An executive order from Athos (+ a plee for help from aunt_zelda)

[aunt_zelda]

WHY AREN'T YOU GUYS READING THESE 

TWO FANTASTIC SERIESES?!
Master List to 'Of Fireflies, Geeks and Destroying Hypertime' and 'That Guy With The Glasses In SPAAAAAAAAAAAACE!' by the lovely freya_sacksen .

And if you are reading, but not commenting, SHAME ON YOU! We have supported each other in this ridiculous fandom, and now we have a new player joining the team! As we have the Three Musketeers, and both pyrocrastinator and fuzzywezzy joined at roughly the same time and are BOTH D'Artagnans, freya_sacksen has dubbed herself 'The Queen of Spain' (it's a Red Dwarf joke, I didn't get it either.) 
GO READ! The chapters are short and addictive, and perfect for those of you (like me) who are back in school again and still working on balancing your online social life with your academic social life and academic schedule and jobs and suchlike things.
I mean, COME ON GUYS, it's Firefly and thatguywiththeglasses.com. And the other story is so twisted and awesome and kickass and sad and badass that even if Bennet the Sage found it (he'd be mad that he's a killer robot, but still) he might give it his smirk of approval.

Scolding over *takes off Athos hat, puts on The aunt_zelda Hat ... which is a knitted rainbow hat that is too big and thus flops down over my eyes and makes me look like a cartoon character, if you were curious* I need some wise advice from you guys.
See, I recently unearthed an amazon.com gift card from last Christmas, and entered the code into my account, half expecting it to say 'you have already entered this code.'
Instead I got fifty bucks! YAY! I love it when stuff like that happens!

So, the question is ... what should I spend it on?
I'm totally getting Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog (of course) but what else? The Dresden Files on audio? Some Lemon Demon CDs? Wormtooth Nation?
I'm going to hold off on getting Firefly just now, because I keep hoping that this Christmas my family will band together and say "Hey, let's get her this weird thing she's been asking for for years" and if they don't I'll get it with this year's gift certificates to make myself feel better.
What I really want to know is ... should I start reading Angel: After the Fall? What about Buffy: Season 8? And the Firefly GNs, are they worth it?
Advise me, my sage companions! (Please. <3)

Comments

[pyrocrastinator.livejournal.com]

I'm totally getting Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog (of course)

:D

but what else?

Hmm. I, unfortunately, live under a rock, and am not familiar with Angel or Buffy. And I haven't seen Firefly. (Please attach the word 'yet' to the ends of each of those two sentences.)

I CANNOT ADVISE D:

I can, however, read fic... At least, the SPAAAAAACE one :) *clicks link*

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

You don't live under a rock, silly, you just haven't gotten into early Joss Whedon stuff yet!
Start with Buffy. S1 is a bit 'Monster of the Week: Yeek!' but then it gets REALLY good. Be sure to start watching 'Angel' once S4 of Buffy starts, because some episodes crossover because they used to show a Buffy episode and then an Angel episode (kinda like DW and Torchwood in that regard ... except not really.) Later Buffy seasons get a bit ... meh. And ugh. And argh. And 'Nooooooooo!' There are some fans that think Buffy should never have left high school. There's all sorts of fanwank and fanhate and fanlove and fanservice.
Also, S4 of Angel DID NOT HAPPEN.

You might want to start with Firefly, as it's shorter (*sob*) and as you're already working backwards (I see you've started Dollhouse ... which I have yet to see *headdesk*) with Joss's stuff, that's the next logical step.
Plus, Firefly ROCKS.

Yes, read the fic! (In time, you shall be able to advise! Look forward to that!)

[queenanthai.livejournal.com]

Times like this, I kind of love being a comic book geek.

Okay.

ANGEL: AFTER THE FALL - surprisingly not as good as I thought it would be. Sure, there're wacky misadventures in Hell, but the team - what's left of it - doesn't feel like it has that bond to it anymore which united them in the final battle. Of course there are some good reasons for it, but...I don't know. I prefer my Angel to be a bit more noir than epic fantasy, and that's what happens here. It wildly depends on your preference. I still read it, but for my money I feel like the story's gone a bit out there, and there are fewer human connections one can make with the story.

BUFFY SEASON EIGHT: Good Lord, yes, buy it, read it, I am not joking, this is absolutely awesome. It helps that the writers from the show have their hands in this comic, unlike over at ANGEL. I can't even remotely talk about anything that's going on without ruining an issue for you. Everything is awesome and there has not been a single issue that has gone by that has not made me go HOLY SHIT WTFASDFGH at one point.

While it's widely available in trade, I strongly recommend trying to find as many single issues as you can, because even the letter columns are great. (I miss those in regular comics.)

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

the team - what's left of it - doesn't feel like it has that bond to it anymore which united them in the final battle. Of course there are some good reasons for it, but...I don't know.
That's sad. I'm still annoyed that they didn't get to continue for another season or two on TV. Damn you, Season 4!

I prefer my Angel to be a bit more noir than epic fantasy, and that's what happens here. It wildly depends on your preference.
Ah, I think I do, too ... well, I'll pass it over for now. Later on I'll probably pick it up.

I'm definately getting the first Buffy Season 8 book. (I'm not brave enough to get single-issues ... yet. Give me a couple months.)

Thank you SO MUCH for your recommendations!

[emeriin.livejournal.com]

*squirms* I might as well admit it now: I really, really don't like Firefly. :( It's partly because, as you probably know, TV Tropes keeps saying how frigging awesome it is and there is such a thing as hype aversion. And now I feel kind of guilty. *sighs*

But there is some good news: In Space is brilliant (bittersweet, funny, suspenseful dark!fic? MARRY ME!) and I'm just about to leave comments. :)

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

I really, really don't like Firefly.
Huh ... you don't?
Can I ask why? (I'm not angry or anything, I'm just curious ...)

But there is some good news: In Space is brilliant (bittersweet, funny, suspenseful dark!fic? MARRY ME!) and I'm just about to leave comments. :)
Hurrah!

[freya-sacksen.livejournal.com]

he'd be mad that he's a killer robot, but still
Yeah, but he's an awesome killer robot supercomputer that threw Linkara into a wall and impaled him.

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

I'm sure that if Bennet ever reads that fic on MFT, he'll look at the camera, grin, and yell "I AM A ROBOT!" and mime throwing Linkara at a wall.

[freya-sacksen.livejournal.com]

My dream come true would be if it got read on MFT, with each reviewer reading their own parts. It would be worth it just to hear Linkara say the 'You seem to have forgotten I don't die so easy' line.

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

*sporfles* That WOULD be all kinda of awesome. pyrocrastinator and I were daydreaming about Bennet getting everyone to read their own lines from my Apocalyptic Fic (and getting mad that I killed him in the opening bit), and Spoony stumbling over having to call Linkara sexy and stuff as Insano ... and it was hilarious.

It would be worth it just to hear Linkara say the 'You seem to have forgotten I don't die so easy' line.
That would be SO COOL. I'd probably melt right there if he did ...

[freya-sacksen.livejournal.com]

and getting mad that I killed him in the opening bit
Actually, he'd probably be relieved - less chance of him getting shipped with someone!

Spoony stumbling over having to call Linkara sexy and stuff as Insano ... and it was hilarious.
I can see that happening so much, although my twisted brain translated it into:

Spoony: *reading* That alone made you go from handsome to sexy in...dammit, I can't do this!
Linkara: *wearily* Spoony, this is the eighth time you've complained about that line.
Spoony: But I just...I just can't do it! It's too hard and I...
Linkara: Just shut up and read the line!
Spoony: You can't make me!
(Linkara kisses Spoony)
Spoony: ...okay, you can make me! But that doesn't mean I'll like it!

...sorry, Scarlett.

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

Actually, he'd probably be relieved - less chance of him getting shipped with someone!
That was what I was going for.

Spoony: *reading* That alone made you go from handsome to sexy in...dammit, I can't do this!
Oh, I can hear him saying THAT ...

Linkara: *wearily* Spoony, this is the eighth time you've complained about that line.
*sporfles*

(Linkara kisses Spoony)
Spoony: ...okay, you can make me! But that doesn't mean I'll like it!
HEE! (I'll like it! We all will ... that's what matters!)

...sorry, Scarlett.
Hey, odds are in our favor that she's a slasher too, or at least tolerant of that sort of thing. Benzaie's girlfriend is.

[vampedvixen.livejournal.com]

Buffy Season 8 is a MUST READ. After the Fall is a little weird and I don't like what they did to Spike's character (he was ALWAYS love's bitch and now he's freakin' Hugh Hefner). The Firefly GNs were pretty good but didn't stick out that much for me.

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

I'm definately getting the first Buffy Season 8 book. I'll give 'After the Fall' a wait. I'll probably check it out again later, but not right now.
Now I need to finish 'Y: the Last Man.'

[queenanthai.livejournal.com]

Now I need to finish 'Y: the Last Man.'

BEST COMIC EVER.

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

I really do love it thus far. (But I'm taking it at an agonizingly slow pace, because I never seem to have enough money at one time, or the Borders coupon is too wimpy, or I want to get something else instead ...)
But I really, REALLY love it. The art is lovely, the storyline is kickass and amazingly well handled, the characters are fantastic, it makes me laugh, yelp, and cry (I still get shivers reading the first couple of pages of the first one, where you go around the different locations on Earth where all the men have died. ULP. See? I'm shivering now, just thinking about it!) ... I just, really love it, and I can't wait to read the rest of the series!

[queenanthai.livejournal.com]

To date, the final issue is the second comic ever to make me cry.

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

Oh dear ... I cry pretty easy. *gulps and steels self* Here we go ... again. Some more.

[queenanthai.livejournal.com]

How far into it are you?

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

Not very far at all. I just ordered the 4th ... *blushes* I'm a bad fangirl sometimes ...