Spike, parte IV

Appearance and Personality
William's natural hair color was medium brown; in 1943 he was seen with it dyed black and slicked down; and by 1977 he had begun to bleach it, keeping that look at least until he was last seen in May of 2004. Spike has claimed that Billy Idol stole his look from him, which accounts for his appearance in 'present day' continuity as well as during the flashback to the 1970s (see below). He received an V/Y-shaped scar on his left eyebrow from the sword of Xin Rong, the first Slayer he killed, in 1900; on his first appearance in the series, the wound still looks fresh, but gradually blends in over the course of the series. James Marsters had received the scar in real life during a mugging.

Spike has a taste for long black leather jackets, including one that he took from a Nazi officer and another that he wore as a trophy of Nikki Wood, a Slayer whom he killed in 1977 after coming to New York specifically to find and fight the Slayer of the time. Spike wore Nikki's jacket for over twenty-five years before it was finally destroyed in a firefight in Italy, after which the Italian branch of Wolfram and Hart supplied him with a new, nearly identical coat. His trademark look typically comprises the leather jacket, a black/dark brown t-shirt or v-neck shirt and black denim pants, usually with heavy boots; he also wore a red long-sleeve shirt fairly often, but this item was occasionally omitted, particularly in later seasons of Buffy and Angel. In "Doomed", Spike is forced to wear one of Xander's Hawaiian shirts and a pair of knee-length shorts because his clothes were shrunk due to the basement flooding.

Asides from his appetite for destruction, one of Spike's most prominent characteristics is his dry, sarcastic sense of humor. A polar opposite to his callow and simpering human nature, Spike quickly adopted a swaggering posture and enjoyed living by nobody's rules save his own. Fitting in with this was his habit of making pithy remarks and glib insults, even towards the few he didn't see as antagonists. Among his favorite targets was his grandsire and rival, Angel (often making fun of his large forehead, constantly groomed appearance and his attempts to be a 'big, strapping hero'); others include Xander Harris, Rupert Giles and, to a lesser degree, Buffy Summers. However, Spike also retained something of his literary intellect from his human side, routinely referencing poetry, songs, and literature; he would, on occasion, also wax poetical on the nature of love and life (even unlife) as being about blood, reasoning that it is what separates the living from the dead, and is therefore more powerful than any supernatural force.
Spike enjoys beer, whisky, Weetabix (which he mixes into blood for texture), spices and burba weed (which he mixes into blood for flavor), ate a box of chocolates from a present meant for Buffy, Buffalo wings and onion blossoms, having perhaps the most varied diet of any of the vampires or other demons on the show (another example of Spike defying vampire conventions). He also smokes, (as do many vampires); his preferred brand is Morley cigarettes, which he lights with a trademark silver Zippo lighter.

Powers & Abilities
Spike has the standard powers and vulnerabilities of a vampire. On many occasions he has tracked people or demons through the streets (or even sewers) by smelling the air. Like other vampires, Spike's "vampire constitution" provides him with an extremely high tolerance for alcohol. Age has given him strength, speed, stamina and resistance superior to those of most other vampires.

He has acquired a number of skills in his long unlife. One of the factors making Spike so deadly an opponent in battle is his complete disregard for tradition and rules, placing him on equal footing with Buffy - herself not much for rules and traditions. Spike is highly skilled and adaptable in both armed and unarmed combat. Spike has been shown on occasion using firearms and modern weaponry as well as the bladed weapons more often seen in the Buffyverse. He is skilled at using many varieties of weapons, such as a rifle, knife, sword, axe, crossbow, stake, and a staff. His fighting style seems to blend several different disciplines accumulated over his years of fighting others. His style resembles a cross between kung fu, with its free style movements, and various other martial arts blended into one flowing style, shifting from a classic karate stance to a boxer, nearly instantly. In combat, Spike shows great physical strength and adaptibility; for example, he was able to briefly overcome Illyria during a testing of her abilities, when she was at the height of her powers. Illyria criticized his (and others') ability to adapt, calling it "compromising"; however, for a creature with somewhat limited power (unlike the orignial Illyria), it was one of his greatest strengths as a fighter.

What gives Spike an added edge in both combat and personal matters are his skills in perception and observation, especially with regard to relationships and personalities. His strong connection with his own emotions also provides him with useful insight, giving him the previously mentioned "truth-seer" status. His ability to take a "Big Picture" approach, analyzing complicated interpersonal dynamics with ease, allows him to wield powerful psychological weapons as well as physical ones. For example, when he wants to create disharmony among the Scoobies, he divides-and-conquers with the "Yoko Factor", exploiting tensions that exist under the surface to alienate the group members against each other. When he and Angel compete for the Cup of Perpetual Torment, Spike's verbal taunts, insights, and insults are as crucial (in that they further demoralized an already insecure Angel) to his success as his physical blows. He explains to Buffy that he was able to defeat two Slayers because he sensed and exploited their "death wish." His skills of analysis also have many positive effects. For example, his perceptiveness and insight makes him a natural father-figure for Dawn, who needed protection, attention, and guidance. He is the first to see through Tara's abusive and controlling family, and reveals their sinister intentions before any of the Scoobies even suspect it. He has a solid sense of the state of relationships, identifying with startling accuracy when and why relationships, such as that between Buffy and Riley, are not meant to last. He also clearly identifies Buffy and Angel's continuing love at a time when both of them are trying to say that they are "just friends", forcing the two of them to finally face the truth to each other.

Spike's most distinctive trait is his love of combat for the sheer joy and adrenaline rush; up until the point when he falls in love with Buffy (about a year and a half before he regained his soul) he does not much care if he fought for good or evil; he is driven by the desire to do violence, and he particularly appreciates fights that pose a challenge, which has resulted in him taking on angry mobs and multiple Slayers (Spike has a special place in vampire lore for the rare feat of killing two Slayers in single combat). However, after falling in love with Buffy, Spike consistently fights on the side of "good". His love for battle continues after his re-ensoulment, which is ironic because, as a human, he had been quite meek, mild-mannered, and gentle. Even as a ghost, Spike tries to be useful and join in the fray. When he first arrives at Wolfram and Hart, he and Angel are confronted by a Droxlar Beast, whom Angel attacks. Spike immediately moves to fight the Droxlar (although, being immaterial at the time, this proved impossible), despite being in the course of a bitter argument with Angel and having no particular reason to help him. He eventually finds himself able to affect the world around him if he wants to badly enough, so he is able to assist in fighting before he is actually recorporalized.

Spike can also withstand excessive amounts of pain for extended periods of time, particularly when properly motivated. He withstands terrible torture at the hands of Glory, refusing to tell her that Dawn was the Key she sought, sustained only by his unrequited love for Buffy. He later withstands extensive torture while imprisoned by the First Evil; he refuses to give in to despair, taking strength from Buffy's declaration that she believes in him. While not as skilled or as cruel as Angelus, Spike also proves himself to be an effective torturer when he tortures Doctor Sparrow. Although capable of developing sound battle strategies, Spike (particularly in the days before the chip and the soul) often loses patience with anything more complicated than outright attack:

Spike: I had a plan.
Angel: You, a plan?
Spike: Yeah, a good plan. Smart. Carefully laid out. But I got bored.

He also is impatient to fight the Slayer upon his initial arrival in Sunnydale; while the attack is supposed to coincide with the Night of St. Vigeous (when vampire powers are enhanced), he "couldn't wait" to go after the Slayer and attacks the night before. However, he is somewhat masterful with strategy, and has exercised patience in many ways. For example, in Sunnydale, when Angelus joins Spike and Dru after Spike's injury, Spike patiently plays the role of the weakened cripple, listening, learning, and enduring tortuous weeks watching Angelus sexually pursue a very willing Dru as he waits for the right time to strike.

Spike is also seen: picking locks; driving a car, a motorcycle, and a motor home; using video game systems and a computer; treating injuries; pickpocketing; and playing poker and pool. He is fluent in Latin, Luganda (a language of Uganda, where he meets the demon shaman), and the language of Fyarl demons. It is implied that he has some minimal familiarity with Italian (he can at least say "ciao" and "strada").

Spike, parte III

Los Angeles
Despite his apparent death at the end of Buffy's final season, Spike returned as a regular on Angel in its fifth and final season, having been brought back by the same amulet that was initially given to Angel by Wolfram and Hart. The amulet is mysteriously returned to the offices by mail. Spike seeks, at this stage, to leave Wolfram and Hart and find Buffy, but, when he tries, he discovers that he is mystically bound to Los Angeles and unable to leave. For the first seven episodes of the season, Spike is an incorporeal being akin to a ghost with a connection to the human world that is unstable, causing him to disappear at random (but increasingly frequent) intervals. Spike, terrified, confides only to Fred that every time he disappears he is being transported to Hell. He asks her to help save him, and she promises to find a way to make him corporeal again. Later, it is discovered that Spike's disappearances are being caused by another ghost, the Reaper, who toys with the many souls trapped at Wolfram and Hart in order to delay his own sentence to Hell. Meanwhile, Fred successfully creates a machine to recorporealize Spike. However, when the Reaper threatens Fred's life, Spike chooses to use the machine to save her, in the process throwing away his opportunity to become corporeal but successfully stopping the other ghost. His actions prove to her, at least, that he is "worth saving."

Later another mysterious package comes in the mail, addressed to Spike but with no return address. Upon opening the package he sees a flash of light; after trying to walk through a wall, Spike discovers he has become corporeal once more. One of his first acts is to attempt to rekindle his physical relationship with Harmony, who is now Angel's secretary; however, during their attempt at sex she is strangely (temporarily) affected by a force causing her eyes to bleed and her behavior to become violent. This is the end of their physical intimacy.

Chaos concurrently erupts in Wolfram & Hart, and Eve arrives with information that the existence of two ensouled vampires in the world is affecting the fabric of reality. A new translation of the Shanshu Prophecy reveals that in order to restore the balance, Spike and Angel must compete to drink from the Cup of Perpetual Torment. Angel and Spike's relationship has always been strained by competition over women, notably Drusilla and Buffy. Ego clashes and personal hostility that had been building up for more than a century lead to an extended battle between the two adversaries; each believes that the Cup would bestow upon him great responsibilities and pain, while ultimately washing his past clean and allowing him to live as human again. When Angel asks him if it's the destiny he wants, or just to take something away from Angel, Spike answers honestly, "a bit of both." Although Angel tells Spike that Spike is a monster just like him, Spike denies any similarities: "You had a soul forced on you. As a curse. Make you suffer for all the horrible things you've done. Me, I fought for my soul, went through the demon trials, almost did me in a dozen times over, but I kept fighting. Because I knew it was the right thing to do. It's my destiny." Angel retorts that the only reason Spike wanted his soul was to "get into a girl's pants" (an interesting argument considering that for a hundred years or so after Angel was re-ensouled, his actions, though not completely unnoteworthy, mostly consist of self-imposed isolation and brooding; Angel only becomes a "useful" creature after seeing and falling in love with Buffy). Then, for the first time in over a century of friendship and rivalry, Spike clearly defeats Angel and drinks from the Cup. Clearly, for the first time, Spike believes he is the better "man," and is able to prove it. Perhaps the battle between them is best symbolized by Angel's inability to touch a giant cross, which Spike, contemptously ignoring the pain, holds and wields with ease. However, the prophecy turns out to be a sham (the liquid in the Cup was merely Mountain Dew), rendering the whole exercise seemingly useless. Spike regains much self-confidence with his defeat of Angel.
Even though he is now corporeal (and therefore no longer bound to L.A.), he decides not to go to Europe in search of Buffy; he wants her to remember him as the hero who died to save the world. Spike later takes on a psychotic Slayer, who had until recently been locked in a mental institution, but she captures him, drugs him, ties him up, and cuts off his hands. This experience causes Spike to more deeply examine the nature of the evil inside him. He tells Angel that the girl thought that he had killed her whole family: "What am I supposed to do, complain, because hers wasn't one of the hundreds of families I did kill?" He believes that the girl has become a monster like them; Angel responds that the girl is an innocent victim, and Spike points out that he and Angel were innocent victims at one point. His hands are subsequently reattached at Wolfram & Hart, and he is instructed to play video games for physical therapy, including Donkey Kong and Crash Bandicoot.

Beginning in "Soul Purpose", Lindsey McDonald, pretending to be the late half-demon Doyle with a connection to The Powers That Be, persuades Spike that he is destined to "help the helpless," in much the same way as the real Doyle persuaded Angel of the same thing at the start of Angel. Alienated by Angel's corporate, bureaucratic approach to fighting evil, Spike steps into his role as hero until he learns that "Doyle" is actually Lindsay, who has been manipulating him the whole time. Spike, after a bout of depression, is brought back to being an affirmed champion of the good. His relationship with Angel becomes increasingly acrimonious, and they contemplate the possibility of Spike leaving L.A. after a particularly bitter argument over whether cavemen or astronauts would win in a fight. When Fred becomes infected with the essence of an ancient demon named Illyria, Spike works alongside Angel and the team to find a cure, and mourns for her when they fail. He abandons the idea of leaving L.A. after Fred's death, deciding to stay because that is what she would have wanted. He is put in charge of "testing" the newly-awakened Illyria's abilities, which generally involves fighting with her and recording details on his clipboard. Because of the drastic changes in the circumstances of his own life, he could relate to her situation, offering her conversation, company, and advice. By the end of the season, Spike is a trusted member of the team, and he is the first to vote for Angel's plan to wound the Senior Partners by taking out the Circle of the Black Thorn. In this endeavor, he is entrusted to rescue an infant and destroy a demon cult (the final episode "Not Fade Away"). Before Angel's team of demon killers enter their greatest and perhaps final battle, Angel gives them the day off, to spend as though it was going to be their last day. Spike, returning to his mortal roots as a frustrated poet, triumphantly knocks them dead (figuratively) in an open mic poetry slam, reciting his completed version of "Effulgent", a poem he'd begun over a century earlier, before being sired by Drusilla.
After succeeding in his mission, Spike joins Angel, Illyria, and a badly-wounded Charles Gunn in the alley as the series draws to an end, preparing to suicidally incur the apocalyptic wrath of the Senior Partners, as a way of going out in a blaze of glory. Whether Spike survived this battle has yet to be confirmed, although he does appear in (non-canon) material set after it.
Joss Whedon has spoken of a possible Spike movie set after the events of the series, so Whedon apparently still regards Spike as an active character.

Spike, parte II

Sunnydale
Spike first appears in Sunnydale in Buffy's second season, in the episode "School Hard", accompanied by his longtime love Drusilla, who is suffering from crippling weakness after having been attacked and viciously beaten and injured by an angry mob in Prague (her chronically weakened condition indicates that vampires can actually be harmed physically to a degree that it would take years or decades for them to recover). Spike is a devoted caretaker to Drusilla in her weakened condition, treating her with gentleness and consideration in sharp contrast with his behavior toward others. He initially believes that the Hellmouth's energy could cure Drusilla, and the presence of a Slayer he could fight only makes the town more attractive to him. Upon discovering that Angel(us) is also in Sunnydale, Spike seems genuinely glad to see him, suggesting that despite their many differences, he still considers the older vampire a friend. However, Angel's loyalty to Buffy soon ends that camaraderie, and when Spike later learns that Drusilla can only be cured by the blood of the vampire who had created her, Angel, Spike is willing to kill him to save her without a second thought. Early on, before his past is clearly revealed to viewers, Spike refers to Angel as both his "sire" and his "Yoda", but in later episodes, it is made it clear that Drusilla is the one that sired Spike. Joss Whedon explained in an interview that a vampire's sire refers to anyone prior to them in their "line". Spike later noted that Drusilla had made him a vampire, but Angel had made him a monster.

For much of the second season, Spike and Drusilla are major enemies of Buffy, until Spike is so severely injured in a fight with Buffy and Kendra that he spends several months confined to a wheelchair. Originally, Whedon had intended to kill Spike, but fans were so attached that Spike was simply crippled. When Angel reverts to Angelus after making love with Buffy, he joins the pair, and eventually plots to destroy all of humanity, as a way of getting rid of the stench of humanity that Buffy's love left in him. Spike at first celebrates their reunion with Angelus, again demonstrating that genuine affection exists between the two, but when Angelus woos the appreciative Dru as a lover and persistently taunts the (temporarily) helpless Spike, their longtime rivalry is renewed. Even after Spike is recovered, he still pretends that he needs a wheelchair, feigning weakness to avoid suspicion while he plots against Angelus.
This rivalry eventually motivates Spike to ally himself with Buffy to defeat Angelus; there is some ambiguity regarding his motivation in doing so, since despite his initial claim that he just wants Drusilla back, he also makes a speech:

“We like to talk big, vampires do. I’m going to destroy the world. That’s just tough guy talk. Strutting around with your friends over a pint of blood. The truth is, I like this world. You’ve got – dog racing, Manchester United, and you’ve got people: billions of people walking around like Happy Meals with legs. It’s all right here. But then someone comes along with a vision, with a real passion for destruction. Angel could pull it off. Goodbye Piccadilly, farewell Leicester bloody Square."

Spike knocks out Drusilla, removing her from the fight. As he carries her from the fray, he sees Angelus corner an unarmed Buffy, and thinks that he is actually going to kill her. He shrugs and leaves Sunnydale; he and an unconscious Drusilla travel to Brazil.

Spike appears in only one episode of season three ("Lovers Walk"), attempting to force Willow Rosenberg to cast a love spell on Drusilla, who had turned away from him because he's not enough of a demon for her, because of his alliance with the Slayer and (as we learn later) because she suspects that he has feelings for Buffy. He visits Joyce Summers, who listens sympathetically to his heartache. Spike, after feeling the rush of an intense fight, abandons the love spell idea, resolving to win Drusilla back the old-fashioned way: by finding and torturing her until she likes him again, as Angel did in 1860. Buffy remarks to Angel that "I can fool Giles, and I can fool my friends, but I can't fool myself – or Spike, for some reason," foreshadowing Spike's role as the "truth-seer" of the group.

Spike returns to Sunnydale alone in season four to search for the Gem of Amarra, a talisman that allows a vampire to endure sunlight and even a stake to the heart without ill effect; he later travels to L. A. to retrieve it, torturing Angel in an attempt to discover its location before he is thwarted and driven from the city. He becomes involved with Harmony Kendall, a shallow young vampire. Despite her beauty and affection, Spike considers her little more than a nuisance and sexual plaything. His unlife takes a pivotal turn when The Initiative, a secret government demon-fighting army, captures him and implants a microchip in his head, which causes crippling pain whenever he harms or attempts to harm a human being.
Unable to hunt for blood, he turns to the Scooby Gang for protection, bartering his knowledge of the Initiative. He helps Rupert Giles out of a tight spot for a price. He and Buffy briefly become engaged through an accidental enchantment by Willow, foreshadowing their later bond, and it is telling that, though Willow only told them to get married, both of them mention being in love with the other. He discovers that the chip does not prevent him from fighting demons, and, since he thrives on violence, fights alongside the Scoobies on occasion.

At this point, Spike is still looking out for himself first and foremost however, and doesn't shy away from letting the Scoobies know it. On learning that Faith is on the loose after coming out of her coma, he proclaims that he'll be the one to find Faith, so he can tell her exactly where the Scoobies are, and watch while she tears them all apart. Later in the season Spike allies with Adam, a demon/human/cyborg chimera created by The Initiative, and helps the creature in its quest to destroy the Initiative and the Scoobies. Spike's price is simple: he wants the Initiative's chip out of his head for good. Through the use of lies and lines, he briefly manages to split the Scoobies up and turn them against each other ("The Yoko Factor"). They manage to overcome his scheme and learn the truth; when Spike realizes that Adam is double crossing him, he turns back to the Scoobies, even saving their lives against rampaging demons in the middle of a battle.

In season five, Spike becomes aware after some erotic dreams that, to his horror, he has fallen in love with Buffy. Unsure how to proceed, he keeps a nightly vigil outside her home, occasionally even breaking in (most notably to sniff and steal Buffy's clothing, and to steal photographs for his secret shrine to her). Spike also becomes a more active participant in the Scooby Gang, jumping into several of Buffy's fights to provide assistance whether she wants it or not. At Buffy's request, he reveals to her how he killed the two Slayers he had fought, offering survival advice, and later comforts her when her mother has to go into the hospital. Buffy's younger sister Dawn, who has a crush on Spike, perceives his obsession with Buffy, and casually tells Buffy of it. Disgusted, particularly after witnessing the full extent of Spike's obsession, Buffy rejects him, going as far as to uninvite him from her home (something she had not bothered to do in the two years since their brief alliance against Angelus). Still, Spike's feelings for the Slayer, his inability to harm humans, and his love of a good scrap lead him to fight alongside the Scooby Gang against the forces of evil. During this time, Spike impressed Tara Maclay, at least, as having genuinely been in love with Buffy; Tara also shared Spike's near-parental love for Dawn. There is, however, little further connection between Tara and Spike. Towards the end of the season Spike becomes one of Buffy's principal allies against the season's Big Bad, Glory, including, among other things, refusing to reveal the location of the Key to Glory under intense torture, nearly laying down his life to protect Dawn. In the days and hours leading up to the final showdown, Spike fights as a selfless warrior, earning Buffy's trust (as well as a re-invite to Buffy's home). After Buffy dies in the showdown with Glory, Spike honors her memory by remaining loyal to the Scoobies, fighting at their side and serving the role of baby-sitter/father-figure/protector to Dawn. Blaming himself for Buffy's death, he keeps track of the number of days since she died until she is resurrected in season six.

During season six, Spike and Buffy became lovers of a sort, engaging in a twisted sexual but emotionally one-sided relationship in which Buffy does not return his intense, obsessive love. Their physical relationship starts after a demon's spell makes them share their emotions and Buffy expresses that she "want[s] the fire back"; but it is not consummated until Spike finds out that his chip no longer stops him from hurting Buffy since she was resurrected by Willow's spell. Buffy most often initiates both the violence and the sex between them. This includes a dark moment where Buffy beats Spike severely enough to cause injuries that last at least a week. She also threatens to kill Spike if he ever tells anyone about them. Both are unsatisfied with the relationship; Buffy is ashamed of her dark desires, and unfulfilled with what, for her, is an empty sexual relationship, while Spike craves the love, trust, and affection that she is unwilling to give. Additionally, their relationship was challenged when Riley Finn, Buffy's ex-boyfriend, found Spike in possession of smuggled demon eggs and accused of him being "The Doctor" ("As You Were"), though Spike himself claimed to be storing the eggs for a friend.
Buffy decides to call it off shortly thereafter, admitting that she is just using him, and that it is killing her. Spike at first tries to get her back by making her jealous by bringing an unnamed goth girl as his date to the wedding of Xander . He succeeds in making her mildly jealous but she keeps up her resolve to not resume the destructive relationship with him. Later, after Xander left Anya at the altar, Spike and Anya get drunk together and seek solace in each other's arms. Buffy and Xander catch them, and her jealousy at seeing Spike with Anya leads him to believe he still had a chance at winning Buffy back. Spike, his obsession out of control, corners an injured Buffy in her bathroom, making aggressive sexual advances. When she refuses him, he attacks her in desperation, apparently intending to rape her; although most of their sexual history is highly violent, Buffy clearly says no to this encounter. Her original injury is increased when she slips and lands on the shower curtain, making it easier for Spike to force himself on top of her. However, Buffy is able to kick Spike across the room after he fails to respond to her cries. He draws back and tries to reconcile, to which Buffy responds, "Ask me again why I could never love you." He flees to his crypt in horror at what he had done, as well as what he had almost done.

Incapable of dealing with his emotions, he leaves town and heads to a remote area of Africa, vowing to "give her what she deserves." He seeks out a legendary Shaman/demon with the power to make him "What he once was." He undergoes a series of grueling physical trials (the Demon Trials) to prove his worthiness before a demon shaman, who promises to give him what he wants if he survives. In the final scene of the season ("Grave"), Spike survives the trials and the shaman grants his request, giving him back what he lost: his soul. Spike's intentions are confirmed in "Lessons", when the First in the form of the Mayor confirms that Spike chose to get his soul. Spike, tormented and more than half-mad with the guilt brought about by his newly restored soul, repeated this with his own words when he tells Buffy about his soul, at the end of "Beneath You":

BUFFY: "This is all you get. I’m listening. Tell me what happened."
SPIKE: "I tried to find it, of course."
BUFFY(annoyed): "Find what?"
SPIKE: "The spark. The missing— the piece. That fit. That would make me fit. Because you didn’t want— god— I can’t! Not with you looking."
He stands up and moves off into the shadows.
SPIKE: "I dreamed of killing you."
Spooked in spite of herself, Buffy bends down and picks up a splintered piece of wood and wields it as a stake.
SPIKE: "I think they were dreams. So weak. Did you make me weak? Thinking of you, holding myself and spilling useless buckets of salt over your . . . ending. Angel, he should have warned me. He makes a good show of forgetting but it’s here in me — all the time. The spark. I wanted to give you what you deserve. And I got it. They put the spark in me — and now all it does is burn."
Buffy is stunned.
BUFFY: "Your soul . . ."
SPIKE: (laughs) "A bit worse for lack of use."
BUFFY: "You got your soul back. How?"
SPIKE: "It’s what you wanted, right? (looking up) It’s what you wanted, right? And now everybody’s in here, talking. Everything I did, everyone I . . . and him . . . and it . . . the other. The thing beneath – beneath you. It’s here, too. Everybody. They all just tell me go. Go — to hell . . ."
BUFFY (horrified): "Why? Why would you do that?"
SPIKE: "Buffy, shame on you. Why does a man do what he mustn’t? For her. To be hers. To be the kind of man who would nev— To be a kind of man."

It was clear that all Spike had done, he had done for love of Buffy. With the returning of his soul comes a conscience filled with guilt as well. He must learn to live with himself as Angel did when he was cursed with a soul. In the early episodes of season seven, Spike resides in the basement of recently reconstructed Sunnydale High School, close to the Hellmouth's opening. Tormented by The First Evil as well as by his newfound conscience, Spike appears to be going insane (he notes at one point that he is "bug-shagging crazy"). After Buffy learns that Spike is in the basement, she enlists his assistance in several situations, although it isn't until well after she learns that he is ensouled that she decides to bring him out of the basement. Spike becomes reluctant roommates with Xander, because he has nowhere else to go. However, this arrangement backfires as Spike, under influence of the First Evil's hypnotic trigger, is forced to kill innocent people. Spike initially has no memory of his actions; after he discovers what he's done, he begs Buffy to stake him. Buffy refuses and takes him into her house and tells him she has seen him change. He suffers severe withdrawals after his extended feeding on human blood, and is still vulnerable to the (as yet unidentified) hypnotic trigger, and is willingly confined with ropes or chains. Buffy tells Spike that she believes in him, a statement which later sustains him throughout his imprisonment and torture at the hands of the First Evil.

Spike faithfully assists Buffy in her efforts to train the Potentials that are gathering in Sunnydale. In the meantime, Spike's chip begins to malfunction, causing him intense pain and threatening to end his unlife. To the dismay of Giles and most of her other friends, Buffy trusts Spike enough to order Initiative agents to remove it from his head. She also takes Spike's side when Principal Robin Wood, son of the slayer Spike murdered in 1977, attempts to kill him as retribution. Ironically, by attempting to kill Spike when he is under the First's influence, Wood frees Spike from his hypnotic trigger: a song called Early One Morning that Spike's mother often sang to him before he became a vampire. The song evoked Spike's traumatic memories of his mother's abusive behavior toward him after she turned. After Spike is able to address these issues, he realizes that his mother had always loved him, knowledge which frees him from the First's control. Late in the season, Spike and Buffy achieve an emotional closeness; he remains her only supporter when the other Scoobies, Giles, and the Potentials abandon her. Spike contemptously tells the rest of the Scoobies, "You sorry sods, she died for you, and you betrayed her!" The only one that remains selflessly loyal to Buffy is Spike. They spend two nights together, though it is not clear whether they resume their sexual intimacy. Creator Joss Whedon has said he intentionally left it to the viewers to decide how they felt the relationship progressed though Whedon himself said he personally felt that it would be wrong for them to resume a sexual relationship. After the first night, Spike tells Buffy that it was the best night of his life, just holding her.

In the final battle inside the Hellmouth, Spike, wearing a mystical amulet, sacrifices himself to destroy the First's army of Turok-Hans (pure demon übervampires) and close the Hellmouth. The amulet mystically channels sunlight that turns the Turok-Hans to dust and collapses the cavern containing the Hellmouth, sealing the Hellmouth and creating a crater which swallows the entire town of Sunnydale. Spike is incinerated in the process, but not before Buffy says "I love you." He replies, "No, you don't — but thanks for saying it." Even as he burns and crumbles to dust he laughs and revels in the destruction before him, glad to be there for the end. Through this act, he becomes a Champion, dying at the Hellmouth for Buffy. Even though he didn't believe that she loved him, and he didn't think anyone cared for him, Spike still gave up his life to save the world.
But still, he also got better from that.

Clan Toreador

A los Toreador se les llama muchas cosas: "degenerados", "artistas", "farsantes", "hedonistas"... Pero cualquiera de estas etiquetas hace un flaco favor al clan. Dependiendo del individuo y de su estilo, los Toreador son elegantes y llamativos, brillantes y ridículos, visionarios y disipados. Quizá lo único que puede aplicarse con certeza a todos ellos es el celo estético de sus miembros. Haga lo que haga un Toreador, lo hace con pasión, y sea lo que sea, lo es con pasión.

Para los Toreador, la vida eterna debe ser saboreada. Muchos eran artistas, músicos o poetas en vida; muchos más han pasado siglos de frustración haciendo ridículos intentos en el arte, la música y la poesía. Se ven como cultivadores de todo lo mejor de la humanidad. A veces, un creador particularmente dotado o inspirado es Abrazado en el clan para preservar su talento por toda la eternidad. De esta forma, los Toreador han unido a sus filas a algunos de los más grandes artistas, poetas y músicos de la humanidad; por supuesto, si puede decirse algo del clan es que no tiene dos miembros que estén de acuerdo en el significado de "dotado" o "inspirado".

De todos los clanes, el Toreador es el más conectado con el mundo mortal. Mientras los demás vampiros ven al ganado como peones o simple alimento, ellos planean con elegancia y facilidad entre la sociedad de la Canalla, saboreando las delicias de cada época como sibaritas. Son los vampiros más propensos a enamorarse de mortales, y se rodean de las mejores cosas (y personas), las más lujosas y elegantes que puede ofrecer el mundo. Resulta muy trágico que un Toreador sucumba al aburrimiento y descarte las búsquedas estéticas en favor del hedonismos sin sentido. Estos Vástagos se convierten en decadentes sibaritas, atentos únicamente a satisfacer sus vicios y caprichos personales.

Los Toreador están comprometidos con la Camarilla y comparten el amor de los Ventrue por la alta sociedad, aunque el tedio de dirigir las cosas no es para ellos. Después de todo, para eso están los funcionarios. Saben que lo suyo es cautivar e inspirar mediante su ingenio al hablar, sus elegantes logros y su sencilla y centelleante existencia.

Apodo: Degenerados

Secta: La mayor parte del clan está en la Camarilla, pues sólo esa augusta organización promueve la "cultura" y les permite vivir entre los mortales a los que favorecen. Los que están en el Sabbat se dedican a grotescos pasatiempos "artísticos", como la tortura y la pintura con sangre, o dirigen los movimientos más decadentes y clandestinos.

Apariencia: los Toreador Abrazan movidos tanto por la pasión como por cualquier otro motivo; por tanto, suelen ser criaturas de sorprendente belleza. De toda la Estirpe, son los vampiros más sintonizados con las tendencias e la moda humana; Degenerados centenarios pueden estar más a la última que mortales de 30 años. Si algo está de moda, lo más probable es que algún Toreador lo adopte.

Refugio: los Toreador procuran que su refugio sea cómodo, apropiado para la vida social y, sobre todo, acorde con sus gustos estéticos. Los vampiros de inclinaciones más artísticas pueden tener espaciosos lofts donde exhibir sus obras, mientras que los "farsantes" del clan prefieren los lujosos salones para celebrar fiestas.

Trasfondo: el clan abarca toda una gama de conceptos, desde artistas torturados y solitarios hasta degenerados vividores. Algunos Toreador son Abrazados sólo por su belleza o su estilo personal, ya que su apasionado sire decide que deben ser "preservados" por toda la eternidad.

Creación del personaje: los Atributos y Habilidades Sociales son los favoritos del clan, aunque los Toreador están menos preocupados por el control directo que por causar una buena impresión. La Percepción también es importante, tanto para crear como para criticar. Los artistas aprecian Habilidades como Expresión e Interpretación, disfrutando con frecuencia de puntuaciones muy elevadas en estos Rasgos; sus hermanos farsantes se arreglan con Habilidades como Etiqueta y Subterfugio. Los Toreador son criaturas muy sociales y les encanta ser adorados por Vástagos y ganado; por tanto, Trasfondos como Aliados, Contactos, Fama, Posición, Rebaño y Recursos son comunes.

Disciplinas de Clan: Auspex, Celeridad y Presencia

Debilidad de Clan: Cuando un Toreador ve, siente o incluso huele algo verdaderamente hermoso (una persona, un cuadro, una canción, un bonito amanecer) debe pasar una tirada de Autocontrol (dificultad 6) para no caer embelesado por la sensación. Quedará fascinado durante una escena o hasta que el objeto en cuestión desaparezca: ni siquiera podrá defenderse de los ataques, aunque si es herido tiene derecho a otra tirada de Autocontrol para "romper el hechizo".

Organización: los Toreador no tienen mucha organización en el sentido práctico, aunque sus grupitos y redes sociales son legendarios. El clan se reúne con frecuencia, pero más como una excusa para celebrar grandes fiestas y acontecimientos que para conseguir algo. La Posición es un vertiginoso torbellino en el que una sutil sonrisa o una crítica maliciosa pueden llevar a la fortuna o al desastre. Un prodigio puede ser adorado una noche, cometer un faux pas apenas perceptible y sufrir el ostracismo la noche siguiente.

Linajes: los Toreador dan mucha importancia al linaje; un vampiro tan afortunado como para descender de un sire favorecido es visto con adoración (al menos, mientras se da cuenta), meintras que los chiquillos de un sire "marginado" sufren humillaciones sociales. Pocos de estos linajes se desvían del clan principal de forma significativa. Los antitribu del Sabbat son una notable excepción, pues encuentran el mismo placer estético en la belleza que en la fealdad extrema.

Cita: Oh, ¿verdad que es exquisita? Sí, es mi último descubrimiento... soy la musa de esa dulzura ¡Imagina! Y en cuanto a... oh... ¿Thomas? Bueno, qué puedo decir... después de todo, tuvo sus "quince minutos de fama", pero aquello no podía durar, y enseguida se volvió muy aburrido, así que tuve que decir adieu. ¿Suicidio? ¿De verdad? Qué chico tan tonto... debería agradecerme que no le Abrazase. Hubiese puesto las cosas tan difíciles, después de todo...

Tomado del juego de rol "Vampiro, La Mascarada"

Clan Tremere

Los reservados Tremere pueden ser vistos con odio, desconfianza, temor o desprecio, pero nunca con indiferencia. Los que han oído hablar de sus actos suelen sospechar de ellos... y con motivo, pues los Brujos se han ganado su apodo. Por sus propios medios han conseguido dominar una forma de magia vampírica con sus hechizos y rituales tan potente (si no más) como cualquier otro poder de la Sangre. Unido a la rígida jerarquía del clan y a la ardiente ambición tan común entre los Brujos, este poder es algo verdaderamente perturbador para quienes saben de lo que son capaces.

De acuerdo con algunas referencias de la Estirpe, los Tremere surgieron como clan muy recientemente, al menos para los criterios inmortales. Dice la leyenda que, durante la Edad Oscura de Europa, una cábala de magos mortales celebró un gran ritual sobre el cuerpo dormido de un Antediluviano, arrebatándole el don del vampirismo. La guerra no tardó en llegar, y el nuevo clan se vio asediado por enfurecidos Vástagos. Pero los Tremere son ante todo supervivientes. Aunque habían perdido su magia se las arreglaron para alterar sus rituales y protecciones de forma que pudiesen usar el poder de su vitae. Estas facultades mágicas, practicadas ahora como la Disciplina de Taumaturgia, han asegurado a los Tremere un lugar entre los Vástagos desde entonces.

Los Brujos participan encantados en los juegos de diplomacia e intriga de su nueva especie. No obstante, sus tratos tienen siempre un matiz de paranoia, pues saben que los antiguos de al menos tres clanes albergan un terrible resentimiento hacia ellos. Por tanto, los Tremere se esfuerzan por conseguir tantos aliados como pueden, incluso mientras desarrollan su dominio de la magia. Su supervivencia no exige menos. Como resultado, los chiquillos de este clan están entre los más preparados y motivados de todos los Cainitas: pocos se enfrentan impunemente a estos hechiceros no-muertos.

Los Tremere son vampiros del Viejo Mundo, pero han viajado por todos los continentes para establecerse allí donde es posible. La sede de su poder está en Viena, donde los antiguos celebran consejo y discuten la futura dirección del clan. Sin embargo, muchas grandes ciudades de todo el mundo albergan "capillas", casas bien defendidas que son a partes iguales universidad, monasterio y fortaleza. Allí se reúnen para intercambiar información y estudiar su magia vampírica, resguardados de la atención de sus rivales.

Apodo: Brujos

Secta: Los Tremere se unieron encantados a la Camarilla durante su fundación, y no tardaron en hacerse indispensables. Por supuesto, tienen mucho interés en mantener la fuerza de la secta; necesitan aliados, ya que sus odiados enemigos Tzimisce dirigen a sus esbirros del Sabbat contra cualquier Tremere al que encuentren. Además, con el valioso poder mágico que ofrecen, la Camarilla está encantada de apoyarles. La protección de la secta les permite dedicarse a buscar el dominio arcano que tanto desean.

Apariencia: Los Tremere suelen tener un aspecto imponente o siniestro. Algunos prefieren los trajes clásicos, mientras que otros optan por una imagen más anticuada, con trajes al estilo de los años 40, prendas eduardianas o los sencillos jerseys clásicos de cuello alto de la época beat. Muchos llevan encantamientos o amuletos con signos cabalísticos y arcanos como señal de su aprendizaje. Aunque individualmente pueden recorrer todo el espectro desde lo inmaculadamente correcto hasta lo marginal y lo excéntrico, los ojos vampíricos de los Brujos siempre brillan con sabiduría oculta y aterradora agudeza.

Refugio: los Brujos pueden tener refugios individuales (frecuentemente con grandes bibliotecas), pero el clan mantiene una capilla en todas las ciudades con una fuerte presencia Tremere. La capilla está abierta para todos los miembros del linaje y absolutamente cerrada para los demás. Los Brujos tienen una siniestra fama por sus bien custodiados refugios, que incluyen protecciones místicas que incluso otros Tremere pueden tener problemas para eludir.

Trasfondo: muchos estaban interesados en vida en el ocultismo u otros temas eruditos. Sin embargo, la fascinación por lo desconocido no suele bastar para atraer la atención de un Brujo; los miembros del clan buscan "aprendices" de naturaleza agresiva y gran capacidad intelectual y no están interesados por los pirados de la Nueva Era o las teorías de la conspiración. El clan Tremere tiene una tácita tradición sexista, y la mayoría de sus antiguos son hombres. Sin embargo, últimamente los ancillae han ido mostrando una mentalidad más abierta, aceptando acólitos de ambos sexos.

Creación del personaje: los Tremere suelen tener elevados Atributos Mentales y Fuerza de Voluntad a juego; los diletantes y los patanes no pueden cubrir los elevados requisitos de la hechicería. Muchos tienen los Conocimientos como Habilidades Primarias, aunque las Técnicas también son populares. Unos pocos se especializan en un campo determinado, pero son más los que prefieren una aproximación de acuerdo con sus aptitudes personales; después de todo, un Brujo sólo puede fiarse de sí mismo.

Disciplinas de Clan: Auspex, Dominación y Taumaturgia

Debilidad de Clan: De acuerdo con la ley Tremere, todos los neonatos deben beber de la sangre de siete antiguos del clan al ser creados. Todos los Brujos están al menos un paso más cerca de quedar Vinculados a sus antiguos, y por lo tanto suelen mostrar una gran lealtad... para evitar que dicha lealtad les sea impuesta. Es más, este acuerdo significa que los Tremere lo tienen difícil para resistirse a la voluntad de sus mayores; resta 1 a la dificultad de los intentos de Dominación por parte de un superior del clan.

Organización: Ningún otro clan tiene una estructura interna tan rígida ni controla tanto a sus neonatos, y ningún otro clan actúa con su unidad de propósito. Aunque por lo general los miembros más jóvenes pueden hacer más o menos lo que quieran, a veces reciben instrucciones de sus mayores que no pueden ignorar. La paranoia mantiene al clan unido y bien lubrificado.
Por supuesto, los Tremere fomentan los logros individuales, considerándolo un medio darwiniano de asegurar la fuerza. Con vampiros tan jóvenes y ambiciosos cooperando por la unidad, no es extraño que los Brujos tengan tantos enemigos comidos por la envidia y el rencor entre la Estirpe.
La jerarquía piramidal de los Tremere tiene varios rangos, cada uno con siete "círculos" místicos que el aspirante debe dominar si desea ascender (lo que casi todos ansían). El rango más bajo, el de aprendiz, corresponde a los neonatos. Por encima de ellos están los Regentes, cada uno al frente de una capilla; después van los Señores, cuyos dominios incluyen varias capillas. Cuarenta y nueve Tremere ostentan el título de Pontífice, que supone grandes responsabilidades, y en lo más alto de la pirámide está el Consejo Interior de los Siete, algunos de ellos al control de continentes enteros, y todos supuestamente en comunicación mental constante.

Linajes: la estricta organización de los Tremere, así como su insistencia en obedecer a los mayores, ofrece pocas libertades. No se ha permitido sobrevivir a ninguna rama secundaria. Unos cuantos rebeldes se unieron hace tiempo al Sabbat, pero recientes acontecimientos han desembocado en su destrucción.

Cita: Somos más que vampiros. Somos el siguiente paso de la evolución Cainita. Dirigiremos a los demás si nos permiten hacerlo, o nos quedaremos solos si es necesario. Pero sobreviviremos

Tomado del juego de rol "Vampiro, La Mascarada"

¿De qué clan eres?

Pues resulta que recientemente he encontrado y me han enviado sendos test que, teóricamente, miden la afinidad de cada persona con alguno de los clanes vampíricos dentro del juego de rol "Vampiro, La Mascarada", al cual espero que tod@s sepáis que soy aficionado. En ambos, de manera bastante previsible, he sido percibido como miembro del clan Tremere, los hechiceros no-muertos. Dentro de poco pondré un post acerca de dicho clan (y de otros que me pidáis, si os place) pero mientras tanto os animo a participar en estos dos divertidos test. Mordiscos!

PRIMER TEST

You scored as Tremere, You belong to the Tremere bloodline, the sorcerors of the vampire underworld. The Tremere command a terrible power over the blood of others. Many Tremere could pop a human being like a pimple with a wave of their hand. For this reason, many other vampires are wary around these cold, remorseless kin. All their time spent studying, however, has left them severely lacking in the physical department.

Tremere		96%
Malkavian		67%
Toreador		54%
Nosferatu		50%
Brujah		42%
Gangrel		42%
Ventrue		33%

What vampire clan do you belong to?
created with QuizFarm.com

SEGUNDO TEST

Segundo Test

Spike, parte I

Spike (né William Pratt, aka William The Bloody), is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television programs, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The character is portrayed by James Marsters. He is considered a breakout character.

Character history:

William Pratt before his siring
William Pratt was born circa 1853 in London to Anne Pratt and an as yet unnamed husband. William's surname was not revealed in the series and for years was widely accepted to be "Walthrop" in the fandom, which made it fanon. However, creator Joss Whedon recently revealed it to be "Pratt". William Pratt was the birth name of legendary horror actor Boris Karloff.

Since the actor who plays him is 5'11" (1.80 meters), it's safe to say the character shares the same height.

In 1880, at approximately 25 to 30 years of age, William was a brown-haired, ineffectual gentleman who lived with his mother and wrote poetry. He was called "William the Bloody" behind his back by his peers, because his poetry was so "bloody awful." This nickname (with more deadly connotations) would follow him in the future as a vampire. While he traveled in society circles, he found little in common with his peers and felt a general disconnect from their interests and discussions. He preferred creating things of beauty rather than dwelling on the scandalous and seedy elements of existence, and he showed a strong capacity for loyalty and devoted love, which would also follow him after his siring. After his romantic overtures were rejected by the aristocratic Cecily, a despondent William accepted comfort in the arms of Drusilla only to be bitten and transformed into a vampire. He had always been very close to his mother, and after he became a vampire he also turned her into a vampire to prevent her from dying from an illness (while new vampires in the Buffy universe typically turn completely evil and delight in killing their families, Spike was a notable exception and was as single-mindedly devoted to his mother as ever.)

Unfortunately his mother as a soulless vampire proved to be a truly evil creature, taunting Spike that she had despised him all along, and insinuating that Spike had always had a sexual fascination with her. Unlike Spike, who had retained many elements of his own personality, the creature she had become seemed to have retained little of her original self (as Spike later remarked upon in "Lies My Parents Told Me"). He ended up reluctantly staking her, because he could not bear to see his mother in such a twisted, unnatural, abusive form. He wrote a poem about the experience entitled "The Wanton Folly of Me Mum", the text of which was never actually presented. The entire matricidal experience was a terrible trauma for Spike, and it would later be exploited by an evil force as a hypnotic trigger. After staking his mother, Spike began a new life with Drusilla. Euphoric with his new-found vampiric abilities, and hungry for revenge on his peers, he abandoned the genteel hypocrisy of Victorian life. He became a rebel, adopting a working class accent and becoming prone to impulsiveness and violence. He adopted the nom de guerre "Spike" because of a habit of torturing people with railroad spikes. It should be noted that one of his detractors in his human days exclaimed he'd rather "have a railroad spike driven through [his] head" than listen to William's poetry, a possible inspiration for the torture.

In the company of Drusilla, her sire Angelus and Angelus's sire Darla, Spike terrorized Europe and Asia for almost two decades. Utterly devoted to Drusilla, Spike had a strained relationship with Angelus, rather like two rival brothers. Although Angelus did enjoy the company of another male vampire in their travels, he found Spike's eagerness for battle to be an unnecessary risk and unbecoming, since Angelus regarded killing as an art, not a sport, and while Angel killed for the sheer act of evil in itself Spike did it for amusement and the rush. Tensions also arose surrounding Angelus's ongoing sexual relationship with Drusilla, which continued despite Spike's strong disapproval.

Spike kills his first Slayer
In 1900, in one of his proudest moments, Spike killed Xin Rong, a Chinese Slayer, during the Boxer Rebellion; it was her blessed sword that gave him the scar on his left eyebrow, which remains a century later. Shortly afterward, Spike and Drusilla lost touch with Darla and Angelus (who, unknown to Spike or Drusilla, had recently been cursed with a soul), and the couple wandered the world seeking amusement and mayhem, occasionally separating to pursue separate interests but always reuniting. During World War II, Spike was captured by Nazis for experimentation and transported aboard a submarine which was in turn seized by Americans; after Spike and two other vampires killed most of the crew, Angel made Spike and another vampire Angel had just sired, leave the sub, by forcing them to swim to shore before the submarine reached the United States. By the 1950's, Spike, having reunited with Drusilla, spent some time in Italy.

At some point in a century or so of being his own boss, Spike employed a pair of Fyarl Demons as muscle, which is noteworthy since in the Buffyverse vampires and demons rarely get along; Spike would continue this diversity in friendships throughout his unlife. He attended Woodstock, where he drank blood from a flower child and spent the next several hours watching his own hand move. Spike frequently challenges vampire conventions and limitations. For example, Spike often treats his vulnerability to the sun as an inconvenience, rather than a limitation; he drives in broad daylight in vehicles with blacked-out windows, and he regularly travels outside during the day, using a blanket for cover. Spike also embraced certain elements of humanity, such as love and loyalty, that would be considered too human, and therefore offensive or impure, to other vampires.

Spike's story before he appears in Sunnydale unfolds in flashbacks scattered among numerous episodes of both "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel". They were not presented in chronological order. A guide to finding the flashback or flashbacks to a particular event is at Angel, Darla, Spike and Dru: Before 1997.

Spike & Buffy

Where Do We Go From Here?

Dawn:
Where do we go from here

Buffy & Spike:
Where do we go from here

Giles:
The battle's done,
And we kinda won.

Giles & Tara:
So we sound our victory cheer.
Where do we go from here.

Anya & Xander:
Why is the path unclear,
When we know home is near.
Understand we'll go hand in hand,
But we'll walk alone in fear. (Tell me)
Tell me where do we go from here.

All:
When does the end appear,

Spike: (spoken)
Bugger this.

All:
When do the trumpets cheer.
The curtain's close, on a kiss god knows,
We can tell the end is near...

Buffy: (spoken)
Hey.

Spike: (spoken)
You should go back inside
Finish the group sing,
Get your kumbayaya's out.

Buffy: (spoken)
I don't want to.

Spike: (spoken)
The day you sus out what you do want,
There'll probably be a parade.
76 bloody trombones.

Buffy: (spoken)
Spike.

Spike: (spoken)
Look, you don't have to say anything.

(Buffy & Spike same time)
Buffy:
I touch the fire and it freezes me.
I look into it and its black.
Why can't I feel?
My skin shoul crak and peel
Spike:
I died so many years ago,
you can make me feel

All:
Where do we go from here.

Artist: Buffy Musical Episode
Song: Where Do We Go From Here?

Frase Televisiva

Hoy he visto una entrevista al actor James Masters, sobre el papel que ha interpretado durante más tiempo: el vampiro Spike (uno de mis personajes de ficción favoritos). Durante la entrevista habla de muchas cosas, tanto sobre el argumento de la serie como sobre lo que sucedía detrás de las cámaras, pero lo que más me ha gustado ha sido una de sus frases. Él la dijo en su momento sin intención alguna, refiriéndose simplemente a cómo era trabajar en "Buffy Cazavampiros", pero la frase me ha encantado porque creo que se puede aplicar a más de una cosa en la vida (el trabajo, las relaciones, etc) y a más de una vida (la mía, la tuya, la de los demás...).
Voy a poner primero la frase en inglés, para que la leáis en su contexto original (imaginadla con un fuerte acento británico, aunque el de Masters sea fingido) y luego su traducción al español.
Me gustaría que comentáseis qué os parece...

Frase Original: "If we are not getting scared to shit once a year, we are not working hard enought"

Traducción: "Si no nos cagamos de miedo una vez al año, es que no estamos trabajando lo bastante duro"

Everything Will Be Alright With the Vampire

I believe in you and me
I'm coming to find you
If it takes me all night
Wrong until you make it
And I won't forget you
At least I'll try
And run, and run tonight
Everything will be alright
Everything will be alright
Everything will be alright
Everything will be alright

I was out shopping for a doll
To say the least, I thought I've seen them all
But then you took me by surprise
I'm dreaming bout those dreamy eyes
I never knew, I never knew
So take your suitcase, cause I don't mind
And baby doll, I meant it ever time
You don't need to compromise
I'm dreaming bout those dreamy eyes
I never knew, I never knew
But it's alright...

Everything will be alright
Everything will be alright
Everything will be alright
Everything will be alright

The Killers
Song: Everything Will Be Alright

Angel, parte IV

Angel vs. Angelus
Whilst Liam is human and Angelus is a vampire, Angel is a third, unique persona, a demon burdened with a human soul. A hybrid of man and vampire, he constantly deals with vampiric urges, and the human conscience that prevents him from ever forgetting his past misdeeds. Though the early seasons of Buffy expressed the view that when a human becomes a vampire "You die, and a demon sets up shop in your old home; it walks like you and it talks like you - but it's not you" ("Lie to Me"), later seasons of Buffy and Angel had the relationship between Angelus and Angel far more intertwined. Angelus frequently referred to himself as "Angel" during Seasons 1 and 2 of Buffy (possibly to torment Buffy). It would seem that even before he was ensouled, "Angel" was something of an 'affectionate' nickname that Angelus was known by (or indeed a mere translation; before being cursed he had traveled in many countries and it is likely that he was generally known by the equivalent of Angel in the local language). Similarly, Angel had almost always said "I" when speaking of Angelus; they clearly share the same memories, and it is noteworthy that he never resumed the name of his human original, Liam (except while amnesiac in "Spin the Bottle"). Also it must be remembered that, in Season 1's "Eternity", Angel reverts back to his evil self without even losing his soul. This suggests that in a subconscious state that Angel's true nature is allowed to appear. Spike's character arc implied that a soul was not the "person", but rather just that person's humanity and conscience; suggesting that Angel and Angelus are not different beings, but rather the opposing id and ego of the same person. Angel hints at this when he tells Buffy that it's not the demon in him who is responsible for his acts. Darla also states that Angelus' evil was innate, suggesting that Liam initially had a far greater potential for darkness than was first apparent.

Angel: Look, I'm weak. I've never been anything else. It's not the demon in me that needs killing, Buffy. It's the man. (Episode 3.10 (Buffy) "Amends")

Angel: ...there is no guilt, there is no torment, no consequences... It's pure. I remember what that was like. Sometimes I miss that clarity.
Cordelia: But not the trying to kill your friends and family part, right? Just checking! (Episode 1.21 "Blind Date")

Cordelia: What I remember when I was a higher being... I remember seeing you. Your past. When you were Angelus.
Angel: I've never tried to hide who I was. Or what I've done. You already knew.
Cordelia: Knowing's different than living it. When I was up there, I could look back and see everyting you did as Angelus. More than see. I felt it. Not just their fear and pain. I felt you. And how much you enjoyed making them suffer... (Episode 4.07 "Apocalypse, Nowish")

In the context of the primary theme of the Angel series, redemption, this makes the most sense, which is possibly the reason for the writers returning to the "blurred" relationship between Angel/Angelus in Angel Season Five. It would also explain Angel's occasional lapses into darkness while still retaining Angel's brooding nature instead of reverting to Angelus' sadism, notably in Season 2 where he condones the massacre of Wolfram & Hart employees at the hands of Darla and Drusilla, and Season 3 where he attempts to smother Wesley Wyndam-Pryce with a pillow for abducting his son. Angelus's strength and cunning make him exceptionally lethal. Angel and Angelus can be considered as different sides of the same person - rather than thinking of one as "the Demon" and the other as "the Soul". When ensouled, the ego that has come to be known as "Angel" is dominant; without his soul, he reverts to his id, the "Angelus" persona. Both personas are controlled by his own thoughts, emotions, and actions, however, making him just as responsible for what Angelus does as he is for his actions as Angel. This is also supported by the fact that both personas do battle for Angel's mind before his soul can be restored in "Orpheus". An alternative view is that they are indeed separate beings but, having a single shared memory, have strong feelings of having been the other at the times when the other was dominant. Although Angelus' bodycount was vast, his capacity for psychological intimidation was substantially above contemporary real-life serial killers. During his time with Darla, he committed some of the most atrocious and despicably evil acts of his time. He is prone to brutal displays of what he would see as affection, one such incident involved him nailing a puppy to a wall, though a full explanation of this was never given as Buffy interrupted Giles with "Skip it, I don't have a puppy. So skip it." Another example of Angelus' brutal acts was when he brought Dru a still warm human heart on Valentine's Day. Angelus' mean streak does not stop there. He always had an obsession with death being an art form; every kill a work of art to be savored and appreciated. When he captured Giles for torture in "Becoming, Part Two (Buffy episode)", he mentions in passing that the last time he tortured someone, they hadn't even invented the chainsaw. In the episode "Amends", The First Evil references him killing a man's three children then propping them up in bed so that they appeared to be sleeping. It was only after the father kissed one of them good night that he felt how cold they were. This is similar to when Angelus placed the recently killed body of Jenny at Giles' apartment, making Giles believe she had set up a romantic evening for them. Angelus also had a weakness in that he was prone to excessive talking, and had a need to attempt psychological destruction of his victims before physically killing them. This streak of sadism sometimes gave potential victims time to either possibly escape or attempt to fight back (although it made little difference as he almost always got them in the end). Spike once observed to Angel "you bloody well talk them to death before you kill them!"

Angel, parte III

Powers & Abilities
Angel has the usual powers and weaknesses of a vampire, along with some abilities which may be unique to him. Some of his vampiric powers are greater than average, because of his age and perhaps his bloodline. His talents may be divided into three main categories: physical, sensory, and mental. He is also skilled in a number of different areas.

Angel’s entire physiology is of superhuman quality. His strength, though ill-defined, is far beyond that of normal humans: he can punch through wooden walls, leap 15 feet straight up, rip apart bicycle chains, throw a man across the lobby of the Hyperion when angered, and so forth. His motor skills and reflexes far surpass those of humans, for example he once spun around and caught a crossbow bolt fired at his back from no more than fifteen feet away and has (As Angelus) evaded multiple point-blank shotgun blasts. He also has standard vampire durability against most forms of mundane physical damage; he once jumped down from a four-story rooftop without sustaining any apparent injury, and has described being shot as feeling "like a bee sting." Nonetheless, Angel is not indestructible. He has all the vulnerabilities of a Buffyverse vampire: direct sunlight will cause combustion that would eventually kill him if he stays out in the sun's rays for more than a few seconds. A stake through the heart and decapitation would instantly kill him. In addition, certain objects of religious significance to Christians — specifically Bibles, crucifixes, and holy water — can burn his flesh. He can be rendered unconscious by poisons and tranquilizers, though he has survived dosages that would be fatal to a human. Also, Angel, like all Buffyverse vampires, can not enter a person's home unless he's invited by one of the occupants, though this rule does not extend to the home of non-human entities, public facilities, and temporary lodgings like a motel room or an abandoned house. At least two of Angel’s senses — his smell and hearing — are also superhumanly acute. On many occasions he has tracked people through the streets (or even sewers) of Los Angeles by smell alone; his olfactory talents are apparently superior to dogs, as he does not need to sniff the ground to track in this manner. Like all Buffyverse vampires, Angel can also smell fear. He can also tell when two people have had sex; in the episode "Ground State", he tells Lilah Morgan, "I can smell you and Wesley all over each other." He, at one point in the series, was also quickly able to smell that Wesley had sex with a bleached blonde the night before. His hearing is so sensitive that he once was able to eavesdrop on a conversation happening in the lobby of a hotel while confined in the hotel’s basement. As vampires are primarily nocturnal, his sight may also be of superhuman quality, though this is less certain; he has been noticed using night-vision goggles, for instance. Through Angel and Spike, the viewer learns the differences between human and vampire senses of taste: while the episode "I Will Remember You" reveals that a vampire's ability to taste conventional human food is dulled, we also learn that vampires can easily taste subtleties in blood (fear makes a person's blood taste pleasantly salty; Slayer blood is an aphrodisiac and stimulant; cold, hot, and warm blood all have different tastes; human blood is preferable to otter blood, which in turn is preferable to pig blood, etc.) According to Spike, blood smells "metallic, sorta", like pennies ("Damage") .

Angel possesses at least two superhuman cognitive abilities. One is a photographic memory; he is able to recall visual impressions in great detail and fidelity (it is unclear whether this ability is unique to Angel; it is possible that he possessed it as a human being and it carried over into his unlife, or it could be one of the effects of the Gypsy curse designed for him to suffer for his past sins). Angel has also displayed a receptive "psychic connection" to vampires he has sired, though this appears to depend on his relationship with them. For instance he never experienced any visions of Drusilla's activities yet he did with Penn. Despite being part of a collective with Drusilla for a while, he appears to be closest to her when tormenting her as a human, his limited affections reserved for his sire Darla who possessed such a close connection to Angel. Penn was treated more as a child and was trained specifically by Angelus for a period of time. This ability was not further developed to explain its true extent and was never displayed with his other progeny, Lawson, with whom he did not have a long or important relationship.

Angel is a highly skilled combatant. Generally he prefers to fight unarmed, using a style that seems to blend several different disciplines and to take advantage of his superhuman strength and speed. Angel uses a lot of circular attacks such as spinning kicks and spinning back hands. He, unlike Buffy, likes to stay grounded in his attacks and rarely does any jumping moves. He has been said to be equal to Buffy in terms of fighting and slightly better than Spike. Finally, Angel's great weakness is his love of talking, a weakness which he shared with Angelus. In other fights, Angel clearly displays his skill at fighting. He was able to defeat Marcus Hamilton in the final fight at Wolfram and Hart. Prior to the episode "Destiny", Angel fought Spike from time to time, displaying clear dominance throughout the nineteenth century, until Spike's ensoulment, which changed him dramatically. When the two battled for the Cup of Perpetual Torment, Spike defeated a severely demoralised Angel, going so far as to drive a stake into Angel's shoulder, showing that he could have killed him if he wanted. It must be said though that during this fight, Angel was feeling depressed and lacked self-confidence due to his position at Wolfram and Hart and the loss of his best friend and the woman he loved, Cordelia Chase. After "Destiny" however, and following his getting over the depression and regaining his confidence, Angel did show a slight dominance over Spike in several mostly inconclusive encounters, even going as far as to violently pummel Spike in an elevator while in puppet form, although it remains open to debate just how seriously Spike was taking that particular fight. Though Angelus has admitted to a disdain for fights in which his victory is not certain, a mindset which most likely contributed to his failure to match Spike's record at defeating Slayers, he has certainly proven himself possessed of the necessary skill, going so far as to dominate the combat for significant portions of his battles against both Buffy and Faith. As Angel, his mentality (And in some cases, his personal connection with the Slayer in question, as with Faith.) is much more given to defensive fighting when faced with human opponents, but has repeatedly managed to hold his own in spite of this limitation, such as when he fought with and executed a plan to subdue the rogue Slayer Dana in short order. He has mastered many varieties of weapons, favoring broadswords and axes. As Angelus, he once demonstrated proficiency with a shotgun; it’s not clear whether Angel’s ensouled persona also possesses this skill. His arguably greatest asset as a combatant is his self-confidence and determination, coupled with his ability to seize any advantage. While Angel lacks Spike's uncanny ability to sense an opponent's weakness, he has far greater ability to remain calm, and follow a plan. Angel is also quick to adapt to his foes' abilities, as he did in defeating Marcus Hamiliton. He also possesses some skills in magic, on several occasions demonstrating impressive ability in spells and wizardry. In conjunction with his drinking of Marcus Hamilton's Senior Partner-infused blood in the final episode, all of Angel's abilities may have increased dramatically. Whether the effects of his blood-imbued strength boost are temporary or not remain unseen. As Angelus, he displays a considerable skill in manipulating others emotional states to devastating affect, able to provoke full blown arguments with a few carefully chosen words and, with time and effort, drive the emotionally unstable to insanity. He is also an expert at both physical and psychological torture. Angel will probably not use these 'talents' if he still has them; however, it is possible that he may have done so during the time between "Reunion" and "Epiphany," as even Darla did not recognize him as either Angel or Angelus, and the full extent of the actions he was capable of committing at that time were unknown. In the episode "You're Welcome", Cordelia passed on her visions to Angel in the same way that she had originally been granted them by Doyle. Angel was given a psychic connection to the Powers That Be, allowing him precognitive visions that he utilised in the last few episodes of the series. As he told Connor, he has "very nice handwriting." During the episode "Lovers Walk", he is also seen reading La Nausée by Jean-Paul Sartre. The fact that the cover features the original French title suggests Angel is proficient enough with French to read the book in its original language. While not arrogant in any sense of the word, Angel is fully aware of his incredible abilities. In one episode he tells an opponent "If you're lucky, you'll last ten minutes, tops. Really lucky, you'll be unconscious for the last five."