Did Spuffy help Buffy's Depression?

Sadly, they did a hideously poor job of depicting that, and it is the psychologically damaging and destructively meaningless physical relationship that a segment of the fanbase still romanticises.
Well..... If you are into romance novels, the Abuse..... errr..... Dark Romances are currently the most popular.

I guess the Spuffies were just a bit ahead of the curve.....
 
NotASlayer
NotASlayer
I think you were probably more accurate with "Abuse" than "Dark"! There is nothing romantic about being abused!
What is “dark romance”?
The simple description are romances where the behavior by the male (usually) lead is behavior that would be seriously questionable if not outright illegal in the real world. Examples:

Kidnapping the woman and keeping her until she "falls in love".
Initial sex is nonconsensual (or consent is dubious at best).
Force or coercion into performing more extreme sex acts.
Forced bondage/S&M.

And so on. They usually have a "happy" ending because the woman decides she wants the man.
 
Joan the Vampire Slayer
Joan the Vampire Slayer
Ooh, I see. Thanks. I don’t read stuff like that so I wouldn’t know. Kind of like Fifty Shades of Grey.
NotASlayer
NotASlayer
That does sound like Spuffy.
On the other hand, Spike was literally soulless. Vampires without a soul in the Buffyverse are not the same people they were as humans. If you're ready to say that there were extenuating circumstances for Buffy, I just can't fathom how there weren't any for Spike.
Based on this logic, Spike, as a soulless vampire incapable of making moral decisions, should be staked. Spike never should have made it to Season 7.
 
Do we think if Joss didn't have multiple projects running he still would've remained in charge of BTVS? Or he would've put MN in the driver's seat anyway?
I don't know.
 
hoponlilmama
hoponlilmama
Perhaps the series may have unfolded differently if he was at the controls. We'll never know.
Well..... If you are into romance novels, the Abuse..... errr..... Dark Romances are currently the most popular.

I guess the Spuffies were just a bit ahead of the curve.....
I don't really want to weigh in on this thread, but this is right. Booktok is wild. I have always been a hardcore Bangel, but never denied that Spuffy was hot and a much needed summer fling for Buffy. Sex is fun and she deserved some mindless fu... n at that point. So yes, it helped Buffys depression. It helped her find her own feet again.

There has been a super massive increase in people seeking BDSM to cope with real world traumas. Sadomasochism and other sexual deviances are being phased out of the DSM and accepted into mainstream. They don't have to live in the shadows anymore and this is where lines seem blurred. It is not abuse as long as there is consent. Buffy was active in her relationship with Spike, giving as good as she got until she chose to end it. Her choice gave her power back. Even when Spike pushed the boundary of consent, she was not coerced, she held her ground. She gained her strength back in having a physical equal.

Buffy stepped back up to "Slayer" through overpowering a vampire, not just in body, but in mind.
 
The problem is that Buffy's relationship with Spike was not fun for her, but damaging. And, though a sub in a BDSM relationship has the power to end things - safe words after all - what she had with him was not a BDSM relationship including safe words. When Buffy told Spike "No" that was no. Not an agreed pretend "No" that meant "Carry on because I have not used my safe word." but a no meaning stop. And Spike carried on. That was not a healthy relationship, in any sense of the word. She did choose to end it, but had to fight to end it, which you do not have to do in a consensual BDSM relationship.
 
November
November
I agree they were not in a BSDM relationship- but they were into rough sex where fighting back was foreplay.
@November The issue is that this is a "relationship" that includes violence, rape and abuse. Even Buffy realises it is not doing her the slightest bit of good, but actively harming her.
 
Kinky fun-sex is great.
Kinky fun sex with an unrepentant serial killer who gets off on inflicting pain and suffering? Unwise, and actually led to more neuroses that Buffy had surrounding sex and relationships- see the comics.
 
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