Meta Fantastic

[crazydiamondsue]

menomegirl asked during my "I still love the Buffyverse, yes I do!" post if I would make a meta recs post. I had the time. This is the result.


CHARACTERS

BUFFY SUMMERS
O For a Muse of Fire by beadattitude
Buffy is, like, smarter than David Hume and St. Thomas Aquinas. Seriously. by stoney321
Buffy in Season 6 by rahirah
There Goes My Hero by femmenerd
Just a Normal Girl: The Seven Lessons of Being Buffy by st_salieri

ANGEL (ANGELUS)
Him For All In All: Angel From "Becoming to Not Fade Away": Part One and Part Two by kita0610
Angel's Gift by bhadrasvapna
Angel's Curse by shadowkat67
Angel by tkp
I Can't Take My Eyes Off You: Angel, Spike, and the Nature of Evil by lynnenne

SPIKE
The Pre-Raphaelite Punk by paratti
The Spike Problem or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Canon by gabrielleabelle
Triggers, Chips, & Souls - Trading Clothes & Ringing Pavlov's Bell by shadowkat67
Spikecentricity by Spring Summers
Between the Dotted Lines: Post-Shanshu Spike by yourlibrarian

WILLOW ROSENBERG
Bent But Not Broken by calliopes_pen
Becoming Willow by glimmergirl
Willowy Thoughts by ludditerobot

RUPERT GILES
He's Our Grownup Friend: On Giles and Adulthood by kindkit
Between Buffy's Coffin And Giles's Flat in Bath: Giles and the Watcher-Slayer Relationship in "Once More With Feeling" by wisdomeagle
What Happens When Obi-Wan Doesn't Die by molly_may

XANDER HARRIS
The Boy Who Had No Cool by stoptocheer
The Whipping Boy by inlovewithnight
Stalking the Fanon Xander by liz_marcs
Xander's Acceptance of Spike in Season 7 by eowyn_315

FAITH LEHANE
Pretty, Dark Hair, Kills Things by nikitangel
All My Faith by gabrielleabelle

DAWN SUMMERS
Little Miss Muffet and the Chamber of Secrets by fox1013

DANIEL "OZ" OSBOURNE
'An Ascetic Animal': A Geography of Oz by glossing

TARA MCCLAY
Her Insect Reflection by calliopes_pen

ANYA (ANYANKA)
All About Anya: Part One and Part Two by avrelia
Demon Anya, Punisher of Evil Males by julianatheorize

JOYCE SUMMERS
The Chosen Mom by dolores

DRUSILLA
All Tomorrow's Parties by gwyddfid
Thicker Than Water: Drusilla's View of Family by bookishwench

JONATHAN LEVINSON
Do You Really Think They’ll Let Us Join Their Gang? Tribute to a Superstar by paynbow

WARREN MEARS
Mary Sue Goes Septic by londonkds

CORDELIA CHASE
Whither Cordelia by selenak
Oh, The Horror: Season 4 Cordy by wisdomeagle
And When the Sky Was Opened by eleusis_walks

WESLEY WYNDAM-PRYCE
Wesley and Personas by versaphile
Buffy Season 3 Through Wesley Colored Glasses by likeadeuce

CHARLES GUNN
A Very Good Friend by blueswan9
On Writing Gunn: 10 Reasons Not to Write Him Debunked by viciouswishes

WINIFRED BURKLE/ILLYRIA
"Over The Rainbow" to "Carpe Noctem": The Broken Girl by inlovewithnight
Shell and Sarcophagus: Fred & Illyria by deird1
Illyria: Queen Elizabeth meets The Terminator by paratti

LINDSEY MCDONALD
Born Again Boy by apillarofsalt
Lindsey by kattahj

DARLA
Darla: The Matriarch by vylit
Darla's Views on Relationships and Love by bookishwench

CONNOR
Connor by selenak

HARMONY KENDALL
The Littlest Vampire by spikendru

GROUPS AND OTHER
Physiology of the Jossverse Vampire by bogwitch
Dawn and the Potential Slayers by st_salieri
The Watchers' Council by justhuman
Andrew, Riley and Kennedy: What was Joss Thinking by bookishwench


SHIP MANIFESTOS

BUFFY/ANGEL
B/A: Agony, Ecstasy and Hope by theantijoss
B/A: A Rant, a Squee, and an Essay walked into a bar... by tkp

BUFFY/SPIKE
Buffy/Spike by the_royal_anna
Beneath Her, Always by the_royal_anna

BUFFY/FAITH
The Buffy Faith Connection by a2zmom
The Chosen Two by vylit

BUFFY/RILEY
The Long Haul Girl? by yourlibrarian

BUFFY/XANDER
Heart and Hand -- Inspiration and Action by butterfly

FAITH/XANDER
Partners in Crime by liz_marcs

SPIKE/ANGEL
A Century of Slash: Angel & Spike by kita0610
Spike/Angel Manifesto by romanyg

SPIKE/DRUSILLA
Singing Our Little Songs -- Why Dru & Spike by Peasant

SPIKE/XANDER
Spike and Xander Save the World by spuzz
Heroes, Villains and Invisible Men by kimberly_a

SPIKE/FRED
Pi r Effulgent by sockmonkeyhere

SPIKE/TARA
Defending Spike/Tara by profshallowness

WILLOW/TARA
Spellbound by calliopes_pen
Willow/Tara and Doors by This To Say

WILLOW/XANDER
I Love You, But Bye! by velvetandlace

ANGEL/DARLA
Show Me Your World by calliopes_pen

ANGEL/FAITH
The Agony of Redemption (And The Thrill of Leather Pants) by inlovewithnight

ANGEL/LINDSEY
Angel/Lindsey by winterlive

ANGEL/WESLEY
Angel's Repressed, and Wes Has a Bucket by sockkpuppett

ANGEL/OZ
Monsters/Lovers: Shipping, Writing, and/or Simply Appreciating Angel/Oz by glossing

GILES/ETHAN
We Go Back by 47_trek_47

GILES/OZ
Our Lives Are Different From Other People's by glossing

GILES/XANDER
The Mind and the Heart by stoptocheer

CORDELIA/XANDER
"No, I Might Die *From* You..." by waterlanding

CORDELIA/DOYLE
What Might Have Been by settiai

WESLEY/LILAH
Lilah Sharp and Rawdon Wyndam-Pryce by jennyo

WESLEY/FRED
Stigmatized by nova25

CANON and UNCONVENTIONAL MULTI-SHIP POLL
Buffyverse Ship Poll from doyle_sb4


SHOW(s) ARC

BTVS OVERVIEW
The Buffy Lessons: Learning From the Dead by Will Shetterly
10th Anniversary of Buffy by moscow_watcher

BTVS SEASON FOUR
A Question of Identity by stormwreath

BTVS SEASON SIX
Season 6 and Willow by aycheb
Season 6 and the Loss of Metaphor by stakebait
Season 6 in Review: An Open Letter to Mutant Enemy by rahirah

BTVS SEASON SEVEN
Season 7 by jedi_penguin
The Final Fight: Season 7 by ibmiller

ATS SEASON FOUR
Season 4 and Cordy by wisdomeagle

ATS SEASON FIVE
Dude, Where's My Soul? by thedeadlyhook
Why Spike Stayed in LA by elisi


EPISODIC REVIEWS

BTVS SEASON ONE
Unaired Pilot Vs. Welcome to the Hellmouth by stormwreath
Welcome To the Hellmouth and The Harvest by butterfly
The Pack by spacedoutlooney

BTVS SEASON TWO
School Hard by Peasant
Becoming Parts One & Two by kathyh

BTVS SEASON THREE
The Wish by elisi

BTVS SEASON FOUR
Restless by selenak
A Fireman When the Floods Roll Back: A Feminist Analysis of Restless by butterfly

BTVS SEASON FIVE
Buffy Vs. Dracula by beer_good_foamy***SPOILERS*** for Season 8 comics
Intervention by elisi

BTVS SEASON SIX
Once More With Feeling Part One, Part Two and Part Three by azdak
Once More With Feeling by Mike Marinaro
Hell's Bells by liz_marcs
Captain Cardboard, or How I Learned To Stop Seething And Love "As You Were" by theohara
Spike in "As You Were" by Peasant
You Always Hurt the One You Love: Dead Things by molly_may
Life Serial and Dead Things by selenak

BTVS SEASON SEVEN
Conversations With Dead People by molly_may
Lies My Parents Told Me by elisi
Chosen by the_royal_anna

ATS SEASON FIVE
Character Arcs in "Shells" by minnow1212
Angel, For Someone So Old, You're So Young: "Underneath" by madame_meretrix
The Soft Chewy Center: Layers of Life in "Underneath" by lynnenne
Origin by azdak


THEMES

Subverted Subversion: Feminism in the Buffyverse by shadowscast
Feminist Community in the Buffyverse by heresluck
The Final Girl and Buffy the Vampire Slayer by coffeeandink
Emasculation and Female Empowerment by glossing

Not Our Sort, Dear: Morality in the Buffyverse by azdak
Black and White and Grey All Over: The Moral World of AtS by minim_calibre
Demon/Human Prejudice in the Buffyverse by spacedoutlooney

Sex and Death and Vampires by aycheb
Death in the Buffyverse by deird1

Transformation and Change in the Buffyverse by aycheb
Souls and Redemption by elisi
The Grand Unified Theory - Human, Vampire, Soul, Redemption by dlgood
Prophecy, Fate and Randomness by a2zmom
Realities, Histories, Dimensions, and Hells by masqthephlsphr
Suffer Unto Me: Christian Metaphors and Imagery in the Buffyverse by thedeadlyhook
Judeo/Christian Themes on AtS by stoney321

Big Bads by yourlibrarian
Buffy and Weapons by aycheb
The Initiative: The Role of the State in Dealing with the Supernatural by dlgood

Knowledge and the Buffyverse by sophia_helix

Family in the Buffyverse by tkp
Daddy: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know by lycomingst

AtS and Gay Stereotypes by thebratqueen

It's Not Always About Holding Hands by crazydiamondsue

Dr. Strangejoke, or: How I learned to keep laughing and love M.E.: Humor in the Buffyverse by stoney321

The Philosophy of Buffy's Hair by Brad Trechak, TV Squad


FANDOM

Rules of Fandom by andrastewhite
Canon Vs Fanon Writing by versaphile
Fandom and Male Privilege by cereta
Slouching Toward Readership: Marketing the Fic by crazydiamondsue
Fan Fiction Kinks, Tropes and Cliches by eliade
Characterization and Character Bashing by tkp
Joss Is the Biggest Fanboy Ever by femmenerd
The Drugs of Fandom by mona1347
Buffyverse Kerfuffles in a Nutshell by stoney321
Cesspit of Love: A Love of Everything Fandom by tkp


OTHER META RESOURCES
Slayage: The Online International Journal of Buffy Studies
Tea at the Ford
All Things Philosophical on BtVS


NOTES
The hardest thing (in this world) about writing META is...not spelling it MEAT. I'm sure if you go back through the su_herald entries I edited, you're going to see a James Marsters interview listed below a heading of NEWS/MEAT/OTHER.

I was so very the most qualified person to do a sampling of the best of Buffyverse meta 2003-Present, since I'm known fandom-wide for my thoughtful canon analysis and 'ship equanimity. No. Wait, I'm known fandom-near for my humor and hair obsession (I will, however, stand by my 'ship equanimity.) But I have read a lot of meta, know a lot of smart people and kept a fairly linear memories list.

What I've listed above is by no means all Buffyverse meta, but it is still a pretty damn fine list if I do say so. What I attempted to compile was actual scholarly meta or at least well written personal essay, so there are no discussion posts [i.e. "I think Xander's a big tool. Questions? Comments?"], no memes and no polls (except that one.)

I am not new in fandom, and I know a reading of this list is going to spark reactions of, "How could you forget [Brilliant Essay] by [Total Genius]?" as well as "You included that [your expletive here]? Great, I thought I'd gotten over that angst in 2005." If you feel I've left something off (like, say, an utterly brilliant Cordelia character study that's not about how AtS S4 sucked) drop a note in the comments.

This list skews BtVS heavy. That's for two reasons: one, I love both BtVS and AtS, but I was far more fannish about BtVS. The other reason is that many of the writers/readers who wrote/rec'd AtS meta (at least the ones I, Metafandom and The Herald know of) have deleted or f-locked their journals. The episodic reviews do not begin to represent all that are available; they are, however, the episode reviews that most interested me and this is my list. YMMV.

In the interest of full disclosure: I am a Xander writer/reader first and foremost, so you will see equal character study for Xander as say, Buffy, and you will not find "Xander Harris Is a Tool" meta. In fact, I tried to make all selections on this post character bashing free and joyful. While I'm sure there's angst/wank fodder to be found, I didn't round up any het v. slash debates (you're never going to get the same answer) or 'ship wars or debates over what defines a drabble (there are no writing essays listed here at all -- those things are still being posted regularly.)

My last word on this post is that it was fun to relive the thoughtfulness of the Buffyverse. I poked through character, 'ship and essay communities. I combed memories archives from everyone I could think of in fandom. I read every edition of the Herald from 2004 to present. It was like that scene in AtS where Sahjhan catches Holtz up on the 20th century with the help of his History Channel VHS tape collection. Except much, much slower. Much, much slower.

I hope this brings back good memories for some and opens up new inspiration or food for thought for others. If, instead, I've merely wasted my time the past two weeks and no one but lunabee34 is remotely interested in thoughts from Buffyverse past...eh, I've wasted my time in far worse ways.

Final thought: if I have included anyone on this list who would prefer that a post they wrote six years ago and are totally over not be linked, just drop me a comment or email me at crazydiamondsue [at] gmail [dot] com and I'll remove it.