YES GILES LEAVING WAS IN CHARACTER thank you for being the ONLY other person I’ve seen say this
bGLDKKLSDBKG IM SO GLAD WE'RE ALL COMING OUT OF THE WOODWORK TO LOSE IT OVER THIS.
because it was in character! it was so in character! the reasons that people think it ISN'T in character are 1) the narrative frames it like giles is making a Good and Responsible Call without really unpacking his motives for leaving, and 2) nobody wants to see our sweet patriarch fuck buffy over so thoroughly, because it is horrible and heartbreaking. but it makes so much sense for him to leave in season six for a whole buncha reasons.
first off, giles has ALWAYS placed reflexive and purposeful distance between himself and buffy whenever she expresses a need for him as a person instead of a watcher. he was literally already making plans to leave in season five because buffy "didn't need him anymore," and what got him to STAY was the fact that she asked him to be her watcher again. she expressed an explicit need for him in her life as a watcher. compare that to the first time she asks for him to be her dad -- she wants him to go to the ice show with her, literally taking the place of her father in her life now that her father is no longer there.
and second. oof. this one is the one that hurts to even think about. but giles treats his own desires as selfish, shameful things, and creates this very complicated moral framework to justify never asking for help, never trying to make adult connections, and never actually going after the things that he wants. a lot of that comes directly from the one time he DID let himself want something -- a long-term and committed relationship with jenny, to be specific. she died in a way that was very explicitly framed as His Fault: up until they found out the real reason that jenny had died, it was perceived by the scoobies as an attempt to hurt buffy by hurting giles. so basically the ONE time giles wants something and LETS himself want something, the first person he has ever loved unapologetically and without shame is brutally murdered -- AND to add salt to the wound, his love for her is later weaponized against him, making him an ineffective watcher (as a watcher's job is to protect the world against things like, y'know, acathla).
i think that the one thing giles wants outside of a life partner is the ability to step into the role of buffy's dad. to protect and support her AS a dad. but the trauma of watching her die PLUS the lingering trauma of jenny's death makes the idea of stepping into that role of her father seem simultaneously incredibly selfish and incredibly foolish. i think giles sees buffy's affection for him as a weakness on her part, but not because she is lacking -- because he isn't worth the kind of unapologetic affection. he doesn't want his daughter to see him as a father. he doesn't think he is a good enough father -- certainly not one who can protect her from dying. he has to be her watcher because the only way he knows how to love her is by keeping her alive, and seeing her so shattered in early season six is, i think, something that could easily make him afraid of losing her again. she has to be strong enough to not need him, because if she needs him, he's going to fail her.
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Best: The dorky/ fun episodes. The show did do plenty of dark stories (late s6/ s7, Hush, etc.) but also had fun making some more ridiculous episodes too. They played with tropes (like with Tabula Rasa and the amnesia, or Band Candy and making all the adults act like kids) and it looks like the cast had so much fun and got to try so much different stuff. Literally some of my favourite episodes are the ridiculous ones like Band Candy, Tabula Rasa, Once More With Feeling, Something Blue etc.
Worst: The fixation on Buffy and romantic relationships. I get that dating is a huge part of growing up, but so much of the plot got given to stories about her romantic relationships, and as such it means a lot of fans focus on it too. She rarely seems to have a positive sexual encounter (first time with Angel he lost his soul, then there was Parker, then Riley slept with Faith in Buffy’s body and couldn’t even tell the difference, then the abusive relationship with Spike), which also begs the question of what exactly that’s telling the teenage audience. I feel like it sort of became the predominant thing people remember about the show. It always comes down to Bangel vs Spuffy because Buffy’s romantic relationships with them became such a huge part of the plot.
Also, all the Scooby Gang are dating for a significant portion of the show, with the exception of Dawn, and it sort of gives the impression that everybody has to date during high school/ college and just... I would have liked to see them move away from the cliche where everybody is either dating or wants to date in high school. I did neither, and I don’t feel like I missed out on anything, but teen TV shows promote the idea that you have to date. (Though I feel this is a rant for another time)
(BONUS: It’s also a travesty that we never got to see Ripper!Giles (aka Band Candy Giles to be exact) meeting Ats Spin the Bottle teenage Wesley.)
Angel
Best: I love Team Angel (well if we don’t count Connor, but tbh I don’t count him as part of the team). I really love how, even though the dynamic changed over the five seasons, everyone always fit. It never felt like someone was being forced in, or didn’t work.
Worst: How they treated Fred and Cordy towards the end of their runs and having their deaths portray them as victims rather than letting them die saving the world in some way. Also, the fact Cordy died offscreen and we never saw Wesley or Harmony or the others react to her death. Cordy was in 8 seasons (3 seasons BtVS and 5 seasons AtS) and has the 4th highest number of appearances after Angel, Willow, and Buffy. And yet that’s how they killed her.
send me something (a tv show, movie, book, ship, celebrity, etc.) and I’ll tell you what I think the best and worst thing about it is.
Tagged for this again, this time by @rippergiles ❤️ This time I’ll pick different 5 shows. First version of this can be found here
pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions. don’t cheat. tag 10 (or however many) peeps.
LOST
Stranger Things
The Vampire Diaries
Charmed
Smallville
1. who is your favorite character in 2?
Steve Harrington (also Joyce Byers and El)
2. who is your least favorite character in 1?
Charlie Pace, ugh.
3. what is your favorite episode of 4?
Gah, too many to choose from! I guess if absolutely forced to choose just one, I’d go with All Halliwell’s Eve, love that episode, the Halloween theme, the time travelling and the fact that the girls help to deliver Melinda Warren.
4. what is your favorite season of 5?
Season 3. Love so many of the episodes and Lex gets a really fantastic arc in this season.
5. who is your favorite couple in 3?
Damon/Elena (I would nominate Caroline/Klaus but they’re never officially a pairing, and I enjoy their dynamic more than the actual relationship).
6. who is your favorite couple in 2?
El/Mike.
7. what is your favorite episode of 1?
LaFleur. Beautiful episode and gives us canon Suliet!
8. what is your favorite episode of 5?
Memoria. Such a great character-based episode, really explores Lex’s past and his turbulent relationships and has an absolutely heartbreaking end.
9. what is your favorite season of 2?
Season 1. The other two seasons just haven’t lived up to its awesomeness.
10. how long have you watched 1?
I actually watched when it was originally airing but didn’t stick it out (gave up around Season 3). So, technically, I guess fifteen years.
11. how did you become interested in 3?
I saw it all over Tumblr for years but only became mildly curious when it became available on Netflix.
12. who is your favorite actor in 4?
Shannen Doherty. Makes me so angry when people shit on her or blame her for problems on the show.
13. which do you prefer, 1, 2, or 5?
LOST. Such a great show!
14. which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3 ?
I think LOST. I haven’t watched all of TVD and LOST had more episodes per season.
15. if you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?
Prue Halliwell, obvs!
16. would a crossover between 3 and 4 work?
Really well, actually! Both are supernatural shows and the Charmed Ones could pair up with Bonnie Bennett and perform some serious magic!
17. pair two characters in 1 who would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple.
I agree with @rippergiles that Kate and Juliet would make an interesting couple. I’ve always liked their dynamic and wished we’d seen more of it.
18. overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5?
Definitely Smallville. I like TVD but it was less plot-driven and more focused on the romantic relationships and the messes the characters got themselves into, whereas Smallville had a great mythology to build on and created amazing storylines out of it.
19. which has the better theme music, 2 or 4?
Gah, they’re both so great! Probably Stranger Things, though, because it’s an original score and really encapsulates the 80s feel of the series.
Faith/Buffy, 33. It was hard to find a question there weren’t already tons of canon answers for!
33. what kind of presents do they get each other? do they only do it on special occasions?
buffy prides herself on being an Exceptional Gift Giver, thank you very much. she’s excellent at picking out the Best gifts for her friends that are like. the ideal mix of sentimental and funny.
until faith.
the entire time they’re friends before they start dating, buffy Cannot figure out a good gift for faith. she tries clothes, she tries books, she even sinks to gift cards before she finally gives up and she and faith agree to just not get each other anything for holidays.
and then they start dating and buffy Absolutely Will Not Even Think about not getting her girlfriend anything for her birthday, or christmas, or any other time she has an excuse to get her presents. so buffy tries again, whenever she can think of an excuse to get faith something, and she gets closer this time. she gets faith a book on the evolution of special effects, because faith is an absolute nerd. she gets her jewelry a couple times, which feels less like crossing a line now and she knows faith’s taste, so that always goes well.
eventually, buffy decides unprompted, for no specific occasion, to track down faith’s old watcher’s grave and take her there, since faith had mentioned not knowing where it was. that trip involves a lot of crying and some yelling (because faith is trying but she’s still not great at coping with her feelings) and afterwards they agree that it was needed and extremely cathartic, but that buffy should under No circumstances do that again. and faith shouldn’t do anything of equal emotional impact, either.
(after that, they just do gifts for christmas and birthdays, and they compete to see who can give the other the most badass weapon. faith has just been getting buffy weapons since the beginning, and it’s always worked out.)
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Prompt: “you owe me a kiss.” For whichever characters in either Buffy or Harry Potter tickle your fancy?
11. you owe me a kiss. (x)
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“You owe me,” is the first thing Potter says, and Severus inhales through his nostrils, gritting his teeth together. Were there some merciful force in the universe, Severus things - even a remotely merciful force, or some spirit of justice, or indeed, anything...
Well.
In all likelihood, there is some such creation spread throughout the weave of the world at large, and thus why Severus’ torture goes on even now.
“Auror Potter,” Severus says, in the most patient tone he can muster which, in fact, is not very patient at all. His voice is very low, and he speaks slowly and stiffly, through his teeth with his jaw tightly clenched. “In what manner, pray tell, do you believe that I owe you?”
“Well,” Potter says, with an insufferable smirk on his face, and Severus scowls at him, his arms tightly crossed over his chest. “I’ve just saved your life.”
“In delaying the sweet release of my death, Potter, one could argue that you have done me an inconvenience.” Potter stares at him for a second, his green eyes widening just slightly - Lily had never done that. Lily had never used her eyes the way that Potter uses them now (and Potter had never used these features like his son does now). Funny, how differently--
And of course, neither of them had lived this long.
Potter is approaching thirty now, and his age is showing prematurely. That’s the case in many of his compatriots, but especially in Potter himself: Severus can see the deep shadows under his eyes, the slight sallowness to his cheeks, the slight wrinkling showing either side of his eye, and frown lines on his brow.
And then he smiles, and it’s as if it all fades away: frown lines give way to laughter lines, and there’s a glow to his visage, to the way that he beams... Severus tips his head back against the ceramic green brick of the wall, and he glances toward the ceiling. The corridor outside of Potter’s office, at least, is mercifully empty of traffic. Severus is fairly certain the boy moves it every month or so, because in the now six attempts on Severus’ life that have landed him here in the Ministry of Magic, the labyrinth of corridors leading to Potter’s desk has seemed entirely different. This aids him, Severus presumes, in his understandable avoidance of so-called journalists.
“Don’t smile at me,” Severus says.
“You owe me,” Potter repeats. “I saved your life again, Severus - that’s twice this year.”
“Mr Snape is my name,” Severus says.
“Alright, Mr Snape,” Potter says, like he’s actually struggling not to smile, and failing. It’s a handsome smile. Severus doesn’t care for it. “Come to dinner with me.”
“No.”
“Come for a romantic walk with me.”
“No.” Potter looks thoughtful for a second, his arms loosely crossed over his chest, and then he nods to the door behind him.
“Let’s go into my office now and I’ll ride you on my desk.” Severus’ shocked pause is infinitesimal, but Potter’s smug expression declares in printed script that he catches it.
“No.”
“Oh, Severus, come on,” Potter says, uncrossing his arms and looking at Severus with a pleading expression on his face. “I’ve been asking you out for five years now - all whilst waiting, by the way, for the minimum prerequisite age of twenty-three that you declared any potential partner must meet. An arbitrary prerequisite, in my opinion.”
“I didn’t declare that,” Severus says. “I stated it, calmly, and in an even voice.”
“What’s the difference between that and a declaration?”
“A declaration is something of a spectacle. I made no spectacle.”
“You absolutely made a spectacle: you were sloshed.”
“I was not,” Severus says. “You were very drunk, and I was sober and deadpan.”
“You are usually sober and deadpan, that does make sense, in retrospect.” Potter has taken two steps closer, and Severus presses his thin lips tightly together as Potter looks down at him. “Do I make you uncomfortable?”
“You couldn’t make me uncomfortable if you used every dark curse under the sun.”
“I meant emotionally, not physically.”
“Haven’t you heard? I don’t have emotions.” Potter exhales, and his lips twitch, the expression... Fond. There’s no one else in the world that would still smile at him fondly, like that.
“Yes, you do,” Potter says softly. “You owe me. You owe me-- You owe me a kiss.”
“A kiss,” Severus repeats. “You are prepubescent.”
“That’s not true,” Potter argues. “I’m over the arbitrary age of twenty-three and everything.” Severus tries to control the twitch of his lip, and is unsuccessful: Potter’s beam is like sunshine.
“You’re aging very quickly,” Severus says in a punishing tone. “Have you started dyeing your hair yet?” Potter blinks at him, and then he smiles, but the smile is just slightly forced.
“Oh, I’ve been dyeing it for nearly seven years now,” Potter says, in a tone close to casual, but not quite passing the threshold. “It’s not even a nice white, or anything. It’s just shades of dark grey, as if the Dulux dog was painting a prison cell and couldn’t pick a shade.” Severus is struck, abruptly and with immense weight, with the urge to apologize. Ridiculous. Ridiculous.
“I dye mine,” Severus says.
“Really?” Potter says, visibly eager for any detail about Severus’ life.
“No,” Severus says. For a moment, Potter stares, and then he laughs again, turning his head away. Severus sees his face in profile, shadowed in the dimly lit corridor, and then he sees the smile slowly fade from his face, replaced with a vague approximation of what Severus assumes is intended as professional integrity.
“I’m sure I should let you go, Mr Snape,” he says quietly. “I’ve taken up enough of your time.” Severus rises to leave, and Potter says, “But--” Severus freezes.
“But?”
“But you owe me a kiss.”
“Do I.”
“You do.”
“I don’t.”
“You do.”
“No.”
“A date?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Marriage, then.” Severus, entirely without meaning to, laughs. It’s shocked out of him, a dark little chuckle that rips itself from between his teeth without his permission, and Potter is staring at him in such shock, his mouth gaping like a fish. “Is that a yes?”
“Do you always take incredulity for an affirmative?”
“I’d take anything you gave me, at this point,” Potter says. “But--”
“Yes, yes, consider yourself heard, Potter. I owe you a kiss.” He takes a slow step forward, his boot making not the slightest sound on the tiled floor, and he brings them closer together, close enough that he can smell the cigarette smoke Potter never bothers to disguise when he’s alone with Severus (not that Severus cares, or that he’s ever mentioned it, or that it matters), close enough that he can smell the lingering scent of broom wax and the leather of his gloves (he’d flown out to meet Severus and Sidealong with him, for he is denied an Apparition license as part of his parole)... He can smell Potter’s shampoo - it’s a Muggle shampoo. Women’s shampoo. Severus doesn’t know if that means anything.
“You smell of the apothecary,” Potter whispers.
“Yes, Potter,” Severus says with faux patience. “I work there.” He leans in closer, so that his nose brushes against Potter’s, and he feels the burn of self-loathing in his chest, all across his skin: it is made worse by the way that Potter parts his lips and leans up, moving closer to Severus instead of drawing his face away. “You don’t have anything to say?” Severus asks in a low voice.
“I work here,” Potter chokes out.
“That is... startlingly unintelligent.”
“No, I meant--”
“Too late. You’ve said what you’ve said, and we must both live with it.”
“You’re making me sound like an idiot!”
“You do that on your own.” Potter tilts his head, and Severus puts his palm on the younger man’s chest and holds him still before he can close the gap. “If I kiss you,” Severus whispers, “you must promise to stop this. Entirely and utterly, you must cease this obscene campaign you have no doubt characterised in your own mind as romantic.”
“If it makes you uncomfortable,” Potter begins, and Severus scoffs.
“I am not uncomfortable.”
“Do you think I’m attractive?”
“I think you’re an idiot.”
“But an attractive idiot?”
“A stupid idiot.”
A pause. Potter’s eyes meet with Severus’, looking searchingly at the depths of his unfeeling, black eyes.
“I’m not imagining it, am I?” Potter asks. “I am making progress. You are letting me get closer, quarter-inch by quarter-inch.”
“You’re very close to me right now,” Severus allows.
“I meant emotionally,” Potter says. “Not physically.”
“You keep repeating yourself.”
“For ten years now. You keep repeating yourself too.” Severus’ lips twitch, and he shifts his fingers on Potter’s chest, feeling the silken green of his Auror’s robe. “I just don’t want you to say no to me on the basis that you think you don’t, um... I don’t know, that you don’t deserve anyone. That you think you deserve to be punished, or lonely.” Severus scowls again.
“Have you considered my refusals are coming on the basis that I despise to be psychoanlysed?”
“Oh, I’ll stop, if you kiss me. I won’t psychoanalyse anybody ever again,” Potter promises.
“Your Auror work might suffer in the wake of such a vow.”
“Bollocks to the Auror work. I’ll become a waiter.” They stand there, together, in the dim light. Severus can feel Potter’s breath against his mouth and his chin, and he wonders what it would be like, to close the gap between them, to kiss him. He’s wondered about it, on and off, for the better part of ten years. Severus Snape is an awful man - he’s aware of this. “Are you going to kiss me, maybe? Or let me kiss you?”
“Not today,” Severus decides, and he walks down the corridor. He feels Potter staring after him, but for once, Potter doesn’t call anything after him, or try to call him back.
Severus’ robes feel too tight and too heavy, and he has a fleeting wish that someone else might come to the apothecary today with the vague view of murdering him, and then feels foolish for such a childish thought.
I just love the deep love you have for Jenny and for calendiles, a character and pairing that weren’t treated fairly in canon and fall by the wayside in fandom. You understand Jenny and flesh her out in ways no one else does. And I still have so much of your fic to catch up on but you’re always churning out more!
this was a ridiculously touching ask to receive. thank you SO very much!!!
it is so wild to me that i have this established place as a jenny calendar expert at this point. like. i’ve been talking about jenny here almost nonstop on tumblr for probably five years now, which is INSANE. i think the best comment i got on one of my posts was when @the-apples-were-monitored said recently that they had genuinely forgotten that jenny and giles are underrepresented in fandom simply because they follow me, which i think truly exemplifies the experience of sticking by this blog. somehow i literally never run out of new btvs takes. sometimes i recycle and revamp OLD ones from three years ago and bring them out again because i know people have forgotten + i have new mutuals, so i get to be like “hey have you heard of the calendiles book ;) it’s required reading here.”
BUT YEAH ANYWAY THIS MADE ME SMILE AND THEN GET ALL WORDY, SO: THANKS <3333
This is obviously not a canon ship but I trust you to make a meal of it: Giles and Robin Wood
oh this is an intriguing take!!!
HMM. my first thought is that giles and robin are both coming at the slayer/watcher problem from two very very different angles but the same amount of emotional investment in it? like, both of them have been irrevocably changed by the council, but giles’s council-related trauma is “i have been treated as a faulty cog in a murder machine and am simultaneously shamed by my brokenness and shamed by my presence in the murder machine to begin with” and robin’s council-related trauma is “the murder machine literally killed my mother.”
initially i was like. that doesn’t seem compatible. but after MORE thought, i do actually think that robin might grow to really respect and appreciate giles as someone who saw how fucked up the council was and fought against DECADES of conditioning to try and express love for + protect his slayer, and i can see where that could turn into a really compelling and sweet romance! so. yes. brutally honest opinion: if done right, i think it could work.
