Damn.

[elisi]

So, yesterday I linked to the cover for issue 7 of S8, because it featured a very handsome Giles. I was however v. tired and didn't actually read the summary. (Didn't realise that it was supposed to be Faith next to him either...)

As you probably know, I've been clinging to the Faith-arc, because there was no way Joss could mess *her* up, right?

Faith’s out to kill a Slayer.

Lady Genevieve Savidge is one of the most dangerous women on the planet. If she’s left unstopped, the British heiress will usher in the apocalypse. Faith has accepted Giles’s offer of an early retirement package for this gig — but the wetworks will have to wait till she’s infiltrated Savidge’s mystically protected estate.

THE HELL?? Unless that is some very clever misdirection (which is possible of course and is the one straw I'm clinging to), then I honestly don't know what happened to the character I love. Faith has a PROBLEM with killing people - there was this whole 'going evil and then seeking redemption' thing, right? But I could cope with that - just - if she was doing it 'for the common good'... rogue Slayers are dangerous, Faith knows that better than anyone. There could be interesting things done with that. But doing it 'for early retirement'???? What Faith would that be? The one who loved knitting and dreamt of having a house full of rug rats?

I am so baffled that... well I don't have the words. Maybe it's my cue to just walk away althogether. Sorry S8 lovers, but there's only so much I can put up with.

Maybe Joss got brainsucked by Glory?

*deep sigh*

At least Doctor Who has suddenly become awesome and brilliant and full of layers and themes and stuff, exploring all sorts of fascinating issues. *goes back to SHINY show and CANON Buffy*

ETA: Ok, so maybe it will be more like follows:

Giles: I need a Slayer dead. Faith, I trust you can do it, you have killed before. Also you already have a criminal record.
Faith: 'Scuse me?
Giles: I have prepared a generous retirement package for you, as a thank you for services rendered. If however you decide to decline, the police might just discover where you've been hiding out...

Or, you know, something along those lines. Stupid comics.

Comments

[elisi]

Now it’s all “woe is Faith” being offered the cash to do exactly the same or anything else she wants.
Heh. I think my point isn't the 'what', it's the 'why'. I *still* don't know why Buffy chose to go live in that castle. And I find it near impossible to imagine a scenario in which Faith would be happy to 'retire'.

Surely there are lots of ways to live like a good person that don’t involve constantly killing things with your bare hands.
Oh absolutely. But Faith always embraced her calling with far more gusto than Buffy. I get that her experiences might have changed her, but...

It all just rubs me up the wrong way. And Faith as My Fair Lady? Guess we'll see...

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

I *still* don't know why Buffy chose to go live in that castle.

I know you're fond of stories where at the age of 23 Buffy retires to live the dream with a mortgage, 2.2 vampires and a child...

But given how devoted to her duty she was shown as being - to the point of developing a martyr complex about it - I can certainly imagine her managing maybe a month of relaxing, shopping and dancing after 'Chosen' before she began feeling guilty about not providing leadership to the new Slayers, and wondering how many people would die every night that she didn't go out patrolling - or helping to train other Slayers to do the patrolling as well.

Buffy would go and live in that castle because she saw it as the right thing to do. Simple as.

[elisi]

I know you're fond of stories where at the age of 23 Buffy retires to live the dream with a mortgage, 2.2 vampires and a child...
*snickers* But - I never said she was 23! It could be 5 years down the line - I left the timeline vague on purpose. Actually 5 years might be fairly good, since Dawn in that story was definitely an adult and Buffy wasn't shirking her responsibilities re. her sister. All in all that fic was v. compatible with S8 - cracktastic plot and all. :)

Buffy would go and live in that castle because she saw it as the right thing to do. Simple as.
That I agree with. But we have not been TOLD this. All that's been said is 'this is what she did' - and I like to know the why's. Did she feel guilty? Or obliged? Or did she really want to train the newbies (she had fun in S7 before things got really dark). I can't work out where she's at if I don't have any pointers.

[aycheb.livejournal.com]

We've been shown her vocation driving her repeatedly even in the bad old days when it was no fun at all. In The Long Way Home they show that although things aren't perfect she is having fun, she has her friends, she has the respect of the new girls, her training and Slaying sessions have gusto coming out of their bottoms. It seems an entirely natural development to me, more so if anything than the Rome gig with the Immortal and certainly more than the fic standby of having little else on her mind but moping over 'insert vampire of choice.'

[aycheb.livejournal.com]

But Faith always embraced her calling with far more gusto than Buffy.
Exactly and that’s why having experienced where that took her she’d be wary about doing it other than when absolutely necessary now. The gusto was definitely lacking post prison already and with 500 active Slayers necessity is going to happen less often.

It a truism that everyone has their own interpretation of any given character, the uprubbing you’re feeling is possibly due to the comics revealing that Joss, or whoever’s in charge of them, has interpretations of Buffy and Faith that differ from yours. So far they’re pretty consistent with mine hence purriness. For my Faith (and my Spike for that matter) rather than embracing their bad selves I think it would be a good thing for them to choose to retire from literal violence, maybe to go work at Anne’s Shelter or somewhere similar.

[elisi]

For my Faith (and my Spike for that matter) rather than embracing their bad selves I think it would be a good thing for them to choose to retire from literal violence, maybe to go work at Anne’s Shelter or somewhere similar.
I have nothing against that, really, but I don't think it's that simple. The violence is a part of them:

Kendra: You always do dat.
Buffy: Do what?
Kendra: You talk about slaying like it's a job. It's not. It's who you are.
Buffy: Did you get that from your handbook?
Kendra: From you.
Buffy: I guess it's something I really can't fight. (smiles) I'm a freak.
Kendra: Not de only freak.
Buffy: Not anymore.
What's My Line II

Angel: “I’ve been having dreams.”
Wesley: “Dreams?”
Angel: “Killing dreams. Always the same. I-I stalk them, toy with them, mark them while they are still alive. Before they can die from their fear, I feed on them.”
Cordy: “Okay. So you’ve been having nightmares, it doesn’t mean...”
Angel: “They’re not nightmares. I’ve enjoyed them.”
Somnambulist

Denying/running away from who/what they are will never really work - they should strive for some sort of balance. This was something the show explored in great detail and never flinched from.

[(Anonymous)]

Just because it's "part of them' doesn't mean it's a good part. There's a difference between acknowledging a weakness and acting on it.

Those two quotes are referring to different things. When Kendra's talking about slaying I don't think she means the kill-crush-rush of it (this is Kendra not S3 Faith) but the need to do something, to fight against evil, to help people. When Buffy reclaims her name in Anne it's to help Chanterelle not because she's dying for a good slay.

In S1 of Angel his vampirism was being played as a metaphor for addiction and while an addiction or addictiveness is very much a part of someone that they need to be aware of that doesn't mean it has to be indulged.

[elisi]

LJ obviously logged you out, so I'm replying to this comment, doing a copy and paste of the relevant bits:

Just because it's "part of them' doesn't mean it's a good part. There's a difference between acknowledging a weakness and acting on it.
Oh definitely. But I'd never classify slayerness as a weakness. Vampire instincs is of course something else...

Those two quotes are referring to different things. When Kendra's talking about slaying I don't think she means the kill-crush-rush of it (this is Kendra not S3 Faith) but the need to do something, to fight against evil, to help people. When Buffy reclaims her name in Anne it's to help Chanterelle not because she's dying for a good slay.
Oh absolutely. But that is sort of my point - Faith's story is one of redemption:

Faith: "So, how does this - work?"
Angel: "There is no real simple answer to that. - I won't lie to you and tell you that it'll be easy - because it won't be. - Just because you've decided to change doesn't mean that the world is ready for you to. - The truth is - no matter how much you suffer, no matter how many good deeds you do to try to make up for the past - you may never balance out the cosmic scale. - The only thing I can promise you is that you'll probably be haunted - and may be for the rest of your life."

Suddenly deciding that she's 'done enough' after a couple of years strikes me as well... unlikely. And hopefully goes to show that the blurb is full of misdirection.

In S1 of Angel his vampirism was being played as a metaphor for addiction and while an addiction or addictiveness is very much a part of someone that they need to be aware of that doesn't mean it has to be indulged.
Of course not. But we saw how in NFA he could use that very aspect of himself to win the battle against Hamilton. Like everything else, it can be turned into a weapon.

And now I'm honestly struggling to remember what my original point was. *yawns* Let's talk once the Faith arc is over, yeah? :)