See also JossVerse? (if anyone ever bothers to write it).
The BuffyVerse is the fictional universe in which BuffyTheVampireSlayer, AngelTheSeries, and {{Fray}} take place. It's much the same as our universe, except for the addition of {{Vampire}}s, WereWolf Werewolves?, {{Demon}}s, and other supernatural creatures. There is also {{Magic}}, and, taking Arthur C. Clarke's saying that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic", some extremely {{advanced technology}} ({{Robot}}s, invisibility rays, etc.) that doesn't seem to be available to the general population. The majority of humanity is oblivious to the presence of all these things, so, to the average inhabitant, the BuffyVerse may well seem the same as our universe. (The major obvious difference was the existence of Sunnydale, California until May 2003.)
However, the BuffyVerse and our universe have been drifting apart recently, especially in AtSSeasonFour when LA had the Sun blotted out and their minds controlled by {{Jasmine}}.
{{Fray}} also drifts away from our universe in that it predicts a future which may be very different from what our universe will look like at that time. There are also some unresolved contradictions between recent events in Buffy and Fray.
It's not determinable whether FireFly takes place in with the BuffyVerse but it seems very unlikely.
:: "People have the tendency to rationalise what they can and forget what they can't." - RupertGiles, 1.02 "TheHarvest".
Most {{Human}}s in Buffy's world who discover the truth about {{Demon}}s and the like either become victims too quickly to caution others, or realize that if they attempted to convey this realization to the uninitiated, they would be branded fools or mentally deranged, so they keep the secret and do what they can to fight against the forces of evil. Or they just keep running. Many are faced with obvious examples of supernatural activity but ignore it, repress it, or come up with some far-fetched explanation and forget about it.
In Buffy's universe, the Earth did not always belong to humanity. Originally the demonic influences ran amok on the planet, but somehow "lost their lease" or ownership of Earth. {{Human}}s took over. Over time the demonic influences believed in an apocalypse where one day they'll be able to take over completely.
See also: WishVerse.
:: "Everyone asks for a pack of cigarettes. No one asks for a brand name. ...it's just funny that in the Clerks Universe people just come in and they ask for cigarettes, and they get them." - Kevin Smith, audio commentary for Clerks, the movie."
Bizarreness in the BuffyVerse
- Despite the fact vampires and demons have been around in Sunnydale since the inception of the town, human beings still move there, live there, and the fact that SunnydaleHS has the highest mortality rate in the state of California doesn't concern adults much at all.
- When Scoobies talk nonchalantly in the halls about their latest monster of the week, there's no general response from 'uninitiated' students or faculty, because everyone knows Buffy and her friends are just weird and should be ignored.
- Most vampires are just really really stupid, barring the following exceptions:
- Buffy knew them personally before they turned.
- They've managed to survive at least a century prior to Buffy knowing them.
- They survive the first scene after meeting Buffy.
- They have a soul.
- They get a chip in their head.
- The actor performing them has a very good agent.
- All people in Sunnydale who become vampires just happened to learn stuff like karate when they were alive, which makes them able to do flips and fancy stuntman moves when fighting Buffy, just before she stakes them.
- Buffy always has a stake in hand when the script calls for it, even though it would be impossible to hide the bulge in her tight outfits.
- Buffy could do a thousand complex tricks of dexterity, but if the script called for her to suddenly just fumble the stake..?
- Willow's love interests are all doomed.
- Everybody goes to TheBronze.
- Even though magic really works, and has always worked, still nobody believes in it unless they happen to know Buffy. Or are incarnately evil.
- The government and police are at best an obstacle and at worst an annoyance.
- Even though the WatchersCouncil claims to exist solely to support the resident VampireSlayer on the planet, they manage to stay as far away as possible.
- Doing evil means you have a whole lot of power for a very brief period of time before it all backfires in your face, or you get staked.
- Doing good means you get absolutely nothing of any value, but you have this dumb smile on your face for no reason whatsoever.
<< {{Apocryphal}} | {{Canonical}} | TheSlayerGap >>