Curious... Any Bangels switch to Spuffys or vice versa?

[Airam]

I for one watched the show on its original run and I will admit I started shipping Bangel when the show first aired, I mean hardcore. When Spuffy was first introduced I was skeptical... I mean, wtf was this all about? Buffy belonged with Angel! But as seasons 5, 6 & 7 progressed I began coming around to the idea. Viewing Buffy first run I was the same age as her, at some level I could relate to her growing pains. By the season finale Spike had won me over and I could see t he Bangel relationship as a first love that is always in your heart but doesnt usually work out... and Spuffy as her possible future (And Angel well, in my heart he went on to belong to Cordy 🙂 ). And upon reviewings well, you know I'm a Spuffy shipper now by definition 🙂 I have utmost respect for Bangels, we can ship who we want, and I did love Bangel at the very beginning, just outgrew it... Just wondered if anyone else had the same happen. Or vice versa... or even with another 'ship?

 

[BuffyElevated]

I consider myself a Bangel, but I see good things about Spuffy as well. I like both couples in different moments equally. I get caught up in the romance of Buffy and Angel together, but I also love the heat between Spike and Buffy, and Spike's speech to Buffy in "Empty Places" is just beautiful. 🙂

 

[AnthonyCordova]

Generally speaking, I don't do the devoted ship thing very often. I never really shipped either one (Bangel or Spuffy) very hard. I can appreciate both for very different reasons. And they were entertaining at points for very different reasons too, which is another matter entirely. Sorry I can't offer anything towards your question!!!

 

[Fuffy Baith]

Even though I'm Bangel shipper I have warmed up to Spuffy a lil but mostly from Spike's point of view.

 

[bespangeled]

I was a Spuffy fan but then I discovered Spangel. I guess I figured Buffy and Faith could go get it on.

 

[TotallySpiked]

I have always shipped Spuffy but I love Bangel. The romance of their relationship is so true of how you view your first love; you get so caught up in it and you think you're going to last forever.
I'm currently on a rewatch of the earlier seasons and see that the Bangel romance was doomed from the beginning. Canonically speaking, it just won't work. Buffy will always be the Slayer and who would always give Angel his moment of true happiness and Angel wouldn't be able to give up being a vampire, or if she Shanshu became true, he would never give up the good fight. So I see their relationship for what it was to me; an epic romance and love lost; hoping to one day regain what they think was perfect, but never actually was.
As Buffy matured, I believe she is meant to be with Spike. Someone who has seen (as he said), the best and the worst of her, and still idolises her. Someone who sticks around even though the going is tough. I didn't see their 'relationship' romantically until Spike got his soul and that speech in 'Touched' is amazing. Given more time, I really believe they would have had a great, long lasting relationship.

So to sum up, I really enjoy both for what they are. But in my heart, I'm a Spuffy.

 

[thetopher]

I was a Bangel fan up until 'I Will Remember You', which felt like an ending to me, the two of them just couldn't be together. So, in my mind I kinda moved on.

But after that no other fic came close for me. Briley was sort of a nice dream and Spuffy was kind of painful to watch. As relationships that didn't really come close to making Buffy happy.

So I started thinking (after Riley) who else could cope with her crazy life, who's in that same, unique position, who 'gets' her better than anybody else.

And during my next re-watch it became painfully obvious who she was meant to be with. 🙂

Now I ship Fuffy. It's interesting, its hella sexy and its really fun. 😀

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

As hard as this may be to believe, on my first watching, I was a Briley 'shipper. Don't get me wrong, I'd always secretly hoped that she'd go for Spike, but all signs pointed that it would never happen in a million years. Buffy's denial and insistance that she wasn't attracted to Spike was convincing. When it did, I was stoked to say the least. And I've never looked back. But no, I was never a Bangel 'shipper...I always disliked their relationship and found it tiresome.\

But are we talking other couples too? If so, I loved Willow and Oz until the end. I was bitter about how it ended between them. But then Tara showed up...and it was obvious and that she was SO much better for Willow, so I got on-board with that 'ship.

 

[NeonNightLight]

Bangel shipper since day one, and I don't see that ever changing. I see Angel and Buffy as the greatest love of each other's life, and I also think that's how they've always seen each other, too. Regardless of whether they are endgame, they are *the* couple of BtVs for me. Most pivotal, most tragic, most emotional, most sacrificing, etc.

Regarding spuffy, I have some issues that don't need to be shared here, but mainly, I find that both partners were never in an equal balance, and that Buffy and Spike couldn't give each other what they truly wanted. I couldn't warm up to a relationship like that.

But, if we were to discuss other relationships such as briley and dangel, I appreciate and enjoy moments for both ships, although I've never been convinced to switch.

It's interesting because it seems that a good number of spuffies who had seen the show from the beginning were former bangels.

 

[Taake]

Well, I was a Bangel from the get go but I was also a Spuffy back when the show was airing. True, not as hardcore as I was Bangel, but initially I did like Spuffy a lot. It was only during re-watches that I turned away from the Spuffy ship so maybe that counts. 🙂

 

[white avenger]

I shipped Bangel for a whole month once...

 

[The Bronze]

Not a big shipper but I never saw anything on either show that convinced me that Buffy and Angel wouldnt chose to be with each other in a perfect world scenario (no curse or imminent doom if Angel becomes human etc.)

Where we're at in the comics though I'm much less convinced and would be more interested in seeing if Buffy and Spike could make a go of things.

 

[SiegePerilous02]

I actually used to ship Spuffy when I first started watching the show. "Fool For Love" was the first episode I ever saw, and I started watching the repeats on FX from there. Then I started BtVS from the beginning, and eventually watched AtS, and gradually started to appreciate both the character of Angel and the Bangel ship.

Now? I'm a diehard Bangel shipper. The older I get, and the more times I do a series re-watch, the more I dislike the Spuffy romance. I'm just uncomfortable with some of the themes explored, and once I started analyzing the shows beyond just being mere entertainment, the more I realized the writing surrounding the Spuffy storylines was just not any good. Both the character of Buffy and the show in general were much better written during the Bangel and Briley years than the Spuffy years, IMO, so it goes beyond just my shipping preferences. And I also LOVE Angel/Darla, so I'm not above enjoying the characters having other romantic interests.

If I gave a crap about the comics, I would probably give up on Bangel. But I don't, so it will never happen😛

 

[janas]

I'm a Bangel and always I will be, not even in a thousand years I will be Spuffy. The funny thing is that I don't like any other pair of no other show, ok maybe Willow/Oz and Angel/Darla, but not to the levels of Buffy and Angel.

 

[Lyri]

For the longest time, especially when the show was originally airing, I was a hardcore Spuffy shipper and Spike was my favorite character.

I don't want to say I grew up and realized whatever it was that I realized, because I think that sounds rude and inflammatory, but something definitely happened within those twn years that made me look at Spike and Spuffy in general and see something that I really, really didn't like.

I wouldn't say I was a huge shipper, but when pushed, I would side with Bangel, but I think my all time favorite ship from the show will always be Xander/Cordelia. Or at the very least, of the canon ships.

I still read that Spander fic, lol.

 

[Valjavertjinn]

I switched from Bangel to Fuffy! I sort of shipped Bangel by default for a while, but on rewatches realized that the ship was sort of 'meh' for me. Then I got to Season Three and realized exactly who I thought Buffy should get together with...

 

[Pike]

The relationship between Buffy and Angel is what hooked me into the show. The whole arc of Season Two.. later, on my initial rewatch in the mid-2000s, I became a Spuffy fan. While I love the S2 arc.. the later characters were far better without each other.

 

[Blaze]

I use to be a Bangel during the early seasons, than I was a Spuffy during the later seasons. Mostly I was just a hormonal teenager that thought Angel and Spike were hot. Now I don't really ship either or, although I enjoy both of the storylines for different reasons, I don't think Buffy should be with either of them. So I guess neither are my OTP (that would be Fuffy...) But I do like the relationships a lot.

 

[bespangeled]

Okay - I started as a Spuffy shipper because I loved, adored, and worshiped Spike. He could do no wrong and if anyone hurt his feeling they were just mean. (See, there's hope for everyone.) Anyway - Spike wanted her - so he should get her. Angel was bad because....he wasn't Spike...I guess.

A few marathons later I actually started watching the show, and I watched Angel. I learned to love Wesley, and Faith, and Lilah - and Angel. I am not a Bangel shipper, but I figured if she ever chooses one to be with it would be Angel. I think Spike was right - Buffy didn't love him the way he needed to be loved.

I'm a Spangel fan because I realized there are 240+ years before the entire Darla branch of the Aurelius order arrived in Sunnydale (Home, sweet home). Watching Angel with Spike I realized that they love each other. There's no romance - and a very snarky and caustic friend thing. But I have no doubt that either one would die for the other. In my view that includes sex, but it is also so much more. It's why that last shot of Spike and Angel staring out the window after Lawson's death has so much resonance.

And I know that if Buffy and Angel do get together - even if Angel is human - Spike will be there when she dies but not for Buffy. That's a deep love.

 

[TiMER]

I switched from indifference towards both to being a Bangel fan (although I much prefer Angel and Cordelia). I've always enjoyed Spike as comedy relief but things turn really sour for me during season 6 with my feelings towards him which have become significantly stronger as I've grown older. Angel on the other hand is a character I really enjoy and therefore Bangel as a result of that.

Though I much prefer when the characters are separate than when they are in those ships.