Buffy and Princess Tutu
The problem with watching Princess Tutu is that it inspires fixfics- any time someone is angsty or a jerk, I can imagine Tutu psychoanalyzing dancing with them. Likewise, Buffy just makes me long for her presence during most horror movies (I still think it's a shame she didn't team up with the Frog brothers from The Lost Boys.)
With that in mind- what the heck. I wrote a short Buffy/Tutu fixfic to settle my problems with Buffy's characterization during season six.
Buffy wasn't a dancer. Sure, she'd twirled in place when that musical demon had tried to take her sister, and her gymnastic practice had left her with at least a bare minimum of grace, but ballet? That was something Giles would like. Hell, that was something even Giles would find old-fashioned. There was no way she would start dancing just because some sugar plum fairy appeared in a puff of sparkles and asked her too.
But then, why were her feet moving in time to distant music?
"Your heart is full of hatred, Buffy. Why do you choose to hurt yourself?"
"I- " Buffy frowned. Not only was she ballet dancing for no apparent reason with a magical cosplayer, she was about to confess her problems to a complete stranger. Maybe Princess Tutu was a demon of some kind. A sparkly, shiny, friendly demon.
"I don't belong here. I hate the world. I hate Spike. I hate myself for wanting him."
"Do you? Or is hatred your defense against uncertainty?"
"You don't know anything about me! You're just the result of my inhaling fumes when Willow was casting a spell! You're some kind of hallucination- fairy tale- thingy!"
"Poor Buffy. I know your heart is good. You once chose to devote your life to helping others. Must you hate them all instead, poisoning the world you try to save?"
Shit. Buffy didn't have an answer from that.
"I'm afraid. I'm lost. I don't know what to do!"
"No one does, truly. But you will never find out if you continue to torment yourself and those you once loved. It may be easier to think of yourself as a bad person, but it isn't the truth!"
Buffy felt something inside of herself twist and become lighter. Before her eyes, she thought she saw her heart exit her body. But no, it was only a speck of light- red, shaped like a gem.
"I am the feeling of hatred," it said- to Princess Tutu, not to Buffy. "Lodged in the Slayer's heart, forsaken by the world I despise."
"Oh dear. I am afraid to give you back to Mytho- but if he does not know what it is to hate, how can he know what it is to love? I will take you home where you belong, away from this woman."
Another puff of sparkles, and Buffy fell to her knees crying. Without the shard of hatred, she was empty and directionless. But perhaps she was also finally free.
With that in mind- what the heck. I wrote a short Buffy/Tutu fixfic to settle my problems with Buffy's characterization during season six.
Buffy wasn't a dancer. Sure, she'd twirled in place when that musical demon had tried to take her sister, and her gymnastic practice had left her with at least a bare minimum of grace, but ballet? That was something Giles would like. Hell, that was something even Giles would find old-fashioned. There was no way she would start dancing just because some sugar plum fairy appeared in a puff of sparkles and asked her too.
But then, why were her feet moving in time to distant music?
"Your heart is full of hatred, Buffy. Why do you choose to hurt yourself?"
"I- " Buffy frowned. Not only was she ballet dancing for no apparent reason with a magical cosplayer, she was about to confess her problems to a complete stranger. Maybe Princess Tutu was a demon of some kind. A sparkly, shiny, friendly demon.
"I don't belong here. I hate the world. I hate Spike. I hate myself for wanting him."
"Do you? Or is hatred your defense against uncertainty?"
"You don't know anything about me! You're just the result of my inhaling fumes when Willow was casting a spell! You're some kind of hallucination- fairy tale- thingy!"
"Poor Buffy. I know your heart is good. You once chose to devote your life to helping others. Must you hate them all instead, poisoning the world you try to save?"
Shit. Buffy didn't have an answer from that.
"I'm afraid. I'm lost. I don't know what to do!"
"No one does, truly. But you will never find out if you continue to torment yourself and those you once loved. It may be easier to think of yourself as a bad person, but it isn't the truth!"
Buffy felt something inside of herself twist and become lighter. Before her eyes, she thought she saw her heart exit her body. But no, it was only a speck of light- red, shaped like a gem.
"I am the feeling of hatred," it said- to Princess Tutu, not to Buffy. "Lodged in the Slayer's heart, forsaken by the world I despise."
"Oh dear. I am afraid to give you back to Mytho- but if he does not know what it is to hate, how can he know what it is to love? I will take you home where you belong, away from this woman."
Another puff of sparkles, and Buffy fell to her knees crying. Without the shard of hatred, she was empty and directionless. But perhaps she was also finally free.