Fanfic musing
Okay, so what is it about a pairing or show that drives people to write things out of canon or not? In my broadening fanfic reading, I have found that the Alternative reality/universe concept seems to be adopted by some fanfic segments and not others. Using the Buffy-verse as an example of how some pairs in the same universe are treated differently: Spuffy fic appears to have a rather large Human AU segment of the population and writers take Spike (or William -- or both) and Buffy and put them in any and all types of situations, occupations, age ratios, family relationships, etc. Now, in Buffy/Giles fic (which may have some sort of nickname I am not aware of), I haven't seen any of that. I mean, you (obviously) get a ton of departures from canon in order to bring them together, but Buffy and Giles seem to always remain Buffy and Giles, Slayer and Watcher. Maybe I haven't surfed by the relevant websites, but I do find it interesting. I am open to any theories, if anyone cares to share. Or not.