BSV Forum - General - The Bloodshedpub

Slayer blood

Jun 30 2008 06:41 am   #1goldenusagi
In the series, I'm trying to remember where it mentions any properties of Slayer blood.  It's the cure to Angel's poison in season 3, and Spike says it's an aphrodisiac in FFL.  Anywhere else?  Also, if Slayer blood is so great, any thoughts on why didn't he drink from Nikki, instead of just snapping her neck?
Jun 30 2008 06:50 am   #2Scarlet Ibis
Not really, no.

http://vrya.net/bdb/search.php?lookfor=blood+of+a+slayer&maxepno=144

And Spike, I think he says, "I've tasted the lives of two slayers."  I'm not so sure if the blood was all that great.  If it was, he certainly would have drunk from her.  The first time around though, well, it was the first time around.  Sort of had to taste it then...
"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
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Jul 01 2008 06:32 am   #3goldenusagi
Hmm, so maybe the "Slayer blood is excellent" is more of a fanon thing...
Jul 01 2008 08:10 pm   #4Eowyn315
Spike specifically says that Slayer blood is an aphrodisiac, so that part isn't fanon. I guess whether that makes Slayer blood "excellent" or not depends on whether you like sex. :)

Spike also says it in a way that indicates that Slayer blood is special, meaning that regular blood is either not an aphrodisiac, or a much less potent one. Angel's situation also indicates that Slayer blood has different properties, if regular blood wouldn't cure the poison. So, I think we can say it's canon that Slayer blood is different from regular blood, though not necessarily that it tastes better.

As for why he didn't drink Nikki's blood... maybe Drusilla wasn't around and he didn't want to get the motor running if the car had to stay in the garage? Who knows... could've been anything. I don't think you can really draw conclusions about the blood just because Spike didn't drink it.
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Jul 01 2008 11:38 pm   #5slaymesoftly
*snerk*
I think anything past "aphrodisiac" and "cure for poison" is probably fanon.  As far as not drinking Nikki's, could be that the writers were having another one of their lack of continuity attacks or,  that they never meant for it to be much other than the two already mentioned and Spike felt he could skip it.
owie,owie,ow
I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.
Jul 02 2008 03:11 am   #6Guest

I always just assumed that Spike didn't drink from Nikki because it wouldn't have made for as good of a flashback.  Try to imagine a vicious bite to the jugular, the sucking, the slurping, then going right back to the calm and collected narration Spike was giving Buffy in the present.  Doesn't work quite as well, does it?  Much better with the snapping of the neck and just "looking up" to Buffy.

As far as fanon, though, I think a lot of authors have deduced that Spike had too much respect for Nikki as a warrior to drink from her, backed up by future flashbacks indicating the affair with his second slayer was much more drawn out than Xin Rong.

Coquine

Jul 02 2008 07:59 am   #7Scarlet Ibis
I agree about the transition not working so well.  Also, it just looks cooler than taking a bite.  Perhaps that sounds a tad morbid, but visually, it looks...I don't know, cripser or something.  Like when Angelus snapped Ms. Calendar's neck.  Actually, this train of thought has led me to this--Ms. Calendar wasn't a meal.  Neither was Nikki.  The reasons for their deaths are different, but I think there's something to that.  Angelus killed Ms. Calendar the way he did to prove a point to the scoobies, and to also make it look like she was sleeping.  And Spike was going to kill Nikki--no question.  But he'd already tasted the blood of the slayer, and this specifically was about "the dance."  He didn't need her blood.  Also, less pain, I would think.

Okay--sorry for the ramble :P
"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
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Jul 02 2008 07:54 pm   #8Eowyn315
I always just assumed that Spike didn't drink from Nikki because it wouldn't have made for as good of a flashback.
Yeah, that whole sequence is shot so artfully that it seems like an artistic consideration would easily take precedence over continuity about Slayer's blood.

Angelus killed Ms. Calendar the way he did to prove a point to the scoobies, and to also make it look like she was sleeping.
I think the actual production reason was because they thought it would be too traumatic for Angel fans to see him actually bite her. I'm not sure what point you think he was trying to make to the Scoobies, other than "I can kill people you care about," which you can say just as easily with fangs. Also, it was pretty obvious as soon as Giles saw her that she was dead, not sleeping. If she'd looked like she'd been sleeping, he would've shaken her and tried to wake her before realizing she was dead. A bite mark couldn't have been more obvious than the slack, open-eyed expression on her face.
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Jul 05 2008 08:58 pm   #9Callace
Yeah, the writers were far to reluctant about showing Spike and Angel actually having a good drink of blood from their victims. We needed more fang-action :)

I really like to think that the medical effect that slayer blood had on Angel, can go for other illnesses and injuries too. generally accelerate vampire healing, just less potently that it did as an antidote. But I guess you are right that there is little canon evidence for that effect. (especially since Spike drained his first slayer, but still ended up scarred for (un)life by her sword.)
Jul 05 2008 11:19 pm   #10Eowyn315
I think this came from one of the non-canon comics, but supposedly the reason the eyebrow scar didn't heal was because it was a blessed sword.

Of course, I think the question of scars themselves can't be answered definitively. Do we have any evidence that vampires don't scar? Granted, they have vampire healing, but is that just accelerated healing? In other words, if a wound would leave a scar on a human, it could leave a scar on a vampire, but it would do so at a faster rate. Vampires don't regenerate new body parts, so I'm not sure why their skin would regenerate rather than heal normally. (Also, we can't really look for scars on vampires as evidence, since humans on the show didn't show scars from their major injuries - i.e. when Dawn slices her arms open in "Blood Ties" or Cordelia's impalement in "Lovers Walk" - so any missing scars could be attributed to lazy makeup people.)

On another note, the characteristics of Slayer blood have another (admittedly vague) reference that hasn't been considered yet. In "Sleeper," it is tasting Buffy's blood that allows Spike to break the First's control. There's a lot of speculation over why and how that's possible, various options being:
1. the Slayer blood gives Spike enough power to overcome whatever control the First has over him (meaning it has special properties the human blood didn't)
2. Spike recognizes the blood as Slayer blood, and that snaps him out of it (meaning Slayer blood tastes different enough that Spike can recognize it)
3. Spike recognizes the blood as Buffy's blood, although we have no concrete evidence that Spike has ever tasted Buffy's blood before this.
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Jul 06 2008 12:52 am   #11Callace
"I think this came from one of the non-canon comics, but supposedly the reason the eyebrow scar didn't heal was because it was a blessed sword. " (how do you guys mark quotes?)

Aww, wonderful. That is the explaination I have chosen in one of my fic's as well:lol:

And you are right about lazy make up artists. Spike is the only one with a permanent scar, and that is only because it is real! But on special occations we see scarring on the others, like when Dracula discovers Buffy's scars from when Angel bit her. If Slayer accelerated healing leaves scars, I suppose vampires can scar to...?

and I like that Sleeper theory. I think it was a combination of all three causes, although at nr 3 it might not have been the taste he recognze, but the smell of her?
Jul 06 2008 02:43 am   #12Eowyn315
how do you guys mark quotes?
You highlight the text you want to quote, and then click the "Quote" button at the top of the reply box.

But on special occations we see scarring on the others, like when Dracula discovers Buffy's scars from when Angel bit her.
Buffy's bite mark cracks me up. It's only noticeable when it's part of the plot... It's there in early season 4, when Parker points it out, and then it disappears for the rest of the season, but suddenly it's back again in season 5 so that Dracula can comment on it! I guess we should just be thankful that it never appeared on the wrong side of her neck...

although at nr 3 it might not have been the taste he recognze, but the smell of her?
I think it had to be the blood. I mean, they were in the basement together for a while before he snapped out of it, and he could see, hear, and smell her the whole time. It was just when he tasted her blood that he came back to himself.
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Jul 06 2008 11:20 am   #13Scarlet Ibis
I think it's safe to assume that he's tasted her blood before.  Several reasons, but off the top of my head:  the First specifically says this to Spike in the basement--   It's clear that Buffy is a Slayer, and if Slayer's blood was the cure to Spike's hypnotic state or whatever, there'd be no point in telling him to her.  It could have just as easily instructed Spike to break her neck (not to say that he had to succeed--can't kill the main character, well, mid season after all :P ).  Also, if I had to guess, I'm fairly certain that having Spike taste her blood the night of "Smashed" (not necessarily a bite, but I"m sure she had some cuts to go with those bruises), could have added more heft to her "most degrading night of my life" comment.  Of course, that's speculation, but Spike does say, "I know where you live now, Slayer.  I've tasted it."  Which is clearly an innuendo to oral sex, but could also mean her "dark" side, as well as blood.  Again, speculation...but oh--I remember now.

The other thing is that the First knows Spike and his past--it knows he killed two slayers, one of which by drinking her blood.  So Slayer's blood itself could not be the key.  I don't fancy that the First is that stupid.  For those reasons, I think he had in fact tasted her blood before hand.
"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
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Jul 06 2008 05:14 pm   #14Eowyn315
Decent points, but considering the huge deal it is every time Buffy is bitten by a vampire, I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't show it if Spike had tasted her blood - or at least tell us clearly after the fact, rather than using oral sex innuendo that might possibly also refer to it. Especially if having tasted Buffy's blood was going to be important to the plot in "Sleeper" (not that they'd have planned that far ahead, but they could've at least thrown a line into this episode about how he's tasted her before).

Also, you're assuming that the First knows the Slayer's blood will snap him out of it. I don't think it's a "cure" the way it was a cure for Angel's poison - something documented and universal, that you could look up in a book and apply to any vampire. I think it was personal - tasting the blood worked for Spike in that particular situation, but it might not have worked for anyone else. And I don't think the First would've necessarily known that. The First is not all-knowing (otherwise, Buffy couldn't have defeated it), and it can't always predict how people will react. Maybe the First thought Spike was a good candidate because he'd killed other Slayers before, but wasn't  counting on him having that reaction. It certainly wouldn't be the only time the First has underestimated Spike.
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Jul 06 2008 07:27 pm   #15slaymesoftly
What Eowyn said. lol

Spike has always made a big deal about blood's importance in all things mystical and vampirish - it's no surprise to me that the taste of the blood of the woman he loves would snap him out of the First's control. I suspect that was more important than the fact that it was slayer blood.  As far as whether he was already familiar with it - who knows? I choose to believe he had, at some point over the last six years, at least smelled her blood, if not tasted it.  We don't know what all they did during their season vi affair - he could have easily tasted her blood just from a cut on her lip or tongue; nevermind all the other even more interesting ways it could have happened.... I don 't recall even blinking when he snapped out of it. It made perfect sense to me.
I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.
Jul 06 2008 09:18 pm   #16Scarlet Ibis
Okay, my whole cut and paste didn't work.

The First says this to Spike in the basement--You know what I want you to do. They're waiting for you. Take her, taste her, make her weak.

he could have easily tasted her blood just from a cut on her lip or tongue; nevermind all the other even more interesting ways it could have happened.... I don 't recall even blinking when he snapped out of it. It made perfect sense to me.

I totally agree, Slayme.  It doesn't have to entail actual biting on his end, so it doesn't have to be directly mentioned or shown cause it isn't that big of a deal (a spur of the moment tasting that doesn't include biting).  And smelling her blood did nothing--he smelled her blood before he tasted it in that ep, and was still under the First's hypnosis.

Also, you're assuming that the First knows the Slayer's blood will snap him out of it. I don't think it's a "cure" the way it was a cure for Angel's poison

I'm not saying Slayer's blood--I'm saying Buffy's blood was the key simply because it's something Spike was familiar with.  It had to be--her scent, the scent of her blood, and even her voice could not snap him out of it.  Only when he tasted it did he know who she was, and remember everything.
"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
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Jul 06 2008 09:36 pm   #17Eowyn315
Slaymesoftly, I think you've gotten too used to agreeing with me, because you said "What Eowyn said" and then proceeded to make the opposite argument, lol.

I'm not saying Slayer's blood--I'm saying Buffy's blood was the key
I know what you're saying, Scarlet. I'm saying Slayer's blood, and that was me countering your argument that Slayer blood wouldn't be the key because the First would know if it were. 

Considering that Buffy was the only Slayer around, I don't think it really matters whether it was Slayer's blood in general or Buffy's blood in particular. If Spike tasted Slayer blood, he would automatically know that it was Buffy's blood - because who else's would it be? If you want to say that he snapped out of it because he knew it was Buffy, I can get on board with that, but I'm still not convinced that he'd tasted her blood before this. I really, honestly think they would've shown us. If he recognized her blood, IMO it's because he recognized it as Slayer blood, and Buffy's the only Slayer it could've been.
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Jul 06 2008 10:24 pm   #18Scarlet Ibis
and Buffy's the only Slayer it could've been.

Could've been Faith though--Spike has known for there to be another slayer besides Buffy in existence.  He fought her and Kendra at the same time, and Faith has been known to pop up into town (we learn later that season that he was aware of the body switch).
"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
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Jul 06 2008 10:52 pm   #19Eowyn315
Yeah, but Faith's in prison, and Spike's only met her once (in Buffy's body). Considering what was happening to Spike right then, I don't think some chick he met once was exactly at the forefront of his mind, Slayer or not. He tastes Slayer blood and the obvious, logical conclusion would be Buffy. It'd be completely ridiculous for him to consider anything else.
Writing should feel easy, like a monkey driving a speed boat.
Jul 06 2008 11:16 pm   #20slaymesoftly
Could be, Eowyn...lol But  I was reacting to your comment about it being personal for Spike and I guess I jumped to the wrong conclusion.  Personal = Buffy's slayer blood.  Maybe it was a combo?  The slayer blood was powerful enough to allow him to recognize her and what he was about to do?
I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.
Jul 07 2008 06:26 am   #21Guest
I also remember how I thought it made perfect sense that tasting Buffy's blood snapped Spike out of the First's control.  The funny thing is I don't really know why it seemed to be so logical!  I could easily accept either argument, that it was specifically Buffy or generally Slayer blood that did it, either way makes sense.  Being the Spuffy purist at heart that I am, I like to believe it was because it was Buffy, whether Spike had tasted her blood previously or not.  I also think he would've known it was her blood without ever having tasted it before.
Jul 07 2008 06:27 am   #22Guest
Sigh...not logged in and forgot to sign.

Coquine
Jul 07 2008 04:23 pm   #23slaymesoftly
Good point, Coquine.  As long as they'd been "together" (in one way or another) and as important as she was to him, I doubt if he would have needed to have tasted her blood before to recognize it when he finally did.
I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.
Jul 07 2008 07:18 pm   #24Guest
In season five Buffy tastes Dracula's blood and we see flashes of images and it's like she reaches clarity and is capable of breaking out of Dracula's thrall. I always thought Spike's taste of Buffy's blood and breaking out of the control the First had on him was similar to that-- like a connection was found, in the powerful Slayer blood of the woman he loves, and he broke through the haze or thrall the First was keeping him under.
Even if I don't know how to say the scientific part of Slayer blood right, did anyone else see a similarity between Buffy drinking Dracula's blood and Spike drinking Buffy's?
Jul 07 2008 07:33 pm   #25Scarlet Ibis
Even if I don't know how to say the scientific part of Slayer blood right, did anyone else see a similarity between Buffy drinking Dracula's blood and Spike drinking Buffy's?

Well now that you mention it...yeah :P
"Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly."
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