“Shock to the System”, End notes
[ Endnotes posted 15 May 2018 ]
Since this is a remix, what prompted the direction this story took in differing from the original?
Primarily, the difference in my own view of Spike.
I really enjoyed him as a villain. He was one hell of a villain. Then the writers made him into a quasi-impotent pseudo-romantic hanger-on, and he became markedly less interesting to me. Good use was made of him in that role, so my personal preferences in that area never got too extreme, but I always saw the character as threatening to warp the show into his own orbit, and I was a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, not the Buffy-and-Spike UST Hour.
I sorta-liked the character, but I did not at all like the person. (Hint: he was evil, enjoyed being evil, bragged about being evil.) The endless fan pressure for some form of Spuffy frankly repulsed me. I thought there was too much focus on him, to the potential detriment of the show. So, when I found myself impressed with his character growth, it wasn’t from any sympathetic inclination toward Spike, but because the growth and its depiction were impressive. And they was impressive entirely because he was evil but trying (haltingly) to be more than that.
Pre-Heaven Buffy had her own reasons for (to a limited extent) trusting Spike. The Scoobies? not so much. Three of the six he had actively tried to kill and later directly betrayed; of the remainder, Anya had some commonalities with him, Dawn a ridiculous acceptance of him as some kind of alluring bad-boy figure, and Tara simply didn’t know much about him. comlodge’s story showed a degree of … of fellowship with Spike, in his post-battle state, that I could recognize as possible without seeing as likely. After that, it was a matter of working out how each of them would react to him in the days between the tumble off the tower and Buffy’s eventual flawed resurrection.
Is there any particular significance to the title?
Well, it’s the name of a Billy Idol song. Just a poke in the direction of the jokes of Spike copying Idol’s look (or Idol copying Spike’s). The fact that the resulting story fit? just a bonus.
What is the thing I like most about this story? the thing I like least, or about which I feel most doubtful?
Liked? Overall, the tone of Spike’s internal state. This is not a good person, but he’s still trying to work toward something even if the reason is no longer there. Specifically, the contrast between his feelings toward Dawn (resentment and loathing) and his treatment of her (continuing to protect, emotionally as well as physically, the sister Buffy died to protect).
Doubtful? I wasn’t entirely comfortable with Tara’s actions, and I still wonder. She had showed steel in defying Glory - honestly, that was the moment I became a fan - but this was still unusually forceful behavior. I’m still glad it’s there, but likewise still wish I could have done it in a way that I was sure was in-character, plausible, and consistent with her long-term development.
Is there anything I think I could have done better, or might do differently if I had it to do over?
The story could have been done almost exactly as currently set, only with the POV being of each person dealing individually with Spike, rather than Spike’s POV while dealing with each of them. That could be really interesting, and I wouldn’t mind seeing something like that. This one, though, came out as it wanted to be for me.
Do I have any plans to follow up on this story, or to use the character(s) or situation in a subsequent fic?
I don’t really see anything flowing from this one - it was a ‘filler’, showing scenes between the end of Season 5 and beginning of Season 6 - but there were links to past stories. The mention of Torgash harks to that individual’s appearance in “ Shadow and Substance”; Madame Tiphaine appeared in “ An Eye to the Future”, and has been named or referenced in at least three other stories; the mention of a Skira’ad demon links to “ Whisper of a Moment”; and, finally, Spike’s throwdown with Boone, in Mexico, was shown in “ Oaxaca Nights”.
Any observations to add at the end?
This story was done on the road, during the time I was working as a long-haul truck driver. Given the circumstances, I’d say it turned out okay.