Buffy, NaNo, etc.

[rivendellrose]

Buffy tonight - Season 4: "A New Man," "Something Blue," and "Hush." Yes, I'm back to watching things all out of order. I've been trying to write fic today, and Giles' voice continues to elude me, so I begged the first one because it was the only one I could tell from the little blurbs would have a lot of him.

Having seen "Hush," I will now happily agree with the many people I've heard say that it's high among the best episodes, at least as far as I've seen. Also, althenesanguis? I'm sooooo glad I had not yet seen that back when I was around your little statue of the Gentlemen all the time. I don't think I could've studied around those things if I'd actually had the episode in mind. Creeeeeeeeeeeepy. Although the whole thing gave me joy with Giles and his overhead-projector multimedia presentation. *g*

I don't know what it is, but I just can't get over disliking Riley. Does he turn evil at some point and I got accidentally spoiled and then only remembered subconsciously or something? Don't tell me that. Honestly, I think he just reminds me of someone... or maybe I saw the actor in something else? Whatever. I do very much like Anya, though, and Tara is cute if waaaaay overly omigod-so-shy. What else? Oh yeah. Joss does love to play with his slashy hints, doesn't he? He knows his audience too well and just loves to make people go "bwuh?" with the double-entendres.

...Back to fic-writing, now. And hopefully some NaNoWriting, too, though I'm somewhat off the bandwagon on that at the moment. It's hard to pick back up from soooo damned far behind, and I'm just having a hard time giving a damn about my characters, the plot, anything. Bleh. This whole thing was ill-conceived and, as I have noted several times to various people, has no plot. And, really, no particularly interesting characters. Fuuun.

I bought new clothes the other day while we were out having our fun day with coramegan, in theory for job interviews but really because The Last White Elephant is wonderfully cheap and I found good things. And a new pendant, which is sort of a cross cercelee, except not. Very pretty, though slightly disconcerting in the "holy hell, I guess I'm technically wearing a cross?" sort of way.

...And I'm beginning to feel the need for more icons. Don't know of what, just yet, just... different things. Must think about what I want.

Comments

[jfrog78.livejournal.com]

I don't like Riley either. I think its because he is such a good boy. He throws the group dynamic out a little. The best Giles episodes are the ones where he sings. There is one where he is doing an acoustic guitar and singing. The other is in "Once more with feeling" He has a great voice. Did you know that he does techno music?

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I usually don't mind the goody-goodies quite so much, but... who knows? You're right about the group dynamic thing, maybe that's it.

I haven't seen the guitar ep yet, but "Once More With Feeling" was foisted on me by a good friend way back before I ever started watching Buffy, and I loved it. Still do, in fact... not least because I love Anthony Head's voice. ;)

Techno? *Laughs* Now that's a funny mental image...

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

It's not really techno. I mean, it kind of is, but it's mellow music. Jen, I think I might have some soundclips if you wanted. (I own the Music for Elevators CD, but I don't think my computer has CD ripping capabilities.)

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

That sounds interesting - I'd love to hear a sample, if you don't mind!

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

No problem.

All the Fun of the Fair
Babies (The In Between)
One Man's Rain
This Town in the Rain

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Eee! Thank you!

[coralia13.livejournal.com]

As Joss Whedon told me (and an auditorium of other people): "We had Buffy and Angel, and people really liked Buffy and Angel. Then we had Buffy and Riley, and... people really liked Buffy and Angel. No one wants to see the play Juliet and Tibolt." So you are not alone in your vague dislike. So glad you're watching and loving Buffy! It was one of my earliest, deepest loves.
Good luck with NaNo, and interviews!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

For me, it's not the Tragic Love aspect of Buffy and Angel that appeals... it's just that they're so darned right for each other. They're both angsty little twits with guilt complexes and no good grasp on reality! From a realistic angle, they're probably some degree of horrible for each other, but also perfect. *g*

Thanks! I haven't applied to anything yet, so the interviews will be a while in coming probably, but it should be interesting!

[ruuger]

I was actually very disappointed by "Hush" when I saw it - it was the second to last Buffyverse episode I saw (I watched the seasons in very strange order) and I think all the hype just killed it for me. It was good, but it wasn't as good as advertised :(

And you certainly aren't alone in your Riley dislike - he's pretty much the Buffyverse equivalent of Byron :) I don't hate Riley like most people seem to (probably because I never really cared for Buffy/Angel), but he was never among my favourite characters either.

Joss does love to play with his slashy hints, doesn't he?

Well, he has been quoted saying "In my world, heroes bugger each other senseless" re: Spike and Angel...

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Awww, that's sad that it got over-hyped for you. I'd heard a lot about it, but nothing that geared me up to expect more than was there, and I particularly enjoyed watching how much the actors could get across without dialogue. I'm such an actor-whore. *g*

I feel bad for the poor bastard... it's not his fault that I can't stand the look of him! It's not even the pairing thing, really - Buffy/Angel amuses me, and I think they're right for each other... but mostly because they're both such angsty twits that I can't picture either of them with anyone else. ;) And Riley seems like a really nice guy! Something about him just sets me on edge, I guess.

Ah yes. Yeah, that sounds like Joss. Such fun.

[lokapala.livejournal.com]

I think Riley is one of the most... (I don't want to say hated) disliked characters =) Can't say why. I liked him from his first appearance till his departure and pitied him immensely. To me his story is one of the most tragic in all the series - it's the story of an ordinary man tangled up in not-his-world. Everyone else - yeah, they have their glory days and downfalls (ones have more of the former, others - of the latter %)), but it's their Story, their World. Riley? He's from another tale, he took one wrong turn, entered someone-else's storyline, and it ended badly, mainly - for him. *pets Riley*

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

He does certainly seem out of his depth, and he plays that very well. I don't know what it is, exactly - I'm not particularly a fan of Angel (except for the purpose of laughing at him, which I definitely love to do!), so it's not the "don't you dare try to take ___'s place!" reaction, he just... irks me, for some reason. That's why I keep trying to pin it on something superficial, like remembering the actor from something else, or something weird like that.

The only other thing I can come up with is that he's just too much the perfect-guy kind of guy, which always sets my nerves on edge and makes me really hunt for a reason to dislike the character. Mmm, residual teenage non-popularity angst...

[lokapala.livejournal.com]

Aw, Angel... I am a fan of him (Huge fan. He's another of Joss' Big Damn Heroes, how I cannot love him?), but that did stop me from liking Riley, so I'm not so sure about the Great Romance Broken argument for the dislike...

Liking Angel, it's actually an interesting topic. I saw first season of AtS before I saw Buffy, so Angel on BtVS was, like, his backstory/flashback thing for me. I'm sure that biased my perception of BtVS version of him, because people who saw Buffy first almost never really like him there. I do, even though I see all the bad acting thing, and the passiveness, and what else, but I still see him as that anti-hero of his own series, and this lens changes what I see a lot =)

As for Riley, well, he loses the too-perfect-guy shine pretty fast in my opinion (in my world you're not too perfect if you can be duped by the government...), and he's sure not perfect in season 5. Your nerves will be saved.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I think I just have a deep-down soft spot for the big-dumb-puppy characters. It always takes me a while to like them, but after Duncan on Highlander and Sheridan on Babylon 5, liking Angel came fairly easily. He's not that bright, he's terribly angsty, and I often want to smack him upside the head, but he's amusing.

...It probably doesn't hurt that one of the first things I saw him in was the Angel episode "Smile Time," where he was turned into a Sesame Street style puppet. Hard not to find him amusing after that. ;)

Sounds good. I'm already getting vibes of it, but it's good to know he'll soon have issues all his own.

[lokapala.livejournal.com]

Heeee, wee little puppet man, yes :D

He's actually smart and disturbingly perceptive, you know... Had to, to become one of the most feared vampires in history =) He just thinks that as long as a problem is solvable with smashing someones' heads together, why bother thinking?

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I just about died of laughter during that scene with him and Spike fighting. So wonderful.

And yet, similar arguments could be made for Duncan and Sheridan, and I still wouldn't believe it for a minute. I think it's a case of high intelligence / low wisdom, in all three cases. They're smart, in their specialized ways... they're just also really really dumb in a lot of other ways.

[lokapala.livejournal.com]

Hm... No, I don't think so. I never thought that Sheridan was smart and he surely wasn't perceptive - he was skilled in his area, that's all. Duncan... Well, skilled, too, and actually with a doze of wisdom - it's just that Methos' well of wisdom of course is deeper and in comparison with him Duncan doesn't look so good.

It's not the case with Angel - we're not just supposed to think he knows stuff or possess some speshul vampiric wisdom - we see him do things and judge things in ways that support the idea 'but this dumb lummox has to have some smarts, he's the Scourge of Europe, for God's sake!'

A case also can be made for the concept that he tries to hide his perceptiveness and knowledge of people around his friends because their active use is associated with his not-so-nice parts of personality (which are combined into a separate personality and called Angelus by those strange people who think that the poor guy has schizophrenia). In other words, he's at his scheming best when he's at his worst.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Heheheh, okay, maybe I'm not giving Angel enough credit. He just casts that same vibe as the other two, for me, and not knowing the character all that well is probably against me in this case. He does seem to "get" people pretty well, and... well, he was smart enough to completely trick Faith and the mayor, so that's got to give him some good credit. It's just that when it comes to a spot between him and someone like, say, Spike, who may not actually be all that terrifically bright but is certainly better at coming across as clever, well... poor stolid Angel seems to come across to me as being something of a dope.

And very much so on him being more obviously clever (viciously so) when he's on evil-mode. Though any guy who thinks a chainsaw is an effective interrogation tool, I kind of have to doubt in the brains department. Maybe he was just threatening, but it was still kind of like "waiiiit a minute... that's just not smart, if you want information out of somebody."

[lokapala.livejournal.com]

*stifles giggles* Ahem. Spike's a special case: when he gets in the same room as Angel they both mentally degenerate approximately to the level of a 12-years old =) They've got the history to sort of have the right to it, but still. Highly amusing, not so much productive.

I always thought the chainsaw thing was a case of "OK, Acathla's a no-go, let's at least have fun with Giles-meat-puppet"... Bad mental images, but hey, psychotic suicidal vampires, that's what you get from them.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Gods yes - those two are complete morons when they're together. I love it. :D

It makes sense when you put it that way - if that was the case, it's odd that Angel didn't think of having Dru go in for the information before-hand, but he's probably not as used to having her in his corner as Spike is anymore, I guess... and the thought of doing things the delicate way never really seems to concern him when he's on evil-mode, even when it would be the sensible thing to do (and would yield more damage in the end). For instance, if he'd been more clever the first time he went all evil-Angel, he could have gotten more insider-information and torn Buffy and co. apart from the inside before they realized he'd gone over. But I guess that's just not as much fun. ;)

[lokapala.livejournal.com]

For instance, if he'd been more clever the first time he went all evil-Angel, he could have gotten more insider-information and torn Buffy and co. apart from the inside before they realized he'd gone over.

Eh... Well, for one thing, he already spent a year with them. If there was some inside information he didn't know, it's highly doubtful it would be revealed in the next several.. weeks? months? Anyway, there was no actual sides to go over from one to another, it's not war - he didn't go over, he turned on them, or, more accurately, on Buffy. And since he was pissed at the world at large, himself, and personally at Buffy to the magnitude of committing suicide-by-apocalypse... Not the best state of mind to spend time planning and scheming, right?

[barn-swallow.livejournal.com]

*stabs Riley* Yeah I never liked him. I'll pretend it's not because of my extreme Angel-bias and say it's because he was BORING. And NICE. And always like "Wahh wahh I can't keep up with the slayer and her magic friends, boo hoo." And then there were several eps where I had to see him making out and having sex which made me dislike him more, for some reason. Ugh Riley. Go away.

But now, looking back, Season 4 was much better than I thought it was at the time. And you're making me want to watch S1 eps because I am feeling nostalgic.

[barn-swallow.livejournal.com]

...I just noticed you are listening to Faye. I love her so much!! Except I don't think I know the song you are listening to. I'm probably a few years behind on her music, actually. But she's so awesome!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I've only got the one song by her, actually - it's a cover of "Dreams" by the Cranberries, so probably not a normal-release type of thing. Beautiful, beautiful song, though - I actually prefer it to the original. *g*

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Boring, nice... and too damned perfect. That's what I keep coming back to, the more I think about it - he's painted as such a Perfect Guy that I just can't stand him.

Yay for nostalgia! The more people get nostalgic for the series, the less I'll feel alone going through it so late! *g*

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

I didn't care much about Riley at the time, but I definitely tend to defend him. On a meta level, I think it was important that Buffy try the "normal guy" thing; and while I think part of the point of his character was that he was kind of boring, I also think he has more depth than he gets credit for (I'm thinking primarily of later episodes where we see his tension with Maggie/the Initiative more).

And yes Tara is staggeringly stutteringly shy, but it absolutely makes sense (I'm thinking especially of an S5 ep that gives us more background info about her). She is, of course, one of my very favorite characters.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

That makes sense. And I'll look forward to seeing his relationship with his superiors get more complicated - that always leads to interesting things.

I've heard bits and pieces, and I'm very much looking forward to the rest. From what little I've seen, I definitely like her.

[wanderingbeyond.livejournal.com]

JEN!!!!!!!! You HAVE to IMMEDIATELY get a Myspace account. RIGHT NOW! Trust me on this one, you are going to flip when you find out who just joined myspace. Seriously. RIGHT NOW.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

....Is this the Nathan Fillion thing? Because I thought I heard about that one a while ago...

o_O

*Is scared of MySpace*

[althenesanguis.livejournal.com]

Aww, my poor poor Gentlemen dolls - they just don't get any love. At the moment I have them placed all around my room, so no matter where you stand, there is at least one Gentleman looking down on you.

How's that for a comforting thought?

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

...And to think, I thought they were creepy when they were all together. o_O

They get the love... it's just the "ohmigod those things are scary!" kind of love. *g*