30 Days of Bangel

When did Buffy start loving Angel?
Buffy always felt a sort of unexplainable pull towards Angel but I agree with others on here that it must have been in 'Angel' that Buffy started loving Angel. However I think Buffy truly realised how much she loves Angel after she lost him in 'Surprise'.
Do you identify with the relationship?
I saw a lot of bangel qualities in my parent's marriage but other than that I haven't had a good enough relationship yet to identify with Bangel lol
Buffy is way luckier than she knew 🙁
 
I'm catching up 🙂

Antho said:
What episode was the first episode that made you know that your a Bangel fan ?
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I don't remember the first episode I have seen, so for me it's like I have always been a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and always be a fan of Bangel. That's the better answer I can come with.

Antho said:
When did Buffy start loving Angel ?
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I think she cares about him at the beginning of the season 1 and she really started have feeling for him in "Angel" but I don't know if I would say she really loved him at this moment because LOVE is something special, something that come later in a relationship, at least not in the beginning. I think most of people confused love and affinity. But I definitely think she loves him in "Lie to me"

Antho said:
Do you identify with the relationship ?
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Not at all. And the fact is that's another reason why I love them. I identify myself to Angel but Bangel is a relationship I love watching, I admire them, but I don't want to live a relationship like that.. Too painful and I'm not strong enough 🙁
 
Day 15
Do you identify with the relationship?
Part of it but not all. The protective part, the way Buffy and Angel protect each other as I am protective by nature myself. I would do that with a person I was in a relationship with and my children if I had them. I am protective of the children I take care of. The other part I identify with is loving another person so completely and fully like Buffy and Angel love each other. Because I would love the one I love fully and completely.
 
Antho said:
What makes you love Bangel over Spuffy or Briley ?
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I prefer Angel to Riley or Spike 😉. No more seriously and I'm going to make it short, I just feel like Riley and Spike like a piece of Buffy, the part of her with which they are most connected, I think each of them understand Buffy in a certain way and to a certain degree. I've never felt this way for Angel, I feel like he loves Buffy for what/who she is, entirely, and he is on the same wavelength as her.
 
[Nov 20] Day 15 : Do you identify with the relationship ? No, and I don't think I'd want to. Sure, I love watching the drama and tears and tragedy unfold onscreen but I would not actually desire a relationship like Bangel. I guess the way they love one another so completely is something I relate to, as I love my husband with everything I have but outside of that, there's not much to relate to with regards to Bangel.

[Nov 21] Day 16 : What makes you love Bangel over Spuffy or Briley ? For me personally, shipping Bangel is not about preferring it to other ships or loving it over x ship, it's about the fact that I love Bangel for everything it encompasses as a ship. I'm a multi-shipper, so there are lots of fandoms where I ship characters with more than one person and I love these individual ships for individual reasons. I don't particularly like pitting ships against one another. I dislike Briley for reasons completely unrelated to Bangel and my hatred of Spuffy comes from the abusive nature of the ship, not the fact that it opposes Bangel.
 
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Do you identify with the relationship?

No. I mean these two are bigger than life to me. I think I can identify with certain parts of their relationship. The intensity of the initial meetings. Buffy’s slightly antagonistic approach to dealing with Angel when she first met him and her subsequent insecurities when you realize how much you love the person and just how invested you are...it can feel scary to be vulnerable in that way. But I think Buffy/Angel have a greater than life love, they are soulmates and idk if I believe in that IRL.
 
Day 15: Do you identify with the relationship?

Definitely not haha, which is fine! I think it's their story and journey that is so compelling to me.
 
Day 15: Do you identify with the relationship?

Like most, I don't really identify with the relationship as I've never had that kind of relationship, like at all. That said, I do identify with the characters within the relationship, which sometimes makes me feel like I relate to their story in a very personal way. I would love to love someone like they love each other though. I wish I identified with that, lol.
 
Day 16 : What makes you love Bangel over Spuffy or Briley ?

So many reasons! I despise Spike with everything I am, and the abusive, repetitive, empty relationship Buffy and Spike have. I find Riley to be a bit bland and very much disliked the fact that the "normal" guy was a superpowered superhero ffs! Buffy and Riley had a shallow relationship that wasn't remotely fun to see developing.

Buffy and Angel did it all first, and they did it better. Their relationship was both fun and emotional to watch, and became a kind of gift that keeps on giving.
 
Day 15: Do you identify with the relationship?
Nope. But that kind of complete love for another person is something I would eventually like to know. I do however identify with aspects of each of them as individuals.

Day 16 : What makes you love Bangel over Spuffy or Briley ?
The key word for me is potential. I think the two character shave grown and developed so much as individuals that there is real opportunity for interesting stories to be told about them in a renewed relationship. I think it would be darker and messier because they're both headstrong leaders, but ultimately an interesting and IMO necessary story about coping with the next stages of adulthood. I actually think it's a story that needs to be told since there was obviously still a deep connection between them by the end of both series and their relationship has never really got closure or a natural conclusion; because their obstacles were external, they were never allowed to really develop into a mature relationship and figure out if it was even sustainable. The happiness curse is really old news now and should be sorted out.

Beyond that I just love their dynamic in the early seasons. Their body language is so telling - I love the way they both just relax in each other's presence. I also like how Angel provided Buffy with silent support and she was able to open herself up completely in his presence. By late S3 they had also established a good working partnership and I feel it's a shame it was cut short.

Briley was obviously an unequal relationship and Riley's neediness, insecurities in the face of Buffy's strength and lack of understanding were just horribly offputting. I actually find Spuffy interesting in terms of the dynamics between the two characters and the theme of Buffy being confronted with the darker aspects of her Slayer/demonic side through Spike. I just have an issue with the way Spike's development was written to defy the basic metaphysics of the 'verse without proper explanation or in-verse reasoning, leading to the show's basic premise being completely shattered without being reshaped or reconstructed into something else. I also don't like how the inordinate amount of favouritism he was shown was ultimately to the detriment of other character narratives. I think it's also probably the case that I haven't really moved on from the earlier seasons; the last couple of seasons played with big ideas but the execution often fell short so I more often feel like a detached observer when watching them.
 
Mrs Gordo
Mrs Gordo
Well said!!
Day 16 What makes you love Bangel over Spuffy or Briley?
The whole and entirety of it. Sarah and David, the story and the way it was developed, written, acted, the chemistry between Sarah and David. The whole package. It has endless possibilities if done right; would be even better than it is already. Sex would have been part of Bangel if Buffy and Angel could do it, but that is not all it would be. There would be other things marriage, children, home, etc. Assuming Angel was human it would be a happy normal life filled with all that and more. Buffy and Angel growing old together.

Spuffy is just a continuation of what Bangel started. The vampire slayer combination. Not to mention what it is based
on and it's beginnings. Stalking, obsession, attempted rape. It can only go in one direction and has no depth. Spuffy is based on sex, you take that away and there is nothing left. Buffy could do it with Spike with no consequence of him turning evil. I bet it has been raised as one of the positives of Spuffy.

Briley was boring. It was one-sided with the love coming from Riley and not from Buffy. It was Buffy's attempt at dating a human and it failed. Riley did not understand about the slayer part of Buffy and had problems with that part of her. His inadequacies in terms of strength bothered him and he needed Buffy more than she needed him. Riley was a nice guy but he had the typical male thing being the stronger one and alpha male. Needing to protect Buffy but she not needing him to protect her since she could protect herself. Not to mention it was as predicted, Buffy having to protect Riley. Sex was another component of Briley.
 
Day 16: What makes you love Buffy/Angel over Spuffy or Buffy/Riley?

Buffy/Angel is Buffy's only relationship that is between true equals. Equal in devotion to each other, equal in strength, equal in purpose. Even if he became human, that wouldn't go away, because they're also equal in wanting a normal life, and he understands the role of the Slayer too well to be bothered by her being stronger than him, the way Riley was.

There is nothing equal in Buffy/Riley. She's stronger and he can't handle it. As soon as he's out of the Initiative, she has greater purpose and he can't handle it. He is far more devoted to her and she can't handle that. It was never going to work. Also they're boring and have no chemistry, and I've never found Marc Blucas attractive at all, so that doesn't help. Riley/Sam is obviously Riley's soulmate ship, although the speed with which he moved on from Buffy to Sam is a bit jarring.

Buffy/Spike is super unequal too, regardless of them having comparable strength. Spike is deeply obsessed with her (more because she's the Slayer than for who she is), making him a creepy stalker when soulless and a slavish yes-man when soulful. But all he is to Buffy is an emotional crutch. It doesn't reflect well on either of them. (Wow, I didn't think I'd be able to be so brief about this.)
 
Day 16 : What makes you love Bangel over Spuffy or Briley ?

What I'll say is in the same vein as @RachM . My love for Bangel has nothing to do with Spuffy or Briley. I just love the 2 characters, their dynamic and their story. I also multi-ship as I'm a fuffy shipper as well. I actually like Briley for the most part, I just never felt completely invested in it as it became clear at one point that Buffy wasn't very invested in the relationship and I tend to relate to her. I guess this might be why I also have problems with Spuffy. Which brings me to... I do loathe Spuffy, but not as a Bangel shipper, as a Buffy Summers fan. I know I've already explained it all before but she's my favorite character and I don't enjoy watching that relationship at all, I find what it did to her characterization extremely unfortunate. That's where my dislike for the relationship comes from. I just happen to love Bangel while disliking Spuffy.
 
Yeah, even if Buffy/Angel had never happened, I still don't think I'd root for Buffy/Riley (although it's possible that they would've worked if the shadow of Buffy/Angel hadn't been hanging over them), and I absolutely wouldn't root for Buffy/Spike. Disliking those ships isn't dependent on my shipping Buffy with Angel, it just provides a useful point of comparison for why the other ships are so unsatisfactory.
 
Mylie said:
Which brings me to... I do loathe Spuffy, but not as a Bangel shipper, as a Buffy Summers fan. I know I've already explained it all before but she's my favorite character and I don't enjoy watching that relationship at all, I find what it did to her characterization extremely unfortunate.
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Same here. My objections to it aren't anything to do with shipping preferences but the writing and implications of it on how the 'verse functions. Although I should add I don't loathe it as some of you guys do - I do find some aspects of it interesting. Indeed the idea of the S6 destructive relationship is intriguing, I just wish they'd given more thought to how they were developing plotlines and themes instead of just shifting things to make it fit whatever story they wanted to tell at the time.

Taaroko said:
Yeah, even if Buffy/Angel had never happened, I still don't think I'd root for Buffy/Riley (although it's possible that they would've worked if the shadow of Buffy/Angel hadn't been hanging over them), and I absolutely wouldn't root for Buffy/Spike. Disliking those ships isn't dependent on my shipping Buffy with Angel, it just provides a useful point of comparison for why the other ships are so unsatisfactory.
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Actually if Buffy/Angel hadn't happened, it might change my feelings about it even a little, because there wouldn't have been so much of a contradiction between the competing ideas of vampire mythology and morality the show offered, although its failure to adequately address Spike's behavioural 'uniqueness' and the resulting implications on the show's original premise would have still been there (assuming everything about the later seasons' writing stayed exactly the same in this Angel-less version.)
 
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Day 16: What makes you love Buffy/Angel over Spuffy or Buffy/Riley?

Everyone has already said such interesting things. I don't really have much to add. Buffy and Angel are my two favorite characters in the Buffyverse, so not shipping them would be impossible for me, I think. Their relationship seems to be the axis around which the whole rest of the 'verse spins.
 
[Nov 22] Day 17 : Do you want Bangel endgame? In my mind, Buffy and Angel have already reached Endgame status. Whether or not they actually end up together, both have admitted (time and again) that the other is the thing they love most in the world. We know that given the opportunity and with the right circumstances they would absolutely be together. They have never and will never stop wanting each other. They have never and will never stop loving one another. I don't need them to be an Official Couple in order to be satisfied. Their love is epic, it's transcendent, it defies the rules of their worlds and it is absolute. Buffy and Angel were given Endgame status long ago, even if they don't technically end up together. They are one another's home. They are perfect happiness to each other. Nothing and no one can or will ever change that.
 
Antho said:
Day 17 : Do you want Bangel endgame ?
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Not necessarily. I especially want the happiness of Angel and Buffy. If they find it together, then it suits me. If they are happy each of their sides with another partner and I adhere to the stories then it suits me too. If we have a dramatic ending where one of them dies or both together, then again depending on the story I will adhere or not. In any case I am not closed to other proposals since before loving Bangel, I especially love Buffy and Angel !
 
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Day 16: What makes you love Bangel over Spuffy or Briley?

I don't mind Buffy/Riley, they have some sweet moments and I think it was necessary to see Buffy in a human relationship, but overall I don't feel too strongly about them. So I suppose that's why I prefer Buffy/Angel: they make me feel.

[I'll try not to rant too much...] As others have mentioned, my dislike for Buffy/Spike has nothing to do with my love for Buffy/Angel; truthfully, the Buffy/Spike relationship disgusts me on a fundamental level -- he meddles in her relationships; all of the abuse tactics; the actual abuse; the attempted rape; season 7... It's not often that I like the "bad boy" characters and the "bad boy/good girl" relationships anyway, but the Buffy/Spike relationship embodies all of those related tropes I dislike so much. I think it's impossible to care about Buffy/Spike if you dislike Spike because it's told almost entirely from his perspective and for the benefit of his character. To think this all started with a sudden dream.
 
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