The vampiric claim, or, one of the fanon things that makes me cringe but I'm drawn to anyway

[feliciacraft]

Of all the fanon things that make me cringe but I'm drawn to anyway, the most hilarious is the Vampiric Claim, a ritual that results in a bond that lasts forever, tying two life forces together (often times written such that if one dies, so does the other). An incredibly powerful piece of magic that can be invoked with a single, contextually common

Comments

[rahirah]

Unless they're by a really, really good writer, I generally dislike claiming fics. And even when they're by a really, really good writer, given a choice between claiming and something else, I'll usually go for the something else. Most of the reasons for disliking it you list above boil down to bad/lazy writing; it's perfectly possible to write a claiming fic that avoids all of those pitfalls, or at least explores them in a thoughtful manner. Most writers who do claiming fics just don't bother, because for many of them the whole point is that claiming is a plot device that allows them to bypass all the hard work of character development which would be necessary to get Buffy and Spike together without resorting to magical Superglue.

I just don't like tropes that force two characters together. Even when they're done well. It gives me the creeps. Yeah, sure, it may put your OTP together, but it's not real. They've been brainwashed, coerced, become subject to mystical Stockholm Syndrome. Ick ick ick! For some people, that's part of the appeal, but for me it's a big squick. And I'm also kind of a canon snob when it comes to worldbuilding, so if I do want to read about soulbonds, I'd prefer to do so in a canon where they're a real thing instead of fanon. (I was really active in Elfquest fandom for twenty-plus years, where fuck-or-die telepathic soulbonds are a huge part of canon, and I got my fill of the trope there.)

[rahirah]

Besides, vampires can totally get married. One of the Gorch Brothers got married!

[feliciacraft]

I don't know why we don't have more fics about vampires getting married. Maybe people want the marriage to be legally recognized (and Spike would not be able to produce a valid ID)?

I do recall a Spuffy wedding scene by I think herself_nyc. I remember Spike's wedding vows to Buffy, something he prepared, as incredibly moving.

[rahirah]

Oh, pfft, like Spike wouldn't be able to get a fake ID. :waves objections away:

[feliciacraft]

LOL, good point. *Ponders* Why *aren't* there more Spuffy weddings, then?

It just occurred to me, replying to your other thread, that maybe some writers are drawn to claiming fics for the blood kink? How else would you get Buffy and Spike to exchange blood on a regular basis? Spike, sure, vampire after all, but Buffy being keen to try drinking blood (and vampire blood on top of that...which with a reformed Spike means recycled pig's blood?) would seem out of character to me.

[rahirah]

Maybe? I haven't read a lot of claiming fics, so it's certainly possible. The few I've read have put way more emphasis on Spike drinking from Buffy than the reverse, but it's not like there are rules, lol!

[the_moonmoth]

I've wondered the same thing re wedding fics, and echo what Barb said about fake id. But also, for me, the important thing about a wedding isn't the legal recognition (bearing in mind I say this as a heterosexual who has no trouble acquiring such) but the part about standing up in front of your most important people and making vows. Totally possible for their situation.

[rebcake]

rahirah, herself_nyc, shapinglight, and I have all written Spuffy weddings!

[the_moonmoth]

Linky? (To yours I mean, not everyone's).

I think gillo did one once too...? Still, it's way less common than claiming.

[rebcake]

Yes! gillo did one, too!

Mine is Under My Skin and it's a sequel. Also, Spike's been shanshued, so…

herself_nyc's comes at the end of Distance, which I absolutely adore. There's probably one somewhere in the Bittersweets series, but I'm not sure which exact story.

rahirah's has Las Vegas in the title, I think. They elope, and end up having a grand adventure!

shapinglight's is an absolute hoot and takes place in her WeddingFromHell!verse, wherein the Something Blue spell doesn't end.

Speaking of which, there's this really interesting story in which Willow accepts D'Hoffryn's offer to be a vengeance demon and the story picks up a few years later with Buffy bailing husband Spike out of jail (again). Something Old. Not a wedding, but it came to mind… Also, possibly written by a fella. ;-)

[rahirah]

Mine is more "Fine, wedding, whatever, ON TO THE MURDER MYSTERY!"

[rebcake]

As it should be! I'm a great believer in elopements and in having adventures!

[the_moonmoth]

Thank you! I know I've read herself's and Barb's before, but the others are all new to me. Looking forward to them :)

[feliciacraft]

Distance was fantastic. I loved Spike's vows to Buffy.

Yay, more stories to read! Thanks for the recs! :)

[rahirah]

I'm vaguely recalling that there were more wedding fics back on the old BAPS and BA_.... crap, I've forgotten the name of the fic mailing list! Horrors! The BA stood for Bloody Awful, but it confused people who thought it was Buffy Angel.... ANYWAY, there were more wedding fics back in the Olden Days, before Season 6 got so dire, but many of them were not archived, or disappeared when Geocities went boom, or stuff like that. I

I think that the more canon you get, the less variety you get in fic, because new writers feel constrained by everything that's happened in canon, whether they realize it or not.

[rebcake]

the more canon you get, the less variety you get

I am always amazed at how much variety there is! The constraints often seem to spur people to ingenious solutions.

Sometimes, the non-canon stuff seems more rote, to me. Example: claims. Writers take the easy way when not forced by canon to come up with something truthier.