Current mood:	okay
Current music:	Farscape 3x15

itchy & scratchy
I've been reading (in most cases, re-reading) Buffy fic lately. There are plenty of fic tropes when it comes to Spike/Buffy fic, but I'm always surprised that two scenarios I find very interesting are in short supply. If they exist at all.

Post-Out of My Mind. The timing of Spike's dream in Out of My Mind is curious, isn't it? What if, at any point in the next three years, Spike starts to realize (or is told outright) that his dream and his love for Buffy were an insurance plan from the monks that messed with everyone's memories? They needed more muscle, another weapon against Glory, and so made Spike fall for Buffy.

I don't know, maybe this is a staple in other 'shipper fic? Like, Spike/Dawn 'shippers use it as a "look, my love for her wasn't real, but my love for you is" kind of justification? (Now excuse me while I go scrub the image of Spike/Dawn from my head with industrial strength bleach. Ick!)

Post-Chosen. The reason Spike doesn't contact Buffy is because he's once again soulless, the amulet having burned up his soul to power the destruction of the Hellmouth.

I mean, doesn't it seem strange that the Senior Partners would just hand Angel such a powerful tool? That would destroy a big source of evil in the universe to boot. My theory is that they counted on Angel wearing it, and in doing so, his soul, fastened only with some silly putty and a band aid or two, would be wrenched from him, leaving Angelus poised to become the new head of the L.A. branch of Wolfram & Hart.

And if someone else were to wear it, someone with a soul that was actually attached with something stronger than a Gypsy curse, the body would be inseparable from the soul, and both would be burned to a crisp. So, worst case scenario, the good guys lose one of their warriors.

I'm pretty sure I've read one fic featuring the second scenario (but I'll be damned if I can remember where or when) but none about the first.

---

I ordered an eReader! Turns out, the iLiad lost out after all, because it doesn't seem to be very stable, and the manufacturer seems to be on the verge of dicontinuing the device. Of the two remaining devices, the Cybook seems to be better for Mobipocket files, but hardly any improvements have been made to the firmware since its launch.

So I ended up with the Bebook, which I finally settled on because the company seems to have very active support, with frequent updates, and there's even an open source project with improved functions. Also, they're releasing a new device later this year that will do pretty much exactly what I wanted the iLiad to do, but since I want one NOW, I might as well get used to this (cheap) version first and buy a new one in about a year or so.

---

I'm so glad this is only a four day week, because I think The Dreaded Allergies have hit. I've been sneezing all evening, and my eyes are itching like crazy. *sigh*