Buffy The Vampire Slayer

EXPLANATION OF TERMS

Canon: For the purposes of this list only things which have actually been proven onscreen will be considered "canon". We’re not trying to suggest that is the only way to interpret things, only that that’s how we put this list together. Whenever possible, relevant episodes are listed to make everyone’s life easier.

Unclear Canon: can mean one of three things 1) Contradictory information which was given onscreen 2) Things which were implied, but not showed onscreen or 3) Information from interviews or tie-in merchandise which contradicted the canon yet was popular amongst the fans. You may find that many things are listed as "unclear canon" which you may consider "canon". That’s fine. The touchstone here was if it was actually shown onscreen. The reasoning behind this goes back to the "Angelus was Spike’s sire" confusion. Because of that we’ve decided to err on the side of caution. You’re welcome to make your own conclusions.

100% Fanon: Things which have no basis in "canon". Please bear in mind that this is not a value judgement. The sole purpose of this list is to clarify what’s canon vs. what isn’t. All we are saying is that these are things that have either never occured onscreen or which directly contradict things which have been done onscreen. We are not trying to say that these things are "wrong" or that canon, for that matter, is "right". All we are doing is listing what has been shown onscreen vs. what hasn’t. You can make of it what you will.

OTHER NOTES

For the sake of clarity AtS refers to Angel the Series and Angel (in italics) refers to the season 1 Bufffy episode of that name.

This is not intended to be a complete list of every piece of canonical information. The main goal of this list was to clear up confusion about canon vs. fanon. There are many facts about the show and the characters that have been left out. You’re welcome to make suggestions if you feel we’ve ignored anything relevant.

THANKS TO

This list would not be possible without the efforts of The Brat Queen, Mad Poetess, Kita, Meredith, Keren, Lucifrix, WitchWillow, Neige, Byrne, WesleysGirl, Olwen, Kimera, Wolfling, Djinanna, Snoopypez, Leanne, Eva Chan and LM.

VAMPIRES

Vocabulary

Canon: the term "sire" refers to either the vampire that turned you (eg Darla is Angel’s sire) or an older vamp of your family line (eg Angel is Spike’s sire). (Multiple eps, including but not limited to School Hard, Fool For Love and Dear Boy)

Canon: Familial terms such as "Daddy", "Grandmother", "daughter", "we’re a family", etc. have been used in Angelus’s family (Darla, Angelus, Dru and Spike). (Multple eps, including Innocence, Darla and Reunion)

Unclear Canon: Other vampires may or may not use these terms.

Unclear Canon: Wes and Gunn’s conversation in Reunion ("So the grand-daughter remade the grandmother?") could imply that the familial terms are universal for all vamps (ie Wes learned them as a Watcher) or that it’s solely limited to Angelus’s family.

Unclear Canon: If Darla disliked the term "grandmother" as a concept, or because she didn’t find it flattering. (Darla)

100% Fanon: The terms "childe", "childer" and "childre". At no time have either one of these terms - even with their usual spellings - have been used on the show to refer to a vampire that someone has sired.

Canon: Vamps who follow other vamps are often referred to as "minions" (Multiple eps, including Real Me)

Canon: Darla’s sire and the leader of the Order of Aurelius was The Master. (Multiple eps, including Darla and season 1 of Buffy)

Unclear Canon: we’re never told if he named himself this, if it was a title, or if other vampires could be "masters".

Unclear Canon: Spike, Angelus and even Harmony could conceivably be thought of as "master" vampires if you’re using the term to mean any vamp who leads other vampires.

100% Fanon: that the idea of "master" vs "minion" vamps relates to how you were made (see: Physiology)

Physiology

Canon: "To make you a vampire they have to suck your blood. And then you have to suck their blood. It’s like a whole big sucking thing." (Welcome to the Hellmouth)

Canon: Buffy can drink a small (undetermined) amount of vampire blood without turning into a vamp or being harmed by it. (Buffy vs. Dracula)

Unclear Canon: Buffy might not have been harmed because she’s the Slayer.We don’t know what vamp blood would do to a regular human.

100% Fanon: the concept that there are two ways to make a vamp, and one turns you into a "Master" vampire and the other turns you into a "minion" vampire. Being a "minion" vamp is vampire sociology, not physiology (see: Vocabulary)

Canon: Jossverse vamps should not be able to get, or cause, pregnancy. (Bad Eggs, almost all of season 3 AtS)

Canon: Angel and Darla, for reasons unknown, were able to have a child. (Season 3 AtS)

Canon: Male vamps can get erections and enjoy blowjobs (Multiple eps, including Intervention and Waiting In The Wings)

Canon: Vamps have orgasms. (Multiple eps, including Reprise)

100% Fanon: Vamps need to bite people in order to come. This is not true. (Multiple eps, including Reprise)

Unclear Canon: It’s implied that even if they are infertile, male vamps at the very least still ejaculate. (Reprise)

Unclear Canon: Whether or not female vamps lubricate.

Unclear Canon: If vamps need to go to the bathroom.

Unclear Canon: What benefits, if any, vamps might get from eating real food. (Multiple eps, including Fool For Love, Crush, I’ve Got You Under My Skin and Dead End)

Unclear Canon: If vamps can really taste and/or enjoy food. Spike seems to have a discriminating palate as far as beers and the menu of the Bronze goes, but Angel, though he claims to sometimes "get a hankering" has also said that food is more or less tasteless to him. (Multiple eps, including Fool For Love, Triange, I Will Remember You and Dead End)

100% Fanon: Blood tears. Jossverse vamps do not shed blood tears.

Unclear Canon: In the Gatekeeper Trilogy, Angel cries blood tears on the ghost roads.

Canon: Vampire hearts don’t beat. (Multiple eps, including Once More With Feeling)

Unclear Canon: Vampires and breathing. Angel has stated that he can’t breathe (Prophecy Girl) and other vamps and onscreen sources have confirmed this (Multiple eps, including Lullabye), however the vamps have been shown smoking (Multiple eps including Innocence, Out of My Mind and almost any ep with Spike in it), panting to show exhaustion (The Yoko Factor) and obviously they talk. One explanation offered by Joss is that they can take air in and out of their lungs but it doesn’t exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide. More than that is up in the air.

Canon: Vampires are affected by alcohol, caffiene and other stimulants. (Multiple eps, including Lover’s Walk, She, Eternity and Untouched)

Canon: Vampires can be poisoned. (Graduation I and II)

Unclear Canon: If Slayer blood has any health benefits to vampires other than the antidote for the "Killer of the Dead" poison Faith used on Angel. (Graduation I and II)

Unclear Canon: If the blood of a Slayer is a real aphrodesiac to vamps or if Spike just got off on killing them. (Fool for Love)

Canon: Vamps growl like animals when fighting or making a display of strength or anger. (Multiple eps during the course of both shows)

100% Fanon: That vamps make a purring sound when having sex, when they are content, or when they are aroused.

Unclear Canon: If the three sisters in Buffy vs. Dracula made any kind of purring sound and, if so, why they did it.

100% Fanon: That the saliva of vampires in any way aids or speeds healing. If anything, the fact that Buffy bore the scar of Angel drinking from her for over a year would seem to strongly imply otherwise.

ANGEL

Canon: Calling him Angel or Angelus

Canon: His mortal name was Liam, he lived from 1727-1753 in Galway, Ireland and was turned in 1753 by Darla. (Prodigal)

Unclear Canon: Liam’s last name.

Unclear Canon: Early episodes give contradictory information about when Angel lived, died and what age he was when he was turned.

Canon: Wolfram & Hart has records on everything about Angel’s past, including his mortal life.(Dad, implied in Blind Date).

Canon: Lilah knows that Angel’s mortal name was Liam. (Dad)

Unclear Canon: We assume Darla also knew Angel’s mortal name since she turned him.

Unclear Canon: If Angel ever told anybody else his mortal name. He’s never gone by it or talked about it during his time as a vamp on either show.

Canon: With regards to his past, Angel has not been known to volunteer the information but he won’t deny it if someone asks him about it (Lie to Me, Blind Date).

Canon: He took the name "Angelus" after he was turned. It’s implied but not directly stated that he took this name because when he came killed his sister Kathy she thought he was an angel come back from the dead. (Prodigal).

Unclear Canon: When, exactly, he started going by the name "Angel". All that’s known is that it was after he was cursed. Boone implies he knew "Angel" in "the twenties" in Blood Money but it’s not clear if he’s only using that name because that’s what Angel goes by now, or even if that’s when he and Angel originally met. The shooting script for Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been also calls him "Angel" even during the 1950s flashbacks, but again it’s unclear if that’s what Angel called himself.

Unclear Canon: When the characters started to uniformly call the unsouled version of Angel "Angelus". Jenny does it in Innocence but ironically Spike and Dru do not. As the years go on, however, both Angel and those around him start to use "Angelus" to refer to his unsouled self. (Multiple eps, including Eternity, Carpe Noctem and Forgiving)

Canon: Angel was cursed with a soul in 1898. He loses the soul and reverts to Angelus if he experiences a moment of "perfect happiness". (Multiple eps, including Innocence and Becoming I and II)

Canon: Angel does not need to lose his soul in order to act evil or do Angelus-like things. (Multiple eps, most notably Reunion and Forgiving)

Unclear Canon: What consititutes "perfect happiness" other than the one time he had sex with Buffy.

100% Fanon: That Angel can have sex with demons and not break the curse. This is incorrect. Being a demon has nothing to do with it. It’s whether or not he experiences perfect happiness. (Epiphany)

Canon: Angel can have sex without experiencing perfect happiness. (Reprise, Epiphany, implied by the Furies in That Old Gang of Mine)

Canon: Taking a drug called Doximall, a "powerful tranquilizer that induces bliss" makes Angel act like Angelus (Eternity)

Unclear Canon: If Doximall actually changes the state of Angel’s soul or just lowers his inhibitions. Wesley’s theory was the latter. (Eternity)

Canon: Angelus has sired more than one vampire. The two known vamps are Dru (Multiple eps, first mentioned in Lie to Me) and Penn (Sonambulist).

Unclear Canon: If he’s sired more vamps besides them in his pre-souled days. It’s also unclear how many vamps he may have turned himself, if any, when he was terrorizing Buffy in season 2.

Unclear Canon: If he sired James or Elizabeth. (Heartthrob)

Canon: Both Angel and Angelus have a "thing" for nuns, convents and the Catholic Church (Multiple eps, most notably Sonambulist, Dear Boy and Sleep Tight)

Canon: Angel is a reasonably talented sketch artist (Multiple eps, including Passion and Darla)

Unclear Canon: Whether he applies that to any other visual medium — i.e. we don’t know if he can paint portraits.

Canon: Both Angel and Angelus have used the term "boy" as a condescending term for a vamp they thought was beneath them. (Multiple eps, including Innocence and Heartthrob)

Unclear Canon: If they ever used it as a term of affection, or as an ongoing nickname for Spike or any other vamp.

Nicknames: Xander once called Angel "Deadboy" (Lie to Me). Spike has on multiple occasions called Angel and Angelus "poofter", "poof" and referred to him and his "nancy-boy" ways (Multiple eps, including In the Dark and Fool for Love) and once called Angel "Peaches" (Lover’s Walk) and referred to him as "my sire" (School Hard). Dru calls him (particularly Angelus) "Daddy" and has referred to Angel as "the Angel-beast" (Multiple eps, including Reunion). Darla called him "my boy", "dear boy", "darling boy" and "lover". (Multiple eps, including Dear Boy and Offspring). In the Wishverse, Vamp Willow, Xander and The Master referred to Angel as "The Puppy" (The Wish)

Unclear canon: The origin of Angelus’s "Scourge of Europe" nickname. (Watcher’s Guide, vol 1)

Unclear canon: How often the "Deadboy" and "Peaches" nicknames were used offscreen. Angel’s response of "Could you not call me that?" to Xander calling him "Deadboy" is said in a tone of voice which implies he’s heard it before but we’ve no proof of this beyond that. Spike only calls Angel "Peaches" the once while intoxicated, there’s no way of telling if he made a habit of it offscreen.

ANYA

Canon: She’s claimed the full name of Anya Christina Emanuella Jenkins, "20 years old, born on the fourth of July" (Checkpoint)

Canon: Her old (and demon name) is Anyanka (Multiple eps, including Triangle)

Unclear Canon: The Sunnydale High School Yearbook lists her name as Anya Emmerson

Unclear Canon: Her exact age. Although in Something Blue she said she was made a demon 1120 years ago.

Unclear Canon: The status of her soul. David Fury in an interview implied that all demons are soulless, which confused a lot of fans. Of course Wesley in Judgement said that Lorne reads demons’ souls so who knows?

BUFFY

Canon: Her full name is Buffy Anne Summers (Multiple eps, including The Gift)

Canon: Her father is Hank (Nightmares), her mother is Joyce (Welcome to the Hellmouth), her sister is Dawn (Buffy vs Dracula) and she had a cousin named Celia who died in childhood. (Killed By Death).

100% Fanon: That her first name is Elizabeth. It’s not, it’s Buffy. (The Gift)

100% Fanon: That Buffy smells like vanilla.

Unclear Canon: What Buffy does smell like. SMG apparently said in an interview once that she used vanilla-scented perfume, which is where the concept started.

Other Names: Buff (Dopplegangland, Helpless, The Prom, Fear Itself, Beer Bad, Into the Woods, Doublemeat Palace, others). Interestingly, it’s made mention that Angel does *not* casually call her Buff, in Enemies — though they’re only pretending that Faith has succeeded in turning him evil again, it’s the trigger that they use to have Buffy pretend she’s clued in to him not being her Angel. In season 2, Angelus called her "Buff". Faith calls her "B". In Tabula Rasa her name was Joan.

CORDELIA

Canon: Her full name is Cordelia Chase

Unclear Canon: If she’s got a middle name

Unclear Canon: Who she lost her virginity with and when she lost it.

Canon: Cordy is somewhat older than the rest of the Scoobies. She was 18 as of The Prom

Unclear Canon: Cordy’s birthday. The episode, Birthday, implies it is in December or January. An earlier episode of AtS implied it was in May.

Canon: Her parents were busted for tax evasion. (Multiple eps, including The Prom and Through the Looking Glass)

Unclear Canon: How her parents were punished for tax evasion beyond having their money and property seized, or if her mother and father were both punished for it.

Unclear Canon: What contact, if any, she’s had with her family since she left Sunnydale.

Unclear Canon: The status of her soul. David Fury in an interview implied that all demons are soulless, confusing fans as to the state of Cordy’s soul post Birthday (See also: Anya)

Other Names: Many characters have called her Cordelia and Cordy on both shows. She has only been called "Cor" once and that was by Angel in Tomorrow. Doyle and Groo have both called her "princess" (Multiple eps, including Hero and Through the Looking Glass)

100% Fanon: That any of the characters ever called her "Delia".

DARLA

Canon: Darla is not her mortal name. Angel guesses that the Master gave her that name. (Darla)

Canon: Darla was turned in 1609 by The Master in the Virgina Colony. (Darla)

Canon: Darla was a prostitute. (Multiple eps, including Darla and Epiphany)

Unclear Canon: How many vamps Darla has sired besides Angelus.

DAWN

Canon: Her full name is Dawn Summers

Unclear Canon: If she has a middle name

Canon: Her father is Hank (Nightmares), her mother is Joyce (Welcome to the Hellmouth), her sister is Buffy (Buffy vs Dracula) and she had a cousin named Celia who died in childhood. (Killed By Death).

Canon: She steals and shoplifts small items. (Multiple eps, including Once More With Feeling)

Canon: Glory was able to use her "Key" status to open the walls between dimensions (The Gift)

Canon: No one knows what Dawn’s "Key" status is now. (Bargaining)

Canon: Dawn has some fighting skills. (Grave)

Other Names: On multiple occasions Spike has called her "Niblet" and "Little Bit" (Barganing II), many characters including Buffy and Willow call her "Dawnie" (sometimes spelled "Dawny"), Xander has called her "Dawnster", Joyce once called her "My little pumpkin belly". Xander called her "Dawn Giovanni" in Tough Love. (See also: Spike’s names for Dawn)

DOYLE

Canon: His full name is Allen Francis Doyle. (Bachelor Party)

Canon: No parents’ names are given, no siblings are mentioned. His father was a Brachen demon, his mother was human. He never met his father.(Bachelor Party)

Canon: He has an ex-wife named Harry. (Bachelor Party)

Canon: Doyle’s demon side emerged when he turned 21. (Bachelor Party)

Other Names: Most characters called him Doyle.

DRUSILLA

Canon: She was turned in 1860 by Angelus (Multiple eps, including Dear Boy)

Canon: She saw visions as a mortal and continues to see them as a vampire. (Multiple eps including Innocence and Dear Boy)

Canon: Angelus tormented her, drove her insane and turned her into a vampire on the day that she took her vows to become a nun. (Multiple eps, including Becoming and Dear Boy)

Unclear Canon: If Drusilla is her real first name.

Unclear Canon: Dru’s last name.

Canon: Dru can somehow "tell" the difference between Angel and Angelus. (Multiple eps including Innocence and Reunion)

Canon: Drusilla is Spike’s sire. (Fool For Love)

Canon: Drusilla also turned Darla the second time around. (The Trial).

Unclear Canon: Who else Dru has sired. Spike and Darla are the only ones that she has sired onscreen.

Canon: Dru collects dolls, has tea parties with them, and is particularly fond of a doll named Miss Edith (Multiple eps including School Hard and Crush)

Other Names: Multiple characters call her both Drusilla and Dru. Spike and Angelus have also used terms of affection with her like "princess", "baby", "precious", etc. (Multiple eps, including School Hard and Darla) (See also: Spike’s nicknames for people)

FRED

Canon: Her full name is Winifred Burkle. (Belonging)

Canon: Her parents are Roger and Trish. No siblings are mentioned. (Fredless)

GILES

Canon: His full name is Rupert Giles. (Multiple eps, including I Robot, You Jane)

Canon: His father and grandmother were Watchers, he was told at an early age that he was to be a Watcher, and he attended Oxford. (Multpile eps, including Never Kill a Boy on the First Date and Teacher’s Pet)

Canon: He didn’t want to be a Watcher so he rebelled by dropping out of Oxford and playing around with the dark arts with, amongst others, Ethan Rayne. (Multiple eps, including The Dark Age)

Canon: Giles wanted to be a fighter jet pilot or a grocer when he was a child. (Never Kill A Boy On The First Date)

Canon: Giles’s nickname during those days was "Ripper". Whenever Giles does something particularly strong, violent or otherwise against his quiet, bookish persona, the shooting scripts refer to him as being "Ripper-like" or "pure Ripper". (Multiple eps, including The Dark Age and Two To Go)

100% Fanon: That Giles has Dissociative Identity Disorder (aka Multiple Personality Disorder). Giles and Ripper are the same person. Ripper is not another personality, it’s a nickname from his past. "Ripper" is used both as a nickname and as a state of mind, but it’s not a personality.

Other Names: Xander once called him "G-Man" (When She Was Bad)

GROOSALUGG/GROO

Canon: He’s only ever been called the Groosalugg or Groo. (First introduced in Through the Looking Glass)

Canon: Assuming he wasn’t making a joke, his mother’s name was Pomegranate. (The Price)

GUNN

Canon: His full name is Charles Gunn

Unclear Canon: If he’s got a middle name

Canon: His sister was named Alonna (War Zone) and he has an unnamed aunt who is allergic to shellfish. (That Vision Thing)

Canon: Gunn was 24 as of Double or Nothing

Unclear Canon: Early episodes with Gunn imply that he might be a teenager.

Other Names: In seasons 1 and 2 of AtS he was commonly called "Gunn", season 3 of AtS showed the characters starting to call him "Charles" more often. Members of Gunn’s old gang call him "Charles" or "Charlie" (That Old Gang Of Mine)

LORNE/THE HOST

Canon: His full name is Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan. (Belonging)

Canon: He was called The Host for most of season 2 AtS, up until his full name was revealed in Belonging

Canon: His parents’ names are unknown. His brother is Numfar (Through the Looking Glass) and he has a cousin named Landokmar of the Deathwok Clan/Landok (Belonging)

OZ

Canon: His full name is Daniel Osbourne. (The Initiative)

Canon: He has a younger cousin named Jordy who passed his werewolfism on to Oz by biting him. He has an aunt Maureen and an uncle Ken. (Phases)

Unclear Canon: The Jossverse rules about werewolves and "Packs". To our knowledge Oz has never been in one and Veruca didn’t appear to be in one. However that doesn’t rule out the potential that other werewolves might choose to travel in packs.

SPIKE

Canon: He was turned by Dru in 1880. (Fool For Love)

Unclear Canon: He called Angel "my sire", which gave many the impression that Angelus was the one who turned him. (School Hard)

Canon: His real name is William (Fool For Love)

Unclear Canon: His full mortal name

Canon: Spike’s usual accent is fake. He started out with a posh accent not unlike Giles’s, then adopted a new one and rechristened himself Spike the same year he was turned. (Fool For Love)

Canon: Spike has referred to the women on the show as "luv" or "pet".

100% Fanon: That he’s ever referred to any of the men on the show this way.

100% Fanon: That he has ever called Xander or anyone else "whelp"

Canon: He once referred to Buffy as "Slutty the Vampire Slayer" when taunting Angel (In the Dark).

Unclear Canon: If he ever called Buffy that to her face. If so, he did it offscreen.

Canon: He once, sarcastically, told Xander "You’re a nummy treat." (Hush)

100% Fanon: He refers to Xander as "Nummy".

Canon: Spike has killed two Slayers. One in China during the Boxer Rebellion (1900) and the other in the New York subway system (1977). (Fool For Love)

Unclear Canon: The tie-in novel Pretty Maids in a Row tells a different story about who the second Slayer was.

Canon: Spike has never been shown to sire a vamp onscreen.

Unclear Canon: If Spike has personally sired any vamps at all and, if so, how many.

Canon: Spike can speak Fyarl and has at least a familiarity with Luganda. (A New Man, Villans)

Canon: As of the Boxer Rebellion, Spike could not speak Chinese. (Fool For Love)

Unclear Canon: What other languages he might speak, and how fluently.

Canon: Spike as William wrote poetry that even he admitted might be bad; most of us would say there’s no "might" about it. (Fool For Love)

Canon: Spike earned his nickname of "William the Bloody" because he was such a "bloody awful poet" (Fool For Love)

Unclear Canon: Whether Spike has ever written poetry after becoming a vamp, or even considers it a worthwhile thing to do. For example, Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered Angelus says that ripping Buffy’s lungs out lacks poetry, and Spike says it doesn’t have to — what rhynes with lungs?

Unclear Canon: Whether Spike can sketch. There are sketches in his shrine to Buffy (Shown in detail in Crush) but we don’t know that he did them. Since many of his photos of Buffy and other items are stolen from her house, those might have been as well; they might even have been done by Angel.

Canon: Spike drank hot cocoa with Joyce and she "always had a nice cuppa" for him. (Multiple eps, including Lover’s Walk and Forever)

100% Fanon: Spike is addicted to having tiny marshmellows in his cocoa to the exclusion of all other types of non-blood related drinks.

Canon: Spike has drunk blood both microwaved (Multiple eps, including Something Blue), room temperature (Multiple eps, including Dead Things)and straight from the fridge (Multiple eps, including Hush)

Canon: Spike has used the following terms for the following characters -

Pet: Dru (Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, I Only Have Eyes For You, Passion, Fool For Love), Buffy (Becoming, Wrecked, Gone - well, he asks her if he should call her that, Dead Things, Older and Far Away) Luv/Love: Dru (Surprise, Innocence, Crush), The Chinese Slayer (Fool For Love), Buffy (School Hard, Fool For Love, Crush, Flooded, Life Serial, Smashed, Wrecked, Doublemeat Palace, Older and Far Away, As You Were, Normal Again)

Ducks: Dru (What’s My Line, Surprise, Becoming)

Poof: To/about Angel (Lover’s Walk, In the Dark), Xander (Doomed, Normal Again)

Poofter: Angelus (Fool For Love)

Ponce: Never used, though he called Dracula a "poncy bugger." (Buffy vs Dracula)

Nancy-Boy: random vamp (School Hard), Angel (In the Dark), Giles (Tabula Rasa)

Small British Foods For Dawn: Nibblet (Twice in Blood Ties), Platelet (Tough Love), Little Bit (I Was Made To Love You, Forever, Bargaining, Once More With Feeling), Bit (Bargaining), Pigeon (Bargaining), Bite-Sized One (Shadow), Bitty Buffy (Forever)

Other names: In history he was known as William the Bloody (School Hard). Angelus, Darla and Dru used to call him William (Fool For Love). Buffy called him William when she broke up with him (As You Were). Angelus called him "my boy" (Innocence), "Roller boy" (Passion) and "Sit-n-Spin" (Becoming II) In Tabula Rasa he was Randy Giles. Unclear Canon: How many times, if any, Buffy called him "William" offscreen; how many times, if any, Angelus called him "my boy" offscreen; if any of the characters call him "Will"

TARA

Unclear Canon: If her full name is Tara Maclay or if she uses her mother’s maiden name.

Canon: Her brother is named Donny and she has a cousin Beth. Her father, Mr. Maclay is still alive, her mother died when Tara was seventeen. Both her mother and grandmother were witches/had power. (Family, Hush, The Body)

Canon: Tara is slightly older than Buffy. She turned 20 in Family, Buffy later turned 20 in Blood Ties

Unclear Canon: If Tara is Wiccan. She didn’t like the Wicca group at UC Sunnydale (Hush) but her stated magic beliefs are similar to those of the Wiccan religion (Multiple eps, including Forever)

100% Fanon: That anyone has called Tara "Glinda"

WESLEY

Canon: His full name is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (Business card shown in Carpe Noctem, Shooting scripts for multiple eps, including Bad Girls, also the Watcher’s Guide vol. 2)

Unclear Canon: Some online shooting scripts for season 3 episodes of Angel spell his last name "Wyndam-Price" articles about the show have also spelled it "Wyndham-Pryce".

Unclear Canon: Wesley’s past. He was originally created to be "Giles, the next generation" which is where many fanfic writers get the idea that he went to Oxford and was "destined" to be a Watcher as Giles did and was. As yet there’s been no direct confirmation or denial of this on the show.

Unclear Canon: Wesley’s age. A draft script for Bad Girls describes him as "late 20s".

Canon: Wesley was "terrorized" by his father who didn’t think he was "good enough" and did something with or to him that involved him being "locked up under the stairs" for "hours". (I’ve Got You Under My Skin)

Canon: Wesley does not get along well with his father. (I’ve Got You Under My Skin, Belonging, Fredless)

Unclear Canon: How well Wes gets along with his mother. It’s implied they have a better relationship than Wes and his dad. (Belonging)

Canon: Wes calls his dad "father" and his mother "mum". (Belonging)

100% Fanon: That Wes was physically or sexually abused by his parents. There’s no proof of this on the show. However there’s also no proof that he wasn’t.

Canon: Wes is a skilled researcher and translater who is both fluent in and/or familiar with many demon and human languages. Wes is also able to translate languages from other dimensions with little to no help. (Multple eps, including Parting Gifts, To Shanshu in LA, Over the Rainbow and Loyalty)

Canon: Wes sometimes has problems with translations and/or doubts his translation skills. (Multiple eps, including To Shanshu in LA and Loyalty)

Canon: Wes is considered smart and a "big brain" by many characters, including the Angel Investigations gang and, according to Lilah, Wolfram & Hart. (Multiple eps, including Quickening, Provider and A New World)

Canon: Wes has good detective skills, particularly when it comes to analyzing a crime scene. (Multiple eps, including Redefinition and Happy Anniversary)

Unclear Canon: Wes’s medical and physiological knowledge. He’s been shown operating an ultrasound (Quickening) and analyzing blood samples (Billy) but it’s unclear where he got the knowledge or how much he knows.

Canon: Wes is an expert shot with guns, crossbows and darts. (Multiple eps, including Parting Gifts, Expecting and Judgement)

Unclear Canon: How well Wes can fire a gun or crossbow with both hands. (The Ring)

Unclear Canon: How skilled Wes is with a sword or other weapons (Multiple eps, including There’s No Place Like Pltrz Glrb)

Canon: Wes has cried or been close to tears on more than one occasion. (Expecting, She, Billy)

100% Fanon: That Wes, after leaving Sunnydale, bursts into tears whenever he experiences pain or talks with his parents. This is incorrect. Wes survived torture with Faith, a bullet wound, conversations with his parents, a slit throat and more without shedding a tear onscreen. (Multiple eps, including Five by Five, Thin Dead Line, Belonging, Forgiving and The Price)

Unclear Canon: Where the line is on what makes Wes cry vs. what doesn’t. The pattern seems to be that he’s more apt to cry when others make a gesture to indicate they love, accept and/or forgive him than he is while he’s in pain.

Other names: Multiple characters call him "Wesley" or "Wes". Gunn sometimes calls him "English" (He also referred to Wes’s dad as "English Sr." - Belonging). The Host called him "The British Boy" in Happy Anniversary and Merl called him "that British guy" in The Thin Dead Line. Angel called him "Pryce" in Forgiving.

WILLOW

Canon: Her full name is Willow Rosenberg.

Unclear Canon: We don’t know if she has a middle name.

Canon: Her parents are Ira and Sheila. (Passion and Gingerbread)

Unclear Canon: Willow’s age in relation to the other Scoobies.

100% Fanon: Willow is Wiccan. She is not.

Canon: Willow is "a Wicca" - the Jossverse term for "witch".

Canon: Willow is Jewish (Multiple eps, including Amends, Listening to Fear and The Body)

100% Fanon: Willow using an exclamation like "Goddess!" - she doesn’t.

Unclear Canon: Apparently a comic book written by Amber Benson had Willow, incorrectly, using "Goddess!"

Canon: Willow is gay

Unclear Canon: To all appearances (such as her relationships with Oz and Xander) Willow is actually bisexual.

Canon: Willow "tastes like strawberries" (Wrecked, Two to Go)

Unclear Canon: If that’s just to another magic user or if she tastes like strawberries in general.

Other names: Spike and Faith have called her "Red" (Doomed, Bargaining, This Year’s Girl), Rack called her "Strawberry" (Wrecked). Buffy, Xander, Tara, Dawn and Spike have called her "Will" (Multiple eps). Tara has also called her "sweetie". (Multiple eps, including The Body)

Unclear Canon: If other characters call her "Red". She doesn’t register surprise at it, which implies it’s a common nickname.

Unclear Canon: If any of the other characters have called her "Wills"

XANDER

Canon: His full name is Alexander LaVelle Harris. Not may people know his middle name. (Teacher’s Pet)

Unclear Canon: The spelling of LaVelle. It’s sometimes shown as Lavelle.

Canon: His father’s name is Tony (Hell’s Bells), his mother is Jessica (Hell’s Bells), he has an Uncle Rory (The Dark Age) and another Uncle named Dave who is a plumber (I Was Made To Love You). No siblings have ever been mentioned.

Canon: Xander’s parents fight a lot, his father is an alcoholic, and his homelife was so unpleasant that Xander prefered to sleep outside in the backyard than with his family on holidays. (Multiple eps, including Amends and Hell’s Bells)

Canon: Xander was 16 at the start of the series and is slightly older than Buffy. (Innocence)

100% Fanon: If Xander was ever physically or sexually abused. We’ve never seen any evidence that he was, we’ve never seen any evidence that he wasn’t.

Unclear Canon: How close Xander was to Jesse. He’s refered to as Xander’s friend and the two of them are obviously comfortable together, but it’s difficult to say if the two of them shared "best friend" status or not. (Welcome to the Hellmouth)

Canon: Xander lost his virginity to Faith. (The Zeppo)

Unclear Canon: How many bases Xander and Cordy rounded while they were dating over the course of seasons 2-3.

Canon: Xander is fond of chocolate. (Nightmares, Band Candy)

100% Fanon: Xander is addicted to chocolate to the exclusion of all other snackfoods. He’s been seen to eat others, most notably in the episodes leading up to Hell’s Bells.

Canon: Xander worked at the "Fabulous Ladies Nite Club" as a dishwasher the summer after he graduated, to make enough money to get back home. There is the implication that he did more than wash dishes on at least one occasion when one of the dancers was out sick but "no power on Earth" could get him to finish that story. (The Freshman)

Unclear Canon: If Xander stripped while he was working there

Unclear Canon: If Xander took his Uncle Rory’s 57 Chevy on his post-grad trip. It’s unlikely, however, given that the car he took broke down, was "entirely made of rust" and he left it in Oxnard when he came back to Sunnydale. His Uncle Rory’s car was a classic in good condition. (The Zeppo, The Freshman)

Other names: Xander refers to himself as "Xand-man" (Blood Ties). He’s also been called Xan or Xand (BB&B, The Wish, Living Conditions, Buffy vs. Dracula). In Tabula Rasa he was called Alex.