u/DayChemical5197

Never really had a happy time in their relationship? The closest they got was the tail end of S7 (IIRC). Other than that, it was always neutral if not tense. Of course there was a lot going on with Buffy in S6, and in S7 with The First. But even after Spike got his soul back, Buffy had a hard time reconciling their relationship, it seems. This bothers me for the purpose of shipping and OTP.

Like, the contrast of Spuffy scenes to when Angel came back briefly in S7 is crazy work. It’s why Bangel feels more OTP for me. Their lore, while traumatic in its own right, feels more warm overall. In typing this, I realize just how hard Buffy had it in love. Poor girl. The fact that Riley was probably her healthiest relationship and the fandom absolutely loathes him kinda sends me.

And this is kind of irrelevant but: While I think both men are attractive personally, I think Bangel is better stylistically. I can’t fully comprehend Buffy with someone so lean with bleached blonde hair. 💀 I think Bangel made a better looking couple.

What do you guys think?

Like, super depressing.

Wendy had her ways, and I'm not here to argue about morals. She was a great sport about being a "Hot Topic" when push came to shove, to her own detriment. That speaks volumes to how Wendy viewed herself and viewed others. I think she had to eat a lot of hardship. Growing up being so heavily criticized at such a young age, it's no wonder she turned out the way she did in regards to how she viewed others and navigated through the world.

It's super depressing to me that despite having a made career, her own distinct brand, making so many people happy through her radio and talkshow, and being somewhat of a beloved figure in her own right, she still struggled so much with self-worth. She knew Kelvin was cheating by the time their child was born, and she still stayed with him all of those years even though he never changed and only got worse, and she still loved him too, that's the crazy part. It wasn't Wendy playing the long game. It wasn't just Wendy not wanting to be left alone to raise a child. She loved Kelvin, and what he represented for her, and probably, the safety and comfort and validation he provided her, which I can understand.

She only left when Kelvin's behavior became public, and of course the baby. Otherwise, she would have stayed with him. She did not take the divorce well, then the pandemic happened and Wendy was already an introvert, likely self-soothing a lot with alcohol, Shirley passed, family drama, still mourning her marriage, and through it all she really tried her hardest to keep up with the facade of "new life" and being happy with it, but she was deeply unhappy. It's really so depressing to me that Wendy really could never see her worth, despite what she meant to some people.

When I think of Wendy, I think of someone who had so much determination and tenacity and who really believed in themselves no matter what people said about her. She stuck to her guns and created an amazing legacy for herself, and she touched the hearts of so many, including me, by sharing her insecurities and hardships with us or just providing us with a good laugh and distraction from the harsh realities of the world.

I just had to get this out. I've been watching a lot of old Wendy clips lately and it's been making me sad. Especially any tme she talked about Kelvin, or anytime she would mention how her parents treated her when she was younger, or some of the things she went through in her life, like being SA'd, or collapsing from drug use. And she largely dealt with many of these things by herself. That's an incredibly lonely, alienating and dehumanizing way to live, and I know from experience. This saddens me so much. She deserved so much better in her personal life than she believed.

I want to preface this by saying that I come with this topic with the utmost respect for Lana and mean no harm or offense.

But something shifted in 2020. QFTC and everything that followed feels like a fever dream. I understand she was most likely disillusioned with Hollywood, maybe it was being snubbed for NFR at the Grammys after all the critical acclaim? But it still feels like QFTC came out of nowhere, even if the overall sentiment was something I could get behind for Lana specifically. Since her debut, she has long been the center of insane think pieces and people trying to moralize her for the things she sings about. So I understood where the frustration was coming from, but the timing just felt off?

Then you take the music itself into account. COCC itself touched on all of these themes: leaving LA, being fed up with critics, disillusioment with fame, persona and identity, struggling with grief, loneliness, nostalgia. Not exactly new territory for her but you can feel the shifting perspective start here. Then we know she felt the need to "explain herself" with BB, very personal songs mixed with rage at critics, going more into her family history and past which she built on with DYK. DYK itself is also very interesting of an album because it almost feels like she is returning to that persona while heavily critiquing it through the music and continuing to pushback on these false narratives about herself.

All in all, I just find this to be a very interesting topic. What was the shift exactly to you and what does it signify? From the music alone, songs like Arcadia, LMLYLAW, Wild at Heart, BB picks and DYK in general point to her being deeply exhausted from being misunderstood and fed up from the "break down build up" cycle of Hollywood and the media. NFR was a huge moment for her, not only with a Grammy nod, but it was a huge narrative shift for her, and critics were finally giving her the respect and acclaim she deserved and wanted. But this is where I say QFTC comes out of nowhere. During COCC era, I understand her frustrations more because she was being called a Republican over nonsense and people were making fun of her appearance, this had to be hurtful and we know she was uspet because she defended herself more than usual during this saga.

Also, I'd like to point out how Lana continues to be a double standard. I guess she's not quite as famous as Taylor, but boy, if Lana was a certified billionaire hanging out with certified MAGAs as much as Taylor and Travis do, and if Lana invited ICE agents to her wedding, we would not hear the end of it, they would try to massacre her online. But Taylor doesn't get this kind of flack because she tows that line. Meanwhile Lana constantly get scrutiny for less and cannot escape it. Why is that?

I personally think BGC 3 was an awful season. Trying to keep it short, I think a lot of the girls had underlying issues that would’ve made for great TV had they been properly explored and addressed in a meaningful way, but what we got was just such a vapid, juvenile cast and season that it’s a pathetic and embarrassing watch and I hope I’m not sounding too harsh but….

Aliea’s nasty behavior in general, Amber B was so racist and trifling, Sarah and Ashley were sad and vapid, Tiffany in general and her dynamic with Kayla was weird + going in on Cookie over THAT situation was awful, and Whitney obviously missing a few screws (I’m sorry and RIP). This season has little to nothing redeemable about it and is just a depressing watch IMO. Without Cookie this season might’ve got the show axed!

What‘s your least favorite BGC season and why?

• Military dude
• Involved in politics now
• Has a documented history of violence
• Referred to killing Maura
• Absolutely had the means (institutions) behind him that would cover him if needed to protect their greater good and security

I stumbled upon an older thread in here talking about her ex calling a nearby Inn prior to and after she disappeared. Correct me if I am wrong but his whereabouts and cellphone activity at the time of her disappearance have always been subject to scrutiny. With this theory, everything Maura did could make more sense, and seems less risky or aimless on her part.

If she just wanted to drink and blow off steam, she could've done that locally. Why drive around, out of state, drinking, when you're not sure where you're going in the first place? It makes more sense that Maura was drinking to calm her nerves from any pending confronation that might've been awaiting her, and with a clear destination in mind, she would've been able to drink to her desired intoxication level before she meets up with him, again to calm her nerves.

I won't pretend to have a fully fleshed out theory about what happens from there. Someone could've been secretely following her, so they were able to "rescue" her from the scene in a timely manner and maybe even wait out Butch interacting. Maybe Maura successfully made it out of the area on foot or otherwise and was able to call him to get picked up from somewhere or maybe she even successfully hid nearby until the coast was clear then continued to find her way to contact him. Only thing is there's no sightings of her, if someone saw her in an Inn somewhere, at a gas staion, corner store, etc it would've been reported, no? So she had to have been taken by him immediately after or at the very least Maura evaded the scene and was picked up and no one saw her. She could have possibly even been directed on where to go, where to wait, etc, to avoid more sightings.

All in all, I think the ex is way more suspicious than this sub gives him credit for. It's never sat right with me. I know the lack of evidence makes it difficult but what if it was right there this whole time and the reason they cannot pin it down is because of the deep corruption and concealment of this crime because of who perpetrated it and what they belonged to? I also want to ask and throw it out there for anyone who might know - would LE instruct eye witnessess to not disclose certain details to the public or otherwise? And how does that usually play out long term? There could be more to the witness sightings that were not disclosed, maybe they DID find a person who gave her a ride, but the person was told to not disclose. Is this plausible in investigations like this? I'm interested to hear everyone's thoughts nonthless.