Shipper Theory 101, veering back into Spuffyland
Some people have studied, written, and taught, in quite scholarly fashion, upon the subject of fanfiction. I'm not one of them. I only dabble, as I do in so many things. But concerning the "shipper" variety of fanfic--that is, the overwhelming majority of fanfic; the ones featuring romantic relationships between characters--I have always assumed that people were shipping characters who weren't going to get any action together in canon; I figured that was the whole point. For example, Kirk and Spock, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, Mulder and Scully (up until the last couple seasons), or anyone in Tolkien.
So therefore I wonder: was most of the Buffy/Spike hot shipper fanfic written before season 6? Because, um, we just watched the episodes "Smashed" and "Wrecked". And there's sex. Really obvious sex. As much sex as network TV is allowed to show. The only thing fanfic could possibly fill in was a few dirty words and, well, anatomical details network TV can't show. Mind you, Buffy and Spike are a fascinating couple laden with so much chemistry they melt the screen, so I understand wanting to write about them even after the perverse, degrading, house-destroying sex. But all the same, was most of it written earlier?
In any case--whoo, that is one complicated relationship. I had heard spoilery hints that there would be Spuffy sex, but I didn't foresee how exactly it would happen. Joss & Co could have written it a hundred ways. For example:
The shmoopy option: Buffy is sniffling at her mother's grave one night; Spike appears and comforts her; one thing leads to another.
The silly option: Buffy and Spike battle a demon who coats them with corrosive slime, forcing them to tear off their clothes and jump immediately into the nearest moonlit pond together to wash off. And one thing leads to another.
Fanfic has supplied a thousand more options, most of them actually feasible in the show's arc, given the already-farfetched nature of the show. But no--they went deep, dark, and psychological instead.
First, Spike discovers he can physically hurt Buffy, due to some glitch in her return from death. That's important, since suddenly he's almost her equal again in power. But instead of getting down on one knee and telling her he won't ever hurt her even though he could, he goads her into a knock-down drag-out fight. And not only are they smacking each other around violently, they're saying the cruellest things they can possibly think of--"You came back wrong." "You're not a man, you're a thing. An evil, disgusting thing." "Oh, poor little lost girl. She doesn't fit in anywhere. She's got no one to love." "Poor Spikey. Can't be a human, can't be a vampire. Where the hell do you fit in?"
All to prove, evidently, that they really are the best existing match for each other.
The scene was sexy, yes, but also sober and disturbing. Buffy is now light years away from the anxious teenage girl who asked Angelus, "Was I not good?" Given what happened with him, though, it's no wonder she's guarded around Spike.
Well, others have already said way more about this than I have time to. That's the trouble of arriving late in a fandom--everything has already been said. Still, it's eating my brain lately, so even though no one reads LJ on Saturdays, I had to write this up.
[Edit:] "Gone with the Wind" tag added here for some really cool comparative discussion in the comments. :)
So therefore I wonder: was most of the Buffy/Spike hot shipper fanfic written before season 6? Because, um, we just watched the episodes "Smashed" and "Wrecked". And there's sex. Really obvious sex. As much sex as network TV is allowed to show. The only thing fanfic could possibly fill in was a few dirty words and, well, anatomical details network TV can't show. Mind you, Buffy and Spike are a fascinating couple laden with so much chemistry they melt the screen, so I understand wanting to write about them even after the perverse, degrading, house-destroying sex. But all the same, was most of it written earlier?
In any case--whoo, that is one complicated relationship. I had heard spoilery hints that there would be Spuffy sex, but I didn't foresee how exactly it would happen. Joss & Co could have written it a hundred ways. For example:
The shmoopy option: Buffy is sniffling at her mother's grave one night; Spike appears and comforts her; one thing leads to another.
The silly option: Buffy and Spike battle a demon who coats them with corrosive slime, forcing them to tear off their clothes and jump immediately into the nearest moonlit pond together to wash off. And one thing leads to another.
Fanfic has supplied a thousand more options, most of them actually feasible in the show's arc, given the already-farfetched nature of the show. But no--they went deep, dark, and psychological instead.
First, Spike discovers he can physically hurt Buffy, due to some glitch in her return from death. That's important, since suddenly he's almost her equal again in power. But instead of getting down on one knee and telling her he won't ever hurt her even though he could, he goads her into a knock-down drag-out fight. And not only are they smacking each other around violently, they're saying the cruellest things they can possibly think of--"You came back wrong." "You're not a man, you're a thing. An evil, disgusting thing." "Oh, poor little lost girl. She doesn't fit in anywhere. She's got no one to love." "Poor Spikey. Can't be a human, can't be a vampire. Where the hell do you fit in?"
All to prove, evidently, that they really are the best existing match for each other.
The scene was sexy, yes, but also sober and disturbing. Buffy is now light years away from the anxious teenage girl who asked Angelus, "Was I not good?" Given what happened with him, though, it's no wonder she's guarded around Spike.
Well, others have already said way more about this than I have time to. That's the trouble of arriving late in a fandom--everything has already been said. Still, it's eating my brain lately, so even though no one reads LJ on Saturdays, I had to write this up.
[Edit:] "Gone with the Wind" tag added here for some really cool comparative discussion in the comments. :)