remi

https://archiveofourown.org/works/75591341/chapters/197669731

angel is kidnapped and tortured

https://archiveofourown.org/works/83247471

My stepmother did NOT like the way her Libertarian Viking Neighbor framed pregnancy as the fetus "attacking the woman". She incredulously told him this was extremely disrespectful to expectant mothers to portray pregnancy as so violent and negative.

Libertarian Viking Neighbor's response was that people consensually hurt each other all the time, and "there's like a whole community about that, with the acronym the one that starts with a B" And his reasoning was that if the mother was consenting to bring attacked by the baby, it in fact wasn't violent and negative because there was consent.

"Liar."

Especially because Spike's is all "I killed a slayer and finally proved myself to these three crazy bitches but Angelus was such an ass about it".

Some holy water and possibly a taser.

Then I thought… what if the reason angel is so reluctant to trust spike or even consider that spike might have feelings for him in ATS S5 is because a part of angel is still battling his own internalised homophobia (created by a 1700s Irish catholic upbringing and abusive father) and hasn’t considered before that spike without a soul might have sex with him *ahem* be intimate, but maybe ensouled spike might not feel that way because maybe being gay is “deviant” and something only someone soulless could enjoy without guilt.

I think S5 has angel come to terms with his own sexuality a lot, in very subtle ways, but I think he is forced to, because until that point he’s never had to consider the fact that having feelings for Spike is even a possibility because until then, Spike couldn’t love him back.