Canon-related questions for Buffyologists

[red_satin_doll]

There's a couple of items about Buffy Summers that I've seen in several fanfics and wondered if they were "canon" or "fanon" information. I don't trust my memory, especially when I've probably spent more hours at this point reading fanfiction than actually watching the show. (What that says about me I shudder to imagine.)



By "canon", I am of course referring to BtVS, seasons 1-7 only, not the comics (aka Get behind me, Satan!)

1) Is Buffy's given name "Buffy" or "Elizabeth"?  I've read "Elizabeth Anne Summers" used in several fanfics and it feels like it might have been mentioned somewhere in S1-3 on the show, if at all?

Actually, I just wanted an excuse to post this screencap. But while you're here:

2) Does Buffy refer to herself in third person at any other point on the show except for Life Serial: "stupid Buffy" "freak Buffy"?  A lot of stories have her refer to herself in this way, usually when she's berating herself, although generally not while drunk. (For someone who can't hold her liquor she seems to drink quite a lot of it in LS. Slayer metabolism, apparently.) 

Also, she generally does so whilst kicking herself mentally over something regarding Spike, so do early season/Bangel 'ship writers have her referring to herself in this manner as well?

No, no further questions; I just love SMG in this episode so damn much I can hardly stand it. I mean - come on, Giles, how can you resist that face? Buttons and puppies are weeping in envy.  Now do your duty to your Slayer and hand her the check without making her feel like it's an act of charity on your part. 


I love Giles, I do. But damn it, he can be an ass sometimes.

Comments

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm trying to expand my reading habits (i.e., I'm burned out on "Spuffy" fics unless it's really superb stuff **sshhh!! don't tell anyone I said that!**) But I'm also trying (and mostly failing) to spend less time reading fanfic so I can, you know, write my own metas and actually get stuff done around the house. I feel like I'm turning into the fan equivalent of a pothead if I don't rein it in a bit! I do enjoy twisted, ironic, self-aware fics, meta fic, and really just WELL-WRITTEN stories with true-to-canon characterizations.

Your Willow/Spike icon is VERY pretty!

[pickamix.livejournal.com]

Thanks rua1412 made it. I have 13 Spillow icons in total ... they are my OTP.

I have two fics that I think are pretty good character wise and story wise. If you don't mind your demons also being aliens and Spike and Willow trapped on alien planets from time to time, I just started writing a series Across the Universe that is a slow build on Willow/Spike. I have two stories written for it so far. The link takes you to the master post.

But there is my other WIP, Persona which I also think is good. The "pairing" there is Willow/Angel/Spike/Buffy ... there's a tiny bit of Spuffyness to it but there is a lot of Bangel and a lot of Wangel and some Spillow and more Willow/Angel/Spike than I know what to do with. HOWEVER, this is a really strange story and it is not everyone's cup of tea. This is a rewrite of an older fic of mine and the concept there is not overly popular. It is the trope of a bond ... but this one goes sideways and I will warn you that it gets confusing on who is talking when and the words we, us and they are used in very interesting ways. To put it bluntly, if you don't like the idea of a collective consciousness I suggest you skip it.

I have a few drabbles that are good. I'm especially proud of my Faith/Buffy drabble Mirror, Mirror. You can find the link in my sidebar.

If you like peek through your fingers dark there is Violazioni, but I warn you not to eat before reading ... it gets graphic and has been accused of being torture porn in places. I don't think I crossed the line but other people think I did. Not for the faint of heart. That is a Angel/Willow piece where characterizations are a bit different. I think I keep Willow as close to canon as I can get considering what I do to her. But Angel is way OOC. Link again in my sidebar if that interests you.

Basically the newer the better and my sidebar has it all and it isn't dated. But I just gave you everything that I think is at all good. The rest ... read at your own risk. Though to be fair I've been told that my biggest problem is patience. Most of my fics are rushed and summarized. I don't do that with the ones above as much.

Across the Universe is as true to canon as I could get it. Persona is my left hand turn into oncoming traffic, but you said you liked twisted, and Violazioni is as dark as it gets. All of those are long fics by the bye. Not one sitting stuff. But you are more than welcome to try what you will or skip what doesn't interest you. I won't be offended either way.

I just started a new fic that I'll be posting this month ... it is another long one and it is a Spillow BDSM love story set over season 6. There is a season plot as well that I think is rather interesting to boot.

By the way ... everything I do has to have a plot ... I don't write a lot of smut usually. The most smut I've written was in Bruises and that wasn't very well written. Skip it please.

Now I feel like I've gone on forever about myself and know nothing about you other than you like well written Spuffy. What else do you like?

*hugs and love*

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Sorry I didn't reply to this - my inbox now has almost 350 messages/comments in it that need replying to. *sigh*

"read at your own risk" - well I always appreciate fair warning, and there's always a back button! Which I've become very skilled at using, after reading a couple of fics where i thought, no, they're not going THERE, are they? This is all going to make sense in the next chapter, isn't it?

I haven't had a chance to get to your fics but thank you for the recs, they're on my list.

My main thing is fairness to all of the characters, compassion for them, no bashing or whitewashing (especially when it comes to Buffy - she's my girl, y'all). Any sign of "Spike was good enough for Buffy S5-6 and why didn't the bitch love him?" will send me right in the other direction.

One of the wonderful things in the show is that each character does horrible things for the right reasons and good things for the wrong reasons; in other words, complex human beings. So reducing any of them to cardboard cutouts is another turn-off for me. Adherence to canon is of the good because the canon is so damn fascinating to begin with. Even AU can be true to canonical characterizations. I demand really good writing or why waste the time? And I love angst - character death doesn't bother me because that's a huge part of canon (except Tara's *sniffle*); it can be "eat it with a spoon dark and desolate angst" or "delicate watercolor angst":
http://snowpuppies.dreamwidth.org/286069.html
http://lynnenne.livejournal.com/221554.html
http://letsgetitdone.livejournal.com/9914.html

I seem to have particular kinks for AU takes on The Gift:
http://desoto-hia873.livejournal.com/162450.html (this one made me tear up)
http://sb-fag-ends.livejournal.com/161082.html (the inspiration for my own fic)
http://red-satin-doll.livejournal.com/3321.html (shameless self-pimpage alert!)

Also post-Chosen and/or NFA fics:
http://archiveofourown.org/works/580630
http://ozma914.livejournal.com/119151.html
http://rebcake.livejournal.com/45817.html
http://archiveofourown.org/works/98318

I wrote a post yesterday *more shameless self-pimage!* looking for "Rupert Giles as Big Bad" recs or prompts and have gotten some good recs from that, if you want to take a glance: http://red-satin-doll.livejournal.com/10511.html

Quinara wrote a post-series epic poem "Spikeid" that reminds me of the Illyad:
http://archiveofourown.org/works/1922/navigate

Rebcake pointed me to Annie Sewell-Jennings work; and "The Ballad of Randy and Joan" is one of my few NC-17 favorites because it's such a fantastically written AU story (I skim over the sex bits):
http://www.allaboutspike.com/fic.html?id=124
http://www.allaboutspike.com/fic.html?id=535

A couple of my favorite humorous ones:
http://spuffy-luvr.livejournal.com/8632.html
http://st-salieri.livejournal.com/319674.html

And that's just BEGINNING to scratch the surface. (But maybe that's more than you were wanting to hear?)