If he'd drunk more wine as a human, would he have been a better poet?
Women come to him to lose control, to be themselves in his presence, under his watchful eye, because they know that he won't abandon them. Why then, he thinks bitterly, hearing her furtive step and feeling his traitorous body rise, can't he lose himself with them?
Beautiful! And yes, Spike tried to very, very hard to be all things for everyone, especially the women in his life. But he couldn't be enough for Buffy until he took that final step towards the soul.
Important, too, I think, that it's noted that Spike got the soul - it wasn't the soul that made him redeemable, it was the action of the demon. Unfortunately, Buffy's repeated mantra 'He has a soul now,' makes me wonder if she's totally forgotten that the demon sought out his soul, not the other way around.
This is delectable. I love best that you've textured this piece with such wonderfully evocative adjectives and adverbs ("altar of slick satin", "domesticated evil" and most of all "flawless and maddening as a glass wall").
I also love the way this piece offers keen insight into all three women and the ways they take from him, but even more so, into his ability to give a woman what she needs to be herself, to be happy. But you're right--what does he get back? Surely he deserves more.
Delectable. I like that word, I think I'll use it in the next one!
I kind of like the idea of Spike as Dionysus, since I remember reading an account written by an ancient Greek calling the ecstatic rites of Dionysus the 'women's religion.' Couldn't give him a thrysus, though, because I'm pretty sure that would be taken the wrong way!
It's a good likening, as one certainly could lose oneself in him and in sensual pleasures with him. Uh... I think my brain just went to the happy place. ;)
Heh. Yeah, he's not so much a pine-cone-and-ivy-staff kinda guy. But phallic symbols in his honor? I think he'd like that; he's not so much with the shy and demure. :P
You're welcome; I'm looking forward to reading more of your writing.
Well-done. The last line especially, Why then, he thinks bitterly, hearing her furtive step and feeling his traitorous body rise, can't he lose himself with them? is telling.
Poor William the Bloody. With Buffy and Dru, he lost himself IN them, but not WITH them....
Oooh-- Of course Spike is Dionysus! That really does fit.
In some ways, they fulfilled a very basic need for each other - the confirmation that the other was real and mattered.
I adore Spike and Buffy, but I think my favorite relationship in the series just might be Spike and Dawn. And for exactly those reasons!
He prays that they make it to the bed this next time, the altar of slick satin and prepared comfort and wine, instead of eternally cavorting over the Oriental field of carpets, feeling her tear at his flesh and relishing the sharp contact. She'll pull and push and kick and claw with sharp nails and bite with blunt teeth, and he'll praise her, howling in joy for the pain. And then she'll be gone.
"Altar" is an excellent word choice here; it really draws the picture together. I like how you've used it here, especially in conjunction with "prays". Very nice!
This is something wonderful. You not only give insight on Spike's character, but reveal so much about the women; the aspects of themselves they conceal in self-protection, the areas they erect defenses around.
I think von Goethe had it right - "We are shaped and fashioned by what we love." Women (and Angel) will always be the determining factors in Spike's development.
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Women come to him to lose control, to be themselves in his presence, under his watchful eye, because they know that he won't abandon them. Why then, he thinks bitterly, hearing her furtive step and feeling his traitorous body rise, can't he lose himself with them?
Beautiful! And yes, Spike tried to very, very hard to be all things for everyone, especially the women in his life. But he couldn't be enough for Buffy until he took that final step towards the soul.
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Thanks so much!
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I also love the way this piece offers keen insight into all three women and the ways they take from him, but even more so, into his ability to give a woman what she needs to be herself, to be happy. But you're right--what does he get back? Surely he deserves more.
Wonderfully done.
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I kind of like the idea of Spike as Dionysus, since I remember reading an account written by an ancient Greek calling the ecstatic rites of Dionysus the 'women's religion.' Couldn't give him a thrysus, though, because I'm pretty sure that would be taken the wrong way!
Thanks so much for your lovely review!
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Heh. Yeah, he's not so much a pine-cone-and-ivy-staff kinda guy. But phallic symbols in his honor? I think he'd like that; he's not so much with the shy and demure. :P
You're welcome; I'm looking forward to reading more of your writing.
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Well-done. The last line especially, Why then, he thinks bitterly, hearing her furtive step and feeling his traitorous body rise, can't he lose himself with them? is telling.
Poor William the Bloody. With Buffy and Dru, he lost himself IN them, but not WITH them....
Mind if I rec?
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By all means, rec away!
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In some ways, they fulfilled a very basic need for each other - the confirmation that the other was real and mattered.
I adore Spike and Buffy, but I think my favorite relationship in the series just might be Spike and Dawn. And for exactly those reasons!
He prays that they make it to the bed this next time, the altar of slick satin and prepared comfort and wine, instead of eternally cavorting over the Oriental field of carpets, feeling her tear at his flesh and relishing the sharp contact. She'll pull and push and kick and claw with sharp nails and bite with blunt teeth, and he'll praise her, howling in joy for the pain. And then she'll be gone.
"Altar" is an excellent word choice here; it really draws the picture together. I like how you've used it here, especially in conjunction with "prays". Very nice!
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Thank you so much!
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Both perceptive and beautifully written.
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Thank you so much!
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