(no subject)
In Which I Pretend Spred Was Canon Because I Want to Play, Too
This is a follow-up to the post I made earlier today, where I lamented my being afraid to talk about the After the Fall Spike/Fred scenes on LJ at the time they were revealed. No one else talked about it much either, whether here on LJ or in professional reviews; it often seemed to me as if many reviewers didn’t even notice it at all.
And I really, really want to talk about it.
So please take pity on me and allow me to yammer ad nauseum, and to pretend that Fred was brought back, and that she and Spike had a romance. I promise not to post it at the LJ Angel comic book community; I’ll confine it solely to this journal. I’m not seeking a debate over the pairing’s legitimacy; I just want to try to experience the excitement and happiness I felt when there seemed to be a chance that it was real…I want to see what it’s like to analyze it with lots of people who love it, the way y’all do in your Spuffy posts.
*******************************
Most of the After the Fall Spred-related scenes can be viewed here:
http://community.livejournal.com/ship_manifesto/234351.html
There’s also one or two others, such as when the villain Non is goading Spike and refers to Fred as “your girlfriend,” and when Spike becomes almost hysterical at the sight of Fred in the path of his speeding truck. In fact, I was surprised to see that the Spike/Fred scenes outnumbered the Wes/Fred ones, and that GhostWes was portrayed as almost distant and emotionless around her. In his conversation with Spike, neither man was sure if this was truly Fred or not - but of the two, it was Spike who was very willing to believe in her, and Spike who vowed to drive away Wes if necessary to keep Fred safe.
Throughout the story, AtF’s author remained vague about his intent regarding a Fred/Spike romance. He was frequently questioned about it on the IDW message forums, but always he replied cryptically, such as “Spike fantasizing about Fred doesn’t mean that she’s his dream girl, but it does mean that she’s very, very important to him.” He also threw in confusing (and often offensive) scenes in which Spike was sexually harassed and molested by one of the author’s original female characters, which further muddied the waters, and in posts he broadly hinted that he’d like to make the character become Spike’s new girlfriend.
Thing is, the majority of the readers of this comic book probably were never online, and thus probably never read any of the author’s comments. All they know is what they see in the book. And if I were to see this book that way, without any knowledge of authorial opinion or intent…yeah, I’d damn sure think the thing looked Spike/Fred shippy!
So is the author a closet Spred fan? Did he discuss the Spred-shippy scenes with Joss? Did either of them acknowledge that the scenes were, or might be construed as, romantic?
In a final note, when it was revealed that “Fred” was really only Illyria, Spike was chosen along with Wesley to coax Illyria out of her rampage. Spike’s and Wes’s memories of Fred were considered equal in power, and in their amount and quality of love.
And I think that’s HUGE.
BTW, although the effort would probably be completely futile, do any of you know an e-mail or postal address to send letters to Joss Whedon? I want to ask him to please, please give IDW his okay to bring Fred back. Maybe if enough of us ask him, now that several years have passed and his interest in AtS seems to be waning, he’ll agree to say yes to her return. And if he does, maybe IDW will let Spike be right there waiting for her.
This is a follow-up to the post I made earlier today, where I lamented my being afraid to talk about the After the Fall Spike/Fred scenes on LJ at the time they were revealed. No one else talked about it much either, whether here on LJ or in professional reviews; it often seemed to me as if many reviewers didn’t even notice it at all.
And I really, really want to talk about it.
So please take pity on me and allow me to yammer ad nauseum, and to pretend that Fred was brought back, and that she and Spike had a romance. I promise not to post it at the LJ Angel comic book community; I’ll confine it solely to this journal. I’m not seeking a debate over the pairing’s legitimacy; I just want to try to experience the excitement and happiness I felt when there seemed to be a chance that it was real…I want to see what it’s like to analyze it with lots of people who love it, the way y’all do in your Spuffy posts.
*******************************
Most of the After the Fall Spred-related scenes can be viewed here:
http://community.livejournal.com/ship_manifesto/234351.html
There’s also one or two others, such as when the villain Non is goading Spike and refers to Fred as “your girlfriend,” and when Spike becomes almost hysterical at the sight of Fred in the path of his speeding truck. In fact, I was surprised to see that the Spike/Fred scenes outnumbered the Wes/Fred ones, and that GhostWes was portrayed as almost distant and emotionless around her. In his conversation with Spike, neither man was sure if this was truly Fred or not - but of the two, it was Spike who was very willing to believe in her, and Spike who vowed to drive away Wes if necessary to keep Fred safe.
Throughout the story, AtF’s author remained vague about his intent regarding a Fred/Spike romance. He was frequently questioned about it on the IDW message forums, but always he replied cryptically, such as “Spike fantasizing about Fred doesn’t mean that she’s his dream girl, but it does mean that she’s very, very important to him.” He also threw in confusing (and often offensive) scenes in which Spike was sexually harassed and molested by one of the author’s original female characters, which further muddied the waters, and in posts he broadly hinted that he’d like to make the character become Spike’s new girlfriend.
Thing is, the majority of the readers of this comic book probably were never online, and thus probably never read any of the author’s comments. All they know is what they see in the book. And if I were to see this book that way, without any knowledge of authorial opinion or intent…yeah, I’d damn sure think the thing looked Spike/Fred shippy!
So is the author a closet Spred fan? Did he discuss the Spred-shippy scenes with Joss? Did either of them acknowledge that the scenes were, or might be construed as, romantic?
In a final note, when it was revealed that “Fred” was really only Illyria, Spike was chosen along with Wesley to coax Illyria out of her rampage. Spike’s and Wes’s memories of Fred were considered equal in power, and in their amount and quality of love.
And I think that’s HUGE.
BTW, although the effort would probably be completely futile, do any of you know an e-mail or postal address to send letters to Joss Whedon? I want to ask him to please, please give IDW his okay to bring Fred back. Maybe if enough of us ask him, now that several years have passed and his interest in AtS seems to be waning, he’ll agree to say yes to her return. And if he does, maybe IDW will let Spike be right there waiting for her.