Stealing her underwear
Showing her what Riley was doing
Setting up his little shrine to her
Getting Harmony to role play
Chaining her up
Trying to kiss her in Fool for Love
The Buffybot
The constant innuendo and leering glances
His tireless pursuit after OMWF
True, (although I don't think that the Riley thing really counts), but he never tried to force her into a sexual relationship.
All of these things, whether they were big or small, made Spike's intentions towards Buffy clear. He pursued her and it was only when she was emotionally crippled that she finally gave in. When she did give in he continued to tell her all the things about herself that she feared were true actually were i.e. coming back wrong and her friends not wanting her.
I don't view it as "giving in" as much as taking what she wanted and needed. She wanted Spike, it wasn't like she thought he was gross but was tired of rejecting him.
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I have to agree that I don't like how he was playing into her insecurities, but honestly, he's always been the guy who tells it like it is, without dressing up the truth to make it look pretty. He's honest, if not maybe a tad manipulative, so she knows she can believe him. It's just Spike.
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If your friend/sister someone you cared about was in a destructive relationship where they both treated each other like crap and "The Boyfriend" tried to force himself on "her" would you think that she played her part in it and "wasn't innocent" in the attempted rape?
Well, I don't think that they're the same instances at all. Both Spike and Buffy are stronger and darker creatures than humans, so hitting Buffy isn't like hitting anyone else and vice- versa. Also, as one of the writers said, Buffy and Spike communicated through violence. And most of the time it was probably fun, at least in the beginning.
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Also, for the case you supplied, I'd be pissed at the boyfriend but I wouldn't dismiss my Sister's actions either.
I honestly worry about that, about people watching that scene but loving him as a character and trying to reconcile the two.
First off, I don't particularly love Spike, but I don't hate him for the AR. Just like a don't hate SOULED Willow for flaying a man, and I don't hate Xander for leaving Anya at the Alter, and I don't hate Buffy for beating Spike up and leaving him to die because she was ashamed of herself.
Spike was twisted, confused, and in a bad place. The AR was a necessary part of his development as a character (realizes he needs to get a soul) and his relationship with Buffy. As said in Touched, they've seen the best and the worst of each other, they know EXACTLY who the other person is with all their faults, and they still love each other. And I think that that's a beautiful thing.
🙂 They've been through so many horrible things together, and they still were able to move past it, because life never stops. You may as well use the best of it.
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I also almost stopped reading Buffy fanfics completely after a fic where Willow got raped by Angel, and a fan commented "They're so good for each other" orsomething like that. That was not exactly how I read the fic, and I was afraid the writer actually meant for it to be romantic, instead of twisted and wrong like I first thought.
Yeah, I read a similar fanfic where Angelus tortured and raped Willow in S2 I think, and then all of a sudden Willow fell in love with Angelus, like, a day afterwards. :confused5
That being said, I'm kind of glass halfful about Spike. He's a horrible person who sometimes does nice things, and I appreciate that and like his arc. But until he got a soul, he needed to be put down, and he was in no way generally a admireable character.
OK, you're entitled to you're own opinion, but I think that that's WAY too harsh.
🙂 He's a vampire: They're not people, and they shouldn't be held to the same standards as one. He wanted to kill Buffy and co? Well, they wanted to kill him back. He was freakin' MAGNANIMOUS, imo, for actually helping the Scoobies at all! He's evil, he could've just set their house on fire or hired someone to kill them or something like that. But he didn't.
He kills a race/ species opposite his own, or rather he used to. Well, so does Buffy, and not for food. Calling him a "horrible person" isn't only unfair in my opinion, it's politically incorrect.
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Why did he need to be put down? Because he was vampire? Should vampires put down humans for being human? Nahh.
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Sure he was, he was evil, but he still generally was a "good" character, or at least was able to be good. No other soulless vamp really accomplished that.
Really, if you look at every single bad deed each of the characters have committed, NONE of them are innocent little souled Angels at all. They have a soul, yet they still do horrible things:
Willow: Cheating on Oz, the crazy spell fiasco of Something Blue, mind- raping Tara, flaying Warren, kicking Buffy out in Empty Places
Xander: Almost raping Buffy when he was evil (The Pack), cheating on Cordy, casting the love spell for mean revenge, lying to Buffy about Willow saying "kick his ass", trying to kill Spike in Entropy, calling Sweet in OMWF, leaving Anya at the Alter, kicking Buffy out in Empty Places
Giles: Drugging Buffy in Helpless then lying about it, his "bad magic" childhood thing, leaving Buffy when she was most vulnerable in Tabula Rasa, trying to kill Spike in Lies My Parents Told Me
Buffy: Stealing weaponry, sneaking out of class (Both from Bad Girls), not telling anyone Angel was back, being a total bitca in When She Was Bad, leaving after killing Angel without telling anyone, ditching her friends for her boyfriend in S4, lying to her friends in S6, beating up Spike and leaving him to die in Dead Things, punching Faith in S7, etc.
None of them are flawless, and they all have souls. Remember Vamp!Willow and Vamp!Xander? None of them were half as "good" as soulless Spike.
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See, I'm willing to defend "Spike the Rapist" because in no way do I view him as a rapist. They were in a bad place, he lost control, they got past it.
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