Twenty Reasons to Why Xander is So Awesome
Thanks to moscow_watcher for making this lovely poster and lusciousspike for reading this.
Thanks to moscow_watcher for making this lovely poster and lusciousspike for reading this.
1) He's brave.
Lack of superpowers doesn't stop him from risking his life to save his friends, his enemies, and the world. Xander had just learned that vampires existed yet he followed Buffy into the sewers to rescue Jesse. Xander could have run away when the old high school started collapsing, but instead he jumped to save Spike regardless of the falling rocks.
2) He's loyal.
Xander had been offered to leave the fight and run away, to live a normal life away from all the monsters and death threats, but Xander rejected Anya's offer and stayed. He'd never leave his friends no matter how tempting it is. Xander could have started over new after Chosen. After all he lost, no one would blame him for quitting, but here he is, helping Buffy setting an organization in Scotland.
3) He's attracted to strong women.
Strong women turn him on: Slayers, demons, and head cheerleaders. She's got to be confident and tough. Just hearing that Kendra is a Slayer made Xander interested, but once he realized she's insecure around men, he lost interest.
4) He's got no problem following strong women.
Xander looks up to Buffy, values her opinion and follows her lead no matter what. When Buffy dies, he elects Willow as their leader, because she too is a strong woman he admires. Also, when he's in danger, the first name that pops into his head is Buffy. No one can save him or have the answers but Buffy. She, a woman, is his hero and idol.
5) He's funny.
"I laugh in the face of danger. Then I hide until it goes away." "To read makes our speaking English good." "Someone else's loss is my chocolaty goodness." "That is wrong. Big, fat, spanking wrong. It's a slap in the face to every one of us that studied hard and worked long hours to earn our D's." "You and Will go do the superpower thing. I'll stay behind and putter around the batcave with crusty old Alfred here." "Sunnydale: Come for the food, stay for the dismemberment."
6) He's an achiever.
After trying a series of jobs in S4, Xander finds out he's good at construction. Xander works so hard he earns promotions and raises, and becomes the most successful Scooby at a very young age. He gets his own crew and bosses men older than him and he's just turned twenty. Not to mention, finding a time to help out Buffy when he's got a full-time job. Coming home after working under California's burning sun and still having the energy to research and help Buffy? As slayers go, Buffy is so lucky to have a friend like Xander.
7) He's perceptive underneath the Hawaiian wear.
He figured out how to defeat so many villains despite the common belief that he's the dumbest dumb since Dumb and Dumber. He's been insightful enough to figure out what Buffy's problem was in When She Was Bad. He was the one who figured out that they'd resurrected Buffy and left her in her coffin.
8) He's the shoulder his friends cry on.
Buffy, Willow, Dawn, Cordelia and Anya had leaned on his shoulder and poured their hearts out. He doesn't mind listening to their problems and helping them out with a well-worded speech.
9) He teams with people he dislikes to save Buffy and the world.
He teamed with Angel many times to save the day in the earlier seasons, most notably, Prophecy Girl. And also teamed with Spike in the later seasons, most notably, Him. Despite how he feels about them, he helps Buffy save Angel in Amends and Graduation Day Part 1 and lets Spike live with him twice because it's the right thing to do.
10) He helps Anya find love again.
He takes Anya in and starts a relationship with her. He gives her a friend, when she's abandoned by everybody. He offers her a seat in most of the Scooby gang meetings, making her a Scooby despite how his friends felt about her. He teaches her how to be socially competent, kisses her and snuggles with her in front of all his friends, and when he thinks about giving up his life to his evil twin, Anya is the only one he can't give up. Evil twin can take away everything, but Anya.
11) He loves Buffy and Willow no matter what.
Nothing Buffy and Willow do will stop Xander from loving them. He may get angry at times, but he always forgives them, always tries to see where they're coming from even if he doesn't want to. Ending the world and shagging soulless Spike are really upsetting but eventually don't matter at all. Buffy and Willow will always be number one in his heart.
12) He forgets all about his problems and injuries when one of his friends is hurt.
His friends come first. And then Xander. When he was just humiliated by the superior college dude and his boss, he forgets all about it the second he sees a depressed Buffy and instead of venting, he asks her if he could help. In Older and Far Away, he forgets about his injured arm the second he sees Anya standing at the door and looking scared. He jumps to comfort her in an instant.
13) He sacrifices himself for those he loves.
When Ampata wanted to suck Willow's face, Xander offered up himself to save Willow, knowing that by doing that he's gonna definitely die. When Toth shot Buffy, Xander pushed her out of the way and got shot instead. When Olaf asked him to choose between Anya and Willow, which one was gonna die, Xander offered to be killed so that Anya and Willow would be spared.
14) He's not afraid to put himself in danger to save his friends.
In scary frat house where boys get orgasms from walls and girls cut their hair bold, everyone is outside shaking or escaping, but not Xander. He must go in and try to save Buffy and Riley. He'd have gone there alone if it wasn't for the spirits pushing him outside. He attacked Spike who can stand in daylight without bursting to flame to help Buffy. He'd basically throw himself at anything or anyone to save his friends, even if it was useless.
15) He never left Buffy's side.
Everyone basically left Buffy at one point or another. Angel left to find redemption, Cordelia left to find fame, Riley left to find a purpose, Giles left to teach Buffy how to be responsible, Spike stayed in LA to be his own man, Willow left to find a guide, and eventually Dawn left for college.
Apparently, Xander did leave to grieve. But being captured by Dracula made it impossible for him to come back, until Buffy marched in and saved him. And then he and Buffy worked together in Scotland.
16) He helps Buffy out with real life matters.
He drives her and Dawn to school, he fixes her house for free, and he's there for Dawn playing the parent role when Buffy's too busy.
17) He admits being a jackass to Buffy when it comes to Angel and Spike.
"Look, I'm aware I haven't been the mostest best friend to you when it comes to the whole Angel thing, and, um, I don't know, maybe I finally got the Chanukah spirit."
"It hurt. That you didn't trust me enough to tell me about Spike. It hurt. Maybe you would have, if I hadn't given you so many reasons to think I'd be an ass about it."
18) He's there when no one notices Dawn's pain.
He's there when Dawn cries over Buffy stealing RJ, he's there when she's down about not being a slayer, he's there when she grew into a giant and needed someone to talk to, he's there when she talked about Kenny and Nick, he's there when she turned into a half-horse and also needed someone to talk to.
19) He doesn't see things in a black/white fashion.
He's fine with Oz. He's fine with Clem. He's fine with Anya, despite cringing at her past crimes "“who wouldn't? He's fine with Willow being a witch. He's fine with Dawn being a ball of energy. He doesn't seem to like the Initiative approach, and took Buffy's side on the wrongness of their experiments. He even found Vampire Buffy and Vampire Willow hot, and wondered if he was as badass as a vampire. I think his reasons for disliking Angel and Spike weren't solely on them being vampires. I don't even think it features in his top ten reasons, and I believe he usually uses the vampire card as a cover for the real reason behind the hate.
20) He doesn't get much appreciation for his contributions, but he celebrates his victories alone.
The Zeppo is an obvious example. Xander saved his friends' lives, and they never knew, because he didn't tell them. Cordelia taunted him about his uselessness and he didn't tell her either. Instead, he walked away confidently with pride. It doesn't matter if they knew, the important thing is that Xander knows. And he only shares it with Dawn later, because she's in his shoes as well.
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CrayonBreakyMe
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prophecygrrl
Wow, this post made me like Xander so much more! Thanks for this. :D
Tillow4ever
Holy shit. That's the most karma I have EVER seen! I'll be happy to add to it cause I definitely agree! :D
Abbeycat
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LoveLoveLovix
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