More Common Fanon That Makes Me Go 'Huh?'
Okay, as a break from the heavy-thinking of yesterday, I felt compelled to gather some more fanon elements that puzzle me. Because it's fun, and I can only do serious for so long. Once again, these are applicable to BtVS Spuffy fics, though I know several can be applied to other fandoms.
1. Joyce LURVES Spike. I've seen this often where Joyce absolutely adores Spike and wants Buffy to date him, and this always makes me raise an eyebrow. I think, at most, Joyce probably thought of Spike as the wacky next-door vamp. If you stretch it, you can say they might have enjoyed hot chocolate together more often than we're actually shown. But we do see her acting uncomfortable around him in Checkpoint when she and Dawn stay in his crypt for a while, so it's not likely they were "hanging out" previous to that point.
But Joyce would probably be very much against a Buffy/Spike romance. In Crush, she's just as disturbed by Spike's feelings for Buffy as Buffy is. He's a vampire. She didn't encourage Angel to break up with Buffy because he's overly-broody and has a large forehead, but because he's a vampire. Period. She would not approve of her daughter dating a vampire (For very valid reasons). So I just have to wonder why it became so common to have Joyce become a cheerleader for Spuffy love. Dawn, yes. I can see Dawn supporting those two. But Joyce? Not so much.
2. Every guy except for Spike is a rapist/abuser/murderer/really mean guy. In any Spuffy fic, there is a good chance that every other male besides Spike will suddenly become ten times nastier than their canonical counterparts. Riley will inevitably either turn into an abusive, slobbering, maniacal jerk, or he will be a clueless, sexually-inept goober. Xander will attend anti-demon rallies while slapping Anya around and routinely kicking Spike for no good reason. And Giles will become a domineering, patriarchal madman who will forbid Buffy from seeing Spike.
Any of these may eventually lead to the phenomenon I noted in my last fanon entry: Gather round, Scoobs, Spike's awesome.
I think this is common in lots of fandoms to bastardize other characters to heighten sympathy for the paired characters, but it especially amuses me in Spuffy fanfiction. There's more than enough conflict inherent in the Buffy/Spike relationship that I don't see the need screw up other characters to fabricate an external conflict.
3. Suffer, Spike, suffer! Muwahahahaha! Okay, Spike does get his fair share of suffering in the series. Okay, more than his fair share. The creators like to get his top off and beat him up at least once a season (To which I say, "Yum." Er...to the topless part). But some fanfics take this to the extremist of extremes. They don't just beat the guy up. They chain him down and relentlessly torture him until Spike is a heaping puddle of tears and blood writhing on the ground in agony.
The person inflicting the suffering varies. Xander, Riley, and Angel are common perpetrators. I've seen Buffy, herself, go above and beyond anything seen in Season 6 (And outside the bounds of BDSM fun). And then there are the stories involving Spike getting captured by a demon brothel/the Initiative/vampire slavers/vamp!Willow/whatever.
I know this happens in just about every fandom. And, to be honest, I do find those stories oddly compelling if done well. They're the old-fashioned hurt/comfort cliche that take the "hurt" to the extreme. For me, as long as they follow up with the right "comfort", I can actually enjoy these stories. It just took me a while to "get into" them as a lot of them are so very overdone (And, especially if they're using another character as the abuser, out of character).
4. Buffy didn't really love Angel or Riley. For some reason, there seems to be a need to disavow any past loves in order to validate Buffy's current love affair with Spike in a Spuffy fic. This sometimes involves a lengthy monologue (internal or not) wherein Buffy reveals that she didn't actually love Angel or Riley. Not really. Cause, you know, Angel was just a teenage crush, and Riley was just rebound. Spike is the only love she's ever had ever ever ever.
Apparently, you can't love more than one person in your lifetime, and, if you do, it automatically diminishes the love you can give to another person.
I'm not a Bangel fan, but she did love him. Intensely and completely. To say she didn't is unthinkable to me. He was her first love, and that does hold a special place for her. It doesn't mean that she can't ever love anybody else just as completely, though. I have to wonder if the authors who use this particular piece of fanon are younger, which would affect their view of love.
On Riley, you could make a case that she didn't actually love him, though I think it's going overboard to call him a "rebound" (That was Parker). Personally, I think she did love Riley, though it wasn't near as fevered or passionate as her love for Angel (I think the events surrounding her relationship with Angel left her emotionally distant, which showed itself in her romance with Riley). However, I know how tempting it is to disregard anything to do with Riley in a Spuffy fic, so it's easy to shrug him off by saying she had no feelings for him. It just doesn't ring true to me.
That's all, she wrote. I have to go do actual work things now.
1. Joyce LURVES Spike. I've seen this often where Joyce absolutely adores Spike and wants Buffy to date him, and this always makes me raise an eyebrow. I think, at most, Joyce probably thought of Spike as the wacky next-door vamp. If you stretch it, you can say they might have enjoyed hot chocolate together more often than we're actually shown. But we do see her acting uncomfortable around him in Checkpoint when she and Dawn stay in his crypt for a while, so it's not likely they were "hanging out" previous to that point.
But Joyce would probably be very much against a Buffy/Spike romance. In Crush, she's just as disturbed by Spike's feelings for Buffy as Buffy is. He's a vampire. She didn't encourage Angel to break up with Buffy because he's overly-broody and has a large forehead, but because he's a vampire. Period. She would not approve of her daughter dating a vampire (For very valid reasons). So I just have to wonder why it became so common to have Joyce become a cheerleader for Spuffy love. Dawn, yes. I can see Dawn supporting those two. But Joyce? Not so much.
2. Every guy except for Spike is a rapist/abuser/murderer/really mean guy. In any Spuffy fic, there is a good chance that every other male besides Spike will suddenly become ten times nastier than their canonical counterparts. Riley will inevitably either turn into an abusive, slobbering, maniacal jerk, or he will be a clueless, sexually-inept goober. Xander will attend anti-demon rallies while slapping Anya around and routinely kicking Spike for no good reason. And Giles will become a domineering, patriarchal madman who will forbid Buffy from seeing Spike.
Any of these may eventually lead to the phenomenon I noted in my last fanon entry: Gather round, Scoobs, Spike's awesome.
I think this is common in lots of fandoms to bastardize other characters to heighten sympathy for the paired characters, but it especially amuses me in Spuffy fanfiction. There's more than enough conflict inherent in the Buffy/Spike relationship that I don't see the need screw up other characters to fabricate an external conflict.
3. Suffer, Spike, suffer! Muwahahahaha! Okay, Spike does get his fair share of suffering in the series. Okay, more than his fair share. The creators like to get his top off and beat him up at least once a season (To which I say, "Yum." Er...to the topless part). But some fanfics take this to the extremist of extremes. They don't just beat the guy up. They chain him down and relentlessly torture him until Spike is a heaping puddle of tears and blood writhing on the ground in agony.
The person inflicting the suffering varies. Xander, Riley, and Angel are common perpetrators. I've seen Buffy, herself, go above and beyond anything seen in Season 6 (And outside the bounds of BDSM fun). And then there are the stories involving Spike getting captured by a demon brothel/the Initiative/vampire slavers/vamp!Willow/whatever.
I know this happens in just about every fandom. And, to be honest, I do find those stories oddly compelling if done well. They're the old-fashioned hurt/comfort cliche that take the "hurt" to the extreme. For me, as long as they follow up with the right "comfort", I can actually enjoy these stories. It just took me a while to "get into" them as a lot of them are so very overdone (And, especially if they're using another character as the abuser, out of character).
4. Buffy didn't really love Angel or Riley. For some reason, there seems to be a need to disavow any past loves in order to validate Buffy's current love affair with Spike in a Spuffy fic. This sometimes involves a lengthy monologue (internal or not) wherein Buffy reveals that she didn't actually love Angel or Riley. Not really. Cause, you know, Angel was just a teenage crush, and Riley was just rebound. Spike is the only love she's ever had ever ever ever.
Apparently, you can't love more than one person in your lifetime, and, if you do, it automatically diminishes the love you can give to another person.
I'm not a Bangel fan, but she did love him. Intensely and completely. To say she didn't is unthinkable to me. He was her first love, and that does hold a special place for her. It doesn't mean that she can't ever love anybody else just as completely, though. I have to wonder if the authors who use this particular piece of fanon are younger, which would affect their view of love.
On Riley, you could make a case that she didn't actually love him, though I think it's going overboard to call him a "rebound" (That was Parker). Personally, I think she did love Riley, though it wasn't near as fevered or passionate as her love for Angel (I think the events surrounding her relationship with Angel left her emotionally distant, which showed itself in her romance with Riley). However, I know how tempting it is to disregard anything to do with Riley in a Spuffy fic, so it's easy to shrug him off by saying she had no feelings for him. It just doesn't ring true to me.
That's all, she wrote. I have to go do actual work things now.