Harry feel bad.
but honestly he teaches harry through negative reinforcement, which I feel like it’s common knowledge that it’s the worst way to each? he also doesn’t give harry any instructions he’s just like, “do this thing” and then when harry can’t he’s just like “why can’t u do this thing just do it” which is not teaching. also I find that fact that he seals memories away in the pensieve is really sketchy when he doesn’t allow Harry the same privacy.
I guess I think that Snape was just doing it because Dumbledore told him too and really didn’t care if Harry learned. So...yes. I do think that.
OH MAN also good point about the law, like, dumbledore had zero right to just...take Harry? And dump him somewhere wtf? Also, Sirius getting to grow up and actually be an adult is Everything to me, and Remus being accepted and loved and supported for 12 years and Harry getting the family he deserves oh god. EMBARASSING QUIDDITCH DADS YES. And consider Harry showing them the Marauders map and they have a moral panic "should we take it from him?? He is in danger but this is our LEGACY"
okay I am regularly infuriated by Dumbledore’s actions on Halloween of 1981.
First of all, Dumbledore not only kidnaps Harry, he makes someone else do it. He literally gives Hagrid, who trusts Dumbledore, and is also trusted by others and is a good person, orders to kidnap a baby. Had Dumbledore been there in the wreckage of Godric’s Hallow, you know, I know, Dumbledore knows, that Sirius probably would have put up more of a fight or argument about taking Harry. Hagrid, however, wouldn’t have any motivations other than doing what he believes is best for Harry, Sirius knows that, we all know that, and Dumbledore uses Hagrid’s good will for his own ends.
(Like, throughout the series Dumbledore is definitely not above using those who feel like they owe him (remus, hagrid, harry) by having them do things for him. and I think that is truly disgusting.)
And Dumbledore knows that he is making Hagrid do something illegal. Dumbledore knows what the Potters’ will contains, most likely, and that they leave guardianship of Harry to Sirius (or he could at least rightly assume) but there’s no reason that Hagrid would know that he’s outright refusing custody of Harry to his rightful guardian.
So first of all there’s all that lovely manipulation of Hagrid. Oh man but what I wanted to talk about was how fucking illegal all of the shit Dumbledore does because it’s the perfect example of Dumbledore taking the law into his own hands because he believes he knows better than everyone else.
He decides the custody of Harry. Because...well honestly he just does. He ignores the last wishes of Lily and James, the protestations of McGonagall, but mostly he just decides that he’s Dumbledore so he’s better, and he can just ignore the law if he feels like it. And his reasons to McGonagall are straight up bs, like, that he’s doing it so Harry would be humble, wtf is that, there are probably plenty of families who would take him in and raise him as a muggle, or even raise him as a wizard, but teach him well about humility and shit. Instead, Dumbledore knows that it will be better for his plan if Harry grew up unhappy, if he saw Dumbledore as a savior, would be more willing to die if he didn’t have too many people or happiness tying him to the world. He knew that a battered, abused child would be more easier to manipulate.
Honestly Dumbledore let a child suffer emotional and physical abuse for ten years and then made himself a savior by pulling the child out of it, making sure the child would then feel indebted to him.
It’s just all so fucking gross god I hate Dumbledore.
do you ever think about remus and sirius and the adopted family harry could have had and CRY. because i spend a lot of time thinking "what if harry had been adopted by sirius instead of given to the dursleys and then sirius and remus got together and everything was FINE" or "what if sirius and remus HADN'T DIED"
DO I??? ONLY EVERY SECOND OF MY LIFE. I have unfinished fic about this.
could you imagine how much happier everyone would be if Dumbledore had like, followed the fucking LAW and followed Lilly and James’ will? IMAGINE. There was literally no evidence against Sirius, no reason for Dumbledore to even put Harry in someone else’s custody temporarily.
So imagine Sirius like, coming with Hagrid to Privet Drive or something okay, and it all comes out like, what Dumbledore had been planning to do and Sirius would easily admit the switch with Peter and okay Remus would be furious at Dumbledore and so betrayed, because as disillusioned Harry is in DH when he learns all about Dumbledore’s dark past, Remus would have that same moment here, and I think that Sirius and Remus are both smart enough to kind of start putting together the fact that Dumbledore has plans.
But anyways, like in that fic I have, I have this idea that Sirius, coming from the rich, high class, knows a bit about Wizarding Law (of which I am assuming there is one, although from the world building we get in the books there doesn’t seem to be much) and would know about how to get a lawyer and such and at least threaten to protect Harry legally. And as determined he is in this whole endeavor, he’s also terrified, and he’s like home alone with Harry for like half a day before he ends up contacting Remus out of sheer fear and panic. Because like, for so long he’s just been focused on keeping Harry with him, and that’s kept the fear and grief away, but as soon as it is all settled it all comes like, crashing down on him and Sirius just doesn’t know what the fuck to, which is why he calls Moony, bc Moony was always the best at actually planning, and Remus comes over and Sirius is just kind of standing in the middle of his living room holding a baby and crying and looking confused, and so Remus just takes the baby and takes Sirius by the arm and guides him to the ground and basically the three of them just sit there crying for a while.
And Remus moves in, but he only intends for it to be temporary, but then when he does try to leave, Harry throws a fit, bc of course Harry would have abandonment issues after watching his parents die, so Remus ends up just moving the fuck in.
And one day, Dumbledore shows up at their door, to like argue for his plan, or talk to them or whatever and Remus’ jaw does a twitchy thing, but he can’t bring himself to slam the door on Dumbledore, so he calls Sirius in, and Sirius has NO qualms about slamming doors in people’s faces and basically things are just very cold between them and Dumbledore for a good while (mb my own feelings towards dumbeldore are making their way into my headcanon here)
There’s some angsting about full moons, bc Sirius doesn’t want to leave Remus alone, but they can’t risk the baby, so Remus just ends up using the shack again, and Sirius angsts about it, and gets all sad when Remus is all hurt bc Padfoot wasn’t there to keep him safe
ok but like apparently babies are really good for post-werewolf sads, and like, the first time it happens remus is like, lying in bed feeling all icky and Sirius pops lil baby harry next to him and Harry just like, curls up between Remus’s shoulder and his cheek and naps and Remus is like “omg i am not a monster” bc it’s impossible to hate urself when a baby is like, all curled up next to u and sleepin, and so begins a long tradition of harry climbing in to bed with Remus post-moons and when Harry is older it changes, like when Harry is older he’ll read to Remus, or do homework or practice magic or play on his gameboy (bc harry totally had one of the first, orginial gameboys bc sirius and remus would have been into that ok) but it just becomes a little ritual between the two of them.
AND OK YOU ARE THE ONE THAT SAID “and then sirius and remus get together” so we’re gonna talk about the slowwwwww get together buuurn. like maybe they had a thing in Hogwarts, like in those last few years or right after, and that started fracturing during the war, with all the mistrust and the fighting, and they’re both still so fresh and raw with their grief you know, and are just dancing around each other, unsure of where they stand, like, are they just tolerating each other for safety bc they’re upset and just doing it for Harry is the other only tolerating them bc they’re all they have left now and part of Remus is always afraid that he should leave that he doesn’t really belong, bc Harry is legally and technically Sirius’, and where does he fit in and he’s constantly putting the two of them in danger and he is always feeling like he should leave, in the back of his mind, but then Harry will smile at him and babble at him and he knows he can’t, and it’s that awful cycle of doubt you know.
and after one particularly hard moon Sirius has like, a complete freak out and Remus like, doesn’t really wake up for days and Sirius basically just spends every second he’s not taking care of Harry sitting with Remus, and sometimes both at once, and once Remus really wakes up, he wakes up to Sirius, as Padfoot, pressed against his side. And he just absentmindedly starts petting him, and then Sirius abruptly shifts back and is all like “Moony!” and basically throws himself on him in a hug, and Remus is like “i’m okay you know that I’m always okay” and Sirius is just like “i thought that I almost lost you what would I do if I lost you you can’t leave me” and cries, and Remus just kind of holds him and pets him and then of course Sirius, an impulsive emotional mess, kisses him and remus the thinks about stopping and asking, but instead he just kisses back and they’re good it’s good, they’ll talk about it later and they’ll talk about their fears and insecurities and work their shit out
oh my god also imagine it as the series plays out, imagine how much Sirius and Remus would love Ron and Hermione and imagine Harry getting to go home at holidays and bringing his friends. And even inviting the entire weasley clan once because he wants to treat Molly and imagine Remus and Sirius meeting the twins and secretly aiding them and imagine their collection of old school books and everything they’ve collected and imagine Hermione reading through them and them giving her books on the next holiday and just...IMAGINE ALL THE HAPPY FAMILY MOMENTS THAT WE GET IN OOTP (as few as they are) EXCEPT FOR SEVEN BOOKS
imagine remus and sirirus who would trust harry enough to tell him about the prophecy and then all the shit in OOTP doesn’t happen and imagine how much fun they would have teasing Harry in HBP, imgaine in COS when they hear about the Valentine how much they tease Harry (but never GInny) about it, imagine Sirius and Remus storming in and yelling at Dumbledore for allowing Harry to complete in the triwizard tournament. embarassing quidditch parents remus and sirius who show up to every match with GO HARRY banners and all sorts of embarassing shit like that (Dean Thomas draws them little harry caricatures once and immediately is in charge of doing so forever and ever). Remus and Sirius showing up with Molly to watch the third task and being there to comfort Harry afterwards. remus and sirius cheering and bragging about harry’s OWL results. sirius exclaiming relief when Harry isn’t named prefect bc A PREFECT FOR GODSON???? PLZ NO.
and most of all imagine Harry realizing that he must die in DH and how much more heroic and painful it is when he has so much to lose. imagine him talking to James and Lily and expressing guilt at leaving these people behind. and imagine how huge of a sacrifice it is on his part, to know that there is love and home behind him, and that he has to leave the people he loves in order to save them
I read and love your metas bout Dany and Arya being feminists, and Dany being the younger queen to cast Cersei down. It really got me thinking about something: Cersei is a female misogynist, so it's interesting that she'll be taken down by a feminist. Another interesting thing it being Dany is that both she and Cersei both lose their hair in ADWD which goes against the idea that women must have long flowing hair to be beautiful.
This message is really nice, thank you for being so kind to me! I love getting feedback on my meta, I work hard on it, and it’s especially great when people respond to it positively.
You know, I never thought about Cersei, who thinks poorly of other women, being taken down by Dany, who values other women. That’s fascinating. Cersei and Dany are especially interesting to compare, since they are basically polar opposites. Over the course of the series Cersei loses her power, while Dany gains it. There’s also things like Cersei dismissing Ser Barristan, who ends up helping Dany. And Cersei also driving Tyrion to Essos, where he is almost certainly end up helping Dany. Which is just more proof I think, towards Dany being the YMBQ. Cersei planted the seeds of her own defeat, and that’s a super important aspect of the story.
It’s also interesting that losing her hair isn’t really anything to Dany. It’s happened to her before, when she hatches the dragons, and it’s almost a symbol of her rebirth or a change in her life. Cersei doesn’t seem to mind it either, “hair grows back”, which is interesting bc of how highly she values her beauty. She’s lost that now, something that she holds dear, for the sake of Tommmen, something else that she holds dear. Her downfall has truly started.
Their hair colors are also pretty tied to their identities as a Lannister and a Targaryen, given that it’s a traditional look associated with the house.
THERE WASN’T REALLY A POINT TO THAT WAS THERE I’M SORRY. there’s something deeper and more interesting about the hair to be sure, but I’m not quite to knowing to what is yet, lol.
I don’t hate Sansa. I’m not to fond of the fandom interpretation of Sansa, but that’s not Sansa’s fault. I think that Sansa is unfairly hated for all of the wrong reasons, but also loved for all the wrong reasons.
I mean, when it comes down to it, anyone is allowed to not like a character. And there are actually a lot of valid reasons to not like Sansa. She looks down upon the small people, she bullied Arya, and there’s the INCREDIBLE passage in which she literally looks down out of a tower window and wishes that a knight in shining armor will come to save her. But of course, Sansa is mostly hated for being a girl. A lot of people also blame Sansa for Ned’s death (Littlefinger’s fault), Mycah’s death (Joffrey’s) which is extraordinarily unfair.
There are also a lot of valid reasons for someone to love Sansa! At her core she is a good person, a traumatized child who has been dealt a hand in life that she definitely doesn’t deserve. But “~*~*~*~*FEMINST HERO!!!! REVOLUTIONARY CHARACTER~*~*~*~*~*~*~!!!!!11111!1!” Sansa is not. A lot, a lot, of people praise her for maintaining her kindness and being non-violent throughout the conflict. And I find this an extremely problematic interpretation, since basically this is what female princesses in a narrative like ASOIAF is supposed to do. Sansa does fill this role, and it’s a great perspective to have in the mix. But it definitely doesn’t make her a unique, ground breaking character. And saying things like “SANSA IS THE BEST FOR REMAINING NON-VIOLENT” is reinforcing the idea that female characters should play passive roles, especially because such sentiments are often used in discussions of ARYA, pointing out how Sansa is clearly superior to her brutally violent sister.
There’s a lot of these kind of things about Sansa’s fandom that are ultimately very problematic. Praising her for following traditional gender roles is one, but a bigger one I think is the idea that Sansa should be Queen in the North. Robb’s rightful heir is Bran, and people love to overlook Bran because, guess what, he’s disabled. So how could he possibly rule Winterfell????? I also think there’s a problem within the fandom in that a lot of people glorify Sansa because Sophie Turner is a classically pretty white girl. She’s also very shippable, which tends to increase the popularity of characters.
tl;dr I like Sansa Stark. I don’t DISLIKE her although I’m definitely not extraordinarily fond of her. I think that her perspective in ASOIAF is super interesting, and I love the idea of having a major POV character be someone who, because of trauma, has disconnected themselves from reality. She’s definitely not a character a find inspirational or a character that I would want to be like, and those characters always tend to be my favorites. I also find the fandom interpretation of Sansa extremely problematic, which is often tiring. Sansa has flaws, just like everyone else, and to just erase them because you like the ideal of the perfect white princess is gross, inaccurate, and the complete antithesis of what GRRM is going for.
I hope this makes sense and feel free to ask me about anything!
