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Whedonistas!: A Celebration of the Worlds of Joss Whedon by the Women Who Love Them | Lynne M. Thomas, Deborah Stanish

I just went down such a rabbit hole after learning that Seanan McGuire 1) found her agent through writing Buffy fanfic, & 2) genuinely despises the ending of the series.

NOW. I have plenty of complaints about Buffy. But the ending was never one of them. Any other superfans want to weigh in?

I may have bought a book just to read her essay about it.

Note: Don‘t worry! I bought it used. Because, ew, Joss Whedon.

willaful I was a big fan at one time and was pretty happy with the ending. I'm curious now too. 4d

monalyisha @willaful The most I can find is a Goodreads quote, “The mythology warped and twisted back along itself until Buffy Summers, the girl who once railed against the unfairness of being Chosen, looked at a squadron of girls who were just like she‘d been and took away their right to Choose.” 3d

willaful Ah, yes I can understand that point of view. It's presented as entirely a positive in the show, and you can argue that Buffy's pov has changed with age and that she's giving them something she mostly didn't have -- each other. 3d

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AnneCecilie I liked that ending, but I had a completely different understanding off it. I took it to mean that every girl had the inner strength to be a slayer and stand up for herself 3d

TheLudicReader I didn‘t hate the ending of Buffy. (My complaint has always been how they jumped the shark with Spike.) Curious to know what the author‘s fanfic handle was as I wrote a lot of fanfic back in the day and was pretty well connected to fandom. 3d

monalyisha @willaful @AnneCecilie Yes! I viewed it as such a hopeful and beautiful example of the redistribution of power (and its decentralization)! Context is incredibly important. Community vs. isolation means so much. I didn‘t get the impression that every new Slayer would be forced into servitude, either. I bet McGuire feels even more passionately about her interpretation (which she‘s entitled to!) after the allegations against Joss came to light. 3d

monalyisha @TheLudicReader Unfortunately, she removed her name from all of it after people started critiquing it like they would her published writing. I‘m not sure that info‘s findable anymore. I wouldn‘t recognize your handle (I was too young and my memory‘s too shoddy)…but I wonder if I read any of your stuff back in the day! I know McGuire specifically wrote Buffy/Faith fanfic. 3d

willaful @monalyisha @AnneCecilie Yes, well put.

3d

TheLudicReader @monalyisha I don‘t think fic writers should be ashamed of what they wrote. It‘s great practice and I wrote stuff I am still really proud of. It sucks that Whedon tainted Buffy‘s legacy, but this is one instance where I separate art from artist. There were a lot of other people involved in the Buffyverse, too. Where did you read your fanfic when you read it? 2d

monalyisha @TheLudicReader I truly have no idea. I was about 13. To me, it was all just “the internet.” 😅 I know I was a big fan of the Angel/Willow “ours is a forbidden love” storyline. To be clear, this pairing horrifies me now. 🙈 (As do many aspects of the show if I look at them too closely.) At the time, my thinking went no further than, “Angel is hot...and I am like Willow.” Reason enough for me! (edited) 2d

TheLudicReader @monalyisha Angel is hot is the reason I started watching that show in the first place. 🤣 The next ten years I was full on fandom! 2d

monalyisha @TheLudicReader Recapping the moment that he returned from Hell (in the nude), my bff‘s older sister‘s bff commented, “He was glistenin‘ like a Greek God!” That moment is forever seared into my brain. 😂 (edited) 2d

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