BtVS Ficlet: The Anger Of Ghosts
Mar. 2nd, 2018 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Title: The Anger Of Ghosts
Fandom: BtVS
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
badly_knitted
Characters: Angel, Willow, Buffy, Giles, the Scoobies.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: There’s not a lot that vampires have to watch out for, but they’re far from invulnerable.
Word Count: 528
Written For: My own prompt ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Any, Vampires are scared of ghosts,’ at fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BTVS, or the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon.
“Vampires are scared of ghosts?” Willow asked incredulously. The Scoobies were gathered in the library, discussing Halloween tactics, when Angel had dropped by.
“Not so much scared as… uncomfortable around them.” Angel shifted against the wall, folding his arms defensively over his chest. “Think about it; most ghosts come into being because of dying in a particularly traumatic manner…” he trailed off, and Buffy took over.
“And dying at the hands, or teeth, of a vamp can be pretty traumatic.”
Angel nodded.
“So what, ghosts of people killed by vamps go on some sort of vengeance kick and torment their killers?”
“Not all of them, but some. It’s one of the reasons vampires tend to move around a lot, never staying anywhere too long. Most ghosts fade away over time, only the particularly strong ones linger for more than a few years, unless they die in places where the realms of the living and the dead are so close together that manifestation on this plane of existence is easy.”
“Like on a Hellmouth?”
“Among other places. Halloween makes crossing over easier everywhere though, so vampires tend to stay out of cemeteries on that one night a year, and away from anywhere they killed someone. There’s not much they need to be wary of, but an angry ghost bent on revenge can do some serious damage, sometimes they’re even strong enough to kill. I’ve seen it happen, it’s not pretty. They get inside and rip a vampire’s demon essence to shreds. Getting dusted is over so fast it’s most likely pretty painless, but death by ghost is anything but. Trust me, you never want to see a vampire in the grip of that kind of death throes. It’ll stay with you.”
Buffy shivered. “I’ll take your word for it.” As much as she hated most vampires for the demons they were, and for the way they treated humans as a combination of plaything and ready meal, she liked the quick and easy stake through the heart and turn to dust method of killing them. Watching anything dying in agonising torment, even a demon, wasn’t her idea of fun. “Thanks for that, Angel. Now I think I’ll go home and have nightmares for the next month.”
“Sorry.” Angel’s dark gaze rested on her, concerned.
She shrugged it off. “No biggie. Besides, the info could come in handy. Know your enemy’s weaknesses and all that.” She looked around at her friends. “We about done here?”
Giles nodded. “I think we’ve covered all the salient points.”
“Good, then we should all head out.” She stood up and slipped her jacket on. “Night, guys. See you tomorrow.”
“Night, Buffy.” The others gathered their things and headed out the door.
Buffy turned to Angel. “Walk me home? I promise to protect you from any ghosts.”
He smiled down at her, knowing she would if she could; love was like that, selfless and brave, and her love for him warmed his dead, unbeating heart in a way nothing else could. He’d do anything he could to protect her too, face any number of vampires, demons, and even ghosts; she’d never even have to ask. “Always.”
The End
Fandom: BtVS
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Angel, Willow, Buffy, Giles, the Scoobies.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: There’s not a lot that vampires have to watch out for, but they’re far from invulnerable.
Word Count: 528
Written For: My own prompt ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Any, Vampires are scared of ghosts,’ at fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own BTVS, or the characters. They belong to Joss Whedon.
“Vampires are scared of ghosts?” Willow asked incredulously. The Scoobies were gathered in the library, discussing Halloween tactics, when Angel had dropped by.
“Not so much scared as… uncomfortable around them.” Angel shifted against the wall, folding his arms defensively over his chest. “Think about it; most ghosts come into being because of dying in a particularly traumatic manner…” he trailed off, and Buffy took over.
“And dying at the hands, or teeth, of a vamp can be pretty traumatic.”
Angel nodded.
“So what, ghosts of people killed by vamps go on some sort of vengeance kick and torment their killers?”
“Not all of them, but some. It’s one of the reasons vampires tend to move around a lot, never staying anywhere too long. Most ghosts fade away over time, only the particularly strong ones linger for more than a few years, unless they die in places where the realms of the living and the dead are so close together that manifestation on this plane of existence is easy.”
“Like on a Hellmouth?”
“Among other places. Halloween makes crossing over easier everywhere though, so vampires tend to stay out of cemeteries on that one night a year, and away from anywhere they killed someone. There’s not much they need to be wary of, but an angry ghost bent on revenge can do some serious damage, sometimes they’re even strong enough to kill. I’ve seen it happen, it’s not pretty. They get inside and rip a vampire’s demon essence to shreds. Getting dusted is over so fast it’s most likely pretty painless, but death by ghost is anything but. Trust me, you never want to see a vampire in the grip of that kind of death throes. It’ll stay with you.”
Buffy shivered. “I’ll take your word for it.” As much as she hated most vampires for the demons they were, and for the way they treated humans as a combination of plaything and ready meal, she liked the quick and easy stake through the heart and turn to dust method of killing them. Watching anything dying in agonising torment, even a demon, wasn’t her idea of fun. “Thanks for that, Angel. Now I think I’ll go home and have nightmares for the next month.”
“Sorry.” Angel’s dark gaze rested on her, concerned.
She shrugged it off. “No biggie. Besides, the info could come in handy. Know your enemy’s weaknesses and all that.” She looked around at her friends. “We about done here?”
Giles nodded. “I think we’ve covered all the salient points.”
“Good, then we should all head out.” She stood up and slipped her jacket on. “Night, guys. See you tomorrow.”
“Night, Buffy.” The others gathered their things and headed out the door.
Buffy turned to Angel. “Walk me home? I promise to protect you from any ghosts.”
He smiled down at her, knowing she would if she could; love was like that, selfless and brave, and her love for him warmed his dead, unbeating heart in a way nothing else could. He’d do anything he could to protect her too, face any number of vampires, demons, and even ghosts; she’d never even have to ask. “Always.”
The End
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Exquisite idea: the torturous death of spirits- I love it!
Date: 2018-03-02 10:53 pm (UTC)Hate for it being a spirit, it's nature, love for it being the true essence of life- this is one reality of a true genocidal philosophy towards spirits: recognition of their existence, but the goal of ending their existence, regardless of the consequences!
In short, human monsters like Richard Wilkins have made "friends" with beings that I'd wipe off of the reality of existence; he's more gentle than I am- and that's saying a lot.
Giles would be scared, Buffy and her friends in that militia unit would be alarmed- indeed, if I could, I'd not make contact with either pole of that "planet" known as the Next World, I'd blow the darn planet completely to dust and debris with a full-fledged all-reactor Death Star Strike- blow the planet and all inhabitants to atoms immediately!
What I'm cheering for is the utter extermination of even so-called "benevolent demons" such as Liam {Angel}'s "guardian spirit" or "guardian angel" Whistler, merely for having the same type of existence or nature as the First Evil (Satan in that universe, or pretty much and pretty clearly).
Actually "cheering" is the wrong term, pushing for is the proper phrasing- and to accomplish that goal, I'm willing to stoop to anything that has the remotest possibility of working in that goal, but it has to kill all immortal entities in existence- not give in to delusion.
In a way I'm thankful I don't have that ability, but that seems to be going away... and that's due to a full-on rejection of all forms of outlandish spirituality and full-on embracing of natural law; something that's always well worth it. I don't care one bit about my allies in that struggle against the First's agenda, to borrow that story's mythology; they're all completely expendable to me to further my own moral growth. That attitude is somewhat like that of one of that spiritual monster's followers, Mao (something that Giles might bring up in their "spirituality classes" he's teaching Buffy in the series), who was completely callous in his altering of Red China in history, but all I really care about is my own virtues, and forget the rest of the world- that's my attitude.
"Forget" here not having molevolence, but rather meaning that I'd discard any relationship at all to preserve my own integrity in a heartbeat!
That's me, that's what I'm like, something far more spiritually cruel than any wizard- who's a fool in my eyes- open totally to criticism- always was and always will be- and interested only in integrity and character development without regard for any neighbors of mine... my Maker would oppose my ambitions in that regard, or try to subvert me in the effort to get me to alter my approach vectors towards others, and charity has its benefits; but you see, I really don't want to be tied to my neighbors- I'm really against it deep down, and am only interested in integrity for myself.
I love this story, what's brought that previous series of paragraphs up is my delight in the idea of the monsters incredible suffering if a ghost gets its hands on any vampire in this- that made me happy; and I'd be taking special care to make sure that, if this storyline were real- not just some elements of it, but it itself- I'd be trying to ensure that every spirit met a horrible ending like what Angel's talking about and Buffy's shivering in terror over; I literally cannot get enough of that concept of agony for spirits! In a way, I really do hope that all of them, regardless of their nature, wind up eliminated in total suffering that even the fires of Perdition cannot compare to in the suffering and destruction thereof... the idea of spirits finding their existence ended is something that fills me with unending delight.
I know I've got some traits like the First, we all do, humans that is. We're flawed, I know it.
Re: Exquisite idea: the torturous death of spirits- I love it!
Date: 2018-03-02 11:40 pm (UTC)Re: Exquisite idea: the torturous death of spirits- I love it!
Date: 2018-03-03 01:29 pm (UTC)There's something to think about- as one human monster realized, 'an assassin determined to risk his own life to accomplish his mission is almost unstoppable'. a paraphrasing of one of a certain A. Hitler's discoveries.
What if a hitsquad of ghosts are willing to risk their own existence to get rid of her as she's part demon, or they think she is? Perhaps the First played a mind-game on the ghosts and got them to try and murder the slayer essence. That's one possible scenario for this to go down.
Would you mind if I were to write such a story? You've inspired me in that regard.
Sincerely one of your hopefully many fans;
Vantiri.
no subject
Date: 2018-03-03 03:45 pm (UTC)Great ficlet
no subject
Date: 2018-03-03 09:24 pm (UTC)Thank you!