Buffy/Spike
Pairing | |
---|---|
Pairing: | Buffy Summers/Spike |
Alternative name(s): | Spuffy |
Gender category: | het |
Fandom: | Buffy the Vampire Slayer |
Canonical?: | yes |
Prevalence: | popular |
Archives: | The Spuffy Realm Elysian Fields |
Other: | |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Buffy/Spike is the pairing of Buffy and Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Canon Relationship
Spike was introduced as Season 2's Little Bad and was shown to have a certain fondness for Buffy as an opponent.[1] Indeed it was later revealed that Spike's interest in Buffy affected his relationship with Drusilla[2] Spike's return in Season 4 as a series regular led to more non-violent interaction between the two, though it was not until Season 5 that Spike "realised" he was in love with Buffy.
Spike's pursuit of Buffy in Season 5 was controversial, running the gamut from violent stalking to surprisingly selfless (for a vampire) acts such as withstanding Glory's torture to protect Dawn. However, this was nowhere near as controversial as their Season 6 relationship, which incited criticism from practically all sections of the fandom at one point or another. In the early episodes, some fans objected to Buffy taking Spike into her confidence and spending time with him at the expense of the Scoobies; as the season progressed, Spike and Buffy's violent affair was often described as an abusive relationship, but people argued at length over which of the two was the abusive partner (and which the victim); Spike's post-break-up, post-fling-with-Anya assault on Buffy in her bathroom was seen by some as an unforgivable rape-attempt, by others as an understandable extension of their greatly dysfunctional affair. Spike's quest for (and regaining of) his soul, the ultimate consequence of the Season 6 Buffy/Spike relationship, only brought more contention. Fan opinions of the Season 6 relationship, it should be said, were never (and have never become) either binary or linear between two opposing extremes. Barb Cummings, for example, wrote a review of the sixth season in which she discussed Buffy/Spike as "BtVS's real queer relationship."
((And people got stressed about S7 as well.))
Fandom & Fanon
People began shipping Buffy/Spike almost immediately after Spike's introduction in the second season.
For a time, Spuffy was a unpopular ship with the majority of the fandom prefering other ships for both characters, or believing this pairing was problematic. Several boards and forums were created to provide a space for fans who supported the ship. When Buffy and Spike's relationship became canon in the sixth season, some fans saw Buffy as exploiting and abusing Spike. Buffy's characterization in fanfic at this time varies widely. While a lot of Buffy-bashing fics did not pair her with Spike, there are many B/S works where Buffy is portrayed as abusive toward Spike before learning the error of her ways. Others felt that they could have a functional relationship, and wrote fic about that relationship.
With Spuffy rising in popularity and becoming canon, ship wars with established pairings were inevitable. See Bangel vs Spuffy for the details.
Seasonal Spuffy is a regular Spuffy challenge.
Fanfiction
Spike's characterization in Spuffy fics is often influenced by the era in which the fic was set, or by the state of canon at the time of writing. Different Spike flavours/eras include:
- Victorian-era human William often appears in fics. He may time-travel to Sunnydale, or Buffy may travel to Victorian England, or Spike may be under a spell that turns him back into William.
- Evil-unchipped-Spike appears in pre-series (relatively rare) and S2 fics. There are also fics with Spike meeting Buffy outside Sunnydale between S2 & S3, as well as "Harsh Light of Day" AUs.
- S4 evil-but-chipped-Spike eg "Something Blue" AUs.
- S5/6 chipped-Spike often appears in Spuffy fics, especially alternative S6 fic where Buffy is more accepting of the relationship. "Tabula Rasa" AUs were also very common.
- Souled Spike fics often going AU after the S6 finale and ignore S7 canon.
- AtS S5 Spike, especially "The Girl in Question" AUs
- Post-NFA Spike
Common Tropes & Storylines
- Amnesia!Spike is most common but there are also works where Buffy or both Spike and Buffy have memory loss.
- Human Spike fics are often set post-shanshu. These works can be dark or domestic, and sometimes overlap with pregnancy and baby fics.
- All-human AUs
- Vampire Buffy is often sired by Spike. In fics where a vampire other than Spike turns Buffy, she often abandons her Sire or kills him. Spike often takes on a Sire role, mentoring Buffy in what it means to be a vampire. In some works Buffy keeps her soul because of a spell, and in others the demon is tempered by the fact she is a slayer.
- Time travel, frequently where white-hat or souled-Spike visits evil-Spike eras of canon, resulting in season AUs. There are also works where Buffy time travels to different times and encounters an unsouled Spike who doesn't know her yet.
- Pregnancy fics can be as a result of magical intervention or via time travel, and while very rare mpreg does appear. (Check Mate by Xela)
- Magic made 'em do it or ritual sex fics. In these works, sex may be required to fulfill a prophecy or in order to cast a spell. There are also works where a spell results in Buffy and Spike having sex, such as a lust spell or works set during "Something Blue"
- Claiming (vampire form of mating for life) is a popular trope in Spuffy fics.
- Body swap works sometimes overlap with "Harsh Light of Day" AUs. There are also fics where a spell, artifact or demon causes Buffy and Spike to swap bodies.
- Missing scenes are most often set during the later seasons.
- Post-Chosen Spuffy fics often ignore AtS S5 and the comics. These works often deal with Buffy's grief and Spike eventual resurrection.
- Post-NFA works sometimes involve Buffy saving the day and then caring for an injured Spike. There are also works where Spike is human following the final battle. He rarely seeks out Buffy in these works, and instead the two often meet unexpectedly and reconnect.
Notable Fanworks
Fanfiction
For a list of Spuffy fanfiction articles on Fanlore see Spuffy Fanfiction.
- Love Is Blind by Avalon (2001, Blind!Buffy)
- The Barbverse by Barb Cummings (2001, Epic set post-The Gift)
- Bittersweets [1] by Herself (2001, post-Wrecked)
- In Heat by Nautibitz (2001, smut)
- Rhapsody in Oil by Eurydice72 (2002, magically enter a 1940s nightclub AU)
- Humanitis by Saber ShadowKitten (2002, Human!Spike)
- Buffy Season Noir by Anna S (2002, Virtual Season 8)
- Blood, a series by Nan Dibble (2002 or earlier, Season 7 AU)
- descant descending by macha (2003, Orpheus/Eurydice inspired AU)
- Six Foot Deep (archived link) by Kita and Jess (2003, canon compliant S6 dark fic)
- Childe & Sire Saga by Kallysten (2003 or earlier, Spike sires a terminally ill Buffy)
- Worth A Thousand Words... by Kantayra (2003, Buffy sees another side to Spike)
- 100 Years of Solitude [2] by Isabelle (2003 or earlier, Far Future Buffy ressurection)
- Disenchantment by Herself (2003, post-NFA magically human!Spike)
- All Over It by Nautibitz (2003, smut - cold dead seed required to stop an apocalypse)
- The Butterfly Effect , Perfect World and Dancing Lessons by Cousinjean (2000s)
- The Great Advantage of Being Alive by enigmaticblue (2004, Human!Spike S4 AU)
- Prophecy and Warmth [3] by TheBear (2004, Post-NFA)
- Fly Me to the Moon by megan_peta (2004, Post-Crush Spike goes to LA with Dru)
- Whispers in a Dead Man's Ear by Amy B. (2005, Missing Scenes)
- The I Know You Verse by slaymesoftly (2005, Time Travel AU)
- Cubed by Miss Murchison (2005, Comedy. Buffy and Spike go undercover)
- My Life Closed Twice by Anaross (2006, Post-NFA Shanshu'd Spike teaches poetry)
- Actions Past [4] by Dutchbuffy2305 (2006, S2 Buffy swaps places with S7 Buffy)
- Echoes by HollyDB (2007, YAHF with Time Travel)
- Heroes in Hell by Glassdarkly (2007, post-Chosen Buffy rescues Spike from hell])
- All the Better to Bite You With (2007) and Buffy vs. the TeeVee (2008) by St Salieri
- The Writing on the Wall by HollyDB (2008, post-The Gift Spike rescues Buffy from hell)
- Thought You Should Know by Angearia (2009, Post-NFA comics compliant)
- Influence of Demons by Gabrielleabelle (2009, Dark AU)
- The Worst Journey in the World by Glassdarkly (2009, post-NFA mission fic)
- Cuddling by Gabrielleabelle (2010, fluff)
- West of the Moon, East of the Sun by KnifeEdge (2010, Fairytale AU)
- Turn and Face the Strain by Quinara (2011, Buffy goes to LA for help)
- Piece of Cake by Baphrosia, formerly spuffy_luvr (2013, Human AU)
- Setting Up House by Sandy S. (2015, Fake Dating S6 AU)
- Ipseity by Baphrosia (2015, Amnesiac!Buffy)
- Casablanca by Glassdarkly (2015, Vamp!Buffy)
- 'I love you' is a thing you say to people who are dying (LJ link) by Quinara (2015)
- A Very Joan and Randy Christmas (Ao3) by Shadowlass (2016, Tabula Rasa AU)
- The Darkling by OffYourBird (2018, post-Chosen Time Travel fix-it)
- Skipping the Stone by Sandy S. (2018, Post-NFA Time Travel FIx-it)
- Inside Man by HollyDB (2020, AtS S5 missing scenes)
- Seven by HollyDB (2021, Alternate S7)
Fanart
- Buffy and Spike colored by zirofax (2007)
- umbrella-ella-ella EH EH EH by ShichininSlasher (2010)
- West and East by LouisaGallie (2010)
- Kitty!Spuffy by dualbunny (2010)
- Buffy and Spike by Prof-Dr-Dr-Weird (2011)
- The Secret Garden by mkk_willow (2011) (scroll down to see Buffy/Spike, Jo Chen's Angel/Buffy comics cover is just a reference)
- Buffy Babies by Microbluefish (2012)
- Before The Goodbye by NLevaschuk (2013)
- Out of My Mind by no-literally (2015)
- Soulful by boiiko (2015)
Vids
- Blood of Me by Here's luck
- I Touch Myself by Ascian
- Luminosity made a few Spike and Buffy/Spike vids.
- 4'33 by quinara
Zines
Archives
- The Bloodshedverse
- Elysian Fields (link)
- Nocturnal Light (link)
- The Spuffy Realm (link)
- Sunnydale After Dark (link)
- Vampire's Kiss (WBM link) (offline)
- Sinister Attraction (offline)
- Buffy and Spike Diaries (offline)
- Buffy/Spike Central (offline)
Communities & Rec Sites
- Spoiled Spuffy an email discussion group
- Seasonal Spuffy - an LJ community
- Ice Cream for Freaks -- Spuffy-centric recs site by Doyle
- Fag Ends - LJ community for posting Buffy/Spike shortfic
Awards Sites
- Spuffy Awards, a fanfiction awards site
- Love's Last Glimpse Awards
- Spark and Burn Awards
- Vampire Kisses Awards
Resources
Ship Manifestos & Meta
- My Spike and Buffy by the_royal_anna (2004)
- Fulfillment in the Hands of Fire by Tallgent (2004)
- Buffy and Spike: Gone with the Fire by Moscow Watcher (2004)
- Intervention Essay by elisi (2004)
- Spike and Buffy: An Ironic Twist in Story of Psyche & Eros by ShadowKat (2002 - Season 6)
- Buffy Love, Lust and Trust -- A Relationship Analysis by Colleen Hillerup (2002 - Season 6)
- List of meta on different aspects of Buffy/Spike relationship
References
- ^ For example, see What's My Line II (accessed 10 Aug 2009), when Spike responds to Buffy swapping in as his opponent (rather than Kendra) with "I'd rather be fighting you anyway."
- ^ In Fool for Love (accessed 10 Aug 2009) we are shown a flashback to 1998 when Drusilla confronts Spike with "Why can't you kill her? ... You're all covered with her. I look at you; all I see is the Slayer."