loseremzo

[loseremzo]

another parallel that I like and was brought to my attention is that Angel always thought of Buffy as the light and therefore untouchable by him, whilst in season 6 Spike tells her shes part of the darkness and belongs in the dark with him.

But my personal opinions on this is that its Spike’s attempt to keep Buffy with him. If you pay attention to Spike’s attitude towards Buffy in the previous season then you would know that he does see her as better than him and believes she belongs to the light. I’m in full belief that Spike kept tempting Buffy towards the dark and taunting her with ‘the demon’ that she could be, now that he could hit her, because it was a selfish attempt at keeping her coming back to him. Which is selfish and toxic, but he had no soul for one so most of his actions are selfish and self-serving and two it was already known that their relationship was toxic. However I am in full belief that Buffy set the toxic tone for the “relationship” of season 6 and that Spike tried and wanted an actual relationship which she was obviously and understandably not ready for.

I have so many thoughts about Spike and Buffy, and I am like constantly rewatching season 6 and 7 of BTVS because I find their dynamic io two season to be contradiction and also what I hate thats not talked about is the relationship Buffy has with herself and her depression, which is still obviously prevalent, in season 7. But whatever…

#buffy the vampire slayer #spuffy #spike btvs #spike #buffy x spike #btvs #btvs s6 #btvs s7 #buffy summers #buffyverse

[loseremzo]

don’t know if this has been talked about, but its a fun contrast that in season 2 Buffy says to Angel that kissing him makes her want to die (not something i’d personally want to hear from someone I want to kiss btw) but during season 6 she kisses and fucks around with Spike in order to feel more alive…

#spuffy #btvs #spike btvs #buffy the vampire slayer #buffy summers #angel btvs #buffy season 2 #buffy s6

[loseremzo]

if ur a jungian shadow truther like me, s6 ep13 dead things is such a good culmination of all of her trauma ( + also her fear of becoming faith ) reflecting back at her through spike. this is probably an episode where we see buffy the lowest she's ever been ( suicidal, thinks her friends hate her bc she's not who she used to be, thinks she killed an innocent woman, her father figure's gone who's not even her /real/ father , who disappeared a long time ago, she's living and she doesn't wanna be, etc. ) and then there's spike who's literally representing all of that, who's saying ' it's fine it was an /accident/ you're not bad, and i got rid of the body for you. i did it, my hands are dirty, you're clean, you're fine. i'm evil and i'm the monster and you're still the good slayer ' and not only is it all about spuffy, and buffy hating herself so much but only feeling anything around spike, the shame of it bc she thinks its wrong even though it's the only thing that feels good, and hating him bc she hates herself bc he is everything that she's always been, or at least always has been capable of being. but it's also so about fuffy too, bc in this episode she really thinks that she's killed someone, and it's something that buffy has always been so strictly against. she can't just kill people bc she has that power, she has to use her power responsibly, can't give into the hedonism, bc then she'd be faith. we already saw that struggle in season three, but now it's coming back but it really is rearing its ugly head this season !! and more detrimental, bc it was always a fear and now it's a reality. and its worse too because faith spiraled into it, she had no one, had nothing, all she had was the trauma of being a slayer. and buffy doesn't understand that's also true for her. all she thinks about tho is how, even with all of my friends, even with all of this love and support, i'm still like this. i still ended up like her, and i don't even have a good excuse for it. its sad its so sad but its also so good , its so ... its why season six is so good

[loseremzo]

I JUST SCROLLED TO SEE IF IT WAS THERE BUT MY FIRST PUBLISHED FIC IS ON HERE AHHHHH!!!

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Friday, December 1

SPIKE: Don't I get a cookie? BUFFY: No. SPIKE: Well, I gotta have something. I still have Buffy taste in my mouth. BUFFY: You're a pig, Spike. SPIKE: Yeah.. well I'm not the one who wanted, "Wind Beneath My Wings" for the first dance. (He says it loud enough for Giles, Anya, and Xander to hear. They all turn to stare at Buffy.) BUFFY: That was the spell. (Buffy gets all embarrassed and walks into the kitchen. Willow scowls at Spike and shoves a cookie in his mouth.)

~~Something Blue~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Lovesick by apachefirecat (Buffy/Angel, PG)

The Long Way Round by violettathepiratequeen (Buffy/Spike, T)

Beneath You by L0zerEmz0 (Buffy/Spike, G)

new endings lead to new beginnings by spikesummers (Buffy/Spike, G)

my reason darling, is you by CallMeVampy (Giles/Jenny, T)

In the Bleak Midwinter… by fortes775 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

The Gift by all_choseny (Buffy/Spike, G)

That was then, this is now by Julikobold (Buffy/Spike, G)

Oh, Captain! by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Merry Month of Magnus Presents... Star No Angel by Dynamite (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

A Marriage of Inconvenience: First Christmas by all_choseny (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Ring-a-Ling by scratchmeout (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Holiday Cheer by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, G)

Oh Pacey, you blind idiot by Julikobold (Buffy/Spike, G)

A Capeside Christmas by Julikobold (Buffy/Spike, G)

Willie’s first Christmas by Julikobold (Buffy/Spike, G)

Naughty or nice by Julikobold (Buffy/Spike, G)

Technical issues by Julikobold (Buffy/Spike, G)

Fancy meeting you here by Julikobold (Buffy/Spike, G)

Christmas is for family by Julikobold (Buffy/Spike, G)

The Long Way Round by violettathepiratequeen (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

[Chaptered Fiction]

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Shadowed Suspicion - Ch. 403 by madimpossibledreamer (Jojo Bizarre Adventure xover, T)

Slay Bells Ringing - Ch. 1 by all_choseny (Buffy/Spike, PG)

The Devil Came Down to Sunnydale - Ch. 1 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Home Sweet Home - Ch. 4 by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Wraith - Ch. 5 by simmony (Buffy/Spike, R) COMPLETE!

56 Hours - Ch. 11 by Soulburnt (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Dead End Plots - Ch. 23 by Melme1325 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Goodbye to Everything That I Knew - Ch. 10 by fortes775 (Buffy/Spike, R)

Destiny or Choices Made? - Ch. 32 by charmed4lifekaren (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Anything But Winning - Ch. 7 by PRationality (Buffy/Spike, PG)

The Neighbor's Point of View - Ch. 60 by the_big_bad (Buffy/Spike, PG)

Dawn Rising - Ch. 30 by Luna (Buffy, LOTR xover, FR15)

The Circle of Scooby - Ch. 12 by redjacobson (Lazaus Long Books xover, Xander/Cordelia/Tara, Buffy/Willow, Giles/Jenny, FR15)

Buffy's Pack - Ch. 14 by redjacobson (non xover, Xander/Buffy/multi, others, FR21)

Stand Ins and Stunt Doubles - Ch. 13 by dogbertcarroll (Xander, Avengers xover, Hancock movie xover, FR15)

Slay Bells Ringing - Ch. 1 by all_choseny (Buffy/Spike, PG)

How Drusilla Saved Christmas - Ch. 1 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

The Devil Came Down to Sunnydale - Ch. 1 by ClowniestLivEver (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Spuffy's Little Helper - Ch. 1 by Alyot (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

A Very Summers Winter - Ch. 1 by VeroNyxK84 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

December Boy - Ch. 1 by Julikobold (Buffy/Spike, G)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Banner: New Banner Art #8 — For my latest story by veronyxk84 (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Moodboard: Moodboard: 365 characters; spike by sylthrein (Spike, worksafe)

Artwork: Season 3 has been a roller coaster by yarboyandy (Giles, Buffy/Angel, Willow/Xander, Cordelia, worksafe)

Artwork: Buffy and Luke at the Bronze [The Harvest] by ghostrabbit87 (Buffy, Luke, worksafe)

Gifset: I don't even really like him! But, I love him. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER | S4E9: Something Blue by spuffygifs (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Gifset: mary oliver by sarahmichelegellar (Buffy/Angel, worksafe)

Gifset: Are these the memories you needed back? by mycatismyfriend (Angel, Wesley, worksafe)

Gifset: lilah & welsey getting married |wedding au by gothamstreetcat (Wesley/Lilah, worksafe)

Gifset: I was happy. Wherever I... was... I was happy. by charmedslayer (Buffy, Joyce, worksafe)

Gifset: Some Kind of Cowgirl by Slothrust by andremichaux (Spike, worksafe)

Fanvid: Buffy Summers | Numb Little Bug by ceoazula (Buffy/Spike, mildly NSFW)

Fanvid: buffy and angel x work song by bangelism (Buffy/Angel, mildly NSFW)

Manip: We Glow by honeygirl51885 (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

PODCAST: Angel S3E21: Benediction by Booze & Buffy

[Recs & In Search Of]

ISO: TennesseeSouthGirl seeks Hyperion Hotel info: What rooms did Angel and Fred live in? does anyone have a layout that includes anything beyond the first floor?

ISO: JellyfishDry9464 is Looking for an old Wesley Wyndam-Pryce video

[Community Announcements]

Announcement: A Calendiles drabble a day for 24 days [begins] by hal-1500

Announcement: new writing blog [Buffy RP] by giftedeath

[Fandom Discussions]

[Buffy was scared and pushed her friends away and then later when Faith....] by vargamornight

POLL: Buffyverse fans [have you seen all of BTVS and ATS?] by evilwickedme

POLL: worst buffyverse character by evilwickedme

Something blue thoughts... by emmathompsonegot

Buffy Rewatch Discussion Thread #1 [starting at beginning] by Joan the Vampire Slayer

I think I'm falling out of love with Buffy. by Brendan

Angel 30 Day Challenge by Priceless

Just rewatched, angel. Smile time episode [deleted scene or imagined?] by Additional-Song6430

Maggie Walsh should have been the Big Bad of Season 4 by Tamika_Olivia

Wishverse before the wish by ProfChaos85

Who are some minor minor MINOR 'characters' in the show you hate with a burning fury... by GoblinQueenForever

Intervention kiss by According_Youth_7569

Should there have been more slayers in the world? by Taraisawkward

How does the Slayer line work? by Tuxedo_Mark

My head canon is that the Evil Dead universe is the Buffyberse by Eagles56

Buffy's quip about Giles [in S11 comics] by sadhungryandvirgin

why did willow [in triangle ep] by deductivesherlock

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#spuffy #buffy the vampire slayer #spike #btvs

[loseremzo]

MY FIC IS ON HERE YAYYY!!!

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Monday, January 15

BUFFY: Ms. Barton? MS. BARTON: (stops and faces her) Buffy? Whoa! WILLOW: Are you okay, Ms. Barton? MS. BARTON: (smiles widely) Oh, I’m cool, Willow. (realizes) Willow… That’s a tree. (giggles) You’re a tree! Willow and Buffy exchange a look. MS. BARTON: (looks around) Yeah, uh, uh, are there any nachos in here, little tree? BUFFY: A-are you sure you don’t need some fresh air, Ms. Barton? MS. BARTON: (laughs hysterically) Okay… (goes into the crowd)

~~Band Candy~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Hostile 17 (Spike/Maggie Walsh, E) by CoffeeHunt

Kiss With a Fist (Buffy/Spike, Not rated) by L0zerEmz0

Practicum (Darla/Spike, E) by CoffeeHunt

[Chaptered Fiction]

The Witch’s Gift Chapter 31 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by RavenLove12

Truth and Consequences Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, M) by JamesMFan

Destiny or Choices Made? Chapter 42 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by charmed4lifekaren

What Happens In Quarantine… Chapter 22 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by bewildered

Not Just a Boy and a Girl (It’s Just the End of the World) Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by noctilucent

What If Love Was Enough? Chapter 13 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Spikelover4ever

A Vampire and a Slayer Walk Into a Park… Chapter 10 (Buffy/Spike, Adult only) by holetoledo

Love Lives Here Chapter 8 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Passion4Spike

Other Chapter 5 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Grief Counseling

A Waxy Gent Chuckled Over My Fab Jazzy Quips Chapter 15 (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) by violettathepiratequeen

Mirror, Mirror Chapter 17 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by scratchmeout

Pack My Box with Five Dozen Liquor Jugs Chapter 17 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by honeygirl51885

Ready for it? Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Lilacsandorangeblossoms

What the Drabble? Chapter 70 (Buffy/Spike, R) by VeroNyxK84

Family Issues Chapter 33 (Gen, FR21) by cmdruhura

Blasphemy Chapter 1 (Buffy/Spike, Faith/Robin, T) by wickedrum

Let me rest in peace Chapter 5 (Spike/OC, E) by cauliflower666

[Requests]

I need a beta reader for Buffy fanfic by goodandpure

[Reviews]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Harvest, S01E02 by ravenya003

[Fandom Discussions]

Would Buffy and Faith Stay In The Police Force? continued by multiple posters

Spike in season 8 if the show had continued what direction they would take him continued by multiple posters

Elimination Game : Writer’s Best BtVS Episode continued by multiple posters

Buffy going to Spike’s crypt after AR by ICE

The Bewitching Hour Tara novel by Ashley Posten

Should I watch Angel? by debujandobirds

Also, I ship this cute teen romance that never was. by PotentialLanguage685

I’m still anxious… by PotentialLanguage685

How do you feel about Sarah’s performances in her other non-Buffy projects by QuaPatetOrbis641988

how do we watch Passions? by ThumbPianoMom

Glorificus’s Home Dimension Is Quor'toth. by Electrical_Big_906

Spike, Robin and Xander have something in common by sadhungryandvirgin

SMG should have been nominated for an Emmy for season 5/6 by QuaPatetOrbis641988

To get the look of punk Ripper, ASH’s head was photoshopped onto a photo of Sid Vicious by alrtight

Why does Buffy say this to Faith in 7x19 Empty Places by Son114

If you had to pick a favorite episode from season 7, which one would you pick? by george123890yang

Wesley/Fred and Giles/Jenny by milkmamasilk

Never made sense. (The Initiative) by loki2002

What crimes have the characters openly committed that should, realistically, get them arrested? by Tuxedo_Mark

These Outfits by RemrysIIV

You have to fight to the death with a character, which one would you choose? by debujandobirds

Losing my mind laughing at 3x6 rn by neighbourhood_gayboi

What is the worst thing this character has said or done? by Buffster13

If you had to pick one episode to show someone to get them into the show by xboxg4mer

Age to Watch “The Body” by newraistlin613

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#spuffy #buffy the vampire slayer #btvs #spike btvs

[loseremzo]

I genuinely don’t understand how people can watch the body swap episode and enjoy seeing Faith inhabit Buffy’s body and WORSE objectifying (Faith)Buffy being like “omg she’s so hot she slayed so hard I love Buffy in black leather”

Not only is SMG’s FRIGHTENING thinness even more apparent in Faith’s traditional wardrobe showcasing just how much she is practically skin and bone due to her being under immense stress and being so overworked which always just tears at my heart in so many ways but we are witnessing the WORST violation of Buffy’s body and autonomy!!!! I’m genuinely just sick the entire episode.

Bad enough she almost gets Buffy killed and finally gets her wish of (temporarily) stealing Buffy’s life which she has wanted to do since her arrival in season 3 (only to STILL not understand Buffy’s perspective until she does it again in a far less invasive way in season 7 after Buffy allowed her back into her home and she still never properly apologizes she’s like hehe turns our your life is actually pretty miserable and I don’t want it because I can’t handle the stress and constant pressure you’re under…. Oops!🙃) but unlike when Willow takes Buffy’s free will and autonomy away (where she at least still retains all the memories after the fact of everything that happened so she doesn’t have to wonder and can process them when she’s ready) Buffy has ZERO CLUE what all Faith allows to happen to her body while she’s not in it. And Faith isn’t unaware or passive about the power she holds and the things she can do to Buffy’s body in the position she’s in - she literally tells Riley, BEGS HIM - to do all of the nastiest things he’s ever wanted to do “to this body” she WANTS Riley to do things to Buffy’s body Buffy herself WOULD. NOT. ALLOW. it is one of THE MOST insidious lines in the entire series to me because not only is that an absolutely stomach churning, bone-chilling thing to say but then after the fact when angel asks what Faith did to upset Buffy so much she’s like “I slept with her boyfriend” like UMMMM WHAT??? EXCUSE ME???? That is literally the absolute LEAST of your crimes bitch be so fucking for real. This horrific violation is minimized down to oh well Buffy is just insecure about sex and especially sex in comparison to Faith like GROSS GROSSSSSSS. The entire thing is SO DISGUSTING and misogynistic AND it is part of why I genuinely do not give A FUCK about the events of seeing red as far as my love of spuffy goes because while that was absolutely the most traumatizing to watch not only was it so completely out of left field and out of character that it just doesn’t make sense in the narrative and is so obviously joss whedon coming over the loud speaker and going “women who enjoy sex with men I don’t approve of should and always will be punished” but it is the ONLY time someone hurts her in this way and PROPERLY APOLOGIZES AND MAKES THE PROPER AMENDS!!!!

So until EVERY. SINGLE. violation of Buffy’s body is treated with the same level of outcry seeing red is by all the anti-spuffys I genuinely DO NOT CARE. I DONT CARE because I’m just so done with spuffy girlies having that thrown in our faces by the morality police who are listening to the tiny white male puritanical cop in their head.

ALSO the fact that Riley not only doesn’t think ANYTHING is off about Buffy (when Faith is doing an absolutely HORRIFIC JOB of acting like Buffy) so he not only sleeps with her BUT TELLS HER HE LOVES HER FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!??!?!?!? WHILE SHE IS LITERALLY PINNED BENEATH HIM?!?!?!?!? AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!! RILEY FINN I WILL KILL YOU IF IT IS THE LAST THING THAT I DO.

#buffy the vampire slayer #rant #anti riley finn #spuffy

[loseremzo]

There have been so many of these posts, and what looks like an entire website pretty much dedicated to this topic, but nevertheless here I am adding to the mix.

Thoughts on Buffy Season 6, Sex and Seeing Red

This is long and only kind of edited. Content warning below.

CW: Discussions of abuse, addiction, and rape.

Let me just start out by saying: Spike is my favourite character in Buffy. I love him completely. He is contrary and interesting and if there is anything I would do to improve the show it would be to add more scenes with Spike. But, unlike a lot of Spike girlies – and especially many of my favourite fanon creators – I don’t think Spike is out-of-character in Seeing Red. There are some serious problems with it, but I think it’s an important scene.

My reason for saying this comes from the claim that Buffy and Willow are the main villains this season. Well, no, to be fair: in season 6, the main villains of the show are the internal villains within the characters, specifically Buffy and Willow, expressed through their actions of addiction and abuse. The Trio is a red herring Big Bad; they’re pretty much just there to provide laughs and move plot. They’re not like the Master, or Angelus, or Adam, or Glory – there isn’t ever a “gather the troops, we’ve got an apocalypse on our hands” attitude toward defeating them… because they’re just human people, making human mistakes and causing human havoc. (Much like how Buffy and Willow would be if they weren’t already saturated in the supernatural.)

Buffy and Willow’s stories run parallel in this season. They are both dealing with the aftermath of Buffy’s resurrection: Buffy is majorly depressed to the point that she feels essentially soulless, whereas Willow is guilty to such degree that the only way she knows how to cope with herself is through control and the overuse of magic.

Tangent about Sex Because That’s How I Roll:

Before we go further to discuss this, just, briefly, let’s take note that this show does not do justice to sex. In both cases, Buffy and Willow’s “addiction” is to, essentially, use sex like a drug to (sort of) feel, but more accurately numb themselves. Buffy’s use of Spike is blatant, but we must remember that Willow and Tara’s first prominent romantic/sexual connections were initially all linked to their use of magic.

It’s made clear that this idea of magic = sex between the two is continued even in season 6, as exemplified in the Once More with Feeling song Under Your Spell lines: “You make me complete,” which are cut off at the most deliciously appropriate time – and if you haven’t noticed that until I’ve pointed it out here, then well done, you!

Here there is a bit of a problem I have with the show’s messaging because it’s essentially saying that sex is bad. Tara asks Willow to stop using magic (yikes, imagine asking your lover to please stop sexing so much, babe, it’s bad for you) – and at the same time, in the parallel story, Buffy feels the need to hide her sexual tryst with Spike because it’s wrong to want to feel good.

I think it’s important to note that Buffy isn’t really upset about it being Spike, specifically. She makes a big deal of saying that he’s “everything she’s supposed to hate” and “soulless” and “evil,” but Buffy had every opportunity to have this affair with literally anyone else – in fact, she could have very easily gotten her rocks off with a different, random person every night, but chooses to use Spike. And here we can move back to the main points –

Miscommunication

Buffy and Spike’s relationship is abusive, but hardly for the reasons they make it appear on the show. At this point, Spike is a soulless demon. That he doesn’t just kill her as soon as he realizes that he can hurt her is a testament to how much he loves her, despite this. But, because he is a soulless demon, he does try to take advantage of Buffy’s attention to him by trying to convince her that she should be with him. He plays on her fears of being soulless/evil/demonic. Other than trying to persuade her to stay with him, this is the full extent of Spike’s abuse of Buffy.

At no point in their physical relationship does Spike ever abuse Buffy’s consent.

Between Spike and Buffy is a travesty of miscommunication. Need I say again: Spike is a soulless demon. From the moment he realizes his feelings toward Buffy, he is constantly trying to figure out what she needs from him, because he simply does not understand. (“What’s it take?”) He actively tries to learn what Buffy wants and how to respond to her desires. From their passionate kiss in Once More with Feeling: “The day you suss out what you do want, there'll probably be a parade,” to literally his last lines of the show, “No, you don’t,” Buffy and Spike’s communication is the worst!

And this is all Buffy’s fault, by the way! She absolutely, stubbornly, resolutely refuses to talk – to most people! It’s practically a miracle that Spike understands Buffy at all – and to that end, I truly, fully, completely believe that Spike is the best partner for Buffy, simply because he’s the only one who does.

Their first time together, Buffy is verbally telling him it’s never going to happen while at the same time ripping off his clothes. At nearly every encounter between them during their affair, Buffy says it will never happen again, it will be the last time, it was the worst thing ever. These are outright lies, and Spike learns through conditioning to see right through them. When she says “Stop,” he doesn’t have to stop – because that is not what she means. He learns through the complicated, complex, contrary Buffy Talk what she actually wants and then proceeds to give it to her.

Up to Seeing Red, Buffy’s consent has always sounded like: “No.”

Buffy the Villain

Buffy has chosen Spike as her lover because he already loves her. He is emotionally invested in their relationship. He takes care of her. (“I can get money.”) She can be herself with him. (“I can be alone with you here.”) She is safe with him. (“Dawn is safe with Spike, so I can stay as long as you need.”)

During their affair, Buffy takes everything that she’s feeling about herself out on Spike. She calls him soulless, she calls him nothing, she says he’s empty; she beats him up, she kicks him out, she refuses his affection and forces him to hide his own. Spike takes it because he is loyal and in love with her, and this is the extent that Buffy abuses him. She conditions him to think that she can’t love him, she conditions him to think that saying “No” means “Yes,” she conditions him to think that her abuse of him is kinky and will lead to sex.

Buffy’s goal is only to feel something. She wants Spike to take advantage because it makes things a lot easier for her to deal with. If she says “No,” that means that she’s tried to stop him, despite it not being what she really wants or expects of him.

Because of this abuse, in a very real way, Buffy is the one who destroys the safety that Spike represented. Her abuse of him corrodes their trust, but she doesn’t know that. Buffy, despite denying it or acknowledging it, still believes in Spike’s loyalty. And not only that – by this point, Buffy has fallen in love with him. The bathroom scene in Seeing Red happens, in part, because she’s pushed Spike too far – and she’s not ready to admit to anything, because she refuses to acknowledge that she was an abuser.

The events of Seeing Red are the culmination of Buffy’s actions with the complete absence of honest communication. It is because she tells Spike to move on that he sleeps with Anya. It is because she expected his loyalty that Dawn talks to Spike. It’s because she trained Spike to do the opposite of what she says that he tries to connect with her physically to make her happy.

It is because she refuses to acknowledge not only her abuse of him, but also her love for him, that he chooses to show her instead. Because Buffy doesn’t talk – she only acts, and that’s what Spike tries to do, in the way that she taught him – from the start of their affair to the explicit events in Gone, all the way to this scene, Buffy has told Spike that sex is how to get close to her.

The Bathroom Scene

A lot of people have been traumatized by this scene. It is very difficult to watch, since we’ve got these two beautifully complicated people trying so hard to communicate and failing so badly at it. Buffy, finally, is saying what she means, but Spike can’t hear it. Spike is, as he’s been taught to do, servicing her to show her his devotion. These two people are in love with each other but are deeply hurt. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Buffy is hurt by Spike’s actions while he’s hurt by her words, since these are the languages they understand.

If done well, this scene could have been healing. They could have finally come together in grief of their broken relationship and tried to fix it to something healthier. But instead, they were using the scene to push Spike into getting a soul, so he had to go too far, and she had to say too much.

I don’t think that Spike is out of character. I think that both Spike and Buffy act exactly within their character consistencies. Spike would totally seek Buffy out if he thought she was hurting – especially if he had any hope at all that he was the cause of her hurt. Buffy would completely deny, deny, deny any emotional attachment to Spike and take no responsibility for having hurt him. She’s still stuck, here, projecting her own numbness onto Spike with the false idea that he can’t love because he’s soulless.

Because of the constant, completely screwed up ideologies within this show about sex (that sex is bad, that too much sex is bad, that kinky sex is wrong, etc.) and because of the cumulative events that arise from their abusive sex=closeness relationship, the only way they could think of to make it even worse was to escalate to rape.

I know why they did it, because it makes sense within the story of their physical affair. It’s The Worst Thing you can do to someone else. We have to remember that Buffy doesn’t care about being killed, because she sort of wants to die. Also, Spike would never want to kill her. The only other thing he might want to do is turn her, but, to Buffy, that’s the same thing as being killed. Since her belief is that a demon takes over the human host, she might even welcome being turned as much as she would welcome death.

But importantly: there is the significant and completely intentional reverse of their villainousness actions here. In this scene, Buffy can’t be the villain anymore. It doesn’t matter how much she’s abused Spike, it doesn’t matter that their relationship was murky and confusing. Because it is rape, the only villain is the person committing the act of rape.

Spike must be made the villain here because anything else is victim blaming. It was the only action the writers could take to give the title of villain back to Spike away from Buffy. Spike has to end this season being the Big Bad because he must absorb all the hurt, the pain and the soullessness that was entangled with Buffy and incorporate it into himself (“You think I like having you in here? Destroying everything that was me, until all that's left is you, in a dead shell. You say you hate it, but you won't leave.”)

He takes Buffy’s pain and heals them both by – after these events – getting his soul.

The Problem

The writing staff knew their characters (for the most part). They knew that Spike was soulless and needed something drastic to instigate his search of a soul. Hurting Buffy this way did make the most sense in the framework of their affair and in the framework of making sex akin to drugs. But attempted rape was too, too far for the viewers. Talking about sex is already difficult for society, especially at the time this show was made. Talking about and explicitly showing attempted rape caused trauma to viewers and made a lot of people turn away from the otherwise very beautifully complicated relationship between Buffy and Spike.

People against Spuffy use this scene as the ultimate fodder against Spike, but doing so is disrespectful to the story, the lore and the characters. Spike loved Buffy enough soulless, but she was only strong enough to accept that once he went out and got one. In addition to that – Buffy forgives Spike for what he did that day. She admits to her side of the abuse, acknowledges that what they had was real, and doesn’t blame Spike for his actions. This conversation exists in bits-and-pieces in the Buffy comics – it would have been incredible to see it on screen in season 7, but I guess by that point the writers didn’t want to bring it up again and had way too many other things to deal with (which is another topic altogether).

I like the bathroom scene in Seeing Red. I think it’s horrible, and raw, and terribly authentic. The portrayal of hurt and betrayal by both actors is one of the strongest scenes in the show. I do wish, though, that they hadn’t taken it quite so far.

My Problem

Season 6 of Buffy is my favourite season. It is powerful and painful. But, if I could change it, I would have changed the messaging that sex is bad, because it isn’t, and both Spike/Buffy and Willow/Tara deserved something better.

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The most important Venn Diagram I’ve ever made

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spike + being pretty in ‘checkpoint’

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BUFFY & SPIKE — season 2 / season 7.