Successor (BTVS)

Temes1066 said:

Can a Vampire do Magic?

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You've given me an excuse to lecture!

Magic is an interesting topic, one inconsistently explored in canon which I admit to taking some liberties with in Successor. It encompasses an extremely wide array of disciplines and paradigms, some of them similar but others seemingly contradictory, and putting it all under the aegis of one word is almost like calling Psychology and Physics both "Science."

However, if we restrict ourselves to activity that looks like conventional spellcasting, some patterns emerge. First, you need to have a suitable type and amount of energy to cast a spell with; innately talented spellcasters like Willow tend to quickly develop large reserves of magical energy as they cast more and more spells. However, spells are fussy, and like certain flavors of energy more than others; one spellcaster might have energy very suited to cast illusion spells, and another might have energy that resonates well with curses.

What kind of energy a caster has is a mix of nature and nurture; you'll generally start with tendencies, but casting certain types of spells more makes your energy resonate with them better. Mystically significant events happening to you can change both the typing of your energy and the amount of it in unpredictable ways; generally when a spellcaster becomes a vampire the flavor change will be a little difficult to manage with their current library of known spells, and may appear to be a decrease in overall power if they don't adapt appropriately.

This being said though, usually if you shove enough energy at a spell it'll work, and a lot of spells either don't require much personal magical energy or conveniently "supply" some of their own. This has to more do with the second thing you need to cast a spell, namely, the spell itself. A spell is a pattern the energy is weaved in, and all sorts of things from mental focus to chanting to diagrams made of blood can help define it. At the most basic level, to cast a spell you need to have the pattern necessary to push the energy through and the energy to power it, and then bam you get a result. Usually specialists in a magical field will know a lot of spells in it, in addition to being exceptionally good at those spells because of energy typing concerns. This is another problem for a spellcaster who just turned into a vampire, usually all the spells they know are suited to their old energy flavor and if they want to use their new one they'll have to discover it and learn a bunch of spells in it all over again.

But the safe economics of spellcasters living within their means and casting fun spells they set up themselves from their mana pools isn't all there is. Some spells can be cast with a tiny piece of their overall pattern and a small portion of energy, which themselves are sort of a "bootstrap" spell which remotely casts the actual spell, summoning up the complete pattern and appropriate reserves of energy as required. Sounds broken you say? Well, yes and no.

These spells are called "invocations", because they're calling upon a god or goddess (either one directly in the same dimension or in another one, with some confusing restrictions) to remotely supply the rest of the pattern and energy for the spell. Sometimes these invocations have direct costs, but more usually the deity is happy to do this for "free". It's not super well understood by anyone Buffy knows exactly why, but invocations tend to always be effects which align with a deity's domain, and casting a lot of them tends to quickly align both the caster's energy reserve and their mindset in general with that of the deity. Because of this invocations are regarded as a more dangerous type of spell to get used to spamming and they're the common culprit for spellcasters getting "addicted" and going off the deep end. On the other hand invocations give a lot more bang for your buck and are an easy way to get yourself into the groove of a certain type of magic.

Sometimes if you understand an invocation really well from casting it a lot or some other way you can manually cast it yourself. This can be important because invocations aren't very customizable. Willow for example isn't really using many invocations now because Cybermancy is a fairly new field and she has to make a lot of the spells herself; she's found that her energy reserve is extremely well suited to it however, to the point of huge power multipliers she can get by rebuilding old spells to use Cybermantic components.

[X] They gathered a ton of useful info for the debate, and they know none of the damaging blackmail is going to come out immediately. Better to prepare to win it decisively and deal with this emotion warlock before doing anything else. If nothing else, it'll improve your negotiating position.

"You can keep me out of your secret clubhouse meetings if you like, but I already know about the Reptilians. Heck, I'm the one that invited Mr. Banks here, aren't I?" They were back in the conference room she'd spent most of the day in, except that they weren't really there, of course.

"So you're just going to come out and admit that it's you? After all my hard detective work?" Buffy had been pretty sure at this point, but somehow she expected more mystery out of Wilkins.

He smiled and made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "I figure you have enough to worry about, little lady. Movies, debates, and even a pretty vampire on the side? It's been so fun watching you grow up to be a real politician."

Buffy blushed. It wasn't like she thought he wouldn't see her conversation with Anya, but really, who was he going to tell? The seven minutes she'd spent with Harmony in a secluded part of the basement a few days ago had maybe been a little ill-advised though. "I thought you'd be a little more judgemental? You never exactly struck me as Mr. With-The-Times."

Wilkins laughed at that, "If you think this dalliance you've got going with the vampire is really that bad you should see a real sex scandal. My Vanessa has a whole drawer full of them that would make yours look like an evening movie on network TV. Honestly though, maybe you shouldn't. Your sensibilities are still a little delicate for some of that."

Buffy made a face. Maybe there were some things it really was better not to know about, until after the election at least. Vanessa had been effective at deflecting the state government from investigating her sketchy situation, but her methods behind the scenes could be a little questionable. She decided to latch onto something else. "Your Vanessa? Don't tell me you-"

"Nothing of the sort! Not since my Edna Mae passed." Wilkins said quickly. "But I always had a soft spot for her, I'll admit. It was nice having somebody on the City Council who would at least argue with me when they noticed me doing terrible things. Not that it stopped me, but it's always important to keep perspective. One thing you're going to have to be careful of is your inner circle turning into yes-men."

Buffy made a dismissive noise. "No way, my friends would never let me turn evil. They have those strong moral backbones, tough to find for people like you."

"Not even a little bit evil?" Wilkins said snidely, holding his forefinger and his thumb almost together. "Backing a house of questionable repute? Seeing a soulless vampire? Not to mention whatever backroom deals you were making with the Congressman in that room that you didn't even want me seeing. Or does he have you thinking the Reptilians are as pure as the driven sand?"

"He said they just wanted stability," Buffy replied, a little concerned now. "And it's not like I was in there with them alone, Willow thought it made sense too."

"The best lies are barely lies at all," Wilkins said. "And someone in your new position has to worry about being lied to a lot more than the slayer does. You're a rising star, Buffy, and people everywhere are going to want to latch onto you to further their own goals. They'll always make it seem like they're helping you too, that's how the game is played."

Buffy shook her head, "So you're saying I should go back to not trusting demons, just because they're demons? Ever since I got this job that's been something I've had to train myself out of! I need to be fair! And some of them really are good. It's more complicated than I thought it was."

"Definitely good at something, judging by your expression in that basement closet," Wilkins joked.

"Not just Harmony!" Buffy argued. "And eww, you perv. Gwen hasn't eaten anyone, I've been making sure. Everyone working on the movie was great. And there's Anya! She was a demon, and totally isn't a yes-man, she'd tell me if I was being stupid about this."

"Just because someone isn't evil, doesn't mean they're good. Especially if they have every reason in the world to be on your side right now." Wilkins paused, looking up at the skylight, free of the tarp Buffy had thrown over it before the sensitive conversation today. "The reverse applies too of course. Or did you think your sister slayer was secretly waiting for a chance to join the other side the whole time you knew her?"

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

"Faith's a great example of just what I'm talking about, as much as I see her as a daughter I never had. She didn't have anywhere to go, anyone to turn to. But there I was, lots of power and not many scruples. Her morality was flexible enough to be as evil as the mayor she wanted to work for. I'm sure plenty of the demons working with you have moralities flexible enough to be good, for now."

"So you think I should just, keep them at a remove or something? Not trust anybody without a soul after all?"

"On the contrary, I don't think you should trust anyone, least of all me!" That got him chuckling again. "But you're too young and idealistic to go for that. So just keep their motives in mind, and it might save you some heartbreak."

Buffy woke up, seeing Harmony looking down on her adoringly. She was lying curled up with her head in Harmony's lap along the backseats of the Chrysler, the forest clearing around them quiet except for the crickets.

"Harm! I'm sorry, I was just-"

"I know you've barely been sleeping at all this past week, it's OK," she said. "I thought it was kind of cute, really. And I've been keeping watch, all vigilant and stuff. We're totally safe."

Buffy still felt a little embarrassed. It wasn't like they had… gone the whole way, or anything. Whatever that entailed in a relationship like this, which she wasn't even totally sure of. But there had been intermediate steps. Good steps, full figured strides even. From what she could remember of the night, they'd taken a little break and talked about some of Willow's more troubling findings (though not the Reptilians, which she hoped were harmless enough that she wouldn't regret keeping mum,) but the long day must have caught up with her somewhere in there.

Buffy rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and shifted herself up, still leaning against Harmony's side. "It's possible that I've been a little deprived of the shut eye. But totally worth it." She smiled. "How long has it been?"

"It's 3:47AM," Harmony said, checking the Horae Watch she gotten on the game show and wiggling it at Buffy. It glowed very dimly when Harmony displayed it, just bright enough for Buffy to make out the details in the darkness. "You're wearing one of these too, you know."

"I'm still not used to it. Plus it feels like it isn't even there when I'm not paying attention to it." Buffy checked hers too, which had the exact same time. Still perfectly synchronized, though she didn't know enough about watches to know if that was impressive or not. "Is that a magic thing?"

"I think it might just be a quality thing. I never wore a watch much before either though, so who knows." She looked mischievous all the sudden. "Maybe you should wear that dress of yours and find out if it feels that way too."

She snorted. The two-piece and cape number had been living in the back of her closet, and she hadn't imagined when she'd get the chance to use something so bizarre. "Maybe I'll put it on for you in private if you like it so much."

"Totally! It's a date," Harmony said victoriously. She hadn't expected that, but maybe she should've. It'd make sense if it was made to demon aesthetics or something. She wondered how weird it really was inside Harmony's brain.

It made her think about evil and good and the other troubling stuff Wilkins had been nagging her about, and she almost wanted to ask Harmony some more big questions and try to get in her head. But she'd done that already, when all this started, and she'd been satisfied enough then. Besides, it would totally buzz-kill the moment.

She decided on lighter things instead. "So eager to get me dressed up, and here I was under the impression you wanted the opposite." Harmony was flummoxed for a second, and Buffy moved forward to give her a kiss, pinning her against the backseat. There was still enough moonlight left for a little fun.


The sun was shining down on the debate stage that'd been set up at Maple Court, and the size of the crowd that had gathered to ask questions of the candidates and watch the spectacle was reminiscent of Buffy's days in LA. The allure of such a big event had drawn some press (and maybe even spectators) from the big city, but luckily Buffy didn't have to worry about security today; Xander and Chief Matt had that well taken care of for both mundane and demonic problems. What Buffy did have to worry about was the question Gervais was currently trying to aggrandize himself with. He hadn't been shy about putting plants in the audience.

"I'm happy you asked that question, because this is just the type of thing I have experience in wrangling city officials with," Gervais smiled his pasted on smile, and Buffy wondered how anyone could believe it. "An overabundance of one way streets is a real problem, and it can strangle a neighborhood if you aren't careful. I know the situation in the North district is so bad right now that it adds 5 minutes to the commute for some people, and that may not sound like much, but if you add it up, that's almost an extra day driving per year. If I'm elected, I'll cut through the red tape and let our drivers make their own decisions."

The moderator nodded. "Ms. Summers, your response?" Things had mostly been going according to the playbook she'd prepared with Willow, Ian, and Gold the day before, and she thought she'd been doing pretty well.

"I want to reduce driving time for everyone too, and I agree the situation in the North district is totally unacceptable. Which is why I had my Secretary of Technology, Ms. Rosenberg over there, run traffic simulations on the local supercomputer so we could actually understand the problem. It turns out a lot of the one ways were put there for a reason; the residential areas turn into a major throughway for commercial traffic crossing town without them, and they aren't wide enough to handle that. Plus nobody wants that kind of thing around our families.

"I definitely can't say I know how to work the whole thing out myself," Buffy smiled her own fake smile here, and she actually got some chuckles. "But my friend has our new plan for the district loaded onto her laptop, and she can show it to you right now if you want to go over and talk to her. She managed to cut them in half, so we kind of get the best of both worlds. We're going to start rolling out the new signage this week."

The person who asked the question in the crowd originally had been one of Gervais' plants, and he looked a little bemused with how that'd gone, but he was still dutifully making his way over to check out Willow's plan. Little did anyone here know that in addition to the other two concerns, the new pattern had to maintain the rune of warding on the huge Earth Spirit sleeping under the neighborhood, but luckily Willow had been up to the task.

The next person with a question was Mr. Decker, who owned the hardware shop in Maple Court. "I had one of those diplomatic visitors from the middle east shoplifting in my store the other day, and I've seen them lurking around other businesses too! I'm not a racist or anything, but if they can't speak our language or follow our laws then something has to be done!"

"I'd like to handle this one first, if you don't mind," Buffy said. Even though LA press was here today, the actual moderator was from the local paper, and he didn't dare voice an objection. "Mr. Decker, I believe the incident in question was about two weeks ago, on the morning of Monday, August 2nd?"

He seemed a little surprised, but still managed to answer quickly. "Yeah, that was it."

Buffy was pretty annoyed with this jerk, but she stayed calm. "I take everything to do with our Tajikistani emissaries very seriously, and I looked into this myself with the police. They told me there wasn't any video evidence of the incident, and Mr. Mirzoda claimed he purchased the merchandise from you legally?"

"Well, the security camera's been acting up recently. But he couldn't produce a receipt, could he?" Mr. Decker argued.

She smiled again, like a predator this time. "Be that as it may, in the course of the investigation we ran across some other security footage from Sunday night. You were drinking at the Lucky Pint, right?"

"Nothing wrong with a hard working business owner having a few beers," he said arrogantly.

"Of course not. But I think you may have had more than just a few, considering what you did later that night on Sardine street. Is it possible your judgement could've still been a little impaired on the next day?"

"I, what, you can't prove that!"

"Not everyone's security equipment is acting up, it turns out," Buffy replied.

"Ah, well… " He paused not sure what to say, and the rest of the audience started laughing.

The situation defused, the moderator was about to call for another question, but Gervais interrupted this time, "I think this actually brings us to something else I'd like to talk about. You may have found the right of it in this case, but I think all the residents of Sunnydale have reason to be concerned with your rapid turnover and expansion of our police force. Matthew Waters is the youngest Police Chief in southern California, and your city watch is mostly composed of untrained teenagers.

"I know that crime in Sunnydale is a very serious issue, and I can't deny that your unconventional choices have been effective, but I'm worried that our law-abiding citizens will get stuck in the middle. The police and the city watch are armed with increasingly heavy weapons, and you've shown that they also enjoy a distinct technological advantage, but with limited experience I'm worried they'll use these tools as bludgeons instead of as scalpels."

Buffy could see where this was going, so she made sure to obediently walk into the trap. "That's a huge concern of mine, and I know it's super important that the police are as fair as they are powerful. We're doing everything we can to make sure everything's kosher, and the city watch have even cross-trained with the police to be able to do their jobs more legally."

Gervais was quick to answer, "That's great. It shows a real commitment. But I think that an outside view might be even more helpful. I'm going to suggest that both the police and the city watch get sensitivity training. The statistics have shown that it's a big factor in improving outcomes, and I've seen the positive effects myself when I was developing neighborhoods on the East Coast."

"That's a great idea!" Buffy said enthusiastically, garnering a troubled expression from Gervais. "In fact, I'll make time to go myself. If it can help our police do their jobs, I'm sure it can help me too!"

With that exchange finished, the moderator looked to the crowd again for another question. Buffy finally got lucky this time, recognizing that the person chosen was someone she'd gotten planted in the audience instead of one of Gervais' stooges.

Vote: Did Buffy decide to make some low blows with her own planted petitioners, or is she going to try to keep things clean? Choose a question to represent the direction she took. You may attempt to stunt in extra questions which fit the nature of the option chosen (either low or high.)

[] Buffy goes low. The distinguished looking man in the audience was a relative of one of the cops, and wearing a suit despite the heat. "Mr. Gervais, The Greco family was one of your principal investors when you developed the Devonian Complex in South Boston, and they're one of Wolfram and Hart's biggest clients. How are you going to keep organized crime out of Sunnydale when you're in bed with them?"

[] Buffy goes high. The girl in the audience was an activist Willow had met at UC Sunnydale. "Ms. Summers' administration already has several women in prominent positions, and she's supporting Juan Cortez for city council, one of our nation's many successful immigrants. Will you show the same commitment to inclusivity and multiculturalism?"