Monster Monday :: on religions and vampire canons

So.  Vampire canons and religion.  I’ve touched on some of this stuff before, but I think it’s appropriate to explore it again.

Buffyverse:

• These guys are susceptible to religious objects.  Crosses, bad.  Holy water, bad.  Fairly standard stuff in that regard.
• Those who fight the vampires do not seem to be beholden to any particular religion at all.  Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) wears her cross necklaces, but that’s because they stop vampires.  Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Tara (Amber Benson) are practicing Wiccans, but save a few prayers, the religious aspects of that are really not touched on at all; Willow is also ancestrally Jewish, but does not often mention it save a few frowny-faced “not everyone celebrates Christmas”-type comments.  Religion is not the why behind anyone’s vampire fighting, they just did it because vampires are often bad and should be stopped.
• Ethan Rayne (Robin Sachs) does practice a religion, or at least a religious worshipping of the deity Janus, as a part of his villainy. But he’s only around for a few random episodes here and there, so we don’t get a lot of detail with it.  And also he’s not a vampire.
• Glory (Clare Kramer) is a hell god, but she’s not a vampire either.  So.
• Flashbacks to the lives of those who are now vampires do include religion: dying Darla (Julie Benz) scorns the efforts of a visiting religious figurehead who really isn’t, Drusilla (Juliet Landau) is targeted by Angelus (David Boreanaz) for her piety and actually seeks to become a nun in order to escape his torment.  Darla retains that snarky faithlessness into her vampire life; Dru completely abandons her faith and replaces it with belief in her sire and their crazy evil fun.
• Also, I should point out the puns and ironies made possible by Angel and Faith (Eliza Dushku) by virtue of their names and contrasting actions.
• The idea of hell is deeply entrenched in the Buffyverse: the town is on a hellmouth, multiple characters visit or spend time in hell dimensions.  Hell is a very real concept, though it doesn’t seem to be technically associated with any one religious tradition.  It simply is: it exists in a dimension alongside ours, it can be reached.
• And the idea of heaven really isn’t discussed until Buffy’s return from the grave in season six, when even she, who has probably been there, can only really say that she was probably there.  There is no explanation for the how or why of heaven and, again, no real association between heaven and a religious tradition.

True Blood:

• These guys aren’t susceptible to religious objects, though they have plenty of other weaknesses so it’s okay.  They actually address that myth in canon, so.
• For the most part, the show’s main characters don’t fight vampires most of the time, they sort of just exist alongside them to varying effects.  Those who are clearly anti-vampire and act on it are people like Rene (Michael Raymond-James) in season one, people like Steve Newlin’s (Michael McMillian) Fellowship of the Sun in season two, people like Marnie (Fiona Shaw) and her witches in season four, people like the gang of anti-all supes who wear the Obama masks this season.  Steve Newlin definitely made it out to be a religious thing, a branch of Christian fundamentalism – I, at least, always took it to be a splinter group that didn’t reflect the beliefs of the entire religion, like how some real churches are more avid about not being all right with some things than other churches – that was devoted to values and to eradicating vampires because they were a slight against nature and God.  And Marnie’s whole thing was she just was really curious about necromancy and then whoops, possessed by the ghost of a lady who was killed by vampires in the Spanish Inquisition or something.  Which also has religious background, but Marnie herself was really more of a practicing Wiccan who just delved too hard into the bad stuff.
• This season’s foray into vampire religion is kind of the flip side to human Steve Newlin’s thing.  It’s religious fundamentalism, and they all say as much: the vampire Bible exists for all vampires, but most of them don’t really take it seriously, and the problem that’s occurring with the members of the Authority is coming from taking it too seriously.  Taking it literally, which is not so much a good idea, all things considered.  Though they do refer to it as the vampire Bible and it is steeped in a lot of the same language as the Christian Bible, the sanguinista movement is really more of a cult than anything; lots of cults are based in extreme interpretations of religious texts, and that just helps me say with certainty that no matter what you do or do not believe, it’s probably not fair to judge an entire group based on the actions of beliefs of the extreme few.  ‘Cause that’s generalizing and sometimes leads to bad.  This is not to say that the extreme few are not doing bad; often, as in the show, they are.  But the cool thing about True Blood is that the “good” characters at least seem a lot of the time to take things on a case-by-case basis, judging a small group or an individual; speciesism is reserved for the bad guys nine times of ten.
• The only of the vampire characters who come from a religiously influenced human background are Tara (Rutina Wesley), who really only has the fact that her crazy mom recently married a pastor going on there, so it’s at most the appearance of religious propriety and nothing more, and Jessica (Deborah Ann Woll).  I’ve mentioned this before: Jess’ family background, her too-religious parents and her abusive dad, her need to rebel leading to what seemed like an out if she looked at it the right way.  There’s not too terribly much to say here that I haven’t said already, but it does color the proceedings interestingly.  Presumably others of the characters had some baseline religion in their human lives, but not so much that it warrants mentioning.
• Despite the prevalence of ghosts hanging out on this mortal plane, the only discussions of heaven or hell that we really get are the terms being dropped in passing or maybe Sookie (Anna Paquin) speculating about her gran.  Good and bad could very well exist in other dimensions, but the only other dimension we ever deal with is the fairy world, which is also not heaven or hell.

Twilight:

• They’re not vulnerable to religious objects.
• Blah blah, I’ve heard speculation that the whole thing is a metaphor for Mormonism.  I don’t know if that’s true, I don’t know enough about Mormonism, so I won’t go into it. But that’s what the whisper is.

–your fangirl heroine.

Whedon Wednesday :: Buffy characters as My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic characters

Originally I was intending to do the entire Whedonverse as ponyfolk, but once I’d got about four of the women typed Buffy style, I just decided to go with it all the way. So.

As Twilight Sparkle, we have Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan).  Because she is the extremely bookish one, the not-strictly-sociable one who still loves her friends very much, the one representing the “element of magic.”  Twilight Sparkle didn’t have friends except Spike before moving from Canterlot to Ponyville, when she learned about the importance of friendship and teamwork; Willow didn’t really have a lot of friends except Xander before Buffy moved to Sunnydale, when she learned firsthand about the importance of friendship and teamwork.  I will also note that Twi’s official My Little Pony wiki article states that at one point she does use a memory spell on her friends (I haven’t seen that far yet, but hey).

As Spike, we have Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon).  He may be named Spike, but he is Xander through and through; he is best friends with our resident bookish one, he is goofy and affable and flirts with a lot of people to very little success.  He isn’t always the most useful in the traditional sense, but he is valuable to the team.  He is a little bit of a derp.

As Applejack, whose name I just realized was written as one word and not two, we have Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar).  NO WAIT I SWEAR THIS IS RELEVANT.  I mean, Apple Jack was the one I had the hardest time Buffycasting, actually, since none of the Buffy characters are all twangy and cowgirl and Buffy herself isn’t exactly the “element of honesty” all the time for valid reasons.  (Though look see Buffy owns a cowboy hat go with it.)  But what got me was when AJ got all stubborn and insisted on doing everything by herself, because as teamworky as the Scooby Gang could be, Buffy did do the “it’s my responsibility and mine alone” thing several times.  Also, the sister thing.

As Apple Bloom, we have Dawn Summers (Michelle Trachtenberg).  See, sister thing.  Apple Bloom really does mean well and she has a very good heart, it seems like from the once I’ve been exposed to her.  She just wants to play with the others and not be treated like a kid, and she’s very open to people even if they’re not the obvious choice.  (I.e. with Zecora the zebra, and sort of like Dawn’s unlikely friendship with Spike for a while.)  And yeah, sisters.

As Rarity, we have Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter).  Rarity is the town fashion plate; Cordelia is the town fashion plate.  Rarity is a fan of the spotlight; Cordelia is a fan of the spotlight.  Rarity represents “the element of generosity,” and while that is not true so much of high school Cordy, I’d say what I know of her on Angel shows that she grows into a generosity of spirit.  Rarity sometimes frustrates the others; Cordelia sometimes frustrates the others.  Etcetera.

As Pinkie Pie, we have Harmony Kendall (Mercedes McNab).  Really, Pinkie is just innocently, ridiculously chipper; Harmony is more judgmental and occasionally mean-spirited than Pinkie, as Pinkie is really not mean ever (being the “element of laughter”) but she is also kind of ridiculous.  She’s just a cute girl used to being cute and therefore happy; she’s got her selfish moments, her facepalm-inducing moments, her foolish moments.  But she’s not a terrible person, just like Pinkie isn’t a terrible pony.  Just… sometimes misguided.  Or something.

As Rainbow Dash, we have Faith Lehane (Eliza Dushku).  What this totally isn’t just because Rainbow called her friend Gilda “G” that one time, no, of course not.  And Faith is hardly Rainbow in the sense of being the “element of loyalty,” at least at first; I think in her way, Faith is plenty loyal by the end, but season 3 Faith not so much.  Faith is much more troubled than Rainbow, because ponies do not come from such screwed up backgrounds as people, but she is, a la Rainbow’s page on the wiki, brash, (sometimes) competitive, and (sometimes) mischievous.  I’m pretty sure Rainbow is the only pony I can imagine actually making vaguely dirty jokes like Faith sometimes does; Rainbow is also the pony I see as most likely to kick your ass, which is another thing Faith does.

As Fluttershy, we have Tara Maclay (Amber Benson).  Finally, another girl whose pony analogue element suits her wholly: the “element of kindness.”  Tara is the absolute nicest and the sweetest; she is also (at least at first) quite shy.  She’s good at taking care of people, but she can and does get fierce when it’s required of her, even if she personally doesn’t think of herself as being particularly bold and daring like the others.  And she is just the gosh-darn sweetest and I adore her.  So there.

As Trixie, we have Amy Madison (Elizabeth Anne Allen).  Because Amy is a life ruiner and Trixie is a life ruiner.  Because Amy tries to do magic but is not as good as Willow and Trixie tries to do magic, ish, but is not as good as Twilight Sparkle.  Because magic semiposer reasons.

As Princess Celestia, we have Jenny Calendar (Robia la Morte).  Literally just because she is an adult and because she was a teensy bit Willow’s mentor, ish, with the computer teaching and the inadvertently-being-why-Willow-started-magicks.

As Luna/Night Mare Moon, we have Glory (Clare Kramer).  I believe I mentioned this before, yes.

–your fangirl heroine.

Whedon Wednesday :: 10 life lessons you can learn from Buffy 5×13-5×22

10. Yes, Ben is Glory. (the last few episodes)
It makes for some humorous moments when everybody keeps forgetting that Glory (Clare Kramer) and Ben (Charlie Weber) are one and the same.  But really, it’s also an important life metaphor: namely, when there’s an important fact, don’t forget it.  Because forgetting it will not be good.  Also, in a place like Sunnydale, anything is possible: so if you never see two people in the same place at once, just assume they’re actually the same person, and don’t trust the nice one.

9. Don’t build sex robots. (5×15, “I Was Made to Love You,” 5×18, “Intervention”)
This is pretty straightforward.  If you’re really that desperate for a thing to love, they have toys for that, don’t they?  Toys that can’t just walk away and wreak havoc.  And really, if you build a sex robot and throw it out, you should maybe make sure there’s no way that it could reactivate.  ‘Cause that’s just gonna get messy.  Also, sex robots are just creepy.

8. If everyone already thinks you’re a creep, it’s probably best if you don’t order a sex robot that looks like a real person… who could kill you, easily.  (5×18, “Intervention”)
I mean, the Buffybot does end up being useful for non-sex reasons eventually.  She’s even kind of funny.  But everyone’s already a little weirded out by Spike’s (James Marsters) having a thing for Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar).  Most of the Scoobies don’t really trust him, because of the whole evil vampire thing.  And a lookalike sex robot is just kind of sketch, no matter what.  It’d be sketch if he got a sex robot made to look like a celebrity, for goodness’ sake; it’s worse that it’s made to look like someone he knows.  And by doing so, he’s pretty fairly well cementing that she’s not going to hop into bed with him IRL anytime soon.  (Well, not in… this lifetime.)

7. If you fight with your girlfriend and storm out, she might get brain-sucked by a hell-god, so maybe try not to storm out on people.  (5×19, “Tough Love”)
There’s an old saying about not letting the sun go down on your anger, but I’d propose that you shouldn’t let the door slam on your anger, either.  If you’re mad at people, it’s always best just to talk it out right then and there.  Letting it linger is just going to make for the awkward and, depending on the context of your universe, the dangerous.  Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Tara (Amber Benson) unfortunately had to learn this the hard way, but we don’t have to.

6. If your sister is a physical manifestation of a mystical energy that has been retroactively inserted into everyone’s memories, just go ahead and tell her so when you find out.  Don’t let her hear from a book. (5×13, “Blood Ties”)
A lot of Dawn’s (Michelle Trachtenberg) angst throughout the series comes from the fact that nobody tells her anything.  Finding out that she’s really a magical key isn’t going to sit well no matter how she finds out, but just being straight with her about it will soften the blow a little bit.  And maybe then she won’t become such a ridiculous kleptomaniac.  And maybe she’ll stop whining.  And maybe she won’t be so self-destructive.

5. Proposing to someone just because you’re all gonna die may seem like a great idea at the time, but probably… isn’t. (5×22, “The Gift”)
Xander (Nicholas Brendon) has the best intentions, swearsies.  It seems like a great plan to propose to Anya (Emma Caulfield) when they’re pretty sure that another apocalypse is gonna kick in.  But it’s not like back in season three when Willow and Oz (Seth Green) had sex because the world was about to end.  Willow and Oz had been building up to having sex for months.  Xander and Anya hadn’t been planning an engagement.  Xander jumped into it without really thinking it through, and it winds up being a terrible plan.  Because it seems cute, they’re engaged, but they end up setting the wedding date for not even a season later.  Rushed much?  Anya’s been on the planet for thousands of years, but Xander is still young and stupid.  He doesn’t know that he’s ready for marriage.  He’s not.  It’s an impulse decision, and it’s one that should be avoided.  At all costs.

4. Necromancy is unnatural and bad.  Don’t do it.  (5×17, “Forever”)
Dawn decides that the only thing that she can do is bring Joyce (Kristine Sutherland) back from the dead.  That’s the only way things will be okay.  But really, there’s so much wrong with that.  The most important thing being that it’s hideously, terribly selfish.  (Which will be reiterated in season six, so.)  And the Joyce that would return wouldn’t be the same Joyce.  Also, those are magicks you just shouldn’t mess with.  Nope.

3. Self-sacrifice is noble, but if you have friends who can do necromancy, you probably want to tell them “hey, don’t necromance me” before you die.  Otherwise, bad things will happen. (5×22, “The Gift”)
I’d like to think that Willow wouldn’t be selfish enough to explicitly ignore a request that Buffy would make before jumping into Glory’s hell vortex.  If Buffy had thought to say, “Hey, guys, I understand that you’ll miss me, and that’s reasonable, but seriously… I’d rather not be brought back from the dead.  That would be just… bad and wrong, and didn’t we just get through telling Dawn not to do that exact thing?” the entire mess of… well, the rest of the series wouldn’t have happened.  Or someone else could have brought her back, and it’d be messy in a different way that didn’t involve Willow abusing the magicks and Buffy being mad at everyone.  Planning is a good thing to do.

2. Vampires can love well, if not wisely. (5×14, “Crush”)
It’s said many, many times that vampires can’t really love, because they don’t have souls.  The definition of a “soul” seems to vary somewhat, as it changes Angel’s (David Boreanaz) personality completely and, aside from a summer of basement crazy time, doesn’t really change Spike’s personality at all (though this could be attributed to the fact that Angel’s soul was forced on him, and Spike willingly sought his out, or something like that).  But really, I don’t think that the soulless vampires all have a problem loving.  I completely believe that Spike and Drusilla (Juliet Landau) were in love, once upon a time.  It wasn’t just a sex thing, or a “lol let’s kill some things together” thing.  It was love.  They cared a lot about each other, even if every other creature on the planet could go die in a fire or be nommed on.  Dru probably loved Angel a bit, in her own way; but this is quickly becoming an essay, so I’ll hold off for now.

1. Sometimes, the most terrifying thing isn’t a demon or a vampire.  It’s just mortality.  (5×16, “The Body”)
I watched the first four and a half seasons of Buffy in an approximately four-month span of time, at first with friends, then by the end alone.  But I’d been warned that “The Body” was going to depress me, and I just… didn’t want to deal with that by myself.  Which is why it took me a year and a half to get around to actually picking back up again, because of life getting in the way.  And it took me that long to find someone else to finish the series with (and I had to catch her up, somewhat).  And while Joyce’s death wasn’t the most upsetting in the series for me (that dubious honor would have to go to Tara, who I just loved so much) it was pretty brutal watching everyone’s reactions.  I mean, Joyce had been sick all season, we’d known it was a possibility, and for people watching in real-time without spoilers, it could have still come as a surprise somewhat, but it wasn’t a murder or anything.  No, the worst part of the episode is watching everyone come to terms with their own humanity.  They’re so used to being in life-or-death situations with supernatural and mystical creatures and all that, but they haven’t taken the time to think about the fact that they’re (mostly) still just people, and people die.  Of purely natural causes.  Oftentimes right in the middle of when you’re also dealing with hell-gods and really don’t have the energy for all the grief all at once.  Even if it’s still gonna sneak up on you.

–your fangirl heroine.

Theatre Thursday :: my junior high self is apparently envisioning Broadway adaptations

So I don’t know how I didn’t hear that they’d made a Bring it On musical until a few weeks ago. Especially considering that the creative team includes Tom Kitt, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Jeff Whitty.  I did my research, and it made me slightly bummed, actually.  I’m still kind of excited about the creative team and the guilty pleasure it may turn out to be (or the disaster it could be, either way) but the plot is different.

It’s not a musical version of 2000′s Bring it On, my second-favorite movie from when I was eleven.  It’s just… another story about competing cheerleading squads, like the dozens of Bring it On sequels (okay, four) that have been produced over the last decade.  Each of them just gets worse and worse.  The great thing about the original is that it sort of knew it was ridiculous, or at least I hope it did: the sequels were ridiculous, but much less tongue-in-cheek.  (Or at least the one I saw was; I haven’t subjected myself to the others.)  Also, everyone in the original was really sarcastic at times, none more so than my babygirl Missy (Eliza Dushku).  Missy was my hero back in the day, man.  I actually kind of wanted to be a cheerleader for like… three months once, mostly so I could be sarcastic like her while doing it.

(I’m sure I’ve also mentioned my now-times amusement at imagining the crack that would be Faith and Glory [Clare Kramer] on a cheerleading squad together.  Yep.)

More importantly, though, Bring it On: The Musical got me thinking.  What about stage musical versions of other movies I loved when I was in junior high?  Well, Rocky Horror and Chicago are already stage shows, and Moulin Rouge is already a musical, though for copyright reasons it couldn’t play on stage the same way.  Legally Blonde got made a few years ago (and is… well, the same plot, but even more ridiculous.  I can safely say I still have a guilty fondness for Bring it On [and that is not just because of Eliza nope what are you saying] but Legally Blonde is mildly painful.)  But what about the others?

Well, Miss Congeniality could work.  Not the godawful sequel, of course.  But beauty pageant musicals… actually, if someone’s doing a beauty pageant musical, do Drop Dead Gorgeous.  (Apparently someone did, but it’s a drag show, which doesn’t quite count.  I’m talking ubersarcastic young women being self-parodying.  Phoebe Strole anywhere.  I don’t care that she’s 28.  She could still do it for the stage.)

Charlie’s Angels… again, not the sequel.  Though I doubt it would work as a musical at all.  It’s too reliant on action.  (Don’t judge the tastes of eleven year old me.  I beg of you.  I’m judging them hard enough myself.)

X-Men.  (Kind of the combo breaker in the my-junior-high-tastes category, I know, but bear with me.)  I really doubt you could do it correctly, at least off the movie (the first two please), and the comic purists would probably flip out if they tried to do it off of a comic arc, none of which I know anything about.  So I can’t discuss that.  (First Class might be fun, but that’s a recent film, so not relevant to this discussion.)

…geez, what else did I watch when I was in junior high?  I saw all the usual things at least once, Save the Last Dance and… uhm, other things.  I really don’t remember.  I’ve mentioned the most important ones.

Well, I think the moral of this story is: I will pay money to see it when/if Bring it On: The Musical is in reasonable driving distance of me, for the sake of my eleven year old self.  (Maybe it’s better it’s not off the film.  I can’t imagine a reasonable substitute for Eliza, really.)

–your fangirl heroine.

Whedon Wednesday :: the Whedonverse as Rainbow Brite and co.

All aboard the crack train!  This is exactly as it sounds.  Our favorite Whedonverse characters, melded into Rainbow Brite and her friends, of the eponymous 80′s cartoon.  Sometimes it makes more sense than other times.  All “quoted text descriptions of the Rainbow cast” are copypasted from rainbowbrite.net, the (parentheticals) being the original text being substituted and the [bracketed thoughts] being my Whedonverse substitutions.

Of course, we begin with Rainbow Brite herself, and who else but Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar)? “(Rainbow) [Buffy] is (carefree) [attemptedly normal] and fun-loving, but her work comes first.  She might abandon a (playful afternoon) [night at the Bronze] to save a (sun-drenched wheat field) [classmate] from losing all (its yellow) [their blood to a vampire] or save (a rain-starved forest) [her sister] from losing (all its green) [her life to a hell god].”

As Red Butler, the Color Kid in charge of the color red, we have Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion).  “He is always in search of new (adventures) [jobs for his crew] and is ever ready to rescue anyone (in distress) [from the Alliance or other untrustworthy folk]. His dashing and daring personality makes him vulnerable, however, for it’s usually when he’s (showing off) [trying to stand up to said untrustworthy folk] that (Murky Dismal) [a lawman or a criminal] is able to nab him and (throw him into The Pits) [try to have him bound by law or torture him to a slow death]. Then he has to rely on (others) [his crew] to do the rescuing.”

As Lala Orange, the Color Kid in charge of the color orange, we have Inara Serra (Morena Baccarin). “Though she can be a little (pushy) [aloof] and (overbearing) [mannered] at times, she means well.  (Lala) [Inara] is quite (flirtatious) [coy], especially with her (favorite beau) [object of clear secret attraction], (Red Butler) [Mal], (on) [for] whom she has (a giant crush) [feelings of unresolved sexual tension].”  Even in Rainbowland, Mal and Inara can’t get it together and just admit their feelings.

As Canary Yellow, the Color Kid in charge of the color yellow, we have Tara Maclay (Amber Benson).  “(Canary) [Tara] is (always) [usually] sunny and cheerful – a typical ‘(girl) [witch] next door.’ She is the optimist of the group and is consumed with the need to cheer everybody up and (make them smile) [help fight demons with magic].”

As Patty O’Green, the Color Kid in charge of the color green, we have Kaylee Frye (Jewel Staite). “She is very outgoing and is (always) [usually] (right in the middle of things) [involved in the plans in a mechanical capacity that doesn't involve gunfire]. But her combined sweetness and spice (usually) [always] win your heart, and you forget about any (upsets) [mechanical difficulties and annoyances with less-thoughtful crew members] she (instigates) [has trouble fixing immediately and expresses].”  It’s also worth noting that Wikipedia describes her as a “tomboy.”

As Buddy Blue, the Color Kid in charge of the color blue, we have Victor/Anthony Ceccoli (Enver Gjokaj). “He is (always) [often] trying to (organize teams, programs, and activities) [do what's right for the world and those around him]. (Buddy) [Victor/Anthony] is into (health food) [his love, Sierra/Priya], too, and (lectures on its virtues) [protects her] until he’s (blue in the face) [tried so hard he's inadvertently pushed her away]. The others gladly (put up with him) [follow his lead in combat], though, because he’s so (lovable) [well-intentioned and battle-trained]. Buddy is a peace-(loving boy) [-desiring man] who works hard to ensure (calm and orderliness) [stability and a lack of death] among (The Color Kids) [his surviving friends from the Dollhouse].”  We’re tiptoeing into the land of it’s s0rt of a stretch.  (But seriously, there are no Generic Jock Boys in the Whedonverse.)

There is also not a character in the Whedonverse who came even remotely close to being “always ‘on stage,’ so to speak, rehearsing and reciting line from famous plays and making entrances wearing imaginative costumes. Though some may think she is overdramatic and somewhat of a dreamer, she likes to think of herself as an artist with high aspirations.”  Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) only wanted to be an actress for a teensy little bit at the beginning of Angel, and more because of an interest in fame and money than because of an interest in the craft.  Honestly, Indigo sounds more like a kid from Glee, but I think it’s sort of funny that Rona in season seven was played by a girl who is named Indigo in real life.  So there.

As Shy Violet, the Color Kid in charge of the color violet, we have Bennett Halverson (Summer Glau), as once before mentioned. “(Shy Violet) [Bennett] is a (studious little girl) [hyper-efficient but occasionally a teensy bit deranged woman] with the mind of a genius. She wears great big glasses and looks just as intelligent as she is. Most of the time, Violet can be found reading or (writing) [inventing alterations to her tech] or working on her theories about (color) [neuroscience].”

As Starlite, Rainbow’s trusted British horse, we have Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (Alexis Denisof), for my purposes circa Buffy season three. “He gives her help and advice and (takes her anyplace she wants to go) [trains her in demon fighting], whether it’s (fun) [with weapons] or (for the cause of color) [in terms of research]. (Starlite’s) [Wesley's] only fault is that he’s vain about his (striking appearance) [Watcher intellect and skills], and that vanity makes him vulnerable to the (treachery of the two villains, Murky and Lurky) [actual happenings of battle]. When that happens, he has to count on (Rainbow Brite) [Buffy] and (The Color Kids) [the Scoobies] to save the day… and him!”  Yes.  Wesley’s a pretentious pony.

As Tickled Pink, the late-added extra Kid in charge of “the female sprites, who help me mix standard colors to make other colors, like aqua, magenta, and peach!” (for some reason, the bios switch to first person around here), we have Dawn Summers [Michelle Trachtenberg]. “I love hanging out with (Rainbow) [Buffy] and the (Color Kids) [Scoobies] – and I’m (always) [usually] here to lend a helping hand when (trouble arises) [it's not Tuesday and I'm in danger]! (Murky and Lurky) [Demons and vampires and hell gods and evil spirits] sure do try hard to mess up our plans, but we have the power of (color and light) [doing what's right] on our side – and we all know that light will win over darkness in the end!”

As Stormy, the sometimes friend/sometimes enemy of the Color Kids in charge of wintertime, we have Faith Lehane (Eliza Dushku), apparently circa Buffy season seven. “I seem to scare a lot of people, but I’m really not all that bad. I just don’t let people push me around. I’m still (always) [usually] willing to help out (Rainbow) [Buffy] and the (Color Kids) [Scoobies and potential Slayers] when they need it. I’ll do anything to keep (that moronic Murky Dismal) [the First Evil] away!”

As Paul, Rainbow’s human buddy, we have Paul Ballard (Tahmoh Penikett). “I met (her) [Echo] on accident one day when I walked straight through one (of her rainbows) [the air vent into the Dollhouse]! You should’ve seen all the (crazy colors I turned) [mayhem I caused by letting Alpha in, too]! But I’m glad it happened now, because I got to see (Rainbow Land) [into the Dollhouse] and (participate in some of Rainbow’s adventures) [confirm my suspicions about its existence]. (She) [Adelle] also gave me a (key that I can put in any lock) [job as Echo's handler], and it’ll take me (to Rainbow Land) [on all of her engagements with her]- pretty (cool huh?) [convenient because I have sexual feelings for Echo.]“

As Krys, Rainbow’s ally and “wearer of the Prism,” we have Angel (David Boreanaz). “I was already a (good fighter) [souled vampire] and was just fine on my own when (Orin introduced me to) [Whistler told me about] (Rainbow Brite) [Buffy]. At first she seemed like your typical (wimpy girl) [naive Slayer] destined to do nothing but get (in my way) [killed in the line of duty] – but she soon proved me wrong.”

And as the Evil Princess (I’m not bothering to do the other villains, they’re just like BLAH I AM A VILLAIN BLAH), we have Glory (Clare Kramer). “I keep trying to get (Spectra, the diamond planet, for my very own) [back to my hell dimension] – but that (Rainbow Brat) [Slayer] has to keep getting in my way! Well one of these days she won’t be so lucky! And as soon as I get (Spectra) [the Key], I’ll be SURE to get (Rainbow’s color belt) [back to my dimension to rule in terror]. I WILL get what I want and nobody’s going to stop me!”

–your fangirl heroine.

Social Life Sunday :: I’d pondered waiting to discuss this.

Until Wednesday, naturally.  But as it was just last night and it was social, well.  Can’t Stop the Serenity is something I need in my life way more than once a year, it’s official.  Yeah, I was maybe a little bummed that my friends and I were the only ones in costume; I’d Googled the event and known that people did dress sometimes, and they were showing a slide show that indicated that people had dressed in years past.  Apparently everyone just decided to opt for their t-shirts (that were still pretty awesome) and their Jayne hats this year.  After all of the work we did on fixing up the jewelry and hair and makeup and clothes and weaponry, I was sorta sad we didn’t get to show off much.

BUT.  That aside?  A room full of like-minded geeks is my favorite place to be.  From the general pretty good mood floating around to the conversation I butted into in line about Daniel Craig’s insane blue eyes, it just felt right.

The Dr. Horrible screening made my life.  Dr. Horrible is one of the few things I can sing along to and not feel completely fail, and it makes me happy, and my friend totally started the little bit of cheering after “I wonder what you’re captain of” (still one of my favorite lines in the whole show).  Everyone sang along.  The words were there so you couldn’t screw up.  I actually haven’t watched Dr. Horrible since last summer, I don’t think, and it just made me happy all over again.  (Also, Maurissa Tancharoen’s existence makes me happy.)

The Q&A with Patric Reynolds just got me giddy.  Answering questions, snarking good-naturedly, being way talented (and also kinda cute).  I was all smitten and impressed.

The little reel of talking they played before the movie made me as happy as it’s humanly possible to be, I’m pretty sure.  Even little eensy flashes of Dichen and Eliza and Summer are enough to make me fall over with delight.  Clare Kramer is pleasantly not a psychobitch when just herself.  Also, when Tahmoh Penikett said that “Browncoats are cool,” my response was: “Well, I knew that anyway.  But thank you for saying so,” followed by wistful sighs of you are not my Dollhouse man but I still love you and find you attractive and stuff.  Joss’s speech was both enlightening and amusing.

I have seen Serenity itself… oh, at least twelve times not counting this screening, the most recent being about a month ago.  But it never, ever gets old.  I think the magic of watching movies amongst like-minded geeks on big screens is that even if you’re strangers to everyone, you’re not alone.  Everyone’s cheering and clapping (and I’m pretty sure I started the round thereof after “hell with this!  I’m gonna live,” just sayin’).  Everyone’s tense at the right moments and happy at the right moments and sad at the right moments.  Everyone is there with so gorram much love.

And the raffle was somewhat of a fail for me personally, as I did not win anything, but five more dollars to charity, I’m good with that.  My friend did win some stuff, and it’s awesome, so.  (I was kind of hoping for the signed Spike action figure, actually.  But oh well.  It just means I’ll have to make it a mission to meet James Marsters some day, not that it wasn’t already — I’m still a little sad that I didn’t shell out sixty dollars last April.  The more I think about it the more I wish I would have.)

I think that, at the end of the night, these events are just sort of magical.  They’re all about happiness, even when the movie is sad in parts.  (And OH RUTTING HELL IT NEVER GETS EASIER EVER.)  There’s warm fuzzies all around, everyone’s into it, there’s just… such a good atmosphere.  Especially when you’ve got the helping charity warm fuzzies into the bargain.

–your fangirl heroine.