Drabble

[beer_good_foamy]

For open_on_sunday's challenge "Crescent".

Cross-Cultural Exchange
Post-series

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you might need this," Buffy said, handing a cross to Leila as the vampires approached.

The Tunisian Slayer frowned. "What for?"

"Crosses repel vampires. I don't know if it's because it's a religious symbol or what, but they do. Just hold it up - "

Leila leapt at the first vampire and swiped at him with her scimitar. The second the blade touched his neck, he dusted.

"...or you could do that," Buffy nodded.

Leila held up the crescent-shaped blade and smiled. "Allahu Akbar."

Then Rebekah took out the rest with her six-pointed shuriken.

Comments

[quinara]

Oh, heeee!! This is fab on toast. :D

[beer_good_foamy]

Thanks!

[ladyjane]

Delightful!

[beer_good_foamy]

Thank you!

[gillo]

Nice. And it makes sense that religious symbols would work for believers. Druid!Buffy with mistletoe might be fun...

Does Buddhist!Buffy simply accept her karma and kill vampires through passive virtue, though?

I enjoyed this.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

All myths are true at some point on Buffy. And stars and curved blades do make rather more useful melee weapons... :)

Does Buddhist!Buffy simply accept her karma and kill vampires through passive virtue, though?

Possibly. And you really don't want to know how the scientologist Slayer handles things...

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

And you really don't want to know how the scientologist Slayer handles things...

Dianetics? Ignitable methane atmosphere and a lit cigarette? My mind should not go to these places...

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

There's more than one way to dust a vampire.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

And I happen to know that's factually true. Thanks!

[sockmonkeyhere.livejournal.com]

This is wonderful! Poor Buffy really was woefully ignorant about religion, wasn't she?

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I'm not sure that's exactly the point I was trying to make, but the show is pretty culturally homogenous... Introducing some alternatives can't hurt. :)

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

After all, you don't *have* to make a point (although I've often wondered about the cross thing myself, and I'm a Christian). It's just fun to speculate about. I'm personally happy with the idea that a symbol of any religion might have the same effect, as long as there's a certain amount of faith not in the religion, but in the object's ability to work. Maybe crosses are so effective because they're so often seen used in media depiction of vampires -- a kind of cause and effect thing.

[sockmonkeyhere.livejournal.com]

*g* Yeah, I probably should rephrase my post: the entire SHOW was often woefully ignorant about religions. One big honkin' example was its use of the word "Wicca" when referring to any witchcraft, whether good or evil; Buffy, Anya, and Willow all garbled its definition. And I don't remember any of the characters using any symbol of benevolent religions, other than a Christian cross and Christian holy water, to repel vampires -- although I always hoped that they would, as it would make more sense and be far more interesting!

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, that was annoying. In a way it would have made a little more sense if crosses and holy water didn't work in the Buffyverse - partly because none of the characters really seem to believe in them, though it would have been weird if that had been the only reason given Joss' own beliefs. It's one of those bits of the story that don't really seem all that well thought-out - it works in an "I can overlook it" way, at least as long as they don't introduce actual religion as a major subject in the story, but they could have done a lot more with it. But hey, as long as I get to play with the idea, I don't mind. :)

[sockmonkeyhere.livejournal.com]

Oops, had to delete my first attempt at replying; had a big weird typo.

But hey, as long as I get to play with the idea, I don't mind. :)

Your play is MUCH better than anything that Mutant Enemy (or those gawddamn comic books) would have produced had they tried playing! :D

Hee, it just occurred to me that I've played with the idea, too: one of my AtS fics has a native of India burn a vampire's cheek with a small carved swastika (the holy Hindu type, not the evil Nazi one), and a Cambodian slayer who warns Spike not to touch her Buddhist katha amulet because "it's kind of like a cross or a Star of David; you might get a burn."

[elisi]

He. Nice one. Although Leila's name changed...

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Woops. Romanization fail. Fixed it now. Thanks!

[rahirah]

V. awesome!

(I once spent way to much time trying to figure out a reason for crosses repelling vampires in the Buffyverse when the metaphysical underpinning of the universe seems so desperately non-Christian...)

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Myth-wise, I think the Buffyverse basically runs on a variation of Rule 34: If there is a story of it, it exists on some level. (My favourite explanation for how religious items work on vampires is from Matheson's I Am Legend; it works because the vampires believe it works, but only for the religion the vampire him/herself belongs to - a Jewish vampire gets hurt if you whack him with the Torah, but the cross does nothing.) Plus, well, scimitars and shuriken are pretty good weapons either way... ;)

[shakatany.livejournal.com]

; it works because the vampires believe it works, but only for the religion the vampire him/herself belongs to I always thought something like that made more sense especially as I gave up being a Christian when I was 10. Chelsea Quinn Yarbor made a point of that in her short story "Cabin 33".

Shakatany

[sockmonkeyhere.livejournal.com]

My favourite explanation for how religious items work on vampires is from Matheson's I Am Legend; it works because the vampires believe it works, but only for the religion the vampire him/herself belongs to - a Jewish vampire gets hurt if you whack him with the Torah, but the cross does nothing.

I like this explanation, and I also like the explanation used in Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot: that if the person using the object has a strong faith in its power, the object will indeed become stronger. Thus, the young boy in the story is able to fend off a vampire with a tiny plastic cross from the model cemetery of his toy Frankenstein kit, while the Catholic priest is so shocked and disillusioned by the vampires that even his blessed crucifix and rosary don't harm them. And in King's novel It, a boy drives back a demon by holding up his beloved bird-watching guide book as a talisman and reciting its contents aloud: "ORIOLES! ROBINS! BLACKBIRDS! KINGFISHERS!" His love of birdwatching and the happiness that the book has given him is enough to endow the book with a positive supernatural energy, which repels the demon and frightens it off.

My wank is that it's a combination of both explanations. *nods sagely*

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah. I'm not a huge fan of 'Salem's Lot, but that scene is great, and Father Callahan's return in the Dark Tower saga makes it even better...

[owenthurman.livejournal.com]

I think in the series that Willow used a cross against vampires and furthermore that vampire Willow was repelled by one. But this would be a nicer canon.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And well, I'm not saying crosses don't work... Just that if they do, I don't see why they should be the only thing that does.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

Excellent! I love this concept! In a vampire mythology book that's mouldering somewhere on my bookshelf, there was a large section on how vampires could be killed according to the different areas that they came from and the religions and superstitions that surrounded the culture. One interesting point that it raised about the Western modes of dispatching a vampire was how were vampires repelled before their were crosses/crucifixes being used as holy symbols or even before crucifixion was used as an execution method. The ancient Greek vampires and the Mesopotamian vampires way back before that probably didn't fear two sticks nailed together. It's sorta fun to think about all the possibilities.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

There's always the idea that the cross, as a symbol, goes back much further than Christianity - in other contexts, it often represents the sun or the wheel (of death and rebirth), both of which would have powers over the undead...

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

I think that that probably makes the most sense out of all explanations.

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

Nice to see Jewish and Muslim Slayers working together in harmony. :) Although if curved-bladed swords act as Islamic crescents, wouldn't a straight-bladed sword with a straight hilt work as a cross, and dust vampires on contact as well?

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Although if curved-bladed swords act as Islamic crescents

Maybe it's inscribed with the Shahadah? Or maybe it's just really sharp and cuts vampires' heads off quicker than the eye can see? /self-fanwank leaving all doors open

[shapinglight]

For some reason I managed to miss this when you posted it. Very nice. I've always thought BtVS was way too Christian-centric, in a way that suggested they didn't actually know any other religions existed.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

I think that's probably true for a lot of US pop culture, sadly... There are a ton of mythical themes they could have used in BtVS but never got to do. (Not to mention what they could have done in the comics, with Slayers from all around the world, who theoretically could bring something more to the table than just funny accents...)

[shapinglight]

They do try to hint at other cultures in the X-Men, but nearly always get it wrong. ;)