from axe to zee other axe

I'm blonde. I-I colored my hair again, I'm blonde. Yes, I noticed.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 5.15 — "I Was Made to Love You"

In 5x03, The Replacement, it's deeply relevant that only the better half of Xander is dedicated to and focused on Anya. This foreshadows their almost-wedding so well, which showcased Xander at his weakest and most insecure. This episode highlights what he wanted in his future: a stable job with upward mobility, a woman who keeps him on task and doesn't hide her vulnerabilities, and above-ground housing. However, his weak half doesn't think waking up in the dump is unusual for him, thinks he'll get fired, has no faith in his abilities, and barely thinks of Anya at all.

This is why it's important to pay attention to his better half's dedication to Anya: she has no problem with who she is, expects other people to appreciate and put up with her (as they should), and makes no effort to present herself as other than who she is. This is the epitome of what his better half wants, and his weakest half can't stand to face: holding a clear mirror to himself and embracing his reflection.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER | 5.01 Anya + ⛱️🌞🌊

Anya Jenkins + Outfits (Season 6)

Anya Jenkins + Outfits (Season 5)

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER 6.07 "Once More, With Feeling"

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER | 5.19

Buffy the Vampire Slayer | 5.08 — "Shadow"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer | “Hell’s Bells”

I think that Sunnydale can largely thank Anya for not having a lot more incidents of chaotic inexperienced magic users (e.g. the Trio) causing mayhem. Why? Well, when Giles sold Glory 2 items that could be used for a dangerous spell, she called him out, basically asking why he would sell anyone such a dangerous combo. This indicates that Anya is at least generally aware of what shouldn't be sold to customers or what to watch out for, and implies she wouldn't have sold Glory the items. Furthermore, when the gang is under the Tabula Rasa spell, we saw that an amnesiac version of Anya was able to perform potentially dangerous spells using only a single spell book, including conjuring rabbits and a sentient skeleton (that Giles sword fights with). This indicates it would be entirely possible for people with no idea what they're doing to perform irresponsible magic fairly easily.

Basically, Anya prevented a large amount of even more crazy whacky things from happening in Sunnydale

We needed scenes of Anya calling Buffy and saying "Someone just bought these dangerous items and he was clearly a vampire intent on ending the world, you should go stake them"

Buffy "Why did you make the sale if you knew this could end the world??"

Anya "I jacked up the price and got him to pay triple. I mean, he thought he was about to end the world so he wasn't going to care if I took all his money. Now go kill him before he does the spell, this is your sacred calling"

Buffy the Vampire Slayer 3.21 “Graduation Day: Part 1” | 6.07 “Once More, With Feeling”

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER | 6.08 “Tabula Rasa”

Buffy the Vampire Slayer | S05E15 “I Was Made to Love You”

btvs but there's more sections that are just anya putting out The Whiteboard™ and explaining Demon Stuff and Magic Stuff to the scoobies (giles included) like they're all just sitting around giles' flat or the magic box table while she explains shit like demonic soulage or the Great Hell War of 1683 BCE and they all sit there like good little students (even little miss fidget buffy bc finally this is a class she can put her massive brain to w/o looking like a freakazoid) and take notes and ask questions with their hands raised.

Anya "For today's session I have brought a packet of gold stars because Willow assured me they will increase your attention and receptiveness. They're magic of some sort"

Willow "No, no, they're normal stickers. It's a rewards system that teachers use"

Anya "I don't understand. If they're not magic then why would anyone want one of these sticky things?"

Buffy "They're shiny"

god i can HEAR their VOICES saying these LINES

And Willow and Giles get outrageously academically competitive. Meanwhile Xander's just there for the donuts and giggling at the more suggestive demon names...

while willow and giles get vicious about it with each other they miss on the real threat to either of them getting all the gold stars.

buffy who's finally able to put her largely untapped academic prowess to it's full use.

Giles would act so above getting a gold star but when he got one he’d be pleased with himself despite himself.