More squee! And a Spuffy thought!

[elisi]

Well, Christmas has obviously come early, because yesterday someone gifted me with more icon-space! Thank you so much anonymous benefactor! LJ-fairy? Christmas-fairy? Or... ::looks suspiciously at Anna and her magic wand::

Today we went to Impish Girl's pre-school/nursery to see their nativity play! Anyone who hasn't seen 25 3-year olds doing this hasn't lived! They were all just so cute!! And afterwards there was tea and cakes, and because about half the children are asian, and parent's brought the refreshments, I had Christmas cake and onion bhajis (sorry about spelling).

But - I also have a little thought to share:



Spuffy Thought

Now I doubt I'm the first one to notice this, but I felt like sharing anyway! We all know that heartbreaking moment:

Buffy: "I love you."
Spike: "No you don't."

I'm one of those who think that yes she meant it and yes he believed her. (See this post by the_royal_anna and this FitB by Kimi: The Way It Works - set just post-Chosen).

But that's not what I'm going to talk about. Because I discovered that there was a precedent for 'I love you' / 'No you don't'! And also that in this scene the denial doesn't mean disbelief. Let me show you - this is from the alley scene in 'Dead Things:

Spike: "You're not going in there."
Buffy: "I have to do this. Just let me go."
Spike: "I can't. I love you."
Buffy: "No, you don't."
Spike: "You think I haven't tried not to?"
Buffy hauls off and punches him in the face. Spike goes flying back into a couple of garbage cans, against the wall of the next building.
Buffy: "Try harder."

Buffy's denial is most certainly an instruction - a command even. And how interesting that this exchange comes at one of their lowest points and the mirror scene at their highest! I just liked the symmetry. Now go discuss! ;-)

Comments

[mikeygs.livejournal.com]

ITA that it was really just a plot-point. I feel the same way about the end of EOD and 'the kiss'. It was just there to placate certain fans and to raise Spike's doubts about Buffy's feelings. And I also agree that he needed to sort himself out before jaunting off to parts unknown. It's important to note that he wasn't just incorporeal for few days or a week, it was at least 5 months, all the while he's doubting and unsure. That would take its toll I guess. It's not so much that I don't get why he stayed as much as it frustrates me. I want my Spuffy, dammit!

A Spike essay, you say? Now I'm all intrigued. I kind of lost him in S5 of Angel in that I couldn't connect with him anymore. Hearing your thoughts might help me 'get' him a little better. Here's hoping anyway.

I tend to shy away from arguments, too. There's really no point; everyone's set in their ways and no amount of bashing is going to change that. And you really get tired of defending your opinions. Being a fan of Buffy, Spike, and the last two seasons, I really had my plate full. :)

[elisi]

I want my Spuffy, dammit!

You are reading 'Does It Have to Mean Something?' by thedeadlyhook, right? Cause it's probably the best post-NFA Spuffy fic out there!

And I loved Spike in AtS s5 - the highlight was probably his and Angel's grudging friendship and respect. But I'll dig out the essay and see if it makes as much sense as it did when I first wrote it. If it does I'll definitely post! ;)

I really had my plate full. :)

Oh, yes! :)

[mikeygs.livejournal.com]

You are reading 'Does It Have to Mean Something?' by [info]thedeadlyhook, right? Cause it's probably the best post-NFA Spuffy fic out there!

Of course!! She has a really nice, thought-out, believable Buffy. Her characterization is very important to me in fic. I really hate stories that are thinly-veiled attempts at bashing. There are plenty of quality post-NFA fics. Mortal Wounds by (http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=treacle_a)treacle_a (http://www.livejournal.com/users/treacle_a/) might be my favorite though. Other good ones are Something New by (http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=spikewriter)spikewriter (http://www.livejournal.com/users/spikewriter/) and (http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=fer1213)fer1213 (http://www.livejournal.com/users/fer1213/)'s Third Chances, but you probably have read those. Balancing Acts by (http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=unfolded73)unfolded73 (http://www.livejournal.com/users/unfolded73/) is looking interesting, too.

Lately, though, I've been reading older fics. Even dusted off my printed copy of Affinity, which is my favorite fic of all time, and gave it good read. There's just something captivating about how she writes Spuffy. I love it.

You know, I just realized that it's been about 3 months since I read anything that wasn't fanfic? How sad is that? :(

[elisi]

Mortal Wounds and balancing Acts are new to me - I'll have to catch up on those sometime...

And everyone loves Affinity I think - ginmar is one of my all time favourite writers!

And I do read stuff that isn't fanfic (currently I'm slowly working my way through 'A short history of nearly everything') but it's very hard to find anything as captivating as the Buffy-verse! ;)