elisi | Some random S7 Spuffy thoughts

Did some Buffy watching tonight... my wonderful husband took the children round to the grandparents’ house, and then once there decided that they might as well stay there for tea. Cue hours of blissful peace for me. :)

Oh, and I’ve decided that my husband will from now on be known as Mr Darcy... this was

lillianmorgan’s suggestion after seeing our wedding photos, and it fits rather well. He’s wonderful, but when it comes to fandom stuff he gets rather snooty, so ‘Mr Darcy’ will serve very well!

Anyway... on to the scattered thoughts...

Watched ‘Sleeper’ which is one of those near-perfect episodes that I just never tire of. Not much to say really, except that this marks the turning point Spuffy-wise. Up until this episode Buffy is very stand off-ish. It takes her a good while to tell anyone about Spike’s soul and to get him out of the basement. And whereas some just take this as proof that she’s a cold hearted bitch, I think this is quite simply because she’s scared. When it comes to Spike it was always the lack of a soul that prevented her from loving him, from treating him properly. It was her standard response to any suggestions that it could ever work. And then suddenly he takes that excuse away. There is no reason why she shouldn’t be able to love him or be with him, and I think she’s terrified. Because it could all very suddenly be very real.
So until Sleeper she keeps her distance and barely even talks to him. Until she finds out that he might be killing again. The last words of the episode are:
Buffy: “I have to get close to Spike.”

Now I also watched the Spuffy bits of ‘Potential’ and ‘The Killer In Me’. In ‘Potential’ the attraction between Buffy and Spike is very obvious (and is made very obvious): the way she tries to look at his injuries and the Potentials thinking it’s ‘hot’, the way she tries to convince herself that it’s ‘totally over’ when she’s supposed to be counselling Amanda, that line about Spike’s crypt being ‘comfy’... her mind is so going places it shouldn’t.

In ‘The Killer In Me’ on the other hand, she’s caring for Spike. The scene where he’s lying on the cot, and they’re trying to figure out what to do... it has to be one of the sweetest moments in the whole of the season. *sigh* and *sniff*

Also watched the very beginning and end of ‘First Date’, and what always strikes me is the end of the fight - Buffy kills the demon and then rushes to Spike’s side. Not Xander, who was the one she came to save and who got stabbed. No she goes to Spike first, and only after making sure that he’s ok does she worry about Xander. And Wood picks up on this straight away! That little triangle of looks at the end...

Not to mention that Buffy actually admits to needing Spike later on - and this of course refers back to the beginning of the episode, and Buffy’s conversation with Giles. Now, I love their talk - it starts out being about Buffy’s decision to remove the chip, but very quickly turns into a discussion about Buffy and Spike and their relationship. And Giles very obviously thinks that this is Angel all over again... Buffy is making decisions with her heart and not her mind (as she admits to Spike). And my favourite line? “I want more for you.” Giles very obviously sees the relationship as a long-term one, and in this case there is no curse to stop Buffy from committing to something in the future. The seeds for LMPTM are planted right here!

Basically I just love the quitness of S7 Spuffy - it's all in the looks and the touches and the small things. The way Buffy always turns to Spike first... the way they finish each other's sentences... I'm just a sappy, romantic shipper. :)

Ok, will stop now and go downstairs to be snuggle with Mr Darcy. Sorry about spelling mistakes etc, but this was written very quickly and mostly for my own benefit.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh yes, S7 and the dreams of what S8 could have been! I started to realize they were going to have Buffy actually own her feelings before she rescued Spike (and from the way Xander looked at her, he figured it out too). She barely slept and was single minded, kept saying they had to rescue Spike. She didn't talk about the need vanquish the enemy or gather the potentials...it was all about rescuing Spike. That was clearly her priority and the FE even snapped when, as Eve, it said, 'Isn't that the vampire that's been killin again?', as if to remind her and the scoobies why she should forget Spike.

After she got him back, her every look and avery gesture screamed LOVE. She didn't (in true Buffy style) verbalize, until too late.

Now Spike was always good at "reading" people, especially Buffy. He knew in the previous season that Buffy had more feelings than she was willing to express or acknowledge. That got him in trouble. He acted (in Seeing Red) on what he perceived, not what she said. After getting the soul (and the tremendous guilt about SR that he had even before the soul), he no longer was willing/able to trust what he saw. He relied on what she said. She never said the "I love you" until the end, so he rejected what was clearly obvious to everyone...she was head over heels in love the whole season.

It took no genius to see, and Buffy had to have admitted it to herself at least ("Why does everyone think I'm STILL in love with Spike"...note Willow doesn't ask "when were you in love with him before?") everyone "got it" except Spike. He was once burned (SR) twice shy.

I think if there had been a season 8 (and remember, SMG kept the door open for that possibility unti mid season) we would have seen a maturing Buffy and wonderful cookie eating.....sigh

Kathleen

A lot of good points, but I think that Spike could see what Buffy was feeling. I'm with

the_royal_anna - the "No, you don't" is an instruction! (See this post). But that is not to say that a season 8 wouldn't have been wonderful! *sigh*

I'm torn. I can see and be swayed to the Royal Anna's view. There are plenty of arguments for it. But, Spike not calling or going to Buffy when he returned from dust makes more sense if he was not sure of her feelings IMHO. I suppose it could play either way. He didn't know he'd be returning when he offered himself to close the hellmouth and urging Buffy to live is in character.

Kathleen

I actually wrote an essay a while ago about Spike's reasons for staying in LA and about his and Angel's relationship: Spike Essay.

And then a few days ago

avrelia posted her thoughts on the subject: Spike in LA.

Enjoy! (And look the pretty icon I found...)

PS. I posted the Epilogue to 'Play It Again, Sam' a few days ago, just in case you missed it...

Thanks for the links. I'm off to read them.

Yes, I read the epilogue and meant to comment (bad kathleen, no biscuit!!). I really did enjoy it and it was nice to see Riley in a nice light. I'm writing something now where he isn't so nice and I needed that!!!

I covet your icon! Where did you get that one? Yummy Spike all tied up with no place to go *eg* I love that man's face in scenes like this. Sigh.....

Kathleen

Sorry about the self-pimp, I just hadn't seen you around LJ for a few days and thought that maybe you missed it. Also I am a feedback whore... /addict

Looking forward to seeing what you do with Riley. He can certainly be a bastard if he want to!

The nummy icon is by

killmebecomeme so feel free to snag as long as you credit her! And there could be made a whole dictionary about Spike's facial expressions... *sigh*

Don't apologize! I am a feedback whore too (and I might easily have missed it!!!) Never fail to pimp your good stuff, especially to me!!

I get almost no feedback (a few "quite nice" comments, at least no flames, but silence can be deafening too). I have finally reached the point where I am happy with the product myself before I post and usually my husband has enjoyed the story too, so I content myself with that. Knowing it is being read, however, is always a tasty treat.

Kathleen

I'd love to read your longer stories, but I just don't have the time. I think that's the main problem I encountered after I began writing... suddenly I found I had far, far less time for reading fanfic. Which is why I like following WIP's - it's all in manageable chunks. Anyway, will definitely check out the story you are currently working on, once you start posting!

Oh - and I'm very jealous of you! My husband thinks that fanfiction is a sad waste of time. He's read a few chapters of 'Play It Again, Sam' - enough for him to say that my writing's good (which means a lot - he very fussy about these things), he just can't understand why I don't write anything 'proper'. *sigh*

My husband is as big a fan of Buffy/Angel series as I am and a die hard Spuffy fan to boot! I always print out and read the cream of the crop fanfiction to him as we travel.

We own a commercial cleaning company and must go from place to place making sure all is being done properly so we spend a good deal of time in the vehicle. He enjoys the stories as much as I do (and I am delighted that he likes mine too).

I find myself taking "other people's work" breaks even more when I do write so that I can decompress, I guess. Now that I am using the LJ, finally, I follow most WIPs as they come down, but when I find a good writer, I tend to immerse myself! Pathetic really *g*.

I watch very little TV, only following Lost at present, so I read Fanfiction instead. I read other things, too, mind you, but I usually read at least a little Spike fiction most days.

Kathleen

Well the thing with my husband is that he likes Buffy and Angel... we used to watch it together when it was on. Sadly though, to him it's 'only a tv-show' and why anyone would want to spend time analysing it or writing about it baffles him.

And I do that immersion thing too... I still remember when I first discovered

spikewriter and just lived and breathed her work until I'd read every single thing on her website. For some reason it's harder to find the time these days...

You have little ones to deal with, may children are four legged and furry! Makes a difference *g*

Kathleen

Oh, yes!!!!

And re. husband, sometimes he cares more than he wants. When we watched Chosen for the first time he was completely knocked out when Spike died. "They killed Spike! They can't do that!" Heee! ;)

Me thinks he protesteth too much about the fanfic! *g* My Jim loves that I create and enjoy what I am doing. Since he shares the fanlove he "gets" the obsession.

Kathleen

Well, Mr Darcy has a lot of other good points, so I try to avoid mentioning it.

Some random S7 Spuffy thoughts

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