Comments | mollyringwraith: Shipper Theory 101, veering back into Spuffyland

mollyringwraith

Shipper Theory 101, veering back into Spuffyland

May 19, 2007 09:56

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 ( Read more... )

fanfic, gone with the wind, perviness, scholarly attempts, buffy

Leave a comment

Back to all threads

(The comment has been removed)

mollyringwraith May 20 2007, 01:00:16 UTC

Ah ha, I can see you understand! :D Well, I'm with you so far, though I suppose I should withhold total judgment until the series is finished.

Still, I meant to say that they remind me of another legendary romantic couple: Rhett and Scarlett. The tension and flirtation runs high, they snipe and snarl at each other and say the cruellest and truest things they can, but they also sometimes do these amazingly beautiful good turns for each other. And there's a reason half the romance novels in the world (and possibly Joss Whedon) follow Gone with the Wind's relationship model--it's got chemistry oozing out of all its pores.

From what I've seen, there's NC17 for just about any pairing imaginable, but yes, these two are asking for it more blatantly than most. :D And what I've seen of Nautibitz's work is really good so far!

dirae May 20 2007, 19:33:09 UTC

Using the GWtW analogy even further, Angel would be her Ashley Wilkes, meaning it is her childish "love affair" and it hurts her tremendously, thus paving her way to the sexually stimulating albeit dysfunctional relationship with Spike. In GWtW Ashely tells Scarlett of his fears: "Mostly of having life suddenly become too real, of being brought into personal, too personal, contact with some of the simple facts of life... You were too full of living and too real and I was cowardly enough to prefer shadows and dreams...But where do I fit in the world any more? I tell you I am afraid." In Buffy, Angel is her "girlish" love affair which cannot possibly be a reality--you know, with the curse and all. Like Ashley, he "martyrs" himself by denying his obsession because the relationship is "unfair" to the female involved and because it is "too real" (see above Ashley quote). You will see how Angel becomes more of an "Ashley" as Buffy and Angel continue. Also, like Ashley, he is tormented by his obsession with "the one" he can never be with ( ( ... )

mollyringwraith May 21 2007, 00:21:12 UTC

Ooh, I like this! I hadn't thought about it much beyond the Spuffy = Rhett/Scarlett part, but you're right; the parallels go much further ( ... )

ahab99 May 21 2007, 03:01:13 UTC

I'll avoid anything spoilery, but to get to the real heart of the Spike/Angel relationship (in whatever sense you take it) you'll have to get to the fifth season of Angel, where they're the main focus of the show and there's both interesting new interaction and revealing back-story. It's amazing the evolution these characters are able to have through 12 seasons of two shows...

mollyringwraith May 21 2007, 04:10:40 UTC

Looking forward to it! Adding Spike back into the mix should give a new kick to the Angel series...

maidenjedi May 21 2007, 03:46:57 UTC

I have to pop in and say that I'm one of the five! Without spoiling you, I think you should revisit this analysis once you've finished season six of Buffy; season seven doesn't add much to the Rhett/Scarlett comparison, at least from a strictly Margaret Mitchell standpoint.

This comment thread filled me with Spuffy longing, I must say :-)

mollyringwraith May 21 2007, 04:13:20 UTC

Cool, someone else who can relate! :) I'll try to remember to come back to this crossover comparison once I'm through the Spuffyland chronicles. I can so easily hear Spike saying, "Frankly, pet, I don't give a damn" (well, he wouldn't say "my dear"), and Rhett saying, "I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it." :D

digitig May 21 2007, 14:56:42 UTC

I doubt Joss and Co consciously imitated the model of GWTW, though. I imagine it's likelier that both stories just drew upon some of the strongest points in a good romance. (And by "romance" here I mean not just the love story variety, but the older meaning of an over-the-top epic.)
It wouldn't surprise me if Joss had drawn on GWtW, because he drew on a lot of literary sources. Although by the end Spike distinguishes himself from Rhett, but I'm not going to give any spoilers!

mollyringwraith May 23 2007, 20:24:05 UTC

Come to think of it, they might have drawn on GWTW, since Spike does say something about the "Once More with Feeling" kiss finale being "all Gone with the Wind." :)

dirae May 22 2007, 01:57:02 UTC

ave to keep up my reputation of being into gay porn, y'know!
Don't we both.

I mean, I'm supposedly into gay porn and the closest to slash I ever wrote was a Doctor Who parody with filthy sounding sound files :)

mollyringwraith May 23 2007, 20:25:58 UTC

Heheh. I remember that! Not such a filthy record, really. Having looked through the perviness category on my own posts here, my reputation might be better earned...but then I'm just a general perv; why limit it to slash? :)

(The comment has been removed)

mollyringwraith May 23 2007, 20:34:00 UTC

Hmm, hadn't thought of the Heathcliff/Cathy comparison. True, Spike has the heart-on-the-sleeve aspect in common with Heathcliff, and both pairs have some ugly fights, and Cathy's group of nicer friends tends to despise Heathcliff (like Buffy's friends mostly do with Spike)...but on the other hand, Cathy and Heathcliff were childhood lovers, separated only when Cathy looked into a more advantageous marriage and Heathcliff got too proud to show that it hurt him; then they go on to marry others, have kids, and never get over each other. I guess I'll see how Buffy ends before remarking on that part, though ( ... )

Back to all threads