#the gift

I love that Buffy and Spike’s last meaningful scene before Buffy’s sacrifice, and their first scene after she was resurrected, happened at the exact same place: in the stairs, at the Summers’ house. Everything is the same, and yet, everything is different. She’s now one step closer to him. 👀

In terms of symbolism, if we want to add some poetry to all of this: in The Gift, she’s going upstairs, leaving him while she’s “ascending” to another place. But in Afterlife, she’s descending the stairs, coming back from “that place”, and gravitating slowly but definitely towards him.

It’s also worth noting that in The Gift, Buffy tells him she’s counting on him to protect Dawn (despite her disagreement with Giles on how she might have to sacrifice her sister, she knows Spike will be on her side, it goes without saying). And in Afterlife, one of the first things she sees after coming back to life is Spike yelling at Dawn for running away, out of his sight, proving that he actually respected his promise to protect her.

Ugh how I loveeee Black Is Kinggg. Honestly, it upsets me how little attention this art piece gets. It's gorgeous from start to finish.

and then this over a century old vampire, badass Slayer of Slayers, has to fight a smile of his own and take a moment to appreciate his welcome, gazing at the seams of the entryway, before making the most tentative step over the threshold and saying “presto” at the lack of barrier, a catch in his unnecessary breath.