BtVS ficlet: Critique of Judgment I
Oct. 15th, 2005 09:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alixtiiTitle: Critique of Judgment I
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Lydia Chalmers, Spike
Timeline/Spoilers: Set during “Checkpoint.” Spoilers for that episode.
Word Count: 535
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: Part of The Watcher’s Diary of Lydia Chalmers, my series of fic(lets) for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
fanfic100. This one is for prompt #085, “She.” Majority of the dialogue is from “Checkpoint.” Title is from Immanuel Kant.
Critique of Judgment I
"But we understand that you help the Slayer," Lydia probed as her colleagues protected her with cross and crossbow.
The vampire shrugged. "I pitch in when she pays me," he admitted.
"She pays you?" she asked, hurriedly writing notes down on her clipboard. "She gives you money?"
"Money, a little nip of blood out of some stray victim, whatever."
"Blood?"
"Well, if they're gonna die anyway." He paused, acting as if he were considering something. "Come to think of it, though, that's a bit scandalous, isn't it? Personally, I'm shocked. The girl's slipping."
Testimony highly unreliable, Lydia noted. "You've noticed a decline in her work?"
"Oh, yeah," the vampire said. "See, the poor little twig can't keep a man. Gets her all down. Few more disappointments, she'll be cryin' on my shoulder, mark my words."
Intriguing. "Is that what you want?" Lydia asked, probing. "I'd think you'd want to kill her. You've killed Slayers before."
"Heard of me, have you?" Interested, he stepped closer.
"I wrote my thesis on you," Lydia admitted.
The vampire smiled. "Well, well," he said. "Isn't that neat." He stopped smiling "Tell me, pet, now we're such good friends, how's the Slayer doing? Is she okay? High marks in all categories?"
Lydia considered. The vampire's interest in the Slayer was unique, practically pathological for a vampire. Deviant for a deviant, Lydia mused. Did that make him normal, or even more eccentric? The latter no doubt, and what she wanted right now was to sit down with her favourite vampire psychology textbook and integrate these new findings with the research she had put forth in her thesis. But they were here to evaluate the Slayer, not the vampire.
Evaluate? Evaluate what? Not for the first time, Lydia wondered at the pointlessness of the entire review. What were they supposed to do if they didn't find her up to par? Let the world burn in an apocalypse because the Slayer didn't have the information she needed? Find someone else? Bust the mad slayer out of prison (or kill her and wait for a new Slayer to appear)? None of the options were viable—they were stuck with the Slayer they had, little as Travers might like it. What was Quentin trying to accomplish, anyway?
Lydia forced a smile and answered the vampire, "That information will not be made public until after the review is completed. Have a nice day, sir."
Did she just call a vampire "sir"? And wish him a good day? She wasn't sure if she should be embarrassed by her show of respect for the vampire (he was just a creature, after all, albeit an intriguing one and a fascinating object of study) or her terrible lack of tact. Good day, indeed—when the very sun could fry him to cinders. "Good day" was practically an oxymoron for a vampire. Unless you assumed that good things were disagreeable to vampires as a matter of course, being evil (or, in many cases, merely amoral, her scholar's mind reminded her) and all.
She shook her head and kept on walking, trying to get such academic questions out of her head. They were in the middle of an evaluation, after all, and she had a report to write.
Go to "Critique of Judgment II."
Go to The Watcher’s Diary of Lydia Chalmers masterlist.
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Lydia Chalmers, Spike
Timeline/Spoilers: Set during “Checkpoint.” Spoilers for that episode.
Word Count: 535
Rating: PG
Author's Notes: Part of The Watcher’s Diary of Lydia Chalmers, my series of fic(lets) for
fanfic100. This one is for prompt #085, “She.” Majority of the dialogue is from “Checkpoint.” Title is from Immanuel Kant.Critique of Judgment I
"But we understand that you help the Slayer," Lydia probed as her colleagues protected her with cross and crossbow.
The vampire shrugged. "I pitch in when she pays me," he admitted.
"She pays you?" she asked, hurriedly writing notes down on her clipboard. "She gives you money?"
"Money, a little nip of blood out of some stray victim, whatever."
"Blood?"
"Well, if they're gonna die anyway." He paused, acting as if he were considering something. "Come to think of it, though, that's a bit scandalous, isn't it? Personally, I'm shocked. The girl's slipping."
Testimony highly unreliable, Lydia noted. "You've noticed a decline in her work?"
"Oh, yeah," the vampire said. "See, the poor little twig can't keep a man. Gets her all down. Few more disappointments, she'll be cryin' on my shoulder, mark my words."
Intriguing. "Is that what you want?" Lydia asked, probing. "I'd think you'd want to kill her. You've killed Slayers before."
"Heard of me, have you?" Interested, he stepped closer.
"I wrote my thesis on you," Lydia admitted.
The vampire smiled. "Well, well," he said. "Isn't that neat." He stopped smiling "Tell me, pet, now we're such good friends, how's the Slayer doing? Is she okay? High marks in all categories?"
Lydia considered. The vampire's interest in the Slayer was unique, practically pathological for a vampire. Deviant for a deviant, Lydia mused. Did that make him normal, or even more eccentric? The latter no doubt, and what she wanted right now was to sit down with her favourite vampire psychology textbook and integrate these new findings with the research she had put forth in her thesis. But they were here to evaluate the Slayer, not the vampire.
Evaluate? Evaluate what? Not for the first time, Lydia wondered at the pointlessness of the entire review. What were they supposed to do if they didn't find her up to par? Let the world burn in an apocalypse because the Slayer didn't have the information she needed? Find someone else? Bust the mad slayer out of prison (or kill her and wait for a new Slayer to appear)? None of the options were viable—they were stuck with the Slayer they had, little as Travers might like it. What was Quentin trying to accomplish, anyway?
Lydia forced a smile and answered the vampire, "That information will not be made public until after the review is completed. Have a nice day, sir."
Did she just call a vampire "sir"? And wish him a good day? She wasn't sure if she should be embarrassed by her show of respect for the vampire (he was just a creature, after all, albeit an intriguing one and a fascinating object of study) or her terrible lack of tact. Good day, indeed—when the very sun could fry him to cinders. "Good day" was practically an oxymoron for a vampire. Unless you assumed that good things were disagreeable to vampires as a matter of course, being evil (or, in many cases, merely amoral, her scholar's mind reminded her) and all.
She shook her head and kept on walking, trying to get such academic questions out of her head. They were in the middle of an evaluation, after all, and she had a report to write.
Go to "Critique of Judgment II."
Go to The Watcher’s Diary of Lydia Chalmers masterlist.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-16 12:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-16 12:57 pm (UTC)