Housekeeping and the odd manifesto.
Just a few housekeeping notes:
I've redone my info blurb for the first time in almost two years. Yes, almost two years, *gasp*, you've been stuck with me for that long. *g*
Apologies to my dial-up friends, but I succumbed to the banner craze.
Thanks to the lovely marenfic, I've finally figured out how to put up the banner that I commissioned from xanphibian. ( Read more... )
I've redone my info blurb for the first time in almost two years. Yes, almost two years, *gasp*, you've been stuck with me for that long. *g*
Apologies to my dial-up friends, but I succumbed to the banner craze.
Thanks to the lovely marenfic, I've finally figured out how to put up the banner that I commissioned from xanphibian. ( Read more... )
A couple bits that stood out especially:
Angelus discarded Penn, abandoned him pretty much after he turned him. Penn was a failed project. So Spike is wrong, Angelus didn't want a mirror. He had no use for one. Angelus is a family man; Angelus wanted a legacy.
That's a really interesting point. Hmm. Cool. I liked the observation that Spike was a "project" to Angelus, too.
This exchange is all very funny, but what we need to remember is that this takes place after Cordy dies, after Angel has his vision.
Okay, wow. You know, that hadn't even occurred to me. That changes the whole meaning that exchange.
Reply
I liked the observation that Spike was a "project" to Angelus, too.
As much as Spike would like to think that his persona is of his own devising, Angelus certainly had a hand in it. Like a scultor waiting for the marble to speak, Angelus may have been intrigued by the surprises within. A masterpiece is only fully realized upon completion.
And in his anger during "Destiny", Spike did credit Angelus for making him who he was.
That changes the whole meaning that exchange.
Yes, I hadn't realized it until I started having to work out a timeline for a fic that I'm working on and then *lightbulb* I realized that Angel might have a motivation that he's not giving voice to.
Reply
And Angel's reply is interesting too - "I didn't make you a monster. I opened a door and you walked through it."
Which tells you something about Angelus the sculptor. That he was looking for interactive media to work with... not some malleable automaton. As you mentioned, he opened that door with Penn too and he was never anything resembling proud or impressed with him. Whereas he is with Spike.
The other interesting thing is that Angel(us) probably looks at Dru as his greatest/most terrible creation... but he's also somewhat bored with her. He's not bored with Spike. Because IMHO he thinks Spike's not done. More work to do with the boy, so to speak.
Reply
Yes, in denying responsibility in the making of Spike, Angel admits, unwittingly or no, the potential that he saw there. Penn just stayed in that doorway. He didn't change his MO for 200 years, never invented anything of his own, nothing that Angelus could take pride in.
And yes, Dru is a finished work, although she's not incapable of inventiveness either. I think her turning William took Angelus by surprise and intrigued him.
And yes, he doesn't feel Spike's done. In S2, despite his obsession with Buffy, Angelus took the time to sculpt him even more, with unexpected results.
Reply
Yeah. He's doing a few things. The main point was that Spike bears a lot of responsiblity because Spike did make choices too. So he gets the credit... in the form of respect that he was capable of it (from the perspective of someone who likes the evildoing) and the disapproval from someone who has rejected it in trying to be a good person... It's the same sort of ambivalence Angel holds towards his own record of behavior. It's sort of a perverse sign of regard...
Reply
Yes, if he holds Spike to his own standards then Angel also thinks that Spike is capable of failing or achieving them.
Reply
Leave a comment