zobothehobo
Scooby
I've been thinking about this topic for several months, ever since [MENTION=3210]Joan[/MENTION] the Vampire Slayer posted this post. [MENTION=7585]Kean[/MENTION] and I posted in the thread about how our favorite characters and relationships relate to us. Then today I read this tumblr post and really felt I had to post this thread.
That tumblr post was inspired by a Livejournal meta by the_royal_anna. In that meta (just below the part that is quoted in the tumblr post) is this:
When I read that, I thought of white avenger's post from earlier today. In the part that it says you can avoid if you so choose, he says essentially that Angel wants to protect Buffy, while Spike wants to stand beside her. I've said this before here on the board (I think it was in something in The Back Steps), and I truly believe it.
Putting all of this together, I began thinking about how I've heard/seen love stories, songs, people in love, people who want to be in love, etc my whole life talking about how people protect the person they're in love with. How beautiful it is when someone in love stands in front of their loved one to protect them. But I think it's more beautiful to stand beside someone. Obviously, those that think it's more beautiful to protect your loved one would be a Bangel, just because it reflects what they value in a relationship.
Then I started thinking about characters... individual characters. Spike is me. I am Spike. Seriously, on "About Me" sections, I write briefly about the things I like and then say "want to know more? Watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and pay special attention to Spike." He is me.
Specifically the way he feels the world. My grandfather always says "there are two type of people in this world. Those who think the world, and those who feel it." I feel the world. So does Spike. He does nothing without passion. If he doesn't want to do it, if it doesn't make him feel strongly, he won't bother (like in Becoming part 2 when he sees Angel and Buffy fighting, stops says "he's going to kill her," then you see him think for a second like "should I lend a hand" then he shrugs and goes off with Dru.) That's so me. I nearly failed out of school (twice) because it's so hard for me to do things I don't feel passionate about. Things I don't want to do. But in life you have to do things you don't want to do sometimes.
I'd say Angel thinks the world. Whenever we see him, he's always thinking. I'm so not that person. And Angel doesn't speak to me, I don't relate to him, in large part because I don't and can't think the world. I'll be honest, I don't often understand Angel because I'm so far from who he is. He doesn't make sense to me. I imagine (and would guess from some of the things I've read about Spike from people who don't like him) that some people are that way with Spike. They don't get him, they don't understand him, because he's so far from who they are.
(note: I chose to put these two against each other here because they're opposites and I think they very clearly represent the dichotomy between those who think the world and those who feel it. Not because of their relationships with Buffy)
But then there are my other favorite characters... like Buffy, Anya, Willow, and Tara. Buffy season 7 + Spike (season 7 mostly + William) is who I want to become "when I grow up." And Buffy's also very much me. I don't much relate to High School Buffy, which is probably why in the early seasons, she's really not one of my favorite characters at all. But in the later seasons, she's my second favorite (second to Spike.)
I love how outspoken Anya is. I am just like that. I say what I think and feel when I think and feel it. And it gets me into trouble. Social rules of conduct are not really my thing. I honestly don't understand why sometimes I'm supposed to bite my tongue and not tell people what I think. Some people really don't like me because I say basically everything I think.
Willow's addictive personality and need to be someone are very relatable to me. Willow was my favorite character in season 1, but I didn't fall in love with her character until Dopplegangland when she has that whole thing with how she doesn't want to be "Miss Dependable" or "Old Reliable." That's why I relate to her season 6 storyline and actually really love it. I'm also crazy excited to see her arc in season 9 because of how magic made her different. It kind of reminds me of something she says in Two to Go about how Tara was all she had going for her. She places so much importance on other things to define who she is. Which is why she's got an addictive personality (as Buffy points out at the beginning of Two to Go). That is so me.
and Tara. Tara's got a maternal instinct that's hard to ignore. She's the "mommy" of the whole group in season 6. My friends will often call me the "mommy" because I'm always mediating, I'm always organizing, I'm always saying "hey, you don't need that," or keeping my friends in line. I'm always taking care.
So I relate to every one of my favorite characters. They are my favorite characters because there's a large part of their personality that reflects a large part of mine.
On that note though, there is one character who reflects me I don't particularly like: Xander. Xander has a tendency to think he's a loser, and, therefore, act like one. It's Thomas Theorem, "If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences." Xander thinks he's a loser, and, therefore, often acts like one. I'm the same way. I'm very hard on myself. Xander also didn't go off to college with his friends and lived in his parents' house for a while after graduating high school. He didn't find his niche until a year or so after he graduated high school (which was later than society says he's supposed to). Me too. These are things about myself that I don't like. Therefore, Xander isn't my favorite.
With all this reflecting on me, I got to wondering if this is true for others. Do you think your personality and the things you value reflect your favorite ships and characters? Or is what you value in fiction different from what you value in life?
That tumblr post was inspired by a Livejournal meta by the_royal_anna. In that meta (just below the part that is quoted in the tumblr post) is this:
When I read that, I thought of white avenger's post from earlier today. In the part that it says you can avoid if you so choose, he says essentially that Angel wants to protect Buffy, while Spike wants to stand beside her. I've said this before here on the board (I think it was in something in The Back Steps), and I truly believe it.
Putting all of this together, I began thinking about how I've heard/seen love stories, songs, people in love, people who want to be in love, etc my whole life talking about how people protect the person they're in love with. How beautiful it is when someone in love stands in front of their loved one to protect them. But I think it's more beautiful to stand beside someone. Obviously, those that think it's more beautiful to protect your loved one would be a Bangel, just because it reflects what they value in a relationship.
Then I started thinking about characters... individual characters. Spike is me. I am Spike. Seriously, on "About Me" sections, I write briefly about the things I like and then say "want to know more? Watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer and pay special attention to Spike." He is me.
Specifically the way he feels the world. My grandfather always says "there are two type of people in this world. Those who think the world, and those who feel it." I feel the world. So does Spike. He does nothing without passion. If he doesn't want to do it, if it doesn't make him feel strongly, he won't bother (like in Becoming part 2 when he sees Angel and Buffy fighting, stops says "he's going to kill her," then you see him think for a second like "should I lend a hand" then he shrugs and goes off with Dru.) That's so me. I nearly failed out of school (twice) because it's so hard for me to do things I don't feel passionate about. Things I don't want to do. But in life you have to do things you don't want to do sometimes.
I'd say Angel thinks the world. Whenever we see him, he's always thinking. I'm so not that person. And Angel doesn't speak to me, I don't relate to him, in large part because I don't and can't think the world. I'll be honest, I don't often understand Angel because I'm so far from who he is. He doesn't make sense to me. I imagine (and would guess from some of the things I've read about Spike from people who don't like him) that some people are that way with Spike. They don't get him, they don't understand him, because he's so far from who they are.
(note: I chose to put these two against each other here because they're opposites and I think they very clearly represent the dichotomy between those who think the world and those who feel it. Not because of their relationships with Buffy)
But then there are my other favorite characters... like Buffy, Anya, Willow, and Tara. Buffy season 7 + Spike (season 7 mostly + William) is who I want to become "when I grow up." And Buffy's also very much me. I don't much relate to High School Buffy, which is probably why in the early seasons, she's really not one of my favorite characters at all. But in the later seasons, she's my second favorite (second to Spike.)
I love how outspoken Anya is. I am just like that. I say what I think and feel when I think and feel it. And it gets me into trouble. Social rules of conduct are not really my thing. I honestly don't understand why sometimes I'm supposed to bite my tongue and not tell people what I think. Some people really don't like me because I say basically everything I think.
Willow's addictive personality and need to be someone are very relatable to me. Willow was my favorite character in season 1, but I didn't fall in love with her character until Dopplegangland when she has that whole thing with how she doesn't want to be "Miss Dependable" or "Old Reliable." That's why I relate to her season 6 storyline and actually really love it. I'm also crazy excited to see her arc in season 9 because of how magic made her different. It kind of reminds me of something she says in Two to Go about how Tara was all she had going for her. She places so much importance on other things to define who she is. Which is why she's got an addictive personality (as Buffy points out at the beginning of Two to Go). That is so me.
and Tara. Tara's got a maternal instinct that's hard to ignore. She's the "mommy" of the whole group in season 6. My friends will often call me the "mommy" because I'm always mediating, I'm always organizing, I'm always saying "hey, you don't need that," or keeping my friends in line. I'm always taking care.
So I relate to every one of my favorite characters. They are my favorite characters because there's a large part of their personality that reflects a large part of mine.
On that note though, there is one character who reflects me I don't particularly like: Xander. Xander has a tendency to think he's a loser, and, therefore, act like one. It's Thomas Theorem, "If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences." Xander thinks he's a loser, and, therefore, often acts like one. I'm the same way. I'm very hard on myself. Xander also didn't go off to college with his friends and lived in his parents' house for a while after graduating high school. He didn't find his niche until a year or so after he graduated high school (which was later than society says he's supposed to). Me too. These are things about myself that I don't like. Therefore, Xander isn't my favorite.
With all this reflecting on me, I got to wondering if this is true for others. Do you think your personality and the things you value reflect your favorite ships and characters? Or is what you value in fiction different from what you value in life?
