I still like it, I read this a while ago and thought this had potential, you know where long term consequences could give ALL of the scoobies a clue by four. Xander is ahead of the curve here mostly because while he is far from perfect he doesn't have anything like as much sheer ego as the others getting in the way of him learning how to improve. Although I suspect that part of that stems from having to fight things that could smite him by blinking hard making him think things through on how to deal with them as a normalish mortal man. Please update soon.
Comments from author:
Thanks. The next part is not quite finished, but is being worked on as my muse deigns.
And EVERYONE'S screw-ups will be noted, and not just ignored as some other writers do. NO ONE was without problems, although some people did make more mistakes than others.
Review By [cynic] • Date [15 Apr 13] • Rating [10 out of 10]
Since you, The Mighty Author, pointed out I was so lazy as to not post a comment on this, while reviewing your sequel 'Not All Snakes Speak Parseltongue', I immediately - well, after reading my email, anywho - ran on over here to comment...
Brilliant as is the norm for you, but far, FAR too short... like the aforementioned classic. Really want to see more on these two, since I figure that Giles, busy as he was and as evidently as dismissive of Xander as the rest, probably forgot he sent hi, out on the gig and no one noticed his absence for some time - until Dawn came back and realized her Future Husband And Squeeze Toy wasn't around... and no one knew where he was, nor when he vanished...
Them again, the two 'best friends' probably figured he left without saying goodbye to lead a normal life... after a few months of No Xanderness... and then promptly went back to their latest fad...
May your Muses inspire you with more greatness, and fast!!!
Comments from author:
I know exactly how this is all going to get resolved, and no one is going to be happy when everything is finally done.
In this particular 'verse, there aren't any winners. ;-(
Okay, at this point, if I was Xander, I'd be very tempted to say "Screw it!" and go find another outfit to work with. From the sounds of it, Angel and Spike are pushing this Council to be just as stupid and arrogant as the last bunch; sometimes you just need to cut your loses and get out. 'Twould be fascinating to see the reaction if Xander did just that.
Comments from author:
Well, if you read the preceding story "Not All Snakes Speak Parseltongue', you'll see that that's just what he did.
This story is an explanation of what led up to that, and exactly how it happened.
Review By [Cateagle] • Date [22 Dec 12] • Rating [10 out of 10]
Good start, the story does seem to have some potential. I very much agree with most of what you had Xander saying. The only problem I see is that while I agree with the shotgun and especially the dragonsbreath shells a pistol just wouldn't be very effective vs a vampire. Unless you successfully hit and break bones in arms or legs it wouldn't do anything to a vampire, it would just be pain which can be dealt with. And unlike in movies hitting someone in their arms or legs is much harder than it seems, especially in a way that would incapacitate someone by breaking a bone. On top of that a vampire vs a slayer in a gunfight the slayer would be at extreme disadvantage. The slayer would have to hope that she could incapacitate the vampire long enough for her to get close enough to stake or decapitate the vampire. The vampire would just have to shoot the slayer in a multitude of locations and the slayer is toast.
Comments from author:
There's already been a fair bit of debate about this issue, so I'll just note that I think that guns can be extremely effective, if handled properly.
And that Joss apparently decide to portray guns being handled as *in*effectively as possible to support his plots and so-called character developments.
Review By [jormunguard] • Date [18 Dec 12] • Not Rated
Bullets don't work on vampires? Neither do stakes and I can prove it!
Make a stake out of brass, lead or copper. Hone it to a nice, needle-like point. Give it a nice polish so it's all shiny and pretty. Now stick that bad boy into the heart of a vampire. Hmm, no dust. Try again a time or two. Still not dust. It has now been empirically proven that stakes have no effect whatsoever on vampires, therefore slayers should not carry them on patrol.
Yeah, right. That's the "logic" the Council has always applied to the use of guns by slayers. A gun that is designed to kill humans through blood loss, firing bullets designed to make nice, neat holes for the blood the drain out of doesn't do terribly much to a creature that can survive and fight battles without a single drop of blood in its body. Or a creature that doesn't have blood at all. Or one with rock for skin. Not that swords, axes or stakes work terribly well against that last one either, mind you.
But if modern weapons were useless against demons, the Judge would have shrugged off that AT-4 then burned Buffy down where she stood. Mayor Wilkins would have laughed at how those explosives tickled then went on to eat the entire town, Scooby Gang and all.
Then there's the fact that odds are, the last time the Watcher's Council, reactionary traditionalists that they were, tested guns on vampires they probably used a front-loading matchlock model, loaded with spherical bullets. Vampires are said to be four times faster than a human. Arrows move at 300-400 feet per second and humans can dodge those if they see them coming. A black powder musket's muzzle velocity is less than 1,000 feet per second and most were around 700-800. Vampires could easily dodge those if only twice as fast as a human...and they're four times faster. With modern firearms on the other hand, a slow bullet is still going in excess of 1,200 feet per second and fast ones can exceed 3,000. Vampires aren't fast enough to dodge a bullet doing 2,000 feet per second.
I read about a test the Catholic church once conducted to determine if firearms were evil or not. They had two guns made by a master gunsmith. One was just a standard smooth bore matchlock musket. The other was covered in precious gems and metals, engraved with scripture, and blessed by a Bishop. The standard model used normal black gun powder. The holy variant used specially made powder, made with blessed water and milled under the watchful eyes of priests. The standard model fired a cast lead ball. The holy variant used a specially made solid-silver ball with a crucifix attached to one side. Then they brought in a trained soldier to fire the standard model, while an ordained priest (who had never fired a gun before) fired the holy musket.
The soldier put his bullet squarely in the inner ring of the target. The priest's bullet not only completely missed the target, but was never found after the test. From this, the Catholic church was able to definitively prove that firearms were tools of Satan, and banned their use by good, god-fearing men. Anyone with even the most limited and flawed knowledge of target shooting or ballistics can see why the test didn't work. I can totally see the Council arranging a similar test to see if guns were useful against demons and vampires sometime in the 1500s, then never revisiting the topic again.
Comments from author:
Yes, you can prove almost anything, if you set up the test properly.
And everyone who says bullets are useless against vampires and demons has their head so far up their ass that it's popped out in the right place again. ;-(
Review By [Difdi] • Date [17 Dec 12] • Rating [9 out of 10]
nerfherder
